Mammoth Mammaries

Finally threw the towel in today and went and got maternity bras to save my boobs from the torture of too-small lace under wired efforts. I was in for a little surprise. Last time I got measured, admittedly a while a go, I was a busty 36E. Nothing could prepare me for me new size....

*deep breath*

....40G

Yes, that's 40G! I couldn't believe it either. There's still a bit of room to fill the old G cup out, but F would've been snug. Oh God.... I have mammoth mammaries, and I'm only nearly 9 weeks! What am I going to by like by 9 months?

May I add that it's 40G worth of pure style? Al's face was a picture. The bloody things are HIDEOUS! Comfy, but hideous. Who said pregnancy was glamorous?

AAARGH!

Bump Watch Catch Up

The Bump Watch's at the BBC site have been a bit dull this week, so I thought I'd save them up and post them in a bundle:

28th May
"Continue taking your folic acid supplements. Current advice is to maintain the supplements until 12 weeks of pregnancy."

Yawn, yes, yes...

29th May
"If you're normally a smoker, you've stopped haven't you? Keep it up and avoid smoky atmospheres."

Double yawn, yes...

However, today's is very cool!:

"The foetus has most of its internal organs though they may not be in their final place, and they are all very under developed. Eyes and ears develop rapidly at this time, and the beginnings of the skeleton are present."

Wow! Let's hope they are all in the right place and super cute! Very, very cool!

Early Riser

Well I've been up since 7.30. Not unusual you might think? However:

1. I'm a notorious late-to-bed-late-to-rise type, and have been known to regularly sleep in until 1pm.
2. It's the weekend
3. I'm waking up at this time everyday or earlier, even when I don't have to go to work.

It's so annoying. I'm exhausted in the evenings, so I'm in bed by 9.30pm most nights (occasionally I'll have a late night and stay up until 10!) However, I can usually happily sleep for 12 hours. Apparently,the bean has other ideas! It's usually my bladder that dictates my early rising, but then I can't get back to sleep. Maybe I should start decorating the flat or take up an early morning hobby? Nah, can't be bothered!!! lol

Double Paranoia

I've been going through a really annoying phase of pregnancy . I look at my friends who are past the first trimester, who are out of the danger zone and are showing and, if I'm honest, I'm jealous. They can be pregnant and proud. They're not crippled by nausea morning, noon and night. Hell yes, I'm jealous and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I hate keeping the biggest news of my life a secret, and I'm very sick of feeling sick and exhausted.

I've been feeling like this for a while now, but today my paranoia took on a new edge - I'm now paranoid that I'll look back on this time and been really cross with myself for feeling like this. When I'm large and uncomfortable, and everyone knows; will I look back on this and regret not enjoying the relative flatness of my stomach, the ability to fit into all my clothes and the privacy of it all? I can't help the way I feel, but getting paranoid about how my future self will feel about myself now, really takes the soding biscuit! Only I can be this mental, trying to second guess the future. I really hope I don't pass my craziness onto the bairn! Let's hope it inherits Alex's level-headedness!

Apparently the bean currently looks like this...

COOL! Space Alien!

Announcement Countdown

Well, we've decided to 'tell the world' after the scan on the 22nd June. So, countdown wise it's...

25 days to go....

Hurrah!

Bump Shrink

Well, my first 'date' with the bump shrink aka the ante-natal counsellor, is next Friday. Not sure what they'll do, but hey, if they can stop me being such an anxious bunny then - bonus! Either that or the women in white coats will finally take me away.......

Baby Blanket Progress Report @ 28th May

I've not been on the case much recently, but there's some progress:


You can see the seed stitch border and the right-way-up/wrong-way-up panels now (oh, and my red toes!) It doesn't look much but the blanket's about 26"/ 66cm wide and 5" / 12cm deep so far.

Pattern ended up being 15 seed/moss stitch, 69 purl, 69 knit 15 seed/moss, in 20 row stripes.

At this rate, this might just be knitted by January!

Bump Watch @ BBC 27 May 2009

"You may notice a slight thickening of your waistline – maybe you find you can't quite fasten the top button of your jeans. Don't blame it on the baby yet – the foetus only weighs four grams, or maybe an eighth of an ounce. It's probably fluid retention."

Not so much, I'm a lardy bugger anyway!

Cocktail recipe

Take one bottle of Ginger Cordial. Take one bottle of lemon squash. Add a dash of each to a pint glass. Top up with lashings of cold water. Reduce nausea - hurrah!

As Tesco would say, every little helps (bloody Tesco, hate Tesco)

Bump Watch @ 26th May 09

"Some of the chorionic villi wither and disappear, leaving others to develop and grow to become the placenta."

Er, what now?

Weekly Development Update - Week 9

Gestational age: 8 weeks old. 57-63 days from last menstruation.

Embryonic age: Week nr 7. 6 weeks old. 43-49 days from fertilization.

• The embryo measures 18 mm (3/4 inch) in length. [Yikes, it's getting big!]
  
