Surprises!!!

Hi boys and girls I hope you are all well. Just a quick catch up really seen as everything has gone more than a little bit mental here in the B household!

After finishing work on friday the 26th of August, and looking forward to a couple of weeks relaxing and pampering (with a spot of nesting thrown in...) baby bean decided to make an appearance on the 30th of August!!!! Thats a grand total of no maternity leave people!!!

Mr B and I are shocked and stunned but Bean is more than fine and is a beautiful little girl :)

I will update you all properly some time this week hopefully,

Love
Lex

Single Figures!

Well well boys and girls, we are now well and truly into single figures on the count down clock for the arrival of little Bean! How very exciting and utterly terrifying at the same time!

Bean is now 35 weeks cooked, so it's five weeks to D-day unless Bean decides we aren't making an appearance and then the powers that be let you go over by two weeks. So in seven weeks time there should definitely a little baby living in our house!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!!

On a brighter note I only have 10 working days left which feel very surreal but I'm sure I'll soon get over that ;) Here are a couple of pictures of my ever expanding bump, I'm sure I'm expanding by the second now. These were taken two weeks ago...

So the tests for gestational diabetes went well, apart from it being a red hot day! The poor student midwife couldn't get my arm to stop bleeding so it ended up looking like there's been some sort of massacre on the day ward, woops!

I have ended up having to invest in a gym ball to sit on at home too. After going so far with no issues or complaints, I now have sciatica and a condition where your pelvis starts separating so driving and walking have been very interesting! My lovely midwife recommended trying the ball and gave me some exercises that seem to be helping which is great. An added bonus is that I'm also working some muscles whilst I'm sat on it as there is no way on earth that you can slouch or relax on one of those things!

We attended the antenatal classes at the hospital instead of falking out for the rather expensive NCT ones in our area. Mr B controlled his squeamish-ness very well bless him, and he even asked some questions! They were very informative all in all, although I did freak out a little bit on the labour ward when one of the rooms looked more like a cell than a room where you could make yourself comfy...

Any way, I don't want to bore you with baby ramblings too much! Merry Monday everyone

Lex xxx

28 Weeks and All's (S)well!

Hello my lovelies, I hope you are making the most of the British summer! Personally I've never been a fan of heat and the sun, being of the ginger and freckly persuasion we don't mix well. Yet another weekend has flown by, I'm sure that the government is making some sort of cut backs on those too, I swear they lasted for ages when we were little kids!

Not much to catch up on with me to be honest, thank fully both Bean and I have recovered from an evil virus that was doing the rounds. It knocked me for six, and I passed it on to Bean to. Apparently it's very unusual to do that but not un heard of, trust me! I ended up being off work for a week due to feeling like poop and Bean scaring me and not moving much at all.

Once again Mr B organised a lovely treat for us both at the weekend. I am a bit of a "Grand Designs" geek if I'm honest and I love architecture and finding out how stuff was made and how it works. I have two favourite episodes, one being a house made out of wood in some woods that is so beautiful and magical it could almost be something a bit Harry Potter-ish, and the other is a castle that's in ruins that the owners completely re-build and end up having to run as a B&B to finance the project. We stayed there on Saturday night!

Here is Peel castle at Hellifield near Skipton in all it's castley glory.

The bedroom that we stayed in had a four poster bed with flags on the top! Sounds naff, I know I'm not doing it justice but it really was very very pretty. Growing up next to a castle I have always been fascinated by them so it was amazing to actually stay in one!

So back to the matter in hand, bean has now been cooking for 28 weeks which means that I only have 12 weeks left until I pop! How very scary! I only have 8 weeks left to work (not that I'm counting down or anything ;) ), come 3 pm on the 26th of August you will not see me for dust, well once I've waddled to the car...

This week is a week full of appointments unfortunately. Due to me still being classed as over weight when I fell pregnant, I have to be tested for gestational diabetes. So I have to fast over night tonight, and I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything except water until the glucose test is over at around lunch time tomorrow. Then I have to have an injection called an "anti-D". I only found out my blood group the other day which is O negative (apparently rare, you know I don't like to conform!), and they assume the baby's blood is positive. If the baby's blood transferred into mine with this pregnancy there would be no harm done, but if we have any more babies then my body could try and treat the pregnancy as an infection and terminate it. All scary stuff! Then Wednesday it's off for a routine 28 week midwife check up and yet more bloods! I'll be like a pin cushion by tea time on Wednesday!

Bean has been very active the last few days, although last night takes the biscuit. Mr b fancies Beyonce like you wouldn't believe, and the lady in question was headlining at Glastonbury last night. Cue Mr B sat on the edge of the sofa drooling with the sound up totally ignoring anything I said! Bean obviously appreciated the music and was jiggling and dancing away, Mr B reckons Bean was doing the single ladies dance in there as you could see my belly move!!

Any way, here are some sneaky update pics for your perusal:

I still don't think I'm that big to say I'm over 6 months gone now. Although I have felt very heavy and slow over the past few days due to the heat.

