Maternity Leave!

Hoorah! I'm on maternity leave!

Staff training went really well and now I can get excited about being a mummy!

36 Weeks Today

36 weeks today. Totally can't believe it. This time next week I'll be full term!

It was funny this evening as I was looking back through some of my blog posts to look at the photos of my belly and it is unbelievable how much it has grown. So funny how each time I would say: 'How much bigger does it get!!!!!'

The other thing I found funny was when I posted about babba kicking for the first time, Ally B posted a comment to say: 'The first kick is lovely - just remember that at 42 weeks and the baby is bouncing on your bladder and making your belly look like an alien is trying to make a bid for freedom' - so so true! I was under the impression that baby's movements are meant to be reducing now, but I can't say I've seen any evidence of that - tres feisty still.

It has also recently discovered the nerves in my pelvis/groin so likes to prod them and make some lovely shooting pains whizz down my legs! Naughty blighter!

I would love to say I got out for my walk today, but no such luck. My laptop and I decided to have an argument earlier where it refused to work so that put me a bit behind schedule. In the end I've managed to do everything except the payslips for May, but once I've had a chance to recover from this week I'll get them done and send them down to the centre.

Staff training tomorrow and then I'm finished - payslips aside - and I can start getting excited and doing things like buying and washing baby clothes and preparing food for the freezer and cleaning etc!!!! Definitely having lots of little cramps and the baby is so low I'm hopeful that it won't be too long. I will start drinking raspberry leaf tea everyday next week too!

The Best Sleep in Months!

I finally had the best sleep last night.I slept solidly (no pee trips, kicking on my diaphragm, breathlessness, sore back etc) from 11.30 - 6am! It was the best feeling looking at the clock and not seeing 3am! I wondered if I'd sleep again, but the next thing I knew it was 7.30am and then I must have dozed off again and woke up at 9am!

I totally needed it as I've been waking up early every day (as well as various times through the night) and getting on with work as it has been on my mind and I just wanted to get through things.

I was a bit concerned at the start of the week that I wasn't going to get through things, but so far so good. Training with my admin assistant has gone really well and we only have a few more things to cover and refresh today.

Training of my senior maths tutor also went really well. I essentially planned for him for the next month while he is getting used to the resources and he can tweak it as he becomes more confident. God bless him, he had asked his girlfriend to marry him yesterday and then had to come in to be trained - how keen is that! I was so excited for him - always great to hear exciting news!

My training day for Sat is set up, I just need to organise the food and the last bits of organisation for the day. I'm looking forward to it actually as it is nice to get all the staff together as people work on different days.

Friday will see me tie-ing up the accounts for the month so I can forget about everything for a while.

Sooooo cannot wait until Sunday - not least for the fact I won't have to wear my work trousers any more as my belly is so low and so big that they simply feel like someone giving me a belly wedgie whenever I sit down! Ha Ha!

Exercise

As I said the other day, this is not a huge priority this week as I need to be able to get everything done. However I did get for a 3 mile walk on Monday and I think I'll do the same tomorrow (Friday) and If I'm not totally shattered I might try an do something gentle on Sunday.

I had to wear my belly support on Monday for my walk so I'm pretty sure running is going to have to be put on hold until post delivery, but I'm pretty chuffed with how long I managed - week 34.

I still plan to get to the gym and swim in the next few weeks while I'm waiting for babba to arrive though. Swimming is particularly freeing I must say. I'll keep up with the Pilates too I think, but monitor it carefully as I don't want another false start like last week! It'll be nice to be able to exercise, knowing I don't have to get to work.

Spring Cleaning the Centre Before Maternity Leave!

One of the things I really needed to do before finishing was tidy up the centre. As we have been updating the sign-age and furniture this year it hasn't been possible to get the last posters up etc on the walls until recently and of course I'm a bit useless at clambering around now. Also we had run out of storage space and I wanted to clear out things we simply don't use and have everything labelled so that my admin assistant knows where to find everything and knows what needs to be re-ordered etc and I can do that part of the training with her next week.

