Gracie’s Life Experiment

Yay - panic - yay - panic - yay!  It’s July.  Our baby is due this month!  I had a bad night’s sleep last night as I was really excited about Shrimp arriving, but at the same time scared about the future and everything changing.  There’ll be no more impromptu dates out to restaurants.  Probably won’t get to go to the cinema for the next 5 years.  Everytime we leave the house it will be a military routine and involve a car full of stuff.  Sleep? - overrated and is for the weak!  I actually asked hubby last night whether it was too late to change my mind about having a baby.  I was having mild identity crises and thinking that my life for the next few months will revolve totally around baby and involve changing nappies, becoming a one-woman, sleep deprived dairy!  But then there’s all the nice stuff too - the cuddles, the feeling of being needed, playing with Shrimp, seeing her grow and develop, and finding out what her personality is like.  Since we met hubby has always been broody and I love the fact that I can give him the one thing in the world he’s always wanted and that is a baby of his own.  We’ll be our own proper little family from now on.

Summary of the day:  Woke up at 4.30am and cleaned the kitchen and put washing load on, Went back to bed at 6.30, Woke up at 8.30, Put towels and dressing gowns in washing machine, Hung out all the washing, Started work on lit review again (only got a couple of pages done today), Had visitors (a couple of mates have moved into a house nearby and popped by for some tea), Had takeaway for dinner

I’m quite fed up of being pregnant now.  I still have just over 4 weeks to go but am now looking forward to finally meeting Baby K as well as not being host to a squatter.  I’ll miss Shrimp’s little kicks and wriggles, but I won’t miss the discomfort, indigestion, bladder trampoline, not being able to lie on my front, aches/pains/clicking joints, waddling, irrational hormones, people talking to my bump and all conversations being about the bump!  I want to have a nice choice of clothes to wear each day (rather than working on a 3 pairs of maternity trouser rotation).  I want to be able to wear lovely summer dresses again and wear make up and go out and not feel that people are staring at my big bump.  I’ve actually got to the point where I can’t remember what it felt like in non-pregnant mode anymore. 

Ah well another couple and she’ll be ready for eviction (I think I will try and post her notice, but I suspect that she will move out in her own sweet time).  I’m hoping she’ll either be 9 days early (22nd July as that’s our wedding anniversary and if she’s born then I have bagsied it as my gift to hubby - he’d better get me an equally good present, he he) or 8 days late as she’ll be born 08/08/08 which is very auspicious in Chinese (and as she is 1/2 of Chinese ancestry then she’ll at least get some good fortune + it’ll be easy to remember her DOB).

Summary of the day: Woke up late, Played piano in church (yay I’m off the rota till mid August now), Felt rubbish, Slept in afternoon

35 weeks down, 35 days to go!!!  It feels like I’ve been pregnant for almost a year already and I’m feeling like an elephant!  This week’s 10 things are 10 things that are annoying me at this stage of my pregnancy (~8 months).

1. Constant need to wee - I may as well pour whatever I’m drinking straight down the toilet it goes through me so fast. I’m needing to go every 30-60 mins during the day and every 2hrs at night now.
2. Cramps - last night my calf muscle went into a cramp while I was asleep. Woke up in pain screaming and hubby had to stretch it out by pushing my toes back. Who knows how long it was cramped for, but it’s become a massive bruise today. Also I seem to get butt cheek cramp at least once every day too (how embarrassing).
3. Indigestion - yuck, uncomfortable, burns your throat, makes you choke!
4. People commenting on the size of my bump - yes I am actually 8 months pregnant and I haven’t got my dates wrong. I guess I just carry my bump well as it’s not as huge as it could be, yet Shrimp was bang on 50th percentile at scans a fortnight ago. 
5. Suddenly having a social life - for ages we didn’t have very much in the diary socials wise, now suddenly there are loads of weddings, parties and reunions which we can’t go to.
6. Relatives wanting to know the exact day Shrimp will arrive - how am I supposed to know, oh yes let me get my crystal ball out shall I? All I can say is EDD is 31st July.
7. Insomnia - why is it that Shrimp likes to wake up when I am falling asleep and then do highland fling all night long?
8. Brain fog - I keep forgetting things. This morning I went down to make breakfast and put 2 slices of bread in the toaster, then I came upstairs to have a wee, went downstairs and put another 2 slices into the toaster. It was a bit of a surprise when 2 sets of toast popped up!! Ah well Mocha got to have toast for brekkie.
9. The house needing constant tidying - as soon as I’ve tidied it it gets messy within hours
10. Everything!!! It’s the hormones or something as everything is annoying me. Even all the inanimate objects. Today my T-shirt sleeve got stuck on the door handle as I went past and I almost cried in anger at it! I get angry at every little thing. Can’t bend myself to get my socks on, I have a big tantrum and throw the socks across the room. What is wrong with me - GET A GRIP!

Now I’m all riled up just thinking about the things that annoy me. I hope this goes away once the baby comes otherwise I’ll need to go to anger management classes or something. Poor hubby is coping really well with my anger/crying fits and constant demands and moaning about everything.

