Baby Two: The Story So Far

29 Week Bump! 

Hello!

It's been an awfully long time since I last dipped my toe into the Blogger-sphere but recently have been feeling like it would be nice to get back to writing down what's going on as I actually like reading it back later on - a bit like a diary. Lately I've been reading back some posts on Instagram from when I was pregnant with Matilda, and then how I was feeling when she was newborn - such a nice way to remember what was going on at the time. So here I am! 29 weeks pregnant with our second baby, due late October and home from my latest test - the Glucose Tolerance Test. So cruel making a pregnant woman skip breakfast but hey ho. I made up for it by tucking into an enormous brunch when I got home! They found some increased glucose levels in my 28 week blood tests so I had to go and get tested. I feel like I've never spent so much time at the hospital as I have with this pregnancy - between discovering a low lying placenta at my 20 week scan (which has now apparently moved up!), baby's kidneys looking a little too prominent in one scan and requiring some follow up appointments (thankfully all fine) and now i'm being testing for Gestational Diabetes, as well as being under consultant care for the size of the baby and requiring additional regular growth scans! Matilda was 9lb 9oz (ouch ouch ouch) so I'm not surprised to discover that this baby seems to be tracking the same path for birth weight. In addition to all of that, we are currently being seen regularly by the Birth Options team because I had such a difficult birth first time around. I'm hoping to have an elective section this time around but more about that later in this post!  

So as you can tell, the last 7 months have been full of trips back and forth to the hospital and I'm just relieved that so far everything is looking good and healthy. I'm so much less prepared for this baby than I was for Matilda's arrival - during which I had everything done YESTERDAY. I have sourced a Next2Me Chicco crib for £30 which just needs a new mattress (in case you didn't know, the lullaby trust recommends a new mattress for each new baby in order to reduce the risk of SIDS - even if the first baby to use it was their older sibling!), a Sleepyhead Deluxe for £35 and thankfully I still have Matilda's Ergobaby carrier. I sold almost everything Matilda had as, in our little London apartment, we have precisely ZERO storage for things we don't use regularly. One thing I did learn this time was to buy most things second hand as I sold all of the things I had before in absolutely immaculate condition so I know that there are barely used baby items out there for a fraction of the price of buying new. I also discovered, you can totally remove the cover of the Chicco Next2Me Crib and stick it in the washing machine so our crib is as good as new. Top tip! I must write a blog post soon detailing my 'Newborn Essentials' - if nothing else it'll be good for my own memory as much as anything. Within the next 4-6 weeks, I'll also be packing my hospital bag as we are off to a wedding in the Midlands when I'm 35 weeks pregnant so I'll need to have that sorted in case too much dancing triggers an early arrival! (I'm only semi-joking - those of you who have seen me and Thor strutting our stuff on the dance floor know that's entirely possible!!)

I found out I was expecting about a week or less before Matilda turned two and then unfortunately shortly after morning sickness kicked in for a good 4 months and only started to really clear up around the 18 week mark when I was on holiday! I can't lie, with my mum being so far away and Thorsten working very long hours, it was incredibly tough. I did pack up my stuff and go stay with my mum during the worst times, but I would be lying if I said that getting out of bed every morning was easy. I just felt rough around the clock, and believe me when I say that soft play is the last place you want to be when you feel as though you drank 3 bottles of prosecco last night (with unfortunately none of the buzz of actually having done that!!) I think even when morning sickness subsided, what I never truly appreciated in my first pregnancy was how much more I rested. Sitting at a desk for most of the day was so much better for my hips and pelvis than being a stay home mum - although at work, I didn't get the opportunity to take a lunch time nap so I guess swings and roundabouts on that front! Speaking of my hips and pelvis, I have been referred to a physio about my SPD although I'm told I won't actually see them until I'm just a few weeks away from giving birth. Ha! 

