18 Weeks

I couldn't seem to get my act together at week 17 so we've bumped ahead a couple more weeks from my last entry.

A sense of change in in the air. In the last few weeks my body has changed and my mind is playing funny tricks on me.

First thing that I noticed was that my skin seemed to be getting really dry. Especially my hands. Being a nurse i wash my hands a lot during the day but I haven't before had such dry skin. The water in England we have noticed since we arrived is not of the premium standard one will find in wonderful Aotearoa and so hasn't been kind to our skin from day one really. So the marathon of moisturising has progressed from the belly further north to hands and arms.

Then if dry scody hands - to the point where I wondered if I was developing eczema - wasn't bad enough next thing I notice is that I'm having a break out!!! ZITS! Usually my skin is pretty clear and so I didn't appreciate this too much. I think they're on their way out now though and hopefully if I up my facial skin care routine (haha) they will stay away. I'm pretty slack when it comes to cleansing and toning but I'm trying to be a bit nicer to my skin and then perhaps it will be nice to me.

Other bodily changes include and expanding belly. Measurements as of this morning...
Weight: 66kg
Waist: 93cm
Bust 93.5cm

I'm wondering... maybe semi hoping that I'm going to be a pregnant woman with a cute little bump cos from pics I've seen women seem to be a lot bigger than me at this point. I have a feeling that over the next 4-6weeks I'm going to have some major expansion going on but for now I'm just fine and happy with this rate of progression. My skin is not getting such of a skin stretching hammering that way. I've got enough stretch marks from my puberty induced growth spurts I'd be happy without any more.

I was intrigued and had a bit of a giggle the other night as I examined my belly a little closer. Honing in on the belly button I was fascinated by how much it has obviously been stretching in the last while. It seems bigger (as in more open cos the skin has started to stretch) and shallower.

That's pretty much all in the body changes.

Next to the mind! As if I wasn't crazy enough to start with it appears that what logic I had is disappearing, what co-ordination I had is possibly on it's way out the door and I'm just plain forgetful! The usually trust worthy grey matter has been letting me down lately either that or these hormones are wreaking havoc up there!

Example: This morning I hopped on the bus on my way to work. Looking outside the window I noted the usual surroundings as we drove on by. The bus bell goes and off hops a whole lot of nursing students. They usually get off the stop before mine. So I thought right next stop. Then as the bus went on I kept looking out the window and was totally bemused by that which was passing by. Traffic lights? there's none on the street I get off on! The bus continues a lot further than it usually takes to get off at the next stop. I get off and realise that I'd totally, and I mean totally forgotten that I was on the brown bus and not the purple one which travels a totally different route!! Luckily this morning I was actually early leaving home and so had the time to traipse back down the street to the stop I was MEANT to get off at and into the hospital! Ahhh!

At work we write down relevant information about our patients on a piece of paper. Somehow I am managing to lose this paper far too frequently. The other morning I was at work less than half an hour before I'd lost it. I looked high and low. I'd only been in a certain area for that time so it couldn't have gone far. Anyway it showed up tucked into my patients notes.

Then there's the certain incident involving the controlled drugs cupboard keys which I will not go into for fear of losing my job! (no, really, it wasn't THAT bad! but I am concerned about how this baby hormone (I will not admit that this is just me being forgetful!) warping of my mind is going to effect my safety at work!).

The clumsiness. Hands up all the pregnant women who suddenly couldn't hold anything without dropping it at least once especially if it's covered in some substance that is bound to make a mess??? MEE!!! I admit to being messy in the kitchen. When I bake flour MUST cover every surface possible. Ryan will contest to this (annoying) truth. But all this dropping of things is even starting to annoy me! baking contents on the floor. Pasta, flour, milk, juice which also managed to spill into the fridge. Even eating my kiwifruit the other day as I exerted a bit of pressure with my spoon to get loose that annoying white bit in the middle (probably means it's not ripe) I managed to then watch my nice slice of kiwi fly across the room. and not once but TWICE!!! YES KIWI's CAN FLY!!!

Oh and speaking of baking... even last night as I was measuring out flour to go into my banana loaf I measured it (albeit the wrong amount! - mistake no.1) into a measuring jug then instead of pouring the contents of the measuring jug into the sieve I proceeded to pick up the packed of flour and pour that instead!!! WHAT IS WITH THAT????!!!

Even boiling the jug. I filled it up at the tap and then put it on the stove ready to light the gas then I realised it was the jug not the pot and kicked myself again for being so absentminded and put it on its own element to boil.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Then last night I had a dream which was all very nice. I was examining my belly and it had obviously got to the stage where the baby was big enough that we could clearly see it moving round ad it was poking it's limbs here there and everywhere. Then in my dream it was like my transparent and we could see like and x-ray him or her except instead of a cute child all curled up what was there stretched itself out only to reveal a centipede!!! Warped! This baby may end up with big feet but 100legs and a freaky non-human likeness I think NOT.

