My Pumpkin in Winter Wonderland

A message for our little lady who is still safe and sound within me:

My mom sometimes calls me Pumpkin
Now I have one of my own - you
Defining my contour
In the essence of my heart
At the forefront of my mind


I'm ready to meet you
At least as ready as I'll ever be
I'm rushing like a river with anticipation
Then settling like the snowflakes with disbelief
I'm in my own Winter Wonderland


Where my hands often tingle
Not from the cold
Where patience is a virtue
And suspense is grudgingly a friend
The best relationships often take time to take shape


So Chris and I went walking
Treated ourselves to some cake
Took care to stay steady
Amidst the emotional, icy plain
Of our Winter Wonderland

Rear Views can be Deceiving

In tribute to Baby of Dirty Dancing, “I am now carrying a watermelon.” Yes I am.

Yesterday the midwife said the not-so-little melon appears to be dropping in my pelvis but probably has more progress to make from the position of her heartbeat. She told me all looked well and to go away and chill out. I’m trying.

Since gravity is my friend and I’m trying to stay as active as possible, I took advantage of today’s bright sunny morning to do my power walk around the neighbourhood. The cool air felt refreshing, helped clear my head and gave me an extra spring in my step.

Then, to top off my “see-saw up” mood came a cat call and honk from....can you guess...no other than a young guy in white van! I was pleased for such attention with a tiny bump at 17 weeks pregnant so you can imagine my delight at this late-pregnancy honk. I’m not sure whether I took more pleasure in the compliment on my rear view or the look that must have crossed that dude’s face when he kept driving and caught a glimpse my watermelon! I bet that was priceless.

Is it sad that I am excited to still be deemed worthy of cat calls by men in white vans? Probably, but I’ll take what I can get now. Chris says I’m still attractive but he’s my husband and that’s his job :)

Christmas Lights, Christmas Lights

Merry Christmas to all plus a day – Happy Boxing Day to those in the UK!

My sister and I always loved spotting all the Christmas lights decorating houses through December. During car trips, we’d turn eagle eyes out our respective windows and shout “Christmas lights, Christmas lights” every time we saw a display.

It’s a shame my attention to lights has diminished with my years....while I still love my Christmas lights, now I struggle to notice things like my car headlights, which I left on during a rainy December 23, draining our car battery and leaving us with a dead car on Christmas Eve – not good news when we were due to drive to the South of England for festivities with Chris’ family. Can I blame poor careless observation on the pregnancy hormones?

Our jump leads were locked in our trunk, which won’t unlock since it’s linked to the car electrical system. With a rising irrational hysteria in my gut, I called Chris at work and left a message for him to call me back urgently. He did, thinking I was in labor. I realized I need to be more careful about the type of messages I leave. He suggested I ask around for jump leads before we called our breakdown service.

So I pulled myself together, wiped my tear stained face and took to our streets in search of a motorist who might have jump leads. Where we live we have on-street parking and our car was parked halfway around the block from our house. I made a few sheepish approaches to people leaving our local shop and/or getting into their parked cars with no joy. I finally knocked on the house in front of my car where I was saved by a kind man with three young children! In little time he had his car connected to ours and soon I had a charged battery and drivable car. He and his wife were extremely friendly and kind; in an area where many of our neighbours look the other direction when we try to say hello, this was a real treat. They exemplified the giving spirit of Christmas. I need to write them a thank you note.

We made it to Dorset for a chilled, family Christmas full of festivity, food, fun and games. Bump has been treated to numerous sweet treats and I feel relaxed. I needed that after the emotional headlight fiasco. In fact, I think this past week I’ve been set off by lots of random little things: a touching TV show, random apprehension as to how I’ll handle parenthood, when I dropped my Christmas mug on the floor and it shattered. I tell myself I’m not cracking up and it’s just that her due date is around the corner and it's normal for me to be a little bit of a hormonal headcase. Right?

But a change of scene and change of pace has proved invigorating, for now I sit, calm, cool and collected. On Christmas I hit the 38 week mark and the little lady should now clock in at about 19.5 inches, the length of a leek, and 7 pounds. After all I’ve been eating, maybe she’s a bit heavier....whoops! She’s been very active and feels like she’s dropping in my pelvis. The whole region feels a bit tender. Good signs.

All we really want this Christmas, this New Year, is our baby, healthy and happy. I’ll keep you posted – not long to go now. For the moment, I’m sitting back and enjoying the bright and brilliant Christmas lights.

Birth Plan, Check! Supple Perineum, Eeek!

My birth plan is complete! In homage to my love of lists, it’s in bullet point fashion and conveys my preferences for labor and birth while miraculously staying short and sweet. Not that I’m ever prone to loquaciousness – ha! I’m pleased it’s now sorted and not hanging over my head and tempting my tendency for doing things at the last minute. Now we’ll just need to see how this “plan” plays out in reality.

Never one to chill out entirely, I’m on to my next “to do” for this stage of late pregnancy: perineal massage. If you’re unfamiliar with the perineum, Wordnetweb defines it as “the general region between the anus and the genital organs,” i.e. the sensitive zone that bears the brunt of delivery and is prone to tearing as baby makes her entrance into the world.

