Today is our due date!

Wow, our due date is here, finally, but it doesn’t feel as long as I thought it would when I tested for the first time early Sunday morning on the 10^th of April.  According to several websites, I see that 5% of babies are born on their due dates.  So statistically the chances of our baby coming today are slim.  The midwife thinks he will come on the 26^th or the 27^th.  That prediction was made before she checked me, so I think she calculated it on their personal statistics, not on our specific circumstances.

I saw the midwife yesterday, and before the appointment I wanted to ask her to do a stretch and sweep, but I totally forgot to ask that!  DH’s sister went with, since she is visiting here at the moment, and we were talking about so many other things, some of it questions she had, that I completely forgot to ask!  I’m not too upset about it though, since the feeling of urgency for our baby to be born has passed.

I thought about it and I think I wanted him to be born about a week early so that all of the family members who are going on holiday could still see him, and I hoped that DH could spend as much time with him as possible, but DH is only going back to work on the 9^th of January, so there is still plenty of time.  Almost all of the family that are going on holiday have left already, it’s only my cousin J who still needs to go on Saturday morning, so it’s too late now.  Our baby can just as well come now whenever he wants to…

Our baby was very relaxed again yesterday with the appointment, and we could see it in his heartbeat, it varied between 127-137 bpm.  He did give the midwife one little kick though.  She could feel that there is still plenty of amniotic fluid surrounding him and she said that my placenta should still be healthy as long as I regularly feel our baby move around, which I do.  The intensity of the movements is just not as strong most of the time, because things are getting cramped in there.

Our baby’s head is nicely engaged, but my bump measurement is bigger again, and combined with my weight gain of 700g (9.5 kg gain over my pregnancy) in the past week, indicates that baby had a growth spurt in the past week.  But I think some of the weight gain is also due to water retention because my feet have been swollen a lot more since this past Sunday.  Apparently that is caused by the fact that our baby’s head is putting pressure on the veins coming up from my legs.  The midwife recommended that I take tissue salts 9 & 11 for the swelling.

I also had a good Braxton Hicks contraction and the midwife was extremely happy with that, so it seems the raspberry leaf tea and the tablets are doing their job.  My uterus is getting plenty of exercise before I go into labour.  I must say I got one very sore and a few more slightly sore contractions later during the day and the evening.  I also had AF like back pain for most of the afternoon and the evening, but I went to bed and this morning I feel nothing except the painless BH contractions again.  But I’m seeing it all as a good sign that things are slowly but surely moving along.

My urine sample was once again perfect yesterday, no glucose at all, so I really think my breakfast was the problem when I ate the muesli and yogurt, and I had the honey in my tea.  She even complemented me on the fact that she could see I was drinking plenty of water.  My blood pressure was also perfect so the midwife said that I am extremely healthy and that I definitely have a very low risk pregnancy – not bad for an “old chick”!  And I know a lot of doctors love to use age as an excuse for a pregnancy being high risk…

It’s incredibly hot here again, so that is the worst for me, combined with the fact that my feet are so uncomfortable due to the swelling and the fact that I can’t sit comfortably anymore due to all the pressure in my pelvic area.  Otherwise I feel fine and totally happy to still be pregnant.  I’m savouring the last few days.  I know that I still have some freedom with my time and what I want to do, when I want to do things so I will take full advantage of that while I still can.

But I must say we have tried everything we know to try to hurry things along a bit since last week, but none of the “tricks” we tried seemed to work.  We have tried to BD quite often, I have been walking quite a lot, but since the fall, DH doesn’t want me to walk at the gym or in the streets anymore, as I fell outside the gym right after walking for 30 minutes at quite a  fast pace.  So I’m doing my walking in shopping malls now, but not as often as I would like to.

I refuse to try the castor oil, that sounds like a horrible experience, and the midwife warned against taking or eating things that might give me diarrhoea as she thinks it would make me too weak for the labour experience, but also it’s not a good thing when you want to give birth in water, since the water will have to be changed and the bath cleaned should one have an “accident” in the bath.

I’m taking raspberry leaf tablets now too and I’m still taking the evening primrose oil capsules, some evenings I use two vaginally, since I’ve noticed that I’m leaking oil when I go to the loo on my many trips during the night.  The midwife said it’s ok to do that.

Sorry TMI following:  Speaking of going to the loo many times, sometimes it feels like our baby is using my bladder as a trampoline.  What a weird feeling!  I might feel ok one moment then suddenly I have the urge to go to the loo, and then a split second later that feeling is gone again.  If he moves around a lot it feels like, “I need to pee… O, no not anymore… O, now I need to pee again… No not anymore…”  On and on like that.  I have also had times when I was sitting on the loo, squeezing out a few drops and suddenly baby moves and it squirts out, and when he moves away again, it’s back to drops again.

