Motherhood and Seth Deryck Lamb

I didn’t want to do a regular blog but I think in coordination with his 9 month health and progression check, I figured it would be nice to take some notes, so that in future I can look back and remember.

They say that you never forget the first time you lay eyes on your baby; and boy are they right. A million and one thing’s rush into your head, including:

 ‘That’s my baby!’, ‘That’s MY baby??’, ‘How precious and beautiful!!’, ‘A whole other person just came out of me, how is that possible?’ ‘I love him so much!’ ‘He’s really slippery and warm, hope I don’t drop him’, ‘What do I say? Quick say something’ - “Hey buddy!”- ‘The first thing you say to your son is “hey buddy”? What is that? You could have said something more affectionate’. ‘Ah who care’s, I’ve got his whole life to talk to him’. ‘I can’t believe he has ears, a nose, eyes, a mouth and everything is all there in working order. I didn’t tell my body to do any of that, it just happened without any instruction from me!’ ‘What a precious gift God has given.’ ‘Thank you, I don’t deserve this I didn’t pay or order him, you gave him to us freely. ’

The atmosphere in the room when having a baby is not like anything I’ve experienced before. I can tell you that there is most definitely a spiritual side to it. On reflection, it made me in awe of God’s creation more than ever before. I felt a peace in my spirit throughout. Even though physically my body was a in the heat of battle, I knew God had me in the palm of his hand.  It’s a peace that passes all understanding.

From being focused on only yourself and partner to having this tiny precious life to nurture is a shell shock. Nothing can prepare you for that.

From day one of your baby’s life, EVERYTHING changes. Sleeping, eating, and peeing will never be the same.  Haha okay, for the first couple of months anyway. The first few months go by rather slowly; I felt they did anyway. Your instincts kick in and it’s mainly about survival. Eating when you can, sleeping when you can, everything else that you did before goes out the window. I remember being desperate to watch just one episode of Neighbour's in the first week Seth was born; just to have that 28mins of something familiar, normal and consistent with what I knew before. Even trips out to Tesco was a HUGE deal, I needed to see the rest of the world was still ticking and that it was okay out there. At the time, I felt I would feel like that forever but I didn’t; and looking back it was only the first 6 weeks . After that, slowly but surely things regain a degree of normality, with our new member.

Once you’ve started to figure out a routine that works, things get a lot easier. I know for us, having a couple of hours at the end of the day and before bed is crucial to our sanity. Not that being a parent sends you insane, but each person needs that time to have to themselves.

A rough routine outline for Seth in the first 3 months was:-

Eat every 2-3 hours (breastfed), sleep, poop, be awake for an hour or so, feed, sleep, poop, awake and so on. After 3 months he was waking every hour of the night- a very very hard time indeed. At this point you get used to the lack of sleep, but then taking it to every hour was horrific. That lasted 2 and an half weeks. Then he started sleeping better at night, waking 2-3 times a night for a feed.  At 6 months he started sleeping through the night totally and was weaning onto solids. At 7-8 months he was waking once or twice for feeds, and now we are sleeping right through from 7.30pm-7.00am.

He is such a good baby. So laid back, takes life as it comes. As long as he has some sort of routine he is a very happy boy.

As far a parenting techniques goes, every baby is different. We found what works for us. He slept in his own room from 6 months and as a family that was the best decision. We started getting our sleep back and Seth slept properly for the first time.  Some parents will disagree, but we trained Seth and allowed him to learn to Seth self sooth. He knows how to comfort himself to sleep, rarely cry’s himself to sleep and mainly babbles and talks to himself before drifting off. Sometimes I will sing and rock him to sleep or nurse him to sleep but not often as he expects it every time he goes down for a nap. He knows we are there and lets us know when he needs us.  We don’t have him in the bed with us anymore and haven’t since he’s been in his own room - apart from morning time when it’s time to get up. I bring him through to us and we get cuddles as a family and wake up slowly together. If he wakes in the night, I’ll feed him in the dark and he will go back down without a fuss (feeding in the night hasn’t happened for a while).

