The Cutest Baby is Born! :)

On 4 December this little cute boogie came along . . .  :D  Little Aidan René on the day he was delivered:

Here's his info:

Day 2 - so tiny compared to daddy's hand:

Day 7 - getting burped:

Day 11 - my other baby JellyBean comes to say hello:

Day 12 - relaxing with mummy on the couch:

So ya, the pregnancy is over!  In fact, it went by so fast that I've already forgotten what it feels like to be pregnant, haha.  Here's a post-pregnancy summary:

The Good

• Little Aidan is here!  :)

• I can do my toenails again - bye bye big belly, hehe

• No more trips to the loo in the middle of the night (ok, so I only had 1 each night just before sunrise, but still!)

• I can eat spaghetti bolognaise again!  It doesn't make me queazy anymore, yay.

• The acid reflux is GONE

•  I can lie on my back again and be comfy!

• I'm developing my doing-things-with-one-hand-while-holding-baby-in-the-other-hand skills 

• No more leg cramps when I have a good stretch in bed!

The Bad

• We don't get to snooze through the night anymore or stay in bed late - but it's ok, we'll get used to it!
• After a practically spot-free pregnancy, they've wasted no time in coming back already  :/

& The Ugly

• In the last week of pregnancy I got a bit of stretchmarks on my belly, and on my thighs for some reason, but after he was delivered I got even more stretchmarks on my belly! Boo.

The first few days were a bit hectic since all of this was all new to us and we got somewhat overwhelmed with all the crying and we didn't know what to do, but I think we've got the hang of it now!  Before he was born we read up about how to soothe a crying baby, and the techniques have actually worked!  So I'll post about them a bit later.

Anyhoo . . . . . . .

Did we make a CUTE baby or what?!?!?  :D

ONE DAY TO GO!!!

day to go until we're officially Noob Mum & Noob Dad!  :O

Can't believe the time has come already!  :) 

Things to look forward to - besides the obvious of finally having baby here:

• no more HUGE belly getting in the way!
• no more acid reflux, double yay!!
• I can snooze on my back again (which incidentally means I don't have to have achy hips most of the night anymore)!
• no more braxton hicks!
• hopefully no more trips to the loo just before sunrise

These should hopefully be all the IMMEDIATE improvements.

I'll be back . . . sometime soon!

ONE WEEK TO GO!!

days to go!

And we're ready . . . I think . . . well at least his room is ready! :)  And I'm still not looking forward to the op, so can't wait until THAT'S over and done with. 
And I discovered a small stretch mark on my belly the other day!  :O  Just about an inch or so, but still.  Hopefully none more come during this last week.
I hope I'll finally be rid of this reflux next week - so there's another thing to look forward to hopefully.  :D

Anyway, this is going to be a relatively "busy" week for me, since I want to get all my work done so that I can take the next 2 weeks off completely.  :)

35 Weeks 4 Days

This was taken yesterday.  From the last pic I took about 5 weeks ago, he's really packed on some extra weight or size during this time. :) 

days to go!!!  :O

I have no idea what his estimated weight is now because we haven't had a scan done at our last 2 doc visits, but according to the baby size chart he could be about 2 1/2 kg's.

He's no longer in breach though, but I'm now having a c-section done because of hypertension.  I'm now really getting more nervous about the op!  :S  Send some good and positive vibes my way that the op will go GOOOOOOOD and perfect and without any problems, will ya??  :)

2 Weeks to Go!

Days to go! :D

And I'm sure these 2 weeks are gonna fly by . . . as usual!  Noob Dad says he's a little nervous about Aidan's arrival, but I'm ok!  If there's anything I'm nervous about then it's the c-section.  :S  Not looking forward to that, but it beats the whole labour thing IMO. :)

I think we have EVERYTHING we need now for baby, and our hospital bags are packed (ie 2 big gym bags and a nappy changing bag full of stuff - nappies take up a lot of space! And had to make sure Aidan's got enough clothes for warm and cold weather just in case, hehe). 

I've picked up some weight during this last month or so, more than I've picked up throughout the whole rest of the pregnancy!  I think it's all Aidan though, not fat haha.  From the way he's really pushing out against my belly all the time now, I think he's got no space to stretch out anymore, hehe.  I can feel I've become bigger judging from the mission it is to get up from the floor or out of bed, it must look somewhat comical, because that's what it feels like hehehe. I must say I'm not really uncomfy in bed at all, so I'm glad about that because many seem to complain that they don't snooze well.

