20 Week Belly

Hello all you beautiful people....

I don't have too much to report on today but did take my 20week belly shot this morning and boy has it grown suddenly!!!

[click to enlarge]


I went to Mica yesterday and bought some cornices but they were made out of polystyrene and Oli told me they would not work so I need to take them back. I'm not even sure in the first place why these companies make flimsy cornices if they are just going to break anyway. I have taken the day off tomorrow to (hopefully) complete the painting of the room so asked Oli if he could go today to find the correct cornices. What we are wanting to do it to glue them to the middle of the wall where the two colours join and then place the wallpaper picture strip just above. We did the same for Morgan's room and it looked lovely.

Lastly, for those interested I have advised the moderators of FC that I quit and couldn't be happier with my decision. I have found a new home with the most amazing ladies (including moderators) and most importantly pregnant and TTC members are treated equally.. Thanks again for the invite Jacky - had I known the place existed I would have been there a lot earlier.

Ultrasound Yesterday

First of all I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the new blue that I chose and although my husband says he preferred the darker colour - I think I made the right choice...I only managed to paint a small section but you'le get the idea.

Oh and I just had to add a picture of my naughty Jack Russell Oscar - he is sitting like a real little poof!!!





As for my ultrasound - it all went very well and I managed to ask him all the questions I had listed. My little man was moving all over the place as usual but at one point was lying with his legs stretched out and feet crossed at the ankles like he was on holiday in there hehe .... I guess he should enjoy the space while he still has it.
I asked the dr. to take another look at my placenta and it is quite frankly - all over the place. It was on top of baby and down the sides etc. However, he did say that it is not low enough to interfere with my c/s - which btw has been booked for 9 July. He did say that in about 6 weeks or so it should have moved up a lot more. He picked up a bladder infection so has put me on antibiotics which I need to go and collect today - so thank goodness we found this out early rather than later.
I must say it was a very uncomfortable scan because he was pressing so damn hard on my stomach and it really hurt!! He was trying to get me a profile pic of baby's face but because of my placenta being in the way it just wouldn't work. Anyway after the scan he told me to go to the lovely lady in maternity ward where their 3D scanner is so I could get a printed picture of baby's face. We went through there and she was so gentle on my stomach and we still managed to see just as much if not more!!! Again we got confirmation that it is definately a little boy so if there was any kind of doubt whatsoever it has been erased. We didn't get our face shot though because like the last time, he was hiding it up in my placenta...!
I also asked him if I could take rescue remedy or something just to calm me down because I seem to have become very highly strung and emotional and sometimes I just don't like myself at all. He told me to get "Biral" - a herbal supplement, which he says has a very good calming effect and is (obviously) 100% safe.

Pregnancy & TTC Forums

Alright ... I seem to be completely up to date now with goings on in a certain local forum that I frequent [and I speak NOT of Fertility Friend which I love]. As I have said before - I have always felt the need to watch my P's and Q's in there and could never fully relax. Always feeling like someone was watching over my shoulder while I typed...

All the ladies that have left the forum by choice or by force have been nothing but amazing!!! I do get the impression that simply being pregnant is a sin. Why then, was a pregnancy room created? Supposedly to support those who had achieved pregnancy after being on the long and painful TTC road? Yes been there done that!!! But instead it has become a prison where you are constantly monitored, on the off chance that you unintentionally offend those still TTC. I doubt very much that 90% of the ladies ttc are bitter at all but it certainly does not help having a person in charge that seems to do nothing but wallow in self-pity.

To the powers that be - try being on both sides of the fence like Mandy-Leigh for one - who has been nothing short of amazing through all her heartache - putting her pain to one side to still follow the blogs of those she considers friends - pregnant or not pregnant!! The issue awhile ago came up about "babydust" - for fuck's sakes!!!! Have some people got nothing better to do than complain about a well-intentioned remark without disecting it and finding something in that that is grossly offensive???

