Week 22

Boy am I tired this week! I'm nearing my third trimester and the fatigue has found me again! A positive thing this week is that the baby is larger (spaghetti squash) and his kicks are stronger so other people can feel them as well as me! It's really lovely that Lee can feel him kicking now, it's nice to be able to share it with him more!

Ella is really excited now and always rubbing my tummy. She thinks it's funny that my belly button has popped out! We are still really undecided on a name.. The current picks are Zack, Dylan and Lucas.. What do you think?

Pushchair Pondering

I am currently trying to decide between 2 buggies (prams/pushchairs/strollers) so I thought I'd share with you what I'm looking at and maybe you'd have some opinions. I set out looking for something that could be a chassis alone that could hold a pushchair attachment or a car seat for better portability in the early stages when you have to lug around so much junk it makes you want to never leave the house again. I knew there were such contraptions on the market because I'd seen them but little did I know how many there were to choose from and how huge the difference in price can be.
We went to see some in action last week and I think i have it pinned down to just two. Both very similar and I think I know which I'd prefer but here they are for comparison.

First up is the Sola from Mamas and Papas RRP £275

It can be fully rotated on the chassis to be rear or front facing as well as being a base for several brands of car seat and a carrycot fixture if you so wished. It has 4 wheels, I can tell you from having a go in store that it's VERY easy to manoeuvre and I really like the handle which as well as being very comfortable is extendable for the taller parents among us. It's not cheap as pushchairs go but it's not totally breaking the bank and right now there's 10% off online and a deal where by if you purchase the corresponding Aton car seat there's another £50 to be saved!
The car seat in £135 and can be found here

Next is the Quinny Zapp RRP £149.99

A little rundown on the zapp.. It obviously has a more modern looking 3-wheeled chassis. The pushchair attachment is rigid and you only have the option of front facing. The handles are more handle bars than one comfortable bar to hold and as far as I can tell they don't extend. As with the Sola is manoeuvres nicely and as Ella had a go in it I can account for it's stability with heavier children lol. It also has a carrycot attachment which you can purchase separately and it can also be used with a variety of car seats.

The car seat that is promoted as go-with is the Maxi-Cosi which can be purchased for £99.99 here

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It is obvious which is the more financially appealing of the two but does that necessarily mean it's the one I should choose? I'm tempted to say that Sola would be more durable just because it's Mamas and Papas and I trust that brand to deliver high quality products. I've never had any first hand experience of anything Maxi-Cosi or Quinny but Ellas pram was Mamas and Papas and we literally ran it in to the ground because I didn't drive and therefore walked EVERYWHERE. It got some serious hammer and lasted really well. Both of these buggies are offering what I set out to find but should I plump for the cheaper, better looking Zapp or take a chance on the Sola, more expensive and not bad looking but likely to last longer if we did want to have another baby or pass it on to someone who was.

If any of you have any experience of either of these or just want to share your opinion please leave me a comment below :)

Week 21

It's so weird to me 'cause I remember looking forward in the baby books and thinking "a banana?" like it was miles away but this week that is the size of my baby! I'm hoping the fruit analogy only refers to length as opposed to shape lol



I'm feeling good right now. Not so tired, not so hungry, bit of a stitch feeling which I think is the stretching sensation but no dizziness, all good really! I'm still not feeling big enough movements for anyone else to be able to feel them but I'm sure it will happen soon enough

Baby Bumpin' and Big Love!

You may have noticed my tiny slide show in my sidebar (I don't know how to make it bigger) well I added this picture to it this week and I thought I'd share a full sized picture. My bump has come out for all to see recently.. the difference in the last 4 weeks is just unreal. I feel huge already but I know I will be so much bigger towards the end. I'm feeling a lot more positive since my last post. I am fairly set on a C-section again as I was originally and since I made that decision I'm a lot calmer. I really appreciate all of you that commented and offered your moral support as well as those that shared their own experiences.. I would love to here from you if you've got some positive c-section memories to share with me (no horror stories please) Every message I get from someone advocating multiple sections makes me feel so much better!!!

To Push Or Not To Push?

I haven't been too nervous of the birth since I first found out I was pregnant and had a minor panic attack. I have always been told I would have another section if I were to have a second child so I psyched myself up for the big operation, convinced myself it was what I wanted and the best thing to do. I went to my 20 week scan last week and met with my consultant (same guy as I had with Ella) for the first time and discussed the birth plan and any issues I had. Given that I had no issues the birth was top billing and he gave me a run down of my options. He basically told me that having looked into the notes of my previous pregnancy there should be no medical reason I can't give birth naturally this time and that when it is possible that is always what they recommend. He took my initially C-section wishes in to consideration but made me aware I may not have that choice. SHIT!