I don’t mind any of this really; I am still in such awe that we are so close to having our own baby.  I promise you that there are days when I think back to the beginning of the year or last year and I cannot help bursting out in tears of joy and being so grateful for our baby, and then I just cannot help praising God.  I really am still so amazed at His goodness and how almighty He is.

Yesterday we were married 15 years and 3 months.  We started TTC around our 3^rd anniversary.  So we have been waiting for our baby for 12 years and 3 months.  12 years and 3 months! No amount of trying on our own ever even closely resulted in a pregnancy, and so many FS’s tried to get us pregnant with 8 IUI’s and 3 fresh IVF’s and 1 FET.  Ok, the last clinic I went to did manage to get me pregnant, but then I miscarried.  The odds of me having a live baby from IVF at the age of 40 was 5%, and then God gave us this incredible miracle!  I got pregnant on my own, naturally after taking only Folic acid and evening primrose oil capsules for months.  No other medication – no treatment from any doctor.  I used ovulation prediction sticks and I made sure we BD’d around ovulation time.  That is all, and off course I believed that God would heal both DH and I and that he would make me pregnant and this blog is proof of that.

Wow!  Absolutely amazing to me…  Praise the Lord!  He is good and NOTHING is impossible for Him! Thank you Jesus!

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39 Weeks Pregnant:

Gosh, this past week my patience has been truly tested.  I really hoped this baby would come.  And then I realized that there is nothing I can do to make it happen, I can just as well relax and enjoy the last bit of my pregnancy.  But it was not easy to come to that decision.  I’m not even sure why I wanted it so bad – I think it’s just excitement, the fact that I cannot wait to meet our baby.  It wasn’t so much any pregnancy symptoms, because they have been ok lately – I have had times when I was a lot more uncomfortable, like during the heat wave we had a couple of weeks ago.

By Monday morning I was searching the internet early signs of labour and even reading up on as many birth stories I could in the hope that I would recognize some signs that would indicate that labour was near, but unfortunately that was not the case.  Those signs that I do have, like the Braxton Hicks contractions for instance, don’t mean that labour is imminent.  So it seems it can still take a while, and that was why I decided to try to relax about it, because I realized that I was driving myself crazy…

It reminded me a lot of being in the 2ww and trying to find any symptoms that could indicate that I was pregnant, but just like the 2ww there is nothing definite and there is not much one can do, except wait it out.

This week was actually a good week for my body – I really felt quite good.  I think the overcast and rainy weather earlier this week helped a lot.  I wasn’t so hot and uncomfortable, but I’m still really tired in the afternoons.  It’s just difficult to take a nap, almost every day there is something that disturbs me and wakes me after about 30 minutes to maybe 45 minutes.  I sleep quite well at night though, so I can’t complain that I don’t get enough sleep.

I’ve been having more Braxton Hicks contractions again; some were a bit painful, but not too much.  I’ve been getting some slight pains in my lower back, almost AF like, but as soon as I get excited and think maybe this is it, it goes away again.  I’ve also had some cramps in my intestines, but no diarrhoea (since that is a good sign that labour is approaching), and then I’ve had some stabbing pains in my lower abdomen again and in my vagina.  Also I can feel our baby’s head in my pelvis and it is getting really difficult to bend that area, and getting in and out of bed has been difficult.

I must say I’ve been blessed throughout this pregnancy.  I didn’t gain much weight, even though I ate pretty much what I wanted to when I wanted to, I have no stretch marks at all, only a little swelling, no varicose veins, no haemorrhoids even though I’ve been constipated most of the time, or any of the other nasty pregnancy symptoms that women normally get.  The few issues that did came up, were easily resolved, like for instance my low lying placenta and the gestational diabetes scare.  All I can say is that I know it’s due to God’s blessings, for I knew from the book Super.natural Child.birth that it was not necessary to have that, and I in fact confessed and believed that I would be spared from all the common pregnancy problems.  So Praise God!  All the glory must go to Him!

I had my check up again today – all is once again well.  My weight is up 8.7 kg’s from the start of my pregnancy, I once again had no glucose in my urine, but I did have some ketones, but that was probably due to the fact that I was a bit starved before I had lunch, and I had lunch not long before I saw the midwife.  My blood pressure was again a little low, but still normal for a pregnant woman.  Baby’s heartbeat was between 131-137bpm, and I think he was sleeping, because for a change I did not feel him during the consultation. Our baby also has the hiccups quite frequently now – a couple of times a day I would say on average at least 3 times a day.  The midwife said that he can come any time now or be late, and I so wished she could be more specific, but off course she cannot.

