Miss (ing) Independence

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015Leave a comment

I am now 32.5 weeks pregnant. It’s very surreal. Even though when bubs is finally here I am very aware that life will be very different for us in so many ways, I am very much looking forward to being a bit normal and more than anything I am looking forward to having my independence back. I am usually a very independent person. Before I was pregnant I didn’t rely on anyone day to day, I made my own plans, got myself to where I needed to go under my own steam and earned my own money. I’ve had to be so restricted during this pregnancy and I miss being able to do normal things that I would usually take for granted, like having a bath (I can’t have these due to the risk of infection), going for a walk, popping to the mall, driving myself around, working and exercising and being able to act more like a 31 year old rather than a fragile 81 year old!

Not being able to be independent is hard. But I remind myself that this is temporary and so I am actually extremely lucky. For many people, for lots of different reasons, not having their independence is permanent and that must be incredibly tough. I certainly will do my best to appreciate my independence once I am fully mobile again. I’m also extremely lucky as I have a fab hubby who pushes me around the mall in my wheelchair after he’s been at work all day, drives me around, cooks for me and makes me lots of cups of tea!

Take away pancake breakfast and flowers from the husband

Even though I am now 32.5 weeks pregnant, I still don’t feel ‘that’ pregnant even though physically I am feeling the effects…I am looking more whale like each day and my fingers, ankles and knees are double their usual size! Pregnancy is soooooo sexy!

Everything still feels very unreal to me. I still check my bump is there every morning in a panic. Then I check my baby app on my phone to check I am indeed as pregnant as I think I am and it wasn’t a dream and then I spend a lot of my day panicking if he stays still for too long and I don’t feel him kicking. So in order to try to enjoy at least some of this pregnancy I’ve pushed myself to do things to make it all seem a little more real.

My husband and I recently braved an IKEA trip for some nursery furniture (the key to getting around IKEA without risking divorce is to feed said husband at the beginning and promise him a hot dog at the end if he gets round without moaning!). We also had a delivery from Babycare.nl and as a result we are now the proud owners of a cot as well as a pram and car seat and numerous other smaller bits (many of which I have no doubt I won’t end up needing!). I found the whole buying process quite confusing, there is just so much on offer so I might do a future post reviewing the main items we bought in case that helps anyone who reads this blog.

Our cot (IKEA Sundvik)

I must say Babycare.nl were absolutely brilliant! They stopped their free shipping to Dubai a week before I ordered but as I had already enquired about their free delivery, they agreed to ship everything to us for free still. It’s such a shame they won’t continue with free shipping to Dubai as I think it would be hugely popular. I paid less (the tax was taken off) and even with the 5% customs charge it was a fair bit cheeper than buying in Dubai. Then to make me love them even more (no this is not a sponsored post!) they delivered the lot in about 5 days from the Netherlands by airmail when I was expecting it to take around 6 weeks.

So as I said, we now have some baby bits and the baby’s nursery is starting to take shape. I have lots of craft projects on the go at the moment and I recently made some basket liners (yes, I continue to live life on the edge…). I have also been doing some paper crafts, partly inspired by a very thoughtful care package I received from two lovely people which contained lots of craft materials to keep me busy during this next month or so. I will post the results of the craft projects when they are all finished.

Living life on the edge – making basket linings! How life has changed!

We have also been attending antenatal classes at Healthbay Polyclinic and again, I would definitely recommend them. It was great to meet some other mums and dads to be and although this is our second baby I still learnt a fair bit, especially in the latter classes.

Our slightly scarily happy baby from our antenatal class!

‘V’ day

July 21, 20151 Comment

I am now over 24 weeks pregnant. I have mixed feelings about getting to this ‘milestone’. In the pregnancy world, 24 weeks is considered to be ‘viability’, the stage at which if a woman was to go into labour doctors would be willing to intervene to keep the baby alive. However, it is still incredibly early and for me it doesn’t feel like much of a milestone given I had my son at 24 weeks and 5 days but still lost him. That said, every day bubs continues to cook has to be considered a success. I am more focussed on getting to 25 weeks as I am hoping if I get to that stage I may allow myself to have a little bit more trust in my cerclage and let myself believe that things are different this time around.

It’s strange though, as when I eventually hit a milestone, all I am thinking about is the next one and so each milestone never feels like a particularly big achievement. My main millstones are 25, 30, 34 and then 37 weeks. Still a long way to go but we are slowly inching forward. This week has been the slowest week ever though!

