35 Weeks!

I know I am supposed to be packing, but I just can't seem to get round to doing anything that I know I am suppose to be doing, when I'm supposed to be doing it... besides the fact that I woke up at sparrows this morning & bugged Geoff until he woke up sufficiently to be amused (rather than irritated) by my chattering & trying to figure out what light was above the sea line which I had convinced myself was a UFO. Well, it wasn't a UFO, as I later discovered when being handed the binoculars: it was a ship & the sea line was higher than it looked because the wind direction was causing the colour of the sea after a certain point to look like the sky which the shop appeared to be floating in. This was followed by singing silly songs & being generally disruptive of sleep-time. It's good to see the sunrise every now and then :)

I was so very excited all day because of our scan appointment at 2pm today. We had breakfast... packed a few boxes... tidied the balcony cupboard... then Geoff went off to work & I bounced around and got some stuff done until 1pm & went to fetch him in Kalk Bay.... we got to the hospital early enough to hand our pre-admission form in... and then to our appointment at 2pm -- to discover that it is tomorrow at 2pm: not today. Not today :(

I feel like a muppet. Don't know a better word. I was so very disappointed...and I can't believe I entered the appointment into the wrong day on my calendar. I had packed the appointment card away for the move already, or I'd have seen that I was mistaken. I was so disappointed....I've been counting down the weeks, days, then hours to our last scan appointment. What a bummer. At least we have it to look forward to tomorrow.

I've been feeling much stronger kicks for the last few days which has put my mind greatly at rest. I'm also having some pain when I walk - I think her head may be lodging itself deeper down and putting pressure on my pelvic bone & my bladder as she grows - so fast now!

3 more sleeps and we'll be in the new house. It's strange to think that it is so soon that our whole environment will be different...that we will be in the place where our daughter will spend the first year or two of her beautiful life.

Baby Center says:

How your baby's growing:
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 45cm long and tips the scales at 2.3kg. Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

How your life's changing:
Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few.

From here on out, you'll start seeing your practitioner every week. This is also a good time to create a birth plan. Using our form will help you focus on specifics — like who'll be present, what pain management techniques you want to try, and where you want your baby to stay after you deliver. It will give you a starting point to discuss your preferences with your medical team. Childbirth is unpredictable, and chances are you won't follow your plan to the letter, but thinking about your choices ahead of time — and sharing your preferences with your caregiver — should take some of the anxiety out of the process.

5 and a half to go...

As the time draws nearer, I'm becoming more emotional & much much more clumsy than I've been for the last month or so. My tummy has become the landing-place of any crumbs / drips that may drop! I have to consciously reposition crockery out of the way of bumping..! Someone wrote on a blog about the third trimester a few little things that I can identify with:

• Rolling over in bed is a task that requires counting out loud. 1,2,3 GO!
• Picking up something off the ground requires preparation and thought.
• You select your shoes based on which would be the easiest to put on.

Licia phoned me on Skype today & I saw her sweetest chubby little boy when he woke up. Licia looked absolutely beautiful: I'm not sure how to describe it other than that she seemed to be glowing and radiant, even though she said she's sleep-deprived. How wonderful nature is to give us the precious gift of becoming a mother!!

I look at babies & birth videos & I somehow don't feel as though I can identify with them. It is not my experience. The babies are not the little child that is growing inside me. I see mothers and daughters & I do not know how it will be when our little star arrives & I get to be the mother & she gets to be my daughter.

Will she know that although I have not "chosen her" - as one sifts through options & chooses something, with all the reasons ranging from necessity to simply wanting the item - but that her father & I have chosen each other, and that we have chosen to have a child if we are blessed with one...and that we waited a long time for her to be the one who was chosen for us to love, raise, give whatever opportunities we can...and teach - all we know. That she is the one chosen to enrich our own experience of being human beings by us watching & experiencing her from the first scan....until the day that we are separated when it is our time to go...

How special is this? All I know, is that I do not know the depth of it, beyond that it is deep... deep... deep... and we've only touched down just below the surface...

