39 weeks pregnant

Woah, one week left. I'd love it if she came a little early but suspect she'll be like her brother and arrive late.

Baby is roughly 50.7cm long and weighs 7.2lbs, the size of a mini watermelon. She still moves around a lot, but has run out of room to kick too hard, so she tends to push and squirm rather then jab, it's fun to watch my stomach move all over the place on it's own accord! She reacts to sounds, particularly when her big brother comes and talks to my tummy. At the 38 week midwife appointment her heartbeat was lovely and loud, she's in the correct position though not engaged and probably won't be until actual labour starts.

Mama is fed up of being pregnant in the middle of summer. The heat makes my feet swell and it doesn't help that I have toe infections which the doctor says won't heal until after I give birth due to my low immunity at the moment. I'm tired a lot of the time so taking things pretty easy (or as easy as you can with an energetic 4 year old). Only occasionally getting heartburn and indigestion, this has eased up a lot over the last few weeks.

Today is the official start of my maternity leave as the last few weeks were taking up unused holiday so I'd be very happy if she came soon. The nursery is ready and the study (where we put all the junk that was in the nursery) is now completely tidied thanks to a blitz my mother-in-law and I had yesterday. This weekend T and I will be taking things to charity shops and the dump and then everything will be pretty much ready.

I've also met up with some other Mums and Mums-to-be through NetMums and have a couple more meet ups in the diary for next week.

C and I have spent the day together today, doing all the things he wanted to do to make the most of time without baby. We got out the easel and magnets, we read stories, played with the aquadoodle, made a lego castle and watched How to Train Your Dragon (again). We also had lunch at our local Pizza Express, it's just a 5 min walk from home and it was fun to eat out just the two of us.

What's in my... hospital bag

Today I packed my bag for the hospital, I'm 36 +6 so it's beginning to feel close (though Charlie didn't arrive until 41 weeks).

Here's what I've packed:

(1) Clothes for Mama:
Bath towel (hospital requested I bring one)
Clean clothes for leaving hospital in
Maternity pads
Maternity briefs
Slippers
Dressing gown
2x nighties - one old one to give birth in and one in case I have to stay overnight

(2) Wash bag - toiletries, make up and wipes

(3) Hospital notes and birth plan

(4) Clothes for Baby:
2x small blankets and a muslin
3x long sleeved vests/sleep suits
2x short sleeved vests
Socks and scratch mitts
Newborn nappies
2x newborn hats
Cardigan

Other things I'll be taking are my phone and phone charger, maternity pillow, lots of £1 coins for the car park, bottle of water, snacks and a gift for Charlie from the baby.

The hospital supplied me with a check list in my pregnancy notes, but there's also a couple of good ones on the mothercare site and NetMums.

36 Weeks Pregnancy Update

Things not to forget about pregnancy at 36 weeks

- Hot hot hot, the first day of my maternity leave (17th July 2014) saw the hottest day of the year so far, 28C! With a huge thunder storm in the night the second day started off cool but reached 30C in the afternoon. Baby is like a permanent hot water bottle around my tummy, so lots of ice drinks, foot soaking and sitting in the shade is in order, but there's so much to do. I overdid it on that first day, by cleaning, cooking, baking and mowing the lawn.

- Heartburn is a daily chore, Gaviscon tablets work well when I'm out and about and the liquid works immediately if it hits at home. The little travel pack is a permanent feature of my handbag.

- Baby manages to be pressing hard down on my bladder whilst also kicking into my ribs and lungs.

- Breathlessness, the heat isn't helping, I now get breathless just walking up the stairs!

- Thirst, the heat is making me crave sparkling cold water with ice and lemon.

- Little pushes and kicks. She is just so active, I love having the reassurance though worry she's going to be way more hyperactive then her brother ever was! It is rare that I panic that's she's not moved for a while. The midwife and the maternity guides say that if you're worried to drink a glass of cold water and lie down, but I've not had to do it once, she pretty much moves every couple of hours. Even when she wakes me at 3am, I can't help but smile because she's healthy and well.

- Bio oil, it now takes two squirts from the bottle to cover the bump. I love the smell, it reminds me of my first pregnancy with Charlie.

