Pregnancy status updates, April

[Lily]

Feeling a bit self-pitying again, I'm afraid. Izbiz is ill yet again - he and I are both still stuffy and coughing from the cold we've had for the past few weeks, but now he has a tummy bug on top of that. And just for good measure, another bout of conjunctivitis, which the kids at his nursery have been passing around since Feb. Obviously I wish he felt better, but I'm also really irritated at losing my one child-free day of mat leave tomorrow, when he should have been going to nursery. Had been hoping for an earlyish baby but now I'm just hoping she holds on till we're all healthy again.

Hope everyone else is having a more positive start to the month!

[Cofa's Tree]

Hope you and Izbiz get healthy soon ((()))

And hello over-the-bump maternity jeans!!! Not sure I should be in them at only 7 weeks, but my current jeans had a waistband that was just too uncomfortable but I'm not big enough yet for the next size up that I'd come out of after having lost weight, and although these maternity jeans are a larger size, the bump-hugging fit means they are comfortable and not falling down! Just a bit baggy around the bum which is annoying but not the end of the world.

[Treeb]

Hope you are both feeling better soon Lily! We just had a similar period of cold immediately followed by tummy but and it was really not fun. Everything seems so much more wearing and tiring when you are pregnant!

I'm 30 weeks now and starting to feel huge. Not sure how I'm going to make it through another 10 weeks or how massive I'm going to be by the end of that. I'm already weighing more than I did at the end of my pregnancy with L, and I've been steadily gaining about 1 lb a week, so that's another potential 10 lb or so before the end! L can no longer sit comfortably on my lap for stories sitting in our glider chair, he just wiggles and squirms and slides down my legs because my belly is taking up all the space. Story time last night we had to move out to the couch where he could sit beside me instead. We also went on a family walk Sunday with dh pushing L in the stroller and he had to keep stopping and waiting for me to catch up as I have apparently started to slow down considerably!

My moods also seem to be all over the place, with feeling grouchy or very down much more often. Not sure how much to blame just on hormones, and how much is due to dh working 60+ hours the past few weeks so I'm feeling rather worn down from solo-parenting from breakfast to bedtime, 6 days a week. The house and k-room are all a horrible wreck and I can't seem to catch up with any of the cleaning which always makes me feel a bit stressed. Hopefully his crazy work hours are done soon!

[Lily]

It's really exhausting solo parenting while pregnant, isn't it? Hope you get some more support soon Treeb. My DH does his best to be around but he's often kept at work until bedtime, and brings a lot home at the weekends, so I know how you feel. At least now the spring is here it's possible to let the littlies wear themselves out at the park while you relax on a bench without freezing to death!

Izbiz is much perkier today but I just don't have the energy to shake it off. Made myself sick coughing this morning, which was pretty miserable. And DH is ill too now, shutting himself away in his study to mope. Thank goodness for naps, I really can't imagine coping with a toddler all day. Though I should really be using this time profitably to finish my knitting, not wasting it on the internet.

[RedRum]

Hope you all feel better soon Lily, that sounds rubbish.

Had my 34 wk appointment this morning and the baby is head down which I'm relieved about. I'd got myself into a bit of a panic about it being breach (not for any particular reason, I just got the idea in my head and couldn't shake it) but very happy it's the right way round!

In an interesting turn of events, DH has been offered a three month contract with a company he has done lots of freelance stuff for in the past (sound tech work) which we're umming and ahhing about. We were all geared up for a laid back summer with te baby following a really full on few months with both of us working full pelt and DH working on our loft conversion at the weekends too, but to be honest the money's really good and it's only til the end of July, so we could still take August really easy and then still head off for a bit of travelling in the Autumn as we had planned. They've already agreed to give him a week when the baby's born, and a week for Glastonbury as we had those tickets booked already, so in the greater scheme of things it seems like the sensible thing to do, but it means him working further away (although still home every night with the exception of one particular job up north when he'd be away for a week or so) rather than being local all summer. But it would remove so much of the financial stress of me being on mat leave that it's probably worth it..... It's also quite a big deal that they've offered it to him, and I think he's reluctant to turn it down.

I hate dilemmas like this!

[t&n's mummy]

Sounds like you'd be silly not to rr, a week is certainly do able on your own.

How will you do sleeping arrangements for Glastonbury? We are planning a camping trip in August and not quite sure how/what to sleep on with lo??

[RedRum]

Oh a weeks definitely doable, I did nearly four years on my own with R before DH and I got together We've got a camper (converted T4 so we're pretty well set up for camping, I wouldn't do glastombury in a tent with a teenie one, although would do a 'normal' camping holiday iyswim.

