40+2 weeks pregnant!

So my due date arrived 2 days ago.....and passed with nothing happening! I know a lot of mums get to their due date & feel a bit fed up & deflated.  I have to say I felt delighted!!!! Having only got to 35 weeks with Posey I just felt like I'd achieved something massive and I felt so proud of my body for being able to carry my baby for the full 40 weeks after all.  It was a very nice feeling.

I have been putting operation 'evict baby from the premises' into action in an attempt to avoid some of the more uncomfortable things that come after your due date passes - things like membrane sweeps & possible induction of labour.  I've been walking lots (with Posey on her scooter), I've been having acupuncture and reflexology, I've been drinking lots of raspberry leaf tea and I've been guzzling pineapple.  Sex hurts, as does crawling around on all fours scrubbing floors, but boy have I gone for it.

I still feel really energetic & have been having a good balance of sleep, chill out time and active time.  Posey and I have been doing things like drawing, going to the park, all of her usual clubs & we've been having play dates.  I feel like I'm making the most of my time.  The baby's bedroom is completely ready and I have a freezer full of home cooked meals!  The house is spotless & organised and I guess I feel ready for Go Go Go!

As I'm now over 40 weeks & the baby is measuring over average size-wise my midwife is keen to help get things started.  With me being only 5'3" and petite delivering a big baby could be tricky so I had a membrane sweep yesterday.  My cervix was a little hard to reach at first but my midwife managed it and was able to complete the sweep, even feeling the baby's head! It was uncomfortable but not at all painful, so wasn't as bad as I'd read beforehand.  I bled a little bright red blood afterwards and had cramping, both of which are very normal.  The cramping stopped overnight and I slept really well though.

So today I'm playing the waiting game! I understand around 50% of sweeps result in labour starting within 48 hours so we will see which 50% I fall into.  If nothing has happened by Thursday I'll have another sweep that day.  If still nothing, a third sweep on Monday when I would be 41+1weeks!

I feel good though, I'm by no means uncomfy, struggling to sleep or achy.  I just feel normal but with a huge baby bump.  I can't imagine feeling fed up given how fortunate I am to be having baby number 2 after years of infertility.

Right, back to evicting baby now.  Hopefully I'll have news soon!
x

It's nearly POP time! Or is it...?

Well hello.  And here I am sitting at my breakfast bar with a nice cup of raspberry leaf tea (my third today so far) and a tub of chopped pineapple that my lovely Ocado driver delivered for me this morning.  Yep, I'm ready to have my baby!

Today I am 39+2 weeks pregnant.  4 weeks more pregnant than I ever was with Posey.  I honestly do feel great though.  I feel energetic, healthy, I'm eating well and I'm sleeping well.  I'm pretty fortunate.  My body is by no means too tired of being pregnant, I just really really want to meet my baby now.  Buzz & Posey do aswell.  We're all ready whenever she is ready to appear!

I started a bit of an eviction process on Saturday (it's Tuesday today) and have been drinking plenty of raspberry leaf tea since then plus lots of pineapple.  So far.....nothing!

I had my first acupuncture session today aswell.  I found it very relaxing.  My acupuncturist said my body had responded well.  If nothing happens for the remainder of this week I'll see her again on Saturday.  I also walked briskly there and back (only 10 mins either way) as I thought walking might stir my baby into action!

My baby has been fully engaged for around 2 months now and 'deeply engaged' (I'm not sure what the difference is) for a couple of weeks now so she's ready to go all right!

I'm really keen to deliver my baby over the next few days for a number of reasons:

1. With IVF / ICSI treatment your dates are so accurate so I know I will be exactly 40 weeks pregnant on Sunday.  Passing your due date increases the risks of having an assisted birth / c section / big baby.

2. At 37+3 weeks I had a little scan and the estimated weight for my baby that day was 7lb 1oz.  That was 2 weeks ago so today she could well weigh around 8lb.  If I go past my due date she could be close to 8 and a half pounds! That's a big baby for me to deliver given I usually weigh around 8 stone, I'm only 5ft 3 and Posey only weighed 5lb 1oz at birth.

