Pregnancy diaries || Week 32 & 33 - Baby Hiccups & Checking out the Birth Centre

Week 32

Our baby has the hiccups! It took me a minute to figure out what this rhythmic popping was, but after looking it up online I'm pretty sure it is hiccups. Right on track according to our midwife too, as baby practices for breathing on the outside. They are cute but get a little repetitive and distracting after the first 30 mins of pop, pop, pop, pop etc.
  
We had our second antenatal class this week, which was equally as insightful as the first. This one focused more on breastfeeding and taking care of baby when they get here.
We even bumped into some of the other couples outside of the classes later in the week, which was fun to catch-up.

We did a major baby shop at the Baby Factory, so I feel like we are getting more organised which helped put my mind to rest knowing that we have mostly everything we need, at least when she first gets here.

I'm back to a relatively normal appetite, no bad symptoms to complain about. Still getting up 2-4 times each night to go to the bathroom but at least that means that I'm hydrated, right?

We met our backup midwife at our appointment this week, as our LMC was in Rarotonga getting married. She seems very nice and knowledgeable and I would be perfectly comfortable with her being at my birth.

How far along?: 32 weeks!

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes, dresses are my saviour! Not having a waist band cutting into your bump is the best.

Stretch marks?: Yes, they are gradually spreading further and but seem to be fading a bit

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?:Getting ready for baby to arrive

Worst Moment of the week?:Being tired at work, as I'm still there full time. I might look at cutting back my hours soon.

Miss anything?: Not really, pretty content this week.

Movement?: YES! Movement all day, where my belly visibly undulates when she pushes against it and of course her cute little hiccup sessions too.

Cravings?:Not really

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?:Taking a tour of our birthing centre

Mood/emotional state?: For the most part I'm very happy and positive

Week 33

On Saturday morning we took a tour of "Birthcare" where I will hopefully be birthing if all goes to plan. It was comforting to ask them questions and visualise the birthing experience. The temperature has plummeted this week, winter hit with full force, well at least by Auckland standards. It feels like 2 degrees most morningw so I am trying to rug-up, even though I can't actually do-up any of my winter coats over my big belly. And no wonder, my bump is now measuring 106cm around my belly button, so that's a big ask for an old winter coat to get around. Baby girl is moving ALL THE TIME which is great but sometimes makes it hard to get to sleep with a tornado in your tummy. We can now feel babies body parts through my belly. It is sometimes hard to tell the difference between her head and bum (large bulge) or whether it is one of her arms or legs, but you can definitely use your imagination and figure it out.

How far along?: 33 weeks!

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes, dresses and maternity leggings are my saviour!

Stretch marks?: Yes, but they seem to be fading a little bit

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?:Seeing the birthing centre and feeling more prepared

Worst Moment of the week?:Being exhausted at the end of my work day.

Miss anything?: Fitting into my old winter clothes

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?: My baby shower next week!!!

Mood/emotional state?: For the most part I'm very happy and positive

Pregnancy diaries || Week 31 - Starting antenatal classes

Week 31

Early in the week I was feeling sharp "zinging" electric pain from mid bump to cervix. Are these Braxton hicks contractions or round ligament pain? Because they hurt and I don't think BH are meant to hurt. Baby is busy bopping around, moving and grooving so I can assume she is doing just fine, it's just my body that is having the hard time.

We started our first free DHB antenatal class this week, which goes for 3 hours after work (6-9pm), which is a really long time for a preggo to sit and retain information after a long work day. It was a really good experience with lots of useful information and laughter. We learnt about the labour and birth process as well as the safest way for baby to sleep and travel etc so I would highly recommend doing it. We have the second session next week.

No other symptoms this week, but my belly is growing and so are the stretch marks. At this point I am putting cocoa butter on every morning and night but I doubt that it's making any difference. *sigh*

How far along?: 31 weeks

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes, dresses are my saviour! Not having a waist band cutting into your bump is the best.

Stretch marks?: Yes, all over the sides of my bump

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?: Meeting all of the other expectant parents at the antenatal class

Worst Moment of the week?:Those weird zapping pains I was feeling early in the week, still don't know what it was.

Miss anything?:Summer, it's getting cold here

Movement?: YES! Lots of movement and strong kicks

Cravings?:Not really, just normal stuff

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?: Starting to buy more baby stuff

Mood/emotional state?: Wonderful, for the most part I'm very happy

Pregnancy diaries || Week 30 - Getting vaccinated

Week 30

The big three oh, means that I am 3/4 of the way there, hopefully! Unless I go past my due date.

Lee and Holly visited again this weekend. Initially I had a pretty good week again with no new symptoms and very little to complain about except for being a bit tired. If you feel like I am sugar coating pregnancy due to my lack of symptoms, I'm trying to be as honest as possible I swear. It just hasn't been a bad experience for me so far. My Mum loved being pregnant, in fact straight after she birthed my brother she joked that she could be a surrogate. A comment that her doctor didn't see the humour in. So apart from me getting morning sickness during the first trimester and already being the size she was when she was full term (me and my brother were little babies). It sounds like I am following in her foot steps.

