October Roundup

I'm not sure it's even worth me posting this roundup because I failed miserably to reach any of my goals for October.

I mainly stitched on the Noah's Ark baby quilt (and made decent progress) but everything else was ignored and I didn't fire up the sewing machine once!

I did read a couple of books though:

The Waitress - Melissa Nathan
The Other Hand - Chris Cleave

Anyway, I have changed my goals for next month in line with my post of the 25th and hopefully I can achieve some of those in November.

Restless Leg Syndrome

When I was pregnant with Lia I suffered from twitching legs from about 4 months onwards and it got worse and worse towards the end of the pregnancy, even causing an issue in one of my arms too right at the end.

This pregnancy I've had the symptoms from almost straight away and they've been a lot worse already. I'm fine standing up and sitting down but pretty much as soon as I lie down I get an ache in my right leg and arm and I need to move them or they start twitching. The ache can be anything from vaguely annoying to downright agonising and I've been spending my nights moving from our bed to the spare bed to the sofa and back again in an attempt to get relief.

So I did some research and it appears almost 100% certain that I've got Restless Leg Syndrome. Yes that really does exist. And apparently pregnancy is a common trigger for it to start although most women don't get symptoms till the third trimester.

So at least I now know there is a name for what is keeping me awake at nights!

Apparently 5 - 10% of the population suffer from this at some point in their lives (I'm actually amazed at the number of people who have told me they or someone they know suffer from it) and there isn't really a cure as such. It can be treated with medication in the worst cases but obviously they're unlikely to start giving me anything whilst I'm pregnant.

Other treatments suggested are cutting out caffeine and alcohol, having a regular sleeping pattern, massage, accupuncture, exercise, avoiding eating just before bedtime and a hot bath before bed time. Well I don't drink alcohol even when not pregnant but I do drink diet pepsi so I have had two days caffeine free and I thought it had helped as the first night the symptoms were a lot milder but last night it was quite bad again and I definitely hadn't had any caffeine for 48 hrs.

I think though that the caffeine does make it worse though - we went out for dinner at the beginning of the week and I had two glasses of coke in the evening and that night I was in agony - so I will continue to keep my caffeine intake as low as possible - probably just one glass a day at lunchtimes.

I did eat later last night which could be the cause of last nights discomfort but my problem is that I am diabetic and I am on a seriously strict regime whilst pregnant, part of which is that I need to have a snack before bed or my blood sugar dips too low during the night and I have a hypo.

DH has been attempting to give my leg a massage in the evenings but because it involves him sitting with my leg on his lap and I have involuntary twitches he's a bit worried I might accidentally kick something I shouldn't LOL.

And as for a regular sleeping pattern, that's kind of impossible when you're being kept awake for several hours a night!

At the moment I'm coping just about but if I really can't continue like this I might consider accupuncture if it's possible (all those tiny needles, eek!) Oh and yes, I have mentioned it to my midwife and consultant but I haven't pressed the point as yet.

However, other than that issue I am fine and baby is fine. I'm currently 16 weeks and so reach the half way point at the end of November. In the grand scheme of things this really isn't as horrid as some of the things I could be suffering from during pregnancy but it would be fantastic to be able to sleep comfortably for a whole night in my own bed...

So do you want a laugh?

I've just been sorting out my stash (it was starting to take over one end of the lounge!) and I have identified all the things that I want to complete before the baby arrives in April. The list (with their current status) is:

1. Silly Safari Quilt - blocks and border all made, it just needs to be put together and quilted
2. Scream House - all the stitching done
3. Plaid quilt - two blocks made
4. 2 x bags - one was a birthday present for my Mum in August and the other is supposed to be a christmas gift for my MIL
5. 2 x Christmas stockings - pre quilted and have been cut out so just need to be put together
6. Two advent panels - not started
7. Alphabuddies quilt - for the baby, not started
8. Slash and sew baby quilt - not started
9. Raggedy pram quilt - not started
10. Blue christmas quilt - fabric sorted
11. Red christmas quilt - fabric sorted
12. New Baby Sampler - for my Great Niece, promised by Christmas
13. Baby Quilt - for my Great Niece as a Christmas gift
14. Winnie the Pooh quilted book - Christmas gift for my nephew, cut out
15. Grandma's thread minder - stitching all done
16. Three in the tins from last year - stitching all done
17. Sue Hawkins pin cushion - stitching all done
18. Two Sue Hawkins book markers for teachers gifts - not started
19. Noah's Ark baby quilt - working on
20. Flannel quilt for Lia - top made, quilting to do
21. Two Christmas panels - started last year, need finishing off
22. Table topper - it's done other than finishing the quilting and sewing some binding
    

And if I run out of stitching to do I want to get on with Merry Christmas by the Letter!

