Staying 'Team Yellow'

Baby 2 poking out their tongue

I decided long before I was even pregnant with baby 2 that this time I wouldn't find out the gender. One reason was because I'd experienced finding out whether or not I was having a girl or boy with Eliot and wanted to experience the 'not knowing' option. The other reason is because I have the fear I will be disappointed. Disappointed if it was another boy.

So when I told one of my best friends I wouldn't be finding out this time she didn't believe I'd not be able to find out what I was having at the 20 week scan. This made me even more determined not to find out because it is tempting at that 20 week scan!

At 27 weeks I had a 4D scan, I had one with Eliot so didn't think I'd bother this time round but I really wanted Eliot to experience seeing the baby as he wasn't allowed to come to the hospital scans. He did keep asking if it was 'nearly finished' and commenting 'only one more minute' but I came away happy with our precious experience and still none the wiser as to whether it was a boy or girl.

 About a week ago I posted one of the pictures on Instagram encouraging people to comment on what gender they thought baby 2 was. Blue was the favourite, then someone commented it was 'definitely a boy'. That was when the disappointment hit.

Before I say anymore I'll firstly say I know I'm incredibly lucky to have one child and to be expecting another. And that my main concern IS that I have a healthy and safe pregnancy and delivery but  you can't always control your feelings and emotions. 

 

Back in my teenage years and uni days I remember discussing hopes and dreams for the future and how I'd always wanted to be a mum and how I wanted a daughter. I guess these views and feelings stem from my relationship  with my mum and her relationship with her son (my half brother). I won't say anymore than that they don't have a relationship now and haven't done for many years. I think there is a difference between mother/daughter and mother/son relationships but that's based on my own experiences.

When I was pregnant with Eliot I can honestly say I really didn't mind whether I had a boy or girl, even though I'd convinced myself it was a girl. A work friend had mentioned I looked different and 'glowing'  the day before I took a pregnancy test. So when she said she thought I was having a girl I started to believe I was too! Also thanks to a trip away on a ghost hunt (don't ask) when I asked some metal rods that swung one way for 'yes' and the other for 'no' if I was having a girl and they said yes each time.

When we were told at a 16 week gender scan it was a boy I felt a pang of disappointment because I'd stupidly convinced myself it was a girl. That was it though, I was more excited about going baby boy clothes shopping. and super excited to be having my first child!

 

Because this is more than likely to be my last pregnancy I would really love to have a daughter and unknowingly I think I thought it was a girl. Thanks to the sonographer at my 20 week scan a seed was planted. I told her we didn't want to find out the gender but as she was looking around I did ask if she could see if it was a boy or girl, to which she replied she hadn't looked as it wasn't 'important'. She spent more time looking closely for all the things they check at the 20 week scan before saying 'move your leg missus' she paused for a few seconds before saying 'or Mr, whatever you are'.

 

The other half hadn't even noticed she said this. I said to myself and when talking to others that I was taking it with a pinch of salt. Some people and books do refer to babies as 'hes' or 'shes' rather than 'it' but if I was a sonographer I think I would have said 'move your leg baby', not missus or mister. Without really realizing, I begun to convince myself again that it was a girl until the comment on the Instagram photo of 'it's definitely a boy'. So I'm either having a very masculine looking girl or indeed it is a boy! As I said though the most important thing is that all is safe and healthy. It won't matter when he or she is here it's just those initial feelings and emotions I can't help.

 

 

10 Names I Love But (probably) Won't Use For Baby 2

I've enjoyed watching different videos about names that other bloggers love but won't use and seeing as I'm expecting baby 2 I thought I'd write a little post of my own.

There are several names I adore but won't be using...

Boys...

1. Jacob...
I've loved this name for years but the OH vetoed it when I was pregnant with Eliot. I probably wouldn't use it now as it's quite common and being a teacher I've come across a fair few Jacobs

2. Reuben...
 I really like this and have done for years too but again the OH doesn't like it.

3. Elijah...
 is another one I've loved for years but the OH dislikes.

4. Noah...
 is  a name I've liked for a while but I think it's another one of those names that has become very popular in the last few years.

5. Arlo...
is a name that has grown on me since discovering I was pregnant with baby 2. I think it works well with Eliot... 'Eliot & Arlo' but the OH is not keen. If baby 2 is a boy I may try to convince him as we haven't found any boys names that we both agree on yet!

Girls...

1. Charlotte...
 I think is such a beautiful name and I love it but one that is too common. During primary & secondary school I knew about 5 different 'Charlotte's'!
If it's good enough for a princess though...?!

2. Nola...
is a name I've liked since watching the film 'Matchpoint' with Scarlett Johansson & Jonathan Rhys Meyers but it's not in my current top 3 girl names for baby 2 so will be unlikely to use it if it's a girl.

3. Seren...
is a Welsh name that has grown on me since watching 'Abadas' on CBeebies when Eliot was a baby. The OH liked it but isn't so keen on it now and I don't think it goes that well with Eliot's name.

4. Isla...
was one of my top girl names before I found out Eliot was a boy but since then has grown and grown in popularity so I wouldn't use it for that reason.

5. Lyra...
is another name I've really liked for a long time...since watching The Golden Compass in the cinema about 10 years ago. I love the sound of it and how it's unusual.

So there are my current top boy & girl names that I (probably) won't be using with baby 2. We have agreed on 3 girl names but are struggling to agree on boy names this time round, so I'd love to hear any suggestions for fresh ideas!

The First Trimester-Baby 2

Baby 2

 0-12 Weeks

I was around 2 weeks pregnant when I found out I was expecting this time. 

