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2004-05-29 - 4.43pm��previous entry��next entry
17 weeks, 1 day - shopping and things!!
Hello hello!! I�m 17 weeks pregnant!!! Thank you Mallory for signing just to say Happy 17 weeks!! This pregnancy is so much fun :) I remember aaages ago I used to sometimes sign Robbi�s pregnancy diary to say Happy X weeks, and I just absolutely cannot believe it�s happening to ME now! Yaaay!! :) And thanks for all the lovely guestbook entries about Bean�s names!!! I am so relieved that people like them (though I was trying/pretending not to care, of course!)!! Thanks for being so nice :)
Okay too much time has passed since my last update, which bugs me but oh well, it�s done now. My daddy came to stay with us on Wednesday, just for one night, but it was soooo lovely to have him here! I never get to see my parents now they live in France. I miss my mummy too. So we had to tidy up a lot (!!) before he arrived. And then Thursday I felt soooo gross and nauseous and wiped out all day long and didn�t feel up to coming online. Then Friday was yesterday, and we went shopping for baby things!!! Poor Neil, he�s off this week to revise for his exams next Tuesday � he isn�t getting much done really! But he�s feeling good about the exams so that�s good.
So I have loads to write, and this will probably be a super-long entry therefore. Just to pre-warn you! ;)
Look what we bought yesterday!!!!
It�s a travel system!!!! I am sooooooo excited about this purchase! It�s an Urban Detour Xtreme 3-wheeler in Sherpa :) We looked at sooooo many travel systems and things, and pretty much everything out there seems to be in �city� colours, not that there�s anything �colourful� about them. They are all navy or black or grey and the fabric is often harsh or sort of canvassy on the surface. Which is obviously great for weather-resistance, but if you have a nice big all-over raincover then who cares?! I think ours is new or something because I can�t find any reference to it (let alone photos) ANYWHERE online. So I guess it�s new.
We drove over and hour away to a big Toys �R� Us store which had a Babies �R� Us section. Man that store is so crap. We were so disappointed that we drove all that way for a shop that is not even as good as a normal little Mothercare in any old town centre. So then we drove out of the big lot feeling all miserable and wondering if we�d have to go home again without having bought anything, and I was wanting to find a Mothercare in the town just so I could buy some maternity underwear and not come away with absolutely nothing from a big trip out to buy baby things. But as we drove out of the huge lot we saw a load of massive stores and warehouses over the road, and GUESS what I saw out of the corner of my eye?!! Mothercare WORLD!!!! Woohooo!! I never even knew there was such a place! I was so excited, boy it was so pathetic, I could not keep still in my seat and I told Neil it was like pulling up at a big theme park for the day!! Seriously. I kid you not, I was that excited! :)
Sooo we spent about 3 hours in Mothercare World! :) Ohhh it was so much fun! It was so big inside and I was all gaspy (!!) and didn�t know which direction to go in first, it was like all my favourite foods spread out in front of me as far as the eye could see, only of course it was baby clothes, maternity clothes, travel systems, and various other cute necessities. We took our big list of everything that we still have to buy.
I think we did pretty well because we didn�t buy any maternity clothes or baby clothes in the end. I saw some seriously cute baby clothes that I almost didn�t resist buying, but we have so many already and anyway one of them was a summery outfit (for a boy, incase you were wondering!), and obviously Bean is going to be a winter baby so that�s no good. And yes I checked for 3-6 month sizes, but they were out of stock ;)
Here�s a list of what we bought at Mothercare World, from our big list:
* 2 packs of 5 maternity under-the-bump briefs (pink and stripey ones like I was longing for, yay!!)
* Top and tail bowl (nice turquoise �under the sea� design!)
* Packs of cotton buds and cotton pads (though I can�t think why we�ll need them now, d�oh!)
* Baby brush and comb set (not that our baby is likely to have hair before the age of one � going by the babies in my family so far!)
* Bath thermometer
* Nursery thermometer
* 2 packs of 3 baby bath flannels
* Two cooling teething rings
* One rattle/teether thing
* Raincover for one of those little carseats that you carry by the handle
* A travel system! :)
We also looked at a lot of other things on our list and figured they were things we either don�t actually need, or else we don�t need to think about buying them till after the baby is born. There are just a few more things we need now, but I can�t remember most of them. I want a birthing ball, but I�m gonna buy a Reebok exercise ball from Argos instead because it�s the exact same size and it�s only �8.99. Yay for online pregnancy boards where you can pick up great tips like this! :)
I have been asking at pregnancy and breastfeeding boards about breast pumps. I don�t know if I�m meant to need one or not. I plan to exclusively breastfeed, and if there happen to be any problems (which I�m quite confident that there won�t be since I learnt about teaching new mothers to breastfeed and troubleshooting on my midwifery course!), then I plan to use the support services available until the problem is fixed. I don�t plan to let anything prevent me breastfeeding Bean. But then I wondered about the pump. I don�t know if I�m being na�ve or if I should expect to sometimes need to express a little, or something. Neither Neil nor I think it�s necessary or even �nice� for him to have the opportunity to feed our babies, because, well, that�s kind of my job and we both think that�s how it should be. Not that he wouldn�t love bottle-feeding a baby, but as an alternative to snuggly breast-time for Bean? I don�t think so. Not for us anyway.
