Its a GIRL!!!

Its a girl!! Our beautiful daughter, Amelie Rose was born on the 8th of August 2014 at 1:41pm, weighing a very healthy 8.2 lbs! Mr P and I are totally and utterly in love with her and it just feels so right that we had a little girl. Mr P had said all along that he thought it was a baby girl and I had been drawn to the girly clothing. It really was the most amazing moment when we met her for the first time. I basically turned her upside down to see what we had once she was born! She really is a little beauty (or so we think!). She's feeding well and sleeping well and growing so much everyday. Heres some photos over the last 3.5 weeks. Its gone so so quickly and we have been loving learning all about our precious daughter. 

 

38 & 39 Weeks

This post is a bit overdue... I have had my hands full as our beautiful baby has arrived! Name, Gender and Birth post to follow! Here is a quick recap of the last 2 weeks to birth.

Weeks 38 and 39 were full of Braxton Hicks contractions or practise contractions. These were completely pain free but my tummy would go into a hard ball and in regular intervals. I woke up with them at the end of week 38 and was fairly excited, got up and went downstairs and started googling whether or not I was going into labour. These are pretty common and do not mean labour is imminent as I had hoped but are good practise for your body. I was happy that it was a sign my body was getting ready in preparation for the big day. These continued on and off through week 39.

At 39 weeks pregnant, despite not being overdue I was feeling very impatient and really wanting baby Paicey to make an early appearance. I did conclude that I wasn't in any pain or too much discomfort which I was grateful for, but I just wanted to get labour over and done with and have our baby in our arms. For me, labour being imminent was not scary, it was just the next step and challenge/hurdle on the way to meeting our baby. Mr P and I researched all the usual ways to induce labour which I think are probably mostly old wives tales but we still gave a few of them a try. We went for an hour and a half long walk when I was exactly 39 weeks, and when I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I felt like I was carrying a bowling ball in my pelvis. This feeling as well as lots of lightening crotch/fanny daggers (this term still makes me laugh) continued for the next day so I do think the walk helped to engage the baby further. We went for a 30 minute walk each night to keep it going and also to get out of the house once the sun had gone down as it was so hot for me in the middle of the day being around 26 degrees. I have to admit that we stopped for an ice-cream on one of our night walks and another time we stopped and had fish and chips despite having dinner sorted at home! Every night before we went to bed Mr P would ask me if we were going to have a baby tonight.

I was given clary sage oil which you can put in the bath or dilute with water and rub on your bump which can bring on contractions however I was too scared to use it after I read a few things online. I ate a few pineapples but I heard that you need to eat about 15 or even more for it to have any effect. We had a hot Thai curry for dinner but Im sure its supposed to be a hot Indian curry. However I don't actually believe a curry would induce labour! Sex is supposed to help too with semen helping to soften the cervix. I do believe that baby comes when baby comes and if labour begins after you've tried one of the above to bring it on and it works, your baby might have been ready to arrive anyway but of course who knows and some woman swear by the above!

It seems funny now that baby Paicey has arrived but I had my little check list of things for myself that I wanted to have done before my due date. I had highlights put in my hair, my eyebrows threaded, and a  manicure and pedicure. These were probably more distraction/time filling activities however It was really nice to have these treatments done and I felt nice afterwards. The man at the nail bar wouldn't let me have the massage chair on whilst I was getting my pedicure. He said it could bring on labour and he would rather I didn't. I was in my 39th week and would have sent him a bunch of flowers if his massage chair had brought on labour at that point!

The nesting and baking was at its highest and I baked banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting from the hummingbird bakery cookbook as well as a roast pumpkin, pine nut and feta cheese quiche. I even vacuumed the house which was unlike me! Time stood still if I didn't have my daily thing to do. I still managed to get a great night sleep although I was waking at 5 or 6 am every day and then needing a nap around 10 am. It is very odd to wake up so early with nothing at all planned for the day, your body and mind just wants you up! Getting ready for no more sleep ins once your baby arrives!