I must admit I've felt much less anxious this time round and have the mindset that if something does go wrong there's nothing I can do to change it/stop it at this early stage. I'm surprised at myself as I felt very different when pregnant with Eliot.

Morning Sickness & Other Symptoms

Before I knew I was pregnant I experienced what I thought was a stomach bug, I woke up in middle of the night & vomited a few times and had (sorry TMI) possibly the worst diarrheoa I can remember experiencing. In the morning I felt better but avoided eating anything for a while but when I did later in the day I was ok. I thought it must have been a one night bug until I woke up at pretty much the same time as the night before suffering with sickness and diarrheoa again. Then the same thing happened the following night after being fine again during the day. It probably was a bug but I found it strange only being unwell during the night and wondered if it could have been a surge of hormones or something.

The first symptoms I experienced after finding out I was pregnant was bloating and stomach pains, sometimes on my right side which did make me wonder if it could be an ectopic pregnancy. I didn't seek any advice over it but thankfully it was obviously nothing to be worried about.

Again this time round I was lucky enough not to suffer with bad morning sickness. I started suffering with nausea a bit earlier this time, around 5 weeks. Like when pregnant with Eliot, I would feel so sick I would retch when teaching! It happened at different times of the day and hunger would make it worse, eating something made me feel better. Unfortunately it continued, not on a daily basis but a lot longer than when I was expecting Eliot.
In the early days I was quite emotional and tearful at times and there were times when the tiredness kicked in!

Cravings

I wouldn't necessarily say I had 'cravings' as such but fancied certain foods at certain times. I wouldn't always fancy a 'proper dinner' in the evening and would much prefer cereal and toast! I drank a lot of orange juice as a midwife told me (when I was pregnant with Eliot) that it helps your body absorb iron. When I didn't have any in the fridge I really fancied satsumas and had two of those a day for a week or so.

Scares

I feel really lucky with this pregnancy I haven't had any 'scares' (touch wood) so far. The only thing that had me thinking there could possibly be an issue were the stomach pains to the right side, as I mentioned above.

Midwives

I made my first appointment to see a midwife for when I thought I was around 10 weeks pregnant, assuming it would be my booking in appointment. When I went for it though I discovered I should have really made a prior appointment,  as it wasn't a 'booking in' appointment. I met a midwife and student midwife, had my blood pressure taken as well as blowing into a carbon monoxide detector thingy (this was new) to make sure I didn't have dangerous amounts of it in my body. They also dated me at 11 weeks.
I was told the usual midwife for the surgery was on holiday and I would need to meet with another one to do my booking in appointment before my 12 week scan. It was arranged for the midwife covering to come to our house at the weekend to 'book me in'. So on a Sunday afternoon a midwife called Bev arrived, asked all the usual questions with Eliot frequently interrupting and managed to take my bloods. My veins are pretty awkward when it comes to taking blood and it was only her second attempt at getting it when my veins complied! I do get myself into a bit of a panic when it comes to blood tests, having Eliot hovering around actually calmed me as I didn't want him seeing me get upset over it. He made me laugh when he said 'look at all that medicine' and I had to explain it wasn't medicine but actually my blood.

Scans

As I was further along than I initially thought I didn't have my first scan until I was 13 weeks. The baby was facing downwards, which I'm not used to seeing in scan photos! But then I figured just like I did people probably turn their scan photos around when sharing on social media. We were told that everything looked normal at this point and measurements dated me at 13+ 3 giving me a due date of 2/9/17. It's always amazing whenever you see your baby in a scan, especially the first one when you see the proof that another human being is growing inside you, baby was either sleeping or on the lazy side as there wasn't much movement.

Not the clearest photo of baby 2 facing down at the 12 Week scan

My secret

It's New Years Day and I've been keeping a secret since Christmas Eve. I had been up a couple of nights with an upset stomach and wanted to take something for it. On reading the pack it said 'do not take if pregnant or trying to get pregnant. I knew there was a possibility I could be pregnant so took a cheap test that had been in a bottom drawer for a year. I took it just before getting in the shower and didn't expect to see anything but after a couple of minutes there was a faint pink line. As when I found out I was pregnant with Eliot I didn't believe the 'cheapo' test could be right (when of course it was as it picks up HCG like others) so when I went shopping for a half price Christmas Turkey I picked up a clearblue pack of digital & non digital test. Being impatient once I'd loaded the shopping in the car I went back into the shop to do another test in the toilet. I did the line test which showed a barely visible line so decided to do the digital one the next morning.
Christmas day we were awoken by Eliot excited that Santa had been and after lots of present opening I managed to do the digital test which definately confirmed I'm pregnant.

  It still hasn't sunk in but if all goes well there will be a new arrival around the beginning of September. I still have to tell my other half!

Expecting Baby 2!

Last week I posted a picture on Instagram announcing I was pregnant, expecting a sibling for Eliot in early September.  I'm currently 23+5 and we have decided to stay 'Team Yellow' this time!

I've finally made it round to writing it about it here, I have been meaning to do so for such a long time but various different things have stopped me getting on to my laptop and writing any posts. I am a bit disappointed with myself as I said one of my regrets with Eliot's pregnancy was not documenting it but this is a start and I'm planning more posts to follow!

Here is the announcement pic with a couple of outtakes..

 

Looking fairly happy about a new brother or sister...

 

Appearing to have one of his 'I don't want a baby' moments...



Fed up with mummy taking the same photo!



I did have to bribe him with sweets to get these photos taken!