25 Weeks!

Hello Everyone!

Once again look how much time it has been between now and my last blog! I really must stop messing about and make more of an effort with this! After all, the other week i read back through some of my earlier posts and i loved it! I am so glad that i have made this blog!

Right, so what has been happening with me and Dave! Well... we are viable! Once you get past the 24 week mark your baby has a much better chance of survival, with each day and week past that time making it much more likely. Plus the hospital is able to help your little one if he or she comes too early once you are past 24 weeks. This has been a huge weight off my mind and shoulders... i feel much more confident in actually getting to keep my baby girl now.

I know you are itching to know, and the answer is yes... i am still being sick every day. Ha ha, oh it is such fun! Sometimes it is worse than others, but still not very pleasant. Still, i can't start my day without a visit to the loo with my orange bucket! I have also noticed that my breasts have started growing again, i seem to be getting more and more veins, and i am started to get tired again. I have now gained 8lbs in total, which i guess is a good thing. Plus, touch wood, i haven't yet got any stretch marks... although i expect that will change soon enough!

My little bump is ever-expanding and i think it is at maximum capacity now so will most likely start getting huge from now on, especially as Dave will now be piling on the pounds too! I am feeling lots of kicks and hiccups throughout the day, it would be nice to feel more and i hope that as she gets bigger she will pack more of a punch! It is really lovely that Phil is able to feel her bigger kicks and movements now too.

We have finally cleared her room out of all the extra stuff and rubbish we had stored! Some of it went in the bin, some went in the loft and some of it was finally sorted out and put into 'really useful boxes' under our bed in our bedroom. Then we painted 1 of her bedroom walls pink and refreshed the other 3 walls with magnolia (classic!) before piling all of the things we have bought for her neatly on the floor. I spoke to the company who are delivering the furniture we have ordered for her today and they estimate that we will have it all delivered within the next 2 weeks! Then we will get her mattress! It is all happening!!!

I really can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going...

We have got so much to look forward to in the coming months anyway, which will keep our minds off of the waiting, firstly we have my brother's wedding coming up on the 22nd September, then the day after that Phil and I are going on holiday to Caister, Great Yarmouth! Plus the other day i booked our 3D/4D scan for the 1st October at Bourn Hall! We are really looking forward to it and are so excited to see our baby girl again!

Lastly, i have organised my maternity leave, which makes this having a baby lark even more real! My official leaving date is the 1st December but i am using up some annual leave so my last working day is Wednesday 13th November! Only 76 days to go! I am so excited!!!

Our little longed for miracle will be with us before we know it, and i for one can't wait!

Take Care All x

Anomaly Scan and Gender Results!

Hello Everyone! 

Wow... im a bit late with my update! Sorry about that but i just can't seem to keep myself awake to write it! 

So as you all know we had our 20 week scan last week, and it was brilliant! We had to sit in the same waiting area as we did last year when we were seeing the consultant in the hope to be put forward for IVF, so that was weird... and surreal. I was looking around at the other people waiting to be seen, wondering what their stories were, a few were obviously pregnant, but some were not, and they were with their partners or mums. I had all sorts of emotions running through my mind, i was so happy to be there and to be sporting my lovely bump, but i was also sad for those woman, who had to look at me and not know my story, just like me all those months ago. 

I didn't have much time to dwell on things though as we were called in to the scan room really quickly. The sonographer asked me how i was feeling in general, had i been feeling the baby kicking at all (YES!) and were we interested to know the gender of our baby. She asked me to lie down and then switched on the screen opposite so we could watch the whole scan! I have spoken to a few people about their scans and unfortunately quite a few people have said that they barely got to see their babies, so i did feel very lucky!

Throughout the scan she was taking her time to show us everything she was looking for, pointing out all of our little baby's organs etc. The one thing i was most anxious to see was that Dave had all his/ her arms and legs. Not for my vanity, but for Dave... it must be so hard growing up without them. The sonographer then went through Dave's whole body, showing us his/ her facial features, spine, limbs, brain, liver, kidneys etc... finally showing us Dave's heart, which was perfect! What i really loved about the sonographer was that she was very thorough... if she didn't see something at the time of looking she made sure she had seen it by the time we left. That is just what you want from a scan!

At one point she asked me what i had eaten for breakfast, i'd had jam on toast, she said 'ah, that would be why baby is moving around lots then', ha ha!

