Dad 2 Be

Now that Daniel’s a week or so from being 18 months old, he’s very active and always getting into mischief. Just when we thought that we had enough to cope with with his antics, we found out today that he’ll be having a new brother or sister in late May next year!! Again, Denise fell pregnant the first time (thanks in part to this Ovulation Calendar).

Having decided to wait a few days after the expected start of Denise’s period, her body decided to tell her its own way as she fainted at work! This was quite a regular occurence in her pregnancy with Daniel as she suffered from low blood pressure. After collecting her, we decided to buy a pregnancy test (ClearBlue pregnancy test with 2 tests in one box - for those people that need a second opinion! ClearBlue website) and when we got home, the positive test result was clearly evident.

Thanks to the ever reliable BabyCentre, we can confirm that Daniel will be joined by a sibling on the 25th May 2008 (or thereabouts! It’s important to remember that less than 5% of baby’s arrive on their due date!)

There are so many pregnancy calculators about and several seem to give slightly different dates due to whether they ‘assume’ a 28 day cycle or not. BabyCentre allows you to choose the LMP, conception date or due date and provide the cycle length so it’s both simple and accurate. Don’t worry too much that if you choose one method (for example LMP vs conception date) and then another that you get a different due date. the reason for this is that it’s much easier to pin-point LMP than conception date due to the fact that sperm can survive in the reproductive organs for a few days and therefore may not reach and fertilise the egg on the day you think you conceived.

So, now the fun starts. How do you deal with a pregnancy and a toddler? I’ll let you know when I find out!!

Denise often goes to a local playgroup where the leader teaches songs. One that she learned this week was:

We went to the animal fair
The birds and the bees were there
By the light of the moon, the big baboon
Was coming his auburn hair
The monkey fell out of his bunk (thud)
And slid down the elephant’s trunk (weee!)
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees
And what became of the monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey etc

I’m sure that over time, I’ll forget the songs that I share with Daniel so thought that the best way of not losing them is to share them here:

What’s it gonna be?
What’s it gonna be?
Is it gonna be a pooh?
Pooh stinky
Or a little wee?
———————————
Who could it be?
Hiding behind the curtain
We think it’s George
But we’re not certain
———————————
He’s got….
Funny little fingers
Funny little toes
Sticky out ears
And a little button nose
———————————

Well, it’s months since I last posted on this blog which is a shame as I enjoyed sharing the experience for the few months that I was actively sharing my time as a dad 2 be!

So, the good news is that I’m now a very proud father of a 13 month old called Daniel. He was born after quite a long labour and has progressed well ever since. Daniel is a real character loves to smile, crawl and cruise. He’s not walking yet, but then, why would you, when you can crawl at close to 100 miles an hour!!

I’m hoping to share some of my experiences as a dad now that I’ve (hopefully) got into the habit of writing this blog.

Luckily, I work from home so get to spend a fair amount of time with Daniel. This includes looking after him for 1 day per week while Denise is at work.

Here are a few of the things Daniel love to do:

* share his breakfast with anyone in close proximity
* sleep in til 7:30am (this is great for all in the house!)
* spend time hitting things with his plastic golf clubs
* play with our labrador
* get dirty in the garden
* spend time at a variety of soft play centres in the local area
* various death-defying stunts
* listening to his dad singing him a variety of songs! More of those later…

Well, Denise is now 30 weeks pregnant and we’ve only got 10 weeks to go til baby is born (give or take a few weeks either way!)

Denise is now getting regular(ish) Braxton Hicks contractions. There’s a great article on these pre-labour contractions at PregnancyWeekly.com.

Here are a few things to remember for the last few days before birth:

• on all fours with wheatbag across back with reduce back pain during contractions
• can take paracetamol during early (light) contractions

On Friday, we were very fortunate to see BabyBump in glorious 4D!! We visited BabyBond - 4D ultrasound bonding scans in Ashford near Heathrow and had a really great time seeing BabyBump for the first time.

Rachel, the owner, and Margaret, the sonographer were really friendly and made the whole experience both interesting and enjoyable. It took some time before Baby Bump decided to show his/her face though and after 3 attempts, we finally for the great scan photos below:

We’d certainly recommend the experience of a 4D ultrasound bonding scan to anyone that’s pregnant.

Earlier this year, Channel 4 screened a documentary called ‘Life Before Birth’. I think it would be great if they could bring this out on DVD as it was both interesting and educational. For part of the programme, see CreateHealth.

With Christmas almost a week ago, and the new year a matter of a couple of days away, tomorrow brings more excitement for us. We’re off to BabyBond in Ashford for a 4-D scan. Neither Denise or I can wait!!

With New Year Sales underway, we went out to ToysRUs in Southampton on Christmas Eve and bought a travel system. It was reduced considerably from the normal price so we’re very pleased about that. We’ve gone for the Britax Ultra (Silver Circles) which we know is a good one because Denise’s brother has the same travel system.

Saturday marks the 26th week of Denise’s pregnancy. Only a fortnight til the start of the 3rd trimester and only 14 to go!

I’ve always loved books and reading. So, I think it’s important that we introduce books and stories to Baby Bump as soon as possible, so I’ll be keeping a careful eye on Amazon’s range of books for babies aged 0 to 2.