New minister

Had our welcome service for our new minister at church this evening. We have been without a minister for just over a year which on the one hand has been good as it has really helped us to pull together as a church family and it has been quite interesting having a variety of preachers on a Sunday morning. Still, it will be good to finally have our own minister again. It’s also provided an incentive to get some of those publicity jobs done that I have been sitting on for a while (Jessica’s imminent arrival also providing another incentive!)

My wonderful chiropractor

Thank goodness my wonderful chiropractor managed to fit me in this morning – by the time I went to bed last night, I could hardly walk – made me realise just how disabling SPD can be when it really flares up. Thankfully a good night’s sleep eased things a little and my lovely chiropractor managed to work her magic so that walking has become reasonably comfortable again and I’m back to walking like Jemima Puddleduck, which is an improvement on the very uncomfortable shuffling that I was having to do before seeing her. Mental note – really must take things a bit easier!

Nesting

I suspect my nesting instinct has started to kick in as I was seized with an overwhelming urge to unpack half the boxes in the spare room, most of which have been there for nearly a year. The spare room looks much better but I think I have overdone things a bit as all that moving things about has really caused the SPD to flare up and walking has become quite painful as a result - I am walking like a little old lady! Must try and remember to take things easy, meanwhile think a trip to the chiropractor is needed!

Road Show

Went to see Road Show at the Menier Chocolate Factory with the in-laws last night. It was a really good show, very typical Sondheim with its complex ensemble numbers and clever lyrics. The cast were all excellent and scene changes were a delight to watch, everything was very slick and beautifully choreographed. I had been warned to bring a cushion though as the seating isn't very comfortable. Even with the cushion, I spent the last 20 minutes of this 95 minute one act show focusing more on trying to get comfortable rather than on the performances which was a shame.

Goodbye, Uncle John

It was my Uncle John’s funeral yesterday and so I travelled down to be with my family and say my goodbyes to him. Whilst it was a sad occasion, it was nice to be able to see so many of my cousins and some of my aunties and uncles whom I don’t see very often at all. It is just a shame that we rarely see each other except at these kind of occasions although given that there are so many of us (we worked out that there are thirty-eight of us first cousins in total), that isn’t too surprising.

Return of the SPD

I’ve been quite lucky with regards to the SPD throughout most of this pregnancy – considering it was diagnosed quite early on, I’ve really not had too many problems with it, probably thanks to giving up tap, seeing my chiropractor regularly and avoiding the things which are likely to exacerbate the problem – long walks tend to trigger it. It flared up a little recently but Monday’s trip to the chiropractor soon sorted it out. Unfortunately, I skidded on a greasy floor when out for Michael’s birthday meal which has really caused it to flare up again and makes walking particularly uncomfortable.

Introducing baby Scarlett

I have a new great-niece – baby Scarlett was born earlier today and looks absolutely gorgeous from the photos that I have seen and very much like my nephew! Many congratulations to my nephew Craig and his girlfriend Charlie on the arrival of their little girl. Scarlett’s arrival brings the total of great-nieces and great-nephews to ten (four great-nieces and six great-nephews). I’m not quite sure yet when I will get to meet the latest arrival to the family but would like to wish Craig and Charlie all the best for the coming weeks as they get to grips with parenthood.

Michael's birthday

It was Michael’s birthday yesterday and we ended up going out for a Chinese meal with friends. Considering that we left it to the last minute to organise (which is fairly typical for us!), there was a reasonable size group of us which was great. It was a lovely evening and I also made Michael a very chocolately birthday cake. Unfortunately Michael had to go off to work afterwards to prepare for an event that he’s working on today so didn’t get to relax quite as much as he would have liked, but he enjoyed spending the evening with friends.

The spider saga

I’m not a fan of spiders. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have a spider phobia, but I definitely don’t like some of the big spiders that we get in our house sometimes. Particularly the massive one that I discovered in the bath yesterday morning. I just could not pluck up the courage to catch it in a jar and take it outside. Which meant having to wash in the downstairs bathroom and use dry shampoo on my hair. The upstairs bathroom remained out of bounds until hubby finally arrived home and removed the spider for me.

A nice start to my maternity leave

Had a good start to my maternity leave. Michael is back from his work trip and home again and my sister Maxine and nephew Kieran came up to visit for the day. I tend to see family mostly when I go home to visit them but lately there have been more occasions when they have come up to visit me. Michael even managed to pop home for a while in the afternoon to catch up with them as well. Always good to be able to spend quality time with my family – just a shame they don’t live a bit nearer.

Maternity leave

I have now finished the last of my visits and said goodbye to the last of my mums and babies, finished off all the little bits of paperwork that I still needed to do and switched my work phone off. I am now officially on maternity leave and ready to put my feet up and relax until Jessica decides to make her appearance. It does feel a little bit odd to be stopping work completely with no real idea of when I’m likely to make a return or if it will even be to exactly the same job as before.

