It's a girl!!

Here is a shot from our 20 week scan of our little girl!

Baby we're half way there! 20 weeks

Your baby measures about 6.5 inches/ 16.5 centimetres from crown to rump and is steadily gaining weight. A whitish coat of a slick, fatty substance called vernix caseosa begins to cover your baby and protects the skin during its long immersion in amniotic fluid. It also eases delivery. The baby's swallowing more this week, good practice for the digestive system. After your baby takes in amniotic fluid, his body absorbs the water in the liquid and moves the rest into the large bowel.

I am still so itchy with the psuedoporphyria! It's costing not just me but Ri sleep because he wakes when I wake, and I have been waking up so much with the itchiness. It's all over my arms, legs and above my chest (the areas exposed to sun). I need to have about three showers a day to rinse off all the cream that I have been putting on. The exhaustion plus the itchiness plus the fact that there is next to nothing I can take or use for it has left me very teary over the weekend. I had at least two episodes of crying out of frustration, I honestly felt a little like a toddler!

I also decided to start a little bit of an exercise plan last week to increase me upper arm strength, I've got two one kilo bars and about 5 little arm exercises that I do a couple of times a day. I'm hoping to add more exercises as I see results. I have found lifting things in the kitchen, like the kettle, has been a little easier. Last night my right arm got insanely sore and I relised I pulled my first ever muscle as a result of not stretching prior to exercise! Wish me luck!

As for 'normal' preggy things, I have not yet had a craving that I would consider to be a pregnancy craving.
My belly has finally started to show as a pregnancy belly and not just a too-much-pasta belly.

And we had our 20 week scan on Friday!

19 weeks

You're halfway there! The top of your uterus now reaches your belly button and will grow about a centimetre per week. The fetus measures around 15 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs about 240 grams.
She has started to swallow amniotic fluid, and her kidneys continue to make urine. Hair on the scalp is sprouting.
Sensory development reaches its peak this week. The nerve cells serving each of the senses -- taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch -- are now developing in their specialised areas of the brain. Nerve cell production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections. If you're carrying a baby girl, she already has roughly six million eggs in her ovaries. By the time she's born, she'll have about one million.
You no doubt feel the kicking and somersaulting of your growing baby. At times, she may be so mobile that you can't sleep. The next ten weeks or so will be your baby's busiest and most active time, until the womb gets too crowded.

Read more: http://www.babycenter.com.au/pregnancy/fetaldevelopment/19weeks/#ixzz1EZnSdAej

Blargh, what a week! Last Monday my throat started to itch and by the time I woke up on Tuesday my nose my running and my head was stuffy and because I could, I took a sick day (something that apparently you can't do once the baby arrives!).

I still have a sore throat but am feeling a lot better.

Another health related thing going on at the moment is this random thing with my skin. It's suddenly been very itchy! With very small bumps appears on my arms (that you can only really see up close or in bright lights). And here is my theory as to what it is.

When I was young doctors put me on a drug for arthritis called Naproxyn, which resulted in an allergic reaction called psuedoporphyria, which is (to my understanding) an allergy that makes me super-sensitive to the sun.
I think something is triggering my skin to behave in the same way and it's resulted in me sitting on the couch with one, two, three... five things of moisturizing cream/oil. Sooo itchy!

One thing taking my mind of the itching is our 20 week scan which is happening at the end of the week! All going well I should be able to post up the gender of our little bub next week!

After we find out the gender we plan to do a little bit of shopping on the weekend!

This is the pram that I want! I want it because it's so HIGH that it'll hopefully save my back a bit with lifting!

One last thing... today we got to hear bubs heart rate (I went to the GP to get my referral for the scan) and it was 152, so according to the heart way theory I may be announcing that it's a girl?

I would recommend...

A facebook friend of mine with RA sent we this book called Juggling sore joints and babies and it is so brilliant that I have copied the details from Arthritis Victoria:

Are you trying to manage caring for a baby or toddler and you have arthritis or a related condition? Arthritis Victoria now has available for free a guide to help you manage.

Juggling Sore Joints and Babies by Lisa Gibbs is available for free by contacting Arthritis Victoria's Telephone Information Service on (03) 8531 8000 (03) 8531 8000 or 1800 011 041 1800 011 041 toll-free for country callers. Or you can email us with your postal address. We are giving away one copy per person. This offer is for Victorian residents only.

This guide provides practical tips and quotes from mothers, fathers and grandparents who have cared for a child and managed a chronic condition at the same time. It also offers information from heath professionals working in the field of childcare and health.

Juggling Sore Joints and Babies features ideas on how to lift and handle your baby, how to select the products and services you will need and how to conserve your energy so that you have enough left to have fun with your baby. Some of the ideas are just plain common sense but, when you are tired, simple solutions aren't always obvious.

All of the ideas in the book apply equally to mothers, fathers, grandparents and others who are caring for a baby unless there is a specific reference to one group

My Valentine

Last year I actually went down to Melbourne for the weekend that Valentines fell on and left Ri at home. I'm not big on valentines day but it certainly has me thinking about how lucky I am! You see if this morning Ri had made me breakfast and brought it to me in bed (along with some tea) as well as made dinner after he got home from work, today would be a day like any other (he does that everyday).

I certainly consider myself very lucky to have married my best friend, a man who has taken me around the world and who is crazy enough to want to raise kids with me.
I guess it's a great day to say thank you and I love you.

