Annoying Restless Arms

I looooooove sleeping. During the last 5 months I have however come to the realisation that I will not be sleeping 8 (or 10) hours straight anymore, anytime soon. At first it was the uneasiness and queasiness as well as having to go and wee every couple of hours. All that have past now and I'm down to about 2-3 trips to the bathroom at night but in the last 2 weeks another nasty sleep-thief has been creeping up on me. At first it was just a little uneasy feeling in my back and I could stretch it out, but it has exponentially worsen to a degree where during the early hours of Sunday morning I sat up for about 4 hours reading and eventually got a little sleep on the couch. I cannot really describe the feeling. It is like the feeling when your back is wet after a shower and you pull a T-shirt or nightie over your head and it gets tangled and stuck on your back. You feel kind of helpless and claustrophobic and a little like throwing up! It starts in the middle of my back and spread to my fingers. I makes me feel like shaking and stretching, crying and then chewing my arms of!

So I have consulted Google and it seems like Restless Leg Symdrome (RLS) in my arms and I have read the testimonies of a bunch of other pregnant woman complaining about the same thing. Oh the joy! Also that there is no clear reason or quick fix. So far I managed a medicine-free pregnancy and I do not want to spoil that by having to take something to try and relieve this. Last night hubby messaged my back quite vigorously and that seemed to help a bit. Have you experienced this during pregnancy and any words of advice on how to relief or deal with it?

Source

Proud Parents of a Baby Girl

Friday was the big day when we eventually found out that Peanut is a little girl. Our appointment was for 10:30 and it takes us about a hour to get to Hermanus, but hubby and me were up early and we left home just before 8:00. Too eager to wait any longer for the big reveal. We had a nice breakfast and did some shopping before heading off to the doctor.

Hope she has her dad's dimple

The bump

We finally got to see the doc just before 11:00. By that time my nerves were a bit raw, seems to be worried before each scan that maybe they'll find something wrong. But our baby is growing well and is healthy and beautiful - and not very co-operative. The last time she was kicking up a storm, little legs all over the place, but this time she was very relaxed, sucking her thumb, knees together and feet tucked away underneath her bum.. Great position to establish the sex - not!  The doc looked this way and that and we eventually manage to glimpse between the feet at her bum and from the side see that there is no extra equipment. So it is not written in stone, but we got a 80% sure that it is indeed a little girl. Bring on the pink!

Nursery - 2nd package arrived!

I got very excited when hubby got home today and took 2 boxes wrapped in brown paper out of the car. The next couple of pieces for Peanut's room have arrived! My mom has a skill for wrapping boxes, so while I was trying to get inside hubby started with lunch and I had to help first. I did however manage to get to the 2 scatter cushions but had to wait until after lunch to unwrap the duvet. It is adorable, isn't it:

The nursery is coming along nicely and I will post some pics soon. My MIL visited us over the weekend and we had to put a bed in as we have not found a decent sleeper couch for the lounge yet. So we still have to remove the bed and re-arrange the furniture. I am almost happy with it. It has a small cloth closet which I would like to replace with a wooden one and I need to start looking for a nice chair and then it is done!

We are going to Hermanus tomorrow morning for the sonar. If all goes well we will know by about 11:00 whether we have a son or a daughter :-)

First Visit to the Clinic

It has been a quiet few weeks except for some house renovations. We did not get to see Peanut again, all the nausea and stretchy feelings have passed and I am feeling really good. So except for a bit of discomfort sleeping and my belly ballooning I do not even feel very pregnant. 

We have talked about our options for the birth and after getting really good feedback from the owner of our Baby Clinic we have decided to have the baby at our neighboring town, which is 15km away. So now more worrying about driving over the mountain while I am in labour! Phew!

As we will have the baby in a government hospital I needed to go to our local clinic in order to open a file. This is very helpful to the staff when you go in for the birth as they can then see your history and be prepared for any complications. The reason why we are opting for the government hospital is because we do not have maternity benefits on our medical aid. After years of trying we did not deem it necessary anymore and we tried to save money where we could in order to be able to pay for the adoption. Anyway, too late now and we are making the best out of the situation. Luckily the hospitals in the "platteland" is very clean and sufficient and the staff friendly and well trained.

So, Wednesday bright and early of to the clinic I went. I actually dreaded going, but I must confess that I am pleasantly surprised. With my first doctor's appointment and the 2 sonars I was not really poked and prodded at. After reading what to expect I thought that I will be tested for everything and what else - but was not. It was just the 15 minute consultations which we paid a lot for and nothing extra. I felt a little let down but thought it is probably normal.

I was at the clinic for 2 hours. I got called into the first room and measured, weighed (ouch), blood sugar, iron and blood pressure tested. In the second room I met with a counselor who tested for diseases and infections and explained the dangers of HIV and the benefits of breastfeeding.
Then only did I get to see the nurse. She had to ask me a lot of questions and note the answers in my file. We had a nice discussion and a Q&A session. She then examined me and also took a blood sample to check for anti-bodies because of my RH factor.

Everything looked great and I now feel secure in the fact that somebody actually took the time to check me over and make sure that all is fine. And it cost me absolutely nothing. What a pleasure, getting something back for our hard-earned tax money!

Next week Friday we will hopefully find out whether we are having a blue or pink Peanut and we are all very excited and holding our breaths!