Our baby boy has been very active for the last day or so.  So much so that it was difficult to get to sleep last night.  But that is totally fine with me, at least I don’t have to worry about him…  Speaking of worry, I fell on Tuesday.  That was quite a bit of a scare.  Fortunately I fell on my hands and knees and not on my tummy, and fortunately I could feel baby move afterwards, so I wasn’t too worried.  But it’s still not something you want to experience during pregnancy.  The worst thing is I have a skinned knee.  I feel a bit silly with a knee like that – I mean little children’s knees look like that not adults!  But the midwife says that baby is well protected so usually they are more worried about the moms than the babies.

Here is a picture of the injured knee:

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38 Weeks Pregnant:

Wow, I can’t believe we’re at 38 weeks…  I am so ready for this baby to come now.  Every day I hope that it is soon.  The main reason is because DH is off this month and I would love it if he can spend as much time as possible with our son, before he needs to go back to work.  He has no choice in this matter – if it was up to him he would still be working right up to when baby comes, but unfortunately he is forced to be off now, and they will expect him back at work early January.

I am really getting uncomfortable and sore now, and sleeping is becoming an issue.  It hurts to turn around from my one side on to my back and over to the other side.  Sometimes I can feel baby in my pelvis and then he would complain if the new position is not comfortable for him.  Once again the heat is also getting to me – although we sometimes have an occasional cool day and then I’m so grateful for that!

Bending is completely impossible now and I cannot pick up stuff from the floor anymore.  It feels like I’ll hurt our baby, especially the part that has descended into my pelvis.  Fortunately DH can help me with those things.

I saw the midwife again today, and all is well.  No glucose what so ever, not even a trace, so she said she is proud of me and I was also very happy to hear that.  Blood pressure is also perfect once again, but I lost 200 gram in weight.  Total weight gain now is 8.1kg. Fortunately that is not a problem.

Baby was also doing well; he had once again a good varying heartbeat from 129-141 bpm.  DH and I have been laughing at him a lot, especially in the evenings.  He moves around so much and he makes the weirdest movements that one can see from far.  DH even made a video of it on his phone.  Sometimes it feels like he is trying to claw his way out of my tummy, and at other times it feels like he is trying to crawl deeper into my pelvis.

The Braxton Hicks contractions feel less and less painful too – I wonder if it has anything to do with the raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil capsules I’ve been taking since last week.  The midwife sounded surprised to hear that, so I don’t think it’s a common occurrence.  It makes me worry a bit that it will delay labour…

I’m so tired again these days!  Yesterday I had a 3 hour nap in the afternoon!  It feels like I can’t get enough sleep.  Our midwife says it’s a good idea if I do get as much sleep as possible since I will need the energy when I do go into labour.  She says most ladies go into labour at night and when they haven’t had a nap they tend to be too tired to labour through the night, so at least I have that as an excuse when I feel that I’m too lazy!

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37 Weeks pregnant:

First of all the good news is that I don’t have Gestational Diabetes! That glucose challenge test is unpleasant! I failed the 2hr test, but just – my reading was 8.6 and that is the level it should be or above to indicate a problem, so that means my body has a problem processing the glucose around 2 hours but by 3 hours it’s all been processed, because it was low again. The 1 hour test was within limits. The criteria are that one must fail 2 of the 3 tests before GD is diagnosed.

It seems my problem was the breakfast I’ve been eating – which I changed around the time my urine tests were showing positive readings. All my appointments were early in the morning around 2 hours or a little more after I had breakfast. So this morning I had plain oats and no sugar or honey and there was only a tiny glucose reading.

Fortunately it has not affected our baby yet, and the only implication for me is to be careful of what I eat, not only now, but basically always, since it does apparently put me at a little higher risk of Diabetes type 2 later on in life, and I might already be insulin resistant. I think I will have that checked out after our baby’s birth sometime.

We did the birth plan with our midwife, and that was quite exciting, to discuss in detail what we want to happen during birth, but my midwife insisted we must keep an open mind since things don’t always work out as planned. She warned us that there is a 15% chance of having a c-section, because that is what their c-section rate is. She warned us that they are not so pro-natural birth that they will in any way risk my life or our baby’s life, which I’m happy with, since I never want to take unnecessary risks.

She did an internal exam of my pelvis to see if there would be any obstruction or structural problem preventing me from giving birth vaginally and there is no problem! She thinks there will be more than enough room for baby. She noticed that my cervix was still high up and closed so she does not think baby will be coming soon, but from today I’m allowed to start taking evening primrose oil capsules and raspberry leaf tablets (or tea or tincture) to help prepare my body for the birthing process.

