Pregnant ticking time bomb!! Your 40 weeks are over baby No. 2!

I am a ticking time bomb!! 40+3 weeks today…waiting..and waiting…going to bed wondering if tonight is the night, waking up in the morning hoping today is the day! He is way too comfortable in there and the further I go along, the more accepting I am that he is not coming out any time soon! 

14 weeks vs 40 weeks

I know I know, 40 weeks is not really overdue! After 42 weeks is overdue but when you are given that due date, it is what you are counting to for your whole pregnancy and when it is here, its hard not to focus on it! 

As soon as I hit 37 weeks I was DESPERATE for him to come out and convinced he was going to be early as my son was. I have been ready and waiting for 3 weeks now and still no signs so I am giving up on waiting and wishing, its not working! I am now accepting that he will come when he is good and ready and I am not going to do anything to force him….even induction! 

As I sit around on my maternity leave drinking tea, stuffing naughty food and watching crap TV I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my pregnancy……my LAST pregnancy!! 

I am not going to lie, I have not enjoyed being pregnant and the 2nd time around has definitely been harder! Obviously the end result is worth every moaning second but I'm allowed to moan, I'm pregnant ;) 

My pregnancy symptoms

So lets start at 6 weeks…..the sickness! I suffer with bad "morning sickness", I did with my 1st Hayden and I did this time too! WHY it is called morning sickness I don't know - mine is called "all day" sickness! It didn't stop till way after 20 weeks and I still have the odd day (including yesterday!) where I randomly get sick! 

Next….heart burn! I suffer with it BAD! Even waking in the morning before I have eaten, I am in pain!  I go through bottles of Gaviscon and packet after packet of rennies….why I bother I don't know as they don't work! 

The sensitive nose!!! Being pregnant turns me into sniffer dog! I feel so sorry for my partner, if he goes to the pub for a quick drink, I think he smells like a raging alcoholic! Any bad smells make me gag and usually end up being sick….the smells are probably not even that bad! 

Being super tired….all the time! In the 1st and 2nd trimester, I could not stay awake past 9pm! Being a baby photographer, I worked my editing around my son which usually meant after he was in bed working till at least midnight every night…..I could not do this any more which affected my turn around times so badly! Thankfully I had understanding clients who have just been in the same situation as me!!! 

The constant peeing…..every hour and even waking up in the night….just to pee…..to find you have the smallest dribble and woke up for that!!!!!!! 

A very sore back! I had no back problems with Hayden but this time around my back was in agony from around 18 weeks. I started up pregnancy yoga with Beautiful Bumps & Babies and did aqua natal with Turtle Tots Dorset which helped a lot. 

The 2nd trimester was the worst for me…..I was suffering with really bad dizziness even when sitting, my leg and arm on the left hand side were numb and tingly, and SPD reared its ugly face! I was getting shooting pains down my bum and leg, and I felt like I was being stabbed in my pubic bone! I spend a lot of money with Chiropractor sessions which did ease the pain but magically it disappeared later in my 3rd trimester! 

Bump-in-the-way-itus! The big lump under your boobs - it gets in the way! No more squeezing past people or in gaps, no more bending down without groaning, shaving / nail painting is tough, and the worst forgetting it is there and then knocking into things which can hurt!!!! 

Pregnancy insomnia….sleeping when heavily pregnant is not easy! I keep telling myself it is our bodies way of preparing us for the sleepless nights we have ahead! It is so uncomfortable, i find myself rolling around huffing and puffing all night, getting up to pee, rolling around some more, a little more huffing and puffing, oh more peeing! 

Don't get me wrong…..there are some things I do enjoy about being pregnant. I just love a good moan! 

Firstly, just knowing I am growing another life inside me is just amazing. Our bodies are incredible. The thought of growing our little family warms my heart. Feeling him move inside me, seeing my stomach move, feeling his little hiccups, I just love it! 

Next….the eating! I don't care what anyone else says…...you don't reallllllly need to eat for 2…..YES YOU DO! This is the only time I CAN eat a lot, because I am pregnant!!!!! And eat I did! And I'm still taking advantage now gobbling away until he decides to make an appearance….then the diet has to start (booooo!) 

A few images ripped from my Facebook feed to show I took full advantage of FOOD! 

So now I just wait (im)patiently! I have hit my official due date but I have leeway until 42 weeks to have the dream home birth I am hoping for. He will come when he is good and ready and even though there are so many things I can be doing to get him out, why force him? He obviously needs to cook just a little more. I just can't wait to meet the little dude and introduce him to his brother!!!!! 

Lupus awareness month! UBC #21

The month of October was Lupus Awareness Month so I have written this blog post to help spread the awareness of Lupus to you!

Why do I want to raise awareness of Lupus you ask?

My beautiful mother (pictured below) is one of the few sufferers in the UK with a form of the condition. I have gathered information from Lupus UK to give you an insight of the disease and I also have a description from my Mum describing her symptoms and living with Lupus. 

