Lots Happening

Our first ante-natal class at the hospital was last week and it was more informative and useful that I could have ever imagined. Not only I learnt that giving birth lying on your back is a myth, I also understood why I go through certain stages in my pregnancy and will go during labour. It was great to have my husband there as well since it made him more involved with the whole pregnancy process. He also now knows what to expect in the delivery room – especially when the adrenalin kicks in.

I started feeling numbness in my left fingers, another normal cause of pregnancy apparently.

We have been researching our options about storing our baby’s stem cells. It seems like if we decide to go ahead, we would have to do it privately as our hospital and health system do not provide the service.

I have also been extremely busy with work. I’ve been working around 12 to 14 hours a day on average on a very frustratingly complicated project. I can’t wait for it to be over and concentrate on my last weeks on pregnancy on the well-being of my baby. Now, I can go hours without noticing that I didn’t have lunch or I tend to graze on very unhealthy options like crisps and chocolate. Not good! Maybe my baby has been kicking so hard because it is not happy with what I have been feeding. I am sincerely worried now about the nutrition I put in my system. I guess when it comes to balancing work life and cooking, I am a total failure. 

Dancing Baby

Last Sunday, I gave my last dance performance before delivery at 31 weeks! I am very proud of my baby for being well throughout it all. Everyone is now expecting the baby to come out already doing flamenco movements.

My antenatal visit this week was good and bad. Bad in the sense that I found out that I already weigh 70.55 kg! I have never been this heavy my entire life. Every night, I keep dreaming of myself as an inflated, fat woman with chubby and ugly face and features. I guess that I am quite worried that I will always remain this big.

Good news was that everything is progressing well with the baby and the pregnancy. I even got to feel the baby’s head, bum and foot with my hands over my tummy. It was very cute.

The baby might be taking revenge from me this week though as ever since I stopped dancing, the baby doesn’t stop moving. Almost 24 hours a day. At times, the kicks really hurt too. So sleep deprivation is on the cards again. Anyway, I’d rather have an active, moving baby.

Exhaustion

Over the last week, I have been experiencing the typical pregnancy exhaustion and irritability. Lack of sleep at night and the painful leg cramps didn’t help either.

My mum thinks that this much exhaustion is not normal and I am not getting enough nutrients. On the other hand, I already gained 12 kg. (maximum I should gain) and I have 10 more weeks to go.

Some say that my belly still looks too small; which makes me worry like crazy about the health and growth of my baby. Someone in dance class asked me if I was expecting twins! Someone else in dance class never hesitates to rub my belly without asking my permission each time she sees me. Then yesterday, she told me that my belly is very and my baby might be engaged!

Why can’t people just shut up and keep their advice and opinions to themselves when it comes to pregnant woman? It is as if the body of a pregnant woman and her baby suddenly become public property!

By the way, I still haven’t bought anything for the baby. We received many cloths as gifts, so we are ok on that front. But I should maybe already order the bedside crib, some diapers, diaper bin, so on and so forth. I have been so busy at work. I hope I will get to enjoy the last weeks of my pregnancy by dealing with such issues.

Baby Blues

My husband and I took a weekend trip to the country side with some friends and did loooots of walking. I don’t think I ever walked so much in my life. And yet, I see from the pictures that we have taken that my petite pregnancy image has completely disappeared and I am officially an elephant. My face, arms, bum and thighs truly complement the size of my protruding belly. I am MASSIVE! I really hope that I will not have too much trouble losing this extra weight.

Many women told me about the blues they experienced while they were pregnant and I brushed them off as I haven’t been feeling particularly emotional or sensitive – or at least not more than usual. However, this week I have been feeling down and low for reasons I cannot point out. Of course there is the anxiety and the fear over if we will be good parents, if our baby will be completely healthy, if our social life will change dramatically. I guess receiving the prospectus of a potential private school didn’t help it either.

The school fees are outrageous and get me thinking already how we can afford the best education for our child. I always wished to have at least two kids for the joy, noise and laughter at home – as I grew up as a lonely only child. Now, I am not even sure if it is financially possible due to the ridiculous school fees!