Also, another wonderful thing happened, we were just watching the screen and we saw Dave's whole body literally jump and i felt it! It was so wonderful not only for me, but Phil could see that the feelings that i have had were being caused by him/ her doing something! Near the end of the scan the sonographer said she was going to see if baby would tell us what gender they were, and without any trouble Dave became a GIRL (sorry about the picture, she was covering her face with her hands!).

So there we go! My prediction came true! We are going to have a gorgeous little daughter in December. Phil and I are so excited!

The weekend after the scan we went to Lakeside and did some PINK shopping, which was so lovely. We bought lots of nice bits for her room!

Our next appointment is in just 2 days, and it is with the consultant who we originally spoke to. It will be nice to talk through any problems i have, like the fact that i am still being sick, and also that i have only put on 4lb!

Until then though,

Take Care All x

19 Weeks and Movement!

Hello Everyone!

Wow... it has been quite a while since the last time i posted, oops! I can only guess that it is because the weeks are just flying by! Honestly, it is ridiculous! In 1 week we will be half way through our first pregnancy and i just can't believe it!

Although we are months past the 12 week mark i am still 'enjoying' being sick every morning... no one told me this was going to happen! Although i moan about it i don't really mind either! It is nice to know that my little baby is growing so much that my body is still responding to it. I have also for the past few weeks been experiencing the delight that is backache. Oh it does hurt... but again, i wouldn't change a thing!

I have been really enjoying listening to my tummy with my Doppler, i do so every few days or when i feel a bit worried and i always find Dave's heartbeat, which is so reassuring. It has been lovely to follow the growth of not only Dave but also my uterus. It is amazing to me that at the beginning i heard the heartbeat really low down in my pelvis and now i can find it around my belly button! How fantastic is that?

Also over the past couple of weeks i have been experiencing what i describe as little flutters and bubbles in my tummy. I haven't been 100% sure that this was Dave moving about, and i was constantly doubting it. Especially as it would only happen maybe once or twice throughout the day, and some day's not at all? However, today things changed... i was just relaxing on the sofa after having a particularly awful morning of sickness and i felt a quick succession of flutters and bubbles, all in the same place and it lasted for about 5 minutes, then it slowed down so i gave my tummy a poke and there was Dave, responding to my poke with kicks and prods! It was so beautiful that i just lay there for the next 15 minutes, feeling my miracle baby move about within me, with tears falling down my face at the wonder of it all...

We have 7 days to go until our Anomaly Scan, the 20 week scan, and we are so excited about seeing Dave again, and hopefully finding out his/ her gender! I still think i have a little girl in my tummy, and Phil is being controversial and saying that it is a boy, he just wants a difference of opinion to me though! Ha ha. It will be fantastic to be able to see how much Dave has grown, and check that everything is going well... fingers crossed aye?

Also after the scan we will be able to start committing to buying all of the things we have chosen for our baby. Monitors, furniture, clothing, toys, bears, bedding etc... it will be so much fun! We have already ordered our pram though! The SilverCross Wayfarer in Damson. We absolutely love it!

So much excitement still coming our way!

Take Care All x

16 Week Midwife Appointment

Hello Everyone!

Today we had our 16 week appointment which was brilliant. When we arrived it was a bit strange as we were in a communal room with other pregnant couples and a lady (who weirdly, was also pregnant) was testing our wee samples and blood pressure, which were fine. Then after a short while we were called in to see the midwife.

She went through our notes, asked us a few questions about test results and whether i had all the appointments booked that i needed. Then she said that she was going to see if she could find Dave's heartbeat. Before she used the Doppler she warned that she might not be able to find the heartbeat straight away, and that it could take a few minutes. Then she put the Doppler onto my tummy, just below my belly button and there Dave was! Beating away like a trouper! Ha ha ha, Phil and I did laugh, i felt so proud of my baby for being good.

Then we had a general chat about things, she asked if i had any questions, so i got out my bit of paper (so organised!) and said to her that i am still being sick every day, i haven't put any weight on and that i was experiencing a lot more discharge in the last week. She put our minds at ease and said that it was all perfectly fine and that she wasn't worried.

After the appointment we went to Tesco as they have a baby event on at the moment and picked up a few bargains, including 576 baby wipes! Ha ha. That should keep us going, well until we look into Asda's baby event in a few weeks...

Then when we got home i went through the various clothes that Robyn had sold to me a few years back, unfortunately a lot of them are unsuitable because her babies were born in the summer and mine will be a winter baby. Never mind... it will just mean we have lots of lovely shopping to do!