3. My pelvic floor has not been particularly great since Posey was born (no running or jumping for me..) and of course Posey was very small at birth.  I do fear what delivering a big baby naturally could do to me.

4.  I really really want to go into hospital, have my baby and then be home within hours. Posey and I were in for 10 days after she was born and it was very tough.  I'm desperate for a better experience this time.  In order for this to hopefully happen, I'll need a straightforward, natural birth, hopefully on a birthing pool.  An assisted birth or c section could mean a longer stay and harder recovery.  It's almost impossible to actually have your 100% ideal birth scenario but I do have a clear idea about what I want this time and want to achieve as much of it as possible.

Something else I plan to throw into the eviction plan is reflexology.  My best friend's mum practises reflexology so come my due date on Sunday, if the baby isn't here, I shall go and see her!

All in all, things are good and I just really want to hold my baby now and bring her home x

10 days until my due date!

Hurray for having a baby!

As I type, I am just 10 days away from my due date.  What a lovely feeling! It'll only be a matter of days until I get to meet my second beautiful baby girl.

At 38+4 weeks today I am more than 3 weeks past the point at which Posey was born and I feel like the anxiety I felt over having another early baby & potentially spending time in SCBU / NICU has gone.  I feel pretty chilled, excited and pretty good.  I saw my community midwife this week and she said my baby is very, very engaged so she could literally arrive at any time.  I do feel like I'm carrying a basketball around now, as walking can be a little uncomfy.  I feel like I'm going to wet myself every time I walk somewhere! There's a serious amount of weight on my pelvic floor now so I'm hoping at some point soon the pressure will break my waters and then labour will swiftly follow! The ideal time for my baby to arrive is between now & 40 weeks really.  My dates are so accurate and I feel like going past 40wks would just increase the risk of me having a baby who's too big for me, and therefore may require an assisted birth, plus I'm aware the risk of stillbirth does increase marginally over 40wks aswell.

I had a little scan last week and I understand my baby already weighed around 7lb, so that will be more like 7 and a half pounds this week and 8lb by next week.  If I was to go over my dates by 12 days, which is the policy in Hertfordshire before induction, she could be close to 9lb! That's one big baby for me. I'm only 5ft 3 and the most I've ever weighed outside pregnancy is 8st.  On a curvy day I'm a size 8.  I want a straightforward water birth this time without the risk of requiring forceps, ventouse, epidural, c section etc.  You can never exclude anything happening, but I think you can plan your ideal birth and try and eliminate risks where possible.

I've learnt to nap on demand in recent weeks.  Posey has been a little tinker.  She's slept through the night for 12+ hours since she was 3 months old but has recently started waking around 5am, having only slept for 10 hours! She won't nap in the daytime now so somehow she 'so been managing on about 10 hours sleep! At 38+ weeks pregnant it's been a little hard as at times she 'so been grumpy and I've been tired but thankfully I've napped well while she's been at preschool and last night she slept until 6.15am, so I really hope we've had a breakthrough! @blissfulbabyexpert (Lisa) gave me some good advice around being firm, consistent & using a gro clock. I hope she'll be sleeping at least 7-7 again soon.

Everything for the baby is ready at home, Buzz is ready for some time off work and I'm looking forward to having the baby! Everything feels good :) x

36 weeks pregnant :)

Today I am 36 weeks pregnant! This is the most pregnant I have ever been now by a good few days and I am currently sitting in my kitchen at the breakfast bar wide awake at 4.42am.  Why?  Who knows! I think pregnancy insomnia can be very random & impossible to understand. It's just one of those things, but for me, undoubtedly prepares you for broken sleep in grey months ahead.

Posey is sleeping with the side off her cotbed, replaced with a bedrail, for the first time tonight, and that was very much on my mind last night & when I went to bed, so perhaps that's got my mind working overtime.  Needless to say she's still sleeping like an angel! Buzz and I wondered what would happen tomorrow morning & if she's just get herself out of bed & come into our room...we will see! The stair gates are shut so she can't wander up & downstairs!