Home alone

Michael is away again this weekend on another work trip but hopefully this is going to be the last one before Jessica makes her appearance. At least this time he hasn’t left the country but it’s still far enough away to make me a little nervous about whether he would be able to get back in time if Jessica did decide to arrive sooner than anticipated. Thank goodness it’s just a short trip though – he’s back on Monday and his parents are just down the road in case of emergency but hopefully there won’t be any need to call them!

Realisations

Going out for curry with a group of friends last night was fun, but it brought home to me once again how very close the next stage of our journey with baby Jessica is. As we said goodbye at the end of the evening, it dawned on me that it was quite likely that I wouldn’t see some of these friends again before Jessica’s arrival – the next curry night being planned for after our induction date. By this time next month, we will have taken another step on the journey and the future is so uncertain and I am scared.

35 week scan

Back to Oxford again this afternoon for another scan. The situation with Jessica’s heart looks pretty much the same as it has been at the last few scans – the foramen ovale still appears to be very small but there is blood flow through it and Jessica appears to be coping well. Her size wasn’t measured today but hopefully she is still continuing to grow well. She is still a little wrigglebottom and gets hiccups at least a couple of times a day. Just the fact that she is active and as well as can be expected is a huge blessing.

Our new home - one year on

It’s been exactly a year today since we got the keys for our house and I have to admit that I thought we’d have finished all the decorating and unpacked all the boxes long before now but we still have unpacked boxes and rooms that aren’t quite as we’d like them to be. The main thing is that most of the things we need regularly were unpacked a long time ago, the things that are needed less frequently are accessible and we’ll probably find that the things that are still unpacked are now mostly things we don’t need after all.

Finding time for friends

Over recent months, I have come to realise just how important my friends are to me. Sometimes we might go some time without speaking to certain friends but I know that it doesn’t mean that we don’t care, just that life can be so busy that time whizzes past and weeks go by almost without us realising it. Often I find this is something I am guilty of. I will suddenly think ‘I must call so-and-so’ but the thought only occurs to me late at night when it is too late to do so, rather than at a convenient time.

RIP Uncle John

I was very sad to hear that my Uncle John passed away earlier today. He was one of my mum’s older brother and we found out that he had terminal cancer just a couple of weeks ago. During the last week or so, his condition had deteriorated very rapidly and so today’s news was not unexpected – in some ways it is a blessing that he did not have to suffer for too long, although it was still of course very sad news and he has now gone to be with Auntie Jean. Thoughts and prayers are with my cousins tonight.

Being looked after

With Michael away on another work trip, my mum has come up again to spend a few days with me. As always, it is great to be able to spend time with my mum. As well as being there to provide emotional support, she is also great at helping out around the house and making sure she looks after me and Jessica as much as possible. In the last couple of days, the SPD has flared up so having my mum around to help with household chores is a huge blessing and means I can take it a bit easier.

Halfway through camp

I’m now approaching the mid-month point at Camp NaNoWriMo and this is when it all seems to be getting very difficult. I’m just about keeping up with my word count (well, maybe very slightly behind schedule) but this is the stage when I start floundering around in the middle of my novel, wondering where I’m going next and why I decided to take this challenge on in the first place. Once I hit 30,000 words, I seem to regain my enthusiasm but at the moment, it is hard to keep motivated. Must remember that this is supposed to be fun!

Anxious anticipation

Now that we have an induction date booked, the next stage on this journey with our baby girl seems to be that much nearer. I am becoming increasingly aware once again of just how precious all those little movements are and how blessed we are with every day that we have with our baby girl. There are times when staying positive and optimistic seems that little bit harder and I struggle to have faith and trust in God. Michael has been the most amazing support throughout all of this – I am so very lucky to have such a wonderful husband.

Moving on

Now that our journey is nearing the next stage, our care at Oxford is starting to reach its end. We have been anxious at the thought of leaving the care of a team in whose hands we felt so safe and having to get to know a new team of people. However, one of the good things about going to Southampton is that it is a familiar environment to me – I did my midwifery training there and already knew the midwife and consultant obstetrician whom we met at our appointment which has helped us to feel more at ease there.

Another day, another hospital

Met the Southampton team today and have been booked for care there. The decision as to whether to attempt surgery will be made after Jessica is born as it depends very much on the situation regarding blood flow to the lungs which cannot be fully assessed until they are in use after birth. If this is poor, then Jessica is likely to get sick very quickly after birth and will be too unwell for surgery to be an option. The odds of surgery being a viable option are low but we will keep praying that it will be an option.