I have pretty much put myself on house arrest this last week but have ventured out in the car/a wheelchair for a coffee and a cake and also for some dinner. It’s nice to get out but I do find myself feeling anxious and concerned that I am sitting rather than lying down. It’s difficult being on modified bed rest as I am not ill. In fact, physically I am feeling pretty good. I am at the stage where I am not that big yet so I am not restricted movement wise and I actually have a fair bit of energy. Despite this energy, I do find it hard to stay on task and to achieve the things that I want to achieve. Most days I do some French, some sewing, some admin etc and feel a sense of achievement but at the moment I lack motivation. Because of the stage I am at right now, I have been taking it easy on myself and allowing myself to laze around the flat watching rubbish television and mopping around. I’ll be a little stricter with myself in the coming months and give myself more targets to achieve.

The other week I did enjoy a trip out in my wheels to Craftland and Paper Lane in a lovely little mall, Town Centre, Jumeriah, just next to Mercato mall. I didn’t buy much but got some quilting batting, some more fat quarters (I’m slightly obsessed with them!) and some embellishments. I will definitely be popping back in the future and I was pleased to find some decent craft stores in Dubai (even though they are expensive compared to those in the UK). Here are some of my current craft projects.

Feeling crafty, keeping busy

July 20, 2015Leave a comment

One good thing about bed rest is that I have been able to indulge my creative side and I have had plenty of time to complete some craft projects.

Here are five of my recent projects, I have lots more on the horizon so keep checking back!

The finished product

Still cooking

July 8, 2015Leave a comment

So I am now almost 23 weeks pregnant. People keep telling me that the time has flown by, it hasn’t! That said, it hasn’t been too bad, I find the days go quickly but the weeks still seem to drag somehow. I always knew July would be one of the most difficult periods. I started off the month at 22 weeks and will hopefully finish it at 26 weeks. Those of you know about babies and viability etc. will know that it is a particularly key time in the baby’s development. 26 weeks is still extremely early but it will mean I have passed the time which I had my son which was just before 25 weeks.

It is strange to think that just over a year ago we found out we were pregnant for the first time and at this stage of my pregnancy with my son I moved from the UK to Dubai. So much has happened and all of that feels like 10 years ago.

It has been a tough week or so mentally but I have managed to make the most of bed rest, I even managed an hour by the pool with my hubby one evening as it was a ‘cool’ 38 degrees.

Feet up whilst hubby goes for a swim!

June went fairly quickly and I celebrated the end of the month with my birthday. My husband thoroughly spoilt me, treating me to an amazing homemade brekkie (my favourite pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrup), a pregnancy massage, afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab and he will also be helping me design a bespoke necklace as a present.

My favourite brekkie

I had such a lovely day and other presents included an extremely long book to keep me occupied and some Neal’s Yard Tummy Butter to try to keep stretch marks at bay. Ultimately I couldn’t care less if I got stretch marks, it would mean that I managed to get big and keep this baby in and so that is fine by me. The evening of my birthday was quite amusing…we were both in a sugar coma from afternoon tea and decided to watch a ‘nice’ film. I mistakenly let my husband chose the film and he chose Kajaki. Oh. My. God. I love war films but jesus this film was so graphic and emotional! Brilliant film but not one to watch on your birthday! We both went to bed slightly traumatised!

Afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab.

I would love to report all the things I have been doing but I am struggling to remember what I have done! There have been days where even though I always get up before 10am, the day just passes me by as if I’m in a daze. Not a bad thing really. I’ve been doing lots of Skyping with friends and family which is great.

I have managed to establish a bit of a routine which involves getting myself up, reading at least 25 pages of my current book club book (Margaret Atwood’s Bodily Harm) and then I have some breakfast and do at least one hour of French. By this time it is lunchtime, so I have some lunch (I’ve been told I am putting on too much weight! It seems doctors in Dubai are much more obsessed by weight than the UK and I exceeded my 1kg a month allowance…by quite a bit!). I have been doing various things in the afternoon including making some more…..yes you’ve guessed it…pillows! The afternoon tends to go fairly quickly and my hubby is usually home by 6ish at the moment as it is still Ramadan.

More cushions! I’m starting to run out of material now…

I will soon be entering week 23 and though I do very little at the moment and very rarely leave the house, for the next two weeks I will do even less. So I plan to lie in bed watching box sets and doing a bit of hand sewing. I’ll continue my French too though I am making very slow progress!!

Aurevoir x

Top 5 things to do whilst on bed rest

June 30, 2015Leave a comment

As I’ve mentioned before, a week of no work and chilling is fun…… but actual bed rest is pretty dull. This is especially the case when you are used to being busy and important and are suddenly reduced to being quiet and useless….I feel your pain…..

