6 weeks 2 days - no signs really.

I'm still symptom-less, apart from being tired. Although I have managed a couple of days without naps but I do generally feel better if I nap when Robert naps. I'm actually going a little crazy because of lack of symptoms. I don't feel pregnant at alllll, and do sort of wish I had sickness, well, maybe just slight queasiness, so I know I've not just dreamt it all up. I wish I had more pregnancy tests, but in the 5 months TTC I've used up all 25 I had.. :( Only used five since I got pregnant, gave one to Sarah, so that's 19 I've used when I was completely unpregnant! I'm seriously considering going down and getting myself another test just to check.

I've also dredged up my Miriam Stoppard pregnancy book. Been rereading it, and at 6 weeks my baby is a weird alien-esque looking creature with tail, a face that doesn't really look like a face, and a large bulbus heart that is already beating! It's amazing how much my baby will change from now, until my scan (hopefully in 6 weeks time, but most likely in 8 weeks time if the fact that Sarah's scan isn't til 14 weeks is anything like when mine will be.). I am eager for my scan, I hope I get nice clear scan pictures like we did with Robert, so I can post them up and get people to guess at the gender based on the nub! I posted Robert's ones, and 100% of the people that replied (about 7 or 8 people) guessed boy!

I've had no more dreams lately. But I am certain I am only carrying one baby. But I still have no inkling to the gender. I'd probably lean towards boy very slightly right now, but if family traits have even the slightest resemblence (which of course they don't, really, but you never know, I could follow it!!) then it'll be a girl. My dad was first then his sister, my brother was first then me, my uncle was first then my mum, Jonathan first then his sister. We shall see. I have a maximum of 2 months to wait! I think I will lie and say I don't know how long my cycles were at the booking appointment. She will then put me 5 days ahead of what I think I am, so hopefully I will get a scan a week sooner! So 13 weeks if they're going for 14 weeks lately. Or 12 weeks if they're down to 13 weeks ;)

Anywayyyy! I don't know if I mentioned that I gave Robert spaghetti bolognese for the first time the other day. (I got the recipe from a recipe book I've had as when I make it it's quite bland. This one turned out very tasty!!) He looooooved it! He's never had spaghetti before and he mastered sucking it in quite quickly!





He actually began to get a bit fussy with food, and eat a bit then start playing with it. I am putting it down to boredom as it was generally the same stuff he was having each time. Sandwiches for lunch, and for tea usually jacket potato, or cut up bits and bobs (mainly salady bits, cheese, ham, breadsticks) or occasionally a portion of homemade stuff I'd cooked and frozen. Last night I cooked him a pie, some chips and quite a lot of veg, and he WOLFED it down, ate everything on his plate, starting with the veg! Today I did him a chicken kiev, with wedges and veg, and again he ate it all, starting with the veg. But he did lose interest after a while and I had to encourage him to eat it, unlike with the pie. :)

He is also getting to the age where I want to start doing arty bits with him. Jonathan went and bought an easle tonight, and got a little box free, which came with chalks, crayons, paints, paint brush, stamps, foam rollers/brushes, chalk eraser and a protective mat. :) The easle has a white board and a chalk board on it, it's quite big for him at the moment but he can reach about half way up the board ;) The only downside is that it's yet another BIG thing to clutter up our lounge! I think it will have to live in the garage unless it's being used!

Also which is good, is that Robert is now showing interest in his ladybird rocker he got for Christmas.



He tries to climb on it a couple of times a day now, and when he's on (usually once I've helped him up) he's got the hang of rocking on it :) Well that's it for the mega huge update. Hope you're all well! tata!

5 weeks 5 days - Sickness or not?

Friday was better. We went out to Milton Keynes for a dinner at a Chinese buffet with Jonathan's colleagues to say farewell to some who had been made redundant. It was a good evening, although Saturday morning I was laid up in bed in agony, and feeling very sick, and was sure that this was the beginning of morning sickness. I blamed it on the Chinese to my in-laws. I wasn't actually sick but I felt like I was going to! Anyway, I've been fine since, so it turned out it WAS the chinese after all.

