37 week ponderings - homebirth plans, cloth nappies, nesting...

On Sunday (or today) depending on who's dates you go with (mine or the dating scan) I reach 37 weeks pregnant.  It's quite a big deal, reaching 37 weeks, I think.

As I'm planning a home birth, this means I can now happily labour at home (as long as there are no complications), even if I'm not 40 weeks.  Yippee!  There is a good chance I will get to use our birthing pool.  It's something I've worried about, after all this planning.  I really want to give home birth a go.  Even if things don't pan out, it'd be nice to think labour started at home, that I gave it my best shot.  Obviously, thinking positively  I hope that the whole birth will occur at home!

So.  What's going through my head at 37 weeks pregnant?  Well, quite a lot actually.  Though many pregnant women are worn out and suffering with "baby brain" causing them to forget things ALL THE TIME, we actually have quite full and active brains.  I think it's because they are so full of thoughts/plans that we forget silly stuff.  You know, like taking your son out in the car to ride his scooter up at the local sea front but leaving the scooter at home, right on the drive way, practically with a sign on it saying "please steal me and sell me on eBay!".  I'll give you a glimpse into my head right now:

I must plan ALL THE THINGS! 

I'm obsessed with being organised and prepared for things at the best of times.  As I reach the end of this pregnancy, I've gone beyond nesting.  I've decided that as baby is due in May and Fathers Day is in June, it'd be a great idea to buy/make presents for hubby and Granddad now.  Not only buy them, but wrap them up.  And make cards as well.  This is well and good, but the chances are that I'll probably have forgotten where I've put them by the time Fathers Day actually rolls round.  Or be too sleep deprived to remember on which day it falls.  Never the less, I am steaming ahead with this plan.  The power of hormones compel me!

Real/Cloth nappies

I used Naty nappies with Ethan - disposable but better than your average disposables.  I've planned throughout this pregnancy to do the same this time.  After all, I'm not planning to have a 3rd child so really it'd be silly to invest in cloth nappies now... and yet, at 37 weeks pregnant, when I could pop at any moment and should not be worrying but trying to rest all I can, I find myself trawling the internet and eBay looking at cloth nappies and thinking.. just thinking... it'd be so nice to use cloth!!  I'm mad to be thinking this now, surely?  One of the reasons I've steered clear of cloth, despite preferring to be green and loving everything about them from their ethos to the way they look, is that I know how easily stressed I am and that I am not someone who needs extra hassle when a baby comes along.  Like many things baby though, I'm not finding it easy to be logical about this.  Deep down I know I would love to use cloth.  I'm scared to though.  I have no idea where to start, I'm worrying about taking something on that I can't handle and I'm not sure where I'd come up with the money to buy what I need upfront.  I just don't know if it's practical for me.. all the same, I love the idea of them!

Baby position

Prior to my check up with the midwife this week (or middle-wife as Ethan calls her) I was seriously concerned about the position of baby.  Due to some big movements the week before and where I was feeling hiccups, I was convinced that he was breech.  I spent the whole week stressing over this.  Any spare time I had was spent hanging upside down from the sofa, on the birthing ball or on my hands and knees (and no, not in a sexy way!).

Here's an attractive photo for me to share with the world!

I didn't feel him move positions so was petrified on Thursday when I had my appointment.  I know people (locally) who's babies have been breech at 36 weeks and they were all sent into hospital to have the baby manually moved and if that didn't work, booked in for a c-section at 38 weeks.  So NOT what I want.  I pretty much had a panic attack in the waiting room this week.. it didn't help that my midwife was (as usual) running half an hour late.  Turns out I was worrying over nothing, that actually he is in an OK position.  Not perfect (he's lying to the side a bit) but he is still head down.  No engaged, but that's not something to worry about.  I never realised second babies don't generally engage until labour! Interesting!

Presents for my son

I've always liked the idea of giving your first born a present when the new baby arrives.  After all, they've been your one and only for however long (in Ethan's case, nearly 4 years) so it's likely that even if they are excited about the new baby and being a big brother/sister they are also likely to feel a bit usurped and left out.  The idea of a present "from" the baby to your first child is a simple one.  Something to remind them they aren't forgotten.  I like the idea of it being "from the baby" as well - I like to think it'll be an encouraging start to a lifelong bond.  I've bought a few things "from the baby" for Ethan.  I've tried not to go overboard.  I've got him a "Big Brother" t shirt (the baby has a Little Brother one).  I also picked up a couple of Dr Seuss books in the charity shop, a card game and I've ordered one of those huge lego head storage boxes for Ethan's lego.  Quite a nice selection I think!

Have I got everything for labour?

