At least it's no Tinman!!

This week has been slightly smoother sailing in terms of pregnancy symptoms, which isn't a bad thing as I think both Keith and I were in need of some peace.

We did however have a wonderful moment yesterday which I'd like to share - we heard Maybe's heartbeat for the first time.

I had quite an uneventful midwife visit in which I was told that I'm not anaemic and not diabetic, and then they had a go at listening in to the baby, even though it was a little early. I did promise the student I wouldn't get hysterical if she couldn't find the heartbeat and really, I was just enjoying a nice lie down after my hectic morning.

The student skirted round my tummy for a while, and we thought we heard something so the midwife took over, and sure enough, a few seconds later, there it was, loud and strong and regular as clockwork.

It was pretty cool. More so I think than seeing Maybe on screen, perhaps because this time I wasn't totally preoccupied by how much my bladder was killing me!!

And right at the end of the appointment we even touched on the subject of homebirth again - and it all still seems positive!! There was talk of getting me the Bedford on call number, and coming to see the house after 30 weeks, so I left well and truly happy!!

The Curse of Knowledge

I have started to wonder more and more recently whether modern pregnancy is sometimes the victim off too much information. There are thousands of resources for anyone with the slightest interest in what is happens to the human body during pregnancy, in fact, I can’t think of another 40 weeks of a human being’s life which is so well documented.

I don’t suppose I am unique in using some of the many internet resources available. I get a few land in my Inbox every week giving me the lowdown on what both me and Maybe are up to, and for once I seem to be hitting all and every milestone with predictable ease – but therein lies the curse.

It is all very well when your daily belly button inspection suddenly reveals an emerging Linea Negra right on cue, or the day you realise you have made it past 9pm without so much as a yawn, but what happens when you suddenly get something that didn’t appear in your weekly bulletin?

I’ll tell you what, abject panic is what! Last week I had my first (and so far only) episode of round ligament pain, and by jeebus it hurt. I think I would have been high tailing it to the nearest A&E if I hadn’t been forewarned about it. But then the next day I started getting achy, stretchy pains, of the sort I had in the early weeks, and I was nothing short of hyperventilating because none of my weekly digests had told me to expect it. It took a frenzied 5 minutes on Google before I found out that all was fine and dandy, but it made me wonder, am I coming to rely on information too much? And is all of this information robbing me of some of the mystery and enjoyment of this journey I’m on?

I suppose if I had to use a motoring analogy (and c’mon, would I miss a chance to do just that??) I feel a bit like a rally driver at the moment, with a co-driver sitting beside me describing every bump in the road. What I think I would rather have is some bloke with a map who tells me what road I need, and then lets me enjoy discovering the rest for myself.In other news, I have a bit of a pregnancy related woe at the moment, my gums are taking a battering of epic proportions. I have an exposed root on one tooth and despite making several appointments, I don’t yet seem to have been able to get a dentist to look at me. Ordinarily, this would be a cause for celebrations, but at the moment I’m paranoid that I’m going to wake up each morning with teeth falling out right and left. Clearly I won’t, but I consider this one more black mark against the weekly digests.

Week 13 – The Bump has landed!!

All those who know me, know that I am not what would usually be referred to as a “girlie girl”. My makeup bag consists of an eye liner and tinted moisturiser, my nails are allowed to grow until they break and then get hacked off, and rarely, if ever has there been a smile on my face on the yearly occasion of my needing new clothes. Until now.

The final insult of the first trimester of pregnancy is that while you are suffering all the misery of your various symptoms, nobody has the faintest idea that they should be heaping you with tea and sympathy because you have no bump. That is not to say, however that your favourite skinny jeans are still making you look fabulous in a consolatory way. Ooooh no! Nature decreed that I should start losing my waistline at around week 10, worse still, that from almost the moment I knew Maybe was there, I could no longer stand the feeling of anything pressing round my middle.

Where does that leave a girl? I hear you ask.

Exactly my dilemma! I would respond.

You see there is no section for “slightly pregnant but just looking like she’s eaten all the pies” in your local Mothercare. Nobody is there to advise on the correct sizing of “porky fit” jeans. And so you struggle on, choosing outfits not by what actually goes together, but by what you can and are willing to wear. It is a miserable time, and I don’t mind telling you I spent the last few weeks feeling like an overstuffed sausage.

But that is all in the past now. Ooohohoho yes, dear friends, I am now the proud owner of what I believe is called a capsule wardrobe of the pregnancy variety. And I have the wonderful (and very patient) Sal to thank for it.

We decided that both currently being under the whim of little hitchhikers, we were in dire need of cheering ourselves up with some retail therapy (a clear enough sign of my impending motherhood/ temporary insanity if ever there was one!) and so we ventured to the Mecca of convenient shopping, The Oracle in Reading, and wouldn’t you just know it, we were just in time for sales season!!

I’m not sure you would call our trip a frenzy as such, it was a little too leisurely for that (it had to be, we’re both in training to honorary penguins) but there was definitely hyperventilating, lots of smiling and even (ashamed as I am to admit it) some excited clapping as finally we both stepped out in clothes that made us look nothing short of fabulous.

So the next time you see me, beware, I am no longer hiding under baggy tops and big jumpers. I have the beginnings of bump and I’m now not afraid to show it!!

Time to come clean

For a lot of you, this will be the first you know about this blog, so firstly welcome. As you can see I have been keeping something from you for the last few months, and here it is.

After a week of convincing myself that I was going to go for a scan to be told it was all an elabourate hoax, I went for a scan to find, no, I am in fact pregnant (surprise, surprise!!)

It was a horrible introduction to maternity care at the hospital thanks to some very unhelpful receptionists, but luckily the lovely lady who had removed half my blood was good enough to help me make sense of things, and also to warn me to stop drinking my pre-scan drink so quickly or I was liable to explode. She was nearly right.

So the exciting bit then, Maybe's first photo session. When the sonographer first tried to take the measurements, Maybe as so curled up that she just couldn't get a proper reading. So she measured the head and found we were pretty much bang on with the 22/23 October as a due date, which is ace, although I still think the sensible money is on a Hallowe'en baby.

Having confirmed there was a heartbeat and a brain (a miracle in itself considering the parents), she tried to get Maybe to move around and stretch out a little bit to get a decent measurement.

Maybe was not amused.

First, an arm was flung in the our direction with the clear subtitle "GERROFFFFF" and then Maybe threw what I can only describe as an epic hissy fit. Clearly I didn't pass up the chance to tell Keith I thought this was indicative of his influence, although my mum later informed me that in her opinion the child obviously takes after me. Quite frankly, I was outraged at the suggestion.

So anyway, here it is, Maybe's Diary. Hopefully full of things that will make you giggle, things that will make you go "Aaaaahhh" and if you ever find yourself in the same position as we did, things that might bring you some comfort.