I am feeling decidedly NOT pregnant. Although I am glad that morning sickness hasn't caught up with me yet, it might reassure me if I did get it. I hate the waiting around of the first trimester, wondering what's going on, if all is okay, etc.

I've not had red spotting for a good few days now. But I still get brownish cervical mucus most days.

Anyway that's about all the news I have I'm afraid. Going to go to Toddler Active again this afternoon. It was good last week, Robert enjoyed all the boxes and balls a lot! (Something for early toddlers to practise walking, climbing, balancing skills at the surestart centre)

Phew.. a new day. 5 weeks 2 days

Yesterday was AWFUL. I'm sure if you have me on facebook you already know this!

It went something like this:

Nicola is wondering what today will bring as Robert was up screaming at 3am and moaning every half hour before then, presumably due to his 2 naps. We shall see!
Yesterday at 08:50

Nicola is going braindead from all the screechy screaming of a 14 month old who is tired but WILL NOT SLEEP! Arghhh!
Yesterday at 11:49

Nicola has given up.
Yesterday at 12:46

Nicola from 2 naps yesterday to none today. Hurrah. Roll on 6pm. He can go to bed early tonight. And so will I.
Yesterday at 15:48

Nicola is listening to Robert screaming downstairs, he's in his highchair with a ham sandwich in front of him (his favourite) but he's still screaming and I don't know why... need 5 minutes breather... the sooner he goes to sleep the better, before I lose my mind or worse.... :(
Yesterday at 16:58

Nicola is now listening to Robert screaming in his cot. Anyone notice a recurring theme in these status updates today?
Yesterday at 17:44

Nicola is now on strike until Jonathan goes to work tomorrow morning unless there is an emergency. I have officially had ENOUGH.
Yesterday at 18:36

So yeah, basically he screamed ALL DAY. And by the end of it I was screaming right along with him, and sobbing into the sofa. And wondering WHY ON EARTH anyone wants more than 1 child??!? And wondering what on earth I had done becoming pregnant again... And wondering how I'd cope if Robert has days like that regularly... or if a year from now I have two screaming children and I'm at the end of my tether...

He finally DID eat his sandwich, once I let him out of his highchair and he calmed down, he then grabbed a bit off the table and walked around eating it, which I never usually let him do but yesterday I was too upset and stressed to worry about (more) crumbs on the carpet.

I put Robert down to sleep at 5.30pm. He finally actually dropped off to sleep (cried himself to sleep) at just before 6. I crawled into bed thinking thank GOD finally I can get some sleep myself. I had JUST drifted off to sleep when I heard screaming that carried on for 5 minutes before I thought I should get up... it was 6.25. Arghhh! I was sooooo pissed! Newly pregnant (and thus very tired all the time) with no naps at all that day, urgh I was so so so tired! Finally Robert went to sleep at 7pm. I went downstairs, made myself a hot chocolate, and put some stargate on, and that's where Jonathan found me when he came home, and told him that Robert was now his responsibility until he went to work tomorrow. Came upstairs, read a few forums while Jonathan ate his cereal (his tea - I didn't feel like any), and then I went to bed at 8pm. And this morning I do feel better for it.

But boy, I sure felt like the worst mum on the planet yesterday :( Going to make it up to him though.

Right now I'm just pleased because Robert went to sleep very quickly in his cot for his nap, no holding or rocking him for the entire time necessary. I think it's safe to say he's back to his 1 nap a day after only 1 day with 2 again ;)

Oh and the three of us all have colds. Arghh! Nevermind, and thanks for reading what was quite a ranty entry!

Sad :(

My forum friend has lost her baby. :(

Robert's sleep was very erratic yesterday. He fell asleep on me downstairs (!) at 10.30am, we moved upstairs at 11am, and he slept then until 12.30. Then he slept for another hour at 4pm (!) which I was amazed at, he hasn't had two naps for MONTHS!

Then went to bed around 8-8.30 or so. However, he was up screaming at 3am, having had moans every half hour for the previous 3 hours.

He's acted tired a LOT this morning, and have just in the last few minutes put him in his cot but he's crying and will see if he'll settle, will go and settle him if he hasn't in a few minutes.

