At last: a new post

Hi folks.

Sorry I've been away. Regular readers will know that I had to take the blog down for a bit and it's taken me a while to work through deciding which posts to re-publish and edit. (The blog is now limited strictly to stuff about the pregnancy and isn't allowed to digress into family stuff and other areas.)

So as it's been a while since my last "new" post, what's been happening? Mrs T has finished at work and is able to relax and enjoy being pregnant. She's finally started to let herself read about pregnancy and try to learn something of what she'd let herself in for. (Birth seems a pretty daunting prospect!) We've signed up to "Parentcraft" classes with our local midwives (what used to be called antenatal classes) and also for a private "Preparing for Birth" class run by an independent midwife in London. A 30-week scan showed everything as it should be.

We had Three in a bed recommended to us by very good friends whose son has shared their bed since day one. (He's now about 16 months and is beginning to use a cot-bed.) I was intrigued and have nearly finished reading it through; it's a well-researched and passionate argument for co-sleeping, and suggests that babies who share the family bed do better in just about every area. They sleep better, feed better, grow more confident, become less clingy and more. And the parents sleep better, too, allegedly. Sounds pretty miraculous, and our friends did admit they've found it had work but "wouldn't want to do it any other way". Reading through, I've become increasingly enthusiastic about the idea, although many clearly have big reservations. I'll maybe try to post a fuller review some time. Mrs T certainly isn't sure about the idea; she's going to read the book when I've finished it.

In the meantime she's been reading The Baby Whisperer solves all your problems, which seems a much more mainstream parenting guide - although I say this before I've read it myself. (Mrs T did notice that it doesn't reject t he idea of co-sleeping outright, which many books seem to do.)

And we've continued with the excellent The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, reading it week by week the pregnancy has developed. We've read on to the end now to get a clue as to what's ahead!

"I'm fat"

Been back home a few days after our Christmas break, been meaning to post, never quite gotten around to it...

Mrs T just came in to see what I was doing, and when I said I was about to update here she said, “Tell 'em I'm fat”. So there you have it, straight for the horse’s mouth, as it were. Mrs T is feeling fat. In fact, people keep telling here she’s “carrying neatly”, whatever that means.

We’ve gone and made our first major purchase for Flicker: a Bugaboo Cameleon in black and orange. It’s way, way too expensive (one of the most expensive things we've ever bought, behind only the house, the car, and the computers) but we just liked everything about it.


Not thought about a cot yet (eBay calling, I suspect) but we did discover over Christmas that the swinging crib Mrs T was in as a baby is still kicking around in a family friend’s loft. Be nice to see it in action again!

Flicker is dancing away like a pro. We’ve had a check-up with the thyroid specialist and he's happy with the way things are going. The only frustrating thing about the hospital is that they've lost another blood sample so Mrs T had to have a third test done, the results of which we still await.

A happy new year to anyone who reads this.

Nearly bedtime

Should be in bed by now, and am over-tired. To post or not to post?

Oh, go on then; just a quick one.

• Mrs T is into her last week at work! Today was her last Thursday for a year. She’s beginning to realise how much she’ll miss her colleagues and I expect next Wednesday could be quite an emotional day.
  

• Flicker is still moving around pretty constantly. (Okay, probably not constantly, but that’s what it seems like at times.) One midwife mentioned that Mrs T “ought to be feeling the baby move at least ten times a day”. The first time she tried to keep count she’d reached ten before breakfast.

There’s more to say, I'm sure. But I really should be asleep.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... and we're off.

The countdown is well and truly under way. Mrs T has been marking off the days left until she finishes at school to start her maternity leave for a couple of weeks now, and we've reached just ten days to go! And, boy, will she be glad. School and pregnancy at the same time? Daft idea! It's just exhausting her.

