Pregnancy Update: Week 36 and 37

Good morning all, long time no see. I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!

I apologise for being a bit lax on the blogging front lately. Its been a little crazy around here. Between getting all the last minute things I needed wrapped up, trying to catch up on some much needed sleep and getting ready for Christmas the past few weeks just slipped passed and now the New Year is already barrelling towards us.

In terms of how Baby H and I are doing we are still here, still pregnant and still waiting. This baby girl is getting bigger each day, which makes me a little nervous to be honest, but she is healthy and has made it past the full term mark so we’re very happy about that.

She still moves a lot, but you can really tell her space is restricted.

As for me – I am feeling huge, uncomfortable and cumbersome. I spend most of my time these days waddling around the house doing odd jobs, taking naps or chilling in the swimming pool because it it so incredibly hot and the pool is one of the few places I feel comfortable.

I have been experiencing some really intense Braxton Hicks contractions. These are quite painful and on more than one occasion Hubby and I thought we had to make the trip to the hospital. These always show up at night when I’m trying to sleep so right now most of my sleep takes place during the day…

Other than that we’re all still happy and healthy and looking forward to greeting the challenges of 2015 with open arms!

How far along? 37 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Leek (I thought we had been a leek already, but the app says leek so leek it is)

Total weight gain/measurements: Weight gain had slowed down a bit, but then Christmas happened. I’m scared to look!

Stretch marks: Nope not yet

Best moment this week: Christmas is always a highlight even though this one was a bit strange in how quite it was. Hubby’s family came down to spend Christmas and Boxing Day with us as I am stuck in Joburg until the baby arrives.

Miss anything? My abs, my feet not being all swollen and gross, real champagne and gin and tonic. 

Movement: She’s still moving quite a bit, but her movements have changed. There’s a lot more stretching and wiggling, not as many acrobatics.

Food cravings: Nothing really this week

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope

Gender: A little girl

Symptoms: Carpal tunnel, swollen feet, general moodiness, extreme tiredness, a little bit of nausea that comes and goes, very intense Braxton Hicks contractions… Oh and heartburn for the first time this pregnancy!

Belly button in or out? Out

Labour signs? At my appointment last week the doctor confirmed that my cervix had started shortening. She ruled out us having a Christmas baby, but any time from now is a real possibility. Baby is fully engaged, is in the perfect position to be born and is a really good weight. So we wait….

Wedding rings on or off? off

Happy or moody most of the time: I’m generally happy until I get over tired then I get really emotional

Exercise: I’ve been pretty good with exercise these past two weeks. I have gone on almost daily walks and have splashed around in the pool. It definitely makes a big difference to how I feel at the moment so I’m really trying to be consistent with it. It helps that I have so much free time on my hands right now.

Looking forward to: Ringing in 2015 – we’re not doing anything special, but I’m looking forward to saying good bye 2014 and hello to the new year. Then we have a Doctor’s appointment next week Tuesday and will hopefully get more info on when this monkey is coming!

Pregnancy Update: Week 35

Week 35 was incredibly busy. It was my last week in the office before I went on Annual leave and then Maternity leave. So there was a lot of admin to get done in order to wrap up my year.

It left me feeling a little exhausted and most days when I got home from work my feet were all swollen, but it feels good know that everything is done.

I also had dinner with some family that I haven’t seen in years. It was great to see everyone and catch up.

My poor husband got ill this week so we’ve been at home relaxing so he can get better.

The baby is still growing and is as active as ever. I find her movements endlessly entertaining and she has Hubby and I in stitches yesterday morning with her kicks and stretches.

I see the doctor for the last time this year next week and I’m anxious to know where we stand and how she’s doing.

Wow, this is a short post. Not my normal wordiness, but there hasn’t been much change this week.

How far along? 35 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Romaine lettuce

Total weight gain/measurements: We were at 70kg at my last doctor’s appointment

Stretch marks: Nothing yet

Best moment this week: Seeing my family and wrapping up my working year.

Miss anything? Being more mobile. You really take being able to bend over and touch your toes or roll over in bed for granted.

Movement: She’s a regular little yogi

Food cravings: Nothing really this week

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope

Gender: A little girl

Symptoms: My carpal tunnel has made a reappearance and as mentioned earlier my feet have been quite swollen. But nothing news other wise.

Belly button in or out? Out

Labour signs? I’m officially on labour watch, but I haven’t noticed anything yet. I’m pretty sure my doctor will do a pelvic exam next week and then we will have a clearer picture.

