CharlieBeth's "My Life As Mumma Walker"

It's been a busy few days! Tuesday we had a playday with Conner at Jens. Yesterday I took Jack to the library (where he was a total horror and had to be brought home early and put to bed!) and today we've had a playday with Katie at Kathys. Tomorrow Nana's coming over. I am utterly worn out! Mark's agreed to take Jack out on Saturday to give me some time off and I really need it! Squiggle is in full on wiggle mode. I haven't had it confirmed yet (because I don't see the midwife for ages) but I'm certain this baby has started to drop into my pelvis. My belly has changed shape, is rock hard most of the time, and I am having the worst discomfort in my right leg. If I sit for too long it's just stops working. I can put weight on it fine, but I can't lift it. I end up shuffling across the floor like Igor! I think baby must be resting on a nerve or something when I'm sat. But at the same time I can't spend for ever on my feet either because the

I have felt so uncomfortable and off all day. I woke up not feeling right, and have continued to feel icky all day. I have lower back ache too, and can't bend over as well as before - and I couldn't bend much before! Plus my belly button is doing funny things... it's sticking out but only at the top. 40 days to g to the due date.... 19 until Squiggle in considered "Term" and safe to be born. I find myself hoping Squiggle will make an early appearance (without the hospital forcing it), although not 19 days!!! I do think this baby has started to drop into my pelvis. It seems this is normal enough for this stage. I don't recall being as tired and achy as this last time at this stage. After all, I was still working at this point last time, even if it was a desk job by now. Jack and I haven't done anything today short of a trip to the tip and Wickes with Mark, and I still feel wiped out! Possibly because we've done so much over the last few days and it

Just got back from taking Jack swimming. I don't think we've been sice we were in France... To be honest I haven't been happy at the idea of taking him swimming when it's winter incase he gets a chill on the way home. Silly I know, but that's how I felt. Anyway. The weather is warmer now, and although today is too damp to go to the park as I'd planned, it's ideal for a swim at the baths! He was a little freaked out at first - I think he'd forgotten how to swim. His head went under a few times including when he first went down the toddler slide, but he soon got over it and was having fun with the other kiddies messing about with floats and actually going up and down the slide continuously for almost half an hour! He tried out the spa pool, but wasn't sure about the bubbles, and the big pool, where he had to cling onto me because he can't reach the bottom. In the end we only came out at 12 because he was getting hungrey! For me it was really

Jack masters the Cargo Net! Originally uploaded by chiggster Two trips to the park in two days! Jack must think all his birthdays and christmases have come at once! But since Daddy needs the space and the quiet to get on with the DIY, and as the weather is good, it seems foolish NOT to go to the park! Today Jack figured out the cargo net on the toddlers climbing frame. He'd watched another older girl be tought how to climb up by her dad - and she wasn't having any of it despite him giving her very good instructions. As soon as they moved off he wanted a go! I gave him a helping hand the first couple of times he went up, showing not to over reach his legs, giving him a push on the bum to get an extra bit of lift... but it was only a short period of time before he had it sorted! So now it's up the net, across the bridge and down the slide instead of just up the steps. If only I could convince him to WALK over the bridge instead of crawl....

When I was little 6 weeks seemed like forever.... like the school summer holidays stretching out before me. Squiggle is due in 6 weeks. It is VERY unlikely that I will be permitted to go over my due date so it's fairly safe to say that in 6 weeks (give or take a couple of days) SQUIGGLE WILL BE HERE! If not sooner.... At this point with Jack - although I didn't know it at the time - I had less than 5 weeks left of being pregnant. I'm not ready. The house isn't ready. NOTHING IS READY! Mark is now on with the loft. He had a very frustrating day yesterday when he worked himself to death and didn't manage to achieve a fraction of what he had intended. I had thought his plan of getting it all sorted by the end of this weekend was optimistic, not that I had told him that. I think it'll be more like next weekend. I think he's feeling the same way after yesterday. We don't talk about it. It's got him wound up so it's best to just let him get on wi

GD Growth Chart 2 Originally uploaded by chiggster I called back into the RLI today to collect my notes. So now I have my scan details and I can update my chart and convert the measurements into ones I undertsand >_< Weight: 2373g (5 and a bit pounds, normal) Leg: 64.2mm, Head: 318.6mm, tummy:303.5mm. Following the chart nicely! I seem to have got my appitite back at long last. Mark did a carbonara for tea last night and I'd scoffed mine before he was half way through, and I could have eaten more! I woke up starving today too, and I'm so thirsty... I could drink 20 gallons and still want more. What ever Squiggle is doing at the moment, it's using up everything I have to do it!

