This morning I woke up and realized that I officially have stretch marks. This is highly depressing. Fortunately it's minimal, but still - I have a little under 10 weeks to go still! Bah.
I can't BELIEVE that I'm 30 weeks along. 69 days until the due date. How scary is that? Every day I get more excited and more nervous.
Last night at about 2:30am, the baby starting kicking WILDLY. It woke me up and not only kept me up for atleast 20 minutes, but it was really freaking me out! I almost woke Adam up because it was so crazy! It's weird because lately he's been kicking a lot lower down than before and it's a very weird feeling.
The exciting news this week is that Adam and I are going away! Call it a "baby moon" or whatever, but we are spending 2 nights in a really fancy hotel and spa! I cannot wait. We've never really even gone to a hotel before, let alone gone to one of this standard with a SPA. It's in Bristol, called Cadbury Hotel by Hilton.
http://www.cadburyhotelbristol.co.uk/
BEcause of this, I've had to go get a maternity bathing suit which is fun! I got a new outfit too. I've noticed lately that all my "maternity" clothes that I've been wearing thus far are getting too small...I didn't think that was supposed to happen?
Oh well! Then Friday night we are staying in Birmingham and going to visit some friends, which should also be glorious!
That's really all for now, I have my 31 week appointment next week and we start our Antenatal classes on Tuesday.
And...from BabyCentre.co.uk
30 weeks pregnant
Your baby's lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed. Your baby's growth in terms of her length will soon slow down (she measures a bit over 39cm from crown to toe now), but she will continue to gain weight until she's born.
This week your baby continues to open and shut her eyes. She can probably see what's going on inside your uterus (womb), distinguish light from dark and even track a light source. If you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move her head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow.
Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But don't expect 20/20 vision when your baby is born – newborns can see a distance of only between 20cm and 30cm. Children with normal vision don't reach 20/20 vision until the age of about seven or nine. To complete the picture, your baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes.
About a litre of amniotic fluid now surrounds your baby, but that volume decreases as she gets bigger and has less room in your uterus. As you and your baby continue to grow, don't be alarmed if you feel breathless, as if you can't get enough air. It's just your uterus pressing against your diaphragm.
...Til next week!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
29 weeks, 1 day
We're onto our next fruit/vegetable! My little boy is now roughly the size of a SQUASH, measuring approximately 15.5 inches from head to toe. I can't believe how big he is getting - it is strange to think that there is potentially little more growing to do, most of what he has to do is get fat! Crazy.
This week has been pretty good, I have been feeling him move almost constantly. On Tuesday I updated on our 28 week appointment which went really well, and then on Saturday we had our tour of Bracken Birthing Center where I hope to give birth. The place only has 3 rooms and one of them has a birthing pool which is really nice. The other two rooms are very comfortable looking; they have purple walls and low lighting, they are going for the "home away from home" look. If however I showed up to have my baby and these rooms were all taken, they have a 2nd labor ward which is about a 3 minute walk away. This ward isn't as nice though... it just looks like hospital beds. There is another birthing pool, but I would much rather use the one in the birthing center!!
At the end of the tour, the midwife answered a bunch of questions and gave us tips and infromation about labor. It was really interesting, there were 3 other couples on the tour and I was the least far along! I can't imagine waiting much longer to have seen the birthing center. One lady was 38 weeks! I would have felt so unprepared had I waited that long. Anyways, the midwife was really nice and helpful - she talked about birth and pain relief options a lot. In the birthing center, there are limited pain relief options - if you want anything like an epidural or anything more than gas and air then you have to go to the other ward. It was really nice to talk to a lot of other people who feel that it is completely realistic to not have an epidural. It has really been annoying me lately everyone saying how unrealistic it is to not have one; birth is a natural thing and I do not believe I am incapable of giving birth without one. I can do it!! I admit that I am scared out of my mind, but I feel confident that my body will do what it needs to do.
