Movie Clip Monday 16 - 4D scan

I went for my 4D scan this morning and once again, baby is a bit camera shy. With a bit of poking and prodding at my belly he finally moved his arm away from his face just long enough to briefly catch his profile on the scan. At least it was a lot clearer than when we had Sumayah's scan. So as promised, here is a clip of the scan showing his beautiful face! And as you will see at the very end, he's definitely a boy!

Welcome to the final stretch

This week I will be 28 weeks pregnant, the official start of the third and final trimester. Not only is it a big deal because it's the last stretch, it is also generally thought that a baby born prematurely from now has a very good chance of survival and normal development. Tomorrow is a very exciting day because I will be going for a 4D scan. With Sumayah we couldn't really get a clear image of her face because she kept moving away from the ultrasound, so I really hope this one will not be so camera shy tomorrow. I am starting to get really excited about his arrival now which is what makes the scan so exciting. I am so curious to know what he will look like and what his kind of personality he will have. They usually give a CD with these scans so will hopefully be able to post a clip tomorrow for movie clip monday. Wish us luck!

The Calm before the Storm

This well known expression is the perfect description for my kids. Bilaal has always been a little gentleman. Yaasier refers to him as our 'heart' because he is so caring and considerate of how others feel. He relishes in the approval of others, but also has a yearning to do whats 'right'. Bilaal is also very pedantic and needs everything to have order and structure. From very young he used to play with his cars by placing them in neat, tight rows, calling them traffic jams. His pretend play would always involve good and bad charracters with some element of law making. He responded almost too well to routine in that if you introduce something a certain way more than once, do not dare try to do it any other way again. Everybody must sit in exactly the same place, when you greet him at bedtime you must say the same thing in the same order or he can't go to sleep! He has outgrown some of his little OCD type reactions but he still craves and thrives by the predictable, ordered way of life.

Then... Sumayah came along... And turned Bilaals world upside down. She is definately like the storm that comes suddenly after the calm. It never ceases to amaze me how 2 people from the same parents can be so completely opposite in character. Yaasier calls her our 'spirit' because she is so spirited yet so loving. Sumayah just does things with confidence and carefree enthusiasm. There is no such thing as 'can't' with Sumayah. I know all children go through the terrible twos and they don't listen etc, but Sumayah is just so completely stubborn and independent-minded that she seems to take the naughitness to a whole new level. Structure and order are certainly not her thing! When she plays with cars or blocks its all about creating chaos, often ending in her enthusiastically smashing her creations or throwing everything with vigor... And not out of naughtiness, but genuine enjoyment. She is the child that writes on the walls and floors with black koki, or empties a tub of aqueous cream on her body in the middle of the night. She is that little girl on the playground who makes the little boys cry. Our neighbour whose son is the same age says that she noticed he has become alot more assertive in playgroup since playing with Sumayah so she loves that Sumayah is 'manning' him up. Yet in the same vain she is very loving and sincere. She shows so much affection to everyone and always wants to 'help'. Sometimes her 'helping' doesn't go down too well because she is so rough but she really means well and I am sure as she grows up this will be one of her most beautiful traits.

So we have heart and spirit... I have to wonder what number 3 is going to be like. The time is drawing near now and I am getting excited to meet the little guy who will be joining our  family.

Wordless wednesday 58

Wordless wednesday 57

A Direct Line?

My previous post 'When prayers are answered' described how Bilaal's prays for a baby had been answered, well it seems he even got his wish as far as the sex is concerned...it's confirmed... It's a Boy! Someone commented that perhaps he has a direct line and now I'm beginning to wonder, guess we should start placing our orders right? Lol. When I went for my scan on monday everything was fine, but the doc is just a bit confused about my due date. Initial measurements and calculations put my due date at 20 March, but the latest scan's measurements suggests 9 March. The doc says that either his earlier calculations were incorrect or this is going to be a big baby! Now here is the typical mumdrum twist to the story... Even when the due date was 20 March, hubby insisted that this baby will be born on 9 March. Why? Well he has this way of spottting patterns in everything and so with Bilaal being born 03/02/05, and Sumayah being born 02/07/11, in his mind it only makes sense that baby number 3 be born on 09/03/12. (for those like me who takes a while to get it, the numbers add up lol!) And what do you know, it now seems quite likely that this might just be the case!

Porridge brain is real

There are many who doubt the existance of pregnancy porridge brain, but no matter what the sceptics may say, to me it is a very real phenomenon. In all 3 pregnancies I have displayed many daft moments from early on already. For me porridge brain is putting the cooking oil in the fridge or the open milk in the cupboard. It is putting 6 spoons of sugar in your tea and putting sugar in the food instead of salt. Porridge brain is the perfect excuse for wearing your top inside out and yes sometimes even back to front. I have sent many a text message to the wrong person entirely and almost blocking my email account insisting on using the same wrong password only to realise on my 3rd attempt that I was entering my ATM pin! Just the other day I was sitting in the car in the garage, kids locked and loaded and all ready to go, frantically searching for my car keys, only to find them sitting on top of the car. And then of course there was the day I opened the garage door, started the car and then closed the garage door BEFORE pulling out! Just as I put the car in gear I realised my error and disaster was avoided. There many other little mishaps and I am not usually the absent-minded type, forgettful yes, but usually quite a good multi-tasker. So call it an excuse if you will, but it's one that works for me.