Now that I've gone past the point at which posey was born, slightly after 35 weeks I'm wondering if I may be pregnant for a good few weeks yet & even go full term (or more...) what a feat that would be for me!  I have my heart set on a water birth now and hopefully being in & out of hospital quickly so I'm not away from home & Posey for long.  The anxiety I felt over potentially having another early birth had certainly lifted somewhat over the last few days :)

It had been so long since I packed my hospital bags that I replaced the baby's bag yesterday & swapped her blanket and sleep suits for done different ones.  Buzz and I have bought her so many lovely things and now I just look forward to the day she arrives & gets to wear them.  She will be beautiful.

How am I feeling?

Elated to give got this far!

A little tired some days.  Posey has been off preschool over Christmas and new year (which has been fantastic) but she starts again on Tuesday, so when I need to I will be able to nap during the day again.  She's like a little energy machine.  Up from 8am-6.30pm without hardly taking a breath!! I
think she probably has her fair share of terrible-twos moments but on the whole she's a very good girl.

Prepared! Our baby's nursery is literally ready to use! I feel a bit nervous about unpack again things like the steriliser, monitor, bugaboo, baby bjorn, bouncer etc at the moment but then we'll be able to do all that once we're home from hospital and the most important thing is that she arrives safe & well.

Buzz bought a flashy juicing machine last week and has been preparing all sorts of yummy, healthy juices.  They've really helped me feel energetic & good in the mornings after a night of broken sleep. Tomorrow he is planning to make carrot, orange & beetroot juice.  Yesterday we had apple, carrot & lemon juice.  Really really tasty :) it's a Sage juicer.  I believe John Lewis stock a good range of them and they're well worth a look.  Perhaps I'll do a pits pregnancy juice diet!

Over and out for now peeps.  Here's to lots more days of pregnancy :) x

The terrible twos & becoming a big sister

Most people that strike up a conversation with Posey at the moment hear "Sister coming soon.  Helping mummy look after baby" or "My toys are mine".  Bless Posey :) only time will tell whether she understands we're having a real baby who will need lots of care or whether she thinks it's a doll!

I've had loads of chats with Posey over the months about the baby arriving and how special it'll be, but that we'll have to work together to look after the baby by sharing toys, going out together, reading books together and all getting on well.  Posey may not have walked until she was 18mths old but boy can she talk!! I'm not a competitive mum by any stretch but I will say Posey's verbal communication is pretty impressive for a child not yet 2.5.  I think the fact she can express her thoughts, needs and requirements in words keeps many terrible twos moments at bay as for her, the frustration of not being understood isn't there.  What I will say though, is she gets Buzz and me to herself an awful lot of the time and that is all about to change, which does worry me!!!

We spend hours reading to her, building duplo towers, playing at the park / soft play, going to the farm etc etc.  Posey is our lives! We both feel we need to do the same things with her once the baby arrives and also both still spend plenty of time on our own with her too.  I've chosen to bottle feed the baby from birth as I think that will really help me be able to still do things with just Posey and me.  She says "I love mummy and Posey days" regularly.  I really do too! I will express like Daisy the cow to get as much of the good stuff I can for the new baby but I do believe formula milk is just as good plus Buzz and I can share the feeds / bonding sessions with the baby.  We both want Posey to feel secure and like her world has only got better, not that some of her favourite things have suddenly stopped.  Posey also refers to herself as "Mummy's helper" often too, so we will encourage her to help us by doing things like sitting next to us when feeding the baby and showing the baby pictures in books, choosing outfits for the baby, passing us nappies at change time, singing to the baby and, as she puts it "looking after the baby in the car."  Hopefully we can keep any terrible twos behaviour to a minimum.  One thing is for certain...I daren't give the baby any hand me downs...everything is "Posey's!!!!!!!".  I think you have to puck your battles as a parent, and that is not one I will choose....