I have no idea what the day will bring regarding naps, or how his sleep will go tonight, but it's just a case of wait and see I think!

I am needing to nap every day. I am physically and mentally exhausted. And even if I go to bed early, more often than not I am still awake when Jonathan comes to bed, due to thoughts swirling around in my mind for hours keeping me awake! Last night wasn't so bad for that luckily, but due to aforementioned 3am waking I am still absolutely knackered, my eyelids are so heavy!

I am still having spotting regularly. That's all it is though, spotting. The second it progresses into more severe bleeding I'm phoning up the doctor. It's bright red spotting so it is always worrying me a little, but as it's not much, and clears up quickly, I am still confident it is just implantation.

I have my first midwife appointment booked, for Tuesday 23rd February at 3pm. The timing is a bit of a pain actually as Tuesday afternoons is when the in-laws come over, MIL looks after Robert while FIL takes me shopping. And as we are keeping it a secret from family and friends until we have the scan, I can't tell them I have a midwife appointment! So I'll either cancel, say I don't need to go shopping, and take Robert with me, or I'll tell them I have a smear test, and take a big bag to hide the folder I'll be given.

Anyway, I have to go... Robert is still screaming, he won't settle at all even though I can tell he's tired, it's got to the stage where he's screaming in a screechy manner even though I keep going in there to sing and re-settle him.. Argh! Remind me why I wanted another!!!

Uh oh...

I think I'm going to get bad morning sickness this time round - been feeling iffy on and off for a few days, but today I keep getting queasy feelings and have wretched a bit. I hope it's not too bad, I don't really want to be spending the next 2 months or longer in the toilet, struggling to make Robert's food etc.

Time will tell I guess....

4 + 5 - weight control and other things

Hmm well I think this is the start of me coming back regularly! I have new things on my mind each day, and each day I wonder how similar/different it was to when I was pregnant with Robert. At this stage in my pregnancy I didn't actually write how many weeks I was, which is a shame but I think it was only about now that I realised I was actually pregnant, whereas I've already known for a few days this time around!

Each night since I have found out I am pregnant I have laid in bed before going to sleep, and a whole mass of STUFF has been swirling around in my head, making it impossible for me to sleep! The main thing has been Robert's birth. I think in the months to come I will be facing up to it again, and making some hard decisions about this little one's birth.

I am eager to face each new development stage with my little one as a second-time mum-to-be, and see how much I remember, or how different each bit seems! And see if maybe I can tell even before he/she is born how different they will be to their big brother!

I still cannot fathom that my little Robert is going to be a big brother. He is such an independant happy little boy! Maybe it is just that I can't imagine him being my BIGGEST baby! Trying to work out how my heart will expand to encompass another young soul when it already feels so big and full of love for the one little soul already there!

I'm so excited to be at the beginning of another journey of pregnancy, and already dreaming ahead to the kicks, big belly, and newborn!

I am thinking though that one thing I need to do this time around, is make sure I don't gain as much weight as before. I think I was around 14 and a quarter ish stone last time I got pregnant, by 8 weeks I was BMI 31. By the time I had given birth I was BMI 33.

I am around BMI 30. I haven't done a great job of losing weight thus far. I would ideally like to be lighter after giving birth than I am now. And then, hopefully with breastfeeding LO and Robert (maybe!!) combined with SENSIBLE eating, unlike after Robert was born, the weight will hopefully drop off me, and I'll be near the healthy weight range by this time next year. I am planning on talking to my midwife when I see her about losing weight (well, gaining weight veeeeery slowly) during pregnancy, and exercise. I have a wii fit, which has a variety of exercises, so I shall ask her what sort of exercises I can do during pregnancy. I would ideally like to gain no more than 1 stone by October. Which, if this baby is anything like Robert, most of that will be baby weight, and the rest should be water/placenta weight, and possibly not a lot else, if any, is extra weight I have myself gained.

I shall have to hope that my pregnancy is a healthy, non eventful one, so I can stick as best I can to a healthy eating and exercise schedule!