Hospital

OK, so on Tuesday at about 5pm I got a pain all over my tummy, I thought it was nothing, maybe eaten too much rubbish so decided to just sleep on it. When I went to bed at around 9:30 it had moved from my tummy to the lower right of my abdomen, right where your appendix is, I wasn't too worried, I could still move freely and jump so I just went to sleep.

I expected it to be gone in the morning, but it wasn't. It wasn't any more painful either so I just got ready and went to work. At about 11:30 though my boss said I should go to A&E as it might be bad, so I went home and rang 111, they told me to go to my GP, or if I couldn't get in to go to A&E. As my GP couldn't get in for 3 hours DW dropped me off at the hospital (I didn't want her to stay as KK would only have gotten really bored). The nurse saw me and gave me a paracetamol and a co-codamol. I went back into the waiting room and after a while started to feel dizzy and my arms went REALLY tingly, so the receptionist sent me to see the nurse again. I was ok by then, but she gave me a drink and it wasn't long after that I went in to see the doctor. He did various tests on my tummy, and fitted a peripheral cannula(?) which I hated.

I was then sent off to the surgery ward, where they did more tests, took blood, poked up my bum, and told me not to eat or drink (which was nice as I'd not eaten since 10am). A second doctor came around later one and I was expecting him to say I could go home, but he wanted me to stay in over night ... sigh, at least he said I could eat until 3am, so my poor belly got something :o)

My uncle came to visit and brought some supplies (books, phone charger, etc.) at about 8:30 and we chatted until 9. After that I went to sleep only to be woken up at 1am to be moved to another ward, this is when I noticed the pain had virtually gone away, which gave me some hope! I then slept on & off until about 7am when a doctor came around to check on me, I told her that the pain had gone, and she told me that another doctor will be round in an hour to check, and if all was OK I could go home. About 3 hours later the doctor turned up, and did some more poking and said he was happy for me to go home and rest, but if any symptoms show up to go to my GP immediately.

I feel absolute fine now, still got a bit of pain if you poke hard enough, but *nothing* like Tues/yesterday, and it's much easier to rest at home than in a hospital! Thank-you all for your concern, hugs, prayers, thoughts, messages, and help, it's been an ... interesting couple of days, and I'm so glad it didn't end in surgery! :o)

The Conclusion

So, I'm still wearing the bump now, eight days in, and I'm not sure if I want to take it off. It's kind of comfy, and I think I will miss it when it's gone. I enjoy it. But all good things must come to an end.

Today's been a big pain. The washing machine wiggle & wobbled it's way forward during the night and managed to stop the utility room door from opening. I managed to shove a spade under the door and push the washing machine back out the way of the door, but really hurt my foot in the process by kicking the handle wrongly. A great start to our nice relaxing Saturday, sigh.

The bump's really taught me to appreciate how tough it can be to be pregnant, you don't realise how much you rely on  being able to bend at your waist. I will not miss the uncomfortable nights, the awkward angles you have to use to put on socks and tie shoe laces. I will miss the "company" that the bump provides, I always had something to cuddle, if you know what I mean. I imagine for a woman who can feel the baby move and grow inside, that feeling must be a million times stronger.

If I were to do this experiment again (and I would, willingly) I would change a few things. Firstly, I'd make sure the bump was a much better fit on my body, the bump I have is loose at both the top and the bottom, which looks weird if you wear the wrong clothes. I'd also make it heavier, so that my balance would be off, and doing routine things like walking would be more tiring, making the whole experience more realistic. The challenges were a good idea, and I'd definitely include those again, maybe adding a few more (I never did try getting in & out of the bath). Lastly I'd try to find a way to make the bump move so that I could get simulated kicks at random times, having the bump is really easy when you know it's just going to stay where you put it and not bother you while you're driving, or trying to eat.

So to sum up, I've had a good time. I've had some tough times, and some fun ones, but I imagine being pregnant is much more better then pretending!

Day Seven

Today I took the boys to school, walking really isn't an issue as the bump hardly weighs anything (which I think is a shame really) and with my coat done up nobody can tell. After that we went out to get some shopping (I drove again), which wasn't really that hard, except for getting stuff out of the trolley, that required an interesting angle!

For lunch we went to Pizza Hut and I just about fitted inside a booth with the bit of effort. This is the only public place that I've really walked around with the bump on show that people could see me in, no one asked any questions, which I was a bit disappointed about, they must have just thought I was fat I guess.

From there we went back to the garden centre we visited yesterday to finish looking around, and then home to pick the boys up. Me & TJ played on Animal Crossing and Go Vacation! on the Wii, and DW's friend popped round with her kids and had a natter. A nice chilled afternoon.

