2 Stone Heavier Already...

Weighed myself this morning for the first time post-Christmas and I have already gained 2 stone since becoming pregnant. BabyCentre at: http://www.babycentre.co.uk/tools/weightgain?_requestid=5328117 has a useful tool for calculating how much you should gain. It estimated I should gain 1 Stone 6 pounds in total!! Oh my god - its no wonder I feel so knackered all the time!! Had a bit of a search on the Internet and found this advice:

The expected weight gain in pregnancy is between 10 kg and 12.5 kg, and in most cases the vast proportion of this is gained in the last 20 weeks. This does vary enormously, and many women do find that they eat more than usual in the early months in response to nausea. The fact that you have gained more weight than expected by this stage in pregnancy is not anything to worry about. It would however be sensible to try to avoid excessive weight gain over the coming months. The answer does lie in eating sensibly (regular small meals and plenty of fruit and vegetables) and drinking plenty of water. Try to include small amounts of meat, fish, eggs, and pulses, and avoid high calorie convenience foods. If you need to snack between meals choose fruit or raw vegetables, or if you're really hungry, bread without butter. You do need to ensure that you have enough calcium. Skimmed milk contains more calcium, pint for pint, than full fat milk, and a pint of skimmed milk daily is a good addition to the diet of a pregnant woman. You don't mention whether you are exercising at all. It is certainly wise to try to keep fit in pregnancy. Although it's not a good idea to take up an energetic activity for the first time, even someone who has been relatively inactive would benefit from some swimming and walking on a regular basis. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/weightandnutrition/204703.html
Obvious really I know and I know I need to increase my exercise - no more junk food for me (and baby)!

Top 10 Names of 2008

GIRLS
1. Olivia
2. Ruby
3. Grace
4. Emily
5. Jessica
6. Sophie
7. Chloe
8. Lily
9. Mia
10. Lucy

BOYS
1. Jack
2. Oliver
3. Harry
4. Charlie
5. Alfie
6. Thomas
7. Joshua
8. Daniel
9. James
10. William

Happy New Year - Cyst Update

Still full of cold but at least I have been able to go back to work this week which certainly improves my mental state as it gives me something to think about - other than the huge bump that looms out in front of me!!

During the scan they were able to see that my cyst had reduced from 6.5cm (22/10) to 5.7cm (23/12). This means that it looks like I will more than likely have a 'natural' birth. Getting more scared by the day.....

While we are on the subject of my cyst (and my complaint) I don't think I mentioned that I asked for access to my medical records and was told it would cost:

A&E Notes ₤15
Notes from one or more other departments ₤30
All Health Records ₤45
Health Records / Copy X Rays ₤50
Copy X Rays ₤50

At the moment therefore I have decided to leave the complaint. I shall wait and see what happens in the next few months.....

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.