Introducing Sophie

It's been a while since my last post. Things took an unexpected turn and we have been somewhat busy since then. Our little girl Sophie was born at 12.06 on Tuesday 4 September, six weeks and two days early, weighing 3lb 14oz at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. She arrived in a hurry, came out screaming, stayed in hospital for ten days, and has been bringing joy and night wakings to us ever since! We have been overjoyed to see her grow and progress. She's more or less doubled in size since she was born, and she gets more beautiful each and every day. Nick and I absolutely adore her and she is starting to show signs of adoring us, which makes my heart feel like it will burst.

The first few weeks at home with a tiny baby who could not breastfeed consistently were very hard. Sterilising bottles and expressing breast milk on a four-hourly routine was laborious, tiring, time consuming and a bit soul destroying. But seeing our Sophie grow and thrive made it all worthwhile. We have been blessed with amazing help from family, friends, and some wonderful professionals who have made all the difference to us. I am certain that I would have given up breastfeeding had I not had such help and encouragement. Happily Sophie is now fully breastfed and although we don't get it absolutely right each and every time, she is growing and is for the most part a happy baby. Parenthood is easy, broken sleep is hard, but we are getting through it as a team and we are so thankful for our gorgeous girl.

In other news...

In other news...

We went to watch 'The Merchant of Venice' at the Said Business School's rooftop amphitheatre yesterday evening. It was a real treat. The production was very good, had some very funny and some very poignant moments, and we enjoyed a hot chocolate and a brownie in the interval. Plus, the company (my lovely husband) was superb.

I've also been enjoying watching 'The Great British Bake Off' on iPlayer. It's inspired me to want to do some baking, having not really done any since becoming pregnant. Since the coming Bank Holiday weekend is set to be rainy, and since I don't really have the energy for more active pursuits, I hope to do some cake-making very soon!

32 weeks down, 8 to go

Unbelievably, we will be parents in only eight weeks time (or a little more or less). The last few months have gone by so quickly. I've been feeling quite tired and a little bit anxious for the last few days. What if the baby isn't well? What if I've done something to harm her? What if I've done something bad? What if she's born too early? I need to keep reminding myself that I am not in control! God has the big picture and he knows what is going to happen, so just relax already!

We are now so close to finishing decorating the nursery. All that remains is to put up some curtains and a few pictures. It looks really nice already, thanks to my wonderful mum who came to wallpaper and paint, and then came back to weed and tidy the garden a week later.

I've also started to cook for the freezer, preparing for those days after the birth when I won't have the energy or time to cook. So far, there's an Italian beef stew in there and after today there'll be at least two or three portions of chicken curry. Tomorrow, bolognese sauce. My aim is to have it full of things that can be defrosted and heated in the oven or microwave, and served with rice or pasta!

31 weeks down, 9 to go

The number of weeks left has now reached single figures. I can hardly believe it! After the first three interminable months when I felt that I would be pregnant forever and would never not feel sick again, the last 18 weeks have gone incredibly quickly. We're so excited about meeting our baby! Our house is almost ready - currently looking like a disaster zone but soon to be transformed into a lovely haven once all the renovation works are done. I'm almost ready too. I won't say I'm thrilled about the prospect of labour and delivery, but having been to a few classes I feel I understand it more, and am prepared for it being gruelling and hard, but wonderful when it's over.

This week, baby is still in the transverse position, so hopefully she will turn round soon, especially as my tummy is feeling quite tight now with a hard bulge on each side! Apparently doing yoga in the all-fours position will give her room to turn. Baby is healthy with a good heartbeat, and I'm healthy too, though pregnancy insomnia has really kicked in, partially because of aches and pains and partially because I can't stop thinking about the baby and my nesting impulse is irresistibly strong. It's currently the middle of the night and I've just been googling about car seats and how to use them safely, and about car seat covers so my little one will be comfortable. It's an obsession.

(Written from my lounge computer, surrounded by shoes, decorating equipment and packets of food, which are temporarily displaced from their home under the stairs.)

