29.3 weeks

I am into my 3rd and final trimester. I never thought I would ever get to say that, but here I am!!

This whole experience just keeps getting better. 18 weeks along (to the day) was when we first felt bub-o-luv move. We were sitting in church and I was eating a freddo frog during the sermon. About 10mins later the baby kicked all along my belly and it was the most amazing surreal feeling ever. I will never forget that moment, mainly because I yelled out a little and then remembered where we were. I was just so surprised and excited!

Since then the movements have become more common and longer lasting. Every time I feel it move I think about the mystery of it all. How amazing is God!?! Here is this little being inside of me moving around and growing every single day. The whole mystery of the womb and exactly what bub-o-luv is doing in there is fantastic. We are separated by a few cm’s of skin and muscle and I can’t tell what it’s doing, its fantastic! I love it!

The other night though, I felt ‘bol’ position its feet on the left side of my belly and then push and smacked it’s head on the right side of my belly! I wasn’t too impressed since it knew exactly what it was doing. Positioning perfectly and WHAM…that felt kinda odd but cool at the same time. Yesterday while I was sitting at work it kept pushing it’s little foot against my belly and you could see through my clothing a little bump. I kept grabbing it and rubbing it. It would pull back in and then do it again. It felt odd because it would hold it’s foot there for about 10secs and then pull it back in. It hurt a little ‘cos it was really stretching my skin.

As I was lying in bed last night I was telling the baby how much we loved it and that we couldn’t wait to meet it. I had both hands on my belly and every time I said “I love you” it would kick around. Maybe coincidence, I don’t know, maybe the sound of my voice, I don’t know…but it was a really amazing moment.

One of my closest friends was over on Saturday and she was talking about how her 8mth old boy was only just starting to realise that they are a separate being. She was saying that when they are first born and really young, they don’t see themselves as a separate entity/being/person to mum. They are one and the same. I thought this was amazing but made sense all at the same time! Baby has been attached to me, sharing my body for the last 9mths, why would it see itself as being a separate person once it’s out? I think it is a beautiful picture, and it captures a little of the bond that mums and their children share. It’s a really, really beautiful picture.

In terms of the pregnancy things have constantly been changing. I haven’t vomited since week 16, I have had the occasional spew if I’ve eaten dinner too late at night, but other than that the morning (all day) sickness has stopped.

Then started the fun stage where the belly starts to pop out and movements start to happen.

Now I just look at my belly and am shocked. I kind of miss my flat belly…it was so much more manageable. I struggle to pull my undies on every morning, struggle with my socks and shoes and pants. I can’t bend very far and am having trouble trying to adjust to moving around the belly. I miss wearing my old tank tops and clothing but I wouldn’t change it for the world! I’m just starting to look forward to feeling ‘normal’ again.

When I think about it, I have been pregnant for 37 of the last 41 weeks. I feel like I’ve been pregnant all stinking year!!

I have had to ‘move into’ maternity bras. Not the funnest thing in the world. They aren’t very supportive, and every one in the office can tell when the air con is on too high!! Just look at bek…she’s a walking thermometer!! I mean hey, all dignity will fly out the window in 10wks, why not get a head start!

Sleeping isn’t too bad, it just hurts to roll sometimes – it’s an uncomfortable feeling, kind of like my organs are all shifting here there and every where.

I had a doctors appointment last week as they had to check that I didn’t have gestational diabetes and they also checked my iron levels (after 2mths of complaining they needed to do it!!). I don’t have diabetes, but my iron came back at 14. Iron levels should be between 20 and 220 (20 being absolute minimum obviously). To which the doctor says…”you really need to sort this out…blah blah blah”. I just about slapped him. Moron! I’ve been telling you to sort it out for the last 2mths and only NOW have you done anything about it.

So, I’m on iron tablets that have vitamin C in them to help absorb the iron.

It has started to make a difference. I’m not dying (too much) by the end of the day and I am slowly starting to get my energy back. Slowly but surely!

The only other change has been that my legs are a little swollen. They don’t look too bad, but they hurt a little and just feel a little pudgy. It’s quite funny actually.

Other than that, everything seems to be going well! Other than getting really tired throughout the day things are going well. Bol seems to be growing and growing non-stop and Russell is loving every minute too! He is looking forward to becoming a daddy and I can’t help but smile when I think about him as dad. He will do an absolutely amazing job, and I’m glad it’s him helping to raise our kids and no-one else.

Actually, that’s the other thing. The pregnancy seems to have brought us closer and closer every day. I love him more and more and am loving our relationship at the moment. We have always had an open and honest relationship and we rarely argue. When we do, we can pretty much sort it out quickly without raising voices. I hope it doesn’t change too much when the baby comes, which is naïve because I’m sure it will, but I hope that we can always put the effort in and work at it. Not get lazy about it.

Anyway…this has been a long post and I should get back to work. Only 4.2 weeks left and then I’m outta here!!