Lots of updates

Well there seems to be so much going on at the moment, firstly Robert starting Nursery (pre-school), then Christopher's birthday, the garage conversion, and last but not least the new baby. This entry is likely to be long as I'm covering all four!

Starting with the first, Robert's been at nursery now for a week. He started last Friday, and has done SO well. He's settled in beautifully, and really enjoys going. After he's hung his coat and bag up, we go over to find his name badge, and then he goes off to play. He is right at home and doesn't even stop to say goodbye! When I asked his teacher a question, I then had to go and find him to say goodbye! He's been doing pictures and paintings, has told me he has a friend called Ewan who goes to nursery (somewhat confusing as that's also his cousin's name!). He has trouble remembering everything he's played with but does remember a few bits. Overall, I'm pleased he's settled in so well, and quickly, and I think that makes my decision not to send him to a private nursery beforehand a sound one.

Now my mornings are just with Christopher, it seems a bit odd! We've been keeping ourselves busy, mostly going out and about, to groups or whatnot. Things at the moment are a bit complicated because of the building work going on in our garage, but we work around it.

The builders have made fabulous progress. The garage door has gone, the front has been bricked up with just a hole where the window will go once it arrives. The wall framework was made, then they got the ceiling supported on both sides of the wall (complete with a clear plastic dust sheet so the remaining space in the kitchen was usable), and then the wall knocked through. There is now a supporting beam in the ceiling to hold the house up because the kitchen wall was load-bearing. Yesterday they worked on the floor, putting in wooden struts and filling the space with block insulation, then putting floor boards down. Finally, they put up the dividing wall framework. Today, they finished off the framework, and filled the walls with more block insulation, except for one panel in the adjoining wall to allow movement between the two separate rooms. The next bit of the job is the electricians and plumbers, who will sort out lighting, sockets and the water pipes. There's currently a pipe in the middle of the wall they knocked down, so that'll have to be re-routed. Then once all the electrics and water pipes are sorted, the builders will come back to put the plasterboard up on the walls, and any other jobs they need to carry on with. It still seems hard to visualise just how big the kitchen will be as there's a dustsheet and kitchen cabinets on the floor in there. Plus the table that will go in at some point! The study seems like a great size though, with plenty of room for storage as well as the computers. I'm glad all this is getting done in my early pregnancy, so hopefully it will all be COMPLETELY finished (including new kitchen installed and decorating done) by the time baby is here!

Onto Christopher. He had his second birthday on Tuesday. I can't believe he's two, TWO whole years old. He is my cheeky little ray of sunshine. I adore it when he grins at me with those dimpled cheeks, as if to say "oh yes, Mummy, I'm about to be cheeky, and I KNOW you love it!" He and his big brother are playing together more and more. They are beginning to play wrestle!! With Christopher usually the one who pushes his brother over and clambers on top! On Christopher's birthday, we opened presents first thing in the morning. Jonathan and I had blown up 20 balloons the night before (but one got a hole in the neck while it was being tied, and another went down overnight), so Robert was quite happy to play with the balloons and didn't seem to mind much that all the presents were for Christopher! I'm sure it'll be Christopher we have to console on Robert's birthday! We dropped Robert off at nursery, then the three of us went to Irchester Country Park and let Christopher play in the play area there for a while, before he wanted a drink. The cafe was open so we went and got tea for us, and a fruit shoot for Christopher (it was a special occasion after all - I can't stand those things! The kids usually have water when out and about, or squash if we take their cups). After we picked Robert up from nursery, we then went on to Northampton and went out for lunch with Jonathan's parents at the Harvester. Then back to their house where Christopher had yet more presents, then tea and birthday cake, followed by a trip to the park, during which we all got soaked as it suddenly downpoured! It was a good day though, and Christopher got lots and lots of dinosaur presents, and consequently, he now seems to have a new word "dah-dor" or dinosaur (although I can't be 100% sure, as I point to one, and he will say "RAAAAAR!" rather than saying dah-dor. I remember this stage in communication very frustrating, as they start saying words, but as they're not recognisable, it takes a while before you learn the words as they say them. It sounds very much at first like they're still babbling! But it's promising that he's moving forward slowly.

