Now the real fun begins

Lots of people said she would be early but I really don’t think it will happen. I am prepared to wait a couple more weeks even though the discomfort has taken a new level. I am also prepared for the possibility of  having to be induced just like what happened with me and Russ. But that is not what worries me.

What worries me is that we have now confirmation that Russ will be in Exeter for a week, possibly 2 (maybe including the weekend) after the 15th. She is due on the 9th. If she is even a week late, Russ will be 4 hours drive away. I will not be alone, as my dad and step mum arrive tonight, but I would still prefer to have Russ with me through the whole process and I am certainly not prepared for him to miss the birth. I know that it can take hours but it can also be quick and I’m also not happy of Russ to leave a very important client and drive 4 hours under stress and in a hurry. I need him safe and sound and with energy to help me.

The other thing is that my dad is staying for 3 weeks and we tried to arrange it so that he could see his first granddaughter before he leaves. That is the purpose of the visit. But if she is very late and the induction takes ages to work he might miss it.

For now all I can do is wait and see.

This is my bump at almost 38 weeks. I’m surprised I don’t fall forwards or how it hasn’t burst yet! The only people I’ve seen so far with bumps as big as me are having twins!

And the thing is, if she decides to be born 2 weeks late, I still have a whole month of growth ahead of me!

On another note, pregnesia (or baby brain or whatever people call it) has been affecting me dearly lately. I forget what I am doing often, do things I really didn’t want to do, forget what I was talking about, but worst, I’m losing the ability to speak English. I find myself talking to people and not being able to find the words or saying something completely wrong or with an appalling grammar! If this goes on I might need a translator at the hospital!

The funny side is that Russ, although in a much smaller scale, has been slightly off as well. I wonder if he will feel sympathy pains when I’m in labour?

Anyway we were quite impressed. It all looks brand new – the hospital has been through major works – and it all looks spacious and clean.

There are 18 rooms midwife and consultant led. They all have en-suite and the midwife led ones also have CD player, oil burning facilities for aromatherapy, odd shaped sofa and a bed and loads of stuff to help during labour. One of them has a birth pool There are other rooms like an induction room with 4 beds in them and not a lot of space – especially not for dads to stay there during the process – so I hope I don’t need to use one of them, theatres where the C-sections are done, rooms for rest and reflection, etc.

We also got a chance to see the midwives in action with an emergency. One of the pregnant women in my group lost consciousness. It was very hot and she kept her coat on so maybe that was the cause. The midwife that was doing the tour rang the alarm (available in every room) and about 10 of them came running to help! Very efficient!

We then went upstairs to see the post-natal ward and again it was impressive. Hot drinks available in the corridors, rooms with only 4 beds each, each bed has it’s own tv/telephone/internet connection… All very good.

The best bit was when we managed to see a midwife teaching the new parents to bathe the new born. He/she was put in a see through bucket so that they (and us from the corridor) could see how it’s done. They look so small and helpless!

If everything goes well the discharge happens between 6 hours and 2 days. ou can’t leave until both the baby and the mother are checked by the doctors. You also get the chance, as it happened, to be shown how to bathe, change a nappy and breastfeed. They expect the dad’s to change the nappies while the mother is resting. I liked that

All in all I was really happy with what I saw and the people that work there seems really nice. Can’t wait

(and there were no women in labour at the time so no screams to freak me out )

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)