16 Weeks

Joel is 16 weeks old today!  And as cute as a button in his little white cardigan with a hood!

The Babycentre website says this for 16 week old babies:

When you place her on her stomach, your baby will lift her head and shoulders high, using her arms for support. This mini push-up helps strengthen her muscles and gives her a better view of what's going on. She may even amaze you (and herself!) by rolling from her back to her front, or vice versa. You can encourage this skill through play. Wiggle a toy next to the side she customarily rolls to in case she's interested enough to try again. Applaud her efforts and smile. She may need your reassurance since her new skill can be frightening. 

He has been doing more tummy time and pushing right up on his arms!  And not crying!  I guess that's progress.  We have his 16 week jabs next week on Tuesday so am not looking forward to those but he's not been too bad with the others and after those are done we can think about going swimming sometime!  We can't wait to teach him to be a water baby!!

Buggy Time

Little Joel has got a bit big for the carrycot on his pram so we've converted it to the buggy.
It's so brilliant! It goes front and rear facing so I still get to see him for now, and tilts right back for naps or he can sit up to see the world which he really likes too.
I really think it's a very funky pram system! Good old Mamas and Papas!

Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone from Virgin Media

Scan Day!

I was rudely awoken this morning at 5am by an odd beeping noise, that for some unfathomable reason didn't wake Steve until I woke him too!  We deduced it was coming from a smoke alarm I wasn't aware that I even had!  Right at the top of the stairs which is a silly place for it to be as it's practically unreachable.  Steve stood on a chair in his boxers trying to poke at it, and it stopped beeping so we went back to bed for it to start again 30 minutes later.

Why do these things always go off in the wee small hours?!

So up I got, I can't bear noise and Steve just pretends he can't hear it, rolls over and 'pretends' to be asleep.  He really is a Mr-ignore-it-and-it'll-go-away.  Just like the leaky pipe under the sink, and the perished rubber on the washing machine.  It's a good job I can ask my Dad for assistance on these things.  But I couldn't call Dad at nearly 6am in the morning so I found Steve's sword (yes, he has a sword that's been used for nothing until this point) and I whacked it until the beep went a little more robotic sounding and it stopped for a bit more until we were up at least.

Anyhow, back to it.  I was up and showered and dressed and back to work this morning.  I still felt a bit woolly in the head and was sneezing and coughing but felt well enough to go in.  At least for the 3 1/2 hours I was due in today.

11.30am we went to the hospital, we walked up as it's so much quicker than waiting to park and pay, and go there bang on time at 11.50 which meant we didn't have to wait very long, and in we went.

It was lovely to see the baby again, (I'm going to remain gender neutral here for the time being, although I do know, but Steve and I wanted to keep it a secret just for a couple of days to get used to it, and try names out and such!) and we saw the little hands and feet, and a face which was cute, the heart was going well, and all seemed in good working order with no reasons to worry!  Not like the horrid dream I had the other night where it was a conjoined twin with a small fetus attached to it's head.

So after that we headed up to Stoke for the Mamas and Papas factory shop and got ourselves a buggy!  It was a Rubix, and the last one in, half price in the sale, so it was £197 reduced from nearly £400.  Mum and Dad said as it was so cheap, they'd buy us the car seat as well which comes with a base and is what Steve thought would be more practical for the car, so that's all good too!

It's the liquorice colour rather than bubblegum as they didn't have the bubblegum in the shop but it is more gender neutral I think and it's three in one.  We measured it and it fits and is comfortable to push and I know it's not the silvercross I'd set my heart on, but that one didn't do face both ways whereas this one does and I think that's an important element so Steve is happy its sorted, and I'm pleased as I think it's traditional enough but with a modern twist too.

And now I'm thinking that I'll go to B&Q and Dunelm and buy the paint and some fabrics ready to do the nursery after Christmas (at the Mama and Papas shop, they had half price furniture which even Steve said we could buy!)

So all is well, and it's been a lovelyday.

Ooh, and to finish it all off, Steve bought me the pram charm for my bracelet which was lovely of him.

Can we have a new car?.....

I'm so very disappointed.  I got Steve to come up to Babies R Us this evening to show him the pram system I've set my heart on, and the sales lady took the car seat out to  our car, and couldn't get it to fit.  The seatbelt wouldn't go around the seat adequately. 

Steve doesn't accept that we need to get a bigger car.  His idea is that I change my mind and find a new pram system instead.  How rubbish is that :(  I've had my heart set on Silvercross for ages.  Well, at least since I saw the beautiful dream buggy a couple of weeks ago. (I'm half joking here!  But it pains me.)

I'm a traditionalist at heart, and I love the idea of pushing baby around in a lovely pram, with four wheels, and a solid pram top which baby can lie down in, and with the world class Silvercross suspension system.

