Well I'm back from holiday as you probably know. I will update about the holiday in another post, as only the first day's photos of the holiday have been sorted out and I would like to just put it all in together.
The holiday must have done Robert some good for his development, since we've been away, he has turned into such a little chatterbox! Still not many words or sentences of any kind, but his chattering has become a lot more conversational, AND he has added many more words to his vocabulary, and is using existing ones a lot more! He now says (of the top of my head) car, chair, again, blue, peas, spoon, erm... argh having a mental block.. there are at least a handful more words he's said but I can't remember them right now! Car is by far his most used word. If he sees a car go past, he exclaims "Car!" if he sees a parked car, "Car!" if he's playing with cars, "Car!" hahaha! He's also trying to count, he just says "da" but he gets the counting tone just right while he's doing it with the voice going higher at the end! Hehehe!
He will be 19 months old tomorrow. He is growing up so fast, it's almost like if I blink he will suddenly be 18 and going off to uni or getting a job or something! Some days I look at him and think "wow, he is getting so BIG" and when I see him with other children I think he does look big compared to them. And then other times I look at him (usually when he's standing next to Jonathan, where he barely seems to be a third of Jonathan's height) and he looks tiny, my little sweet boy!
I do feel guilty sometimes, if I have a bad day where Robert is being particularly demanding (I wouldn't say naughty, just inquisitive, or testing boundaries) and I've found him hard to deal with, I moan on my facebook a lot. And reading back, it does sound like I am so ungrateful for him, that I don't enjoy being a mum at all. Which isn't the case, I love him to bits, but of course sometimes I guess it doesn't come off like that, and I hate that people might think I don't love my son, so I'm trying so hard not to sound off on facebook regarding Robert. If I have a hard day for other reasons I will put it on there. I guess it's just one of those things you have to think twice about!
With regards to Squidge, well I saw the midwife yesterday afternoon. She took my blood pressure (110/65) and tested my urine which was clear, then she measured me, and Squidge is measuring a whopping 28cm! I thought she only measured me at 28 weeks with Robert but maybe she wanted to measure me earlier due to his size, or maybe I'm mis-remembering. She then told me that she wanted me to get a glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes if I was happy to do that, and she also said she'd like me to see a consultant. She basically explained that as I was thinking about a home birth they want to take as much precaution as possible to make sure that what happened with Robert doesn't happen again, so if Squidge is as big or bigger than Robert, we'll have to discuss things with the consultant and see where we go. I know I'm not a medical expert, but from the way Robert's body was born immediately when I stood up and pushed, that implies to me that it wasn't shoulder dystocia but rather bad positioning previously especially considering Robert's size.
But either way she made it clear to me that it would be very much a two sided conversation, and my opinions and feelings would be considered, and that if I decided to go ahead with the home birth that I would be supported in this decision. I told her that I hadn't 100% decided on a home birth, that I am keeping an open mind and will see what happens, but also that I expected the same from my care givers, that they would keep an open mind for me as well. I think that seeing that I wasn't just steadfastedly demanding that I have a home birth no matter what, that I was considering the views of her and that I would consider what the consultant said, has made her more open to me and my wants, which is good.
I'm pleased in a way that I am getting the GTT and seeing the consultant, because it shows they are going out of their way to try and make things easier on me, and while it still seems to me that I have a fairly uncomplicated pregnancy at the moment, it does give me comfort that I'm not just being left to my own devices like I was with Robert. If that makes sense!
Anyway! Squidge is really quite the wriggler. Last night as I laid down, he started squirming SO much it felt like arms and legs were poking out all over, if the light hadn't been off it would have been quite some viewing! lol! Sometimes when I feel Squidge move or kick it's sort of easy to imagine how someone COULD put them off as wind, or muscle twitches, or whatever. But I was laying down and feeling Squidge fight his way through my skin almost last night and wondered how anyone could possibly feel something like that and not know they were pregnant!
With Robert I commented on his 24 week bump picture as him being such a wriggler, and then on the 28 week one I said I don't know how I thought he was so active back then as he got so much more active since then! So god knows what Squidge'll be like in another 4 weeks! And will Squidge be measuring 4 weeks ahead still when I next see the midwife! I will be updating the belly gallery soon, I took some when I was 24+1 in Cornwall so when I get the photos I'll be adding them! :)
Anyway, I have a lot of sorting out, tidying, cleaning, unpacking to be getting on with, possibly another load of washing from the holiday to get in the machine. I want to rearrange the living room! I want more room!!! Arghh! I want next door to put their house up for sale so we can buy it and knock it into one big giant super house! haha! But it's unlikely as it's rented out :( Anyway, that's all for now, hope you all had a great week!
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Thursday, 10 June 2010
23 weeks - updates.
Well I wanted to do a pregnancy update today, but also a mini Robert update plus photos. I am supposed to be sorting out clean washing and putting about 3 loads away but oh well, shhhh don't tell Jonathan lol ;)
I know compared to some people, my two pregnancies so far have been very close together, but I am still having trouble remembering aspects of Robert's pregnancy. Specifically just how active he was. I remember saying that he was soooo active, but him being my first I had no benchmark to set it against! Plus I suspect his placenta was at the front, whereas Squidge's is at the back, perfectly positioned.
Squidge is SUCH an active baby so far. I think I will only be able to compare him to Robert when I am furthur along, but for now, I think he is definitely far more active than I remember Robert being at this stage. Yesterday I think I felt no less than 7 or 8 kicking SESSIONS where he would also do flips around in my belly and poke his legs and arms about. I felt soft pokey/brushy sensations yesterday at one point right down by my pelvis which I think were his arms and hands. He definitely wakes up a bit when I lay down for bed, which I love because it's dark and still and quiet (and since I go to bed before Jonathan I get these movements and kicks all to myself!). I am currently feeling yet more kicks and wriggles. Development sites say that around now babies have a set awake/sleep patterns, and are asleep for over 90% of the time, maybe as much as 95% of the time, which just boggles me the amount I'm getting my insides booted around! It's nice at this stage because Squidge isn't quite big enough to be kicking uncomfortable places, unless he's in the position to be kicking my bladder! But I do so look forward to feeling even STRONGER kicks! I love watching my belly when he's particularly active and seeing my belly blip out! Given my size I do find it amazing how much I can feel with my hand, and see at this relatively early stage!
I am also in the early stages of heartburn again. It's not distractingly bad at the moment, but I do notice it when I get it, but it generally goes away by itself. I am using up my rennies I bought when pregnant with Robert, and will get a prescription when I next see the midwife for gaviscon (shudder) when they run out. I am also getting up generally at least twice in the night for a pee, which is a bit of a pain, combined with Jonathan's snoring, means I don't get as much sleep as I generally need.
Ahem, well I saved this entry at this point 4 days ago, and forgot all about it *blush* so I might as well finish it off! I changed the title, it said 22 weeks 3 days but I'm not 23 weeks exactly! Oopsy!
Anyway, Robert is gradually becoming a little chatterbox, he's constantly saying "stuff", mainly babbling but he has now started saying "car" again with a vengeance! He has added "chair" to his vocabulary, and re-added car which he hadn't said in a couple of months after he first said it! ;)
I'm pretty certain he is starting being able to distinguish colours and knows what we mean when we ask him for the "blue one" or the "red one". :)
We bought Robert new shoes from Clarks the other weekend. He was in a pair of size 4 trainers from matalan, and anyway, we took him, and he measured as a size 5.. ahem, oops! And he's actually in size 6 for growth room!!! Oh well! Anyway we decided to get him a pair of shoes and a pair of sandles, which set us back almost £60.. ouch! Anyway, he love love LOVES his sandles, which are these ones...
