After a week of emotions being all over the place, I'm starting to feel a little normal again. Still having tough moments and I know it's these hormones that are taking me on this rollercoaster, but when you're in the moment, nothing makes sense and it's so hard to be rational. I'm just so thankful I have so much love and support around me to lean on.
Crying is beginning to be a daily event even over the slightest thing ("why cry over spilt milk" is a regular saying in my house as I'm actually crying over spilt milk) and as for baby brain... Well, trying to form a sentence seems to be a real challenge lately!
Seriously, every time I go to speak it's like it's the first time I've ever done it, all my words are back-to-front. And trust me, it's frustrating when you're a talker like me.
But get this, apparently women’s brains change during pregnancy so that they will be better able to concentrate on their newborn’s needs after the birth, with the result that they become less focused on other things, such as where the car keys might be. These changes may be brought about by massive fluctuations in women’s hormones, as well as tiny movements by the foetus. PHEW!
We went to Malvern this weekend to celebrate Sam's dad's 60th birthday. Yes, it's a big year for 60ths in our family but it's also a big year for babies.
Sam's brother and his wife are expecting too. Such amazing news! It's their second child, their first, Rose, is 1 and is just adorable. They are due end of November so there's only 8 weeks between us. It'll be so good for them to be close in age - it's great to have lots of cousins to grow up with.
Speaking of cousins...My cousin's wife gave birth last week to a gorgeous baby boy called Charlie Crowshaw, at a whopping 9bls 10oz. Well done Kelly, I really do applaud you!
Going back to the weekend, we had such a lovely time. Sam and I have only been together for two years but it feels like so much longer. We get on so well with each other's families. It's so relaxed and comfortable being together, always laughing with lots of banter. We are so lucky to have that.
I'm so hairy! My hair is feeling so full and healthy at the moment - I love it. The only problem is, the hair on my legs are growing in full force too.
Now, I really shouldn't complain as I've always had fine hair and I'm constantly on the look out for a great product to help with that, so I really am welcoming this rapid hair growth. It's just a little difficult shaving your legs regularly with your bump in the way. Not a great look to say the least.
We had our first session in Hypnobirthing this week. KG hypnobirthing is looking like the way forward for me. Lottie our teacher was so lovely. She made us feel so comfortable and more importantly didn't preach "her way is the best way" to us - I'm not a fan of that.
It's a very personal decision what kind of birth you want. I found that the first time round, when I went in with no control. The next thing I knew, the process had been completely taken out of my hands and it was so distressing when it really didn't need to be like that. It helps that we can do our research so easily nowadays with Google being on hand, which I didn't have last time. Plus I'm older and know I want a completely different experience this time.
Going into our first session of KG hypnobirthing with an open mind is really important. I had a better idea what it was about as a couple of my friends have done it but Sam had no idea what we were going into. It all made so much sense to us and Sam felt so involved and educated about the process which he loved.
It's surprisingly logical and based on sound science, which is why it really appeals to me. The focus in the first session is how your body responds to pregnancy and birth. We looked at what birth hormones mums can produce and how we can access these hormones for a comfortable, confident and relaxed birth experience. By taking good physical and emotional care of yourself and learning about how to achieve a calm, confident birth experience, you will give yourself, your partner and your baby the best start as a family unit. I'm now deciding if I do home or hospital birth.
It's nesting time for us now. We have just started decorating the house, so lots of painting and moving bedrooms around. It's a little stressful with the house being upside-down but it shouldn't be like that for much longer and I'm really looking forward to the end result, especially seeing the nursery completed.
Find out more about hypnobirthing here.