Although I have felt faint flutterings and potential baby movements for a couple of weeks now, I was never 100% sure that it was the baby I could feel moving. But at 19+6 weeks, while having a bath, the baby suddenly turned into a jumping bean! I felt a sudden kick and when I looked down realised the kicks could be seen bumping the skin low down on my stomach.
As soon as the other half of us got in I yelled for him to come and see, and thankfully baby obliged when he asked, and gave his hand a good kick too! So we both got to share in the amazing moment of the first absolutely certain kicks. Things are definitely beginning to become more real now...
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
A little while later...
I haven't written a bog post for months. Busy, stressful, and yet amazing months.
After months of hard work, in which my husband says he barely saw me, I can now use the title Dr., having passed my PhD viva last week. I have three months in which to do my corrections, but this long weary stressful journey is nearly at an end. And I am infinitely ready for this particular journey to be over.
But a new journey is just starting. I am now 18 weeks pregnant, and (sometimes) believing we will become parents at Easter-time. A somewhat unknown, daunting journey is ahead of us, but one I cannot wait for.
Looking back at my sister's blog, she started blogging about Pip-to-be at 10 weeks pregnant here. Somehow I didn't feel ready to blog about my pregnancy until I felt a bit more confident. I had a miscarriage at over 11 weeks at the beginning of the year and so this time round, have felt very cautious about getting to excited or taking it for granted that things would progress well this time. We have now had two scans, and I have heard the heartbeat, and so I should be able to believe a little bit... and some days I now do. The other half of us spent the first 12 weeks in a nervous state, but is now getting very excited. I cannot wait for him to be able to feel the baby move.
We were lucky enough to be offered an early scan at 10+3 (due to our worries after the miscarriage last time), and although we have no photos from the time, we will never forget the relief of seeing a dancing, wriggling foetus doing backstroke and kicking off the side of my womb. The journey to the hospital felt like the run-up to an exam, fearing the unknown, hoping for the best. But what a fantastic feeling to see this pregnancy progressing well.
We then had our 12 week dating scan at the end of September. At first he (?) was face down and refused to be photographed but after some turning this way and that on my behalf, was prodded awake enough for measurements to be taken. The sonographer tried to get some better pictures but we were happy just to come away knowing the foetus was doing ok and to have a visual reminder of it.
After months of hard work, in which my husband says he barely saw me, I can now use the title Dr., having passed my PhD viva last week. I have three months in which to do my corrections, but this long weary stressful journey is nearly at an end. And I am infinitely ready for this particular journey to be over.
But a new journey is just starting. I am now 18 weeks pregnant, and (sometimes) believing we will become parents at Easter-time. A somewhat unknown, daunting journey is ahead of us, but one I cannot wait for.
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| 24th September. 12+1 |
Looking back at my sister's blog, she started blogging about Pip-to-be at 10 weeks pregnant here. Somehow I didn't feel ready to blog about my pregnancy until I felt a bit more confident. I had a miscarriage at over 11 weeks at the beginning of the year and so this time round, have felt very cautious about getting to excited or taking it for granted that things would progress well this time. We have now had two scans, and I have heard the heartbeat, and so I should be able to believe a little bit... and some days I now do. The other half of us spent the first 12 weeks in a nervous state, but is now getting very excited. I cannot wait for him to be able to feel the baby move.
We were lucky enough to be offered an early scan at 10+3 (due to our worries after the miscarriage last time), and although we have no photos from the time, we will never forget the relief of seeing a dancing, wriggling foetus doing backstroke and kicking off the side of my womb. The journey to the hospital felt like the run-up to an exam, fearing the unknown, hoping for the best. But what a fantastic feeling to see this pregnancy progressing well.
We then had our 12 week dating scan at the end of September. At first he (?) was face down and refused to be photographed but after some turning this way and that on my behalf, was prodded awake enough for measurements to be taken. The sonographer tried to get some better pictures but we were happy just to come away knowing the foetus was doing ok and to have a visual reminder of it.
Friday, May 3, 2013
On not changing my last name
When we got married, I did not change my last name.
I was asked (and still get asked) when I will 'decide' what to do about my name. And that's the thing, I decided at the time, but for some reason as I didn't take my husband's name, people assume I just haven't decided to do so yet.
I have a few reasons, some more sensible than others:
1. I have had my name since I was born, and as I am still essentially the same person, I'd like to keep it that way
2. I don't like the way my first name sounds with his surname
3. My surname is quite unusual and is at the end of the line in my part of the family
4. As someone doing a PhD, my surname has begun to define me academically, and being unusual it's a good surname for someone in academia to have
Don't get me wrong, I actually like receiving personal mail to Mr and Mrs X, as we are a unit, but I still keep my surname for most parts of my life. And I'm planning to keep it that way.
The only niggle in my mind is what to do when we have children. Hyphenate? Use my surname rather than his? Use my surname as a middle name? Exclude my surname all together? And this is where I can't decide. But for now it doesn't matter. I can keep my name and be happy with my decision.
I was asked (and still get asked) when I will 'decide' what to do about my name. And that's the thing, I decided at the time, but for some reason as I didn't take my husband's name, people assume I just haven't decided to do so yet.
I have a few reasons, some more sensible than others:
1. I have had my name since I was born, and as I am still essentially the same person, I'd like to keep it that way
2. I don't like the way my first name sounds with his surname
3. My surname is quite unusual and is at the end of the line in my part of the family
4. As someone doing a PhD, my surname has begun to define me academically, and being unusual it's a good surname for someone in academia to have
Don't get me wrong, I actually like receiving personal mail to Mr and Mrs X, as we are a unit, but I still keep my surname for most parts of my life. And I'm planning to keep it that way.
The only niggle in my mind is what to do when we have children. Hyphenate? Use my surname rather than his? Use my surname as a middle name? Exclude my surname all together? And this is where I can't decide. But for now it doesn't matter. I can keep my name and be happy with my decision.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Love is...
I have an awesome husband (just don't tell him- I don't want his head to get too big!). Just before our anniversary I went up to Oban in Scotland to get some much overdue help with ideas for my floundering PhD- a full-on, totally worth it trip, although 15 hours travel within the UK just to get there is crazy stuff. But back to the point. While I was away on said trip, the other half of us totally transformed our bedroom as an anniversary surprise. Just shy of two weeks of hard work in the evenings (and I'm guessing into the night) as he still went to work full time, so a pretty amazing achievement.
We started mulling over ideas for our bedroom as soon as we moved in, but had made little progress. When I first moved for my PhD, we bought/ were given some pine furniture, all pretty solid, but all mismatching. For ages we talked about painting them to make them look more 'together' and as the other half of us has an aversion to pine. After we bought the paint for the wood in the WC (story here), we decided to give it a go on a chest of drawers that is beginning to get tired, to see if we liked the effect. I am loving all things grey at the moment, and the light grey tone of 'light rain' seemed perfect for our furniture. And we loved it. But that was as far as we had got on project bedroom when I went away.
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When I left, our bedroom had magnolia walls, with years of holes and bad patch jobs simply painted over. When I returned three walls were perfectly smooth and white, and the wall behind the bed the most beautiful shade of slate grey. All the furniture was the pale grey satin, and the radiator and windowsill gleamed with fresh paint. The room even had a white door, and at last my long mirror was attached to the wall rather than just drunkenly leant against it. What an awesome surprise!
And he even remembered to snap a few shots of work in progress so I can share the process:
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| starting to paint |
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| grey paint going on |
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| putting it back together |
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| finished project... |
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| ...view 2 |
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| ...view 3 |
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| ...view 4 |
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| finished panorama |
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