Pumpkin party

we had a pumpkin party for Halloween towards the end of October (27thOct), but haven't had time to update this till now!

Invited P, J and V; D and M; C and N; and our new friends J and M. Didn't quite think we'd pull it off - having so many people around and cooking for that many, but we did it... here's Vic in his pumpkin outfit...! :) Also, pictures of the pumpkin we carved, and a picture of D with erm.. his favourite pumpkins...:)!!

We grew these pumpkins ourselves, and as a result we're all pumpkin-ed out. The big one's still about and there's about a quarter sitting in the fridge!

P xx

Mat B1 Form

Got my form the day after the previous post but have not had the time to update my blog!! sorry...

The midwife's appointment went well, although having said that, I thought she was abit too chatty for my liking - I'd rather she listened to me than to chat about all the other innane things going on! I can't imagine if she would be present whilst I was giving birth, she'd be talking about other things rather than focusing on me and my needs!! Due to her chattiness, we couldn't do a urine test which was annoying because I was slightly worried about having gestational diabetes and all that. So I went down to the local hospital and did a urine test and all is ok - thing is, whilst I was there, I met three other women who had recently given birth and they all started off at the 'birthing unit' (midwife-led) only to be ambulanced and blue-lighted all the way to the consultant-led units about 30 minutes away (by car, but by ambulance probably 6-10 minutes). They all had perfectly healthy babies but due to some complication or other, they all had to be moved. I was freaking out when I heard that, and made me more resolute to go to a consultant-led unit!!

anyway, back to the Mat B1 form. I received my MatB1 form which I then submitted to the HR department a couple of weeks later together with my plans for maternity leave and all that. If all goes well, I hope to go off on maternity on January 25th, starting maternity pay from 4th of February 2008. Assuming I don't have to have a c-section, then baby will be due around the 23rd of February; and if I do have to have a c-section, then baby will be due abit earlier - more about that when the time comes!

Speaking of consultant-led units, D and I went to check out one of the two consultant-led units in our area and we're really happy with the one we think we're going to. Made an appointment there yesterday and had a tour around. Got shown all the rooms, even the operating theatres and everyone looked calm and relaxed - which is always useful! Felt very confident about everything after we saw the place and we're 100% sure we'll be going to this one when it's time for the baby to arrive.

we're now 26 weeks - so theoretically, 14 weeks more to go. How strange and how fast time does fly. We've paid a deposit for our buggy/travel system - we're getting the nipabout http://ladybugsbaby.easywebstore.co.uk/NEW-Nipabout-3-in-1_AHTOB.aspx and it looks fab. We're getting the one in red because the black just doesn't appeal, not for a baby-related thing I don't think. We've also bought the bedding (zanzibar range) http://www.linenstore.co.uk/kids-nursery-bedding-zanzibar-cot-bedding.html?gclid=CJ-6s9LG6Y8CFR4oEAodMGQaYg and we're quite excited now!! Haven't figured out which bed to buy, but we think we know which one. So much more to get: muslin cloths, blankets, etcetc but one at a time. I think if we something each weekend, we'll get things sorted....!! *fingers crossed*

ok - gotta go now.
Love
P and the blue pea...
26 weeks