Welcome to 2011 - the year of Sprout

I'm officially declaring myself a slack blogger. It has been quite some time since I last blogged, but I guess given that this blog is about pregnancy, and as I'm not really experiencing anything dramatic on a day-to-day basis, I guess I can be forgiven for not posting more frequently.

It's good that I'm not experiencing anything dramatic - I never really knew there were so many horrible things out there that can happen to unborn babies. I thought all the bad stuff happened after birth! Thankfully all is going well with me, but I can't help but think now and then about the unlucky few...

We've had a big Christmas - completely renovating our kitchen and family room. And as someone said to me recently, "... and you're busy making a family to put in that family room!" As I'll be home for a good part of this year, I really wanted a kitchen/family room that I didn't mind spending lots of time in, and now I have it :-) There are still a few little things that need fixing up here and there, but on the whole things are finished. The house has also been spring cleaned (summer cleaned?) and things are looking and smelling lovely in Casa Hippo. I even cleaned the carpets!

Next up on the plans is the nursery. My mother is going to help with that one - sewing curtains and bedding etc. B and I have yet to pick the colours but I'm leaning towards white walls with lilac and buttercup yellow 'trim' and accessories. I'm not typically a fan of yellow, but I don't mind it as a baby accessory. February is the month for preparing the nursery!

B and I ventured into our first baby store over the Christmas break. It was a little intimidating but we did manage to test drive a few strollers. I can't brag that we completed the test drive without crashing in to anything unfortunately, but it was an eye-opener to see (a) how much room those things take up on an average path! and (b) how expensive they are! But I think we managed to identify the one we want - B likes the 'Elite' model whereas I prefer the 'City Mini' model. City Mini is a little smaller and the rear wheels don't spread out quite as far, so I think it will be easier to navigate in shops etc. B's cousin uses this City Mini stroller and says it's fantastic.

So we've got the stroller sorted (sort of) - next up is... everything else! We've been offered a cot from a work colleague, which crosses that off the list, but there is still so much more baby 'stuff' out there! I'm sure much of it is really unnecessary, but how does one who is slightly naive to it all actually decide what is needed and what isn't? Well, in my case, you hop on a plane to Tasmania to spend a week with your bestest friend (and, importantly, the parent of a toddler) and let them educate you as to what to expect and what you'll need to bother with! I'm very much looking forward to catching up with friends and family while I'm down there - only 5 more sleeps now. And hopefully I'll come back full of baby wisdom and far more clear-headed on what I really need to bother buying!

I had my first midwife appointment in the week between Christmas and New Year. We had a very interesting talk about c-section versus natural delivery, and I have to say I'm now leaning towards natural delivery (whereas once I was in favour of a planned c-section). Obviously time will tell - I have a low-lying placenta which will require a follow-up scan in a few weeks, so it's possible the decision will be taken away from me. But natural delivery is probably going to be my preference - but don't bother offering me a mirror, OK?

Getting kicked from the inside out is another new experience I'm having to live with. It's not particularly unpleasant, just odd. I find it comforting - I start to panic if I get to a certain point in the day and realise I haven't really felt any kicks (refer to above discussion about dramatic things and unborn babies!). At first B wasn't able to feel anything as the kicks (or punches?) were too light. But now he can rest his hand on my belly and when a particularly large kick comes along, he can certainly feel it! I'm also very much looking pregnant now (I'm 25 weeks). The good thing about my expanding waistline is that I actually LOOK pregnant, rather than just overweight. I'm remarkably more at ease with my body now as a pregnant woman compared to before I was pregnant - how fascinating. It's like I needed an excuse to be proud of my fat!

Speaking of fat, I have finally started to weigh more than before I got pregnant. Not much - only about 3-4kg - but enough now that I can no longer say "I haven't put any weight on". For the first 20-odd weeks I must have been losing weight because the scales didn't report any weight gain, even though I was slowly expanding. Now I'm starting to gain weight, but I'm also going to try to minimise that so that I don't end up too huge. So it's more walking and more vegetables for me! I'm also slowly starting to feel more 'fluidy' which isn't pleasant. My feet are a little swollen and I'm unable to wear one of my favourite pairs of slip-on shoes as a result. My rings are quite tight also and only come off with a healthy lather of soap (except at certain points when the air is cooler - summer mugginess makes it worse). Hopefully, if I pick up my exercise, I can also limit the amount of fluid I have to carry around as that really is not pleasant. If you have any hints for getting rid of fluid build up, please feel free to pass them along!

For now, I'm plodding along week by week and gradually starting to look and feel more pregnant. The next challenge will be starting to actually 'nest' and creating the little space that our Miss Sprout will inhabit once she has come out into the world... I'm looking forward to meeting her after all the kicks and pokes she has given me!