Pregnancy Update // Birthing Plan

As a result of being on Fragmin my whole birthing plan has pretty much been taken away from me. I now have a list of things I can't have and can't do which is upsetting as I feel as though the whole experience is out of hands and everything that I wanted has been taken away from me. My original plan was to stay at home until the contractions were a certain amount of times apart in 10 minutes and then use the birthing pool and gas and air when I was admitted to the birthing unit.

Instead I have been told that once my waters have broken I am to go straight into the delivery suite and not the birthing unit. I can't have a birthing pool and I can't have an epidural (not that I wanted one anyway but the option would have been nice). I have also been told that if I feel like I am going to go into labour that day then I shouldn't inject myself. I don't know how you are supposed to tell in the morning if you feel like you are going to go into labour that day but hey! 

The doctors were very vague when they were explaining this situation to me and just kept repeating that they were very sorry and that all these things were necessary incase I was to bleed out during labour. Definitely not what I needed to hear.

So providing things go as smoothly as they can during my birth there are a few things that I am determined to keep the same. I want my fiance to cut the cord and I want our baby to go to him first so he has the first skin to skin contact. He's my massive support system and has been my rock during this pregnancy and I want to be able to give something back to him and I feel that this is it.

My due date is on the 17th of march so I have just 2 weeks left to go. I am getting to the stage where I am going insane and want to get this baby out but I am also trying to enjoy having my last free days before our little girl arrives!

Is anybody else at this stage in their pregnancy? If so, how are you doing and what are your birthing plans?

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // Week 38 // Fragmin Injections

In my past 3 months of living here I have had 10 admissions to triage at Gloucester Royal. This is mainly due to light spotting, an ambulance ride from Tesco, and blood clots in my left leg. I was aware that this was something that might happen as my sisters had both had problems with this during and after pregnancy but I didn't believe it would happen to me because of how active I was. However, in the last month or so I feel like I have hit a wall. I am exhausted and struggle to walk anywhere which is a bit of a drag considering just over a month ago I would happily walk everywhere and go anywhere. 

So, about 2 weeks ago I felt the burning and cramping sensation in my leg that I was taught to look out for and headed into Triage. They confirmed that I had 3 blood clots in my left leg and have stuck me on 17,500ml Fragmin jabs for what could be up to another 5 and a half months. This means that I have to jab myself in the morning and again in the evening in the stomach to avoid the blood clots travelling around my body, and more importantly, to my lungs so I avoid a PE. 

The initial jab doesn't bother me but the bee sting pain that follows is horrible and my stomach is currently dotted with purple injection sites, huge yellow bruises and hard lumps. Plus, I am pretty sure my little baby knows when I am about to inject myself as she moves like crazy when I attempt to!

If anyone else is on these jabs or knows someone who is then I would sure love to hear from you. I don't know anyone else who is currently using frag, let alone someone who jabs themselves so any advice on this would be really appreciated! 

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // Week 38

It's not that hard to believe my last pregnancy update on this blog was at week 25. Since then we have relocated to the other side of the country and moved in with my parents (not to mention it is the 3rd time we have moved in a year) and Rion has started a new job. We moved here for the support of my family, a move I am quite glad I made because of all that has happened these past few months with the baby.

Morning Sickness

Until yesterday it had been weeks since I have been sick. I get the feeling every now and again but nothing tends to come of it and I have no idea what set yesterdays off. I was hoping it was because I had a feeling my waters had been slowly breaking throughout the day and it could be down to hormone imbalance but after a trip to triage, nothing came of it. 

Cravings

My recent craving has definitely been chocolate raisins! I literally will eat a bag a day at the moment and then finish it off with strawberry milkshake... I swear I am crash dieting when this pregnancy is over.

Emotions

As usual my hormones are all over the place. I washed my expensive Jeff Banks white duvet at the beginning of the week which came out of the wash with really strange brown muddy stains all over it. I got upset about that, soaked it and stuck it back in the wash again and then the stains came out. However, I was laying in my freshly cleaned bed the next day and I left my cartridge pen on the bed with no lid. Cue me having a mini breakdown, getting angry at my fiance for no point at all, and then getting in the bath and having a 30 minute sobbing session about how I am going to be a terrible mum. Also I have managed to somehow kill the peace lily that my other half got me for our anniversary. This is a plant that has been alone in our old house in norwich for the past 3 months without any water or sunlight and was fine. I have it for less then a week in my possession and it dies! A plant!

Movements

She literally never stops moving. 

Dreams

As usual - very weird. I dreamt last night that I was in cheltenham trying on wedding dresses that were changing colour. Then the assistant told me that I was too fat to get into anything... bizarre!