So what do you think, realistic goals? Or are you sat there laughing as hard as I am right now? It's what, under nine weeks till christmas and I want to get a lot of that done in time to gift. And then there's the slowing down of being able to do anything during my last trimester (Jan - Mar).

Still, it's written down now so I shall keep you posted. I intend to alter the style of my monthly goals posts to have this list instead and we'll see how I do. At least I held off adding that I'd like to get some Baby Jane and Tail Feathers blocks done to catch up a little bit - I may be mad but I'm not totally insane LOL.

The Lurgy

Ugh, just as my energy levels started increasing and my mojo returned I was struck down with the dreaded lurgy! Typical.

I left work on Monday and am only just back in the office now but I am feeling much better which is the main thing. I spent a lot of the last three days lying on the sofa watching Create and Craft on the TV (but was so unwell I didn't order ANYTHING! LOL)

DH was home for a couple of days too as he had the same thing - thankfully Lia was fine and at school so we could drop her off and have some time being pathetic without having to entertain a four year old.

Other than that, everything is okay - I'm 14 and a half weeks now and all seems to be okay (I hate this stage when you can't feel the baby yet and just have to trust that it's growning and all okay). I did think I could feel some flutterings last night but I'm not sure if that's wishful thinking or not as it's still early yet, even for a second pregnancy.

I did go to Ally Pally and I did get lots of lovely new stash but haven't taken any pictures as yet due to the lurgy. This weekend we're off to Kent for a flying visit around the family - we'll be meeting my new Great Niece (who will be two whole weeks old!) and seeing my Nephew who is going to be 1 in less than a month (gosh how time flies). Sunday we have a plan to meet friends at Legoland as long as the weather is nice (I've done it once in the rain and don't fancy it again with three under fives).

In other news Lia got a good report from school - she's in the top group in the class for phonics and the teacher says she has settled in really well and has made lots of friends. Drawing and painting are her two favourite things (they always have been) and this top group are doing writing as well as reading which is cool. Oh and she's really good with her numbers. So all in all a great start - I'm not under any illusions that she'll be joining mensa any time soon but I'm happy to know that she is coping and thriving at school - it certainly makes parenting easier.

My mojo was obviously just hiding

Last night for the first time in about eight weeks I picked up a needle and did some stitching! It's not on a current WIP, it's a new start for the baby - a pre-quilted, stamped baby quilt from Dimensions. I bought it about three years ago for a different baby entirely and never got round to doing it (I think said baby got a quilted quilt instead). To be honest I'd actually forgotten all about it until my recent stash inventory but it's lovely and it 's quite an easy-on-the-brain stitch too.

Here's a pic of the finished quilt - all I did last night was the face of the male lion but it was a start. I have no idea if I'll get it done in time for the baby's arrival but I have six months so finger's crossed.



I also had the urge to do some quilting last night too! The problem was though that I'd packed things away in the kitchen to make room for all the after school visitors today and I couldn't face getting them out and putting them away again. I can't see it being long before I do get stuck in again though. I have about three projects I want to make for the new baby, a quilt and a birth sampler to make for my new Great-Niece and of course the two bags for my Mum and MIL.

All in all it's just as well the mojo has returned!

A Social Life? Where did that come from?

I was chatting to a mate yesterday about meeting up and we were trying to find a mutually convenient date between now and Christmas with no luck - it seems that apart from about three odd weekend days I am totally booked up between now and 2010!

I'm not quite sure how it's happened but I suddenly seem to have a million and one social engagements. It's not like I'm usually Mrs Grumpy who doesn't see anyone, we are generally busy two or three weekends a month, but now it seems that there's been a scramble to fit in seeing everybody we know! I guess it's that time of year when you start to feel you should catch up with people and also having added another five couples to our social circle now school is part of the equation hasn't helped. Oh and school functions themselves have added several notes onto the calendar.