34 weeks

I can hardly believe that there are only 6 weeks left until we meet our little girl!!
I just had a look at my calendar & we actually found out at 4 weeks - so soon after conception - that she had nuzzled into the right spot to grow and develop into a little person. It seems like a lifetime & a blink ago!

We are very busy preparing our house for the move in less than 2 weeks time... We had some prospective tenants come and look at our current house again today but we're not sure whether he will take it -- Sore back and all, I managed to get the bedroom & most other things tidied for the viewing...there was so much to do that I ended up huffing & puffing till Geoff got home & sorted out the kitchen (he's great at kitchen!) & the deck to make the place as enticing as we possibly could. Really holding thumbs he takes it. Double rent won't be fun.

We've been talking about how we will organise the outside space, and most importantly garden-wise, a space for our chicken coop at the new house... We've had it since December (my Christmas present) but have not got chickens yet with the going to Argentina & the decision to move etc. I'm so looking forward to us having our own, completely free-range eggs! :)

I'm so looking forward to putting things in their places in the new house! Especially getting the nursery ready for the big day!


I had a midwife appointment today with Sandy & all is well. She recons our baby is 'regular size' (not HUGE as I have had a bit of fear she may be) - so hopefully she's inherited Geoff's family's fine-boned-ness instead of my heavy bones! Sandy also confirmed my suspicion that she has shifted from her back curling along my left side - now she has her back to the right which feels very odd and different. It was a little bit sore & very strange feeling when she made the shift (which is why I suspected the shift)...

Geoff dreamed  that he was assisting me in labour... I've mostly been dreaming very wacky things involving lots of sea and beach and water (as well as riding things like sharks & bicycles on the water(!!) ). I've also had labour and birth dreams - some involving not being able to find Geoff / Sandy to be there, but they all seem to work out in the end or evolve into something more wacky - like lots of Chinese people playing volleyball naked on Fish Hoek beach!! :)

We have a scan next week with Dr.Nel - I am so looking forward to seeing our little kicker one last time 'inside' before we meet her on her birthday! 

Babycenter update:

Your baby now weighs about 2.15kg and is almost 46cm long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

How your life's changing:

By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

33 weeks

33 Week Bump

Its 7 weeks until our due date... Its been another really beautiful, pain-less week. I am so happy to be feeling so well! On Friday T'Neal, Aline & I went to Sommerset West to visit Belli, Baby & Beyond - my second cousin, Shelley's pregnancy, birth and after emporium.. We then went to another little shop... then to Baby Boom where I bought our camp-cot... and then to Toys R Us where we didn't find anything...and then to lunch at the Spur. Grace entertained us all the way through lunch & discovered how to nod her head (as opposed to shaking it) for the first time! She really is such a joy :)

We packed some more boxes over the weekend & have been getting the house ready for our move.... so much still to do but it feels quite strangely far away....perhaps it will hit me on Saturday that we only have 2 weeks until we move.....who know?!

We've been feeling lots of movement over this past week... Its been quite amazing to feel the changes from 2 weeks ago (stronger, more defined movements).

I've packed in a busy week -- mostly trying to make the most of my current level of freedom! Last night was book club... tonight we had Robyn's birthday party...tomorrow morning I'm going to see the last Harry Potter movie... we have dinner out tomorrow night at friends...an appointment with Sandy on Thursday, then friends for dinner in the evening... we're watching a movie with Joyce on Friday night... and then we have a birthday dinner on Saturday night!  I can't remember when last I had such a very busy week! (So pleased I have the energy for it!)

33weeks + a couple of days

Baby Center Says:
How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a 1.8kg and has passed the 43cm mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. 


As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.

You may be feeling some achiness and even numbness in your fingers, wrists, and hands. Like many other tissues in your body, those in your wrist can retain fluid, which can increase pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist. Nerves that run through this "tunnel" may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Many women are still feeling sexy at this stage — and their partners often agree. You may need to make some adjustments, but for most women, sex during pregnancy is fine right up until their water breaks or their labor starts.

