Saturday 27 July 2013

Things that surprised me about pregnancy

At  39 weeks pregnant I feel that I can share a bit on the topic of pregnancy :)
There are many symptoms that really surprised me when I first experienced them only to discover(with a bit of research) they were actually pretty common. We all know about the obvious symptoms eg : morning sickness/cravings/big belly/some swelling but there are some strange things out there that I never knew about
Carpel Tunnel Syndrome:

This is apparently really common during pregnancy. Something about pregnancy hormones causes your nerves/joints to relax which means you can develop this pretty painful side effect. It makes your hands go dead or causes extreme pins and needles in your hands/wrists.Not helpful when one needs to type/write a lot and strangely very painful at night.
Body heat:

I am forever grateful that the last bit of my pregnancy has been in the winter ! I would have probably overheated otherwise . I feel like the human furnace

Rib Flair:

A very uncomfortable pain at the the top of my bump just under my ribs... its like a shooting pain every-time I sneeze or move in the wrong way and can be so painful it takes my breathe away...

For interests sake I asked some of my friends who recently became mom's to share their experiences too.. 
Krista: Mom to Klaire (almost 8 months old)

"I definitely had both fun and not-so-fun surprises during pregnancy.
• A couple fun ones… Whenever I would eat chocolate, Klaire would start to go crazy, bumping around in my belly… In my last trimester, Klaire often had the hiccups; but, without fail, she would always get them when I took a bath!
• A not-so-fun one… I expected most of the major discomforts that came along with pregnancy, but one that surprised me the most was the last two months of my pregnancy, I had awful pain in both hips when I would lay on my side (which is pretty much the only option by then!), so I got very little sleep. I couldn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time without waking up in excruciating pain. I’d roll over and sleep for an hour, only to wake up an hour later and repeat the whole process. "
Kerry: Mom to Luke (just over 3 months old)
My most surprising symptom was extreme bloating. Other than that I had an awesome pregnancy!

Tamlyn: Mom to Ricky (4 months old)

My most surprising symptom was my lack of symptoms!  I had a very positive pregnancy experience from beginning to end.  Of course I had my fair share of morning sickness – I don’t think anyone truly escapes that inconvenience – but I started taking Asic and it disappeared entirely!  Because of its antihistamine properties, acid reflux in later pregnancy was almost non-existent, so double bonus!!  All the usual pregnancy symptoms – aches and pains, mood swings, food cravings, lack of sleep – just never showed up!  Even the belly didn’t properly arrive until over half way through, so I had little to no use for maternity wear, which was exactly the opposite of what I expected!  Food-wise, I went off peanuts – the smell was enough to send me running for the bathroom! – and I found myself eating less meat and more fruit, vegetables and dairy, but there was nothing I had to have RIGHT NOW!  The closest I got to anything I expected was in my final two weeks of pregnancy.  Ricky was one VERY active baby and, due to the reduced amount of amniotic fluid, every kick and jab took my breath away.  I loved it though!  Being pregnant was some of the best fun I’ve ever had! 


Friday 26 July 2013

Baby update: 38 weeks

How Far Along: 38w 6 day ... I'm actually right on time , Go me ;)

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 3 kg (psssh ja right , I'm thinking more like 3.2 if not more ) and be about 50cm long

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is about the size of a pumpkin... (sounds about right )



Belly:


Sleep: not going so well, on top of being 38 weeks prego I managed to get a pretty bad case of bronchitis flu so I've had a blocked nose and lots of trouble sleeping cos every time I lay down I can't really breathe

Best Moment of the Week: The arrival of Baby James! so Excited for my friends and Sad i can't see him
Movement: up and down ... but definately moving down!
Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings:still very thirsty all the time!

What I Miss: Family and friends close by... Would be nice to be able to visit with more people...  

What I'm Looking Forward to: this little ones arrival!! We are ready (MORE than Ready) for you to make an appearance little one!


Monday 22 July 2013

Baby Update: 37 weeks

How Far Along: 38w 2 day ... I'm late this week again ...oh well:)

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.9 kg and be about 48cm long
(the people that made this list had small babies!! ;) )

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is about as long as a leek



Belly:


Sleep: not going so well, haven't slept properly for the last week

Best Moment of the Week: starting Maternity leave (although I am a bit unsure how I'm going to fill all this free time till she arrives :) ) and a sweet baby shower thrown by some special friends this side of the world...
Movement: still fluctuates... went to the doctor (weekly appointments now) and she has moved down more and is engaging.. any time now..
Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings: been drinking like crazy, I seem to be thirsty all the time!
What I Miss: Family and friends close by... Would be nice to be able to visit with more people...  

What I'm Looking Forward to: still waiting on the arrival of special little boy :) (Come on buddy) and the count down to our own special sprinkle:) Less than two weeks to go!!


Friday 12 July 2013

Baby Update: 36 weeks

How Far Along: 36w 6 day ... Can hardly believe it!!

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.7 kg and be about 46.5cm long
(the people that made this list had small babies!! ;) )

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is is about as long as some Swiss Chard






Belly:

 
Sleep: ja, that's not going so well!
Best Moment of the Week: hearing about how the ladies from our Antenatal classes have started having their babies... not long to go now :)
 
Movement: fluctuates... went to the doctor and she has moved down and is starting to Engage..
 
