Pregnancy update 38 weeks

Visible changes in my body: none, apart from my bump looks weird sometimes when little L moves on one of the sides.

Other: I started to go for a wee more often at night. I have seen my consultant last week, baby is engaged which is good, it's a shame no one can say when exactly our baby will arrive. Started or should I say trying to finish sorting out bits and pieces around the house.

How do I feel: I feel good (touch wood), can't really lie on my back as it is very uncomfortable and getting tired quicker, but it's almost the end of our pregnancy journey

Cravings: still none.

Fitness: swimming once a week, our treadmill is in the house but didn't have a chance to put it up properly.

Baby: At 38 weeks baby is has probably lost all the fine, downy hair and protective white vernix from their skin now. She is putting on weight in order to be able to control her body temperature outside the womb and to protect her organs. She is also building up waste made out of amniotic fluid, blood and skin in her intestines. She will excrete this after she is born. Her skin tone is now closer to the natural colour she will be when she is born. 

Common interventions antenatal class and pregnancy update 36 weeks

Last week we had our 3rd and last private antenatal class thankfully we didn't have any group exercises. We opted for 3 classes as I wanted to know more about labour as I thought it will give me a better idea of what to expect and what might happen. 

I think one of our teachers (student midwife) was more “open” this time e.g. she mentioned that unfortunately midwives tend to be very time oriented and due to that you won't normally have as much time relaxing or do what you want during labour as you will be constantly rushed.

We discussed interventions we may have:

- episiotomy

- c-section

- use of forceps, ventouse

- anti-d injections

- sweep

- breaking waters

- baby turning in case of a breech

As most of us are first-time mums-to-be we were told about induction. In our area when pregnant woman reaches 41 weeks she will be offered a sweep and induction-pessary (internal tampon alike medical device) which will be left for 24 hours to see if it works (woman stays in hospital), if pessary doesn't work she will be offered 2nd pessary for another 24 hours, and if 2nd doesn't work she will be offered c- section. In cases where pessary works (cervix starts to change) midwife will break waters and put on a hormone drip (artificial oxytocin). The whole induction process scares me the most as I never thought or even considered c-section and it will be a big led down for me if I can't do it naturally. 

In the second half of our lesson Helen- one of our teachers gave us a card with an acronym:

B- benefit

R- risks

A- alternatives

I- implications/instinct

N- nothing (to do nothing for a while)

S-smile

This acronym can be used if mum-to-be will be offered an intervention and it is our right as a future parent to question it and make sure that we are making the right decision e.g. waters breaking or any other intervention.

The last part of our class was dedicated to massaging and breathing techniques. With breathing it was more of a relaxation session where we had to concentrate on the way we breath, it was very nice but I think that when you are in the middle of giving birth all these techniques will be forgotten. Massaging wise we were showed how to rub/massage back starting from shoulders and going down to bum area avoiding spine, massaging bum in 8 alike movements, massaging lower back area. We had some time to practice it in the class and after trying all these methods I felt more comfortable with a shoulder to bottom massage. 

Overall, I enjoyed classes certainly learned something but I can't say it gave me more confidence I am still scared of unknown. I guess I need to try it myself to know.

Bump update

Visible changes in my body: my bump is more visible but again not as big as some other mums-to-be have; swollen feet- nothing helps really.

Other: hospital bag is pretty much packed. I like staring at my bump all the time, waiting for little one to move as I know I'm going to miss it a lot. Slightly paranoid at times as wake up in the middle of the night or early morning and checking if my waters broke or not.

How do I feel: I still have pains in my back, sore ribs, feel tired quicker and often and of course started visiting loo at night again.

Cravings: still none.

Fitness: swimming once a week, our treadmill is currently in the garage due to us needing all the space for baby shower and we still didn't manage to put it back into house.

Baby: At 36weeks baby is still gaining weight – about 28g a day. She weighs nearly 2.7kg and is about 47cm long from head to toe. Baby’s lungs are now complete and are producing a lubricant called surfactant that will help the lungs when they take their first breath. 