Bitter self-loathing will take you on a path to self-destruction. Allow those who are pregnant to bask in all its glory and shout it from the rooftops [in the confines of the pregnancy room of course] - it is their God given right! But it seems even when they are posting in what they consider to be their own personal space (i.e. their blogspots), they are being penalised??? Who is it that has such a miserable life that they feel the need to spend every waking moment looking for reasons to punish someone for being pregnant??

To all the other pregnant ladies in there that plan to stick around - MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!!

As for me - I QUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

20 Week Ultrasound Today

On Saturday we took Morgan to her school function (picnic/braai) and met the other parents but in all honesty I wanted to faint the whole time. The temp was around 33/34 deg and there was not even the slightest hint of a breeze. We snuck out with another set of parents before anybody else and headed straight for Shelly Centre for a movie.... Wow!! when we walked into the shopping centre it was like walking into a fridge - what a pleasure!! Sadly, the movie was total waste of time. As usual Oli got his way and we watched an action called "Killshot" with Mickey Rourke.. the biggest load of crap I've seen in a very long time. My choice was going to be "He's just not that into you" which I know would have been a good show but he's promised to take me to a movie sometime now during the week so I'm certainly going to cash in on that promise!!

This afternoon I have my 20 week scan and as usual I am a little nervous. I guess it just comes with the territory. I hope my little man is still growing strong and healthy and can't wait for the doctor to give me an estimate on his weight right now. As for movements, I'm still patiently waiting for a good solid kick but sometimes I think he lies right at the back for a few days because I feel such little movements and then suddenly a few days later he's back to reassure me of his presence. My girls are really jealous that they can't feel him yet and my little one kisses my belly every night before bed time - but not before asking me where he is at that point. Hopefully I will have a nice profile pic of belly bean to add tomorrow..

Pictures

It's late Sunday afternoon now and my feet are killing me. I spent most of the afternoon painting only one wall - just to see how it would look. I completed the top bit which was Matt and once I painted the blue at the bottom there was just something I did not like at all. Firstly the colour looked off (too blue?) from the one I had selected on the chart and secondly it seemed to just stay wet and shiny. I read the paint tin again and it said "sheen or gloss finish"... Boy was I spitting mad!! I immediately called the guy at the Mica branch where I had bought it and explained to him that the paint for the top (from a different Mica) was not only half the price of his paint but it was a matt finish which I liked and the paint his staff had supplied for the lower portion of the wall was gloss. The two together made me want to vomit ***mad***** .... I told him that I was not asked at all by the person mixing the paint whether I would prefer high gloss or matt and since I am the average person off the street assumed they only give glossy paint if you are using it for a bathroom. Anyway - long story short, he offered to take the paint back if I point out the salesman since he is supposed to check customer's preferences. He will mix a matt finish paint for me and pay me back the balance as it is apparently quite a bit cheaper. I need to mention to him too that I want a blue with a little more "smokiness" in as this bright blue is just refusing to grow on me no matter how many times I look at it.

Anyway - I have attached some pictures but bear in mind that these will probably be the before pics because I really feel that the top and bottom are mismatched even though they were paired in a Dulux catalogue... *sigh* Oh well - I think I'm going to put in leave on Friday so I can fix up this mess.

[Click pictures to enlarge]



Morgan watching mommy at work - she helped a little bit too..


Oooh shocker - what was a grayish / very light cream on the catalogue has turned into purple???? Hopefully it will change when it dries


So far so good but wow is that blue blue!!!


Hmmmm - shiny blue??? looks like a workshop and NOT a baby's room!!


On the bright side - the top colour has settled nicely....

*******

It's Monday morning and I have that paint packed in my car so after work today I'm going to replace it with a paint that a more subtle, dusty blue...


Anyway I have loaded a couple of pictures of baby's clothes as my mom is visiting my sister in Jhb (who keeps up to date with my blog) and I wanted her to see what her little grandson has so far....