Please read my Top 5 things to do whilst on bed rest for some ideas of how to survive bed rest.

Mumsieness

June 21, 2015June 30, 2015Leave a comment

It’s been a little while since I last did a weekly update. I’ve actually been busy! Well my new version of busy. My house became a mini sweat shop last week when I decided to get on with making curtains and some more cushions. Also the full set of Harry Potter movies was on tele during the course of the week so obviously I watched them all and that killed a good few hours each day for almost a week!

I also find that the vortex of the internet often sucks me in and steals my time. I start off googling something (Dr Google is bad but addictive!) and it leads me to so many different articles etc. and before I know it 2-3 hours have passed. I did discover Mumsnet Classics the other day on my Mumsnet app and when insomnia struck and I spent a good hour or so reading over some of the posts. They’re worth a look and are so random but pretty funny.

So here are my sewing achievements for the week. I will put some tutorials on the sewing section of my website (if I manage to find the time in my super busy schedule!).

Pillows!

Pillows and matching bunting

Curtains

I have been trying to work on my website a bit more too and put together a list of 5 things to think about when having a baby in Dubai and I plan to do a post about 5 (or more) things to do whilst on bed rest.

We’ve also entered a Summer Come Dine With Me competition in Dubai and we had our first dinner the other night which was school dinner themed and it was scrummy and a lot of fun. Me and bump managed to stay up until almost 3am, very impressive (I did sleep most of the day in preparation though!). It will be our turn to host towards the end of July so I am thinking of theme ideas, I think we have one I just need to finalise the menu. My husband will be doing all of the cooking and leg work as I’ll be 25 weeks by then and so will need to be taking it very easy and have my feet up.

We had our 20 week morphology scan the other day and it all went well which was a big relief. It’s been a fairly drama free couple of weeks and we’re hoping that continues as we get further into the second trimester. I’ve never wished away time as much as I have been doing recently but I am trying to continue to be positive and to keep my mind busy. I still need to start my online French course and its getting embarrassing now as people keep asking me how its going – I will make it my mission to get myself signed up before my next blog!

Bed rest food ideas

June 14, 2015June 14, 20151 Comment

I feel like I am expanding a little too rapidly at the moment but I believe when you’re pregnant you should eat if you’re hungry and not limit yourself. If you are craving carbs you should have carbs and if you’re craving chocolate you should have chocolate! You get the gist. In short, I believe that if your body is craving something then there’s a reason for that particular craving and your body is telling you that you need it!

I haven’t had any strong cravings during this pregnancy. Though I do find that I am put off certain foods easily and find it very difficult to decide what to eat…I know I fancy something but I can’t always put my finger on it.

As I am doing very little and am not allowed to exercise or even walk any distance, I have found that I am putting on weight a lot quicker than I did the first time around. So I have been thinking a bit more about what I am eating. As I said, I won’t restrict myself if i’m hungry but where possible I am thinking about healthy options. I am certainly not a nutritionist but I have felt really good the last week or so and I think that might be because of my slightly improved diet.

I enjoy cooking but cooking is not easy when you can’t spend long on your feet and so I make sure my food choices are quick and easy to make, especially during the daytime when I am home alone. In the evening my husband and I will generally have barbequed fish/meat and vegetables and he can do any of the leg work!

I definitely have a sweet tooth at the moment and so have bought miniature chocolate bars for when a craving strikes. Of course there are days where I need to have several miniatures to get close to satisfying my sweet tooth but I know if I had huge amounts of chocolate in the house I would totally overindulge. I am also a big fan of dark chocolate infused with orange. Amazing!

So here are some bed rest easy food options:

I am big on smoothies right now. This is a banana, strawberry yoghurt, blueberry and milk smoothie. It’s a great way to get a lot of your fruit intake for the day and takes less than a minute to make.

As I am getting up later than usual, I find that I wake up very hungry. Therefore, I make sure I have a filling brekkie. I find that granola, yoghurt and fruit is perfect, it really fills me up and is a healthy option.

As I am getting up later than usual, I find that I wake up very hungry. Therefore, I make sure I have a filling brekkie. Having a filling brekkie means I am less likely to snack and I find that granola, yoghurt and fruit is perfect.

Another great breakfast option are boiled eggs. They are filling and easy, just leave them to boil whilst you have a sit down. I love dippy eggs but I have been a bit stricter since getting pregnant and so make sure they’re cooked through.

