34 Weeks Pregnant!

Hip hip hooray, 34 weeks today!

I'm NOT a happy bunny. Discovered my first stretch marks last night. Ok, so they're in not too much of a bad place (top of my legs) - no one will ever see them apart from me and Jack and anyone on any beaches I ever choose to visit. I have been happily slathering on my Bio Oil to the tum and sides totally sidestepping the bum and leg region, I mean - it's the belly that gets "stretched" isn't it? This is just natures way of telling me that I have now got a fat arse if I didn't already think it. Great. Thanks.

It's 25 degrees today and it's absolutely boiling! Jeans were not a good idea this morning. I went to New Look in Marble Arch on my way into work, as they finally have the maternity section in there. Thought they might have some nice skirts, or a dress (I'd seen a lovely one on their site), but no luck. I did get some white linen trousers - a snip at £15, and a couple of long tops. I managed to get foundation on the white top I wore today though, lovely look.

I had the midwife this morning, it was a different midwife which I'd never seen before, but I think she's my favourite! She was so lovely, chatty and we had joky convos as well as serious, I really hope she's present at my birth if any of that team are.

Heartbeat was fine, nice and loud and steady. It was still lying to the right hand side, head down, and starting to engage - it's 4/5ths palpable (whatever that means), I'm off to try and find out!

Bump pics tomorrow. Here's what Babycentre says abotu week 34... "Your baby now weighs more than 5.5 pounds/ 2.5 kilograms and is 19.5 inches/ over 49 centimetres from top to toe. She's filling out and getting rounder -- she'll need her fat layers later to regulate her body temperature.

If you don't already talk to your baby, this is a good time to start -- at 35 weeks her hearing is fully developed. Don't feel ridiculous if you're already chatting in baby talk. Some evidence shows that newborns pay closer attention to high-pitched tones.

If you've been nervous about going into premature labour, you'll be happy to know that 99 per cent of babies born at week 35 can survive outside the womb -- and most have no major problems. Although your baby's central nervous system is still maturing, her lungs are nearly fully developed by now.

Many women start to notice a tingling sensation or numbness in the pelvic region or pain as they walk. This may be caused by the pelvic joints loosening, ready for labour. If you're terribly uncomfortable, mention it to your midwife or doctor and check out our self-help tips."

Hospital Tour

The hospital I am booked in to does a tour once a week for people over 34 weeks, so last night I tried to get to it. I made Mum leave work early too so she could ask questions that maybe I wouldn't think of. We were just about on time, then all of a sudden we got chucked off the tube and had to wait 8 mins for a new one, then when we got to the station, our lift wasn't there as expected. I called the hospital to say I was running late, they said it was fine, and met me and mum as we got there. The rest of the tour was already going on and they were all in a delivery room. We got there as the midwife was saying "so any more questions while we're in here" - no one did, then she said, "right, hope you all have good births, bye"! Couldn't believe we'd got there just to hear her say that! Luckily she took us aside, and then gave us our own private tour which very nice of her. She had looked really cross when we got there, but she was actually really nice. The rooms in the Midwife Led Unit are nothing like what I expected, and very similar to the normal delivery rooms, but the lighting is lower, and there is less focus on the beds and more on the other things in there like birthing balls, stools and pools. There are really nice bedrooms there too, which I hope I will get a chance to use rather than get moved onto the ward if I have an overnight stay. The only thing that worried me was when she said occasionally they close. What?! How can you?! What if I need to have my baby?! You HAVE to be open! So I think my plan is to call up as early as possible in labour so they can keep me a space, even though I'm hoping to stay at home for as long as I can last.

33 Weeks Pregnant!

I know, I know, I'm reallllly late in posting this weeks updates, but I've been hecticly busy! We met up with our Aussie friends again and went out to London for the day, but unfortunately on the same day, got a call from the solicitor to say we couldn't complete on the house until 26th May, so that put a downer on the rest of the day - I felt a bit bad on them that we were in grumpy moods! We couldn't stay out too late either as we had ante-natal, it was good again but we were still bummed out from the news.

Friday we had a funeral to go to, to add to the upset! As we were getting ready though, we had a call to say that we can complete on 12th May and would we like to exchange today. We said yes of course, just shows what a bit of an argument can do (my Mum rang them up and said we would pull out if we had to wait that long!). So we got the call on the way to the funeral that we'd exchanged and the house will be ours on 12th! Woohoo! The funeral was really nice (well as nice as a funeral can be I suppose), and think the day went well for the family.

I've just been sorting out my room, putting more and more things into boxes, and yesterday we went to Macro and bought a microwave, toaster and kettle, and bought 30 litres of Dulux from Costco... think we're just about ready for the first stages of redecoration! We went to B&Q this morning and got a tape measure and some radiator paint, and think we're all set now!

Anyway, I won't be as late next week... promise!

Here are my bump pics, but at 33+4...


























This is what Babycentre has to say about week 33... "Your baby now weighs about 5 pounds / 2.2 kilograms and measures approximately 19 inches/ 48 centimetres from head to toe. Your baby should already be getting ready for delivery by turning upside-down -- his head should be pointing down. Your doctor or midwife will be paying careful attention to your baby's position in the coming weeks -- some babies do decide to turn back round again.

Your baby's skull is still quite pliable and not completely joined, in part so he can ease out of the relatively narrow birth canal. But the bones in the rest of his body are hardening. Your baby's skin is also gradually becoming less red and wrinkled.

If you're a first-time mother, your child's head may move into the pelvis this week and press firmly against your cervix. (This happens for about half of all first-time mothers.) If you're a second-time mum, you can expect this to happen a week before labour -- and for some this won't happen until the start of labour.

Hoping to manage your labour naturally? Here's all you need to know about natural pain relief. You may notice that your feet and ankles are quite swollen by the end of the day. Water retention, also known as oedema, is often worse in warm weather and late in the day. Surprisingly, keeping hydrated helps reduce water retention. Your body -- particularly your kidneys -- and your baby need plenty of fluids, so drink up. If you suddenly feel swollen or puffy in your hands or face, however, call your doctor -- it may be a sign of pre-eclampsia."