Wedding rings on or off? off

Happy or moody most of the time: I get very moody when I’m tired or hungry, but my general mood has been happy. Especially when I can potter around the nursery doing baby things…

Exercise: Last week was not great. I managed a swim or two, but that was it. Already this week is off to a much better start. 

Looking forward to: So much to look forward to! I have Christmas dinner with my friends (we do this every year before we all leave town on holiday), our parcel from my sister-in-law in Australia has finally arrived and I can’t wait to see it, shopping for and wrapping Christmas gifts, my rocking chair will finally be arriving this week and Hubby is taking me to see the Hobbit at the Imax. Also my doctor’s appointment next week. And Christmas! I love Christmas!

 

Here’s the bum at 35 weeks. I feel like we’re enormous!

My baby shower and a haul

My mom and amazing friends threw me a wonderful surprise baby shower on Saturday. I was really not expecting it and they went to so much effort. It was so special!

Husband had whipped me off to Pretoria with all sorts of infinitely, practical reasons that I really thought that we were on a shopping mission before heading off to dinner with friends.

When we got there however, my friends took me off his hands and to a really cute cupcake and tea shop where we had high tea (so many delicious cakes and treats!) and the baby and I were spoiled rotten.

It was so much fun to chat and catch up with my friends, who I haven’t seen in a few weeks, as well as family I haven’t seen in ages. They also gave me so much practical advice as well as really useful gifts that I am looking forward to putting to good use.

Here’s a rundown of what we got:

Baby clothes – This is a baby shower staple and we got some really cute stuff. I love this onsie that says ‘Thank Heavens for Little Girls’ as well as this t shirt that reads ‘Daddy’s Little Love Bug’. How adorable! Also my friend folded the onsies she gave me into roses and stuck them in a bunch of real roses, (which are currently gracing my kitchen table) and I as the idiot I am forgot to take a photo of them before I complete disassembled the arrangement, but it was lovely.

This is the Thank Heavens for Little Girls onsi set. I stupidly forgot to take photos of the bib…

Daddy’s Little Love Bug!

This one is covered in lady bugs. I love it.

My mom made this beautiful ballet jersey.

Another hand made by mom creation. This one has matching grren socks too

A lovely newborn printed onsie collection. These are the ones that were folded as roses.

How cute are the ice creams!

Love the mouse

The onsies are so cute and practical. We were so spoiled

More cupcakes and sweets.

The final hand made by mom jersey. This one is a little bigger for when the colder weather arrives in a few months

Hand-made items – My friend knitted this gorgeous pram blanket and my mom has been on a knitting mission making tiny jerseys, booties and blankets. I am going to have so much fun playing dress up with the baby!

Swaddlers, cuddle grows and receiving blankets – Having a summer baby in Africa is no joke, it gets really hot here in January, so I was given quite a few really light weight receiving blankets made from muslin and some goodies to make swaddling easier.

A book of children’s stories and nursery rhymes – This was such a thoughtful gift. I am a prolific reader and some of my fondest memories was story time with my parents and sisters. I can’t wait to be able to sit down and start reading stories I grew up with to my own daughter.

A beautiful family of owls my friend gave me to go with the owls she painted on the nursery walls!

Toiletries and baby essentials – This is a really thoughtful gift from my friend who had her baby last year. These are all products she swears by, uses everyday or could not live without. The dragonfly garland lights up and is to act as a night light in the nursery.

Dummies (pacifiers)

A really soft and cuddly soother

Embroidered towels – people have caught on to my dragonfly obsession. I love it!

The final gift was from my sister in Hong Kong. She had t shirts made up with little sayings on them that read Mommy of 1, Granny of 1, Granny of 3, Aunty K and Aunty C. We’re all to wear them when the baby is born and for photos. It’s so incredibly sweet.

 

Mama Magic Baby Expo

In Johannesburg we have a huge mommy, baby and toddler expo which takes place twice a year called Mama Magic.

This year Hubby and I decided to attend because you get really great deals on much needed baby items. We had a few things in particular that we needed to get – the travel system, the travel cot and high chair were at the top of our list.

So off we went all bright eyed and full of optimism. Boy, were we in for a shock! The expo was complete craziness. I have never experienced anything like it and at 34 weeks pregnant it was a lot harder on me than I had anticipated. By the end of the day my feet and back ached, I was exhausted and quite grumpy.

All that aside, however, we were able to save significantly on what we had to buy and we are in the really comfortable place of having everything we need for baby when she gets here.

Here’s what we went to get and it was mission successful!