On top of the school stuff, she's also been struggling with sciatica for a while, which is getting her down. I guess Flicker's putting some nasty pressure on a nerve somewhere. There's no point going to the doctor (says she) as he'll only give her some painkillers and she's determined not to take anything while pregnant. I've been trying to persuade her to let a Physiotherapist friend to try to work some magic, but she's not managed to get in touch with her yet.

Flicker's dancing is getting more energetic, and Mrs T really isn't sure whether she likes it or not. Especially as he loves to get going just as she's eating, and it makes her feel horribly queasy. I must admit, I don't think I'd be too keen!

Tap shoes, please: size minus four months

Another week, another post.

I think I felt some movement on Tuesday night. I know I did this evening!

Mrs T had already noticed that Flicker often moves when he/she hears music. (A couple of weekends ago, I was playing in the house and she felt a lot of movement.) And on Tuesday night I was playing in a brass ensemble at the ‘end of term party’ for the orchestra I play with. While other groups were playing, I had my hand on Flicker and Mrs T kept saying, “there it was”, “did you feel that?” and so on. And I might have felt it, but to be honest still couldn’t be completely sure I wasn’t just feeling Mrs T's reaction to her feeling it.

Tonight, though, things progressed: I was cooking dinner when she called through “Come and see this!” I assumed she meant something on the telly, so wandered through — only to find her with her belly out and an amazed look on her face. “Watch!”

And sure enough, bits of her tummy were suddenly sticking out here and there. I gently laid my hands on, and undoubtedly felt it for myself at last. And then watched it some more. And loved it.

Flicker — you’re a dancer already.

Growing

Mrs T is growing.

In size, certainly. Only a couple of weeks ago people were saying she didn't look as pregnant as she is, but now there's less escaping it. She's bought one pair of smart maternity trousers which she's living in at work (and slobbing it in jogging bottoms the rest of the time) and a few nice tops that are designed to grow with her and we hope will see her to the end. Most of her usual blouses are somewhat stretched now (and she hates it when the bits between the buttons gape open, so many are relegated to the “can't wear for a few months” pile).

But there’s another thing that’s growing: her excitement about Flicker. She’s feeling him* move every day and is now, I think, beginning to find it quite reassuring. She’s still not keen if he’s too active when she's teaching, or eating, or trying to get to sleep, but I think I can understand that. I found her looking at the latest scan picture the other day and she admitted she often stops and looks at it. She’s even chosen a colour scheme for the guest room.

On Saturday we went to a local “Baby and Toddler Fair”. I guess I was more keen on the idea than Mrs T, but we went along and pottered around for a while. It was pretty much as I expected - lots of local traders and organisations touting for business - and we chatted to some about baby signing and toddlers’ cookery classes among other things. Inevitably there was a small range of buggies and prams, so we had a good look at one and a long chat with the shop owner about the range. Although I’ve been doing a lot of reading about them, Mrs T has just let me get on with it as we're not planning to do any nursery shopping until the new year. But when we got home, she said to me, “Do you know what? I'm quite looking forward to looking at buggies now.”

When the time comes for the buggy shopping to start in earnest, I’ve found that one of the big online retailers over here has a big showroom which is actually pretty nearby, so we’re planning a trip to try them all out for size, weight, foldability, manoeuvrability, handlebar height, and of course style. It pretty much goes without saying that the ones I like so far are among the most expensive on the market. Do’h! Can you guess which ones?

* Usual disclaimer: for “him”, read “him or her”.

Babyface

Back to hospital again today for the repeat scan following last week. Flicker was still not in an ideal position but the radiologist* did manage to get the views of the heart he wanted. And then he got us a couple of pictures including this one which has a pretty good facial profile. According to Mrs T's colleagues, Flicker looks like me.



(* Last week I called this chap a "sonographer". Today I checked his name badge, and it actually says "Senior Radiologist". Not the faintest idea what the difference is, but I thought I ought to get it right this time!)

Yesterday

Mrs T.

Home from work: 5:40pm
Asleep on sofa: 6:00pm
Awake enough to eat dinner: 7:00pm
In bed by: 7:30pm
Fast asleep: 8:05pm

What was that I said about her having more energy?

