Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Waterproof maternity trousers

I'm still currently hovering around the phase where I don't really look pregnant yet, but I am definitely thicker around the middle - a waistless wonder, you might say.

Most of my clothes still fit, but I have a penchant for slim-fitting smart work trousers, none of which will currently do up other than my uber comfy black linen ones which were a bit too big anyway. Having had the foresight to order a selection of random maternity clothes from ebay (which are mostly surprisingly wearable)this has not yet proved too much of a problem. When last week I discovered my suit trousers did not do up for my grandfather's funeral, I just popped on my new black, stretchy maternity skirt, and it went well enough.

Some things are harder though. My coats are getting a bit snugger and more difficult to do up, and it seems a waste to buy a new winter coat when we are (hopefully) about to go into spring - massive waste. And waterproof trousers. I have a not particularly old and very snug pair of these. So snug now, I suspect they would probably split right up the backside, bobsleigh stylie, if I attempted to pop them on and get on my bike, which is what they are for really.

It's a strange limbo place at the moment, not appearing all that pregnant and having a lovely bump to stroke smugly, but still having to avoid all the best cheese and suffering the indignity of overstretched waistbands.

Here's to the arrival of the bump!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Heartbeat

Another exciting milestone moment. Today, I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time. I rolled down my new pregnancy skirt (courtesy of e-bay) and my funky purple tights to expose my belly, momentarily distracted by a couple of unexpected hairs by my belly-button (where did they spring from) and braced myself for the 'doppler'.

I think when I was imagining my ultrasound scan, what I actually had in mind was this intriguing doppler device, a sort of blue and white wand to which a large dollop of cold jelly was applied before it hit the belly.

It being an NHS device, there was a lot of crackling and white noise before the distinctive whung-whung noise of the baby's heartbeat came out. Just like I was imagining it would. The ultrasound, by comparison, was disappointingly quiet. Anyway, I don't think they really did any counting or anything, but they reassured me and my husband (I brought him along as he has been desperate for continued proof that I am indeed still carrying our child, not just fat and lazy)that it all sounded very happy, healthy and normal.

They also reassured me that I do not have HIV, syphillis or hepatitis, so that's good news. Who would have thought, all those years on the game and not even a touch of chlamydia to show for it? Obviously, I'm joking. Blood pressure normal, wee normal, boobs normal - actually, they didn't comment on the boobs (which have now swollen to a massive 36F and are only getting bigger).

So next stop, anomalies scan. When we'll actually be hunting for whether or not sproglet has a teeny penis. By then, I should look quite preggers (right now, I just look a bit fat I reckon) and should be feeling the baby move - still waiting for that first kick.

Knowing me, I'll probably think it's wind.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Broken

Everything appears to be broken at the moment. My husband and I are planning to move out of our two-bedroom house with a tiny, barely there bathroom in a month's time into a nice clean flat with a big kitchen.

It seems like the house has somehow cottoned onto this and is making rumblings of protest. The immersion heater stopped working earlier in the week. We initially thought it was the thermostat, but when we actually got a plumber out yesterday, it emerged that the situation was pretty much terminal. And because we rent our home, we have had to go through a long, convoluted process with the landlords, the plumber and us acting as a cold and dirty intermediary. It is not sorted yet, oh no, we've got both plumber and landlords coming up on Wednesday to replace the thing. This also means the landlords can nose around the house and moan about the state it is in (with pregnancy and bereavement, cleaning and maintenance has not been very high on our list of priorities).

Then, the other day, our phoneline stopped working. This is something which has happened a few times, due to guttering issues which our landlords have never addressed, water gets into the box and corrodes it, eventually rendering it useless. I can live without a landline without too much difficulty, but it's a bugger having no internet access at home.

Also, twice in the past three days, our fridge/freezer has randomly stopped working for a short time - then kicked in again. I think it must be on the way out, which is fair enough as I bought it secondhand six years ago. But it will involve a fairly major operation when we get it out because the dimensions of the kitchen are barely big enough for two people to pass each other.

Anyway, while all these issues are being resolved, we are relying on the kindness of friends and relatives to pop over for a quick shower and food which has been reliably kept cold. I hope things are rectified sooner rather than later.

In other news, I have been reflecting on some of the things I may soon not be able to do - tie my shoelaces, shave my legs, get up from a low chair unaided, cut my toenails... Am I to become a semi-invalid, or a semi-slob in the later months of my confinement?

Decisions, decisions