I know its been a while since my last entry, but nothing new had really happened, and i didnt want to fill this journal with random blurb and strange dreams!

But last night Pete felt the baby move for the first time! Im so pleased because now i know the pregnancy is not in my imagination, the fact that Pete felt it is confirmation im not crazy, and that the movements ive been feeling are definitely baby and not wind!

I cant believe that on wednesday i will be halfway through the pregnancy already! Its gone really quickly! I have the 20 week scan on wednesday which i cant wait for, its been 6 weeks since i heard the heartbeat and although i feel it move everyday it will be nice to see it again!

Its beginning to be quite obvious that im pregnant now, there is a definite bump! Althoigh its not a nice tidy bump like Tia's mum at the school, i seem to have spread all over! But im quite ond of my bump and now catch myself stroking it absent-mindedly!

Im having difficulty sleeping lately, no more heartburn, baby is getting quite a hefty hoof on it now, and its repeated escape attempts are interrupting my beauty sleep! Add to that the need to pee 2 or 3 times a night and odd, sometimes scary dreams, this does not make for a good nights sleep! Consequently i find myself napping on the sofa at every opportunity available (which isnt that many when there are 2 children running around tearing bits off eachother!)

I think thats all for now!

Up until yesterday i didnt think my body had changed too much, if im honest i was a little more relaxed about not having to breathe in, and so therefore just saw my bump as a big blobby mess. Yesterday however, after a trip to tescos, i was feeling so heavy, and i actually studied myself in the mirror (not a job for the faint-hearted). The changes i noted are as follows:

My boobs have grown considerably, and are also not as perky (time for a maternity bra)

I have a bump under the flab! If i hold my belly in it doesnt look much different ergo, most of it must be baby!

My bum has its own postcode. Or at least should have, its so enormous.

My hair is thicker, although i dont know whether its due to a recent cut.

My nails are fab! I even took the time to shape them the other evening!

My skin is awful! I have dry patches on my face as well as oily patches and spots. And also a weird patch on my arm which resembles an old ladys skin, ick!

The baby is moving around a lot, even as i type this it is plotting its escape. Its trying allsorts, at the moment the battering ram is the weapon of choice, im glad it doesnt have access to a pneumatic drill or i would be in trouble! It keeps waking me up in the night now, and usually just as im dropping off, it will give me a hoof and make me jump out of my skin!

The last two nights i have been woken (at 12.45am each time, spooky) by heartburn. I thought i had escaped that pleasure but it seems it is not to be. Ive been having to sleep upright, which has given me a stiff neck and a bad back. So i have decided to not eat after 8pm and see if that helps.

Im a bit miffed that we cant afford the full 4d scan next month. It is very pricey at £175, when all we really want to know is the sex. So we are just doing that which is mildly more acceptable at £79. I cant believe they get away with charging these ridiculous amounts, and also that my local hospital wont tell the sex at the 20 week scan. What harm would it do?

This is my final rant this entry i promise! I read in a baby magazine that women have had natural deliveries after 2 c sections, and quite fancy it. I feel somehow like ive missed out with the girls births, but Pete is totally not supportive, he wants me to go for the section, and wont budge. I realise its ultimately my choice, but i would like Pete to be on board. So after weighing up the pros and cos, im going with the section. Not just because its the "easy" option (it isnt) but because i could end up with a scenario similar to Leahs birth where i have 48 hours of labour and fail to progress, and end up having a scetion, but completely exhausted. This then slows the recovery time, and with 2 other children, and Pete only taking 2 weeks off work, wouldnt be very good!

It was just an idea, but i wish Pete would be more open-minded!

Our little pickle has certainly been making itself known recently, it even made me jump the other day, kicking at my waistband! It gets annoyed when something is squashing it, for example, Karens dog was sitting on my lap and it was going mad, and i was feeding my friend Jo's baby Ruth yesterday and it lashed out like it was jealous! Its getting hiccups quite a lot now, just like its sisters used to! We even play a little hide and seek before i go to bed, i prod at it and it disappears for a while then when it thinks its safe to wiggle again, i poke it and it hides again! Very cute!

I absolutely hate smells at the moment, such as flowers, cleaning products etc which is very strange for me! I am instead addicted to cucumbers and spring onions, soaked in vinegar and sugar! Pete says he much prefers the air freshener addiction i had with the girls!

I was thinking the other night (dangerous i know) that the baby has no idea of my existence! I am sustaining it (and annoying the heck out of it sometimes) but it doesnt know that i exist at all! It made me wonder if religious nuts have a point, are we all going about our business completely unaware of something sustaining us? Maybe the Matrix was right! Or maybe i think too much!

Ive been feeling much better lately, havent been sick in over a week now, am less snappy and tearful, my bowels are beginning to feel like my own and i dont need to wee half as much as i did! Im still getting no heartburn which im pleased about but i suspect that i may have thrush, i will have to go to the doctors soon, however with Leah off school it could be embarrassing explaining it to her!

Just over 3 weeks till the scan, and 5 weeks till we find out the sex! We are no nearer to naming our cherub, although Pete says Tyler is growing on him, at least he realises it will not be Keiran! Leah is coming up with really random names such as Shadow and Lucky, i think she thinks the baby is a kitten or something! She also likes Annie which is a no-no (!) Toby, Abigail and Sam. I could just about live with those, maybe as middle names though! Tyler Sam has a nice ring to it!