forty-one weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 287...7 days overdue

Today I am one week overdue...well, technically since I am posting this on Sunday I'm 6 days overdue. I will be a full week overdue tomorrow on the 16th July. Despite being slightly bored during the week because I haven't wanted to make many plans, I am feeling well. Annoyingly I have caught a minor cold yet again and have some congestion, but otherwise everything is good.

I had my 40 week midwife appointment last Monday - the appointment was another normal check-up and all my measurements, etc were normal. I asked the midwife about what will happen now that my due date has come and gone. She said that I will come in for another check at 41 weeks (tomorrow) and I will be offered a membrane sweep. At my appointment I will also be booked in for a medical induction at the hospital, usually between 12-14 days after my due date. So tomorrow's appointment should be interesting, not least because I will get examined internally which should tell me whether or not my cervix is thinning out and moving in the right direction. 

Today I have been having very mild period-like pains off and on, since about noon. They aren't regular at all and are very mild. I think if I weren't looking out for them, I would probably miss them completely, but I'm hoping that this is a positive sign. I can't quite believe that in a week or so I will get to meet my little boy!

forty weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 280...0 days to go!

Baby is now 20 inches long and weighs about 7.5 pounds. 

So today is my due date and I'm still pregnant, yep - still here and no sign that baby is going to be making an appearance anytime soon! I read today that fewer than 5% of women deliver on their due date, but 50% deliver within 1 week of their due date. So I suppose it's not a big deal that I'm still pregnant and perhaps baby just needs a couple more days to cook before entering the big world. He seems pretty comfortable and continues to make lots of movements. I am feeling well too, if not a little uncomfortable at times, especially when walking. I have a midwife appointment later today where I'm sure we will discuss next steps. 

I am terrified of being chemically induced though and am considering refusing chemical induction prior to 42 weeks, if it's offered before this time. This is because there are a number of risks with chemical induction, namely increased risk of:

• Fetal distress  and therefore the baby needing special care after birth
• Forceps or vacuum delivery (ouch!)
• Epidural
• C-Section
• Placental and Uterine rupture

Also, it would mean that I would have to go to the consultant unit and would probably need to be continuously monitored which would restrict my movement. Of the 3 women I know who had babies in the past couple weeks, only the woman who was chemically induced had a C-Section. The other 2 women who went into labour naturally had vaginal births. So yeah, I'm a bit scared. But if the time comes where I must be chemically induced (because sometimes the benefits of induction would outweigh the risks) I will deal with it...it's just a little scary. 

This past week I have been very busy. I met up with various friends, saw the Olympic Torch run through a village near-by, celebrated my 7-year anniversary with hubby and went out for a meal and did lots of cooking and baking. 

This week coming I am not quite as booked up, only because I don't know when I might go into labour! I'm actually a little excited about contractions starting though....as strange as that sounds. 

dear son #2

I can't believe you are nearly here now! You are due in 5 days time, but I have a feeling you will be late. Either way, within the next 2.5 weeks I will be able to hold you in my arms and give you an enormous cuddle and kiss! I can't wait. 

From the kicks and movements you are making I think you will be a strong little boy. I hope that you are healthy and happy and that you enjoy your first few weeks in the world. 

Your dad and I have finished your nursery and we have all the things ready for your arrival. I hope you like your room. I have a feeling that the two of us will spend loads of time there playing, relaxing and reading stories. 

I have signed us up for a few classes already which I hope you will like. We will go to Baby Yoga classes on Mondays and Baby Sign Language classes on Fridays. You will be able to meet other babies and have play time. I have also met some other mommies with babies the same age as you. Who knows, you might be friends with them for a very long time. 

I have also started to look into nursery schools for you for when I go back to work. We are thinking about a Montessori nursery and also the nursery where daddy works. We will take you to visit them when you are here and will make sure to pick the very best place for you. 

I love you so much already!

Love and kisses, xoxox
Mom 

thirty-nine weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 273...7 days to go!

Baby is now 20 inches long and weighs about 7.25 pounds. 

