Growing Baby Growing Belly...

Updated pic of our little bundle... belly is getting very round!  And I'm happy to report that at the last midwives appointment, baby was head down (optimal positioning).  I'm 35 weeks now, 5 to go... but it's not like I'm counting or anything. ;~)

Definitely feeling more "things" lately:

• Both hands pretty numb in the night/early morning as a result of the pregnancy-related carpal tunnel, but it goes away soon after I get up.
• Heartburn went away for a few days, but came back with a vengeance last night (eat more yoghurt, yoghurt, yoghurt).
• Getting up between 4:00-4:30am to EAT... so, so, so, so hungry in the early morning hours.  Sometimes I go back to bed, but often I'm up for the day.  It's nice to watch the world wake up.
  
• Afternoon naps... I feel so lucky to already be on leave from work so that I can surrender to that oh-so-delicious afternoon nap, there's nothing like it!
• Restless-leg... only seems to affect my right leg, but it drives me kinda bonkers at night.  Not much I can do about it but try my best not to kick my sleeping husband :~)
• Breathlessness, comes even when I'm sitting still sometimes.  Should see me trying to walk uphill, between breathlessness and the "waddle".

 Despite the above I feel great most of the time and am enjoying the fact that I have absolutely no low-back pain during pregnancy... something I usually have some degree of in my non-pregnant state.  Something to be said for relaxed ligaments.

My favourite activities for the third trimester includes:  Eating, Yoga, Swimming, Walking and Eating.  Did I mention Eating?  Although I'm on the hunt for new recipes and different things to eat as I'm getting bored of my standards.  Just made a delicious broccoli/kale soup for breakfast, with hemp seed hearts for protein.  So good.   I actually dream of recipes and food concoctions during the night, then pray that I have the ingredients in the house when I get up!

We picked up a car-seat the other day (a lovely gift!), got a stroller oh, and the birthing pool (we got the La Bassine).  We did a trial run of the pool last weekend, I so wanted to get in and float around for a while but thought it best not too.  Blew up pretty quick and no leaks, although emptying it took quite a while.  (We are going to look for a pump this week.)

Have been graciously given tonnes of newborn clothing, no need for additional items under 12 mos.  Laundered everything this week and put it all away for now.  May need instruction manuals for some of the items!   And we've ordered a diaper service which we hope to do for the first few months at least, who's gonna have time for laundering diapers???

Opening Statements...

So I just set-up this blog and attached the "boy/girl" poll set to close on our D-Day (due-date). Once I saw the poll I realized that's only 47 days away from today (all being well and "on-time"... which is completely arbitrary!).

It seems that I learned I was pregnant many, many years ago... May 2009 feels like it was a lifetime ago, and now in the final months of pregnancy things feel like they are moving a little faster. My thoughts have progressed from: "woohoo, I'm pregnant!" to "wow... look at my incredible and expanding belly!" to "heartburn... seriously, from the little melon inside me?", and after our prenantal class to "oh, that'll be coming out soon!" More recently to: "I better get some sleep in now while I can, but I can't seem to sleep that long", to "holy crap, we are gonna be parents!". (A small sample of the recent inner journey.)

As each day goes by, we grow more and more excited alongside of the "labour & delivery" reality. I'm absolutely thrilled each time the baby moves. I love watching my belly get moved around, bumps and lumps that have a life (& timing) of their own. It fascinates me every single time. Baby gets hiccups often, a normal thing for this time in the pregnancy, and it cracks me up. And for whatever reason, baby always seemed to get pretty active during meetings at work... sitting around a conference table, in deep discussion and decision-making mind-set and then wham... here comes a foot to the ribs, and tickling fingers trailing down my abdomen! It's hard to keep a straight face. I suspect the kid has a sense of humour already.

I finished my job on Friday and am now a "lady of leisure"... hahahahaha!!! It won't sink in until Monday morning when I'm suddenly at home looking at my To-Do list, which has been collecting dust for some time now. Some stuff baby related (like figure out how baby items actually work) and others long-term projects that have been waiting for me to have some spare time (like 6 weeks before a baby is due). So, wish me luck. I suspect a lot of it is due to the growing "nesting" urge I've been feeling... gotta get everything ready for baby's arrival. Like organizing those photos I've been meaning to do for 10+ years now.

Final report: All is extremely well. I have been very lucky in the pregnancy so far, I'm pretty much the same size as usual except for my belly (yes, my shoes still fit and my ankles remain unswollen... at least for now!). I have occasional heartburn, but have great remedies for that (papaya enzymes before I eat, plain yoghurt after... perfect solution). I have developed pregnancy-related carpal tunnel in my wrists, but am assured it goes away right after delivery (and am no longer at a computer all day at work so I suspect that'll help). And I get the occasional restless leg feeling at night, but am developing a great soccer kick through that experience.

I'll post more as the days go by, as we set-up the birthing pool and prepare for D-Day.  If you'd like notification of new posts you can 'follow' this blog or just check-in when you remember. In the meantime, I hope you'll cast your vote on our poll... we are curious what you all think!