As the week went on we decided that Mr P would not go to France with his team to play in a preseason rugby game against Montpellier which was 1 day before my due date on Friday 8th August. This meant that we would be able to go to Mr P's cousins wedding which fell on the same day as the rugby game, and so on Wednesday we made a late RSVP and I borrowed a Topshop maternity dress from my lovely friend Shauna that she had worn at her own baby shower. That night on Wednesday evening/ early Thursday morning I went into labour... 

37 Weeks... Full Term!

At 37 weeks your pregnancy is classed at full term. If baby Paicey was born now, we wouldn't be classed as premature. The lungs are fully developed and ready for the world and my little baby is just putting on fat gearing up for his or her arrival. 

Ah the arrival. I have so much anticipation! Not only anticipation for meeting our baby and finding out the gender, but anticipation about labour and delivery! I find it very surreal that I could go into labour at any time, and that noone can predict or tell you when or what will happen. Every labour and birth is different, even with subsequent pregnancies. My hubby thinks I am a little strange that I just want the pain to begin. My theory is, it has to happen, so I just want to do it so that it is behind us and I can start to heal and we can start to grow and learn as a new family. 

These days everyone I see or speak to wants to know if I have felt any twinges or pains yet and the text messages have started. My midwife said that if I go overdue (which is highly likely in first pregnancies) they will give me a sweep at 41 weeks and then if I still haven't delivered they will induce me 5 days after the sweep. That means they will let me go 12 days overdue until they induce labour which means I could still have nearly 5 weeks to go at this point! I really should try to focus on something else as time is running slowly now, but that is easier said than done when you are in your 9th month of pregnancy!

This week I've been feeling pressure down low in my abdomen and pelvis. Especially when I try to move in bed or get up from the sofa. I've had more and more sharp shooting pains that feel like the babies head is knocking in my pelvis. Lots of online sites call this lightening crotch or even fanny daggers! It definitely feels like both names are suitable, it is really startling! It does encourage me to bounce on my gym ball to keep babies head engaged and hopefully encourage it to engage further.

The weirdest pregnancy symptom for me has started this week just to add to the general discomfort I'm feeling from being huge, hot and tired. My hands are in some serious pain! It is worse in the morning and the pain is in all my bones but especially my thumbs. Apparently pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome is normal but who would have thought that your hands would ache like arthritis in late pregnancy? A weird one. My wedding rings are definitely not going back on until after the birth unfortunately. 

I've gotten to the point where I'm struggling to fit my clothes and I refuse to buy new ones. Around the house I've taken to comfort over style (actually even out of the house!). Im wearing dresses that are so short at the front, caused by my big belly that if the doorbell goes i have to stand pulling the front bit down to cover my knickers! Ive got a few maxi dresses that I rotate for wearing out but they are getting super tight across the belly. I still fit my maternity jeans but it is simply too hot for jeans and tights in this weather. I don't imagine I'm the first or the last pregnant woman with just a couple of weeks to go that doesn't want to spend money on very late maternity clothes however if baby Paicey doesn't come soon i might need to stay in my dressing gown all day! 

Weight wise I've gone over the 15kg target set for me by the GP. Im up 15.5kg higher than my pre pregnancy weight with 3 weeks to go. I am starting to eat a lot of junk food now which is bad. Pretty much a treat a day. Im still enjoying fruit and healthy main meals but sneaking in the junk for a little daily treat. I've started to research how much weight you loose after the birth and can see its dependant on the woman, but oh my I am excited to get in shape again. I'm planning on doing lots and lots of walking with baby in the pram or in the close caboo sling I was brought by my lovely friend Katie at my baby shower. Just walking for the first few weeks until my body feels strong enough to attempt something heavier. Then i'm hoping to do Mum and baby yoga with the same teacher I have had through pregnancy and then hopefully some of the other ladies will also be in the class with their babies.