I can't believe I only have one week to go now until my due date and that the baby inside me is over 7 pounds! I feel like my bump has definitely dropped a bit and his kicks and movements are super strong, but overall I feel well and haven't gotten to the point where I am fed up. In fact, I'm really trying to enjoy these last few days of being pregnant. It took me and my husband so long to get pregnant in the first place, I would feel somehow silly for wishing it all away. And I know that once the baby is here I will miss my bump, so I'm making the most of it. 

This past week has been fairly busy. I was in Cornwall for my brother-in-law's wedding until Tuesday, Thursday we finished the nursery which was a huge relief. On Wednesday I had my 38 week midwife appointment. Everything was fine at the appointment. Baby is still 3/5ths palpable and in the left anterior position (phew). My next appointment is on my due date. I asked the midwife about whether a sweep will be offered at my due date appointment but she said that would only be an option once I go a week over my due date. I would rather not have a sweep and would prefer to go into labour naturally, but luckily I won't have to think about that for a couple weeks at least. 

I met up with the 5 other women from my NCT class on Wednesday. There were 2 babies and 4 bumps this week. Next week there will be 3 babies and 3 bumps - it's all very exciting. 

The rest of the week I have been spending a lot of time relaxing and getting things around the house organised. Hubby has been on holiday this week which has been really great. He goes back to work Monday so I will need to occupy myself with various tasks this coming week. I am thinking of booking a pedicure and meeting up with some friends for lunches. I am also planning on seeing the Olympic torch come through our area on Thursday which should be fun. 

thirty-eight weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 266...14 days to go!

Baby is now 19.75 inches long and weighs about 6.8 pounds. 

This weekend I have been on holiday in Cornwall for my brother-in-law's wedding. It was so incredibly beautiful and the wedding was something really special. I was so happy to be able to make the journey there (it is about 400 miles away from home). Luckily the baby behaved and we had no troubles at all! I even managed to walk around on some coastal rocks and do some exploring of the Cornish coastline. 

I wasn't able to do a proper bump pic this week, so have included the above photo taken with the hubby when I turned 38 weeks pregnant on Monday, 25th June. This was taken at St Michael's Mount not far from the where we were staying. My bump is a little hidden under my rain jacket, but you can still see it and it's still very large!

As most of the past few days have been spent in Cornwall, there isn't much else to update specifically about the pregnancy now so I will post a few photos of my holiday below and will be sure to update more about the pregnancy over the coming days. 

Porth-en-alls, Prussia Cove, Cornwall

Prussia Cove rocks

St Ives

Porthcurno

St Michael's Mount

thirty-seven weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 259...21 days to go!

Baby is now 19.25 inches long and weighs about 6.3 pounds. 

So I am now officially full term! This means all of baby's organs are fully developed and prepared for his entrance into the world. It also means that the baby will not be considered premature, even if he is born today (hopefully that doesn't happen though, I'm not ready yet). But this is such a huge milestone and I can't believe I've made it this far!

I can tell that baby is getting ready to make his arrival. My bump seems to have dropped and I keep getting sharp stabbing pains in my pelvis area. During the week there were a few moments when I was standing or walking and felt a pain so sharp down below that I had to sit on the floor or bend over to get it to stop. Luckily the pain goes away as soon as it starts but it's pretty terrifying. 

Today is my first working day on maternity leave and it's strange. I have been trying to keep occupied by tidying and organising the house and things are coming together slowly. The nursery is nearly complete, but not quite yet. I promised my sister (Hi D!) that I would do a nursery post with the final photos; I haven't forgotten! I just want to wait until it's completed, probably next week once we go to IKEA. 

On Thursday we are leaving to go to Cornwall for my brother-in-law's wedding. I'm looking forward to having a break away from home but am nervous about how I will be feeling. I get annoyed when I can't walk for very long without getting pelvic pain so think I will find it frustrating to not be able to explore Cornwall as much as I want to. 

I think that's all to report at the moment. I might not be able to post again for over a week as once we are away at the wedding I doubt we will have internet. Fingers crossed baby will stay put until we are back home on the 26th June! 

Last day at work

So today was my last day at work. I have just gotten home after what turned out to be a chaotic day and I can't quite believe it's all over.  