Lupus is a chronic and presently-incurable illness of the immune system, a condition in which the body's defence mechanism begins to attack itself through an excess of antibodies in the blood stream causing inflammation and damage in the joints, muscles and other organs.

The danger of Lupus is that it can produce many symptoms and family doctors often fail to recognise it. Meanwhile, a number of major organs can be damaged in an irreversible way.

The causes of lupus is not positively known though research has provided evidence implicating heredity, hormones and infections including viruses.

Some 50,000 may have lupus in the UK and 90% of sufferers are female, mainly between the ages of 15 and 55.

With its many symptoms, lupus can often be overlooked by a GP or consultant which may delay final diagnosis and a vital start to necessary treatment which can contain the disease and hopefully limit potential damage to the kidneys, heart, lungs or brain. Those diagnosed usually remain in medical care and receive ongoing treatment. 

Lupus can be triggered

• at puberty
• during the menopause
• after childbirth
• after viral infection
• through sunlight
• as a result of trauma
• after a prolonged course of some medications

One or more triggers can set off the illness in people who may have susceptibility to lupus.

Lupus is often triggered in people where there is family history of lupus and/or other immune system illnesses such as arthritis, MS and rheumatism.

Lupus is neither infectious nor contagious

There is such a long list of symptoms to look out for here: http://www.lupusuk.org.uk/what-is-lupus/the-symptoms 

Diagnosis

Lupus is a type of self-allergy, a disease of many manifestations and each patients profile or list of symptoms may be different.  Several manifestations such as those listed below may suggest clinical evidence of a multi-symptom disease:

SKIN	Rashes, Mouth Ulcers, Hair loss
JOINTS	Pain, redness, swelling
KIDNEYS	Abnormal Urinanalysis
LINING MEMBRANES	Pleurisy, Pericarditis, Peritonitis
BLOOD	Haemolytic Anaemia, Leukopenia
LUNGS	Shortness of breath, cough
NERVOUS SYSTEM	Convulsions, psychosis

In arriving at a firm diagnosis the physician will normally expect at least four of a list of 11 internationally accepted conditions to be present (either currently or at any time since the onset of the illness) which are;

1. MALAR RASH – Fixed red rash over the cheeks
2. DISCOID RASH – Red patches of skin associated with scaling and plugging of the hair follicles
3. PHOTOSENSITIVITY – Rash after exposure to sunlight
4. ORAL ULCERS – Small sores that occur in mucosal lining of mouth and nose
5. SEROSITIS – Inflammation of the delicate tissues covering internal organs, and abdominal pain
6. ARTHRITIS – Very common in lupus, usually pain in the joints and tendons
7. RENAL DISORDERS – Usually detected by routine blood and urine analysis
8. NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS – Seizures or psychosis, balance problems
9. HAEMOTOLOGICAL DISORDER – Haemolytic Anaemia, Leukopenia, Thrombocytopenia
10. IMMUNOLOGIC DISORDER – Tests anti-DNA, anti-SM antibodies, antiphospholipid antibodies
11. ANTI-NUCLEAR ANTIBODY (ANA TEST) – When found in the blood and the patient is not taking drugs, it is known to cause a positive test for lupus in most cases, but it is not necessarily conclusive

Treatment

There is at present no cure for lupus but careful monitoring of the disease and a treatment programme with medication adjusted as appropriate enables the condition to be controlled, most patients being able to live a normal life span. Doctors will usually only keep the patient on high impact medication for as short a period as possible.

What is the future? 
Bold initiatives such as stem cell transplants are being experimented with, and the genetic background puzzle of lupus is gradually being uncovered. More significant developments are likely and new medications are gradually being introduced.
Medical knowledge increases all the time and there's no doubt that the lupus patient is having her/his illness under better control and management than ever before. Doctors are successfully tailoring medication now to individual patient need, and the future for the lupus patient looks ever more hopeful.

The message to you - There are many symptoms of lupus, differing from patient to patient which can easily cause a practitioner to lean towards a more comfortable or better-known ailment. Knowledge of the lupus condition is vitally needed for quick and accurate diagnosis that may prevent the onset of major organ damage.

IF YOU DONT KNOW ABOUT IT - YOU DONT DIAGNOSE IT......

Thank you for reading the vast information about Lupus! It is such a rare disease and symptoms can be passed raising awareness is so important! 

Here is an account from my Mother, Linda who is 52 years of age about living with Lupus. 

What I have is Mixed connective tissue disease which is an autoimmune disease and is considered an "overlap" of three diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), scleroderma and polymyositis. 

People with MCTD experience symptoms of each of these three diseases. In many cases, this mixed set of symptoms is eventually dominated by symptoms characteristic of one of the three illnesses, especially scleroderma or lupus. I am dominated by Lupus and was diganoised in 1998 due to not recovering from flu and ended up in hospital because my musle weakness was so bad I could not walk. 

After 5 years of treatment suppressing my immune system I went into remission and since then only having slight symptoms at the moment. I have just recently had my 6 monthly check as is borderline positive so can go either way, go back into remission or have a flare up.

