Naming Squiggle

I received a press release about baby names the other day. Apparently, these were the top twenty UK baby names for 2012, according to babynames.co.uk:

Ethan, Eva, Leo, Dylan, Jacob, Oliver, Noah, Ella, Alfie, Amelia,
Mia, Isla, Max, Charlie, Alice, Joshua, Jack, Oscar, Isabella, Imogen

Colour me relieved to see Emily didn't make an appearance in there this year, after being 5th in 2011. FIFTH! I don't regret calling her Emily at all, but I know she'll complain about being one of so many down the line. Then again, she'd have complained had I named her Philomena too (no it was never an option) so I guess I could point that out to her when she does. 

We have settled on a name for Squiggle. Want to know what it is?

Did you catch it? :) It's not a common name in the UK, but it's listed in this popular baby names in Malta list (which is, admittedly, quite long). Still, I don't think it should be a huge issue. 

While looking up that last link, I came across this... Names from Malta. It made me giggle. I can appreciate that some of those "names" may sound beautiful to a foreigner, but fellow Maltese... can you imagine naming your child Addolorata, Marsa or Xewqa?!


[Edit Jan 2013: I don't mean to be difficult, but the name has since changed. It will be announced once he's born ;)]

Baby Boy Sighting

How could I forget?

We had our 22 week scan last week! Here is Baby Boy...

He is doing very well, estimated to weigh about a pound and a half, hands constantly up by his face. And very much a boy. (Phew!)

Placenta is low-lying which may eventually prove to be a problem if it stays that way. Despite the sonographer telling me not to worry about it because it will probably move up by full term, I did of course worry for a while (and then consulted Dr Google... big mistake!), but pretty much over it now. However this little boy will need to be born, as long as both me and him are ok to enjoy newborn snuggles afterwards, I'll deal with it. Get me! ;)

All is Revealed

If I'm honest, I lost track of the guessing game in the end. So many last minute votes came flooding in through facebook (personal and blog pages) and twitter, I'm not sure I quite kept up! However, as much fun as it all was, none of it matters anymore because we know what flavour Squiggle actually is...

Squiggle is a boy! :D

So David and I need to get down to some serious name choosing. Twice now we've had girl names ready, but even last time, we were never entirely sure about boy names. This is going to be very interesting... [Edit 28.10.12 Scratch that, we've chosen a name!]

I am so thrilled, it feels like a first pregnancy all over again - a completely new experience! I feel strangely complete.



PS: Anyone with little girls, keep an eye on Emily's Closet - it's about to explode with new listings over the coming weeks!!!

Log Your Guesses

I am aware that I never even wrote about my 12 week scan this time. Poor Squiggle is certainly getting less pregnancy attention than Emily did. However, it was slightly overshadowed by the fact that Emily moaned and squirmed throughout, thought they were torturing me and kept coming over to ask if I was alright (in a whimpery voice). I wish I could have been able to fully focus on what was going on in the scan, but everything was fine and that was all that was important really.

Unfortunately, the sonographer we had this time refused to even try and have a guess at the gender. With Emily, we knew at her 12 week scan that she was probably a girl. I didn't start buying things, but it helped with bonding. Now with Squiggle, there is even less bonding than there was with Emily (mostly because she keeps me so busy and also because it's a much better pregnancy so I sometimes forget I'm actually pregnant) and not being able to give him/her even the slightest identity isn't helping. 

Soooo... David has decided to treat me for my birthday next week (yes, next week!), and we will be having a Gender Scan in 10 days time. My next NHS scan is at the end of November, and frankly I'm impatient to find out so it was an ideal birthday pressie ;)

To help you along, here are some pregnancy comparisons:

Emily: I suffered from morning, afternoon, evening sickness from week 3 until it calmed down around week 22.
Squiggle: I can't really say I've suffered from any pregnancy sickness. My sense of smell is more sensitive which sometimes makes me sick (*cough*toxic nappies*cough*) but I had that with Emily too, minus the nappies.

Emily: Heartburn hit in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy.
Squiggle: Heartburn began very, very early on and hasn't calmed down at all. I dread those last 3 weeks!

Emily: Bump began showing around week 14. This is probably due to it having been my first pregnancy and the fact that I was a dress size larger.
Squiggle: Bump showed by week 6 and hasn't looked back. They do say you pop earlier with second pregnancies, and I had a bit less "padding" to camouflage this time.

I can't say I've noticed a difference in bump shape.

Emily: I craved mango.
Squiggle: No real cravings to speak of.

Emily: My hair loved pregnancy. It grew strong and shiny.
Squiggle: My hair hates pregnancy. What it has done most of so far is fall out.

Emily: Stretchmarks began to show up within the first month.
Squiggle: No new stretchmarks. Hooray!


So what do we think, folks? Pink or Blue? Leave a comment with your guess, all will be revealed on the 29th October!

[image cred: 5 Ways to Guess an Unborn Baby's Gender]

Bump!