• Nipples and hair follicles begin to form.
• Location of the elbows and toes are visible.
• Spontaneous limb movements may be detected by ultrasound.
• All essential organs have at least begun formation.

Bank holiday antics and Bump Watch catch up!

We've been up in Bromsgrove this weekend, so firstly - bit of BBC Bump Watch catch up to do....

23 May 2009 - Eyes begin to develop underneath the skin of the face. All the internal organs continue to grow and become more complex.

24 May 2009 - The heart is beating, and this will show up on a scan, if you have one. [Saw it Friday, it was AMAZING!]

25 May 2009 - The embryo is now officially a foetus. You may have a scan at around this time – six to eight weeks is quite common – to check you are pregnant (if there's any doubt) and to check the pregnancy is not ectopic (in the fallopian tube). A scan now can help confirm your dates, too.

So there you go - mini Davis is officially a foetus! Also, the scan has shown he/she's in the right place and 'viable' at the moment. Fingers crossed for the next month!

Anyway, back to the weekend. Went up by bike, as the car's off the road. That was an interesting decision by me, and an experience which led to buying a single train ticket for the leg home! Had a wonderful time inbetween, wandering round classic car shows, chilling at Al's parent's gorgeous barn. The best bit was our day of 'Relocation, Relocation'. We took the bike and headed off into the wilds of Worcestershire and Warwickshire to spy places to move to, when we leave London in September-type-time. I won't bore you with the details of where we went, as in my mind there's only one contented now - the lovely market town of Alcester, which so unbelivably pretty and perfect, I am now refusing to consider anywhere else! It's 8 miles west of Stratford-upon-Avon, which is ideal for seeing some friends we have there, going for lovely day trips, jumping on a train into Birmingham and being ridiculously close to the M40, to get to London. It's close to Al's parents, without being in their laps and just over and hour from my folks too. It's close to other friends in Droitwich and Leamington Spas; and handy for a trip to Warwick Castle! Did I mention the places is bloody gorgeous too? You can check out Alcester on its wikipedia entry here (there's pictures!)

Anyway, I'll stop rhapsodising on. I must say London feels very depressing after cheap country pubs and endless green fields. Ho-hum, not long to escape and I'll hopefully be too pregnant to help with the move - genius!

Meet mini Davis!

Meet our little 'space prawn'



Here's some handly labels if you can't work out its arse form its elbow! (Click on image to enlarge)

:-D

Final 'emergency' scan and Bump Watch @ BBC 22 May 09

"The nervous system develops rapidly at this time, especially the spinal cord and the brain. Brain waves can be measured, and the head is getting bigger as the brain is developing."

This is so true. Went for my final 'emergency' scan today, to check the viability of the pregnancy, i.e. to check f0r the heartbeat. Al came too, so this was the first time he's seen the bean. However, for me this was pretty much the first time too; as instead of a single piece of frogspawn, there was a tiny 'space prawn' baby complete with visible heartbeat pumping away in it's pip of a chest. I couldn't believe it. You could even see a shadow where the brain is (too me it looked rather large for it's size, but that's not surprise with our genetics eh? Tee hee, only kidding) There were shadowy little eyes, and you could even make out the umbilical chord. Still no clear sign of arms and legs yet, but hey - he/she's got a massive brain!

I'm deliriously happy! Keeping my mouth shut is proving tortuous! I just want to show baby bean Davis to the world!

Anyway, I'm going to scan the picture hopefully tomorrow, and I'll post it then so you can see it for yourself!

Alex's Tuppence Worth @ 22nd May 2009

I've been lucky enough to see some fairly awe-inspiring sights in my nearly 30 years on this planet. The commemorative D-day fireworks along the Normandy Coast from sea, the sun rising over Geiranger Fjord in the early morning, nights of mayhem in bars operated by the St Petersburg Mafia, stars over deserted Australian beaches on New Years Eve, flying Badgers in Hyde Park and Caprice in her underwear backstage at a fashion show - all of these are rather cool things to set eyes on.

But I've just seen our baby's heart beating on an ultrasound monitor in Lewisham Hospital, and that tops everything previous. Am feeling a tad speechless (luckily I can still type) and utterly over the moon.

Alex aka Baby Daddy

Sick of feeling sick

OK, I'm going to have a whinge. I am TOTALLY SICK (pardon the pun) of morning sickness! I am sick (yes, there I go again) of feeling nauseous. It seems to be getting worse and worse. It's making my life a misery, like having a stomach bug all day everyday. Have had it since days after I conceived, which feels like a very long time ago! Must be 5-6 weeks of day-in-day-out steadily increasing sickness. I might not be actually being sick, but that would almost be better, as I'd get some relief. As morning sickness wear off around 12-13 weeks, I'm only at the half way point of this nausea-fest. I really don't know how much more of this I can handle. Please make it stop!!! *sob*

Bump Watch @ BBC 21 May 09

"There are two solid structures which will become lungs, one on each side of the chest cavity."