- Nearly new, now that I'm on maternity leave I'm getting together those final last bits. This week J and I went to pick up a great fisher price play mat from a netmum, we got this along with a scramble bug and leapfrog play table for £45 (saving about £100 on the RRP). They're in almost brand new condition as used at grandma's house. We're lending the bug and table to my 10 month old niece as we won't need them for a while!

- Nursery artwork arrived this week, I now need to get some dusky red card to use as a backing frame so both pictures match the nursery.

- NetMum's Nearly new purchases, bump now bigger than the cat, icy drink and a good book, boy cat bump, cat bump, beautiful baby clothes rolled to look like roses (a present from my work) and the too hot bump in my old beach kaftan!

Pregnancy update 35 weeks

Only 5 weeks to go!

We had the midwife appointment on Wednesday. She's officially no longer breach - yay - and has a nice strong heartbeat. It was beating really fast at first and then slowed down, the midwife explained that this was normal as she'd been pressing down on her head to determine the breach status only half a minute before listening to the heartbeat.

Baby is currently about the size of a honeydew melon, 46cm long and 2.3kg.  She's reacting to sounds and really active with her kicks and jabs. I'm using the 'Kick Me' app to record her movements and her average per day is 555! Charlie is talking to her lots, he often wakes her (and me!) up in the morning, demanding to kiss the bump and say hello to her. He also kisses her goodnight at bedtime and calls her a good girl. His latest name choices are Spanner, Hammer or Elsa (from Frozen).

Mama is having a lovely quiet day today! T is having to work on a Saturday (he's managing his office's move from the Southbank to London Bridge) and C is with the grandparents. I slept until 9am today, something unheard of, I can't recall ever sleeping in that late since C arrived 4 years ago. My bump continues to grow, it's still high and I'm having to sit with my legs slightly apart - not good on the commuter train! I have 3 days left at work before maternity leave and am looking forward to less rushing around. As I don't know anyone expecting in the same area I put an ad on the NetMums Meet a Bump and so have arranged to meet up with two other mamas in the first week of Mat Leave. Both live nearby and we'll be meeting in the park, one has a six week old girl and the other has a 4 year old girl a month younger than C and is expecting her baby in September.

Last weekend we got a few more bits and pieces, a changing mat for the changing table, a newborn bath sponge and a couple of sheets. We have also picked out the gift the 'baby' will bring for Charlie and C chose a soft toy to give to the baby from him.

Pregnancy update - 33 weeks

The little kicks inside have turned to pushes and jabs as baby runs out of room. I don't remember her big brother ever being this active, she reminds me of her presence every couple of hours with a squirm or a push and the outline of a foot or elbow, head or behind briefly appears and disappears on the surface of my bump. She reacts to taps and strokes and is most active when I sit down for dinner in the evening.

I'm not sure if she's still breach, I hope not. I kind of think the jabs I'm getting up in my ribs are more likely from teeny feet rather than little hands or elbows, but we'll see at the midwife appointment in a couple of weeks.

I took a labour ward tour last week, something we didn't bother with for Charlie. It's not necessary but is certainly calming to visualize the walk from the car park to triage and then onto the room where we'll meet our girl. Queen Elizabeth's is nice, the rooms are bright and clean, much newer looking than Lewisham and with less of a clinical feeling than Chelsea & Westminster. If everything is straightforward they will let us leave between 2 - 6 hours after the birth, if we need to stay, the maternity ward is good with only 3 beds per room. I stayed at C&W with Charlie for 3 days and shared my section of the ward with 7 others, so 3 per room is really good.

I have just 12 working days before starting maternity leave, suddenly after an incredibly long wait, we're almost there! Next week's diary is hectic as I try and cram in as much planning as possible. There's publisher meetings, autumn activity planning and a 2015 brainstorm session, thankfully the following week is less hectic, I'm already beginning to slow down and suspect having 4 or more meetings a day every day is going to be tough.

This bump is definitely bigger than at the same stage with Charlie. We're quickly running out of room for the cat and the boy to sit on my lap. Baxter has come up with some interesting positions, curling up around the bump or using it as a pillow! Charlie prefers to sit to one side and stroke the bump and talk to the baby. He's very good at kissing her goodnight and feeling her kick in the morning. 

Plus I got some nice baby things in the Emma Bridgewater sale, including a lovely patchwork blanket and a teeny vest with lambs on.