And we also got him a pair of normal shoes.. which are these ones...
Yesterday he looked around the lounge, spotted his shoes and picked them up, but kept looking around, and seemed to be getting more and more distressed. I figured he was looking for his sandles, which were upstairs, so I asked him if he was looking for his sandles, and he immediately looked less distressed. I told him they were upstairs and that I'd go and get them, and he immediately got up and ran to the stairs, so I went upstairs, brought them down. He grabbed them off me immediately, then as I sat down, he ran up to me, sat on my lap, and proceeded to open my hands and put the sandles in them! Then lifted his feet to try and get his feet in my hands! Hehe! Funny boy! So I put his sandles on and he was so pleased, and spent the next 5 minutes running backwards and forwards in the room ;)
I've got him a pair of crocs style sandles as well, as anyone on facebook can probably tell we're going on holiday next week (well, leaving this Saturday) so we thought we'd get him some sandles we don't mind getting ruined! We're going to north Cornwall, to the same town we went to for our 1 year "being together" anniversary, over 8 years ago now! Jonathan was going to propose to me there but I somehow managed to get him to propose 6 months earlier hahaha!
I am thoroughly looking forward to this holiday, we've not been on holiday since September 2006, which was 2 years before I was even pregnant with Robert!!! I am a little nervous about the sheer amount of things we will need (and just SO thankful we don't need to take our travel cot or highchair with us as the cottage will provide them!) and whether we will be able to fit it all in Jonathan's tiny 2 door Toyota Yaris! I've started packing already which I'm pleased about, Robert's things are mostly done we just need to get the last minute things like the plates and bowls, shampoo and bubble bath packed for him. Then the toys we'll want to take with us, plus some others for the journey, and our clothes and things too. Hopefully we won't need all three suitcases, but we'll need an extra bag for the toys!!! And then trying to squeeze in the pushchair! Still, at least we will be the last holiday with a small car, we're going to upgrade to a bigger car before Squidge is here.
I am surprised that none of my dreams have been related to Squidge as such, I've had no true baby dreams, or maybe one or two but ages ago! I still have no inkling as to Squidge's gender within me if you know what I mean, but I'm still maintaining that it's a boy. But to me there still feels like there's a 50/50 chance. I don't know if that makes any sense at all!
Anyway here are some photos of my little boy :)
Enjoying a toddler ride at Wicksteed :)
Lots of climbing frames and toddler playgrounds there! He really enjoyed it!
Playing with his train track in the garden! :)
Cuddling up with his bunny on the beanbag :)
Hello?
Enjoying bath time :)
Fast asleep cuddling his polar bear! He loves to snuggle up holding a cuddly toy when he sleeps, we found him fast asleep still at 8am a week ago or so, and Jonathan went in to take photos :)
Robert enjoying the nice weather in his paddling pool :)
And drinking the water... which had sun cream all in it where it had washed off Robert a little!! Nice!
Going down the slide all wet... shooting off the end and giving himself a slide phobia... argh!
Helping Mummy sweep the pebbles back up - really need to lay paving slabs there instead of those damned pebbles!!
Anyway that's about it!
If I don't update before, then I probably won't until the 20th at least, possibly 21st. I have my 24 (+4) week appointment on the 21st so will probably update then.
I'll try and get my 24 week photo taken on holiday if I remember! I think it's grown loads since 20 weeks already! I just love having a bump! Makes me feel just so much more attractive than when I'm just fat! (But still, once the bump goes, I'm definitely going to get rid of the fat!!!) I'm doing quite well lately on not gaining much weight, the last two weeks I've gained no weight at all to speak of, there's been less than 1lb fluctuation each week which I'm really pleased about, I don't particularly want to lose weight, I just don't want to gain much!! So despite gaining about a stone in 3-4 weeks previously I've tried to be sensible and so far it's working. Although I bet I'll have gained when I step on the scales after the holiday! lol! Right, back to business! Hope you have a great week and a half (or so!)
I know compared to some people, my two pregnancies so far have been very close together, but I am still having trouble remembering aspects of Robert's pregnancy. Specifically just how active he was. I remember saying that he was soooo active, but him being my first I had no benchmark to set it against! Plus I suspect his placenta was at the front, whereas Squidge's is at the back, perfectly positioned.
Squidge is SUCH an active baby so far. I think I will only be able to compare him to Robert when I am furthur along, but for now, I think he is definitely far more active than I remember Robert being at this stage. Yesterday I think I felt no less than 7 or 8 kicking SESSIONS where he would also do flips around in my belly and poke his legs and arms about. I felt soft pokey/brushy sensations yesterday at one point right down by my pelvis which I think were his arms and hands. He definitely wakes up a bit when I lay down for bed, which I love because it's dark and still and quiet (and since I go to bed before Jonathan I get these movements and kicks all to myself!). I am currently feeling yet more kicks and wriggles. Development sites say that around now babies have a set awake/sleep patterns, and are asleep for over 90% of the time, maybe as much as 95% of the time, which just boggles me the amount I'm getting my insides booted around! It's nice at this stage because Squidge isn't quite big enough to be kicking uncomfortable places, unless he's in the position to be kicking my bladder! But I do so look forward to feeling even STRONGER kicks! I love watching my belly when he's particularly active and seeing my belly blip out! Given my size I do find it amazing how much I can feel with my hand, and see at this relatively early stage!
I am also in the early stages of heartburn again. It's not distractingly bad at the moment, but I do notice it when I get it, but it generally goes away by itself. I am using up my rennies I bought when pregnant with Robert, and will get a prescription when I next see the midwife for gaviscon (shudder) when they run out. I am also getting up generally at least twice in the night for a pee, which is a bit of a pain, combined with Jonathan's snoring, means I don't get as much sleep as I generally need.
Ahem, well I saved this entry at this point 4 days ago, and forgot all about it *blush* so I might as well finish it off! I changed the title, it said 22 weeks 3 days but I'm not 23 weeks exactly! Oopsy!
Anyway, Robert is gradually becoming a little chatterbox, he's constantly saying "stuff", mainly babbling but he has now started saying "car" again with a vengeance! He has added "chair" to his vocabulary, and re-added car which he hadn't said in a couple of months after he first said it! ;)
I'm pretty certain he is starting being able to distinguish colours and knows what we mean when we ask him for the "blue one" or the "red one". :)
We bought Robert new shoes from Clarks the other weekend. He was in a pair of size 4 trainers from matalan, and anyway, we took him, and he measured as a size 5.. ahem, oops! And he's actually in size 6 for growth room!!! Oh well! Anyway we decided to get him a pair of shoes and a pair of sandles, which set us back almost £60.. ouch! Anyway, he love love LOVES his sandles, which are these ones...
And we also got him a pair of normal shoes.. which are these ones...
Yesterday he looked around the lounge, spotted his shoes and picked them up, but kept looking around, and seemed to be getting more and more distressed. I figured he was looking for his sandles, which were upstairs, so I asked him if he was looking for his sandles, and he immediately looked less distressed. I told him they were upstairs and that I'd go and get them, and he immediately got up and ran to the stairs, so I went upstairs, brought them down. He grabbed them off me immediately, then as I sat down, he ran up to me, sat on my lap, and proceeded to open my hands and put the sandles in them! Then lifted his feet to try and get his feet in my hands! Hehe! Funny boy! So I put his sandles on and he was so pleased, and spent the next 5 minutes running backwards and forwards in the room ;)
I've got him a pair of crocs style sandles as well, as anyone on facebook can probably tell we're going on holiday next week (well, leaving this Saturday) so we thought we'd get him some sandles we don't mind getting ruined! We're going to north Cornwall, to the same town we went to for our 1 year "being together" anniversary, over 8 years ago now! Jonathan was going to propose to me there but I somehow managed to get him to propose 6 months earlier hahaha!