Planning a home birth means you have to go to a bit more trouble than if you're planning to go into hospital.  At first you think "I'm labouring at home! I won't need to do anything to prepare!" but that's just not the case.  First of all, I've packed a hospital bag anyway, because things might not go to plan..  Right there, that's all I did last time.  On top of that I've had to get everything I can think of to cover labouring at home.  The Good Birth Company have provided a birthing pool and they have a great selection of kits which you can buy alongside their pools (kits include a sieve, a thermometer  a pool liner, a pool lid, a pump to blow up and deflate the pool, a pump to remove the water afterwards, a hosepipe and tap attachments and other items) but I've still had to buy/gather up more items.

Just some of the stuff I've been collecting up..

I've collected a whole heap of old towels.  I've got plastic sheeting from a DIY store, a cheap shower curtain and oilcloth material.  All will be used to protect surfaces such as the carpet and sofa.  I've got a waterproof mattress protector on our bed alongside an old towel and a disposable bed wetting pad.  These are in case my waters go in bed or in case I decide I want to labour in our bed.  I've also got a dark blue fitted sheet on the bed because it'll be more forgiving if I stain it.  I've bought a cheap handheld mirror to help us see what's going on during labour.  I've bought masses of supplies such as energy drinks and snacks.  I've got my TENs machine from last time but I've had to buy new electrode pads.  The birthing ball is ready and set up.  I've got the potty down from it's hiding place (it's been hidden away after Ethan started using the loo) in case I need a poo/wee during labour and don't want to leave the pool.  I've got oodles of maternity pads and cheap black pants from Primark.  I'm sure there's even more that I can't remember just now!  Planning a home birth is definitely more involved!!  Even the birth plan took me longer...

I must clean the top of the wardrobe and sell those clothes at don't fit on eBay...

I can't seem to stop dying baby clothes or faffing around in baby's room!

Crazy nesting.  If you've ever been pregnant you'll know what I mean.  Nesting really does make us do strange things that people in our delicate (heavy) tired state should NOT be undertaking.  I remember some classics from last time such as cleaning out and bleaching our freezer, reorganising it and labelling the draws.  I also remember listing a whole heap of things on eBay when I was not only due to pop but overdue.  You can guess the outcome.  I ended up having to make trips to the Post Office to post items that sold when I had a tiny days old baby.  Stupid.  So stupid.  That's one mistake I won't be making this time.  But you can be sure I'll still be staying up until 2am tweaking the décor in the baby's room or steam cleaning the oven.

Style

Trying to look my best... feeling rubbish!

I'm mostly a style/fashion blogger but even my style is struggling to keep up with the body of a heavily pregnant women.  I just don't have the budget to buy heaps of maternity wear and I'm so far along now that it'd be pointless to buy any more.  I just have to struggle along wearing a tiny selection of clothes and trying to keep feeling "stylish" and "like myself" but it's getting harder by the day.  For one thing, I have to wear compression tights every day because I don't want to aggravate the varicose vein that has appeared on my leg.  Because I'm wearing these tights every day, they are taking a lot of punishment   I've now had to sew them up three times and paint the ladders in with clear nail varnish.  Whilst they are holding together and just about doing their job, they are NOT looking stylish.  Not at all.  They are unsightly so I'm forced to wear other tights/leggings or jeans over them..  It'd better not get too hot before this baby comes out!  I am NOT feeling stylish.. and that is why you are not seeing many style posts from me at the moment!! At least, women's style.  Thankfully I can still go on about children's fashion!

There are so many more things I could blab on about tonight . but this has been a massive blog post and in all honesty, I want to eat some ice cream now.. so I'm going to sign off!!

Trendy Tuesday - Nesting for baby!

As I write this post, I'm sitting at home in my living room at the table.  The house is peaceful - well, I have the radio on in the background.  I have the back door open next to me, the sun is shining and whilst it's still not exactly warm, I can hear the birds and see blue sky.  It's relaxing and calm.  A few weeks from now, this calm may well be shattered!!

Yes, at 35+2 I am well and truly in nesting mode because the arrival of my second son is imminent.  At the very most it could be 7 weeks.  Hopefully it'll be less than that.  I reached 42 weeks pregnant with Ethan and whilst I'm expecting to go overdue again this time (it's what I know!) I'm hoping I won't go quite that far over.  If nothing else, I don't want to have to fight to have my home birth and I know that the more overdue I go, the more I'll have a fight on my hands.

I digress.  Over the weekend, hubby finally moved our spare sofa out of the baby's room and downstairs to the living room.  The living room isn't intended to be it's final resting place, we are hoping to put it in our summer house in the garden (I have a fantasy of feeding the baby in the shade in the summer house on a hot summer day whilst Ethan plays in the garden - watch this space!).  Now the sofa has gone from baby's room, I can work on arranging it into a bedroom.  My intention is that he'll sleep in his moses basket in our room for the first few weeks but I still want to have as much ready before he arrives.  I've been nesting like a woman posessed.  I barely slept last night because I couldn't switch my brain off.  All I can think about is getting the baby's room sorted out, getting everything I need for the home birth and packing a hospital bag "just in case". I'd love to be someone who lives in the moment, but I'm not like that anyway, let alone when coming towards the end of a pregnancy!  If I could make pack lunches now for Ethan to eat next year at school I would.  I'm just wired that way.  Even now, I should be grabbing a quick nap whilst Ethan is at preschool but instead I'm doing this.  There is ALWAYS SOMETHING TO BE DONE!