Im not going to be having a professional maternity photo shoot. I had thought about it as it is a lovely time to document but we decided we would rather have photos done of our newborn. I've already found the photographer that we are going to use, I just obviously can't book it in as we don't know what day baby Paicey will make his or her arrival! The photographer likes to shoot the babies at around 8 days old when they are sleepy and still have that natural curled up position to their body from being in the womb. I liked her style as they were all natural with each perfect part of the baby captured.

 I had Mr P come out to our back garden and take some pics of me and the bump before we headed off to a BBQ at the rugby club on Saturday. It was probably the only time this week that I looked decent enough for a photo! The dress is a non maternity dress from Topshop that I had pre pregnancy and is very light material, perfect for a day in the sun. Hope you enjoy the photos xx

Very front heavy!

36 Weeks and our first Wedding Anniversary

This week we celebrated our very first wedding anniversary. Its hard to say whether the year has flown by quickly because pregnancy is a long process, but it is hard to believe that my beautiful husband and I have been married for a year already. Our anniversary was on Sunday, and on Saturday night we went to a local michelin starred restaurant in Kew called The Glasshouse. It is a french menu that changes regularly and seeing as it may be a little while until just the two of us dine together in a fancy restaurant, we wanted to make the most of it. All three courses were cooked to perfection but the dish of the night for both of us was our dessert. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the dark chocolate mouse was made with pasteurised eggs, as was the pistachio ice-cream so I had this accompanied with an almond crumble and honeycomb pieces. Mr P went for cheese 'from the board'. A board with 25 cheeses came out and we were given an educated commentary on the different cheeses before picking a selection of 5. Mr P enjoyed red wine (which I miss like crazy) and I sipped on mocktails. On Sunday, the day of our actual anniversary we headed to Pennyhill park and Spa for a day of spa indulgence. This was really more for me than my husband as he could take or leave a spa day but I was definitely pushing for this. We had such a lovely day with a light lunch and a relaxing swim together in the indoor pool that has music playing underwater which was a nice touch. I indulged in a 60 minute pregnancy massage that was simply stunning and magically 'fixed' the shoulder pain I had been suffering from. Mr P used the sauna and hot tubs which I was advised not to use, while I was having my treatment. We finished off with a lay by the outdoor pool with some coffee's (decaf for me). All in all we had a beautiful relaxed weekend celebrating our first anniversary. Next year, I want champagne!!

Our Wedding Day 06th July 2013, Mission Beach, Australia

This week I attended a 3 hour evening breastfeeding class at Kingston Hospital where I am having baby Paicey. It was a really small group and it was very informative. We each had a doll that we used to 'practise' our positioning with and the different ways you can hold your baby to feed. We watched lots of videos of babies latching on and I can't tell you how surprised I was to find out how far back in the babies mouth your nipple has to go! I've been scaring all my friends with this information. I honestly thought the baby would just have your nipple in its mouth but you really have to put your aereola and then some of the breast in the babies mouth! The lactation consultants who run the class were very much pushing baby led feeding on demand and were not keen on routines. It was also very interesting to see how small a new born babies stomach is at birth and then for the next few weeks it slowly gets bigger. It can only hold the tiniest bit of milk which is why little babies needs to wake for feeds so often. We were told about 6 wet nappies in a day is a way of telling if you are providing enough milk for your baby. All in all I was glad I took the class but I think it really is one of those things you can only learn from 'doing'. 

We both attended a half day antenatal class at the hospital which was really good. We mostly took away from it information about different pain relief available, going into labour and when to go to hospital as well as the first week at home with our baby. We had to go around and introduce ourselves and most of the dads to be said they were terrified or very nervous. I asked Mr P afterwards if he is scared and he said he isn't scared at all just excited. So either he has a deluded vision of our life with baby or our constant discussions and his laid back nature have him well prepared mentally. The midwifes running the course were very pro water birth which is what I am hoping to have. They made it sound so wonderful that I am scared its all a farce and I will get in the birthing pool and realise that the water just doesn't cut it for me! One form of pain relief that I am going to avoid is Pethadine. Its just a personal choice. Pethadine passes through the placenta and therefore the baby also feels the effect of the drug and can come out sleeping or floppy which doesn't sound nice. The midwifes said that Pethadine has its place in some births though with some woman really needing it to relax and help their labour progress.