I am thoroughly looking forward to this holiday, we've not been on holiday since September 2006, which was 2 years before I was even pregnant with Robert!!! I am a little nervous about the sheer amount of things we will need (and just SO thankful we don't need to take our travel cot or highchair with us as the cottage will provide them!) and whether we will be able to fit it all in Jonathan's tiny 2 door Toyota Yaris! I've started packing already which I'm pleased about, Robert's things are mostly done we just need to get the last minute things like the plates and bowls, shampoo and bubble bath packed for him. Then the toys we'll want to take with us, plus some others for the journey, and our clothes and things too. Hopefully we won't need all three suitcases, but we'll need an extra bag for the toys!!! And then trying to squeeze in the pushchair! Still, at least we will be the last holiday with a small car, we're going to upgrade to a bigger car before Squidge is here.
I am surprised that none of my dreams have been related to Squidge as such, I've had no true baby dreams, or maybe one or two but ages ago! I still have no inkling as to Squidge's gender within me if you know what I mean, but I'm still maintaining that it's a boy. But to me there still feels like there's a 50/50 chance. I don't know if that makes any sense at all!
Anyway here are some photos of my little boy :)
Enjoying a toddler ride at Wicksteed :)
Lots of climbing frames and toddler playgrounds there! He really enjoyed it!
Playing with his train track in the garden! :)
Cuddling up with his bunny on the beanbag :)
Hello?
Enjoying bath time :)
Fast asleep cuddling his polar bear! He loves to snuggle up holding a cuddly toy when he sleeps, we found him fast asleep still at 8am a week ago or so, and Jonathan went in to take photos :)
Robert enjoying the nice weather in his paddling pool :)
And drinking the water... which had sun cream all in it where it had washed off Robert a little!! Nice!
Going down the slide all wet... shooting off the end and giving himself a slide phobia... argh!
Helping Mummy sweep the pebbles back up - really need to lay paving slabs there instead of those damned pebbles!!
Anyway that's about it!
If I don't update before, then I probably won't until the 20th at least, possibly 21st. I have my 24 (+4) week appointment on the 21st so will probably update then.
I'll try and get my 24 week photo taken on holiday if I remember! I think it's grown loads since 20 weeks already! I just love having a bump! Makes me feel just so much more attractive than when I'm just fat! (But still, once the bump goes, I'm definitely going to get rid of the fat!!!) I'm doing quite well lately on not gaining much weight, the last two weeks I've gained no weight at all to speak of, there's been less than 1lb fluctuation each week which I'm really pleased about, I don't particularly want to lose weight, I just don't want to gain much!! So despite gaining about a stone in 3-4 weeks previously I've tried to be sensible and so far it's working. Although I bet I'll have gained when I step on the scales after the holiday! lol! Right, back to business! Hope you have a great week and a half (or so!)
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
21 weeks 6 days - birth thoughts
Thank you all so much for your comments on Robert's progress entry and the ultrasound entry :) I love reading your comments!
Here I am again at 21 weeks 6 days pregnant. I still can't really believe how quickly it's all going! Some things have prompted me to think about Squidge's birth. I am still undecided on what I am going to do with regards to the whole thing, but I know I have pleeeeenty of time to think about it! I am still thinking that due to Robert being so big, the likelihood that Squidge will be big too is quite high, so a water birth for me is out. I really do not want to repeat what happened with Robert! At the moment that is the only thing I have decided. I may decide to labour until the 2nd stage in water, but I will not be birthing in water. Then came the whole wondering, should I go for another home birth? Or should I seriously think about going into hospital this time?
The thing that scares me most about the idea of a hospital birth is the availability of drugs and interventions. I don't think I would be tempted to use pain relief drugs (I didn't need it with Robert and hopefully won't with Squidge assuming I can practice all the techniques again to refresh myself), but the availability of hormone drips to speed up labour, and so on, scares me as I think I would be unable to stop un-necessary interventions. My labour during the second stage did slow down with Robert and it did get to the point where they were talking about doing something to speed things up. So I'm afraid if something similar happens with Squidge, with everything being there, It'll be harder to resist the pressure from the midwives.
It is something I will have to talk about with Beverley when I see her in a few weeks time, I think I really do need all the information before I can choose properly the best course of action for me. She thinks that I should have a hospital birth, but she has also said they will support me if I decide to have a home birth, unless I develop complications during pregnancy.
On a different note - my eating (I was going to say my diet, but I suddenly thought this would be mis-construed, I am not on "a diet", I would have meant "my diet" in the sense of the things I eat). I really want to get into cooking healthier foods, not necessarily "low fat" foods which I don't believe are necessarily healthier, but ones with all the different minerals and vitamins, proteins, fats, calciums etc. One thing I've heard that you should eat more of in pregnancy is fish and white meats. And to me, when you say "fish" I think of breaded/battered fish, or a tiny piece of fish in a sauce from a boil in the bag thing. So I went ahead and bought some frozen fish fillets! I wanted to do something adventurous with fish, not just the normal things we eat, but something that was easy, yet delicious!
So last night I googled "white fish recipes" and found lots of pies, poached dishes, etc etc. For ease I wanted something baked, and preferably keeping the fish in one whole rather than mashing it up. Although I do like fish pies! But I found a recipe that looked easy and yummy! It required me to fry up (well the recipe said use pre-roasted peppers you get in a jar) a red pepper, and in a small bowl I mixed up some oil, 3 cloves of chopped garlic (I love garlic!!!), some parsley and some breadcrumbs. I rubbed the fish with some oil and paprika, and put them on a baking tray. Added the peppers evenly over the fish, then put the breadcrumb mix ontop of that, then sprinkled the whole lot in a rather generous helping of cheese. Baked for 15 minutes while I boiled up some potatoes with the skin on, and some broccoli, and hey presto, a very delicious fish meal that was done in 30-45 minutes including preperation time! I really want to find some more recipes like this!!! I hate spending too long in the kitchen cooking (although I love cooking!) because it takes me away from time I can spend with Robert. And this is quick and easy, and nicely nutritional!
Another thing I wanted to blog about was the dream I had last night. It was very vivid and quite bizarre.
I was scaling up a climbing tower (the man made ones with the hand and foot holds). It was very verrry tall and the first few times I didn't make it far before I fell. The next time though I made it to the very top, just kept going, determinedly and finally reached up to feel the top of the tower! Someone at the top helped me up onto the top of it, and although I was still in my harness I felt suddenly extremely insecure and scared. They made me look over the edge, and this tower which can't have been more than 1 and a half metres square on the top side, but of course very tall, suddenly felt very wobbly like it was made of foam. As I looked over the edge I felt an insane terror claw into my chest as I saw the ground so very far away, and I clutched hold of the edge of the tower, while sprawled on my belly, and in my dream the tower began to rock. I then woke up.
To use a dream analysis site still leaves me very confused but let's have a go.
Tower
To see a tower in your dream, signifies high hopes and aspirations. If you are looking down from a tower, then it indicates that you have a perceived superiority over others. Your ego is inflated. Alternatively, towers symbolizes the phallus.
To dream that you are climbing a tower, denotes your quest for spirituality and unconscious ideas that may be surfacing.
Height
To dream that you are at a great height, signifies that you have reached one of your highest goals or objectives.