Steve was getting bored, so randomly picked about set out which was the opposite to what I want.  It was all  black, and like a little blob of a pram on a modern three wheel base a bit like a shopping trolley.  It may be trendy and what all other modern mum's are having, but I'm old fashioned and my pram will have to be pleasing to the eye as well.

What to do now?  So disappointed.  And I have no idea what I want instead.  I'm not very good at shopping, so once I've made a decision, that's it.  'Can't fit' doesn't really occur in my train of thought.

Hmm.  Back to the drawing board.

Buggy Browsing

I'm not a shopper sort of girl.  I tend to get most things online and the thought of trailing around shop after shop really does not inspire me whatsoever.  I bought most of my wedding things online, even my dress (without trying on first!! Ssshhh!!)

But I had to admit buying the right buggy is something worth doing properly, and so my Mum and I headed off to Babies 'R' Us this afternoon.  Steve opted out after hearing the trip involved a few places ending at Trentham Gardens (a huge garden centre) which was probably for the best, so off we went.

It's ages since I've been in a Toys 'R' Us, and my word, they're full of everything.  Shelves stacked high of the most random toys you could imagine.  A parents nightmare I should think! If I had to spend too long in that section I'd have had a headache.

We found our way to the buggies, and there it was.  The lovely Silvercross.  It was light, manouverable, lovely colours, but in seeing it in person, there was a negative!!!  It doesn't collapse down readily, and you have to remove the pram section before putting it in a car, which means you need more room for the uncollapsable pram part too.  It's the solid handle, that means it's more bulky when collapsed whereas the two separate handles are slimmer = [see link to previous post]

However, they did have an offer on another Silvercross which at first look seemed girly with a pink stripe on grey - 'pink' exclaimed the attendant?  'No, that's red, very gender neautral'!!!   Hmm.  Ok.
But on closer inspection, yes, it was more a deep plum which I wouldn't mind putting a boy in to be honest.  It's the 3D pram in Henley.

This buggy seemed to have it all.  The same pram which converts to a buggy, and a car seat, cosy toes, and I forget all the rest.  It was also half price at £299 and if I went for this one, there was a free car seat as well worth £114.   Too good to be true??

The original Silvercross I liked was also on offer, but not quite as generously as that one, even though I cheekily enquired whether they could throw in a car seat to seal the deal?!  (answer - no!)

We then headed to a local baby shop in Newcastle-Under-Lyme (just around the corner from where my Grandad lived actually!) and we were expecting a hike in prices being a private shop, but they were very competative, and far more helpful really.  We came here as Mum had found they stocked the Hauck which was the other buggy set we'd looked at online.

And you do get what you pay for.  The Hauck was a cheaper model, the handles weren't as comfortable as the Silvercross and it just didn't look as cosy.

I think Mum and I were both sold on the Ventura Henley model which they didn't have in that shop (although they could order it in for us) and in the window, they had the same offer on the model - a free car seat with the buggy, whether that comes with a 50% discount I don't know.  And the Babies 'R Us offer could end any day!!  Pressure!!

I think it's going to definitely be the Silvercross.  It's so exciting to think in about 22 weeks time there will be a baby to put in it!!

Feeling Rested

Well good morning.

I am pleased to say that I slept well last night and my weird groin ache seems to have dissipated over night.  I hope it stays away!

I woke up early and began sorting out books from the spare room into keep and get rid piles.  It's hard.  I love my books and my keep pile is still more than twice the size of the get rid pile but most of them are my childhood books which could be boxed up and kept somewhere until baby is of an age to read them.

I've also completely cleaned the kitchen, bleached the sink, disinfected all the surfaces, washed up everything I could find.  It was Steve's turn, but if I were to wait for him to do his fair share of household chores I'd be waiting a long time and the washing up would probably have walked out in disgust.  It's so much nicer clean.  Steve has yet to recognise the difference between 'tidy' and 'clean'.  He's an 'out of sight, out of mind' sort of boy.  Never mind.  He'll learn!

It's a 2.00pm today when my Mum will collect us to go to Babies 'R' Us.   I'm quite excited about that!!  Pram testing and goodness knows what else we'll find!!

Cold Wet 5th November

I've had to walk home in the rain, so I went with my normal head down, into the rain, fast paced get home quick sort of walk.


Then I had to stop as I had some weird pain at the bottom of my bump going down into my pelvis.  It made me catch my breath and stoop!  I couldn't stand up straight, and I then had to walk a bit hunched and a lot slower to get home.

It's OK now though, I'm warm and dry and rested, but I looked up pains during pregnancy on google and wished that I hadn't.  It's probably me being very over dramatic, but as it's all so new to me, every little gives me a worry!  Especially a weird pain like that which I've not felt before.  And pelvic related.  I guess I'll mention to my midwife when next we meet, which is about another 6 weeks I think!  If it happens again I'll call them. 