On Tuesday I got my Flu vaccination which is strongly recommended for pregnant women to get, as it helps to protect the baby when she is suddenly exposed to all of these new germs and viruses, as she already has built up some immunity. A few hours after the jab I was feeling very tired and went home from work early, heading straight to bed when I walked in the door. I woke up the next morning and almost didn't go into work due to a pounding headache, back ache and nausea. I pushed on through and made it through the work day, just. My body has never responded that way to a flu vaccine before so I guess it's either pregnancy related or that this years strains are stronger than normal. Although a few of my work colleagues (who aren't pregnant) had similar symptoms, so I guess it's just this years dose.  Still no regrets in getting it, as I would prefer my mild symptoms over my baby getting a full blown flu when she arrives in the middle of winter. I'm tough, I can hack it.

How far along?: 30 weeks!

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes, dresses are my saviour! Not having a waist band cutting into your bump is the best.

Stretch marks?: Yes, they are gradually spreading further and getting darker

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?: Hanging out with my brother and his girlfriend

Worst Moment of the week?: Feeling crappy after the flu shot

Miss anything?: Being in control of my own body, it doesn't feel much like my body anymore.

Movement?: YES! Lots of movement

Cravings?: Hot chips and tomato sauce

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?: Starting antenatal classes

Mood/emotional state?: Wonderful, for the most part I'm very happy

Pregnancy diaries || Week 28 & 29 - First stretch marks and friends wedding

Week 28

Woohoo! Hello Third Trimester! Only 12 weeks to go! You know it's getting close when you start counting down rather than up. Random, I know, but we weighed my boobs tonight, yeah don't judge me haha. They aren't even particularly swollen at the moment but they weight 1.8kgs each! So I have 3.6 kgs of boobage to carry around with me every day! I wonder how much heavier they will get when my milk comes in.

The first of the dreaded stretch marks have started. They are faint and dark blue, I actually thought they were just veins at first. They have started on either side of my bump, near my hips. I think in generally they are determined by genetics and how big you end up getting so there's not a lot I can do about them. I will just try to stay hydrated and moisturize as much as I can, but I am kind of resigned for them to get worse. Oh well. It's only skin deep.

How far along?: 28 weeks

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes and it's practically all I can wear these days

Stretch marks?: *sigh* Yes, here we go.

Belly button in or out?: It looks like "a puckered pair of lips" rather than an innie like it used to be

Sleep?: Some nights are good, others not so much. In general I am more tired though.

Best Moment of the week?: Just reaching the third trimester feels like an achievement.

Worst Moment of the week?: Getting stretch marks

Miss anything?:Fitting into my old clothes, I am rather limited in what I wear these days

Movement?: YES! Lots of movement

Cravings or aversions?: Tacos! and Lemon water

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?: Visiting family and friends next week

Mood/emotional state?: Wonderful, for the most part I'm very happy

Week 29 

We went to Taupo for ANZAC day holiday which we extended until the weekend. We spent a lot of time just hanging out with family, and going Op shopping with Mum for good second hand baby gear. We found lots of nice clothes and cloth nappies from Facebook Buy, Swap, Sell and got some pretty awesome deals. I'm not the biggest fan of pink, but as we scored such good deals on the bits and pieces we found I don't mind that her wardrobe will consist of mostly pink for her first few months. She has the rest of her life to wear the rainbow. 

We went to our friends wedding, ate some amazing food and spent the night dancing. It was great to have a chance to talk with my "mum friends" about everything baby related. The good, the bad and the cringe worthy. We also went to Paige's (our friends baby) first birthday which was super cute. 

We came back to Auckland with a car load of pink baby gear, picked up my new prescriptions of iodine, iron and ascorbic acid (vitamin c).

My belly button is pushing out a bit further but still looks like a pair of lips are opposed to an "outie" as it hasn't "popped" yet. I still sleep quite well and can't really complain as the aches and pains aren't too bad. I mean, I did spend all evening dancing at our friends wedding (in heels) with no problems, so I count myself lucky. Every day that I feel well I count as a blessing, as everyone keeps on reminding me that now I am in the third trimester it will only get worse and that the bad symptoms may hit me at any time. So I'm living in the moment and so far enjoying it. 

How far along?: 29 weeks

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes and it's practically all I can wear these days

Stretch marks?: Yes, they are gradually spreading further and getting darker

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 time catching up with friends and family

Worst Moment of the week?: Seeing my stretch marks spread and knowing that I can't do anything about it.

Miss anything?: It would have been nice to enjoy a glass of champagne at the wedding

Movement?: YES! Lots of movement

Cravings or aversions?: Meat, anything meaty sounds pretty good right now

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?: Starting antenatal classes

Mood/emotional state?: Wonderful, for the most part I'm very happy

Pregnancy diaries || Week 27 - Glucose test

Week 27

I spent most of this week sick with a cold that has been going around our office and finally got to me. It wasn't so bad considering I only needed two days off work, while other staff have been off all week, but it does make this week rather uneventful.