In a way I'm really pleased life is so busy because it means the weeks will fly by between now and Christmas which is, in my head at least, a significant date for my pregnancy - I'll be over half way and all the testing things will have been done. Christmas will be spent with my family and then we can start really getting things ready for the new arrival in the New Year. There isn't a lot to do, a coat of paint or two in the baby's room, sorting out all our old baby stuff and working out what we need so there'll be plenty of time.

So tomorrow I'm hosting a play date for five other parents and eight more kids (eek!) and then Friday we're off to dinner at one of the other parents places. Saturday is the stitching show at Ally Pally (I'm so hoping new stash will really kick start my mojo!) and then Sunday it's off to Hertfordshire for lunch with friends.

In other news, I'm a Great Aunt again as my niece had her second little girl on Saturday evening - only a 1hr 40 min labour (the cow!) and all are doing just fine. This means that our baby is almost certainly the last member of the next generation of the family. My bro and his wife are stopping at one, my elder niece is now stopping at two, I certainly won't have any more and my younger niece is adamant she won't have any (she does have two step kids). It's kind of funny that my two will be the oldest and the youngest of that little bunch, certainly not what I imagined. Still, they are all aged within five years so they should all get on - the family are all hoping I have a boy though as we have a 3 to 1 ratio of girls to boys at the moment so it'd be nice to even it up.

Personal Space

Okay, I am now going to rant please feel free to not bother reading but I need to get this out of my system LOL.

It has started already, people assuming that me being pregnant gives them rights to invade my personal space. I have a faux bump - no idea why but my weight has shifted around (I'm 7lb lighter now than I was when I found out I was pregnant) and I have a noticable bump between my waist and my boobs. But it means that much earlier than last time I'm having to deal with idiots who think they have the right to touch me.

My body, and in particular, my stomach, is mine, nobody elses. The list of people who have permission to touch it is a short one - DH, Lia and, if necessary, doctors. Now that I happen to be pregnant that list has expanded to include midwives. Nobody else.

Me having a baby does not mean that anybody who wishes to can come up and pat my stomach and yes I do include family and friends in that. I have no idea why anyone would assume that it is acceptable just to wander up and touch me. It's still me, it's not the baby, and I am not a touchy feely kind of girl at the best of times so now when I'm uncomfortable, a bit stressed and generally tired it certainly isn't a good idea for you to try it. If you're lucky I'll just move away, get me on a really bad day and it's likely to be a verbal warning or I may just lash out.

Obviously the majority of people don't feel the need to pat my stomach and also I am fully aware that there are some women who absolutely don't mind if you do wander up and touch them, but it really, really bothers me. A woman who works in the same building as me does this pretty much every time she sees me and she did so when I was pregnant with Lia too so now I find myself turning on my heel every time I see her heading towards me.

There, I've got that off my chest now and feel a little bit better for it - at least until the next time someone heads towards me with their hand out...

Thanks

Thanks for all your congratulations, they are much appreciated.

Sharon, in answer to your comment re will we find out the flavour of the baby, yes we will. We found out when we were having Lia and I will have around five or six scans after the time they are able to tell you so we should be pretty sure. With Lia we had five different sonographers tell us it was a girl so we figured we were okay to go with pink stuff.

The main reason for finding out for me is that DH and I have to have a huge name discussion should this be a boy. If it's a girl we've pretty much got the name chosen and have had for about three years but a boy will be much more of an issue.

As you probably know DH is Greek and the tradition there is to name after the Grandfather. I have a problem with this because I don't like 'juniors', I think that a child should have it's own name and it's own identity and in my family we have always given a middle name as a 'family' name and first names are whatever name we like. In fact, judging by my mates this is pretty much the tradition in the UK.

So for that reason I don't want a child named after my father-in-law. Any more than I wanted Lia named after my mother-in-law - she has my MIL's name as a middle name and there are certain members of the family who still insist on calling her 'Little Zoe' rather than Lia or her full first name. Believe me that was a tough battle on my part - I see the fact that 1) I am prepared to choose a Greek name and 2) I am prepared to not insist on naming the child from my side enough of a compromise that DH has to accept the middle name option as his compromise.

However, there is also another reason why I don't want my child named after my father-in-law and that is because his name is Achilles. Now I guess some of you out there are going 'and? What's wrong with that?' and to you I say, go ahead, feel free to name your child after my father-in-law, just don't expect me to.

