One week on...

Pictures, we wants pictures... The afternoon P was born, all his grandparents, uncles and aunties came to the birth centre (except for his auntie Picul, who'd been with us all along). My brother's made a gallery of photos here. And here we are waiting for the taxi home from the birth centre on Sunday.

PS forgot to say, and have just been reminded that enquiring minds want to know these things - 3600g, or 7lb15 in old money. I dimly remember the midwife asking us to guess, as if he were a cake at a fete - M and I didn't, but wise auntie P was very close indeed. I did ask her his length for German and other friends for whom this is key information, but alas that's not done here. He is long rather than wide though, if that makes sense.

It's goodbye to the frog counter, hello to our little boy Peter, who arrived on Saturday, the longest day of the year. He is currently in a fairly frog-like posture though, lying spreadeagled on his dad's chest. Everything went really well, my labour was swift and uncomplicated, M and my sister were both there to support me, and we had the waterbirth I'd hoped for. The birth centre and midwives were fantastic, and we came home yesterday lunchtime. We're exhausted and elated, and I'll post more when I get the chance...

Hooray, I made it to my scheduled last day at work yesterday! I'm glad to have been able to keep going, not least to save the maternity pay until afterwards, but with only a week-and-a-half until due date and the PGP worsening, it was time to stop. My colleagues gave me a lovely box of Lush goodies, which I started in on last night with a vanilla oil bath bomb.
We're both feeling pretty tired and stressed so, although it would be nice if the baby arrived soon, a few days' R&R would be no bad thing either. Everything seemed a-ok at my checkup last week, so I don't even get seen again until d-day on the 24th, and I've started sorting out the last-minute things like nursing bras and a haircut, and drinking raspberry leaf tea and eating pineapples, just in case the old wives' tales are true...
PS something from M's website for those with cable: Castle is being shown this week on Discovery Knowledge.

Our families came up to visit on Saturday, bringing picnicky food (cherries, trout, quiche, chicken, scones, strawberries) - we had a lovely afternoon meal and a chance for everyone to meet up before things get too baby-centric.
Then on Sunday Sarah came over and we drove towards Uxbridge to potter about eating icecreams by the Grand Union Canal.

Here I am hauling myself round Our Nation's Capital last weekend. M went down to Kent to visit our niece on her first birthday - she's apparently just starting to take her first steps - while I went to Carluccio's for a meal with the other women from my NCT class (table for seven with plenty of room please).

Officially full-term now, hooray. This means that, unless something else develops that makes me no longer 'low risk', I can hopefully have the baby in the birth centre instead of the delivery suite. Here are some celebratory tulips (there were also strawberries and dark chocolate, but they were all gone by the time the camera came out).