37 and 38 week update

How far along:
38 weeks, earlier on in pregnancy I had myself convinced that I wouldn't make it this far, all my friends have had their babies very, very early and I just assumed so would I.
However, at my doctor's appointment today I was told baby's head is still not engaged, so knowing my luck, she will probably make us wait another 4 weeks.

Baby is the size of a:
last week it was a leek, this week baby is the size of a bunch of celery. The whole vegetable comparison has been a bit weird, especially when I see mummies-to-be in the U.S. post pictures of the same vegetable, twice the size they are here.
 

Total weight gain:
18lbs

(37 weeks)

 

(38 weeks-oh my!!)

 

 

Maternity Clothes?
still a mixture

Stretch Marks?
who knows, I don't care really
 

Sleep?
good nights and bad nights.
I invested in a memory foam mattress topper, which has definitely improved things, but I still wake up with hip pain from sleeping on my side.
 

Best moment of the Week:
hearing the heartbeat at my 38 week appointment

Movement:
not as much, but she's definitely still wriggling around

Food Cravings:
ice lollies/popsicles
 

Belly Button in or out:
in

 

Gender:
sweet baby girl
 

Symptoms:
I feel that all in all, I cannot complain too much.
My back hurts a bit and I don't get as much sleep as I'd like but I guess that's to be expected.
Pretty symptom free lately.
 

Anything Making you queasy or Sick?
no
 

Have you Started to Show yet?
definitely.
 

What I miss: 
Being able to get up off the sofa more easily

 

What I'm looking forward to:
Cuddles with my baby
 

What I'm not looking forward to:
Labour

35 and 36 week update

How far along:
35 and 36 weeks

Baby is the size of a:
Honeydew and now Coconut
 

Total weight gain:

16.5lbs

 

Maternity Clothes?
I need a few more tops and desperately need to get measured for nursing bras.

Stretch Marks?
no new ones I think, can't really tell

Sleep?
not sleeping well at the moment, tossing and turning. My hips are hurting from sleeping on my side.
 

Best moment of the Week:
finishing work

Movement:
all the time.
I went to a Backstreet Boys gig at 35+3 and baby moved around to the music like mad!

Food Cravings:

Sweets
 

Belly Button in or out:
In

 

Gender:
Baby Girl
 

Symptoms:
My varicose veins are improving now that I have finished work.
Tiredness, needing to sit down and take breaks.
 

Anything Making you queasy or Sick?
nothing
 

Have you Started to Show yet?
yes
 

What I miss: 
sleeping-in

 

What I'm looking forward to:
the pushchair arriving and hopefully spending some time relaxing and catching up with friends before baby girl arrives
 

What I'm not looking forward to:
labour :(

33 and 34 week update

How far along:
33 and 34 weeks

Baby is the size of a:
Pineapple (33 weeks) and Canteloupe (34 weeks)
 

Total weight gain:

16lbs 
This is really silly, but I wish my bump was more 'perfect', a proper round bump. Due to being overweight to start with, the top half of my bump is harder and the bottom part is still flabby, which is why the bump isn't very neat.
I should really get over feeling like that though!

(33 weeks)

 

(34 weeks)

 

 

Maternity Clothes?
still managing with one pair of maternity jeans, maternity vests and oversized tops(and underwear)

Stretch Marks?
just the ones I've had since puberty, they're the silver ones, not the red ones

Sleep?
it's getting a bit difficult to get comfortable, the mattress really needs replacing(you can feel the springs sticking out)
 

Best moment of the Week:
hearing the heartbeat at my Dr.'s appointment

Movement:
all the time, I really love it. She's head down so mostly feel movement at the top right(where her bottom is)

Food Cravings:
nothing in particular, I thought by this time I would be eating smaller portions, but I can still eat the same amount as before
 

Belly Button in or out:
in, and it won't become an outie in the next 6 weeks either

 

Gender:
sweet baby girl
 

Symptoms:
breathlessness, which was getting me a bit worried as it occurred even when I would sit at the table writing, but the doctor said it was all normal, due to the baby taking up all the space inside of my uterus, which pushes my organs to the top
 

Anything Making you queasy or Sick?
nothing, I think I had my fair share of sickness in the first trimester up until week 16
 

Have you Started to Show yet?
finally people are noticing, so now I don't just look fatter, I look pregnant
 

What I miss:
a comfortable bed 

 

What I'm looking forward to:
finishing work soon
 

What I'm not looking forward to:
labour, just thinking about it terrifies me. Also it's fairly likely that I might be on my own when I go into labour, so that thought is a bit scary

31 and 32 week update

How far along:
31 and 32 weeks

Baby is the size of a:

Bunch of Asparagus and Bok Choy, she's 42cm long and 4lbs heavy.
 

