FAMILY: Rory - One Year On

Well, I can't exactly say that Rory's first year of his life was how I imagined. Back in October last year we were blissfully unaware of what was to come, but despite lockdown and a worldwide pandemic Rory's first year has been so incredibly special. I honestly I can't believe that this time last year I was willing to go into natural labour after two inductions. We had been booked in for an induction on the Sunday, so with no real signs of labour off we went to hospital for 2pm. I was checked into the induction ward, my husband went to Costa for supplies and we were told that I could be in for a few days as they were really busy. I was feeling Braxton Hicks, but I was so bored of telling everyone I was 'definitely' in labour (like I had 2957503804 times during the previous few weeks) that I just kept quiet. 

FAMILY: When life (quite literally) flips upside down

You may have noticed that it has been quieter both on my blog and social media recently, which is for a number of reasons. One of which I'm going to share today, but be warned it is a pretty terrifying string of events so if you're an anxious person this may not be the read for you.  

WARDROBE: Updating to Spring/Summer

 

It's that time of year again when Isabella's wardrobe needed updating. She had outgrown a lot of her clothes and they were no longer suitable for the weather, or that's my excuse for the update anyway. As I said on Monday I am so excited for this summer because Isabella will be old enough to run around and play outside. We can have trips to the park, feed the ducks, days out at the farm and maybe even the odd trip to the beach...I can't wait! 

ISABELLA: 9 Month Update

Isabella is now 9 months, which I find completely mind blowing and scary to think how quickly this time has gone. So much has changed since my last update on Isabella, developmentally it's been such a busy few months. We seem to go through quieter periods where she practises the new learnt skills and then busier times when she learns one skill after another. We've just had a very busy time, so I thought it was the perfect time to update you.

ISABELLA: 6 month update

How have I been a mummy for half a year? How has it been 6 months since I was in labour? How is Isabella already 6 months old?! I honestly cannot express how quickly this past half a year has gone, it's crazy. So much has changed, in fact I can barely remember life before having a child. Some things that have changed are incredible and others not so much (what is it like to have a full nights sleep? It's been a while). Watching Isabella grow, change and develop over this past 28 weeks has been an honour and I feel incredibly lucky to have the life I now have. 

UPDATE: New Blog Design and Social Media Links

This is just a short and sweet post, but I couldn't not talk about...my new blog design!! I'd had the same blog design since I began blogging and thought it was the perfect time to update my blog's look. I'm so happy with the results, though there are some things I want to tweak a little bit. Any parent will know that getting the time to make these changes isn't easy, but luckily there's no rush. The design is from pipdig and I couldn't be more impressed, highly recommend them! Installing the blog design was quick, simple and clearly explained - everything I needed when caring for a 12 week old baby.

PREGNANCY: 38 Week Update

This week was my second full week of maternity leave, which went a lot quicker than the first. I tried to keep my mind busy with various little projects around the house - washing more baby clothes, organising the 3-6 month clothes we have, sorting out our spare room etc. I had planned to meet up with some of the NCT Mum's on Thursday but thanks to various pregnancy niggles I decided it wasn't best to go.

I've actually had a couple of 'Oh my goodness I'm in labour' moments this week, probably definitely wishful thinking on my part. I'm just so ready for her arrival. On Wednesday night I woke up at 4.30am with period like pains and bad back ache, I felt different. After an hour and a half of trying to get comfortable I woke my husband up, who just mumbled something, turned over and went back to sleep! I finally managed to get back to sleep myself and when I woke up in the morning the tummy/back pains had subsided somewhat and I didn't have any feeling that labour was imminent. Has anyone else found that pregnancy tummy/back pains were worse during the night? Mine have been constantly worse during the night, resulting in disrupted sleep. Luckily I can nap during the day now, which I certainly have been doing! 

Once again my emotions have been all over the place this week - I'm not exactly the best company some of the time! It's the combination of not really having much to do each day, a lack of focus, and the feeling of uncomfortable impatience. I really want to meet our daughter. I really want her to not be in my ribs every evening. I really want to get labour over and done with. I really want to start the hard journey of breastfeeding. I really want to stare at our baby for hours on end, just because I can. All of these and more are making me snappier than usual, it's just so frustrating knowing I'm being snappy but not really being able to control it. I'll be glad when my hormones settle down and I feel a bit more like me again.

