mummy & daddy's new "bump"...

Early Stages

2005-04-09T22:22:00.000+01:00

It’s Saturday 9 April 2005. Daddy was supposed to go to work today & his alarm was set. At about 04:30 this morning mummy started feeling things she hadn’t felt before, like a strong tummy ache. She then woke daddy after about an hour & we watched some television for a while & kept an eye on the time & how frequent these pains came. They were approximately 30 minutes apart so daddy rang work at about 07:45 to say he wasn’t going to be in!

Mummy had planned to go to the French market in Woking with her mummy & daddy & she still wanted to go so we got dressed & met them there. Jenny the lodger was also there with mummy’s nan & Lizzie the dog.

We had a nice time. They had all sorts of nice food on sale, aswell as clothes, baskets, soaps... We bought some biscuits & some croissants then we all came back to our house to have a cup of tea with our goodies.

Well, after that all the pains slowed down & disappeared!! We had quite a boring afternoon – just waiting. Oh well, you’ll come when you want to. We’re all excited about meeting you.

8 April 2005 – No Signs Yet

2005-04-08T10:00:00.000+01:00

No, you didn’t turn up yesterday. Will it be today? Tomorrow? The next day?

Who knows?

We’re just waiting, waiting, waiting...

It’s exciting but sometimes infuriating (because we’re getting impatient) – what are you like, who do you look like, what colour hair do you have, how big are you, how heavy????

So many questions, all to be answered very soon though.

7 April 2005 – Will you, won’t you?

2005-04-07T10:00:00.000+01:00

Today’s the day. Are you going to make an appearance today? We hope so.

It’s daddy’s day off today so we’re both enjoying some time together. Very soon there will be 3 of us (which will be great) and it will take some getting used to, so we’re enjoying our last days of being a couple.

We’re told that most first babies are late so we’re not really expecting to see you today.

Kicking (& screaming?)

2004-12-23T20:14:00.000Z

Mummy has been feeling you move around for quite a while now. She said it was a bit weird at first plus she didn't really know what it felt like. Other people have told her that it feels like bubbles or flutters but she said she didn't feel anything like that. She said the first movements she felt from you were more definite "thumps" & at the very beginning it felt odd but it was reassuring. Now she says she's got used to it & you're much more active!

Daddy's also felt you move about quite a bit but it's harder for him to feel you thumping around. Mummy's tummy is very thick, that's so you are well protected from the outside world while you grow. One Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago just after we woke up, daddy had his arm stretched around mummy's tummy & both of us were lying in bed, not moving, hoping to feel something. Daddy felt a nudge & kept quiet waiting for something more definite, then he felt 4 quick nudges in a row that were firmer. Then mummy asked him if he had felt you knocking - she had felt you too. It was amazing!!

It's incredible to think how much you've developed & grown over such a short time. You've been cooking for nearly 6 months now & it's gone so fast! We are both really looking forward to meeting you.

3rd Midwife Appointment

2004-12-16T11:15:00.000Z

Mummy had another checkup with the midwife (Helen) today. Your hearbeat was checked & Helen said it was nice & strong. She measured mummy's tummy & said that you must be lying directly across her front because of the shape of her tummy. Everything is OK though which is reassuring.

Daddy had his day off today so mummy called in after the appointment to say how it went with the midwife. In the car on the way home she said you gave her a good kick! You wanted to let her know that you're there & you're OK!

Mummy Can't Bend!!

2004-12-15T17:29:00.000Z

Mummy felt uncomfortable today, she had trouble getting off the settee & daddy had to help her! You were lying right down low in the front of her tummy & it was difficult for her to move easily. These days she says she can't bend in the middle because you're in the way!!

Daddy pressed the front of her tummy and it felt harder than it did before. That's because you were quite near the surface.

2nd Midwife Appointment

2004-10-21T14:00:00.000+01:00

We went back to see Helen the midwife today for mummy's (& your) check up. She asked mummy how she had been feeling since we last saw her. She checked mummy's blood pressure again & it was OK.

Helen then told mummy to lie on the bed, quirted some gel on her tummy (that's where you're hiding at the moment!) & she got her machine out that lets us listen to your heartbeat. That was exciting & reassuring at the same time! It was a strange sound, kind of muffled but it let us know that you are OK. Each time mummy goes to the midwife from now on, your heart will be checked.

Spooky Photo...

2004-09-21T20:40:00.000+01:00

We had this picture sent to us by email, it's very weird.

Is it really possible? Who knows?

Our 1st Midwife Appointment today!

2004-09-09T12:15:00.000+01:00

We went to see the midwife for the first time today. Her name is Helen Shea, a very nice lady. She talked to us about when we thought you were due, she checked her calendar & said we were right!! 7 April 2005 is the date.