Bits and Bobs

Nearly a week since my last post. I don't know. It feels like there's quite a bit to mention, so I'll do a "catch-up", but I guess I'll still forget some stuff. Now, where to begin..?

Flicker
Flicker seems to be coming on in leaps and bounds. Since Mrs T first felt him move a week or so back, she's been feeling him several times a day and is beginning to get used to the idea. A couple of days ago he was kicking away while she was eating, which she didn't enjoy, but she's not so squeamish about the whole movement thing now. I don't think I have felt any movement myself yet. Mrs T has had her hands firmly on her tummy while she's feeling movement on the inside and assures me that it can only very rarely be felt from the outside. We're back down to the antenatal unit on Wednesday for a repeat scan so the sonographer can measure the heart, so we'll get a sneaky extra peek at him! (Or her.)

Mrs T
Transformed! Since she was allowed to up her Thyroxine she's like a new person. Well, she's back to feeling herself again. The extreme of tiredness that had so drained her is gone, and she's able to work effectively and have energy for other stuff as well. We've started going for evening walks (so she gets at least some exercise) and even went out socially with friends last night. The nausea of a few weeks ago is long gone.

Names
The name discussions continue. Girl's names are less of a problem, as we have more common ground, but we're assuming Flicker to be a boy (unless proved to the contrary!) so are concentrating our discussions on boy's names. (Hence referring to Flicker as "him" earlier: it just sounds nicer than "it".)

The name under discussion the most remains the old family surname I mentioned previously, which continues to grow on me. What I hadn't realised is that Mrs T has been mentioning it to a few people to start to gauge their reactions. So I've now started to do the same, and have so far had only positive comments. (Having said that, we could tell that our friends last night weren't sure what to make of it.)

One of our nephews has a unique name, so I asked his dad how people have reacted to them, and to him. They've had "almost universally positive" reaction (I didn't ask about the 'almost'), and are sure they made a great choice. I told him about our possibility and he said he liked it. It's "very distinguished and proper old school", apparently.

Mrs T's reservations are generally about how other children would react. (And that, at a very young age, that they may have difficulty even saying it.) I do see what she means, and respect her opinion as a teacher of young children and therefore someone greatly experienced in observing children's relationships, but I also feel that you're an adult for an awful lot longer than you're a child. I'm trying to see Flicker not only as a baby and then a child, but as a person. (I'm sure she is, too.)

Preparations
Still no 'active' preparations, but we've now started to consider redecorating the guest room to await young Flicker's arrival, and to properly look at out finances to see where we need to tighten things. We've made contact with the local branch of the NCT but are yet to book in to ante-natal classes. We've discussed nappies (aiming to avoid disposables apart from travelling); feeding (breast); prams, pushchairs and carseats (what a variety!); and much more.

Enough for now! I must try to post more often and then they wouldn't get so rambling. To bed!

Scan report

Today we had our 20 week scan. It's also known as the 'anomaly scan' and I'm delighted to report that Mr Sonographer could find no anomalies. Everything is tickety-boo, as I believe the phrase goes.

Checklist:
Spine - yes
Arms - two
Hands - two (fists)
Legs - two
Feet - two
Head - one (phew!)
Brain - all present and correct
Kidneys, stomach, miscellaneous abdominal organs - check
Face - hiding
Sex bits - didn't want to know
Placenta - positioned nice and high.

(God knows how he could make all this out from what mostly looked to us like random blobs around all over the screen, but hey, that's what he went to college for.)

The heart was pumping away solidly, but because Flicker wasn't being especially co-operative (ie, lying face down as low as possible) he couldn't quite get a clear enough view of all four chambers to tick all the boxes, so we're going back next week for another go.

Mrs T is feeling much more energetic since the new dose of Thyroxine kicked in, and is now allowing herself to get excited about the whole thing. It is exciting, isn't it?