Next!

I did clean the windows yesterday - the downstairs back ones anyway. They really were disgusting, as was the kitchen floor.

Anyway, the news is that the Wiggler is partially engaged! Midwife wasn't going to tell me, so I asked. Apparently when 3 5ths of the head are in the pelvis she calls that being engaged, although this isn't what every midwife says. Pah - how am I supposed to know? I knew it must be though because I could feel it in my pelvis & I haven't been able to before, plus I could breathe more easily.

Had our first post-class NCT meet today at my house. I made brownies...mmm. Think they went down well - hurrah! Was really nice to meet up with everyone. One of the other ladies has step-children too! Phew! Now everybody knows & it's all OK. I was stressing, but it's all good. I think we're going to do lots of stuff together over the course of our maternity leave which is good. I've volunteered Simon to take a photo of all of the babies when they're out which will be nice :-)

I couldn't resist...

I know that I'm really on maternity leave now - Simon's gone back to work and it's just me & the dog. Curtains and windows are open and the house is spotless LOL! I'm looking at how dirty the windows are...

Anyhoo, I've determined that the Beeb can't accurately predict the weather often enough and thus decided to wash the baby clothes we have. Here's is a picture of the first load, because I couldn't resist :-)

Little tiny clotheses :-)

They're so small! Simon & I were removing the labels from them last night & it properly dawned on us that there'll be a Wiggler wiggling away in them soon enough. Although they look quite big. Which isn't very reassuring considering from where it emerges!!

Other great news: my friend Ute had her baby yesterday: Jonathan born 27th July 2009 at 9.33pm weighing in at 5.36lbs. Both mother and baby are fine and should be allowed home in a few days. I'm so glad after a complicated pregnancy. Hurrah!

Maternity leave and mobiles

So here it is, ze mobile:

My lovely husband put it up for me today :-D They look a bit porky on this picture - I think my phone has distorted them a tad. If I could be bothered to take a proper picture with the Nikon I would, but I really can't right now.

I finished work today! WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The last day for 52 whole weeks. It's still quite surreal and hasn't really sunk in because it's the weekend. I know that it means that The Wiggler is now imminent. Hopefully not before-pool-arrives-imminent, but the due date is a darn sight closer than it was! Erk! My work mates very kindly bought me some crib blankets and a swaddling blanket - which is exactly what I needed - I wonder how they knew?! Hmm LOL! Anyhoo, we have pretty much everything we need now. I'm still debating a baby bath. Some people say they're a waste space, time and money. Other people say they're great.

We had our final antenatal class yesterday and went for a curry afterwards. Rebecca has arranged loads of coffee mornings at each other's houses over the coming weeks and a reunion in October. It seems so far away, but I know the time will fly. I've learned so much from the classes and genuinely do think they've helped both Simon and I on our journey through this pregnancy. So the ladies will be visiting my house on Wednesday for drinks & stuff - best get some biscuits in! Or...shall I make brownies...hmm?

Stuff & things

I ordered our sling yesterday. It's so very beautiful. I bought it from here. This is what it looks like:

Isn't it lovely?! Can't wait til it arrives & there's a Wiggler in it :-)

I bought nappies today. All these things that have been on the list of things to get after our July payday and now the July payday has come & gone and I'm actually buying the things! It's all a bit surreal.

I'm also extremely chipper because I've found some other people who are into more natural parenting near me. Having been somewhat disillusioned with other Mum's forum sites, I've discovered Netmums. The Local meet-a-mum thing is great! I posted something on the board on Saturday, I've had 5 replies since then and it's only Wednesday! Maybe we should start our own group as there doesn't seem to be one that caters for what I want, not that I can find anyway.

I've got so much planned for next week - I've got the sheets that Mum gave me to wash & turn into little fitted sheets for the crib, my freezer paper has arrived so I can make some stencils for the plain bodysuits, I'm knitting a hooded jumper for the Wiggler which needs finishing, I need to wash all of the baby clothes we've got already - how have I been so restrained this far??! Oh I know - I've been at work!

Another piece of extremely good news is that Mum is definitely on the mend :-D We went over to see them on Saturday last week as it was Rosh's 3rd birthday and she came downstairs for the first time in 11 months. That was momentous enough, but then I got a text on Sunday saying she was in Tesco's having a coffee! I spoke to her today & find out that she's been down to their house in Southampton for the day to meet the builder & generally get out & about and hopefully they'll be coming to see me next week when I'm on maternity leave! I'm so very pleased and it's nice to have my Mum back. Love you Mum :-) xxx

I wish this weather would sort itself out - I put some washing out when I got back from my antenatal class today (which was great and 5 of us had lunch together afterwards) and it was almost dry, then the heavens opened. Now 1/2 hour later it's about as dry as it was when it came out of the machine. Gah.

Birth pool arrives next Saturday (1st) woohoo! I love it when a plan comes together :-D

Vaccination or not?

I'm not a fan of Western medicine generally and today I started thinking about whether The Wiggler should be vaccinated or not. I assume that if we choose the non-vaccination route there will be people who are angry and think we're being selfish. I really don't know enough about the subject to make a decision at this point.

It seems that there are 2 camps: the "vaccines are evil" lot & the "vaccines are essential" lot. I'd really like to speak to someone who can give me the facts so that we can make an informed choice. Is that even possible with this subject? There are so many books on the subject - one I would like to read is What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave. There's also Raising A Vaccine Free Child by Wendy Lydall.

I have to say that initial feelings are complete bewilderment. One one hand you want the best for your baby and to protect them from the nasty world. Then you think, hang on - the world isn't nasty. Then you start to think - what's in these things that doctors say are vital? Are they really? How is the immune system supposed to cope if it's bombarded with synthetic substances? From my few minutes web browsing I've read comments such as "linked with Autism" and things suggesting that the research stating vaccines are necessary is done by people with a vested interest in the sale of said vaccinations.