Joie Travel System

The capsule car seat which fits into the frame of the pram. (Excuse my messy bed in the back ground)

The Joie Chrome Travel System in Stone. This is the pram segment that is front and rear facing and full reclines. Folds like a dream too

So much research and care went into choosing the pram we were going to get. So many travel systems are so expensive and even more prams are really expensive and then you need to add on the car seat and base and that drives the price up even more. What Hubby and I also found is that some types you needed to get a small loan for also felt so unstable and rickety that I wasn’t comfortable putting a baby in it, or it was really difficult to fold up, or they didn’t age well at all. So after many internet searches and reading many reviews and watching many videos we settled on the Joie Chrome Travel System. It was an all-inclusive price (we got the pram, the capsule seat and the Isofix base all in one go) that was made even better by the show special. It is really easy to fold, will fit nicely in my car, looks lovely and has one of the best breaking systems I have come across. We’re really chuffed with it.

Joie Illusion Travel Cot

The travel cot, or pack ‘n play, comes with a nappy dispenser and a fold away changing table and handy mosquito net (pictured)

This is what North Americans call Pack ‘n Plays. With our parents living so far away we needed a travel cot for the Monkey when we go visit. Also I want her to sleep in our room at first and rather than buy a Moses basket or bassinet I decided to get one item that would suit all our needs. This one is quite plain and simple, but it’s really sturdy, has a compact carry case, isn’t too heavy and comes with a foldaway changing station and nappy caddy which will make it ideal no matter where we have it set up.

Stokke Steps High Chair system

The Stokke Steps system

This was a gift from my parents in law and another item I am really excited about. This is a complete birth to toddler seating system that grows with your child. One thing that is really important to me is that our daughter learns early on that dinner time is family time and I want her to be able to join us at the table. This seating system will make that possible from when she’s really little and will grow with her. We got the one with the bouncer so we can use it from birth and then as she gets bigger it adapts to her stage of growth. It’s such a well thought out and designed product.

Pregnancy Update: Week 34

Week 34 was a good one. We have been very busy and I feel run off my feet, but ultimately happy and looking forward to some down time soon.

Last weekend was full of surprises with my parents coming down to visit and my mom and friends hosting a surprise baby shower. It was such a lovely afternoon. We drank tea, ate cake and the baby and I got presents. I’ve got a full post on the shower and what we got coming up this week.

Monday was full and busy at work and then on Tuesday we had a very interesting doctor’s appointment. It was great to see the baby is growing so well and she is getting ready to make her grand entrance in the world. You can read all about it here [link].

Then on Wednesday my colleagues at work surprised me with a baby shower. I was really touched and we were so spoiled again. I’m in such a good place right now for this little one to make her appearance. We’re all ready for her now. I obviously want her to stay put and mature as long as possible, but it’s a relief to know we’re ready. I have a post on the shower coming soon.

Wednesday was also our year end function at work so in comparison Thursday and Friday felt a bit dull. I filled my time doing chores. I have washed all her clothes and blankets and have started to organise the nursery.

In terms of how I’m doing it’s all business as usual. I get tired easily, my feet are swelling like crazy in this heat, and I feel very big and heavy. I have been trying to swim more and that definitely helps. I had an hour long swim the other day. The water was amazing and the feeling of being weightless was worth its weight in gold!

Also nesting has started with a vengeance. I have been organising the nursery, washing clothes and blankets, trying to get all my ducks in a row. My husband finds this endlessly amusing.

How far along? 34 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Honeydew melon

Total weight gain/measurements: We were at 70kg at my last doctor’s appointment

Stretch marks: Nothing yet

Best moment this week: Definitely getting spoiled at my baby shower

Miss anything? Walking without a waddle and being able to see my toes.

Movement: She’s a regular little yogi

Food cravings: Back to craving fruit and weirdly bacon…

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope

Gender: A little girl

Symptoms: I had very swollen feet and hands recently but it has been very hot, which doesn’t help. I’m also feeling a lot more pressure from the baby and my Braxton Hicks contractions are coming more often and feel more uncomfortable

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? I have finally given in and taken them off completely…

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy

Exercise: I had a great swim and a good long walk. I definitely feel myself slowing down, but I try to keep moving as much as possible.

Looking forward to: Finishing up this week at work. Its my last week before my annual leave and maternity leave kicks in

 

It all happened so fast!

It’s December and we went from having an empty room with nothing for this child to being practically ready for her!

And by practically ready I mean all we need is a bathtub and a changing mat (both of which we can manage without at first). I could bring her home tomorrow and she will be perfectly comfortable in our house with all her things. Its mind blowing!