I was completely terrified about my last day for some reason. There was a part of me that was sad to leave work behind and a part of me that couldn't wait to walk out and forget about work for a year. But I think most of all I was scared because I knew things would change once I started maternity leave. Even though my job is secure until I return next year, it won't be the same when I go back. I will have a child to think about and I will have to juggle my career and my family. It's all very daunting. 

Despite my worries, the day was wonderful. I arrived in the morning (armed with a mountain of cakes for everyone which went down well) and my desk was covered in decorations and some little gifts from people.

At 2pm, my boss gathered everyone from the office to present me with a huge card, a load of gifts and a massive flower arrangement! I was shocked and close to tears as I opened the presents in front of the entire department of about 40 people. I got baby clothes, stuffed animals, baby cutlery & plates, a piggy bank, and a charm bracelet. I felt a little embarrassed opening presents in front of a big group of people. It felt like I was 10 years-old opening birthday gifts in front of my school friends, but it was over quickly and everyone was really nice. I was truly touched with the effort everyone went to for me.

At the end of the day, I kept feeling like I had things to do or that I was forgetting something vital, but my boss made sure I left on time and ushered me out the door with a big wave. I promised to visit the office with the baby at some point once I have figured out the whole motherhood thing. 

So now the only thing left to do is to wait until the baby comes...scary!

thirty-six weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 252...28 days to go!

Baby is now 18.75 inches long and weighs about 5.75 pounds. 

Oh my gosh - look how huge I am! I can really feel every little movement from baby now that he is so big (nearly 6 pounds - gulp!) and wow does he like to kick and nudge me in my sides.  At least he seems content in there. 


There is not much new to report this week: I had no medical appointments and my work-week was super short thanks to the Jubilee bank holiday. I must admit my feelings about work ending this Friday keep changing. One minute I'm so excited to be finishing, and the next minute I'm completely terrified! Someone at work today bought me some adorable little newborn bodysuits and it made me feel really bittersweet about leaving everyone for a year...I mean a whole year....that's a LONG time. I'm sure I will get used to it though.


In terms of how I'm feeling generally, I have actually been feeling pretty good, surprisingly. I have moments where I get stuck on the sofa and Mr M has to literally hoist me out of my seat. And I have moments where I'm emotional and close to tears for no apparent reason. But I can't really complain because overall I am functioning well and have no serious medical issues. Every once in a while I get a sharp pain down below and I freak out a little about my impending labour, but then the pain goes away and I forget about it. 


I am taking tomorrow as holiday as I have my 36-week midwife appointment and an NCT meet-up. Hopefully the appointment will go well. And I am looking forward to seeing the ladies from my NCT class again and am hopeful that we can continue to meet up regularly once our babies arrive. 

raspberry leaf tea

I am 35 weeks and 3 days pregnant today and during my lunch break at work I felt the sudden urge to go to the health food store and buy some Raspberry Leaf Tea. Maybe it's because I recently read about the health benefits of the stuff or maybe it's because I just wanted to see what it tasted like - who knows! But I bought some and put it on my desk at work and stared at it on and off for an hour or so. 

My husband said I shouldn't drink any. I suspect he thinks I'm going to have the baby early. But all 3 of my mother's children were late and the baby seems quite content in my uterus, so I don't have the same fears. 

The articles I have read on Raspberry Leaf Tea and the stories I have heard from people about it are mostly all positive. The key apparently is starting it early, quite a few weeks before your due date, to allow it to accumulate in your system. And the vitamins and all the other good stuff in the tea are supposed to help tone the muscles of your uterus, assisting with labour (particularly the second stage of labour) and making postpartum recovery quicker. 

Do I believe all of this? To be honest, I'm not fully convinced - but I can't see why I shouldn't try it. So I made my first cup a few minutes ago with a big heap of sugar and am currently sitting at work sipping on it (and blogging...can you tell I'm having a quiet day at work?). Anyway, I'm surprised to say it is rather tasty! The brand I bought has some apple pieces in it for flavouring so I think that is disguising the taste of the Raspberry Leaf itself. 

Now I just have to continue to drink it regularly over the next few weeks and wait and see. 

  

thirty-five weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 245...35 days to go!

