37 weeks {and counting down}

Full term. Technically. The baby could literally arrive any time now. Given that I went early with Reuben (on this exact day of gestation actually) I have this (probably irrational) expectation… and hope…  in my mind that the same thing will happen again. I’m as ready as I can be (I won’t have to go shopping while I’m in labour this time!), and the longer I wait the more I start to make myself nervous about the whole giving birth again thing, and remember how much it bloody hurts!

It’s a weird part of your pregnancy, where you’re uncomfortable and big and hot (dude it’s been 38 degrees this week!!) and just waiting. Every day when I take Mayana to school, her teacher says to me, “You’re still here!” Hopefully it won’t be too many more days of that before it’s my mum or sister dropping her off and telling her teacher that it’s finally happened.

Such a weird thought that any day now our whole family is going to change in the biggest way, although experience reminds me that within mere hours of him being born I won’t be able to imagine life without him. It’s still so abstract at the moment. That wriggling little thing that keeps kicking me in ribs and makes me tummy look all misshapen and poking me in places that shouldn’t be poked is soon going to be my son… a baby in my arms and at my breast and filling up our lives.

This week the midwife told me that she was surprised she hadn’t seen me on the weekend at birthing suite. So that’s got to be a good sign that things will happen soon, right? In the meantime I’ll be here trying to convince myself that it’s more likely that I’ll be overdue, just so that it doesn’t bite too much if it does happen…

Coming to the end…

Today I’m 36 weeks pregnant. *Gulp*!

I am feeling well, enjoying the slight reprieve from the awful heat. I am tired, mostly because sleeping is becoming more and more difficult. To the point that I’m actually looking forward to the newborn days! I am cumbersome and finding it harder to maintain my energy levels, and playing trucks and trains on the floor with Reuben is becoming less possible. I can no longer buckle up my own shoes! The baby seems to have dropped a little in the last few days, which is a nice relief to my lungs, and also to my poor bruised ribs which have had tiny feet hooked around them for the last few weeks… ouch! I’m wondering if this baby is going to be a bit bigger than the others, because I don’t remember that being such a problem before. I am having a huge amount of Braxton Hicks… the plain old tightening ones, and then some that feel suspiciously like early labour pangs, even occurring at a semi-regular pace.

Tadpole, by all accounts, is going well. He is obviously growing, moving, hiccupping (a lot!). He is facing head down and it seems that all systems are go. We are just at the waiting stage really. I know I technically have four weeks until my ‘due date’, but the fact that I went into spontaneous labour at 37+1 weeks with Reuben is heavy on my mind. I am by turns wishing for that to happen again, and then filled with waves of anxiety that I am sooooo not ready. We haven’t even cleaned up the bassinette or washed the teeny-tiny baby clothes yet! Plus there’s that whole giving birth again thing. Youch!

Peter and I have been playing the name game for about the last four months. Over the weekend, we think we have finally found one that will stick. Maybe. We have been known to change our minds. I can’t believe how much we are struggling with this one!

It’s feeling really surreal. This pregnancy was a big surprise… a very happy and welcome one for sure, but it definitely took us a while to adjust to. Then the timing over Christmas and New Years and holidays meant that I didn’t really get into the swing of midwife appointments until the last two months or so. I didn’t even have my glucose test for gestational diabetes until last week! We have been so busy with Mayana starting school and everything that the end of this pregnancy has really snuck up on us. Before we know it, we are going to be parents of three children. Wowzers!

The Third Trimester

I’m 28 weeks pregnant all of a sudden, and already a week into the third trimester. This pregnancy is literally flying by.

Things are still going well, though I’m not loving the whole combination of ridiculously hot summer and third trimester, but on the upside I do at least have air conditioning and a recliner chair when things get too tough! My hips, sciatica and lower back have been giving me a lot of grief, I really do think I’m going to need a visit to a physio before this is over.