How did that happen so quickly? One day we had nothing, the next we were ready. I have to wash all the teeny, tiny baby clothes and blankets and then organise the nursery.

I will pop up a post when it’s completely finished. I have a few posts lined up that just need to get written so I will be quite busy over the next few days. Look out for our experience at the Mama Magic baby show and my surprise baby shower complete with hauls next week!

I really can’t wait for this little one now. And that’s pretty much all we have to do now, sit and wait for her big arrival!

Speaking of happening so fast, I find it amazing that this journey that started way back in May is now almost over! A mere six weeks remain to our due date. It felt so long in the beginning and now it feels like it’s gone by in the blink of an eye!

Pregnancy Update: Week 33

The week started off with quite an eventful weekend – I roll over on a Saturday, so the weekend is the beginning of the new week of my pregnancy.

On Friday my friend came over to help finish painting the nursery. We have done an epic job if I do say so myself 😉

On Saturday morning I went for a wonderful walk around our neighbourhood. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was nice to be out absorbing some vitamin D and the peacefulness of it all.

I also had a hair appointment on Saturday. It’s been about three months since the last time I got my hair done and the time had definitely come! We cut quite a bit of the length off and touched up the colour a bit. This one needs to last another three months, because I don’t think I’ll make it back for before the baby arrives or for a while afterwards…

Sunday my nesting seemed to kick in and I spent the day decluttering and tidying the bedroom, throwing out old, unused things, putting stuff away neatly. It looks so much better! Then Hubby helped me hang the pictures that have been lying around since we had the house painted. It looks awesome. I’m so happy to have my photos back on the walls!

After the eventful week the week seemed to drag a bit. Thursday ended up being the best day. I took the day off work, the nursery furniture arrived and we went to the Mama Magic Baby Expo (which has its own post)

Now that we’re officially in December here is a bit of my pregnancy in numbers:

Days pregnant – 240

Days to go to our due date – 40

Days to go until I’m on maternity leave – 11

Number of Doctor’s appointments – 7

Baby weighs so far – around 2kg

How far along? 33 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Canteloupe

Total weight gain/measurements: I’m pretty sure we’re pushing the 70kg mark.

Stretch marks: Nothing yet

Best moment this week: So many to choose from: the nursery furniture arriving, the baby expo, buying some much needed items.

Miss anything? Walking without a waddle and being able to see my toes.

Movement: She’s a regular little yogi

Food cravings: Ice cream

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope

Gender: A little girl

Symptoms: The carpal tunnel has calmed down a lot this week and I think the brace I bought really helps. Other than that just the usual – feeling huge, getting tired an out of breath quickly, trouble sleeping and moving around.

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? I’m wearing only one

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy

Exercise: 

Looking forward to:

 

Pregnancy Update: Week 32

So week 32 in now in the review mirror and week 33 is going to be busy, busy, busy.

On a whole last week was a good one. It felt incredibly long while I was living it, but when I woke up on Friday it had felt like it had flown by. Time really is relative you know…

The weekend was great, I got my baby registries set up on Saturday and Sunday was spent working on the nursery, which you can read about in my nursery update post. We did more work on Friday night. We also got a delivery of some goodies for the nursery and the furniture should arrive this week so I’ll update you then.

I also managed to squeeze in a great chat with my sisters in Hong Kong, which was a lot of fun. Thank goodness for Skype! It’s awesome to see their faces when talking to them. My sister and brother-in-law will be coming home for a visit in April and my other sister looks like she’ll be here in March. I’m so excited to see them and for them to meet their niece!

Can we talk about carpal tunnel for a bit? This is my latest, and I have to say so far my most annoying, pregnancy symptom. I’ve developed it in my right wrist and it’s so painful! At first it was up the side of my right hand from wrist to pinky and now it’s the whole wrist as well.

I have slight twinges during the day and then full blown pain at night. I can’t put my weight on my hand, bending it is excruciating, and the worst part is I keep forgetting about it. I think I need to strap it up or something.

How far along? 32 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Pineapple

Total weight gain/measurements: Still saying 67kg. I haven’t measured or stepped on a scale. I have a doctor’s appointment next week so we’ll see then.

Stretch marks: Nothing yet, but I’m getting a lot of spidery veins. Hope those go away…

Best moment this week: Finishing the nursery mural! My epic friend cam back on Friday to help out with the last of the painting. It looks so amazing! I can’t wait until the furniture in in there as well.