Speak of which we are going to go and look at more prams this weekend which we love to do! Phil said it is just like buying a car, typical of him, but i am so glad he is as excited as me!

Other than all of that going on what is really wonderful at the moment is that i finally have a reason to wear maternity clothes! I love them! I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to even buy those type of things, and seeing myself in the mirror with my ever expanding belly is enough to make me cry with tears of joy.

So just before i go i thought it might be nice to show you all a little bump photo i took last week:

Take Care All x

100...

Hello Everyone,

 

We are now just over 14 weeks into our miracle pregnancy and have hit 100 days in! I can not believe how quickly this is all going. Soon we will be 15 weeks and then we will only have 25 left to go! Plus we all know how quickly Christmas comes around!

 

Things are going so rapidly and the appointments keep coming in thick and fast! This is my schedule so far:

 

27th June - 16 Week midwife appointment.

 

23rd July - 20 Week scan! Eek!

 

1st August - Consultant appointment.

 

Then my brother is getting married in September, Phil's birthday in November, plus I expect there will be more and more appointments along the way. I would like to organise to do Antenatal classes and Aquanatal swimming classes. So before we know it December will be here and Baby Dave will be on his way!!!

 

Oh god...

 

Since my last post we have received the results of our Down's test and I am so happy to say that we are very low risk. The bracket for high risk is anything lower than 1:150, our risk is 1:46108! Phew... obviously these tests are not 100% but it gives us a better chance that Baby Dave is well.

 

We have an AngelSounds Doppler at home so we could detect Dave's heartbeat and I had tried to find it a few times before without any luck. However, on my birthday Dave decided to give me a little treat and we found it! It was so wonderful! He was very low down, practically under my pelvic/ pubic bone so no wonder we couldn't find him before! Anyway... about 5 days after that I seemed to have suddenly ballooned, it isn't fat because I have actually lost a couple of pounds again, so I thought I would investigate and realised that Dave and my uterus/ womb have moved up out of my pelvis and are now about 2 inches higher!

 

As a result of this is will now need to go and get a few maternity clothes, which we will be doing on Sunday! How very exciting! I have already ordered some shoes for work, they do have a slight heel as I am very short but they are wedges so will be ok.

 

Other than that my symptoms are the same. I am still being sick every morning, my breasts are still becoming very blue and I am still very sleepy a lot of the time. Tonight is the last night of using the Crinone Gel though, and I will be so glad to see the back of that stuff! It is awful.

 

I will now sign off with a little note to tell you all that we are getting fish and chips for dinner tonight and I am so excited about it! Ha ha... love a bit of a craving!

 

Take Care All x

13 Weeks!

Hello Everyone!

 

I thought it might be an idea to let you all know how our scan went!

 

We had it last Friday in the afternoon and it was wonderful. Whilst we were waiting to be seen I started to feel quite nervous, Phil was ok though! Ha ha. Then we were called in, I got on the bed/ couch thing and prepared myself for the cold ultrasound gel. I don't know if they have changed things, or if it had been in the sun, but it was hot! It threw me off a bit!

 

After about a second there was the wonderful image of our little miracle baby on the screen, heart beating away and looking perfect. The sonographer then proceeded to check everything was in the right place, brain, heart, spine, kidneys, legs, arms etc... We then listened to our baby's heartbeat, which was beating away at 167bpm! Madness!

 

Dave was moving about the whole time, we could see his/ her arms and legs waving away, it was so beautiful.

 

 

The sonographer then put our dates back by 1 day, so we are now due on the 10th December, my friend Lauren's birthday!

 

It was then time to check Dave's probability of having Downs Syndrome, this is done by measuring the liquid that is behind his/ her neck. Our measurement was 1.7mm, which is a good size, but I have also had a blood test which will be combined with the measurement result and give us a percentage as to whether Dave will have the condition or not. I expect we will get the results in a few more days.

 

After the scan we went to Mothercare and ordered Dave's crib and mattress, and got a few things to help me be more comfortable. It was really exciting to be able to go into Mothercare and actually order something for us and our baby!

 

Then when we got home we told the world about our miracle via Facebook. The response we received was amazing. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful support network or friends and family. Dave is going to be the luckiest baby in the world, Phil and I love him/ her so much already...

 

 So now it is just up to Dave to keep growing and getting bigger and stronger, 3 weeks now until my next midwife appointment, and the 4 more weeks after that until our next scan?!

 

It is going so fast, but I for one am loving the ride...

 

Take Care All x

Out of the Danger Zone?

Hello Everyone!