With me as a mum, they'll be very noisy lungs!

Bump Watch @ BBC 20 May 2009

"The foetus' limb buds are growing quickly, and they actually look more like arms and legs, with small separations that'll become toes and fingers."

Less space prawn, more baby! Eeeek!

Bump Watch @ BBC 19 May 2009

"It's not uncommon to feel tired in early pregnancy – even though you don't look pregnant. Your body is doing a lot of hard work behind the scenes."

Tired... that's an understatement. I was asleep by 9.30 last night and I'm desperately trying not to fall asleep now! Meh.

The nappy

Went to Asda to pick up my Bounty 'goodie' bag - no, not the chocolate but a bag with a few measly freebies, in order for them to get my personal details to spam me to hell... man I can be gullible sometimes! Any, there's this pampers box inside that contains a newborn nappy. I've never seen anything so small in all my life. I can't actually believe I'm going to produce something that's going to fit in that. That small nappies seems simultaneously tiny and enormous, depending on how you look at it!

On and extremely wonderful aside note, my lovely friends Jim and Ails had their 20 week scan today and are expecting a healthly lovely boy called Hector! It's so exciting, they've waiting so long for him, and he's so nearly here - 20 more weeks to go. Good luck guys, and thanks for my lovely prezzie!

Weekly Development update - Week 8

Gestational age: 7 weeks old. 50-56 days from last menstruation. (TMI?)
Embryonic age: Week nr 6. 5 weeks old. 36-42 days from fertilization.
The embryo measures 13 mm (1/2 inch) in length. (baked bean!!!)
Lungs begin to form.
The brain continues to develop.
Arms and legs have lengthened with foot and hand areas distinguishable.
The hands and feet have digits, but may still be webbed. (I hope it doesn't stay that way! lol)
The gonadal ridge begins to be perceptible. (tee hee... gonads...)
The lymphatic system begins to develop.

So cool - can't wait to see him/her on Friday!

Source: Wikipedia

Bump Watch @ 18 May 09

"You may have been feeling sick, and it may be getting worse. Nausea and vomiting are symptoms of early pregnancy – and though it's a real nuisance, it's usually temporary, and harmless"

Hell yes!

Baby Blanket Progress Report @ 17th May

Well, I'm 14 rows into my blanket, which is 2351 stitches (I dropped a stitch on the first row and have a little hole - doh!) It doesn't look a lot, as the whole blanket width is scrunched up on one needle, so I don't have to use horrible circular needles! The wool looks kind of blue to me in this pic, it's actually the colour of dark chocolate - yum!


For anyone of the knitting persuasion, the pattern so far is:

CO 168sts,
25 rows seed/moss stitch (20 brown, 5 off-white)

The plan is then to continue with 20 row stripes. The pattern will change to a 8/9 seed/moss stitch border with the centre being alternating quarters of stockinette. Should look pretty groovy... i hope!


Right, you can stop laughing at my rubbish knitting now, must crack on - we're off to Whitstable, plenty of in-car knitting time - whoop!

Woe is me

Yes, it's going to be a moany post today! Feel like crap/ Morning sickness is now starting to take the piss - it normally settles after eating, but not today. I have trapped wind that could floor and elephant and my chest hurts. We had a usual trip to the out of hours docs yesterday, as my chest slowly became agonising when I moved/breathed/coughed/cried. Turns out i had a pleura-something...chest wall... infection...erm, I wasn't really paying attention, I was just in too much pain! Anyway, am not on antibiotics AGAIN. I'm going to rattle with pills.

Anyway, was looking forward to a day trip to Brighton but it's raining, I overslept for once, and I feel like shit. (Sorry, there's a lot of swearing in this post isn't there? Ah well, it's just how I feel!)

Bump Watch @ BBC 17 May 2009

"Officially seven weeks pregnant! Who have you told? You don't need to tell your employer yet."

Well, I make that tomorrow - but who am I to argue with Mr BBC eh?

Bump Watch @ BBC 16 May 2009

"Are you tearful or irritable? Mood swings can be a pain in pregnancy. It could be hormones, or anxiety at the prospect of all the coming responsibility."

YES!!!!!

Happier

Feeling a bit happier tonight after a lovely evening in the company of Stephen Fry! No, not a fantasy dinner party, but a recording of QI. Feeling much jollier and less M.Ed up!

Disappointment and depression

Well, I'm off work today. Fortunately for nothing directly linked to the bean, but the age old milestone-round-my-neck - my M.E. When I found out I was pregnant, I was delighted with the news that for three quarters of sufferers, their M.E significantly improves as the immune system is suppressed in order to prevent the body rejecting the foetus. It seems like I'm going to be in the quarter that not only don't get this 'get out of M.E. free card', but it seems to be significantly deteriorating. I have not felt such muscle pain, lack of co-ordination and extreme fatigue since my onset back in 2005. What is particularly worrying is that there has been no usual trigger, like getting stressed/upset or doing to much physically. It's just floored me for no obvious reason, suggesting it's cause is pregnancy related. Marvellous.