Pregnancy update - 31 weeks

After waiting so long to get this far, I can't quite believe we're well into the third trimester and only 9 weeks to go before we meet this little one.

Baby is currently the size and weight of a large coconut, from head to toe she's 41cm long and weighs c. 1.5kg. She is much more active then C ever was, with long periods of time at the start and end of the day spent kicking and pushing and generally moving around. At the 28 week check she was breach, but she made a massive movement the following week, so I'm hoping that now she has turned around.

Mama is getting a bigger bump every day. This bump is much higher than with C, little feet (or head) is high up pushing into my chest so I'm getting lots of indigestion this time around. Beginning to get tired again, feet are swelling a little in the heat and uncomfy at night. But I know that it's all worth it and every time she kicks it's reassuring that everything is all ok.

We're getting the nursery ready, all C's baby equipment has come out of storage and the first set of newborn clothes are washed and into the drawers. I've been given some extra things from a mama friend who's 2nd baby is now 6 months, plus we have a few more feminine items picked up over the last few months so she's not totally in boy's clothes! The nursery has some pretty terrible wallpaper, cream with red fleur de lis all over it and the carpet is dark red, so we're going for more of a red and white theme this time around. I'm putting together some ideas on this Pinterest board - Nursery for a Girl.

- Bump shadow on the beach
- Baby girl clothes
- Boy, bump, cat
- Baby clothes washed and ready
- Bump on the beach

A baby sister

We are expecting again! I'm currently 22 weeks pregnant with a little sister for Charlie. Baby girl is growing well, we had some scares at the start, followed by a lot of sickness, but now all is good. At our 20 week scan everything was perfect and the little kicks I feel inside me are a daily reminder that this time around we are doing well. Because of our last loss I won't lose my unease until this little girl is safely in my arms, but am content as possible that all is ok.

20 week scan

Charlie is very excited about being a big brother, he has lots of questions, lots of name ideas (Rapunzel, Daisy and Slug are his favourites) and kisses and strokes my tummy in a gentle way.

Bump

I started a diary piece before we had the scares and then the daily throwing up set in so it ends pretty abruptly, but here's a record of that first week after finding out.

8th December 2013, today at 13dpo I took a pregnancy test and got the faintest 2nd line. I looked back an hour later and it was still there! Tomorrow I will use a proper test instead of an internet cheapie but in my heart I know that finally I am pregnant again.

I am tentatively excited, I want this baby so so much but I'm not sure I can face the pain of losing another. I'm only 3 weeks and right now the full 40 weeks look daunting. However the weight on my mind that I've been carrying since March is easing, it feels completely right to be pregnant and this time every cell in my body is willing this little one to survive, to be a fighter and in 37 weeks time to be held on my arms.

9th Dec. Again a faint line on the internet cheapie but took a boots own brand test and that had a stronger positive. Hooray hooray hooray!

12th Dec. Pregnancy has become real again. It felt amazingly good to start taking the half pack of pregnacare folic acid that I'd squirreled away in March. All the symptoms, the heavy boobs, intense sense of smell and slight nausea are incredibly welcome and a constant reminder that things are as they should be.

The rainbow baby is such a good analogy. For the first time the dark, depressing storm clouds of miscarriage have parted slightly to this rainbow of hope. The rain is still there and always will be, but the glimmer of sunshine needed to create a rainbow is happy and bright and the lashing rain has turned to a drizzle.

Last night as I lay in bed listening to big brother's even breathing through the monitor with Daddy's hand resting above the baby on my belly I was so happy. Everything was the way it should be once more. Peace at last. 

13th Dec. Today I have gone off coffee completely. From having 4 cups of decaff a day, now the very thought of it makes me nauseous. In Pret at 7.20am this morning I shocked Jorges my usual server by asking for hot chocolate instead of my regular skinny decaff latte.

Oh my goodness nausea also settled in fully today. I felt queasy and seasick at my desk this morning and drank cup after cup of peppermint tea to try and relieve the churning in my stomach.

And soo tired. This week has not been good for sleep, I had three 5am starts (to get to work for 7.30am) and on the other two days I stayed late, once to catch up time missed last week to see C's nativity and the other for book group. So sleep is something I long to catch up on.

16th Dec. Less nauseous today. Phoned to book a doctor's appointment but none left until Christmas week. Will try and book a same day appointment on Weds.