According to our first scan which dated us at 7 weeks and 1 day we should now be 12 weeks pregnant today. Of course this date could be wrong, and I expect that our due date will be changed at our scan on Friday, but for now we are assuming that we have finally reached that magical date.

Now is the time that not only our risk of miscarriage is significantly reduced, but also my delightful pregnancy symptoms should be getting easier to manage. There is no use expecting that to happen right now though, as my body happily showed me this morning (note to self, breakfast should be eaten after you have thrown up, not before!). Still, after 6 weeks of morning sickness now I will be grateful for even just a little break now and then...

I feel like a bit of a hermit at the moment. I don't want to go on about it all the time but it really does interrupt my life. I haven't really been able to go out and see friends or family. I can't tidy my home (which really gets me down) and I can't cook dinner for Phil. It is like I am stuck in some kind of limbo and I can't wait to break free of it! Imagine if I wasn't on the anti-sickness tablets... what would it be like that?!

Anyway, that's enough of that doom and gloom... our scan is on Friday! It is at 3pm and we are so excited! Nervous... but excited all the same! I don't really know what to expect but I am sure that it will be brilliant and we are taking lots of change so we can get a lovely picture of Dave. Then when we get home we will be announcing our pregnancy to the world! I don't know why but I am so nervous about telling everyone! Mad isn't it! Still, it will be brilliant!

Before we come home though we will be going to Mothercare and (hopefully, if all goes well) buying Dave's crib. I know that it is still early days, but we have waited for years for this moment and I am not waiting anymore! I can't! We have done well not to buy anything so far as it is! It will be so fantastic to actually be able to buy something for once.

Loads of wonderful things to come, bring on Friday!

Take Care All x

10 Weeks Down!

Hello Everyone!

 

Well... what a whirlwind these past few weeks have been! I can not believe how quickly this is all happening. It seems like only yesterday we were getting our head round the idea that we will be having IVF. Now, after a short while it seems, we are pregnant with our little miracle.

 

You may recall in the earlier days of this blog I said something along the lines of 'I will not moan throughout my pregnancy'. Well I can tell you that I have moaned... a lot... ha ha! It is only really because of the morning (midday, afternoon, evening, night-time) sickness though. The tiredness I can deal with, I love bed! It is purely just this constant feeling of nausea and the fact that I am now, without fail vomiting every morning. Nice...

 

I hope I am one of the 'lucky' sufferers of morning sickness (or Hyperemesis, as it has been written on my notes) that stop feeling this way once the 12 week barrier is passed. I have just about had enough of it now, considering it started at 6 weeks exactly! I have become a bit of a recluse really, but I am hoping that once the nausea stops I will be able to get on with my life as normal again!

 

Amongst that symptom I still get tired a lot, I have dizzy spells and the odd minor headache. I also have a lovely roadmap of veins that are appearing all the time, not just on my breasts but also my legs. My tummy feels as though it is starting to stretch, although I am yet to have a visible 'bump'. My hair and nails are growing rapidly, and my bottom often 'pipes up' throughout the day! I guess my least attractive symptom is the fine hair that is growing on my tummy. How disgusting!

 

Our meeting with the midwife was brilliant, although she did say that I was probably dehydrated, and my blood pressure was quite low, but that is normal. It was just so lovely to finally get my 'bounty pack' and notes. It made it so much more real somehow. I even had to take it with me to a blood test and it probably looked like I was displaying it with pride, ha ha!

 

As the days pass this pregnancy is becoming more and more real. Sometimes I am still caught by the awe of it all. I am pregnant... I can't believe it! Phil and I are still in shock I think? We are both incredibly happy though. To think that in just 30 weeks (this number may seem a lot, but it really isn't!) the child that we have been waiting for will be here. Madness...

 

We are soon to have our 12 week scan, it is booked for the 31st May, when I will (should) be 12 weeks and 2 days. We are really looking forward to seeing baby Dave again, and seeing how he/she has progressed since the 7 week scan. I do find myself worrying that something will go wrong, or be wrong with Dave, but Phil keeps on telling me that it will all be perfect so I should try and hold on to that really... it is hard though.

 

Still, I must be positive! There is a lot to look forward to, and I want to just put it in writing now that I think baby Dave is going to be a girl... just a feeling!

 

Take Care All x

We're Pregnant!!!

Hello Everyone!

Well i think my title says it all! Ha ha! I was going to be vague about it at first but then i thought, why not shout it from the rooftops!