Seth loves to eat. Food has always been a hit with him, whether it was my milk or actual food. He could just eat and eat. We’ve started using portion control with his 3 meals a day. He is part infant lead, part baby food. An example of a normal day is half a jar of 7months + porridge, my milk between breakfast and lunch. For lunch he will have a piece of toast with a bit of butter, some banana, sometimes his organic crisps or quavers and then his Heinz baby biscuit. My milk again between lunch and dinner. Then for dinner he can have a bit of what we are eating, veg, mash, meat, etc. If I feel he hasn’t had enough, I’ll give him half a jar of 7+ food and then a pudding  i.e .rice pudding, custard or a rich tea biscuit.

He has become his own little character now and pushing boundaries, moving everywhere, shaking his head when he doesn’t want something and staring at the stuff he does want. He cuddles when tired and whinges when teething. He is hard to please when teething and it’s slobber city. Currently he has 7 teeth and the 8^th one is pushing through. He LOVEs cleaning his teeth with his Shaun the sheep tooth brush and bathing with his ducks and empty bottles. When getting him ready to bath, he squeals and squeaks so much, and soon as he sees the water he’s diving off me wanting to be in the water NOW – infact Deryck has to help because he’s so adamant and strong.

He copies noises that he hears now i.e. when calling daddy and the phones ringing or if I’m singing then he’ll try imitating the same sound and note. Talking he says ‘nama’ for me and ‘bada’ for dada’, ‘iiiiiiiiiiiii’ for hi, ‘Raarrrrahhhh’ when he roar like a lion at him. Actions he know- shakes his head for no, waves to say hi, can do ‘hi-five’, when he wants food he will keep bringing his fist to his mouth and look at me. We are getting the hang of the milk sign. If he wants to touch objects or explore he will mainly go for it. If he’s not sure, he will look at me to see if it’s alright.

Anyway, Seth has certainly turned in to a toddler, from the moment he wakes up his brain is busy. One lovely thing at the moment is in the morning when he wakes up in his cot, he doesn’t shout for us or cry, he sits in his cot playing with his blanket or hands waving around the room at no one. We only know he’s awake if he’s playing his own game and chatting or giggling to himself. Sometimes I have to go in and see if he’s awake coz he so quiet.

Supporting other mum’s who are in the same boat or taking guidance from more experienced mums is also what I love about being a mum. Sometimes it is hard and at first they don’t tell you about the diarrhea nappies, projectile vomit that land in your husband’s mouth, or about changing their clothes 20 times a day, the broken cups and ornaments, the heaps of food that seems to end up on the floor rather than in their bellies, the endless washing, the days when you don’t have a conversation with another adult and not being able to wear your hair down as they end up swinging on it and pulling most of it out. Networking with other mum’s is a laugh and to share your experiences with them is part of what it’s all about. It bonds women together in a way that is different than anything I’ve known before, and for that I am grateful.

I love Seth, being mum, and Deryck being a father; he love’s him more than anything. I am so blessed to have the two of them.

I may do another update at a year old in July to keep as a memory.

Until then :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Labour and Birthing Story

To make this as accurate as possible I started writing this in the week following Seth’s birth; my aim was to do what I could and then tweak and sort the rest of it out at a later date. It’s now two weeks since his birth, and I’m back on it :)

Just be aware, this is a labour and birth story so please understand there may be some details or things that may not be talked about that commonly. I’ll try my best to keep to it clean but if you are easily upset or “grossed out” then it probably not best to carry on reading.

Thursday 5^th- Braxton hicks pretty much all day, uncomfortable but bearable.

Friday 6^th (due date)- Braxton Hicks still in motion but turned up a gear around 7pm that night. As it goes, pregnant women are advised to hold out as long as possible before heading to the hospital; so I carried on as normally as I possibly could, including having a bath, going to bed and trying to sleep through them. I did get some sleep but not a lot that night.