We've been having a heat wave here these last few days so of course I've been complaining my ass off because I hate the heat and have never been able to tolerate it well at all - especially not when I have to do stuff . . . anything at all really, lol . . . but ESPECIALLY blow wave my hair with a hot hairdrier  :S.  But thank goodness I haven't been getting extra hot due to the pregnancy - everyone thinks I'm complaining about the heat just because I'm pregnant, but ummmmm, we're in a heat wave, THAT'S why I'm hot lol.  Ish.  I complain EVERY year that I'm hot anyway.  Speaking of which, I hope my hospital room is gonna have a GOOD aircon!

I'm still having braxton hicks contractions regularly and it's a tad uncomfy to walk while having one of those, but nothing serious.  They have become stronger during this last week especially and I now get a weird tightness in my chest everytime I get them, but after googling it, it seems I'm not the only one so I suppose it's normal.

Anyhoo, I have my last doc appointment on the 26th for our final check up - can't believe that time has come!  Which reminds me that I must still take another belly pic or 2 before Aidan comes!

23 Day to Go!

days to go until we're Noob Mum & Noob Dad! :D

Dunno where the time went, this pregnancy went soooo fast.  Aidan's hiccuping everyday now.  My belly is also feeling quite weighty when I lay on my side, so I've started putting a small pillow under my belly and it's more comfy now because it doesn't feel like it's "pulling" down anymore.  And the acid reflux hasn't improved yet but I don't expect it to during these last few weeks I suppose - boo - can't wait to be rid of that!  Otherwise no other new discomforts. :)

We had what I think was a little false alarm on Friday when I went for a normal check up - he had to check the cervix and of course I hate those exams haha. But before he did the exam he checked my blood pressure and it was about 160 / 110 and I told him it could be because of the exam he's about to do, but he wasn't convinced (just for safety's sake) that that's all it was, so he ended up admitting me to hospital immediately after the exam and said he's going to give me cortisone injections to develop baby's lungs just in case I had to have an emergency c-section done.

So I ended up staying in hospital over night where they monitored my blood pressure - which had already dropped by then and was close to normal the whole time I was admitted - and they monitored baby's heart beat a few times and gave me cortisone and put me on a low dose blood pressure pill for a few days.  The doc was satisfied that it did seem to be a false alarm so I was released the next morning. :)  The tests didn't show anything wrong and I didn't have pre-eclampsia or anything else and baby was doing perfectly too.  So that was the end of that. :)

While they were monitoring baby's heart beat, the machine also picked up that I was having braxton hicks contractions, and I was like HUH?  I had no idea I'd been having them.  Sometimes I'd feel my belly go hard, but I always assumed it was just because of baby moving around putting pressure around there, but the nurse said nope, it's BH, so it turns out I've been having them for a few weeks already but I didn't realize it - I thought I'd feel muscles contracting or something, but it's nothing like that at all.  Oh well, it's all normal for BH to begin long before baby's due, it's just the body "practicing" for labour.

The baby shower was also held the afternoon I was released, so I'm glad I was released earlier so that we didn't have to cancel the party! :)  Aidan got soooo many things that we have just about nothing left that we need to get for him, so that helped out a lot. :D  Will post some pics next time after I've got the photos ready. :D

Well I still have lots of baby clothes and blankies and stuff to wash, so let me get back to that!

35 Days to Go - The Countdown Begins!

35 days until we're officially a Noob Mum and Noob Dad! (well, noobs to human babies anyway).  :D  We still can't imagine being parents, so it's weird.  Unless it's one of those things that you imagine is gonna be weird but when it actually happens you just kinda go with the flow and it ends up not feeling weird.  Know what I mean? Hehe.  But we can't wait.

DAYS to go!

Pregnancy and Snoring

Who'd have thought these two things have anything to do with the other, but as it turns out, they do!

I never had any sort of snoring before in my life, but these last few weeks or so I've had it every night.  So the other day I thought, I've had a few other weird things happen to me during this pregnancy and when I googled their relation to pregnancy I found out they were caused by pregnancy!  So I googled snoring and whadda ya know . . . another weird pregnancy symptom.

