[Baby] 32 Week Update

32 weeks wow. Our September due date is growing ever closer and I can't even begin to explain how excited we are. It's not long before she'll be in our arms and keeping us awake all night.

The last four weeks have been busy. A mix of midwife and hospital appointments along with finishing work, which has been utter bliss. Everything is fine with baby and she's measuring a week ahead. We had a scan at 30 weeks to make sure she was growing properly, which wasn't a worry at all. It's weird because I thought we'd be able to see more at this scan considering how big she now is but if anything you could see a lot less this time as she's too big to fit on the screen. I've also been signed off consultant led care, which is amazing as that means I can have the birthing suite I want. The birthing suite is midwife led and has a more homely feel than a ward or private room. There is no  bed, just beanbags and mats which promotes staying active during labour. There's also a pool which can be used solely for pain relief, what I'll be using it for, or to give birth in. So hopefully (touch wood) if all goes ok that's where I'll give birth.

My blood tests at 28 weeks were all good too which meant that I didn't have to have the awful glucose blood test. She's also head down which is a little scary that she's already to go. 

As for me, I've started to feel a bit more tired as carrying around a baby is hard work sometimes, it's also down to fact I wake at least twice in the night to go for a wee or I get woken up with kicks. It's all practice for getting up through the night I suppose. It's a lot easier now I don't have to rush to get ready for work. Taking things slow in the mornings is making this not sleeping thing a lot easier.

As for baby things, we're getting there. The nursery is almost finished. Just some shelves to put up, things to put away and wall decals to finish. We need to get mattresses both for the Moses basket and cot and some sheets for the cot too. 

The big thing we don't have. The pushchair. My brain is just frazzled by the choice. There are so many and so many different reviews that say it's brilliant or terrible. I'm currently looking at a Mamas and Papas one but that could change. We want a decent one without having to take out a morgage to afford it! I plan to walk a lot so a good quality one is really important. We've decided that we are going to head over to the city to try some out and make a final decision. 

We've got the car seat, a bargain from Mothercare reduced to £39 from £80. And the hospital bag is just about packed, a few minor bits need to be added but then that's all ready. 

The end is in sight which is so exciting. I'm told that the last few weeks drag so hopefully time won't go to slowly but I'm keeping busy and that always helps time go faster. It won't be long until we get to hold our beautiful daughter in arms.

A big thank you to the Mr for the photographs of me and to my Mama for the ones of both of us. They are perfect! Thanks mum. 

[Baby] Things to do before she arrives. . .

Now my 5 weeks holiday has started, followed by 9 months of maternity leave, I've been thinking about all the things I want to do over the next 9 weeks before baby is here. A lot of people have said to make the most of the peace and quiet and to rest up, which I'll do towards the end but I want to do as much as possible before then. So one night last week we came up with a list of places we wanted to visit and things we want to before September 20th. Luckily as the Mr (to be) is a teacher, we get to spend 6 of those weeks together. 

Cinema - The Mr wants to see Ant Man. I like to look at Paul Rudd and eat popcorn.

Meal - A Frankie and Benny's opened up near us and I bloody love their lunch menu.

Visit Orford - I need to visit the Pump Street Bakery. They produce their own chocolate and I need to sample it!

Visit Somerleyton Hall - A childhood favourite. I've not been in so long and I'd love to go again. They have such beautiful grounds and there's a small maze for us to get lost in too!

An evening walk along the seafront - Living by the seaside means we take it for granted. But the beach is rather beautiful. A walk along the seafront stopping for chips and doughnuts sounds perfect. 

Redesign, update and work really hard on this blog - Every now and then I get bored of the layout and I fancy a change. I also want to work on my photography and content, producing better, more thoughtful content. Now I have no work to stop me, there's no excuse. I'd also like to plan at least one blog post a week for September on wards when I probably won't have time to keep things up to date. I also need to re-upload lots of photos as my storage provider changed the link which means I lost around 1 and half years worth of photographs.

Finish and enjoy time in the garden - No excuse now we are both off. I really want to get it looking pretty!

Wedding planning - I want to get all of the big things in place. So we don't have to stress about those when baby is here.

Go for afternoon tea - I really fancy little cakes, sandwiches and few cups of tea!

That's all we can think of for now but I'm sure there's things we can add. I'm rather excited for the next few weeks and then to meet our baby girl.

Here's to the summer!

[Baby] Nursery Inspiration

{Black and white polka dot}, {Bookshelf}, {White room, colour pop}, {Pineapple print}

{Cot}, {Shelves}

I can't believe that we are over the half way point of my pregnancy already. That means we need to start getting things sorted and now we know that it's a little girl in there kicking away we can get her nursery sorted. At the moment that room is a bit of a dumping ground. It was my dressing room but things have just been dumped in there, including lots of clothes I still need to sort through. My plan is to get things tidy so we can start that nursery at the end of May on my week off. We want to steam clean the carpets and get everything sparkling clean before we start moving furniture in. We've been given a chest of drawers that needs painting and the rest of the furniture we need to buy or source. 

I've always visioned a white nursery and as our house is rented we can't really paint anyway. But I do have some polka dot wall stickers I'd like to put up. The rest of the colour will be from furniture, toys, books and accessories. I am planning to make a few prints of my own and other accesories will be sourced from charity shops and carboots. I'm refusing to spend loads of money on things when we can make it look just as pretty on a budget. 

I'm going to blog the makeover of the nursery, including some horrendous before pictures. We just need to get started on it now!

[Baby] It's a . . . & 20 week update

Can you guess what we're having? It's a little girl and we're so excited. The Mr said it was the other night as we both made guesses, although neither of us had a clue! I'm sure he will gloat about it for a few days. We made a reveal video for our friends and family and you can watch that here if you'd like.

 

I can't believe that we are half way through already. It seems to have gone so quickly already. There's still so much to sort out but I think now we know what sex the baby is we can start getting sorted. I can't wait for a shopping trip to get all the little bits and pieces we've been looking at for months.

My belly has definitely "popped" and there's no hiding it now. Although Strangers still don't realise I'm pregnant yet, so no chivalrous moving out of my way/seats etc. As for the past month it's been a bit up and down. From 16 - 17 weeks I felt good, my energy came back and then as soon as I hit 18 weeks I think baby had a growth spurt and I felt rundown and exhausted. I had to have a couple of days of work which did me the world of good. I think it was my body telling me to slow down. But since then I'm back to normal.

I've been feeling little kicks and it seems that the baby is nocturnal at the moment (which is not good!) as it's more active at night. Although that's when I sit down so can notice it more, I hope. I'm really excited for when the Mr can feel the kicks too although it's nice at the moment knowing that it's just me who can feel them. Feeling those little kicks certainly make up for feeling rough in the early days.

I can't wait to share little DIY's with you and the nursery makeover. But for the meantime I need to sort out that huge pile of clothes.