The midwife did a demonstration about the effects of massage and leaning over when you're having contractions. She handed out ice cubes to everyone and we had to keep them in our hands for a complete minute to show us how long a real contraction was. This doesn't sound bad but actually it is quite painful to keep an ice cube in your hand for that long! Then, we did the same thing again but we had to get on our knees and have our husbands/partners rub our backs. This was a really cool demonstration, because when Adam was rubbing my back I hardly even noticed the ice cube - I only noticed that it was melting in my hand!
The tour itself was great, I feel much more reassured now about what exactly to do when I start to have contractions, and where to go, and where to park which was Adam's concern...haha. :)
I am getting pretty big. I feel huge. I don't have any maternity shorts and it's been really hot out the last 3 days. I tried wearing normal shorts with an elastic band but this is highly annoying! My feet are beginning to hurt a lot. Blah! I can't really tie my shoes anymore which is worrying since I have a long 11 weeks left. :)
All in all though, I can already imagine being sad when pregnancy is over! I mean, I will be overjoyed to have my little boy here but I LOVE being able to feel him kicking around and even watch his little limbs poking out. haha. It's incredible.
That's all for now I think! We start our antenatal classes on June 8th which I am very very excited for.
A little update from my growing baby!
[From parentsconnect.com]
Having a baby prematurely is frightening, no doubt. But here's a reason to relax: Due to the impressive advancements of medical technology, if your baby is born this week, she'd have a 9 out of 10 chance of survival, which is seriously great news. Other awesome developments:
Baby's brain can now control her breathing and body temperature. She can also cough, and her sucking abilities have been perfected. Look out, boobs!
Your Mini's skin is looking less wrinkled as she packs on the pounds. She's starting to look more like a Pampers model and less like a Depends model. She's now beefing up on the energizing and insulating white fat she'll be born with (unfortunately, white fat is not energizing and insulating for adults!).
And speaking of energy, your little Energizer Bunny is on fire these days. You're sure to feel your share of kicks, punches and elbows, especially when you're lying down. You might want to start keeping a kick chart to monitor your baby's movements, and also to later show your 13-year-old child what you endured for him or her. Ask your doctor how to count kicks and how often you should do it.
This week your baby is a little over 15 inches long—about the length of a loaf of bread—and weighs about 3 pounds, as much as a Macbook Air laptop.
This week has been pretty good, I have been feeling him move almost constantly. On Tuesday I updated on our 28 week appointment which went really well, and then on Saturday we had our tour of Bracken Birthing Center where I hope to give birth. The place only has 3 rooms and one of them has a birthing pool which is really nice. The other two rooms are very comfortable looking; they have purple walls and low lighting, they are going for the "home away from home" look. If however I showed up to have my baby and these rooms were all taken, they have a 2nd labor ward which is about a 3 minute walk away. This ward isn't as nice though... it just looks like hospital beds. There is another birthing pool, but I would much rather use the one in the birthing center!!
At the end of the tour, the midwife answered a bunch of questions and gave us tips and infromation about labor. It was really interesting, there were 3 other couples on the tour and I was the least far along! I can't imagine waiting much longer to have seen the birthing center. One lady was 38 weeks! I would have felt so unprepared had I waited that long. Anyways, the midwife was really nice and helpful - she talked about birth and pain relief options a lot. In the birthing center, there are limited pain relief options - if you want anything like an epidural or anything more than gas and air then you have to go to the other ward. It was really nice to talk to a lot of other people who feel that it is completely realistic to not have an epidural. It has really been annoying me lately everyone saying how unrealistic it is to not have one; birth is a natural thing and I do not believe I am incapable of giving birth without one. I can do it!! I admit that I am scared out of my mind, but I feel confident that my body will do what it needs to do.