I suppose I really should get on with some work seen as I'm out of the office for most of the week on baby related business. Wish me look with the vampires, sorry, nurses over the next few days!

Lex xxx

Blog Problems!

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if any one else is having issues leaving comments on other blogs? My account is playing up and is either not letting me comment or completely missing off my name!!!! Grrrrrrrrr!

So please accept my sincere apologies as I am wanting to comment but cannot! Seren and Jen, I have been trying without any luck what so ever to comment on your awesome blogs for ages :( I am here honest!

I hope this will sort it's self out soon!

Lex
xxx

6 Months Cooked!

Hello there my lovelies, I hope you are all well. I know I said I didn't want to bore you all with baby ramblings, but I also seem to have lost the ability to type anything at all! I do apologise!






Bean is now six months cooked, so three to go (around 13 weeks) to the due date! I hope it takes after me and is nice and prompt...







Here is a picture taken last Saturday before Mr B and I went out for date night, to say I'm now as far gone as I am I don't think I'm huge just yet!

All the changes that are supposed to happen to your during pregnancy are happening, and it's freaking me out if I'm honest. The fact that my body is no longer my own, and I have no control over how much it grows or stretches is really difficult to get my head round. I had got used to the way it was shrinking and the amount of energy I had, and now I have very little energy and a bump that makes it hard to reach things on the floor!

The doctors have referred me for counselling as my head mush is getting a hell of a lot worse. I am so thrilled to be having this baby but I really cannot get my head around it at all. I suppose when you've been told for the majority of your life that you will never be able to have kids, it takes some getting used to when all of a sudden you can. I'm just hoping that maternal instinct takes over once the baby is here.

I was doing a spot of nesting the other day and found all the WW mags, trackers and books from before I found out. It feels like a million years since I was tracking, and to be honest I can't wait to get back on it after Bean is here (obviously after the 6/8 weeks you have to wait). My diet isn't too bad really, fruit is back in favour big style. But unfortunately so is chocolate, I even passed up the chance to have a nice desert on date night as I needed a Mars Bar instead!!! CRAZY!!!

Any way, I shall update you all soon,

Lex

xxx

24 Weeks Gone, 16 Weeks to D-Day!!!

Hello boys and girls, I hope you are all well. I'm still here plodding along, although a lot more slowly than I would like!

I am now 24 weeks gone, and look like I am now actually pregnant instead of just looking like I'm putting on weight or in need of a big trump! I'm surprised at how firm my bump is, I thought it would be a bit like having a big belly again, but it really isn't. Bean is growing nicely as far as I know, I'm at the midwife on Wednesday for a check up. I think this is when they start measuring how big my bump is getting and see if it's growing as it should be. There is plenty of movement in there now, mainly when Mr B is around as Bean seems to love his voice. Although music tends to get Bean moving too, favourites include most things by Rhianna or Beyonce (Mr B thinks Bean is a boy due to this!), Tainted Love, and most things of the cheesy pop ilk! This baby definitely doesn't take after me!!

Once again I am working on a Bank Holiday, although it is now chucking it down so I'm glad to be tucked away warm and safe! It seems like months since we were trying to relax at the caravan in Skeggy, but it was only last week! I say trying to relax as we were both hoping for lie in's due to the fact that I'm up for 5.30 am during the week, and Mr B isn't too far behind me. Unfortunately we chose the one week in Skeg where the hard standing for the cars was being re-surfaced from 7.30 am every bloody morning!!!! Grrrrrr!!!

My maternity leave dates have all been made official now with HR, I will leave on the 26th of August which is 12 weeks away!!! Not that I'm counting of course...

Lex xxx

Baby Spying!

Good morning my lovelies! I just thought I'd check in and share how the scan went yesterday...

For those of you who aren't sure, the 20 week Scan is the main one for finding out if the baby is growing well and as it should be. They take all sorts of measurements such as the spine, checking for spina bifida, making sure the placenta is OK and head measurements. You can also find out the sex of the baby if you wish at most hospitals.

Bean cooperated fully (very well behaved!) and then got a bit fed up of being poked as we could see it stretching and curling up out of the way! The only measurement the lovely lady couldn't get was the skull as Bean had moved quite far down into my pelvis out of the way. The only way to get this was to fill my bladder up!! I've never NOT had a full enough bladder!!! So I had to return to the grotty waiting area to drink more water and wait to be called back in.

The scanning lady managed to get a measurement the second time but then couldn't get us a decent picture without us finding out what sex we're having! We really don't want to know, and apparently Bean was laid with legs wide open so it would have been very easy!!! It was lovely to see the heart beating and Bean wriggling about, then relaxing with arms in front of its face (think Adam Ant's "Prince Charming" dance...) and then hands behind the head! Mr B is now even more convinced its a boy, I still think it's a girl as it was very well behaved!!!

So without further a do, here is baby Bean Broadhead due on the 18th of September:

Bean's side

Top view of Bean, those are hands next to the head :)

Bean from the side again


Getting very excited now as Mr B is whisking me away for a secret belated anniversary weekend after work tonight. Convinced I've forgotten something important though!

Lex
xxx