...the blue sandals were a present from my daughter Kaylah



Notice the bottom of the picture - see my belly getting in the way?

Yay its Friday!!

I have mentioned in previous posts that I have felt movement but all this time they were more like swimming movements or a hardness in a particular area of my belly, sometimes gentle popping sensations which I could never 100% be certain is him. But last night I felt my first definite, no-mistaking-this-for-gas, baby kick!! I can't say it was a hard kick since his little feet are only about 3cm long but it was on the left side where I knew his legs were since I had kind of guessed at how he was lying by feeling my tummy. I was so happy I wanted to dance hehehe. silly huh?
Then about 10 minutes after that I felt a pressure on the same spot and when I put my hand over it I felt a small bony thing which I assumed to be the foot ... of course he quickly pulled away from my prying hand. Oooooh I can't wait for the family to have fun with him!!

On to other things - there is a get together for parents at Morgan's school tomorrow. I probably would have come up with some feeble excuse to not take her but she has been so excited about mommy and daddy going with her to school that there is no way in hell I would let her down.
As for the rest of my weekend - I really really want to get started on the painting of the room so hopefully Oli is of the same frame of mind and perhaps we can get started on Sunday....?

I mentioned before that baby's room does not have built-in cupboards so I ordered two single door cupboards to be made up for me. Why separate cupboards you may ask. This is because space in the room is pretty tricky. At the bottom of the cot behind the entrance door there would be just enough space for a cupboard the size of a linen cupboard and again on the other side of the room the same size cupboard behind the bathroom door. I have asked that one cupboard be only shelves and the other to have a 60cm space above the shelves with a rod for hanging baby's clothes. I am still shopping around for a chest of drawers / compactum and may even get the same guy to make them up for me as well since his prices are very reasonable. I really hope the quality is not bad though so we will have to wait about 2 weeks for the arrival of the first cupboard.

As far as the pregnancy is going, I am 19w3d now. Last night was my first night of struggling to get comfortable but I have a feeling its because baby was lying right down low on my bladder. I could have just stayed on the toilet the whole night the way I was running back and forward to it every five minutes. The heartburn has really kicked in something chronic now but the pharmacist recommended last week that I not take Rennies as it makes the problem worse by trapping the gas (I suppose its like putting a lid on a volcano - pressure build up so when it pops off its so much worse). I am taking Eno Tums instead - not only do they taste much better - like different flavouried fruity sweets, but their active ingredient is calcium carbonate. I have found that this is helping so much more than any other stuff I have tried and this coupled with the fact that I am giving my bones extra calcium - what more could I ask for. As for Gaviscon liquid ... a TOTAL waste of time... it works for pretty much 5 minutes after you have taken a sip and then the acid breaks through.

I need to start watching what I am eating very carefully because yesterday and today when I climbed on the scale I seemed to have shot up 1.5kg's in 1 week???? Must be something wrong because that's just not possible. That said - it still freaked me out enough to lay off the white bread today and for breakfast I had Oude Caap Low GI bread with bean sprouts, low fat cream cheese and a piece of shaved ham. I know I have slipped because the constipation has come back to bite me in the ass so to speak. So back to lots of fruit, vege's and wholegrains and quit the chocolates and sweets for a while. Oh and suddenly I am a big fan of coca-cola which must also stop - its poison!! Today, however, I have stuck to water and lots of it....
I am contemplating walking with my daughter in the mornings but ... like I say ... contemplating
watch this space ....