The midwife did a demonstration about the effects of massage and leaning over when you're having contractions. She handed out ice cubes to everyone and we had to keep them in our hands for a complete minute to show us how long a real contraction was. This doesn't sound bad but actually it is quite painful to keep an ice cube in your hand for that long! Then, we did the same thing again but we had to get on our knees and have our husbands/partners rub our backs. This was a really cool demonstration, because when Adam was rubbing my back I hardly even noticed the ice cube - I only noticed that it was melting in my hand!
The tour itself was great, I feel much more reassured now about what exactly to do when I start to have contractions, and where to go, and where to park which was Adam's concern...haha. :)
I am getting pretty big. I feel huge. I don't have any maternity shorts and it's been really hot out the last 3 days. I tried wearing normal shorts with an elastic band but this is highly annoying! My feet are beginning to hurt a lot. Blah! I can't really tie my shoes anymore which is worrying since I have a long 11 weeks left. :)
All in all though, I can already imagine being sad when pregnancy is over! I mean, I will be overjoyed to have my little boy here but I LOVE being able to feel him kicking around and even watch his little limbs poking out. haha. It's incredible.
That's all for now I think! We start our antenatal classes on June 8th which I am very very excited for.
A little update from my growing baby!
[From parentsconnect.com]
Having a baby prematurely is frightening, no doubt. But here's a reason to relax: Due to the impressive advancements of medical technology, if your baby is born this week, she'd have a 9 out of 10 chance of survival, which is seriously great news. Other awesome developments:
Baby's brain can now control her breathing and body temperature. She can also cough, and her sucking abilities have been perfected. Look out, boobs!
Your Mini's skin is looking less wrinkled as she packs on the pounds. She's starting to look more like a Pampers model and less like a Depends model. She's now beefing up on the energizing and insulating white fat she'll be born with (unfortunately, white fat is not energizing and insulating for adults!).
And speaking of energy, your little Energizer Bunny is on fire these days. You're sure to feel your share of kicks, punches and elbows, especially when you're lying down. You might want to start keeping a kick chart to monitor your baby's movements, and also to later show your 13-year-old child what you endured for him or her. Ask your doctor how to count kicks and how often you should do it.
This week your baby is a little over 15 inches long—about the length of a loaf of bread—and weighs about 3 pounds, as much as a Macbook Air laptop.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
28 weeks, 3 days
I know it's a few days late, but I had my 28 week appointment yesterday so I wanted to wait until that was over to blog! It went REALLY well, I feel like the midwife is finally starting to take me seriously! haha. This was the first appointment where she actually just talked to me about birth options and pain relief, her own experiences and people she has helped give birth to. She gave me a lot of helpful information, I told her I am interested in doing a waterbirth and she was able to answer some questions about that which was great! I am a little nervous about it all but I am hoping that I'll have more questions answered soon. On Saturday we have our tour of Bracken Birthing Center in Taunton which has recently been renovated and I've heard good things about it. They have a couple of birthing pools so hopefully on Saturday they will talk to me more about it. I can't wait!
The appointment was good though - I had to have my blood taken which I HATE but at least it was the last time I have to get it taken! I had it done 3 times and that was the last, so I'm happy! Unfortunately the first time was the absolute worst, so that didn't set me up too well. It went fine though. She took my blood pressure, which she said was great, checked the baby's heartbeat, and measured him. She said he is measuring at exactly 28 weeks, which is awesome! She also commented numerous times on how "fit and healthy" I am, which was also good to hear.
My next appointment is in 4 weeks, when I'll be at 32 weeks (How scary...!) and then after that I get an appt every 2 weeks, then every week.
I am very excited that we have our tour on Saturday then on the 8th of June we start our antenatal classes! I then have 3 weeks of work left, and then I am on maternity leave. I can not believe that time is escaping so quickly.
