This week I happened to overhear Terry on the phone to his brother, who’d presumably asked how I was doing. “She’s very tired, and pretty grumpy, really,” said Terry, “But I guess that’s to be expected at this stage…”

“I AM NOT GRUMPY!” I yelled, grumpily. I stand by it, too. OK, maybe a little bit grumpy, actually, because, well, here are some things I’m really looking forward to being able to do again in January:

01. Lying on my back.

02. Lying on my front.

03. Rolling over in bed, without it feeling like a major production.

04. Being able to get in and out of bed without having to re-arrange a million pillows every time.

05. Painting my toenails.

06. SEEING my toenails.

07. Getting my eyelashes done – because these super-short eyelashes are making me look even MORE tired than I actually am, and apparently I’m not allowed to have either LV Lashes or extensions while I’m pregnant: boo!

08. Being able to eat and drink whatever I want, without having to meticulously check the labels, and then consult Google to find out if it’s “allowed”.

09. Running. Never thought I’d ever miss exercise (And yes, I’m totally aware that I could still go running if I really wanted to, I just can’t convince my brain to actually do it…), but there’s a growing number of things that I physically can’t do any more, and I’m just really looking forward to getting back to something approximating “normal”, and not having to worry about every move I make.

And, of course, I’m also looking forward to, you know, having an actual baby in January,  although that goes without saying, doesn’t it? (INTERNET: No, Amber, unless you specifically add the words, “BUT IT’LL ALL BE WORTH IT,” to every single point above, we will assume you are an evil, baby-hating monster, and scold you for it!” Thanks, Internet!)

So, yeah, basically the 3rd trimester is not a comfortable time, and this week I’ve really been feeling it. But let’s move onto more positive things, shall we? Like…

Week 31 Pregnancy Highlights

OK, this technically has nothing to do with me, but this week one of my friends announced a pregnancy, and I’m SO excited to not only have another person to bore rigid about pregnancy symptoms, but also by the fact that the baby will have a little friend of roughly the same age. Or two, actually, because I have another friend who’s due just a couple of weeks ahead of me, too. 2018 is looking up already…

Week 31 Pregnancy Symptoms

Er, I think “tired and grumpy,” just about covers it here, unless you also want to hear about my constipation? No? OK, well, moving along…

Week 31 Pregnancy Appointments

So, this week Terry and I headed into our local hospital to tour the labour ward, and speak to one of the nurses in charge, there. I was a little apprehensive about this, because so far this year, my exposure to hospitals (Terry’s mum has had a few long stays now, although she’s at home right now, and doing much better, thankfully…) has only served to reinforce my fears about them, and strengthen my resolve to just keep the baby in there forever.

As it turned out, though, this particular visit was actually really positive, and one of the best things I’ve done so far in terms of dealing with my anxiety. The midwife we spoke to was absolutely lovely, and made it really clear to me that the hospital will do everything they can to help me through the birth process: I was really impressed with how clued-up they seem to be about anxiety, and how seriously they’ve been taking my concerns – honestly, I’m so used to just being dismissed (By the non-medical people in my life: everyone I’ve spoken to in the NHS has assured me it’s totally normal to have concerns), or told to not worry, because, “Everything will be fine!” that this actually came as a surprise to me, but they really helped to set my mind at ease a little. Don’t get me wrong: I’m still absolutely terrified, and I know that’s not just going to disappear overnight, but I do feel I’m getting a lot of support, and that’s a big help to me right now.

The best part of this visit, though, came at the very end, when we were looking around the ward itself, and being shown the birthing rooms, etc. The labour ward has its own operating theatre, which we weren’t able to see inside, as there was a c-section in progress at the time, but we were shown the room adjoining it, which is where babies are taken immediately after birth, to be weighed and checked over, before being returned to their mothers. Within seconds of us looking inside, the doors linking the room to the theatre opened, and two men in surgical gowns appeared, carrying the brand new baby that had literally just been born next door: it could only have been a few seconds old, and was still covered in fluid and screaming its tiny lungs out – we only got to see it for a couple of seconds, before we closed the doors, but Terry and I both got a bit emotional, and it was a nice reminder that, as scary as childbirth will obviously be for me, it’ll be exciting too. If that’s how emotional we got at the sight of a baby we don’t even know, though, I can’t imagine what we’ll be like when we finally get to meet our own!

Week 31 Pregnancy Purchases & Preparations

After all of the excitement (Ahem) of last week’s “new shed” revelation, this week has been much quieter, and we’ve really just been concentrating on adding a few more items to the nursery (including the “Hello” sign above, which we bought in white, and then spray-painted gold – or, rather, Terry did, obviously, because I’m about as useful as a chocolate teapot right now), while we wait for the rest of the furniture to be delivered next week.

Now that the house is more or less back to normal (the garden less so, but at least we can just pull down the blinds and try to pretend it doesn’t exist for now…), I’m feeling a lot more organised, although, with that said, this week I did have to take my mum up on her offer to wash and iron the new baby clothes we’ve been given – Terry and I both still have a lot of work on at the moment, and not much time to do it in because of other commitments, so I’d started feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything. Thanks, mum!

With most of the latest arrivals currently making their way through the wash cycle, then, I think the only thing I have to show you this week are these:

They’re Ergopouch swaddles, and they’re basically little sleeping bag style pouches that you can just pop the baby in, without having to wrap a traditional swaddle around them. They come in a selection of different togs, so you can make sure the baby isn’t too warm or too cold, and they can also be worn with the arms free, too, if your baby doesn’t want to be totally swaddled.

Between these and all of the various other bits and pieces we’ve acquired over the last couple of weeks, I actually think we’re pretty sorted for baby clothes now, so we’re really just waiting for the furniture to arrive (and, oh yeah, we still have to buy some of the more boring stuff, like a mattress for the crib, etc), and then I can get on with the exciting – to me – job of organising everything. Yay!

Other than that, I don’t have much else to report: time for another nap, I think.