Finally, the new baby. :) This pregnancy, I don't know if it's because I've done it twice before so it's not as novel, or if it's because I'm just not SURE on dates, but I'm not keeping track on how many weeks and days pregnant I am. I am thinking to myself that my due date is 30th April, but I don't KNOW whether that is an accurate representation of when I conceived. The midwife put me as 27th April due date. I just have NO idea, and am waiting for my scan so I feel like I do have a proper date. And yes, I know this DATE means nothing!! But it means I can finally start to keep a track of my weeks, and know what's going on! By my April 30th estimate, I am 9 weeks 3 days. Which is 9 weeks 6 days on my record.

I received my scan appointment through the post this morning. It's a late morning appointment on October 18th which is a Thursday (and therefore the most awkward day possible, as that's the one day the in-laws can't babysit - so goodness knows what we're going to do! It's also awkward as Robert needs picking up from nursery 10 minutes after the scan appointment starts). I MIGHT have to be attending this scan alone :S Which I'm a little worried about, because I have this feeling that things might not be ok. I'm still getting days of morning sickness (strangely they seem to alternate - one day will be bad, the next day quite bearable, then bad again the next day), so I guess that should reassure me. Still no bleeding, although several days ago (might have even been before my booking appointment) I had a SLIGHT amount of red mixed in with CM (which is still plentiful) and then nothing more. Of course I have no real reason to be worried, everything probably is fine. But the thought of a missed miscarriage keeps popping into my head. Anyway. On the scan date, I should be between 11 weeks 6 days and 12 weeks 5 days. So I should be able to nub spot, assuming that all is ok and baby is still well. Still thinking it's a boy though! I know plenty of people that have had 3+ boys and no girls, but also quite a lot that have had two boys, followed by a girl. I think I'll be joining the 3+ boy group!

Well, that'll do for a very long update entry! x

New beginnings

As most of you will know, Robert is starting nursery tomorrow morning. I'm not sure what this is to Americans.. Pre-kindergarten? He's going for the morning sessions of 9.05am til 11.35am. I've been labelling clothes, packing his little rucksack, and mentally preparing him for his first morning away from family.

Mentioning throughout the day about him starting tomorrow, reminding him about the toys and activities and equipment they have there. Telling him he'll see the teachers who came to see him at our house a few weeks ago. When my dad called, he wanted to talk to Robert too, who very quietly answered all the questions his Grandad asked, and promised to remember everything he did at nursery so he could tell Grandad this weekend during his visit.

Later, in the bath, I started talking about it again, and told him what he should expect to happen tomorrow. I made sure to prepare him for the fact that he would be playing there without me, that I would be leaving. In the next sentence I told him that I would come back and pick him up for lunch. After a little while, when this information had sunk in, his bottom lip trembled a little, and fear flashed across his face. "I don't want you to leave, Mummy. I want you to play with me at nursery."

I looked at him with what I hoped was a comforting smile, although on the inside I felt myself weep at his vulnerability. "I know, sweetie. But you will have lots of new friends to make, lots of other boys and girls, and the teachers who will play with you. And I'll be back after a little while to come take you home for lunch." Robert's face seemed a little brighter, and I decided to sweeten the deal.

"Hey," I said, grinning at him. "How about, as a special treat for when you finish your first morning at nursery, you get to choose what to have for lunch tomorrow?"

He looked up at me, grinned and said "I know, I want chocolate buttons... In my sandwich!". My mental self looked aghast at the idea of a chocolate button sandwich, but figured if he didn't like it he could pick the buttons out separately, so smiled and told him that of course he could have a chocolate button sandwich, and while he was playing at nursery, I would go and get some from the shops.

Tonight, I am hoping beyond hope that he is happy tomorrow, that he has fun, and doesn't miss me *too* much. But I'm not going to lie: if he comes out, flings himself into my arms with a big grin on his face, and tells me he missed me, part of me is going to like that. As long as he has fun!

More.. 8 weeks pregnant

Thanks everyone who commented :) I love getting that email to tell me someone's left a comment (only a bit annoyed that it also notifies me that I've replied to someone as well lol).