Pregnancy update 33 weeks

Visible changes in my body: my bump is more visible but still small and my weight is now the same as it was on a booking appointment. My husband said that my belly button started to look weird as if it's spreading in width, and I can't recognise my walk or shall I say waddle. I have also noticed that when I'm out and about I have swollen fingers but when back home everything is back to normal.

Other: I have seen consultant (was a waste of time as we were talking about what was already in my notes) and anaesthetist (who briefly spoke about gas and air, epidural and pethidine) and most importantly we had a private scan, which was a surprise for my mum and a lovely "date" with our baby girl who was so cute, content and head down. We have also started private antenatal classes, hope I will learn something about labour.

How do I feel: I still have pains in my chest, back, sore ribs and weird sleeping patterns, but I can't complain as it's all baby related.

Cravings: still none.

Fitness: The same routine- walking every day for max. 25 minutes and swimming once a week. On the week we had my mum around I was out of my routine and I felt that I'm more tired if walking, so was very happy to be back on my treadmill.

Baby: At 33 weeks baby now weighs about 2kg and measures up to 44cm from head to toe. She may already be getting ready for birth by turning upside-down. Her head should be pointing down, ready for her journey into the world.

Baby's skull is still quite pliable. The plates of bone that make up her skull have not completely fused. This is so she can ease out of the relatively narrow birth canal, the passage between your cervix and the opening of the vagina. But the bones in the rest of her body are hardening. Baby's skin is also gradually becoming less red and wrinkled as fat builds up underneath.

Pregnancy update 30 weeks

Visible changes in my body: about the weight- I went to see cardiologist and I was shocked- as my home scales are broke, I don't even know now if I lost or put on any weight; my bump is there and I love it, but just hate moment when someone saying "nothing there".

Other: I have seen physiotherapist, it was a quick appointment where lady talked us through how we should sit, how is best to lie on your side and how to easily change sides, how to get out of the car and bath etc and at the end gave us a bump band, which in all honesty made me feel no different. I have my 31 week appointment tomorrow with a midwife, booked a private scan for next weekend

How do I feel: where do I start..I have weird pains in my chest from time to time and at the back, they are so strong sometimes I just can't sit properly or breath; I also had I think Braxton Hicks (but I'm not sure) it took my breath away and it was painful in downstairs department and bottom part of my bump; I can't sit leaning forward as I can feel discomfort due to baby; my headaches are back, not every day, but once I had them in 3 waves in one day; and I have spots, hate them!); I also have very weird sleeping pattern-sometimes I woke up at 6 am and some days at 8 am.

Cravings: still none, well I don't know if it's a craving really I just wanted ice-cream, and finished a box in 2 days, I blame weather!

Fitness: The same routine- walking every day for max. 25 minutes and swimming once a week

Baby: At 30 weeks baby now measures a little more than 39cm from crown to toe. Her growth in terms of her length will soon slow down but she will continue to gain weight until she's born. She probably weighs about 1.3kg at this stage.

Baby’s brain, nervous system and organs continue to mature with every day she spends in the womb. If she was born now she’d still need specialist care as her lungs are not fully mature to breathe on their own and she lacks the body fat to regulate her body temperature.

Do you think I had Braxton Hicks?

Pregnancy update 27 weeks

Visible changes in my body: still no weight gain, and my smallish bump is there, but others still can't see it :-(

Other: today I have an appointment with cardiologist, everything seems ok so far except from my blood pressure jumping a bit, so hopefully will see him next in 6 or 12 months.

How do I feel: started to have horrible pains in my bum area (only on one side)- when I'm sitting down, standing up, trying to move my leg when sitting down and sometimes when walking.

Cravings: still none

Fitness: The same routine- walking every day for max. 25 minutes and swimming once a week

Baby: At 27weeks her nostrils have opened and her lungs are now capable of breathing. Her central nervous system can now control her breathing too. This week,  baby weighs almost 2 pounds (about the size of a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. 

Any recommendations what to do with my pain?

Pregnancy update 25 weeks

Visible changes in my body: upper part of the bump is sticking out more, didn't put any weight since my sickly first trimester

Other: had my 25th weeks midwife appointment where they were very concerned over my high blood pressure, after I visited hospital twice they didn't confirm it could be pre-eclamsia so told me to enjoy my pregnancy! I was also told that they are no NHS antenatal classes in my area, that they will only talk through about breastfeeding on one on one session, which is extremely disappointing as a first-timer I have no clue what to expect from labour.

