38 Weeks - Time = Blur

38 Week Bump - Pic taken by Geoff on a walk down to the vlei yesterday

Time seems to be slipping past at a rate so rapid I cannot believe I'm not more light headed. There seems to be so much to do... so many details that keep cropping up that I was not aware of -- that I am trying to either deal with or let go of.  I'm emotional, snappy, exhausted and generally quite 'finished' but I am trying to keep a positive attitude & do things that I really want to do in these last days before we meet our little girl. (Hard as that is with work still coming through!)

JW and Eloise's little boy was born via c-section yesterday afternoon as he had turned breech & there didn't seem to be 'any turning back' ;)  She was only 3 or 4 days ahead of me so it is quite strange for me that they are holding their little one on the outside already...I suppose there are only officially 11 days left for our little squirmer to remain inside! It feels so close and so far...

Our previous rental's deposit came through without the deduction of the early termination fee so I am spoiling myself to a haircut tomorrow...and perhaps a massage within the next week if our little wriggler has not arrived yet....although I may have to save that for when she's here and I need a pamper break!!

I've had some lovely visits and phonecalls over the past week - it's lovely to feel so supported. Geoff is trying to get used to the baby paraphernalia which seems to continually stream into the house from various sources -- He's not that excited about having a 'nappy bin' - but then again: who would be?!

I've also been trying to get lots of walks / other exercise in so that I'm not completely unfit for the birth and beyond! The reality that she could be here any day now is very preoccupying!

T'Neal says that the symptoms I'm showing sound like she's on her way: After a couple of weeks of unbelievable energy, I've started getting mild but persistent headaches, I've become really thirsty, she's pushing down really low into my pelvis (which is really painful!), I'm having stranger and stranger dreams, my stools have become really loose, I'm more tired, I've lost most of my appetite, I'm getting lots of Braxton Hicks contractions & I'm generally feeling much more emotional than before.

Things to do:

• Finish Birth Plan - by Midwife appointment on Thursday morning
• Collect Birth Ball - ASAP
• Buy Nappies - ASAP
• Make Roman Blind for the Nursery - ASAP
• Read pregnancy books
• Practice Relaxations & Visualisations
• Do my Tax (!)

Baby Center Says:
How your baby's growing:
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 3kg and she's over 50cm long. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

How your life's changing:
For many women, the next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Use this time to prepare your baby's nursery or to take care of necessary tasks you may not get around to for a while after your baby's born. Take naps, catch up on your reading, and spend uninterrupted time with your partner while you can.

Hungry Hungry

My same-time preggo friend (around the same amount of weeks as pregnant as I am), Eloise, described the feeling of nausea really well: She said it feels like when you're so hungry that you feel that empty, nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach > and that is really how it feels - I'm so 'hungry', all the time. It just never goes away. Food helps temporarily: if I can decide on something that I actually want to eat.

Most food I can't even think about eating.. and I've totally gone of anything that tastes too strong. So breakfast today was plain yogurt, an apple & some almonds. By 11.30am I was ravenous so I had a slice of pumpkin seed rye with cottage cheese & one with honey.

...and then sleep!
Eloise has a job in an office so she has to go in every day. I don't know how she does it - I never used to sleep during the day & now it is impossible not to.

I'm so exhausted all the time. I actually had quite a good sleep today. I dreamed that we were on an airplane and there were 7 engines. The engines started failing & suddenly someone realised that the engines working were directly linked to our baby feeling happy...so I ran to [him/her] and started rubbing [his/her] tummy. I remember marveling at how comfortable & natural I was with our child... and then I got onto the table (there was a wood & marble kitchen table on the plane) and sat with my legs up on it with the baby lying on the table between my legs. As I rubbed baby's tummy, [he/she] giggled & I remember feeling as though the plane was saved.

How is one supposed to get motivated to drive for 18 minutes over a mountain pass to get to the gym to do exercise when one just feels like sleeping???

Yesterday I skipped ahead to the birth part of What to Expect. I suppose I have to find out about that at some point. I found a bit that says that "how you wear your pubic hair for the birth is entirely up to you" > I think this is hilarious. Geoff was looking forward to the shaving. I also read about delivering one's baby yourself. They make it sound so easy -- there's a few steps to follow and hey presto: baby is born! (sounds to me like a much more cost-effective solution than all the palaver of doing it the responsible way with midwife & doctors & the hospital stuff on hand).

Tomorrow is our first scan. I can't wait to see squid's (yes-that's our temporary name) heartbeat :)

Great News Today

I had to have Beta HCG and Projesterone blood tests again today - just to make sure that everything is how it should be... Dr.Heylen confirmed that everything blood-test wise is looking really really great & we're off to a brilliant start. I'm so happy its like we've found out all over again about our little person! :)

I asked him how far along I am and he seems to think that its 5 weeks and a couple of days at the most...which means that our baby is due around the 25th+ or so of August. Yay.

This is what I look like inside at 5 weeks:

Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point, he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues. The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel. His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue. The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job. http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-5-weeks_1094.bc


I was a little concerned as I was very energetic and all my symptoms seemed to have disappeared yesterday... I've had a stretching feeling low down & I think I rushed around a little too much this morning because I'm really feeling tired now.

Today has been a big cleaning day with a gardening service to sort out all our ratty overgrown lavenders & other plants. It all looks so bare -- but I trust that as things grow, new colour will start coming through..

Been going to gym a lot to try and get my exercise hours up. So far so good!

I've booked a scan for the 12th of January 2011. Can't wait to see the heart beat!