Had a rough night last night too, upset belly saw me up in the middle of the night and then I tossed and turned in and out of sleep until the alarm went. Sore hips/buttocks region and tailbone saw me turning over all the time and with my belly being unhappy the turning would make me feel yukky. Pete was sweet though, very concerned and wanted to help but there was nothing he could do, but he did rub my back which felt good. Woke up feeling like I needed a sleep and still feel that way now. It is funny how pregnancy slows down everything so I can’t even pinpoint which meal/food I ate that set me off and poor Flicka had to endure hearing my internal pipes work it all through. But he/she did do alot of kicking afterwards which made me happy.

We checked in early but discovered the scanning was running late due to some naughty babies misbehaving for the lady. They told me to keep my calorie intake up so I got to enjoy some coke and triple chocie cookies .. mmmm, yummy!! Great excuse to enjoy. We watched a bunch of cute kids in a modelling show which was a laugh then went and patiently waited. Funny, fourth scan but we were still nervous as anything .. and excited!! And I have to stay what we saw was more than we ever dreamed, but as usual it was just not long enough and they were rushing to get through all their appointments which was a bummer but we saw our beautiful little monkey so we were more than happy (and a little tearful on my part!). We used Babybond and the ladies were really nice. You start off with a normal scan, they pick an area then just flick the switch and there is your little baby in full features, like you could just touch it. Amazing, really amazing and moving.  You see the little face and nose, lips and ears, eyes, arms, hands, legs, feet but she whipped over the private parts area so we couldnt tell if Flicka was a boy or girl. But funny enough me and Pete both concentrated really hard at that stage! ha. We got a 8min 4D DVD out of it and about 8 3D photos which I can’t wait to make a frame for when we get home. But going by the photos I think Flicka is a boy and Pete has changed his tune to a girl, which is funny cause Pete and mum have swapped sides .. she is thinking a boy now. Less than 3months and we will all find out!! The Babybond ladies and even mum think our monkey looks like Pete though, but we both think he/she has my nose. Ha. A real laugh and even though mum couldn’t be there in person it was great to show her and dad the next day at our place!

Had to fast today from 11.30am until my Glucose bloods were taken at 2pm. Thought it would be hard but I was okay, besides the fact I was feeling off all day yesterday and was majorly thirsty but I wasn’t even allowed to drink water. Drank my Lucozade at 1.10 and then wandered down in the sunshine (yes .. sunshine in London) to the hospital. Got there early and had to wait until they opened up again after their lunchbreak and during that time I just started to feel worse, so I was not looking forward to the Glucose and Iron blood test. I have no problem with them but with the way I was feeling I just wasn’t up to it. Finally got in there and my bloods were taken, my midwife talked to me the whole time, no doubt because I told her I was feeling rough. But I got through then okay and then got my belly measured, the midwife was happy with the growth progress and the best bit is I got to listen to my baby’s heartbeat!! YAY, love that bit, perfect little heartbeat she said. Music to my ears!!

So all was good, left the hospital and got rushed home because Pete phoned and said my folks were entering London, earlier than planned. But he is a wonderful man and left work early to pick them up on his way home for me. He is the bestest!!  So while he brought them home I decided to do my bikini wax for our holiday. It is crazy the changes that happen to your body while pregnant, first it is hard to wax an area that is hard to see because of the growing buddah belly and second there really is alot more blood pumping through my body, especially down in that region. Crazy!

Anyhow, we had a nice relaxing evening. Flicka was pretty quiet but my dad felt a little bit of movement, I will have to make sure he gets a good kicking in Tuscany.  He did have a wee play when we were getting ready for bed, I really do wonder what he gets up to in there!! So kool.

There is not alot I can take either, basically plenty of fluids (water, juice, lemon and honey hot drinks) and I guess rest but not alot else. They do say you can have paracetamol in limited doses but I would prefer to stay away from any kind of drug. Protect my monkey from that evil stuff as much as possible.