Baby is now 18 inches long and weighs about 5.25 pounds. 

Another week has flown by and I have spent most of it in bed trying to get rid of my nasty cold. Luckily today and tomorrow are bank holidays here so by the time I go back to work on Wednesday I should be more or less back to full health. I can't believe how much I have missed my usual cold medicine!

There isn't a whole lot to write about regarding medical appointments this week because I already posted about my Ultrasound last Monday and my 34-week midwife appointment here. Have a look at that post if you want to know how those appointments went.  

Over the weekend we went to Mamas & Papas to pick up our full-size crib. My husband's parents bought this for the baby, so a big thank you to them for this lovely item! We also bought a couple cute canvases that were on sale to go on the walls.  Mr M assembled the crib while I packed my hospital bags and after only an hour or two our nursery started to come together! 

There is still a lot more work to do on it though. We need to get the chair from IKEA, a bookshelf, and to sort out some toy storage, but it looks much more like a nursery than it did a few days ago!

This weekend my husband and I also watched an interesting documentary called The Business of Being Born. It's an American documentary which looks at the current state of childbirth in the United States, particularly the medicalisation of normal birth. I highly recommend it to anyone in the USA who is pregnant or is planning a family in the near future. 

appointments update

I had my ultrasound scan on Monday and have just come back from my 34-week midwife appointment. I am currently home sick with a nasty cold virus so I thought I would quickly post an update on how the appointments went while I'm sitting here nursing a cup of tea and feeling yucky.

 The main purpose of the ultrasound was to check that my placenta was no longer low-lying. At my 20-week scan the placenta was very low and I'm happy to report that my placenta has behaved and has moved out of the way. During the scan, the sonographer also checked baby's head circumference (300mm) and abdomen circumference (308mm). Both measurements were in the normal range. 

After the scan, I saw the consultant to discuss the results. She decided that my pregnancy can now be classed as Low Risk and I have been transferred to midwife-led care.  This means I will now have the baby in the midwife-led ward of the hospital and I'm very happy about this. At first I was concerned because the midwife ward doesn't have epidurals available, but the doctor assured me that if during labour I am not coping well and want an epidural I can be moved upstairs to the consultant ward to have one.  

The midwife appointment this morning went well. My blood pressure was normal (120/60), fundus height was good (35cm) and the fetal heart-rate was fine (138bpm). What I was most excited about though was the position of the baby: he is head-down, partially engaged, and in the LOA ("left occiput anterior") position. I googled this when I got home and turns out this is the optimum position for labour. 

I'm not getting my hopes up too much though -  he can always change positions and even if he does stay in this position, it doesn't necessarily mean my labour will be straight-forward. But knowing he is in the ideal position at the moment makes me feel more confident about my upcoming delivery...which is rapidly drawing closer!

thirty-four weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 238...42 days to go!

Baby is now 17.75 inches long and weighs about 4.75 pounds. 

Well another week has passed and things are definitely getting more uncomfortable. The weather here has been very warm (which normally I would love) but being 8 months pregnant, the heat makes everything much more of an effort. My feet are swelling now (yuck) and sleeping has become nearly impossible. And then yesterday I started to get a sore throat and a runny nose, so I think I have caught a cold. I'm trying not to moan too much, but it's frustrating to not be able to take normal cold medicine!

I have only 3 more weeks at work now and it is starting to feel that the end is near, though there is still so much to do. Hopefully by the end of this week I will have handed over most of my workload to my replacement and my last two weeks can be more relaxed.

Someone in my antenatal class recommended a second-hand baby shop to me, so on Saturday my husband and I decided to go check it out. It's in a converted barn out in the middle of the countryside so I didn't know what to expect, but it was huge and had tons and tons of second-hand baby clothes, equipment, toys, and maternity clothes! I bought 4 summer maternity tops and a TENS machine all for really cheap! It was amazing. We decided that we would be buying all of baby's stuff from there in the future. If anyone lives in the Suffolk area of the UK and wants the details, let me know!

