10+2

this little darling is our tiny little scrobble at 10+2 weeks. NOT the 13 weeks i had been previously told i was. so, it is with some reluctance that i head back in time with my little one [i really felt a sense of accomplishment upon reaching 12 weeks], but with a huge sense of relief that the little one is doing well. growing as expected. heart beating like the clappers. and dancing around deep inside of me like a gud 'un. this baby can throw some shapes already!

this tiny little creature is our child. and i'm completely in love with him/her already.

in addition to this good news, we get to go back in two weeks and do it all over again so the little one can be given a due date. i estimate it will be a late april date but i predict a may baby. which makes me smile. we like may in this house. my boy's birthday is in may and we also get married in the same month so it's a happy time for us so a may baby would be welcomed in this house. obviously, we dont really care when bebe decides to come, so long as he/she comes along safe and sound and happy.

i hope to be having this conversation again in two weeks, with another picture. this shit is addictive. i cannot stop looking at that picture of the little peanut.

most of all, i'm surprised by how much this very quick scan [the sonographer didn't want us to hang around after putting me at 10 weeks], i love this tiny little being already.

we are ready for this shit.

ready. and excited.

i'm also beginning to enjoy being pregnant. and rather oddly, i'm looking forward to becoming a bloater.

but not as much as i'm looking forward to meeting scrobble for the first time.

day 88

by vika bakirova

so, we made it to 12 weeks. 12 weeks and 3 days to be precise. the day we reached 12 weeks was a good day. the first day i've felt semi human in a while and the 1st day of mb's return from oz. i was a happy lady.

then came 12 weeks and 1 day. and everything changed. i felt generally crappy again, something i'm now used to, although not entirely comfortable with. but more obscure than that, reaching 12 weeks brought with it a whole new host of worries. i'd quite easily say i'm more anxious now than i have been in the previous 5 weeks.

i've wondered what the real reason for this is.

could it be that our scan is coming up in 4 days time and i'm anxious to hear that everything is ok?
could it be that, although i definitely do not feel well, i feel considerably better and that is confusing my mind?
could it be the very recent onset of stomach aches and cramps?
or could it be the constant lower back ache i'm now adding to my list of pregnancy ailments?

either way, the combination of all of these are making me worry more than i probably need to. i just wish friday would hurry up and get here. already. so i can put my mind. at. rest.

another thing i think is a high contender are dopplers. now, before now, i've always been pretty laid back about the pregnancy affair. i'm not overly fussy and am quite happy to wait until our scans to see and hear our baby. i've heard of people using dopplers at home before and have heard how addictive they become and how they can, if you're that way inclined, make you worry more....

...my good friend donated a doppler to me the other day - i think it's safe to say i wouldn't have gone out of my way to buy one - but i was very happy to receive the donation from her. i put it away neatly and didn't give using it much thought for a little while as mb was away and i didn't want him to miss out on hearing srobble's heartbeat for the first time - i also thought it was too soon to be able to hear it. it wasn't until i saw online you can hear the heartbeat from around 12 weeks that i thought excitedly, 'let's give it a go'. i honestly, didn't expect to hear anything and i didn't really know what i was doing with it. so, it's no surprise then that we couldn't find a heartbeat. 'nothing to worry about', i told myself and mb. 'the scan is on friday, i still feel distinctively pregnant - everything is ok, i just dont know what i'm doing with this machine' [and i still dont if truth be told].

so why, now, can i not STOP thinking about this and why i am worrying myself over it? i cannot get it out of my head. and now i have to wait four torturous days to find out if everything is ok.

i honestly, wish i'd not tried the doppler before the scan. i do think, that devices like this should come with clear cut instructions on how to use. after all - it's a medical device that really, only an expert should be using. and it makes me wonder how many other women have experienced the same worry after inadequately using one of these machines?

i'd be really interested to hear other ladies thoughts on this device and how many of you would recommend them to your pregnant friends?

i'm unsure of my conclusion so far, i guess i'll have a better stance on the matter come friday but i DO think that they should not be used lightly. all manner of worry and alarm can come from it. if you have a medical condition or history that requires that level of monitoring then sure, these machines can be VERY helpful. but surely they should come with more than a paragraph or two of vague instructions. i mean, the one i used doesn't even tell you what to do if you dont find a heartbeat.