30 weeks down, 10 to go

This week, we've been busy learning yoga for labour, starting antenatal classes, beginning to get the nursery ready, and coping with restless nights. Only ten more weeks to go until the due date, which is both thrilling and a little bit scary. I've been enjoying shorter weeks at work before the final long slog of September.

Baby girl is lying sideways (transverse) so I keep telling her to point her head downwards please! She still has plenty of time to do so. My bump is now huge and heavy, quite a load to carry round and quite uncomfortable at times too. But overall, things are great. It feels like we'll be chasing our tails up to the very last minute, but little by little we are getting ready for our new addition.

Here's a new picture of my baby bump!

30 week bump

29 weeks down, 11 to go

I am back after a brief hiatus caused by a busy couple of weeks at work followed by a week-long holiday in Cornwall, where the sun shone and the sea was a chilly 13 degrees.

I am now well and truly in the third trimester, and have the symptoms to go along with it: sore hips, aching back, and having to get up to pee every single night. That 'heavily pregnant' feeling which was eluding me four weeks ago: definitely here now.

I also have an overwhelming sense of love and attachment to my baby, which is strange since I have never even seen her. I honestly can't believe how much I love her.

We had a scan this week to check baby's growth, and happily she is a perfectly normal size.

I now have only 37 days left at work. What a relief it will be to be able to rest at home for a few days before the birth. I hope baby will allow me to do that and not come early!

In other news, our pushchair has arrived and is set up ready for its cargo. We will choose a cot at some point in the next few weeks. Major DIY will happen in baby's room and a few other jobs around the house too. And then, one day, we will transition from having no baby, to having a baby!

26 weeks down, 14 to go

One of the best things about this week was the 1.5 hours I spent yesterday evening at the pregnancy yoga class I've been attending for the past few weeks. Things have been so hectic at work and at home recently that I've felt as if I haven't had a lot of time to focus on the baby, or on myself. So the class was a welcome change of pace and opportunity to take time out for that.

The moves and postures in the class are designed to help the baby have room to grow and move, to get her to end up in a good position for being born, to strengthen my body (read: pelvic floor) for labour, and to relieve pregnancy aches and pains. Since I experienced my first pregnancy leg cramps this week in my left calf, coinciding with pelvic pain in my right hip, which meant difficulty walking for three days, it was good to stretch it out and get some tips for relief. I'm not sure how much of the advice and postures I'll actually remember during labour! But I plan to keep going over the summer so that I can have time out and hopefully learn something.

In other news this week, I played Beethoven's Eroica Symphony very loudly this evening, which set the baby well and truly dancing around in there. She's got good musical taste already! We also finally chose our pram, which will be put on order in the near future.

I've also started to be a lot more weepy this week. Even just looking at a picture of a newborn baby brings on the tears. I can't wait to meet my little girl and see what she looks like and hold her in my arms, and see Nick holding her. Only three months to go.

25 weeks down, 15 to go

I've now entered the third trimester. Scary stuff.

Weight this week: 57 kilos. That's 3 more than before I was pregnant, and 8 more than my lowest weight at the end of the first trimester. According to the pregnancy book I've been reading, I am now 'heavily pregnant'. It doesn't really feel that way though.

Weird pregnancy experience of the week: eating coleslaw from the tub at 4 am.

Baby news of the week: baby girl is kicking harder than ever and actually caused me some mild pain today. The shape of things to come... At our doctor's appointment this week, my fundal height was measuring a bit below the norm (22cm instead of the expected 25cm), but I reckon she was just being shy and hiding from the tape measure!

24 weeks down, 16 to go

Waist measurement this week: 28 inches/70 cm. Not too shabby.

Nick was away for a few days this week so I had a chance to get a few things in order around the house. My nesting instinct has definitely kicked in. I feel even more of an urge than usual to clean and tidy. I also feel my awareness of myself and my environment is much sharper than usual. I'm super conscious of what's going on around me, of my own 'space', and what I'm doing at any given moment. It's quite a bizarre feeling.

