Our Week #5

So this week marked the start of my long awaited maternity leave!

Monday - despite not having to get up as early as usual, I decided I wanted the car for the day, so I took hubby to work and then went to Tesco. Ooohh excitement. Although, it was really nice to walk around the shop leisurely at 8am with hardly anyone in there! I then went to M&S and had a latte in the cafe and sat and read a magazine for a bit. I then went around the shops and bought a few nail art pens, which I can't wait to use! I also picked up a few more bits for the kitchen in red. I don't know why, but I seem to have developed a red theme in our kitchen. 

The pram and car seat arrived today! It took most of the evening for hubby and I to put together and work out how it goes, but it's fab and I love it and I just can't wait to use it! 

Tuesday - I decided that I really needed to get my hospital bag packed and ready to go, what with only having four or five weeks to go. So I did that and then sorted out all the cot bedding and made the cot up. I put all the moses basket bedding in the wash ready and tidied the house round a bit. Before I knew it, it was time to go and get the step-daughter from school and pick hubby up from work. 

Wednesday - Today was my 36 week check up with the consultant and growth scan. The scan was all fine, although I did note that when they did the head measurement, it was coming out at nearly 38 weeks, eeek! But they didn't seem concerned one bit! 

I then went to see the midwife, before I saw the consultant, who did bp and urine and that was all fine and then she listened in to baby. She said that his heart rate was a bit up and he was a bit excitable so she had me on a trace monitor for half an hour, where he continued to remain excitable! She was about to send me up to the ward to be monitored, but the consultant came in and said he was happy enough with it. She did not look impressed at being undermined by him, but she did what he said. He said that it had come back down and there was lots of accelerations where there should be... but he didn't really explain what that meant. 

Anyway, the consultant started talking to us about what would happen in the next few weeks. I am under the care of the consultant as I am classed as having a higher risk pregnancy because of my pre-existing high blood pressure. He said that he wouldn't let me get to 40 weeks and that I would be induced between 38-39 weeks! I could have kissed him! I know really that a natural labour process is best, but I am so so uncomfortable and desperate to meet our little guy that I just want him here. I'm also freaking out all the time, especially if I don't feel him move for a few hours, so I really just want him here where I can see him and keep an eye on him. So the sooner that happens the better! So I have my next appointment on the 13th February and a date for induction will be discussed then, unless my blood pressure gets any higher in the meantime and they will take it from there. So all in all, it was a very successful appointment. It also makes it all the more real again. I will have a baby (all being well) in  about four weeks!! If not less! It definitely means we now have to be very organised in the next couple of weeks and ensure everything is ready. 

Thursday - Today was the first day I didn't have the car and since we live in the middle of nowhere it was a good opportunity to catch up with the ironing and a bit of blogging. I had neglected my blog a bit and I am still not happy with the look of it. I thought I wanted it to be very girly and pink, but now I am not so sure. I want it to be sleek and simple. So I spent the afternoon playing around with that. It still isn't right, but I just don't know what I want to do with it.
I also had a couple of exciting deliveries from The White Stuff and Amazon. A few tops and a snuggly cardi from The White Stuff, which you might have seen on instagram if you follow me and a new draining board from Amazon. Yes I get excited about draining boards!

I also spent all afternoon debating whether I like wedge trainers or not and trying to find some online to buy... In the end, I have decided that no, wedge trainers are not me. I don't know why. I saw them on someone else, who looks much cooler and stylish than me (and who also isn't nearly 37 weeks pregnant!). I still want the Converse Dance trainers from Office, so I think I will wait and get those. 

Friday - Today I had arranged to meet another pregnant woman from a facebook group I joined of women due in February. We arranged to meet at a coffee shop just down the road. I was really happy to meet someone on the island who is also pregnant as all my friends are in the UK really and I don't really know anyone else that's pregnant that I am friendly with. It was really nice; we chatted about pregnancy, our families etc and then said we might see each other in hospital in a couple of weeks! 

I then went to Tesco and did our weekly shop and went and did the school run to pick up the step-daughter. I then picked hubby up and we went to see one of hubby's very close friends. She has the most amazing house, particularly her kitchen and I love going there! 

Saturday - Hubby and I realised that this weekend was the last full one (we only get step-daughter one full weekend a month) we would have with just the three of us, all being well. So we felt that we should do something nice with the step-daughter, as pretty soon the attention and focus is probably going to be on a baby. So we took her bowling. Surprisingly I didn't win! I am normally pretty good at it, but bowling a 7lb ball is not a great idea at this stage of pregnancy! Anyway, it was still fun and the step-daughter had a great time.
All Saturday though, I worried a bit as I hadn't felt baby move a lot. I was getting to the stage where I was going to call the maternity ward and ask what they suggested, but he started moving and since he has been as wriggly as ever. He must just have been having a rest! Saturday's tend to be a bit quiet with him for some reason anyway. 

