A few weeks away from giving birth...
Pregnancy seems to go on for ages; from the moment you first see that blue line you will have been anticipating the birth of your baby and you may start to feel as if you will never hold her in your arms.
While for some women pregnancy whizzes by, for others – especially if you were trying for a baby so found out early that you were pregnant – it can feel like an eternity.
My pregnancy feels like it’s gone on forever. Now I’m just a few weeks away from giving birth and I’ve realised that there’s so much to prepare! I have all the baby stuff to buy, a birth plan to write, a labour bag to pack – not to mention Christmas presents to get! Where should I start?
I have some pregnancy symptoms setting in too which are making me feel a bit uncomfortable – backache for one. As I’m sitting here typing this I keep shifting about trying to get comfy! My midwife told me yesterday that this is because my baby is lying with his back to mine. And don’t get me started on Braxton Hicks! Every time I walk for more than a few minutes I get a tightening sensation across my belly and I have to pause for breath.
But enough of all that. I’m really looking forward to meeting my baby. We were trying for a little while before we fell pregnant, so were very pleased when we found out we were expecting. At our 20 week scan we found out, much to my surprise, that we were having a boy! For some reason I had got it into my head that we were having a girl. We have decided on a name, but are keeping it a secret – although everyone keeps trying to get it out of us! My daughter keeps telling people we’re going to name him ‘Bob’, so this is the generic name we use for him when we’re out and about (but at home we’re calling him by his real name!)
I’m quite nervous about labour; ideally I would like to do things as naturally as possible, although I know that on the day you really have to go with the flow. When I had my daughter eight years ago I just used gas and air, which gave me a lovely, floaty feeling (although I did throw up the piece of cake I had stupidly eaten half an hour before). It really took the edge off the pain – indeed the midwife had to pry it out of my mouth at one stage, firmly telling me I’d had enough!
I also feel a bit like I won’t quite know what I’m doing having a little man – I’ve never changed a boy’s nappy and I’ve heard they are quite different to a girl’s! It’s been such a long time since I had a baby that I do feel like I’ve forgotten what to do. I’ve just started my antenatal classes, so that’s got me thinking about labour; it’s quite bizarre being in a roomful of women you’ve never met and discussing mucous plugs! Still, hopefully I will make some mummy friends as I know from experience that it’s really useful to have someone in the same boat to talk to about everything from how to deal with lack of sleep to the colour of your baby’s poo!
My daughter, Olivia, is really excited about having a baby brother. I don’t think there will be any sibling rivalry due to the age gap; she is quite maternal and has already offered to change nappies (I’ve joked to her that I will have a little bell which I will ring in the middle of the night so that she can give him a bottle or soothe him back to sleep for me!)
My partner is a first-time dad (I split with Olivia’s dad when she was very young), so it will all be new for him too – perhaps it’s a good thing we’re having a boy as we will both be learning. He has issues with poo though, so I’m going to have to make sure that he does his fair share of nappies!
Anyway, I will let you all know how we get on – I’m off to order my maternity bag (which I should really pack asap!) I’m going to read gurgle’s feature on ‘What to pack in your labour bag’ for some tips!
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Mothercare
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