Baby wise though everything is great. I had my first midwife visit last week, and she was only concerned when she measured my fundal height (where they measure the distance between the pubic bone and the top of the ‘fundus’/uterus) and discovered that it was measuring about four weeks ahead. Fundal height is not the most accurate of measurements, especially when you are in your third pregnancy and well and truly pre-stretched; but it pays to be safe rather than sorry, as there are a few conditions that advanced fundal height can be a marker of. So she booked me in for a surprise ultrasound just to check how the baby was measuring, and to make sure there’s the right amount of amniotic fluid in there.

So on Friday I took my mum up to the hospital for a sneak peek of baby Tadpole. Here I must admit that I haven’t been entirely honest with you, dear readers. I mentioned in an earlier post that the baby had been quite uncooperative in our morphology scan and almost all of the pictures were blurry. Well that is true, they almost all were, except for one picture that we really did not want to see. In spite of very clearly telling the sonographer that we did not want to know the sex of our baby, she left a lovely, VERY clear, between-the-legs shot for us on the disc of images we took home. So clear in fact, that upon seeing it, Mayana immediately turned to me and demanded, “Mama! Is that a willy?!!” And indeed it was. And yes, baby Tadpole confirmed to us on Friday that as well as being a total exhibitionist, he is definitely a he! I am somewhat disappointed that we are missing out on the surprise that we were so excited about, but very happy that we are going to be having another beautiful son.

A happier surprise was that at the end of our scan on Friday – which by the way was completely fine, Tadpole is measuring perfectly on dates, and the reason my fundal height was off was that he is laying in the right position, head down already, on his tummy with his little butt right up in the air—or in the top of my uterus as the case may be! – the sonographer switched the screen over to the 3D setting and we got a beautiful 3D shot of our lovely son! (he has his hand over his left eye, and despite plenty of prodding with the ultrasound wand, he wasn’t moving it!!)

So today is less than twelve weeks until our baby’s due date, and if I want to really freak myself out, I remind myself that Reuben was born less than nine weeks from this point! There is so much on between now and then that I’m sure that time is going to disappear in the blink of an eye, and we are going to be holding this gorgeous little fella before we know it!

22-ish weeks

This pregnancy with little Tadpole is moving a long fairly uneventfully, which is definitely a good thing! Blood pressure is behaving itself, fundal height is growing at the proper rate, and at the morphology scan every measurement came up right on schedule.

As you can see, that tummy is definitely steadily growing too! I discovered to my horror the other night that I am developing a few brand new stretch marks (already!)… surely there were enough there to work with already?

Tadpole is very active and the kicks have become quite forceful lately. Peter and Mayana have both enjoyed being able to easily feel kicks and thumps with their hands on my tummy… it is becoming quite normal for my book to go flying off my tummy when I’m reading in bed at night.

Reuben has recently become aware of ‘bubby’s’, and it’s quite funny to see him pointing to other babies when we are out and about who are bigger than him (but quite probably younger) and exclaiming, “Bubby!”. We talk to him about the bubby in mummy’s tummy, and he looks at us like we’re crazy. However when we ask him where the bubby is he will pat my tummy and obligingly blow a raspberry or two. He’s such a boy and loves to wrestle and dive-bomb everyone, and we have been trying to strongly discourage him from doing that to my tummy, because…ouch!!! I don’t know how much he understands about all of this, but I had some hope the other day when I saw him pick up Mayana’s baby doll, Georgie, and lovingly cradle her and kiss her on the head. We won’t talk about the part where he not-so-lovingly threw her down onto the tiles afterwards though.

I am feeling well overall, and adjusting to the tiredness by giving in to nana-naps a couple of afternoons a week while the kids have their rest time. My hips, pelvis and sciatica are still giving me grief, and I’m already dreading how that will develop as we get further into this pregnancy. I got (finally) got my referral to the midwives this week, and I’ll definitely be pushing to get some time with the physio to try and learn something to help manage my discomfort.