So I was all prepared to buy a breast pump, but then I saw that people were telling me if I planned to be a SAHM and not work or spend any time apart from the baby then I shouldn�t need one. They said if I got too engorged then hand expressing would be less uncomfy than pumping, so I am going to strike the pump and multiple kitchen-cluttering accessories off my list until after the baby is born, to see how we go. Yay! :) One less thing to buy!
I got tired out and super-hungry while we were at Mothercare World, so we had to leave our trolley of things at the checkout place with a sympathetic shop assistant, and walk across the lot to a huuuge Sainsbury�s, where we bought sausage rolls, sandwiches, crisps, bananas, water, and a pre-washed green salad. Then we sat in the car and ate. It was too hot yesterday, especially in the car, but oh well. I ate and ate and ate, and honestly began to think I could keep eating without feeling full for ever! But I did get full eventually. I keep being amazed at how much I can pack away when I�m properly hungry. And how often I get hungry too!
Okay but the most exciting thing was the travel system. Mothercare had a big choice of them, plus prams and pushchairs (that�s strollers to the American readers!). We both loved this travel system when we saw it, but we looked at all the others before asking the shop assistant a billion questions about it and pushing it around the place and getting the poor lady to fold it down and put it up and attach the carseat, etc, etc. Then when we were satisfied with all that, we bought it!!! Woohoo!! It is my mum�s present to us. She said right from the beginning of my pregnancy that she would like to buy us a travel system. She said we should find the one we want, buy it, and she would reimburse us straight away. So this is a very lovely gift for Bean! :)
We are thrilled with it. It moves smoothly and turns beautifully. I love three-wheelers, I get so nervous about those huge chunky four-wheelers that always seem to bash into doorways and people�s legs! I get nervous that I�ll ram it into things. But not so likely with a 3-wheeler, so that�s great! It has an infant carseat that clips into the 3-wheeler so you can put a tiny baby in there facing you as you push it along. When they outgrow the carseat, they face forward in the main part of the 3-wheeler. It came with a raincover for the 3-wheeler, and a matching changing bag with a travel mat inside. It�s kind of smart! :) But the best part is the cosy-toes that comes with it. You can see it clearly in the photo. It is deep pile cream faux fur on the inside (!!), and a sort of caramelly coloured suede on the outside with fur trimming. It just feels HEAVENLY. The carseat has a matching fur/suede apron too, and a little head-hugger, and you can�t see it but there�s a little suede/fur trim on the harness straps that go over Bean�s shoulders in the carseat. It�s tooooo cute. It has a big shopping basket underneath and a zip up pouch on the back, and it folds down with one hand and almost no effort. We absolutely love it! We opened a Mothercare store card to get 10% off so that was good too!
I just like a travel system that doesn�t look like everyone else�s. I hate grey and black and navy and tough scratchy fabric. Caramel-brown and cream looked so soft and luxurious against the others. And then when I phoned my parents to tell them what they�d bought us (!!), they told me I had a brown and cream pushchair when I was little too! Which of course I can�t remember.
Anyway yay! And oh dear I�ve waffled on about that for FAR too long, since there�s so much else to talk about!
Bean is still kicking me lots. Not so much going crazy kicking for a long patch of time anymore, even if I eat chocolate. I get a definite increase in kicks after eating something sweet but it doesn�t last as long anymore. Now that I�m doing more in the day and I�m up and about a lot more, I often have several hours or even most of the day without noticing more than the odd single kick or two here and there. It�s reassuring to sink into a chair or onto the bed and have Bean start kicking me almost straight away!
When my daddy stayed with us I was soooo hoping Bean would have a kick-fest so Daddy could feel him/her kicking. But no. I was disappointed at first but I�m over that now, because we are already so lucky to be feeling Bean at all this early, and I know there is plenty of time ahead for everyone to feel Bean kicking. It was only because I only see my parents a couple of times a year. But I did get to do some cool things for Daddy anyway. I used the Doppler and let him listen to Bean�s heart beating and how Bean moves around. And right before he went to bed, Bean shoved something reeeeally hard out against my tummy and left it there, so I ran to show Daddy. I lay down on his bed and showed him the lump, and he laid his hand there and went all gooey because he could feel his grandchild. See that�s the kind of moment I was longing for, so I�m glad we got one :)
Later when we were in bed, Bean was STILL sticking that lump out, so Neil and I set out to try and identify what it might be. We figured out that it was the top of Bean�s head, because it was very hard and circular, and maybe a couple of inches in diameter, which would be about right with all the padding around it. And also it kept sinking away from my tummy and then pushing up again so that it really stuck out. We figured that must be from Bean pushing and flexing with his/her legs against the side of my womb that I can�t feel. And then something happened that we think confirmed our suspicion � I felt (and we could see) a little series of �popping� sensations, like something tinier than normal was kicking little blips against my tummy. The weird thing was, they seemed to be coming from the lump itself, and I�ve never felt a lump kick before � if I can feel kicks it�s because the �lump� of the back is down on the other side of my womb so that the legs are up towards my tummy. So that was weird. And then Neil realised what it must be! We are sure it was Bean�s little hand punching upwards at the side of his/her head!! For some reason this realization made us soooo mushy and tender towards our little one in there. It�s the first time I have felt anything but a foot and known it for sure. The hand definitely feels a lot littler than the feet so far!
