Scary Shit!!

Andy and I had a pretty major scare with lil' bean on Wednesday. Andy came to collect me from work to take me out for lunch and I fell as we were walking through the town. I have no idea what happened, I don't remember tripping or stumbling - one minute we were walking down the street and the next minute I was on the ground. The scary thing is, I landed face down on my stomache! Lil' bean was kicking up a storm immediately before I fell and when I stood up I couldn't feel him/her moving anymore. It scared the piss out of me and I got pretty panicked.

Some nice people who work in the town were trying to calm me down and got me to sit in the post office while they called for a paramedic. The paramedic arrived, followed closely by an ambulance and they took me to the labour and delivery ward of Stafford hospital. After checking the baby's heartbeat and being seen by a midwife and an obstetrician, they let me go home. The baby seems to be fine - the heartbeat was strong at the hospital and at home that night s/he started kicking again! I am so relieved.

I still need to be careful though and take it easy for the next week just to make sure everything is ok. But lil' bean is back to her active self and I haven't had any more tummy pain since the hospital on Wednesday, so I am not quite so worried anymore. Andy and I were terrified on Wednesday (even though Andy stayed calm throughout everything) and are so relieved that everything is fine. As anxious as we are to meet lil' bean, s/he needs to stay in there for 3 more months to make sure s/he is strong and healthy.

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

6 Months (or 27 Weeks)

I am 6 months pregnant today and, oh lord, the belly just can't get any bigger. I feel huge and awkward at the moment and Andy takes great joy in laughing at me. :) But at the same time, he takes great joy in just touching my belly...so I won't complain. It's nice to see him so happy.

The long awaited photograph....(in maternity clothes because I just couldn't pour myself into my old clothes)
I also had my Glucose Tolerance Test today. Gawd that was boring. Sat in the hospital for 2.5 hours and they kept pricking my finger to check my blood sugar levels. Ick! I should have the results in a few days though...so fingers crossed, everything will be fine.

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

Only 93 days to go...

I just looked at my baby ticker and it says:

Summer is 26 weeks and 5 days pregnant.
Only 93 days to go.

I can't believe that!! Where have the last six months gone? It has gone so quickly and on one hand I cannot wait for those 93 days to go by but at the same time, I am in no rush for this baby to be born. I absolutely love being pregnant and feeling our tiny baby moving around inside of me. I am not sleeping through the night anymore but, tired as I am, I quite like waking up in the middle of the night and just lying in bed with my hand on my growing tummy. The house is quiet and calm and it's so nice to have some time with the baby.

The stereotypical "pregnant lady hormones" have kicked in as well. I have to be so careful what I watch on television as the slightest thing can set me off and get me crying. And it's not weepy crying either - it's all out sobbing! The latest thing is the Andrex puppy. There is a commercial here with a yellow labrador puppy playing with rolls of toilet paper and it sets me off every time. It's to the stage now where I have to change the channel. :)

Otherwise, we're doing well. I finish work in 7 weeks (and counting) and cannot wait. It'll be really nice to have some time with Andy before the baby comes. We very rarely get any length of time together because of our work schedules so it will be good to have some "us" time.

I have my Glucose Tolerance Test on Tuesday as well. I have to go into the hospital Tuesday morning and have a series of blood tests taken over three hours! I'm not looking forward to it at all, but it's being done to rule out gestational diabetes so it will be nice to have my mind put at ease about that. And then it's back into the midwife the week after. I'm now at the stage of my pregnancy where the midwife wants to see me every 3 weeks.

The last 26 weeks have flown by and before we know it, we'll be celebrating our first Christmas as a family. I cannot wait for that!

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

Blog Upheaval!

I'm trying to sort out a new layout for my blog at the moment. Unfortunately, this means there may be quite a few broken links and missing photos until then. I'll try to get it sorted as quickly as I can. Until then....bear with me.

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

Roll on October 26th!

My maternity leave is all booked with my employer and MAN am I ready to go! I am struggling at work lately and cannot wait until I can have some time away. I still love my job but I'm really starting to feel like they are all taking advantage of me and/or they don't appreciate me. I am on a pathetic wage because the business is still new and still trying to establish itself financially. I completely understand why they can't pay me more (I see the accounts) but it still bothers me that I work so hard for such a paltry amount each month. And to make matters worse, my manager has gone a bit off the rails lately. He split with his partner about two months ago and has been a bit distracted since then. He comes in when he wants, he goes home when he wants and he disappears for hours at a time during the day. Now, I am trying to be understanding and not blow my top at him, but we are a tiny office (only 3 of us) and in the afternoon I am on my own if he is out on appointments or if he disappears. I'm six months pregnant, tired and need a little help now and then. I can't go at the pace I used to go at, but he doesn't seem to realise that. I feel abandoned 90% of the time and it stresses me out, which is something I definitely do not need right now!