I’m starting to get really excited about meeting this little one. It took me longer than I thought it would to adjust to the idea of having a baby that wasn’t on my timeline.. I can’t say it was not planned because we definitely wanted a third (and maybe one day a fourth!) but the ‘when’ part was definitely taken out of my hands. A friend told me the other day that surprise babies are wonderful children (I’m sure my mum would agree, after all my baby brother was a similar story to this one!) so I have great expectations!

I love my little Tadpole, love these months where I get to enjoy all those little movements and feel myself grow as the baby does. I love being pregnant!

Tadpole’s profile shot from the scan is awfully blurry – as are most of the photos! All of my children have not responded well to being prodded by the sonographer’s wand and are certainly less than cooperative during their scans! So this is not a very good profile shot, as the baby quickly moved its head away just as it was being taken. Still pretty gorgeous though!

18 (and a half) weeks

I realised just now that for Reuben’s pregnancy, remembering he arrived three weeks early, today would have been exactly half way through my pregnancy. I wonder if this baby will be ‘on time’. I’m sure after enduring an entire summer-full of third trimester, I won’t be minding too much if our lil Tadpole (who, by the way, Mayana has nicknamed ‘Tad’ – leave it to her to create a nickname from the nickname!) decides to make an early appearance!

So here I am.

Possibly half way through my third pregnancy, already. And I thought things went quick with Reuben! We have been busy, with holidays and booked-out weekends and I’m always busy even on home days with kids like Mayana and Reuben.

Third pregnancy is good. Once I was past that slightly nerve-wracking first trimester I settled into it well. The biggest difference this time is that I am so, so tired. With the others, once I got into the second trimester I sort of perked up in the exhaustion department, but that hazy fog isn’t quite lifted yet. Some days I feel like I’m in zombieland and more often than not I’m in bed next to Mayana at rest time. Thank the Lord for rest time! I mentioned my overwhelming tiredness to my doctor at my appointment this week, and he looked at me quizzically and said, pointing at Reuben, who was (as per usual) extremely active throughout my entire appointment, “You’ve got him…” pause. Then pointing at my mid-section, “and you’re growing that.” Indeed. He told me to take some vitamin B. I’ll just add it to the handful of tablets I’m already taking each morning and cross my fingers that it kicks in QUICKLY! Other than that and the super-achy hip thing (man OUCH! I constantly feel like I’ve spent the last few days in the saddle) I’m feeling well.

I’ve been somewhat more lax with appointments this time round too. I remember with Mayana I felt like I was at the doctor all the time. Less so with Reuben. And even less so this time. Poor third baby. My appointment this week was quick and breezy, quick check of the blood pressure (Reuben distracted me from seeing my result, I can only assume it was good since the doctor made no comment), stepped on the scales (no gain from last time, woot!), quick feel of the tummy (fundal height right on schedule) and I was handed a referral for my morphology scan. Once that’s done I’ll get referred to the midwives and probably be on more regular visits.

So next week some time we’ll be off to see our baby! And (big news everyone) unless it’s GLARINGLY obvious (like it kind of was for Reuben) we have decided… *deep breath* *gulp* tonotfindoutwhatwearehaving. I have discovered a very disgruntled inner control-freak since making that decision, but the decision has, thus and verily; verily and thus, been made. We have always said that we would have three children and then decide whether we would have a fourth, so this potentially could be our last pregnancy, and our last opportunity to experience this kind of surprise! It’s a little bit exciting, and a lot scary.. though I couldn’t explain why? Mayana surprised me by being very accepting of this decision. Not that she would have changed our minds, I just thought she’d feel more strongly about it. Funnily enough after being staunchly adamant that this baby is a girl since the beginning, in the last three weeks or so she’s begun to say that it “might be a boy you know mum, Reuben was a boy.” Indeed. Either way, there are literally no names at all that we like yet…. the one boy one that I was toying with got wiped off the list after a day of relief teaching last week! Luckily we’ve got a bit longer yet to come up with something.