In my desperation to meet our daughter I've been trying various techniques to bring on labour. A lot of the methods are old wives tales and won't work unless your baby is ready to make an appearance, but it doesn't hurt to try! I had an Indian Head Massage and Facial this week, my husband had got me them for my birthday (some last minute pampering) and I'd also read that massage can bring on labour. Other than me worrying my waters would break during the treatments it didn't kick start anything. I've also eaten pineapple almost everyday this week, although yesterday I read that you would need to eat at least 7 for it to have any effect at all! I've got a box of Raspberry Leaf Tea but haven't tried it yet. My yoga ball has seen some serious bouncing this week, with an attempt to bring baby's head down further and I've done a couple of longer walks. But nothing, not yet anyway.

I had my 38 week midwife appointment, which went really well as she said what I'd wanted to hear - the baby is now engaged! Even though that doesn't really mean much, as a baby can be engaged from 36 weeks, its a step in the right direction. My bump is measuring bang on - 38cm at 38 weeks and my blood pressure was fine. The next appointment is when I'm 3 days overdue, so I'm really hoping I don't need to go to that because our baby has arrived!

What were the first signs you were in labour?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

PREGNANCY: 37 Week Update

This week has been a nice mixture of fun, exciting events and time to sort everything out for our little ones arrival. I started my 37th week attending my baby shower, which my friend had so kindly organised. It was lovely to have everyone together, talk babies and eat the tastiest afternoon tea I've ever had! We were also lucky enough to receive a lovely selection of gifts for our daughter, including clothes, the softest bunny baby book, Mummy mug and plenty of goodies for me to enjoy on the run up to the birth. 

Maternity leave started properly this week, no Sunday night 'back to work' feeling or 6am wake up's (that my alarm initiates anyway - I'm still awake then!) It's meant I've been able to have a much needed nap around 3-4pm, as well as start to sort out her nursery and clothes. There have been days I've enjoyed pottering around the house, doing lots of washing, sorting and watching day time tv. Then there have been other days where my own company, lack of anybody to talk to and lack of focus have been a bit tougher. I'll hopefully get used to not being so busy (until our daughter arrives) and it generally being so quiet for most of the day. Did anyone else struggle with the adjustment between work and maternity leave?

Right at the beginning of this week the decorator finished the nursery, so after a couple of trips to various IKEA's, lots of online shopping and exciting deliveries we have now (pretty much) finished the nursery. We're so happy with how it looks, I can't stop just standing at the door looking at the cot wondering what it will feel like when our daughter is sleeping in there. 

On Wednesday we had our first Health Visitor appointment, which I understand is a new visit as they usually begin visiting 10 days after your baby is born. A very friendly lady arrived at our house and explained what her role is, all about the available support in the local area, contact information for breastfeeding experts and generally introducing herself prior to us having our baby. It was very reassuring to know quite how much support there is out there for breastfeeding, as it is something that can be very challenging to get it right.

 
 At the end of this week I went to my first NCT Bumps and Babies group at a local soft play centre. I met up with a couple of ladies from the NCT group we attended and got to meet one their babies!! She was only 18 days old and just SO cute, I couldn't stop staring at her so I can only imagine what it will be like when it's our own baby. It was lovely to chat to other new Mum's and take on all the advice and wisdom they had to share. It was also my first proper outing of the week, so I was grateful to talk to someone other than my husband.
 Other than a couple of pregnancy niggles this week has been a good week. I think being on maternity leave and taking things generally a lot slower has helped. A couple of days this week I've had a really bad pain in my right rib, like a pulled muscle. I think it's just the position of baby, as I can feel various body parts up in my ribs! It did make moving extremely hard, especially turning over in bed but then the next day the pain has completely gone. I've had two days of the pain over the past week, so not too bad.

My feet and hands are still pretty swollen, though not being on my feet all day has helped. All of my shoes are now getting quite tight, so fingers crossed they will hold on for the last couple of weeks!

I've certainly got stretch marks now, mainly in the middle of my bump and around my hips. When they first came out they were purple in colour, but after constantly applying stretch mark oil they are already starting to get paler. So I'm religiously applying stretch mark oil and cream and will continue to do so once our baby arrives. 

As I approach my due date and become impatient with excitement I keep being convinced I'm in labour! Any little twinge, ache, pain, feeling has been the start of labour to me, which it clearly hasn't actually been. I'm just so apprehensive about birth, yet so excited to meet our daughter I just want that day to come. The not knowing is really hard, it could be tomorrow or in 3 weeks time. I'm seriously hoping she arrives at the end of 39 weeks or early into 40 weeks, not much later than that. I'm far too impatient - not that I get a say unfortunately!

