Week Twenty / Twenty One

Congratulations – You’re Halfway!

You
May feel aches in your abdomen as the ligaments on either side of the uterus stretch as your baby grows.
Can feel the top of your growing uterus in your abdomen – it may reach to your belly button by now.
May still be a bit absent-minded.
Could notice some backache.
Might get occasional leg cramps.
Could be kept awake at night by your active baby.

Your baby
Measures about 16.4cm.
Is developing the nerves in the brain that serve the senses – sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch.
Is doing somersaults – making the most of the space before it gets too cramped in there!
Is developing eyebrows and lashes.
Is swallowing, getting the digestive system working.

from Your Pregnancy www.bounty.com

20 week scan (20w + 5days)

After the upset of losing Burt and then having a terrible cough / cold / headache and being told there was nothing I could do about it except "paracetamol and liquids" I was feeling rather ill when we arrived at the hospital. Luckily our appointment was early morning and the Christmas rush had yet to start so we made it in plenty of time!! However, as I felt so bad I ended up buying chocolate and orange juice to try and 'boost me up'. This had the opposite effect and just after she had started my scan I threw up. Apparently though it wasn't too bad, as she has had people actually throw up on her and I did make it into one of those cardboard hats!!

She asked us if we wanted to know the sex. This is a question I have been asked quite a bit over the past few weeks and I have been amazed at how some people think I was some kind of spoil sport for wanting to know the sex before!! I was pleased to find out that my brothers bridesmaid (a week behind me) also wants to know the sex. She mentioned being a control freak.....

Don't think I could stand the suspense of not knowing and its one less thing to think about on the day. Sophie’s mum and dad said that they did not want to know but then Sophie’s dad was convinced he saw ‘meat and 2 veg’ on the scan and told us they were having a boy. We were very surprised therefore when the text came naming Sophie!!

So I am lying there - feeling next to death but looking at life wiggly in front of me and inside me. Still can't get over how truly weird it all is!! That is going on inside me - scary!! And she simply goes through her checklist of things - checking all is well. I don't think I was really listening. I just wanted her to get to the end so I could say 'nothing wrong then?' But when she got to the genitalia....

As we left we sent a few texts; just been for the scan. It's a....... The Bulls brother rang and throughout the day we spoke to a lot of people. It is amazing that all but one got the correct answer Its A Boy!!!!

Love you, Kitten

Friday night / Saturday morning we lost our dear kitten. Burt had been a source of love and entertainment in our lives for over six years and he will be sadly missed.

Obviously it was an emotional weekend and so I decided to visit the Doctor tonight 'just to be sure'. I got to hear Baby's heartbeat and she said it was a strong one.

I am sure Burt is still somewhere about causing mischief and I hope where ever he is he knows he was deeply loved and our lives will be empty without him. He was always my kitten. I only wish he could have seen the baby himself.

How your baby is growing: 17-20 weeks

19 weeks today. Still worried about lack of movement - or lack of my ability to recognise it as movement.

http://www.nhs.uk/planners/pregnancycareplanner/pages/20weeks.aspx says:
The baby is now growing quickly. The body grows bigger so that the head and body are more in proportion and the baby doesn’t look so top heavy. The face begins to look much more human and the hair is beginning to grow as well as eyebrows and eyelashes. You will probably feel your baby move for the first time around now. At first you feel a fluttering or bubbling, or a very slight shifting movement, maybe a bit like indigestion. Later you can’t mistake the movements and you can even see the baby kicking about. Often you can guess which bump is a hand or a foot and so on.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4121411.stm
Week 18 - By this stage the foetus is moving around a lot - probably enough to be felt.
Week 19 - The foetus is now about 15-20cm long and weighs about 300g. Milk teeth have formed in the gums.

Beethoven’s Babies

Following on from my last blog (and boy, did I suffer for all that dancing!!) according to an article in The Times (October 11th 2008) a new study from psychologists at Brigham Young Uni. Utah, shows how strongly we are born wired for sound. Infants as young as 5 months know what sort of music they like and can distinguish it from duller stuff. Babies attention lasted about 4 seconds longer when Beethoven changed from happy to sad, or vice versa, reflecting heightened interest in the change of musical mood.

The study reinforces the idea that music lies at the centre of our mental foundations. Tests by Peter Hepper, a psychologist of Queens Uni. Belfast, have shown that musical memory begins in the womb. In 1989 he asked a group of women to watch Neighbours regularly during pregnancy but no other television soap. After birth the babies registered lower heart rates when the Neighbours theme was played, but themes from Coronation St and Eastenders had no effect.

Playing tunes to a baby bump also boosts mum’s morale, according to another new study reported in The Times. Taiwanese researchers who studied 236 expectant mothers found that playing them lullabies and birdsong for 30 minutes a day for a fortnight significantly reduced their levels of stress, anxiety and depression reports the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Having a bump seriously impeeds your dancing!!!

18 weeks now and I have received my first Christmas card addressed to us and the bump. Last night was our annual scout Christmas dinner and it had been nearly 6weeks since I had seen some of the people there. Consequently, there was a lot of touching of the bump (not sure I like that) and comments on how large I am getting.

But I had a good night. Unfortunately, I was unable to dance as much as I would have liked. Firstly, I seemed to get out of breath quite quickly and also the size of the bump weighed quite heavy - not good when bouncing around to The Fratellis!! Luckily I was able to participate in a fair bit of table dancing - sitting at the table and waving my arms around. Oh, and I have a new party trick. Due to the increased size of my boobs I can pour a small bottle of wine into a glass without using my hands!!

Back to the music.....Over the last few weeks the baby has been exposed to a few nights of loud music - what with Toyah in Vampires Rock 2 weeks ago, and the Kaleidoscope Project last week (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=398089359). I am sure the baby will have already decided what kind of music it likes and doesn't like. The Bull is already talking about teaching it piano and, as he is currently studying for his Grade 8, fingers crossed it should be born with some form of musical ability - even if only being able to dance like its mother!!!

This week I went to the Doctors (again) - and got to hear the baby again - as I was worried that the pains from the other week had now gone. I suppose it was just anxiety about not feeling the baby move as yet. But then, there was an afternoon when I went for a lie down and I did feel something - whether or not it was baby, wind or indigestion I cannot be certain!! The Doctor (different to the last one) said that my buttock pain is probably related to my back and to watch myself in those areas. Oh dear, I forgot her advice when it came to dancing the night away...

And thanks Lynne for a lovely Baby Records Book.