In the last two weeks or so I’ve begun to feel lots of movement. Just little flutters at first, kind of like popcorn popping on the inside. In the last few days they’ve progressed to for real-kicks. I LOVE it. Our evening ritual is for Pete to lay his head on my tummy and talk to the baby and see what he can feel. Mayana likes to do the same, and proclaims she feels lots of kicks, but I have an inkling she’s making things up.

I’m sure I’ll be back soon with lots of pictures from Tadpole’s photoshoot!

Hello second trimester!

13 weeks today, and happy to be in the second trimester. I’m looking forward to feeling the perks of the second trimester.

A couple of weeks old, but I haven’t been feeling very photogenic this week!

While I haven’t been throwing up, I have been feeling a lot more seedy this pregnancy than I have in my others. I thought the nausea was gone, but this last week or so it’s back with a vengeance. I’m hoping it’s just here for a last hurrah, not to be seen again for the next 6 months or so! My gag reflex is totally overactive, which makes things interesting when changing the 4 or 5 dirty nappies Reuben produces each day *blergh*! And it’s definitely been more exhausting.. hello 8pm bedtime!

Other than that though, things seem to be progressing well. It’s that weird time of a pregnancy where you’re starting feel pregnant but not quite at the same time. My tummy has popped right out, and I’m already having to wear a belly band if I want to not be wearing maternity pants! I just can’t wait to start feeling those little flutters.

It’s interesting going through another pregnancy with yet another doctor. All doctors seem to do their antenatal process differently, and my new doctor comes from interstate and I’ve noticed a few things new to me so far. I had a bazillion blood tests a couple of weeks ago, and everything was perfect except for my Vitamin D levels, so I’m on a supplement for that. I’m also taking calcium… I bought some literally the day I found out I was pregnant, because I have had such awful teeth problems with both pregnancies and I don’t want that to happen this time. My doctor says that he’s always agreed with the old adage ‘you lose a tooth per pregnancy’. I told him that for me it’s two teeth. So far *touch wood* the calcium is doing its thing and I have not had so much as a twinge, which is pretty good considering that by this point of my pregnancy with Mayana two of my teeth had literally dissolved and I’d had to have two root canals!

It’s been interesting adjusting to the idea of being pregnant. We are so excited, and very happy about our number three, but it seems so huge to be having another child and not have prepared my control-freak mind about it before the fact. More kids than parents… more kids than hands! I’ve been thinking about Reuben and how he’s too little to understand what any of this means, and how Mayana was old enough to know that a baby was coming and what that meant when he was born. I wonder what difference that will make for him.. if we’ll have the ‘jealousy issues’ that we never experienced before with Mayana. Mayana is so excited, talks to the baby all the time and tells everyone that we have five people in our family now. If you ask her whether she thinks it’s a boy or a girl, she’ll reply emphatically, “It’s a girl. God told me”. I however, have had two very vivid dreams of a baby boy so far, so I guess we’ll just see!

One of my dreams was about labour, and if the real thing is going to be like that dream I can’t wait! It was amazing, and has me longing for that moment when the baby finally leaves your body and its warm, slimy self is placed on your chest, and how amazing that tiny weight feels against your skin.. the way the first thing s/he hears is how much his/her Mama loves him/her. Both of my two have looked straight up at me with huge blue eyes as if to say, “I know you,” and it’s just the most euphoric moment I’ve ever experienced and I have tears running down my cheeks just remembering it. That moment… looking forward to that moment… makes everything so much more bearable. I honestly can’t wait. Boy or girl.

Reuben, while we were introducing ourselves.

13 weeks down, 27 to go – give or take – and I can’t wait to meet the newest member of our family!

A Surprise!

Surprised? So were we! We are ecstatic however, and cannot wait to welcome this latest member to our family.

I am heading towards the end of the first trimester, and my evening-sickness (it’s always been afternoons/evenings for me!) is beginning to ease. My anxiety over something being/going wrong (which I think every pregnant woman experiences to some degree, but is even more amplified when you have suffered a loss), is also beginning to ease after the delight of seeing our wiggling little being (who has been nicknamed ‘Tadpole’) last week in an ultrasound.