To dream that you are afraid of heights, denotes that you are striving for goals that seem beyond your reach.
Climb
To dream that you are climbing up something (ladder, rope, etc.), signifies that you are trying to or you have overcome a great struggle. It also suggests that your goals are finally within reach. Climbing also means that you have risen to a level of prominence within the social or economic sphere.
Fear
To dream that you feel fear, indicates that your achievements will not be as successful as you had anticipated. You are experiencing anxieties in various aspects of your life. The key to overcoming your fear is to discuss them and deal with them openly.
Soooo... in climbing the tower I am trying to overcome some spiritual or unconscious struggle. I finally succeed in overcoming this struggle but the fear I felt at the top means that this achievement did not bring what I wanted it to bring.
Which... doesn't really make much sense to me.... Ah well, anyone else care to dream analyse? lol
Here I am again at 21 weeks 6 days pregnant. I still can't really believe how quickly it's all going! Some things have prompted me to think about Squidge's birth. I am still undecided on what I am going to do with regards to the whole thing, but I know I have pleeeeenty of time to think about it! I am still thinking that due to Robert being so big, the likelihood that Squidge will be big too is quite high, so a water birth for me is out. I really do not want to repeat what happened with Robert! At the moment that is the only thing I have decided. I may decide to labour until the 2nd stage in water, but I will not be birthing in water. Then came the whole wondering, should I go for another home birth? Or should I seriously think about going into hospital this time?
The thing that scares me most about the idea of a hospital birth is the availability of drugs and interventions. I don't think I would be tempted to use pain relief drugs (I didn't need it with Robert and hopefully won't with Squidge assuming I can practice all the techniques again to refresh myself), but the availability of hormone drips to speed up labour, and so on, scares me as I think I would be unable to stop un-necessary interventions. My labour during the second stage did slow down with Robert and it did get to the point where they were talking about doing something to speed things up. So I'm afraid if something similar happens with Squidge, with everything being there, It'll be harder to resist the pressure from the midwives.
It is something I will have to talk about with Beverley when I see her in a few weeks time, I think I really do need all the information before I can choose properly the best course of action for me. She thinks that I should have a hospital birth, but she has also said they will support me if I decide to have a home birth, unless I develop complications during pregnancy.
On a different note - my eating (I was going to say my diet, but I suddenly thought this would be mis-construed, I am not on "a diet", I would have meant "my diet" in the sense of the things I eat). I really want to get into cooking healthier foods, not necessarily "low fat" foods which I don't believe are necessarily healthier, but ones with all the different minerals and vitamins, proteins, fats, calciums etc. One thing I've heard that you should eat more of in pregnancy is fish and white meats. And to me, when you say "fish" I think of breaded/battered fish, or a tiny piece of fish in a sauce from a boil in the bag thing. So I went ahead and bought some frozen fish fillets! I wanted to do something adventurous with fish, not just the normal things we eat, but something that was easy, yet delicious!
So last night I googled "white fish recipes" and found lots of pies, poached dishes, etc etc. For ease I wanted something baked, and preferably keeping the fish in one whole rather than mashing it up. Although I do like fish pies! But I found a recipe that looked easy and yummy! It required me to fry up (well the recipe said use pre-roasted peppers you get in a jar) a red pepper, and in a small bowl I mixed up some oil, 3 cloves of chopped garlic (I love garlic!!!), some parsley and some breadcrumbs. I rubbed the fish with some oil and paprika, and put them on a baking tray. Added the peppers evenly over the fish, then put the breadcrumb mix ontop of that, then sprinkled the whole lot in a rather generous helping of cheese. Baked for 15 minutes while I boiled up some potatoes with the skin on, and some broccoli, and hey presto, a very delicious fish meal that was done in 30-45 minutes including preperation time! I really want to find some more recipes like this!!! I hate spending too long in the kitchen cooking (although I love cooking!) because it takes me away from time I can spend with Robert. And this is quick and easy, and nicely nutritional!
Another thing I wanted to blog about was the dream I had last night. It was very vivid and quite bizarre.
I was scaling up a climbing tower (the man made ones with the hand and foot holds). It was very verrry tall and the first few times I didn't make it far before I fell. The next time though I made it to the very top, just kept going, determinedly and finally reached up to feel the top of the tower! Someone at the top helped me up onto the top of it, and although I was still in my harness I felt suddenly extremely insecure and scared. They made me look over the edge, and this tower which can't have been more than 1 and a half metres square on the top side, but of course very tall, suddenly felt very wobbly like it was made of foam. As I looked over the edge I felt an insane terror claw into my chest as I saw the ground so very far away, and I clutched hold of the edge of the tower, while sprawled on my belly, and in my dream the tower began to rock. I then woke up.
To use a dream analysis site still leaves me very confused but let's have a go.
Tower
To see a tower in your dream, signifies high hopes and aspirations. If you are looking down from a tower, then it indicates that you have a perceived superiority over others. Your ego is inflated. Alternatively, towers symbolizes the phallus.
To dream that you are climbing a tower, denotes your quest for spirituality and unconscious ideas that may be surfacing.
Height
To dream that you are at a great height, signifies that you have reached one of your highest goals or objectives.
To dream that you are afraid of heights, denotes that you are striving for goals that seem beyond your reach.
Climb
To dream that you are climbing up something (ladder, rope, etc.), signifies that you are trying to or you have overcome a great struggle. It also suggests that your goals are finally within reach. Climbing also means that you have risen to a level of prominence within the social or economic sphere.
Fear
To dream that you feel fear, indicates that your achievements will not be as successful as you had anticipated. You are experiencing anxieties in various aspects of your life. The key to overcoming your fear is to discuss them and deal with them openly.
Soooo... in climbing the tower I am trying to overcome some spiritual or unconscious struggle. I finally succeed in overcoming this struggle but the fear I felt at the top means that this achievement did not bring what I wanted it to bring.
Which... doesn't really make much sense to me.... Ah well, anyone else care to dream analyse? lol
Friday, 28 May 2010
21 weeks 1 day - anomoly scan!
Ahhhh finally the day arrived, Squidge's anomoly scan!
As some already know from facebook, all is well with Squidge, he is healthy as he can be that they can tell by scans, which is great :) And also I stayed strong and Squidge remains a surprise! (but still saying "he" just because it's easier!) I was impressed by the scan on 2 accounts, one being that we arrived 10 minutes early for the scan and were seen straight away (so I couldn't go for a wee), and also, the woman doing the scan was brilliant! She gave such a good commentary on everything she was doing and everything that was seen, I was particularly impressed when she informed me that she would be looking at the heart next, and that it would take some concentration, so not to be concerned that she was staring at the screen with furrowed brow, if you know what I mean! She pointed out that at one point Squidge had his hand up behind his head, and showed us his little feet, and we could see his hand waving around. Ahhh it was so lovely and cute!
Unfortunately we didn't get any good profile shots of Squidge, but we got a couple face-on, 2 where he had flipped up the other way completely lol! And one of his feet and another which was the best side on shot which was a whole body shot so not very good for profile really.
Near the beginning of the scan she went down, and for a tiny moment I thought I saw a willy.... but it could have been the umbilical cord.... and at the end of the scan she was going down through the body and ended up at the feet, at the right angle for a toilet shot, and as she went through "that area" for the split second I thought I saw girly bits. But sooo so so not sure as it was so quick and they seemed so clear which a lot of girly bits AREN'T iykwim makes me think it was actually something else... so really not sure it could be either still! And I'm glad I think I saw some of each hahaha!
Here are the scan pictures!
Face on ones! He has quite a long thin face at the moment I think! In the first you can clearly see his heart!
