37 Weeks... Full Term!

At 37 weeks your pregnancy is classed at full term. If baby Paicey was born now, we wouldn't be classed as premature. The lungs are fully developed and ready for the world and my little baby is just putting on fat gearing up for his or her arrival. 

Ah the arrival. I have so much anticipation! Not only anticipation for meeting our baby and finding out the gender, but anticipation about labour and delivery! I find it very surreal that I could go into labour at any time, and that noone can predict or tell you when or what will happen. Every labour and birth is different, even with subsequent pregnancies. My hubby thinks I am a little strange that I just want the pain to begin. My theory is, it has to happen, so I just want to do it so that it is behind us and I can start to heal and we can start to grow and learn as a new family. 

These days everyone I see or speak to wants to know if I have felt any twinges or pains yet and the text messages have started. My midwife said that if I go overdue (which is highly likely in first pregnancies) they will give me a sweep at 41 weeks and then if I still haven't delivered they will induce me 5 days after the sweep. That means they will let me go 12 days overdue until they induce labour which means I could still have nearly 5 weeks to go at this point! I really should try to focus on something else as time is running slowly now, but that is easier said than done when you are in your 9th month of pregnancy!

This week I've been feeling pressure down low in my abdomen and pelvis. Especially when I try to move in bed or get up from the sofa. I've had more and more sharp shooting pains that feel like the babies head is knocking in my pelvis. Lots of online sites call this lightening crotch or even fanny daggers! It definitely feels like both names are suitable, it is really startling! It does encourage me to bounce on my gym ball to keep babies head engaged and hopefully encourage it to engage further.

The weirdest pregnancy symptom for me has started this week just to add to the general discomfort I'm feeling from being huge, hot and tired. My hands are in some serious pain! It is worse in the morning and the pain is in all my bones but especially my thumbs. Apparently pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome is normal but who would have thought that your hands would ache like arthritis in late pregnancy? A weird one. My wedding rings are definitely not going back on until after the birth unfortunately. 

I've gotten to the point where I'm struggling to fit my clothes and I refuse to buy new ones. Around the house I've taken to comfort over style (actually even out of the house!). Im wearing dresses that are so short at the front, caused by my big belly that if the doorbell goes i have to stand pulling the front bit down to cover my knickers! Ive got a few maxi dresses that I rotate for wearing out but they are getting super tight across the belly. I still fit my maternity jeans but it is simply too hot for jeans and tights in this weather. I don't imagine I'm the first or the last pregnant woman with just a couple of weeks to go that doesn't want to spend money on very late maternity clothes however if baby Paicey doesn't come soon i might need to stay in my dressing gown all day! 

Weight wise I've gone over the 15kg target set for me by the GP. Im up 15.5kg higher than my pre pregnancy weight with 3 weeks to go. I am starting to eat a lot of junk food now which is bad. Pretty much a treat a day. Im still enjoying fruit and healthy main meals but sneaking in the junk for a little daily treat. I've started to research how much weight you loose after the birth and can see its dependant on the woman, but oh my I am excited to get in shape again. I'm planning on doing lots and lots of walking with baby in the pram or in the close caboo sling I was brought by my lovely friend Katie at my baby shower. Just walking for the first few weeks until my body feels strong enough to attempt something heavier. Then i'm hoping to do Mum and baby yoga with the same teacher I have had through pregnancy and then hopefully some of the other ladies will also be in the class with their babies.

Im not going to be having a professional maternity photo shoot. I had thought about it as it is a lovely time to document but we decided we would rather have photos done of our newborn. I've already found the photographer that we are going to use, I just obviously can't book it in as we don't know what day baby Paicey will make his or her arrival! The photographer likes to shoot the babies at around 8 days old when they are sleepy and still have that natural curled up position to their body from being in the womb. I liked her style as they were all natural with each perfect part of the baby captured.

 I had Mr P come out to our back garden and take some pics of me and the bump before we headed off to a BBQ at the rugby club on Saturday. It was probably the only time this week that I looked decent enough for a photo! The dress is a non maternity dress from Topshop that I had pre pregnancy and is very light material, perfect for a day in the sun. Hope you enjoy the photos xx

Very front heavy!

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!