Pack 'Em Up

31 weeks and all antenatal classes complete! Labour, c-sections, recovery, breastfeeding, bathing, generally looking after a small human...we are informed.

Informed, yes. Totally ready? Not quite. But sure.

The antenatal classes have been really helpful though in taking all the bits we've read over the last 8 months and preparing us to put it all into practice.

And so onto this week, which is the week of the 'hospital bag'. Packing the hospital bags though make everything seem that bit more real. Throughout my pregnancy there have been moments when it's like OH. WE ARE ACTUALLY HAVING A BABY, but then you just carry on being pregnant and stuff. Like when we decided nursery colours, when we built the furniture, when the nursery was complete. When browsing online for buggies and car seats and slings and learning what a travel system is. Let alone hitting the physical preg milestones that take you aback as there's a real life human growing inside.

Looking online it seems that you need to take everything you've ever owned with you to the hospital. There are a few bits that are irrelevant as we're having a caesarean, but generally there is a fair bit of packing to do! It also advises that it's split so that mama has a bag, and then a bag for dad and baby in case I'm whisked away somewhere.

Pinterest browsing (again) for all the bits and bobs

The baby's movements have gone from me feeling ripples to acknowledging that yes, that is definitely a foot, or a tiny back and little bottom. Blows my mind! After all, it's under 50 days to go now.

The parents-to-be (and a celebratory ale)

Had my penultimate midwife appointment yesterday and it's always a relief hearing baby's heart beating away nice and strong - and it got me thinking about how far into pregnancy we are and how I still have no clue as to whether I'm carrying a girl or boy. Will I ever get a sense of what my baby is? Am I out of touch to have no idea? All other preg women I've spoken to have had an inkling of what they're carrying; which has either been proved correct when they've given birth, or they've found out at their 20wk scan and they're bang on. The hormones in pregnancy are a funny thing because you have these irrational moments where you let your mind wander and then suddenly you're just a big ol' pregnant weepy lump, sitting on your sofa talking away to your small human saying sorry you don't know what they are.

Well at least I know I'm definitely carrying a baby. Despite my dream the other night about giving birth to a kitten.

X

Final Chapter?

There seems to be much confusion among pregnancy apps, books and online with regards to when the third trimester officially begins - with it ranging from 26-29 weeks. Generally speaking though, it seems week 27 is the start of the last pregnancy chapter.

So that's it. Third and final trimester has begun. I am 27+1 now. Here is a list of things that I need to sort out before the small one comes:

• Complete nursery prep
• Go on maternity leave
• Hospital bag
• Get leaky titties
• Not be able to bend forward/shave legs, etc.
• Nest
• Eat everything
• Find clothes that fit me when in the grips of hibernation
• Have a baby
• Cry because everything is overwhelming

Obviously the above list is not necessarily reflective of the next 11 weeks and also activities will not necessarily be completed in that order. But knowing that we're in the third trimester brings an element of fear in that we're officially on countdown now. Like it's happening. Shit needs to get done because we are having a baby.

Didn't do my #bumpingalong photo yesterday as quite frankly, it was Bank Holiday Monday and we were building the nursery wardrobe which (finally) arrived. So you lucky ones get to look at my clothes from today; grey t-shirt from New Look in a size 12. 'Tis actually a peplum cut so although non-maternity, allows fanning of the bump. Dress is from asos in a size 10 and again, non-maternity but was one of the first items I bought when I knew I was preg but was in the secret part of pregnancy. No one can question a growing bump when it's invisible in a boyfriend fit dress! Although the boyfriend fit is looking pretty tight nowadays...

But the most exciting thing that happened yesterday is that I FINALLY got to capture the wriggler on camera! So amazing. So alien. Just utterly incredible and I love the little one (video down the right hand side on the desktop view of la blog)

I also still find it incredibly odd that I have no idea what I'm carrying - other than that they're a baby. There I am, chatting away to this genderless person I've made with no idea if they're a little boy or a little girl. It doesn't matter to me either way, I just find it a funny situation. Should I have strong feelings about what sex they are? Or are there mums out there who also had no clue what they were carrying?