Saturday 7^th- after contracting all night and waking up with them as they became more regular, I decided to ring my mum (around 5am) and explain that they were coming every 5-6mins, she made her way to us from Liverpool to Stoke (arriving about 7am). Contractions where still coming every 5-6mins, but they NEEDED to even closer together between 3-4mins apart; so I held out as much as I could. After my mum had been with us an hour or so the pain started getting more and more intense, and started coming every 4mins, writing the times down on a scrap piece of paper and counting back. We rang the birthing centre and they told me to make my way down. As far as pain relief goes, I’d been using a TENs machine, but at this point I didn’t feel like it was working anymore. We went to the birthing centre they gave me a room, the midwife did all the routine checks and then I asked her to do an internal to see what baby was doing. She checked and told me that I wasn’t dilated and that the baby was coming down the cervix (cervical tube is about 3.5cm) and that baby was 2cms down the tube. She told me the best thing to do was to head home and wait it out, get as much rest as possible and the get my energy up. It seemed the transition from home to the hospital had an effect on my body and my contractions started slowing down, because of this I agreed to go back home. Few hours after returning home, I lost my mucus plug, so I had a feeling that things where moving, even if it was slowly.

Sunday 8^th- with another rough day and night at home, and contractions coming strong and regular, (even to the point where I vomited) and now coming 3-4mins apart, I rang again; they told me to head in to centre once more. The contractions kept coming but as the midwives don’t like to interfere too much, no one wouldn’t do an internal so I had no idea what was going on with baby, except that baby was partially back to back from them feeling my tummy externally. It was just a case of going with the flow. After a good few hours they were still coming, not as regular, but they were continuous none the less. My hind waters broke around 11am that morning. There is a general rule when your waters break that the baby needs to be delivered within 48 hours due to this risk of infection. They booked me in for an induction Tuesday if things didn’t progress naturally. So after a long day of being prodded and poked they sent me home once more as they were not as regular but they had me booked in at 11 the following morning to monitor baby and make sure he was coping.

Monday 9^th- with an additional hard night behind us (harder than the previous two nights as water had gone), everything was a lot worse. We went to get monitored at 11am in the Maternity assessment unit, each pain becoming more and more unbearable. The baby was coping fine but one of the midwives that where doing the assessment tried to bring the induction forward as she could see I was exhausted, and said they would ring me that day with a decision. They said there was nothing they could do for the time being and to go home; so once AGAIN we headed back, later that evening we decided it would be a good idea to go for a small walk round Queens Park to see if I could make things come on even stronger, which seemed to work, even being in the park nothing was wavering the contractions, they were coming like clockwork every 4mins and I couldn’t move with the pain. In the park is where I got the phone call to say there was a bed for me in the delivery suit and that they would induce me that evening. I cried with the relief knowing that things would be moving one way or another. My bed was booked for 9 that evening, on arriving the contractions where closer together and a lot longer. Mel, my midwife decided to do an internal knowing they were going to induce and get the baby out within 24hours. On examination she told me I was 5cm and that my front water where bulging, so she hooked them, and the relief was incredible. I managed to deal with the contractions that followed for about 30mins, standing and putting on the TENs machine. Deryck suggested that I couldn’t stand there all night so to try a birthing ball to give my legs a rest. As I bounced on it without a contraction is was comfortable, and then, another contraction hit…. at this point I couldn’t bare the pain, it hit a whole other level; I decided that I wanted an epidural; something I never wanted, but with the long labour and the baby being the position he was I felt like my back was going to break, and I was exhausted. The midwife suggested using the gas and air until the anaesthetist came round. I was also reluctant to use this, when the contraction hit and I was reminded of the pain, I gave it ago. It worked at first, but I HATED the effect it had on my brain, I was sick on it, laughing and giggling on it, everything was in slow motion and could barely respond to what was happening in the room.