How's your week been?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

PREGNANCY: 36 Week Update

36 weeks saw my last week at work, before maternity leave. I've had mixed emotions about going on maternity leave - I love my job and all of the friends at work, so I will miss those aspects of working but then I'm so excited to sort everything out in readiness for our daughters arrival! I'm usually a bit rubbish when I first have any length of time off work, I get bored (despite often having a long to-do list) and it feels like the days are dragging. Then I get used to the time off and start to enjoy it. Being as I only have 3 weeks left until my due date now I am determind to not spend time being 'bored' and instead enjoying the peace and quiet!

I finally packed my hospital bag this week, a lot later than planned but hey ho. It was so much fun getting all of the items out, organised, washed, dried and folded. I can't believe I'm saying this, I'm not usually one for enjoying the whole washing clothes process, but recently I've been loving it! I couldn't believe how many things I needed in my hospital bag, such a random selection. (There will be a blog post coming on packing my hospital bag, so watch out for that!) Packing the baby hospital bag was both nervewracking and exciting, the clothes are just so tiny and it made it seem a lot more real.

This week also saw the nursery being decorated, which makes me happier than you could imagine. As you may know by now we bought a 'project' house back in December and its been slow progress with the decorating. Everything has taken a lot longer than expected, mainly because it's an old house and they come with problems. Nevertheless we are getting there with the kitchen and bathroom. It was looking like we wouldn't be able to get the nursery decorated before our daughter arrived, there just wasn't the time or man power. This put strain on my nesting instinct, I just wanted to get everything perfect and ready for her arrival. So we decided to pay someone to decorate her room instead. It was expensive but so worth it, we just need new carpet in there now and then we can start putting her nursery together. I'm so happy!

I turned the grand age of 25 earlier this week, sneaking in a last birthday before becoming a Mummy. Tom had taken me away earlier in February for my birthday, which was lovely. So on my birthday we went for a tasty meal, valuing that quality time together. Everytime we go for a meal now we are always wondering if that will be the last time we go out as a couple! 

On my birthday I also had my 36 week midwife appointment, if you'd told me that on my last birthday I simply wouldn't have believed you. What a difference a year makes! Everything is going well still - blood pressure was fine, bump is measuring 36cm which is bang on where it should be and she is 3-4/5 (I have no idea what this means but she was feeling for her head when she said it, so I presume it's something to do with how far down she is). Her head wasn't engaged, which is a good thing as she still has some more time cooking. Next appointment is at 38 weeks, getting seriously close to my due date by then. I have a feeling she is going to come either a couple of days before of couple of days after her due date, but I fear that may be wishful thinking as a lot of first babies are born late. 

Last week I said that my emotions were all over the place, well I'm pleased to report that this week has been a lot more consistent. I've felt a bit more like myself again and a lot less emotionally out of control. I think the fact that maternity leave started at the end of week 36 has helped, life won't be such a juggling act of work and baby now. 

Right at the end of week 36 my bump made an obvious move south, resulting in more pressure lower down. I've been having to go to the toilet every 5 minutes, but I can now feel my ribs again! Strangely, since the baby has dropped my acid reflux has got a lot worse. My stomach should have more space now, so not sure why but there's not long left now anyway.

My feet and hands are still very swollen, the tight skin has been getting quite uncomfortable. Even Tom said how 'bad' they were, which isn't exactly what I wanted to hear! I've been really enjoying rubbing in Vital Touch Natalia Prenatal Leg Refresher* all over my legs - it's refreshing, cooling and encourages a gentle massage that can help to relieve the swelling. Tom has been helping me reach the bottom of my legs, as theres no way my bump would let me reach all the way to my toes now!

How's your week been?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

PREGNANCY: Week 35 Update

Despite being so close to maternity leave I had one day holiday I needed to take, so I booked off last Monday - who doesn't like a long weekend? We decided to make the most of having a long weekend and booked two nights away at a hotel in the Wirral. We used a Red Letter Days voucher that we were given when we got married last year, it looked like we wouldn't be able to fit in a long weekend before April (with renovating our house) but after speaking to friends/family the view was that we should make the most of our time together as a couple. So that's what we did, we went away and it was such a treat, especially as we went away last weekend too! Certainly not what we usually do.

