Week 18: Chimmy's first holiday

Well, it's the Easter holidays (and as I write this I'm dreading going back to school tomorrow) and Scott and I have been to Brussels for the Easter weekend. It was lovely, and we spent far too much, ate more pasta than we did even in Italy, and had a few quiet beers sat in the sunshine. I only had a half each day, and had the only non-alcoholic beer sold in most establishments - a Tourtel. Nice!

In addition to all of that, I had a midwife check up, and got to hear the baby's heartbeat - a really amazing experience. I had my mum with me as Scott was in Palma for work, and I think she enjoyed being back in Hythe Hospital :D The baby gave a few good kicks or stretches while we were listening, which came out as loud bangs on the listening device. Sooooo cool!

I've had to start wearing maternity clothes, as Chimmy is growing rather rapidly at the moment. It's really nice though - I actually look pregnant, rather than just fat for a change.

I went to Aquanatal swimming on the Monday before Easter, and that was a really surreal experience - the water makes everything weightless, and I was able to have a bit of a swim too. I'll be going every Monday to Romsey Rapids, so I should be so fit by September!

I've discovered a few other school friends who are also pregnant - one of whom is meeting up with me for a bit of shopping in May, so it'll be great to meet someone else due in the autumn. We're both big girls too, so I won't feel like a complete frump.

A couple of key purchases this week - a travel system and high chair (not combined, that would be silly!). The travel system is by Graco and is a 3-wheeler. The high chair on the other hand is about as non-modern as I could find - it's a proper vintage 1950s style bucket seat in red vinyl and cream painted tubework. It's amazing what you can find on Ebay! It'll go perfectly with our 1950s diner-style kitchen.

Enough rambling - I've got 3 more days of maths planning to do, so I'll sign off now and look forward to hearing from you all.

Jeanie, Scott and Chimmy.

Week 16 - telling my class

This week has been a bit weird - work has been ridiculously busy and stressful, with data tracking and getting ahead with planning. But on Wednesday I decided to tell my class my news...

They were awesome about it, and asked some good questions, about whether I want a boy or a girl, what food I can eat ("Can you have sugar?") and what the baby's room is going to look like. They swore an oath of secrecy, only telling parents, so even by Friday only a handful of the rest of the school knew. After Easter it will be impossible to hide, as my other excitement for this week is - I have a definite bump! I have even worn maternity clothes and bump covers (basically a band of fabric to make your tops meet your trousers).

I was told that once I relaxed my bump would start growing quicker, and this is meant to be a time for rapid growth anyways, so mum was definitely right! I bought a couple of extremely cute baby tops yesterday with rock and guitar imagery, but I think they're suitably unisex to get away with.

I have an appointment with my midwife Monday, and then I start Aquanatal classes at Romsey Rapids Monday evening - I'll be fitter than before at this rate! What with yoga in the summer too, you won't recognise me!

I caught up with my lovely colleagues at Romsey Primary on Friday, and showed my scan photo... "You haven't seen it? Wow!" Now I think everyone and their dog has seen the scan.

We're off to Brussels, Belgium on Friday for Easter weekend, so I'll be even more Easter-egg shaped by the time we come back after eating loads of Belgian chocolates, and Scott will probably have a beer belly to match.

Loads of love to you all,
Jeanie, Scottie and Chimmy.