Summary of the day: Made 2 lots of breakfast!! Had a shower, Got to work on lit review, Made fishfingers for lunch (only 1 lot of lunch made), Did more work on PhD lit review (it’s starting to look in a good state now), Worked all afternoon, Made dinner, Played on Facebook for a while, Played fetch with doggy

Went to my 34 week appointment with the midwife this morning.  We’re actually 34+4 but it won’t make that much difference.  Fundal height is measuring 36cm, which is prob about right as it’s not that accurate a measure anyway.  Midwife had a good prod and poke around my abdomen and concluded that my stomach muscles are too strong so she couldn’t feel much other than baby is head down and not engaged yet.  Heard her heart beating (which was really loud and strong, and sounded quite a lot more whoosy and squishy now). Shrimp decided to do a big wriggle and kick the midwife.  Blood pressure was 100/60 which is good.  Excellent news they will prescribe some more Gaviscon for me - hopefully that will ease the indigestion (shame I have to wait 2 days before I can even get the prescription, and then I have to take it to the chemist and no doubt wait another day or two).  They said next appt is at 36 weeks and they’re going to do routine bloods again (boo I hate needles).

This afternoon/evening Shrimp was particularly animated.  I think she was objecting to the fact that she got prodded about in the morning and also we dared to spy on her again (although this time, just with the doppler).  My whole stomach was moving about and twitching in a spooky fashion.  The dog was curled up leaning against me on the sofa and Shrimp gave her a good booting!  Dog jumped off and turned around and looked at me like “what ARE you doing?)” - I tried to explain it wasn’t me, but she didn’t believe me and went to sit on her beanbag in peace.

Summary of the day:  Went to midwife appt, Did some PhD work, Had some leftover lasagne (from the freezer) for lunch, Did puzzles from the Times newspaper and watched Poirot in the afternoon, Experimented making corned beef hash (with aubergine and baked beans in)

I’ve not been too bad all pregnancy with the indigestion.  Managed to mostly get away with taking a Rennie every now and again which made it go away fairly quickly.  Today was horrible.  I had awful indigestion and everytime I hiccupped or burped I got a mouth full of acid that then made me choke and cough.  Yeuch!  After eating quite a few Rennies it wasn’t really working.  We had a bottle of Gaviscon, but alas it was empty - I even tried putting it upside down and licking the inside of the lid.  Tried drinking more water to neutralise it.  Nope that didn’t work either.  I felt awful and also my stomach was really bloated and tight.  Not comfortable.  In the end I ended up having a bath and paracetamol (as I seemed to be getting a bit of a temperature).  This didn’t solve the acid problem, but made me so sleepy that I managed to go to bed straight after!

Summary of the day:  Had a lie-in to catch up on sleep, Did loads of gardening (pruned the bushes, weeded, planted out some ageratum), Got horrid indigestion, Hubby made porridge (that was black), Watched Dr Who on beeb 3, Had a bath

Today I finally got round to packing my bag(s) to go to hospital when I finally go into labour (we’re only 34 weeks today, but better sooner rather than panic later).  I have a couple of bags - one of those wheelie trolley ones that you use for your cabin luggage on flights and I have the free changing bag from Boots Parenting Club (in which I’m packing Baby K’s stuff). Obviously I have more than 10 individual items, but here’s the main categories:

1. Clothes for me : a couple of pyjamas, a pack of 5 cheapo pants, some slipper socks [note to self - still need to get a couple of nursing bras and find my lightweight dressing gown]
2. Washing products : a selection of travel size/sample toiletries (shampoo/conditioner, freebie toothbrush/paste sets you get on planes, comb, lip balm, shower gel, decanted some Doublebase moisturiser into a little tupperware pot) also a towel.  [note to self - also want to buy some Aloe Vera spritzer spray from the Body Shop to keep me cool]
3. Disposables : a packet of 20 maternity pads (takes up 1/2 the volume of my bag) [note to self - still need to get some breast pads too]
4. Entertainment : Charged up my iPod and packed that away.  [need to get camera charged up and packed]
5. Comforts : Need to pack my hand held battery fan (once hubby has told me where it’s hidden).
6. Food/drinks : Not packed yet, but am going to get some chocolate, dextrose tablets and isotonic drinks to pack
7. 20 newborn sized nappies, sample packs of baby wipes
8. Baby clothes: 1 sleepsuit, 2 bodysuits, 3 bibs, a couple of mitts and some socks and booties
9. Baby blanket
10. Antibacterial hand gel (got a free sample in the Sainsbury’s/Huggies Mum Pack - the stuff you use to clean your hands without water)

There’s some other bits and bobs that will just go straight into the car and stay there until I need them (e.g. the baby car seat, clothes for me to go home in). Hubby can make a quick dash to the car park when I need them. Sure there’s plenty of other things I’ll stuff into the bags, but can’t think of much else at the moment. I have had a look at some of the lists that various parenting clubs provide and I’m at a loss how they manage to get all that in one bag. One list suggested bringing 2 pillows!!