Ever wondered how babies will fit out of THERE? We know they do, but they often leave their mark on the region via an episiotomy (medical cut) or natural tear to the perineum, particularly common in first timers.

Think of you perineum as a piece of tight elastic that gradually needs to stretch to accommodate a baby’s head....or perhaps as a piece of pastry that needs to be moulded and “softened” so it has give over a larger surface area. Yup, that’s what I need to do to increase the elasticity of my trusty perineum. 

BabyWorld gives an easy to follow overview and how to on perineal massage. In brief, dress clean fingers with some natural oil, slide them 2-3cm into your lower vagina and stretch/massage downwards and outwards.  It’s suggested that you start around 36 weeks pregnant and that the practice will familiarize you with the pressure, stretching and burning sensations that you may experience during birth, making you more relaxed in the moment. Perineal massage stimulates blood flow to the region, increasing its elasticity and speeding the post birth healing process.

The manoeuvre does not look sexy or feel comfortable and that’s before I consider that I’m navigating around a bump as lofty as a stalk of Swiss chard that weighs about 6 1/3 pounds.  And my arms are short!

In the end, all my efforts may be in vain. It’s not proven that perineal massage will prevent tearing. But you know what? I’ve heard tales aplenty of the crowning “ring of fire” and tears of various degrees and if I can learn to work with the burn and lessen my chances of tearing or needing an episiotomy, I’m up for some non-graceful dabbles with olive oil in my nether regions.

For those interested in water birth, check out this ultimate water birth.

Tic Toc, Power Kicks & Bump2Bump

At 36 weeks pregnant, impending mommy-hood is affecting me in many ways. At the end of last week I found myself prune faced with disturbance on the gym cross trainer. The source of my distaste: Kesha’s Tic Toc video, a catchy upbeat, good for a gym workout tune that happens to feature a teenage girl dressed coquettishly, gyrating for boys and singing lyrics like “Tic toc, make it pop, DJ blow my speakers up” and “Boys trying to touch my junk.” 

Eeek – is this what could become of our daughter if we’re not too careful? I mean kids today….everything seems to start so early…. Wait a minute. I’m sounding very parent-like all of a sudden.  I generally think of myself as pretty youthful and open-minded. I’d still maintain that I am, but with a newfound protectiveness for pretty young teens and the ill-advised signals they are likely to give off if they’re not mindful. But now I’m really getting ahead of myself.

We had a fantastic weekend with JBT & LEH full of good chat, gaming and country walks. It’s probably the last time we’ll host friends for the weekend before our little lady makes her debut and I really enjoyed it. LEH are also expecting their first in March so I’ve featured a pic here of some of LH and my bump 2 bump action! It’s nice to be taking this pregnancy trip together.


Babycenter updates me that baby is now about the weight of a Crenshaw melon. She feels that way. She is strong. Some of her kicks this weekend were so strong that they sent my hand flying off my belly. It’s really cool to feel her moving with increased power, though it can be uncomfortable at times. Maybe this is a sign we have a sporty girl in the making. Chris will be so pleased.

Apparently she should now be in the process of shedding her launugo (body hair) and vernix (waxy substance) that have been keeping her toasty and warm in the womb. I knew this was on the cards; what I didn’t realize is that babies actually swallow these substances and they are what partially forms their meconium, or first bowl movement…tasty.

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

"Honey, do you know why I have to flip onto all fours to roll over in bed...?"

Because I have a baby the weight of a honeydew inside my uterus, which is pressing up under my ribs and weighing me down! I'm all for the all fours position when it comes to shifting from side to side in bed.

So I'm 35 weeks pregnant.......5, 4, 3, 2, 1 week to go! I spoke last week about the final countdown being imminent. I feel that countdown has arrived.

I still feel pretty good but look like a house. I'm not overly pleased with this photo but Chris will go nuts if I keep asking him to "take the perfect shot" of me....these days, there IS NO perfect shot :)

Teresa Strasser's I Said a of Things post is fantastic.....although she swore she would be a vain, primped and put together mama who didn't resort to conversations on baby poop, her little boy is now 10 weeks old and she often finds herself milk stained, un-showered and craving motherhood banter and gems of advice. I think her wakeup call is insightful.

Chris and I often discuss how we want to integrate our little lady into OUR lives. We know "she will change our lives" and "things will never be the same;" unlike Teresa, I'm certain conversations about bedtime routines and poop and Baby Sensory will soon be our reality and that in the beginning, our routines and cleanliness will probably be uprooted. Yet, simultaneously, we also want to get out of the house on walks with our little girl; we want to drink fine wine with friends and talk about Obama, the Tiger Woods scandal, the World Cup.... We can't wait to be parents and we are committed to being fine ones, but we want to make time for ourselves, each other and our interests as well as baby focused chat. We're not totally sure how this approach will play out in reality, but we hope to lay the ground for this new life balance from the start of our parenting lives....

On that note, I'm in the process of building a new website, which will soon host this blog along with some of my other parenting writing projects and featured articles from other pregnant and mum writers! This site will also embody Chris and my ethos of embracing parenthood and simultaneously keeping our own identities. Watch this space for when it goes live!

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

Baby Bargains on Black Friday

Fellow Americans know the sales/magic/madness of "Black Friday," aka the Friday after American Thanksgiving and purported busiest shopping day of the year in the USA.