Here's the side on view, unfortunately he's facing away slightly so you can't see his nose or a proper profile!
Here's the two upside down ones, he flipped face down part way through (probably after the sonographer vigorously jiggled my belly to get him to move so she could see his lips!) Second one is better than the first I think.
And finally, his little foot!
So so cute :) I feel so so lucky! And I love that I can feel him kicking so much! She told us the placenta was in a good position for "the big day" and it is, at the back and not low, which is fab, means I can feel lots of kicks. I'm sure Robert's placenta must have been at the front! (don't remember if they told me for his!)
But yes, little Squidge is happy and healthy! Measurements showed head circumference 6 days ahead (!!), tummy circumference 3 days ahead, and thigh length 1 day behind. So about right :) I hope you enjoyed reading and meeting little Squidge!
As some already know from facebook, all is well with Squidge, he is healthy as he can be that they can tell by scans, which is great :) And also I stayed strong and Squidge remains a surprise! (but still saying "he" just because it's easier!) I was impressed by the scan on 2 accounts, one being that we arrived 10 minutes early for the scan and were seen straight away (so I couldn't go for a wee), and also, the woman doing the scan was brilliant! She gave such a good commentary on everything she was doing and everything that was seen, I was particularly impressed when she informed me that she would be looking at the heart next, and that it would take some concentration, so not to be concerned that she was staring at the screen with furrowed brow, if you know what I mean! She pointed out that at one point Squidge had his hand up behind his head, and showed us his little feet, and we could see his hand waving around. Ahhh it was so lovely and cute!
Unfortunately we didn't get any good profile shots of Squidge, but we got a couple face-on, 2 where he had flipped up the other way completely lol! And one of his feet and another which was the best side on shot which was a whole body shot so not very good for profile really.
Near the beginning of the scan she went down, and for a tiny moment I thought I saw a willy.... but it could have been the umbilical cord.... and at the end of the scan she was going down through the body and ended up at the feet, at the right angle for a toilet shot, and as she went through "that area" for the split second I thought I saw girly bits. But sooo so so not sure as it was so quick and they seemed so clear which a lot of girly bits AREN'T iykwim makes me think it was actually something else... so really not sure it could be either still! And I'm glad I think I saw some of each hahaha!
Here are the scan pictures!
Face on ones! He has quite a long thin face at the moment I think! In the first you can clearly see his heart!
Here's the side on view, unfortunately he's facing away slightly so you can't see his nose or a proper profile!
Here's the two upside down ones, he flipped face down part way through (probably after the sonographer vigorously jiggled my belly to get him to move so she could see his lips!) Second one is better than the first I think.
And finally, his little foot!
So so cute :) I feel so so lucky! And I love that I can feel him kicking so much! She told us the placenta was in a good position for "the big day" and it is, at the back and not low, which is fab, means I can feel lots of kicks. I'm sure Robert's placenta must have been at the front! (don't remember if they told me for his!)
But yes, little Squidge is happy and healthy! Measurements showed head circumference 6 days ahead (!!), tummy circumference 3 days ahead, and thigh length 1 day behind. So about right :) I hope you enjoyed reading and meeting little Squidge!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
My gorgeous clever boy :)
I thought I'd make a post to do with my gorgeous son. He is now 18 months old (and 2 days!) and I just adore him. I love his chatting (which mostly is still babbling, although it's more "complex" babbling now!), and his mannerisms, and his spark and energy! His understanding of us and things we ask him are amazing, it seems so strange to think how he went from a tiny boy so unable to do anything for himself to one that now can follow instructions, and asert his wants and needs to us!
His communication is still mainly non verbal, the main word he uses is "again", which he sometimes uses to mean "yes". This caused some concern to the doctor who saw him for his 18 month review on Friday, who again questioned his hearing, and mentioned speech therapy. We said we weren't concerned about his hearing at all, and he HAS made huge progress with his verbal and non verbal communication since we saw the same doctor 6 months ago. So we will wait til he's 2, and if the doctor is still concerned then we will allow them to run hearing tests and anything else they deem necessary, as if it comes back all clear, and that he is simply a slow speaker, then we will be proved right, and 2 is still an ok age to pick up any more serious problems, so we are ok in waiting until then.
But he IS getting his wants across more and more. He signs "more" very frequently, we are trying to introduce more specific signs so that he knows there is a difference between "more" and wanting specific things, so we have a clearer idea. We are teaching him "drink", "food/eat" and "sleep" on a daily basis, as well as "milk". We sign "nappy" to him regularly too. He still needs prompting to sign for a few things, the only signs he does unprompted is "more", and "milk". He also understands what nodding and shaking the head means and how to use it approptiately, which is very useful!
If he signs "more" while looking at the table on which there is his food, and a drink, we ask him "do you want a drink?" and if it's what he wants, he nods his head and makes an affirmative noise. Then we ask him to sign "drink" and show him ourselves and he will sign back to us, and we give it to him. After his 18 month review I did worry if encouraging signing over talking was helping, or delaying things, but I figure (with some comments from people at a forum) that any form of communication is good, and it will help him be less frustrated while he is still coming to grips with talking.
Something that I think will help him immensely is that over the past couple of days he has rediscovered his love of books and will pull out book after book after book for me to read to him. As well as just reading the story to him I now on most pages point out various things on the illustrations, or ask him to point them out, and I am sometimes amazed at how he knows what something is! I asked him yesterday where the horns were on a picture of a cow, and he pointed them out right away, I wasn't expecting him to get them, and I spent ages wondering "how on earth does he know what horns are?" and then I realised in a few of his "that's not my..." books they have horns on them :)
He is also copying animal noises of varying creatures very well! He will do cow, dog, monkey, elephant, bee, wolf, snake, cat (sometimes), duck, lion (he loves this one!), and possibly a few others!
He has mastered so many physical skills now, he runs, walks along on tiptoes, steers his pushalong toys around obstacles, climbs up onto chairs turns around and sits on them, gets down from chairs slowly still facing out and letting himself drop to the floor, he can step up shallow steps properly, deeper ones he still either turns himself round to go down or he crawls up. If he stumbles while running he can correct himself a lot of the time and can avoid falling. He hasn't figured out jumping yet but that's only a matter of time I'm sure! He even had a good go yesterday on a balance beam at a toddler group (for their physical skills), first holding onto Janice's hands as he walked along, but then he got on all by himself and tried to take a step on it!
He is also working out humour! He has learnt that doing certain things will make us laugh, and so he deliberately does them in order to make us laugh! Certain facial expressions are his favourite way at the moment, but also noises he makes, some of his laughs will often provoke us to laugh too!
He also LOVES us to sing! I have learnt that singing a song will stop a boy from wriggling while changing him, or getting him dressed, or will let us brush his teeth with little resistance! Which has made bedtime SO much less stressful I can't believe! There is now NO stress with bedtime at all, there was little before but now with no wriggles it's lovely! He doesn't really have a favourite song yet, he likes any song I sing really! But I tend to sing "if you're happy and you know it" while he's getting dressed as he then joins in the actions and it gives him something to do as well while I'm popping up his sleepsuit! He starts clapping as soon as I start that song, it's so cute! His face when I ask him "shall I sing you a song, Robert?" is lovely! His face lights up and he nods eagerly saying "Geh, geh" (again, again) hehe! So I sing him a song, and when I get to the end and stop, he'll squeal "a-GEH!" and I sing it again hehe.
Jonathan has been concentrating on the video backlog from Robert's birthday party onwards, so the photos we've taken recently aren't up there yet, which is a shame!
