Spent all afternoon Saturday in the pub just us little family baby club. Mum, Dad (Nain & Tain - Grandparents), James, Liz, baby Hope, Tonya (me) and baby 'genghis' as bump! Hope was so well behaved it was unbelievable. We all joked that Liz should really stop taking sedatives while feeding he he ! Dad commented that although his meal wasn't the best he had ever eaten there he really enjoyed himself. Its nice to spend time together like that just chatting and relaxing. Sunday we all met up again and visited our local Next store on a baby clothes shopping trip. All in all a really nice family weekend. The best tonic there is in the world ! I won't want to leave next week.

My Mum is a great knitter. Apparently her Mum (my Nana Smith) was an amazing seamstress, knitter and crochet wizard that's obviously where Mum gets it from. At the moment she is turning out baby jackets, cardigans, hats, boots etc at an amazing rate. We could probably set up store on ebay and make a fortune! The more complex the pattern and design the better as Mum says that boring knit when you know how to do so many beautiful patterns is so plain. My favourite so far are these two pictured here. I love the rustic multi-coloured wool that when knitted creates mult-coloured stripes turning a small cardigan into a great Rustic looking item. I also love this jacket, boots and hat in blue. Mum has knitted some lovely pink and lilac things for Hope too. I think my Mum is so clever and great to be able to make these lovely things which both babies will look adorable in.

Because Mum is doing so well today I visited the Knitting Parlour in Malvern for some more wool. The knitting parlour shop is lovely and even dad was amazed at the range of wools from various different breeds of sheep. The baby cashmere wools are simply gorgeous. This time because I now know the sex of my baby I can buy nice bright colours, blues and greens so I chose some lovely patterns and new wools for Mum to work on over the next few months. I can't wait to see baby in his personalised Nain knitted clothes.

By now everyone will have worked out that I am a real water baby and love to swim. James and I both swam competitively when we in school for the local Ledbury swimming club. James in particular won a lot of medals. We still love to swim now which is why Dad had always wanted to finish the house off with an indoor swimming pool. Now its built he says its the best thing he ever wasted his time and money on he he. The family swim just about every day and one of the reasons I have loved being at home so much is so that I can laze about in the pool. Its not huge but big enough for three people to swim side by side and have a nice relaxing swim. Its funny because sometimes the dogs and cats come to watch you swim from outside they must think its strange that we want to get into that big puddle of blue water. Dad doesn't use Chlorine in the water he uses Bromine instead and the pool is heated to s fairly constant 32 degrees C so its nice and warm. I have to be honest and say I agree with Dad. As building projects go this is definitely his best by far !

All the books say that this week the baby can now hear my voice very clearly and may kick in response to my voice especially if singing or reading to him. I am beginning to notice a bit more now and can tell what is movement and what is my tummy gurgling. Although still feeling energetic, the weight of your uterus may be starting to take its toll on your lower back now. Advice is try and wear low-heeled shoes and try not to stand or sit for long periods of time (yes my feet are killing me). Baby's eyebrows and head hair will be growing. The skin is translucent, pink-red in colour and wrinkled. If you are carrying a girl she will have about seven million eggs in her ovaries, the genetic imprint for your generation for your future grandchildren. Nipples appear on both sexes. This week the heart beat grows stronger. Legs approach final length and proportion relative to body. Arms and legs move with more force, as muscles strengthen. Skeleton hardens. Hand strength improves. Cool fact of the week : baby has eyebrows !

Don't Smoke while pregnant !

I have been reading up on diet and health and am amazed what modern science can tell us about the affects of our diet etc. I don't smoke which is a good thing but was appalled to see a girl walking through town the other day with a huge bump smoking a cigarette. Hasn't she read any of the literature about the effects of smoking on her baby. Women who smoke absorb chemicals that directly limit foetal growth by reducing the number of cells produced in the baby's blood and brain. Nicotine also makes blood vessels constrict and reduce the blood supply to the placenta. Smokers have nearly twice the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Smoking greatly increases the risk of the placenta being attached too low down in the uterus. Smokers are more likely to have children with all types of congenital malformations including central nervous system abnormalities, cleft lip (also previously referred to as a harelip) and cleft palate. Maybe its all just too unreal when you read all that & think yeah yeah yeah. A friend of mine smokes now and then and although she tried hard not to smoke while pregnant eventually admitted she smoked about 10 cigarettes during the 9 months. When she gave birth the doctor showed the placenta to her and pointed out the bits of black grit that were signs of her having smoked. She was appalled. Smoking while pregnant is a real no no.

Drove back home to Bangor for start of stage one for me of my final degree year. Not enjoying driving anymore and of course my beautiful car has to be sold. If I could think of a way to incorporate baby and I in the MR2 I would but no its definitely a single person's car ! I have opted to go part-time and take two years to finish my degree instead of one. This year I will concentrate on getting my dissertation project out of the way asap then next year come back to do the modules with exams. In the meantime the only really important job at hand for me is having a happy healthy, calm, relaxed pregnancy and hopefully happy healthy, calm, relaxed baby !