Mummy got weighed & had her blood pressure taken, everything was normal. She also had to give a wee sample which was also OK. Our next appointment is in about 6 weeks but we've got a scan at the hospital in between!

Back to the Present - The Day of the Test!!

2004-08-01T18:25:00.000+01:00

We've Finally Gone & Done It!

Over the last couple of years we've been planning hard for our future, or rather, your future with us. We've been saying for ages that we'd start trying for a baby "next year", "next year" but we didn't feel felt ready financially, plus our house still needed a fair bit doing to it because after 8 years it’s looking a bit shabby, but we're getting there. Upstairs is pretty much done. A few finishing touches left, that's all. Downstairs we're still finishing the conservatory. We'd better get a move on, now we've got a proper deadline - 7 April 2005. That's when you're due to arrive!

2004 arrived some time ago; we're now past the middle of the year & this is the year that we decided to definitely start trying for a baby. Crikey; how our lives are going to change! It's funny really, while we were "dating"/"courting", whatever you like to call it, people would ask "When are you getting engaged?". Then, when we were engaged, it was "When are you getting married?". After our wedding, it changed to "When are you going to have a family?". Well, we've been married 8 years now & folk have stopped asking when we're having a baby! They probably think "Oh, poor things, they can't have children." Well, haven't we surprised them? We can now delight in revealing that it only took us 2 months to conceive, hah! Anyway you're not interested in that side of things are you? Yuck.

Well, here we are, expecting a baby - you. We've just found out today. We did a pregnancy test & waited for the thingy to tell us whether it was positive or not. It was! Yippee. Well, we surprised ourselves by our reaction. Neither of us was jumping up & down, it was weird. Of course we are both delighted that we're pregnant but we've wanted you for so many years that now that you actually do exist, we don't really know what to feel. It's really strange, maybe one day you'll understand exactly what we mean. We hope so. Don't think that we're not pleased about being pregnant, we are, we're absolutely thrilled to bits. The reason we're feeling hesitant is that we know it's not all plain sailing. Things can go wrong, so we're not going to get carried away & think that everything's going to be fine from day 1; we'll keep our feet on the ground & take each day as it comes & enjoy it aswell.

An Insight into the Past

2004-07-18T18:21:00.000+01:00

Let's take you back a bit first, then you'll have an idea of where we've been. Then we'll look at where we're heading & how our lives will be changing, eek!

Winter of 1991 - Meeting
Mummy & daddy were members of an amateur dramatics group called Pyrford Little Theatre (or PLT to give it its short name). Rehearsals for the annual pantomime (to be performed in January 1992) were underway. It was Cinderella that year. Since daddy's quite tall he needed a tall young lady to dance with. That's where auntie Donna came in handy. Well, not to be outdone, mummy tagged along too. Mummy had a very important role to play, she was Cinderella's double in the transformation scene.

Daddy already knew mummy's & auntie Donna's nan - Daphne (she's your Great Grandmother). She helped make all the costumes for everybody to wear & she introduced the girls to PLT. We all got quite friendly & mummy asked daddy if he would like to go with her to her work Christmas party. The company was paying for it so it seemed like a good idea & daddy quite liked mummy even that early on (she liked him too!). Well, it was a black tie party, everyone dressed up smartly and it was held at the Hilton Hotel in Cobham. We had lots of fun and danced at the disco. Our first dance was to Bryan Adams' "(Everything I do) I do it For You" (number 1 in the charts for 14 weeks by the way). We left the hotel holding hands & daddy took mummy home safely.

Courtship/Engagement
That was only the start. Daddy then asked mummy to go out with him for a drink on Christmas eve with his friends, she thought he was just returning the favour though. She went along to meet everybody & we both had a nice evening.

Things carried on & we continued seeing each other (had our first kiss in mummy's parents' driveway!!). One day in August, mummy came home from being out in Guildford with her mummy & she told daddy that she'd seen an engagement ring, yikes. We had talked about it a little bit already but this seemed much more real! Well, we went back to look at it together & after a cappuccino & a bun we decided to buy it. Mummy then wanted the ring put away & for daddy to choose the time to propose. Well, that didn't last long. She was pestering for ages, wanting to know when he was going to do it. So we then both decided to get engaged officially at Christmas (1992).

Money/House
Neither of us had any money to speak of. We saved really hard for 4 years so that we could put down a deposit for our first house. The house we found in the local paper, Woking News & Mail, needed a lot of work doing to it. New heating system, bathroom, kitchen, garden. Everything needed work done on it. We bought the place in May 1995, spent the next 15 months working on it with lots of help from mummy's parents & uncle Brian, got married 7 September 1996 & moved in the same day!

Well, that's our 13 year history in a few paragraphs! Now back to the present...