If you developed snoring during pregnancy, you probably noticed that it started during the 3rd trimester - this is when it usually happens.  And there are a few things that could be causing it, and one of them could be a serious condition, so here goes:

• swollen nasal passages - higher levels of estrogen during pregnancy contribute to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose
• increased blood in your system - the blood volume in your body increases when you're pregnant and your blood vessels expand, which can lead to swollen nasal membranes
• weight gain - if you were already overweight since before pregnancy or you've gained a lot of weight during pregnancy, the extra fat tissue in your neck and throat can cause snoring too
• high blood pressure - it could be linked to gestational hypertension (aka pre-eclampsia) which is a very serious condition dangerous and even fatal for the mum and baby, the only "cure" of which is early labour induction or c-section.  Here's a quick bit of info about this condition from Wikipedia

So if you've suddenly developed snoring during pregnancy you should mention it to you doc because they don't automatically ask you about it, and it's REALLY important that if you have pre-eclampsia, it be diagnosed before baby's due so that steps can be taken to make delivery safer for you and baby.

But you can improve your snoring by not lying on your back, since you usually don't snore when on your side.  This late in pregnancy you should in any case be lying mostly on your left side if you can (for these reasons).

More Nursery Stuff

We've added a few more thingies to the nursery.  :D

Here's the cute bug mobile that I wanted:

And I found a cute flower to wrap around the bed side-bar for Aidan to look at - too cute :D

I was busy making cute thingies to hang on my home-made mobile, but then I found the one I wanted anyway and just bought it - now this wormy is gonna hang around elsewhere in the room:

Long ago I bought a spice rack at the craft store, except I never really needed a spice rack 'cause I had one already, but I wanted to decorate it and use it for storage space in my craft room, but that never happened . . . so I painted it to match the nursery and so far it's being used as a storage thingy for nappy changing things:

And he's got a bath too:

And a cute little rocker chair thingie:

And that's it!  The next big item I'm just waiting for now is the curtains and bed stuff to be ready! :)

31 Week 4D Scan

Had this done yesterday.  We got a few good pics before he decided to turn around and only give us the back of his head. :P

This one looks so cute with the puffy cheeks:  :D

And this one looks like a little smile. :)

The scans put him at around 32 weeks on average and a natural due date of 15 Dec, with a weight of about 1 850 grams, so he picked up about 400 grams since our last scan about 2 weeks ago.  And so far his head, abdomen and femur measurements are still all good. :D

At our last scan he was upside down but yesterday he's turned around again which means my bladder is no longer being punched but kicked - lovely. :P  Because he's now in breech the doc is recommending a c-section (which is what I wanted anyway), so now I have to update the info with the medical aid.  So his b'day is going to be 4 December. :)  At least it's a decent while before Xmas. :D

My mum and sis are arranging a baby shower for 10 Nov so I can't wait to see if Aidan's gonna get something cute (I know my mum's apparently got a bunch of clothes which are no doubt cute, hehe).  He loves getting gifts.  :D  And THEN we'll probably have our last baby-stuff shopping spree if we still need anything.  I hope his nursery curtains and bed stuff is gonna be ready in time!  Although we want to keep him in our room in the beginning which means I'd like to get him a smaller portable bed of some sort because his cot is too big to stand next to our bed because it's gonna feel really cramped in the room and that's gonna bug me. :O  So not sure what to get yet that's not gonna work out too expensive.  I wanted this, but at R2 200 it's a bit too pricey for a temporary second bed:

It's cool because it has a little bed that you attach to the top of the campcot and so you can see baby while you're in bed.  So we'll see what's second best!

Small Red Dots on Belly During Pregnancy

Yip, I found yet ANOTHER weird and generally un-mentioned pregnancy symptom, lol.  Mine started somewhere in the 2nd trimester . . . can't quite remember when, but I started getting little red dots on my lower belly shortly after I started using an anti-stretch mark cream on my belly.  They didn't bug me or anything, they were just there.

It looks like it's something you get sometimes during pregnancy because your skin is more sensitive to products that you apply to it, during pregnancy - most probably because of hormone changes.  If they're not irritating you it's probably nothing to worry about (although any kind of rash could be a sign of an actual problem, so get yours checked out just in case).  I suspected it was the cream that was causing the dots, so I stopped using it and switched to bio-oil but still didn't see 100% improvement, so now I'm using aqueous cream and I think the dots are going away . . .

It's weird because I use bio-oil on my boobs and there's no problem there, but I suppose it's different for everyone.

Anyway, they say the dots can appear anywhere on your belly and even thighs, legs, arms etc.  And there are other conditions caused by pregnancy that can cause red dots, such as heat rash on parts of your body that usually stay warm and moist.  Other causes are something known as PUPPP which is itchy red dots and most common during the 3rd trimester, and prurigo of pregnancy which usually appear on your legs, feet, arms and hands and is itchy as well.