Though I did host a Thanksgiving meal to an international group of six (3 Americans, 2 Brits, 1 French) yesterday, I didn't partake in the post turkey (or in our case chicken - there were no fresh turkeys in the supermarket when I went shopping on Wednesday!) retail fest. After all of yesterday's cooking and subsequent ingesting, I didn't have the strength! In fact, I felt a little ill after dinner but that's what you get when you eat "turkey," mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, string beans, Bisquick biscuits, stuffing, cranberry sauce, spinach with bacon, pumpkin pie and apple pie all in one sitting with the baby the size of a cantaloupe squishing your stomach and intestines into a cramped ball! But I digress....

Today I'm 34 weeks pregnant; I feel like I'm in the final countdown and that birth is on the horizon. With this reality dawning, Chris and I have been taking stock of the baby essentials that we need for when she arrives. So although there was no shopping spree for me today, the last couple of weeks have involved a flurry of buying baby items.

This buying has set my money saving instincts into motion and in honor of Black Friday bargain shopping I'd like to share them with you (these are UK specific savings but maybe the US has similar schemes....if anyone knows of any, please share!)

• I have a Coupon Folder Thing! Call me Martha Stewart, or foolish for not doing this sooner, but I now have a little coupon case where I'm saving all baby/food/gas coupons that I receive/find and think we may use. There are tons of good offers out there if you are willing to look for them and remember to slip your coupon case into your bag before you head out to the stores!

• I joined Sainsburys Little Ones Baby and Toddler Club. This at the suggestion of Chris' mum and LH. I wish I'd done this sooner! You get a free welcome pack from Sainsburys and a "Huggies Mum and Baby Bundle" worth £9.99, more coupons and a quarterly magazine. I'm a Sainsburys girl but other supermarkets like Tesco also have these baby clubs - if the offers are out there, join, join join!

• I claimed my Mum-to-Be Essentials Bounty Pack. Here in the UK you get a free Pregnancy Information Pack compliments of Bounty when you "book in" as pregnant with your NHS hospital/surgery. In this pack is a week by week "Your Pregnancy" guide, which includes a coupon for the Mum-to-Be Essential pack that you can collect from select local retailers when you are 3 months + pregnant. My guide didn't have this voucher but if you join Bounty for free online you can call and request that a Mum-to-Be pack voucher be emailed or posted to you - I only just did this!

• I shopped online via Kidstart. Join Kidstart for free and you can earn back a percentage of your purchases by shopping at a wide variety of retailers online. This cash back goes into a KiddyBank for your child, which you can then transfer into an external savings account. Why not do some Christmas shopping online and earn cash back for your kid in the process?

I'm a Coupon Queen in the making, determined to keep baby expenses at bay. Yes, I'll buy new things, nice things and not always the cheapest things. But I'll mix this with my ebay and second hand buying/borrowing and money saving schemes in an effort not to break our bank!

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

Pineapple Anyone?!

Oh wait, sorry, you can't have any pineapple because it's in my belly or rather, my uterus.  That's right folks, this week our hefty little one should be weighing in at just over 4 lbs and is about the size of a pineapple.  My spirits raised that my 33 week fruit comparison is one that I enjoy so much; then they dipped a bit when I started picturing myself birthing something the size of a pineapple - and I still have 7 weeks to go if I'm on time!

Here's my 33 week photo - as you can see, bump is blooming more than ever.  I'm experiencing a lot of movement right below breast level.  These must be kicks since she is now in a cephalic, or head down, position according to my midwife at my appointment this afternoon.  This is the preferred position for birth so let's hope that she chills out and stays that way so she can engage in my pelvis with greater ease over the coming weeks.  Fortunately the more she fattens out, the harder it will be for her to shift.

I witnessed an example of how this "pelvic engagement" works at my first NCT ante-natal class this morning a la doll in sample pelvis so this is fresh in my mind as I write.  There are six other girls in my class and I can tell already that I'm going to enjoy them - even though I knew I was not the only one with a million questions, it is comforting, fun and supportive to chat with others at a similar stage of pregnancy in our area.  This morning was women only session and everyone was lovely; next week we have our second meeting and the guys come on board!  Classes like this and more intimate/grim pregnancy chat come a bit more naturally to women in my opinion so it will be interesting to see how all the men fare!  Hopefully Chris will not have the urge to laugh like he did at our home birth talk.

My missions for progress this coming week - start to wash her clothes in non-biological powder for sensitive baby skin (I only just learned that you are not supposed to use biological powder to start with) and pack them away in our newly acquired baby drawer unit and secondly to stop bumping into things.  I'm used to be able to squeeze through tight spaces and I just can't do it anymore without jostling someone or something with my bump!

Here's the Rub....

I'm 32 weeks pregnant! Wow - only two months to go now (hopefully, provided that she is not running late....). Though I've been charting each week of this journey the imminence of birth hit me today like a brick wall. That sounds bad, but I don't mean it in a negative way. While in the shower I was suddenly enraptured by my swelling tummy and the little person that it holds....a little scared that I still feel I have so much to learn and discover, much of which I probably can't plan for, planner that I am....shocked that it's really truly soon to be three of us day in day out. I can't wait, I am ready and I'm sure Chris and I will be fine. But in this moment the mix of emotions was a bit overwhelming....I lathered my belly and took a deep breath.