Tuesday 10^th- Midnight hit, I vaguely remember Deryck and mum saying happy anniversary, but I was so zonked on G&A I didn’t remember it fully. By the time the anaesthetist came round the gas and air was not working anymore and I was pretty much contracting without them stopping; it was just constant. Getting the epidural in was probably the worse point during the labour, trying to stay still while contracting made it near impossible for the anaesthetist, he got the needle in but he hit a nerve on my right hand side, twice. I’ve never experienced pain like it and I really screamed my lungs out, at this point I really lost it. The pain was so intense I blacked out and don’t really remember much after that. Next thing I knew I was coming down off the gas and air and the sitting up in bed with the epidural in. I could feel the contractions, but only the pressure that was in my ribs. It meant I could rest and get myself composed for the birth. After an hour Mel did another internal and told me I was fully dilated and that we would start getting ready to push. So we did, I pushed for an hour which felt like hardly anytime at all, my mum and Deryck where fantastic, encouraging me and supporting me. I tried with all my might to get baby moved but not enough to come out, baby was side by side and getting a bit distressed so the doctor thought best to use ventouse (medical vacuum), if that wouldn’t work, forceps and then otherwise C-section. It was here when I was so relieved to have had the epidural; otherwise I really would have felt everything. They fitted the vacuum on baby’s head, and started to pull, I still felt everything but on a dullish level. The worst part was the babies head and shoulders coming out, the most uncomfortable feeling ever, when his shoulders where out I distinctly remember at this point thinking ‘he’s got his daddies shoulders’. Once the shoulders where out the rest of him followed and there he was! Couldn’t believe he was here and in that moment we went from 2 people, to 3 and from a couple to a family. Although he was covered in gunk and looking very blue, I couldn’t care less, I just wanted to hold him and the sound of his cries was music to my ears. This was my baby, a moment that with stick with me always! I’d waited 9 months to meet him.

With regards to the gender, the midwife said I had a girl, I looked at Deryck who shook his head ‘No, I don’t think so’. The midwife laughed it off ‘Oop’s my mistake!’ and the doctor confirmed he was a boy and joked about how it was hard to miss! They took him to get cleaned up, he’d come out blue (often happens when they come out fast) and he’d swallowed a lot of fluid. I couldn’t stop looking at him, couldn’t believe that he was here. Deryck did cry, I was shocked and overwhelmed I don’t really remember what I did, I just remember feeling happy and relieved it was all over. Once settled we had him do skin to skin with me and where left for a few hours to bond and get acquainted. After this, I was cleaned up and transferred to a ward where I stayed for a day and night as standard procedure, with Seth being in me for more than 24 with waters being ruptured.

Wednesday 11^th - I’ll never forget that first night. I was so scared, Deryck wasn’t allowed to stay in the ward and so I had to cope the first night, all alone, with my new born baby, while trying to recover from the birth. He cluster fed all night, wanting to be close to me, sometimes he would just latch on and fall asleep straight away. I couldn’t get any rest. The midwives knew I would have it rough and so helped by taking him for an hour to help me try and sleep, I managed to get about 20mins but every time I heard him cry down the hall I woke up; my urge to be with him was overwhelming, even after no sleep for the last 48 hours. It’s like your body kicks into survival mode and puts your baby’s needs before your own. I was so sore, it hurt even to breathe, but I didn’t care. The night passed and Deryck was with me before the visiting times and didn’t leave my side. We went home later that day.

It takes a while to recover from giving birth, but on a whole I think I’ve been rather blessed and I’m not doing too bad all things considered. Often with an assisted delivery, multiple stiches are needed, but I didn’t need a single one, all the members of staff at the hospital said that that was a miracle in itself. Home life is going well, sometimes it’s really hard, the main thing that makes it so is the lack of sleep, but we are getting used to it. Breastfeeding is going well. It still hurts but I’m hoping this will pass soon.

I just want to thank everyone for their love, prayers and support over this last few weeks, people have been bringing us meals, we been given so many gifts and cards we have nowhere left to put them and generally we are overwhelmed with love, we didn’t expect so much!

It's been a long 9 months but Seth is finally here and he was most definitely worth it.

The Final Stretch

Really just need to write my thoughts down just to get it out there. I’m pretty much coming to the end of this pregnancy. There are some things that they never tell you about becoming pregnant.


This the first picture of us being
pregnant.We didn't know it,
 but I was 1month along at
this point.

-Babies cost A LOT, they take more planning than your wedding day and as my friend Andy Scho pointed out, you don’t get a honeymoon.

