newborns tummy?!

WOW...is this true!!??? Im pretty read up on babycare and have a 3hr class (after a 2 hr one at the baby show in october) but this I did NOT know!! I shall have to find out more!!!

nearly 50,000 views!!!

wow since I started this little blog when we knew we were expecting you my "Bittle B", thats alot of views!!! I remember being excited at 500!!! Wonder if it will be 50,000 by the time we fly out in 2 wks? That would be fun...Im so touched that so many people care about our story...from all corners of the globe too....Nice to know we have people rooting for us we don't even know!

33 wks in 1 sleep!

frantically trying to get things done....you were 5.5 pounds (Daddy's birth weight!) at your 32 week +2 scan!!!! so we are thinking we will be flying about 16 march as you are such a giant...Also R waters only tiny bit bigger but still bigger and still poylyhydramnios, Im REALLLLLLLY hoping they aren't up MORE at next weeks scan....and that you aren't like 10 1bs next week!!! We all feel you are coming early you are measuring more than 2 weeks ahead....Its just HOW early, Is it 11 March early or 18th march early or March or April, due to be evicted 9 April but as you 2 weeks ahead that would make you due to be evicted 26 March. And they say you SHOULD plan to be there before that...WAY before that, but we don't want to take the pi*s with Daddy's work, that being said he CAN work just as well on the phone and computer from the hotel and provided you are not ill we will be back sooner IF you are earlier and all is ok. But do we book our flights NOW say for 16 march or WAIT until after next weeks scan and see whats going on????!!!!

this week you are a durian?! what is that? This fruit and veg business is very confusing as it also says you are a pineapple on another website?!

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds or well over 5.5 at 32 weeks  like our fatty... and has passed the 17-inch mark (about the size of a pineapple). She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

I get the inkling that you' ve got 2-4 more weeks in there cooking.....I will feel better after NEXT weeks scan if it goes ok and also there is a magic thing about 34 weeks I think you can breathe better on your own? I think you have steroids to help your lungs 28-34 wks then you are technically ok (touch wood)

last hurrah....DONE.....

had our last HURRAH with our besties on friday night...Brilliant fun was had....here are a few pics...

Feel we are DONE now....we are READY for mummy and daddyhood, BRING IT...it maybe 4 or MORE weeks!!!!

32 wks in 1 sleep

7 wks MAX till your eviction date missy!!! though I think you are a little mischief maker and will come in maybe 3-5 wks time...last night we thought you were coming as we thought the phone rang in the night...strange! right what fruit or veg are you at 32 weeks...

By now, your baby weighs 3 3/4 pounds (about the size of a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. R is  gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

31 +2 skype bumpage

baby shower

Info on Daddy!!!!

Born on Thursday 18th September 

Time of birth                                                  09.48 hours.

Weight at birth                                              2.52kg (5.55 lbs).

Length at birth                                              51cm

Head circumference at birth                      34cm

First smile                                                      30 days

First sucking thumb                                     8 weeks

First showed interest in mirror image       9 ½ weeks

First lifted head up                                       10-11 weeks

First studied feet                                          12 ½ weeks

First laugh aloud                                          14 weeks

First solids                                                     4 months

First rolled over                                             5 ½ months

First sat alone                                               6 months

First stood up                                                7 months

First haircut                                                   7 months

First steps alone                                           just before first birthday

First words                                                     dada teddy pussy

People always say it rains in England....

And usually us Brits sigh and say "not always"....But since December 2013 it has done just that, RAIN RAIN RAIN AND MORE RAIN, HURRICANE, GALE, MORE GALES, AND FLOODS AND FLOODS... Poor people have had livelihoods ruined (farmers etc) and homes destroyed, its incredibly sad. I cant help but feel we should STOP sending money abroad for foreign aid until EVERYONE is safe and sound again. I worry about all the elderly and the animals... Our garden is a quagmire, the dogs come in muddy and black from waist down every time they step outside, water is pouring from the field above us...I am more than a little concerned about water coming UP..... Please GOD help the people affected and please give us some sunshine and warmth to dry the ground out....

This clever chap has literally built a fortress

"You can take the girl out of Essex...."

But not the Essex out of the girl....Ok from a beauty perspective I am mainly VERY low maintenance.....Ok I now have to dye my grey stragglers on my head and get the hair chopped every few months and I get a bikini wax, paint my toes for holidays and parties but thats about it...I don't get facials or manicures, I don't really ever wear makeup unless its a party and scrag my wet hair back into a bun.I wouldn't dream of botox or collagen...I used to love sunbeds  but haven't been on one in over a yr. My skin is definitely suffering from sunbeds from the age of 17-34, and no real beauty routine. I don't like the feeling of cream on my skin...however something has changed in the last few weeks! Along with "nesting" I have fully started  quite by accident "operation yummy mummy" and finally succumbed to my essex roots at the grand old age of 34 and 3/4. So last week I had my first spray tan, I was climbing the walls to wash it off but after 6 hrs I was pretty golden...this is not something I could face as per the norm but for special occasions I will 100% be having one. Pretty impressed that its nearly been a week and despite not moisturising or exfoliating as advised (lazy) it looks pretty ok to me. Then I tried lashes, which seemed to transform my rather piggy little eyes into "wide awake" eyes...however now 5 days on they are rather sparse and Im not hugely impressed with them as they were supposed to last 2 wks. It also feels like I have mascara on 24/7 and I HATE mascara. Next week before my baby shower no 2 at Mahiki I am again tanning, lashing and having my toes and nails done( my hands are so shaky I annoyingly cant do this myself) and will also be getting my hair dyed and cut...today I also did a secret thing which I shall not talk about (another first) beauty wise, suffice to say it looks VERY smart and I feel now very trendy and up with the times!!!