But here's a video he has put together which I can't help but feel teary about, a montage from birth to 1 year old. From a tiny, sleepy baby to a big boy, running around, with little pearly teeth... awwww :) I'm so happy I'll get to see another baby growing up, and also I can't WAIT to see how good a big brother Robert will be. I love him to bits and I can't believe there was ever a time he wasn't in my life!
His communication is still mainly non verbal, the main word he uses is "again", which he sometimes uses to mean "yes". This caused some concern to the doctor who saw him for his 18 month review on Friday, who again questioned his hearing, and mentioned speech therapy. We said we weren't concerned about his hearing at all, and he HAS made huge progress with his verbal and non verbal communication since we saw the same doctor 6 months ago. So we will wait til he's 2, and if the doctor is still concerned then we will allow them to run hearing tests and anything else they deem necessary, as if it comes back all clear, and that he is simply a slow speaker, then we will be proved right, and 2 is still an ok age to pick up any more serious problems, so we are ok in waiting until then.
But he IS getting his wants across more and more. He signs "more" very frequently, we are trying to introduce more specific signs so that he knows there is a difference between "more" and wanting specific things, so we have a clearer idea. We are teaching him "drink", "food/eat" and "sleep" on a daily basis, as well as "milk". We sign "nappy" to him regularly too. He still needs prompting to sign for a few things, the only signs he does unprompted is "more", and "milk". He also understands what nodding and shaking the head means and how to use it approptiately, which is very useful!
If he signs "more" while looking at the table on which there is his food, and a drink, we ask him "do you want a drink?" and if it's what he wants, he nods his head and makes an affirmative noise. Then we ask him to sign "drink" and show him ourselves and he will sign back to us, and we give it to him. After his 18 month review I did worry if encouraging signing over talking was helping, or delaying things, but I figure (with some comments from people at a forum) that any form of communication is good, and it will help him be less frustrated while he is still coming to grips with talking.
Something that I think will help him immensely is that over the past couple of days he has rediscovered his love of books and will pull out book after book after book for me to read to him. As well as just reading the story to him I now on most pages point out various things on the illustrations, or ask him to point them out, and I am sometimes amazed at how he knows what something is! I asked him yesterday where the horns were on a picture of a cow, and he pointed them out right away, I wasn't expecting him to get them, and I spent ages wondering "how on earth does he know what horns are?" and then I realised in a few of his "that's not my..." books they have horns on them :)
He is also copying animal noises of varying creatures very well! He will do cow, dog, monkey, elephant, bee, wolf, snake, cat (sometimes), duck, lion (he loves this one!), and possibly a few others!
He has mastered so many physical skills now, he runs, walks along on tiptoes, steers his pushalong toys around obstacles, climbs up onto chairs turns around and sits on them, gets down from chairs slowly still facing out and letting himself drop to the floor, he can step up shallow steps properly, deeper ones he still either turns himself round to go down or he crawls up. If he stumbles while running he can correct himself a lot of the time and can avoid falling. He hasn't figured out jumping yet but that's only a matter of time I'm sure! He even had a good go yesterday on a balance beam at a toddler group (for their physical skills), first holding onto Janice's hands as he walked along, but then he got on all by himself and tried to take a step on it!
He is also working out humour! He has learnt that doing certain things will make us laugh, and so he deliberately does them in order to make us laugh! Certain facial expressions are his favourite way at the moment, but also noises he makes, some of his laughs will often provoke us to laugh too!
He also LOVES us to sing! I have learnt that singing a song will stop a boy from wriggling while changing him, or getting him dressed, or will let us brush his teeth with little resistance! Which has made bedtime SO much less stressful I can't believe! There is now NO stress with bedtime at all, there was little before but now with no wriggles it's lovely! He doesn't really have a favourite song yet, he likes any song I sing really! But I tend to sing "if you're happy and you know it" while he's getting dressed as he then joins in the actions and it gives him something to do as well while I'm popping up his sleepsuit! He starts clapping as soon as I start that song, it's so cute! His face when I ask him "shall I sing you a song, Robert?" is lovely! His face lights up and he nods eagerly saying "Geh, geh" (again, again) hehe! So I sing him a song, and when I get to the end and stop, he'll squeal "a-GEH!" and I sing it again hehe.
Jonathan has been concentrating on the video backlog from Robert's birthday party onwards, so the photos we've taken recently aren't up there yet, which is a shame!
But here's a video he has put together which I can't help but feel teary about, a montage from birth to 1 year old. From a tiny, sleepy baby to a big boy, running around, with little pearly teeth... awwww :) I'm so happy I'll get to see another baby growing up, and also I can't WAIT to see how good a big brother Robert will be. I love him to bits and I can't believe there was ever a time he wasn't in my life!
Thursday, 20 May 2010
20 weeks pregnant! Half way!
I cannot believe I am posting to say I am half way through this pregnancy already! Where has the time gone?
But before I do carry on I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! to the commenters on the last entry! I miss getting comments, they make me smile!
Anyway! 20 weeks. TWENTY weeks! I cannot believe we are here already!
I feel Squidge kicking several times every day! I LOVE it! And, big news, about 5 days ago, Jonathan felt him kicking for the first time! This is WAY earlier than with Robert, which happened around 21 and a half weeks. So over TWO weeks earlier! Squidge is kicking as I am typing this, and it's making me smile. How I LOVE love LOVE the kicks and wriggles! And I'm glad because last night Squidge was in a different position to normal and was booting my bladder! Eeeeshk! I completely forgot the whole bladder booting feeling! But he seems to be back in a normal position and booting the front of my belly. :)
Talking of bellies, I have a belly picture!
Taken a few minutes ago. :) I'll update the belly gallery later, there should be a 13 week one there but it's not linked in on the right yet, something else to do! And add an ultrasound gallery! Woop!
Oh and for comparison - here is Robert's 20 week belly picture
And on the matter of ultrasounds, my next scan is in 8 days. I'm so excited! We are still holding strong on not finding out the sex (although Jonathan would still happily find out if I changed my mind). I keep thinking in the back of my mind how I would like to find out, and then I think to the birth day of Squidge, and how lovely it would be to find out then! And especially if my mum is there, to have the baby born, see what sex it is, and then introduce the baby to my mum with his/her name :)
Talking of names! (wow, I'm flitting about a bit aren't I!! So much to talk about!) We have FINALLY got somewhere with names! :) Girl's name is 100% decided, boy's name is decided too but I think a little less than the girl's name. I think we both like the girl's name more than the boy's name we've picked out, so I guess the boy's name is subject to change. I don't know if I want to share the names we've chosen yet! :)
One thing I will say is that the girl's name hasn't even been mentioned here at all! I just saw it on a name site, and thought "hmm, yeah I'll put that on the list" and then Jonathan saw it and said "Oh, I really like that name" and then I thought about it, and the more I think about it the more I love it! Her middle name though is one that's been mentioned here before :) I'm so excited that we've finally got names we agree on! It's a shame the boy's name isn't as WOW as the girl's name, if you know what I mean, but we'll see :)
Back on the note of pregnancy, I am feeling completely well! Apart from having to pee at 6am every morning if I've not already been even earlier in the morning! I had one slight twinge of heartburn about a week ago which disappeared fairly quickly, and nothing since. Looking back I was already riddled with heartburn by this stage with Robert!
