Nana diet...

So its official. Toffee pops, moosies and banana cakes are now off the menu until at least 6 weeks post-partum. Sigh. Gestational Diabetes has reared its PITA head with only 5 weeks max to go. 3 if the hospital midwife (who has informed me I will no longer be seeing her) is to be believed. Yikes, thats leaving me with a lot less time to finish getting ready for baby... Like setting the room up so it can sleep in the bassinette for a start!

Apparently I have to attend a group session to talk to a dietician and other GD related specialists next week, then the following week I have an appointment to have a chat with one of the hospital obstetricians to set the big date. Its all happening rather fast now that the end is coming! And I have yet to spill the beans on gender to anyone (apart from those that E and I agreed on prior to finding out) which surprises me to no end as I am hopeless at secrets usually!

And not a minute too soon, I may not have hyperemesis this time around, but instead I seem to have swapped it for extreme exhaustion (which I am sure is not currently helped by the as yet UNmanaged GD) sciatica, and in the last couple of weeks SPD has kicked in... It must look somewhat comical when I have to get up and walk somewhere, hobbling like an old man huddled over a granny walker cant be a good look! Still, the end IS in sight, so I must get a move on and finish up all the little things that still need doing!

Will come back tomorrow to add my 35 weeks tummy comparison photo ;)

Heartburn and growth spurts

Baby is STILL breech (have decided that either baby is stuck in this position as its head has not moved in at least 2 months, or its just being a stubborn wee sod like its big sister, must be a genetic thing as I recall many people saying their nana was a very stubborn woman!) which makes sitting down a tad uncomfortable unless I can have the whole couch to lean back and off to the side, but it also means heartburn is here and since baby is not showing ANY sign of wanting to move its stubborn head, the heartburn could be here to stay (until March at the latest, phew for lights at the end of the tunnel!!)

The heartburn problem is not helped by the fact that either myself or bubs have had a serious growth spurt in the last fortnight... my money is on the baby since I AM at 28 weeks which is about right on schedule for growth spurts on baby's behalf ;) According to one ticker I am carrying something roughlythe size of a pumpkin, while another ticker suggests baby is the size of an eggplant/aubergine... interesting. I dont like either of those veges but there you go.

eep... 28 weeks... leaves me with about 10 weeks to get everything bought, set up and ready to go!

Growth spurt pics!

Left was 27 weeks, right is 28 weeks!



And to show any lurkers how I'm tracking along with #2's growth rate, left is #2's bump at 28 weeks, right is 28 weeks with this one

Head, shoulders, knees and toes... sans knees!

So the scan went ok...ish. Bubs is breech, and the placenta is anterior (in front) NOT posterior(at the back) as previously informed during prior scans... made for some very difficult picture obtaining! Monkey fits right in with the older siblings, unco-operative little sod! (said in the most lovingliest voice possible!) No lovely leg shots like we got with big sister, just one rather large close-up of a foot, plus a LOT of squished in facial shots... to add to the unco-operativeness of being breech.. it also had its whole arm squished up against the side if its face! The other side was squished into the placenta with the cord dangling in the way, so the only way to get face shots was half frontal, half side on. Still, some nice pics to be had!

To add to the fun and games today, it turns out said big sister has had the chicken pox for the last week, only they didnt LOOK like CP, just like LOTS of flea/mosquito bites... bad mum of the year award goes to...

Big brother has just passed his 7th birthday with a trip to the zoo, an afternoon at speedway and some new Transformers gear. He is, of course, quite pleased with his birthday this year. In that case son, you just wait til xmas!

26 weeks this weekend just been, and bump is very similar to big sister's at the same stage... that as we now know, may be entirely due to same position than anything else... I LOVE how my kids never make life easy... that would just be too... well... easy!

#2 on the left, this one on the right

And last but not least, pics of the main attraction

This one on the left, big sister at same stage on the right

All snuggled into its hand, looks so... cosy?


Swallowing, about the only movement during the whole scan!