The morning sickness has ramped up a bit. This is so new for me, I know it IS morning sickness as I've felt queasy or downright nauseous for about a week now, and last night, when I got up for my new nightly wee, I sat on the toilet, and instantly felt like I was going to throw up. So much so I finished my wee, and immediately went and laid on the floor in the hopes that it would make me feel better. I stayed there for about 5 minutes, before the urge to throw up disappeared. This morning I also felt bad, struggled to eat my cereal, but luckily I had a helper on hand, Christopher who started helping himself to my cereal at the same time!!

We arrived back at the in-laws yesterday afternoon from our holiday, around 2.45 or so. We had to go there first, as Jonathan had parked his Yaris over there as well so the builders could make a start on the conversion while we were on holiday. His sister and our niece was there, which was lovely! She's getting so big now! She's 14 months and definitely exhibiting a lovely toddler personality :) (and SO cute with blue blue eyes and curly dark blonde hair!) Felt a bit queasy while we were there, but nothing too bad. The in-laws, that is, mother in law and father in law now know about baby number 3 (I can't remember if I already said or not), as does my mum. But no-one else apart from some people on internet land!

When we got back home we found a skip on the drive in front of the garage, piles of sand and gravel, and bricks. And on the other side, where there was a patch of grass to begin with, is now a lovely new driveway! Unfortunately no drop kerb to get up there yet, but Jonathan parked his Yaris on overnight. Apparently the builders, who have carted away a load of sand and gravel, are coming back to make a start on building the wall in replacement of the garage door today, and also they need to see a structural engineer about supporting the house while they knock down a supporting wall! Eeep! But all exciting stuff, would be lovely to get everything finished by Christmas! I'm not sure when the projected ETC is, but I'm quietly hoping it'll all be complete by Christmas, with just interior decorating for us to do afterwards. I'm quietly wondering if I'll be able to bring up a kitchen re-fit for our newly extended kitchen/diner :)

Arrival of morning sickness

So, I'm around 7 weeks 4 days (give or take a few days) and morning sickness has arrived. The last few days I've felt nauseous at random times throughout the day. Not enough to make me sick.. yet. But enough to make traveling uncomfortable, and sometimes standing or even sitting. This is definitely the worse I've felt in any of my three pregnancies and I hope this is the worse it gets. I know this is still mild comparatively to how some people suffer.

Despite how I'm feeling I've not allowed it to get me down yet especially as we're enjoying our last term time holiday for the foreseeable future! I'm still very much looking forward to the rest of the pregnancy. My booking in appointment is in less than a week, then will be my 12 week scan, then hearing the heartbeat at 16 weeks, then the BIG scan at 20 weeks (hoping it'll be nearer to 20 weeks this time as I'm slimmer - I KNOW they book in heavier women for the second scan at 21 weeks here). And yes, we will be finding out the sex this time. I don't know if we'll be telling though! ;) although, I'll tell you now, I'll be surprised (shocked, disbelieving) if my tiniest baby (currently about the size of a grape!) doesn't have a willy! ;) I completely 100% believe that we have our third boy on the way. He even already has a name, which is growing on me every day, despite its popularity.

Lots of things to look forward to, its just a shame I won't be booking in with my regular midwife, it'll be at 16 weeks I first see her. How lovely though that she is the person I've seen throughout all my pregnancies. :)

Busy busy week!

Last weekend we put the shed up. I say "we" but my contribution mainly consisted of helping to move the panels into position, or holding panels still, that sort of thing. Jonathan did a GREAT job. Once it was finished, we both painted it in preserve (which, unknown to us, also kills grass). I set to work painting the inside. You know those not-strictly-necessary things you think are a good idea at first, but then shortly after you start, you wonder why you bothered? That was one of those things. But since I started, I had to finish! Luckily, once I HAD finished, I was pleased that I had done it!

Once that was done, two coats on all the interior walls, I painted the floor and ceiling. Just one coat on each was enough. Then over the next few days, I painted the outside of the shed, with the door and window frame the same colour as the interior. Also, I started clearing out the garage, making a list of things to give away, things to sell, things to keep. I ordered some shelving units to go in the shed, and constructed those when they arrived. Emptied a lot more of the things in the garage.


