Having said that, no new developments towards her arrival. I am just big, uncomfortable, aching, tired and swollen. My feet look like trotters. I need to put them up to help with the swelling, but also go for walks to help kick-start labour. Can’t win.

I discovered a stretch mark on my belly yesterday. I was hoping I’d get away scott free, but no. I guess I don’t have much to complain about as some women have lots. It’ll fade anyway I’ve been told.

Will have a cardiotocography (CTG) on Wednesday Friday if she hasn’t arrived by then. That’s to monitor the baby and see where things are up to and perhaps get a date for when I’ll be induced. Good news is that they won’t let me go over 10 days overdue, so I will definitely have this baby by next Friday (or on the way to having her).

I really hope they don’t leave it too late as I’m worried she may no longer fit through, if you know what I mean. That and I don’t want to miss the Green Day concert on December 18!

39 weeks 6 days pregnant, one day before due date

In addtion to that (and losing our puppy Fez just today), I’ve developed something new over the last couple of weeks – prurigo of pregnancy. It’s a whole lot of tiny itchy pimples on my feet and I’m starting to get them on my hands. I thought it was some sort of heat rash or allergy from wearing my cheap ugg boots all day but getting them on my hands eliminated that and the interwebs told me it was prurigo. Just another thing that I have to deal with until this baby comes out!

I only have eight days before the due date of November 24! I’m starting to feel anxious about the impending birth, and feeling a little queasy with frequent trips to the loo for both numbers. Common signs of the last days of pregnancy, although days could turn into weeks.

Apparently I’ve had my ’show’ – meaning my mucous plug is coming away which is a sign that the cervix is preparing for labour. The midwife says that the baby’s engaged as much as she will probably up until labour. My belly probably looks flatter than previously but that’s expected when the baby drops.

I’m doing things like keeping upright when sitting, walking around more, and massaging the fleshy parts of my hands (between the thumb and index finger) to encourage baby to come. I know that the first two things are supposed to keep baby’s head down and pressing on the cervix which will help it to thin out. The massaging part is probably just hocus pocus but it can’t hurt to try, and I quite like my hands being rubbed.

One of the midwive’s told a story about a woman who went for a walk with her trackpants tucked into her ugg boots. Her waters broke and filled into her boots. Maybe I should do the same thing and let Murphy’s Law take care of the rest…

38 weeks 6 days pregnant

37 weeks 5 days pregnant

Oh little one
How you squirm
And kick mummy in the ribs

You’re better out
So I can dress you
In little cupcake bibs

So when are you
Going to come
We are all prepared

Your daddy is waiting
For the day
When he can resume drinking beer

There’s dinner on Tuesday
So how about Wednesday
Is that alright with you?

An easy labour
And quick birth
See what you can do

That’s all for now
My little Love
Mummy’s going to make a pie

We’ll see you soon
We can’t wait
K, thanks and bye!

During the day, baby sometimes stretches into certain areas that makes walking almost painful, and sitting down very uncomfortable. My pelvic joints really ache after sitting or lying down too.

In bed, I’ve had nights where baby will just not stop moving, and her legs keep stretching up and winding me. Getting up not only to pee but so I can breathe normally is becoming a regular thing, along with having a banana at about 3am to tie me over until breakfast.

I suspect that she is dropping, as I managed to have a good night’s sleep without being winded last night.

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, like I’m coming down with a cold. I hope it doesn’t develop into anything to worry about it. Being sick is the last thing I need in these last few weeks! I suffer enough from the occasional sneeze.

From tomorrow I’ll be in my 37th week, and considered full term! (Though it depends on who you ask as others say it’s 38 weeks, but I’ll take the less of the two.) From what I’ve read, a baby born at 37 weeks will have all she needs to survive without much, if any, help. I’ll give her another week and then I’ll start badgering her to come out already.

The hubby is on instruction to keep sober in case I go into labour. Too bad there’s the brew competition among his friends this weekend that he entered in to months ago.

It’s scary to think that I’m going to have to push out this bump shortly, but at the same time I’m so excited and can’t wait to meet her.

36 weeks and 6 days pregnant. Check out that bulging vein in my hand!

My own snoring wakes me up sometimes.

Have been extremely thirsty.

Harry Hungers attacks in the wee hours of the morning.

Belly gets in the way of everything.

So uncomfortable.

Bladder being pounded by active baby.

Some new aches around the pelvic region.

Me sleepy. So sleepy.

Taking the dog for a waddle, with sore carpal tunnel hands, not so fun.

And I want sushi.

35 weeks and 4 days pregnant

I got a Baby Factory voucher from the staff at work which we used towards a pretty bassinette. We weren’t sure if we needed one, but thought it would be handy especially as the family will be staying for three weeks around Christmas and we can have her in our room then. It’s compact and portable, and even smaller than the portacot so we’ll be able to take it to Auckland when we go up for the Green Day concert also.

Pretty bassinette

Today was my first day off work, but I had to go in to drop off my swipe card and pick up some flowers that I got on Friday. Everyone asked how I liked having a sleep in. Can’t say I’ve had one yet – I got up at 7:30am, had breakfast, got showered and dressed and did a load of washing all before 9. That’s more than I get done on a normal work-day morning! I guess with the bright mornings and the broken sleep that I’m now used to, I just felt like I had had enough sleep by then. At least now I can take naps whenever I feel necessary.