UK riots

Like most people around the country, I am absolutely appalled by the scenes of rioting in London and other UK cities over the last couple of days. There are people out there who have lost their homes and their livelihoods all because of groups of yobs who seem to be on the rampage for no real reason whatsoever. What on earth is the world coming to? It is just horrible. I just cannot understand why people living in a supposedly civilised society would act in this way and am thankful that my friends in the affected areas are all safe.

Had another scan at Oxford today to check how Jessica is doing. Her heart condition still remains pretty much as before and we are due to see the team at Southampton later this week for another scan and to discuss the possibility of post-birth surgery. Our consultant at Oxford has warned us not to raise our hopes too high though – the severity of Jessica’s heart condition does mean that the odds of post-birth surgery being likely to succeed are still quite low. On the plus side, she is still wriggly and we saw her beautiful little face on scan today.

First aid for hedgehogs

We have a hedgehog living in our back garden. Yesterday he was out on the lawn and after a while I noticed he was just lying on the grass barely moving. When I went out to investigate, I discovered that he had a big red rubber band wrapped around his middle. He barely moved as I managed to cut it off him but the minute my back turned, he had disappeared back into the bushes. Thankfully I have seen him wandering around the garden a couple of times since then and he seems to be none the worse for it.

In praise of planning

With friends who live a considerable distance away, plans to meet up often do have to be made ahead of time (there’s no point going on an eight-hour drive to see a friend on a whim only to find they’re away on holiday for two weeks!) In those situations, it definitely pays to plan! Planning is also much better when you are trying to arrange to meet up with a large group of friends or particular friends – after all, everyone has busy lives and those periods of ‘free’ time don’t always coincide! But it’s still fun to be spontaneous sometimes!

The joys of being spontaneous

I love last-minute plans to catch up with friends. It can be frustrating sometimes when the only way it seems you can catch up with a friend is for the two of you to take out your diaries and eventually find a mutually acceptable date, often many weeks in advance. Making plans to spend time with friends shouldn’t always feel like you are booking an appointment with them. Whilst spontaneity doesn’t always work, it’s great when it does and some of the best times I have had with friends have been when things have been arranged at the last minute.

Hooray for rain!

In true British-summer style after a few sunny days, we have now had a day of it raining almost incessantly. And for once, I’m actually quite glad that it is raining because it is so much cooler and fresher as a result. It means that I’ve managed to have a reasonably productive day and actually get some of those things on the ‘to-do’ list done instead of wilting away on the sofa feeling like I’m about to melt. I suspect being happy about the rain puts me in a minority though but maybe the sunshine will be back again tomorrow.

Camp NaNoWriMo - month 2

Camp NaNoWriMo. Fabulous idea – a chance to repeat the fun that it is NaNoWriMo in the summer time rather than having to wait until November. Except that because it is running for two months instead of one, there was always going to be the temptation to go mad and take part in both months and try and write two draft novels. Particularly when I know that my writing buddy is going to do exactly the same. I could say no and take things easy but since when have I ever been capable of doing that? Let the madness commence (again!)

A little on the warm side...

Don’t get me wrong – it’s lovely to have some nice summery weather (believe me, we never seem to get enough of it) but this level of heat and humid is just a little too much for me at this stage of pregnancy. So if someone could please just turn the summer thermostat down by a couple of degrees before I melt, that would be fabulous. Plus it would help to prevent the swollen ankles which have recently made their first appearance – going from leg to foot without any obvious area connecting the two in between is not a good look!

Getting closer...

We are now in August which means that Jessica is due to arrive next month (and will hopefully hold off until then before deciding to make her appearance). I am not anxious for this month to go by too quickly though – even though we have a little hope again, the future is still very uncertain and so every moment that we still have with Jessica wriggling about is so very precious. Those movements are certainly getting quite big now and I can definitely feel little feet sticking out! It is just lovely to feel her moving about so much though.

A Sunday afternoon with family

After a lovely Saturday catching up with my family at the wedding, it was good to also be able to spend some time on Sunday catching up with family as well and getting to see my beautiful nieces Erin and Ebony who were staying with their granny yesterday rather than being at the wedding. Ebony is fascinated by my bump at the moment and every time Jessica starts moving, she comes over and puts a hand on my bump so she can feel Jessica moving about and gives her kisses whereas Erin seems a little bit unsure about it all.

Dawn & James' wedding

It seems to be another good year for weddings and so we were off to the third wedding so far this year – my niece Dawn was getting married in a lovely hotel in the New Forest. I love family weddings – it is always good to be able to catch up with my siblings, nieces and nephews. The weather was beautiful and Dawn and James both looked so happy. I even managed to get up and do a bit of jiving with Michael in the evening which wasn’t too bad for being seven months’ pregnant! All in all, a lovely day.