40 Weeks and Still Waiting

Well today, I can't believe that I'm actually saying this but - I'm 40 Weeks pregnant. That is just so amazing. Today is my due date. Thought perhaps that she might be one of the 3-5% that actually come on the day that they are due but I don't think that this is going to happen. Actually I did originally think that she might come early but that is definitely not going to happen now.

Last night Ernie was a little minx for a couple of hours, causing me extreme pain. Think she was head butting my cervix again and it was the sharpest pain it just took my breath away. She has done it a few times today as well but nothing like what it was yesterday thank goodness. The pain of her head butts were also setting off Braxton Hicks so I had that all happening as well.

Today I've been a bit cleany - wonder if I am nesting again. I've vacuumed the entire house this morning and sorted things out, trying to make each room look sort of tidy. Next I'm going to clean up the study because it is just so messy that I can't stand it anymore. I'm sick of things being all over the place although I know we are getting to the finishing end of the extension and renovation I'm just getting a bit sick of hammers, screw, nails and other bits and pieces being found all over the house. The last three days were quite good as now the laundry floor is tiled and all the curtains are up, although some of them still need to have their pelmets put up. Even Ken the electrician showed up on Friday to do some more work - although he still isn't finished yet. Sometimes I wonder if Ken will ever get finished.

Anyway, we continue with the waiting game called pregnancy. Who knows if my next blog entry will be about our daughters arrival or about me still waiting.

Update - We took these photos that night so I thought I'd post them so you can see just how huge I am at 40 weeks pregnant.

The Belly - Oh my goodness I look so big....


The Full Length Shot - Don't look so big with the tee shirt pulled back down... Where has that belly gone?

Go On - Guess Ernie's Name....

Alright... whilst I'm waiting for her arrival I'm putting out the challenge to guess what her first and middle name will be. To actually state it before hand and not just say... "I knew you were going to call her that" once she is here and her name is finally known.

Go on.. guess... and then we can see if anyone actually gets it right once she has arrived.

Getting Closer Still

So I just wanted to let you all know that nothing has happened yet. We are still here and I still think it is just a matter of when. I've double checked my bags and put them back in the car ready for whenever she decides that it is time for us to head to the hospital.

We saw Dr. Simon on Monday and everything was still fine. He actually seemed to be in a pretty good mood and we even got a smile or two from him as well. Ernie's heart beat is still good and yet again he checked how much amniotic fluid was surrounding her with the ultrasound as she was still measuring a bit on the small side. It was fine and it was nice to get a quick glimpse of her. When I told him about the Braxton Hicks contractions that I had been having he said that he thought things were progressing well and that he might see me before our next appointment on Monday. We will just have to see .

Yesterday I was really restless, bored, tired and just didn't want to stay at home so we went and did some things that needed organising for the house. We have ordered blinds for the ensuite and bathroom now and went and looked at screen doors for the front door. We also went and hired a TENS machine from the Latrobe Regional Hospital so that when I go into labour we can get the TENS machine going early which helps to increase its effectiveness. If we had gotten the free one from Warragul Jochen would have to have driven to Warragul and back, about an hours drive all up, once I had gone into labour which wouldn't have been as good.

Speaking of Jochen he was sure that yesterday was going to be the day. In the morning when nothing had happened Jochen was saying that it was still early, in the afternoon he was still saying that it was still early yet. By the end of the day he had decided that I was just going to start labour and would have her today. As you can tell - he seems to have been wrong on all counts. Although last night I had more uncomfortable Braxton Hicks contractions after I went to bed but they didn't progress and eventually went away. Ernie has also been causing me a bit of pain, I'm sure she is head butting my cervix every now and again and I have to tell you that it hurts that much that it takes my breath away. Last night was also a ripper in the toilet stakes. I literally had to get up every hour and go to the toilet.

I have been so tired today that I really haven't done anything except lay around on the couch and rest. I think I woke up Jochen a few times as well which was a bit unfortunate. I think he is probably happy to be on night shift tonight as at least I won't be disturbing him. I just hope that she doesn't decide that she wants to come in the next 18 or so hours as otherwise Jochen will be extremely sleep deprived which wouldn't be good for any of us.

Anyway I promise to let you know when she has arrived and will post pictures as soon as possible - oh yeah and I'll even tell you her name.......

7 Days or could that be 17?

So it is now 7 days until my due date and the countdown has well and truly begun... although I must admit it is a little hard to have a proper countdown when you don't exactly know which day you are counting down to..... I just know though that it is getting close.

I've had lots of friends and family calling over the last few days especially to wish me luck and let me know that they are thinking of us which has been lovely. I've been getting lots of good advice about getting through labour and focusing on the outcome. I'm not so scared now... especially after my interesting Braxton Hicks on Tuesday morning and the way I handled them... although I don't know if that really compares as they weren't really painful just slightly uncomfortable... but I was just really scientific about them and a little bit detached. So if I'm like that when it gets to the real thing I'll hopefully be fine. I do however really have to get to making sure everything is in my bag ready for the hospital, I planned on doing it on Thursday but it just didn't end up happening as I was so busy.