There's no denying it, pregnancy is uncomfortable but this week has been quite a positive one. I think it's because we have a number of things to look forward to, like the decorator coming in to do the nursery, my baby shower is coming up and finally having a tumble dryer so we can wash the baby clothes! There are so many exciting things going on at the moment, it's been a lovely distraction from the aches and pains of being heavily pregnant. 

Having said that my emotions have been all over the show this week, I will feel annoyed for no reason, then hysterical, then on the edge of tears. I've been trying my hardest to control my emotions but those pregnancy hormones are very powerful things! I guess it's preparation for the mass of emotions we'll soon be faced when our little one decides to enter the world. 

Her movements are so powerful now, she can't have much room in there anymore! I love watching my tummy move around, it's true when they say you never feel alone when you're pregnant. I really do love that about pregnancy. 

Tiredness has really upped it's game, the waking up at 4am and not going back to sleep doesn't help either. Travelling to and from work, which is an hour commute, has become challenging and almost dangerous at times, as I'm so tired. I only have 1 more week at work, so not long now. If you're reading this and thinking about when to go on maternity leave I'd highly recommend going around 36/37 weeks, if you can. Any later and I can only imagine how hard that would be, especially if you have a long commute.

I'm so excited to meet our daughter, I really feel like we're on the home straight now! 

How's your week been? 

Feel free to leave me a comment :) 

Helen x

PREGNANCY: Week 34 Update

Tom surprised me with a long weekend break for my birthday last weekend, which was just perfect. We tend to take each other away for our birthdays but as mine is in March and I'd be 36 weeks pregnant, Tom decided to take me away a little bit earlier than usual. It came at the perfect time, we both needed a break from working on our house every weekend and it's important that we spend quality time together before our baby arrives. Later on in the weekend we were joined by a group of university friends, which was a complete surprise! It was lovely to catch up and for them to see my bump before it turns into a baby. 

Pregnancy wise this week has bought badly swollen feet, ankles and hands. It's something that has suddenly come on this week, so I'm monitoring it, as it can be a sign of pre-eclampsia.  The swelling has made wearing shoes extremely difficult, I'm almost sure I'll have to crack out the flip flops before the end of this pregnancy! The skin is consequently so much tighter in those areas, which can be uncomfortable. I've been trying to raise my feet above my heart level, but not being able to lie on my back has made that harder.

Baby has also decided that my bladder is a dance floor this week, which is pretty late in to pregnancy so I'm counting myself lucky! I can literally feel her kick my bladder, resulting in me needing to do some pretty effective pelvic floor excercises.  Despite this, I haven't needed to go to the toilet during the night yet (since moving house and not having an en-suite, I think I've scared my body into not wanting to leave our bedroom at night!) 

Stretch marks have started to make an appearance this week, only a couple, just on either side of the bump. I still don't have any on the actual bump itself, which I'm seriously surprised about.

I had my 34 week midwife appointment this week. Quick low down - blood pressure is fine, bump is measuring bang on what it should at 34cm, baby is now head down and curved around my left hand side and I've been told to write my birth plan ready for my 36 week appointment. Gulp. I know a lot of what's going to go on my birth plan but writing it down makes the whole 'giving birth' thing a lot more real!! 

I've mentioned in a couple of my past weekly updates that we attended an NCT antenatal course back in January. It was invaluable for many reasons - we learnt so much but we also met some truely lovely people too. This week saw a Whatsapp group set up by the women of the group (the men finally set up a group later in the week too), so that we can chat easily and frequently. Having that support network of other pregnant ladies has been (and will continue to be) invaluable for us all. We have each other to ask for advice, share milestones, share good and bad news, share the exciting news of babies being born and just to chat in the middle of the night makes you feel  like you're not alone. I can't recommend setting up that network of people, in the same situation as yourself, enough. It wouldn't have to be through NCT courses, there are free NHS ones or Twitter is great for chatting to other pregnant/new Mummy bloggers. 

This week I'm definitely starting to look forward to getting our baby out - she's just SO big and heavy now! Every time she turns I can feel it so strongly, which is both magical and slightly painful. I think I'll miss being pregnant, and having a bump, so I'm trying not to wish the time away too much. 

How has your week been?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

PREGNANCY: Week 33 Update

I took this last week off work, which felt strange as I'm going on maternity leave in 3 weeks so part of me wanted to crack on with the big list of things I plan to do when I start maternity leave. However I restrained, which I'm glad of as I could have up to 5 weeks off before the little one arrives and I don't want to be just sitting around not making the most of the time.

