35 Weeks

I couldn't decide which photo made my bump look smaller!!! So here's both, feeling like a 20 tonne whale now. If things fall on the floor I tend to just leave them until a pile develops and I pick them all up at the same time. It too much effort and not to mention the huffing and puffing. I have done some mailorder shopping for the baby today so that has cheered me up. The hospital tells me I'm 35 weeks but I'm convinced I'm 36. This baby is just getting too big for me. Its not moving as much anymore either, its running out of room, especially compared to last weekend when it was going crazy when we were staying at Kev's parents.

Another Year Older

I had a lovely birthday yesterday, even though it did start a bit early with birthday text messages at 5am, (we are 13 hours behind over here Kiwi's)
Thank you to everyone for the cards/messages and presents.
My naughty husband spoilt me and gave me a huge bunch of roses and lilies and chocolates, I told him we need to save our money but he never listens to me. He also got me the canvas's I was wanting as well which I am going to paint animals on for Spiros room. Not much progress on the room yet, by the end of this weekend hopefully we will have the kitchen sorted.
We went to the supermarket and I stocked up on Nappies and wipes and stuff if it did decide to make an early appearance we would beable to manage.

New Hospital

I booked in yesterday to my new hospital, the two midwives that I met seemed very nice, and they were all very organised. Kev feel asleep in the chair while we were going over my records from the old hospital, apparently he did it a few times but woke himself up, I only caught him once and whacked him. Poor little love, we did get up at 5.30 and he drove all the way down from his parents and the room was very hot.
The baby is head down, the midwife had to get a second opinion though as it was moving lots. I'm measuring two weeks bigger still so instead of 34 cms I'm 36 cms.
I had a blood test as well and didn't even feel faint, she took three tubes, Kev said I looked like a little kid when I came out the the blood test cubicle I had a big cheesy smile on my face - I was so proud of myself for not feeling faint.
I'm 29 tomorrow!!!!

Weekend with Kev's Family

We had a lovely weekend up in Lancashire with Kev's family, we stayed Thursday night with Graham, Ali and the kids and then three nights with Kev's parents.
Marian spoilt us all and cooked a huge roast dinner on Saturday, it was kind of like a Christmas dinner really since we won't be there for Christmas.
I had some men who I didn't even know rubbing my tummy in the pub on Friday night, and lots and lots of stares too. Luckily the pub wasn't too busy, we stood by the door so I didn't overheat and it wasn't too smokey.

Kev's family have been so generous and given us loads and loads of baby things, which is really good for us since I haven't been working and us just buying the house money is a bit tight at the moment.

Matt, Kev, Livy & Harriet

Why you shouldn't wear Stripes

33 1/2 Weeks

What was I thinking when I brought this top! I kind of thought that the stripes across my belly might detract from how large my breasts are. Apparently not. They shouldn't make maternity clothes with horizontal stripes anyway, its just cruel, because disillusioned pregnant women like me buy them thinking it looks ok in the shop and then we see our reflection in a shop window and realize it was a big mistake. People already think I'm ready to drop now as it is so I might just keep this one for wearing at home.

But I don't look pregnant from behind though, well not really, just a little bit bigger around the hips, I even got a toot from some boys in a car, they were coming from behind, they must have got a shock when they actually drove past and saw my belly!!!

Lots to Do

There is still lots to do around the house, especially the kitchen and Spiros' room, the sofa still hasn't arrived either. We will hopefully get the kitchen done next weekend, and then I will have my new oven, so I can start stock piling the freezer with meals and baking for January. We are going up north this weekend, both Kev and I can't wait, it will be almost three months since our last trip up. A photo of Spiros room, but hopefully within 3 weeks it will be transformed, its full of stuff at the moment and even our fridge. I will post another photo once its done. Lets hope he doesn't come early.
Also another photo of me painting the bath panel, don't worry I had both the windows open. (Please ignore Kev's 90s sports top that I'm wearing) At the moment i'm wearing that around the house and a really old pair of trackies, which can only sit under my tummy, I look like a middle aged man with a beer belly!! Very attractive.

Communication with the outside world

At Last!!!
Finally the cable guys came around and installed our TV/phone and broadband. Both Kev and I were going insane, we could only get one channel on each tv at a time and then it was fuzzy and black and white most of the time anyway. So I have gone back to a few old posts and added photos as well.