In addition I had arranged the new furniture in a certain way, but after using it in that configuration realised it wasn't the best so I wanted to move it around. It wasn't great as it was a really tight squeeze to have 3 students on this one desk (especially as it is where I use the lap tops so senior students use it and are hence bigger) let alone trying to be able to squeeze in beside them and teach them. I really felt that it was important for my tutors and students that are having to use that bank to have a comfortable teaching environment. As it is now in the middle of the room, both sides of the desk can be sat at freeing up elbow space and meaning there is space betwenn all students to be able to stand or pull up a chair and explain something.

Fortunately on Friday night I had a really good sleep - amazing I know - waking up once only and feeling really refreshed at 6.30am. As I knew I would just lie there thinking about all the things I had to do I asked Al if he was OK to get up and head down early. He very kindly agreed (as he gets up at 5.50pm every morning I think this was very generous of him) and at 8.50am we arrived at the centre ready to get started. By 12 noon the furniture had been moved and I had done a good deal of the sorting, so we decided to head round to the nearby pub and get some lunch. It was lovely to sit out in the sun with the breeze cooling us down enough to make sitting out pleasantly warm.

In the afternoon, after buying some storage solutions and prizes so I could re-stock the prize box, we headed back and I got the last of the organising done while Al got the posters up for me. The posters I wanted up most were my maths language words that are so so useful. Around the maths symbol I have all the words that tells us that, that type of sum needs to be done. The students use them all the time and really missed them not being up. It was great having him there as I just can't lift anything heavy, bending down is a sight to behold and as for climbing on chairs and desks....! Anyway at 6pm we had finished and I'm really pleased with the results.

The 'Reception/Waiting' Area.

The Centre from 2 Different Angles.

We made the executive decision we deserved dinner out too as we had worked so hard, so had dinner out on the way home. It was such a nice evening and we were able to sit by the big open doors in the restaurant and get the breeze.

When we got home I was pooped and hoped I would sleep like I had the previous night but no.... last night was not great and I feel wiped out today so I am being a 'very good girl' and putting my feet up so that I can complete this week which will involve the following:

Mon: Get prepared for training Senior Maths tutor amongst other general organisation.

Tues: Continue training Admin Assistant + continue with completing my own tasks.

Wed: Train Senior maths tutor + own tasks.

Thurs: Continue training Admin Assistant and ensure she is OK for next week when my Senior students and tutors re-start after exam leave.

Friday: Get prepared for final staff refresher training and team 'bonding' that I'm doing on Saturday and complete organisation tasks.

Saturday: Staff training

Sunday: RELAX and Pray I don't go into labour from the sheer relief!!!!!!

Needless to say, although it kills me to say it, exercise will not be high on my priorities this week. Hopefully I can get out on Monday and Friday for a gentle walk or swim, but gentle will definitely be the order of the day and will be more about stretching me off and stepping away from the work in order to come back to it with a clearer mind!

35 Weeks + Pic!

I definitely feel like I am getting close now - not just because of my wee scare yesterday, but just my general uncomfortableness. I assumed I'd be tickety boo today even though I had been very uncomfortable in the night. However despite experiencing no cramping, my belly is just so heavy now that the lower muscles have to work really hard whenever I stand up and so I feel quite sore underneath my bump and as it pulls forward my back really aches.

As I had been awake quite a stretch in the night I decided if I slept in then I would just chill in the morning before meeting friends for lunch. I did manage to catch up on some sleep so chill out I did. I then had a lovely lunch with 3 other harriers sitting out in the sun - boy you feel the heat when preggers!

In the afternoon I took my laptop and folders outside and got a whole heap of work done which has helped my stress levels a bit and I think I'll feel a lot better after going down the centre tomorrow with Al and getting various things done. I was getting very uncomfortable again so thought I'd break up sitting in front of the laptop with some housework. Hung up washing, hoovered, put some washing loads on etc. I had to stop after that as tummy was very sore and as for my back...

I finished work at about 6pm and when Al got home we had dinner outside in the gorgeous sun. Only thing was, my back was so sore I just couldn't get comfy to eat. I'm really wondering how long I will last. I really want to complete this week and it would be quite nice to have at least a week off. By then I'll be 37 weeks and full term so if I need to go into labour then so be it especially if this discomfort continues! If however I start to feel a little better then 2 weeks off would be really good.

