I turned 36 weeks pregnant yesterday, the baby is the size of a honeydew melon although he feels a lot bigger than that sometimes! The last few weeks have been quite tough at times. I’ve been trying to get organised for this little one’s arrival, and prepare for Toby’s 2nd birthday last weekend. I think I’ve been doing too much some days and my body is definitely letting me know about it! Last week (after a rather expensive trip to IKEA!) I got the drawers and wardrobe sorted in Toby’s room so I could put all the baby clothes and newborn nappies away, and then on Friday I reorganised our kitchen storage to make some more room and finally clear the windowsill of the ever-growing collection of plastic plates, bowls and cups! I also spent most of the day on Friday baking Toby’s birthday cake and by Friday night my hips were in agony and I could barely pull myself off the sofa and up the stairs to bed! Lesson learned I think, I’ve definitely been taking it a bit easier this week.

I’ve had to take it easier anyway because I’ve been feeling rubbish since Tuesday. Toby is choked with a cold and I think I must have the same virus but rather than a snotty nose and cough like him I’ve had a pretty much constant headache and have been feeling quite flu-ey – either shivering and can’t get myself warm or like last night in bed and sweating buckets all night. I’ve been getting lots of sleep; I’m so glad Toby has still been sleeping well and is at nursery so I’ve been able to get some naps in too. I did phone the maternity assessment unit at the hospital yesterday just to double check that the persistent headache was nothing to be worried about but they agreed it was most likely just a virus as I don’t have any other symptoms that could point to pre-eclampsia or anything more worrying. It was good to get some reassurance though! I’m actually feeling much better today so I’m hoping that I’m over whatever it was anyway.

The little one is still wriggling about a lot. It’s much bigger movements now, more like rolls than anything else although I do get the odd kick or poke too. He’s been getting lots of hiccups in the last few weeks too. Toby was the same and I’ve heard that it can be a sign that the baby will have reflux. There’s no actual evidence to suggest it’s true though so I’m hoping this one isn’t going to suffer like Toby has. Mostly though the hiccups just drive me bonkers! They can last for ages and if you’ve never experienced them just imagine someone poking you in the stomach every half a second for half and hour and you might get an idea of how annoying it is!!

The midwife is coming on Sunday to complete all the paperwork for the home birth – eek! I have a feeling though that this baby will be making an early arrival, just like Toby did. I think I have to get to 38 weeks before I can stay at home so we’ll have to wait and see I guess. I did have another organising (maybe nesting!) burst yesterday and built the crib (we got a Chicco Next 2 Me co-sleeper that I’ll write about at some point soon) and packed a hospital bag just in case. I think my bump has dropped and I’m starting to feel pressure and twinges in my undercarriage, for want of a better term! I had a few Braxton Hicks yesterday too. I know it could still be weeks and weeks yet but I just have this feeling that we might see a baby in the next couple of weeks…I guess we’d better make a decision about a name sooner rather than later!

Today I am 32 weeks pregnant, and I have some good news. I went for a scan to check the position of my placenta today and…. it’s moved which means I don’t have to have a caesarean! If you have been reading my previous pregnancy updates you’ll know this is something I was really worried about. I had almost convinced myself that the placenta wasn’t going to have moved so that I wouldn’t be too disappointed when they gave me the news. It took a while to find out as well. When the sonographer did the normal ultrasound the baby’s head was in the way so although she could see where the placenta started, and it was quite high up, she couldn’t see the all important lower edge. That meant I had to have an internal scan to get a better view and she measured the placenta as being 4.6 cm from the edge of the cervix. According to the doctor who we saw after the scan, if the placenta is on the front then a gap of 3 cm is enough but if it’s only the back (as mine is) then they need 4.5 cm before they will sign off on a vaginal birth.

I’m so happy my body decided to play nice and I can go back to thinking about where I would like to give birth rather than having that choice taken away with me. I’ve not really been thinking about the possibility of a home birth these last few months because I didn’t want to get my heart set on it for it not to happen. We now have the choice between the home birth or going to the midwife-led unit at the hospital where Toby was born. I still don’t really know what I think would be best at the moment, I swing from one to other every five minutes. I think I need to write down the pros and cons of each and see if that will help me come to a decision. I’m just thankful that I now get to make that choice.