My apparently very pre-stretched body has decided to look pregnant already, and I am barely able to do up my jeans, despite the fact that I have lost a further 2 kilos since finding out I was pregnant (That’s over 10kg since quitting sugar now!!).

Mayana is over the moon (in case you can’t tell) and adamant that the baby is a girl. I told her that she said the same thing about Reuben and she replied that she is right this time… God told her. I suppose we’ll see in another 6 months or so! We are undecided on whether we will find out the gender of this baby… we are leaning towards keeping the surprise baby a surprise. Knowing us we’ll change our minds about 354 times before the time comes!

We are feeling very blessed, and excited that our little family is growing once again!

We Are Four

Here is Part Two of my “Reuben Story”…

Reuben and I spent a wonderful hour of skin-to-skin time. My little boy crawled up my chest, mouthing and looking for food – which he found before too long, and attached perfectly in his very first attempt. He also peed all over me, which was very charming. Peter got the opportunity to cut the cord, and Heather showed me the ins and outs of my plancenta – which is something I would have loved to have seen after Mayana was born but hadn’t gotten the chance... Amazing by the way!!

Reuben

Mayana

Reuben looked exactly like Mayana did when she was placed on my chest. It was uncanny really, could have been the same baby! And so much for all of the doctor’s and sonographer’s predictions that this baby was going to be a lot bigger than his sister. Heather predicted straight away that he weighed less than six pounds, and when our skin-to-skin time was up, and he was finally placed on the scales, we discovered that she was in fact correct. Reuben weighed in at 2570g or 5lbs 11oz. He was 43cm long, with a head circumference of 33cm (exactly the same as his sister). “Ha!” I proclaimed, “Perhaps now the doctor’s will just believe me that I have small children and will leave me alone about Mayana!!”

My parents arrived at the hospital as we were nearly finishing skin to skin, and Reuben got to meet his Kami and Opa. They had cuddles after the weigh-in, and I filled Mum in on some of the details of the birth. We were all a bit in shock that it had all happened and that Reuben was here! I was supposed to be at work!!

I unfortunately had to have stitches again – I tore on the scar-line left from Mayana’s birth... having stitches is seriously is my least favourite part of birthing a baby. Thankfully that was all over fairly quickly, and after showering and getting Alexie to apply some make up, I felt human again, and ready to pose for photos with my beautiful son.

Reuben with Lala, whose hands he was born into!

We spent the afternoon just enjoying our baby, and anticipating the moment when Mayana arrived to meet her baby brother. A friend had dropped her off to my sister Bethanie at school, and she was bringing Mayana to the hospital. Once she had been dropped off, Bethanie rang me to let me know that no one had told her the big news, and it was my pleasure to be the one to announce it on the phone. “Mayana, guess what!?” I said. “Baby Two isn’t in my tummy anymore, he was born today and he’s ready for you to give him a big cuddle. You’re a big sister now!!”. Silence. Bethanie later told me that her mouth had dropped open and her face was clearly processing this new information. Eventually I asked her, “Mayana, what do you think honey?”
“It’s good!” she replied. Then she handed the phone to Bethanie and I heard her telling whoever was with her that Baby Two was here!

It was a long half hour waiting for them to arrive at the hospital, and the moment I had been waiting for didn’t disappoint. Mayana’s face was completely priceless. She sat in my lap with Reuben in her lap, kissing his head, examining his fingers (“They’re so tiny Mama!”), and saying over and over, “Awwww, he’s so cute!” She also spontaneously started singing to him:

I love you, a bushel and a peck
A bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck
A hug around the neck, and a barrel and a heap
A barrel and a heap and I’m talking in my sleep
About you... about who? About YOU!

Seriously, most beautiful moment ever.