x

Few pregnancy aches & pains for me + Nexcare review

I have friends who (I'll say this as constructively as possible) have moaned from start to finish during their pregnancies.  Although pregnancy is not an illness, far from it - for me it really is a blessing & I feel incredibly fortunate to be about to have my second baby.  Pregnancy related ailments can make you feel a little off colour from time to time.  I think I've gotten off pretty lightly both times as I've never had sickness, stretch marks, SPD, oily hair, skin breakouts or swelling in my hands & feet.  I have found ways to ease the aches I have had and so far am still as active as ever & really enjoying my pregnancy.  Here's a few things that have affected me and how I've overcome them:

1. First & third trimester tiredness.
It really does just hit you! Feeling tired isn't great, especially not if you're working or have other children (or both..). There's so much going on in your body during pregnancy that it's hard to sleep sometimes at night and then nap during the day as you can always rely on car horns, couriers, barking dogs & other people to disturb you!  A mix of Spa Tone iron supplements, vitamin c through freshly squeezed orange (followed by gaviscon to reduce the heartburn risk) and a nice Jo Malone candle has worked wonders to help me sleep.  My dream genii pillow has helped me stay comfortable and a mug of hot milk before bed really relaxes me.

2. Crampy legs - ouch!!! Pregnancy yoga taught me to circle my ankles on awaking in the night and keep my legs moving through the day (easy with a 2 year old!).  Thankfully my legs aren't too crampy now and I know what to do when they are.

3. Lower back ache - I have only had a little of this fortunately and it's been very connected to particular activities, eg. Leaning into my rabbit hutches to clean them, crawling around soft play with Posey, not bending my knees properly when lifting things.  Nexcare kindly sent me a Maternity Support to try and I love it.  I feel supported! It makes my bump feel comfortable and secure.

The maternity support is just 1 product from Nexcare's range of antenatal & postnatal products, retailing for around £38 in Mothercare and Baby specialist stores.  You can't tell I'm wearing it and it doesn't dig in or scratch my skin.  I will most definitely wear it for my remaining weeks of pregnancy.

4. Emotions! Oh boy, I have a fair few days when I could just cry! I have no other explanation for this other than there are so many hormones flying around my body just now that sometimes they take over! My solution? Meet a friend for a play date, take Posey to the farm (she loves animals), get a nice hot drink and magazine, retail therapy or get my nails manicured! Simple things....

Here's to a healthy, ache-free last few weeks of pregnancy :)x

34 weeks pregnant!

Wow! So today I am 34 weeks pregnant! I can't quite believe how close the big day is getting but I sure am feeling pretty excited, and I do feel ready.  I think posey is excited but Buzz isn't quite ready...it will be a bolt out of the blue when things start to happen.  A lot of dads I know have been like this - they shut it out until they need to spring into action.  Not like us mums to be - we must be mentally & physically prepared!!

Today Buzz has taken Posey to the park & soft play.  He's had plenty of work functions and long days in the run up to Christmas so Posey and I have had lots of time with just the two of us.  Lovely of course, but pretty full on as she's now dropped her daytime nap and with my huge bump soft play isn't really for me just now!!

I saw my midwife last week & all seems well with the baby, thankfully.  She believes the baby is engaged though, so could arrive very soon or could stay put for a while yet.  Having had steroid injections at 30wks to help mature the baby's lungs, I feel ok about an early arrival as the neonatal-stay risk will be a little lower.  I gave my heart set on being in and out of hospital pretty quickly this time so things aren't too unsettled for Posey.

I feel good.  Between loo breaks, drinks, snacks, achy legs, baby kicking at night etc I squeeze in 7-8hrs of sleep each night, which is pretty amazing! I'm really on top of things at home & I've handed over my businesses it staff now so I'm getting plenty of chill out time.

My midwife dates calculated that Posey was born at 35+5 weeks but my IVF dates were 35+1 weeks.  Based on those latter dates if this one is as impatient as Posey I could be giving birth in 8 days time - what a happy new year that would be!!! Babies really do work to their own agenda.  I'm ready whenever she's ready to pop out.

x