I love you hunny. xo

18 weeks

Image is from babycentre.co.uk, and the next bit of text (about the developement of bubs) is from 3dpregnancy.parentconnection.com.
Your baby's ears are now facing forward and are completely formed so she can actually hear you talking now. You don't need to abandon your potty mouth just yet, but you might want to start thinking about it! Other highlights this week:

This week is also the beginning of ossification. And while that sounds like some long and involved paperwork you'll have to fill out, it's really a fancy medical term for the hardening of your baby's miniature bones. And that's a good thing.

Your baby's nerves are making more and more complex connections. Her sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing are all developing. A substance called myelin, which makes nerve connections travel faster, is now coating your baby's nerves.

Your baby now weighs between 5 and 7 ounces and is about 5½ inches long—about the size of a pickle from the corner deli. (You're familiar with pickles, right? Your regular accompaniment to a big bowl of ice cream?)
I am 18 weeks tomorrow and right now we are so busy! Aside from all the baby related running around and appointments we are currently looking for a house to BUY! We had thought we found the one last week, but unfortunately the pushy owners put it on the renters market and leased it out for a YEAR starting this week. And who is going to buy a house they can't touch for 12 months? I really REALLY want to be able to bring bubs home to OUR place and not mum's house.
We bought baby a Mose's basket on the weekend (photos of which are just above and just below this block of text). I just really wanted to have something baby in the house. A small hint around the house that a baby is on the way.


I have two appointments this week, one of which was today. I went to see my Orthopedic Surgeon today about natural child birth and bilateral hip and knee replacements. I had assumed from the start that the doctors would have one look at my arthritis and say C-section that I had not prepared myself for the idea of natural child birth. Now it seems like it is becoming MY choice and I don't know which way to vote. With my chronic lower back pain maybe a C-section would be best? Does it make me a bad person for not even trying?
I'll let you know what I decide!
This is yesterdays bump shot, 17w5d.



About three days ago I felt some flutters that I am sure was Bubs. I've been feeling them everyday since a few times a day. I can't wait for that first big kick!

Pesky Vegetarian

I am a Pesco-Vegetarian which means I eat fish, eggs and dairy but no other meats.
Now I assumed that once I was pregnant I would just start eating meat (still haven't ruled it out). I only want to do whats right for bubs and worry about Iron levels, nutrients etc. The only thing is, I haven't been able to bring myself to do it! NOT because of morning sickness (which I haven't had) but because I get all emotional and can see (in my minds eye) the cute little cow, pigs, sheep being sent of to the slaughter and I just CANNOT do it! (I may be a little more emotional lately, perhaps.) So my husband went online to find things I can eat which are high in Iron. Here is his list:

• Bake beans
• Milo
• Corn Flakes
• Potato
• Lentils

So I'm hopefully getting enough iron! Hopefully I won't have to eat any red meat, but if I do, I will!

Pregnancy - week 17

Image is from babycentre.co.uk, as is the next little bit of text

Your baby is now nearly 11cm long from crown to rump and weighs about 140g. His skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage, but will start to harden as the weeks go by. A protective substance called myelin slowly begins to wrap around his spinal cord. Sweat glands are starting to develop all over his body. Just as he grows bigger, the umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker, too.

This photo was taken by my husband on the weekend (16 weeks, 4 days) I have been doing weekly bump shots on my baby bump ap on my iPhone, I just havent put them on our laptop.
And since I've only just started developing the beginnings of a bump on the weekend I probably won't post weeks 7-15!

I'm 17 weeks tomorrow!

Two more weeks until the morph scan.

I have been obsessed with names this week. The only thing that is decided is the middle names, Louise for a girl and Rhys for a boy.

I'm looking for unique names that don't sound too out there. Beautiful and girly names for girls and an 'professional' name for a boy (since he is likely to be an engineer!).

My favourites at the moment are:

Girl - Amelia, Arabella, Paige and Astrid

Boy - Cooper, Avery, Maximillian, Oscar and Archer

It's a little bit obvious with the girls names that I only get as far as A each time I google girls names!

It's a weird thought (at least for me) that this little person is growing inside of me and yet I don't even know their name!

Taking suggestions...

The Works

My husband and I spent about 5 hours at the Royal yesterday. It wasn't that bad as we had three appointments.
One with the midwife where we completed a LOT of paper work, decided on a mid-wife team and got to hear the babies heart beat for the first time. The nurse explained that I won't feel the bub until about week 20.
I'm sixteen weeks this week and have been feeling something (bubbles? flutters?) but it won't count until I feel it and know its the baby.
We then had an appointment with the medical doctor who has sent me off for assessments in every other department!
I had a kidney ultrasound on Monday as I was diagnosed with the relatively benign kidney problem know as medullary sponge kidney about five years ago, and it turns about its still there. (I probably could have told them that).
They are also sent me for an ECG. Everything is fine.
I still have to go to a lung function test, and an ECHO.
Oh and a neck X-Ray.
Arthritis has never impacted on my organs, but this doctor is set on triple checking EVERYTHING.
The other appointment was with the Obstetrician, who has asked me to go and see my ortho surgeon for an assessment of my hip replacements and if I should even try natural birth or skip straight to C-section.
If I end up giving birth naturally I will by this doctor a coke.
My bilateral hip replacements are ten years old! And my spine has had arthritis for over 20 years. I'm amused that they see natural birth as an option in the first place!
In the next four weeks I have at least 2 appointments a week.