The best thing about yesterday is that Al's work has agreed that he can work from home soon so that he is home when labour kicks off. Up until now they had kept saying no and as it takes Al 2 hours to get back home and then it takes us 1 hour to get to the hospital we were a bit worried about how to organise it all. I think yesterday made them think about it though and they have changed their minds, so bonus!

Any hoo here is a pic of me and my big, big belly!

A Trip to PRI

Well what a strange day!

Been very uncomfortable at work the past few evenings - sore back and restless. Felt stiff and uncomfy this morning too. After getting some stuff for work done I really felt very stiff and sore so thought I'd squeeze in 30 mins Pilates to try and stretch off as knew I'd be sitting a lot while training my admin assistant.

I don't know if it caused it or what (although I've been feeling very heavy at the base of my bump for a few days) but about an hour later my stomach became brick hard to the point where I couldn't straighten up. As I was trying to get ready for work it proved a little difficult to move around and get my stuff ready and get changed. I then starting having pains in the base of my belly so I thought I'd better phone the Midwife team. They wanted me to come in and get checked out so I did.

Little babba is fine, but I was having some little contractions that were causing the discomfort. Also baby's back is to my back which they think was making my back ache. Most importantly no change in cervix so I was told to go home, not to work and put my feet up. I think little babba was telling me to relax - it has been a hard few weeks and I know I'm a bit stressed about getting everything done.

Anyhoo I am done in so I am going to head to bed for another night of restless sleep and trips to the loo!

Oh also going to get bag completely ready as had to frantically fling the pile of stuff into bag in crazy fashion just in case!

34 Week Midwife Appointment

So baby brain is really starting to kick in; Al needed the car so he could do the Kinoull Hill race yesterday evening. He needed to be able to drive straight from the train station in the evening so took the car first thing.

Yesterday morning I got up, showered, had breaky and picked up the car keys to drive to my midwife appointment... yup, doh! Finally realised that I had no transport. Buses through the village are like gold dust so public transport was out of the question. I realised only a few mins before I had to leave so it was too late to phone mum and see if she could give me lift. I totally didn't know what to do and then I thought - 'my mate Liz, I'm meeting her for coffee after, I wonder if she could come and get me.' The angel jumped in the car and arrived 10 mins later with wet hair and took me to my appointment! Thanks so much Liz! Needless to say coffee was on me after!

I really didn't want to miss my appointment as it was the week to go through the birthing plan, so that is all sorted.

Everything was fine with me and baby's heart rate was good and strong. The mid wife I saw yesterday was the one who took our NHS classess and is really nice so she left the heart doppler on for a while to just listen to it. - love it!

Uterus had grown 3 cms in 2 weeks! No wonder I'm getting less and less elegant! I even toppled forward on Tuesday when squatting down to pick up yet another thing I had dropped on the floor!

Baby's head is 3/5ths engaged apparently - yikes! Please give me at least a week to recover from work - mummy needs some rest!

35 weeks tomorrow. Will try and take a belly photo for posterity!

Pilates

Had a great Pilates session on Tuesday. It was a gorgeous day so I took my laptop, DVD, mat and pillows outside and did it in the sun. Now that is the way to do Pilates! My core workout is hilarious now, but I just do the moves I can do and adjust the ones I can't.

Nursery

Finally the Nursery is finished! It is so cute I could cry! Yes pregnancy hormones are raging!

We are so lucky because all the gorgeous posters are courtesy of my amazing Aunty Prue who is an artist. She ran her own business (Prue Thoebolds) before retiring, specialising in cards, posters, books etc, etc that centre on a bear theme.

I LOVE the 2 posters to the left. They are 1) a snowy mountain summit with "What goes up..."

and 2) a grassy mountain base with "...must come down!

She sent us loads of her books too. They are just so cute - Ten Tired Teddies, The Teddy Bears' Picnic, Colours with Teddy, Numbers with Teddy... you get the idea.

You can see them in the photo below held steady by her book ends!

Thanks so much Aunty Prue and Uncle Chris!

Swimming

Had a great swim this morning. So did not fancy any bouncing about on my belly and really wanted to get rid of the weight of it for a wee while.

Did 100 lengths (2km).

