An interesting weekend...

It started well with a lovely dinner out on Friday night to celebrate Rupert's birthday, then a Saturday in the garden. I was pottering around, planting out cuttings, tidying up, while Rupes worked on the main task of emptying the barrel which has housed our goldfish, pulling out the rock garden and taking out the tree that was growing there.

We didn't think any of the goldfish had survived winter, so imagine our surprise to find 3 still alive and lurking in the depths - into a bucket they went with the intention of buying a small inside fishtank for them to live in. Meantime, Rupes has the tree almost out, bent over and jumping on it to bounce the main root out of the ground when disaster struck - his foot slipped and within a minute his ankle was swollen and it was off to our local clinic for x rays. No break as far as they could tell, but a very serious strain, so he is now in plaster and on crutches!

On Sunday I had to work, so Muzz took Rupes back to get his cast checked and then they popped into the pet store and bought the tank. Unfortunately, when they went outside to get the goldfish from the bucket it became apparently that one of the cats had a very nice meal, thank you very much! So now my next job is to pop to the pet store and buy some fish to go into the new tank LOL. Honestly. Men. You think they would have checked the fish first!

Poor Rupes - he sees the specialist on Thursday and until then is unable to put any weight on his foot, drive a car, or do anything else that requires two legs and hands free! Thank goodness for Murray who is running with Toby for us, and I can walk Miss Katie in the evenings!

We have the anatomy scan on Wednesday morning and I can't wait - it's going to be so lovely to see the baby together, and hopefully we might find out boy/girl. I feel like I am pushing out more and more each day - am even finding my baggy old trackpants a little uncomfortable so tend to walk around at home with the tummy sticking out! Highly attractive!

Things I love to hear...

Do you know what you are having? - complete stranger at the mall the other day.

Your risk of any defects is now 1 in 530 - obstetrician at yesterday's appointment

Whoosh whoosh whoosh - baby's heartbeat through my little monitor

What a gorgeous baby - obstetrician at yesterday's quick scan


My check up appointment yesterday was fine - blood pressure, pee samples all good. She took me off for a very quick scan - baby is getting so big, and looking so cute. Could see the chest rising and falling with the heartbeat, and the arms moving around. She did try for a quick look between the legs but baby was not cooperating - legs crossed and feet drawn up, so no luck. Maybe next week at the 20 week anatomy scan! I don't think I have felt baby move yet - but to be honest, I have a fairly gassy noisy tummy at the best of times so it could be doing laps down there and I wouldn't know yet!

Another week passes

It was a very busy week - but mostly good! Bump is still growing and I have decided to make the internets wait for a bump picture until 20 weeks - I think I look more fat than pregnant right now! Health wise, still having days of weariness and times of indigestion but am mostly fine. Still having physio for my sore calf - which is driving me nuts - and poor hubby is having to massage the aches every night so I can sleep. Last night I just couldn't get to sleep and tossed and turned till midnight at which point he woke up and massaged my leg and I fell asleep almost right away. What a man!

Had a few hours in the garden yesterday - so nice to be in the sunshine, but felt very tired by the time mid afternoon came around so had an afternoon Nana nap...woke up very groggy but really needed the snooze. On Friday night we went to see the new Harry Potter (well, new to us, the rest of the world has already seen it) which was fun - first movie outing since I got pregnant. However, was desperately uncomfortable and fidgety (sorry Muzz and Rupes) and have decided no more movies unless they are at home - at least watching a DVD I can lay on the floor and sit different ways without getting all achy and sore. Good movie though!

Coming up this week - more interview for my replacement at work (I'm going to continue part time after a couple of months of training my new person) and then my next obstetrician appointment on Wednesday.

17 weeks...

Apart from the emotional/giddy with joy/cannot quite believe it/oh my god it's happening feelings, I am finding the whole process of pregnancy quite fascinating. And my body's reaction to that process. I've got a couple of those week by week books, and every Saturday I read the next chapter. So, I know that from this point on the baby starts to put on fat, and get those gorgeous chubby wee legs and arms. Which may explain why I woke up this morning tired and absolutely starving and have done nothing but eat all morning! Weight gain at this point is 2 kilos, and the books say 2.5 to 4.5 kilos is normal. I figure baby is living off some of my own fat stores and is welcome to them!

The boys (hubby and flatmate) are away this weekend with a group of mates to do the Rotorua Tough Guy/Gal challenge - 6 or 12kms through mud, ditches, crawling under obstacles. Rupert was very stoked to come in first out of our group down there. I decided to stay home to look after the dogs and just relax a bit, and it has been nice. Yesterday I went to visit a girlfriend who has just had a wee boy - he is gorgeous, and it was so lovely to see him and hold him without all those old feelings of inadequacy and jealousy. Then dropped in to see my Dad and stepmum - their birthdays this week, and then up to my neighbours to watch a DVD (secret life of bees, loved the book, thought the movie was a very good rendering)...

So, here I am at 17 weeks and 1 day. And really really looking forward to the next scan at 20 weeks, but am also enjoying having a heart beat monitor on hire so I can listen to the baby whenever I feel the need. That wee swooshing noise has got to be the best noise in the world until baby actually arrives!

Shopping time

Before I was pregnant I would find it really hard to go into baby shops...or shops with baby sections. It just really hurt. Even a month ago I found it hard...like I was tempting fate. But necessity won out - I've been struggling with clothes as things just aren't fitting very well anymore! So I did some shopping today - got a couple of tops, some maternity jeans and a cute skirt. Then I went to the baby store and oohed over the cots and room sets - though we have been given so much stuff I don't need to buy anything quite yet - we already have a cot and portacot and Moses basket and change table and high chair. Just need to get some new mattresses. All that stuff is sitting up in our small bedroom waiting for me to have the energy to put it together.

It felt sooo good to be just like all the other pregnant women wandering around those stores. So good to check out the wee blankets, the wee sleep sets and the cute clothes and not think of loss. The women would smile at each other and check out the tummies of others they met in the aisles. It was like finally belonging to a club that I never thought I'd be part of.

Yesterday I had a few hours in the garden - it was finally sunny and I finally had a whole weekend off work. It felt good to get some work done out there, and the boys did a lot of pruning and cutting down trees we didn't want while I replanted my vege garden. It was a nice way to spend that 16 week milestone.

I still seem to get really tired, though that is definately easing. The naturopath is very pleased with my progress and now has me weaning off his wonder herbs through until 20 weeks, and then I will go back at 30 weeks for help with the birth and the baby's health post birth. Still not quite sure I believe in everything he says, but it can't hurt, and may help. So...all good at my end, and getting bigger by the day :-)

Quick Update

Your maternal serum test was negative. Lovely words to hear on our answerphone last night - meaning that our baby is pretty much risk free for Downs or any of the other chromosomal disorders. I was really pleased to hear that - though as I hadn't been stressing too much (I mean, what can go wrong with a miracle baby???) but it was good to get confirmation.

Now 15 weeks and 5 days - will try and post the inaugural belly shot on the weekend :-) Feeling good - still tired but mostly well, just a bit of indigestion still and a LOT of burping!