Also, I have weighed myself, as I know I weighed myself around this stage of my pregnancy with Robert, and I am around 14 stone 11lb, a few days before my second scan with Robert I was 15 stone 11lb, so unless I gain a stone in 2 weeks I am lighter at this stage than I was with Robert :) I am very happy about this although I am fast gaining on 15 stone so I think I will more than likely be at least 15 and a half stone by the time baby is born, if not 16+ so I will need to lose 4 stone to reach my goal of 12 stone by the time baby is a year old. I am still determined to make sure I give myself a thorough kick up the backside to lose this weight and get down to a healthy happy weight! Within 2 years of the birth I would ideally like to be down to my ideal weight of around 10 stone, if I'm not already pregnant again hahaha! But I would be happy to start off another pregnancy at 12 stone rather than 14 stone+ I've had with Robert and Squidge ;)
Anyway, here's to another good 20 weeks, and I really hope they don't whizz by too quickly! (these have gone by so fast I can't believe how fast it's all gone!!)
But before I do carry on I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! to the commenters on the last entry! I miss getting comments, they make me smile!
Anyway! 20 weeks. TWENTY weeks! I cannot believe we are here already!
I feel Squidge kicking several times every day! I LOVE it! And, big news, about 5 days ago, Jonathan felt him kicking for the first time! This is WAY earlier than with Robert, which happened around 21 and a half weeks. So over TWO weeks earlier! Squidge is kicking as I am typing this, and it's making me smile. How I LOVE love LOVE the kicks and wriggles! And I'm glad because last night Squidge was in a different position to normal and was booting my bladder! Eeeeshk! I completely forgot the whole bladder booting feeling! But he seems to be back in a normal position and booting the front of my belly. :)
Talking of bellies, I have a belly picture!
Taken a few minutes ago. :) I'll update the belly gallery later, there should be a 13 week one there but it's not linked in on the right yet, something else to do! And add an ultrasound gallery! Woop!
Oh and for comparison - here is Robert's 20 week belly picture
And on the matter of ultrasounds, my next scan is in 8 days. I'm so excited! We are still holding strong on not finding out the sex (although Jonathan would still happily find out if I changed my mind). I keep thinking in the back of my mind how I would like to find out, and then I think to the birth day of Squidge, and how lovely it would be to find out then! And especially if my mum is there, to have the baby born, see what sex it is, and then introduce the baby to my mum with his/her name :)
Talking of names! (wow, I'm flitting about a bit aren't I!! So much to talk about!) We have FINALLY got somewhere with names! :) Girl's name is 100% decided, boy's name is decided too but I think a little less than the girl's name. I think we both like the girl's name more than the boy's name we've picked out, so I guess the boy's name is subject to change. I don't know if I want to share the names we've chosen yet! :)
One thing I will say is that the girl's name hasn't even been mentioned here at all! I just saw it on a name site, and thought "hmm, yeah I'll put that on the list" and then Jonathan saw it and said "Oh, I really like that name" and then I thought about it, and the more I think about it the more I love it! Her middle name though is one that's been mentioned here before :) I'm so excited that we've finally got names we agree on! It's a shame the boy's name isn't as WOW as the girl's name, if you know what I mean, but we'll see :)
Back on the note of pregnancy, I am feeling completely well! Apart from having to pee at 6am every morning if I've not already been even earlier in the morning! I had one slight twinge of heartburn about a week ago which disappeared fairly quickly, and nothing since. Looking back I was already riddled with heartburn by this stage with Robert!
Also, I have weighed myself, as I know I weighed myself around this stage of my pregnancy with Robert, and I am around 14 stone 11lb, a few days before my second scan with Robert I was 15 stone 11lb, so unless I gain a stone in 2 weeks I am lighter at this stage than I was with Robert :) I am very happy about this although I am fast gaining on 15 stone so I think I will more than likely be at least 15 and a half stone by the time baby is born, if not 16+ so I will need to lose 4 stone to reach my goal of 12 stone by the time baby is a year old. I am still determined to make sure I give myself a thorough kick up the backside to lose this weight and get down to a healthy happy weight! Within 2 years of the birth I would ideally like to be down to my ideal weight of around 10 stone, if I'm not already pregnant again hahaha! But I would be happy to start off another pregnancy at 12 stone rather than 14 stone+ I've had with Robert and Squidge ;)
Anyway, here's to another good 20 weeks, and I really hope they don't whizz by too quickly! (these have gone by so fast I can't believe how fast it's all gone!!)
Thursday, 6 May 2010
18 weeks - anniversary tomorrow, signing
Well tomorrow is mine and Jonathan's 5th wedding anniversary, and 9th "being together" anniversary. We've had our ups and downs but it's hard to believe that we've been together for so long, considering I'm not even in my 30s yet, that next year we will have been together a whole decade, and I still would not be in my 30s. Next year we will have been married for 6 years, together for 10 years, and have two beautiful children.
I can hardly believe how lucky I am, that my husband just fell into my lap so to speak, that we found each other and are so happy together. That we have been able to work through tough patches (and as a result are still together) and puts us in good stead to be together for a long long time, hopefully as they say til death do us part. We have been so lucky on so many counts, that we have had fabulous support from family in particular, both financial and emotional, which puts us in a very fortunate position for the future, despite us having made mistakes on when we bought this house and got out a fixed rate mortgage for 5 years (sigh).
And now I am nearly half way through "cooking" our second child (lol, that phrase makes me giggle), and enjoying every moment! I think I am eating *slightly* better than my first pregnancy. I am certainly more active! Having looked back on my first pregnancy I am having a lot easier time so far of it. Although with this one I have had more bleeding (only spotting but still far far more than with Robert), but less of everything else. At this point in my pregnancy I was already suffering with heartburn on occasion, whereas no sign of this whatsoever yet! But there is plenty more time for me to suffer with heartburn, SPD, swollen ankles and feet, etc like I did with Robert.
When I lay down I can feel Squidge's rough position, last night I was fairly certain he was laying transverse, with his back along the top of my uterus.
Yes that's right, I'm saying he. Why? Two reasons. One, it's SO damn annoying to have to keep saying s/he, or his/her. Second... my friend Sarah has found out she's having a girl. And despite what I said before about me having no preference to which gender I was having, I did suddenly get a twinge. That if I did end up having a boy I would be sad, because she got her girl and I didn't get one. Which made me realise that I must have had a subconscious desire for a girl over a boy that I wasn't entirely aware of. I think that if I get it into my head that it's a boy now... that if I am convinced he's a boy, then it will be easier. But I am still thinking of leaving it as a surprise, that bit of uncertainty, so there is a small chance I am carrying a girl... does that make sense? By focussing on the good things of having another boy, then I will be happier when he arrives.
I am feeling him kick much more as well. In fact, last night as I was laying down with Robert before his bedtime, I could feel him moving around a bit. I put my hand on my tummy, and I felt a tiny pop against my hand! I'm pretty sure I can feel Squidge better than I did Robert, not only his kicks, but also him as well, when I feel my tummy. Maybe with Robert my placenta was around by my tummy, and this time it's towards my back? I've not told Jonathan about being able to feel the kicks with my hand yet, as the times Squidge is kicking hard enough to feel are so few, they're not nearly half the number of times he actually kicks.
What I find amazing is that despite having felt Robert move at 15 weeks, it wasn't until 19 weeks that I was 100% sure that I had felt a proper kick! Just goes to show I suppose that it's true, for second pregnancies you do realise that the baby is kicking sooner, as I know I've been recognising Squidge's kicks from at least 16 weeks as proper kicks.
