On Tuesday Annie had her final 'booking-in' appointment with the midwife, which involves going through family history, explaining the next steps and trying in vain to spot our guinea pig.
In London I was having a fairly miserable day at work, when Annie sent me a simple 20-second video clip that made me smile from ear to ear. I was amazed at just how early you can hear a clear heartbeat and also at how fast it is.
This was the moment that it really hit me that we're going to have a baby this year, which sent my heart racing. Although we have already had one scan there is something a little more abstract about seeing a greyscale image of something the size of a kidney bean* on a screen and something incredibly real about hearing the sound of the little fella/fellaess.
A week today is the second scan which I'm getting very excited about. At this point apparently they can see arms, legs, fingers and eyes and stuff, which again is a sure fire sign of a living thing. Also fun about the second scan is the opportunity to procure a hard copy image of your baby that you can keep in your wallet forever. Now it's my turn to gleefully show others a picture of my baby in utero, and it's their turn to pretend that they can actually see it, a moment that is surely a proud day for any prospective parent?
Naturally I will do my utmost to get a picture of the scan uploaded at the earliest opportunity, and so will probably post again in about a week (one of the slowest of my life, I should imagine).
*while I'm on the topic, there seems to be some sort of bizarre food scale for measuring babies that appears of a number of reputable pregnancy websites. While I am all for using fruit as a scale for creating the idea of the actual size of the baby, it has not been properly thought through. It goes something like: a pip-a baked bean-a kidney bean-a lime-a plum-a cantaloupe melon-a banana-a grapefruit, at varying stages of the pregnancy. Firstly there is little difference between a plum and a lime, secondly there are few grapefruits I have encountered that are greater than a cantaloupe melon and thirdly a banana is a completely different shape from anything else in the list AND is, at least to my mind, one of the most variably sized fruits that I can think of. The system needs an overhaul.
Thursday 29 March 2012
Friday 23 March 2012
A little closer.
Today we are 10 weeks and 3 days which is starting to feel a bit closer to the end of the first trimester, somewhat like the feeling of a Thursday at work (conveniently).
Fortunately Annie's new anti-emetics seem to be doing the job, although still a bit hit and miss, and so she's able to think about and speak about the pregnancy a little more freely without it making her feel more nauseous.
Now the end of the first trimester is in sight, I've finally allowed myself to dip my toe in the vast sea of baby-commerce. Everywhere you turn when looking at infant equipment there's a huge range of diverse product and prices.
One of the vows we made, even before the pregnancy, was that when we had a child we would use reusable nappies as it's a) nice to feel like you're doing the best for the environment that you can and b) the payback period for them is very low, given the extortionate disposable-nappie racket, and the good ones are usable from birth to the age so you only need to buy them once. A lot of people still seem to think of disposable nappies as being huge white things made out of towling held together with an oversized safety pin. However they are quite different now and are available in a wide range of colours and patterns (surely if it's between a baby in an ugly white rustly disposable nappy and a nice camouflage reusable nappy it's a no-brainer?)
As well as this there's some variety in materials, including cotton, woo, micro-fibre, bamboo and minky (still not sure what that is), all of which have different properties (most notably varying degrees of absorption). Add to this the choice of adjustable poppers of velcro straps. Disposable nappies are an area that we still not research before coming to a decision on what to go for. There seems to be 2 basic choices: brand names, which look well engineered and well made but are at the top end of the market or the cheaper ones that are readily available on ebay, which look like they do the same job but there's always that doubt that it will live up to what you want (from what we've seen the ebay types have a better range of colours and patterns, so that gets my vote). Despite the fact that nappies deal with one of the most unappealing aspects of babies, they are the item we're most excited about getting.
The other thing we've been looking at is a pram. This is a consumer minefield like I've never witnessed before. Most of the options seem completely over-engineered and at prices that could make your eyes water. I fear that you won't really know what you require from a pram until you've got one and it doesn't really do what you need.
At the moment I think we need a pram that:
Fortunately Annie's new anti-emetics seem to be doing the job, although still a bit hit and miss, and so she's able to think about and speak about the pregnancy a little more freely without it making her feel more nauseous.
Now the end of the first trimester is in sight, I've finally allowed myself to dip my toe in the vast sea of baby-commerce. Everywhere you turn when looking at infant equipment there's a huge range of diverse product and prices.
One of the vows we made, even before the pregnancy, was that when we had a child we would use reusable nappies as it's a) nice to feel like you're doing the best for the environment that you can and b) the payback period for them is very low, given the extortionate disposable-nappie racket, and the good ones are usable from birth to the age so you only need to buy them once. A lot of people still seem to think of disposable nappies as being huge white things made out of towling held together with an oversized safety pin. However they are quite different now and are available in a wide range of colours and patterns (surely if it's between a baby in an ugly white rustly disposable nappy and a nice camouflage reusable nappy it's a no-brainer?)