I had my Glucose challenge test when I was feeling well again. This was to test if I had gestational diabetes. The drink they gave me tasted like flat, syrupy lemonade. Not terrible but not particularly nice either, especially when you need to drink it within 5 minutes. Skull! Skull! Skull! I will be getting the results next week, and after my recent weight gain I'm a bit nervous to be honest. (edit: I don't have diabetes but my levels are on the higher side of normal, so midwife said to keep an eye on my diet)

My belly is hard and bulging. I am feeling the baby move all the time, especially when I am sitting down. I do wonder sometimes when she gets a chance to sleep with all that movement going on. I can see her move my belly quite dramatically when she kicks strongly, bulging in one direction or another. Most often near my right rib-cage.

Random people that come into work and attendants in shops are now confidentially asking when I am due. So I think it's pretty obvious that I am pregnant at this point, but they have more guts than me. I wouldn't ask unless the lady was practically in labour.

How far along?: 27 weeks

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes and it's practically all I can wear these days

Stretch marks?: No

Belly button in or out?: Looking like "a pair of puckered lips" rather than an innie like it used to be.

Sleep?: Some nights are good, others not so much. In general I am more tired though.

Best Moment of the week?: This week was kind of average, so it would be the nice conversations my bump starts up with friendly strangers.

Worst Moment of the week?: Being sick with a cold

Miss anything?:Fitting into my old clothes, I am rather limited in what I wear these days

Movement?: YES! Lots of movement

Cravings or aversions?: Tacos! and lemon water

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?: Getting my glucose test results, fingers crossed I don't have anything to worry about.

Mood/emotional state?: Wonderful, for the most part I'm very happy

Pregnancy diaries || Week 26 - It's Facebook official

Week 26

We had our midwife appointment this week. I am by far the heaviest I have EVER been and now the same weight as Chris. Gulp. She measured my fundal height; the length from the top of my uterus to my pelvic bone, and I am measuring at 32 weeks! No wonder so many people have been saying I am getting big. Although she said that this may be because I have a long torso and we will see how it changes over the coming weeks.

Baby is doing well and measuring just a tiny bit bigger than average. I am also feeling pretty good this week, with not too many aches and pains. Although every morning I wake up with milk stains on my PJ's and I can't seem to sleep-in any more. 5:30am - 6:30am seems to be my new wake-up time, even on weekends which is very unusual for me. Lots of movement as always.

We signed up with a new family doctors not far from our house and Chris got the DPT vaccine to help protect baby from whooping cough when she arrives. I will get mine in the next few weeks hopefully.

We have finally announced the pregnancy on Facebook this week, so all of our extended family and friends now know our news.

How far along?: 26 weeks

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes and I love them.

Stretch marks?: No

Belly button in or out?: It looks like "a pair of lips" rather than an innie like it used to be

Sleep?: Some nights are good, others not so much. In general I am more tired though.

Best Moment of the week?: Announcing our news of Facebook and seeing everyone's reactions to our photos.

Worst Moment of the week?: Feeling self-conscious about my weight gain and getting told how "big" I am by everyone

Miss anything?: Being as active as I used to be

Movement?: YES! Lots of movement

Cravings?: Hot Cross Buns and chocolate (a hang over from Easter?)

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?: Feeling my baby get stronger.

Mood/emotional state?: Wonderful, for the most part I'm very happy

Pregnancy diaries || Week 25 - Easter weekend and anniversary photo

Week 25

So my uterus is the size of a soccer ball, and it shows! My belly button mole is officially on the outside of my belly button (it used to be deep inside) and my stomach is starting to feel rather tight and stretched. My boobs are leaking more frequently but only a little at a time. My brother (Lee) and his girlfriend (Holly) came to visit this Easter weekend. They took our anniversary photo (even though it's well past our anniversary date) as a tripod and timer just wasn't going to cut it this time. And they both felt the baby move. We went swimming at Bethels beach in my new bikini and I felt quite confident rocking the baby bump.

I have been starting to get occasional sciatica after sitting, lying down or overdoing it for too long. It seems to go away with movement though which is a relief. I hope it doesn't get worse because it means I can't walk or stand up properly, and leaves me hunched over like an old lady. We measured my bump size while my brother was here at his request and it is 105cm round at the belly button.

How far along?: 25 weeks

Gender?: Girl

Maternity clothes?: Yes and I love them.

Stretch marks?: No

Belly button in or out?: Starting to look like "lips" rather than a cavern.

Sleep?: Some nights are good, others not so much. In general I am more tired though.

Best Moment of the week?: Hanging out with family.

Worst Moment of the week?: Getting sciatica after sitting for too long

Miss anything?: Being as active as I used to be

Movement?: YES! Lots of movement

Cravings?: Hot Cross Buns and chocolate (it is Easter after all)

Queasy or sick?:No

Looking forward to?: Feeling my baby get stronger.

Mood/emotional state?: Wonderful, for the most part I'm very happy