Total weight gain:

12lbs by week 31 and then 15lbs(!!) by the next week

31 weeks

 

32 weeks (this is starting to look really unflattering)

 

 

Maternity Clothes?

Got a new pair of maternity jeans, the belly band was nice and tight for the first week, but now it's stretched out.(and washing them didn't fix that) My belly needs good support or else it starts hurting, so can't comfortably wear loose belly bands!

Stretch Marks?

I honestly don't even know

Sleep?

What's that?? I'm sleeping so badly.
 

Best moment of the Week:

My girlfriend signing the contract to her first flat(apartment)! She's moving in in April and baby and I will follow a little later as I have a 2 month notice period on my flat.

Movement:

All the time, though she definitely has quieter times. She seems to get especially active just when I'm going to bed :)

Food Cravings:

Not cravings, I just want to eat chocolate and bad foods all the time, I did that before I got pregnant though ;-)
 

Belly Button in or out:

In

 

Gender:

Baby girl, still without a name!
 

Symptoms:
nothing new: varicose veins, back ache, lack of sleep and terrible breathlessness, so far I seem to at least have been spared from heart burn and nose bleeds. 

 

Anything Making you queasy or Sick?

No, feeling great food wise
 

Have you Started to Show yet?

Yes, people say I look *small* for how far along I am, amazing considering I feel like I'm the size of a whale!
 

What I miss: 

My sleep!

 

What I'm looking forward to:

Moving in with my partner of 5.5 years in a couple of months
 

What I'm not looking forward to:

Moving 200miles away with a newborn baby in a couple of months!!

 

29/30 week 4D scan

I've been a bit of a scan addict this entire pregnancy and had one at 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 20 and 22 weeks, some private, some as part of my treatment and some through my hospital.

Since we weren't able to confirm the gender at 20/22 weeks, I knew I would want to have another scan later on in pregnancy.

I ended up booking a 4D scan with the same company who did my reassurance scan at 15 weeks and the gender scan at 17 weeks.
At least booking with them I knew that I would get a free re-scan in case baby was in a funny position.

The appointment took place at 29+5 weeks.

We were called in and immediately the sonographer saw that baby was facing the wrong way, so after doing the necessary head and tummy measurements as well as confirming the gender(though somewhat vague "I'm thinking girl") they sent us out to go for a walk and advised to drink and eat something sugary.
We were asked to return 20 minutes later.

We did and while baby had turned around, she now had both arms and one leg in front of her face.
I was asked to turn to the left, to the right, to the left...just to get her to move her arms, lots of jiggling of my tummy, yet still no change.
For a brief second she removed her arms and legs and we got this gorgeous picture. Clearly baby takes after me and got my family's big nose ;-)

 

 



As we had paid for a 30 minute 'bonding scan' we were once again sent out of the room, this time to the waiting area and I was asked to drink lots and lots of water to fill up my bladder.
After another 20 minutes we were called back in, but despite lots of turning from side to side on my part and jiggling around there was no change, so the sonographer called it a day and told us to re-schedule.
I immediately called the next day and was able to book an appointment for 30+3, and while my girlfriend wouldn't be able to come along, my mum would as she was visiting from Germany that weekend.

So the day of the second appointment came and my mum was very excited.

Unfortunately baby seems to be a little bit camera shy, so while she was facing the camera, she was only showing us half her face.
The sonographer tried her best, again lots of turning and jiggling and then she even made me get up on all 4 on the bed and shake my tummy around to wake the little one and shake her into a different position. So glad nobody filmed this part as it was a bit embarrassed.
But no luck.
We managed to get a couple more pictures, but nothing amazing and I'm definitely glad I didn't pay extra for the dvd as it was non refundable and wouldn't have been worth it.
We actually chose a picture from the first scan attempt to be printed as the colour picture as it was better than anything we got the second time.
I find the last picture a little scary...

 

I'm still glad I did the 4D scan as we were able to confirm (twice) baby was a girl and we got a few glimpses of what she will look like once born.
She seems to have rather full lips too, I remember saying after the 12 week scan that she had pouty lips so nothing has changed since then.
I can't wait to meet her and compare her features to these pictures we have.

29 and 30 week update

How far along:
29 and 30 weeks

Baby is the size of a:
Butternut Squash and now large cabbage
She's 1.4kg or 3lbs 3oz according to the latest scan.
 