I had a check up last week with the doctor and she said Spiros was head down and very low in my pelvis which she was surprised at. I'm also measuring two weeks bigger as well, "A nice big healthy baby" she said. Nooooooooooo. I don't want a big baby, but apparently smaller babies don't make for an easier birth anyway.

Both Kev and I have been busy doing things around the house, we are working on the kitchen now, these are photos of work in progress, I will post some new ones, once it is all done, its a race against time now to get everything done before Spiros is born. We were planning on just living with the kitchen as it is until we do the loft conversion but we have decided to improve it because we don't know exactly when we will be able to do the conversion.

I went to a card making class on Wednesday which was lots of fun, Kev kept on saying it will be a great opportunity to meet new people. Joan and Chris the other two in the class were telling me it was a great way to relax in their retirement!!! Maybe I will have more luck with the mothers group.

Another Week in Hertfordshire

And 32 Weeks
Another week has passed in our new house and we are a little bit more sorted. Kev has loaded lots of stuff into the loft space so we can actually get into our lounge and spare bedroom now. Still no sofa or telephone yet, should have the sofa within a few weeks, but the phone/cable people are taking their time.
We have a new washing machine too, delivered by the 9 fingered man, Kit Kat - (four fingers) someone who works with Kev, Kev wasn't home and he couldn't lift it up the stairs by himself so I had to entertain him for half an hour, Kev was really worried I was going to ask him why hes called Kit Kat, supposedly I ask inappropriate questions!!! But we had a great chat about fish and NZ.
And hopefully next week we will have a new fridge/freezer and oven.
I had a nice chat with a man on the bus today, he was telling me all about his wife's agonising childbirth and his father picking up the superbug at hospital. Thanks for that!
I have taken a photo of myself, but I won't beable to load it until we get the internet at home. Little Spiros is still moving lots, both Kev and I can actually feel limbs now which is quite freaky.
I have a doctors appointment this afternoon, she will be booking me into a new hospital in our area which will be good, also I got a call from NCT (National Childbirth Trust) asking if I was still interested in doing their classes, they are hoping to organise a class in our area before Xmas, if its after Christmas it won't be much benefit to me or little Spiros

31 Weeks and lots of tears

We moved in ok, but for a few days we were surrounded by boxes, our old place was a lot bigger and we brought stuff to fill the space when we moved from our flat in Camden.
Both Kev and I love the area, I've been exploring a lot, well really just hopping on the wrong buses and then trying to find my way back home. I got it completely wrong and ended up crying my eyes out on the side of a main road, a bit embarrassing now, but it felt like the worse thing ever when it happened. A few other scenes this week too - hormones!!
We don't have a landline yet, so I'm doing this on the computer at the library, fingers crossed next week.

Moving Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is moving day, after loads of complications, stressful phone calls, and visits to the solicitors and estate agents.
We finally got the keys at ten to five yesterday after a whole day waiting for them, so we drove straight to the new place to take another look and drop off a few fragile things, it’s a lot smaller than our place we are in now, so we are going to have to be clever with storage and things until we do our loft conversion. My bump is too big for the kitchen as well, I have to twist myself to get in next to the sink, or back myself in.
I went shopping on Wednesday and I think people must think I’m ready to drop, this woman at M&S who was meeting and greeting, said to me, “any day now” and when I was queuing for the toilet this woman asked if I was desperate, and I could go first if I wanted. How embarrassing, I’ve got 10 weeks to go, not 2!!!
I think I may have had some Braxton Hicks contractions last night though, from about 9 until midnight, it was bearable pain though and they didn’t get any stronger. I feel fine this morning.
Lots of last minute packing to do,
Here’s a photo of me opening the door to our new house.

Check up

I had a check up with the midwife today, everything was fine, my blood sugar was a little high, I said well I've only had cherrios for breakfast and she said it would be that, I told her they didn't taste like they had sugar in them, but when I came home I checked the box and they are full of sugar. I think I might stick to branflakes and shreaded wheat from now on.
I told her I was worried the baby was going to be huge, but after she felt my tummy she said it feel like a normal to small size at the moment.

Also went to the dentist today, halfway through I had to get him to tilt the chair back up because the pressure on my back from my tummy was making me feel quesy. Its free treatment until a year after the baby is born as well, not that I needed anything doing though.