I've read that it could also be that one is allergic to the placenta (well not so much the placenta actually but that's how some refer to it . . . but it's because the placenta produces progesterone during pregnancy and progesterone can cause an increase in allergies, eg skin rashes). 

Usually these symptoms seem to disappear within about a month after birth.

Cute Mobile

I saw this cute mobile at a really good price at Reggies online!  Some of them are ridiculously pricy, but this one is only R129 . . . . So I'll be hunting this one down and hopefully I find it in stock. :)

It's perfect for my bug theme and sooooo cute.  :D  It's even musical, but if it's an annoying tune we'll just have to forget that it has that feature. :P

Update: YAY! Found it and got it! :D

29 Weeks

So we had another GP visit on Friday the 5th and according to the scan everything is still good.  The little goober was upside down though and facing backward so we couldn't see his face this time, boo.  But it looks like he's plumped up so he's getting all squishy now. :D

We've booked the delivery with the hospital and got the authorization number from the medical aid, so everything's just about set! This hospital is giving us a free 4D scan which we have to do on 22 Oct, so we're looking forward to that - I hope he's turned a bit so that we can see his face this time! Hehe.

I'm confused though, because according to the scans, since the first scan at 9 weeks even, the baby's age has always been set at about a week or 2 older than he really is (according to my date of ovulation), so apparently he's now at about 31 1/2 weeks or so and expected date of (normal) delivery is 16 Dec instead of 24 Dec that my online pregnancy tracker gives me.  But oh well, I hope the 16 Dec one is accurate, because I wasn't too chuffed about the prospect of having a baby the day before Xmas. :P

Either way, I've opted for a c-section so at the mo, expected date of delivery is 4 Dec. :D

Me and Noob Dad have thought that I should get my hospital bag ready already, so I think I'll get that done soon too.

I also finally gave in and got some Gaviscon for in case I get heartburn at night again - what horrid stuff, all thick and icky.  :(

Also, lately I can say that now I actually FEEL pregnant, in the sense that this belly is big enough to now really make simple tasks more difficult (eg getting up off soft couch or off the floor, painting my toes etc, hehe), and I can feel my belly is heavy and sometimes it feels like my stomach muscles are being strained from the weight or size and almost feel bruised . . . weird . . . and I can feel some pressure in my belly too when he moves a certain way.   Maybe I should get me one of those belly bands . . . I wonder if that'll help, 'cause if I left up my belly a bit it seems to feel a bit better I think.  All in all I think I had a good (mostly) symptom-free pregnancy stint up until now. :)

28 Weeks 4 Days

I think I felt the little goober hiccup for the first time last night - or was it really early this morning . . . I dunno!  :)  I just happened to read about it the other day and wondered when I'll start noticing it.  Well it feels sort of like a heart beat, rhythmic and evenly paced and it's really slight so it's easy to distinguish from kicking or squirming.  So I assume those were hiccups. :D

Anyway, that's all I wanted to say!  We have another dr appointment today, so we'll see if there's any new developments, and I have to register my delivery with the hospital today so hopefully that all goes smoothly.

28 Weeks 2 Days & Nursery Update

Definitely bigger than last week!
Aidan's 71% complete and he's also getting much more active. :D  Besides the usual kicks and squirming, last night it felt like he was jumping up and down, hehe.  We really can't wait until he gets here already. :D

I saw a cute growth chart sticker and of course I had to get it.  We stuck it on the cupboard door - it came with some extra animals so I just stuck them on the other door.  Cute! :D

 

You can only start measuring once he's at least 60cm tall though, so in the mean time it just has to make the nursery look cute! :D

Me and my mum went fabric shopping for the curtains and bedding and FINALLY found something cute and affordable and in the colour scheme and animal theme that I wanted - this is what the curtains and duvet cover are going to be made from:

On Friday I'm going to give my mum-in-law the measurements, so hopefully I can get the end products SOOOOOON - I'm gonna be really impatient, hehe.  Once the curtains and bedding is up and on, it's really going to look much more like a real nursery. :D

And I also knitted a blankie.  I can't knit but I bought a loom knitter 'cause it looked like fun to use (and it is!) and so I had to make something with it, so why not a fluffy blankie?!  You can only make things of limited size though, so I had to knit 4 squares and then "sew" them together, so you can see one of the joins going through the blankie, but oh well:

It's REALLY soft though, and it's quite big for a little baby so when you fold it in half you won't even notice the join. :)

We still have to wash the carpet of the nursery because a certain yoghurt-eating DeeDee . . .