31 wks - yummy pineapple but hopefully not as spikey!

Baby's going through major brain and nerve development these days. Her irises now react to light, and all five senses are in working order. (She won't pick up anything from her nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.)

Your baby weighs about 1.5kg and looks more than ever like a newborn. She measures about 41cm from crown to toe. Her arms, legs and body continue to fill out – and they are finally proportional in size to her head. 

You may notice your baby isn't moving around as much. That's because she's just running out of space in your uterus (womb). As long as you can feel her squirming and kicking, you'll know she's just fine. Believe it or not, she still has plenty of growing to do. You can expect her to gain at least 900g before birth. 

Your baby's organs are continuing to mature and she is passing water from her bladder, which is good practice for the weeing she'll do after she's born. Also, the marrow in her bones has taken over from her liver the job of producing red blood cells. 

Baby Bella Shower no 1 (!)

We had a fabulous day, lots fun party games, pink bubbles, and a HUGE spread.....got given some beautiful books and some fabulous other gifts and my best friend made me a mini pink version of MY teddy ha ha!!! and also a quilt!!!! here are some pics will add more later...It was so fun having lots of my favourite people together and my mother in law and sister in law went above and beyond. xoxox

30 wks scan pic will update with news

so Princess be is a chunkun!!! nearly 41bs (3.11) at 30 wks!!! But this fat will help her if she is born early :) She also seems to have a big nose, Uncle Paul????? M thinks its a shadow but im not so sure, anyways I love my chubba chubba and apparently they even out anyways over the months!

Unfortunately we have another "issue" naughty B has been causing us alot of worries along the way, the SCH, the poss placenta praveia, Gestational Diabetes thought for the first failed test, then it was fine... in the uk R would 100% have Polyhydramnios (too much fluid) as max level is 20-24 and hers was 25.5. In USA 24/25. Consultant not TOO worried but scanning in 2 wks and again in another 2 wks.  HERE is a link to what this could mean

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyhydramnios

Im hoping its nothing....fingers FIRMLY crossed but of course we are naturally worried! Frantically trying to get are ZILLION things done......We are now NOT booking flights until the earliest after this scan in 2 wks and latest after the 34 wk scan, Im sure either way we will get the timings wrong! I am EXHAUSTED after my own day at the hospital for tummy tests, and am trying to relax cuddling the dog children.. Surrogacy is STRESSFUL do doubt about that and VERY worrying when your baby is the other side of the world and there may or may not be a problem! Im sure when she is here we will be in love with her and all will be worth the strain. You fight you get tired, you get frustrated, you cock important things to be done up, you get headaches...but I guess in the end there is literally the rainbow :)

baby paddington for my baby bear!!!

I NEED to stop....

but people keep on telling me about great deals and.....oh tiny things are so addictive :)

30 yes THIRTY!!!! wks!!!!! Cucumber....in 3 sleeps....

this is my third  favourite number of weeks, they say after 30 wks B would have a FABULOUS chance of being well and healthy...Next will be 34 (pretty much then you are out of the woods as much as one can be) then the final magic number 37 A.K.A FULLY BAKED BEAR. We have passed the dreaded 8, 12, 20 and the first real magic 24 VIABLE. As the days go by I am more used to her presence which is odd as she is not here yet, but saying "oh my daughter Bella" etc doesn't feel at all weird anymore and the "third bedroom" is 100% now HER room. I think its really helped naming her so early on. I already know she will have a zillion names and forgive me if I have already posted before about this but you see our dogs Rufus and Tyler they have so many names, for eg Rufus has Roo, dizzy, baby one, dat dizzy, pissing one, leaky leak (I wont go into details other than to say his plumbing isn't the best) and Tyler has , fatty, Daddy, Dat, Dat daddy and the two of the are "dems". Already I have referred to Bella as B, Bella Bear, Bella Bean, princess B, the little one, littlest bear...

Im writing this early (friday at 29 +3) as on this day I have to go for my hospital tummy tests, hurrah so wont have time but I am looking forward to my baby shower on the saturday!!!

now 30 wks baby is as cool as a cucumber..


Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now and weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will shrink as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.) Baby skin is getting smoother but her brain is getting wrinklier to make way for all that intelligence :)

looks like baby is starting to pad out a bit...I wonder how much she will weigh at her scan today? so average weight is 2.5-3.8lb hmmmmm Im guessing she will be at the larger end but who knows?! Im also hoping they can give us a vague stimate of her birth weight if she makes it to her planned birthday on 9 april.