I just don't like the name.

I also don't think it'd be very fair to give a kid that name and send it to school. It's not like I grew up thinking 'one day I'll have a son and I'll call him Achilles'... If I remember correctly it was going to be Michael, Peter and Connor.

I think DH has agreed that Achilles will be the middle name but the bigger battle now is getting him to agree on any other name as a first name. Everything I've tried has had a negative response so we've put all discussions on hold till we know that we need to have them. And trust me, I'd much rather have that discussion part way through the pregnancy than in the delivery room LOL.

My 104th post of 2009

If there is anyone out there still reading after my weeks of not posting very much and moaning about being tired and having no real inclination to craft, well done.

There is a reason for the fug that I've been under and, if you haven't guessed, it's the fact that I'm pregnant!

Yep, 12 weeks (or 10 weeks if you go by the American method of counting). It wasn't a surprise as we had been trying, but we'd been trying for a long time - so long in fact I was just starting to think that maybe it wasn't going to happen. I never imagined I'd have an almost five year gap between kids but that's just the way these things work out sometimes and of course there are lots of advantages to Lia being so much older as she'll be able to help out and understand when Mummy is very tired and can't play as much as she'd like to.

Due to other health problems I'm a high risk pregnancy so it's all a bit stressful (lots of extra scans and tests and consultant visits) but we're doing okay for now. I won't be able to relax fully till Christmas when all the health scans will be completed and hopefully okay. After that it's just the stress of the birth plan as the baby has to come out at least a week early which means induction (which was totally awful last time due to me having a bad reaction to the drugs used) or an elective caesarian. Of course there is a teeny tiny chance junior would decide to come early and start the show themselves but given last time was an emergency caesarian at midnight after 30 hours of , not to put too finer point on it, hell, I think I need to just accept the elective and try not to think about it for the next 26 weeks.

I've been really lucky as apart from being shattered for the last two and a half months I've had no icky symptoms at all other than vague stomach aches which equate to TOTM pains. I wasn't sick with Lia either so I've definitely gotten off lightly.

There also seems to be a bit of a baby boom around me now (isn't it always the way?) DH's sister is also pregnant with her second as our other friends of ours who are about two weeks ahead of us. Not only that two of the other Mums that I have got friendly with are also pregnant with their second (and third as one is having twins!) so I've got lots of company.

I'm hoping that now I'm into the second trimester the tiredness will ease a bit - I think some of it is stress though as all the extra tests I have to have are a worry. Still, time flies along and it certainly won't be long before Christmas is here - Lia has so much going on at school between now and then that I have plenty to take my mind off it all.

We've only just explained things to Lia - I didn't want to tell her in the early stages in case there were any issues - and she's really pleased. She's been asking for a baby brother for about six months now so it's nice to be finally able to tell her there's a chance she's getting one, apart from the small issue that she's determined she wants a baby brother and a baby sister will not do. I'm not sure how we can get around that one but given a while ago she told me she'd rather have a cat than a baby brother I think she should be easily convinced to be happy about either. LOL.

See, if only I'd have planned this a bit better this would have been a great 100th post of the year...

October Goals

Stitching Goals
1. Continue WIP busting
2. Work on Christmas by the Letter
3. Work on Coeur de Brodeuse
4. Work on Birds of a Feather
5. Work on Snowman Trio

Quilting Goals
1. Make two advent panels
2. Quilt something!
3. Make the two bags I should have made in August!

Current Stitching WIP List
1. Bent Creek - Snapperbets
2. Tournicoton - Coeur de Brodeuse
3. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag

4. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
5. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
6. Margaret Sherry - Santa's Journey Afghan
7. Stitchy Kitty - Snowman Trio

8. Lizzie*Kate - ABC Lessons
9. Lizzie*Kate - Christmas by the Letter
10. Glendon Place - Murky Manor

11. Just Nan - Four Wishes
12. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
13. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series
14. Ink Circles - Cirque de Cercles
15. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4

16. Stoney Creek - Noah's Sub
17. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
18. Teresa Wentzler - Tradewinds
19. Dracolair - Dawn Awakening

20. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven Above
21. Shepherd's Bush - Be Attitudes Afghan
22. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan
23. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill