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At 35 weeks a few things have changed on this path to parenthood.

First I got rid of the cold which makes my life a lot easier.

My bump is dropping by the day and I can feel the baby a lot lower than before. It is bigger though and getting out of bed and moving became quite amusing at times.

I’ve been getting a shooting pain in my bladder which the midwife said is the baby trying to engage. I’ve been having painful spasms on my back and my hips feel like they are going to dislocate at any moment. One false move and the pain strikes me like a lightning. It got to the point that I actually start laughing at the sorry image of me. These symptoms (although painful) don’t bother me nearly as much as the past month (see previous moaning posts). I don’t know if it’s because they are easier to deal with or because I see them as my body doing the final preparations for labour.

It feels like we are getting there. We don’t have to wait for ages anymore and soon enough we will have our baby in our arms. I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I think ‘blimey, it is really going to happen!’

It’s a bit of a scary thought. We still have no idea what to do or how we will be as parents but we are thinking that so many people have done it, we can do it too.

I’m trying not to think about labour as it scares me a bit, I’m just focusing on getting through it as quickly as possible and on the fabulous result. My ante-natal classes start next week. I hope they don’t show videos of labours though. The effect of women screaming the times I’ve been to the hospital was enough, if I see the whole thing I might change my mind and not want to do it anymore . Not that I have a choice.

So now that the time is coming I don’t feel impatient anymore. I’m just trying to enjoy these last few weeks as much as possible before our lives change completely, and I’m enjoying the time getting everything ready for the new arrival.

Oh and btw, when we started telling people about the pregnancy we were amazed on how so many people we know became pregnant at around the same time. So far two babies are born already

Congratulations to S. and C. on the arrival of baby J. and S. and M. on baby M. (you know who you are)

18 weeks

21 weeks

31 weeks

34 weeks

The last 3 weeks (going on 4) have been quite tough. I got a very nasty cold that left me in a poor state. I couldn’t even take anything for it! I usually only get sick for a couple of days but this one has been going on until now. Every time I get a bit better it strikes me again and there I go back to feeling miserable.

If it was just the cold it wouldn’t be so bad but at about the same time I started getting a sharp strong pain on my ribs on the left side. The result is that I can’t sit down unless I’m leaning backwards and the worst of all, I couldn’t sleep on my sides. Right or left. Sleeping on my back is not advisable especially at this point in the pregnancy and it certainly isn’t comfortable. Worst bit even? Asthma came back and together with the blocked nose the result is I can’t sleep on my back! So I couldn’t sleep! I got to the point of desperation!

Fortunately the asthma eased and the pain in the ribs decreased so I can now sleep on my right side for short periods. But I still have a blocked nose and a pounding headache. But much better than before

My bump has dropped considerably (might have helped with the ribs) but it’s still growing and Tubbs is certainly still moving a lot. I think more than ever. And it’s really funny how she responds to external stimulation

One thing that I’ve noticed is that whenever Russ puts his hand on my bump she calms down. Guess who will be putting her to sleep?

Anyway I have been reading lots about babies and found some books that are a bit more real and prepare you for what can go wrong even with breast feeding. Until now the picture was painted as a perfect one. It is slightly concerning but I think I prefer to be prepared for it than to be caught off guard and feel like a failure or like I’m not a good mother.

I’m also getting quite impacient! I can’t wait to see what she looks like and to be able to hold her. I mean she is inside me but I can’t touch her.

I already packed my hospital bag (I like to be prepared) and realised that she has loads of clothes but only up to 3 months. Nothing above that! We are going to have to do some shopping. We have almost everything else. All we need is some sheets and  a mobile for the cot, some towels, a thermometer and a couple of toys she can look at and touch.

34 weeks tomorrow

I went to the hospital to do my GTT (see previous post). It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. For some reason I wasn’t hungry at all. After the first blood collection and a very tasty glucose drink we has to wait 2 hours for the second blood collection. Luckily the hospital organised things so I could do the ultrasound and see the doctor in between so we kept busy. The results should be back next week but I’m sure they will be fine. The ultrasound was fine, she is of normal size and doing well. Of course that being Tubbs, she hid her face so we couldn’t take a picture but we didn’t mind too much. We’ll be seeing it live soon .

The doctor was the slowest doctor I’ve ever seen. At first I thought it was because he was foreign (sounded like a germanish accent) and wasn’t very comfortable with English, but even writing down the notes took ages. Very odd. I was supposed to see him about the latex allergy but the only thing he asked me was what made me think I was allergic and that was that. I’m not sure if it’s because of the allergy or the possibility of diabetes but I am being followed by both the midwife and a hospital doctor so I have another appointment with the hospital.

In the mean time I haven’t been sleeping very well. My back has been hurting all day and night and together with the heartburn and the night visits to the toilet I’m not left with much time for sleeping. I getting bigger and bigger and it’s starting to get a but frustrating not being able to do anything. I can’t get out of the sofa without Russ’s help, I can’t pick up things from the floor or reach lower cupboards, I get tired just going up the stairs to use the toilet, I’m in constant pain and starting to get bored. Especially when there is so much left to do with the house and I can’t do it. Honestly I’m starting to get a bit fed up with being pregnant and I can’t wait till Tubbs is born healthy and beautiful. Still 10 more weeks to go (if she’s not late) and my mood is getting worse each day (Poor Russ)