I have been talking to Marian and the photo of "my little chubby husband" is not the official photo, there is another one inwhich he looks much nicer, that was just one of the photographers proofs which Graham had.

Trevor is coming tonight, Kev's other brother, we are going out for a curry to our favourite Indian, just up the road, they even know us there, it will probably be our last time, since we're moving soon.

First Baby Purchase

Yesterday I went shopping on Oxford Street, I left home at 9.30 and got home at 2.30 and had to have a hour and a half nap to recover. I initially I went to get a pair of maternity trousers for myself but I got carried away and decided to do lots of window shopping as well. Marks and Spencer’s were having a sale and it was crazy, but I did manage to get a £3 nightie for giving birth in. I had to fight a middle-aged lady over the last size 14, she probably felt sorry for me when she saw my bump.I made the fatal mistake of looking at baby stuff in Gap and they had a sale rack, I just had to buy something. I started wishing I knew the sex of the baby because there were so many cute blue and pink things.
I took a photo but I can't upload it on our crappy dial up connection

28 Weeks

Three Monkeys

Here's a photo of our nieces and nephew, from left Matthew, Olivia and Harriet, this is from the bank holiday weekend in August, when we had a BBQ at Kev's parents. I've been meaning to put it on for ages; I don't seem to be able to upload photos at home so I used the scanner at work.

Big Mama Bras

I had a proper bra fitting yesterday, initially I was a little shy, I tried on about 20 bras but by the end I was standing there talking to the girl completely bra-less. I'm sure she has seen them all before, especially since it’s a bra shop designed for large breasted women. Anyway I am now wearing a size which is so ridiculously big I'm ashamed to tell anyone apart from my Mum and Kev. Please let them shrink back eventually!!! But they told me I can go in any time and they will check my bra for me to make sure its still the right size and I can go in two weeks before my due date to get some nursing bras fitted. She told me I was carrying my bump quite high, which I didn't think I was but I think she is right, I seem to have grown a lot in past few weeks, I used to be able to place my hand under my bra and there would still be a big gap between it and where my bump started, that’s disappeared now. I've been suffering indigestion the past few nights as well. (Could be a boy!!) Its my last day on my temping assignment today, the guy I work for is working from home and the only person that I sit within talking distance to is away as well. Hopefully I can read my book without anyone noticing, there is only so many times you can check your yahoo account and look at baby websites.

Sore ribs

I'm bored at my temping job thats why I have been doing so many updates.
But I take back everything I have been saying about the baby not kicking high up and pressing on my ribs, because it has started today. Because I seem to be carrying quite low I thought I might get away with not having to deal with that. My bump has grown a lot in the last week, and even now sitting at my desk I can't really get close enough because it's in the way.
And last night when i got home my toes were even fatter than normal. Today I didn't wear my wedding ring for the first time as its just getting too tight, I haven't been wearing my engagement ring for weeks now but it feels really strange not wearing either.
I will post a photo on friday.

Our new place

We have bought the top floor flat, but thats our front door in the photo, front door for the ground floor flat is at the back. It was built in 1889, it has lots of character and potential and eventually we will extend into the loft space. Both Kev and I can't wait to move in now, it will be great to finally have our own place.

my little chubby husband!

Kev is going to kill me but I couldn't resist, here's a photo of Kev with his two brothers, hes the one in the middle with the huge cheeks and the startled look on his face, isn't he cute, he was a very big baby, over 9 pounds.

27 Weeks

I'm 27 weeks today, 13 weeks to go, which is very scary, in just over three months we will be parents. I haven't brought a single baby thing yet. But hopefully I won't need to buy much stuff at the start anyway because Kev's family are being so generous and I got a lovely parcel from Mum and Dad with lots of neat things.
Hopefully we will be moving three weeks time, fingers crossed as there are a few complications and we have also found out that someone is moving into our old flat the same day!!! I have told Kev I can't do homelessness at 30 weeks pregnant!

Working Girl Again

I've joined the workforce again, even if it's only for two weeks. I feel normal again, after too many weeks sitting at home stuffing myself with chocolate and daytime telly it feels good to be sitting at a desk for 7 hours a day.
Kev told me yesterday I looked so nice and smelt so clean!!! Charming! I was wearing makeup and perfume for a change and nice clothes instead of a t-shirt and jeans.
I'm working as a PA to a Head of Division at Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) it's my 2nd day and so far pretty easy.