This is my latest post for the Emma’s Diary Blog.
Today is officially 38+3 and so in theory by the time I’m due to blog again, our little family should have increased in size. Apparently first born children are often late but I’ve got my fingers crossed little man won’t be!
Getting to the end of the pregnancy is certainly the hardest part for Loz, but little man is behaving as he should be and increasing in size as one would hope. The midwife is saying he’ll be high 7lb to mid 8lb baby; I certainly don’t envy Loz and her expanding tummy! She is coping brilliantly though and despite these past few weeks being a massive struggle she has coped admirably. As
I blogged before, she is working right up to and after birth and despite frequent toilet breaks, she’s still soldiering on. She is incredible – these northern girls are made of strong stuff! 🙂
We had our antenatal class a few weeks ago and that went pretty well. We made friends with some of the other expectant parents, keeping in touch via Facebook, and it was nice to get a general ‘refresher’ on the labour process. I certainly feel more prepared than I did a few weeks ago and hopefully I can be a competent ‘birthing partner’.
As I’ve mentioned before we don’t have a ‘Birthing Plan’ as such, aside from ‘get the baby out as effectively and safely as possible, listening to the advice of the midwives and doctors’. Although from day one Loz has had her heart set on using the birthing pool and the midwife is a big fan of it. There is one slight stumbling block which is a ‘BMI limit’ for those wanting to use the pool. With little man’s healthy weight gain and Loz being slightly overweight when we found out she was pregnant, Loz has now crept over this limit. (I’d like to point out that Loz has said it’s ok to divulge this information!) Thankfully the midwife is happy for Loz to have the birthing pool (if it’s available at the time), but we do have to see the consultant to get the thumbs up as well. We’re hoping, as the rest of the pregnancy has been pretty text book, all will be okay – we get the verdict tomorrow.
With ‘the end’ drawing near, we’ve both been looking for signs of impending labour… ok, possibly me more than Loz! I’ve installed a ‘Contraction Timer’ App on her phone with a little homescreen widget for her to press when they come and go. I will freely admit to now being a bit jumpy about the whole situation. I’m eager; perhaps too eager. Loz has told me she’ll ‘know’ when it’s happening for real, but even so, I can’t help but spring into action at the slightest twinge. I’m aware this is probably quite annoying for Loz, so do my best not to get too excited, but I honestly can’t help it!
In the last week or so the Braxton Hicks have started to appear and the baby has dropped too! The bump is definitely sitting lower and Loz isn’t as breathless after climbing the stairs. The baby dropping does seem to have increased the pain in Loz’s hips and a very strange side effect of restricted movement in her left leg. If she lifts it too much she gets a terrible pain. This has made getting in and out of the car/bed very difficult and it’s horrible to watch a loved one in so much pain.
I think we’re both just very keen to meet our son. We’re in a real limbo at the moment; we cant really do much or go anywhere too far away, ‘just in case’. It will be nice to get back into a more ‘normal’ life once he arrives – well, as normal as life with a newborn is! More than that, it will be great to see the little life we’ve created and settle into life as slightly bigger family.
Loz has her own blog too – here.
