Well whoever thought having babies was straightforward never had Obstetric cholestasis. As if the itching wasn't bad enough the constant blood tests and scans cost a fortune in car parking as well as sorting something out for the other two kids. Seeing the consultant just confuses everything more as he consistently refuses to set dates thinking I will have her by myself. Add in constant calls for any news and constant changes of arrangements and you have the perfect recipe for stress. Anyway all this means that I will not be posting regularly for the foreseeable but the end is in sight as hopefully our new baby will be here within the week.

Well Monday morning blues hit this morning as feeling all proud of myself for actually being on time Matthew managed to smash the soap dispenser in the bathroom, various bits of soap and china managed to spread themselves around. Five minutes later and we were in mad dash mode again, but at least the bathroom smells nice! Well lavender hand wash is nice in small quantities!

Half term is rapidly approaching and it seems like only yesterday that they went back to school! It also makes the arrival of number three much closer as it is only two calender months away and with her likely to be early it is more likely to be next month- eek!

Spent most of the weekend assembling various parts of necessary nursery equipment and my hospital bag is now packed, car seat is fitted and the other two's routine is fixed magnetically to the fridge! After Matthew's early appearance on a quiet Sunday morning, throwing all plans into confusion I am not taking any chances this time!

Funny how much trouble you need to go to for someone so small, however did they manage before microwaves, double buggies and formula milk?

LIfe is settled for now

Well things seems to have settled into a natural rhythm as we approach half term. Christmas only seems five minutes ago but already we are heralding in February and Easter hot on it's heels!

Now the birth of our third child seems a lot more real, until the New Year we were busily preparing for the festivities but now I have hit 30 weeks plus - having three children is a lot closer.

Still the sales were kind to our ever shrinking pockets and the car seat is ready and waiting, her room is decorated and the new name plaque just needs to be stuck to the door. Heather is not sure at all about what to think and anyone with more than one child will probably understand that other children whilst trying to share in the excitement of the new child are also struggling to find their own position in the family.

I am beginning to wonder how I will cope, the car seems a lot smaller now all the car seats are fitted and the house is definitely smaller! A big clear out of toys during the necessary (despite my husband's protestations to the contrary)preparation, has helped make way for some new things.

The itching I experienced with Matthew seems to have returned so I am hoping that when I visit the consultant in a few weeks time I might come away with a date for having the baby. Obstetric Colestasis is certainly no fun but at least I know what to expect now, just hope she doesn't do a Matthew and come early just to confuse all our carefully laid plans! Arriving in the Easter holidays would be most considerate of her, no more early morning rushes and a hubby with two weeks paternity leave would be more welcome than struggling with two kids who are bored and a Mum whose fastest pace is a waddle!

We have a growth scan in the half term as well, I am not sure what Heather will make of that but it will be odd to see a practically fully formed baby on the screen instead of a blurry blob seen at the beginning of the pregnancy. What if she's big? The other two have been small and wasy, well relatively speaking of course to squeeze out!

Whilst I am looking forward to having her I am glad this is my last pregnancy, I have to say the aches and pains will not be missed but having said that feeling her squirming about inside me is magical and I will miss that!

Happy New 2008!

Well after a lovely busy but fun filled Christmas we are now in 2008! May it fill everyone with joy etc and may you be able to deal with all the curve balls it throws at you with some diplomb!
I am getting more nervous about the arrival of our third child somewhere between mid March and Mid-April. This is our last one and just hoping it all goes OK now! We have a 4D scan on Saturday so hopefully the other 2 will get to see something of their sister other than the blobs on the scans. Our daughter is starting to bond and after initially declaring she didn't want a sister she is now coming around to the idea- an ally in all things pink, fairies and so on now seems OK to her!

My writing is going well and have just sent in my second creative writing assignment. I passed my philosophy exam despite being hampered by a migraine and things seem to be bubbling along nicely. Bit worried it is all going that little bit too smoothly!

Well I am back after a couple of weeks surrounded by tissues and nappies thanks to my kids returning with various contagions! Still the cold weather will hopefully kill all the nasty bugs and although a little on the chilly side the crisp sunny mornings really help me to start the day.
I managed to get a great score on my first assignment with my creative writing course and was marked as practically publishable, I am planning to edit and extend the piece and stick it in a short story competition. I have now managed to motivate myself to write every day even if it is a stolen half an hour while the kids are watching Lazy Town, naughty mummy.

We have all now embarked on a healthy eating campaign and finding the home cooked meals so much easier and nicer, we'll see if that stays when number three arrives! Baby has become very active in the last couple of days so I think I am going to nickname this one kicker, H was Piglet and Matthew was flipper so this one can't go unnamed really, counting down to the scan on the 30th November now!