My brick wall moment may have spurred me to start reading my Secrets of the Baby Whisperer book by Tracy Hogg. I've heard she is structured and loving but less hard core than Gina Ford who many new parents swear by for routine making. I've only read the first chapter, but her tone and style are conversational and easy to relate to. More on that once I've read more.

I've also started wondering a bit more on random parenting logistics like when babies can sleep through the night without a feed every 2-4 hours and the best way to clean up messy poop - muslin in warm water, cotton wool...and if so which type of cotton wool? (No, I haven't totally lost it!)  I think I'm going to avoid wipes for cost saving and baby skin sensitivity issues but I really don't know what is best.... Like I've said before I'm sure we'll pave our way and find routines and practices that work for us, however, in the absence of really knowing what's best, I'm very open to ideas from experienced moms. Then at least I'll have some starting points to consider and pick and choose from. My wonderings may seem small and ridiculous (they do to me at least) but put them all together and they can be a bit overwhelming too.  Chris says I need to chill and just take things one step at a time.  I know it - sometimes I just get on a roll - I'll blame those raging hormones!

Our lady is now the size of a jicama and is moving around constantly in my belly. She may have less room to stretch out but boy can she wriggle - particularly at night! I just read on Babycenter that it's theorized babies have more control over their movement when their mom's are still at night, thus they take advantage of it! This is no proven theory but I found the reasoning interesting so thought I'd share.

Last but not least, my other odd pregnancy "rub" of the week. Yesterday the crease where my bump meets pelvic area kept really itching. I haven't had issues with itching or dryness but hey, new week, new little ailment. I think the problem may have been exacerbated by my jeans, which hitched to that area via my bump band and subsequently caused my underwear to dig into the crease! Why wear the jeans you ask? Maybe I should have changed but I didn't feel like it....anyway, I found that rubbing a little bit of Vaseline in the crease soothed the itch and kept any irritation at bay. A little tip to try if you're ever caught out with the "bump crease rub!"

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

The Pain in My Ass

Today I encountered a real pain in my ass - literally, that's what it was.....a pain, or pressure, in my rectal area. I've had this happen sporadically throughout my pregnancy but today this little niggle decided to stick around from first thing in the morning to sometime in the middle of the afternoon. I wasn't constipated. I don't have any haemorrhoids....I checked. More uncomfortable than hurt, my butt felt like a cranked up pressure cooker, a little achy, almost sore? In past this feeling has radiated into my upper thighs but it preferred to stay nice and concentrated in my butt today.

My 31 week pregnancy newsletter had a link to signs of pre-term labor, one of which is increased pressure in the pelvic area. Red alert! Does rectal area equal pelvic area?....my gut feeling after an initial stomach lurch was no. I wasn't experiencing any other signs of pre-term labor so I then felt less concerned and more stymied....had our baby has found a pillow in my rectal passage? Did I sleep in some funny position? I've also read that first babies can engage or drop in the pelvis from 33/34 weeks but I'm not there yet and have had this feeling before only to have it fade as it did today, which does not suggest engagement. I considered whether I was again going nuts, but fellow mama-to-be LH reassured me that she has also experienced this tender/tight ass sensation since becoming pregnant. The old adage that misery, or in this case wacked out pregnancy symptom, loves company proved true. Ahhh, what will tomorrow bring?

I've included a couple of 31 week photos. Please excuse the lines on my bare belly shot; this is a pitfall of bump jeans with tight elastic at the top! Also direct your attention away from my little hooded bellybutton - not popped, but not pretty!!

This week baby is weighing in around the size/shape of four navel oranges. She can turn her head from side to side and dream! I found some maternity pads at Mothercare (they do a handy 48 pads for the week after birth pack & disposable undies for pretty cheap) and Chris and I started shifting some things in what will be baby's room.....it currently looks like a tornado hit it, but when that blows through there will be progress.

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

Up to My Eyes in Hormones

Rightly or wrongly, women are often accused of being overly hormonal, particularly at that certain time of the month.  I don't think that I usually suffer from any serious PMS symptoms but now that I'm pregnant, I'm constantly reminded that the influx of hormones raging through my body may turn me into a weeping, wacky wild woman or a clumsy oaf with heartburn, stretch marks and varicose veins.

Please join me in knocking HARD on wood that I haven't yet fallen victim to these unfortunate "badges of pregnancy" aside from my dear, occasional moments of madness.  Saying that, last weekend my right eye was really bothering me.  It wasn't red, swollen, bloodshot or giving me double vision but just prone to random bouts of sensitivity where it would suddenly burn and then spontaneously start to tear.  I didn't know what the deal was and ironically didn't even consider that this new ailment could be linked to those fateful pregnancy hormones until I stumbled upon dry eye syndrome in my pregnancy newsletter.  My sporadic tearing had ceased by then - it stopped as suddenly as it started - but it looks like those pregnancy hormones were yet again making themselves known.

I'm now 30 weeks pregnant and our daughter is the size of a cabbage, weighing in at about 3 pounds!  It's hard for me to imagine that I now have a real, nearly developed baby in my belly and that in about 10 weeks she'll arrive here with us.  This may be what we've been working towards and waiting for but it's still mind boggling all the same.  Chris and I still have plenty prepare and take on board during this home stretch but ultimately we are ready and know the real learning will begin when she is here with us.  I'm excited!