I also had my 36 week midwife appointment this week where I had all the usual blood pressure and urine tests, a listen to the babies heart beat via the doppler and measuring of the fundal height of the uterus. The midwife said that I will not be having a small baby like I was (I was 5 lb 8 oz) and that I was measuring 2.5 weeks ahead. I said to her that this could be the way baby was positioned or more amniotic fluid but she said she can feel that I have a lot of baby in there and not too much fluid. She estimated 3.5 kg or close to 8 lbs which isn't exactly big, just not small. The babies head has engaged further since my 34 week check up and is now 2/5ths engaged. We discussed all my birth options in great detail and made suggestions for my birth plan. I wasn't going to write up a birth plan as I believe you just need to go with the flow and the plan will most likely go out the window but she has convinced me to write one as certain things can be applied such as delayed cord clamping and dad to cut the cord. Ive started to write it and will post it here once I'm finished.

So we had a big week of prepping and taking in information for our babies imminent arrival. I still have heartburn and swollen feet. My wedding rings are officially off as my hands have swollen too. This is the first time ever that they have been off! I didn't however take a single photo of the bump which I am very sorry about! I will be sure to make up for this in next week's blog post. 4 weeks to go and counting xxx

  

   

Third Trimester Faves

1. Argos Gym Ball

Bounce. Bounce, Bounce! I try to sit and bounce on my gym ball at least once a day to encourage the baby to stay head down and to engage further. It is so comfortable and takes the weight off my back when it is sore. I've also used it against the wall rolling my back to try to stretch. I opted for this ball as it was extremely inexpensive at only £6.99!

2. Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino

I know this is terrible but with the last few weeks of scorching hot weather I have been loving this iced deliciousness from Starbucks! I go all out and get the cream and caramel on top too which is extremely decadent but delicious. It is available with decaf coffee too. Yum!

3.Raspberry Leaf Tea

I started drinking this tea a few weeks ago in the evenings and I really don't mind the sweet taste. The raspberry leaf is believed to help tone the uterus and help with more efficient contractions so therefore a quicker labour. I have to admit I have slowed down in drinking hot drinks as it really is uber hot in London at the moment!

4. Gaviscon Advance (Liquid and Chewable Tablets)

I don't think I could live without this! I keep the liquid beside my bed and have it if I wake up in the night with heartburn/acid and I have the chewable tablets downstairs and have them after lunch and dinner if I can feel the burn. I got them free on prescription from the doctor after applying for a maternity exemption card.

5. Cooling Leg & Foot Gel by Sanctuary

My good friend Melodie gave me this and some other Sanctuary mum to be treats at my baby shower. My husband has been applying it to my poor, sore swollen feet when I ask him too. It is soothing and feels great. My feet have only started to swell in the last week, again I think due to the heat! These London homes are not built for warm weather... not even a fan let alone air-conditioning! 

Week 34 & 35 Update

Me, Archie and the bump resting my feet on my new gym ball.

How far along: Today I am 36 weeks and 5 days along, so really running late on my updates. This is a total reflection of how I am feeling at the moment... completely wiped out and tired! I've started drinking raspberry leaf tea this week and we brought a gym ball to start bouncing on to help baby move down in position for labour. Its really comfortable to sit on when my back is achy too as it takes the pressure off.

Symptoms:  Week 34 was the start of random sharp pains down low which would really startle me. I had a very thorough GP at my 34 week appointment and she had a good feel of my bump, pressing and probing to determine the position of baby Paicey in the womb. We had great news... Baby is lying head down and 4/5th palpable, engaging in my pelvis and doing all the right things in readiness for birth. The babies head is measured in 5 finger widths and 4/5ths palpable means the GP could feel 4/5ths of the babies head above my pelvis, so our baby is just beginning to engage which she said was the reason for the sharp pains I was feeling. I can't tell you how exciting it was to hear that the baby was head down, but at this point whilst not too common, the baby can still shift position. Oh my goodness the shoulder pain on my left side was constant and seemed to be like a fuzzy nerve pain that I couldn't get rid of, and seemed to get worse by walking. I practised my yoga stretches to try to stretch it out and it would give a small amount of relief but would return a short while later. I think it was from sleeping on my left hand side and the weight of my body on my shoulder. Acid reflux/heart burn. Wow when that hits it is really unbearable. I had this earlier on in the pregnancy but nothing as painful as this. It started after I had been out for dinner with friends visiting from Australia and indulged in dessert. I've now got Gaviscon tablets to suck on after meals and before bed, plus I've given up on overeating as it was really not a fun symptom to contend with!

