Neck Ears and Oranges

The baby is now as big as an orange (4.5in and weighs about 2 to 3 oz). Also, apparently, the ears are now positioned properly on the side of the head after having travelled up from the neck! What the heck? My ears were once in my neck?! It's all very interesting reading about all this stuff. There's a fantastic website/application for iPhone 'What to Expect' which gives you a week by week report on the babys development throughout the pregnancy. There are also cool baby growth widgets like the one I am using on this blog. It's great for learning about the babys development, like the ears in the neck thing.... I had already learnt so much from my previous childrens births, a lot of which I have retained, but there is always more interesting nuggets of information and still so much to learn :)

1st scan!

Oh what joy!! Here is a scan of the baby. We saw the heart beating and even saw the legs and little hands moving. It's such a relief. Don't know if it's a boy or girl but who cares. What matters is the baby is heathly and doing fine.

It's the Second Trimester!

This week marks the start of the 2nd trimester already. Yay! Apparently, the baby is about the size of a peach (3 in long) and there is now just 27 weeks to go! My girlfriend is fine and has started to look pregnant and certainly has a nice glow about her :) She says she has felt the baby moving which is just wonderful. I spoilt her rotten for Valentines Day. Rainforest Cafe followed by a show at the Royal Albert Hall to see Cirque du Soleil - spectacular stuff! This week will also bring the first scan on Thursday. It's hugely exciting but also quite nerve racking! Apart from maybe learning the sex I really do hope everything is okay. Fingers crossed! Would also be great to hear the heartbeat!

Queens Cross

I got to Kings Cross train station with 5 minutes to spare before my girlfriends train rolled in....only, as it turned out, her train was early and she was cross. She is pregnant and therefore how could I possably argue? I was clearly in the wrong!
Anyway, I was so happy to see her and wrap her up snuggly in my arms we celebrated with a McDonalds at Kings Cross.
I can't help but feel emotional every time I look at her knowing that the miracle of life is happening inside her body. I feel very protective. She's doing everything right like not smoking, drinking or eating fish and I am busy trying to make her feel secure, happy and not wind her up in anyway. She has become irritable and is suffering from fatigue and nausea has returned which is perfectly normal and I am very mindful or that. I can’t wait to see her later tonight when I return home from work :)

Progress

We have made a lot of progress today in making a plan and putting the plan into action. I have given notice to the landlady so my last day at the flat will end 4th March. It's sad but necessary as I really need to move closer to my girlfriend to help out more and start looking for somewhere to live. So, the plan is, for the time being, I am moving back home...to Dads house! Ugh. It just doesn't seem right does it? I'm a 41 year old who left home when I was 18! Oh well, needs must and should only be for a short while. I'm kind off looking forward to it really. They'll be plenty of quality father and son bonding time......
My girlfriend is going to visit me tomorrow and stay all weekend! Yay! I cant wait to hold her and tell her how much I love her.

Completely and Utterly

I am feeling completely and utterly useless today. I am becoming very conscious that having a girlfriend that is pregnant and lives 218 miles away is not ideal to say the least. It's bad enough being so far apart as I completely and utterly love her to bits but now we are expecting a baby it is becoming very worrisome. When I hear that she has been lifting heavy objects, gone shopping or has been in a rush to get somewhere etc etc it's very worrying to me indeed. I just wish I lived closer, or at least close enough to help out more when it comes to these everyday tasks/chores. It is only set to get worse as the pregnancy progresses and I need to support her all I can.

Not so long ago I drove all night to spend the day helping and looking after her all I can and I should really make this a regular visit every week. We have plans to move in together and hopefully this will be achieved by May this year but until then she will need all the help and support from family and friends.

Large Plum!

Well, it's now the 12th week with 28 weeks to go. Almost the second trimester already! The baby is as big as a large plum..about 2.5 in .5oz. Is it too early to get excited? Maybe, but I am! The first scan is booked next Thursday 18th at 10:45 and the prospect of hearing the heartbeat is somewhat overwhelming and I can't wait to see the scan! Makes it even more real in a way actually seeing that there is a little baby being kept safe, warm and developing so very fast. Mother is doing fine also and is feeling a lot better now as the early pregnancy symptoms of nausea and fatigue hit hard.