Wednesday 27 June 2018

Pregnancy diaries || Week 37 - Nesting

Week 37


I think nesting has officially started this weekend. No, I have not become a cleaning freak just yet, in fact I resent bending over so much now, that anything that lands on the floor which I cannot pick up with my toes is "dead to me". I have however been feeling the urge to organise the baby room and make it her own. I have put all of her new bedding in her cot, even though she won't actually be sleeping in there for another 6 months, well that's the plan anyway (we'll see). On her cot bedding their are lots of little woodland animals which I think are adorable and decided to bust out my old paints, which have been sitting un-loved in a box since before we went to the UK back in 2014. I made some little pieces of wall art to hang around her room. It was a good feeling and I can see more painting happening if I find myself idle after I finish work this coming week.

We are taking the advice of other parents we know and we out for dinner (just the two of us) for what may be the last time in a while. We went to a Irish pub as we haven't had a good pub meal in what feels like a year (probably since we left the UK to be fair). I got super excited when I saw Pimms on the drinks menu, went to ask for it and then realised that I can't have it anyway. Dammit! Cue new craving of the week.

I have packed the baby bag for when I go into labour, it's ready and waiting at the door, but I haven't put together my own yet. As I still wear all of the maternity gear (and anything else that fits) on a daily/weekly basis so if I did pack it, I would also need to live out of a bag for the next few weeks. Or however long it is that I have left.

My sleeping has been a bit harder this week, I have been waking up at 1am, 2am or 3am and lying awake for a few hours thinking about work and or what life will be like with baby. This always makes the next day harder but fortunately it's not every night and it's not because I'm uncomfortable. I just can't shut my mind off.

Baby girl's movements have become a lot slower as she runs out of space. I still feel her all day but rather than quick, sharp kicks, I now get slow rolling and stretching movements which are somewhat more comfortable and easier to work around.  Her hiccups have become stronger also which are rather hard to ignore due to their strength.

This is a bit random but worth mentioning for other Mums-to-be. A few weeks ago I went out and got some Maternity underwear and I have been so much more comfortable ever since. The ones I got were from Kmart and have extra wide, extra stretchy waistbands. So when I am sitting at a desk all day at work I am not having them cut into my waistline like my old ones were before. It means you don't have to go up a size and have them be too big in other areas or fall down. They are like yoga pants but for underwear and I am a complete convert.


How far along?: 37 weeks!
Gender?: Girl
Maternity clothes?: Yes, no way around it now
Stretch marks?: Yes
Belly button in or out?: Hasn't changed, still looks like a pouting pair of lips.
Sleep?: Mostly pretty good, but I do get more tired throughout the day than I used to.
Best Moment of the week?: Seeing baby's room coming together
Worst Moment of the week?: Being tired at work
Miss anything?: Walking through a room without everyone looking at my stomach. I'm more than just a baby bump people... nah just kidding it's not so bad, just something I have noticed these days.
Movement?: YES! Movement all day. She's getting way stronger and has a lot less room so I get a bit of a shock sometimes when she thumps me good.
Cravings?: A good Pimms cocktail and ice-cream
Queasy or sick?:No
Looking forward to?: Having Mum come visit on the weekend
Mood/emotional state?: For the most part I'm very happy and positive
Labour Signs?: None so far, not even Braxton hicks (practice) contractions as far as I can tell.

Wednesday 20 June 2018

Pregnancy diaries || Week 36 - Final ultrasound & at home photoshoot

Week 36

We had our final ultrasound this week to check babys measurements and position for birth. The midwife had noticed that it seemed like she was laying transverse (horizontal) across my belly rather than head-down, bums-up ready for birth. By the time our ultrasound appointment came around though, she had moved into a much better position for birth, which is comforting to know. The technician also re-measured and checked various parts of her body. Revealing that her weight is bang on where it should be 5lb 15oz according to her measurements, although they often over estimate. She has a slightly larger than average skull, I blame her father, as Chris has a large head and mine is practically child size. Her heart and stomach look perfect, and her femurs (leg bones) are just a little shorter than average, but not abnormally so, she will most likely catch up in another few weeks with the average measurement.

We saw her moving around, sucking her hands and feet. We got a good view of her profile (like in the anatomy scan) and also a few good shots of the front of her face too. She is big enough that we could see details like her ear and her finger pointing around the place.
Side profile and hand
Front view of her face
Ear and shoulder
Sucking her finger
Foot and leg pushing against the womb

 This weekend we organised more of the nursery and washed all of her clothes (my clothes line has never been so pink) it's starting to feel real, although I don't feel ready quite yet.

We made the most of a lazy Sunday afternoon by having an at home DIY photoshoot with our new camera. I saw a few photos on Pinterest that I really liked and we tried to replicate them. I'm pretty pleased with the end result, although a little self conscious about my body as well. This is by far the heaviest I have ever been, but it is the most body confident I have ever been as well, as I love my baby bump and how my body has changed to accommodate her.

Baby "name removed"
We went for a walk up Mt Albert later that evening and watched the sun go down. We are trying to soak up these last few weeks with it being just the two of us but we are also so looking forward to becoming a family in the near future.


