39+1 - Nada.

So, my guess has been and gone! For some reason I'd got the 7th April in my head, but that was yesterday and despite my best efforts the day went without so much as a twinge. Between now and the 23rd someone has guessed every day and I'd really like her to be here by then! We will see.

I've been a lot more tired this past week, partly due to my new sleep schedule which you could set a clock by! I manage 11/12 - 4, then 7 - 9. I have no idea what it is about 4am that wakes me up, but I've been very thankful for iBooks / the Kindle app and the ton of free books available on those! I guess maybe the sleep schedule is preparing me for baby?

The weather has been beautiful but I've not really done a lot. Took a few walks out to meet people / do a little shopping but I keep getting crampy legs so having to have a little sit down - my fitness levels have literally never been so low and it's quite frustrating! Was chatting to someone about climbing last night and I realised at the moment I can barely climb a set of stairs, let alone consider bouldering - sad times!

Everything is ready for baby I think. Everyone keeps asking if we're ready but I guess there's only so much you can do? I'm sure we'll figure other things out when she's here!

I got a rocking chair off of Freecycle that I've been sanding down to hopefully paint this weekend. Hopefully it will look nice, and it's super comfy to sit and rock in. However I've proceeded to cover every surface in the house with a thin layer of wood dust after spending Monday dusting everywhere - I am an idiot!

Will hopefully take some bump photos today and upload those later. Slightly hesitant to do so as the stretch mark monster has finally caught me. The least said about that the better I suppose!

With love and light xo

38+4 - Mother's Day!

My lovely Mother's Day flowers from my baby girl! And I got a lovely card with a cat on. Smart baby - sending cards from in utero! :).

With love and light xo

38+1 - April fools!

38+1 today and still no sign at all of our little cupcake. Not a twinge or a braxton hicks in sight! As today is April Fools day I did consider posting a little to the contrary but we all know what happened to the boy who cried wolf...

Midwife appointment went fine yesterday, although she seems convinced that baby is big and let me know in several different ways! She did mention something about being 9lb at full term but we're going to quickly skip over that one... Blood pressure and everything else was fine, and baby is now 3/5 engaged so a little more than last time. She did give me some rather glamorous ways to start labour off but I get the feeling that baby is just pretty comfortable in there!

Mitch had Monday and Tuesday off work so we had a long weekend together before baby which was lovely. We fed the ducks at Rufford Park and had a nice wander round Newark in the sunshine and just generally relaxed a little bit in the sunshine. I got honked at by a particularly mean goose and we met the most photogenic squirrel in the world.

The rest of this week has flown by, even though I've not really been doing a lot! I've been really tired, and found myself getting short of breath very quickly, even doing quite basic things such as pegging washing out. I walked into Mansfield yesterday which takes about 10 minutes maximum, and had to have a sit down by the time I got there because I was all hot and out of breath - looking forward to feeling a little fitter!

So all in all, nothing to report. Lots of people wrong on the birthday guess list, but today we have Mitch's mum, my Grandad, and Piers. And Mandy guessed Monday. Will keep the blog updated!

With love and light xo

37+2 - Bump Photo

Click here to see the previous bump photos :)

With love and light xo

37+2 - Nappies!

With love and light xo

37 - Full Term!!

37 weeks today - I am officially classed as full term!! That means baby can come anytime from today and won't be treated as premature, and I would be able to try for my water birth - yay :D

And I am happy to say that I am 37 weeks and feeling fantastic! I'm sleeping better, feeling better, and just feel perfectly happy to be pregnant. I may completely regret saying this in a few weeks, but I'm just perfectly content - baby can arrive whenever she wants now, but can also feel free to give me a few weeks off too - whatever she wants to do.

I'm loving my first week off on maternity leave - the sun in shining; I've done lots of washing and pottering; I've caught up with some friends and had a few little walks out in the sunshine. I'm sure the maternity boredom will catch up soon but it's lovely to be able to have relaxing days with lots of chilling out - I'm getting better at it!

I've been waking up at about 7 as normal, but it's so easy to get up when you're not rushing round getting ready for work in a hurry. I can shower and eat breakfast at a leisurely pace, put some washing in, and just do whatever I feel like. There is a slight issue in that I think I may end up the size of a house - biscuits are just far too tempting when they stare at you from the kitchen.

I've bought a few nursing bras which was much less painful than I though - I'd got it in my head they would be like parachute so feel glad I've managed to buy some that aren't completely fugly. Also ordered the basket for the pram yesterday so that should be delivered to Mothercare sometime next week.

My list of things to get has completely dwindled down to one or two things now, and a few things I'll get after baby is here. People keep asking if I have everything and I think so? I just don't know where this calm has descended from - I was massively stressing out last week and now I just feel super calm and ready. The calm before the storm? Quite possibly...!