On a brighter note, I'm going buggy testing to Babies R Us tomorrow afternoon with Mum and Steve has said he'll come too and play in Toys R Us until we have something for him to see.  I think that works for me!  That way, he won't be in the way, but I'll feel he can make a contribution of sorts.

Yay for baby shopping!  I'm sure I'll do more than look though :(

EDIT: I guess it felt better as I was sat down!  The effort of moving around the house after posting the above was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.  I hobbled around at my Guides meeting like an old lady, wishing I could have stayed at home with my feet up, feeling the aches in my pelvis and a 'pull' at my groin.

Was very glad to get to bed at 9.30 with the house to myself as Steve was at the cinema with Joe.  Izzy came up for a company although seems to have left me at some point once I was asleep!!

I'm sure rest will do wonders but if it's like that by Monday again, I think I'll be popping to my dr's to enquire as it's better to be safe rather than sorry.

Dream Buggy

Having gone browsing with my Mum on Monday and having a quick look in Mothercare, we were looking at the buggies and saw this beautiful one. Of course it would be a Silvercross, the Rolls Royce of classic design. And therefore a lot more expensive than the funky Hauck that Mum sourced via the internet.

But just look at it:

 Isn’t it pretty?! I love the classic style, the charcoal colour! And it’s twice the price for less accessories as the car seat isn’t even included :(

But with sales and mum’s excellent ability to locate bargains on the internet we may have found it for a bit cheaper and under £300, and both Mum and Dad think it’s a really attractive buggy and the reviews are good, but the only con we can see is that it’s not ideal for a small boot. Well, our boot is not that small (not sure where the dog would go on journeys) but we may be going to try it out at the weekend!!!  And we could maybe just buy the extra car seat for £120!!!

I also relented and purchased a maternity coat. The fact that the buttons literally popped off my black jacket was enough to realise that I can’t just wear a normal coat anymore. And it’s cold. And I’ll be wearing it through to April so off to New Look we went where I’d seen about three to choose from.

I tried on a Dolly coat first, but with gathers above the chest (not a good look on me even before pregnancy) it really made me look terrible and gave me a 90 year old woman shape.

So there was one other style in two colours, a double breasted military swing sort of coat, and the grey one was ok by me, so that was that!

We also then had a quick look in Dunelm at the their nursery bedding ranges. I’ve said all along I don’t want the neutral sort of colours that you get in main ranges as they’re all very beige!! There’s only so many beige teddy bears I can take. I want something tasteful, but with a bit of colour. So I was quite taken with the ‘Sleepy Owl’ range. It’s gender neutral, with citrus bright colours in orange, lime and lemon but I felt it wasn’t too much. And the little owls are very cute and quite different from the beige bears which are not for me.

There was another range that I liked which was certainly more suitable for a girl called ‘Daisy and Me’ which has little fawns and is pink and blue so whether we opt for a pinker room if we find out baby is a girl I don’t know. I guess Sleepy Owl would suit either and if there were a second baby to use the nursery it would make better sense to keep it gender neutral.

And no, I’m not thinking second babies as yet because that would be crazy!!!

Lots to think about at the moment, but the first thing to do really is empty the spare room which will take forever as it’s full of my books. And I can’t get rid of them, as a lot of them are childrens’ books I loved and want to pass on to my children. My Enid Blyton collection, and beautiful hardback story books I actually bought years ago for my children – Beatrix Potter, Peter Pan and the Wombles!! Mind you, that sort of thing will go on a baby bookshelf. I’ll have to do a very harsh clear out and find new homes for the ones that I really can’t get rid of. Then the wardrobe will have to go (it’s an old one from my Grandma’s) but it’s handy for all my clothes that don’t currently fit. Then the spare bed and Steve’s second computer desk!! (He’s a bit cross thinking that he will have to move computers around but I’ve never even seen him use it once since he set it up).

Hmm, anyway, that’s a task for an empty weekend! Maybe this next Saturday I could start?! I think I maybe nesting!!!

Buggy

It seems there may be some form of tradition to say grandparents buy the buggy for a baby, or maybe it's just my parents!  Anyway, as they bought Sarah and Aaron's buggy for Theo and Isaac, they've said they'll buy us one too.

Mum's been internet browsing and has found this one, of which I prefer the 'lollipop turquoise' to the orange, red and black versions and it has lots of different bits to see baby through to toddlerhood.

It's a newish make, Mum thinks it's taken over from another company, I've forgotten the name, but the reviews I've seen have been positive. 

I like the pram for newborn, carry cot for the car etc.. and then the buggy for older baby, and there's a nice compartment underneath for shopping, and a bag for bits and bobs.

Mum also says four wheels are better than three (practical rather than trendy!) and a solid handle rather than seperate ones are easier if you need to use one hand eg:  when walking with the dog.

Hmm, I wonder how Izzy will get on with walking nicely beside a pushchair!!  She's learning how to walk to heel at the moment, and she knows it, she'd just rather do her own thing.  We're keeping on with the training though :)