Our great friends T&D just spent the weekend with us and it's been a fabulous, relaxed couple of days.  I will share 30 week pictures tomorrow.

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

29th Week Updates

One of my earlier postings on ebay shopping was just published yesterday on The Green Baby Guide!  It's a great site for discovering more about green pregnancy and parenting practices so do check it out after taking a peek at my article.

Yesterday I hit the 29 week mark; here's a snapshot of some developments:

Baby is now the size of a butternut squash - I am starting to wonder where these increasingly larger fruits/veg are going to fit inside my midsection!  My preg updates remind me to keep up with the healthy eating regime (was there ever a break from that?!) to fuel the rapid brain development of my girl, and her little bones now need lots of calcium since they are hardening!

I "officially" booked a home birth at my midwife appointment yesterday.  It didn't involve anything technical but it's now down in my "sacred" maternity notes, official notice that we plan to proceed in that direction!  I'm feeling very positive - slightly daunted - but overall pleased.  I know attempting a home birth doesn't necessarily mean we will have a home birth, but I hope we can.  I've done my research and feel as prepared as I can for someone that hasn't given birth already!

Traveled, Troubled but Triumphant!!

Sorry for my silence – I fell off the blogging bandwagon a bit while in New York.

Last time I wrote I was fighting a nasty cold and sore throat. Following that posting I started to feel a lot better, though I did and still continue to battle with a scratchy almost laryngitis-like voice. It’s been far from the end of the world, but still extremely frustrating for me not to be able to talk freely, particularly when with family and friends that I don’t see all that often.

But anyway – the rest of my week was fantastic but flew by, as usual, too fast. I ventured out of the house for the first time on Wednesday for some retail therapy with mom for baby and me. Chris flew into NY on Thursday, and we got to spend some quality down time with my parents and sister. My friends from school and I had our traditional pre-wedding girls night out and then came the K&S’s rehearsal dinner and wedding! Everything came off really well and I even managed to eek out my wedding toast to K&S with the help of a powerful mic and large glass of water. I was also proud to dance the night away and make it through the whole reception in my 3-4 inch heels! After a week of much R&R, I really wanted to let loose though I was mindful not to talk too much or to overdo it as regularly reminded by my mom and Chris. Then, on the day we flew back to London, my friends surprised me with a baby shower lunch – thanks ladies, it was amazing!!

I’m sharing some 28 week pictures from the wedding and baby shower since I never quite got it together and posted a 27 week pic. Our little lady is now the size of a Chinese cabbage – a cabbage with little baby eyelashes - and I’ve read that I can expect to grow about a pound/week from forward as she fattens up and fills out before she makes her January appearance.

My bump isn’t feeling too burdensome but just prominent and I’m getting kicked and walloped left, right and center. In many ways this is really exciting and a huge relief, but at times while I’ve been feeling less than 100% and post plane when I felt exhausted, I wished she would chill out a little and take a nap. Then again, if she takes after me sleep will not be her forte! Still, the prospect of carrying another pound/week is a little daunting. Today I told Chris I felt like I had a snake in my stomach and he said I shouldn’t refer to our daughter as snake!

My cold and husky voice run have given me renewed appreciation that I’ve had a relatively issue free pregnancy thus far. In the wake of my postings about Blooming Fit and staying active, it’s also made me realize that I need to slow down and chill out a little if I’m not feeling up to scratch. It seems logical but my pregnant mind and active persona don’t always “do” logic. Sometimes I need these reality checks.

Truth be told, I felt nervous getting back on another “germ infested” plane to London after feeling ill post plane journey to NY, but I didn’t have a choice. Aside from feeling pretty warm throughout the flight, I fortunately made it through this journey feeling no worse for wear. I followed the same tips I received on the trip to the US, sans wearing the flight socks which I’d found really hot and uncomfortable on the trip out. I also drank two rounds of hot water, one with lemon. Aside from being soothing, hot drinks also apparently are medicinal in that they “sterilize” your throat and wash germs down into your stomach where they can’t survive – my mom read me a really useful article on this so I wanted to share the tip in case you or anyone you know is flying in the midst of winter flu season – mom, if you read this, can you post that article link as a comment please?

So last trimester – here I am! Bump is blooming, labor is looming and parenthood is less than 3 months around the corner – eek! As alluded to, I’ve been so tuned into pregnancy that I haven’t given great thought to how I’m going to morph from pregnant girl to mom pretty much overnight.

There is a lot to learn and there are a lot of opinions. For example, I arrived back to read this Times article on cot death being a risk by parents that co-sleep with their infants. Now I’d never imagine going to bed drunk with my baby but what if you’re breastfeeding and doze off together?…..and what about all the babies that die of cot death from being in their actual cots?…..and are blankets and sheets really a no go and baby sleeping bags the safer option or is it worth having both?!

I think I better stop this stream of consciousness before this posting gets any longer or I overwhelm myself. I just want to be a safe parent and I want to informed but I don’t want to be a pawn to scare stories….

Ultimately, I’m all about knowledge being power and I want to make educated decisions. Still, I suspect a lot parenting know-how is going to come through actual experience, exchanging wisdoms with fellow parents, trial and error, informed judgement calls and fingers crossed, ahem ahem, Chris and my natural instinct….!

