E17 Baby massage classes with Madeleine

After the first couple of hectic months settling into life with the new baby, I felt it was time to start trying out some of the many baby groups and classes available to new mums in E17. First up on my list was baby massage. Baby massage is a great way of bonding with your little person, taking some uninterrupted time out of an otherwise busy day to spend focussed on  the baby, and of course, to meet other local new mums. There are a few local places offering baby massage classes, such as The Healthworks and some of the SureStart centres, but I went on the basis of a friend's reccomendation and signed up for a series of 5 classes with Madeleine, from www.E17babymassage.co.uk . The classes take place in Madeleine's light and airy living room, and are limited to just 5 people so you can get plenty of personal tuition. Each week we would learn a new routine for different parts of the body, with some massage strokes designed for relaxation and others to target specific problem areas such as colic or congestion. Since the course finised, I've started using the massage as part of a relaxing bedtime routine for baby M. It seems to be working so far as he's recently started sleeping through the night! Hurrah!

You can find more details and the latest course dates on Madeleine's website at www.e17babymassage.co.uk

Waiting for Baby sewing classes with Significant Seams at Wood Street Indoor Market

My handmade creations

I started my maternity leave at 35 weeks pregnant back at the beginning of March, leaving myself 5 weeks before the due date to relax and finish off the final preparations before the big day. It became ridiculously easy to fill my days with shopping trips, afternoon naps and long leisurely lunches, and very quickly work felt like a distant memory. I had been along to the relaunch of Wood Street indoor market earlier that month, and one of the shops that caught my eye was Significant Seams, the hub for a local sewing and craft initiative. I signed myself up for a four week 'Waiting for Baby' sewing course, where pregnant women can get together and create individual handmade objects for their impending new arrivals. Now despite being a scientist by trade, I've always had a bit of a passion for arts and crafts, as anyone who has seen my elaborate fancy dress costumes that I've created over the years can confirm! I had been thinking for a while about making something personal for the baby, but I knew I had left it far too late to learn knitting, and I hadn't touched a sewing machine for about 15 years, so these classes seemed like the perfect solution.

The sewing classes were run by Catherine from Significant Seams, who expertly guided us through the steps of putting together our fabric toy blocks with applique and embroidered designs, and a baby bib. I felt a real sense of achievement each week, proudly coming home   with my latest design to show off and arrange in the cot ready for the new arrival. I really enjoyed just taking the time out for a couple of hours each Wednesday to sit and chat with Catherine and Katie (the other pregnant lady on the course), sharing pregnancy and baby stories while we worked away on our sewing machines. 

You can sign up for a whole range of classes at the Significant Seams hub including sewing and knitting classes for beginners, patchwork quilt making sessions and classes for children so why not indulge your creative side and try something new? You can find the latest details on the Significant Seams website here.

Bumpwatch - 33 weeks

Bump at 33 weeks

33 weeks into my pregnancy, and this last trimester is really starting to fly by! I only have 8 more days left at work (whoop!), and my D-day of 9th April is starting to loom ever closer on the horizon. I feel like I'm pretty much there in terms of getting all the baby stuff together, just need to get a cot bed and a car seat now and I will have all the essentials ready and waiting for whenever the little fella decides to make his grand appearance. The nursery is painted and my hospital bag is neatly packed and waiting on standby. 

On the slightly more negative side, after a pretty enjoyable 6 or 7 months, several of the more common pregnancy symptoms and complaints are starting to catch up with me now. I've had to stop going to the gym after suffering from severe nosebleeds every time I start exercising. My medicines cupboard is stocked to the brim with every heartburn remedy known to man (I work for the company that make Tums and Zantac so at least I get a staff discount!) and I have to sleep on an ever-increasing pile of pillows to stop the dreaded acid reflux creeping up my throat when I lie down. If I drop something on the floor now I have a long hard think about whether it is worth the effort to bend over and pick it up again! The baby seems to be constantly headbutting me in the ribs or trying to escape Alien-style straight out through the front of my stomach, both of which are rather uncomfortable. But these are all the joys of the last couple of months of pregnancy!