At school I ended up refusing the yearly flu jab because it always made me ill and I didn't actually get flu. I had mumps when I was little and I survived! I dunno. Maybe have some & not others. I'll talk to our NCT class teacher and have a read & a think.

Le cot

We...well mostly Simon...put the cot together today :-) Looks fab don't you think?

It's very difficult to take pictures in the nursery now there's more stuff in it; getting a bit cramped - good job there isn't anything else to go in except for a chair!

It's amazing and a little strange to think that there will be a Wiggler to go in it quite soon...I know the crib will be used for the first 6 months or so, but still - it's quite overwhelming!

We're getting to know people at the antenatal class now which is really nice. I can't quite believe how worthwhile the classes are; I knew they'd be helpful, but from an emotional viewpoint they've saved me. Simon and I are much closer as a result of going and we're both really excited about the arrival of The Wiggler now. It's great to be around other pregnant women for a start and for Simon it's been terrific to meet other Dads-to-be. Normalising emotions and concerns is hugely beneficial. We even went to the local pub for a drink after the one last night. I seriously recommend NCT classes to anyone having a baby who wants to know more & meet other people in the same situation!

I really didn't think I was the type, but it turns out that I am - I found this pregnancy ticker at lilypie.com which I've decided to add to each blog. However, I'm only copying the image onto each post so that it stays as a sort of record of how pregnant I was/old Wiggler was when I wrote something.

Make Baby Stuff!

I'm becoming craft obsessed.

I found a brilliant website the other day. I know the internet is host to a zillion things to make, but www.makebabystuff.com seems to encompass quite a few of them in one place; useful ones too - like how to make fitted crib sheets. That may be obvious to many, but not to me & now I know how! Hurrah! Unfortunately I now want a Gocco printer - expensive! Also, largely unavailable in the UK not terribly cost effctive once purchased. Maybe I'll stick to freezer stencils instead? Again, the internet comes through with this lovely website - stockists of said paper.

I'm already making this bird mobile - I have 6 birds done and 2 twigs. I don't think I'll make mine so big as the nursery isn't a very big room, maybe only 8 or 10 birds rather than the full 12? I tried to machine sew them, but it went very wrong and ended up looking a little Quasi-birdo (!) so I stuck to hand sewing, which I haven't done in ages! I'm going to iron the tail bits when they're all done so they aren't so wonky. The middle-top one (maroon/yellow/blue) was the first one I made so he's a bit weird & fat. Bless.

I originally found the mobile on homemade by jill - a wonderful blog full of amazing things that she's made! I fully intend to make the burp cloths. The only problem I find with all these great craft blogs is that they're American (not that that's a bad thing!) and in America there seems to be a never ending supply of craft/yarn/fabric shops all selling wondrous thing that we English can only dream about. Sure Derby has an art shop and a craft shop, but they're fairly limited and the fabric selection on the market is somewhat naf. Don't even get me started on the lack of good yarn in Derby. Thank goodness for the internet!

It's sale season at the moment which is great! We have most of the stuff we want for newly arrived/first 6 months Wiggler in terms of body suits/sleep suits etc, but I'm starting to buy stuff to customise like tops & hoodies. I really like the idea of appliquéd plain tops to make them more interesting/individual. Mum (who is doing loads better lately hurrah!) also has lots of different colour dyes at her house that we can mix to make colours not traditionally associated with babies. H&M have some AWESOME stuff for babies - really bright & interesting - none of this pastel rhubarb associated with babies normally.

Our antenatal classes are going well - turns out one of the women graduated from the Creative Expressive Therapies degree at my Uni a few years before I went so we did some of the same modules! We're all going out for a meal after the last class too which will be nice. The day after that is my last day at work - I can imagine I'll be quite emotional! I was going to try and hang on until the 38 week mark, but I don't think I'll last that long! HR have said it's OK to bring it forward yippee!! I'll be crafting my arse off I expect!

While in Sound Bites last Saturday I was given some free & out of date magazines. One of these was Juno magazine which is a natural parenting magazine full of really good articles; totally up my street. I'd like a subscription to this methinks.

1st antenatal class

Wooh! We went to the first of our 7 antenatal classes yesterday evening. It was great! I was so relieved. It's run by the NCT and I have to admit I was (stupidly) a little bit scared that everyone would be stuck up. Anyhoo, they weren't! Everyone was really nice and the session was really helpful. The first thing we did was introduce ourselves - we're the only couple having a home birth, everyone else is booked in at the City (now Royal) hospital and one lady is at Chesterfield. Our teacher, Rebecca, made split us into the men & the women to write a list of things we wanted to know more about under the following headings: pregnancy, labour, early days, ghastlies & ground rules. We filled in the ghastlies first with things like tearing, pelvic muscle recovery etc. The men actually raised some interesting points which I think surprised the women!

After that we had to put some pictures of a baby being born in order. This was incredibly helpful; I've read quite a lot about labour & pregnancy, but as yet didn't really have a clue as to what actually happens while the baby comes out. So now I do!

I could tell people were a bit shocked that I was having a home water birth, but Rebecca explained that the risks of home birth (if you take out the unplanned and free births) are significantly fewer than giving birth in hospital. She also confirmed that it's the best way to get one on one care and that I get lots of other stuff I wouldn't if I was in hospital. By the end at least 2 more couples were considering home birth & more were thinking about water birth - hurrah!  I think they were secretly a bit jealous lol!

Simon really liked it too - I think it's helped meeting other men in the same situation as him. We're both really excited about our next class on Saturday - bring it on!

I bought a steriliser & some bottles on Wednesday - half price in Boots and triple points on baby!