Friday Round Up

 chickens pop in for a snack - utility room underway - forgot i left the bath running ... again

a cheer up gift from my lovely dad & stepmum - baby littlethings @ 20wks - my new favourite shopping site

tired boys after a hard days work - matt's first father's day - giant lavender almost flowering

instagram - madeupoflittlethings

A couple of days late, I know. But better late than never etc etc

It's been a pretty up and down sort of week really. The pregnancy symptoms persist, getting weirder and more irritating by the day. I've had some groin pain for the last couple of weeks, which I just put down to normal pregnancy pelvic changes etc. Pregnancy hormones trigger the release of relaxin, a chemical that forces your ligaments to, well, relax to make space for the growing baby. And I've had issues with my back and pelvis for years so this was nothing I shouldn't have expected I suppose. But I woke up on Monday morning feeling like I'd been kicked in the crotch (lovely) and by the end of the day I felt as though one of those giant wrecking ball things had hit me square in the fanjo. It was eye watering and I got stuck in my car at the country store, having to flag down a passing stranger to haul me out. By the next morning I was barely able to walk and a trip to the doctors revealed that I am suffering from SPD - one of the less glamorous side effects of pregnancy which basically causes your pelvis to give up and go home until the birth. My GP was less than inspiring - 'there's no treatment and it will get worse throughout your pregnancy'. I cried all the way home and for most of the rest of the day. 20 more weeks of this?? Why am I so bloody unlucky?? 

I booked an appointment with my slightly more sympathetic private physio, whom I saw on Wednesday morning. Luckily he is a miracle worker and after some extremely effective (albeit extremely undignified) manipulation, I left his office almost walking properly, not waddling and wincing. With further physio, some exercises and the use of a mighty attractive belt to keep the pelvic bones from separating too far, he is confident he can keep me comfortable until the birth. Which is great and a huge relief. Now all I've got to worry about is how on earth I'm going to squeeze the little bugger out when I've been told to 'act as if my knees are glued together'

Wednesday afternoon was a big cheer up - our 20 week scan. Watching the baby wriggling about on the screen reminded me that there's a good reason for all this - it's not a life sentence, just a few more months and at the end we'll have a son or daughter to show for it. A little bit of me and Matt, a tiny person that's going to change our lives forever. The baby was quite co operative at first but soon decided it had had enough of being gawked at and turned away from the ultrasound so that the sonographer couldn't measure its head. We went for a walk to try to encourage the little monkey to turn around and it soon did - she got the measurement she wanted and we got a good look at the baby's face, watching it open and close its little mouth! We also got a perfect view of the bottom of its tiny little feet - legs crossed at the ankle and feet placed neatly together - it looked so snug and comfortable, it's almost a shame it has to come out!

I've been feeling baby kicks and rolls all week and it's very weird - nothing like I expected. It can make me feel a bit queasy actually! He/she's most active when I sit still, especially when I go to bed. Knowing how it feels now, I can't imagine how it must feel near the end when the baby is fully grown. At the moment it's only about six inches long :)  

It's been a very pregnancy/baby focussed week I suppose. This weekend Matt will be away racing, my sister and I will be taking my Dad out for lunch and I've got a few little jobs to do in town. Nothing exciting but I'm tired, it feels like it's been a wearing week and I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit. Last weekend was really busy too - I was at the new house painting all day on Saturday and we were at a christening on Sunday, so I feel like I'm overdue a bit of a rest. I'll catch up on Escape To The Country and do my natal hypnotherapy 

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend!