I had a great and productive week this last week... I went to get fabric for the nursery - for the blind, bumper & lampshade cover - and I also worked on the blinds for the house & various other bits for our little girl's arrival between going to the hairdresser (so glad I went!) & doing other non-work related things.... like visiting T'Neal and Geoff and I going for a long overdue photoshoot which I got for Geoff as his birthday present last November! :)
I sewed all day on Saturday & on Sunday headed off to The One And Only for High Tea (oh my - so much cake!) in order to spoil Aline - a 'girlie' event to pamper her a little before little Aerin's arrival (in 5 or so weeks time)... Her official baby shower is on Saturday but I may not make it if I'm in the hospital / at home with my baby! :)
I had a fantastic meeting with my midwife, Sandy, on Thursday last week where I gave her our birth plan & we discussed various things relating to "THE DAY" - which seems to be moving ever so fast and swiftly closer!!!! She said that she doesn't need to see me this week & that if I do, it will be for the birth (!!!!) ...otherwise I will see Sandy on Monday (the 29th)....and I'll see Dr.Nel right in the beginning of September if no baby has arrived yet.
My hormones are doing crazy things & I have to really watch myself - calm down - take deep breaths & get things done one thing at a time. On top of being super sensitive and emotional, at this point it is hard not to feel rather overwhelmed by what may lie ahead... WHEN the big moment of starting labour may occur...? How it will feel to have her OUT rather than IN... We love her so much already, but how long it will take for us to become irrevocably smitten with her in her hold-able-in-our-arms human form? ...How sore will it be? ...Am I ready for all of this change? I can only trust that she will arrive in her own time - hopefully on the day of her choosing - and that we will somehow feel ready when the time comes to welcome her.
She's moving around quite a bit, but I can sense that she's running out of the little bit of room that she still has left... I've been feeling quite energetic again this week, but with moments of collapse which can occur at any moment.
Geoff made me laugh so hard yesterday morning:
He put his face to my tummy & said in a deep voice: "Good Morning Stella"
..and then in a squeaky voice: "Good Morning Daddy"
Geoff deep voice: "What are you doing today, Stella?"
Geoff squeaky voice: "Well, first I'm having my amniotic breakfast..." :)
Besides the house to-do list that Geoff and I have set up for the next few days:
Things to do:
- Finish Birth Plan - DONE
- Collect Birth Ball - DONE
- Buy Nappies - ASAP!!
- Make Roman Blind for the Nursery - ALMOST DONE
- Read pregnancy books
- Practice Relaxations & Visualisations
- Do my Tax - HALF DONE!
- PACK MY HOSPITAL BAG!!!!
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 50cm and weighs a bit over 3.2 kg, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
How your life's changing:
At each of your now-weekly visits, your caregiver will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether your cervix has started ripening: softening, effacing (thinning out), and dilating (opening). But even armed with this information, there's still no way for your caregiver to predict exactly when your baby is coming. If you go past your due date, your caregiver will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue — or sooner if there's an indication that the risk of waiting is greater than the risks of delivering your baby without further delay. While you're waiting, it's important to continue to pay attention to your baby's movements and let your caregiver know right away if they seem to decrease. Your baby should remain active right up to delivery, and a noticeable slowdown in activity could be a sign of a problem. Also call if you think your water may have broken. Membranes rupture before the beginning of labor in about 8 percent of term pregnancies. Sometimes there's a big gush of fluid, but sometimes there's only a small gush or a slow leak. (Don't try to make the diagnosis yourself. Call even if you only suspect you have a leak.) If you rupture your membranes and don't start contractions on your own, you'll be induced.
No comments:
Post a Comment