Our scan was so wonderful, whilst Phil was a bit nervous for some reason i wasn't? Strange... We arrived at the clinic and went to sit in the waiting room. It was quite funny really, we were sitting there, relaxed, reading magazines and drinking tea! You wouldn't think we were about to see if we were pregnant or not!

We were called into the room and i got undressed and got myself sorted (it was an internal scan, i guess as it is still early days a normal ultrasound is not good enough?) on the chair and we got started. It must be so hard for the nurse when the scan results in bad news, i for one would not like to be in her shoes.

I think she quickly flashed through my uterus/ womb to try and see the embryo before we did so she could prepare herself, but we saw it! In all its glory! Then satisfied with her check she showed us our lovely little baby. Just 1 in there thankfully! Baby Dave (our embryo's nickname) was beautiful, and what was even more lovely was watching his little heart beating away. That is all we wanted to see, that our little one was in the right place and that he was alive.

Then she went through all the other parts of the scan, including checking the speed of his heartbeat, which was 133 beats per minute, and then she printed us off a picture of Dave:

So there is our lovely little baby, who was on the day of the scan 7 weeks and 1 day old and was almost 1cm in size! Also what is really lovely is that our due date is 11/12/13! What a fantastic date! Maybe Dave will be born at 9:10 and weigh 7lb8oz? Wouldn't that be easy to remember?

I don't think it has sunk in yet, although my symptoms are doing their best to inform me of his presence! I am constantly nauseous, and have actually vomited a fair few times too! My stomach has grown already, although i think that it is just bloating! My breasts are huge too so after the scan we went to Mothercare and bought some new bras. Still i am looking on the bright side of things and i am glad that i have symptoms, it gives me confidence in this pregnancy.

I was then told that i am still to continue with the Crinone Gel (grrr) for another month and also that i needed to contact my doctor from now on as we were finished with Bourn Hall (which is so sad...), so naturally i called my doctor straight away and have an appointment with a nurse on Wednesday (1st May)!

As the days pass by we are both getting more and more excited about our little Baby Dave, Phil is looking after the both of us really well, cleaning my bucket out for me and helping me relax. He is really excited about being a daddy. My sister in law said to me 'i am going to be an auntie!' and i replied 'i am going to be a mummy!' Wow... i have never said that before, and to be able to say that was just wonderful to me...

Phil tells me that i need to stop blaming Dave for everything, 'baby Dave wants another biscuit, not me!' and 'baby Dave keep's farting!'. Ha ha! I love that we are more relaxed about it all now and that we can start to enjoy our pregnancy.

Exciting things are coming for us, let's all keep our fingers crossed!

Take Care All x

Not Long Now!

Hello Everyone!

We now have less than 48 hours until we have our early scan to see if our first attempt at IVF has miraculously worked and we are feeling very excited (but still a bit cautious of course) about it!. This past week has thankfully gone relatively quickly, which we are really grateful for.

My symptoms are getting progressively worse, especially the tiredness and sickness/ nausea. I can deal with the tiredness because quite frankly i like sleeping! Ha ha! The nausea and sickness is beyond ridiculous now though. I am unable to do anything as i am constantly reaching for my orange bucket. Even then it isn't a huge amount of sick but it sure does feel like it will be at the time!

The nausea is waking me up in the night, at least twice a night for the past couple of nights, Meaning that i have to sit up in bed, cuddling my bucket, slowly eating a ginger biscuit. Poor Phil wakes up too and feels bad as there is nothing he can do, bless him. I guess all i can do is wait for this phase to pass, i only hope it will be sooner rather than later!

I am really enjoying reading the 'what to expect when you are expecting' book. It really is an excellent read and i would recommend it to everyone! It is giving me lots of brilliant tips, as are my family and friends!

Tonight is going to be interesting! I will be going to go for a nap shortly because at 10:20pm tonight a taxi will arrive to take me to the BBC radio station in Chelmsford as i am going to be talking live (with other pregnant ladies too) on the BBC Radio 5 Live 11pm show 'Bump Club'. They are going to be talking about IVF tonight and i am really looking forward to doing it. I am also a bit nervous about saying something silly, but i am sure i will be ok. I will probably fall asleep in the taxi on the way home though! I just hope i don't have a long period of nausea throughout the show. That would be horrible... i must remember to take my ginger biscuits!

So now it is really just a case of getting through tomorrow and then travelling up to Bourn Hall on Thursday to hopefully have our long awaited dreams come true.

I really do hope they do...

Take Care All x