It's hard not to feel cheated. I was looking forward to feeling 'normal' for a while. On the whole I've been lucky with my M.E; I've never stopped working completely and I've improved significantly from the dark old days of 2005-6. However, I just feel a little bit robbed, that whilst most get a break for nine months, it looks like I'm destined to struggle once again. I can't explain just how frightening it is. What if I have to stop working? I'll have no money and my recovery will be pushed back again by my lack of activity. What if it prevents me being a good mother? What if I never get better...

I'm hoping it's the hormones but I'm sat here with tears streaming down my face. i thought I'd put a lot of these M.E feelings to bed a long time ago, when I started to get so much better - feelings of 'why me?' and a total fear for the future. Some people just seem to have it all so easy, and I sometimes feel that if there's an uphill struggle way of doing things, that's the way I have to do it.

This feeling spills over into so many other things. So far, my pregnancy has been pretty uncomfortable - all pains and aches and feeling uncomfortable. Where is the picture of maternal radiance that is painted on every website and TV show? I feel scared, anxious and frightened most of the time - a picture of maternal serenity I am not.

OK, I'm going to stop now before I wallow so deep I drown in the mud. I hope this is the hormones and the M.E talking.

I'll sod off now and stop being so depressing!

Bump Watch @ BBC 15 May 2009

"You might find you need to urinate more often – even at night. This is one of the effects of pregnancy hormones."

Duh! I've been running to the loo every 30 seconds for the past few weeks! Plus I'm particularly enjoying being woken up at 6am every morning by my bladder!

Booked

Well I'm booked in now. I've got to half a gallon of blood removed, I've peed in a bottle and have enought paperwork to build a house that would challenge the most tenacious wolf to blow down. All in all though, it was a bit of a let down. I didn't really learn anything I didn't know and wasn't given any new advice. It's my own fault, I've so fanatically read anything. One good thing was that due to my slightly mental past, I'm being referred for some antenatal counselling. Hopefully this will stop me driving myself up the wall with anxiety and stave off postnatal depression, which has been a lingering concern at the back of my mind.

Anyway, I fastidiously organised my baby folder already, with wallets for my pregnancy book, scan stuff and other information... God I'm sad eh? Starting to get anxious again, so back to the knitting I think!

Bump Watch @ BBC 14 May 2009

"See your doctor to sign up for antenatal care or if you prefer, you can call a community midwife and arrange your care with her instead."

Good timing eh? Done and done!

Off to the midwife (and other woolly nonsense)

Well that date that felt so far away and I was desperately upset about (I now blame pregnancy anxiety and hormones for that!) is here - I'm off to my booking appointment with the midwife! Hurray! This is like the first 'official' step of my pregnancy, and I'm so excited! I'm armed with a million questions, my family medical history, my knitting for the wait and a lovely baby daddy; so I'm nearly ready for the off. I've just sorted my constipation with an Alex-brand super espresso, so I'm raring to go!

Speaking of knitting, I've started my first, and probably only piece of knitting for the baby - a blanket. It's going to be (sorry, about to get a bit knitting technical!) quarters of stockinette, with a moss/seed stitch border. It's going to be a gender neutral, baby sick friendly chocolate and off white stripe; so basically a funky blanket rather than a dainty one. With my knitting skill, hopefully bold should hide all the mistakes! I got some lovely Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino wool off eBay (which I tried to pay for twice, once by PayPal, once upon collection, much to the seller's amusement - well done pregnant brain!)

So far it's been cast off and undone about a hundred times, which at 168 stitches per row, is a little tiresome! However, did a whopping 10 rows yesterday, which is quite good going. I'll post progress as a go along, along with the pattern as I invent it!

Right, off to be prodded!

Bump Watch @ BBC 13 May 2009

"This early time is important for the development of your baby, as the basic 'structure' of the body and all the organs are formed in the first 12 weeks. Some drugs/medications could be harmful, so always check with your doctor or pharmacist if you're in doubt."

Don't I know it! Try coping with ME/CFS without ibuprofen - oooow!

Alex's Tuppence Worth @ May 13th 2009

"Beware the babes bearing bumps..." says Helen....

...and she's not kidding either. Pregnancy can apparently cause restless sleep patterns for a woman, which last night were manifested as indeterminate grunts, a whole lot of rolling around and a brief spell of assault against my person (direct slap in the face, direct and forceful knee in the testicles), all of which interrupted a marvellously surreal and totally non-sexual dream in which myself and Bridget Marquardt were chasing Helen's hamster around a clothing store. God knows why - I personally hate "Girls Of The Playboy Mansion" and it's normally the hamster that chases us.