. . . has been using it as her bedroom for the last 2 years, so not looking forward to that, because a) we've never washed a carpet before and we've borrowed an oooold carpet washer (looks sort of like a vacuum cleaner thingy) from one of our parents, so hopefully it actually works properly, b) we have to empty out the nursery furniture which also means we have to take the cot apart again because it can't fit through the door whole, and c) well it's a schleppy job and we probably have to wait a few days for the carpet to dry thoroughly before we move everything back in again.

At the mo I'm working on a (hopefully cute) mobile for either above the cot or above the changing station, we'll see.  So I'll post that when it's done! :D

Pregnancy & Restless Leg Syndrome

Apparently developing restless leg syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy is not uncommon (about 15% of women may develop it during pregnancy).  Generally it's an annoying feeling in your legs - some describe it as a sort of tingling crawling feeling deep inside your muscles, and you get this urge to move your leg.  If RLS only started during pregnancy it means that it'll most likely disappear within about a month after baby's born.  Or you may be stuck with it for good if you're unlucky, but the symptoms should be less severe after baby's born.

I've had RLS for years but I've definitely noticed lately that it's become a lot worse - I didn't get it very often, but now it's almost every night if not every night.  So I thought I'd google it and see what cooks and whether this is yet one more fun pregnancy thing that you never see in the common pregnancy symptoms lists . . . and guess what?  It IS!  For me it feels like an annoying sensation in my calves and I have to move the calf muscles to get rid of the feeling - I just do this by stretching the calf muscles (and I can only stretch them a certain way otherwise I get a cramp) and it goes away for a few seconds, but comes back again and so it carries on.  For some people, RLS affects their feet or upper legs too, and even their arms.

What's even more annoying about this condition is that it tends to show up after you get into bed and want to snooze.  This is when I get it.  Apparently some people get it any time they sit or lie down for a while, ie when the muscles are relaxed.  Fortunately mine seems to disappear a short while after getting into bed, as I don't recall ever waking up in the middle of the night and still having RLS.

Let me tell you, this is SOOOOOOO annoying.  Women who already had RLS before pregnancy may tend to have it worsen during the last trimester of pregnancy.  I think this is me.

They don't seem to know exactly what causes it, but it has been suggested that it could be because of some nutrient deficiency.  And if other family members have it, you seem to have an increased chance of getting it too.

Here are some things that are said to help relieve this condition:

• try taking supplements, such as iron, magnesium, vit B12 or folate (or a good B multi-vitamin is even better), but first check with your doc if you're pregnant before taking extra supplements.  Or you could just improve your diet and eat healthier.
• some meds, such as antihistamines, may worsen the condition
• caffeine may make symptoms worse too, as does smoking and alcohol
• try stretching the affected muscles before bed  
• light exercise earlier in the day may also help relieve symptoms, but too much exercise could worsen them too.  They think that having a sedentary lifestyle may make you more predisposed to developing RLS.
• try massaging the muscles
• take a warm bath
• using hot / cold compresses may relieve symptoms
• make sure you get enough rest at bed time - not only is this generally good for your health, but it helps to reduce RLS
• stay well hydrated
• if you're stressed, find a way to reduce your stress levels

Anyway, if you're healthy in all other respects, RLS isn't a serious condition (although it's seriously annoying) and is generally not something to worry about health-wise.

27 Weeks 1 Day

Took another belly pic today and when I compare it to the one taken around 22 weeks I can definitely see it's bigger, hehe.

While I'm still blessed with the absence of any frequent trips to the loo, I've noticed that it's beginning to feel full now even when it's not, so Aidan's definitely beginning to compete with my other organs for space now.  :P

I was more easily getting leg cramps in bed recently for a little while (which is apparently a common pregnancy thing), but they seem to have gone away now already, so at least that didn't last long . . . maybe 2 or 3 weeks at most? - whew.

And I'm almost sure he's becoming more active.  Yesterday especially he seemed more active than usual, so that's cute.  Except when he kicks or punches into my bladder - that's a tad uncomfortable but luckily it doesn't happen that often!  Sometimes I just laugh when I see my tum wobbling when he kicks. :D

Sometimes when he moves around or does summersaults then I can feel him through my belly like a hard bump, but only for a little while, then he moves again - I have no idea what body parts I'm feeling, but I'm sure last night it must have been a foot or something because it was small.  Usually it feels like a big area, like his head or back or bum.