Now, goodnight!

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

Flight of Fancy turned Plane of Pestilence

I'm in New York! I flew in yesterday evening, ripe with anticipation for an exciting week ahead of down time, meeting up with family and friends and celebrating K&S's wedding next Saturday. This will be my last trip abroad during this pregnancy since I'm now at 27 weeks with baby almost 2 pounds, the size of a cauliflower!

I flew to the US at the end of my first trimester and more recently took a short haul flight to Prague. I didn't give flying a second thought for either trip, jet setter that I am - I've done the New York to London trip so many times now that it's my equivalent of jumping in our car and driving to Cornwall, just a lot more expensive.

This time, however, was a bit different. I'm conscious that I'm just entering my third trimester and I have a healthy bump in tow. Where I didn't previously consider the circulatory or respiratory "risks" of flying, at 27 weeks in the midst of the flu season and swine flu scare stories, I gave both more thought. When I obtained my doctor's note authorizing me to fly, I asked her advice for staying healthy during a long haul flight. Her general advice wasn't anything too revolutionary:

• Drinks lots of water and stay hydrated; limit caffeine and stay away from alcohol (like you weren't already!)
• Walk around when you can; circle your legs in place while sitting to increase circulation
• Wear support socks or tights to minimize risks of varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis
• Stay healthy in the run up to the trip - eat right, exercise, i.e. bolster immune system to the extent that you can when it's already not working at optimum

I probably do all of the above anyway as a matter of course, aside from the support socks since I don't suffer from any vein or clotting issues.  In the end, however, I bought a pair of sexy black knee high compression socks from Boots, which were really tight and made my legs feel hot throughout the flight but were a small price to pay for peace of mind and safety.

So I was ready and this was, after all, another routine journey for me.  So what's the rub?

On the day that I flew, I woke up with the early stages of a sore throat and stuffy nose.  "Why now," I asked the heavens?!  I've thus far been able to ward off all the London nasties I'm certain to have encountered during my daily commute and in my office where there have been several cases of swine flu.  Yet the prospect of being cooped up in a plane cabin with stale air and poor ventilation for 7 hours when I wasn't feeling bad but not 100% either made me a little nervous.

So I flew, dressed in comfy sweats, armed with tissues, pregnancy friendly throat drops, chapstick, lotion and anti-bacterial hand gel purchased once I cleared security.  The flight was 8 hours due to uncooperative wind streams and despite all my efforts to stay hydrated and moisturized, I got off the plane feeling like a dried apricot and sounding like a sultry temptress with a voice 3 tones lower than my norm.....or maybe I just sounded like I'd been smoking a couple of packs or like sandpaper scraping against a wall, you get the picture....

So I'm in New York - and I'm thrilled to be here, but I have a cold.  Not a fever, which I'm wishing my lucky stars I don't develop (particularly as this is when cold and sore throat start to sound more like flu) but with a stinking head cold and more annoyingly, a sore throat that burns when I swallow.  Sigh.  Particularly over the next couple of days I have things to do and people to see and I don't want a cold cramping my style but it looks like I may need to be taking it a easier to start off with then planned......I'll keep you posted....

Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

It's PummelTime!

In the late 1980s we had HammerTime and now at 26.5 weeks pregnant, I have PummelTime, which is pretty much like being hammered from within by baby arms and feet.

What to Expect When You're Expecting informs me that fetal movement peaks between 24-28 weeks when the baby is still small enough for acrobatics and kickboxing but big enough to really pack some punch!  This advice is proving true in my case; over the last week I've felt more fetal movement than probably all the previous weeks of my pregnancy put together.

This week baby is the size of and English ""hothouse" cucumber....I didn't know a cuke could be described as such but our little lady is certainly her own little hothouse of activity.  I love feeling her squirm and knowing that she's well and kicking in there, though at times the movement can be slightly uncomfortable if she's in a particular position.

This morning I got a strange, consistent pressurized feeling on the front of my bump....it lasted for about 20 minutes and wasn't really painful but more of a long, dull ache so it couldn't have been a Braxton Hicks contraction (sporadic uterine contractions that are inconsistent in nature and normal as pregnancy progresses).  It slightly worried me at first - my over active imagination questioned whether she was caught up in the umbilical cord and pressing on me as a result - but then the ache faded, as did my concern when I could feel her squirming around again.

Since this is my first time pregnant, I'm definitely sensitive to each new twist and turn, though Chris reminds me it's important to monitor what feels out of the ordinary but not freak myself out.  Maybe what I felt was just ligament stretching.....maybe she was using my front as a footrest....?  If anyone can shed any light on this, please do!

Bump Blunders at 25.5 Weeks

Ahhh, the issues that ensue when you're carrying a 1.5 pound rutabaga in your uterus (left), which by the way, is now the size of an average football.  Bump is blooming and subsequently:

• Causing me to break a country gate due to my increased weight
• Serving as a table and crumb catcher whenever I eat
• Stopping me from tucking up close to my desk at work
• Soaking up spill-over water from the sink when I do the dishes (be warned: don't use bleach near the bump or you might lean up against the counter and get a not so cool tie-dyed pattern on one of your favorite shirts!)
• Attracting attention and "she's pregnant" stares from randoms on the street who wouldn't have noticed me previously (aside from any fellow commuters on the train - they NEVER notice even when I'm standing with bump at their eye level)
• Filling out my longer, "regular" clothes making me think some longer tops or maternity shirts are of the essence!

