Flutters...

So Junior has been on the move a LOT this week! I officially feel pregnant. I forgot what a beautiful feeling it is, aside from the times it seems the baby leaps onto my bladder. This has only happened once to be fair but I remember Josiah doing that when he was a lot bigger than 14 and a half weeks; painful times but fun all the same. I haven't felt constant movement just yet as the baby is still so tiny but it's comforting to know they're ok in there. I mainly feel it when I'm sitting down or lying in bed. Apparently they have a preference as to what side I lie on already. Imagine! They clearly know what they want, just like their big brother.

A little reminder to oneself...

As luxurious and comforting as they are, don't have baths where you boil yourself like a prawn and turn as red as a tomato. In all seriousness, it lowers your blood pressure and you get very dizzy when you get out!!

14 weeks...

And we've rolled into the second trimester!

So, this pregnancy hasn't been a great one to be honest. I loved being pregnant with Jo, and I love the feeling of being pregnant with this little treasure but symptom-wise, it's been a tad unpleasant! The nausea is very, verrry slowly easing off. Tiredness still reigns supreme, (i.e. I was in bed by 8:45 last night. Oh, I know how to live!) but then I do have a 14 month old to run around after, especially as he literally is running around now. Love it! Beautiful times. And sciatica is extraordinarily painful. I had it much later into the pregnancy last time, about 20 odd weeks when I really started to show, but this started at 9 weeks and has got progressively more painful. Slightly concerned at how sore it is currently as my legs keep giving way and I've ended up on the floor this week more times than I have had hot baths...this week. And that's a lot. My dad has kindly offered to book me an appointment with his physio but I'll see a doctor first and go from there. Oh the dramas!!

Now, onto more important things - I'm going to use 'her' in this post because I can't be bothered to keep writing 'the baby'. Next post I'll use 'he' and alternate. Ok; crown to rump, our baby is about 8cm long and weighs about 40g. Her body is now growing faster than her head so looks a little less alien like! This week, her parchment-thin skin is starting to cover itself with ultra-fine, downy hair (lanugo in doctor speak) that usually disappears before birth. Though her eyebrows are beginning to grow and the hair on top of her head is sprouting, this hair may change in both texture and colour after birth. We're having another sweepstake on the colourings and sex of this one!! We're currently imagining a tiny Josiah but it will be utterly fascinating to see what they really look like. We can't wait! We've had three people convinced this one is a girl, which will be great fun as we recently had a niece and a goddaughter and everyone seems to be producing girls these days. It's like a fad! Anyhoo. I think I might be one of those women that only produce boys, I can't imagine having a girl at all. Though my mother slightly freaks me out when she predicts things. She told me I was pregnant before I even did a test, both times. And now is one of the three that thinks it's a girl. But whoever God gives us, we will love immeasurably and be eternally grateful for!

12 week scan...

We saw our bouncing little baby again today at our nuchal scan! This is where they check the fluid on the back of the neck and check for Downs Syndrome and any other congenital defects. It took about ten minutes for the baby to uncurl themselves but once they got going, there quite literally was no stopping them exercising! It was very beautiful, albeit frustrating for the sonographer (Carmel Lacy - brilliant name) who eventually took about fifty minutes in total getting measurements. The baby even did a certain action that reminded us sooo much of their big brother, the similarity was astonishing, even in utero!

However, we now have to go back to Kings on the 9th May for our 20 week scan for a two hour scan. This is because, after combining the results of the nuchal measurements and my blood results, they found there could be a higher chance of the baby either having Downs Syndrome or a heart defect. This had gone from 1 in 900 just from the scan to 1 in 24 combined with my blood results. Because of my age too, they tried really hard to convince us to have a CVS which we point blank refused and said we'd wait for the 20 week scan. So all in all, not a great time.

However, despite the emotions of the day leaving us feeling completely drained and shattered, we continue to trust in God for the future to come and know His gift is the best one we could ever have! We can't wait. We know that even though it's a bit scary and a bit stressful, this is just statistics and just a 'possible'. God reigns!

Bed time.

Shoes...

These aren't my Christian Louboutin's. Regretfully. I shall never own a pair. But my point is, after having Josiah I fully expected my feet to shrink back to their normal size. The fact of the actual matter is, they have stayed just as they were the whole 9 months and I have had to give away a number of my favourite shoes. One pair I bought in the Next sale and was chuffed to bits with (massive bargain). I wore them once (just once! One evening!) and ended up giving them to my sister because they literally crippled me. Maybe after this pregnancy they might shrink back...just maybe. Maybe they're just waiting til I've had my brood and then zap back to a regular size...ha ha! Oh imagine.

Molting...

I totally forgot about this side effect of pregnancy! John strolled out of the bathroom the other day, lamenting about how he's having to frequently clear the plughole again. It's not attractive to say the least, not that I'm waking up with clumps of hair on my pillow but it's quite weird how much comes out once I've washed my hair each day!

Praise the Lord...!

On Thursday after work, I started to bleed a little. On Friday, I started cramping, which ended up lasting for three days, and bled some more. So, on Saturday morning we saw the doctor who sent a fax across to EPDU (Early Pregnancy Diagnostics Unit) so I could get a scan today to see what was going on. It was stressful enough knowing we wouldn't know a thing until today at the earliest but then last night, I had cramps and lost a fair bit of blood which was actually really frightening so I was convinced of the worst, as you would be. I would have lost the plot if it wasn't for John who stayed very calm and collected. So we prayed and went to sleep, remembering who was in control.

This morning, Josiah & I went to the EPDU and waited...and waited. About 2 hours in total. He did very well, walking around all the chairs shouting 'all gone! all gone!'. He kept me calm! We were finally seen by a very nice lady who lives down our road. Not at all odd. I couldn't look at the screen at all because I was so nervous but turned immediately when she said hello to our baby and confirmed that they were, in fact, absolutely fine and dandy. Relief isn't the word!! Obviously there were tears. Our little one was quite literally bouncing off the walls of my uterus, and even did a back flip, almost as if they were reassuring me that they were ok. It was incredible and we are immensely grateful to God for protecting our baby and keeping us sane over the last few days.

No explanation for the bleeding but I've been advised to 'take it easy' for a few days. Ok then!