Shopping!

Well - we did it!! We ordered LO's buggy and cot today!
It made things feel very real all of a sudden, although I must admit, I am still left with the slight feeling that we're only pretending at being the parents of a 'boring and ordinary' baby, and that something is bound to go wrong soon. Just call me a pessimist - I'm relying on everybody else's positivity to outweigh my slightly warped sense of realism!!
None of the shopping is being delivered until September 6 though, by which time it will be less than a month to go until her due date.
Early enough that I feel like I'm vaguely organised (and that I've got time to work out all the bells and whistles on the pram!) but not so early that I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself.
'Normal' parenthood is certainly good fun so far - even if it does mean the bank balance takes a bit of a bashing!
I'm hoping my nesting instinct will kick in a bit prematurely because I've still got a LOT of sorting to do before LO makes her appearance!

Sent from my iPhone

July 21, 2011

Hi folks.
Thought you might like to see the latest picture of our chubby little lady!
LO is doing brilliantly and is growing like a trooper. At the scan a week ago, she was weighing in at just a smidgen under 3lbs, which seems like pretty good going for the 28+wks she was then.
Mum came to the scan with us, which was lovely - she was amazed at how clearly she could see LO - especially because when she was having us, the only fetal monitoring available was listening to her tummy with an ear trumpet!!
Everything is still looking perfect - according to Mr Beattie, things are 'wonderfully boring' with LO!
Funny he should put it that way because before I was pregnant and we were talking to Charlie about the prospect of having another baby, we always said that we might have one like Will, or one like him or one that was just boring and ordinary! And it has to be said, there is an AWFUL lot to be said for boring and ordinary!
We're starting to get a bit more organised for LO's arrival now - there's only about 10wks left until she is due, and six weeks of that is the summer holiday!
My friend has given us a pile of baby girl clothes, and several friends are knitting frantically! Mum also ordered a carseat for LO which arrived the other day. It's pretty exciting really, and I keep peeping at it - it still hasn't sunk in that, all being well, we'll have a little person to put in it in a couple of months.
Charlie is still totally smitten with his little sister and has read her dozens of books. He loves feeling her kick and can't wait until she finally makes her appearance.
Well, I think I'll be making this blog public shortly, and linking to it from Charlie's blog so everyone can see what we've been up to! I'm hoping to keep writing this blog as well as Charlie's until LO is born and then I'll get this one printed into a blog book and use Charlie's for all the family news.
For the record, I'm now 29w4d - I can't believe how time is flying by. Our next scan will be on August 11 - Charlie is highly delighted because he's on holiday from school then so he'll be able to come too. We'll also have a meeting with the midwifery consultant - we're hopeful that I might be able to deliver LO at the posh new midwife-led birthing centre at the hospital, rather than on the traditional labour ward. Although I had a c-section with Will, I delivered Charlie normally so Mr Beattie doesn't see any reason why LO can't be born in the birthing centre. It would be fantastic to have a more 'normal' and less medicalised experience of giving birth if I can. So we'll have to see what they say at our next appointment!

July 2, 2011

Here's our beautiful girl.
Our 4D scan was an amazing experience - we were all stunned by how clearly we could see LO.
Charlie was absolutely thrilled to bits to see his little sister, and insisted the lady doing the scan checked again to make sure she really is a girl. (Which she is!)
We could see her stretching, yawning, opening and closing her eyes, grimacing, frowning, rubbing her eyes and leaning on her hands.
Totally amazing.
It's still hard to believe that all that is going on inside my bump!
This scan was just for fun - they weren't looking for any problems, but they did do the basic checks - fluid levels, blood flow through the cord and a growth check - all of which were perfect!
She is still measuring a bit above average, and seems to have very long legs (about a week bigger than average) so she's obviously inherited them from her dad... as Pete's 6'4" and I'm only 5'2"!
According to the measurements they took, she's weighing in at about 2lbs5oz already which is great.
That's about it for now - we're off to the hospital again on July 14 for our regular growth scan. Mum is coming with us - LO is her 10th, and in all likelihood, last, grandchild, but she's never been to an ultrasound scan before. We thought she might like to experience one with us - especially now all is looking pretty good and scan days aren't quite so stressful! It's amazing how things have changed since Mum had us - back then they listened to the baby's heartbeat with a pinnard stethoscope, but that was about it as far as fetal monitoring was concerned!
Anyway, that's about it for now - I'm thinking it won't be too long before I throw this blog open for everyone to read. Kind of a scary thought in one way, but it's about time the world met LO!