Flicka has been having great fun lately too. It was been great, some real movement going on. Not just the kicking, but moving from side to side and all sorts of movement. Just fantastic! I am loving it and will miss having all this fun in my belly!! Pete loves it too which is soo cool. We had a laugh last night watching my bellybutton pop out then get pulled back in. Was very weird, is this the beginning of my bellybutton becoming an outtie? We filmed a bit of the movement in the weekend which was a laugh, I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t laugh and make my belly shake like Santa’s.  Our little monkey is definately growing which means my belly is going to sprout again soon I feel.

I have had to do a few urine tests lately too, my Doc was a bit worried I was getting a urine infection but they came out clear in the end, must have just been a bit of buildup downstairs mixing in with my original urine tests. You must make sure you wipe, pee, hold then pee again into the container. Ha, just a bit of advice.  Oh, the piles are back in full force too which I don’t understand because I go very regularly! A real pain in the rear end .. pun intended!  I know it is common but I was hoping I would avoid these little lumps! So the piles cream is back out and I might have to check with my Doc on Thursday when I go to get my Fit to Fly certificate for Italy.

The doc did all her tests, my blood pressure was all good, my tummy measurements were as they should be, Flicka was lying across my middle not up and down, and she said which end would be his head. Pete thought the way she was pushing around on my belly it would hurt but she was very skilled. Then I had to do the lovely urine test and of course I had nothing in me. What little I got out had some white cells in it or something, so I had to do a sample at work in the afternoon and drop it off to the doctors on the way home so they could send it off for testing. Urine infections are very common during pregnancys but hopefully it comes back all clear.

I told her about my calves feeling like they want to cramp up all the time. She measured and felt them to make sure they were both the same size. And told me to eat more bananas for their potassium which should help. She did say if one gets bigger than the other, goes red and sore to get back in and see them because of BVT, which again can be a symptom during pregnancy.  They have felt very tight lately but my feet feel a little swollen too, I have read that is very commen. But I am a little worried with flying to Italy for a holiday next month before the big flight home to NZ. I will have to get some flights socks and keep stretching and walking around for sure!

I told her that she will be well loved by this little monkey, just after she had been let down by my sisters two little boys when she rang home. They just wanted their Pop which deflated Mum a bit. So she came running to me and rubbed my belly and told it to be a little girl and love her Pamma. Very cute! Will have to line Dad up for the next kicking session when they return to us next month!!

Finally, we see them walk through and I burst into a little emotional tear session, thankfully it didn’t last. It was great to see them!! But the first comment Mum makes about my belly .. ‘you look fat not pregnant’ .. what the!?! I have to say I was a bit thrown back by that and Pete was a bit peeved she said that about his baby’s mumma! But I was wearing a jacket that covered most of my shape so I may have looked fat?? and my Mum was pretty tired.

We did have a good avo with them, took them home and fed them, let them shower then went into central London and walked them from Big Ben down to St Pauls, stopped in a cute old pub on Fleet St then back to our local for a typical average pub dinner. Then it was crash time for all of us, I felt like I had just flown halfway around the world too. But it was a great feeling going to sleep knowing they were just through the wall, not the other side of the world.

Oh, we got to show them our ultrasound photos from the other day and dad was sure we are having a boy and started calling my belly Georgie (our wonderful pooch back home is Jawdge, so that was really special!)

The heart was soo much bigger and had a nice rythum to it, we saw the hands and feet and all the fingers and toes to go with them and believe me I counted!! We saw the spin and arms and legs and eyes, cute button nose and mouth .. and the cutest thing was our little Flicka was suckling right in front of our eyes. It was such a buzz, a great warm fuzzy feeling and I had a tear in my eye the whole way through. But who could blame me, seriously!! Oh, Flicka weighs 14ozs today. woohoo.

We both walked away very happy and with 6 new photos of our little monkey, which include a cute one of his/her feet. Very cool. I was on a high walking home, really didn’t want to go back into the flat and work. Boo. Should have stayed out and have a celebratory lunch because by the time this afternoon rolled around all the excitment caught up with me I was knackered!!