Total weight gain:
12lbs, I started slowly and now catching up quickly

 

(29 weeks)

 

(30 weeks)

 

 

 

Maternity Clothes?

Other than my maternity jeans and 'upsized' tops, I have started wearing underwear which was only intended to go in my hospital bag...big Bridget Jones style underpants ;-)

Stretch Marks?

No new ones I think, but to be honest unless they're the angry red ones, I don't really care

Sleep?
Not doing great, the mattress supplied by my landlord is cheap and starting to get uncomfortable, but because I'm planning on moving this summer, there's no point buying a new one
 

Best moment of the Week:
4D scan at 29+5, I'll be sharing pictures soon

Movement:
loads, no kicks, just lots of rolling around
 

Food Cravings:
sadly nothing healthy
 

Belly Button in or out:
in

 

Gender:
confirmed baby is a little girl
 

Symptoms:
*back ache
*varicose veins
*feeling heavy in my belly
*breathlessness, even when just lying and sitting down
 

Anything Making you queasy or Sick?
*had nausea for a couple of mornings this week, no idea what caused that, but luckily it's gone now
 

Have you Started to Show yet?
People who know that I'm pregnant have commented that I look more pregnant, but I'm still not being offered seats on the bus or the train
 

What I miss: 

sleeping comfortably
 

What I'm looking forward to:
My mum coming to visit at the end of the week and going for a re-scan of my 4D scan as baby wasn't cooperating and we didn't get
 

What I'm not looking forward to:
Getting bigger and more uncomfortable

Baby Show at the London Excel February 2014

A few years ago I attended the Baby Show in London, I was not pregnant, but I had won some tickets in a twitter competition and thought it would be fun to go along.
It was a fun day out and I remember pushing out my 'food baby' to look pregnant so I wouldn't feel to guilty about getting pushchair/stroller demonstrations.
I decided the next time I'd go to the Baby Show would be when I was actually pregnant.

I didn't feel confident enough yet to go to the show last October, but I wasn't going to miss the show in February 2014 when I would be 29 weeks pregnant.
I asked my girlfriend to come along as I thought it would be a nice 'bonding' experience, she and I are still in a long distance relationship, so she has to rely on me telling her about our baby.
My antenatal appointments are usually on Fridays, meaning other than two ultrasounds, she hasn't been to any of the check ups with me and has had to miss out on a lot of pregnancy related stuff.

Recently my work schedule changed and I am now off on Fridays, which was perfect for attending the Baby Show on the quietest day.
We arrived at lunchtime after about an hour travel time and were glad to see it not too busy.
Our goal was to test drive a couple of pushchairs, I had done lots of research, so I knew which ones to go and try out.
My flat/apartment has a very narrow entrance as well as limited storage space, so the smaller the pushchair, the better, so the Buggaboo Bee and the iCandy Raspberry were high on my list.
We also tried a few others, but in the end my girlfriend agreed that both of those would be the most suitable for us, even though we also liked the Mamas&Papas Sola and I later saw the UppaBaby Cruz, but both of these need to be taken apart into two pieces when folding down, unlike the Buggaboo Bee and the iCandy Raspberry, which easily fold in one piece.
Sadly the release date of the Raspberry has been pushed back to 'summer', after the baby arrives, so the decision has been made for us.

Other than looking at pushchairs, we did a bit of window shopping at the many, many other stalls.
You could get changing bags, safety items, high chairs, toys, bottles, clothes, nursery furniture and many many more things.
Luckily we managed to not spend too much money and only parted with £24 for a night light/room thermometer, a night light cover, some bibs and a door stopper, which I bought for work.

Plus I got quite a few freebies, a breast pump I had won on facebook(to be collected at the show), a full size bottle of bio-oil, which I won on a scratch card at the show, some dishwasher tabs, which were just handed out at the entrance and breast pads, free for signing up for the Avent newsletter.

 

And lastly we bought a goodie bag for £2/$3, which included 2 Baby Magazines and a whole lot of goodies. I will be giving some of these away to the little girl I nanny for as they're not yet needed four baby and I don't want it just sitting around at home, but for £2, we couldn't resist.

 

 

All in all we had a fun couple of hours and I hope to be back one day with our daughter. It's probably more useful for people who are looking at doing a lot of shopping to make it worth the price of the ticket on top. A lot of the retailers were offering 10 or even 20% off, but we don't need any furniture to begin with other than a small bedside bassinet, which we are just going to buy at the local baby shop.