So.. since that day I'm been pretty much freaking out. I go back and forth between what I should do. I'm fairly confident that if I 100% wanted another section I could get one by some means. I have very little confidence that I will go through labour and actually manage to get the baby out without surgical intervention because of my previous experience so in part I think is it not just better to elect the caesarean and know what's going to happen but if I DID manage a natural birth the recover would be 100 times quicker and easier and I would have my body back almost immediately. That's a huge plus point. If I go for the section again we're talking 6 weeks until I can even drive! The discomfort lasts about a fortnight but there's always the risk of infection and other complications with any major operation. They are literally slicing through several layers of me and sewing them all back up.. let's just say it's sore! On top of that I will go in to it this time totally sober. The first time I was pretty much off my head on all kinds of drugs by the time they wheeled me into surgery but I would be seriously aware of everything this time.. that's pretty f***ing scary!

My questions now are

• Will I be allowed to go overdue? (I went 2 weeks with Ella and had to be induced.. I think that's a big part of the reason I had emergency surgery in the end)
• How long will I be allowed to be in labour before they intervene?
• If I do book in for an elective section what happens if I go in to labour before it?

I think they are my big burning questions for my next midwife appointment and knowing me I'll forget to ask any of them but they are really now my deciding factors. I like the idea of going in to labour and it being very exciting and all that but I didn't have that last time, I was 2 weeks late then induced THREE TIMES before anything started to happen and it was then another 24 hours before she was born. I had the epidural and had thr gas and air, the Pethadin.. anything going basically and I was in established labour! I was dialating, I was feeling the urge to push and then I go whisked off in to theatre and sliced open anyway. If I was told for sure I could have a natural birth and that yes of course it was going to hurt and yes I would probably need an episiotomy to get the baby out but I could do it and I would definitely not be given a section then I think that would be my choice but deep down I just know I wont get that. I know if I go in to labour it will all end the same way anyway. The consultant himself said that an elective is always better than an emergency (duh) and I THINK that when I see him again in another 15 weeks if I am adamant that I want an elective section he will give me one but.. what if he doesn't? I just wish I could prepare myself either way. When you've only had a natural labour or no labour at all these questions don't arise but for me it's all I think about.

I'm trying to forget about it until my next appointment for now.. nothing is going to happen between now and another 3 or 4 weeks so I'm trying to just enjoy this phase of pregnancy but that consultant really threw me off my game.

You can probably expect more rambling posts like this from time to time when the stress gets so much I need an outlet but more than anything I needed to have written down my worries so in 15 weeks time I will remember how I felt now and all the questions I have for the man that holds all the cards. He decides my fate after all. I'm completely out of control!

Week 20

So I'm officially halfway through and in working that out I also discovered that pregnancy is 10 months!!!! How has this happened? I got over it pretty quickly when I decided it put me another month away from giving birth! *phew*

This week the baby is apparently the size of a small cantelope.. Huh! Another exciting thing was scan.. I finally know if it's a boy or a girl (if you want to know watch my video below)

Pink or Blue?

Ok It's happened.. I'm officially excited!

Tomorrow is the day of our scan and boy oh boy (or girl) am I looking forward to it.

FINALLY we get to find out what we're having. I have the names picked out all ready and waiting so from tomorrow it will be a real person we're waiting to meet. For those wondering the chosen names are Dylan and Lexi (it will be either Alexa or Alexis). Once we know either way I'll get more in to that but they're fairly decided now I think.. near enough definite.. but you do never know til it's born do you?

Ella is crazy excited too.. every morning she comes to see me "2 more sleeps Mummy" she can't wait. She's told me she wants a girl, she's told me she wants a boy and now she tells me there's no point in talking about "we'll get what we're given" haha! Wise words! It's going to be so cool taking her with us to see the baby on screen. Since the last scan when I decided she could come to this one she has been counting down the days so it's a really big deal for her little 5 year old self let alone us grown up's. My Mum is coming with us too.. partly to look after Ella if she does get bored and when I have my consultant appt afterwards but also because she's uber-excited too and wants to see it. At Ella's scan my Mum came along and if it hadn't been for her I'd never have known if it was a boy or a girl.. I was 19, they did the scan and just never said anything and I was so young I wasn't going to speak up so she did and we found out she was a she.

This has been the point I've been waiting for, the thing that I knew would get me more excited and it's finally nearly here!!! The baby has been so active too, I'm still waiting on the movements being consistent and large enough for Lee to feel but feeling him or her move around inside me is pretty darn special I can tell you.. I don't remember how I felt the first time but somehow this time it's different. I've been less excited up until this point but now it feels almost better. It's probably just because this was planned and so wanted for so long. It's taken me a while to truly believe it's happening and now I've wrapped my head around it .. yep.. I'm excited!!!

So.. I will do my best to get some footage tomorrow like last time but we'll just have to see.. we were lucky so fingers crossed! Either way I will vlog and blog and you will all know the result as soon as I do :)



Week 19

19 weeks and apparently the baby is the equivalent to Heirloom Tomato in size... Now I have never heard of an heirloom tomato so I took the liberty of providing a photo for those of you like me!

So thats pretty huge.. No wonder my bellys popped out this week.

I have a picture of that too...

I'm feeling the pregnancy now, I'm breathless and uncomfortable and the sleepiness has returned in full force. I'm finding the challenge of dressing my new shape quite fun now I dont just look "a bit fat" and I feel days away from a kick Lee could actually feel. It's feeling more and more like we're going to have a baby.. Which is a good job 'cause it'll be here in 4 months!!!!