Last blog of 2006

So here I am on the 31 December 2006 and 41 weeks pregnant. Our little bump is obviously too content inside to come out.

It's an unusual New Year's Eve as Nick and I sit here quietly reading and watching DVDs, not going out to see friends as usual. Still a couple of nights ago I didn't get to sleep until 6am so not sure I feel like that much of a party animal anyway! Our Christmas was of a similar vein, very relaxed and easy-going with lots of good food cooked largely by Nick, a few pressies, nice walks every day and some films on DVD. It was great to have another Xmas by ourselves and we really appreciated the time together. Who knows when that will happen again.

I'm definitely slowing up now as walking gets increasingly hard work and I seem to get out of breath walking up hills. I am getting out for a walk most days otherwise I would go mad. But I am also making sure I nap as much as I need in case the big event comes upon me and I need all the energy I can muster.

I have been having some period pains over the last 2 weeks which is a good sign that the cervix is softening and sometimes I can feel something bashing against my cervix which I hope is the baby's head. I have a sweep tomorrow where the midwife tries to manually detatch the membranes from my cervix in an attempt to start labour. Sometimes this works but it is normally more successful if you would have gone into labour anyway in the following 24-48 hours. But will be good to get checked up again by a midwife to see how my blood pressure is as it has been over a week since the last appointment.

Moodwise I seem to be a bit more up and down in the last week, partly due to lack of sleep but also due to the fact of going past the due date. I think it is psychological and any feelings of anxiousness that I had been keeping abated may have come out to the fore a couple of times.

Next blog will be in 2007 when our baby will also be born and I may well not post until after this amazing event. Life will certainly not be the same and I am really looking forward to a new year of discovering parenthood.

Less than a week to go

5 days until Christmas Day and my due date and no signs of action so far. I have eaten pineapple, liquorice and am now trying some raspberry tea. I have has some period pains low down but nothing like a contraction - or what I imagine a contraction to be like. The baby is moving around quite a bit still so there is obviously still some room in there although it feels very tightly packed to me.

It definitely feels lower down now and walking is more uncomfortable as it seems that I can feel the head bouncing on my cervix at every step. At my antenatal appointment last week the head was 3/5 down so maybe it has moved down further. I will find out on Saturday at the next appointment.

My blood pressure was up last week to as high as 146/80 but this just seems to have been a temporary aberation as it returned to a more normal level at the end of the appointment and on measuring it this week it was down to 122/70 which is fine. I was a bit worried last week but I think my BP must have been up after a bit of a busy weekend with family over for Xmas etc.

I have been sleeping much better of late with the last 3 nights being much more normal and no 3 hour periods of the night lying wide awake. I have also been trying to nap every day to keep up my strength and I definitely feel a lot better for doing that.

Socially I have been have a lovely time meeting up with the NCT girls and Steph from the NHS classes and Vicki down the road. The six of us from NCT all seem to get on really well and I think it will be a good group of people to know especially when the babies come along. We went out with the men as well on Sunday and had a nice long lunch.

The reality of a baby arriving soon astonishingly still does not seem real to me. I cannot quite believe my brain can't deal with this, but I can get as far as thinking of the labour process but not as far as having a baby and bringing it home and looking after it. It is perhaps too big a concept to think about until it happens.

Looking forward to the weekend and it will be good to spend a few days with Nick being off work as well for Xmas before the baby arrives - if it does wait to come out a little. We have no major plans apart from vegging here, a few walks, lunches out and some DVDs!

start of week 38 - nearly there!

Well, it's just under 3 weeks to go until the due date and this has only just prompted me to think about the whole giving birth aspect of all this. Up until now I don't think I have seriously thought about it too much. I have been thinking about the baby growing inside me and the pregnancy in general but now the idea of labour itself it becoming increasingly pressing. It seems almost unreal to think that labour will start sometime soon and I will maybe be here alone and have to call Nick to let him know. Then the idea of holding our baby is another world away entirely and I really can't begin to imagine how this will feel. Very intrigued as to what sex the baby is and what it will look like. I think the whole experience is going to be overwhelmingly emotional.

I am feeling tired a lot due to not sleeping well most nights now. I wake up regularly at 3-4am and am very awake, almost such that I feel I could get up and start the day. My brain is very active and there always seems to be a lot to think about at that time of night! I read for an hour or so then just get back to sleep before the alarm goes off. Occassionally managing to get a nap of 1 hour in during the day and am resting for half the day and doing various things round the house the the rest of the day. My hands are swollen now and I had to take my rings of a couple of weeks ago. My watch is really tight on my wrist and my finger joints hurt when I clench my fist. Last antenatal appointment was fine though and blood pressure, baby heart beat, etc all perfect.

Have had almost everything delivered now and feel pretty ready for the arrival. I have packed my hospital bag which is big and I have probably still forgotten stuff.

Antenatal classes have finished. Both the NHS and NCT ones were very good, and I hope the NCT one in particular will lead to a good network of women going through the same experiences at the same time. The 5 other couples ont he course could not have been nicer and I think we all get on well. It will be interesting to see how we keep in touch over the next few months. I will met up with Steph from the NHS class next week as well.

This coming weekend is our Xmas weekend with M&D, James and Mandy and Janet coming to stay so I have got turkey and the full works set up to go. This is the first time we will have done this and I'm really looking forward to it.