Anyhoo, we can't wait for him to come already. :D

Pregnancy & Heartburn

When my second trimester started I started getting heartburn / acid reflux more often and now nearing the end of the second trimester it's becoming much worse and more frequently, so I thought I should see what I can do to improve matters!

Here's what I found:

• try to avoid foods that are knows to aggravate heartburn, eg fizzy drinks, caffeine, chocolate (?!), acidic foods like citric fruits & juices, tomatoes, mustard & vinegar, processed meats, mint products, spicy and highly seasoned foods and fatty fried foods
• don't have big meals - rather have many small meals through out the day, and eat slowly
• don't drink large quantities of fluid during a meal - instead drink your daily requirements between meals
• chew gum after meals - chewing stimulates the salivary glands and saliva helps neutralize acid
• don't eat close to bed time - eat at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed to give your body chance to finish digesting the meal
• sleep propped up on several pillows - elevating your upper body helps keeps your stomach acids where they belong
• don't gain too much weight during the pregnancy - maintain a healthy weight as advised by your dr
• bend at the knees instead of at the waiste
• wear loose-fitting clothes around your stomach / midsection (something you should be doing anyway!)
• use an antacid that's safe for use during pregnancy, so check before you just use any antacid as some contain aluminium (which you should ALWAYS avoid anyway) or aspirin or are high in sodium
• try some natural heartburn remedies:
• have some papaya / pawpaw, but make sure it's very ripe since unripe or semi-ripe papaya may cause uterine contractions
• almonds may help settle the stomach
• drink a tablespoon of honey in a glass of warm milk (but this will probably not work for you if dairy doesn't agree with your tum)

  I'm gonna try some of these (except the antacids) and see what works! :)

26 Weeks 1 Day

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, this heartburn / acid reflux thing has been getting worse so I now have to find something to do about it.  :/  Last night it felt like I had heartburn almost constantly coming and going for half the night.  So see my next post HERE on some possible heartburn solutions.  :)

And it feels like I'm starting to feel queezy again sometimes.  Boo. 

On a happier note, Aidan's still kicking and squirming around a lot, and lately it feels like he's kicking into my ribs too, hehe.  It's weird to see my stomach move when he does, it feels like I'm watching one of those alien movies where someone's got an alien inside them.

And on a sadder note again (well sorta sad) - we can't shop for baby stuff anymore until after the baby shower in November :O  But that's ok, at least we get to save a little money. :)  So all I have to do is stay OUT of shops that sell cute baby clothes.

And we got a really cute fabric for the nursery curtains and bed stuff, so I can't wait until they've been made already! :D

24 Weeks 3 Days & We Got the Pram

We had our first appointment last week with the Dr who will be delivering Aidan. :D  He delivered my sis-in-law's baby in Jun this year so I thought I'd give him a try too and so far he's nice. :)  Here's a scan he did:

That's his arm and hand there. :D  It was also really cute 'cause we could make out his nose and mouth too - I should have told him to capture that one!  Oh well.....maybe next time.  We could also see his spine this time and yet another confirmation that he's a boy, hehe.  Everything else is fine too says the doc.  He's been in breech for the last couple of scans but it seems that's normal this early in pregnancy and sometimes they only move into the right position within the last 2 weeks or so - not that this matters much to me since I'm planning a C-section anyway!

He said we could see a dark spot where the bladder is which means the kidneys are working and we could see a dark spot where the stomach is which means he can swallow. :)

Our next app is for beginning Oct and then we have to register the delivery and book a bed at the hospital.  I'm choosing to have a C-section so I'm beginning to get nervous. :O  Also hospitals make me nervous. :S  So I already can't wait for all that to be over and to be back home again.  Hopefully their food is good...you think one can request double serving of dessert with the meals?? :)

And we found a pram we like and Weed (aka me dad, hehe - he's been Weed since decades ago, dunno where the name came from) offered to pay for half of it, so we got a really cool pram for half price. :D

It's got brakes, shocks, a mosquito net and even a rain "jacket" to cover the whole pram.  Oh, and little tables for me and Aidan's snacks. :D  And the hippo is what my sis got for Aidan - it's seriously the cutest hippo on earth.  :)

Toys for Hand-Eye Co-ordination (0-6 months)

I found an article about toys for new babies to help develop their hand-eye co-ordination which I thought was interesting and useful. :)

Baby's first few weeks
Baby's hands and eyes don't work together, baby just watches.  His favourite things are bright / colourful and things that move.  Some toys and games for baby are . . .