Sleep:  I can either fall asleep straight away or lay awake for hours despite being super tired. Through the night I usually wake up once for a quick trip to the bathroom and then fall straight back asleep and then I wake unusually early in the morning to go to the bathroom again. It is so hot here at the moment and without a fan in our bedroom so I think the heat wakes me up early as well as the baby pressing on my bladder. I cannot stress enough how much I love my pregnancy pillow. I'll be sad to get rid of it in a few weeks! But then again, I'll be able to sleep on my back or stomach so that will be a joy! 

Weight Gain: The GP weighed me which was the first time in pregnancy apart from my very first booking in appointment that anyone (apart from myself) has weighed me. I was 14kg (30 lbs) heavier than the beginning of pregnancy, with the doctor telling me that ideally I wouldn't go higher than 15 kg's in total. I wonder if only a 1kg gain is even possible with 6 weeks still to go? I have heard that in the final few weeks of pregnancy you may not put on any weight or even loose a little, due to the reduction in amniotic fluid and the fact that your bump is so big you can't eat very big meals without feeling ridiculously full. Time will tell, but honestly I don't feel that if I get to 16kg I'm going to beat myself up about it.

Food:  As it's Mr P's off season we are eating really healthy meals. We plan a menu for the week and then a shopping list so the house is only full of what we need. Still that doesn't stop me from walking to the corner store and buying an ice cream or chocolate bar... especially when I'm home alone! I'm really craving tropical fruit and have had yummy fresh mango and pineapple. I have been on the lookout for good watermelon but nothing has looked the part so far so I'm yet to satisfy that craving. I've been making sure to eat early in the evenings to try and give my body some time to digest food before laying down in bed to try to avoid the dreaded heartburn.

Movement:  The movement can be described as rolling and pressing now as the babies got much less room to move. For me it feels like the balls in a massage chair that roll around in circles. It is great knowing how baby Paicey is lying as I can tell if its a little limb, bottom or back rolling around in there. I sometimes need to press back on the foot jarring out of my stomach to try and ease the pain.

Belly Button: Its popped out as far as I think possible, but still a little bit of an innie!

Stretch Marks:  I've obviously still got the few little ones on the underside of my breasts and have one on each side of my hips that are red. Still none on my tummy which I'm really happy about and being extra vigilant in applying my Mama Mio tummy butter and boob tube lotion. 

Wedding rings:  Still on but I really should take them off. They are really tight and leaving indentations on my finger after a walk outside in the heat but are OK in the house. I really don't want to take them off!

Baby's Gender:  Unknown but more and more curious as the weeks roll on. We have a list of names picked out for both a boy and a girl but hard to really push for a name until we at least know the gender. Its so exciting and I can't wait for the moment we find out if we have a son or a daughter!

Bump:  Huge! Its seriously hard to move off the bed or the sofa. I have to basically roll off now and if I drop something, it has to be something important for me to pick it back up! I can't wait to be able to bend in the middle again.

Bumping out at 35 weeks!

33 Weeks Pregnant

Its July and I'm having my baby in August! It's surreal but I am so happy we are this close to meeting baby Paicey! It's all I think about now. Mostly these are my thoughts... I wonder if we have a little boy or girl? What will our baby look like? How will the birth go? How much bigger can my bump get? When will I go into labour? Do we have everything we need? But mostly I just feel grateful and blessed to be carrying this baby and think positive thoughts that we have a beautiful, healthy baby.