Apart from the placenta news everything else was fine with the little man. We even got to see his face (sort of) on the ultrasound today. I’ve not been feeling too bad on the whole. I’m still getting ligament pains in my bump quite regularly, despite doing my best to avoid any movements that might bring them on. There are lots of wriggles and kicks still, although at times it’s a bit more squirming than anything else. Sometimes he manages to get himself in a really uncomfortable position that gives me pain in my bump, back and hip. It was really bad last weekend but a lie down helped him move and get into a different position. At least with only one more week at work to go I can hopefully get a bit more rest over the next couple of months and things won’t get too much more uncomfortable as the baby grows and has even less space to move!

I see the midwife again in two weeks and I’ll have another update then. Perhaps by then I might be nearer to making a decision about where I want to have this baby!

I’m now 30 weeks pregnant (plus a few days), and I can’t believe that means there are only 10 weeks to go! I’m actually hoping this one comes a bit early like his brother did, I’m certainly hoping there’s more like 9 weeks left rather than 12!

Things are still ticking along nicely. I saw the midwife at 29 weeks and everything was fine. She couldn’t get a good position to hear the baby’s heart beat but we could hear the blood pulsing through the cord, and the little one was giving her a good kick at the time so there were certainly no concerns! The only thing that came up at the appointment was that I found out my placenta is actually overlying the cervix, not just low-lying as I’d thought. Apparently it was in my notes but the sonographer didn’t mention it at the 20 week scan. My extensive Googling on the matter (I know, I really shouldn’t) tells me that there is less chance of the placenta having moved if it is actually covering the cervix so I was quite upset about that. I had been holding on to the hope that it would have moved by the time we have the scan to check at the end of next week but it seems like that might be less likely than I’d hoped. I’ve been trying to think of all the advantages of having a caesarean in case that is the way it goes. So far I’ve come up with: 1) It will be easier to arrange for my mum and dad to look after Toby if I know when I’ll be in hospital and 2) I won’t be in agony every time I do a wee for a week after giving birth. That’s all I’ve got so far – can anyone help me out with any more advantages because I’m really still not sold on the idea!

Other than placenta worries I’ve been doing OK. My bump seems to be huge now, and my little monkey is still as wriggly as ever. It seems to be a bit more bums and heads than arms and legs most of the time now so isn’t quite as painful. I’m still getting some ligament pain in my bump, particularly if I’m lying on my side without support from a pillow, and when it comes it’s absolute agony. My lower back and hips have been quite sore lately too, particularly when I’ve been on my feet a lot which is somewhat unavoidable when I’m still teaching full time. I’m so looking forward to the summer holidays and starting maternity leave – less than three weeks to go now!

Emotionally I’m all over the place at the moment to. I seem to have been doing no end of crying over the last few weeks. Sometimes over things that are worth crying about, but mostly about the stupidest things. Barry is being a superstar about it all – he always knows when I just need a hug or when I’m crying about something daft and he can make a joke to cheer me up.

This post doesn’t seem to be very positive but really, everything is OK. It’s just hard being this pregnant with a demanding toddler and working full time with equally demanding teenagers!

My next update will probably be after I’ve had the next scan at 32 weeks to check the placenta. Hopefully I’ll have some good news but I’m trying my best to mentally prepare myself for it to be the news I really don’t want to hear.

I’m a bit rubbish with these pregnancy updates aren’t I? It’s been a month since my last post – I am now 27 weeks pregnant and entering the third trimester! This pregnancy still seems to be going very quickly compared to my first.

I’m still feeling OK although I seem to have the boniest, pokiest baby in my tummy at the moment. He is always poking me and it’s really painful! They aren’t kicks, more like being prodded really hard from the inside. I was just reading that apparently the level of amniotic fluid has reduced by this point meaning I can feel the baby’s movements even more. I don’t remember it being this painful with Toby though – although with him the placenta was on the front of my uterus and I think that can provide a bit of cushioning!