Boy or girl, our little tinker's bump adventure continues...Here's to the third trimester, guys.

X

BabyMooning

Well that was everything I wanted it to be and more. And the thing is, we didn't even really do anything. But it was perfect.

I don't want to sound like a big ol' sap but I honestly feel like this little break away for our BabyMoon has made me fall in love, all over again. Just with a new element to our relationship, in that we're going to be parents. 

I think not being distracted by life for a few days allowed us to just really enjoy one another's company - and I guess that's the whole point of a BabyMoon? Making the most of your time as a couple. It's definitely something I want to maintain even when baby's here; making sure our relationship doesn't fall by the wayside just because there's a human running around who we made.

It was strange going through the motions travelling though, such as security at the airport, or boarding the plane. You have moments when you think: Jesus wept, next time we do this we will have our small person with us. How things are going to change?! It was brilliant watching all the other Summer Holiday parents slightly losing their shit whilst travelling with their children, trying to stay composed as their foot gets trodden on for the tenth time. Such fun lies ahead it seems *googles prices of Trunkies in preparation*

Here are a few snapshots basically of me and my bump, from said BabyMoon and then I promise I will stop saying that word.

Whilst away I stayed committed to my weekly #bumpingalong in a size 12 non-maternity bikini from Boohoo.  Actually found the whole bare bump thing quite liberating! It was like being nude in public, but not in any way at all. (Thank you other half for being my photographer as and when required).

Sunshine Bumping

I am particularly enjoying seeing how much my belly moves now. Gone are the odd punches and kicks from the bambino - we're now in the swirls and ripples stage. And it is SO COOL to watch..."Come and look at my stomach! Feel the baby! Look at the baby!" I'm just in complete and utter amazement at the body and what it is capable of. We have such an active baby, yet whenever I try to capture it on film it just stops. Like it knows, playing games with its mum. However there's still plenty of time for me to film the wiggles!

Talking of the wiggles, we had our 24 weeks midwife appointment yesterday. So although it was a shame to only have a few days break away, it wasn't all bad as we got to listen to our baby again and know that everything is as it should be for this stage in pregnancy. Measuring fine, heart beating strong, movement patterns good.

I really like that they remind you how important it is to keep an eye on your baby's movements. And remember, it's not a case of a certain number of kicks per day. It's knowing what pattern is right for your baby - there's no magic number of movements. If your regular pattern changes, then to the midwife you go!

So despite our baby kicking the midwife away like last time, we got to hear the reassuring beats and that meant we could leave the hospital with the piece of mind that all is wonderful right now. Only 4 more appointments (week 28, 31, 34 and 36) and then BABY ARRIVES AT WEEK 38. Oh gosh. And we're now under 100 days to go as well which means it's action stations this Summer to get everything prepped and ready.

Also got given the info for antenatal classes; imagine there will be many an update once these begin, as we go on a journey to meet fellow parents-to-be. Ooooh. Parent friends.

And breathe.

X

PS: I've realised the title of this post sounds a bit like a baby showing its bare bottom. Ah well.

Busy Bump

Considering it's only Tuesday I feel like this has been an incredibly busy week already! I think it must be because we're going on holiday on THURSDAY. Don't suppose I mentioned it at all?! BabyMoon time with bump and the other half?! I am sooooo excited. To relax and do nothing and that's fine because it's what you do on Summer holidays. My pale green skin is ready for some Vitamin D fo sho.

#bumpingalong this week at Week 23 (when did we suddenly get here?!) and as I said on the Instagram post, my look was very much suited to if I lived in a lamp; a metallic pyjama come genie medley. But it was comfortable so...T-shirt was a size 12 from River Island and the golden pantaloons are a size 14 from Topshop. Both non-maternity.

The disproportionate pinhead looking thing I've become

Saw the Crohn's antenatal team yesterday and we got to hear our bab's heartbeat, thumping away! Despite the odd kick at the doppler - it seems I'm carrying quite the hyperactive little tinker! But at least we know that all things check out as they should be for this stage in the pregnancy.