Upcoming Ultrasound

Picture courtesy of my darling sister Cheryl ... gotta love it (note to self - watch Oliver with son at all times)

Can you believe I am 19 weeks and 2 days already? Wow! Where did the time go. I am still only feeling a lot of swimming type movements and definately know when baby is awake but the kicks when I do feel them, I kind've wonder was it or was it gas? The other night I was lying in a bubble bath and kept feeling a little popping sensation in the middle of my belly. I initially put it down to gas and then wondered if it could be kicks. I closed my eyes and felt them again, and again - deep in the pit of my stomach... but hang on .... how stupid am I???? These were so consistent which could only mean one thing.....BABY HICCUPS!!! hehehe - I actually laughed out loud I was so happy.
There is another story I feel I need to make a note of since I had very nearly forgotten about it. When I went for my 3D last Tuesday, she was taking all baby's measurements including trying to look at the bladder. At one point she briefly skimmed past the little black circle in baby's tummy, pointing out to me that it was the bladder. She moved on to take measurements of another part of the anatomy and on returning to the bladder - it had all but disappeared. Of course I was a little nervous by this as I needed to know that baby's kidneys were functioning properly. She then laughed and told me baby had just had a pee!!! Something I will NOT be saying should it happen a few years from now but .... HOW ADORABLE!!!!! He pee'ed in my stomach hehehehe. She went about checking other parts of the anatomy and on coming back to the bladder 10 minutes later it had already been refilled. Music to my ears, baby was swallowing amniotic fluid and pee'ing it out like a little champ [insert VERY proud grin here]..

My ultrasound is on Monday and I'm so looking forward to seeing baby again. I have a couple of questions which I need to ask and this time I really am going to assert myself with the gynae. I am so tired of walking out of an appointment pretending to be happy with his stupid mumblings in answer to my questions when in actual fact I leave even more confused...!!
The first thing would be the Ecotrin he has me taking up until 38 weeks. This is a very low dose of aspirin which thins the blood. Usually given to women in pregnancy who have suffered repeat miscarriages, have had high blood pressure in previous pregnancy, or developed pre-eclampsia in previous pregnancy. I have not suffered any of the above so why? - I asked him at my last U/S app and he simply replied "its to keep the placenta healthy" okay dr so when do I stop taking it - his reply "at 38 weeks". I know two other patients of his that are currently pregnant and neither were prescribed this pill so why me? Surely 38 weeks is far to late to stop taking the pill because I am having a cesear and we all know aspirin thins the blood reducing your chances of blood clotting which could be fatal in such an operation. Anyway - I simply have to tell him that I was not happy with the answer he gave me and would like a detailed explanation as to why he felt it necessary to put me on this shit.... afterall this is my baby and my body and long after the dr is gone I will be stuck with any long lasting effects of this, if any.
Then I will tell him that I need a detailed scan. The last scan he raced through - he did not listen to the heartbeat, he did not take any other measurements except crown to rump and threw me back a week again. Eventually at the end he decided to measure the femur and what do ya know????? I am actually right about my dates and he was way off!!! Stupid quack!! Let me remind you that I have a video taping these scans so it is important to me to get all the measurements including BPM of heart so if need be later in the pregnancy I can make comparisons in the comfort of my own home without calling his offices every five minutes to look it up in the file.

Then of course its the anterior placenta question. He mentioned to me at the last app. that I had an anterior placenta but gave me no further information. I want to know if it right in front and over my scar? therefore making a cesaer to dangerous to perform? Or is it half at the top and in the front? At what point does it start migrating upwards?

Sigh .... I know it sounds like I'm complaining but I get so worked up before these appointments because I know he disappoints me every time. This is a special time for me and surely its his duty to make it feel that way. This is the reason I have opted to see a midwife between gynae app's so that every 2 weeks I am seeing someone. As mentioned in previous posts, she is amazing - I love her, she is thorough and caring and everything that my gynae should be. Yes you may be asking why Im sticking with him? Well the other gynae's here where I stay have practiced here only and I'm a little nervous of small town dr's especially when it comes to cutting my stomach open. My dr. practiced in Martizburg and is a friend of my dr in Jhb (the one who delivered my daugher). He is very well known in the Durban circles and comes highly recommended. So there you have it ... his bedside manners may leave a lot to be desired but he knows his stuff!!