Other than my bleary-eyed state of mild sedation caused by sleep deprivation, all is good with the world. We went to a BBQ at our friends Tara and Massimo's place in Catford on Sunday, a gathering that included 3 kids of various ages (4 weeks, 16 months and 4 1/2 years) which proved a useful education in terms of how big children are at the age of X. Previously I always used the standard blokey method of, "erm, it's about this old (use hands to demonstrate length/height of child) give or take..."

The 16-month-old (or approx. 2'2" if you prefer) toddler was Sam Alger, first child of my university friend Jo and her husband Lee, unknowingly conceived whilst they were travelling which makes him the first child I've ever met who has experienced far eastern beach parties and sky-diving whilst in the womb. They're both superb parents and I was covertly attempting to pick up as many tips as possible, being as I'm still naively praying that nappy changes can be achieved by using a hose from a distance. Watching Lee with his son was a brilliant experience for me in particular - he's just the sort of father I hope I can be come January - and it's helped diminish my ever-decreasing nervousness about parenthood further still.

Still a tad stressed about the whole financing a family scenario as well (will be cracking on with work the second I've posted this) but my parents are being brilliant, offering to store our classic car for a year or two and lending us the money to sort out my current flat on terms that Lloyds TSB can't hope to match. Helen also sensibly points out that if chavs manage to finance parenthood, chain smoking, alcoholism and a fine collection of X-box games on state benefits, we should easily keep our heads afloat on a lowly guitar editors income.

So as I said earlier, all is good with the world! Find myself looking forward to our trip to see the midwife tomorrow morning, ideally after a good nights sleep tonight...

Alex aka Babydaddy

Beware the babes bearing bumps...

I've started to develop a bit of an irrational fear of pregnant people. Yes, I know that sounds REALLY WEIRD! I just keep looking at them, and their bellies and hinking 'that's going to be me'. You never really appreciate the sheer size of a heavily pregnant belly until you consider yourself in the same place. I can't believe I might end up that size, if all goes to plan. How is my body going to contort to that size? It blows my mind.

It also terrifies the living crap out of me, from how it's going to feel to the logistics of just getting on with life. I still can't quite believe that I am going to have a bump. Me. Eeek. I stick my beer gut out to try and imagine it, but it's not the same. I just can't imagine and that frightens the hell out of me. Stretch marks I can handle; being a beached whale, I'm not so sure...

Bump Watch @ BBC 12 May 2009

"The heart is beginning to develop, along with the first blood vessels of the circulation system. "

Very. Cool.

Itchy!

Oh my GOD! I have the itchiest nipples in the world!!! Sorry, but it had to be said. They are driving me nuts!

...and it's virtually impossible to surreptitiously scratch your nipples in public, especially in the office. Eeeeek! Sorry, I just had to share.

Weekly Development update - Week 7

Well, as my seventh week begins, here's my weekly development update, from good old Wikipedia...

• The embryo measures 8 mm (1/4 inch) in length.
• Lens pits and optic cups form the start of the developing eye. Nasal pits form.
• The brain divides into 5 vesicles, including the early telencephalon (cerebrum).
• Leg buds form and hands form as flat paddles on the arms.
• Rudimentary blood moves through primitive vessels connecting to the yolk sac and chorionic membranes.

To quote the lovely Aileen Birch, it's basically now a "space prawn"... awesome! Well, a space prawn with paddle hands - that's just cool!

Bump Watch @ BBC 11 May 09

"There are small indentations in the head, ready for the development of facial features, eyes and ears. The outline of the jaw starts to form."

Can I put in a request for Al's lovely eyes and ears, my eyes are too small and ears too big...

Book Review: Your guide to a healthy pregnancy - Tommy's

Well, my book and booklet came from Tommy's, and the book I have to say, is brilliant. It covers much the same as all the popular website, with a few additional facts. However, the best thing about the book is, instead of just saying 'you need to do 30 minutes exercise, 5 time a week (really, when will I have a life!?), it not only suggest a lower level for people who have previously not done any exercise (phew!), it give suggestions and also has how-to's on exercises such as working your stomach and pelvic muscles. Not only is this great exercise, but also will assist in labour.

The book is so easy to read I read it in one sitting on the train (on my way to meet Lucy for some much deserved shopping therapy!) The book is broken down into very logical 'chapters', then short, easy to read sections. The shortness of the sections help is you have a really foggy pregnant brain like mine, that can lose a thread of thought halfway through typing a blog post (what was I saying...? Only kidding!) Even the graphic design of the book is nice, a rather sexy plum read with dusk pink accents and modern font.

The book covers so much, shortly and succinctly - it's a great starting point for those in early pregnancy, and a good leaping off point for further reading, if needed, later on in the pregnancy. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a good, all-round staritng point. You'll need to register, then you can order for free from here.

Here endeth the review...

Bump Watch @ BBC 10 May 2009

"Depressions in the outline of the embryo start to form – they will become the chest and abdominal cavity, ready to develop internal organs. The digestive system starts forming, beginning with the first cells of the stomach and the intestine."