As far as the baby nursery goes, we have everything (and MORE)! Seriously, if he showed up today I wouldn't need to go buy anything. Just this week he has gotten a bath, some more clothes, the rest of the cloth diaper kit, and more. Also his Grandma Donahue has just ordered him a MATCHING mobile to go with his crib! I'm soo excited :)
Well, that is about it for now I think. I have some photos to post but I'm too lazy to do it now - I am on a slow computer!! :)
The appointment was good though - I had to have my blood taken which I HATE but at least it was the last time I have to get it taken! I had it done 3 times and that was the last, so I'm happy! Unfortunately the first time was the absolute worst, so that didn't set me up too well. It went fine though. She took my blood pressure, which she said was great, checked the baby's heartbeat, and measured him. She said he is measuring at exactly 28 weeks, which is awesome! She also commented numerous times on how "fit and healthy" I am, which was also good to hear.
My next appointment is in 4 weeks, when I'll be at 32 weeks (How scary...!) and then after that I get an appt every 2 weeks, then every week.
I am very excited that we have our tour on Saturday then on the 8th of June we start our antenatal classes! I then have 3 weeks of work left, and then I am on maternity leave. I can not believe that time is escaping so quickly.
As far as the baby nursery goes, we have everything (and MORE)! Seriously, if he showed up today I wouldn't need to go buy anything. Just this week he has gotten a bath, some more clothes, the rest of the cloth diaper kit, and more. Also his Grandma Donahue has just ordered him a MATCHING mobile to go with his crib! I'm soo excited :)
Well, that is about it for now I think. I have some photos to post but I'm too lazy to do it now - I am on a slow computer!! :)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
27 weeks, 2 days
Well, here I am, past the 27 week mark! According to some (and according to 40 divided by 3, I am OFFICIALLY in my third trimester. This is scary. But so so so exciting.
I went into work today and was shifting through the next month and a half of work I have left. It is going to fly by. Between now and then though, I have my Settlement Visa to apply for, a week long sports camp to run, several day-out events with children in the church, and a lot of meetings. I cannot WAIT for it to be over with!
At the same time though, I am sad that it is going by so quickly. I love my job, and I can't imagine not coming into the office or meeting up with our afterschool club. I know I will still see the kids, but it just won't be the same. I must enjoy it while I still can!
In baby news, we got our cloth diapers today! They are SO cute and soft, and I am SUPER excited because I was planning on paying £180 for 20 of them (10 bamboo and 10 microfiber), but then on eBay I found someone selling them literally for less than half price. And still brand new. Anyways, they came today and I have already gone through them all and neatly organized them into their temporary holding place - baby's bed! hehe. We are also waiting to arrive: a mesh bag which we can put the cloth diapers in and then just throw the whole thing into the washer, a cloth-diaper bucket, and disposable cloth diaper liners. On one hand I realize that I am officially a DORK for being so excited about all this, but hey, I can't help it! I am so blessed to be able to do these kinds of things for my little boy. We have so much for him already.
Speaking of which, there are SO few things that we have left to get! We are still looking for a mobile for his crib, a nursing chair, and some little toys. I am bidding on some bunches of clothes on eBay, we have LOADS of onesies but since he'll be 3-6 months old through the winter I figure he'll probably need more than just those!
Here are the cloth diapers we've gotten:
And this week in the life of Baby Bradley....
By pregnancy week 27 your baby is over 2 pounds and is almost 15 inches long! That's quite large considering your baby's original size was smaller than a grain of rice! Your baby is now perfectly formed, though she still has a lot of growing to do in the upcoming weeks.
During pregnancy week 27 your baby's internal organs and systems continue to grow, mature and develop. Most noticeably, around 27 weeks pregnant your baby's eyelids will open. Up until this point in time they were fused together. Around pregnancy week 27 and 28 they finally open. During this time the retina of the eye also starts maturing, allowing your baby's eyes to finally receive light and translate images.
13 weeks to go...... :)
I went into work today and was shifting through the next month and a half of work I have left. It is going to fly by. Between now and then though, I have my Settlement Visa to apply for, a week long sports camp to run, several day-out events with children in the church, and a lot of meetings. I cannot WAIT for it to be over with!