We were also briefed on exactly what to do when we suspect I might be in labour, what symptoms to look out for, what is dangerous and what is not urgent. So we are quite comfortable we will be able to do exactly what is right in the circumstances.

Baby was once again doing fine, sleeping for a change and at first his heartbeat was quite slow (129-135 bpm) but she poked him a bit and he did not like that at all, he kicked me hard twice in response and then his heartbeat shot up to 165 bpm and slowed again to 150 bpm. My weight gain is now 8.3 kg’s above my pre-pregnancy weight and my blood pressure was also perfect – apparently most pregnant ladies at this stage tend to have blood pressure that is a bit high.

Symptoms wise – I’ve had a very heavy feeling in my lower abdomen, and still the sore pubic bone, stabbing pains and now also a sore coccyx, all signs that our baby is dropping, but he can still drop more according to my midwife. I’m having regular Braxton Hicks contractions now, and where before I could only feel it if I touched my belly, now I can feel them without touching. My bump regularly gets rock hard, especially when I move around and when I bend, but I also get them in bed.

On Tuesday I actually had a few painful contractions, and boy, it hurt more than I thought it would! I immediately took it easier, went to lie down for a nap and I even woke up from the pain of one of those contractions. Fortunately it was only 4-5 painful ones over the span of the afternoon and early evening, so I knew it was not labour starting, but DH and I were both a bit anxious that baby might come much earlier than expected. The midwife assured us however that labour is still far away, and she thinks we are still on track for close to our due date or even a few days after, so it looks like this might be a Christmas baby after all.

If baby does go overdue I will be gently induced on the 31st of December – they always do the induction at 9 days past due date, so then it might be a new year’s baby. I think I like the idea of a new year’s baby a lot more than a Christmas baby. But I guess we’ll talk again when I get to that point, because I might not like being pregnant by then anymore…

There was one more thing that came out of my consultation that might be a problem and that is the fact that I had an operation on my left breast when I was 19 years old. I had some lumps removed, because my maternal grandmother had breast cancer, and the doctor I had then said I was a high risk candidate for breast cancer and that the operation was necessary. Only later did I find out that was off course not true, since the lumps came back and then my GP at that stage aspirated the lumps and sent the fluid away for analysis, but what can you do? The operation was done and I can’t go back and undo it.

All I can do now is trust that God will heal whatever is necessary so that I can indeed breastfeed from that breast, if there is a problem. You see quite a lot of breast tissue was removed during the operation and the midwife explained that some of the tubes might be damaged and cause obstructions and mastitis. I was off course never warned about this when I was 19 and at that age one doesn’t really think about the implications regarding breast feeding. I didn’t even have a boyfriend at that stage, so having babies was definitely not on my mind.

I hope it will not be a problem, since I really want to breastfeed our baby boy, but I know God can do the impossible, so I will trust in Him and believe that all will be well!

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36 Weeks Pregnant:

So today was time for a check-up again and from now on it will be weekly check-ups. Right at the start the midwife noticed that my glucose levels were way too high again in my urine. She said it might have been my breakfast, because it sounded a bit sweet to her (muesli, yogurt, rooibos tea and 2 drops of honey), but because this wasn’t the first time it was too high I must go for a 3 hour glucose tolerance test – so that’s been booked for early Monday morning. She didn’t mention anything about the ketones, so I assume that was ok.

I gained another 500g in the last 2 weeks to get me up to approx 7.6kg’s since the start of my pregnancy – the other senior midwife also came in the room during my consultation and they are both very happy with my weight gain and they say I’m doing well in that regard. My bump is also growing nicely and is just above the average line on the growth chart from the beginning, so that is also perfect.

For some reason neither the OBGYN nor the midwife got the results from my Coombs test (anti-bodies for my Rhesus negative blood group) so they have to query that, as well as the glucose test from last week. The midwife was happy when I told her the finger prick test was 4.3, though. My iron levels are very high, even higher than in the beginning of my pregnancy and that is also very good and something to be happy about. My blood pressure was once again normal and totally fine.

Baby is also happy, moving regularly with a good heartbeat ranging between 138-154 bpm. The midwife said he is very obviously happy and healthy. He has also dropped already and that explains my latest symptoms of stabbing pains to the left and right of my lower abdomen and a sore pubic bone. I am totally happy to grit and bear that pain, because it’s all good for baby to be doing that now and good for having a vaginal childbirth. I am so proud of our little boy, because he is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing and at the right time.

