Today I am 29 weeks and 6 days pregnant.

Baby is: the size of a small cabbage!  He is still very active which is reassuring, and I’m finding that watching my bump move is at least as entertaining as watching the television in the evening.

I am: still not sleeping much.  I’ve been using the sleeping pills a bit, but I don’t want to take them every night.  They work to some extent, but they can’t stop me being woken up by children in small hours, so short of moving out for a while I’m not sure what I can do about it!  I’m a bit stressed, but also feeling very blessed by my lovely family, including the smallest one who is making his presence felt with all the kicking and wriggling.  I’m really getting impatient to meet him now.

Today I am 20 weeks and 6 days pregnant.  I had my scan yesterday which was lovely.  Everything is fine and the baby is a boy.  It suddenly seems more real now.

Baby is: the size of a mango.  He is moving around a lot and the kicks are getting stronger.

I am: still struggling with insomnia, and the dizziness is worse when I haven’t slept.  Being half way through the pregnancy feels good though and I’m letting myself get a little bit excited about meeting the boy.

Today I am 19 weeks and 6 days pregnant, and behind schedule with this post again.  The photos were taken last Saturday before a garden party.  I was quite pleased to be able to fit into my size 10 East dress (last year’s eBay bargain) at 19 weeks pregnant – I wasn’t sure that I was going to get much wear out of it this summer.

Baby is: the size of a mango.  All the senses are developing now, and baby recognises my voice.

I am: feeling a bit rubbish.  It’s been a bad week, apart from the high spot of fitting into the dress.  Oh and I managed to make a rather good coffee cake for Paul’s birthday yesterday.  Other than that, I think I will draw a veil over it and hope that next week will be better.

It’s been a very busy week and I’ve suddenly realised that I’m 18 weeks and 6 days pregnant, so I’d better try and get this post published tonight.

Baby is: the size of a sweet potato – these vegetable comparisons are getting weirder I think!  I’m feeling lots of strong kicks now and seeing some of the movements too which is bizarre and quite compelling to watch.

I am: struggling with insomnia again – it’s now been over a week since I had a proper sleep and it’s just so hard to get anything done.  I’m also being bothered a bit by leg cramps, but otherwise physically everything is fine.  I started pregnancy yoga last Friday and I’m looking forward to my next class tomorrow.  It’s complicated to make the time to go to it, and sometimes feels stressful to make it happen, but I know it will be worth it.

Today I am 17 weeks and one day pregnant.

Baby is: the size of a turnip.  Long pause here while I wonder if that’s a Scottish turnip or an English one.  And google it.  Not sure I found the answer, but at least on the way round the internet I was reminded of this useful Scots word – must use it in conversation more.  Anyway I digress…  Baby is very active so I can feel the movements much more clearly, and even see my tummy moving quite often.

I am: still very tired, and not liking the heat – I think it is the reason I’m feeling more dizzy and faint again.  I’m starting to enjoy being pregnant though.  I love feeling (and seeing!) the baby move and it’s beginning to seem a bit more real.

I am getting a bit fed up about people making rude remarks about us having five children, but some people are lovely about it, and actually the “I wish I could have had more” comments are almost as frequent as the negative ones.  I spoke to a lady today who has two children, but wanted to have four or five.  She lost a baby when she was 40 and decided she couldn’t go through it again.  It’ s one of those brief conversations that really touched me and I will probably never forget it.  So today, despite all the minor reasons I am a bit stressed, most of all I am feeling very lucky.

I am 16 weeks and one day pregnant.  I was really trying to get back on track and planned to write this post last night, but it was such a busy day.  By the time I took the photos it was late at night, in electric light, and I looked terrible.  So I deleted the photos, and took some more today which I think are slightly better (though rather blurry – I was in a hurry!) , and were at least taken in daylight.

Baby is: the size of an avocado, and can now probably hear. I should mention this to Paul, as he will want to start introducing the baby to a wide selection of classical and choral works as soon as possible.  Not sure I’m ready to unleash that just yet.  I might get Tiddler to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to my tummy though!

I am: completely exhausted but generally feeling a bit better than I have been.  That’s about as positive as I can be at quarter to midnight.  Hoping for a good night’s sleep, but it might be difficult in this heat.