I’m writing this post at 9pm the night before it goes live, and my main pregnancy symptom for this week could be pretty much summed up with the words, “Holy crap, I’m tired!”, so here’s a handy visual representation of how I’ve felt this week:

I found this on my phone, so either Terry took it, or the bunny set the self-timer and did it himself. Whatever’s going on here, it looks like bunny is definitely living his best life. As for me, meanwhile, here’s what Week 29 of pregnancy looked like for me…

Week 29 Pregnancy Symptoms:

Baby hiccups! (As in, hiccups that the baby gets, I mean, not just tiny little hiccups that I’ve been having.) Luckily, one of my friends had told me about experiencing this when she was pregnant, and it was also covered in one of the many, many NHS leaflets I’ve been given, so I knew it was possible to start feeling the baby hiccup around this time. What I DIDN’T know, on the other hand, was how often this should be happening, and at what point I should start worrying about it, so I started worrying immediately, just to cover my bases. Well, if I didn’t have something to worry about, I’d probably worry about THAT, so at least it gives me something to do, hey?

(Yes, it is totally normal. A bit weird, yes, but normal…)

Other than that: tiredness. But I think I’ve made my point about that, so let’s just proceed straight to the fun bit of these posts, shall we?

Week 29 Pregnancy Purchases & Preparations:

First up: this guy –

He’s a Jellycat Bashful Bunny, and, as you can see from the photo at the top of the post, he likes to drink some. OK, I’m joking: if you’re a longtime reader, you might recall that I have a tiny pink Jellycat bunny, which I use as a stress toy on flights etc. I call him Pinky, because, well, I don’t really have a whole lot of imagination when it comes to naming soft toys, apparently. (See also, my own childhood teddy bear, Ted)

This bunny is a beige Pinky, so we’ve named him ‘Binky’. Yes we have. Oh yeah: he’s for the baby, by the way: I just realised you might have been thinking I randomly bought myself a soft toy, but while I won’t say I wasn’t tempted, I did manage to resist. On this occasion, at least.

Binky was not the only toy to arrive this week, though, because, look! A Whisbear!

Whisbear (Who is just called ‘Whisbear’, because, seriously, I give up on naming things, I really do…) is actually a white noise machine: he clips onto the edge of the baby’s cot, and switches on automatically when the baby starts to cry – or, of course, you can just switch him on yourself, if you prefer. We got him because so many people recommended a white noise machine that we were all, “The peer pressure is too much: we surrender!” In an ideal world, we’d prefer the baby to be able to sleep without relying on certain noises etc, but everyone’s told us that there’s absolutely no possibility of this happening, and, well, the bear is damn cute, so yeah: you can never have too many cuddly toys in your life, can you? (Er, the BABY’S life, I mean…)

Speaking of sleep:

The Sleepyheead Deluxe is another thing absolutely everyone has recommended to us, so when the brand kindly offered to send us one, I was, like, “Er, YES PLEASE THANK YOU.”

So, this is a “sleep pod” which you can either use inside the baby’s crib, or on its own. The idea is that it basically cocoons the baby’s little body, making him feel secure, and a bit like he’s back in the womb again – so, it’s a bit like swaddling, basically, but without the actual swaddle. It came with a mobile toy arch and a spare cover, and, as I said, it’s been one of the top recommendations we’ve had, so we’re looking forward to trying it out (Or watching the baby try it out, obviously…), and seeing if it really is as good as everyone says it is.

(Just to quickly add here, I’m aware that there’s been some controversy over “sleep bumpers” in recent weeks, and that some of them have been withdrawn from the market due to safety concerns. We’ve been assured that the Sleepyhead isn’t one of the types of products that there’s concern over: the fabric is actually completely breathable, so it’s safe to use, and our intention is to use this during the daytime, anyway – i.e. if we’re in the living room, say, and can’t be bothered lugging the moses basket downstairs, we can just use this – so he’ll always be supervised when he’s in it!)

Finally, last week I promised you some photos of our Dubatti Travel System set up as a stroller, so here you go:

The seat can be used either way round – so, either facing you, or facing away – and, as I mentioned in last week’s post, when it’s set up like this, we can also clip our car seat (Which hasn’t arrived yet, but then again, neither has the car we’ll be using it in, which has yet to be purchased…) onto it, which I think will be really handy. I also really like the little storage compartment under the seat, which will be a useful place to store all of my lipstick and hair products, no?

(JOKING! I’M JOKING!)

The first photo also gives you a little sneak peek of the nursery, because *DRUMROLL PLEASE*….

THE NURSERY IS ALMOST COMPLETE!

I mean, we’re still waiting for the furniture, which won’t be arriving until the middle of November, so I’m going to wait until then to do the full reveal, but as of this week, the room has been painted and cleared of junk, which is a HUGE amount of progress for us, seriously. So far, I’m really pleased with the way it’s looking: I just wish I could say the same about the kitchen…

Or, indeed, the hall:

As you can see, the Chamber of Secrets has once again been opened, and our old friend, The Bag for Life – now onto it’s third Pregnancy Diary appearance in a row – has managed to sneak in there. I guess it really IS a bag for LIFE, huh?

The good news is that there is finally – FINALLY – a good reason for the current state of my hall, and it all comes down to the new shed: or “That %$#@*&! Shed” as I think of it. It’s apparently being delivered and constructed tomorrow – TOMORROW, people! – which means that the Cupboard Under the Stairs will finally be emptied of its contents, which will make their way to the new shed, leaving the under-stair space free from the pram, etc. Or that’s the plan, anyway: as you’ll recall if you’ve been following these Pregnancy Diaries, and wondering why so many of them revolve heavily around garden sheds, we’ve been hurt by Shed Men before, and it’s hard to put your trust in another one, you know? But Terry has been out and laid the foundations, and Shed Man 2 swears blind he will turn up as promised, so I’m REALLY hoping that next week’s update will feature a tidy house and a brand new shed. Which, OK, are pretty weird things to include in a pregnancy diary, obviously, but if you read this post, all will become clear. Or, I hope so, anyway.

Wish us luck, folks…