Hi Everyone,
I’ve been a bit quiet on the blog front this week as I’ve been a bit poorly and been resting lots. It’s almost quite annoying because I’ve got a whole bunch of things I want to blog about – keep your eyes peeled over the next few days.
I’m now at the stage of pregnancy where lots of people come up to you and ask all about your bump. It’s not bothered me at all so far, I find it lovely that people are so nice. One lady even told me I was a “glowing little poppet” whilst I was in the supermarket which was really sweet and thoroughly made my day. And luckily I’ve not had any random strangers come and place their hands on my bump; I have no problem with friends having a feel of my bump, but the thought of someone I don’t know touching it makes me really uncomfortable, so I’m glad I’ve avoided that. It’s lovely when my friends and family get to feel baby kick – it’s a chance for them to feel close to the baby too.
Of course with all the lovely comments you get, you also get people who manage to say things you simply don’t want to have said to you when you’re pregnant! Half the time people don’t even mean to be offensive and would more than likely be mortified if they knew they’d upset you, but when you already feel like a waddling walrus with hormones flying all over the place it really doesn’t help. For example,I had someone tell me I looked miserable this week; they couldn’t have been more wrong, but the throw away comment was made at a wedding where everyone was drunk and I was shattered but happily taking in the fun going on around me. I enjoyed seeing it from the other side for once, as normally I am the party girl! So whilst deep in thought, to have this comment thrown at me didn’t impress me much, but at the same time it came from a friend who wouldn’t have ever meant any harm and wouldn’t have been aware of the many insecurities us pregnant women have! Another favourite I’ve had thrown my way has been along the lines of “It’ll be interesting to see what colour the baby’s hair will be” and “what will you do if it’s ginger”! As a natural redhead, this is a distinct possibility, and isn’t a problem for me. I’d love to know what people expect me to say; “oh well, if it’s ginger I’ll just send it back and ask for a refund”! What I do say is that the colour of my baby’s hair is the least of my worries, all I care about is it being healthy and happy. I already love this baby so much, and am already very protective. So comments like that can be somewhat irritating. But because they nearly always come from people who would never mean any harm at all, you can’t really be rude back. There are so many things that are said to pregnant women that really should be avoided; “oh you’re life’s over now” (no it isn’t, it’s only just getting started and I can’t wait for this next chapter), “be careful, you’ve gained a bit of weight in your face” (charming – the pressure on women to lose weight when they’ve had the baby is bad enough, let alone having to worry whilst pregnant – but that’s a subject for another post), and the famous “oh are you sure there isn’t twins in there” (quite sure thanks, but cheers for pointing out the chunkiness)!
There’s a fine line between people just having a joke with you and you letting it upset you due to surging hormones and paranoia about how you look, feel, behave and so on. The main thing to remember is people generally don’t mean to upset you, and at least they’re showing an interest. As humans, we all manage to put our foot in it sometimes, so try not to let things get to you or take things too personally. A lot easier said than done when you’re a hormonal wreck who now cries at adverts (yes, I speak from experience), and if someone does say something a bit cutting, smile, wear your bump proudly and ignore them. Pregnancy is such a special time, don’t let anyone’s harmless comments get to you too much.
As always here is my little update for this week:
How far along: 32 weeks! It is crazy how quickly the weeks are going now. I’ve only got 8 weeks to go, possibly less if I have to have a C Section, something we’ll find out at our 36 week scan in November.
Weight Gain: I’ve put on a pound this week. I’m now at the stage of pregnancy where baby is gaining around half a pound every week, and given that I may have indulged in more than one red velvet cupcake this week(!!), I’m not too surprised or bothered. Having had all my measurements done at my scan, baby is estimated at 4 lbs at the moment which is a good weight.
Maternity Clothes: We had a wedding to go to at the weekend and was thrilled to wear a maternity dress I bought months ago that now fits perfectly. It’s a New Look dress, but very similar style to, the far more expensive Tiffany Rose dress. It was super comfy but the heels only lasted for the ceremony – I was back in my ballet pumps for the rest of the wedding!
