Week 34 & 35 Update

Me, Archie and the bump resting my feet on my new gym ball.

How far along: Today I am 36 weeks and 5 days along, so really running late on my updates. This is a total reflection of how I am feeling at the moment... completely wiped out and tired! I've started drinking raspberry leaf tea this week and we brought a gym ball to start bouncing on to help baby move down in position for labour. Its really comfortable to sit on when my back is achy too as it takes the pressure off.

Symptoms:  Week 34 was the start of random sharp pains down low which would really startle me. I had a very thorough GP at my 34 week appointment and she had a good feel of my bump, pressing and probing to determine the position of baby Paicey in the womb. We had great news... Baby is lying head down and 4/5th palpable, engaging in my pelvis and doing all the right things in readiness for birth. The babies head is measured in 5 finger widths and 4/5ths palpable means the GP could feel 4/5ths of the babies head above my pelvis, so our baby is just beginning to engage which she said was the reason for the sharp pains I was feeling. I can't tell you how exciting it was to hear that the baby was head down, but at this point whilst not too common, the baby can still shift position. Oh my goodness the shoulder pain on my left side was constant and seemed to be like a fuzzy nerve pain that I couldn't get rid of, and seemed to get worse by walking. I practised my yoga stretches to try to stretch it out and it would give a small amount of relief but would return a short while later. I think it was from sleeping on my left hand side and the weight of my body on my shoulder. Acid reflux/heart burn. Wow when that hits it is really unbearable. I had this earlier on in the pregnancy but nothing as painful as this. It started after I had been out for dinner with friends visiting from Australia and indulged in dessert. I've now got Gaviscon tablets to suck on after meals and before bed, plus I've given up on overeating as it was really not a fun symptom to contend with!

Sleep:  I can either fall asleep straight away or lay awake for hours despite being super tired. Through the night I usually wake up once for a quick trip to the bathroom and then fall straight back asleep and then I wake unusually early in the morning to go to the bathroom again. It is so hot here at the moment and without a fan in our bedroom so I think the heat wakes me up early as well as the baby pressing on my bladder. I cannot stress enough how much I love my pregnancy pillow. I'll be sad to get rid of it in a few weeks! But then again, I'll be able to sleep on my back or stomach so that will be a joy! 

Weight Gain: The GP weighed me which was the first time in pregnancy apart from my very first booking in appointment that anyone (apart from myself) has weighed me. I was 14kg (30 lbs) heavier than the beginning of pregnancy, with the doctor telling me that ideally I wouldn't go higher than 15 kg's in total. I wonder if only a 1kg gain is even possible with 6 weeks still to go? I have heard that in the final few weeks of pregnancy you may not put on any weight or even loose a little, due to the reduction in amniotic fluid and the fact that your bump is so big you can't eat very big meals without feeling ridiculously full. Time will tell, but honestly I don't feel that if I get to 16kg I'm going to beat myself up about it.

Food:  As it's Mr P's off season we are eating really healthy meals. We plan a menu for the week and then a shopping list so the house is only full of what we need. Still that doesn't stop me from walking to the corner store and buying an ice cream or chocolate bar... especially when I'm home alone! I'm really craving tropical fruit and have had yummy fresh mango and pineapple. I have been on the lookout for good watermelon but nothing has looked the part so far so I'm yet to satisfy that craving. I've been making sure to eat early in the evenings to try and give my body some time to digest food before laying down in bed to try to avoid the dreaded heartburn.

Movement:  The movement can be described as rolling and pressing now as the babies got much less room to move. For me it feels like the balls in a massage chair that roll around in circles. It is great knowing how baby Paicey is lying as I can tell if its a little limb, bottom or back rolling around in there. I sometimes need to press back on the foot jarring out of my stomach to try and ease the pain.

Belly Button: Its popped out as far as I think possible, but still a little bit of an innie!

Stretch Marks:  I've obviously still got the few little ones on the underside of my breasts and have one on each side of my hips that are red. Still none on my tummy which I'm really happy about and being extra vigilant in applying my Mama Mio tummy butter and boob tube lotion. 

Wedding rings:  Still on but I really should take them off. They are really tight and leaving indentations on my finger after a walk outside in the heat but are OK in the house. I really don't want to take them off!

Baby's Gender:  Unknown but more and more curious as the weeks roll on. We have a list of names picked out for both a boy and a girl but hard to really push for a name until we at least know the gender. Its so exciting and I can't wait for the moment we find out if we have a son or a daughter!

Bump:  Huge! Its seriously hard to move off the bed or the sofa. I have to basically roll off now and if I drop something, it has to be something important for me to pick it back up! I can't wait to be able to bend in the middle again.

Bumping out at 35 weeks!