I am now 17 weeks pregnant

Perhaps 17 and one day

Something like that anyway

I have learned

Not to fixate too much on dates

But I am around the 17 weeks mark

Counting down to half way through this pregnancy

Half way through my last pregnancy

I don’t think I have quite digested that yet

My last pregnancy

The last time I will ever be experiencing

And feeling all these things

All the aches and pains of growing a baby

At this stage it is hard to remember

That is what I am doing

Growing a little person

Making our family complete

Today I have quite a horrid pain in my bump

From my brief (constant!) Google research

I think it could be a combination of round ligament pain

And muscle strain from struggling to go to the loo

Constipation is a whole other blog post!

My main symptoms now that I am in my second trimester

Are constipation

Horrible piles

Aches and pains

And tiredness

Not the all consuming exhaustion of the first trimester

But a feeling of clumsiness and tiring more easily

Than when I am without bump

I think some of the tiredness

Is linked to the fact that I had my flu jab

And so did the children

And we have all been a little under the weather

Also we have moved out of our temporary house

And back home

Which means that there is a lot of packing and unpacking

And we are basically living out of boxes

Which with three small children

Is really hard

I am not feeling any movement from Sprinkle yet

I realise that it is early

But I was hoping to start to feel things by now

My bump is sizeable and growing

I am wearing maternity leggings now

Though am still mostly wearing my ordinary tops

As the weather turns I am in desperate need of a maternity coat

As my children like to be outdoors

Whatever the weather

We have not been out much the past couple of weeks

And we are all feeling the need

For fresh air and adventure

I have had no motivation

And feel like all our time needs to be spent sorting out the house

But tomorrow is advent

And I am going to make it magical for us all

Come what may!

There is an air of excitement among the children

It is so amazing that Esther and William

Now six

Really understand

That all being well there is a baby coming

That the baby will take time to grow in mummy’s tummy

And then will come and join us

Be one of us

A part of our family

William is the most excited at the moment

Spending lots of time

Compiling lists of names on his laptop

Bea keeps asking to hold the baby’s hand

Her understanding is very different to the twins

As she is only two

But she is very cute

Saying hello to baby through my bump

I think she is going to be a very proud big sister

And perhaps just a little jealous

At the moment I still feed Bea to sleep at night

And she sleeps with me

Latched on for large parts of the night

I am not sure how much milk she is having

I think it is more of a comfort for her

I know that we need to try and wean her from the night feeding

And let her start to fall asleep on her own

In her own bed

That again is a whole other blog post!

Last week I saw my midwife

It was a bit of a non event really

Though I did get to hear Sprinkle’s heartbeat

And that is a feeling that never gets old

You climb up on to the bed

The midwife tells you that this is the earliest time

A heartbeat might be heard

So not to be disappointed if it cannot be found

Of course, you know

You will be devastated if you do not hear it

Hope in a heartbeat

First she picks up my throbbing artery

Loud and strong

Then she finds Sprinkle

A beautiful heartbeat

All our hopes and dreams in a rhythmical beat

Hope hope hope hope

Hope in a heartbeat

Hearing your baby inside you

It makes everything feel okay

For those short moments

You feel so connected

There she is

There is my baby

Her heart beating alongside mine

And alongside her big sister in the sky

Whose heart is always inside mine

Perhaps 17 and one day

Something like that anyway

I have learned

Not to fixate too much on dates

But I am around the 17 weeks mark

Counting down to half way through this pregnancy

Half way through my last pregnancy

Half way to meeting our Sprinkle of Stardust

Who will make our family complete