33 Weeks Pregnant

Its July and I'm having my baby in August! It's surreal but I am so happy we are this close to meeting baby Paicey! It's all I think about now. Mostly these are my thoughts... I wonder if we have a little boy or girl? What will our baby look like? How will the birth go? How much bigger can my bump get? When will I go into labour? Do we have everything we need? But mostly I just feel grateful and blessed to be carrying this baby and think positive thoughts that we have a beautiful, healthy baby.

I have a huge list of things I want to get through in the next couple of weeks. I am slowly getting through it but finding it rather exhausting despite it being a pretty usual list for me. Lots of things home and life related but other things baby related like buying things for our hospital bags and then packing them and batch cooking at least a week to two weeks worth of food for the freezer for when baby arrives. I've also been holding off booking an appointment to get my hair coloured as I think just a few weeks out til babies birthday will be best. I want to go lighter instead of the balayage dip dye I've been wearing. Going lighter will be more maintenance which doesn't really go hand in hand with a new baby but I'm feeling like a change. Im going to hold off cutting it as I can imagine Ill have an image crisis a couple of months after having the baby while I'm trying to shed the baby weight and a trip to the hairdressers for a new haircut might be handy at that point! I also need to wash the babies clothes, sheets and blankets and have gone as far as buying non bio, sensitive skin washing powder and fabric softener but thats as far as I have gotten!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to get the Whooping Cough vaccine. I had this last week as my midwife recommended I have it between 28 and 32 weeks.  In the UK, America and New Zealand this is offered to woman whilst they are pregnant as the vaccine passes through the placenta and gives the baby some immunity. From what I am aware It may also transfer through breast milk once the baby is born to provide your baby with further immunity until the baby is 8 weeks old and can have its first injections. Whooping Cough can be carried by adults who don't know that they have it and it can be fatal to babies. Some woman are cautious of the vaccine as it has only been given to pregnant woman for a few years. In Australia I'm fairly sure they don't offer this while pregnant but recommend the parents, grandparents and anyone else who will be around the new born have the vaccination to protect the baby until he or she has their first jabs at 8 weeks old. I know some people are also simply for or against vaccinations for their own reasons so I am not forcing an opinion, but baby Paicey will be getting immunised as were my bother, sister and I based on my Mums choices. Anyway, the injection took all of 3 seconds and was quite a sharp scratch to my arm. I had a sore arm for around 2 days, only to the touch or if I slept on it and I didn't have any other side effects which some people get such as feeling unwell.

I did a post on our travel system/ pram when we ordered it (which you can view Here) but it finally arrived! It was a pretty fun day I have to admit putting it all together despite Mr P wanting to leave it in the box for a few more weeks! I must have looked pretty funny to the neighbours taking it outside and seeing how to manoeuvre through our front doorway, as its a very small entrance with a staircase directly in front of the door, its quite tricky and I thought I would have to use the door at the back of the house, but it fits. We also ordered the Maxi-cosi Pebble carseat and Iso fix base for our car which arrived with our order and is all fitted and ready to go in the back of our car! Mainly as I didn't want it taking up the space in the house or our very hairy cat Archie sitting in it, but also because I was just very excited. So far we love the pram and can't wait to use it.

I think everything I'm feeling is pretty normal for this point. Im getting really tired in the afternoon but waking up early in the morning to go to the bathroom. My upper back has been really hurting me for the past few days which is new. Im guessing its the added weight and the way I am carrying myself now so I have been doing some of the yoga stretches we do in the pregnancy class and also laying down on my side with my pregnancy pillow to try to stretch it out. A friend of mine has told me it is my body's way of telling me to slow down but I honestly feel if I slow down ill be stationary!

Weight wise, I've put on 13 kg or 29 lbs so far in the pregnancy and I can't believe the number staring back at me on the scales. I feel less hungry than I was in the second trimester and just sticking to 3 fairly healthy meals with snacks of nuts, apples and berries. I said to my husband the other night that our baby will be addicted to berries as I eat them morning and night! Every few days I have an ice-cream or piece of cake from the shops too which is my guilty pleasure. 

I should be finished packing my hospital bag very soon and will do a little post on what I have packed for myself and for baby Paicey, as i found other posts on this helpful when making my own list.  My bump is getting bigger by the day and the movement is phenomenal. I still love the movement and you will find me happily sitting back with my hands on my belly feeling a little foot sticking right out and pressing back on it. Here is the bump at the end of week 33.

29 Week Pregnancy Update!

There really isn't a moment now that I'm not aware of my pregnancy. In weeks gone by I could go about my business and momentarily forget I'm pregnant, just going about my day with loads of energy. But now, the bump is big and the baby is moving around like crazy! Things that were once easy have become hard. Shaving my legs has to be done sitting down in the bath and I can no longer get to my toes to paint my toenails. Breathing has even become a big job... I'm starting to run out of room in my abdomen and if I laugh or lay down I often get shortness of breath. All this and I'm still loving being pregnant! For me it's a beautiful time of anticipation, excitement and wonderment. Don't get me wrong, I am nervous about labour and birth, the first few weeks of sleep deprivation and learning to look after our baby, but the excitement about meeting our little one by far overrides the nerves.

We had a little shopping trip this week and brought a few more bits and pieces for the baby. I am planning to breast feed but may go with a formula dream feed during the night or express some milk to give in a bottle so Mr P can help with the odd feed, so we brought a set of Dr Brown's bottles. We have been recommended these colic reducing bottles by friends and they have great reviews. We also brought a steriliser for the bottles and cleaning utensils, a padded nappy changing matt to go on top of the dresser in our bedroom, and a few more new born one pieces which were on my earlier wishlist post. We ordered a simple white moses basket and sheets from John Lewis and a Prince Lionheart white noise bear which we hope will help baby Paicey (and us!) get a good night sleep listening to sounds of the womb.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was looking forward to starting pregnancy yoga. I've since been taking a class for the past 3 weeks and its really enjoyable. I sometimes don't feel like going as I'm getting tired around that time of the day but it is so good and refreshing once I am there. We do a lot of stretching, light yoga poses, breathing and pelvic floor exercises which will be beneficial during labour. The instructor is a gorgeous woman who has a lot of energy and loves to talk about pregnancy and babies. It may not be for everyone but we focus on our babies and send love and positive energy to them during the class, which I love. It feels wonderful to stretch out my body in a safe way for pregnancy and learning the breathing techniques feels empowering in the lead up to labour. Its also nice to be in a room full of other pregnant woman and have a chat afterwards about how they are feeling.

We have been undecided on whether we should move from our 2 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom once baby arrives as we like to have a spare room for family to stay when visiting from Australia. We think we have found the perfect solution as we love our little house and have renovated every single room in the 3 years we have lived here so are quite attached. So this week we had a few building companies come over and provide quotes to add another floor and create a master bedroom with ensuite and dressing area in our loft space. I think we are going to go with this option so it is quite exciting, however the 8 -10 week building time will not be quite as exciting!

On Friday Mr P, the bump and I ventured out for dinner on opening night of a new restaurant that opened up on the lovely Kingston river front. We were lucky enough to be invited to sample their delights free of charge and had the yummiest food and drinks. My mocktails were so divine I didn't even miss not having alcohol! Check out Busaba Eathai Here for their yummy menu and locations. I wore a pre pregnancy dress of mine that really revealed the bump which I was a little self conscious about at first, but we had lots of smiles and well wishes on our night out.

Next week I am off to the doctors to get a Whooping cough vaccination so wish me luck on that one. I can't believe i'll be 30 weeks next week! Have a great week x

Baby bump stepping out for dinner at 29 weeks.