Baby girl is getting more active by the day. I'm sure I felt some hiccups this week!

23 weeks down, 17 to go

This week: stretch marks. They have appeared on my thighs, bum, and hips (though not, so far, my tummy). It's a bit distressing and resulted in a few tears last night. I've been really careful to put on all the right lotions and potions but, I suppose, it was inevitable that they'd get me in the end.

On a happier note, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary yesterday with a wonderful day together. We had a lovely brunch with our dear friends Ben and Bryony, a walk into town to buy shoes (for me) and a maths book (for Nick, naturally), an afternoon spent together doing a few little bits and bobs around the house, and a delicious and posh dinner at Gee's. My gorgeous husband gave me earrings to match the beautiful necklace he gave me for my 21st birthday. Now he's gone to Madrid for a few days for a conference. I miss him already. He'll be back on Thursday. I can't wait.

22 weeks down, 18 to go

The last few weeks have been really exciting for us. We found out at our 20-week scan that we are having a girl! She is growing well and looks healthy. We can now feel and see her kicking and movements. She's very active! My tummy is growing rapidly and I now have a well-defined bump that's actually pretty cute, for now.

We're now gearing up towards making our major baby purchases: pram, car seat, cot, and nappies. With a busy summer ahead of us, we're going to have to be organised! The baby's room is nearly empty of its previous contents so we can now think about decorating it and kitting it out as a nursery - which is probably among the favourite part of pregnancy for most mums! I'm excited about painting it and making it a little haven for our little one. I'm really looking forward to meeting her in a few short weeks, although I do have moments of panic occasionally about what to actually do with the baby, parenthood, and the changes that will happen to our lifestyle. However, one thing's certain and that's that we can rely on God for his plans and timings and everything - which is a weight off our shoulders!

Here are some pictures of my growing bump:

Before...

17 weeks...

18 weeks...

19 weeks...

20 weeks...

21 weeks...

22 weeks and counting...

18 weeks down, 22 to go

This week started off really well. Baby has been wriggling loads. He or she seems to especially enjoy going on public transport. We took the train to Reading and he or she was having a little dance party in there! We also went swimming on Monday which is a really nice way to relax and get a bit of exercise. 

The not so great part of the week was being admitted to hospital on Tuesday evening. It seems I caught a bad stomach bug which manifested itself as more-or-less constant vomiting from Tuesday afternoon onwards and eventually led to us heading down to A&E, where I was assessed as dehydrated and put on a saline drip overnight. Apparently the baby is like a little parasite, taking all it needs and, since I had no food or fluid left in me, leaving me with nothing. In the end I was discharged about 18 hours after the sickness started. It was a bit of an ordeal but I was very well looked after. The worst part of all (apart from having to have an anti-sickness injection in my bottom) was being separated from Nick but he was amazing and came back early the next morning to be with me. He's so lovely.

This week the baby is the size of a sweet potato! Our sweet potato baby.

Pregnancy so far... (17 weeks down, 23 to go)

Yes, I am pregnant! What an exciting time. It's amazing that there's a whole baby growing inside me all by itself.

So far, it's been... interesting. The first 13 weeks were awash with sickness, fatigue, aversion to all food, and a myriad other disgusting symptoms that I'm not going to post about, as I'd rather forget them so that I don't get put off having more babies in the future! Since then things have improved a lot. Growing a baby is a tiring business and Nick is really busy at work but Team Wu is muddling through very well actually. 'The List' of things we need to do before he or she gets here has been started and will in all likelihood be pored over by me and ignored by Nick, but it makes me feel better knowing it's all down on paper, especially since 'baby brain' has turned out to be a genuine symptom. Who knew?! No food cravings as yet. If I haven't had any by Week 38 I think I'll have to invent one just so Nick has to go to the shop late at night to get it for me ha ha!

Coming up: more pregnancy updates.