[t&n's mummy]

Oh easy then, what are you worried about??

So normal camping, air bed or thermarest? We have one of those pop up travel cot things but will prob be co sleeping, so how would you do that?

[RedRum]

I don't know to be honest, I'm not that hardened a camper, only really got into it in the past few years, but in the past we've used air beds and I would have thought a pop up travel cot would be perfect.

Only catch really is that we had planned to travel over the summer, had lots of road trips planned, which we would have been able to fit in and around DH's normal work once I wasn't stuck tied to a mon-fri job, but this will put a bit if a kibosh on that. Plus it means a 3hr daily commute for him, so leaving early/getting home late rather than working locally. We've been so insanely flat out the last couple of years and been promising ourselves a more relaxed summer this year. I dunno. Lots of pros and cons. Will give it a proper talking through this evening so he can get back to them.

[ToothFairy]

When Elsie was tiny and we went camping (and to Glastonbury) we shared a double sleeping bag on a double Thermarest. It worked really well.

[busmother]

Hugs to Lily and Treeb (and anyone else who needs them). Lily - that sounds like terrible timing. I can't imagine being ill just now, or having ill children to deal with. I've just spent almost 10 of the last 24 hours at the hospital after rashly mentioning to my midwife that it seemed much less wriggly than it had been. It's still moving regularly, just not as violently, so there'd be long periods when I didn't notice, unless I specifically focussed on it, which I put down to head being engaged so not having as much freedom. But she took it very seriously and sent me off for monitoring, measure of fluid and growth scan. Got there at 3pm on Tuesday (in snow) after dumping children with kind friend and dragging DH out of work, sat there for two hours before I finally got seen (DH had to leave and go and fetch children), and by the time they'd done the monitoring and fluid measurement (both completely fine) it was 8pm, so they sent me home. So had to go back on Wednesday, appointment for growth scan at 12.40, was seen at 2.30pm, also fine. Thought I could go home then, but no, had to wait until someone had looked at all the results and talked me through it. Finally got home at 5.30pm. Am inordinately grateful that the resources are there to look into these things, and impressed how seriously they do take it all. But it's really not easy when you've got to juggle childcare and other things in life and would definitely make me think twice about airing any concerns again.

[busmother]

Oh and just to make it clear, everything is absolutely fine. And having read T&N's mummy on March, I have to ask what car did you get? We have to do the same thing (can get us all into our current car if I sit in the back with one of the big ones in the front, but it's not ideal in the long run). Only got round to checking it out about 3 weeks ago. A bit of a nasty shock.

[t&n's mummy]

Crikey busmother, that sounds stressful, but glad all is well.

It's a Peugeot 807 7 seater someone locally was selling it at a bargain price so we snapped it up. Just need to sell our old car now, which isn't that old or done that many miles, it's on gumtree and the only interest we have had is from people trying to con us... Grr.

[Lily]

Mine's been a lot less wriggly the last few days, too, busmother. She still has the same sleep/wake pattern, but as you say, less violent movements (except when her brother sits on her...). I'm sure it's just because they're running out of space at this point, and because of the head being engaged. I remember the same happening last time, and I've definitely read somewhere that movements usually quieten down before labour starts.

Had a visit from our HV yesterday and was really impressed with her approach. She gave me a booklet about the first year and it has big sections on the benefits of extended bfing, baby-wearing and BLW. Seemed completely unsurprised when I said I'd bfed Iz for 2.5yrs, and in fact the booklet even talks about the practicalities of tandem feeding. Such a contrast to London where I was viewed as a bit of an oddity!

[yorkshirepudding]

That's ace about your HV Lily! Glad everything is ok busmother. What did you decide RedRum?

I'm feeling Tired with a capital T (although maybe I should wait until I have a newborn!). We got back yesterday from a 4 day trip for a friend's wedding with a different bed every night. Moo was a star but he has got horribly constipated after a day sitting in the car seat, and we're now on lactulose and he's spent the last 2 days screaming and straining and having to be with me all the time, poor babe. Only upside is he is exhausted with it all so he is sleeping fairly well despite the upheaval. And today we've moved out of our house to live with FIL until our static caravan is ready on our new barn conversion building site! Still got to finish emptying and cleaning our house by Friday. Just want to sleeeeeep! Baby is doing some good movement, and I'm doing the lovely waking up at stupid hours and then not getting back to sleep thinking about caravans and other stuff that I don't really stress about during the day. Just going with the flow...