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

  

   

29 Week Pregnancy Update!

There really isn't a moment now that I'm not aware of my pregnancy. In weeks gone by I could go about my business and momentarily forget I'm pregnant, just going about my day with loads of energy. But now, the bump is big and the baby is moving around like crazy! Things that were once easy have become hard. Shaving my legs has to be done sitting down in the bath and I can no longer get to my toes to paint my toenails. Breathing has even become a big job... I'm starting to run out of room in my abdomen and if I laugh or lay down I often get shortness of breath. All this and I'm still loving being pregnant! For me it's a beautiful time of anticipation, excitement and wonderment. Don't get me wrong, I am nervous about labour and birth, the first few weeks of sleep deprivation and learning to look after our baby, but the excitement about meeting our little one by far overrides the nerves.

We had a little shopping trip this week and brought a few more bits and pieces for the baby. I am planning to breast feed but may go with a formula dream feed during the night or express some milk to give in a bottle so Mr P can help with the odd feed, so we brought a set of Dr Brown's bottles. We have been recommended these colic reducing bottles by friends and they have great reviews. We also brought a steriliser for the bottles and cleaning utensils, a padded nappy changing matt to go on top of the dresser in our bedroom, and a few more new born one pieces which were on my earlier wishlist post. We ordered a simple white moses basket and sheets from John Lewis and a Prince Lionheart white noise bear which we hope will help baby Paicey (and us!) get a good night sleep listening to sounds of the womb.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was looking forward to starting pregnancy yoga. I've since been taking a class for the past 3 weeks and its really enjoyable. I sometimes don't feel like going as I'm getting tired around that time of the day but it is so good and refreshing once I am there. We do a lot of stretching, light yoga poses, breathing and pelvic floor exercises which will be beneficial during labour. The instructor is a gorgeous woman who has a lot of energy and loves to talk about pregnancy and babies. It may not be for everyone but we focus on our babies and send love and positive energy to them during the class, which I love. It feels wonderful to stretch out my body in a safe way for pregnancy and learning the breathing techniques feels empowering in the lead up to labour. Its also nice to be in a room full of other pregnant woman and have a chat afterwards about how they are feeling.

We have been undecided on whether we should move from our 2 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom once baby arrives as we like to have a spare room for family to stay when visiting from Australia. We think we have found the perfect solution as we love our little house and have renovated every single room in the 3 years we have lived here so are quite attached. So this week we had a few building companies come over and provide quotes to add another floor and create a master bedroom with ensuite and dressing area in our loft space. I think we are going to go with this option so it is quite exciting, however the 8 -10 week building time will not be quite as exciting!

On Friday Mr P, the bump and I ventured out for dinner on opening night of a new restaurant that opened up on the lovely Kingston river front. We were lucky enough to be invited to sample their delights free of charge and had the yummiest food and drinks. My mocktails were so divine I didn't even miss not having alcohol! Check out Busaba Eathai Here for their yummy menu and locations. I wore a pre pregnancy dress of mine that really revealed the bump which I was a little self conscious about at first, but we had lots of smiles and well wishes on our night out.

Next week I am off to the doctors to get a Whooping cough vaccination so wish me luck on that one. I can't believe i'll be 30 weeks next week! Have a great week x

Baby bump stepping out for dinner at 29 weeks.