Stretch Marks: Still got luck on my side! Baby loves having a bump massage every night with oil and wriggles in response. I’ve noticed the area around my old belly button piercing has a bit of a different colour to it but no actual stretch marks as yet!
Sleep: I’d been a bit worried when we went away for this wedding as I don’t sleep well away from home usually. But I actually had a really good sleep that night; our room had a massive deep bath which I relaxed in with a book before going to sleep so that definitely helped. I’d been getting better quality of sleep at the start of this week, even with the 3-4 toilet wake up calls. Then on Wednesday I noticed baby was kicking on the opposite side of my body from usual – it seemed to have flipped. However it clearly got bored with this after a day because I was up all Wednesday night thanks to baby kicking and moving back to its original position. Hoping that tonight I can get back into a decent sleep again. Restless legs are still plaguing me but baths at night, and lots of bouncing on the birthing ball are helping a lot.
Best Moment This Week: There’s been a few lovely moments this week. The big one was our 32 week scan. It was so lovely seeing the baby again; you could see so much detail like it’s cute chubby little hands and feet and the profile of its face. I thought I couldn’t be anymore in love with this baby but now I am even more in love! Baby is completely healthy and growing well but my placenta has only partially moved. Although I’m taking that as a positive, it hasn’t moved enough for my consultant to be completely happy so I have to go back for a scan at 36 weeks when a decision will be made as to whether I need a Caesarean Section. It’s mad to think that’s only a month away and then at that appointment if the decision is made that I should have a C Section, that will only be 3 weeks after that scan! Time is flying, its crazy.
Another lovely moment this week was seeing one of my very best friends who was up in the area for a few days. It was so lush to see her and have a catch up and she did me the most beautiful bag of “mummy to be” gifts, as well as giving me the most ridiculously huge bag of barely work baby clothes. It was so lovely to see her as I miss her so much. I am so lucky to have friends dotted about all over the place and it means so much when I get to see them.
And of course we had a wedding to go to! It was such a lovely day; lots of sunshine, a lot of laughing and staying away in a lovely hotel was such a treat. This was with friends we’d not seen for a long time and it was lovely having a catch up and seeing everyone.
Miss Anything: I do miss just going to bed at night and falling straight to sleep. But it’s all part and parcel of being a Mum – it’s good practise if nothing else! And I have to admit, at the wedding it’s the first time in the whole pregnancy I’ve thought I do miss having a glass of champagne. I feel really guilty admitting that!! I’m sure I’ll indulge in a glass at Christmas.
Movement: Plenty! Last night there were legs and arms going crazy; if it hadn’t been 3am I’d of got up and videoed it on my phone cause it was so insane. But I was too lazy and instead just enjoyed lying there feeling my baby moving about lots; in that moment it doesn’t matter how tired you are, it’s the best feeling in the world.
Food Cravings: I’ve been all over pasta this week! Especially with pesto. I’ve still got a lot of chocolate cravings going on but I am really trying to be good and not eat too much. Having said that I definitely eat something sweet every day. I’m also drinking gallons of milk. I love it!
Mood: So excited! I am so excited to meet our baby now and I think todays scan made it even more real. I’ve started doing lots of reading on birth and I’ve done my birth plan and I am bothering all my mummy friends with questions on birth and what to expect. I am oddly relaxed this week too; it makes me think that next week my nesting is going to go full force and I’ll cleaning like a mad woman.
Looking Forward To: Starting our NCT classes. We have attended NHS ones which were fine but I didn’t feel like I learnt much and there wasn’t enough interaction to give you the chance to make friends. I know NCT are well known for helping you make a good group of mummy friends which I am hopeful for and I am keen to get lots of advice on breastfeeding in the classes. And of course, I now have our next (!) scan to look forward to in a month. Any excuse to see the baby is wonderful and I’m keeping positive about the outcome of the scan.
So all in all it’s been a good week. I hope you’ve all enjoyed this post and I promise, after my poorly days this week with no blogging, there’s lots to come over the next week or two.
Thanks for reading
Xxx
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