Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Diary of a(n almost) Due Date


3am: Woken by baby bouncing on bladder. Groan and heave self from bed. Remind self to hold onto walls on way to bathroom as balance is way off. Return to bed, return to same stupid sleeping position that causes sore hips but is only position left at this stage.

5am: Repeat of above.

6am: Repeat of above.

7am: Partner gets up for work. Decide that have become too uncomfortable to stay in stupid bed. Construct couch fortress consisting of 2 pillows, 1 maternity pillow, 4 cushions, 1 quilt and 1 purring cat. Burrow into said fortress. Farewell partner as he heads off to work. Snooze. Congratulate self on having the foresight several years ago to buy a reclining couch.

11am: Manage to get dressed. Overcome by nostalgia for the days of putting on socks without groaning. Stagger into nursery. Stare at hospital bags. Contemplate opening them to check contents. Decide this is crazy as have already checked, double-checked and re-checked. Step away from the bags. Open drawers and stare at weeny folded socks and singlets.

1pm: Visit from sister. Tell her that it feels as though the baby will never come, and that this pregnancy has no foreseeable end. 
 
2pm: Feel uncontrollable urge to buy vast amounts of cat food for pantry so that the cats don't starve to death whilst in hospital. Realise partner is quite capable of buying cat food, but unable to resist. Drive to local grocer. Reflect on lowered standards- eg have transformed from person who never went out in trackpants into person who always goes out in trackpants. Forced to engage in conversation with jolly shop assistants who offer tried-and-true methods to bring on birth. Commend self on appearing interested and open to suggestions when actually feel like throwing gourmet spice cookies at their heads. Locate cat food and fill basket. Find self standing in front of lolly section staring at selection like a crazy person. Give self stern talking to and go to fruit section. Return to lolly section. Self-talk sternly some more and go to check out. Realise family pack of party-mix lollies has appeared in basket. What? When? When? Do not have the strength to return them. Shop assistant asks how many cats one has. Valid question, given quantity of cat food am purchasing.

3pm: Partner returns from work. Excitedly attempt to run to door to greet him but end up doing a somewhat hasty waddle instead. 

6pm: Cook dinner. Reflect on the good old days when it was easy to get things from the bottom drawers in the kitchen.

8pm: Watch movie in which someone gives birth. Overcome by emotion. Cry into couch pillow fortress. Cat abandons self in disgust.

9pm: Practise yoga birthing positions, aided by partner. Share current theory with him that baby will never, ever arrive and instead am doomed to wander/waddle/stagger around in pain and discomfort forever. Am assured that this is ridiculous. Emerge from couch pillow fortress, have big cuddle, laugh together and reflect on our journey and how amazing it is that we are so close to the end now. Realise that of course baby will arrive, and that it will all be worth it. Resolve to hang in there and keep trying to make the best of things. 

9.30pm: Congratulate self on having foresight to buy lollies. 


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Early Birthday


38 weeks now...the end is in sight but I swear the last few weeks have been the longest of this entire pregnancy. Remember two weeks ago when I said I still loved being pregnant? Yeah, not so much at the moment. I am sore, teary, grumpy and tired. Emotions are at an all-time high. I woke up in a flood of tears one night from a horribly vivid dream in which I trapped my baby's finger in the car seat buckle...and then kept crying whenever I thought about it over the rest of the day! Oh dear. I just can't wait to hold my little boy in my arms after nine long months of waiting...and be able to put my socks on without puffing.


Taken this morning...looking a lot better than I felt!


In other news, Harry turns 6 the day before our baby is due and we therefore decided to have his party a few weeks early to try and avoid me being in labour and unable to attend. I have to say that the last few days were slightly stressful, for as much as I am impatient now for the baby to arrive, I was also worried that I wouldn't make it to his party. Obviously, I did make it and we had a great time. 


Our little family


We decided to hold it at the AMF Bowling centre as we had taken the children there once before and they had loved it, and the thought of just having to turn up and having everything organised was certainly appealing this close to the end of my pregnancy. Harry invited six friends and the price we paid included a game of bowling, decorations, lunch and drinks, huge party bags, cake, and arcade tokens- plus no mess to clean up, and a party host. Well worth it, particularly as I'm running on very little sleep today! It was lovely to see how much Harry enjoyed it. He's been looking forwards to it for weeks.

Blowing out the candles
 
Not everyone found it as exciting as Harry did, however.
 
Sleeping on the job, Jasper!
 