I am obsessed by avocados at the moment. I crush mine and add a tiny bit of chilli and some sea salt. This time I had a slice on olive bread toast with a side of blueberries.

Eggs again, this time on olive bread toast. Yummy! This took me minutes and filled me up for a long time. Plenty of seasoning is the key to this brekkie (or lunch) dish.

Another easy and tasty dish. I’ve had this as a side to some meat or fish or as a lunch option. I add green pesto and season well. I had this with a carrot and tomato juice – I may have needed to eat up lots of tomatoes that day!

I said I was obsessed with avocado. This time I had it as a side to some left over chilli. The chilli was easy to make, i just shoved everything in a big pan and left it to simmer. It lasted for a good few days and so is a great bed rest option.

I made this vege burger by grilling some hallumi, portobello mushroom and added some avocado (the obsession continues!). I then did a side of quinoa. My husband hated the quinoa and i'm not the biggest fan but it was filling!

I made this vege burger by grilling some hallumi, portobello mushroom and then I added some avocado (the obsession continues!) and salad. I had it with a side of quinoa. My husband hated the quinoa and i’m not the biggest fan but it was filling at least!

I love jacket potatoes but have had quite a few recently and its made me feel bloated as I can’t work off the carbs. So I have replaced the jacket potato with a sweet potato. Again, an easy one and it’s very versatile, just add whatever topping you fancy.

Although I have been juicing less than usual I do love a fresh orange juice. This time I had it with a side of cookie! As I said, you shouldn’t deny yourself what your body wants when you’re pregnant. Just try to make healthy choices where possible.

What happened?….What’s next?…..

May 12, 2015March 25, 2017Leave a comment

So what happened? Well, the last 6 months has been the most difficult 6 months of my life and it has been full of extreme ups and downs.

In November I moved to Dubai. In December I gave birth to my baby boy prematurely at just under 25 weeks and he died when he was just two weeks old. I may write a post about this in more detail in the future but right now I am not ready to share. I am actually a pretty private person and so writing this blog is a big learning curve for me. It’s therapeutic but also quite an intimidating process as I am sharing much more than I would usually.

I’ve seen/spoken to loads of doctors since this happened to try to understand what went wrong and was surprised at the varying advice I was given in regards to treatment. The diagnoses wasn’t clear but everything pointed to an ‘incompetent cervix’ aka ‘cervical insuficiency’. So my cervix was incompetent/insuficient. Lovely. My cervix is a part of my body that I had never previously paid attention to. I knew about cervical cancer and had regular smear tests but that’s the most I had thought about my cervix. I also didn’t know the massively important role this small piece of my body would play in pregnancy. After a ridiculous amount of research I now feel like I know everything there is to know about my cervix.

January and February passed in a blur and I don’ feel like I was really present during those months. Then in February I found out I was pregnant. We were delighted but also petrified.

My obsessive research continued and after a huge amount of discussion in April I had an operation in the UK to basically sew my cervix shut in the hope it’ll help me get to full term this time. I can’t believe it is now mid May. I am almost 15 weeks pregnant and feel like I have been pregnant forever! I worked out the other day that if (god willing) I go full term with this pregnancy I will have been pregnant for around 15 out of 17 months. That’s a long time.

It’s bloody scary and extremely emotional and I am just trying to tick off the weeks whilst attempting to keep myself sane by keeping my mind as occupied as possible.

So what’s next? Well I’ve stopped looking too far into the future and don’t let myself look much further forward than the next week or so. The biggest adjustment at the moment has been to keep myself busy whilst doing very little (no exercise, walking far, swimming, baths, fun. etc. etc.). I am not on bed rest as such but plan to put myself on bed rest in July and August which will be the time I am most at risk (between 22-30 weeks).

Any ideas for bed rest would be greatly appreciated! So far this is what I’ve planned:

1. Sewing. I’ve bought my first sewing machine to keep myself busy whilst I can sit rather than lie down. If I don’t feel comfortable sitting my mum has given me a hand sewn patchwork quilt which she started many years ago that I plan to finish.

2. French. I am going to try to improve my GCSE French via Rosetta Stone’s online subscription.

3. Website/Blog. I will keep my mind busy by blogging as well as keeping my website up to date with book and film reviews, recipes and reviews of things to do in and around Dubai.

4. Box sets. I need programmes which are lengthy and have plenty of series to watch. So far, I have been recommended Grey’s Anatomy and the West Wing.

That’s about it for now!

Mum-blings

Mum-blings of a mummy in Dubai

Tag: bedrest