As well as this there's some variety in materials, including cotton, woo, micro-fibre, bamboo and minky (still not sure what that is), all of which have different properties (most notably varying degrees of absorption). Add to this the choice of adjustable poppers of velcro straps. Disposable nappies are an area that we still not research before coming to a decision on what to go for. There seems to be 2 basic choices: brand names, which look well engineered and well made but are at the top end of the market or the cheaper ones that are readily available on ebay, which look like they do the same job but there's always that doubt that it will live up to what you want (from what we've seen the ebay types have a better range of colours and patterns, so that gets my vote). Despite the fact that nappies deal with one of the most unappealing aspects of babies, they are the item we're most excited about getting.
The other thing we've been looking at is a pram. This is a consumer minefield like I've never witnessed before. Most of the options seem completely over-engineered and at prices that could make your eyes water. I fear that you won't really know what you require from a pram until you've got one and it doesn't really do what you need.
At the moment I think we need a pram that:
- Suitable for children from birth to when they don't need it (which in my view is earlier than most kids that I see, but that's a rant for another time).
- Is small enough to fit into the boot of a modest hatchback.
- Can face forward or backwards.
- Has proper padding for when the baby is lying flat.
- Has some decent wheels so that it's not rattling around the whole time and so that it doesn't feel like a supermarket trolley the day before its retirement.
- Comes with a car seat that can be attached to the chassis.
So as you can see to get this for a reasonable price is maybe not mission impossible but certainly missions improbable. So far there I think the shortlist is :
- Obaby Monty Travel System - Berry - Good features, good price, doesn't look sturdy enough.
- OBaby ZeZu Travel System - Dotty Lime - Comes with full compliment of accessories, sturdy, much higher price tag.
At the moment these are the only 2 in serious contention, hopefully over the next few months we can see and test some others in person. If I had my way it would probably be a little like this.
I realise it's probably too early to start thinking about prams, cots, nappies, mobiles etc. but some of it is just a bit too cute to resist.
Unfortunately I haven't updated the blog nearly as often as I'd like, so apologies for the fact that this has ended up as the ramblings of a loon, I will try and make it a bit neater next time. We are currently waiting on the next scan date, which I am very excited about, having seen the little bean the first time a couple of weeks ago (partially because I'm still paranoid there could be 2 in there and that one was hiding behind the other in the first scan).
Until next time...
Monday 12 March 2012
Not been lazy.
It seems like forever since I last posted something on here but unfortunately it's not down to laziness.
I had to take the missus to the hospital on Tuesday 6th as a bit of research and common sense indicated that it probably isn't that normal or healthy to be vomiting 3-5 times a day.
We sat around in A&E for a while before being taken off and Annie was given a lie down and listened to a Transylvanian nurse make innumerable jokes about his origin and the fact that he needed to take blood. Annie coped very well with the situation and was kept in for 2 nights for fluids and antiemetics.
This gave us a chance to scout out the midwives at the hospital, who are a helpful and happy lot, so that provides some comfort for later in the pregnancy. Annie did very well despite the fact that she wasn't allowed to eat for 24 hours and was feeling very hungry, so there was a huge sense of relief when she was finally permitted some solids.
There was a period of time where we were kept on the edge of our seat/hospital bed when the nurse dropped a "bad sickness early on can be a sign of twins" bomb before declaring we'd have to wait until the next day to have our first scan. Fortunately there was only 1 bean-shaped thing in there but it was dated as a week shy of what we thought.
Since Thursday night Annie has been doing very well and is now eating and drinking properly again and has had a chance to enjoy some of the fine weather that's come around unexpectedly. Hopefully this means no more admission to hospital until the time is right.
I had to take the missus to the hospital on Tuesday 6th as a bit of research and common sense indicated that it probably isn't that normal or healthy to be vomiting 3-5 times a day.
We sat around in A&E for a while before being taken off and Annie was given a lie down and listened to a Transylvanian nurse make innumerable jokes about his origin and the fact that he needed to take blood. Annie coped very well with the situation and was kept in for 2 nights for fluids and antiemetics.
This gave us a chance to scout out the midwives at the hospital, who are a helpful and happy lot, so that provides some comfort for later in the pregnancy. Annie did very well despite the fact that she wasn't allowed to eat for 24 hours and was feeling very hungry, so there was a huge sense of relief when she was finally permitted some solids.
There was a period of time where we were kept on the edge of our seat/hospital bed when the nurse dropped a "bad sickness early on can be a sign of twins" bomb before declaring we'd have to wait until the next day to have our first scan. Fortunately there was only 1 bean-shaped thing in there but it was dated as a week shy of what we thought.
Since Thursday night Annie has been doing very well and is now eating and drinking properly again and has had a chance to enjoy some of the fine weather that's come around unexpectedly. Hopefully this means no more admission to hospital until the time is right.
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