The only thing that bothers me a bit is the fact that I still haven’t seen the third midwife from the practice I’m at. The one that I’ve seen the most up to now, including today has resigned and will finish at the end of November, but she will continue working at the clinic, just not in private practice. My worry is that the midwife we haven’t seen up to now will end up doing the birth and she doesn’t know us at all. Hopefully we will get to see her within the next few weeks though. At least we’ve met her briefly, but it was basically just an introduction…

Otherwise I’m feeling well – the weather here is a lot cooler, we’ve had a bit of rain, so I feel a lot better, and the swelling in my hands and feet haven’t gotten worse, maybe even a little better. I’ve been getting a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions lately especially if I’ve been busy. On Tuesday morning I had a lot to do and I think I might have overdone things a bit, as I had a pain rise up from my pubic bone to my belly button, and I got a bit of a fright, so now I try to not do too much on any particular day. I’ve stopped going to the gym altogether, since a lot of walking makes my back ache and it makes the Braxton Hicks contractions worse and to be honest I really haven’t had the energy to swim. I can do it, but then I have almost no energy for the rest of the day. The positive of baby dropping is that my heartburn is a lot better, but now I have to go to the loo more often and I’m waking at least 3 times a night to go now.

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35 Weeks Pregnant:

5 weeks to go – 35 days until my estimated due date. Maybe even less if our baby decides to come earlier, maybe a little longer if he comes a bit later…

I cannot tell you in words how incredibly grateful DH and I are for this baby and for my healthy pregnancy with almost no problems. A few problems have tried to creep up on us, but every time we have responded in faith that all will be well and it has turned out well!

I still thank God almost every single day, and I’m sure DH does too! I can still so vividly remember the pain and the heartache that we have been through to get here, and I know how incredibly blessed we are. That is why we are relishing every moment, enjoying everything we can, because I remember with my first pregnancy I felt guilty that we were blessed, but that there were others who were still left behind in the trenches of infertility and in pain. My heart still goes out to them, but now I refuse to let guilt spoil our joy!

On Tuesday I went for my fasting glucose test, but I didn’t go to the lab in our town, because I have mentioned before that I’m sick and tired of the incompetence of the staff there. I have found out in the mean time that there is a GP (not ours) close to our home that has a sister that will draw my blood on behalf of the lab, so the last 2 times I’ve gone there. It takes a while longer to get the results, but it’s not like the beta tests that I’m anxious for the results so I prefer that option by far.

Anyway, I’m going off topic here, the sister took my blood for the fasting glucose test and then she offered to give me a finger prick glucose test, just so that I don’t have to wait so long for the results and my glucose reading was 4.3, which is normal! Yay! So I don’t think I have Gestational Diabetes and I’m sure everything is fine. I haven’t heard anything from the OBGYN yet, I’m not sure if it’s because the reading is fine, or that they haven’t received the results yet, but like I said I believe all is well.

My belly is getting bigger and bigger, but people still say I’m carrying quite small. I guess it’s because I haven’t gained so much weight – I think all the weight I have gained is just pregnancy related, and I don’t know why that is because I do eat quite a lot, but then again it’s almost all healthy food. Almost no junk food at all… Although my belly is not too big, I do get uncomfortable moments. It often feels like our baby is kicking me underneath my ribs and in my lungs, which is not a very nice feeling and there are times when I feel movement in my groin, which seems impossible, but also not a nice feeling. Those times I try to stretch out my body as long as possible to make space for baby and the rest of my organs, because it sure feels like things are getting cramped in there…

Another symptom that I’ve had for about 2 weeks now is a little swelling in my hands and feet, which is still bearable, but accompanied with the swelling I also have pain, especially after I’ve woken up in the morning. It’s getting difficult to bend my fingers and it’s sore to walk, but the OBGYN said those are normal side effects that come with the swelling. Another nasty side effect is heartburn – it’s really getting unpleasant most of the time. I’m into my third bottle of Gaviscon already and every time I buy a bigger bottle – I’m on one of those huge ones now, but I must say that definitely works, so it’s manageable.

I went for a pedicure on Tuesday and the lady that gave me the pedicure said she couldn’t see any swelling in my feet. I can see the difference, because I have very slim and small feet for my length, but I guess others won’t really notice it. It’s the same with my fingers, they look almost normal, but I can’t get my wedding ring on anymore and haven’t been able to for weeks. But again I have very thin, long fingers. My sister who obviously knows me well could see a difference, and DH can see it too…

My one hand and feet - taken today.