Symptoms: at 8 months pregnant I don't there is is a Symptom I don't have :) (this statement still stands)
Food Cravings: nothing much...
What I Miss: being able to put on a pair of socks... for some reason i cannot reach my right foot. Left is fine but the right foot is unreachable. 
What I'm Looking Forward to: the weekend !! 3 weeks till my due date tomorrow!! and the hopefully soon arrival of another special little boy :)


Monday 8 July 2013

Adventures in Nursery land Part 4: painted furniture

If you can remember way back to my first Nursery Post I mentioned how we were going to paint the dresser in the baby room with Chalkboard paint... That was in April and we finished it yesterday ! Procrastinate much ?
 
Life doesn't stop unfortunately when you have a baby on the way ( although it definitely should slow down in my opinion) but every time we planned to get a start on these projects something would come up and it would get bumped down the list. I even got to the point where I was trying to convince myself it wouldn't be SO bad if it didn't happen.Thankfully two weekends ago I finally bit the bullet and jumped right in :)
 
The Bookshelf was mine as a child and has lived in many places throughout my various homes :) It looked like this before we started. Not to bad from far but up close it was chipped and kind of just blended in with the wall behind it.
 
 
The chest of drawers was one we inherited from W's Gran when she passed away. We used it in our spare room before and then decided it was the perfect height to use as a change table. Being the bad blogger I am I forgot to take pictures before taking the drawers out but I'm sure you get the idea
 
 
 
There was a layer of varnish that needed to be sanded off first so I used our electric sander (if you are planning on refinishing furniture invest in one! It was a such a time saver and not that expensive). The bookshelf had been painted previously so we just roughed it up with the sander to allow the new paint to stick
 
 
The Chest of Drawers hadn't be painted before so my Sister in Law painted Primer on it (it was stinky stuff so I stayed away and we made sure to do it outside )
 
 
When we started painting we quickly realised that we needed more than just one can of paint (and then I overcompensated and bought way to much! chalkboard paint anyone?).
 
 
It was quite a messy endeavour
 
 
The Final Product turned out amazingly! It's such a contrast and even though the 'grey' paint is not as grey as I thought it would be (more a blue/green/grey)  its still pretty cool:)
 
 
Apologies for the overexposed picture but I wanted to show the stencil detail on the drawers and this was the only way to do it...
 
 
Everything's back in the room and the Drawers are started to get packed.
Rooms officially ready!
EEEEKKKKK!!!
 

Friday 5 July 2013

Baby Update: 35 weeks

On time this week :) go me !

How Far Along: 35w 6 day

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.5 kg and be about 45cm long
Although I'm still convinced she is bigger than this...


Picture of Baby:

Baby Sprinkle is comparable in size to a crenshaw melon (whatever that is???)




the Melon comparisons still seem  very appropriate  :)

Belly:




34 weeks                        vs                     35 weeks
 
is it just me or does that baby look like she's lower down?
 
Sleep:is actually becoming quite the painfull experiance. I'm starting to get symptoms of some pregnancy induced Carpel tunnel so my hands are constantly going numb or tingling with pins and needles plus they hurt when I bend my fingers (especially when I first get up). Getting comfortable is all but a distant memeory and I get up at least twice during the night to use the bathroom
Best Moment of the Week: its actually been a pretty good week all things considered :) Met some interesting people
Movement: fluctuates... some days it feels like a prty in there and other days its a lot less busy... I can feel movement quite low down too which is a new experiance
 
Symptoms: at 8 months pregnant I don't there is is a Symptom I don't have :)
Food Cravings: nothing  much...
 
What I Miss: comfort
What I'm Looking Forward to: this baby coming!! 29 days to Due date and realistically it could be any time now ( I dreamt I was in labour last night, obviously it was just a dream as I am clearly still pregnant but it was a reminder how close we actually are)


Monday 1 July 2013

Baby Update: 34 weeks

These posts seem to be happening later and later every week. Apologies! I'm slowing down considerably and have had a fairly full weekend

How Far Along: 35w 2 day

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.3 kg and be about 43cm long
Although I'm still convinced she is bigger than this...


Picture of Baby:

Baby Sprinkle is comparable in size to a canteloupe




 
 
 
the Melon comparisons seem appropriate  at this stage :)


Belly:





Sorry for the bad cellphone shot!! and yes those are my pj's


Sleep:meh, if it happens it happens :)
 
Best Moment of the Week: getting the nursery bookshelf painted! Thanks for your help Annelise! (pics to follow :) )
 
Movement: Slowing down now... its nerve-wracking cos I'm paranoid but apparently a good sign. She's head down but still not quite ready to make an appearence.


Symptoms: I'm HUGE and pretty much still in pain, Just aches all over the place :) I'll take it though , the end is in sight!
Food Cravings: this weekend ,Cake ...

What I Miss: my feet :)
What I'm Looking Forward to: Finishing the painting of furniture and being able to finally see it all come together :)