39 weeks pregnant

I am now halfway through my last week of pregnancy, assuming Little Parasite is on time. Since less than 5% of babies are born on their due date, that doesn't really mean much!  Despite having enjoyed the pregnancy (constant nausea throughout and sciatica excluded) I'm definitely looking forward to the end of being a human incubator now.  I haven't had a comfortable night's sleep in weeks, and although I know I won't get a full night once the baby is here, at least I can move about to get comfortable for the few snatches of kip I do get, and not get out of bed 6 times a night to pee!
I've had a few pre-labour signs, so I hope I don't have too much longer to wait.

I had a 35 weeks midwife appointment and everything is still going well.  LP is still in the correct position, heartbeat strong and lots of movement.  The midwife estimated that the baby will be between 6.5 and 7lbs, which I don't think is too bad (ask me again when I have to give birth to that though!), so I hope LP isn't late otherwise it's just going to grow and grow.

In other news, the house move went well and we've been in for about a month now.  We had a lot to do when we moved in, and our stuff remained in boxes for ages (hence the long gap in updating).  I'm now looking forward to a couple of days of peace before the baby arrives - I made sure I knew where my cross stitch gear was at all times!
The dogs have settled in well.  They have moved so many times in the last couple of years that they're old hats at it now.  They were a bit stressed by the plastering and decorating since that's something they've not encountered before, but lots of running in the local field helped diffuse their stress.

I have another midwife appointment tomorrow, so I will give another update shortly.

In the meantime, here are the bump photos, as I know my sister is keen to see them! 

35 weeks

Definitely can't be mistaken for too many

pies now!

 

 

37 weeks

Change in background due to moving

house - we still need to decorate our

room at some point. 

Feeling properly massive now!

 I'm pleased that (so far) the only

stretch mark I have is across an old

belly button piercing scar.

 

 

39 weeks

Very pointy belly button!   

 

Time Little Parasite moved out...

Worm's eye view. This is what happens when you

let your husband loose with the camera!

 The other significant party!  Gareth has been awesome

during the pregnancy, and has put up with a lot

of my needless worry and whinging about nausea.

The pregnant woman's kitchen

The brands may be a little different from household to household, but I reckon you'll find variations of the following in every pregnant woman's kitchen.  For me Gaviscon is becoming synonymous with dessert.

Midwife appointment

I had a midwife appointment today and everything is going well.  I'm measuring spot on for my dates and Little Parasite's heartbeat is still very strong. It's also moved into a head-down position. Of course, knowing how much LP moves, I imagine it's back in breech now.  When the midwife palpitated my stomach to check the position, LP kicked her out of the way!  The midwife commented on how active the baby was (you could see lots of movement without having to place a hand anywhere to feel).  I hope LP isn't overdue, because at this rate I'm going to end up with internal bruising!
Gareth and I have our first antenatal class next week, so that should be interesting.  Although this one's about using car seats, so maybe not that interesting.

Pregnancy yoga is still great, and is really helping my back.  I sometimes do some of the stretches in the toilet cubicles at work when my back is particularly sore!  Mostly, I've enjoyed having a couple of hours each week to totally unwind and relax.
I've stopped running now as it was getting too uncomfortable.  Without an intense workout, I feel really unfit, especially since the heavy load that is my baby makes it feel like I've run a mile when I've only walked up some stairs. All perfectly normal, but I don't like it!

In other news, things are finally moving forward on the house front, although I am reticent about getting excited about an actual completion date - typical inter-solicitor bantering causing delays.

Birthday card

I tried something a little different with this birthday card.  I incorporated a super quick cross stitch tag and attached it to the card with some thread.  I like the overall effect, and I think I'll be making more of these.  Cross stitched cards can take a surprising amount of time, but using this method is a nice way of producing some speedy cards that still have that needlecraft look.

 The photo doesn't show it well, but 

the cross stitch tag has metallic thread

Upright image to try and show the 

tag dangling. Excuse the messy

background - I didn't plan the shots

that well

 I wish I knew how to take better photos of my craft projects.  The blurry, poor detailed shots (even when taken outdoors) I do manage put me off posting them.  If anyone has any tips on photographing crafts I'd be very grateful!  I have a 'point and snap' camera, so I'm a bit limited with regard to manually focusing etc., but there must be something I can do to improve the image quality!

An annual event: The dogs' bath

Well, actually the title isn't quite true since their bath was a year overdue anyway, and they usually get bathed every 6 months.

So, the dogs are the latest victims of pregnancy nesting, and they were subjected to a cleansing.  I decided to bath them before we moved as I didn't want the new house smelling of wet dog.  I also wanted to bath them before I got too big to be comfortable hunkered over the bath for long periods of time.

I managed to convince the dogs to climb onto a stool and jump into the bath themselves so I didn't have to lift them.  I'm surprised they did, although Tangent would've legged it if the bathroom door wasn't closed.

Tangent on the stool I used to get him to get in 

the bath himself.  Although it looks like he's stood

on some gallows 

'I thought you were cool, man'

Misery: Ilustrated

I forgot how tiny Willow is beneath all her fur!

 

Shiny, sparkly dude!

Super glossy Willow

31 weeks pregnant

Single digit countdown! I now have 9 weeks till Little Parasite arrives.  The last few months have flown by at an alarming pace.
My midwife called me last week to let me know I have borderline low iron in my blood.  I've been taking iron tablets since then and my energy levels have been increasing.  I'm glad the tiredness is subsiding as I have so much to do with the house move!
For the last week I've been craving sugar.  I'm not sure that it's an actual pregnancy craving as such, but it's not just a case of fancying a biscuit either.  Gareth did a bit of research and found that craving sugar in the last trimester isn't uncommon.  The baby's brain is rapidly developing over this time, and glucose helps with neuronal growth.  It's as good an excuse as any to indulge in some Cadbury's Fruit and Nut!

My bump grew a lot between weeks 30 and 31, and I have finally had to stop wearing my regular t-shirts (which I have probably ruined through stretching now anyway).  My bump is just starting to feel cumbersome now, and bending down is getting annoying - there is a human in the way.
I've also had to change my driving position since I now get wedged in behind the wheel if I use my usual position.


Things I'm looking forward to in 9 weeks (apart from meeting Little Parasite!):
1.  Drinking coffee - now the smell doesn't make me feel ill, I really miss it!
2.  Exercise properly - I miss crunches!
3.  Cycling - though I doubt I'll be leaping on a bike the day after giving birth...
4.  Sleeping on my front - currently I flip from my side to my back like a landed mackerel
5.  Being able to see my dogs when I train presents:

This is my current view of Tangent when

training presents.

 And my view of Willow.  She tries to keep eye contact

when doing presents, and can't keep seem to resist

trying to peek over my bump at me.

I think my belly shots for the last couple of weeks show a definite growth spurt...

30 weeks pregnant.

31 weeks pregnant...

 31 weeks pregnant.

Where the Hell did that come from!

Peanut butter jelly time!

The best way to clean an empty jar of peanut butter is to give it to a dog with a tongue that shares proportions with a hummingbird.  Plus it affords minutes of fun watching said dog try to remove peanut butter that has stuck to the roof of his mouth.  Who needs a social life? That was rhetorical, so don't be mean.

Peanut butter jelly time!