We showed Reuben off to my sister and her husband, and later in the afternoon two of my friends from work came to visit. I loved that people came to visit in hospital, it was so much fun to introduce our gorgeous boy to people, and it helped things to sink in for me. It was so surreal to me that it had all happened. I should have been at work that day! I literally felt like I was in a dream, and that any second I would wake up to the Thursday morning alarm telling me to get ready for school.

When we were taken to our room, I asked the midwife if I would be able to go home that evening. The hospital has a policy that the minimum time you have to stay is 6 hours, and I really wanted to go home. I know a lot of mums enjoy the time out in hospital, but I knew I would be more relaxed and happier at home, and I also was in one of the few share-rooms at the hospital (they were soooo busy while I was there), and  I didn’t much fancy spending the night in a room with a stranger. Unfortunately we were told that the paediatricians were just about done for the day and didn’t have time to see me (a paed has to check your baby out before you’re allowed to leave) and that they would prefer me to stay a night anyway given that he was a little early and had a small birth weight. Peter stayed with us until about 9pm, and I settled in on my plastic bed hoping to get a bit of sleep.

Our night in hospital was long. Reuben slept impressively well, but everyone else’s baby cried. The midwives who were on night shift were so great. They arranged for me to do the Healthy Hearing Test, and other discharge requirements through the night, so that basically all we had to do was have the paed check to go home in the morning.

At 10am a nurse came and told me that the paediatricians would be there to see me within an hour. The hour passed, and then another, then another. My mum, sister, brother, Mayana and Peter arrived just after 11, and we all sat in my tiny part of our room and waited. I started to get kind of stir crazy. It was so hot in there, and dimly lit (I was on the side of the room with no window), and the bed was very uncomfortable. I just wanted to go home! The paediatrician finally arrived at 2.30pm, and was with us for about 10 minutes before he said we could go. Ugh. It was SUCH a relief to finally be on our way. I just wanted to be home with my new little family of four.

Reuben in his carseat, on the way home!

Being home has been great. We have all settled in really well, and are enjoying our new addition. My mum stayed for the first 5 days, and we really loved having her here. Reuben is doing so well.

We had midwives come out to us until day 5, and they were really great. On Sunday, the midwife was a bit concerned about Rueben’s weight loss. It is normal for babies to drop below their birth weight, but he had dropped more than the 10% that is considered okay. We had to go on a strict three-hourly feeding schedule, and top up with a 40mL bottle after each breastfeed. It was my choice whether we used expressed milk or formula. I initially wanted to use expressed, but the more I thought about it the more I remembered how much I had disliked expressing milk with Mayana, and decided that I didn’t need to give myself reasons to stress. We bought some sachet samples of formula, and some new bottles, and topped up feeds for 24 hours. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but I wanted to get through the situation without landing up with the level of stress and anxiety I had when we went through weight issues with Mayana.  I asked our church family to be praying for us; I didn’t want to go through the same weight issues that I had with Mayana again. The next day, the midwife weighed Reuben again, and discovered that he had gained 200g, in 24 hours. I have no doubt that this was an answer to prayer.

Since then we have not had to do any formula  feeds, and Reuben has been feeding like an absolute champion. By day 5, he was back up to his birth weight and we were out of the woods.

Reuben is a very contented baby, and has been sleeping really well. Even in his awake time he is very relaxed and placid, and only really cries when he has to have his nappy changed... he does not think much of being exposed.

His big sister completely adores him. I hear the words, “Mummy I love Reuben” about 26,000 times a day, and in true Mayana fashion she has already nicknamed him Reubs. (She shortens everyone’s name.. Kami becomes Kam, Papa becomes Pap, Lala becomes La – and my favourite – Opa has recently become Op). She loves to give him cuddles, and helped me give him bottles in our 24 hour feeding frenzy. The sweetness of that moment helped to make the problem a little more bearable.


It’s hard to believe that our little treasure has only been in our lives for less than two weeks. It feels like he has been part of us forever. We love getting to know him, and are enjoying getting to find out what ‘us’ means now that we are four.