Let's hope its digestive system is less, er 'active' than mine! How can I be making something so clever and complex, without barely knowing? It's so amazing...

New approach

I've been taking a new approach to dealing with the first trimester recently, which seems to be working. Before, I was like "well I'm pregnant at the moment but it very easily might not last". I was like the Schrodingers cat, viewing myself as simultaneously pregnant and not pregnant. I figured whilst I couldn't look to the future, at least I'd be more prepared mentally if something when wrong.

However, in a rare moment on positive thinking (incredibly rare as I'm a natural pessimist) I've just decided to this is all going to go OK, and if something goes wrong, I'll just deal with it if it happens. It's not like I can really prepare for the worst anyway. At least this way, I can actually start relaxing (well, to as much of an extent as a paranoid mind can,) and try and start enjoying this journey.

There's a side effect to this, now in my mind this is for-good and a 'go-er', I just want to tell everyone. But I can't, in case.... aaargh! I can't win!

Bump Watch @ BBC 9 May 2009

" If your job involves a risk to your pregnancy, your employer should carry out an assessment and transfer you (with no loss of pay) to a safer job."

Er, I don't think some sulky 16 year olds are going to pose any great risk!

Bump Watch @ BBC 8 May 2009

"Tiny little 'buds' project at the four 'corners' of the embryo. They are the first signs of arms and legs. The head end of the embryo rounds out more, and the tail end is shorter. The shape (and size) is more like a baked bean."

The bean is growing limbs! Ok, this is all a bit too real now....

Al's email

Love you and our little splodge in your belly ;-) xxx

A pregnant girl's guide to finding a good blog host

I've alway's used Blogger, but thought I might try a new blog host for this blog. So I set up a tumblelog , which has the fun, easy to use-ness of sites like Twitter, looks slick and is super easy to use. However, the blog archive is rubbish, so two weeks later I thought I’d try Wordpress (thanks for the tip on that Terry!). So, I started migrating (manually I may add!) to Wordpress. Less than 24 hours later, I’ve thrown in the towel and come back to Blogger, as Wordpress wouldn’t let me have the cute little baby ticker (right hand side).

However, the tale doesn’t end here!. Wordpress allows you to import Blogger blogs, but not the other way round. I was buggered if I was going to manually import the same posts again. Fortunately after a spot of Googling, I managed to find an online convert which converted my Wordpress blog into a blogger friendly format. After half a dozen abortive (argh, so the wrong word to use on a pregnancy blog!) attempts, I finally managed to get the posts into this fine blog you see here!

Hurrah! I just have the remainder of the posts from Tumblr to manually add to this blog, changing the date and times of each post, re-tagging… can’t a pregnant girl just chill? Nope, not when you’re me!

Well, it kinda looked like one giant frogspawn...

I arrived at Women's Health at 7.50 this morning and still wasn't first in the queue! By 8.30 I was second in line for a scan and out of the hospital by 9.30 a miracle!? The result? A perfect little circle with a little spec, line a giant single piece of frogspawn! Well it's growing in the right place, it was a day or two too early to hear a heartbeat, so am heading back in two weeks for the final ckeck.

Here's the scan report [with translations (of a sort)]

Transvaginal Scan [condom covered probe - delightful!]

Uterus anteverted [uterus is slightly tilted forward, the normal position for the uterus... i assume that's good!]

The utrerus contains a gestation sac of 14mm = 5 weeks gestation [That's the width of my finger!]

Yolk sac seen [Shame it wasn't yellow like a hen egg, tee hee!]

Right ovary seen, corpus luteum noted. [the cyst produced every cycle that once you're knocked up, produces progestrerone to sustain the pregnancy. The egg would have been released from the right ovary.]

Left ovary seen,

Conclusion: The appearances are consistent with an intrauterine pregnancy. [Normal - whoop!]

Rescan in 10 - 14 days to ascertain viability [checking for heart beat]

Grumpy!

Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy...!

Hope it's the hormones and not me just being a mardy cow. Feels like PMTx100!

Aaaaaaaaaargh!

Bump Watch @ BBC 7 May 2009

“The spine of the embryo is starting to form, with the very beginnings of the central nervous system. Blood vessels are forming in what will become the umbilical cord. The cord links your baby’s system to yours.”

Spine... wow! Amazing.

Nipples...

Apologies for the TMI (too much information) t'internets but.... my nipples really hurt! They say your nipples will get sore, but MEIN GOTT that's an underestimation. It feels like mine have been painted with vinegar... It started a few days ago. I was lying in bed then all of a sudden, about 11.30, they started to sting/hurt and have barely stopped since. I'm hoping this is normal. Might go and google that...

...

...

...

... phew, I'm normal it seems. Wow, it's not very often that I get to call myself normal!

Tinned tomato count @ 6th May 2009

Count currently stands at:

Tins: 7, Portions: 15 (had some at the greasy spoon!)

Had over a tin today alone... eeek!

Are we nearly there yet...?