Ah the joys.  And no, I didn't actually break that country gate - it had a great contraption that allowed it to depress for passers-by to cross over. We couldn't resist taking a "Tanya broke the gate shot," though as you can see from this picture, I didn't really break it, I promise!

It was a beautiful weekend and Chris and I did some "trusting" via the National Trust, an organisation that restores and maintains a number of historic houses, castles, gardens and parks across the country.  I'd estimate that the majority of members are 40 plus, but I think people our age are missing a trip by not visiting these great sites.   There's nothing more I like after a busy week in London than busting into the countryside for a long walk or NT visit. We're already sharing the experience with baby in utero in preparation for the explorations she has to come!

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

Blame My Sweet Tooth on the Little Lady

My previous post, When "Cheers" Become Fears - Alcohol in Pregnancy is being featured in Blog Nosh Magazine tomorrow! View it on the Blog Nosh's birth and adoption channel. Also, if you are a faithful reader but not yet a follower of this blog, please sign up via the link on my sidebar!

I'm now at 24.5 weeks and my baby is the size of an ear of corn. Picture that ear of corn inside my burgeoning belly! Also bear in mind that this picture was taken tonight, post work out at the gym and dinner so it's not the most complimentary shot - I said I look like a worn out whale and Chris says that I look pregnant! Ahhh, but it's late and I'm tired.

Where it really felt like my bump blossomed over the last few weeks it doesn't feel too different from last week to this week. Baby is now almost foot long and just over a pound - she's a pretty skinny little thing but she's soon to flesh out, and this week her brain, lungs and taste buds are developing! Apparently her sweet taste development can bring on sweet cravings - so when I say that "the baby needs this ice cream," she really does! Somehow I'm not sure I can justify my longstanding sweet tooth and tendency toward haribo, hot cross buns and ice cream on my daughter to be's developing taste buds but what a great excuse!

This weekend I took her to her first cricket match where Chris bowled well and took one wicket. Chris is a cricket fiend though this is the first season since I've lived in the UK that he has not played cricket for most Saturdays of the May-September period (yeeha!....did I say that?...for those that don't know cricket, it's an all day sort of game). Being that I haven't been to any of his other one offs this season, I enjoyed watching and explaining the game to bump. I was sitting on a bench on my lonesome next to the pitch, doing some pelvic floor exercises and rotating my ankles for circulation as I cheered on the guys. Chris didn't even see me chatting away to baby intermittently but said the ankle swinging and leg rotations made me look mental enough!

Not that he should talk. Tonight he decided to run our "potential name list" by our bump in hopes of getting a kick, shift, some type of response from baby about her future name. He read through each name on our list, paused for 10 seconds with his hand on my belly awaiting a response before moving on to the next name. Too bad she wasn't in a game playing mood and we got no kicks...either that, or she doesn't like any of our potential names and we are undecided enough already!

"Tub" Trucking at 23.5 Weeks

Chris and his brother have been calling me "Tubs" for some time now. I'm pretty sure it's a nickname given with affection, thus I've not let it damage my self image too much and have overlooked that the name originated from the cannibalistic shop-keeper's wife from The League of Gentleman. But anyway - now, as you can see, at 23.5 weeks pregnant, the name is actually pretty fitting for the little tub at my front.

This week our baby is the size of a large mango. She is ducking, diving and kicking with regularity. I guess she's small enough that there is plenty of room to groove in my womb but large enough that I can really feel her. My weekly Babycentre update says the blood vessels in her lungs are developing in preparation for actual breathing, and at the end of this week she will be considered "viable" for birth (though she'd still need pretty in depth medical support to function). Other developments this week....

A huge shout out is in order to our fab friends E&L who are also expecting and due just about 10 weeks after us!! It's really exciting to have another good friend jump on the pregnancy bandwagon at the same time. E&B have been so helpful to me with their pregnancy tips and chats and I hope I can be of similar support to L on her journey. I'm sure we'll have plenty of insights to exchange - very exciting!!

Friday I had my third midwife appointment and was re-introduced to the kind and calming midwife that I met at our hospital open night a couple of months ago. She confirmed that "all looks in order" and our missy's growth is on track. I also spoke to her about my interest in natural birthing and exploring home birth. She suggested Chris and I attend the home birth night at our hospital next month to learn more; she was very encouraging, not at all dismissive or judgmental, and made me feel at ease about exploring our options. I'll keep you posted on what I find. But all around, it's all go!

Speaking of "going," every time a pregnant lady has a midwife appointment, you need to bring a urine sample in a little test tube thing so they can check your pee for glucose and protein. Being that peeing in a cup, or tube, has become a popular pastime by default, you'd think I'd be a bit better at it! Does anyone else have issues peeing in a cup or am I the only one with a sheepish hand raised here?! When I had my booking in appointment at the doctor they literally gave me a huge beaker to pee in that I couldn't fit between my legs. That led to some cool half squat crouching moves.... Now I need to regularly pee into this small test tube thing that is challenging with my urinary aim or lack thereof. Once I do hit the jackpot the tube fills really fast and is prone to splashing out at me. Gross. Maybe this is TMI, but I'm hoping I'm not the only one who has been embarrassed at the hands of this ritual!