2nd Growth Scan Originally uploaded by chiggster Back to the hospital again for another scan and diabetes clinic... I love the scan part though! My mum came with me this time. We had a lovely lady do the scan for us. We were in there for a good half hour. Squiggle was facing my spine and refused to turn round and face us, so I was tipped back until I was almost upside down and jiggled ever so slightly until baby finally woke up and turned to face us, giving us a big yawn and a kick. We go to see the little nose and lips! There is deffinatly an Oakes chin there (from me and my dad) but the rest is pure Walker! We got a lovely pic, and the lady wouldn't take any money from me for it! She's clearly been charmed by my beautiful baby! Next it was the dreaded GD Clinic. It didn't kick off too well when the GD Midwife got my name wrong (yes, the same one who said Squiggle was massive, and that the placenta was round the front. Her) but we laughed it off and got on w

Things are starting to move again at long last! There's been a long break as Mark had some work (cheers Rob) for a couple of weeks, then we went to visit family, and then the tax credits people screwed up our money (still waiting for that to get sorted! Grr!). So we've had to wait until I got paid and then work out just how much we were able to spend... Today the stuff should be arriving for the loft! Apart from some fittings for the brackets which we'll need to pop into B&Q for. We've had to order stuff in for the loft instead of just go out and buy it because it was simply too big to fit in the car. That also means it's cost an extra £40 to have it delivered! A flaming cheek if you ask me! There wont be anything happening today though because I have my second growth scan this afternoon so mum will be over, and then Mark will be looking after Jack while I go for my scan. Plan is though that tomorrow morning we'll go to B&Q so he can get the bits he

This baby is getting VERY VERY close to being here! 50 days till the due date. 7 weeks tomorrow. We can expect Squiggle to arrive any time in the next 5 - 9 weeks, although the hosp are unlikely to let me go over due so it's more 5 - 7 weeks. As little as 36 days! (Although one of the ladies on my forum who was due the week after us HAD her twins last weekend! Told Mark that and freaked him out.) I'm in a bit of a flap to be honest. I'm not worried about the birth or anything like that, I'm worried that we don't have everything sorted. This morning I unpacked and then repacked my hospital bag, just to make sure that everything I think is in there actually is. Naturally it was... There are a couple more bits to go in (some more knickers, a toy for Jack "from Squiggle", bits n bobs) but nothing that I didn't already know about. I'm starting to fret that I haven't packed enough for Squiggle... Maybe a few more suits and vests? But I'm hopin

Using the BIG slide near Nanas Originally uploaded by chiggster A little video of Jack using the BIG BIG slide near Nanas! Quality is a bit rubbish, but it's off my phone so it will be.

After spending almost a week away from home we're finally back! It's nice to go away.... but it's nice to come home too. We spent the weekend with Mark's folks, calling in on my mum there and back for a few nights. It's going to be the last time before the baby comes though, driving is so hard for me now. My belly touches the steering wheel for one which means the slightest accident will have massive negative repercussions on Squiggle. Chances of a accident are hugely increased because my right buttock and leg keep ceasing up when I'm driving, which means that taking my foot off the accelerator and applying it to the brakes is difficult, agonizing... close to impossible. The whole thing wipes me out too, any more than 30 - 40 mins driving means I feel sick and can't eat afterward for hours, all I want to do is go to bed and sleep. That's pretty much how I am feeling right now, and I've only driven back from my mums. It wont be long before I'm ord

Squiggles First Growth Scan Originally uploaded by chiggster Yay! Found the scan! It was mixed up with Jack's DVDs.... odd. Anyway, this is Squiggle at the 28-29ish week growth scan. Baby's head is to the right, looking up and over to the left. If you're good with scans you can make out the profile: forehead, nose, lips & chin. Just wanted to share that with you all :o)

GD Growth Chart Originally uploaded by chiggster Things have moved on a lot since my last gestational diabetes rant. For one I have had a growth scan (but I have put the photo somewhere "safe" and now I can't find it to scan it in, grrr! I'll Flickr it later), and I have also had 2 more GD Clinic appointments. So lets cover the scan first! That's the BEST BIT! My dad came with me to this one and the lady who did the scan was lovely. She showed us loads of the baby and gave us a much longer scan that I think I would normally have had (I did make a point of it being the only scan my dad had ever seen and that he had come ever such a long way to see it). She even showed us Squiggles FACE! I had no idea you could see the baby's face so clearly on a standard scan. I thought you HAD to get one of those 4D efforts for that... Or maybe Squiggle was just being very cooperative, I don't know. But we saw baby's face. Squiggle even scrunched up it&#

That wasn't much fun. 16 days with no internet. Aside from being cut off from Facebook and so on, it also meant no internet banking, no preg forum, no online prescription renewals etc etc etc... Very disconcerting! Funny the things you miss, the ones you take for granted. Like mid conversation something is mentioned that you want to know more about. But you can't google it! And every day stuff like us trying to track down some of the Thomas & Friends stuff that Jack's loving at the moment and not being able to hop onto the net and seeing what's out there and  how much it is. But it's back now! Thanks very much to Bob who sent over the disk with the drivers and stuff on, and to my hubby who sat up late into the evening sorting it out. I lost patience with it all... Normally I'd tinker until it was fixed. But right now, with the baby and everything, I just couldn't be bothered. So WHOO HOOO! I'm BACK!!