I'm really glad I made it to Harry's party and now...come on, baby, it's time to come out and meet us. My ribs and hips need a little break from your pummelling and I know you're running out of room and probably uncomfortable as well! Back to the raspberry leaf tea I go...
 


 


Tuesday, May 7, 2013

I am ready

For the past two days the chorus of the song "Colorblind" by Counting Crows has been circling my head. I am ready, I am ready, I am ready I am...fine.

I am ready.

The baby capsule has been fitted in the car. The bassinette is set up next to our bed. The change table is stocked. The freezer is full of meals I have cooked. My hospital bag is packed. I am, at 37 weeks, considered to be full term. The baby is in position. I am ready.

Now all I can do is wait.

I love being pregnant and carrying our baby, but I won't deny that I am at the stage of feeling 'over it'. The little one I am carrying has less and less room each day and his kicks and punches are starting to feel quite painful as a result. He also seems to have the hiccups a lot...which is both endearing and frustrating at 2am when it keeps me awake. Last night found me doing laps of the lounge room at 3am, jiggling, in order to try and stop the hiccups and get him off my ribs.

I am feeling grumpy today, and have even Googled "Is being grumpy a sign of early labour?" Ha. I know better than to rely on Dr Google but it's hard to resist. I just feel moody and cross. I did manage to get into the kitchen and produce some pretty yummy Anzac biscuits though, so that's something. But there was also a mini tantrum because I couldn't get my feet out of my jeans as I couldn't bend down, and then my socks got stuck in my jeans and came off, and the thought of having to bend down to put my socks back on again was just too much...oh dear. At times like this, all I can do is be grateful that Rob is very patient. 

I can't wait to meet our baby and hold him in my arms. Labour doesn't frighten me at this point. I know it will be hard...the hardest thing I have ever done, but I feel that I can do it. Scratch that, I know I can do it. I had a whinge to Mum on the phone tonight about feeling over it, and feeling bad for feeling over it, and she replied with some Mum-wisdom: "Of course you feel that way. You don't get pregnant to be pregnant. You get pregnant to have a baby, and it's a long time to wait." True. 

Anyway, right now I am sandwiched between two purring cats, which has an undeniably therapeutic effect, and am amused by my little one jigging to the music I am playing on my laptop. Much more amusing at 10pm as opposed to 3am. So far I have discovered that he really likes Goyte. Adele, not so much. 

Oh, and apparently feeling grumpy can be a sign of early labour- for some women. But it can also be a sign that you were, you know, pacing the lounge room until 3am and it's difficult to put your socks on. 

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Wetlands Walk



It’s the second week of the school holidays here in Tasmania and we’ve had a very busy and fun week with the children so far. We’ve done lots of fun activities at home such as baking Anzacs, making collages, sewing and curling up to watch movies, as well as getting out of the house and the city on a few excursions. On Tuesday we headed to Latrobe to visit Reliquaire, which the children loved, with tasty stops at the chocolate factory and raspberry farm. It was a great day but the drive was not kind to my back at this late stage of my pregnancy and I ended up in a fair amount of pain. Because of this, we changed our plans to drive and walk to Liffey Falls on Thursday and instead opted to drive less than ten minutes from our home to the Tamar Island Wetlands. 



After the crazy weather we had on Wednesday, it was wonderful to have a sunny, blue-sky day, just perfect for our walk.


Harry was in charge of the map and took his role very seriously. He was excited to discover a list of the birds we might see and both children loved standing on the bridges and looking out at the different birds, then finding out their names by looking them up on the map. This purple-necked swamp hen was very busily looking for worms less than a metre away from us.


Once we reached the island we found the picnic area...cold, wet benches in the shade which weren’t very appealing. We kept walking to the end of the boardwalk and found some benches in the sun, just perfect for our picnic lunch and a rest.


I have to blow my own horn for a minute and say that I feel quite proud of myself for staying fit, healthy and active throughout my pregnancy so that I am able to enjoy things like 4km walks even while 36 weeks pregnant. I may have my fair share of aches and pains and find it harder to get around and do everyday things but I’m glad I can still get out of the house and do things with the family. The next photo makes me laugh as Mikayla is almost hidden behind my ever-growing baby bump.


We all had a lovely time and thoroughly enjoyed walking along pointing things out to each other. As Harry said, “There’s just so much to talk about out here!”


In other news, I had a check up with my doctor today and he confirmed that the baby is now fully engaged so will probably be ready to be born within the next two weeks. He is doubtful that I will go to 40 weeks due to the bub's size and position. Bring it on, I say!