32 Weeks..

Bump at 32 weeks

I kept thinking I was at 33 weeks for some reason... I don't know if it is because time feels as though it is going fast or slowly!?!

We went to Mosselbay to spend the weekend with Mom and Dad. It was so lovely to not be at home / have our stuff around us for a short change. They will be in Cape Town in the first week after our move & Mom said she'd come and help me unpack & decorate our baby room. I am SO looking forward to putting all her little things into their places & be ready for her arrival!

There are 26 days left until we move & someone finally came to have a look at the house today -- I really hope we find a new rental really soon!! We've started packing boxes, and today we did a major clean-up and sort-out. We need to still get some more boxes, but it looks as though we'll have enough time to get everything sorted. I really hope that it doesn't become a stress at the last minute!

I have started feeling new movements(!!): after dinner one night it felt like a 'nob' protruded out of my stomach (top right just under my rib) and when I pressed on it, it went away -- I am certain it was a little foot!! This is the first time I've felt a body part in my tummy & have it react to me prodding it! Its strange and wonderful! :)

Baby Center Says:

By now, your baby weighs 1.7kg  and is about  42cm long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

How your life's changing:

To accommodate you and your baby's growing needs, your blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since you got pregnant. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and crowding your stomach, the consequences may be shortness of breath and heartburn. To help relieve your discomfort, try sleeping propped up with pillows and eating smaller meals more often. You may have lower-back pain as your pregnancy advances. Assuming it's not preterm labor that's ailing you, you can probably blame your growing uterus and hormonal changes for your aching back. Your expanding uterus shifts your center of gravity and stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, changing your posture and putting a strain on your back. Hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This can make you feel less stable and cause pain when you walk, stand, sit for long periods, roll over in bed, get out of a low chair or the tub, bend, or lift things.

31 Weeks

Our little girl seems to have had another growth spurt in the last few days! ...it felt by last Thursday's midwife appointment like nothing much at all had changed in four weeks, and suddenly between now and then I look in the mirror to be HUGE! :)

We got some good news at the appointment with our midwife (Sandy): It seems that our little monkey has turned head-down! I am so happy - the closer we can get to all the elements being in place for a natural birth, the better. Her movements are different - Sandy said that it is most likely due to the change of her position as well as the fact that I have loads of amniotic fluid (a good thing) - she's not filling up all the space yet -- we have a LOT of growing to do in the next 9 weeks. The movement thing is a little worrying because although I feel her quite regularly, the feeling is quite different & seems to be less than before. It could be my imagination.

We went on a hospital tour on Wednesday last week & were pretty impressed with the natural birthing rooms. There are four, of which 2 have baths in them... Lets hope its not too much of a busy time in the hospital & we get one of the bath rooms (x-fingers!!).  I'm so tempted by a home water birth, but with the move, it will be so hard to predict how I will feel about the new house... I am concerned about temperature control etc and I also just can't think of having to move venue mid-labour. I keep reminding myself that it will be best to just be in the hospital & really trust that so long as Geoff and Sandy are there - it doesn't really matter where things end up happening.

I've been pretty preoccupied with what its going to be like in the new house... I found some beautiful wall stickers, but now I can't remember if the walls are smoothed or whether they are roughly bagged & painted...... I will have to wait to see. I think we will ask for the cot offered to us by mom & dad - the one I slept in as a baby... Dad has just restored it: its really beautiful - a metal one with brass tops.

Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed that I am so blessed & happy that I need to pinch myself to believe that its all real. All my dreams (most of which I never even knew I had) are coming true & its hard not to get overwhelmed. I really have to guard against worrying that it could all be taken away from me, because that sends my mind into spirals that are hard to get out of. I really have to trust that all will be well & that our little family will just grow in happiness & togetherness.