• his reflection in the mirror
• the toys on his gym or a mobile
• shining a torch on the ceiling of a dark room, and flashing lights

6 weeks +
Baby is more ready to swipe at things with his hands, so he'll have fun with:

• the toys on his gym, bouncer or stroller
• a rattle that you hold for him

2-4 months
Now baby will start to grab things and shake them, so . . .

• get him toys that have small enough section for him to grab and hold onto

5-6 months
Baby's grasping is more deliberate and he'll reach out for stuff without constantly monitoring his hand, and he may like to pass things from one hand to the other, so toy's he'll like are:

• toys that he can pick up, take to his mouth and pass from hand to hand
• toys that make noises when he grabs them
• toys with textures
• soft toys that he can cuddle
• toys that he can bat with an open hand

Well now at least I can buy (the correct) toys with a purpose in mind. :D

22 Weeks 4 Days

Finally, my first official baby bump pic, hehe,

I went shopping today trying to find some nice tops that will be flattering to wear, but I couldn't find any. :(  But then I thought, summer has just begun and I have quite a few nice tops that could easily be worn by a mum-to-be, so even if I don't find anything nice I don't really have to worry about it, I think I have some tops that can last me all through this pregnancy.  It was more a case of that I didn't have much winter pregnancy-suitable clothes - but I think winter is over now.  Except I don't have some cute pg dresses!  Still need some of that. :D

Anyhoo, while shopping today I was naughty and bought more baby clothes than I did anything for myself.  :O  Which I shouldn't be doing because my mum says she's bought bags of clothes for baby and so I have NO idea what she's bought, so hopefully there won't be too many identical outfits, hehehe. 

I just got over a really nasty and annoying cold, but I'm still coughing my lungs out now and then, *sigh*.  I didn't take any meds for it (except some tissue salts which I only remembered to do on day 3 of said cold), but I didn't have a fever and so it wasn't a cause for concern as far as baby is concerned.

I've also made an app with my newest doc (ob/gyn)early next month, the one who will be delivering baby.  I haven't met him yet but my sis-in-law was happy with him (he delivered her baby this July just past) and Noob Dad's female relatives have been going to him for YEARS so I thought I may as well use him too.  So hopefully he's likable!  :O  This will be the 4th doc I see relating to this pregnancy.  So I think once I get there we need to book a date for delivery and we need to register the pregnancy with our medical aid too, and apparently the medical aid sends us a hamper of baby goodies or vouchers or something when you do this!  Cool!  :)

Well I have some new baby clothes to hang up, let me get on with it. :)

Heart Palpitations & Pregnancy

This is one of those (apparently common enough) pregnancy "things" nobody really mentions in the "common pregnancy symptoms" lists that you find all over google!  I never saw it and I googled a lot.  So I'LL tell you about it. :P

This refers to rapid or skipped heart beats and apparently it's quite common in pregnancy.  Unless you have a pre-existing heart condition, heart palpitations are usually not really something to worry about, but just to be safe DO mention it to your doc and ask them to check it out if you're worried about it.

You'll know you're having heart palpitations when you get a feeling like your heart skips a beat and then gives a big thud and then carries on as normal.  Well chances are good that if you're pregnant and this is the first time you experience this not-at-all-frightening (pffft) heart experience, then you can possibly expect to get more of them soon.

Another way you can experience heart palpitations is when it feels like your heart is racing and pounding in your chest for no reason - in fact you usually notice it most easily when you've just become comfy on the couch or are just about ready to doze off - ie when you're being calm and peaceful and relaxed.  But it feels sorta like you've just done some sort of vigorous exercise before lying down.  And you'll probably find it hard or impossible to snooze or take a nap while this is going on.

Since I've experienced a couple of skipped heart beats here and there in my life before pregnancy, I didn't immediately think that I was dying because I knew what it was and that it was harmless in my case since I have no heart condition.  For me it started during the 14th week of pregnancy and carried on until somewhere around the 18th week, and it felt like it was often getting worse and more frequent as the weeks went by.  And that's when I started getting worried, because sometimes I'd have a pounding heart beat combined with frequent skipped beats continuously for hours at a time.  Then it started tapering off again and now, at just over 21 weeks, it mostly seems to have disappeared.