I feel like I'm at the start of a very long journey, a reeeeeally long journey. And a journey I might not make the end of because there's a really high risk that I might break down. I feel like I'm on the section of the journey with the rubbish scenery and people are ahead of me, telling me how great the trip is.

I'm the worst person at being patient. I want a bump and no morning sickness, I want to be out of the three month danger zone. I want to be able to feel the baby inside so it feel more real. I want to be able to see my scan...

Time flies? Nope, not so much.

Bump Watch @ BBC 6 May 2009

"The embryo has a blood circulatory system that links with yours through the chorionic villi (the ‘fingers’ of cells that have embedded in the lining of the uterus). The foetal blood group may be different from yours."

It would help if I knew mine!

No Mushroom Quiche

Baby no likey mushroom quiche, feel very sick...

Alex's Tuppence Worth @ 5th May 2009

"Helen massively understating the situation re producing farts/burps on behalf of her and the baby - enough wind round these parts to fill a Zeppelin. Trying to avoid naked flames in her presence too..."

Alex aka Baby Daddy

The good, the bad and the bawling...

My trip to health centre was interest. I was presented with an enormous room filled with screaming children and babies. My first thought? God I hate children! NOT a good thought when you're expecting! Watching them running around, I was filled with fear - what if mine is just that annoying, what if his/her friends are? PANIIIIIIIC!

However, the appointment with the midwife was brillinat and she put some fears to rest. I felt overwhelmingly happy that my baby, as far as we know, is OK. Maybe there's hope for me yet eh? Maybe I'll grow to love all that bawling when it's my own?

Windy....

Pregnancy wind...they really don't warn you about that! It has a frequency and odour all of it's own... the burping's getting worse too!

Eeek!

Bump Watch @ BBC 5 May 2009

"The embryo is just starting to 'shape up'. The fluid-filled space that was inside the blastocyst is developing in the bag of waters – the amniotic sac – that will protect the embryo for the rest of your pregnancy."

Heaven knows I'm boring now...

I'm starting to wonder if I'm becoming boring. I'm tired all the time for a start, which hardly makes me the life and soul of the party. I can't drink, which makes anyone little dull on a drunken Saturday night. Plus who wants to listen to me whittering on about morning sickness. God I'm going to stop now, I'm boring myself.....

Alex's Tuppence Worth @ 4th May 2009

Now over a week into this adventure, and fortunately the 'OhMyGodI'mGoingToBeADaddy' shock only really lasted 24 hours, manifesting itself in a cocktail of pleasure/anxiety and becoming a sleep-deprived drunken mess in the middle of Greenwich. Bless Helen for not taking the piss out of me too much and getting me home safe... [He's quite fun to roll into a cab!-'len]

In my typically detached and annoyingly practical manner, I'm currently considering the appraisal/repair and consolidation of all things material (namely flat and vehicles) in preparation for parenthood. This should make me feel more at peace with the world.

London flat (which I'll be renting out in a few months) is currently a shithole that needs a complete new heating system, new kitchen, new lounge and extensive decorating to ALL other rooms. Oookay then...

Current vehicle fleet: 1 x classic car in need of work, 1 x elderly middleweight motorcycle unsuitable for long motorway journeys and also in need of work, 1 x roadworthy (just) moped, 1 x unroadworthy moped currently lying in pieces on the workbench of a one-armed lunatic in middle England.

Required vehicle fleet: 1 x reliable decent sized family car that will need no work for least a year, 1 x reliable middleweight motorcycle with good luggage capacity that can get me to London and back every week without requiring regular treatment for piles.

Worried? Me? Nah!"

Alex aka Baby Daddy

Sleep at last!

Woke up a joyful 10am today - finally the little bean let me get some sleep! Thank you! (in case you are wondering, the previous posts today were written yesterday and timed to post at intervals this morning - get me eh?!)

I feel sooo much better for the sleep. It's a bank holiday, the sun is shining, and I'm inside drawing a plan of our kitchen to send to my dad, so he can start planning our new kitchen, so we can rent the flat out... wow, that's a lot os clauses for one sentence! Phew!

Had a few panic attacks in the night, which wasn't good, but still feeling refreshed. Right-o, Al's sent me a contribution, so better read it and get it posted! Exciting!!!

Weekly Development update - Week 6

I thought I'd do a weekly update on the embryo's development, using good old Wiki-wiki-wikipedia (sorry, I will stop doing that!) So, as I enter the sixth week, here's what's in store for this week... Yikes, no wonder I'm so knackered!

• The embryo measures 4 mm (1/8 inch) in length and begins to curve into a C shape.
• The heart bulges, further develops, and begins to beat in a regular rhythm. Septum primum appear.
• Branchial arches, grooves which will form structures of the face and neck, form.
• The neural tube closes.
• The ears begin to form as otic pits.
• Arm buds and a tail are visible.
• Pulmonary primordium, the first traits of the lung appear.
• Hepatic plate, the first traits of the liver appear.
• Buccopharyngeal membrane ruptures. This is the future mouth.
• Cystic diverticulum, which will become the gallbladder, and dorsal pancreatic bud, which will become the pancreas appear.
• Urorectal septum begins to form. Thus, the rectal and urinary passageways become separated.
• Anterior and posterior horns differentiate in the spinal cord
• Spleen appears.
• Ureteric buds appear.