Tuesday is about style and fashion though, so I thought I'd share a few photo's of the baby's room so far and some of the clothes I have for him.

Most of the clothing is Ethan's stuff and has just come from the loft but I have bought this one a few new items that are just for him.  I couldn't not really!

Tie-dye vests - plain vests I dyed myself

Knitted cardigan - from a small shop in Hawes, Yorkshire

Little Brother top - Asda

Star romper & retro print romper - Boys & Girls

Stripe shorts - Polarn O Pyret via eBay

Stella McCartney cloud print top - TKMaxx

Leg warmers - eBay

What do you think of baby's room so far?  I have a few more things that need to be added.  For one thing, I need to put up a couple of shelves for books and some toys to go on - I'm thinking floating shelves would look good.  I've also got some more bits and bobs to decorate the room with - I ordered a load of stuff from The Pippa & Ike Show last night (you should check out their site, it's wonderful!) and also a couple of bits from Lapin & Me.

Well, I'm going to hand over to those who want to join in now and show off their trendy tots, toddlers and older children.  It's easy to join in, just follow the rules below and use the linky form!

1) Link back to my blog in your blog post and/or display the Trendy Tuesday badge (code available to the right).

2) Comment on my blog post and please visit others who join in - share the love!

3) Tweet me @medicatedfollow with your blog post link so I can retweet it.

Nesting - 22 weeks.

I'm 22 weeks now.  Wow.  It amazes me, but honestly, I am SO HUGE compared to last time.  I know I'm not doing much exercise (I'm too bloody tired!) and I'm probably indulging in the chocolate a bit too much (Christmas didn't help) but generally I'm not doing anything different from last time.  I suppose it's just because I've been "stretched" before! Nice...

I must admit I feel quite rubbish about my appearance a lot at the moment   Not so much how I look now (although a bit) but more along the lines of "If I'm this big now, what the hell am I going to look like at 40 weeks?"  I'm worried.  I think the midwife is going to tell me I'm far too big at my next appointment :-/

Something that has really kicked in is the nesting.  I was up in the loft last week hauling down the baby clothes, well, 0-6 months anyway.  Pete was cross with me for this, says I shouldn't have been up there whilst pregnant.  I know he's right really, but I was super careful and I just like to get on with things.  I hate to have to ask for his help.  I know what it's like, if I ask him, due to work he won't be able to get up into the loft until the weekend and by then my desire to get on with a task has morphed into anger that I've had to delay getting on with it.  I won't be going up there again any time soon though.  It was hard work doing that, no way I'd want to do it at 25 or 30 weeks.  Don't think my bump would actually allow me to access the loft at that stage anyway!!  The cot and baby bouncer/chair still need to come down, but there's no where for them to go at the moment so we won't do that until March/April.

I sorted through the clothes, put some aside that I didn't want to use again (some we were given that aren't our taste, some that were really well worn due to being 6th hand). When I told Pete I'd put some aside for the charity shop he asked if we'd have enough.. I just had to direct him to the overflowing chest of draws.  When I was pregnant with Ethan I got lucky on ebay and bought masses of vests/sleepsuits in bulk.  Crazy amounts.  All neutral.  We have loads and neutral really isn't our style.. sooooo... I've been dying and tie-dying!!  I did an orange batch, a purple batch and a pink/black tie dye batch which I am especially pleased with.  Just want to dye the baby towels now and I'll be happy.

The baby's rooms is being planned out in my head now.  We won't be having a wardrobe in there, at least not to start.  There's a sofa in the room at present but it should be going to Pete's sister when she moves in March.  I'm glad of that really.  It's a good sofa but we don't need/use it at the moment and it's taking up masses of room.  My plan is to have the cot, feeding chair and chest of draws.  The rest of the room will have some (small) space for toys and some floor cushions.  I've got some under-bed (cot) storage that will initially be housing the 3-6 month clothes but will do for toys in the future.  I want to put more shelving up for books and toys.  Maybe some hooks for hanging outfits on, though I admit that would've been a bigger deal for me if this baby was going to be a girl (who doesn't want a few cute dresses on show?!).  At the moment the chest of draws is a rather old sorry looking flat pack chip board Ikea one which I've wanted to replace for an age.  I found a nice wooden one in the charity shop to replace it.. much more character I feel!  Just need to arrange to pick it up.  We went to the charity shop warehouse at the weekend to pick it up (after emptying the car boot and removing the car seat, always a pain in the ass) and they weren't open.  Grrrrr.  Somehow we'll get our hands on it - seeing as I've paid for it! Only £30 though...

My bump makes me very visible now.  I may be pregnant but I still wish to be colourful and stylish.  I hope I'm managing that..

Linking up with Plane Pretty & Not Dead Yet Style.