Pregnancy Yoga - Walthamstow Toy library

I've been trying to keep as fit and healthy as possible throughout this pregnancy, but now I am well into the third trimester it is starting to become a bit more of a struggle. My husband has decided to kick off the new year with a new exercise regime which I am trying really hard to support him with. We go to the work gym two or three times a week from 5-6pm, and while he attacks the weight machines I do some uphill power walking on the treadmill and a bit of light cross training and cycling. It's nothing like what I was able to do before, but I feel good for getting some exercise, and I keep reading how you are much more likely to have an easy labour if you can keep your pregnancy fitness levels up. I do get some strange looks from the other gym users as if they think I shouldnt be there, and I do feel about twice the size of the skinny girls in their lycra shorts, but I will keep going as long as possible!

Last week I decided to throw in some more pregnany-oriented exercise into the mix, and signed up for a 5-week pregnancy yoga class. It's a 5-week course currently running on Thursday nights in the Toy Library, just off Beulah Road in Walthamstow Village. At the first class it was lovely to see that most of the other women were about as far along as me, with most people somewhere between 25-32 weeks. The exercises might look easy for anyone not carrying a big bump around with them but I found them to be just the right level of difficulty and I'm sure they are doing me some good.

You can find contact details for Helen who runs the class and other non-pregnancy yoga classes here Walthamstow Village Yoga .
The Healthworks just off Hoe street also offer antenatal pilates and yoga, plus some post-natal classes where you can bring your baby along too!

28 week check-up

28 weeks

I had my 28 week check-up this week and things are still going well! I've been lucky enough to see the same midwife at all of my appointments which from what I hear is quite unusual as a lot of people seem to get moved around between 4 or 5 different people. So it's been really nice to get to build a bit of a relationship with her and not waste time going through your details and medical history with every new midwife that you see. She took some blood for more iron level tests, listened to the baby's heartbeat (which was about 136 bpm) and then measured the size of my bump with a tape measure. Apparently, the height of the uterus in cm should be roughly equal to the number of weeks pregnant you are, giving the midwife a quick and easy guide to see if the baby is growing at the right rate. My measurement was 28 cm which is exactly right for 28 weeks! She also confirmed that the baby is lying in the breech position which is what I thought as I can often feel the rather unpleasant sensation of the baby's head trying to stick out of my stomach up near my ribs.

She also asked me to start counting the baby's kicks, starting at 9 a.m. each day I have to count until I feel 10 movements and then record the time on a little chart which goes all the way up to 9 p.m. each day. I think this baby must be super active as he is always way past 10 kicks by 9.30 a.m.  which is the first box on the chart! The next check up is not until 34 weeks, which will be my last week of work, can't wait!

The 20 week scan - team pink or team blue?

Bumpy at 20 weeks

Monday 21st November

We headed back to Whipps Cross for a second time today for the 20 week scan, another chance to see how little bumpy is growing. The first thing the sonographer asked as I laid down was whether we wanted to find out the sex, and just a few seconds later she said 'It's a baby boy!'. She showed us on the screen and there is no mistaking that we are in team blue! The baby had at least doubled in size since the last scan, and everything was so much clearer. We could see the little heart beating, count all the fingers and toes, and watch him wriggling and kicking away contentedly. I was quite jealous of Jon being able to see the screen for the whole time while I had to lie back and let the sonographer do her measurements. Everything looked perfectly healthy again, and all of bumpy's measurements were right on track! I had trying to stop myself from doing too much shopping before now, but I think I will go out and treat myself to some cute little boy clothes this weekend :o)

Week 13: the first scan

Wednesday 5th October, 3.30pm

After a stressful first visit to Whipps Cross Hospital, eventually finding a parking space near the main entrance only to discover that the maternity unit is about half a mile away on the other side of the site, and an uncomfortably long wait in the too hot waiting area full of frazzled looking pregnant women, Jon and I finally found ourselves in the relative peace and tranquillity of the ultrasound room, staring delightedly at the blurry image on the screen. The 12 (or in our case 13 and a half) week scan is such a milestone for parents-to-be, the first time you see your little baby on the screen, and you can finally tell the world the happy secret you may have been keeping for the past couple of months. In my case, most of my work colleagues had figured it out long ago, as I had already moved from my normal job in the lab to a desk-based role to keep me and the little bump safe from potentially harmful lab chemicals. It was still nice to make it all official, and I brought in some cakes the day after the scan to celebrate, laughing at the bemused faces trying to figure out where the baby's head was on my scan photo.

Bumpy at 13 weeks, 2 days

We were so relieved to hear that everything looked normal with the baby, my due date was put back three days to April 9th 2012, and the little one was measuring in at 7.1cm from crown-to rump. Everything seems a lot more real now!