KK woke up about 2:30hrs after going to bed having been sick, so we manned the battle stations and I changed and bathed her while DW sorted out the bed. It's funny how you can forget about a big lump on your belly when an emergency crops up. Our tea got burnt, but hey, that's life with kids.

Day Six

Today we were on the ball and after dropping the boys off at school we drove 40 miles to go visit various friends.

First up were a couple whom we used to live across the road from before we moved here who have just had a baby, so we stopped by their house and had a coffee, chat and cuddle. They had no idea about the experiment, so that was fun when I walked in, although the first comment was "it suits you", I think is a complement. I took it as one anyway!

For dinner we met up with DW's sister and her husband who commented it was, "very nice" and "looks good", and after looking at their new house when to pick up one of my best friends to have a drink at Starbucks. He said, "it's nice, it's beautiful" and wouldn't stop rubbing it and cooing over. Ha.

When we got home DW's friend had picked up the boys from school and was at our house looking after our and her kids. She liked the bump and suggested that I try getting in and out of the bath to see what that's like, she used to have to get out on all-fours, so I'm tempted to add that to my challenge list.

Speaking of the challenges... I've done most of them, and they weren't as difficult as I thought they would be, and I imagine that's because the bump is made of foam and thus does not weight anything and so doesn't throw off my balance or anything like that. I've still got to change the bunk beds, and maybe shave my legs, but I'd need a LOT of razors to do that!!

Day Five

Today me, DW & KK went around a local nature park for a walk, we only meant to go for a little one, but took a wrong turn and ended up walking for three miles, lol!! We had lunch in their café and looked round the little gift shop buying a nice relaxation CD to add to our ever-growing collection! It was an absolutely lovely morning, and it was fantastic to spend time with my girls. So calm and relaxed.

After that we went to a garden centre to look at their Christmas stuff as they had a good show and KK really likes to see the trees, snowmen and whatnot. That was really nice too, just a slow stroll around looking at all the things we can't afford :o) A lovely afternoon.

Driving is one of the most annoying things to do with the bump, DW's made me drive all the time so I get to experience that almost every day, getting out is a piece of cake, getting in ... PITA. Underwear is still a pain too, especially socks, and tying shoe laces ... ha ha, no, not fun.

In the evening we just relaxed downstairs and watched some TV. DW cuddled up to me, and after a while commented, "You are very comfortable", which was a big win as she's not really liked this who experiment. I think she's warming to it, slowly, and she might actually be on-board by the time it all finished on Saturday! Hee hee.

Day Four

This morning started off great, I could finally wear my maternity dungarees that I bought ages ago and not look quite so stupid, dungarees are so cool. I spent the morning catching up with Facebook, Reddit, and other websites that I normally check at work (shhh!) and played a quick game on the computer too. We were going to go for a walk, but it was too cold and we didn't think it would be that enjoyable, so we stayed in.

After dinner we went in to town, DW insisted that I keep my coat zipped up so that nobody could see the bump, which was fun, my coat barely fitted with the zip up! We didn't spend long in town, just got a few bits (I bought Pop 'n' Twin Bee, a SNES game that I thought me & WB would enjoy playing together) and had to get back in time to pick the boys up from school.

Oh one fun thing I've found is that I can rest stuff on the bump, cups, plates, TV remotes, when you're chilling on the sofa, it's kind of a handy little shelf!

Day Three

Tonight was the best nights sleep so far, only woke up a handful of times, and felt really rested in the morning. I'm struggling to get out of bed, but that's no big surprise!

DW spends Monday at Sure Start taking minutes for a meeting and in the afternoon is on a course, so I looked after KK for the day rather than have her put in crèche. We played with the dolls in the morning, watched one of the Tinkerbell films (fairy rescue I think it was), had some dinner whilst watching TMNT (her choice) then in the afternoon we did some colouring and watched a bit of Up under a blanket!

With DW out of the house for the day I took it upon myself to take over the role of housewife to see how that would fair. I started of easy - hoovering. At least I thought it would be the easy choice; Our Dyson is surprisingly heavy when it wants to be! Dragging it round the floor, lugging it up the stairs, using the hose to reach the corners of the ceiling to reach the cobwebs really took it out of me. Next up was the bathrooms, something I was dreading, but actually turned out to be quite easy, the only challenge was getting up after kneeling to clean the toilets. Lastly I did the washing, that wasn't very fun, kneeling to get it all out of the washer, then standing to put it on the clothes horse to dry, then squatting to get more off the floor, then up then down, then up ... you get the idea!!

When the boys got home from school we went out to a friends house to see some fireworks. This time I went out in public and didn't hide my bump, it was dark and I didn't notice anyone give me weird looks, but I'm sure there must have been some!

When we got home I put the little ones to bed, which I'm getting used to doing now with the bump. It wasn't long before we were going up to bed and to face one of my challenges: cutting & painting my toe nails. It was a paain. I've painted my toe nails a few times before, but with a bump in the way, it's just really hard to do a good job, your arms are stretched, shaking, you can't see what you're doing, paint is going on your skin, it's a mess. See for yourself ...

Day Two

So I found a way to sleep - half on my side and half on back which works well with a memory foam mattress, let you body "melt" a hole in to the mattress and then use it to store you bump in. DW said that this was the same method she used when pregnant to get comfy, except we had a spring mattress back then, so it wasn't quite so easy. She also mentioned that in the night when she rolled over to give me night-time cuddles she couldn't get her arm over nicely as the bump was in the way.

I never thought that this would be as much an experiment for her as for me, she's seeing pregnancy from the male perspective - not being able to get close, or snuggle up in bed all the things us men have to live without for a few months. The kids are enjoying it, poking my bump and using it as a pillow when the mood takes them. DW's also said that we should go to the cinema as that is a really hard place to get comfy, and being pregnant doesn't make it any easier, so a day out with the bump on may be on the cards, which could be fun.

We had a Sunday Dinner today, which is really out of the ordinary for us, all five sat round the table and I found that eating at the table is no easier than on the sofa. But I did find that sitting on a spinning computer chair makes a big difference when you're trying to get a fork of food into your mouth and not onto your big bump - a tip there for the ladies!

This afternoon I sat and played Solitaire with TJ on the bed, and found something else that is uncomfortable to do, didn't matter how I sat, but my back just hurt. Really starting to feel for you ladies who have to put up with this for more than just a week!

In the evening I bathed the little ones, which wasn't as bad as I was expecting, not easy, a strain (on my arms and back), but not hard. After that I braved going out to Tesco with WB hiding the bump in my coat to buy tortilla wraps for tea. Tea went well, easiest by far as it was a create you own wrapathon. I played on the computer for a bit (didn't really have any effect on that, just couldn't get quite as close to the desk), and then went to bed!

Day One

Well, I now understand why it's so hard to get a good nights sleep while pregnant, you just cannot get comfy! I woke up quite a few times in the night, and struggled to find a good way to lay. On my back hurt, on my side was awkward, and on my stomach was impossible (obviously). Eight more nights of this will be ... interesting.

Getting dressed was fun, putting underwear on with a bump in the way is not easy, especially the socks; you just cannot get the right angle!! Shaving was a different challenge to anything the laides have to face, but once I got in to the rhythm it all went smoothly.

We spent most of the day playing Lego, or rather, looking through a huge unsorted pile of bricks to find a few peices for one model. My back's never hurt so much, sat on the floor all day not being able to move easily, having to move from sat, to laid, to sat, to al-fours, to anyother angle I could handle! By 9pm I was pooped and ready for bed to be honest!

We had a take-away for tea, I had pizza and it's crazy how hard it is to get food into your mouth while trying to sit comfortably and watch a little bit of TV. The bump just gets in the way of everything, DW asked me to make drinks and I just had to wiggle and wobble off the sofa and then waddle over to the fridge to get the Vimto.

I'm only a day in, and this bump has made such a big change to my life!

It starts

Nervous, and a little bit excited. Here we go ...

The Experiment

So, after work today I'm starting a week-long experiment to see what it's like to be pregnant.

Yes, I'm a man, a Dad, and my wife's been pregnant three times, and I want to know what I was missing out on. Of course it wont be exactly real, I wont have morning sickness, I wont get swollen angles, and I wont get mood swings, and I wont get to feel a wonderful growing baby wiggle around in side of me. But I will get to find out just how hard it is to tie up shoe laces, reach for the pasta on top of the cupboard and sleep with a huge six-month baby belly getting in the way.

I've prepared - I got the bump back in August (a wedding anniversary present would you believe?) and I've been wearing it for a few evenings here and there, even tried sleeping with it on a few times to get myself ready for the big week.

It's going to be hard, not full-on pregnancy hard, but still tough I reckon. I shall try to keep you posted in my trials and tribulations, and I've set my self a few challenges to complete during the week (I'll try to get DW to take photos and post them here). Those challenges are:

1. Driving and getting in/out of the car
2. Carrying heavy boxes up/down stairs and out to the garage
3. Long walk with a toddler
4. Bath the kids
5. Changing and making bunk beds
6. Cut & paint my toe nails
7. Shave my legs ... maybe!

It should be fun, wish me luck!