I will actually write about this pregnancy one of these days.

I have notes scribbled in a notebook that lives on my bedside table
(I always get bloggy ideas just as I'm falling asleep),

but have yet to put it all together to make some sense. Bear with me!

PS. Bump is currently bigger than it was last time at 19 weeks!

Dear Emily (Twenty Months)

Dear Emily

My beautiful, affectionate, friendly Emily. You're twenty months today. Twenty months of my life being turned upside down and my heart feeling emotions it could never have imagined.

In six short months, you'll become a big sister. This fills me with excitement, nerves and turmoil. How dare anyone come into our lives and let me have less time with you? And yet, when I mention your little brother or sister to you (a sister, you insist), your face lights up and you lean down to kiss my belly. You understand far more of what is going on than I give you credit for. And seeing that gives me hope: if it's ok with you, then it can be ok with me too We'll do this, altogether, our amazing family of four. We'll have wonderful adventures together and I'll look back and wonder what on earth I was on about when I wrote the beginning of this paragraph.

You understand so much that dropping you off at the childminder has suddenly become a nightmare. Although from what I hear, you stop crying before I have, you cheeky monkey. But if you have your way, you won't let go of me, I wouldn't walk into a different room, I wouldn't even be allowed a toilet break. When you're on the brink of sleep, you wake up, panicked, crying for me. It's tiring but I'm trying my best to be patient about it. After all it's only because you love me so much.

You give the best hugs. And the gentlest kisses. Random kisses, like when you take my hand and kiss my fingers over dinner, just because. Or sometimes you.ll get down on your little knees and kiss my toes. Completely unexpectedly. Completely adorable. And then "thank you Mummy."

Words are no problem to you. This week we've moved on to sentences. Three or four words strung together, making perfect sense. "I like colour" was your very first sentence, as you headed over to your little table to do some colouring.

But as much as I can have entire conversations with you, there are some words that you've created crazy versions of.

Bly (butterfly)
Feckist (breakfast)
Vesen (seven)
Lalloo (flower)
Maimow (rainbow, oh how you love rainbows!)

You'll dance to anything. A funny, one-legged, jumpy dance that you are so very proud of. Everyone who meets you falls for your charm, and everyone gets treated to the jumpy dance.

I could write forever. You surprise me with something new and we discover new little secrets to your personality every day. It's never disappointing.

Keep smiling, my princess.

Mummy x

Squiggle

:)

Thank you for all the wonderful comments of congratulations. I let the announcement post bask in the limelight for the rest of the week because nothing else seemed to be able to top or even match it! But now it's time to carry on, and I'll do a little pregnancy round-up before carrying on with regular posts.


We found out about this pregnancy while we were in Malta. Our families and close friends all knew from day one. It would have been silly to leave the island not having told them (not that I'd have been able to keep it secret long enough anyway).

Despite being very excited, the first few weeks were laced with dread, with a ridiculous dose of positive thinking. I believed that if I thought it away enough, I'd have no morning sickness this time.

Readers who were around when I was pregnant with Emily might remember just how bad it was that time - and how long it lasted. I was at the time (perhaps jokingly, but often not) advised by people not to bother with a second pregnancy. I, perhaps naively, kept hoping my next would be the pregnancy I'd always hoped for: one I could enjoy.

I always knew I wanted two children. Even that amount of pregnancy sickness wasn't going to put me off, I think it would be selfish of me to deny Emily a sibling just because of a "few" (me in 2010 would kick myself for saying that) months of sickness. In the grand scheme of things, that's a silly thing to use as a deciding factor. Having said that, I have no idea how I would have coped with that amount of sickness as well as a toddler to take care of. I am already struggling enough to keep up with her simply because I'm still so tired most of the time.

I am now in my tenth week of pregnancy. Sickness with Emily began in week 3 and began calming down somewhere around week 23. I have not yet needed to run to the bathroom, nor have I needed that bucket that so loyally waited by my bedside - day and night - when pregnant with Emily. Lately some kitchen smells have made me think I might be sick, but nothing yet. I remain hopeful.

So to all the people who advised that I shouldn't even try to get pregnant again, there are a few words in my mind that I'd like to say to you, but I'm nice so I won't. Sure I'm tired. Ok, I'm exhausted. Emily has born the brunt of it - for which I feel terrible and am really trying to be as patient and as entertaining as I could possibly be. Sometimes it's way more difficult than others, but she is easily pleased and I'm sure I'll be able to make it up to her in a few months' time.

We had an early scan done last week. Want to see 2cm long Squiggle?

(See how I was even nice enough to specify what you're meant to be looking at?)

Chalk Board Message

Emily has a little secret she'd like to share with you all...

...almost there...

Yay!

A new little baby is due to join our family at the end of March 2013!
I'll update more later, but suffice to say, we are absolutely thrilled
(and I'm no good at keeping these things secret!!!)