My symptoms are: 

• Joint pain and stiffness, with or without swelling 

• Muscle aches, pains, or weakness 

• Feeling very tired 

• Butterfly-shaped rash across the nose and cheeks 

• Other skin rashes 

• Anemia 

• Trouble thinking, memory problems, confusion 

• Sun or light sensitivity 

• Hair loss (slight at the moment) 

• Purple or pale fingers and toes from cold 

• Difficulty swallowing

I have a very positive outlook about this and don’t let it worry me but having aching joints and weakness in the muscles is not much fun, but grit my teeth and carry on.

Personally reading this information breaks my heart that my mum has to go through this on a day-to-day basis. If you were to meet my mum you would never know she was unwell and being with her all the time, she never ever complains or moans about any pains but they are there, she just has to live with them! 

Please help us spread the word and gain awareness of Lupus! 

My Guilty Pleasure….what is yours? UBC #20

So as I get home from a very busy day out with Hayden, I sit down and have a fidget……it has to come off! I need to be free! 

You guessed it! I have to take that bra off! And it feels soooo good! Men can't relate to how good it feels but ladies, do you agree?? 

Whats your guilty pleasure? I would love to hear it!!! 

Image love! Ultimate Blog Challenge #19

Just a little picture of my son Hayden - he went shopping with Daddy to get some pumpkins for Halloween and this is the image I got sent!

Sitting on pumpkins eating a French Stick! As you do! Adorable!!

Motivation Monday! Ultimate Blog Challenge #18

Its Monday so here's a little motivational quote for the week :) 

The morning after the night before! Ultimate Blog Challenge #17

We had an amazing Halloween party last night (post to come later with pics!).....but with a good party comes a good mess!!! All cleaned up now and in bed after a nice Chinese with the other half! Even though I don't drink I still feel hung over! Lack of sleep and tiredness of decorating the day before zzzzzz!!

2 years of swimming lessons and look at him now! Ultimate Blog Challenge #16

I was looking back at old pictures today and came across a few of Hayden swimming when he was teeny tiny! 

We started Hayden at swimming when he was just 10 weeks old!! I had heard that getting the used to the water as early as possible was best to get them used to being in such a large body of water and getting them used to being submerged. Newborns have an automatic gag reflex which, on submersion, is triggered and stops water entering the lungs. This gag reflex disappears at about 6 months old so it is best to get your baby used to the water before this time.  

Excuse the terrible phone pictures (and me looking very tired, he wasnt the best of sleepers!) but here he is at his 1st ever lesson at 10 weeks old!! 

And here he is with daddy at 4 months old

And a little video of his underwater swimming - 

the command we use for everything is Hayden, Ready, GO!

2 years later, Hayden can swim so well with just a little floatation device under his arms (arm bands are not used) - he kicks and flaps his arms and still absolutely loves it! 

Here he is now 2 years later! 

I do my swimming with Caroline who runs Turtle Tots Dorset and she is fantastic! She is great with the children, the lessons are fun but really well structured. I have some information from Caroline's Facebook page about the benefits of swimming for your babies: 

Swimming with your little ones is probably one of the best, if not THE best activity you can do with them. You don't have to be an amazing swimmer but introducing your baby/toddler to the water at an early age is so beneficial to them (and you). Here are a few of the benefits they will gain from swimming: 

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT - Babies can move independently and freely without any restrictions of gravity in the water, learning balance and coordination by using muscles they never would on land! 

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT - By stimulating senses outside of the normal every day experiences, the word association, independence and physical awareness will all encourage brain development.

BONDING - Swimming with your baby is a very intimate activity with no other distractions from our hectic lives. Mothers suffering PND find the bonding time and exercise beneficial to them also. The bond you have grow stronger by the fun you have together in the water. 

HEALTH BENEFITS- Strengthens heart, lungs and muscle development. Is fantastic to get baby used to regular exercising. 1 in four 4/5 years olds are classed as overweight for their age which is a scary statistic. 

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT- word association & repetition is used throughout the classes for a range of different moves, babies very early on know what the words mean which of course is also great for brain stimulation/development. 

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT- interacting with other babies, learning to wait their turn & praise the efforts of others helps encourages their social skills. A fantastic way to make friends. I have seen many new friendships form in my baby swimming groups. 

IMPROVED EATING AND SLEEPING PATTERNS - Swimming is a great form of exercise, the classes are very stimulating in many ways and promotes a good sleep, usually after a good feed. 

A SKILL FOR LIFE - Teaching your baby a skill which they will benefit from for life. Water confidence and respect are invaluable and babies are taught life saving skills right from their very first class. 

Bringing your baby swimming once a week to a structured class is fantastic for parent and child, taking them swimming outside of the lessons as a family where possible is also fantastic bonding and fun time for all and of course a chance for you to show off your skills in the pool! 

I am sure my clients would agree that their child's confidence in the water has amazed them as they have progressed through the course. 

For more information on our classes please get in touch. 01202 802670.

He has always been my little water baby....here he is the day he was born, in the water :)