Week 32 - Start of the Finish (hopefully)

It felt impossible a few months ago, and still a million miles away a few weeks ago, but I have finally reached 32 weeks, or I suppose more accurately Alfie has, I reckon I might have hit this particular milestone a few decades ago.

Keith and I have been spending more time talking about what life will be like once Alfie is here, and I have also now reached a point where I want us to spend as much time together as we can before he arrives. Call me selfish, but the way I see it, after this weekend, we have a few short weeks until it is never just the two of us ever again (god willing) and I don't want to share that time with anyone.

In other 32 week news, I now have a further addition to the My Bump Is Too Big To ...” list, which can be found here . I won't repeat myself, it was shameful enough writing about it the first time.

In celebration of reaching this momentous milestone, where Alfie now has a 95% chance of surviving whenever he decides to put in an appearance, I have today taken my first Raspberry Leaf capsule.

A slightly trepedatious moment as these things are designed to tone up your uterus in order to make labour more efficient, and Lord knows I don't want them to be so efficient I'm crossing my legs for the next few weeks!! It all seems to be relatively quiet on that front though, despite having to suffer Braxton Hicks in my back for the last few weeks. You wanted to see Keith's face when I explained what Braxton Hicks were ... "You're having practise contractions?!?! ... What, NOW??!?! Oh how I wish I'd had a camera at that moment!!

Wonderful News

I was waiting to make this post because I wanted to post a photo of the nappy carnage that has overtaken FTC recently, but in reality, it seems there was a higher purpose.

It makes me incredibly happy to tell you all that my best friend, and bump buddy Sal gave birth to baby Joe yesterday. She went into hospital at 3 and he had arrived by 5 without even gas & air weighing in at 7lb 12oz.

The news, while incredibly welcome has put me in one helluva flap. This is going to sound really odd, but being pregnant, and the idea of a due date felt like a very abstract concept. The dates have ticked by, but it has been such a long time that it feels like I’m always going to get rounder, without any obvious end. I had Sal to keep me company in that journey and the two of us together just seemed to go on and on getting rounder and discovering more about those bumps.

And now she’s gone and given birth, and frankly, it has terrified me. Not because I’m scared of Alfie’s birth in any way, but because there is still so much to do, and suddenly it feels like so little time to do it in.

That brings me neatly onto the subject of nappies. Not only have I taken delivery of the kit from Little Green Earthlets, but by sheer coincidence, on the very same day, I managed to bag an entire bin bag full of assorted washable nappies from freecycle. It might seem a little odd to need both, but in reality there is a good reason to have a variety of different makes and models because apparently these little people can come in different shapes and sizes which changes the type of nappy which fits them best. Who knew, eh?

The more mature of you might smile nostalgically at this picture – it isn’t every day you see a line of white nappies drying these days!

What have I become?!?!

Keith and I did something incredibly exciting yesterday, we bought Alfie’s nappies.

And in that one sentence, and the consideration thereof, lies the realisation of what my life has become.

As I mentioned some time ago, Keith and I agreed that we were going to use washable nappies with Alfie, and when I found out I got a free £190 from the government I decided that it would be used to pay for the nappy kit. Then I found out our council does £25 cashback to those who invest in washable nappies and it seemed foolish not to invest!

So yesterday morning, clutching my well thumbed catalogue, we jumped in the car and drove the hour to Ivinghoe to Little Green Earthlets. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that I had butterflies in my tummy, or that Keith had the slightly weary look of a man indulging his pregnant wife against his better judgement. He was there though, and that in itself meant a lot to me, even if it was only because as I pointed out, if he chose not to come along, and then couldn’t get on with these nappies, he had nobody to blame but himself.

The man at the shop was lovely, especially considering I walked in and demanded he explain the world of washable nappies to me. He took me through the options and demonstrated a few different models (not on himself I hasten to add) and answered a whole raft of questions, much to my glee and Keith’s rising boredom. It was clear that he couldn’t give a monkey’s what the relative benefits of bamboo Vs cotton were once we’d established the basics of how the poppers worked and picked the designs of the waterproof covers.

I forged on regardless, and a short time later we emerged an order form for a full time kit to be delivered with all haste only to discover that the flat tyre we had picked up on the journey over was not going to be easily fixed and that we were essentially in for a long haul of being stranded in the arse end of nowhere.

I’ll spare you the highly uninteresting details of how we resolved that one (except to say THANK YOU HEN) and instead reflect on the fact that out of such SNAFUs come moments of great happiness.

In search if something to while away the time until our knight in shining armour arrived, we went to the local garden shed/ post office, bought some drinks and biscuits and went over to the village green where we commandeered the two person swing and spent an amazing hour talking things over, mainly about us and Alfie. It was one of those times that you just don’t get until you are forced to stop real life for a while, and it was so unexpected, but so special, I could have stayed there all day.And then we got home and the dog had peed in the hallway, which I suppose is a great illustration that Karma doesn’t let you get it all your own way.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

The Batsfords and the Fergusons took a trip to Odds Farm yesterday for a final bumpy outing before the chaos of new arrivals takes over.

It was a really good day, by the end of which both Sal and I were ready to collapse in a heap, as you can see from our slightly weary smiles.

It's amazing what a difference 9 weeks makes!!

On another note, if anyone happens upon a copy of this month's Practical Parenting, take a few minutes to have a flick through, you might see a pair of familiar faces.

You might want to take the content of the article with a pinch of salt - it's fun to play devil's advocate when it comes to pregnancy issues, but generally I save my vitriol for issues I consider really important.

Thank you Auntie Ammie

Alfie received a gift in the post this week of a much coveted tri-cotti sling. It was from his doting Auntie Ammie and of course involved Keith ripping the parcel open while I was at work to try it on.

I actually suggested he do this because these slings are listed under women’s dress sizes and I had to take something of a punt at what a man of his build would require to when donning a dress. Turns out it’s pretty much the same size as me, which is disconcerting on so many levels I’m not even sure where to start.

Anyway, faced with two bands of jersey material and an instruction booklet, Keith did as most men would and ignored the booklet. He called me some 15 minutes later to inform me that he couldn’t work out how to drive the sling. Oh, and that he had then asked Harry for advice and he didn’t know either. Unsurprising for a dog really.

When I got home I did what any sensible person would do and got my lovely old fashioned teddy (which you might remember as the one Harry curled up with on our bed in this post) and tried the sling on for myself.

With the help of the Book of Truth I had ted curled up in the foetal position in under a minute, and when Keith came home, I helped him into it. Seriously, this is the simplest carrying contraption since Adam said “tired feet Eve my love? Just hop on my back and I’ll carry you home”, I would recommend it to anyone who’s in the market.