Setting up the Nursery

Wow - this was an interesting day. First there was the excitement of bringing home all the big items... the cot, the change table, the car seat, the pram... all in one go after our big shopping expedition at the baby expo. Setting it up was bound to be fun as we made the space in our home for the impending arrival of our little girl. The part we weren't anticipating was the 'holy crap, this is really happening!' moment we both had when we saw all the furniture in the room!!

Now each time we walk past the used-to-be-spare-room-now-nursery we both feel like we must be at someone else's house. People always talk about the joys of parenthood and the miracle of life, but at some stage in that 9 month period, there is undoubtedly a moment where you realise that life as you know it is about to be turned upside down! Now that may ultimately be an amazing, exciting thing but there's got to be some fear and nervousness in there somewhere!

So we've had our little freakout and tried to calm each other down ("breathe in, breathe out...") but all it took was feeling those tiny little feet kicking around in my belly and all was right with the world again. ahhh... the joys, we can't wait!

19 Week Scan - at almost 21 Weeks

Yesterday was our 19 week scan, which was very exciting as this is usually the scan when you can find out if you're having a boy or a girl. In our case, I'm the world's least patient person so at my 16 week OB appointment, I managed to get a sneak preview of the gender and discovered that we were having a girl. I was thrilled at this news and bouncing around the house excited - but not so for my husband. He had his heart set on a boy to take out and do man-ish things with and expressed his concerns at having no idea what he would do with a girl.

As we found out quite early, we were told not to rush out and buy pink yet (ha! Too late!) and wait until the 19 week scan to make sure. So hubby starts having dreams that it's really a boy, not a girl and was secretly ready to rub it in my face yesterday at the scan, but alas, we got it confirmed... it's still a girl!

He's actually really come around to the idea now and I know she's going to be Daddy's Little Princess, so we're both very excited about her arrival in January.

It was great seeing her on the screen yesterday except that the ultrasound really showed her skeleton rather than her skin so she looked quite alien-like and they couldn't get any decent 3D, which was a shame. That's ok, I guess in 4 months time we'll know EXACTLY what she looks like!

Hubby's First Kicks

It's been a very exciting week this week - there's lots of progress being made (as if the shopping wasn't enough to keep me on a high all week!).

I've been feeling the baby kick inside for a few weeks now, although I admit I'm not always able to distinguish them from gas bubbles. My husband has been watching along, feeling a little disconnected all this time, but finally he had his hand on my tummy just at the right time and felt the tiniest little kick to his hand, before getting a second one only moments later! He's looking forward to feeling them get harder, but for the first time he's really been able to connect to the whole process, which he's loving.

Also this week my belly button has become an outie! Despite having an outie as a kid, over the years it would seem that my tummy had 'swallowed' my belly button as it became an innie somewhere in my teen years. Well, it's back! My old familiar outie has come to visit me again.

Finally, I'm not sure how I feel about it, but my linea nigra has started to appear now and it will potentially keep getting darker yet. I've read some interesting stuff about these, either taking years to go away or never going away at all, so this is one pregnancy sign I'm not sure I'm so excited about. Nonetheless, it's making the whole thing seem much more real now and I'm becoming acutely aware that I'm not just pregnant, but there's actually a baby on the way. And don't even start me on the idea of how it's actually going to make it's grand entrance - I'm still in denial about that...

Shopping up a Storm

We finally did it - bought up all the big items at the nursery! We went to a baby expo and one stand had them all on special, so there were were, credit card out, furnishing almost the whole nursery in one hit!

We bought the cot, change table, cot mattress, pram, car seat, bottles, Ergo carrier and even managed to squeeze in some new maternity pants for me. It was the most fun day I've had in ages! Guilt free, unbridled shopping... sigh... we just don't get that opportunity very often.

The downside is that the big items weren't available on the day so we pick them up next week... can't wait to start putting them together! Stay tuned for the wacky adventures of our nursery furniture assembly as we attempt to bypass the instructions and declare the nursery a complete disaster zone. Should make for an interesting day, I'm sure. :)

Half Way Today!

Well today marks my 20th week in this pregnancy, and therefore the 'official half way point' to the highly anticipated arrival of our little girl.