Nesting

I was 37 weeks pregnant on Saturday. That means there are less than three weeks until we will meet our son. I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t be upset if he decided to make a slightly earlier appearance (though I’m not holding my breath).

I think I feel bigger than I was with Mayana. I think this baby is bigger than his sister. The crazy movements I feel this time… I don’t remember so much from last time!

We had a busy weekend finally getting things organised. I think I’ve hit the nesting stage, but it mostly feels good to feel like we’re actually prepared for this baby to arrive.

We have moved Mayana into the room across the hallway from us, and she will be sharing it with her baby brother when he arrives. We both feel really great to have her that much closer to us, and she is very excited about sharing with Baby Two. She is also quite enamoured with the fact that she now has a playroom.

Here’s what we accomplished on the weekend. I wish I had before shots, but I didn’t think that far ahead. Also excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken in bad lighting on my iPhone.

We turned Mayana’s old room into the playroom. It looks even bigger without the bed and wardrobe.

We have moved our old TV & the Wii into the room, so I guess it’s kind of Pete’s playroom now too. And we have a great big blank wall that we have turned into Mayana’s art gallery. It’s a very cool place to be!

The ‘sleeping room’, as Mayana has christened it, is much smaller, but still much larger than the average-sized bedroom, and has ample room for both of the kids. The rule is that this room is only home to beds, books and clothes… all toys belong in the playroom only (with the exception of Mayana’s new baby doll, Georgi, and her paraphernalia).

Mayana’s side…

Baby Two’s side…

Mayana has moved some of her owl collection into her new room, and Baby Two’s animal contribution is going to be elephants. It’s a cute combination.

So the nesting has kicked in… I’ve even mostly packed my hospital bag, and we have been down to the hospital to tour the birthing suites and maternity ward [^Insert heart palpitations here].

Pregnancy-wise, things are going well. I get bigger by the day hour, but am feeling generally well. I’ve started to get puffy feet, but that’s a good excuse to put my feet up. My back and hips are slightly sorer, and I have developed a very decided waddle. But every day, I’m that little bit closer to meeting my gorgeous baby, and every day I long to feel him in my arms just that little bit more. I have my last week of work this week, and I have no doubt that it will fly by. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to maternity leave!

Until then, I’ll be here, plodding along, steadily growing bigger, and closer to meeting my boy.

35 Weeks

Flip! I officially have less than 5 weeks until my due date. Insane.

I have officially lost sight of my toes. In fact, I had to lean forward quite a bit to find them for this photo. The baby is feeling quite big, and movements now don’t feel so much like kicks as scrapes, as he moves his limbs (sometimes quite painfully) along my insides. It has been fun to try and guess whether those sharp poky bits are knees or elbows or feet, even if they sometimes do bring a tear to my eye!

I am well and truly running out of clothes now. I have mostly gotten away with stretchy or flowy summer dresses up until now, and it’s frustrating that less than five weeks out I have to actually fork out for some maternity-wear. But at this point it’s that or naked, and that’s not going to fly!

I am feeling well, still reading my birthing books and other people’s birthing stories (which really does little more at this point than bring back memories of how flipping much labour hurts) but I’ll get there. I spoke to the midwife at this week’s appointment about visiting the birthing suites, and I’m hoping we will get a chance to do that before I actually have to use them. They only allow visits on Sunday afternoons (their quiet time, who knew?) and we are well and truly running out of weekends!

We have decided to have Mayana and Baby Two in the same room from the beginning (for a number of reasons), and I am excited about setting up that room and moving Mayana in, hopefully in the next week or so, so we can get things sorted and ready.

So all-in-all, another week of pregnancy down, another week closer to meeting my son. Nothing too eventful, which is probably a good things, and I am enjoying my pregnancy and my bump and these last few weeks of having my baby safe and sound on the inside.

Can’t wait to meet him and cuddle him on the outside though!!