-For a woman becoming pregnant is like losing yourself as a young woman (the one you’ve known for a heck of a long time) and then finding yourself again as a new mum (a completely different person). This can be very scary! Not only did I feel like I lost myself at the beginning, I didn’t recognise the person I was, with hormones being ridiculous and even the ability to even have a child shocks you. As a couple, you never know if you can have kids until either you start trying or, like us, you’re caught out. When people are trying it can still come as a shock so imagine what it’s like when you were not intentionally trying.  

-You get closer to your husband/loved one. Making a whole other human being with the person you love is one of the greatest miracles. It binds you have together even deeper than you thought humanly possible. One ridiculous example of this, I found out my recent phone bill was £75 (my normal tariff is £15 monthly). Turns out I went over on texting Deryck by £60 last month. The last time I ran up a bill like that was when we first dated 5 years ago and it was nearer £300. Not only small things like wanted to talk to them all hours of the day, but missing them when they go to work or out to play football for an hour. This normally doesn’t bother me. Deryck had to go away for one night last month with work and I really really hated it, I managed it, but hated every second away from him.

Cheerleading. Me flying,
Deryck being my front base.

-You have to makes changes. Some changes are not a problem; others you really do NOT want to do. For us we had just started settling our church. We’d found ourselves doing things we loved, serving around church and cheerleading. We were settled in Stafford, our jobs where comfy and our life styles, cosy. Cheerleading/stunting was a MASSIVE thing for us, we’d been looking for a sport that we can do together, it helped build our relationship, was so much fun, helped us stay fit and gave us some of the friends we have now. Having to come away from that was just horrid. Serving in our church (which we have been doing until recently) is now on hold until further notice. As for Stafford, we had to leave the house we were in. It was not child friendly and we needed to be closer to friends, family and church. In order to get to the new house we are in now, we had to live with Deryck’s folks for 2 months.  The main challenge with this was commute to Stafford on a daily basis for work.  Deryck was driving 64 miles a day and for me it meant 4 (sometimes 5) trains a day.  We now, of course, a have a beautiful house in Stoke, but if you had of told me 10 years ago that I would living in Stoke and raising my child here, I wouldn’t of believed you.

My engagement ring back in it's box until our
little Lamb arrives.

-Your body becomes alien to you. Physically your body changes and does stuff you didn’t even know possible, like, being sick 8 times a day to the point of having to carry a bucket with you everywhere you go, too sleeping for pretty much 3 days straight and still feeling tired, having your chest size increasing by 5 sizes and on top of that, having watch EVERYTHING you eat. One of the best things about being pregnant is your taste buds change; in comparison to when you’re not pregnant, food tastes very bland normally; so the foods you can eat, you really DO enjoy. The latest thing, my hands have swollen; I’ve had to take my engagement ring off and now I can’t wear it till baby’s here.  My wedding ring isn’t causing any problems so I can keep that one on for now, thankfully.

Our baby at 10 weeks 5 days old and the first
time we ever layed eyes on him or her.

On refection, although some parts of these last 9 months have been the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced, I have managed it; and in the times when I really thought I wouldn’t, God has been the one I held onto; along with my husband who has been my rock. These experiences have made us stronger.  For the parts that have been good, I am grateful, like seeing our baby for the first time at the ultrasound scan is a moment that took our breath away and will stick with us forever.

I am now more than ready for the next part.  We want to meet our baby and I am pretty much done with being pregnant. I’m sure I’ll miss parts of it but it’s not long now and I have to keep looking forward. I hope as you read this you will pray and think of us in the time of transition; from being a couple, to becoming a family and that for me having this baby will be something I will not fear but giving birth is just a stepping stone the best thing that’s ever happened to us. 

Isaiah 40:11 'He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.'

Weeks 36 and 37

This blog will cover the latest two weeks of my pregnancy, weeks 36 and 37. It’s also rather short as nothing new has really come up and I am fed up of being pregnant, so I'm not overly energetic on talking about it.

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant, in the 9^th months of my pregnancy and officially full term. Here is what The Baby Centre website has to say now I’m 37 weeks along.

