Tonya's Pregnancy Diary Page 7 (week 19 & 20)

Went for my 20 week ultrasound which was fabulous. Must confess that the day before I started to get pretty anxious and agitated. I think its natural since you begin to realise that if there is anything obviously wrong its at this stage that you will find out. I am happy to report that my ultrasound did not show any signs of obvious defects or problems. The spine is fine. Head and heart are great and all limbs etc appeared growing normally which is fab. After the scan i drove to my Mum's where I am taking a break for a few weeks.

Finding out the Sex of your baby in advance

Its definitely a baby boy. I had confidently been telling everyone for weeks and weeks I knew my baby was a boy so it was nice to have this confirmed. Proof my maternal gut instincts and visions of my baby were right. Some people don't want to know the sex and I can understand that. Personally I am far too impatient and curious for that. One of the reasons I was curious to have the sex confirmed was so that my Mum can start to knit in something other than white wool. Also I felt it would make planning and getting ready for D Day to arrive easier. Most shops don't have much in the way of baby things that are neutral. Things are obviously either boys or girls so at least now we know that there is a very great chance it will be a boy and can look at more boys colours.

Half way there! The rapid growth stage is about over. While things have slowed down, this next stage is vital to survival. The baby's heart grows stronger. Find a quiet place, lay flat on your back. Locate your own heartbeat by finding your pulse. Next lay your hand on your belly. You may be able to distinguish the two heartbeats! The baby's growth rate slows to allow lungs, digestive and immune systems to mature. Baby is now a size that would fit comfortably in your cupped hand. Apparently at this size the baby can spin and tumble inside the womb using its head, arms and legs to trampoline off the walls and move around. Kind of explains those little flutters! The nerve cells for taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch are now developing in specialized areas of the brain. Production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections. As for me this is POP week apparently! Your belly button may pop out and stay that way until delivery as your uterus presses upwards. Some people have trouble breathing as their lungs become cramped with the internal organs. I feel great - lots of energy which is normal.

Decided to spend some time at Mum and Dad's and get away while the builders are ripping apart the house in Bangor. We had a bad water leak earlier on in the year and as a result need quite a bit of building work done. The positive part of that is that they are redecorating after all the work so it should look fab by the time I get back.

Actually like being at home in Malvern I guess because its so nice being around family and also because its a nice chilled out place. Mum & Dad live in the country so we are close to the hills and have a lovely country feel to the place. In fact so much so that when our local farmer did his muck spreading this week for two days you could quite literally whiff that country air every time the door opened. He he. Home sweet home. No place quite like it. Also for me at the moment its great to spend so much time with my new Niece and her mummy (my sister in law Liz) both of whom I adore. Its the family baby club and its great !

Way back at Christmas I paid for a day of pampering at the beauty spa at Holme Lacy House in Hereford for Mum and I. It was a Christmas pressie to Mum really but I also thought it would be nice for me too. Well at last we managed to find the time to book in and go for our spa treatment. Dad came with us and treated us to Lunch which was really nice.

It was really nice to have a day to relax and be pampered and give us all a chance to get away from the office and work. Considering the family all work together in the family business we get to spend a fair bit of time together but its always busy and at the end of the day its work. We all need a break from work now and then and often at this time of year that's hard because its students coming back to college and that's always a busy time for the business. So taking a break was nice. Mum and I had facials and manicures then met Dad in the pool and spa area for a nice long swim. They have a lovely pool which I am surprised isn't photographed for their web site. It was a lovely relaxing day we laughed and had fun and chatted which is always nice. On the way home we stopped at the Olive Tree Italian Restaurant in Ledbury which is a firm favorite of ours and we always enjoy the food there.