I bought a Pregnancy and Baby magazine the other day. Had some really interesting and informative article in it on all sorts of topics. I got engrossed in it while Ryan was engrossed in the tele... but the other night as I was doing something he actually picked it up and was very quiet reading it for a long time..

After his reading later in the evening as I was talking away to my belly he informed me with his new found knowledge that the baby could in fact NOT hear me yet thank you very much. And he is right - his/her ears will no be structurally complete apparently till about 24weeks. Despite this I insisted it could and babbled on =)

So it's been an interesting couple of weeks.

Most exciting thing of all is probably the fact that we're almost half way!!! WOW! and also that in 3 weeks we'll be having another ultra sound and get to see minimo in more detail and more up close and personal.

Ok I will try and do the old self portrait picture. Cos Ryan isn't here to be camera man.

Blessings to you all. Those with children and without.

Mez and the Beloved Bumpalicious!

16 Weeks

Well another week rolls by. I won't take my measurements just yet because Ryan has just filled me up with a delicious meal.

I think i'm starting to process the reality that I can't suck in my belly anymore. It is growing and it will continue to grow until this whole amazing process is over then hopefully it will shrink!

We went to the midwife on Wednesday. Pretty uneventful really

My bloods had come back all good...
HIV -ve phew!!
Hb 13.9 (12-16g/dL is normal)
Every else was all good.

We've decided not to do any further test for Downs Syndrome, Spina Bifida etc. This child is a creation of us. Unique and precious no matter what. Some people I guess would just like to know. Many of the major abnormalities are likely to show up on the next ultrasound so we'll wait to then. At the end of the day this baby is still on it's way and we're totally looking forward to meeting this little one.

Next midwife appointment is not until March 14th after our ultra sound scan on Feb 20th.

Until then we grow... and grow... and grow.

15 Weeks

OK so According to my pregnancy guide...

Bubs is a about the size of an orange by pregnancy week 15 - nice!
He or She is between 4 and 4 and ½ inches long and weighing more than 1 ½ ounces!

This week bubs will apparently start producing lanugo, which is fine hair that will cover the baby's body up until a few weeks before birth. Lanugo covers every part except for the palms, soles of the feet, lips, penis, nails and inner fingers and toes. But so not fear our baby is not going to be ape -like! They shed this hair by the 8th month of pregnancy.

At this time minimo is likely to start sucking his thumb this week - which is more than likely if he or she is anything like his/her mother was!

Apparently with all this spare time on his hands bubs is using it to practice breathing, by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid *YUM*.

And as for me...

Waist: 90.7cm
Bust: 92cm

Well apparently my heart has enlarged (this is normal) in order to handle my increased blood volume. It is now pumping out 20% more blood than it did before pregnancy. Crazy cool!

I've felt a lot bigger this week but maybe I'm just bloated. I went for a run the other night after work and was stretching afterwards. Leaning forward pushing against a wall for a stretch I was shocked at the sight of my abdomen. There seemed to be SOOO much more of it and it was just hanging there.

When people ask Ryan if I'm getting bigger he says: "Well either that or she's letting herself go!" Charming! Thanks hun! but no really I haven't been eating that much more. I've hardly put on any weight, i do need to weigh myself again and see where i'm at. Hopefully I'm at an expected healthy weight. If you start off pregnancy at a healthy weight which i did they say you should expect to put on 11-15kg during pregnancy. And they say by trimester two which we're now two weeks into that you gain about 0.4 kg a day or 1lb. Gosh i wish i could see a picture of what I'm going to look like at the end of this.

But you know with all the changes that are going on in this body of mine at the end of the day I don't mind. My body is on loan anyway. It's only good for use in this life and if I can't make full use of it by bringing more life into this world I would be very sad. So I try to thank God again and again for all these changes that are occurring and have yet to occur and for the humility to embrace them 100%. To be a mother (and a father -although it's all too easy for these blokes!) is one of the greatest gifts and so bring it on!

Struggles at the moment:

Exercise - it's hard to stay motivated pregnant or not but i really do want to keep fit during this pregnancy. This weather is not totally conducive to outdoor activity but i'm just gonna have to deal with that. We have started making use of the treadmil at Ryan's work although i don't get the same satisfaction out of that. We do a decent amount of walking each week but walking has never seemed enough for me. I like to feel my heart pounding and the sweat dripping (eww).