Size

I am huge. I am quite lucky that I have only gained a little bit of weight during my pregnancy and the majority of it is in my stomach. She has dropped such a vast amount that I am feeling like I need to pick my stomach up whenever I am walking around now too and it is soooo uncomfortable. 

Pains
I had some random pains a few nights ago. I honestly thought I was going into labour as I couldn't even walk to the bathroom or stand without it hurting. Turns out I had just pulled a ligament in my stomach and it was mixing with quite bad braxton hicks at the same time.

We are fully prepared for our daughter to arrive now except for needing a rain cover for our pram and putting the bedding on the crib. Both of our hospital bags are packed and all of her clothes for the next 3 months are carefully organised in her changing unit. I just want her to be here so that I can cuddle her constantly. Rion seems to be fairly keen on her arriving too so that he can cuddle her and carry her around in the sling constantly! I think I will be lucky to spend any time with my baby for the first 2 weeks if he is constantly going to be home!

Anybody else 38 weeks pregnant?  

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // MOTHERCARE EVENT

Last thursday me and Rion got the chance to go to a Mothercare event at our local store. It wasn't quite what we were expecting but it was somewhat useful. The store itself was shut to the general public and opened for the event at 7pm. There were quite a few people already in the store by this point so we signed in, received our goodie bag, and had a look around. The evening involved talks about breastfeeding, bra fitting, prams and car seats, early childcare toys, and what we thought was going to be first aid. This was the main reason for why I wanted to go. I have been searching high and low for a first aid course for babies since I got pregnant as I wanted to be fully prepared and I was convinced I had read on the email that one was going to be held at the event. However, we quickly learnt that the only first aid related aspect at the event would come in the form of a £10 off voucher. Useful if you live in a major city where they hold these courses but I don't. 

My expectations of the event were that there would be seats available for guests, especially the pregnant ones, to be able to sit on and listen to these talks. However, there weren't any seats, the store was boiling hot and water was in short supply. This was rather annoying, particularly when I could see other pregnant women walking around complaining about the heat too. 

One good thing that did come from the event was a chat that we both had with a community midwife. In the 30 minutes we must have been stood there talking to her for she had given us more information then the 2 midwives I have had during this pregnancy. She put a lot of our nerves at ease, and was really to the point. For me, I was after answers for as to why my birthing plan had been taken away from me and replaced. She explained everything to me, and told me that no matter what the midwives said, I was always going to be in complete control and if there was something that I was unhappy with during labour then I needed to say. She said that she would always opt for a holistic approach but because of my current situation she advised that I follow what has been decided for me. She also said that if I am giving birth during the day then she would be on the delivery suite at Gloucester Royal so I am hoping that will be my time!

Overall, we both found the event useful because of the chat we had with her. It was worthwhile but I don't think I will be going again if I have another pregnancy. I would like to be able to pay for my own midwife though as they seem to be more helpful then the NHS ones! 

Did anybody else find this event useful? 

Jessica x

Pregnancy Update // Week 24

Pregnancy is definitely nothing like I expected it to be! Everyone talks about how the time flies and yet I feel like I have been pregnant for a year and for a month all at the same time... Nothing quite prepares you for this and all the advice in the world can go in one ear and right out the other!

As of now I am currently 24 weeks and pregnant with a girl! Both me and my partner are absolutely thrilled as we were hoping to have a little girl and I can now keep the Baker baby coat I brought my sister for her child but kept for myself because I had a hunch we would be having a girl too! Cheeky I know. As you can imagine, we are absolutely thrilled and get to spend the next 3 months finalising her name and ensuring it's the most bizarre one we can find!

As this blog is going to be probably overrun with pregnancy pregnancy posts over the coming weeks I aim to keep them as detailed as possible. Being a first time mother I want to show exactly what pregnancy is like. I know it differs for everyone but these posts are going to show just a few examples of what can happen during the duration of a pregnancy. I hope they offer support to anyone who is going through something similar and, if not, a reason for the non pregnant readers (like my sister) to continue saying "I'm never ever having kids!" Something I used to say before I met my other half and after witnessing my other sister go through 3 pregnancies!

Morning Sickness

My morning sickness has finally subsided apart from the occasional night when I forget I can no longer eat peppers, chicken fajitas or pizzas for the duration of my pregnancy. Strange things not to be able to stomach considering how much I loved eating peppers before I got pregnant. In my first trimester and beginning of my second trimester my morning sickness was HELL. Everyday at 6pm without fail I would be hugging the toilet until late at night. It got to the point where all I wanted was to be asleep by 5pm because I knew it would begin and I couldn't stand it anymore! Luckily I have a very supportive boyfriend who was there to rub my back and endure me throwing up like a dinosaur, the poor guy. 