‘Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labour now, his/her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.‘

Baby size:
36 weeks: Baby is the size of a crenshaw melon

'Your baby, almost 6 pounds and still packing on the pounds at a rate of about an ounce a day, is comparable to a crenshaw melon in size. (Length: more than 18 1/2 inches, head to heel.)'

37 weeks: Baby is as long as a stalk of Swiss chard

'Your baby is as lofty as a stalk of Swiss chard and weighs 6 1/3 pounds. (Length: a bit over 19 inches, head to heel.)'

Sleep: sleep is rubbish and hard work now. I am constantly uncomfortable. It takes me forever to get into some sort of position I can sleep in and by the time I’m sort of settled, I need to get up to pee. Lack of sleep is the one thing that really makes me want the baby to come. I know that I wont get much sleep when once the baby is here, but at least when it comes to putting my head down I’ll be able to switch off comfortably, even if it’s just for a couple of hours. Like they say, when baby sleeps I’ll sleep. Plus getting up to a reason other than to pee, stop heartburn or get comfy will be great.

Movement: Of course, very painful sometimes now. Babies hiccups are happening a lot and often a few times a day.

Food cravings/aversions: anything chocolate flavoured or chocolate itself is amazing. I have a major sweet tooth.

Pregnancy symptoms: Nothing new really

What I miss: Being comfortable

What I'm looking forward to: Finally meeting my baby and my brain working properly, it’s just mush most of the time now. Feel like I can’t even string a sentence together half the time.

Milestones: reaching full term is a pretty big milestone. Baby stuff has been arriving in dribs and drabs over the last couple of weeks too. The big, main items, such as the pram and car seat have started coming through. Just a few things left and we are ready for little Lamb to come along.

Best moment of this week: My mum spent some time with me this week. Helping me to prep things I was struggling with. I said goodbye to her last night realising the next time she comes down I will be in labour, we were all like ‘WOAH!’.

Pregnancy moments with hubby: Nothing major but little things like the fact I fidget and move all night trying to get some sort of comfy, he is a trooper because I know I disturb him a lot of the time but he doesn’t moan and complain. He’s very understanding, always rubs my back and helps me in the best way he can.

Weeks 34/35

Oops, just realised that I am a little behind in the blog updates. I'm past 35 weeks now. 35 weeks 3 days. Next blog should carry onto 'full term' 36 to 37.

Baby size:

Week 34: Your baby has bulked up like the average cantaloupe -- to about 4 3/4 pounds. (Length: almost 18 incheshead to heel.)

Week 35: Your baby, now as hefty as a honeydew melon at 5 1/4 pounds, doesn't have much room to manoeuvre in your belly. (Length: more than 18 inches, head
to heel.)

Sleep: Um, this is a tricky one now. I can sleep but have developed temporary carpal tunnel syndrome which basically means that every time I wake up my hand and arms are dead. This can be extremely painful at times; something to do with a lot of extra fluid going around my body, and the fact that my system and muscles are relaxed, so it’s slowing my circulation down. I seem to be waking up every two hours; and sometimes more depending on toilet breaks :D

Movement: I feel like I know my baby and his/her habits. There are certain things that make the baby move (chocolate and beef, definitely his/her fathers child). Generally I'll get a hard time first thing in the morning and just before I sleep at night. This morning I was getting booted severely in the ribs. Baby protests a lot if I sit forward and likes pushing against my bladder most of the day too.

Food cravings/aversions: Cornflakes with honey from a jar, still the main contender over the last 3 weeks or so. Again powdered, packed food, like the flavouring packets for noodles literally make me want to heave; I cannot bare the smell. So also packet dishes that you add for flavouring to meals, like Colman’s sausage casserole or slow roast favouring for meals is the same. BLUGHHHHH!

Pregnancy symptoms: crying for no reason, and peeing all the time.

What I miss: freedom to sleep in whatever position I want, also I miss being quick on my feet, everything is so slow now. Bending down is a mission. I tend to sit down on the kitchen floor to put a load in the washing machine, which is all well and good, but I can't get back up again and Deryck has to rescue me.