How do I feel: all the headaches and sickness are gone (touch wood); feeling tired quicker, had a 4 hours walk on a weekend after which my back was killing me 

Cravings: still none

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

Baby: At 25weeks Head to heels, baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — 1 1/2 pounds. Our baby can still turn somersaults but it won’t be long until there’s not enough room in there! They will be able to hear loud noises which may cause them to jump, and you may notice extra kicks when you’re in the bath or shower too. 

While your baby is in the womb, their temperature is maintained by the placenta, but by this week they will begin to develop fat which will help regulate their temperature once they are born.

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.

Pregnancy update 20 weeks

Visible changes in my body: I think I have more obvious bump; one day I think I can see bump, the other day I can't see it)

Other changes: I can't fall asleep straight away like I did before, it feels like it takes me ages; more uncomfortable to lie on my side; have more ligament pains and back pains (by more I mean when I stand up or when walk on a treadmill, or sit awkwardly); and the most important I feel my baby, for the past few weeks I didn't know if it's a baby or gas, but now I know it's my little L)

How do I feel: headaches are gone (touch wood); feeling less sick in the evenings; also still have increased sense of smell, but its not so bad any more comparing to what it was before; feel tired quicker.

Cravings: still none

Fitness: before I was pregnant I tried to do a bit of running on a treadmill at home, at the beginning of pregnancy I started walking instead of running and still try to do walking everyday for 20-25 minutes, plus we started going to a swimming pool once a week.

Baby: At 20 weeks baby is about 25cm long, and weighs about 340g. Baby is becoming very active inside a womb, s\he can step, hold him\herself erect and even grab and squeeze the umbilical cord. From around now there will be slight differences in baby’s activity between morning and night with the busiest being around midnight.

Gender: We had our 20 weeks scan on Monday, baby is perfectly fine! And we are having a girl!!

It was a huge shock for us, if you read my blog from the very beginning you know that we wanted and tried to follow old wives tales and Shettles method to conceive a boy, after doing everything the right way we were 99% sure it's a boy. How naïve we were and how shocking it was to know it's a girl, I don't even know what to do with a girl!) I know that we should of considered both options, but we were totally obsessed with an idea of having a boy! I had a good cry, spoke with my mum and it helped, I am ready to welcome and to enjoy having our little girl! Yesterday I felt so sorry for her that we were upset, I love this baby already and don't want her to feel that mummy and daddy are not happy or didn't want her, it's not true, we wanted this baby, we planned it, and I know we will adjust to an idea of us being team pink!

Pregnancy update 17 weeks

Visible changes in my body: for the past few weeks it feels like my belly is more wobbly, which makes me think that I look overweight rather than pregnant; plus I have noticed that most of the time have dry lips, I just always bite them

How do I feel: headaches are gone (touch wood); and I feel less sick, the only time I feel sick or vomit is before we go to bed; also still have increased sense of smell, but its not so bad any more comparing to what it was before

Cravings: still none

My family's attitude towards pregnancy: my mother always worries about me- what I eat, what do I wear, in what position do I sit etc.; my family-in-law - parents and older sister-in-law they how do I feel, do I feel baby kicking etc., but the younger sister-in-law never asked me any questions, she even forgot the date of our dating scan.

My feeling about family attitude- my mum sometimes is overprotective and it can be annoying at times but she didn’t have proper experience with my elder sister, when she was pregnant so I do understand her; my in-laws they give me attention, ask questions, but the fact that younger one is being ignorant surprises me a lot, my husband tells me that she is possibly too young (23) to bother about things like that..i do not know, but it bothers me..

Baby: At 17 weeks pregnant baby’s limbs and vital organs are now fully formed so s\he will just continue growing in size. S\he will be growing eyebrows and eyelashes and maybe even some hair on her\his head.

S\he will also be very active now – babies at this stage like to kick, punch and turn around in the uterus. S\he can hear and respond to noises outside the uterus.

Where your family relatives attentive towards you and bump?