I am so thankful for all we have been given - I am especially thankful for Geoff: my love. I always hoped, but never imagined that it was possible to share such a deep and meaningful love. He constantly surprises me with his kind heart - it is more pure than can be measured - there are billions of little ways he constantly considers me & shows me the depth of his love. I cannot quantify the love I have for him - he moves me. After almost 7 years, I still adore every little thing about him.

I am so looking forward to meeting our love-child. The culmination of all the wonderful things that have already happened & new chapter of our relationship, our love, our understanding of one another & of this life as a human being.



Baby Center Says:

How your baby's growing:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds / 1.4kg and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

How your life's changing:
Have you noticed the muscles in your uterus tightening now and then? Many women feel these random contractions — called Braxton Hicks contractions — in the second half of pregnancy. Often lasting about 30 seconds, they're irregular, and at this point, they should be infrequent and painless.

30 Weeks

...and 10 weeks to go!

It's Monday today & we had an amazing weekend! - We spent the night in Stellenbosch on Friday & went out for a lovely dinner... I don't know Stellenbosch very well & the vibe felt as though we'd traveled somewhere really far away for the night - even though its only an hour away!

On Saturday we drove back to Kalk Bay, had  some breakfast & I left Geoff to work while I visited Pete & Elaine... popped into Baby City to buy my breast pump starter pack... spent some time at the shop & then went to visit Colleen for the rest of the afternoon.

We popped in to visit some friends who said they have some clothes to give us -- there are some beautiful things for when our little one is 6+ months old! (I think we're hardly going to need to buy her anything to wear if things go on like this!!) .... I might have mentioned before, bit it really feels so good to know that we're moving & that we're going to have space to put all her little things so soon! ...We did a big studio tidy up in preparation for the move (and in preparation for people coming to view this house for renting it!)... next area to tackle will be the bedroom - I think I will probably need a whole day for that so I'll do it on whatever day Geoff is working this weekend...

Aline sent me a link to Maryanne Littlejohn's site with the birth story of an acquaintance's sister. What a wonderful story! ...and to give birth naturally to twins in such a calm and beautiful way!

I finally felt in the mood to do a bit of meditation time in the sun today. I set up the deck with a cloth on the ottoman & grabbed a big pillow for head support. I loaded my Guided Relaxation For Birth on my computer with the speakers pointing to outside...positioned myself with my back to the lovely warm Winter sun & disappeared into tree imaginings for a while. I've had lots of action in my tummy today - she's been prodding me and wriggling around a lot in the last 2 days: I'm quite relieved as we had a few days of relative quietness.

I spoke with a friend tonight who has a toddler & a baby. She illustrated the difficulties of having a noisy one and one who really needs to not be disturbed when trying to get to sleep! ...she also said that elderly ladies are the irritation of her current existence as they want to touch & make sounds at -- even pick up(!!) -- her baby boy when she's trying to get him to sleep whilst running errands! Why strangers feel they need to take a baby's dummy out is beyond me too....

I've not had pelvic pain in 3 weeks (YAY!!) & I am feeling really happy about that - and enthusiastic about walking & being a bit more active generally... I am getting really tired though & having to turn over in the night wakes me up frequently.


Baby Center says:

Your baby's about 40cm long now, and she weighs almost 1.3 kg (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)


You may be feeling a little tired these days, especially if you're having trouble sleeping. You might also feel clumsier than normal, which is perfectly understandable. Not only are you heavier, but the concentration of weight in your pregnant belly causes a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, thanks to hormonal changes, your ligaments are more lax, so your joints are looser, which may also contribute to your balance being a bit off. Also, this relaxation of your ligaments can actually cause your feet to spread permanently, so you may have to invest in some new shoes in a bigger size. Remember those mood swings you had earlier in pregnancy? The combination of uncomfortable symptoms and hormonal changes can result in a return of those emotional ups and downs. It's normal to worry about what your labor will be like or whether you'll be a good parent. But if you can't shake the blues or feel increasingly irritable or agitated, talk to your doctor or midwife. You may be among the 1 in 10 expectant women who battle depression during pregnancy. Also let your caregiver know if you're frequently nervous or anxious.