Enjoy the 23.5 week close ups!

Big ‘un on a Babymoon; New Size of Sexy

I sauntered down the cobblestone sidewalk, tossing my hair and basking in the late afternoon sunshine. Hand in hand with Chris, my skin had a healthy “glow” - maybe it was sweat, or fullness due to water retention – but I felt good, I felt glowing. We were on vacation – a long weekend babymoon – in Prague with our great friends A&S and the weekend couldn’t have been going better. At that moment a ray of light bounced off the store window to my right, catching my glance and capturing my full glory.

Full indeed. Full like I’d just eaten 3 steaks, a big pot of goulash and 5 apple strudels. Now I never hold back in the food department while on vacation but I had't had THAT much. Then again, I’m 22 weeks pregnant with a uterus internally rising above my naval. I’ve waxed lyrical about embracing my growing bump, blah blah and I do. But in that moment I didn’t appear to be sporting a blooming bump but more of a bloated bulge below my cotton sundress. Wah!

The moment had been too good to ruin, though, so I smoothed out my dress, averted my eyes and walked on with slightly less of a saunter. Girl power beats irrational hormones.

A&S made me laugh when we first met up in Prague when they asked if I’d be okay walking around. I love exploring on foot while on vacation – I think it’s one of the best ways to get a feel for the city and to experience lots local gems often lost from a taxi window or underground metro. Walking was “no problem” I declared. And it wasn’t. We explored the Old Town, Jewish Quarter, fantastic Mala Strana park by foot and I had no complaints, tiredness or aches rain on my parade. I politely declined a guard who offered me the elevator to the top of the Mala Strana viewing tower, and Chris said he was impressed at how I charged up the tower stairs with him at my heels. My ease of mobility may falter in the coming weeks but not yet! Throughout the weekend, the four of us had long meals and good conversation, authentic Czech food and an array of other international cuisine. We relaxed, wandered, took a lot of pictures – the one on my right above is a 22 week shot of me on the Charles Bridge with Chris (the one on the left is me at 21 weeks, which I didn’t previously post) -we saw a lot without having too much of an agenda. It was a perfect babymoon.

Back in our hotel room the night of the big bulge sighting, I examined my bump in the bathroom mirror. It looked like a mountain cliff poking out at my middle that suddenly dropped off before my bikini line. As I examined I felt our little lady kick; she hadn’t been super active that day and the movement jarred me back to reality and made me smile. I was 22 week pregnant. I might look in "the plump or pregnant" stage in some of my outfits but that’s all part of the trip, right? I’m finally on my way to that rounder fuller baby bump that shouts blooming so I guess I just need to shut up and deal. I am now carrying a spaghetti squash after all.

I do have one disclaimer on bump comments though - if you are commenting on the status, growth or look of a pregnant lady's bump - be careful, be tactful and be positive. Don't ask someone if they think they "are going to be huge" when they tell you how far along they are. Even if you don't mean to be insulting, it won't be taken kindly!

Carrots & Cameleons

Friday I reached my 21 week mark - our little girl is the length of a carrot - about 10.5 inches long. She's regularly moving around and on Thursday night, for the first time, Chris felt her kick/elbow me/pull on the cord/etc when he rested his hand on my stomach!

She should definitely be hearing us now; incentive to stay calm, cool and collected at all times....hmmmm...if only. I have started talking to her now and then like when I'm driving or cooking; I love my talking, so it's comforting to know that she can hear me. Hey, I may look a little nuts but maybe she'll come out with an innate propensity for language. I'm also going to start reading to her before bed. Similar to the soothing music theory, "experts" suggest that if she hears the same story repeatedly in the womb, she'll be comforted by it once born so I figure it's worth a shot. Crying baby? - cue special story that yields happy, quiet baby - I don't sound too far off the mark anymore now, huh?! I haven't chosen a story yet, but maybe something short and sweet like 'Goodnight Moon' by Margaret Wise Brown.

In the last few days we also commenced our baby buying/borrowing/auction winning! I spent about half an hour wandering aisles of baby clothes on Friday with an enthusiasm I usually reserve for the candy store. I managed to tear myself away having bought one, her first, baby grow. We also picked up a brand new crib to bed converter with a built in changing table from our friends M&H. Thanks guys! It's the same crib they have for their daughter, and the company they purchased it from delivered two but never returned to pick this one up, much to our luck! Then, finally, after eagle eye watching and new bidding in the wake of my Bugaboo bid tantrum, we bid and successfully won ourselves a Bugaboo Cameleon at half its normal retail price. I hope this stroller lives up to my expectations but only time will tell.

Many people have suggested we gradually ease into our baby buying now, so it feels good to get the ball rolling. Though I set my sites high with the Bugaboo, in general I'm hoping weather the wild baby buying sea by visiting second hand furniture stores, seeking out more online deals and making a list of what we need versus what we'd like to have. Lists and focus are good. While I'm sure there are inevitably lots of new things we'll want to buy too, hopefully this varied approach will keep us practically and financially in balance.