Miss anything? I really miss sleeping on my back and not having weird light headed breathless moments or having a conversation without getting out of breath…

Movement: Still lots of stretching. I call these her yoga sessions. I’m getting them more and more in my sides now.

Food cravings: Cold fresh fruit. I demolished and entire punnet of grapes yesterday

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope

Gender: A little girl

Symptoms: General movement is difficult, I have the whole waddle thing now. Also getting in and out of cars – holy crap, not fun. The carpal tunnel thing that comes and goes, breathlessness and the odd dizzy spell. On the good side, my skin and hair look amazing and my nails are so strong.

Belly button in or out? Poking out just a bit

Wedding rings on or off? I’m wearing only one, but on very hot days I take it off.

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy

Exercise: I had two very nice walks this week. I hope to do more this week. We’ve had really crappy rainy weather in the afternoons which literally puts a damper on exercise plans

Looking forward to: The nursery furniture arriving 🙂

 

My Birth Plan

I have always believed in a pretty flexible birth plan.

A lot of what I want to do is more centred around post birth and not the actual giving birth process, but after the birthing class we went to I have refined my wants a bit more.

So I thought I would right a bit about my rough birth plan.

I don’t think that women should get too hung up on birth plans. We never really know what is going to happen in the delivery room and I don’t want to feel guilt or distress because it is not going according to plan, after all the ultimate goal is a healthy outcome for mom and baby.

To this end my birth plan looks a little like this:

Labour and delivery

• I would like to avoid induction unless absolutely necessary and I definitely do not want Pitocin, so anything we can do to avoid that would be optimal.
• I would like to try natural birth and would to see how far I can go without pain medication. That said I am not opposed to the epidural.
• I would like the option to move around and find the best birth position for me – this is a major motivation for not wanting the epidural for as long as I can stand it.
• In the event of a C-section (at this point it would be considered emergency as we have not elected to do a C-section) I would like to wait as long as possible. An emergency in the delivery room aside, we run the risk that the baby may be too big to deliver naturally. In this event I want to wait until as close to 40 weeks as possible before doing the ceasar.

Post delivery

• I want to do skin to skin as soon as possible after birth
• In the event that I can’t do skin to skin, I want my husband to do it.
• I would like to have the baby latch naturally post birth – but barring that I would like to feed her within an hour of delivery.
• I would like to donate stem cells from the cord blood.

So there you have it. All pretty simple in the grand scheme of things, but these are the points I feel the most strongly about.

Pregnancy Update: Week 31

Wow, watching these weeks tick by is both an incredibly exciting and anxiety-ridden experience.

It’s amazing to think that we’re just a mere eight weeks from our due date. This point of the pregnancy felt so far away back in May when we found out we’re expecting. Now November is nearly gone and we’re so close to the end result.

This week felt really tough. The third trimester is more difficult than I anticipated, and coupled with end of year fatigue, a huge work load and pressure to meet those final targets I’m feeling more than a little drained and exhausted.

In South Africa, for my overseas readers, we start the year in January and end it in December. Our long school holidays start somewhere around the end of November when the exams are finished and all the factories and many business close for the holidays around the 16^th. So we’re all off for Christmas and New Years and can enjoy the heat and beach.

This year has felt particularly long and trying. It has been a good year filled with many incredible experiences and a lot of hard work and personal growth. But it has also been a hard, emotional rollercoaster with more challenges than I have ever experienced.

I’m incredibly grateful for everything I’ve been through this year, but I’m ready for that break now.

How far along? 31 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Large Jicama, whatever that is…

Total weight gain/measurements: We’re going with 67kg at my last doctor’s appointment

Stretch marks: No stretch marks, but my veins on my stomach are getting very prominent and the skin is starting to look stretched and shiny.

Best moment this week: The doctor’s appointment. I love seeing the baby. It’s one of my favourite parts

Miss anything? Lying on my back. Some days that’s all I want to do.

Movement: She’s running out of space now. I get a lot of stretching. Sometimes its borderline painful and quite uncomfortable. She has very sharp little elbows and knees.

Food cravings: I want fruit and ice cream, all the time

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope

Gender: A little girl

Symptoms: Getting up and down is getting really difficult, as is getting in and out of the car. I hate dropping things. I have to weigh how important it is to pick it up right away. Other than that the usual.

Belly button in or out? Poking out just a bit

Wedding rings on or off? I’m wearing only one, but on very hot days I take it off.

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy

Exercise: Last week was bad for exercise. I will be better this week.

Looking forward to: Getting the painting in the nursery finished and for the furniture to arrive!