I had no idea it was a pregnancy thing, so I just googled irregular heart beats to see what I could find out about it, and that's when I by accident saw an article about heart palpitations during pregnancy.  It seems to be caused by your crazy pregnancy hormones and the fact that you have an increased amount of blood to pump around and so your heart is working a little harder.  I mentioned it to my doc anyway and he also confirmed it was normal and nothing to worry about.  But then he said it usually only happens when you lie down, and then I was worried all over again because MINE were there whether I was lying down or sitting up.  But I rode it out because I didn't have any other symptoms like dizziness or lightheadedness or pain etc, so I was hoping for the best, and slowly they started to get less and less and now I don't know when last I've actually noticed that I had one.

SO!  If they don't bother you and you have no other symptoms and your doc has cleared that you're healthy, don't worry about 'em!  They're just a temporary annoyance.  Bottom line is, they're not harmful to you or baby.  :)

21 Weeks 4 Days & More Nursery Decor

Yesterday we had our 21w3d scan and everything shows that all is good. :)

Heart beat's at 139bpm (the heart beat is that graph thingy at the bottom) and apparently he weighs about 512 grams.  I think that little blob at the top right is his left hand and the big blob in the middle is his chest viewed from the top (he's been bisected in half by the sonar, hehe).  So far the expected date for natural delivery is around 18 Dec, but I'm having a C-section so it will be about 2 weeks earlier.  The further away from Xmas the better, haha!

The other day he really started to squiggle around a LOT more, not just kicking like usual but something that feels like he's doing summersaults or something. :D  Feels weird.  I'm not sure when he snoozes, but it feels like he's awake most of the day and moving around, but I haven't noticed yet that he's moving around in the middle of the night when we're snoozing - or at least he's not kicking hard enough to wake me up. :)

I haven't really gained weight yet - I'm more or less now what I was before I became pregnant, so hopefully this is a good sign that I won't pick up unnecessary weight during the rest of the pregnancy!

And I think I may have exhibited a few instances of what they call "pregnancy brain". :O  The other day I see that my bottle of water is standing in the TV room (when it's supposed to be in the fridge) and I ask Noob Dad if he put my bottle there and he said no.  I have NO memory of taking it out of the fridge and putting it in any other room!  And I know he wouldn't have put it there because HIS bottle of water always stands on the kitchen counter because in winter fridge water is too cold for him so he doesn't drink from my bottle.  How weird . . .  And in the nursery we bought a chest of drawers and Noob Dad opened the draws so that we could air them since they smell of new wood and stuff.  One day he mentions that he noticed I closed the drawers and I said "no I didn't!" and he said well neither did he.  So whether that one was me too I have no idea!  lol  I mean, I'm sure we all do stuff sometimes that we don't particularly remember doing, but nothing as weird as this water bottle incident.  Oh well. :D  Apparently this pregnancy brain thing is your hormones messing around with you and having a laugh at your expense again, combined with the fact that you may be a bit more tired than usual so your brain isn't always as "optimally functional" as it should be, hehe.

And I've made some more decor for Aidan's room. :D  I painted little wooden tray thingies and used them as frames.  Then I remembered that I had the cutest little animal keyrings (and I just happened to have 4, a zebra, leopard, lion and giraffe), so I made them sit in the frames and I think it looks too cute! :D

 

 

I have another wall to decorate so I have to think up something interesting and different again.  Weeeee! :D

Also, we have a HUGE-ass fabric shop that sells not only TONS of fabrics and curtains but just about EVERYTHING else related too . . . yet we couldn't find ANY nice fabrics for the nursery, booooo.  :(  In this post I have a pic of the colour scheme I want, but all the shop has is these nasty bright green fabrics or dark greens that aren't really nice for a baby's room.  *sniff*  So I'm hoping we can find something nice and cute in Pretoria.

RE the curtains, I thought of an idea just in case we don't find nice curtain fabric - we could use white curtains with green net curtain behind it, and on the right and left sides we put some more net curtain over the white curtain and keep them tied to the sides with curtain tie-backs so that it's only the white curtains that open and close - that could work, eh?  But ALL-white curtains, ish . . . can we keep the white, that's the question, haha.  But it's very dusty here so I think even without any help from ourselves, these curtains ain't gonna remain white.  *sigh*  What to do, what to do . . .

Baby Crafts - Name for Door

I made the first piece of decor for Aidan's room. :D  I decorated some wooden letters and put his name on his room door:

And in sticking with my green and yellow and cute bugs and cute animals room theme, I added some cute things to the letters.  Cute!  Hehe.

 

 

 

I have a couple more crafts waiting in line, so let me get started! :D