My bump is definitely growing, and although I don’t think Toby really understands what’s going on he does now point at my tummy and say ‘baby’ (or more like ‘babby’ actually) and he gives it kisses too. It’s adorable! Although it’s actually more burying his face in my bump and saying ‘mah!’ I just hope he’s as sweet when his little brother is actually here.

Last weekend I went to my friend’s house and we sorted through all the baby clothes that Toby and her twins had. I had given all Toby’s stuff to her when he grew out of it as her twins are three months younger so we had to sort it all out to see what I was going to get back again and what we were going to sell when we do a baby market in a few weeks. Seeing all Toby’s old clothes again was quite emotional (or maybe that’s just the hormones!) and I can’t believe how tiny his newborn stuff was!

We also bought a new pushchair which I was very excited about it! It’s an Uppababy Vista which can be used as a single or a tandem so we can start using it straight away and I’m going to sell our old one at the market too.

Other than that, I’m trying not to get too stressed at work, which isn’t always easy when dealing with uncooperative teenagers. I do find it harder to keep my cool when I’m pregnant, even though I know getting wound up and shouting isn’t very good for me or the baby. Only six weeks to go until the summer holidays (and maternity leave) at least so it’s not all bad!

I’m finding it a bit odd this time round that I don’t to see the midwife very often – apart from the two scans I have had I’ve only seen the midwife once and won’t see her again for another two weeks yet. I’m not sure when my next appointment will be after that, probably the next thing will be the scan at 32 weeks to check the position of the placenta (keep your fingers crossed that it’s moved please everyone!).

Today sees me turn 23 weeks pregnant, now well and truly over half way, especially if this one decides to show up early like Toby did!

On the whole I’m feeling good. I seem to remember this was the easiest stage of pregnancy last time too. I’m not feeling too tired any more and I’m not so big that everyday tasks become difficult. It is getting harder to pick Toby up and carry him, which is starting to cause so problems. He just doesn’t understand that I can’t pick him up as much as I used to (particularly when I drop him off or pick him up from nursery) so I end up doing it anyway but I am getting an achy back and some ligament pain in my bump that probably wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have a two stone toddler!

About a month ago I started getting really sore hips, especially for the first hour or two after getting up. I had this in my last pregnancy too but it didn’t start until much later so I was worried I was going to have to put up with it for most of this one. Last time I bought a memory foam mattress topper but had taken it off the bed after Toby was born because Barry reckoned it was giving him a bad back. Anyway, that’s back on now (folded in half so it’s only on my side of the bed) and that, along with the Theraline pregnancy and nursing pillow that I’ve been sent (review coming soon folks!) my hips have been much better the last few weeks and hopefully they’ll stay that way for a while yet.

I saw the midwife last week and everything is looking good. I got to hear the baby’s heart beat again and I’m feeling lots of movements too now – it’s so reassuring to feel the little fella wriggling around in there. Barry even managed to feel him kick too the other night which was lovely. They didn’t measure my bump this time as apparently it’s too early and I don’t have to see the midwife for another 6 weeks now. I suspect when they do start measuring I’ll measure big just like last time, even though Toby ended up only being 6lb 10oz, I’m hoping for a similarly small baby this time, it was hard enough pushing Toby out, I don’t fancy trying to get anything bigger out of there!

So physically I’m not doing to badly at all, emotionally though I am finding this pregnancy much more difficult than last time. It’s not that anything about the pregnancy itself is really worrying me (apart from the low lying placenta and possible c-section that I’m trying not to think about), but I’m definitely finding my emotional reaction to other situations is much harder to control. I wrote the other day about Toby’s nursery wobbles, and I’m sure I would find it difficult even if I wasn’t pregnant, but I find that the tears come a lot more readily than they would normally. I guess that’s just something that comes with the territory and I’m lucky that Barry is massively supportive and is always there when I need a good cry.

I don’t think I have much else to add at the moment, oh apart from that I bought a couple of tiny baby sleepsuits this week and some newborn cloth nappies – they are so teeny tiny and cute! I can’t believe Toby was ever that small but he was, and it won’t be that long before we have another tiny human on our hands. And I bought these matching leggings for my boys. I was going to get them for Toby and then I just couldn’t resist buying the little ones too. How cute?!