In terms of medical appointments, I have an ultrasound scan today (Monday) and then my 34 week midwife appointment on Wednesday.  I'm looking forward to seeing baby again on the scan - he is probably going to look huge! The scan is just to check that the placenta has moved because at my 20 week scan it was low-lying. I will post an update later in the week about the appointments. 

thirty-three weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 231...49 days to go!

Baby is now 17 inches long and weighs about 4.25 pounds. 

Can you believe that the baby now weighs over 4 pounds? That's a lot! And over the next 4 weeks he will put on 2 more pounds, so my bump is literally going to grow by the day. I have already gained 27.6 pounds so far this pregnancy, so it's likely I will gain at least 35 pounds overall...I'm not happy about gaining so much, but there isn't much I can do about it now. I suppose it will just mean working harder after baby is here to lose it all.  

I am feeling very large now and sleep is getting more difficult, partly because I'm waking up through the night to go to the bathroom and partly because I'm uncomfortable lying in one position so have been tossing and turning throughout the night. This has of course made me more tired during the day and therefore much more irritable at work. 

On top of general stress and insanity at work, this past week was super busy in the evenings too. Monday evening I had a committee meeting for a charity I volunteer for; Tuesday evening I had a breastfeeding class; and Wednesday evening I had my last NCT antenatal class. At the end of the class the instructor stated "Okay ladies, the next step is to go and have your babies!" I suddenly felt very unprepared!

The nursery progress is going well. My father-in-law has just finished painting and putting in some new power points and we have cleared the room ready for the cot to be assembled. The only problem is that our cot and crib are currently on back order at Mamas & Papas. I'm hoping they get delivered soon, otherwise we might have to think of other options. 

I am planning on getting the Ektorp armchair from IKEA for the nursery too. It looks really comfortable for breastfeeding and you can also get a ton of different covers for it from a company called Bemz; so the chair should theoretically last forever as we can get different covers in the future if we want to redecorate or move the chair to another room. Once everything has been set up I will put up some pictures of the nursery to show what it looks like. 

special delivery: the essential one

Drawstring bag

After a couple long, hard days at work it was such a pleasure to get home Wednesday evening and find that a parcel had arrived through the door from The Essential One, a fabulous company that specialises in all the essential clothing you need in baby's first year.  They sent me a bundle of products to add to my hospital bag; I have only just been getting my bag ready, so this was impeccable timing!

The first thing I noticed when I opened the parcel was how lovely the packaging was. The clothes all came inside a bespoke cotton drawstring bag which was simply wrapped in tissue paper. I like how they used minimal packaging. The drawstring bag can be used over again and the tissue paper is recyclable, so I didn't feel like there was any wasteful packaging. The bag itself is also so cute! I will definitely be using it in the future to carry spare clothes in the changing bag. 

Vests

The products in the bag were all super adorable too and what came across immediately was the quality. It's hard to portray in images how nice the fabric is, but trust me on this: it's amazingly soft and very high quality. The clothes are all 100% fully combed, soft handle cotton and it shows. 

Baby grows

In the bag came 2 vests, 2 baby grows, a baby hat and a pair of scratch mittens. All of these are going straight in the hospital bag and I expect I will use them all within the first few days that baby is here. The colours of the items sent to me are very neutral but The Essential One also have boy and girl colours. I do like the neutrals though, and the yellows and beiges are really nice (again - hard to portray this in the photos).  

I was so pleased with the quality of these clothes compared to others I have bought in the high street shops. After looking through the brochure I was also impressed with how reasonable their prices are too - so impressed, in fact, that I went straight online and put through an order for some of their adorable baby blankets! 

thirty-two weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 224...56 days to go!

Baby is now 16.7 inches long and weighs about 3.75 pounds. 

Yet another week has passed and I've been so incredibly busy that it truly has flown by! It was only a 4-day week at work, but there was so much to get done that I have worked long, stressful hours. I am training up a new person and dealing with my usual tasks. I keep counting down the days...only 22 working days left now.

Thursday was particularly bad at work and I was so busy that I forgot to drink water throughout the day; I even nearly forgot to eat my lunch. When I got home in the evening I started getting period-like cramps and they were getting more and more painful. I did some online research and found out that dehydration can cause uterine contractions! I quickly drank 2 pints of water and rested -  after an hour or so the cramps went away, but it was frightening! I have been making more of an effort to drink lots of water since that experience; scary though right?