At the same time though, I am sad that it is going by so quickly. I love my job, and I can't imagine not coming into the office or meeting up with our afterschool club. I know I will still see the kids, but it just won't be the same. I must enjoy it while I still can!
In baby news, we got our cloth diapers today! They are SO cute and soft, and I am SUPER excited because I was planning on paying £180 for 20 of them (10 bamboo and 10 microfiber), but then on eBay I found someone selling them literally for less than half price. And still brand new. Anyways, they came today and I have already gone through them all and neatly organized them into their temporary holding place - baby's bed! hehe. We are also waiting to arrive: a mesh bag which we can put the cloth diapers in and then just throw the whole thing into the washer, a cloth-diaper bucket, and disposable cloth diaper liners. On one hand I realize that I am officially a DORK for being so excited about all this, but hey, I can't help it! I am so blessed to be able to do these kinds of things for my little boy. We have so much for him already.
Speaking of which, there are SO few things that we have left to get! We are still looking for a mobile for his crib, a nursing chair, and some little toys. I am bidding on some bunches of clothes on eBay, we have LOADS of onesies but since he'll be 3-6 months old through the winter I figure he'll probably need more than just those!
Here are the cloth diapers we've gotten:
And this week in the life of Baby Bradley....
By pregnancy week 27 your baby is over 2 pounds and is almost 15 inches long! That's quite large considering your baby's original size was smaller than a grain of rice! Your baby is now perfectly formed, though she still has a lot of growing to do in the upcoming weeks.
During pregnancy week 27 your baby's internal organs and systems continue to grow, mature and develop. Most noticeably, around 27 weeks pregnant your baby's eyelids will open. Up until this point in time they were fused together. Around pregnancy week 27 and 28 they finally open. During this time the retina of the eye also starts maturing, allowing your baby's eyes to finally receive light and translate images.
13 weeks to go...... :)
Friday, May 7, 2010
26 weeks, 5 days - Photos
Well our baby bedding finally arrived from the States yesterday - and it's even more adorable than I imagined! It's SUCH good quality, I absolutely love everything about it.
My mom left for America this morning, so I'm feeling a bit down. I know I will see her as soon as this little boy is born though - 13 weeks to go!
My mom left for America this morning, so I'm feeling a bit down. I know I will see her as soon as this little boy is born though - 13 weeks to go!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
26 weeks, 3 days
What a fun week! My mom has been here since Thursday so I haven't had a chance to blog - although I have to say it's pretty obvious that I haven't been keeping up with the exact weeks anyways. I can not believe that I am almost 27 weeks - when I got to about 22 weeks, I sort of stopped focusing so much on how long its been since the 20's just feel all the same. But now - 27 weeks - that's almost 30! Which scares me a LOT. I am so excited and feel like I can really start getting things ready, but I can't believe that in 14 weeks or LESS I am going to have my little boy here. Wow. I just can't imagine it.
In the last 2 weeks, two of my good friends have given birth to absolutely beautiful babies. I have been keeping up with their pregnancies since the beginning, and to actually see their babies in real life is incredible. I can't look at their photos without crying. They are both little girls. It's so incredible to see a pregnant woman one minute, and the next a little baby. Needless to say, I get emotional looking at the photos - and it also scares me to death. I've asked my friend what labor was like and when she said that it was more painful than she could have ever imagined, I was sufficiently afraid. I mean, I don't know if it's fear as much as sheer nervousness. I know that I don't want an epidural, thus I am choosing the more painful route. But to be fair, I'm more scared of giant needles than I am out babies coming out of me. haha.
