D Day + 1

I was in a really bad mood yesterday, I felt uncomfortable, tired and inconvenienced all day. I think yesterday's blog post showed that and I want to thank Brighter Schemata, Z and Clair for their nice words, they made me feel a lot better. One of the reasons I was in a foul mood was that after an early morning bath I decided to slather myself with a body lotion that I hadn't used in a while. Because in that while, it appears that my skin has become sensitive to it and within a minute my legs, arms and belly were burning. I ended up having to take a very long lukewarm shower in order to get the body lotion off and remove the heat from my skin. It was pretty unpleasant. I had a wee bit of a heat rash (I always get some on the back of my hands when the temperature goes above 17C) before but now my arms are almost completely covered with tiny blisters. It's not a good look.

Today was better, much better, I got what was a comparatively good night's sleep last night and though my arms and legs are still spotty they are not really itchy. The weather has been beautiful, we had a lovely time dropping in on my in laws as it is their 40th wedding anniversary today. Then we did a bit of DIY shopping and food shopping and took it very easy before having a gentle sit out in the garden in the late afternoon, under the shade of the garden parasol. Finally we had another bbq, steaks with chilli rub, lime and coriander marinated chicken skewers, salad and corn on the cob. The steaks were supposed to be small but they were huge, the size of side plates. It was all very good but our eyes were probably a bit bigger than our stomachs however nothing is going to waste as I've got chicken skewers for lunch tomorrow :).

Baby wise, nothing much happened today, a few braxton hicks, he's been pretty active during the day but that's about it. We'll see if anything happens tomorrow.

D Day

Today is the day that we've been planning around for the last 8 months, so of course with only a quoted chance of 5% of anything happening today, nothing has happened.

I've been having twinges all day but as far as I can tell the twinges are just that, nothing greater but I'm saying that with hindsight as well, I'm typing this rather than Simon twittering from the delivery suite. I've been rereading the advice and tips on labour. I think that the most annoying piece of advice that almost all the books and magazines give is that "you'll know when you are in labour."

How?

Does a small but perfectly formed marching band suddenly appear playing "Congratulations" in the style of an American High School Pep Band? When does a Braxton Hicks contraction stop being intense and starts being a proper true labour contraction? Saying that you'll know not giving advice as far as I am concerned. It's like birth plans - what position do you want to use? which drugs do you want? How do you want your birth partner to massage you? How do I know I've never done this before and have absolutely no concept of how I am going to react to the pain. I completed my birth plan today it's basically a list of what I would prefer in a vague order of preference but I'm thinking that birth plans are basically a plot to make new mothers feel bad because they didn't get the birth they wanted. The delivery suite had a long list of reasons of why the birthing pool wouldn't be available, or why you won't be able to get that desperately needed epidural. And that's before medical issues are taken into account.

Oh I know I am having a bit of a rant, it's just that I feel a bit cross with it all, I just don't like the not knowing when it's all going to happen or the lack of control. My sister in law had to have a Cesarean because of underlying medical issues, she knew for at least two months when the baby was going to be born. I like that sort of knowing in advance even if I don't particularly envy her the c-section.

Sleeping On It

I had a great blog post composed in my head this morning, but you are not going to see it because I composed it in my head while I was sitting in the bath at 5 this morning. The bath had it's welcome soperific effect and I did eventually get back to sleep and I've completely forgotten what it was I was gonna blog about. It was probably something to do with disturbed nights and sleeping.

Still Pregnant

I did tell the baby at the weekend that today would be a good day to be born as the weather wasn't going to be very good, and it wasn't, so it wouldn't be as if I had anything else to do and as the weather isn't going to be spectacular tomorrow I wouldn't have minded spending it in hospital. But has he listened to me? has he thump. I think we are going to have to have words when he arrives.

Due date is actually this Saturday but I'm hoping he'll turn up sooner rather than later. I doubt I will be live blogging the birth especially not if I get the birthing pool but there is a chance that Simon will be twittering the highlights.

I Know There Is Something Up

With politics in its current state when I find myself agreeing with Anne Widdecombe. I mean I find her political views to be almost 100 percent repulsive, she was a dreadful minister and choose to become a Catholic not because she was persuaded of the truth of transubstantiation but rather because she disagreed with the Church Of England's move towards equality in the form of women priests.

But this morning on the Today Programme she defended the Church of England's right to request that voters shouldn't let their anger lead them to voting for the BNP because of the views the BNP stands. I agree with her especially when the BNP claimed through an election poster that Jesus would vote for them! which is gob smacking cheek on their behalf, because if Jesus was around today they would wish to deprive him of his rights as he would be in their eyes a dirty foreigner.

Given that the BNP have tried to steal the Church's "IP" they've got every right, nay duty to speak up against the racists' odious claims. After all if the BNP had tried to claim that Desperate Dan would vote for them D.C. Thomson would have placed an injunction against them faster than most Dundee chippies could whip up a deep fried Mars Bar. I would also go along with what Widdecombe said and support their right to speak against the BNP on moral grounds too if they so wished. In fact I think it is a shame that that we are not hearing the new Archbishop of Westminster (RC) raise his voice along side Rowen Williams and John Sentamu.

