did you guess right?!

We had our scan this afternoon.  Everything about our little BOY looked perfect! He was perfectly average, which is slightly strange to think is a good thing.  The technician went through all his tiny body parts and did measurements and it all looked good.  He even turned over for us.  We got a couple of snaps of our little one. They looked pretty much the same but I thought I'd post them anyway. I'll try to get another one of my growing bump later this weekend.  Seeing our little man was the perfect way to celebrate our 5 year anniversary!  We did follow with a very nice dinner at the Boxwood Cafe which is a Gordon Ramsey restaurant.  No sign of him tonight though, but the food was pretty good. 

Don't even think about asking about the name though. We've gotta keep something back to surprise you all with when he comes next March.

Approaching the halfway point

20 weeks! Can't believe I'm halfway there!!  To celebrate 20 weeks and also our upcoming ultrasound this week, I'm giving you a chance to cast your opinion on the baby's sex.  That's right, I've caved to Paul's wishes and we're going to find out the sex on Friday.  If you want some guidance, my dad is absolutely convinced that it's a girl because when we told them with the baby bib (see earlier post), I wrapped it with a pink ribbon. Paul, on the other hand, thinks it's a boy because it was so full of squirms and punches in our last ultrasound. 

Cast your vote in the poll on the right! 

But it is a really nice flat...honest!

Not sure if I've mentioned this on here, but we're trying to sell our flat at the moment. We want to upgrade to a house for obvious reasons.  It went on the market at the end of May, before I was even preggers.  We haven't had a single offer yet. We've had plenty of viewings, reduced the price by £10,000 in August and switched estate agents, which really increased our viewings.  But still nothing. There hasn't really been much feedback other than those who can't live without a bathtub, which we don't have.  There also are very few 3 bed flats on the market in our area, which makes us unique.  Our estate agents have convinced us to drop the price again by £10,000. *Sigh*  Meanwhile the buzz in the news is that the housing market is on the up and prices are starting to rise.  We've seen evidence of that in the area we want to buy. Really hope this does the job quickly.  If you want to see pics of our place, they're here: http://www.kfh.co.uk/residential/flats-for-sale/london-kennington-se11-orsett-street/2050717/


I really want to get into a house before the baby comes. I have a nursery to plan! 

19 weeks

My bump is finally starting to look a little more like a proper bump under my clothes. 

Everything seems to be going fairly well. Nothing much to report. Paul and I have signed up for a NCT (National Childbirth Trust) antenatal course at the end of January after a recommendation from a friend.  With the course we get a year's membership to NCT, which will get us various discounts to various things and invites to 'nearly new' parties and coffees with other moms. 

My final thought goes to my family back home who've just lost my dad's brother-Uncle Pete- to cancer  He put family above everything else, making a point to find out how all his neices and nephews were doing, and never missing a birthday card.  He will be sorely missed.

ah-choo

So this might sound a little random, but I think this pregnancy makes me sneeze. I sneeze at least 10 times a day, maybe more. It doesn't seem connected with anything in particular--and I don't have itchy eyes or seem to develop any colds. It doesn't come with particular smells or anything.  I haven't read anything in any pregnancy books about sneezing as a symptom. I swear I didn't sneeze this much before, but who knows?!

Midwife appt #2

Yesterday Mara came to visit again.  It was a fairly quick visit.  Everything seems to be going well. She took my blood pressure (97/63) and did a urine test (normal), then we listened to the baby's heart rate (158) and we even heard a little kick!  She then went through the antenatal classes available.  She recommended Paul and I to the labour and birth workshop in February and a breastfeeding workshop in January. These are both one-off classes.  There are some other optional ones I can do if I'm interested (obstetric physiotherapy, expectant parents class, a talk by an anathesiologist, and tour of the birthing centre). 

I'm not sure what I expected from this whole midwife experience, but it feels a lot more impersonal that I thought it would be. If I didn't read What to Expect or the other pregnancy websites, I wouldn't really have a clue as to what's going on with the baby. It's more like going through a checklist than really asking me what's going on and how I'm feeling.  It's a good thing I have such supportive friends and family:)! 

My bump is growing a bit and the baby is sitting definitely sitting on the left side--I feel very lopsided.

Our next appointment is at 20 weeks and it's another ultrasound--probably our last one, so it'll be the only chance to find out the sex. Must decide!

Some amazing photos!

One of my colleagues showed me a copy of the G2 supplement in The Guardian today and there were some  incredible photos I thought I would share. They were originally taken in 1965 by Lennart Nilsson, which makes them even more amazing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2009/sep/30/unborn-children-health-pictures

The article was pretty good too: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/01/lennart-nilsson-unborn-children

My favourite photo was one of 18 weeks, but unfortunately it's not in this gallery.  It was an amazing shot and only 2 weeks older than my little babe.  I had a look at his website which had even more photos (sadly not the 18 week one--maybe I'll have to buy the book): http://www.lennartnilsson.com/home.html

Here's a sneak preview of the images: