28+2 weeks

We have been, and still are, ill again. I'm coming to the end of 2 weeks' holiday from work, and have been ill the entire time. G has it a bit, and yesterday Adriano started coming down with it, or something, as well.

In a nutshell it involves coughing and coughing and coughing and not really sleeping.

Arrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Don't need this. So fed up with hearing myself bark like a dog every few seconds. Also every time I do I have to have a hand free to hold in my growing hernias (that makes me gag, it is so gross) round my navel. The doctor told me to do that to avoid them strangulating and therefore requiring emergency surgery (while pregnant - hmmm). Also I keep waking up about 10 mins after falling asleep and my airways feel closed and I can't stop retching and coughing until eventually I get some control and calm down a bit.

So, looking forward to feeling well again.

My mum is also ill with continuing cough, same with my dad. Mum also has intermittent flu aches and nausea; Dad also has spells of labyrinthitis.

However, the weather is amazing here, and although it's due to sink back down to highs of 14 degrees in a few days, until then everyone's pretending it's summer and certainly forgetting it's only April.

We have almost decided which double pushchair to buy. It's going to have to be a Phil and Ted's because G is almost the maximum weight for all of the others already (she's on the 91st centile or thereabouts). Just deciding between the models. They all seem to have their pros and cons.

Had my 28 week check with the midwife on Weds. She was absolutely lovely. G came too, and watched with interest while I had blood taken, then stroked my arm. When I had my anti-D jab (which bloody hurt actually!) and then got a plaster, G asked me if it was very sore. She could relate as she had a plaster on her knee from a rather nasty fall on the way to the sandpit at the local One O'Clock Club on Monday. My bump is measuring a bit big but apparently within the realms of OK. Just hoping it's not because of gestational diabetes - had glucose test so will find out soon - otherwise I'll have to give up my sugar addiction which some very tired days is the only thing that keeps me going.

Adriano got a job the other day but had to turn it down because they couldn't raise the salary enough to make it a viable option for us. He was really disappointed because he liked them a lot and thought he could do well there. But it was not to be.

We've given up on the Medway area for now as Adriano rightly pointed out that we want to live by the sea really so what are we doing looking there. He's hopefully about to get the go ahead to work compressed hours (5 days' work in 4 days) so that will give us other options. We still really like Eastbourne but depressingly can't afford a 3 bed house with garden there. Anywhere is a stretch to be honest, but Adriano found one in St Leonard's (near Hastings) with a huge garden which quite took his fancy so you never know. I worry about him working 4 long days with a mammoth commute either end of the day, but he reckons he's up for it. I also worry about it from my point of view. He wouldn't return until I would probably be in bed on those 4 evenings, and I will be doing bedtime as a new mum of 2 on my own for most of the week. That, to me, sounds scary. Then if I am working on his 5th day, taking advantage of the free childcare, I would really only see him at weekends. Not a lot different to now, but enough to scare me. I sometimes get lonely looking after G, even with lots of local friends. God knows how it'll be with 2.

Yesterday I got properly upset in front of G for the first time. I hated her seeing me crying. It was just because I was very very tired, and she was irrationally screaming about anything and everything. She's a bit prone to doing that, but not nearly as much as she could be, given her age. When it comes I need to be really on the ball and creative and firm or it gets the better of me. This time it got the better of me and I just sat and cried.

I'm OK now though.