It took me 65 mins so was a bit slower than before but I think that is mainly because I couldn't push hard off the wall any more and I feel like I get a stitch if I breathe too deeply!

Dummy run to Hospital + Glen Clova

When Al and I got up this morning we decided that we should go and do a dummy run to the maternity ward. We also really wanted to go for a run so we decided to head up North of Dundee once we found the hospital and discover pastures new so...

Thanks to Al's prolific google mapping prior to leaving, we were able to find the midwife unit fairly easily. It took 50 minutes, but then you can only park at the unit for a max of 2 hours so with factoring Al heading back to park the car in the longer stay car park and then having to walk back, I think we should assume an hour. I hadn't been nearly as worried about finding it as Al, but now that we've done it I definitely feel a sense of reassurance.

That done we found somewhere for lunch and then headed North to Glen Clova. The club do a half Marathon there in November but Al and I have never been. It is a beautiful glen, but I reckon the race must be a bit brutal as it undulates like crazy - definitely not a PB course.

We decided to run along a route that followed the South Esk river. If you follow it all the way you reach Loch Muick and then Ballater - now that'd be a good run!

Looking Up The Glen Before We Started

Anyhoo the trail was really good for the first part,but then became springy grass - which was lovely- but then the path became quite rocky which coincided with it steadily climbing. I felt quite tight chested today so even at my most comfortable I was really very slow, but once it started climbing it was back to 'power walking' although not very powerfully! We reached where a river coming down one of the mountains crosses the path, had a wee sit down and then headed back down as that would make a nice 5 mile out and back.

'Running' on the Good Trail

Looking back down the valley and the springy grass

Just before we started plugging up hence still smiling!

I thought I'd be happy to run down but between the baby bouncing on my bladder and the dodgy footing it was back to walking. I enjoyed the run back out though once we had hit the flat again. Despite the wind in our faces on the way back it felt easier than on the way in. It wasn't my finest run, but do you know what - I was out getting sun, fresh air and exercise in amongst some of the most beautiful scenery and it really cheered the soul.

Crossing the river where the running started to get easier again.

Near the end of the glen is the Glen Clova Hotel which is really nice. The climbers' bar is dead sweet and Al and I both said we'd reckon it would be a great place to stay. On the way back we popped in to the Hotel for a drink. We'd have had food but there was a staff wedding on so no evening meals were being served - oh well - darn - we'll have to return!

The Climbers' Bar

We were totally blessed with the weather too - a cool breeze, but the sun was warm. It really reminded us of a trek we did in NZ that followed one river through the outward valley and another river through the return valley. Very peaceful indeed.

Meeting Mums

Yesterday I had my NHS breastfeeding class. I really swithered about going as I thought I could go down to the centre and get some work done, but then I felt I'd get more of the stuff I wanted done down at the centre at a weekend with Al's help to sort and lift. Plus one of the main reasons for going to the NHS ones was to meet some mums. Well there were only 4 of us yesterday and because of that it was a really informal class. 2 of the girls that were there were 2 I had talked to at the other classes as we were sitting near each other and the other one knew one of the girls from school. Anyway as it was so informal we were talking about a lot of things and it came up how it is hard to meet other folk the same age or to know where to go to meet mums etc and so we all swapped numbers and are going to meet up when we are all on maternity leave. We are all due within about a week of each other so I'm sure we could be of invaluable morale support! It is a bit of a relief because it is really nice to have girl friends to meet up with and have a giggle with.

The morale of the story is... work will get done - take the time to smell the coffee and enjoy the other opportunities presented!

Hoorah!

Well yesterday I did my interviews for my admin assistant and I'm glad to say they went really well. The candidates were good but 1 stood out and so she should be starting on Tuesday for training. It is such a huge relief and afterwards I had that nervous tension relief tiredness you often get after an exam or competition.

A potential Maths tutor came in to discuss working at the centre on Tues and he was highly suitable so will be coming in a week on Wed to get some training on the resources. This too is a huge relief as I have my senior maths tutor sorted for next year.

These are 2 huge tasks that needed to be done and I'm so pleased.