This week has also been awesome because we FINALLY got the baby room carpeted. We also had a baby shower on Saturday night which was SO much fun. A couple of ladies from my church put it together, we had about 17 people there and we played games, had food and dessert (including a chocolate fountain!)and opened the gifts! It was an absolute blast - it lasted from 7:30pm-11:30pm...haha! So I've attached on here some photos of things that we got from the shower and some recent photos of the baby room. There's a spare bed in the room as well, for those late-nights and for the guests (such as my mom :) )
Below is a photo of two of the most hilarious gifts - one is a pirate costume from Adam's family, and the other is a Bee costume from Judi, a lady from my church. Absolutely hilarious, I think people know us far too well. I will have so much fun dressing him up. hahah :)
This one is Adam and I with the blanket that my mom MADE! It's SO soft, I didn't even realize she had made it when I opened it. It has a matching burp cloth too!
Here are some baby socks we got. Baby socks are SO CUTE.
The baby's new dresser drawers and some gifts we got for him!
A photo of our moses basket and the blanket my mom made.
The "Bath Box" - all the baby bath supplies one could ever want! Why on earth are there about 4 different types of baby wash? Oh well. He'll be clean!
Here are some awesome pants/trousers I found. Adam finally let me buy them because we've had the baby shower! haha. Also in the photo is some little booties that say "50% Mummy" and "50% Daddy" on them, and 2 hats that say "I love Mommy" and "I love Daddy" on them.
Some of his clothes!
Baby's Crib/Cot with a new toy he got in it and the blanket my mom made.
That's it for now. He's now the size of an eggplant, weighing almost 2 pounds! He kicks ALL the time, and I can see his little arms and legs poking out of me, which is the strangest thing ever. He woke me up this morning kicking violently. Not sure what's going on in there! haha :)
In the last 2 weeks, two of my good friends have given birth to absolutely beautiful babies. I have been keeping up with their pregnancies since the beginning, and to actually see their babies in real life is incredible. I can't look at their photos without crying. They are both little girls. It's so incredible to see a pregnant woman one minute, and the next a little baby. Needless to say, I get emotional looking at the photos - and it also scares me to death. I've asked my friend what labor was like and when she said that it was more painful than she could have ever imagined, I was sufficiently afraid. I mean, I don't know if it's fear as much as sheer nervousness. I know that I don't want an epidural, thus I am choosing the more painful route. But to be fair, I'm more scared of giant needles than I am out babies coming out of me. haha.
This week has also been awesome because we FINALLY got the baby room carpeted. We also had a baby shower on Saturday night which was SO much fun. A couple of ladies from my church put it together, we had about 17 people there and we played games, had food and dessert (including a chocolate fountain!)and opened the gifts! It was an absolute blast - it lasted from 7:30pm-11:30pm...haha! So I've attached on here some photos of things that we got from the shower and some recent photos of the baby room. There's a spare bed in the room as well, for those late-nights and for the guests (such as my mom :) )
Below is a photo of two of the most hilarious gifts - one is a pirate costume from Adam's family, and the other is a Bee costume from Judi, a lady from my church. Absolutely hilarious, I think people know us far too well. I will have so much fun dressing him up. hahah :)
This one is Adam and I with the blanket that my mom MADE! It's SO soft, I didn't even realize she had made it when I opened it. It has a matching burp cloth too!
Here are some baby socks we got. Baby socks are SO CUTE.
The baby's new dresser drawers and some gifts we got for him!
A photo of our moses basket and the blanket my mom made.
The "Bath Box" - all the baby bath supplies one could ever want! Why on earth are there about 4 different types of baby wash? Oh well. He'll be clean!
Here are some awesome pants/trousers I found. Adam finally let me buy them because we've had the baby shower! haha. Also in the photo is some little booties that say "50% Mummy" and "50% Daddy" on them, and 2 hats that say "I love Mommy" and "I love Daddy" on them.
Some of his clothes!
Baby's Crib/Cot with a new toy he got in it and the blanket my mom made.
That's it for now. He's now the size of an eggplant, weighing almost 2 pounds! He kicks ALL the time, and I can see his little arms and legs poking out of me, which is the strangest thing ever. He woke me up this morning kicking violently. Not sure what's going on in there! haha :)
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