We got our chest of drawers this past weekend and the other things we ordered from the same shop, so this week I’ve been getting the baby’s room ready. I’ve been washing clothes, blankets, bedding, etc for the past 2 days and packing it into the cupboard, chest of drawers and baby’s hospital bag. So baby’s bag is basically ready and all I need to do is get my bag and DH’s bag ready then baby can come! DH still needs to put up the shelves and then I want to get some more pictures for the walls and then we are all done with the room.

I even did almost all the Christmas gift shopping – Baby and DH still need a gift, but the rest I’ve bought and then off course DH still needs to get me something. I only need to wrap the gifts and that will be finished too!

So things are pretty organised here at home – next week I want to clean the prams (yes, we have more than one!) and the camp cot and all the other second hand stuff we got from my sister since it’s very dusty. The rest of the things are minor things to get ready, like borrow a nice camera for the birth, making a map to the clinic for the family who wants to visit, etc. The only major thing I still want to do is get eco nappies, but everyone has recommended that we use disposables for the first 6 weeks or so, so that can wait until after baby is born if it needs to. But I will probably sort that out too in the next week or so. I have already decided on the brand I like, I just want to go to a shop and see what it looks like before I order them over the internet. It is a big amount, so I just want to make sure the quality is what they say it is…

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34 Weeks Pregnant:

We had our first visit to the backup Obgyn today and it went well. Almost everything was once again perfect.

I must say she did a very thorough check on baby and me, and she said the main purpose was for her to assess whether I still have a low risk pregnancy and we got the go ahead for the water birth. That was such good news, and we could book our room at the clinic with a happy heart.

We got a scan of our baby, but the doctor forgot to give us the one picture she took of our baby’s testicles. I guess I was spoiled with the scans we got at the other lady, because there we got at least 10 pictures every time, and a DVD, today we got nothing! Or not completely true, at least we got to see our baby again, and that was all worth it! It’s been a long 6 weeks since we last saw our baby.

Not that we could see much – he has grown so much that we could only see parts of him and we also couldn’t really see him move around like last time. But I must say, I’ve heard these last scans in the last weeks are a bit disappointing compared to the second trimester scans. One thing is still for sure, we are definitely having a boy – the dr said she usually tells her patients that she is only 80% sure, but this time she can say with confidence she is 100% sure it’s a boy. Not that we doubted it, because it’s been very definite ever since we had our 12 weeks scan, and every single scan afterwards as well.

Our baby’s heartbeat was 133bpm today and dr was so happy with it, right in the middle of the range it should be and a strong and even heartbeat. She measured him and he is still very much an average size baby, at approx 2.2kg’s now, and she estimates he should gain about 150g per week so he should be close to 3.2kg’s at full term. Not too big for me to push out! Also he was lying head down again today, perfectly with his back in the right position. My placenta was also fine, no more worries about a low lying placenta that can interfere with our birth plans. She could still see the accessory lobe but that is just fine, they must just know about it, so that they can make sure it comes out with the rest of the placenta at birth. The only thing that was not perfect at the scan was my amniotic fluid seemed a bit low, but the dr said I must just stay hydrated and get into the pool everyday, which I do anyway in this heat!

My urine test was once again much better; a low reading of glucose, much lower than last week, but the dr still wants me to go for a fasting glucose test. She thinks I might be a borderline gestational diabetic, and wants to see the blood results. I think my diet changes helped a bit, but I must also give the glory to God, because I once again actively believed that He will heal me, and we could see that all was much better so I know He did! At least the ketones were normal and I gained 900g again in the last week and a half. In total that brings me up to just over 7 kg’s gained in my pregnancy to date. The doctor was extremely happy with that.

I got my second anti-D injection today, even though they could not find my blood results from the test I had done 2 days ago. So I don’t know whether there were any antibodies yet. I guess I’ll find out at my next midwife check up.

Our baby is very active these days, and the dr and the midwives keep on telling me I need to count the baby’s movements per hour, but I don’t because he moves so much it’s really not a worry to me. My whole bump often rocks from side to side and one can even see the bumps coming up at times. Sometimes it feels like he is trying to claw out of my tummy, when he does that. DH and I often sit and laugh at his antics, especially at night.

O, by the way, our baby has a name now – but we aren’t telling anyone yet. I keep on telling everyone that it’s going to be a surprise and I must say some people are not too happy with us! Especially my sister, she is so curious and she was really disappointed when we didn’t want to tell her. We played a trick on her – we told her a name, which is a made up name, a combination of my name and DH’s name, because we know she does not like it at all when people do that, but she didn’t fall for that one. She knew immediately we were winding her up…

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33 Weeks Pregnant:

Firstly I want to apologize because I promised a post last week and I still haven’t finished it. Hopefully I will be able to post it soon.