I have a huge list of things I want to get through in the next couple of weeks. I am slowly getting through it but finding it rather exhausting despite it being a pretty usual list for me. Lots of things home and life related but other things baby related like buying things for our hospital bags and then packing them and batch cooking at least a week to two weeks worth of food for the freezer for when baby arrives. I've also been holding off booking an appointment to get my hair coloured as I think just a few weeks out til babies birthday will be best. I want to go lighter instead of the balayage dip dye I've been wearing. Going lighter will be more maintenance which doesn't really go hand in hand with a new baby but I'm feeling like a change. Im going to hold off cutting it as I can imagine Ill have an image crisis a couple of months after having the baby while I'm trying to shed the baby weight and a trip to the hairdressers for a new haircut might be handy at that point! I also need to wash the babies clothes, sheets and blankets and have gone as far as buying non bio, sensitive skin washing powder and fabric softener but thats as far as I have gotten!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to get the Whooping Cough vaccine. I had this last week as my midwife recommended I have it between 28 and 32 weeks.  In the UK, America and New Zealand this is offered to woman whilst they are pregnant as the vaccine passes through the placenta and gives the baby some immunity. From what I am aware It may also transfer through breast milk once the baby is born to provide your baby with further immunity until the baby is 8 weeks old and can have its first injections. Whooping Cough can be carried by adults who don't know that they have it and it can be fatal to babies. Some woman are cautious of the vaccine as it has only been given to pregnant woman for a few years. In Australia I'm fairly sure they don't offer this while pregnant but recommend the parents, grandparents and anyone else who will be around the new born have the vaccination to protect the baby until he or she has their first jabs at 8 weeks old. I know some people are also simply for or against vaccinations for their own reasons so I am not forcing an opinion, but baby Paicey will be getting immunised as were my bother, sister and I based on my Mums choices. Anyway, the injection took all of 3 seconds and was quite a sharp scratch to my arm. I had a sore arm for around 2 days, only to the touch or if I slept on it and I didn't have any other side effects which some people get such as feeling unwell.

I did a post on our travel system/ pram when we ordered it (which you can view Here) but it finally arrived! It was a pretty fun day I have to admit putting it all together despite Mr P wanting to leave it in the box for a few more weeks! I must have looked pretty funny to the neighbours taking it outside and seeing how to manoeuvre through our front doorway, as its a very small entrance with a staircase directly in front of the door, its quite tricky and I thought I would have to use the door at the back of the house, but it fits. We also ordered the Maxi-cosi Pebble carseat and Iso fix base for our car which arrived with our order and is all fitted and ready to go in the back of our car! Mainly as I didn't want it taking up the space in the house or our very hairy cat Archie sitting in it, but also because I was just very excited. So far we love the pram and can't wait to use it.

I think everything I'm feeling is pretty normal for this point. Im getting really tired in the afternoon but waking up early in the morning to go to the bathroom. My upper back has been really hurting me for the past few days which is new. Im guessing its the added weight and the way I am carrying myself now so I have been doing some of the yoga stretches we do in the pregnancy class and also laying down on my side with my pregnancy pillow to try to stretch it out. A friend of mine has told me it is my body's way of telling me to slow down but I honestly feel if I slow down ill be stationary!

Weight wise, I've put on 13 kg or 29 lbs so far in the pregnancy and I can't believe the number staring back at me on the scales. I feel less hungry than I was in the second trimester and just sticking to 3 fairly healthy meals with snacks of nuts, apples and berries. I said to my husband the other night that our baby will be addicted to berries as I eat them morning and night! Every few days I have an ice-cream or piece of cake from the shops too which is my guilty pleasure. 

I should be finished packing my hospital bag very soon and will do a little post on what I have packed for myself and for baby Paicey, as i found other posts on this helpful when making my own list.  My bump is getting bigger by the day and the movement is phenomenal. I still love the movement and you will find me happily sitting back with my hands on my belly feeling a little foot sticking right out and pressing back on it. Here is the bump at the end of week 33.