Sunday - Hubby decided to take us out to a little coffee shop and get some lunch. I had a cheese and tuna panini - this is very weird as I am not normally keen on tuna and especially not hot! But it was yummy and it was the thing I have most enjoyed eating for about a month. I am really off food, I don't know why. But I am also starting to get severe heartburn when I do eat and feel sick, so I am having to start being careful what I do eat.
We then dropped the step-daughter off and hubby and I had a little walk on the prom. We found a charity shop that was open (on a Sunday!) and nipped in. Hubby found a board game, a bit similar to Scrabble, called Upwords, which is fab! So we bought that and came home and spent the afternoon playing that. I won! I never win at board games so I was pretty chuffed.

And that was our week again. It has been a really enjoyable first week off and now the serious tidying and cleaning begins from Monday!

mummystartingout x

Our Week #4

I've been a bit of a rubbish blogger the past couple of weeks, I know. The last few weeks have been a bit busy as I was finishing work and needed to get everything sorted before I left, so I didn't have much time for blogging, or indeed much else! I didn't even get to take that many pictures!

Anyway I am now off work for 7 whole months! It still feels a bit weird and I am yet to get used to it, although I am aware I won't be 'off' as such once the baby arrives!

So here is a rather belated Our Week from last week:

Monday - A work day. This was the day I just got up and I knew I had to finish work this week. Luckily my boss is very understanding with pregnant women and said it was absolutely fine for me to finish on Friday. This meant that the rest of the week would be spent in a mad dash to get everything done on time.

Tuesday- Thursday - I won't even bore you with. They were pretty uneventful, busy days at work, tying up loose ends and getting sorted.

Friday - I finished work for Maternity Leave! yey!! Very exciting. It was a very strange feeling, leaving work, knowing I won't be back until September. I felt like a fraud and I don't know why. Anyway, hubby had had a bad day so we decided to go for a drink after work (we work in the same school), so we went to our local little pub on the marina. I, of course, had a celebratory coke, but hubby had something a little stronger! We picked up the step daughter for the night and also decided to pick up take away as no one could be bothered to cook. We came home and all took bets about who would win Celebrity Big Brother. Yes I know, bad parenting to encourage betting at 8 years old... I said that I wouldn't get into Celeb BB again this year, but when I saw Rylan was on it I had to watch it. I think he is fab and I was chuffed he won.

Saturday - Hubby and i had planned to stay in all day and not move as we were both so, so tired. However, I decided I wanted a new draining board for the kitchen and I had seen a cake mixer that I fancied. So after the step daughter was picked up we nipped out to a place called 'Shoprite Living.' On the Isle of Man, Shoprite is our local supermarket (we do also have Tesco and the Co-Op). It stocks a funny range of brands, from Waitrose to Iceland! It's a bit bizarre, but it's the local's choice of Supermarket. Anyway, they have a home store called Shoprite Living, which, again, is a mixed range of brands but is generally what in the UK would be a Wilkinson store. It's quite an excitement to visit it really, which you might think odd, but if you lived here you would understand, trust me!
Anyway, I had my heart set on one of those cross shaped draining boards (like this one) but they didn't have one :( but I did find a red washing up bowl that I was pretty excited about and I got my kitchen mixer! Very exciting I know! I came back and ordered a draining board from Amazon instead.

Sunday - Hubby wanted to watch football for most of the day, so that gave me some free time to nip out to somewhere I have mentioned here before, called Tynwald Mills. It's not like a mill shop you'd get in the UK. In fact, it's hard to describe. It's a home and clothing centre. It stocks Denby, Cath Kidston, White Stuff, Phase Eight, French Connection, Laura Ashley, Apricot, The White Company, Barber, Superdry, Le Cruset, Emma Bridgewater etc. Hopefully you get the picture? Anyway, I had a Cath Kidston bag that I wanted to exchange, so I nipped there and swapped the bag. I picked up a lovely spring coloured one that I was very pleased with!
After that, hubby had taken all the glasses out of the cupboard to be sorted through and to be rearranged, so I washed them all and then put them back in the cupboard - some people are calling this nesting! But it had been on my list of jobs for quite some time!
The snow finally melted this weekend as well, which we were all pleased about, even though it had looked so pretty.
After all this I just lazed around with hubby for the rest of the afternoon and then settled down to watch our favourite programme, The Hotel on Sunday night.

So all in all, we had a really nice weekend and it was sooo nice going to bed Sunday night knowing that I didn't have to set my alarm for the following morning!