Week 30

It's been a good while (6 weeks infact) since I've written about my progress. Stefan, work and running the home is taking up all my time and I'm in bed really early these days.

Over the past few weeks, I have blossomed and I seem to be looking and feeling better, although I am still tired out at the end of the day. I'm still going through stages of irritability and extreme emotions - very tearful, very happy, very sensitive, etc.

I have a bit more energy which does dwindle by the end of the day as it's becoming a struggle to bend, lift and generally move about with any great urgency.

I'm getting lots of movement from the baby now, more so in the evening and throughout the night. Very reassuring. Some of the kicks are quite a shock when I least expect them.

The PSD is still there and I mainly feel it in the evening when I have been on my feet all day. It's can be painful when I am lying down in bed and turning over isn't easy either. Darren is still in the spare room, and as much as we both dislike it, it does enable us both to sleep better. Sleep deprivation is no good for either of us.

Over the past few weeks we've decorated the front bedroom for Stefan; got a new wardrobe and drawers for him, I've made curtains and tied it all together with matching accessories (bedding, rug, lampshades, bunting etc) and he's got a gorgeous bedroom now. We've got him a single bed in there, but he is still in his cot. At 21 months I feel it's still too early to move him out of it just yet. I'm also very conscious of keeping things as normal as possible for him while he gets used to his new sibling being around for the first few months. A colleague at work has offered us the use of a cot if we need it, although the baby will be in the moses basket for a little while and we do have a travel cot that we could use too for a short time.

Stefan has had a particularly tough time teething and he's been in a lot of pain over the past 4 weeks. Calpol is the only thing that calms him down and takes his pain away. Its awful to see him so distressed. He's been very clingy and has needed lots of cuddles and contact with me. He's coming through it now, but we have all had a rather hard time with it. He's been very tearful and very testing and hasn't been an easy child to deal with at times. Coupled with me being so exhausted and in pain with my pelvis and back I've not been able to lift him, or bend easily I've found it hard at times. Sometimes ending up in tears myself.

On Wednesday I saw the midwife. There's a small concern that I'm carrying too much amniotic fluid. I have been feeling quite bloated on occasion, which I have just put down to drinking too much milk/water or eating too late the night before. She didn't seem overly concerned, so I am trying not to worry about it. She's seeing me again in 3 weeks to have another look and then send me to a consultant if needed. I've not been leaking any fluid at all, which I presume would be the first sign of fluid overload.

She also spoke to me about my decision to have a section. I'm still no clearer. If I think long and hard enough I do think I will have one in the end. I'm just letting things happen as they will for now. I know I have the day booked at the end of the day.

The other thing I noticed this week (and I'm probably tempting fate now) is that I haven't got swollen feet or ankles. This time in my first pregnancy I had quite a lot of fluid in my legs at this point. Maybe I've got it all to come?

Only 8 weeks to go now, so I'm on the home stretch. HURRAY!