After a horrible week at work I would have loved a weekend doing nothing, but the weekend was very busy too. Saturday we had NCT antenatal class all day from 10am to 4pm. I thought it would drag, but luckily our instructor kept the activities varied and also booked us a pub lunch which helped break up the day. The day included discussing C-sections, assisted delivery, the 3rd stage of pregnancy, and parenting issues.  I particularly liked the parenting session because we chatted about controversial parenting decisions like whether or not to use a pacifier (or dummy), whether or not to hit your child, whether or not to breastfeed in public, etc. 

100 miles - done!

And then Sunday, Mr M had a charity bicycle ride. He did 100 miles in the Suffolk Countryside and I went to the finish line to meet him. It was a gorgeous day outside and I enjoyed being there to support him and his brother who also rode in the race. Mr M usually does this ride every year and when we were sitting on the grass afterwards (eating very healthy cheeseburgers) we imagined what it will be like next year with a 10 month-old little boy crawling around on his blanket waiting for his daddy to cross the finish line. It was such a nice thought and it made me really excited to meet our little boy in a few weeks. 

midwife & NCT update

It was a busy day yesterday: I had my 31 week midwife appointment and my NCT class on the same day. I thought I would write a quick blog post to say how they went otherwise knowing me and my baby brain I will completely forget the details by the weekend.

The midwife appointment was in the morning before work and it went well. Everything was "normal" according to the midwife. From the scribbles she put in my maternity notes I can make out that my blood pressure was 100/60; fundus height was 31 cm; position was "ceph"; and fetal heart-rate was 148 bpm.

I think ceph stands for cephalic, which means head-down. She also wrote that baby was "free" which I think means he is not engaged yet...so overall everything seems fine for being 31 weeks. My next appointment is at 34 weeks and is scheduled for 30th May. 

NCT class last night was all about pain relief. It was good to go through all the different types of pain relief available, but it was scary too! We discussed all the options available from natural things like hot baths and massage all the way up to the hard core options of epidurals and opiates.  For each type of pain relief we went through the pros & cons.

I found out that the medical options for pain relief at my hospital will be Gas & Air (aka Entonox), Pethidine (aka Demerol); or an Epidural. I wasn't aware about all the negative side effects that some of these drugs can have and it scared me a little. For instance, Pethidine crosses over the placenta, effecting your baby and potentially making him "drugged" for a day or two after birth. 

We also talked about something called a TENS machines, which I didn't know much about. I'm thinking about getting one because it's a natural way to deal with early stages of labour and can be used in combination with Gas & Air. If anyone has used a TENS machine in labour I would love to hear about your experiences.

I decided after the class that my favourite options at the moment are hot water, TENS machine and Gas & Air. But I'm not going to rule out any of the more hard-core options completely because who knows how I will feel once the contractions start.

product review: MaterniCare

I was recently sent some MaterniCare Pre & Post Natal Nourishing Cream to try. This was incredibly great timing; my bump has grown rapidly over the last few weeks and I have been looking for something to moisturise my expanding tummy to avoid stretch marks and itchy, dry skin. 

I have been using the cream for a couple weeks now and I can say that I really love it! The cream has a light, fresh fruity scent and contains lots of lovely ingredients such as almond oil, avocado oil, and pro-vitamin B51.  

I have been rubbing the cream on my tummy and hips every day and can notice a big difference in the softness of my skin compared to any other lotions I have tried. My husband even commented the other night that my bump felt really soft, which is always nice to hear :) 

It's hard to say whether or not the cream prevents the appearance of stretch marks because I have been lucky enough to not have any (yet!). What I can say is that it makes my skin amazingly soft  and I plan on continuing to use the cream throughout my pregnancy and afterwards. 

If you want to learn more about MaterniCare and healthy skin in pregnancy go here. To try some of this lovely cream yourself, you can buy it from Forum Health here.

This product was sent to me for review purposes, but the opinions expressed are 100% my own x

thirty-one weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 217...63 days to go!

Baby is now 16.25 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds. 

It's been a very busy and productive week both inside my uterus and out. Baby is growing rapidly; he has put on over 1/2 pound this past week and will continue to grow at this rate until he arrives! I expect my bump will start to get huge soon, even though it's already rather large.

His movements are now very strong and every once in a while a forceful kick under the ribs really hurts! Luckily it's only once in a while and  and the pain is bearable. 

Work this week was hectic again, but I feel like I am starting to get to a point where all the hard work and long hours are paying off.  My replacement starts on Tuesday and I have a full 6 week training period with her, which is nice because I feel like there is a lot to hand over. During the next 6 weeks, my boss decided that he would temporarily move into another office (the 2 of us usually share a room), I would take his desk and my replacement would set herself up at my old desk/her new desk. I feel very posh and important sitting at his desk. It's such a change from my old shabby desk tucked into the corner that I find it really odd. 

I am attending a family wedding this summer when I will 38 weeks pregnant and have been putting off buying a dress.  A few days ago I finally decided to order this dress from Seraphine. I thought it might be too casual but as it's a day-time wedding and is taking place outside I'm hoping I can get away with it. The dress fits well but is too long on me, so I am going to try and take up the hem an inch or two.  

This weekend we picked up our pushchair from Mamas and Papas, but it is still sitting in it's huge box in the garage for now. It will probably stay there until I'm off work at the end of June and have the time and motivation to put it together.

We also made great progress on getting all the hospital bag stuff purchased. I think we pretty much have everything now except for a nice baby blanket. I can't decide if I should buy an expensive hand-made crochet blanket (like this) or a cheaper knit one from the local baby shop (like this). Decisions, decisions... 

the hospital bag list

Things have been extremely hectic at work and I haven't had much time to think about anything other than numbers and complicated spreadsheets, so it was a nice distraction to go back to the second NCT class last night. We mostly discussed packing the all-important hospital bags. 

I found out last night that the average first-time mum is in labour for 24 hours and then stays in the hospital for 48 hours after delivery! Yikes, so I could be in the hospital for up to 3 days? I had no idea it could be for that long. I guess the hospital bag issue is more important than I first thought. 

Our instructor suggested we pack two bags over the next couple of weeks: one bag will be used during the delivery in the labour ward; and one will be used in the post-natal ward with baby. The theory is that once I've had the baby and move to the post-natal ward, Mr M can take the labour bag home to lighten the load a bit. 

So here is the list (sorry it's illegible, but you get the idea). I'm hoping that over the upcoming long-weekend I can buy some things and start crossing items off the list. Let the packing begin!

thirty weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 210...70 days to go!

Baby is now 15.7 inches long and weighs about 2.75 pounds. 

I feel like I am growing by the day - doesn't my bump look big?! It's hard to believe that there are still 10 weeks to go until baby arrives, it doesn't feel possible for my bump to get any bigger.

And I'm now 30 weeks, thirty, that is so crazy! I feel like 30 weeks is such a huge milestone; I'm 75% of the way through my pregnancy. And the countdown until I leave work is down to 7 weeks (only 32 working days), it's all beginning to feel more real. 

Physically I'm still coping fairly well. My back had been aching a lot when I was lying on my side at night, but I figured out over the weekend that this was due to by big belly pulling on my back ligaments, so I have been wedging a throw cushion under my bump at night and the pain has subsided. Heartburn has been bothering me more and more; I chew on anti-acids during the day, but sometimes nothing seems to help. 

Things are still very busy at work and last week I did a couple of 10+ hour days which left me absolutely exhausted for the weekend. I was so tired this weekend I even had to turn down a trip to the cinema because I didn't want to spend £10 on a ticket just to end up sleeping through the movie - frustrating! 

My weight gain stabilised this week and I stayed the same weight as last week. I was happy about this because I think my overall gain of 22lbs is still above average. 

Next week  we pick up our crib, cot and our pram system from Mamas & Papas, so we can finally start to put the nursery together and we will have gotten all of the large purchases done with! We still need to get a ton of the smaller practical things and I would like to get a nice baby blanket if I have some money left, but we are getting there, slowly but surely.