Babies
The three of us are doing well. I have another cervical scan this Wednesday but I’m feeling quietly confident that my cervical ‘helmet’ is doing its job. Things feel pretty calm down there. Yes, I have started self diagnosing my own plumbing. No, I haven’t been to med school.
I had my 20 week anomaly scan last week and it was good to see that both babies have the requisite number of arms, brains, legs, noses and heart ventricles.
Big Val still has plenty of room and is in a rather comfortable feet down position. Check her out – she even has a pillow. She’s doing the uterine equivalent of ‘Netflix and chill’:
Richie McCaw though…..is not a Richie McCaw after all! The sonographer is pretty sure that he’s actually another girl. It’s hard to tell because he’s tucked away behind his sister and he’s rather squashed and mysterious. He’s head down and we saw Big Val kick him in the face live on (scan) TV. Poor little guy/girl. Anyway I guess we need to come up with a new name as she probably won’t be the captain of the All Black rugby team in real life anymore. Here she is – cute nose:
I have given up on wearing trousers unless they are of the elasticated waist variety. I bought 2 maternity dresses in Topshop as I can’t really go to work in sweat pants. There is a lot of terrible maternity wear out there ladies ….plenty of florals and wrap around tops (think Kate Middleton in pastels). Topshop, COS and Asos are still good. Anyway, my belly is expanding and people keep moving their hands towards me to touch it. In the words of Missy Elliott, keep your hands off my ba bump ba bump bump:
Overall I’m feeling good. We have some stressful stuff going on related to husband’s job situation but I am trying not to wallow in it too much. In the meantime I’m saving as much as possible and figuring out ways to squeeze the maximum amount of ££ from my rather stingy (by British standards) maternity leave allocation. It’s tough – living in London is expensive. Luckily my mum is retiring soon and has offered to come and help us once the babies are born. I’m hoping to take 6 months off work…which I know must seem like loads to American readers. It’s easy to get bogged down in negative thoughts at the moment – probably a combination of hormones, anxiety and weird nesting instinct. Sleep is interrupted by midnight worries about money, jobs and if we have room in this flat for the minimum amount of baby stuff. So I keep reminding myself that:
- I am bloody lucky to be pregnant after all the years of trying
- Plenty of families in London manage every day in much worse circumstances than us
- I could be living in a mud hut in Africa with no water, sanitation and certainly no maternity leave
- Nobody likes a moaner
Ah congratulations!! Super happy for you. Yes London is insane even for those without babies! Anyway you look great and the twins looks super chilled! Xx
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Thanks – yes, I do wonder why we live here sometimes! Then I remember the museums, the restaurants, the theatres, the parks, the job selection, the internationalism, etc etc 👍
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I lived outside London for years. Now I am never going to move out – unless it’s to another capital or the US! For all its faults, I love it.
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Haha – good answer. I agree, I’m from Manchester originally and went to university in Scotland. After 16 years in London I have been spoiled for life.
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Wow, we have A LOT in common!!!
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Oh really? Cool. We should meet for a coffee one day – if you wouldn’t mind real life crossing into blog life.
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No of course not. It would be fun!
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Well you look freaking fabulous and I say moaning is fine from time to time. The reality is that things will be a little tricky to make it all work and that’s ok. You can’t be all rainbows and unicorns every damn day!
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Too true. Am trying to save all my moaning for the third trimester though 😀
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Haha oh yes I could serve you up an earful right now 🙂
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Great news all round! I’m taking 11 months off with twins. So six months doesn’t seem excessive to me. I’m Australian.
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We’re allowed to take 12 months in the uk but we just can’t afford it unfortunately. I’m sure we’ll be OK….hurray for my mum!
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So you have to go to med school to self diagnose? And here I was thinking I had it nailed 😂 Oh man Big Val makes that womb look luxurious! She is looking mighty chilled out! You’re looking really fabulous! And twins are a big deal so there is no wonder you’ve got a lot to think about!
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Aren’t you just the cutest pregnant gal ever?! We can’t even see your entire face but we can see how happy you are!
I wasn’t a big moaner while pregnant, because I was pregnant with singletons and I carried high. But the few things that were rough (severe heartburn from 7 weeks on and an unusual burning patch of skin on my right ribs) would bring me to tears many days. Pregnancy is not easy… It really isn’t. Add another baby in there with stress about money, space, etc. and you moan all you want. Don’t feel like, “I should just be grateful that I’m pregnant.”. We know you’re grateful, and more importantly, you know you’re grateful. You can act and feel like a regular pregnant person. 😊
I never got an ultrasound picture like that top one. My kids never cooperated. That is just fantastic!
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Thanks – you are right of course. It’s ok to have a moan. I just don’t want to get into a spiral of anxiety about everything so I’m trying to keep a lid on it. There’s only so much you can worry about before your head explodes. Hopefully some good luck (in the form of a job for my husband or a lottery win) will come our way soon!
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You and babies are so darling! This was a fun post to read…despite the stress, there is so much happiness. Xoxo
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Thank you – not long for you now, right? I’m almost (almost!) letting myself relax a bit about this pregnancy, although years of IVF failure have made me a nervous nelly. Hopefully you’re a bit more chilled than me.
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I started relaxing more around 20 weeks as well and now I am 28. I just wrote this on Nara’s last post, but although logic and excitement has me relaxed sometimes, the experiences I have had losing four babies already keep me a little nervous. I don’t think I ever say, “when my son is born”…I always say “hopefully, when my son is born” or some variation of that. It’s just too fragile still not to use a qualifier. It will be an amazing day WHEN he is born and I get to hold him in my arms. I know you dream the same dream!
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I hear you. It will happen and it will be amazing!
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That dress is awesome!
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I just read your timeline. I admire your staying power. I need some of that. Huge congrats on your pregnancy. Really inspiring xx
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Thank you! Still can’t quite believe we’ve finally made it this far…
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