Pregnancy update 40 weeks+ 5 days

Visible changes in my body: I think my bump is more rounder and maybe slightly lower

Other: Still going 2-3 times a night to the toilet. As you may recall from my last week's post we are in a kind of a limbo at the moment as our landlord didn't agree yet to us moving out, and we are desperately in need of our own place as we were forced to take refuge at my husband's parents house, which is not ideal for me at all. We wanted to vacate property on Friday, but it's now been a week and a half since the incident and them being informed about the situation. This situation stresses me out a lot, I cry almost every day and I'm worried about baby as well,-when she will arrive, how she will arrive and where we will be staying. Baby is active, especially during the evening, from time checking heartbeat with doppler. My sweep is booked for this Saturday, will see if it helps to fast forward labour.

How do I feel: Apart from stress, feel good (touch wood). If out and about feeling tired quicker.

Cravings: still none.

Fitness: stopped any fitness routine due to no treadmill available and not sure that it's a good time to carry on swimming in a public pool

Baby: At 40 weeks baby is getting a little heavier and may grow a bit more in length. The average baby is about 51cm long from head to toe and weighs about 3.4kg at birth. Baby continues to shed the greasy, white substance (vernix caseosa) which has been protecting her skin. If she shows no sign of making an appearance after another week, she may have slightly dry skin when she arrives.
She has mastered all the skills she'll need after she's born. She can instinctively search for her thumb and suck it, just as she will search for your breast for a feed soon after birth. 

31 weeks appointment with a midwife

Last Thursday I had my 31 weeks appointment. That was one of the quickest appointments I had but I had to wait 30 minutes for midwife to finish off with the previous lady, I know circumstances can be different. 

As last time I was worried with my bump measurements she measured me few times to make sure all is correct and said that I measured slightly more for my weeks, which is weird as I have one of the smallest bumps in the world. 

As you know I have joined C&G Baby Club Community and as I chat to other mums-to-be and read about their experiences with midwives, mostly not so positive ones I now started to be more skeptical towards what midwives say. For instance, I have asked her about my baby's position, she said that baby is head down when though she used doppler to check heartbeat said that baby is actually all over the place, well that's not very helpful! I'm so happy that we booked a private scan for this Saturday and sonographer will tell us everything about our baby. 

Then she weighed me and said that I lost weight since booking appointment, I actually lost weight even more since then, they just didn't monitor it at all. But again she wasn't worried and said it's all due to me exercising, she actually looked relieved that she didn't have to do anything about it as I came up with an answer for her.

Then she said that we will discuss baby sleeping, by that she actually meant that she will quickly mention that after baby arrives they will asses sleeping arrangements, no co-sleeping, bed should be by my side and gave me Lullaby Trust booklet as it has all needed info. Extremely informative discussion! And I was surprised why my very first midwife ticked boxes in discussed sections as if we discussed it and we never actually did.

I started thinking that with useless midwives like this one and previous ones I could make a better one, shame I don't want to be a "forever student".

I really think I'm wasting my time with these appointments and not learning anything new, I have learned much more by reading comments, blogs and participating in chats with other mums (to-be) online, that's a shame that midwives don't want to really perform, but at least everything is going well in my pregnancy!

Pregnancy update 23 weeks

Visible changes in my body: it seems that my bump feels harder and maybe sticking out a little bit more

Other changes: for the last couple of nights I fall asleep quicker than before, as you may recall from previous update I had problems with that; I have weird back/bum pains when I sitting down or trying to move on a sofa or even walk (sometimes it's unbearable I will mention this to my midwife next time I see her). Yesterday we used doppler to listen to Little L and is seems she was exactly where the doppler was, one of her kicks was so strong like never before. I think I might have swollen knees I'm not sure but sometimes in the mornings when I wake up I feel that they are heavy and it feels weird.

How do I feel: all the headaches and sickness are gone (touch wood); feeling tired quicker 

Cravings: still none

Fitness: Walking almost every day for max. 25 minutes and swimming once a week

Baby: At 23weeks baby is about 29cm from crown to heel and weighs a little more than 500g. Her swallowing reflex is maturing, so she will be swallowing and digesting some amniotic fluid which is perfectly normal and not harmful. She may even hiccup! Her lungs are also maturing but they are not fully functioning. They cannot process oxygen and C02 sufficiently on their own quite yet.