As for breastfeeding. Robert is still breastfeeding morning and night. And he asked for it during the day yesterday as well. He is beginning to communicate much better, not only in his words, but he has finally grasped signing, that he can sign a particular way to get exactly what he wants. He only knows how to make 3 signs really, the three we use most regularly. He knows "more" very well, and "drink" not so well. He sometimes signs more when he wants a drink. He also knows milk, but he needs encouragement to use it. It won't be long before he is using signs perfectly to aid his communication with us. I told my dad about his signing, and how babies develop better control with their hands before they're able to talk, so they can communicate this way quicker, and he was quite impressed and said "oh, that's a really good idea!" and generally thought that it made sense, as it helps them to be less frustrated.
I want to teach him a few other signs, like nappy, so he will be able to sign to me when he needs a nappy change, sleep, so he can tell me when he's tired, and things like hot, cold, scared, hurt. Scared will be a tough one to do. I will have to get his grandad (my dad) over to jump out at him like he did last time we went down there (poor Robert got scared, my dad was trying to make him laugh but he was so loud and unexpected, that Robert's lip started quivering and you could tell he was frightened by it!) and then sign scared to Robert so he knows what it is lol!
Anyway I digressed. Robert is still breastfeeding, and I only ever offer milk to him at night before bed. But he always has morning milk, and if he asks during the day he gets it too. Yesterday he wanted it, so I let him. Usually downstairs he's happy to stand next to me but yesterday he wanted to climb up onto me and lay down while having his milky on the sofa. Which was nice to have some snuggles. :)
This morning after he'd had his milk, he got up all grins, and went to scoot himself off the bed, and on the way I heard him burp, which made me quite happy, surely that means he's still getting quite a lot of milk from me?
We have his 18 month hospital checkup on the 21st, just over 2 weeks time. I'm so pleased he's started to talk, even if it's just a few words, and that he communicates by signing. At the 12 month checkup I was quite worried as the questions the doctor asked us about his development (apart from physical, which he was ahead on), he seemed concerned about his language development, and doubted us when he said he could understand what we said.
Robert now understands most simple questions we ask him, if he doesn't know a particular word you can tell he gets confused. But daily tasks he does he doesn't even need to be verbally asked anymore. When he gets undressed ready for his bath he will put his clothes immediately in the wash basket (more than can be said for his dad!!!!), and when I let him down off the table naked, I will hand him his dirty nappy (in a nappy bag of course) and I don't even need to ask him, he will go and put it in the bin.
While I do of course get frustrated with him from time to time, it doesn't take much for me to melt :)
Who couldn't melt, when greeted with this...?
or this....?
:)
I can hardly believe how lucky I am, that my husband just fell into my lap so to speak, that we found each other and are so happy together. That we have been able to work through tough patches (and as a result are still together) and puts us in good stead to be together for a long long time, hopefully as they say til death do us part. We have been so lucky on so many counts, that we have had fabulous support from family in particular, both financial and emotional, which puts us in a very fortunate position for the future, despite us having made mistakes on when we bought this house and got out a fixed rate mortgage for 5 years (sigh).
And now I am nearly half way through "cooking" our second child (lol, that phrase makes me giggle), and enjoying every moment! I think I am eating *slightly* better than my first pregnancy. I am certainly more active! Having looked back on my first pregnancy I am having a lot easier time so far of it. Although with this one I have had more bleeding (only spotting but still far far more than with Robert), but less of everything else. At this point in my pregnancy I was already suffering with heartburn on occasion, whereas no sign of this whatsoever yet! But there is plenty more time for me to suffer with heartburn, SPD, swollen ankles and feet, etc like I did with Robert.
When I lay down I can feel Squidge's rough position, last night I was fairly certain he was laying transverse, with his back along the top of my uterus.
Yes that's right, I'm saying he. Why? Two reasons. One, it's SO damn annoying to have to keep saying s/he, or his/her. Second... my friend Sarah has found out she's having a girl. And despite what I said before about me having no preference to which gender I was having, I did suddenly get a twinge. That if I did end up having a boy I would be sad, because she got her girl and I didn't get one. Which made me realise that I must have had a subconscious desire for a girl over a boy that I wasn't entirely aware of. I think that if I get it into my head that it's a boy now... that if I am convinced he's a boy, then it will be easier. But I am still thinking of leaving it as a surprise, that bit of uncertainty, so there is a small chance I am carrying a girl... does that make sense? By focussing on the good things of having another boy, then I will be happier when he arrives.
I am feeling him kick much more as well. In fact, last night as I was laying down with Robert before his bedtime, I could feel him moving around a bit. I put my hand on my tummy, and I felt a tiny pop against my hand! I'm pretty sure I can feel Squidge better than I did Robert, not only his kicks, but also him as well, when I feel my tummy. Maybe with Robert my placenta was around by my tummy, and this time it's towards my back? I've not told Jonathan about being able to feel the kicks with my hand yet, as the times Squidge is kicking hard enough to feel are so few, they're not nearly half the number of times he actually kicks.
What I find amazing is that despite having felt Robert move at 15 weeks, it wasn't until 19 weeks that I was 100% sure that I had felt a proper kick! Just goes to show I suppose that it's true, for second pregnancies you do realise that the baby is kicking sooner, as I know I've been recognising Squidge's kicks from at least 16 weeks as proper kicks.
As for breastfeeding. Robert is still breastfeeding morning and night. And he asked for it during the day yesterday as well. He is beginning to communicate much better, not only in his words, but he has finally grasped signing, that he can sign a particular way to get exactly what he wants. He only knows how to make 3 signs really, the three we use most regularly. He knows "more" very well, and "drink" not so well. He sometimes signs more when he wants a drink. He also knows milk, but he needs encouragement to use it. It won't be long before he is using signs perfectly to aid his communication with us. I told my dad about his signing, and how babies develop better control with their hands before they're able to talk, so they can communicate this way quicker, and he was quite impressed and said "oh, that's a really good idea!" and generally thought that it made sense, as it helps them to be less frustrated.
I want to teach him a few other signs, like nappy, so he will be able to sign to me when he needs a nappy change, sleep, so he can tell me when he's tired, and things like hot, cold, scared, hurt. Scared will be a tough one to do. I will have to get his grandad (my dad) over to jump out at him like he did last time we went down there (poor Robert got scared, my dad was trying to make him laugh but he was so loud and unexpected, that Robert's lip started quivering and you could tell he was frightened by it!) and then sign scared to Robert so he knows what it is lol!
Anyway I digressed. Robert is still breastfeeding, and I only ever offer milk to him at night before bed. But he always has morning milk, and if he asks during the day he gets it too. Yesterday he wanted it, so I let him. Usually downstairs he's happy to stand next to me but yesterday he wanted to climb up onto me and lay down while having his milky on the sofa. Which was nice to have some snuggles. :)
This morning after he'd had his milk, he got up all grins, and went to scoot himself off the bed, and on the way I heard him burp, which made me quite happy, surely that means he's still getting quite a lot of milk from me?
We have his 18 month hospital checkup on the 21st, just over 2 weeks time. I'm so pleased he's started to talk, even if it's just a few words, and that he communicates by signing. At the 12 month checkup I was quite worried as the questions the doctor asked us about his development (apart from physical, which he was ahead on), he seemed concerned about his language development, and doubted us when he said he could understand what we said.
Robert now understands most simple questions we ask him, if he doesn't know a particular word you can tell he gets confused. But daily tasks he does he doesn't even need to be verbally asked anymore. When he gets undressed ready for his bath he will put his clothes immediately in the wash basket (more than can be said for his dad!!!!), and when I let him down off the table naked, I will hand him his dirty nappy (in a nappy bag of course) and I don't even need to ask him, he will go and put it in the bin.
While I do of course get frustrated with him from time to time, it doesn't take much for me to melt :)
Who couldn't melt, when greeted with this...?
or this....?
:)
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