I had a lovely week - mixing being very productive with resting and socialising too. I met up with a friend for tea and cake on Tuesday, I'm trying to meet up with as many people as possible before she arrives because it will be hard to for a while after. I also visited my auntie, cousin and cousins baby this week, which was well overdue! My cousin gave birth last September, so there'll only be 8 months between our babies. I've barely seen them during my pregnancy and it was really nice catching up, picking up any hints and tips and having baby cuddles (though it's harder now my bump is bigger). I also painted our bathroom (one step closer to having a bathroom at home), tidied the house, did lots of work and wrote/photographed many blog posts. All in all a productive week :)

Pregnancy wise it had been a good week - barely any back ache, acid reflux has been a lot better and seeing our baby move inside me has been as magical as ever. The main issue had been swollen ankles and feet by the end of the day, but being at home more has meant I was been able to put my feet up for longer periods of time.


But as the week progressed I started getting really uncomfortable, especially with period like pains. Now I knew that they can be a sign of labour, so I rang my midwife and she recommended ringing the hospital. They said that it didn't sound like I was in labour and that I should ring them back if the pain continued. I had the period like pains across my tummy and bad lower backache for 2 days, which was worse at night (to the point of tears - but my pain threshold is awfully low!). It then magically disappeared at the end of week 33, so I'm not sure what it was and why I had it but I'm glad it's gone!

I bought a lot of things ready to pack into my hospital bag this week, though it's still not packed! I've been struggling to find a thin dressing gown that isn't white - does anybody know of anywhere that sells them for a reasonable price? We also need to buy some newborn sized vests and baby grows, other than that I'm getting there. I can't wait to have the hospital bag all packed and sitting next to the front door, one less thing to worry about getting done in time.

I've started wearing a nursing bra every now and again, just so I can get used to them and practice undoing/doing them up again. I've found it to be quite an art, so I'm definitely in need of more practice before I have to do it when our baby arrives!


My dreams have become so vivid recently and because I wake up so many times during the night I have so many of them! They haven't been too related to having the baby yet, I'm sure they will come though.


Emotionally, I've felt a lot more 'on edge' and irritable, much to the enjoyment of Tom! I can feel that my hormones are in over drive. I know when I'm being unreasonable or irrational but I can't stop myself, which has been frustrating!

Did you start feeling more emotional nearing the end of your pregnancy?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

PREGNANCY: 32 Week Update

This week has felt really busy, but I think that's more to do with feeling so exhausted. Everything has felt like so much effort, just like the first trimester all over again but with the added weight of a growing bump. I went for a lovely meal with some work colleagues this week, it was nice to make the most of one of the last times I'll be able to go for a meal with them all before I go on maternity leave and the baby arrives. I'm really trying to value everything that will be harder once we have the responsibility of a baby, like randomly going out for dinner on a Monday night - just because we still can.

I've had a number of seriously uncomfortable days this week, as she's lying right in my ribs! It's the strangest feeling but means that leaning down or sitting in certain positions is just impossible. I've been trying the yoga ball but sleeping has been hard - I just couldn't seem to get comfortable. My back has also been hurting, as my bump is getting seriously big and heavy now! I was kindly sent a Theraline Pregnancy and Nursing Pillow, which I've been finding has made sleeping more comfortable. 


The infamous swollen feet and ankles have made an appearance this week. By the end of the day they are really swollen, which is actually quite uncomfortable as it makes the skin tighter. I have been trying to raise my feet as much as possible, but my job is on my feet all day so it's not easy. Taking my rings off at the end of the day has also become harder - a lot of tugging and twisting needed! Did you find you had to stop wearing rings later on in pregnancy?


My bump is posing logistical issues now, something I've been anticipating for weeks and am surprised it's only an issue now! Putting tights on, painting my toe nails, shaving my legs and leaning down to pick anything up from the floor have become almost impossible - I'm going to need Tom's help any day soon. I'm sure he can't wait to paint my toe nails!!


Every weekend we are busy working on the house, so time for baby shopping has been seriously limited and with no hospital bag ready I was starting to get worried. So I spent sometime on the internet this week, ordering lots of baby items and contents for my hospital bag. It feels so good ticking off things from our 'to get' list! We got the car seat, new mattress for the moses basket, waterproof mattress protector for our bed (don't want my waters breaking to ruin our new bed!), sleep bra, moses basket mattress covers, nappy bin refills, Lanolin cream, aloe vera gel, nursery night light and  breast milk storage bags. A random collection but important nonetheless.