As an added bonus today I felt my first external kick when I was resting my hand on my tummy and felt a distinct 'tap' on it from underneath. Needless to say my husband rushed straight over to put his hand on my belly and see if he could be part of the giggles and excitement that were coming from my direction, but to no avail. It would seem our little Blueberry wasn't going to offer a repeat performance that easily, but it does mean we will be paying close attention over the coming days and weeks waiting for it to happen again.

I also had my second freaky baby dream last night! I dreamt I was with my mother and sister trying to point out to them how you could see my belly move sometimes and then when they were watching, all of a sudden you could see the baby's features really clearly. It was like something straight out of a sci-fi movie when this little belly-skin-covered head popped up and we could see feet and hands and everything! Then my mother decided to reach down and pick her up, to which I screamed at the top of my lungs "nooooo... she's still under my skin!". Yes... being pregnant does funny things to a woman's mind!

Well that's all from me tonight. With my husband back after 3 weeks away, I'm off to spend some quality time snuggling into him on this cold, cold night.

My Journey - The Beginning

Pregnant with my first baby, this journey has already been filled with so many more interesting experiences than I was ever anticipating. Some good, some not so good, but all exciting and new in their own, special way.

I'm now 19 weeks pregnant and LOVING the second trimester compared to the first, which was a nauseas, uncomfortable time and still in the 'high risk' time so we couldn't even announce our happy news! To be honest, I was actually very lucky that my nausea only started at around 6 weeks and was all but gone by 10 weeks... at the time it felt like the end of the world (just ask my poor husband!) but in hindsight, I got off very light and I'm grateful for that.

So once we hit the 13 week mark safely, we finally announced our exciting news to friends and family, making it feel 'real' for the first time. So far the second trimester has been a dream, with my only gripe being that I didn't have a bump to show off! I seem to be a late bloomer in the bump department, but this week it FINALLY made it's appearance, which I'm wearing around in fitting clothes, like a badge of honour. :)

I freely admit, as someone who watches their weight, that seeing the number on the scales climbing each week is a little disconcerting, but it's all for a good cause (and maybe due to a few too many desserts, I confess).

So I invite you to join along as I continue, week to week through this fabulous journey from couple-dom with my fabulous husband, to our own little family.

Modern Cloth Nappies Can Cause Confusion

In today’s world, internet is the best source to find information regarding any topic of your choice. Whether you are a successful entrepreneur or a concerned parent it is for sure you will find yourself in a situation where you will need information regarding anything and what better place to find it than the internet? However, the world of internet can be a bit confusing as well. Lets say you are a new parent-to-be and you log on to internet to find information about the nappy which would prove to be the best for your child. A simple text search, such as “modern cloth nappy” would bring up hundreds of web pages containing information related to cloth nappies. After visiting only a few pages you will be confused for sure. This is because you will notice that each website will claim to provide you “only the best modern cloth nappy” for your child.

Advertising media is also playing an important role when it comes to keeping your child clean, however they can cause a bit of confusion as well. You will find that most advertisements will promote the use of disposable nappies instead of cloth nappies. What they fail to mention is that cloth nappies provide not only comfort to the baby but they are also environment friendly as well as easy on your pocket. Also another fact that is often overlooked is that the cloth nappies are as soft on your baby’s skin as a disposable nappy, if not more.

However, before you start using these modern cloth nappies you will need to be properly educated about how these modern nappies work. If you ask your own parents about cloth nappies of their time they would tell you about stick pins, soaking the nappies for hours and other such things they had to do in order to keep you clean. This information might scare you, but you should remember that modern nappies will cause you no such problems. With the passage of time the developments in this field have made cloth nappies even more convenient to use.

Some companies even go as far as sewing extra layer of fabric inserted in the areas which require more absorbency while leaving the area around hips and thighs trim as they require less absorbency. There are companies who offer waterproof wrap, pre-attached or separate, to further ensure that the wetness remains inside the nappy. If you are worried that despite all these conveniences these nappies will have a difficult fastening method then you are sadly mistaken. The cloth nappy manufacturing companies have ensured easy fastening system similar to nappies.

In short, modern cloth nappies are as easy to use as disposable nappies if not more. If you have decided to use cloth nappies you will be astonished at the variety of options available to you.