Slow

Ok so not much has happened in the last month.

We ordered our cot and Moses basket from mammas and pappas in the sale and the website said it would be delivered in march which is good and gives us time to sort out where I am going to put a piano, electric guitar and my work desk.....well it would have been but I got an email after 3 days saying it had been dispatched and so it sits in our hallway downstairs.

I am trying to figure out how to make do with so little space and I don't think it will be too bad. A crying baby will put all this into perspective and room may not matter too much.

We have also bought our pram from Mothercare (Greco evo) with carrycot and hopefully this won't get delivered for a few months to allow us to sort out the nursery and the pram can go in the Hallway (currently blocked by cot bed)

My daughter (feels weird saying that) kicks now on a night and on a lunch time and you can often see the kick as well as feel it. This is great and fills me with joy every time which is weird as it does not involve alcohol or a playstation :)

My wife's bump is getting bigger and soon she will not be able to drive and I am curious how she will cope with me being away Monday to Thursday. Only time will tell.

It's all starting to be real and sometimes I freak out (in my head only) for a minute as nothing will ever be the same, but then excitement kicks in and I am all Jolly again (to the annoyance of my wife)

I thought we had made a good don't in the things we need, however just made a list and its HUGE, oh well I still have 3 months.

On that note I must say it is a slow process, 6 months in and it still feels a lifetime away, oh how naive I am!

The first kick

Last night was the first 'kick' experience I had. As always I was having my nightly belly stroke and listen when this thud came from within my wife's belly and I felt the kick raise my cheek.

The baby must have been uncomfortable as in quick successions more kicks came.

This was a great experience as it is one of those that remind you there is a growing person inside and it is alive and kicking - it's so easy to procrastinate with 'baby' stuff as not much has changed apart from my wife's bump and sometimes you even forget your having a baby.

The baby after this must have got comfortable as no more movement occurred that night, however it was enough and I went to bed with a big grin on my face :)

The little things

It's weird before the pregnancy if your wife's belly got allot bigger and she started being all kinds of moody you would probably say stop being moody and loose some weight (well you would think it at least). However when your wife is pregnant its a great thing and you find yourself loving the little changes including the bigger belly (and boobs lol) and my wife even has developed a few faint hairs which I also find cute (weird I know)

Not only that but you find yourself doing strange things, for example before I go to bed I always stroke the belly and have a listen. I know the baby can't feel the stroking and I won't be able to hear anything but I do it anyway, and I love it.

Another weird thing is you become more protective of your partner now there is two (or more). I am a little more nervous when my wife drives on her own (ever day) and when we are out I am looking for hazards and making sure I go down steps first (or last if going up) etc. It's like I have gone into a protective overdrive mode.

All in all I am loving every change that is occurring, no matter how weird. It's an unusual sensation as you do little weird things (like stroke the belly or talk to the bump) without even thinking.

Buy buy buy

So no we know the sex of the baby (a girl) it seems like a good time to go out and buy some nice baby girl clothes. Could not be simpler I hear you say......wrong!

First of all you have to guess newborn clothes as they come in sizes such a tiny baby for up 6 pounds etc. This means you could run the risk of buying lots of normal newborn clothiers (up-to 10 pounds apparently) and if you have a larger baby then it's all for nothing.

The second thing which you must keep reminding yourself if the time of year it is. The bay clothes come in stages I.e first 3 months, 3 to 6 months etc, so it's no use buying a very warm thick outfit when the baby will be born in June.

You must also remind yourself that in some shops tiny baby clothes cost more than the clothes your wearing and even though there so cute, there is a limit to your spending.

Once you have the above sorted in your mind its a wonderful experience and me and the misses went through next, mammas and papas and mother care and bough a select few items we thought were the best of the bunch.

We have also started getting clothes as gifts from other people and I have the feeling our little girl is going to be spoilt for choice when getting ready on a morning.

Do you want to know the sex of the baby?

Today is the second scan (and for most people their last) to check for certain health issues and if you want to find out the sex of the baby.

These scans are quite unusual. Firstly there is no sound so you feel like your watching a silent movie and secondly they work on depth and therefore picture of the baby often is unclear and if the baby moves part of it on the scan will disappear.

The first part of the scan I was very nervous because they take measurements to determine health problems (which I understand) but she did this in complete silence so naturally all I could think was 'is everything alright', 'why is she not saying anything'.

There was a few more views on this scan than last time, including watching the blood flow in the heart chambers (quite cool) and a close up of the face which shows up the eyes like polo's giving a certain terminator feel and it is weird to see the midwife really push on the belly and seeing the baby react.

Once the measurements were done the midwife was very chatty and goes through all the tests she had been doing from checking the spine to fluid in the stomach.

After this I finally relaxed and she informed us (as we asked) that we were having a little girl. I know it's not 100% and it was confirmed by spotting 3 white dots which represent the woman parts on a not so clear scan picture, but it won't matter and if it comes out a boy then it can wear pink for a year (no one will know)

Like the last scan it did not hit me as much as hearing the heartbeat and adding sound to the scan would enhance the experience more. However I have a big smile on my face knowing I am going to have a little daughter.

Heartbeat

Ok I decided to re write this post after comments that it was just too short.

So today I have just been to the 17 week midwife appointment but before I go into detail I will explain that midwives appointments are sort of the optional appointments for blokes and your partner will let you off with not being there.

I have been to all of them so far as my work is flexible and up to date they are like military operations. Your in on time (very unusual for our doctors), a few things are said, a few quick forms filled in, blood taken, pre done urine sample handed over and your out of there.

I like attending as I don't want to miss out on anything but so far they have not been anything special, however in today's appointment we were hoping to hear the heart beat.

Now it surprised me that not every midwife does this as not hearing a heartbeat can scare parents too be, however the midwife put on a portable speaker and our child's heartbeat was clear and loud.

This was incredible (I enjoyed it more than the scan picture). The sound was loud and fast and I was instantly in the best mood I would be in all day.

If you get the chance to go I would highly recommend it as it is something I won't forget in a while.

Addicted to baby stuff

Ok me and my wife are going through a crazy stage in which we love to look at all the baby clothiers and cuddly toys in a shop. It's frustrating as we have no idea if its a boy or a girl (and everything is either pink or blue) but we don't care.

So far we have baught a few things which were too cute to resist.

I love this time as I am so excited but I need to remind myself to stop staring at babies as people may think I have a problem. You will find this occurs all the time and usually after you have done something productive, for example after visiting mammas and papas for a pram we noticed (and often stared at) other people's prams and how their babies were in them. This is great research but people are not too fond of other people, who don't have kids, string in their direction.