I've got a huge bump - like huge huge huge. And i'm very happy about it. I feel really comfortable in my own skin and confident in my body - I don't have even half as many hang ups about my body as I did before having children. I just feel really lucky to be pregnant, as I know it's not always that straightforward and I have lived through the pain of seeing close friends struggle with fertility. It's hard to be really critical about your body when it has created LIFE! I think a big contributing factor to feeling so good is that I bought myself some beautiful clothes this pregnancy - spent my money wisely on a few lovely items which I can wash and wear over and over which make me feel really great about my changing shape. I think the key is just to embrace everything getting wider and rounder and to dress accordingly. I mainly shopped online at Seraphine (pricey but lovely), Mamalicious, New Look Maternity, Jojo Maman Bebe, H&M Mama & recently was sent some stunning bits and bobs from Isabella Oliver which are both pregnancy & breastfeeding friendly. I have found maternity fashion really exciting this time around - I think with Matilda, I had mainly maternity work wear so it's been lovely to shop for summery maternity clothes. 

I haven't had any real cravings this pregnancy - probably enjoying more sweet stuff than salty, and the need for ice cream is real but whether you can blame the baby for that or the heatwave I don't know! I have been taking my Pregnacare vitamins throughout as well as additional iron supplements (Spatone Liquid, apple flavour! Although can confirm they taste absolutely appalling unless you add them to a huge glass of orange juice!) Heartburn has plagued me on and off but at the moment, baby seems to be in a more comfortable position so I haven't had it for a couple of weeks so actually I'm feeling quite good!

We initially wanted to move house when we found out I was expecting baby 2 - but in the end we have decided to sit tight and see how we feel once baby arrives. Our apartment is two bedrooms and so baby will be in with us for a while anyway, but I think it's good that not too much is changing at once. I think sometimes you can get caught up in wanting what other people have or wishing your life away ('I wish I had a garden', 'I wish we had a bit more space') but actually as soon as I decided that I wasn't happy making such a huge decision whilst pregnant, I have to say I do feel happy exactly where we are. We have the loveliest group of friends here and Matilda has all her little groups and routine which she loves. One day we'll have that garden but for now I really can't complain! That said, we are completely repainting the flat and making some changes before baby arrives - nesting gone mad. We've finished the living room and kitchen and it looks so great - now just need to repaint our bedroom with a fresh coat to brighten it up, strip all the wall paper in the hallway and paint a beautiful shade of off white which I have discovered and am now obsessed with (Valspar - Thousand Shells!) and then we just need to hire a carpet cleaner for all the carpets and I'm hoping to choose some new prints for the wall in our room (but Thor doesn't know about that bit yet!) So this weekend, we have a full day of decorating planned on Saturday and it's starting to all come together. 

So lastly but by no means least, the birth! So from the beginning, I had my mind set on an elective section. I have never really covered Matilda's birth with you - not because there's any great secret about it but I still find it incredibly hard to talk about and just get myself all upset. I had a meeting about my first birth very early on in this pregnancy and although I found it really hard, it was also very helpful that I was able to fill in all the gaps and find out what went wrong and why. Or as much as they could speculate. Having given it a tremendous amount of thought, I knew a section would be best for me this time, not least for my mental health but also to help me regain a sense of control back. I also have strong fears that the same will happen again to me and I feel like with a section, I can avoid some of the risk factors which contributed to what went wrong last time. I know recovery will be hard after a section but I'm really lucky that I have a good support network here in London, my mum will come and stay and Thor will be taking some holiday in addition to his paternity leave so we are all set. The only obstacle now is having the hospital agree to my request, which disappointingly isn't proving as easy as I hoped and we are now set to see a second consultant to go over everything again in order to make a decision about my case. I think the hospital feel a lot of the things which went wrong last time can be avoided this time around and they see no medical reason to perform a section (ie. breech baby, placenta praevia, previous section etc). What made me sad is that when someone has suffered a serious mental trauma, just because they don't look damaged on the outside doesn't mean they aren't. That said, it was not the outcome I had hoped for from our initial meeting but it hasn't changed my mind, I just need to keep everything crossed that my next appointment is more successful. I'd be interested to hear about your experience if you had a 'maternal request' c-section? Comment below or write to me on instagram! 

So that's where we are this time and that's been what's going on over the last months! This pregnancy has absolutely flown by, it feels like the quickest 7 months of my life! I don't think it's still fully sunk in that we will have another child, that I'll be the mother of two. I feel blessed beyond measure. 

What an essay! Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing! 

Love, Lauren xxx