How far along?: 36 weeks!
Gender?: Girl
Maternity clothes?: Yes, no way around it now
Stretch marks?: Yes, and my belly is itchy again so I'm keeping a close eye on them
Belly button in or out?: Hasn't changed, still looks like a pouting pair of lips.
Sleep?: Mostly pretty good, but I do get more tired throughout the day than I used to.
Best Moment of the week?: Seeing our baby again and seeing how much more developed she is now
Worst Moment of the week?: Being tired at work
Miss anything?:Yawning to maximum capacity. I get to a certain point in the yawn and then have to stop abruptly because my lungs won't expand past my bump and it hurts. Very unsatisfying since I am yawning a lot these days.
Movement?: YES! Movement all day, where my belly visibly undulates when she pushes against it
Cravings?: Peanut butter on muffin splits (just like I did as a teenager)
Queasy or sick?:No
Looking forward to?: Meeting our little one in only a handful more weeks
Mood/emotional state?: For the most part I'm very happy and positive
Labour Signs?: None so far, not even Braxton hicks (practice) contractions as far as I can tell. As far as I know, Braxton hicks are meant to feel like a non-painful tightening of your belly, but since my bump is rock hard and tight most of the time I don't think I can tell.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

Pregnancy diaries || Week 35 - Taking our own maternity photos

Week 35

It has been another good week. Lots of people at work are commenting on how big I am getting and have been asking how I have been. They are often surprised when my response is "Good! Quite good surprisingly, just a little tired" as I have very little to complain about at the moment. Yes, my sleep is a bit disrupted, but not too bad, and yes, my hips sometimes ache, but that doesn't stop me from doing anything major and really isn't that bad either. I'm feeling very fortunate with how pregnancy has been for me so far and grateful for every day that passes without fear or pain. I'm pretty chill about birth and can't believe how quickly the time is passing. 5 weeks to go!!! (or so)

My belly is getting itchy again so the stretch marks might be getting worse but I'm not too fussed over it. What will be, will be. Still, my bedtime routine is to take my vitamins and slather my belly with cocoa butter every day/night. This means that I have also received a few complements that I smell really nice, or that I smell of chocolate from the Cocoa butter I use. Haha, an unexpected bonus I guess.

I have cut down my hours at work a little bit, just a few hours here and there. This has made a big improvement to my energy levels, just being able to start a little later and finish at the normal time, rather than working late, like I was before.

We decided to make the most of a beautiful Saturday sunset by taking some photos of my bump down at Western Springs park. We have recently got a new Sony A5100 digital camera as an early birthday present for me, and so we wanted to try it out. Here are a few of my favourite shots.

Bluebelle Maternity Dress

How far along?: 35 weeks!
Gender?: Girl
Maternity clothes?: Yes, no way around it now
Stretch marks?: Yes, but they haven't got any worse lately
Belly button in or out?: It looks like "a pair of lips" but hasn't popped yet
Sleep?: Mostly pretty good, but I do get more tired throughout the day than I used to.
Best Moment of the week?: Spending a beautiful evening taking photos
Worst Moment of the week?: Being tired at work
Miss anything?: Mulled wine.
Movement?: YES! Movement all day, where my belly visibly undulates when she pushes against it
Cravings?:Not really
Queasy or sick?:No
Looking forward to?: Meeting our little one in only a handful more weeks
Mood/emotional state?: For the most part I'm very happy and positive
Labour Signs?: None so far, not even Braxton hicks (practice) contractions as far as I know

Wednesday 6 June 2018

Pregnancy diaries || Week 34 - Baby shower

Week 34

Only 6 weeks until my due date, where did that time go? Ahhh!

We had our baby shower this weekend. Which meant squeezing 24+ people into Mum's living room. It was a blast, with some fun games and lots of good conversation. We received such lovely and practical gifts from our friends and family.

An added surprise for our friends was that we revealed our baby's gender, which we had been keeping private up until that point. As this pregnancy has progressed I have realised that I am a terrible liar and have such a hard time using equal he's and she's or his and hers when talking about the baby, so we may as well celebrate her in style. We did this by popping a big black balloon to reveal our baby's gender with pink glitter confetti (which managed to spread throughout the entire house on peoples feet). I have a lot of friends who have baby girls so they were very excited for me to join the girl gang. It's going to be fun when all of our kids get older and play together.

 
 
 

How far along?: 34 weeks!
Gender?: Girl, and now our friends finally know!
Maternity clothes?: Yes, dresses and maternity leggings are my saviour!
Stretch marks?: Yes, but they haven't got any worse lately
Belly button in or out?: It looks like "a pair of lips" but hasn't popped yet
Sleep?: Mostly pretty good, but I do get more tired throughout the day than I used to.
Best Moment of the week?: Revealing the gender of our baby to our friends
Worst Moment of the week?: Being stuck in a car for 4 hours between Auckland and Taupo. Fortunately I won't be doing that again before baby gets here, it's too far away from our midwife and just plain uncomfortable.
Miss anything?: Mulled wine. As the weather gets colder it would be really nice to wrap my hands around a nice warm mug of it.
Movement?: YES! Movement all day, where my belly visibly undulates when she pushes against it
Cravings?:Not really
Queasy or sick?:No
Looking forward to?: Meeting our little one
Mood/emotional state?: For the most part I'm very happy and positive