Pretty flowers

Not much news on the pregnancy front. Just getting bigger and more uncomfortable. I waddle much more and slower too, which is frustrating because I hate it when people walk really slowly in front of me.

And the baby is pressing on my bladder more often when she squirms. Only five weeks to go though, and it could be as little as two (or as long as seven)! I’ve got my hospital bag all packed and ready to go, just in case.

The baby was full-sized, and you could see her whole shape as she stretched out from my belly. You could see the shapes of her arms, legs, torso and there was even a cute face.

The whole thing was freaking me out though. She kept squirming and twisting outwards and at one point she was so far outwards that I was holding her as if she was on the outside! I turned to Neil and said “She’s the wrong way round now. How am I supposed to get her head-down again..?”

My mum was also in my dream. “Why does the back of her head have that smudge?” she asked (the baby  had something like a reddish birth mark). My reply was “She’s still attached to me mum!” Yeah… that didn’t make any sense whatsoever did it?

I guess the dream is a reflection of real life in that the baby is running out of room.

Most of the time she’s fine, but then she will bunch up under my ribs and I can’t do anything, not even talk, without feeling out of breath. Her squirming can be painful at times too, especially when parts of her jut out the side suddenly. My belly is often lop-sided after I’ve been lying down – it’s kind of gross.

Baby is a good size and is still in a good head-down position. All is well in the development side of things.

I have decided to stop driving for now. My belly is only a couple centimetres from the steering wheel, and it’s almost impossible to look back to safely reverse. Looks like the hubby is out of luck for a sober driver until after the baby is born.

This is my last week of work! I’ll be glad when I don’t have to compete for a seat on crowded buses, and be uncomfortably stuck to my chair each day. It will be good for the carpal tunnel to not have to be on th computer all day too. Bring on Friday!

33 week and 6 days pregnant

Sitting is uncomfortable. Standing is uncomfortable. Walking is uncomfortable. Sleeping is uncomfortable. Eating is uncomfortable.

The baby is squirming a lot and it’s now not so pleasant. I’m sure I can feel her fingers scraping at my insides. Sometimes I feel winded because she’s decided to push upwards with her bum or feet.

Apart from that, and the carpel tunnel syndrome, all is good.

Baby is a good size, has a good heart rate, and my uterus is where it should be. Blood pressure, weight and all that is all good.

Just counting the days now until I finish work. Only eight more work days – woooh! And 38 weeks is considered full term so that’s only five weeks away! Although it could be as far as nine weeks if baby decides to stay in a bit longer – let’s hope not!

33 weeks pregnant

At my last visit to the midwife, I was told that I don’t have swollen feet because she can still see my ankles. Welllll… the developing cankles this week beg to differ.

Toilet trips are getting much more frequent. I pee, flush the toilet, then a couple minutes after getting on my feet again, I need to pee. And although it feels like my bladder will explode, it’s usually a disappointing tinkle. I don’t bother flushing every time now – may as well save some water.

The baby seems to be the most active it’s ever been. It’s not so great when she’s jabbing my guts, ribs or bladder. And she apparently has fully formed finger nails and toe nails at this age, which feels horrible when she’s scraping my insides! Great to watch her squirm and kick though. Sometimes she’s bunched up on one side and my tummy is lop-sided. It’s quite bizarre. I wonder when I’m going to start seeing the hands and feet that people talk about?

Sneezing is a bitch! Sometimes I lose the sneeze because I can’t get enough air into my squished lungs. And when I do sneeze it’s sometimes quite violent and I worry about hurting bubs. Then there are the blood noses that like to accompany the sneezes.

31 weeks 6 days pregnant

I’m feeling rather heffalumpy these days. As soon as I plant myself down somewhere, I don’t want to move. It’s too much effort and if I’m lying down it can hurt if I’m not careful.

I think I need a La-Z-Boy hover craft that works using impulses from my brain. It should preferably have a magical bladder emptying device too.

Three more weeks of work – wooh!

Moving along…

We had our second antenatal class last Wednesday. The hubby was on his way back from the Tech Ed conference (a geek thing) in Auckland and only made it to the last half hour. The first half was focussed on the choices that new parents make around things like vitamin K, sleeping with baby, child care, and breast feeding. The second was about massages. Being the odd one out without a partner made me the default massage model. I didn’t mind as I was getting massages from a professional masseuse :)

30 weeks 6 days pregnant

This week I bought a tri pillow. I’ve been told it’s really helpful for breast feeding and helping to hold the baby if you just want to rest her on your lap. Also it’s supposed to help with sleeping in the later months of pregnancy. I tried it last night and it wasn’t half bad.

I’ve discovered that there’s only one comfortable sleeping position that avoids putting too much pressure on my vena cava and at the same time reduces the carpal tunnel syndrome pain in my hands/arms. That position is a compromise between lying on my left side and on my back. I’m mostly on my back, but a pillow props my back up enough so I’m also on my side, and I can have both arms more or less alongside my body.

Baby is twisting and kicking lots. My belly sometimes looks distorted when she decides to stick her butt out or some other lumpy part of her (as I can’t tell what’s what). She should be starting to turn soon and head downwards. Her head was in the ideal place at the last midwife’s appointment, so let’s hope she’ll be good on the day.

(By the way, our good SLR camera is playing up and being looked at. So lately I’ve had to use the old point and shoot which often results in photos that are reflective, washed out and grainy in comparison. It better be fixed before baby arrives!)