A General Update

This week we have reached the 5 month/20 week stage. Firstly I have to say I'm just very grateful that we have made it this far without any terrifying scares or major concerns. Other than some very mild "morning" sickness and nausea, plus some more recent developments such as occasional back and bump pain and increasing tiredness, I've so far made it through incredibly easily. I don't believe for one second that this will continue for the entire duration but the longer the better. We've been lucky so far not to have had any major panics stemming from bleeds or other worries, I only hope this is the case for the rest of this pregnancy and any subsequent ones as well!

As we posted over the weekend, our 20 week scan happened on Friday, technically at 19+5. Little Bean was most cooperative, lying in a very helpful position so our sonographer could see everything she needed to and more. I'm glad we're so far managing to raise a well mannered, helpful child! As well as confirming that all appears to be as it should and Bean is growing at a healthy, steady rate, our sonographer also told us that Bean will be a little BOY! Although I'll admit this came as a complete shock, for some reason I'd lately been convinced he was a girl, we are simply happy to have a healthy baby and nothing else matters - appendages or none!

In addition to the good news from the scan, all my own test have come back as I'd hoped - either negative or positive as required. The midwife at the hospital did give me a mild panic by saying rather casually that I'd flagged up as having Rubella - before hastening to add that this just meant my childhood innoculations had worked. Thanks, I didn't need the few seconds of believeing I'd somehow contracted measles last week! I also found out my rhesus status and am relieved that I don't need any extra jabs, fantastic news as far as I'm concerned. Sorry Vikki! Bean's test also showed we are super low risk for Down's Syndrome (1 in 8200) and normal risk for neural tube defects. Although neither of these results completely rule out the respective problems, I am happy enough with them as is Scott.

The news that Bean is in fact sporting an extra appendage that we didn't think he had, has created havoc on the naming frontier. We were pretty much settled on a girl's name (which is being kept a secret for the future) and now have been thrown back to square one with a sizable bump. There are very few boys names either of us actually like, and the number that overlap is infitessimally small. We each have some thoughts but I don't think either one of us is singing and dancing over any - certainly not any that the other of us is prepared to entertain anyway. Still, we have several months remaining and I'm sure one of us will fall in love with a preferred name of the other or we will stumble upon a name neither of us have yet thought up and both fall in love with that Otherwise expect to be reading tales of Baby or Bean from September onwards!

Not much left to add I don't think. I remain baffled at how everybody seems attuned to my yoga hour and manages to text or call during it when there's the rest of the day when I'm doing pretty much bugger all. Bean is increasingly active and has decided patterns of activity such as first thing in the morning, during car/train journeys, after large meals and when I'm lying in bed at night. Scott is yet to feel these kicks and punches but as they continue to streghthen with each passing day, I'm positive it won't be much longer before Bean makes his presence felt to a wider audience. Speak of the miniature devil, the little tyke has just given me a little thump to let you all know he's here too!

Wow, that's a long post so I'll sign off before you all need to take time off work to read it!
xxx

20 Week Scan Photos

The 20 week scan pics, will update more later this weekend.

No news is good news?

Right now, yes. Not much has been going on recently except for Bean giving Sophie’s insides a good kicking. A future England international perhaps? No kicks hard enough for me to feel just yet but maybe in the next few weeks I’ll get to feel the pummelling too.

We should have more news by the end of the week though as the 20 week scan is on Friday afternoon. We’re trying not to get too excited at the prospect of possibly finding out Bean’s gender as most other people we know who are currently expecting haven’t yet found out as their babies have been too coy in front of the Sonographer to reveal anything. So we’re trying not to get too worked up in case Bean is a little shy as well but it would a nice birthday present (*cough* hint hint) for me if we could find out.

We’ve started hunting around catalogues and online for information and inspiration on the stuff we’ll need prior to Bean’s big arrival. My God it is mind boggling! Just looking for prams/pushchairs/travel systems has melted our brains, let alone everything else. There is sooooo much to consider and check before you get to comparing the prices which are vastly different in the extreme. Hopefully though we’ve found a good travel system at a middling price so we’re going to locate one in a store at the weekend and give it try. I hope it is fine as I don’t want to be trailing around loads of shops and pushing these things around the aisles.

So not much news to impart right now but all being well lots to reveal at the weekend.

Just finally, I think my baby name obsession has now passed. As far as I am concerned we have the option of 2 baby names per sex (though Sophie will no doubt disagree) and no, we’re still not revealing any of them.

Yes, I am still referring to the baby names issue just to tease those of you interested in that topic. Hey, I’m bored right now. Okay?

Joyous news (kinda related to Bean)

In terms of “Bean”, there is not much to report this week. All literature and internet sites report that our little bundle of joy is in the middle of growth spurt which probably explains some of the weird sensations Sophie says she has been feeling in her belly over the past few days. This is in addition to the “butterflies” which the same information sources claim is the growing baby moving, kicking and dancing. So all in all, everything is going well so far.

In other news, our stress and anxiety levels have been reduced this week as the sale of our Leeds home has finally been completed. Last Sunday we moved out all our possessions in to storage with the help of my parents and best man, Roger, before Sophie and I spent Monday cleaning the house. We finally got the phone call informing us of the Exchange of Contracts in the morning on the Monday and by 5pm that same day we had dropped off the keys with the Estate Agents after bidding a final goodbye to what had been our home together for 5 and a half years, and mine for 2 years longer than that.

It was sad to leave the old place behind for sure but in my mind I had been ready to relocate for a couple of years and I’ve also had the benefit of working in Lincoln for the past year and living here half the time for the same period. It is the end of an era but I have no doubts that moving to Lincoln will be better for us and our brewing child. Which brings me on to the next flurry of activity…

The day after we Exchanged on the Leeds house, Exchange of Contracts took place on our new Witham St Hughs property. Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the site office and picked out our kitchen unit fronts and counter, tiles for the kitchen and bathrooms, flooring and carpets. We also specified a washer/dryer and dishwasher for the kitchen. We’re well on the way to creating a lovely home in time for Bean’s arrival. Fingers crossed that the builders will keep to their schedule and finish in time for the end of June.

That’s all for now folks, maybe next time we’ll have more Bean specific news to impart.

P.S.: My name obsession has subsided a bit. For now…