How's your week been?


Feel free to leave me a comment :)


Helen x

PREGNANCY: Week 31 Update

I really cannot believe that I'm already writing my 31 week update, time is seriously flying by! A good thing on one hand - we'll get to meet our daughter sooner - but not sure a great thing on the other hand - the house needs major work still and we have a lot more to buy in readiness. Either way time is moving along and we have been trying to crack on with house and baby jobs this week. We spent a long day putting up boarding in the kitchen, floorboards in the bathroom and filling in the various cracks around the house. I say we, I was more on catering duty - I sorted out lunch, cups of tea, tidied up and provided a good natter - my bump is too big to be doing major DIY work now!

Pregnancy wise it's been a good week, my bump is most definitely still growing and may have even dropped slightly further. I find it so hard to tell. I'm struggling with things to wear now because a lot of my tops are now too short, something I wasn't anticipating! So there's a warning for anyone who's pregnant - buy long tops and loads of them.

This week I've been having a bloody nose a lot, not a nose bleed, just when I blow my nose blood comes out. It's not causing any real issue but just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else has/had this during their pregnancy.

I finally got around to buying a yoga ball this week, as they are meant to be more comfortable for sitting on because your hips sit higher than your knees. My back has been hurting again this week, I can never tell if it's baby in an awkward position or its my back that's hurting. Either way it's uncomfortable. So sitting on the yoga ball has been helping in the evenings, that is when I can get Tom off it!

One of the most exciting developments came at the end of week 30 and has continued throughout week 31 - feeling actual body parts poking out of my tummy! When it first happened I was a bit freaked out, the little human being in me is now strong enough to push on my skin. Incredible. But it's happened loads this week and it's just so fascinating, I just wish I knew which parts of her I was feeling! The under the rib movements have been increasing too, I can feel her really moving around rather than just kicking like earlier in the pregnancy. I can't imagine there's all that much room left in my womb for her to wriggle, so I'm expecting her wriggling to start slowing down as she has less space to move.

I only have 5 weeks left until I start maternity leave, which fills me with mixed emotions. On the one hand I'm looking forward to completely focusing on getting ready for our baby but at the same time it makes it all seem very real and I'll miss my job. Every Mum I've spoken to has said that you think you'll miss your job but in reality you're so preoccupied by this amazing human being you've created that you don't have time, energy or head space to even think about work! I am really looking forward to maternity leave starting though, I have big plans for the weeks before my due date. A pregnancy massage being pretty near the top!

I had a midwife appointment this week, which went ok. My blood pressure is ok but there were missing blood results for the third time, so the midwife had to take more blood. Luckily I don't mind having it taken but the system isn't very good - the blood samples always seem to be lost in transit! She felt my bump and said that our baby was back to back and breech, which isn't ideal but there is still time for her to move around. My bump is measuring one week ahead, so nothing to worry about.

In the middle of the week I had the worst leg cramp I have ever experienced - it had me in tears! I woke up with this feeling like my calf muscles in both legs were being torn apart. Luckily Tom knew what to do, he massaged the muscle and put my foot straight, which helped it go away. I was, however, left with a very tight feeling in my leg muscles for the rat of the morning. I'm really hoping if was a one off! 

We had our last NCT meeting as part of the course, which was sad and scary as we are now all 'equipped' with the knowledge for giving birth to our babies. The course has been invaluable, I can't recommend it highly enough, we have learnt so much and it's given us the understanding in order to make informed decisions. Everyone we met on the course has been so lovely and I can't wait for our reunion after all of the babies have been born. We've pencilled in a date in June, so I should have a good month and a half to settle into having a newborn baby before meeting up with everyone.

At the end of this week we had booked in for a 4D scan, only just fitting it in before the 32 week cut off point. I was so excited to see our daughter again and see her moving around, I could honestly watch her all day everyday if I could! We opted for a package with a DVD of the ultrasound, as we really wanted it as a memory of this incredible time and to show our daughter one day. It's so special that you can not only see your baby before they're born but also see their features. I truly love her so much already. The scan estimated how much she weigh's, which is around 4lb 10oz already - I was impressed it was that much!

How has your week been?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x