I really stuffed up on Thursday and have learnt my lesson.... I just felt like there were all these things that I needed to do or things that just ended up happening during the day like....

• Chiropractor appointment
  
• Get a hair cut as this hadn't been done for ages and I had all these feral split ends
  
• Follow up on things that needed finishing like calling the electrician who I left a message to see when he would be here to finish (I still haven't heard back from him)
• Calling our Wedding photographer who still hasn't finished all our wedding photos even though we will have been married for 2 years in December. When she did come later that afternoon to bring me what I hoped would be all of it she hadn't done it right part of it now has to be redone. Arrrhhhh......
  
• Cook Jochen a nice dinner after his Day Shift which included doing some grocery shopping
  
• Help Kell with her Assignment by taking lots of digital photos of our ensuite
  
• Pick up stuff from the Chemist
• Tidy up the house
• Do some laundry
  
• Visit from Jochen's mum
  

Now this might not sound like very much but I was exhausted at the end of the day as I didn't get a chance to have the lay down that I really needed after two nights of being up to go to the loo every 1 1/2 to 2 hours..... arhhhh.... Anyway that night I was so over tired I ended up in tears and was achy all over (you should have seen me walking - I looked like I was a little old woman) and just couldn't get to sleep. So at about 11pm I got up and had a soak in the bath until 1.30am when I was finally able to go to bed and get some sleep after a slight detour via some biscuits. The lesson has however been learnt, I must not overdo things and have to at least have a bit of a rest during the day and as Jochen told me 'nothing was that important that it couldn't have waited another day or so', well all except Kell's assignment that is.

So yesterday I made up for it and did absolutely nothing. Not a thing. Can't even remember what I didn't do.... oh except we did go and pick up the floor tiles for the laundry after Jochen got home from work and I did follow up to see when we might be getting our curtains for the rest of the house - hopefully before next Friday. I suppose I'm trying to tie up as many loose ends as possible although this doesn't seem to be happening and I'm feeling a little frustrated, I'd just like to have so much finished before she arrives and I don't think that is going to happen - you would have thought nine months would have been enough time to get things done but it really hasn't.

Think it is probably time that I went and had a soak in the bath, read a book and relaxed - there are just too many things that I can't do anything about. Actually I'm even going to ring Jochen and see if he wants to go out for tea tonight... you never know it might be our last chance in a while.

OB Update

So yesterday did turn out to be a very busy day in the end.

We headed off Warragul to order our tiles for the laundry and then to Melbourne and Baby Bunting to get any last minute things that I wanted and then headed to Chadstone for lunch and Fountain Gate to buy Jochen some new shoes. I've finally bought the letters for her name ready to put on her bedroom door, I had made some but I didn't really like them that much in the end and I was missing a letter and whenever I tried to get it, it was never available. So now I'm happy. We also ended up buying a porta cot which will be really useful in the family room and if we go anywhere for the night and lastly a sleeping bag for her jogger/stroller.

We timed things really well and ended up back at Warragul in plenty of time for our obstetrician appointment. As I suspected things are fine although Dr. Simon was a little bit concerned that she was only measuring 37 weeks when she was over 38 weeks. He did a quick ultrasound to make sure that there was still enough amniotic fluid around her and then was happy when I explained how I had been feeling eg. able to eat more, sore tendons around my uterus and a downward pressure which I suspect is on my cervix. So it is unusual he said but she has dropped although from what I read this morning she has not 'engaged' as she will measure more like 34 weeks when that happens.

This morning in bed from about 6.30am to 8.00am when I finally got up, I was having much stronger braxton hicks contractions. They would come in waves and would peak with the level of discomfort, it wasn't really painful, just like the intensity of cramps. At one point they were about 3-5 minutes apart but weren't really consistent, when I got out of bed they basically went away. So my body is definately practicing but hasn't quite got there yet.

I also had a very strange dream last night about the baby. Her head appeared out of my side and I could see her whole face - it was quite freaky really. I was even talking to her before she seemed to just come out by herself and run around and talk to me. I asked her when she would be coming but she said 'not yet' meaning immediately but I really had the feeling that she was also saying that it could be soon. It was amazing what conversation skills she had for an unborn child. It really was a queer dream.

Anyway I'm going to make sure my bags are properly packed as of today - just so that I'm ready.

The Calm Before the Storm

The storm of

.... Dirty nappies

.... Crying baby

.... Sleepless nights

.... Not knowing why she is crying

.... Feeds which go on forever

.... And lots and lots and lots of love..........

I'm getting very excited. Still trying not to think too much about the actual birth but focusing on meeting our little girl. I'm at 38 Weeks now and the time is still going really quickly. I think that Ernie is starting to run out of room as I'm getting lots of squirmy type movements as well as hits and kicks and even I suspect a bum up near my ribs. Funnily enough I can't believe that I can still touch my toes.... Think that is pretty amazing considering the mass that I'm now carrying around in front of me.

