29 weeks

Iris is in fact 29 weeks today. She has had a fairly easy pregnancy so far. No morning sickness at all in the early stages... just tiredness... and I would say a few extra hormones in the body causing some erratic behaviour... nothing we can't handle though!

We've had a few tests and things - two ultrasounds - I think the first was at the 12 weeks. Saw the little man/woman kicking away.... heart beat and so on. Though the baby looked huge on the monitor the sonographer abruptly informed us that it is only 7 centimeters long at this stage. Tiny!  And then at 24 weeks something a little more strenuous... requiring a blood test. This one went well too though. Everything looking good... we got some video of this one... I will try to post it.

Health wise, things have been quite simple for us so far - a few extra aches and pains, and Iris is definitely less mobile already. What is far more difficult is finding the right things for the baby... there are so many products available... and to some degree what you'll buy depends on your style as parents, where you live (apartment / house / with other family etc etc) and what other friends and family members might be able to give or loan you.

So many options - I think I will blog them one by one... obviously we'll let you all know what seems to work best for us too!

 

The Test

Not long after breakfast Iris disappeared into the bathroom to do the pregnancy test. We'd bought the test kit a week or so earlier - a bit of a joke really. But we both had a sneaking suspicion that she was pregnant. And we were happy and scared by that prospect. 

Iris handed me the tester wand as she walked out of the bathroom. I looked at it and said - gee you're going to have a baby! She hugged me and tears started to run down her cheeks. Here we go! 

What does one say? This major event in one's life just happens. Then things begin to change. Slowly at first then it gets faster and more perceptible. Then suddenly it is unavoidable.

Smelled my first baby poo last night. Some friends of ours have a two week old. What a terrible smell. The most terrible fear that they have is of becoming immune to the smell and smelling like poo when they go out to visit other friends... mmm. (addendum: I have realized that it's not the fact that poo smells - it is that it is not immediately flushed! Ahh hooray for toilet training!) 

So. At this stage Iris is only a few weeks pregnant. But we have been prepared. We had already borrowed a couple of books (What to Expect When You're Expecting and Up the Duff)... read on for Iris's theory on how to maximise your chances of conceiving... 

all this happened a while ago now... so tune in for more details...