I would like to get swimming here and infact today i should really go and actually check out the swimming pools and see exactly what they're like. There aren't that many here and they appear to be fairly expensive to frequent but i would really enjoy that.

13 hr shifts (with total 1hr worth of breaks for lunch and dinner) - These days due to changes in the rostering system we work more 13 hr shifts (7am-8pm). Most weeks I work 3 13 hr shifts and then have one day off during the week and a 6hr shift and then the weekend off. But already they're taking their toll. Well this past week anyway I have had a tired week. It has been a little more busy than pre Christmas. Three 13hr shifts in a row can be a killer. One day just blends into another. My alarm goes off at 5:45am I catch my bus at 6:30am, start work at 7am, finish work at 8pm, catch the bus when it decides to turn up sometime after that and make it home by 8:20ish. It's lovely to have some evening together but if i don't try and get into bed early I'm shattered for the next few days. Eventually the closer we get to the due date and maternity leave I may need to cut back my hours but we're trying to save as much as we can so every little bit more i can manage will count.

ZZZzzzZZzZzzZzz's - lately I haven't been sleeping that well. I think I'm lucky because I have always been one to sleep on my side so I'm not having to adjust to a change in sleeping position due to an expanding stomach. But for whatever baby or non baby reason I'm just not waking up very rested. I am a light sleeper which doesn't help but apart from the odd snoring episode from the one I share my bed with we live in a quiet flat surrounded by quiet flats. I get up once or twice in the night to pee (our baby's way of reassuring us that it is growing) so that disrupts things... I know i know it's all good training I guess but we've got a while to go yet before bubs is here and I would like to get as much sleep now while I can.

We bought a belly oil rub when we were home and that smells of lavender which i think has actually helped me have better sleep. It is a soothing smell. So solution perhaps is just to put that on ever night.

And that's about it for week 15.

These weeks are moving by fast enough that's for sure. 2007 is moving along swiftly.

July 5th will be here in the blink of an eye!

God be with us. Walk with us. Teach us. Prepare us. Bless our precious one.

FYI

Next Midwife Appointment: 17th January

Next Scan: 20th February

14 Weeks

So here we are again at 14 weeks but this time it's real. Our bubs really is 14 weeks!

Changes over the last few weeks have been few. Hormones are affecting my bodily functions somewhat but i'll spare you the detail. Haven't put on any weight but I am definitely starting to get a bump even if it is only enough for me to notice and not others at this point.

We went to a ball on New Years eve and I wore the same top that I had worn to my brother and sister-in-law's wedding back in November and it was DEFINITELY tighter. It's a fitted bodice top and was very snug whereas before there was at least enough room to breathe comfortably.

Today's Measurements:
Waist 90.7cm
Bust 88.5cm

And just for a bit of comparison...

Ryan's Measurements

Waist 80cm

'Bust'/Pecks 92cm (haha)

In terms of bubs one of the websites shares the following info about his/her growth...

Your rate of growth is nothing compared to the baby's: If this rate of growth continued after birth, he or she would be thirteen feet tall at one month of age!

All of baby's major organs have formed by the 15th week of pregnancy. Some, such as the heart and kidneys, will continue to develop further this trimester. Eyebrows and fingernails form. The reddish, wrinkled skin is covered with a fine hair.

The baby is now about 12.5 cms or 4.92 inches. The baby is now producing urine and actually urinating into the amniotic fluid (eww). It also can practice "breathing" the amniotic fluid in and out of its lungs (pretty amazing huh!).

He/she looks something like this!

Sleeping quietly hiding from the world

So that's where we're at. Quietly developing inside my belly our little human being that is not so bean like anymore.

Lots of people have been asking lately about have we thought of names. Answer: Yes. Then they want to know what they are. This has become a little debate between Ryan and I as to whether or not to tell people. Well i started it really cos i thought we'd just keep them a secret until bubs was born but then Ryan told someone some of the names we had been thinking of. We had told Ryan's sister Tracey and William cos they're expecting too and we wanted to know we weren't wanting the same names.


So what do you think? I just think that chosing your childs name is a huge task. They're stuck with it for the rest o their lives - well i guess they could change it if they really wanted to - and you want to get it right and be sure of it. I don't want people giving me their opinions really cos we might really like a name and then someone might put us off it if we told them....


Dunno maybe I'm just being silly.


As for the baby's sex we do NOT plan to find that out at our next scan. It's not that we don't want to know it's just that it will make a nice surprise. It's a load of bollucks that it makes planning for clothes and things easier in my opinion. Babies only need so much in the forst few days/ months and they grow out of it so quick anyway. So unless the sonographer lets slip about the sex we're not finding out =)