Cravings

I'd say by now my cravings have stopped for the time being. I've experienced the need to indulge in pickled onion monster munch crisps, cheese smothered in marmite, bowls of coco pops, and I have also been known to sit and eat a whole tub of coleslaw in one sitting! Lately, all I have wanted to eat is chocolate but I have always wanted a sweet nibble in the evening so I don't think that's anything baby related. 

Emotions

I'd say that these haven't been as bad as they were a few weeks ago but my boyfriend would probably state otherwise. There have been times where I have been in such a terrible mood that all I have wanted is to curl up under my duvet, not talk to anyone and just sleep for a week. I have always been an emotional person but now I am crying at the most random things like the John Lewis advert when it comes on TV, and just yesterday when I started tearing up when I was watching Mulan...

Movements

Aside from the abdominal pains of pregnancy (I recently read that your rib cage moves 5cm when you are pregnant to make room for the baby!) I have felt a lot more movements. She has already proved that she is a little fidget when it comes to being scanned, but now I feel her moving about all day and night. She is most active in the evenings by far and I can lay in bed and watch my stomach move when she kicks which is really strange to watch! Even as I write this post she is kicking me and it's 10am! My boyfriend has also felt her move now which is great as before she would always stop when he put his hand on my stomach. 

Dreams

In the first weeks of my pregnancy I was reading up on several different blogs that the dreams you experience when you are pregnant are terrifying. Luckily I haven't experienced this! My dreams have always been quite bizarre so I don't think much has changed apart from the fact that I am dreaming a lot more during the night and when I wake I remember more of them. Just last night I had a dream that I was going back to University but I was with my sisters. We had all done a food shop at Asda and they had left me with my younger sister who came to a lecture with me and had brought all our shopping. Everyone started asking us why we hadn't put our chilled items in the fridge and then the next thing I remember I was at a harbour... Weird right?! 

Size

Over the past few weeks I feel like I have doubled in size! I read that when you reach the 24-26 week stage your baby does grow to double the size so I am certain I have an early bloomer because I don't see how I can get any bigger in the next couple of weeks! I only have one bra that I comfortably fit in and I am too scared to get sized because I definitely feel as though I have gone up a few cup sizes! I didn't want to spend much money on maternity clothes when I am not going to be pregnant for much longer so, after a shopping spree to Primark, I now have several pairs of underwear and 2 more pairs of leggings that I can comfortably lounge around in. 

Work

I recently began working for a huge department store which probably wasn't the greatest idea. I'm sick of sitting at home with nothing to do and felt as though I needed to bring some money into the house over christmas so we can buy everything we need for the nursery and get our car. To me it feels like a huge mistake; I can't use ladders at work as my employer doesn't want the risk, and their are certain moving isles I won't be able to fit down when I start getting bigger. So over the busiest time of the year I will be hassling all the other employees to get boxes for me... I'm already started to regret this decision but as it is only temporary until January I am just going to try and stick to it!

I think when christmas is out of the way we can really start planning and stocking up on all of our baby needs for when she arrives. I have the same feeling of certainty that she will be early as I did when I was sure that we were expecting a girl. I really feel like she is going to be born in February and not her predicted date in March. It's a really bizarre feeling and I hope she stays in as long as she needs to but I am also realllly excited to finally meet her!

If anybody else is expecting I'd love to hear from you!

Jessica xo

New start!

So I have decided to start afresh on my blog! It's been quite a while since I posted last and after keeping up to date with several blogs I have decided to have a crack at starting mine again. Happy days! Here is a brief explanation to show where I am in life at the moment...

Me and my boyfriend have just relocated to Norwich for his job. We've moved out of our top floor apartment in Ipswich and into a lovely little 2 bed house near the Norwich city centre (about an hour up the road for those who don't know). It's newly painted, with antique fire places throughout and wooden floorboards in the lounge. It's definitely my kind of house and Rion is starting to like it too now. Not bad for spending 4 hours in Norwich frantically searching for a house because his company forced us to move! 

I have several ideas for how to decorate this place too. The fire places are calling out for something above them so we are looking for large mirrors or pieces of artwork to place above them. We might stain the floorboards a dark mahogany colour in the lounge and find a grey sofa instead of the white one as well. Our landlord seems like a nice guy and is happy for us to do all kinds of things to the house and the garden, as well as get a pet to keep me company!

As well as a big move to Norwich, we also found out yesterday that we are having a baby girl. I knew all along that I was pregnant with a girl, womans intuition and all that, but Rion was convinced it was a boy because of our family history of all the sisters on both sides having boys before girls. I finally broke with tradition! Success! So once christmas is out of the way we will be obsessively planning for a little miss to arrive and getting her nursery fully ready as we are less then halfway there at the moment!

I love home decor Pinterest boards so if anybody knows of any please send them my way. Also, pregnant ladies get in touch! I love chatting to other mothers who are expecting and as this is our first baby I will take all the advice I can get!

Jessica x