I have an obstetrician visit today and I'm sure that Dr. Simon will tell me that everything is going well. I'm not expecting any bad news. I'm also hoping that Jochen and I can do a quick trip to Melbourne today to pick up the very last of the things that I want to decorate her room, but it really depends on how he is feeling. We will also be ordering the tiles for the laundry floor and hopefully they will arrive quickly and the laundry will be able to be finished off. So it might be a bit of a busy day.

Nesting?

I suspect that I have been nesting today....

Yesterday I was really restless, was looking for things to do but just couldn't settle properly and didn't want to take on anything too overwhelming eg. cleaning the laundry or the pantry. Finally I decided on doing some family history which was good and helped me feel like I was achieving something.

Today though it actually occurred to me as I was cleaning out the clothes in our walk-in-robe, that I was probably nesting as cleaning out the clothes in my cupboard is not something I'm normally anxious to do. I rang Jochen at work to tell him as I thought it was pretty funny and he suggested that I do some nesting in the garage and clean it up - as it seriously needs it.

Anyway it will be interesting to see if I keep nesting and if it actually indicates anything.

3 Weeks To Go - Week 37

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. I'm 37 weeks pregnant and the weeks are still flying by. Some people have told me that for them the last few weeks went by really slowly but this doesn't seem to be happening to me.

So anyway, at 37 weeks what is Ernie up to. Well according to Pregnancy.org -

• This week she is about 2859gm and 48.6cm long.
• She is officially full term now but can still benefit from extra days in the womb. She would no longer be considered premature if I was to go into labour now.
• Our little girl continues to practice breathing movements. Isn't it amazing how she can breathe "under water?" All this practice is apparently what gives her the hiccups so often.
• Her grasp is firm now. It won't be long until I'll feel that little fist grasping my finger.
  

I'm spending a lot of time now wondering what she will be like. What sort of personality will she have? Is she going to needs lots of sleep like I always have? Is she going to look more like Jochen than me? I just can't wait to meet her. As silly as it sounds I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes thinking about it all. I'm such a sook - especially at the moment. I seem to get teary very easily particularly when I think about anything to do with our little girl. I'm also making the most of feeling her kick and watching my stomach move around with her movements. I think I'm going to miss that feeling - it is something very precious that I will always treasure.

Jochen has been working on finishing off some of the little touches in her room today, he stained and varnished the edging in her cupboard and did some painting. Tomorrow in between watching Bathhurst he will try and get her cupboard doors stained and varnished so that they can be put back up. During the week we actually had the electrician here working on all the unfinished things and now her room has her light up and a dimmer switch as well. So it is getting there and will hopefully be ready in time.

I'm very tired at the moment even though I'm sleeping quite well occasionally feel a bit faint. I went to drive to Warragul yesterday to look at tiles for the laundry floor and halfway there I turned around and came home again. I was just feeling too weird and didn't want to be responsible for driving a car. Today I fell asleep whilst watching car racing on the television - and it wasn't like it was really quiet either. I find that if I stand up for too long I get a lot more brackston hicks contractions so I need to lay down a fair bit to help them settle down. They are definitely getting stronger too so I don't think my body is going to have any trouble when it comes to the real contractions.

I'm trying hard not to think to much about the actual birth. I'm not in denial or anything I'm just so scared that I'm trying not to focus on it. I keep reminding myself that it is only 24 hours of my life and that I can cope with anything that may happen in a 24 hour period. What really gets on my nerves though is the people who tell me about all the other women who have done it etc. The only problem with this is that those people are not me.......!!!!!!!! I have never experienced it and although I have done lots of reading to understand the process no one can predict what a birth will be like before hand. It is that unknown that scares me so much. I wish we were designed with a zip... that would be so much easier.

Just after 36 Weeks

Saw Dr Simon again today and everything is still going well. Got the ultrasound results back and she is 'average' for her gestational age - I was very happy with average. Don't need an 'exceptional' or 'huge' - average is just fine by me. I heard her heart beating as usual and it is such a lovely sound to hear, my uterus is was measuring about a week behind, not that this seemed to worry Dr. Simon at all, so I'm not worried about that either. I asked him if he was able to tell how big she would be roughly at birth and he said that depending on when she came she would probably be between 7 and 8 lbs. Arhhh that seems awfully big to me..... And finally my blood pressure is still good at 100/70.

I met the student midwife who looked after Sharon when she had Sienna and I can understand why Sharon said she was so good. I think that I have now met everyone now that Sharon had helping her during the births of both of her children which is very funny as apparently there are about a hundred different midwives who work there at various times.

As I'm now on to the weekly rather than fortnightly visits I get to see Dr Mirza again next week. I'm looking forward to that as he is just so lovely, he well and truly has a much better bedside manner than Dr. Simon and I think deep down I hope that when it comes to the crunch that he is the one in the hospital looking after me.