Also I felt a new type of movement in the car on the way to Babies �R� Useless, it was like a double kick but not both in the same spot. It felt to me exactly like a knee-kick type of movement. It was exactly the same feeling as when you curl up your index finger, then knock your other hand with the knuckle, but at the same instant you flick the tip of your finger out against your hand. The result is a knock-kick feeling, each bump a split-second apart. That�s what it felt like, only more cushioned! I felt that same movement this morning too. According to one of my baby/pregnancy books, Bean�s feet should now be about the size/shape of the top third of my index finger. Wow. That�s pretty big for a foot, considering I can�t believe there�s really a baby in there most of the time!
Babycentre annoyed me today because it told me I �can�t� be feeling kicks yet. I hate when someone says you can�t be feeling something when you ARE, whether it�s likely or not, you still ARE!! Also there is apparently no way that Neil is able to feel the kicks yet. Even though he, uh, IS!!! Grrr. It told me that first-time mothers only start to feel the first movements from 17 weeks, and NOT before, and even then I couldn�t be feeling actual kicks yet, because those �do not happen� until later. What complete balls. I would love Babycentre to watch the obvious feet sticking out of my lower abdomen and making inch-squared distensions, and then tell me THOSE are only �flutters�!! This Bean is KICKING ME!! And big enough for Neil to feel them and for both of us to sit and watch them. So there. I don�t know why, but it�s happening. I am so happy to be feeling things early. But I hate when people tell me I can�t be. This morning�s knee-kick movement was the first one this whole pregnancy to actually rock my belly! My belly actually heaved in the direction of the kick and then rebounded! So pooh to Babycentre. And yay for my bumpling Bean! :) I just ate a Cadbury�s Boost (yum!) so Bean should be a-rockin� pretty soon!
What else was I going to write? Umm�. Oh yes! We went to our church housegroup on Tuesday night (haven�t been for aaages), and it was a games night so we played Visionary and Cranium! It was my first (and only!) evening without nausea (until we got home, which gets me wondering if maybe distractions might help my nausea??), and I had the best time. I felt wonderful, which is a new feeling this pregnancy! I actually began to wonder if maybe the first trimestery feelings were past, but I have felt rough since then so I guess not. But anyway it was lovely. Two people separately commented that I looked �blooming� and very well, and people commented on my little bump too!!! I honestly could have cried for joy. When things like this happen, or every time I look in the mirror, or when I see a teething ring or a carseat cover in the living room, my heartrate speeds up and I just get breathless with awe and joy at how this is REALLY happening to me! I can�t BELIEVE I am really pregnant at last! I feel like I�ve dreamed of it and longed for it for so many years, well, since childhood really, that it�s completely surreal to actually BE pregnant. I just can�t get my head round it, and seeing a lovely cute little round bump when I look in the mirror is so amazing. I can�t believe it�s real. And of course it means I am looking in the mirror striking nauseatingly tender pregnant poses every 5 minutes! :)
Okay this is soooo long, so I�ll wrap it up for now. I will leave you with Bean�s 17 week stats! Bean is approx. 13cm (5 inches) long from crown to rump. This nearly made our eyes pop out of our heads when we got a ruler out and actually measured what 5 inches looks like! Wow!! All that plus legs!! Bean is getting big. Babycentre says that Bean will double his/her weight and add inches to her/his length over the next 3 weeks. He/she now weighs about 5oz (150g ish). Daddy says that is heavier than a bird. The numbers were meaning nothing to me until he gave me something tangible to compare them to! So Bean is really weighing something now, even though it�s not very much! Bean needs to weigh 1lb before his/her chances of surviving will be there. That usually comes around 23/24 weeks.
Bean�s circulatory and urinary systems are in full working order, and his/her eyes and ears are in their final positions at last! Bean is also regularly inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, practicing for real breathing.
Oooh I got some of my blood results back from my midwife appointment. It confirmed what I already told them, that my blood group is O negative. So I am scheduled for routine Anti-D injections at 28 and 34 weeks, and another one shortly after the birth if Bean�s blood group is found to be Rh positive. But I told them that already. My test results show that I have absolutely no antibodies in my blood against Bean at the moment, which is great :) My full blood count is all normal except my white blood count which is above the normal range. But I reckon that�s because I was just beginning that UTI when I had my blood taken. Plus I�ve been fighting one bug or another this whole pregnancy so my white blood count has probably been up most of the time. But I am not anaemic or anything so that�s good.
And that is all!! There�s probably other bits and pieces I could say but I can�t think of them now and this entry is way long enough! I�ll write again soon though! :)
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