Keeping myself amused

They were also super pleased with how stable my Crohn's has been, so much so that they're happy for me to get in touch with them if anything flares up - but in the meantime they'll pass me back to the normal midwives from now on. Good news team!!

Also had my whooping cough injection this morning; entering the time frame now where each week in pregnancy pretty much equals some kind of injection or appointment. So got that today, then midwives again next week. Few more weeks and then it's the one for having a negative blood type. It's all go I tell you!

Took some time out over the weekend to start decorating our nursery... It's all so lovely it makes me want to do a happy tear - and we've only painted a ceiling white! We picked up the crib for our bedroom too, making it suddenly seem very very real. In around 15 weeks or so, the little wooden crib is going to have an even smaller human in there. That's ours. That we made. (The baby, not the crib. The crib was collected readily built)

DIY is code for dungarees

In case you didn't know, new little humans need a shit load of stuff for when they get here. We decided the best way to plan for this was to take a trip to our local pub and start on Babmin (Baby Admin). Eating a roast whilst discussing what adapter for the travel system we really needed, and swigging an OJ whilst working out how soon we need to invest in a breast pump. Glorious.

Local pubs: Making chores nicer since I said so

With regards to our upcoming BabyMoon though - I'm contemplating doing a lookbook for it? I'll be packing this evening and I think it would be a cool thing to do, to keep track of how I dress my bump whilst menopausally sweating in the Spanish heat. I sense a sartorial challenge ahead.

X

Hidden Kicks

22 weeks today and as we're all aware, Mondays are never the best days of the week anyway. And today was certainly no different as I sat in my GP waiting to see the doctor after a lack of sleep for worrying about our baby.

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I've been feeling baby movement for a good while now - established timings and a pattern to keep an eye on. Even being able to see the moving through my clothes. But over the last few days, the movements seemed less often and when they did happen in the usual time slot, they just seemed so faint. I've been beside myself with worry the last day or two and it culminated in me being awake last night willing our baby to do a big movement so I knew all was fine.

You just feel useless. And then you worry that your body isn't working properly and that your baby isn't going to be all right. So when you pass a time frame where usually things would happen and there's nothing...it just made me so anxious. Especially as a first-time mum-to-be as I have absolutely zero experiences to base this all on, so naturally you look for reassurance where you can.

My doctor felt my bump this morning and said it was the right size and felt as it should for my gestation. And the main thing for me was that I also got to hear our baby's heartbeat. I can't describe the relief of knowing that baby was doing ok and things were actually as it should be.

Turns out that looking back over my scan notes, my placenta is positioned anterior high which means it's at the front of my uterus, as opposed to the back; when the placenta is at the front it can sometimes cushion the movement of the baby. So it seems likely that our hyperactive mini human went on a wander and moved to a place where even though they're moving all the time still, they've softened the blow of kicking me hard. They just put us through the mill emotionally instead of physically!

I spoke to my midwives this morning and they let me know that I'd done exactly the right thing in following it up with a medical professional. At the risk of sounding silly, I was all sorts of emotional, worrying and I just wanted to someone to tell me that I was being dramatic and it was fine - again searching for that reassurance.

My other half was so incredibly supportive with all this going on, too. Speaking as the pregnant one in our relationship, I've had to have moments to sit back and realise that he only knows how I'm feeling with baby based on what I share with him. He can't tell the difference in feeling of a flutter and more substantial kick. Let alone if those patterns of feeling have changed? So for him to be able to keep me as calm as possible when really he has no idea either, just makes me appreciate him even more.

What an anecdote to share when they're older: "Ahh, do you remember that time you played hide and seek with my placenta? You rascal, you."

But yes, at least now we know that our little one is actually doing wonderfully. They just made their mummy and daddy temporarily shit themselves.

X

PS: Kicks Count do a band you can use to keep track of periods of movement. Super helpful in these situations, especially if the baby brain has kicked in. And their website is full of such useful info as well.

My Kicks Count wristband on arrival