i mean, really, what DO you do?

wait?

days 64 - 78

image credit

what a week or so its been. totally uneventful, but not inside my body.

the last few days have been a barrage full of baby attacks. my body is now just a shell. a defunct, broken shell. i am not functioning properly anymore. this baby inside has stolen my energy, my sleep, my generally pleasant demeanour, it has given me lots* of trips to the loo, an insatiable appetite and a free breast enlargement**.

all in all the pregnancy is going really well but boy did I underestimate how unbelievably, earth shatteringly, exhausting this gig would be. and ladies, don't expect any sympathy from your piers and certainly not from piers of the female kind. you may be lucky to find a friend or two who have experienced*** this and completely understand, the rest, either have no clue or don't give a shit.

stick with those understanding buddies. when its 4pm, you're about to faint from hunger, you're stomach muscles have given up the ghost and the 12 hours sleep you're trying to get nightly are proving to be not enough, she's the only one who will understand what a limp lifeless person you've become. you will need this friend.

pregnancy with or without (to my surprise****) morning sickness is HARD WORK. don't let anybody make you feel bad for that. you're doing something amazing. fuck all the haters, there's loads of those bitches about and they'll get a big ole slap accross the chops when it happens to them. shame on them.

my mood, certainly, is starting to suffer as is my sleep but when all is said and done i am thrilled to be carrying this baby and tomorrow marks day 1 of our 11th week together. it also marks the first day we'll be home all alone. my boy has had to travel to australia and has left us to fend for ourselves for a whole week. i miss him terribly already - this gaff aint the same without him here. sending big love out to my boy and to all the ladies out there struggling through the first few weeks of their pregnancy. i am sending big sympathy and empathy. it is tough work sisters. but HELLA worth it.

two more weeks till we get to meet scrobble for the first time.

xoxo

*i mean seriously, is it normal to pee up to 5 times in the night?
** boy oh boy. what will happen to these puppies when the milk arrives. i'm scared but anxiously excited 
to see what happens there.
*** i'm lucky enough to have one of these [gemgem] and she totally rocks.
*** *another surprising side effect - anger. pure, unadulterated angst. especially towards twatty women who cant drive.

day 58 - 63

image from here via here

the last few days have been spent travelling about to share our news with our immediate family. and sleeping. lots of sleeping. and peeing. lots and lots of peeing.

we broke the news to our parents over the weekend and they were, to our surprise, not expecting the news. and to our enjoyment they were THRILLED. obviously.

still, it's nice to see them all so excited. especially as scrobble is by no means the first grandchild*.

we also met le castor. or i should say, her half squat counterpart, geraldine. she was nice. old school, but in the best way. i think. she seemed very chilled and was thrilled with our family health history and gave me top marks for having "the blood pressure of a child". this is great news for scrobble, but for me it means lots of dizziness and head-rushes. and if i push myself too hard, fainting too. i dont intend to push hard. at least, not for another 9 months.

she also informed me that as my bmi is 19, i'm classed in the nhs as 'starved**' so i get to have additional growth scans. this is excellent news. instead of the standard 2 scans, we get to see scrobble wriggling around inside me at least 4 times!! yippee.

i'm feeling relatively well still, and even managed to stay up till 10pm last night! though multiple night-time wees are still disrupting my beauty sleep, as are mental dreams! figure that wont go away anytime soon so i'd best put up and shut up.

i now have to wait an astonishing 4 weeks to get to our 12 week scan. how is it possible that they're going to make the most impatient woman in the uk wait that long. not that there is a fat lot they can do about that but boy the wait will prove hard for me. especially as mb is being shipped off to australia again for a week*** soon. how can i entertain myself?

all in all i'm well excited. i really cannot wait for that first scan to make sure scrobble is ok and dancing about as he/she should be. and so we can announce the news to all and sundry!

good times.
xoxo


*scrobble with be the 4th grandchild on mb's side. the FIRST on mine! :)
**there is no way on this god given earth that anybody that i know would describe me as starved
***who in their right mind would do this to themselves?