I’m 33 weeks today and boy, am I tired all the time! I feel like I have absolutely no energy, even though the weather is a bit cooler now. Yesterday I took a nap just about an hour after lunch and then about 2 hours after I got up I had to lie down again. That time I didn’t sleep though.

On Tuesday we went for another check up at the midwife and this time everything was not perfect like all the times before. My urine test was not good – way too much glucose and together with the ketone reading it suggests that I might have gestational diabetes. I will be tested again next week Friday when I go to see the backup OBGYN and if it’s still not right I have to for a glucose challenge test.

The above readings together with the fact that I only gained 100g (total of 6.2 kg from the start of my pregnancy) from 30-32 weeks is an indication to my midwife that my body is not using the sugar, but breaking down fat for energy. She explained that a lot of that extra sugar goes straight to our baby and is absorbed by him and that is not a good thing. I can take a lot that happens to me, but I don’t want to hear anything bad that affects our baby, so now I’ve put myself on a strict diet of eating even more protein, and much more often. Fortunately the midwife said that diet can improve this, so I’ll be trying my very best to get it right.

The weird thing is now that I have to eat protein a lot and very regularly I am off course not hungry at all! But I force myself to eat a little even if I don’t feel like it. I got some tips from my MIL who is a diabetic about what to eat and what to avoid and her biggest tip was to ensure that I have some protein shake before I go to bed and have it on my bedside table for when I wake up during the night, which off course I do anyway, to go to the loo.

So when I wake up in the mornings I’m not hungry at all, and it stays that way, because I still eat regularly during the day. The good thing is now I’m not tempted at all to eat junk, because I’m not hungry. I must admit I got some cravings for sweets and things like fruit salad and ice cream in the last week or so.

Our baby was lying breech this time, it seems he still has a lot of room to move around in and does move quite regularly. This is not a concern yet, as he just needs to be in the correct position by about 36 weeks. That has to be monitored next week by the OBGYN too. If he is still breech by next week I have to do some things to try and move him in between 34 and 36 weeks, and if that doesn’t work the OBGYN will probably try to move him. But I’m not worried about it, because the midwife suggested I try to sleep just on my left side, as that will help him to move and he definitely did move from lying mostly on the right to lying mostly on the left. The theory is that if he switched from right to left he should be head down again, but to be honest I don’t know how they feel if he is lying head down or up.

Fortunately everything else was fine, my blood pressure and baby’s heartbeat (136-143 bpm) was perfect again, and other than being tired all the time I don’t have any other complaints.

Our baby’s room is progressing, I’m more than halfway with all the sewing I’m doing, and we’ve bought a lot of other things we still needed. I’m almost ready to start packing the hospital bags, I just need to buy one or two small things and wash the baby clothes and blankets etc, but I want to wait a week or two with that.

We should get the chest of drawers and the toy box also much sooner than originally planned as I heard that they did receive it last week at the place we bought it, and it should have gone for staining this week. So maybe from next week we might be able to get it! That would be great because then I can wash and store our baby’s clothes and stuff.

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32 Weeks Pregnant:

The last week was a good week. The heartburn is better, I’ve only needed the Gaviscon about three times so far, and my back is also better, but I think it’s got to do with the fact that I’m not walking as much anymore. I’ve completely stopped walking at the gym and I can feel a huge difference. So that leaves swimming as my only form of exercise for now.

I had one not so nice experience on Tuesday in the pool when I was floating around on my back – in between my 10 minute sets, I rest for about 2 minutes – and there were 2 ladies that entered the pool area. They were early for their aqua aerobics class and the one saw me floating on my back and my bump sticking out of the water and she pointed her finger and started to laugh out loud – just like school bullies do when they make fun of other children. I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way, but it still did not feel nice to be treated that way. She never said a word to me, just walked on and continued her conversation with her friend. O well, it’s not putting me off swimming or floating around in the pool, since I have to be fit for my water birth, and like I said swimming is the last form of exercise that is comfortable for me and not causing me any pain.

The biggest problem has been the heat wave we’ve been having – let me tell you it is uncomfortable! My feet are the most uncomfortable – they feel like they throb just about all day, but fortunately they’re not really swollen. We have a pool at home and I get in it, even if it’s just with my feet, every afternoon to cool off. The water is just a tad too cold to exercise in for now, so that is why I’m still going to the gym to swim. I also go very early in the mornings, around 7am or 7:30am so that I can still get all my things done during the day.

I have very little energy during the day though, and I think once again that it’s due to the heat. I’ve heard that the heat wave is over, but it sure doesn’t feel like it! I hope we get some rain soon, I’m sure that will help to cool things down.