Summary of the day:  Went to Part C marking day (yawn, it was over fairly painlessly after 2 hrs), Went to Sainsbury’s to pick up the free Mum & Baby bundle, Washed Baby K’s new clothes (it was so cute hanging the little mitts and socks on the line, the pegs were barely bigger than them), Started packing hospital bags, Made pasta bolognaise for dinner

Hubby had to go to York for a training day today and left to get the train at 5.30am.  I woke up and couldn’t sleep so had some cereal.  Decided to have a bath.  Then had breakfast again at 9am!!!  Somehow this morning just disappeared into nothingness.  Made myself chinese porridge/congee for lunch (this is like the Chinese version of Jewish chicken soup - it’s what we eat when we’re not feeling too well).  Felt terrible all afternoon and tried to have a lie down and a nap.  Hmm, ended up not sleeping at all because I got some phone calls from work and msgs from hubby.  So now feeling totally cranky.  Hubby didn’t get home till 6.30 so had to wait for a “feel better” cuddle.  We ate dinner at the dining table tonight because I couldn’t face sitting hunched on the sofa as Shrimp is too big and uncomfortable in there now.  This morning she had her bottom sticking right up at the front/top of the bump and was quite bony feeling and then something hung out of the side of the bump, but managed to coax it back in (I think it was a foot).  Think Shrimp must be having another growth spurt as I feel like I’m going to explode.  Add to that some Braxton Hicks and it’s generally been an uncomfortable day :( 

Summary of the day:  Felt crap, Got nothing done (apart from the mega loads of washing up from the experimental dinner last night)

We had our one and only antenatal class today. Because we’re in Loughborough there isn’t actually a hospital that has maternity services so you have to go to Nottingham or Leicester (or Derby). We’re going to Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham because it is close to hubby’s school (he’s a teacher) so if he needs to come quickly he’ll be nearby). QMC doesn’t offer any antenatal classes, nor can you do a tour of the delivery/maternity wards (so the first time we see it will be on the “big day” itself). Luckily we spoke to our local midwife and they put on a 1/2 day workshop with a midwife in Barrow. In my mind I had visions of the antenatal class being like on tv - where they all sit on gym mats and pant, etc. But it was nothing like that. We all sat on chairs and looked at a flip chart and various props the midwife at the front had. We also watched a really old video of a couple of births (yuck and gore and membraney stuff). It was quite entertaining and the midwife was quite barmy. There wasn’t much more information though than you could find on the internet. Because we’re going to Nottingham we’re in a different health authority so they didn’t have much about what QMC practices were. 3 hrs later and a totally numb bum and we were allowed to go. Even Shrimp was a bit bored I think as she was sat there kicking or hiccupping away for a lot of the middle section.

Summary of the day: Helped out with the music at church for a local primary school tour, Went shopping at Tescos (loads of reduced meat on a Monday morning), Dropped off my marking at Uni (stupid online marking system failed on Friday so had to go in AGAIN), Went to antenatal class, Put on some CDs for Shrimp to listen to (she doesn’t seem to like Rachmaninov or Liszt).

My body seems to be preparing me for sleep deprivation already and baby’s not even due for another 6.5 weeks!  I seem to have 2 crap night’s sleep followed by 1 OK night’s sleep.  If it isn’t too hot/cold/hot and cold, then it’s the baby kicking or wriggling or applying pressure in uncomfortable places, or the bladder relief valve which seems to be broken (it tells me I need to go every 2-3 hrs at night and only every other comfort break really yields a proper relieving waterfall).  Then there’s the psychological aspects when I can’t sleep my brain goes into overdrive and I either get weird dreams that freak me out or I start to worry about this that and the other (at stupid times of the night when I can’t do anything about it).  I had another rubbish night’s sleep last night and was awake from 1.30 - 5.30 before I managed to get back to sleep for another couple of hrs before getting up to play piano in church.    Apparently this not sleeping thing only gets worse as baby gets bigger, and then once she’s here then it gets even worse!!

Summary of the day:  Had insomnia, Lugged myself to church to play piano,  Had a 1/4 pounder meal (v bad but was too sleepy to be bothered to make anything else), Napped in the afternoon, Made simple dinner, Got 2nd wind and tidied kitchen and hoovered house!

We had another scan at the hospital today. We’re 32 +5 today. They were primarily checking growth and whether the fluid level had come down (we were borderline polyhydramnios at 28 weeks). Baby is still a girl so it’s OK to take the tags off the dresses we bought now. Here’s her measurements:

- Bi Parietal Diameter: 84.8mm
- Head Circumference: 302.2mm
- Abdominal Circumference: 284.4mm
- Femur Length: 61.5mm
- Amniotic Fluid Index: 15.6cm
- Est fetal weight: 2024g

No wonder I’ve been so tired lately. Shrimp has almost doubled in weight in 4 weeks! She’s about 4 and 1/2 lbs now which is a good weight. Also she’s mostly on the 50th percentile line for her age (apart from femur length which is a little bit less).

Summary of the day: Picked up yet more marking from work, Went for scan (amazing it took less than 2 hrs in total this time, last time we didn’t even get seen until after a 2hr wait), Did marking all afternoon, Made a beef curry for dinner (yum, tried out Geeta’s Pudina Tikka Sauce and can highly recommend it)