A foot, and a hand



hand/arm again along top of head


Head, upper torso and arm

Bump pic!

Thought I'd do a comparison to see how I am carrying compared to how I was with #2, and theres a pretty noticeable difference! 4D scan is now booked for Dec 7th at lunchtime, day before my birthday, happy birthday to me!

Left is with #2, right is with this one

Papaya baby!

Food analogy of the week - baby is now the size of a papaya, or a 1lb footlong sub... take your pick!

Either way, bubs is definitely making itself known, apparently my favourite sleeping position doesnt please the little blighter, so I must lie on my back (NOT comfy!) to go to sleep instead. Kicks/punches can now be seen and felt easily from the outside, only E has the patience of a 2yr old so hasnt been told he might actually feel something just yet. Earlier this evening (while E was out... go figure!) baby was getting its wriggle on in a big way, and I even felt a leg or arm bone sliding across my tummy... such an awesome feeling!! Didnt have this with #1 or #2 as they both had placentas blocking the more defined movements, so all we could feel/see was the big rolling motions.

Have officially started leaking... time to invest in booby pads! Might have to hunt back in the June 09 thread on various forums to see when this started up with #2, foggy memory seems to have left that detail somewhere in the inaccessible recesses of my mind!

One more month until #1 turns 7, closely followed by myself turning another year older.... and the 3D/4D scan will be getting booked around then too, cant wait!

Will post pics tomorrow... its really late (been playing taxi driver... unpaid!) and I havent taken said bump pic yet, will do later in the A.M!

Halfway pic!

Sooo apparently bubs is now the size of a cantaloupe (rockmelon for us kiwis!) and is getting close to the 1lb and 1ft long mark! Must have put on some growth spurt in the last week as the tummy has suddenly gone pop! Feeling lots of punches/kicks and wriggles quite regularly, and even felt the real strong ones from the outside (although from the outside it felt like the tiniest little tap!). Ms seems to be making a slight comeback, going back to the constant queasy, and feeling like I 'might' be sick if I do or dont eat... sadly, chocolate seems to STILL be on the list of foods that baby doesnt like... I seem to recall one of my previous children having the exact same effect on me... makes sense being the same gender of that particular sibling ;)

Labour weekend and the weather seems to have diverted from the traditional rain and winds of spring, and blessed with us sunny, cloudless days, handy since we have a bbq planned for tomorrow! On that note, i shall post pics (19w top, 20w below) to show growth spurt, then call it a night!

Piccy time!

Scan was nothing short of amazing! Baby is measuring bang on for dates, legs, tummy and head (width and circ) all measuring the same as LMP dates, so looks like we'll have a lovely average little... baby! You didnt think I was going to spill the beans on here did you?? As promised, lips are tightly sealed... pity I cant say the same about my bank account! Now that we know gender, its likely to get a fair walloping as I stock up on gorgeous little baby clothes! I'll 'try' not to go overboard as there was a lot of unisex stuff leftover from #2 that can be used again, so 0-3 months is more or less sorted... assuming I dont have one of those spilly babies with repetitive #3 type nappies! Plus there are still some things I managed to retrieve off a friend from one of my previous kids that will fill in the gaps... along with the cutest set a friend has put on layby for me!!

Baby is getting its wriggle on more and more, and I am definitely feeling it from the outside now!

Pics are on FB and in my 'due in' thread on OB, but for blogging purposes, here we are again...

One very well defined leg and foot, was one of the clearest shots we got of the legs without showing the 'nether regions'



Profile shot



Peek-a-boo, I see you!



Everything was as it should be, and no need for follow-up scans this time around... so unless something pops up later on that requires a check-in, this is all we will see until a 3D/4D scan at 26 weeks (which also happens to be in the same week as both mine and #1's birthdays :D), then sit tight and wait for the big day!

Working on names still, had a couple of names for a girl, and a name for a boy, but I have suddenly gone off the name/s we had, so back to searching for the 'right' name... but again... cant post it here since it would reveal gender ;)