I know it will sound incredibly arrogant, but I cannot wait for my maternity leave to start because then everyone at work will finally realise just how much I do. I don't think they quite understand the amount of work I do or how I manage to keep this office running smoothly. Big headed as it sounds, they are going to be in for a shock when I am gone and I'm looking forward to that. Just once it would be nice to be told that I am doing well, that I'm appreciated, that they understand just how much stress I am under. I really doubt that will ever happen, but it would be nice.

Until then....I have 8 weeks to go until my maternity leave (or 33 days). I cannot wait! I'm going off a little earlier than planned so Andy and I can have some much needed time together before the baby is born. Also, because I don't think I need any extra stress in the last few weeks of my pregnancy and would prefer to approach labour and delivery being calm and well rested. I'll have about 6 weeks off before the baby comes and it will be nice to potter round the house getting everything ready for lil bean!

I will be 26 weeks tomorrow!! Lil' bean could be with us anywhere between 11 and 14 weeks!! How exciting is that??!!

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

Updates....

I've finally managed to update some of my photographs!

• 4 new "Pregnancy" photos
• 19 new "Mom in the UK" photos
• 5 new "Family" photos
• 7 new "Miscellaneous" photos

Go take a look!

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

5 Months Pregnant!

Well, I am now 5 months pregnant and the belly has definitely arrived! I feel absolutely huge, but I love seeing it get bigger and bigger each day. I am feeling great though...no sickness, no major aches or pains and looking forward to the 26th of October when I got off on maternity leave!


Oh and we have the baby's room ready and waiting for lil bean to arrive. It's absolutely adorable and I can't wait for our son or daughter to make it their own in a few months.

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

20 Week Scan

We had our 20 week scan yesterday and were excited to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. Instead, we found out that we have a stubborn child who refused to open his/her legs. When s/he finally opened their legs we discovered that cheeky lil' bean had cleverly tucked the chord between his/her legs!! So...obviously, we are not meant to know. We were a little disappointed yesterday, but now that I have had time to think about it, I am actually glad that we didn't find out. This will be the biggest and the best Christmas surprise Andy and I have ever had and that it exciting. I still can't wait to find out...I guess I'll just have to wait another 17-20 weeks!

The most important thing that we found out yesterday though was that our baby is healthy. Everything looks good and s/he is incredibly energetic! It was almost impossible to get a clear photo as s/he refused to stay still long enough for the technician to snap one!! Our lil' bean loves doing summersaults!!

Lots of love
Summer
xXx

Letter to my Baby

There are so many things I want to tell you about and to remember.

Like the day your daddy and I found out that you were there inside me. Or the day I heard your heart beating for the first time and cried and laughed because it was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. There were the times I spent absent mindedly stroking my tummy wishing you could feel my touch and know how much I love you. There was the first time I felt you move inside me and realised it was possible to love you even more. And the magic of realizing that you are really here and alive!

I want to tell you about how we picked your name and how we chose it years ago when you were still only a dream. I want to tell you about how hard daddy and I fought for you and how badly we have always wanted you. I want to tell you about how happy you have made us just by being there. How I dreamed of you several times and woke up smiling.

I want to tell you of how you were conceived out of so much love and joy between your father and I, and how much we have loved you since that day. And soon, I will also want to tell you of how you were born. But all this will have to wait a few more months.
A few more months and we will be able to tell you everything.
To share our lives together.
To love you forever.

All my love
Mummy
xXx

Feeling Settled

I absolutely love being pregnant! Yes there are back aches and the rest to deal with, but that is such a tiny part of it. I love knowing that in a little under 5 months time we are going to be holding our son or daughter. As happy as I am, it still sometimes feels a little unreal. I cannot believe that Andy and I are finally going to be parents after wanting it for so long. This has been such a long difficult road to get to where we are now. There were times when I just wanted to give up and stop trying because it was devastating each month when we found out we weren't successful. It became the focus of my life and it could have easily affected my marriage.

Having said all that....I would happily do it all over again just to feel the way I feel now. "Happy" doesn't even begin to cover it though. I am overjoyed, excited, ecstatic but at the same time I have never felt so settled in my life. I am married to the love of my life who treats me better than anyone else in the world, we have a home together and will soon be welcoming our first baby into the world. Life is absolutely wonderful at the moment and I couldn't ask for anything else.

Lots of love
Summer
xXx