Yikes, no wonder I'm so knackered!

Bump Watch@BBC 4th May 2009

" The embryo is about two millimetres long. Tiny, but visible, and shaped something like a tadpole."

Right, I've caught up! I'm 5 weeks and a day pregnant, so I'm in week 6... nearly half way to relative safety... nearly... nearly... please!

Dates for the diary

Paranoid googling...

Some women will also experience cramping during their first trimester. This is usually of no concern unless there is spotting or bleeding as well.

Source: Wikipedia

PHEW! I can relax a bit about my stomach cramps...

Mood today: Sleeeeeeppy.... (and nauseous, but there's no dwarf for that!)

Wiki-wiki-Wikipedia!

The gestational sac can sometimes be visualized as early as four and a half weeks of gestation (approximately two and a half weeks after ovulation) and the yolk sac at about five weeks gestation. The embryo can be observed and measured by about five and a half weeks. The heartbeat may be seen as early as 6 weeks, and is usually visible by 7 weeks gestation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obstetric_ultrasonography

(for the Wiki-wiki-wikipedia reference, it's from this video: Some Grey Bloke)

Bleugh...

Morning sickness particularly bad this morning, feel like I've got a stomach bug that gets a bit better when I eat something. Don't even fancy tomatoes, must be bad!

Ah well, the old wives tale goes... the stonger the morning sickness, the stronger the baby, so BRING IT ON!

Obstretric Scan date

Forgot to mention I got my scan date in the post today, but due to a serious case of the grumps and it being soooooooooo far away, am totally not excited! On the good side, seems like the scan falls on exactly 12 weeks. I assume they've made an error, as it should be at 14 weeks for a nuchal scan, but you never know... Better rinf them Monday.

God I'm cynical today!

Grumpy!

Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy, grumpy...!

Hope it's the hormones and not me just being a mardy cow. Feels like PMTx100!

Aaaaaaaaaargh!

Dates, schmates

I can quite honestly say I've no idea how technically pregnant I am, all the websites and my GP say 5 and a half weeks, the nurse yesterday said 4 weeks, 5 days and I've just worked it out to be 4 weeks, 5 days today. Can't seem to find a straight answer anywhere. No idea why I'm so hung up on this, I just am.... GRRRR!

I'm just going to work off the BBC guide, which says I am in week 5 (correct) and due on the 4th Jan (also correct), which I assume correctly asserts that I'm actually 4 weeks gione, but in my 5th week... maybe? The BBC blog seems to put me at 5 days today, so i'm going to assume nursey was wrong, and go with that and my calculations (though, as I've previously said about my maths, it's hardly the best")

So, according to all that, bump watch @BBC will resume Sunday.

Jolly good.

The dampness of the pants is how we know

This song has been going through my head all day. What they don't warn you is when you're pregnant, you tend be more, er, moist in a certain area I don't really want to go into with the great populace of the internets... which every time you notice it, you get paranoid that you've actually started bleeding and you're miscarrying. Crazy eh? Anyway, thought I'd get this stuck in some other peoples' heads, so... enjoy!

... the dampness of the pants is how we know!

Early riser...

Woke up at 6.30 this morning... great, just what I need, lack of sleep.... grumble grumble...

Al's quote of the week...

"Rhythm method... bollocks more like"

The Davis family telephone reactions....

Father (having just flown 28 hours back from NZ and utterly half asleep):Oh blimey / Oh my word / words similar to that effect... (suddenly sounds awake)

Mother: (ditto with the flight, having just been told the news by my father, leapt out of the shower and charged straight to the phone):*indeterminate squeals* followed by "That's wonderful!!!!"

Brother: "Gosh! Blimey! Gosh! Blimey! (cont for some time....) "Congratulations! Erm, gosh! Blimey, Gosh! Blimey!"

Phew... for now...

Well, the hospital was a long and boring morning, 8.30 - 12 sitting round being bored and no scan... great! It's good news though. Basically the nurse says it's very improbable I have an ectopic pregnancy as I have morning sickness, and the scan wasn't really necessary. Had some delightful blood tests (morning sickness+needle phobia=fun!) and my pregnancy hormone count was less than 1,500, so they couldn't scan me. I've been booked in for next Friday (8.30am!) to scan a 2mm sac, which doesn't even really need scanning - I think it's marvellous though, the sac is my sac and I want to see it!

It also seems I have my bump watch all wrong, I'm actually 4 weeks and 5 days pregnant, so I'll refrain from repeating myself and restart the bump watch when I've caught up with myself, as it were. Poor maths got me into this state, why should it improve now!