Another thing I’ve noticed recently is that my nails are very soft and break very easily. That is something that I’ve never had a problem with – I’ve always had healthy strong nails that easily grew quite long before it would break. I think our baby’s been taking a lot of nutrients that previously went to my nails, but it’s a small price to pay! Nails can always grow again later!

Lastly I’ve also noticed that things are very supple and flexible in my hip area. When I do stretches at the gym I can do some stretches way easier than before and I’m sure if I try (which I haven’t) I can almost do the splits. I can see my body is preparing itself well for the birth and that is good! I love it that everything has worked out so well for me up to now with the absolute minimum of discomfort, pain and symptoms and it also helps that our baby has been co-operating nicely by turning into the right position and even descending into my pelvis. But then again I have believed for a healthy, problem free pregnancy and an easy; pain free birth right from the start of my pregnancy and God has been good to me so far!

Otherwise I’m feeling great and I’m keeping myself busy getting everything ready for our baby’s room. Our recliners were delivered this morning, but they have to be assembled I see, so DH will have to do that. I’m really looking forward to lying in them in the evenings!

Next week we have another appointment with our midwife and I have to go for blood tests again, once more to see if there are any anti bodies due to my blood group and to test my iron levels. I think I’ll only get my Anti D (Rhogam) injection at 34 weeks though. I paid my deposit for the midwives for the birth today and next week we book our bed in the clinic too! So things are getting exciting here! Last night I told DH that our lives are going to change drastically very soon and forever! But it’s a good change and one we are both looking forward to…

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Check up at almost 31 weeks:

We had another check up at the midwife again today. It was the same one we saw the last 2 times and I was quite disappointed. Not that I don’t like her, I do, but I want to get to know the others better too. But there are still plenty of appointments where I’m sure I’ll get to know the others better. We did meet the last one today, the one we haven’t seen up to now. She was busy with a birth and had to come get more supplies. The lady that was in labour came for a check up this morning and they decided to keep her there. DH thought it was perfect timing on her part, since he was not impressed with driving in the peak hour traffic this morning!

All is still well with me and our baby. I’ve gained another kg in the last 2 weeks, so 6 kg’s in total since the start of my pregnancy. The midwife complemented me on that and said I’m really doing well with not gaining too much. My blood pressure was a little low, but not a worry since it’s only a little bit and since I’ve always been prone to low-ish blood pressure and I’m not feeling dizzy or faint at all. My urine was perfect and I still have no swelling or water retention even though it’s been incredibly hot in the last week or so.

Baby is also doing very well – his heartbeat varied again nicely from 140-153bpm, perfectly just the way they want to see it. He has moved down lower into my pelvis with his head and his body is lying to the right and his legs to the left. That explains why my tummy looks so lopsided again since his bum is making a huge bump to the right of my belly button. Some ladies have actually commented on the fact that they can see our baby is lying mostly to one side. The only drawback is that it’s putting strain on the one side of my back and that is why my back has been aching again. Fortunately my Chiropractor says it is definitely due to the pregnancy and not due to a physical problem with my back. She is actually quite surprised that my back is not much worse with all the problems I’ve had in the past with my sciatica, but I’m not surprised because I know God has healed me.

The weird thing for me is last week I said I felt huge – this morning I said to DH I don’t feel huge anymore and my bump actually feels a bit small to me. I just can’t figure out why I feel so different – if it’s the clothes I’m wearing, or the weather that’s a little cooler, or what else? I didn’t really see any other pregnant ladies at the clinic so I don’t think it’s that I’m comparing myself to other pregnant ladies.

The only other things that have been bothering more and more are heartburn and being more and more uncomfortable on the couch and in bed. Yesterday I finally gave in and bought myself a bottle of gaviscon – the milk hasn’t been working so well anymore, but boy is it hard to get down, it tastes vile!

This past weekend we decided to go buy the chest of drawers but we couldn’t decide on the height. Maybe it was because my back was sore, but I just couldn’t get one where I felt comfortable with the height, because we want to change our baby on top of it.

And then later we spent some time with our lists of baby names and it didn’t go nearly as well as I thought it would. DH didn’t like my names, I didn’t like his names and even the names we had in common weren’t sounding right either. I told DH that I don’t know what is wrong with me, because I usually have no problems making decisions, but somehow it felt so difficult this past weekend.

I’m posting some pictures of my scrapbooking attempts of the baby album, please know I have had no exposure to scrapbooking until now, so for those who are really good at it, please don’t judge me! I like it, DH likes it and even my sister said she liked it, so I guess that is good enough then isn’t it?

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