Week 35 and Counting

Currently in the 35th month and counting. 1 month-ish to go! Hang in there, mummy and baby!

So, how has the late 3rd trimester been so far?

Doctor visits: Doctor visits have become more frequent so far. From the initial once monthly, we are now having visits every fortnightly. Soon, I believe, after my next visit, we would graduate to once a week. Doctor has been assuring and positive during our consultations. Baby is in  good weight range; around 2.4kg the last time we checked. Well, I'm very curious about how the baby's weight is gauged as he would tell me the weight after feeling the baby. It comes with experience, I guess! Doctor also mentioned that my placenta has shifted up and I'm able to try giving birth naturally. The only thing he cautioned against was the carrying of heavy items. Pretty standard, I guess!

How the mummy feels physically: I would say I feel pretty good! Apart from the usual fatigue which comes in easily, I'm fully functional and very mobile. Aches are usually found at the shoulder areas and the back is spared from much discomfort. Mum warned that water retention and swelling would come in or get more serious as the Big Day draws nearer, but I pray that day would not come! I could generally rest pretty well in the night. On most nights, I would have to wake and empty my bladder at least once, but on nights when I'm exhausted, I could sleep through. However, there were a few occasions when I woke up exceptionally early at around 4ish or 6ish and couldn't go back to sleep anymore. I would feel a burst of energy which would dwindle quickly after a few hours. After that, I would be like a grumpy dead fish, wanting to crawl back to bed.=(

How the mummy feels mentally and emotionally: I feel more anxious and uptight. Yes. Surprisingly, it's not about the baby, the pregnancy or what. Rather, (putting it in a nice way), I put a lot more thoughts into the people and things that are happening around me and sometimes, they make me upset very easily. I tend to fault more fault in people and things and I admit, it's not very nice. Apart from that, I tend to worry too much about things. Case in point - I check with the hubby if he has locked the car every.single.time. RAAAH How annoying can I get? How do I make myself feel better? Most of the times, I would casually remind myself that it might just be the hormones taking charge and tell myself to let it go. On days when it really grips me, I pray about it and I would also distract myself with other activities like watching TV or going online. I figured that it's most important that I am aware and accept it could be part and parcel of being pregnant and be more forgiving towards myself. Most importantly, I feel that its important that I take active steps to make myself feel better and happier on days like these. Beating myself up after feeling so lousy would not help.

How have I changed physically: The tummy is feeling really stretched these days and my belly button is half popped out already. The tummy area doesn't look pretty as the skin is pretty dry. I have since gained around 7-8kg and I do feel a little whaley already, due to restricted movements.

Little Baby: As the space in my tummy gets lesser since little bub is growing, I can feel his movements more intensely. In the past, the movements would likely be described as a ballet dance, but now, it feels more like a dragon dance! :p Most of the movements are still felt on the right side of my tummy and the little one is still having frequent hiccups. Sometimes, the movements would cause a little pain and I would have to talk to the little one to remind him to go easy on me.

Our Preparations: I would say we are almost done preparing the items for Baby Y, but seriously, how fully prepared could we really be? From what I can remember, we are still lacking the baby carrier, bath tub and diapers. Skills wise, hubby was initially insistent that we attend parenthood courses to pick up necessary skills to prepare ourselves, but I am not too keen as

1) Hubby has attended it before previously (Although he claims he has forgotten everything) and he has 2 grown kids! Instinct would probably kick in for him; and

2) I believe my instinct would kick in pretty well too! =P Nah.. truth be told, I didn't want to attend the courses and end up being too fixated in doing it right. You know, like how I may have learnt something and become unforgiving when I still can't get it right? I would leave it more to trial and error and learn along the way.

3) Nowadays, help is everywhere. Apart from the net, which offers a truckload (maybe two truckloads!!) of information, I believe the doctors, nurses and consultants would be able to attend to me and guide me along (e.g. breastfeeding, breathing techniques, etc) where necessary. Ha, I highly suspect I may not even remember much after the courses given that I have really bad memory nowadays.

4) My mum is helping me to care for the baby and I am very assured with her by my side. =)

5) The stingy self in me feel that the few hundreds of dollars could be spent on other necessities. :D

But, at the end of the day, if the courses are for free.... BRING IT ON! There's no harm in knowing more and I believe there's always the fun factor a couple could count on during the learning journey.

Alright, that's all for this post. Will be updating a little more on my trips in my next few posts. =)