This is my last week with a car though, as we've decided to take my car off the road to save money while I'm on maternity leave. This will be rubbish, as I'm so used to having a car. But, I have legs and it won't kill me! It may also help me get back in shape after she is here, and I'll still have access to Mitch's car evenings / weekends. Plus I have very helpful friends for lifts ;P

On the baby birthday guessing front, so far Ben and my dad have been wrong, and Sarah has guessed tomorrow. Feel free to add your guess!

With love and light xo

36+5 - Washing!

36+4 - Nursery photos (ish!)

With love and light xo

36+3 - All done at work!

So I'm currently blogging from in bed, on a new iPhone app I've just downloaded - get me! Updating as I realised I haven't posted in almost a week - where is the time going? And more importantly, where has it gone?!

Today I am nearly classed as full term (3 days off) so baby needs to hang in there for a few more days really, to make sure I'm still able to try for the lovely water birth I have requested on my checklist! I also requested one of those lovely babies that doesn't cry and sleeps a lot, just hope the list didn't get lost...

Tomorrow is my first day of maternity leave, so I have no idea how I'll feel when I wake up! I'd like to have a lovely lie in but I think that's quite unlikely, so I have lots of little jobs to do over the next few weeks. Starting with baby washing tomorrow if the weathers fit and hopefully sunny, but if not there's still lots I can do! Along with sitting - which I've been told is an order and no longer optional. I'm just not good at sitting!

To be honest, it hasn't quite set in yet that tomorrow I'm not at work. I had a lovely last day on Friday, and managed (just!) to get through the whole day without a tear, but when I got home I just sobbed. I was trying to explain to Mitchell what was wrong, yet I didn't really know myself. I think it boiled down to the huuuuge change, and just being scared. I've always known what I'm doing, or at least what I wanted to be doing, and this fear of the unknown can be very unnerving. Especially now I've read all the books, bought almost everything I need, and packed a hospital bag - I'm as ready as possible but still feel woefully unprepared!

I had a lovely last day anyway, with some lovely presents, including money for professional baby photos from everyone at work :). Had a lovely meal out too, with great food and company.

Busy weekend again, but bought a few more baby things from town yesterday and the car boot this morning, and got to catch up with some friends and family, including seeing Jess before she goes back down to Cornwall, hopefully only temporarily ;)

In pregnancy news, I'm feeling...tired. Struggling with aches and pains a little this week, but don't want to moan as I know it could be a lot worse! Luckily I have support on hand for back rubs and sympathy, but I'm definitely done with having back ache. Glad to be finished this week, I really don't think I would have managed another. I have no idea how people manage to work up to 39+ weeks - this past week I've just been exhausted!

Anyway, hoping that this posts and doesn't just disappear into the iPhone abyss! Will hopefully blog a little more now I'm not at work, so if anyone has any questions just leave a comment! Will probably post a few pictures of baby things tomorrow but open to blogging suggestions...

With love and light xo

35+5 - Baby shower!

Oh my gosh, it is now less than a month till babies due date! How crazy is that? I keep changing my mind, I'm torn between wanting her to come ASAP, and wanting another 9 months to prepare! I would definitely like an actual specific date that she will be here, all this guessing is too difficult to deal with!

First things first, my results came back all okay from the gestational diabetes test, so all is well on that front thankfully :).

This week is also my last week at work - still sorting out bits and pieces so it definitely hasn't quite sunk in yet that this time next week I won't actually be going. I have no idea how that will feel to be honest - my mum seems to think baby will be here by then so I won't actually get the week off I've been dreaming of! I've got lots of little jobs to keep me busy anyway, but I'm going to try and get some rest too on the advice of everyone else!

Last Friday night was my surprise baby shower - courtesy of the amazingly sneaky Chloe Steel, and my super secret family!

I literally had no idea at all, and it was just amazing. I could gush about what a fantastic time I had for the next few hours, but it was so lovely to see everyone and have a giggle playing ridiculous games, including:

- make a baby out of plasticine (see right for evidence!)

- put the nappy on the bear

- human nappies

- pass the baby in an unfit fashion!

It was so fantastic to see everyone and eat lots of tasty cupcakes! We got given so many lovely things, everyone was so generous, we will literally have the best dressed baby in the universe! And in true fashion, the baby shower ended up in the pub at the end of the street playing pool at 1am.

We spent all day Saturday running baby related errands, including sorting out all the clothes into sizes and what we had / hadn't got etc., so I now feel about ten million times more prepared! Also bought a few baby bits and pieces, including a moses basket and changing mat, so feel much more organised now - minus the occasional minor freakout.

Yesterday involved sorting out some more housey things which I promise I'll blog about soon, just don't like to jinx them! And this afternoon the midwife is coming to the flat to create my birth plan. Got some great choices to make, including tear or episiotomy? Can I just tick the neither box please?!

All in all, has been a busy week! So if baby can listen up and at least give me a week off work that would be much appreciated...

With love and light xo