Today, two of Robert's nursery teachers came over for a home visit. I was positively ashamed and disgusted by the state of the house, so all day yesterday and this morning I spent tidying and cleaning. By the time they came, the kitchen was almost immaculate, and the living room was pretty good too!

The nursery teachers were lovely, the first thing they commented on was the fish I'd made with the boys a couple of months ago, and put on the garage door. With this as a prompt, Robert then went and grabbed the dinosaur we'd made from cardboard tubes, an old mushroom pot and scrunched up tinfoil. He tried to show them just about every one of his toys, and started rabbiting away to them the whole time! They were very impressed with his speech and vocabulary, to the point they couldn't believe he was a relatively late talker! I'm really looking forward to him starting, I know he'll love it.

On Saturday, we are probably seeing the inlaws to chat about what's going to happen with the garage conversion, as the builder wanted to start on Monday... The same day we are going on holiday! We are also thinking of dressing the boys in these on Saturday. I'm a bit nervous about this pregnancy announcement. Because my parents only had two kids (well, my dad adopted his step-daughter making a third for him), and so did my inlaws. Still, I think I've hinted enough to everyone that I wasn't done at 2... So hopefully I won't get any negative comments.

I knew even before Christopher was born I'd want a third child, so this baby is very much wanted, and I hope no-one rains on my parade.

something funny Robert said to me today.

I have told Robert that I have a baby in my tummy. Primarily because he kicked it once, and I didn't want it to be a repeat performance. But also because I was excited to see what his reaction would be! It's lovely having a child who shows some understanding of the matter. Most of the things Robert has said about the baby have been things like "will the baby play with me?" And I've responded with things like "yes I'm sure the baby will, when he comes out". Another was "when the baby comes out, he will talk like me!" Very cute!

This morning, Robert was laying next to me in bed when he suddenly looked concerned and said to me "mummy, when the baby comes out, how will he get out? (he looked up and down me at this point) You don't have a hole in you ANYWHERE!" I gave him a little cuddle, and told him that its ok, the baby won't be coming out for a LONG time, but when he does, he'll be coming through a hole between mummy's legs. Thankfully, that seemed to satisfy for an answer. :)

I would like to have a home birth this time, so it would be good to prepare Robert gently for what will happen, incase he happens to be awake at the time.

I just found the question this morning funny, he was looking at me as though he expected there to be a hole in my ARM, or leg, or in the side of my belly. Lol. :) Christopher should have a bit more understanding than Robert did as well, as he'll be almost 9 months older than Robert was when his baby brother was born. Can't wait to see what the baby will look like! To see if I get any clues from the scans! :)

At least 5 weeks

I'm at least 5 weeks pregnant now.  I really have NO idea what my due date "should" be, so I guess I'm waiting for the scan to know for sure.  I'm guessing it's between April 27th and May 3rd.  Either way, I'm feeling great at the moment.  No sickness, no tender boobs, (well maybe slightly so but nothing that bad, even with two nurslings still, who primarily nurse first thing in the morning only) no nothing really.  No spotting.

I have a list of jobs a mile long this week.  Here's what's coming up.

We have Robert's nursery home visit this week.  As such I want the downstairs to look SOMEWHAT reasonable! (job number 1)

We are going away to Devon for a week starting 10th September.  So we have to pack! (job number 2)

The builder doing our garage conversion is wanting to start work on... 10th September.  My FIL (who introduced us to the builder) says he'll come round so that shouldn't be a problem - the beginning jobs will be outside work anyway.  What it does mean though, is that we need to try and get our garage CLEAR by the time we go away.  Which'll be fun.  We have 2 wheely bins, a single bed and mattress, a large coffee table, a large travel system buggy, step ladders, a toy pram, easle, high chair, trampoline (toddler version), water table, computers, bikes, tools, birth-pool-in-a-box, gazebo, some spair fold up chairs, and goodness knows what else in there.   Oh and a load of rat poo. (job number 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on)  Oh and before we put stuff in the shed, I want the ceiling and floor to be painted - yes, why did I start that job??!!

Signing off now, will be back at some point if I have time!