NCT classes and NHS classes

We had our last NCT class on Monday. A couple with a 12 week baby came in to tell us about their experiences. It was really useful and interesting and their baby was gorgeous - born at 4lb10 had managed to double its weight to 10lbs and so at 12 weeks was still v v small. We then did some stuff on post labour which was really useful - particularly that wee one needs to have 2 sets of jags before you can take it swimming.

Today I had an NHS class run by a physio. IT was really useful - all sorts of things on birthing positions and breathing and postnatal exercises. The best thing was that there were only 3 of us so it was really relaxing and we were able to ask lots of questions without feeling embarrassed.

I have my NHS breastfeeding class tomorrow and although I've had one with NCT I'm going to go as 1) I'm starting to get to know a few faces and 2) I find that there is always extra information that didn't come up at another class.

Exercise

So far I've had a good week.

On Monday my friend Wendy and I met for a walk/hike of about 3.5 miles around the knock and wishing well and then went for coffee. It was so good to meet up as I was feeling a bit out of the loop. I would say that has been the hardest thing about being pregnant - not being able to run with my mates and just generally feeling a bit estranged from everyone.

On Tuesday I did 50minutes Pilates. With 4 pillows the core workout was a lot better.

This morning (Thursday) after Mass (Ascension) mum and I went to her gym and I did a 60 minute workout (equiv to 5 miles). We then had a lovely lunch together before I headed off to my class. I must say after last nights lack of sleep and yesterday's interviews I am rather glad I scheduled a day off for myself to re charge the batteries before the final stretch - especially given that my lack of sleep has resulted in a sty and I could clearly need some relaxation time.

I think there is a hill session scheduled for Sat, but as there is also the Loch Leven Half and various folk will be running that there probably won't be any one there. Plus hill reps are no good for me so I shall see what Al wants to do. If he wants to do the hill reps I'll plod around Lady Mary's on my own, but if he'd like to come out with me and inject his own intervals / fartlek run then that would be great too.

I'm working from home tomorrow so it should be easy enough to squeeze in my Pilates.

34 weeks tomorrow - 6 to go!!!!!!

Glen Lednock Race 2010 + Shopping.

Today, Al, along with quite a lot of other harriers, was entered into the Glen Lednock race. This is a really local race run from Comrie out to the end of Glen Lednock and back making a total of 8.5 miles. It has a killer start and goes steeply up almost constantly for the first mile and then undulates mostly to the top of the glen and then undulates back until you come down the last steep mile to the finish,

Al's aims for today were to a) finish as his shin splints have really flared up again and b) run sub 1hr 10 as he is trying to regain his fitness after a terrible period of stop/start running due to a variety of factors, including impending redundancy, colds brought on by the stresses of that and then shin splints!

I was so chuffed for him as he managed to run 1 hour 8mins 49secs so both goals a and b achieved. His focus now is to try and keep up running with lots of x-training to help him get back to fitness without another re-occurence of these dreadful shin splints.

Al at about 2.5 miles

Al at about 8 miles

I had a lovely morning too as I set off 20 mins before the start and hiked up the hill via the trail so I could stay off the road as long as possible. After about 20 minutes of plugging up the hill quite fast I reached the road where it starts to flatten off and knew the race had just begun. I then, once I had caught my breathe from the uphill, started to jog. It felt a little uncomfortable at first and so I dumped my little backpack under some bracken and plodded on. I couldn't believe that the first 2 runners caught up with me after only 10 mins of running!

I kept on running until I had headed out for atleast 2.5 miles and by that time most Harriers had been past me and the last few arrived soon after I turned around so I was able to get photos of them too. I plodded back towards my bag and was able to fill up my water bottle at the water station on the way back. Not long after picking up my bag, back came those 2 fast guys - able to chat to each other would you believe - reckon it was a tempo run for them! I trundled on down until the bench about 0.5 miles from the start to get photos of the runners on their way back and then headed back down to the finish, enormously pleased with 5 mile run.

There was a free drink for all the runners in the Ancaster Arms after the race for the prize giving where quite a lot of club members won a prize - well between the Strathearn harriers and the wee county harriers there weren't too many other people in the very small field of 33 runners!