What I'm looking forward to: The baby arriving now. I'm sure by reading this; you might be able to tell that I'm getting fed up now and just want to meet my baby. I had all my antenatal classes and the baby room is done, along with my hospital bag and babies hospital bag. Just need to do daddy's bag now.

Milestones: reaching the size of whale? Haha, nothing significant really. Just happy baby and pregnancy is going well and although it's getting tough, it's all the right stuff that's meant to be happening.

Best moment of this week: I watch a YouTube channel/programme called 'The Mom's view' (yes it's American), I commented on their recent episode about the fact I was due in 4 weeks and had response with a congratulations from one of the mum's.

Pregnancy moments with hubby: Buying and getting everything we've needed for the babies room and him working is backside off painting the room! I have most certainly got the best husband in the world :)

Baby Lambs Room

Just a quick update for anyone interested. The baby room is now done, paint wise anyway. We have decorations on the way such as pictures, curtain ties and cot mobile. We decided to go with the Millie and Boris theme, which is from mamas and papas.

The room what already decorated in the beige colour you can see on the back wall. The ceiling is the same colour too with glow in the dark stars that are just too cute.

This is the changing area. The shelves need re-arranging but otherwise the unit is built into the wall already.

This is the boarder. The colour in the background is called moonlight white. This is the colour we went with as the previous owners had places a massive bright pink Disney name display. It was the one thing that made the room girly and needed covering.

The rocking chair is for when I breastfeed, the draws on the left are full of goodies and clothes from the baby shower and on top, the hamper that mother-in-law put together for me, full of baby toiletries.

32/33 weeks

Today I am 33 weeks pregnant which now means I have 6 weeks to go, until I am full term. 6 weeks?? Really? It feels like just yesterday that I found out I was expecting.

Baby size:

Week 32: Squash. Average size: 15.2- 16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 lb.
Sleeping and waking cycles are establishing now.

Week 33: Durian Fruit. Average size: 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8 lb. Babies bones are hardening.

Sleep: Thankfully my sleep is going very well at the moment. I have at least 1 bad night a week, but other than that I'm sleeping great. Admittedly I'm not comfortable very often but that doesn't seem to be stop me. I do wake up sometimes too hungry that I can't sleep, so I venture down to the kitchen and have milk and a biscuit. If the cat was quiet all night or Deryck didn't get up to go to work I'd sleep right through from 10pm at 10am.

Movement: Baby Lamb is moving all the time pretty much. He/ she is most active when I'm either in the bath or when I've just got out. I will sit on the bed for 20min straight before the baby calms down. It’s an amazing thing to look at your tummy when it's moving and warping. Very surreal.

Food cravings/aversions: A new one this week, I could eat cornflakes for Britain. I think it's the whole crispiness of them and my obsession with milk too. Either have a massive bowl in the morning or two small ones.

Pregnancy symptoms: Just normal aches and pains in my back, legs and tummy muscles. I pee all the time too.

What I miss: I will miss being on band in church. Both my husband have decided to take a break at this time, with so much coming up and going on we've decided to focus on baby and getting ready for that. So whether it’s a couple of months or maybe a year, I think it's going to be needed.

What I'm looking forward to: My baby shower (that I shouldn't know about) on Sunday. All I know is that it's taking place but nothing else. Very excited to have everyone that I love together, helping me get ready for the massive adventure that is about to begin. The other thing I am just too excited for is the arrival of baby. I keep thinking that I just want to meet the baby and have him/her in my arms! I'm sure the time will fly by!

Milestones: The further along in the pregnancy I go the happier I am that the baby has more of a chance of surviving if anything unexpected where to happen. The longer baby is inside the less risk of something going wrong. Ideally baby will go to full term. I have a sneaky little feeling this little one may just keep us waiting a while longer than we want too J

Best moment of this week/Pregnancy moments with hubby: Talking to my husband for hours about baby and what he/she will be like. We are like a pair of excited children waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. Probably wasn’t a good idea to do this just before going to sleep, as when it came to actually trying to sleep, I couldn’t. Too excited!