Now as many of you know, I am an atheist, not because I think the churchs are a steaming mass of hypocrisy or suchlike - I'm not particularly anti clerical and also it wouldn't matter if every member of the clergy, whatever their religion or denomination were outstanding paragons of virtue it wouldn't change for me my lack of belief in a god or gods. My atheism comes from finding the idea of a personal god ludicrous and illogical and I see no point in an impersonal god either. For full disclosure I should also point out that I was baptised, first holy communioned and confirmed all within the Roman Catholic Church, I went to a Catholic school for my secondary education (excluding the year in the States) however, I don't think I ever properly "believed" and my religious education at high school probably only helped me to come to the view that there isn't a god, in fact one of my RE teachers spotted that I was an atheist before I did.

I believe strongly that the Church of England should be disestablished, the removal from the statute books of all the remaining anti Catholic legislation, Anglican vicars should be allowed to stand for parliament and I don't believe that schools should be required to hold a daily act of worship. However, Nick Clegg is wrong though to say that religion and politics should stay seperate, they can't be for one thing, not in a country where so many people do have a religious faith and where so many people develop their ethical standpoints from what their faith teaches them. Also no section of society, in this case the clergy, should not be silenced politically because who they are because that is censorship, which I think most of us are agreed is wrong.

No let the clergy speak and where people agree with them, let them be cheered and praised and where people disagree with their views - disagree and oppose through evidence and facts not by telling them to "grow up" and complaining that it's not fair because the Church of England "wants to be nasty [to them] the BNP" Eh Nick Griffin? When you get called on your vicious lies you whinge and complain and want the people calling you out to be silenced, you vicious lying scumbag.

We Are Now In Single Digits

Until the due date, which of course actually means not that much as the baby could come now or he could need to be induced in mid June. I would advise him to come about now as he's got a better chance of having his birthday off school during the Whitsun half term (I went to a Catholic school that's what we called this half term).

I had what could possibly 38 weeks midwife's appointment. I am the picture of maternal health, my blood pressure is 110/70 there was no blood, protein or glucose in my urine everything else was as tickety boo as could be expected at this late stage, i.e swollen ankles were not held against me.

The baby is no more engaged that he was last week, he's still bang on for dates and very active which is a good sign apparently.

It looks like the iPod is going to join the choirs eternal, it can be charged up, and we could "get it working" if very slowly, I tried to sync it with iTunes last night which didn't work as some of the files were fatally corrupted. iTunes then tried to reset it which failed a couple of times so the long term prognosis is not good. Simon says that I can have his iPod touch when the new iPhone comes out, but that may not be until June/July and I'm not sure how long I can last without my iPod.

Ipod Statue

It may not be as dead as I first thought, Simon is trying different methods to dry it out and we've got it going enough so that it shows up start up screen but not much more at the moment. But fingers crossed there may be life in it yet.

A Moment's Mourning Please

I killed my Ipod touch, I accidentally dropped in the lavatory and although it was only submerged for a few seconds if that, the damage seems to be irrecoverable. We've dried it out, but it hasn't come back to life. What is really annoying about all this is that it was my surprise extra special Christmas present from Simon and I am so cross with myself for being so careless. So although it can be replaced it just won't be the same.

Graham Norton Saviour Of Eurovision

Or to be a bit more prosaic the saviour of the Beeb's coverage. El Tel had lost the plot years ago and he sounded like a man who was too old too tired and too confused by johnny foreigner to be covering the show. He'd been ruining my enjoyment of the programme for at least the last five six years. Graham was a delight, I thought, he didn't take it too seriously and most importantly made it clear that other performers can be popular in European countries without us hearing of them something Wogan forgot or never understood in the first place.

I thought the British song was a bit meh, but it obviously was the right sort of meh for the show. Be interesting to see if Lloyd Webber writes the song for next years Eurovision or if someone else has a go. I just hope we don't end up taking it too seriously because after all the music has been pretty uniformly shit since Abba won it. And as a viewer I enjoy the misguided frocks and attempts at gay euro disco than I do the actual songs.

I'm Sure

... That there is something I should be blogging about but I can't think what it is at the moment.

Is That The Time?

Sorry about the blogging outage but I've just not seemed to have had the time or the inclination to blog.

I'm sure that you don't want to hear my whinges and grips about being pregnant, I am going along nicely and the baby's head is now 3/5 engaged (THIS DOES NOT MEAN I AM LIKELY TO GO INTO LABOUR ANY MOMENT NOW) but boy is it uncomfortable and tiring and I'm bored with the whole thing. The uncomfyness and tiredness has been a main preoccupation for the last few weeks so you've been spared some major whinging trust me.

But cat naps aside it hasn't all been daytime TV and gaviscon. No, we got the nursery sorted out, bought a new car 3 and half year old Golf TDi 2.0 it's the nuts. I went to kiddiecare near Peterborough met up with my mum and bought a pram, cloth nappies, various bits of cot bedding, stuff and a baby bath thermometer.

We've also entertained, bought a bbq, garden furniture. Planted seeds, planted out seedlings and tomato plants.

I've learnt the joys of online grocery shopping, Sainsburys since you ask. Really pleased with the service so far.

I've spent a lot of time in the bath, great for getting comfy and reading books although nothing too heavy as it has to fit round the cat naps and not fall out of my nerveless grasp into the bath when I start snoring.

So now you know what I've been up to mostly. My due date is in twenty days and the hospital won't let the pregnancy go beyond 14 days so at some point in the next 35 /36 days we shall become parents.