Shopping

Yesterday Al and I had our NCT run breastfeeding class. It was really informative and helpful. Afterwards we went into Stirling to buy stuff that I will need for taking to hospital. We got everything I need so all I need to do now is pack the bags. Once we had got that stuff I just HAD to buy some more maternity clothes as I had a complete hissy fit the other day as I felt like such a frump! So many of my clothes are just too short to cover my bump and I just can't face another 7 - 9 weeks of 'what the heck am I going to wear?'

I got some floppy trousers for around the house and after baby is born; a hoody that goes over my bump and doesn't sit in a ring like fashion half way down; a summer dress; a funky top for work and casual; a white blouse type top for work and smarter wear; baby bump bands; some vests and a pair of combats. I was really pleased with all I bought and for the first time in a wee while actually feel quite good (if I do say so myself!).

33 Weeks - 7 to go!

33 weeks today - can you believe it! I can't!

This week so far has been a mixed bag. It started off well - Hike on Monday and Pilates on Wednesday, but since then it has been a struggle.

Work has been frantic: Mum was away at my Uncle's 80th birthday so I had to cover her lessons and one of my other tutors broke her hand while having skiing lessons at Hillend, poor thing, so I started the week with a re-juggle.

Good things about the business of the week are:

I have got CVs for 3 good admin candidates and the contact that has organised that needs help for her son so we may have another student as a result!

In addition it looks like I may have a maths tutor lined up - he is coming in on Tuesday, so hopefully he is suitable.

That is 2 huge jobs that need to be done and they are nearly there!

I got no sleep last night as I was dreaming about organising next week. I'm meeting the maths tutor on Tuesday and need to interview admin candidates. If I'm organised and they are available I could do that on Wed. That would be good as I could then have the admin assisitant start the following week and gives me time to train them before I leave. Actually as I look at the dates, I really need to do that! TICK TOCK!

Anyhoo on Wed I had my 32 week midwife appointment. All is well and I'm glad to report baby's head is downwards so hopefully it stays that way! Heart rate was really strong and I can't believe how much my uterus has grown - 4cm in 4 weeks!

This week it has been hard to exercise, but maybe it is just one of those weeks. I will definitely be getting a run on Sunday and I will try to do something later today - just too sleepy this morning after a late night home last night.

Right, lunch and then the joys of the end of tax year accounts and payroll await! Oh how lucky I am!

A New Week!

We woke up to a beautiful day yesterday so I abandoned Al in the morning and went out for a 5 mile hike in Comrie while Al made up the IKEA storage. Poor Al's shin splints were really sore after his run yesterday so he was determined to rest up as he has a race on Sunday.

Anyway, just as I set off the baby was bouncing so hard on my bladder I had to pee - fortunately I was close to the Hotel and was able to nip in before setting off. Would you also believe that after being blue skies when I came out from my emergency pee, it started to rain! Not to worry, it didn't come to much, but it did give me a bit of a laugh as I could only just do my waterproof up -it is my lightweight one for running which is pretty snug to start with, but still!

I had a lovely hike and then after lunch as Al had finished all the storage we got all the stuff that have been mounting up in the baby's room put away. It is so cathartic having a good clear out! The only thing is I think I over did the twisting and putting things away as my tummy was really quite sore by the time I had finished. I could have really done with resting on my comfy chair for the evening but we had an antenatal class down in Stirling so I had to force myself up. Despite being pretty un-comfy on the chairs there it was really worth it as we covered Induction and C-section in quite good detail. I really hadn't realised that induction can involve in as many stages as it does and that it often results in a more painful birth so here is hoping wee babba bean comes au natural!

We got home at 10.30pm and I headed straight to bed as I was POOPED!

I wasn't able to get out of bed until 9.45 am and even then I still felt pretty whacked so I am resting my pregnant butt this morning so that I can tackle work this afternoon.

I have a busy week but I still hope to get my workouts done - I 'm actually really looking forward to using our spinning bike this week now I can get into the guest room to use it and I'm going to run out and back on Sunday to support Al and the rest of the Harriers at their race on Sunday. I really want to get my Pilates done this week too as it really helps to keep me loose - I definitely have to adjust the core workout now though and take it as low level as poss as it is tough going now!

I have a mid wife appointment tomorrow which I'm excited about - I love hearing the heartbeat! I then start having appointments every 2 weeks - crikey - must be getting closer!