28weeks consultant appointment

 

Time is going so quickly! We have now entered the ‘third trimester’. The twins are growing well, both over 2lbs! Twin one has changed position and is now in a breech position and Twin two is still in a transverse position. There was quite a wait for the appointment with the consultant due to Junior Drs and a consultant strikes. I remember sitting in the antenatal waiting room thinking I’d been forgotten but we did get seen. I can’t fault the attitude and care the consultants show in the appointments. We are never rushed and they like us to ask questions. We discussed the future birth plan and a planned C-Section delivery was discussed. I have no strong feelings at this point about a vaginal delivery or a C-Section, I just want the twins to arrive safe and well.

Maternity photographer Costessey

Pelvic Girdle Pain

 

I am feeling so grateful that I’m going to be a twin Mum but I have been in some discomfort the last few weeks. I’ve been told that it’s common for symptoms to be stronger earlier as I am carrying two babies , sacs and two placentas! (I am so proud of my body and amazed at how a woman’s body can change to support the growing babies) I discussed with the midwife about the discomfort and sharp pains I’m getting when walking around and laying on my side in my pelvic area and she was really empathetic and signposted me to the Physiotherapist. I found the whole process of self- referring to the Physiotherapy team at the hospital well organised. The physiotherapist called me the same day my self-referral went in. She was lovely and instantly reassured me that it’s very common to have Pelvic Girdle Pain and it will be relieved once the babies are here. I was sent some physio exercises to strengthen my pelvic and hips and a face to face appointment to fit a support band. I have tried to wear the support band when I’m standing for prolonged times or when I go for a short walk. I am not sure it is reducing my discomfort at this stage.

Maternity photographer Costessey

Nesting

 

I had this constant urge to get our house organised and ready for what was to come, our house was definitely not ‘baby proof’! I nagged the husband for us to rip out the bathroom and change the layout to give us more floor space. We changed our vanity units to smaller wall hung units which have given us some floor back and the illusion of more space. I totally underestimated the mess and how much labour work was involved when the husband spent two days ripping out wall tiles, plaster board, tiled flooring etc. What was meant to take a week took over four weeks due to allowing the fresh plaster to dry, a delay of shower panels and some poor workmanship. I am so relieved to say the bathroom has now been finished!

 

We also made a start on the nursery room, decluttering our spare rooms and painting the room ready for furniture. (I can’t believe I’m even getting to write this! I never thought I’d get to plan and decorate a nursery after so many years of infertility, it’s really helping me heal and putting the past events behind me). I also spent some of my Summer holidays clearing out unwanted clothes and all our kitchen cupboards to make room for all our baby equipment.

Maternity photographer Costessey

Car seat and pram shopping

 

We made a Nursery appointment at our local
John Lewis and took advantage of some discount. I totally recommend this as an option for any expectant parents. It completely took the stress away from researching too much and I would just get overwhelmed. The advisor was so patient, never pushed a sale and took the whole 90minutes to go through our own thoughts and options and gave us expert safety advice. Due to having twins, there was only a few pram options which helped narrow down our choices. However, there were many car seat model options, which was overwhelming. We were kindly gifted a free tea and cake voucher in their cafe to go away and think about things before we made a decision. Once we had clarity, we got to try the chosen car seats and pram in our car. We soon found out that we need a larger car! (Another job added to our list for later this year). We decided on the Twin Bugaboo Donkey 5, we liked the side by side option over the tandem and it was effortless to push around John Lewis store and the car park (it was amusing to say the least, i only bumped into a couple of clothing rails and breathed in as I pushed it through the sliding doors). We

Also settled on the new Maxi Cosi Pebble 360 Pro I-size car seat. It was a difficult decision to make due to being a more costly option to others. However, we decided that the safety of them was important for us, the ease of the 360 swivel and slide as there is two to get in and out of the car regularly. We also felt so fortunate to be in this position that we weren’t going go worry about the cost and affordability at this point. We got a good discount on other baby essentials too and delivery was by courier and very quick. We had a 5 star overall experience!

It wont be long before I’m photographing the twins eeek

 

you can read Annabel’s other guest blogs;

First one here.

Gender scan reveal.

20 week half way milestone.