37 weeks

It has been a while since my last post. Currently at 37 weeks.. time has just gone past so quickly. I finally finished up at work last Friday. So that gives me about 3 weeks til my due date. However, now at 37 weeks, my baby is considered at full term, so the baby could arrive anytime now.

So what has been happening the past couple of weeks? I was still going on with Preggi Bellies, very busy with work, celebrated Grumpy's 31st birthday, to sum it all up, it was very full-on. I was so exhausted at 35 weeks, suddenly I was getting a bit of pelvic pain, I had a bit of cramping with the growing belly.. oh my, I did not feel as comfortable as I used to be. it The belly grew quite big in the recent two weeks. Grumpy decided it was time for me to slow down, so I stopped my Preggi Bellies program, and have started seeing an osteopath for the pelvic pain. Apparently, it is very common now as my body is prepping for labour. The baby's kicks and movements are quite strong these days, it took me a while to adjust.

Suddenly going to work in the mornings just required soooo much effort. I would wake up, have a quick brekkie, take a shower, get changed, put on some make up, and by the time I am ready to step out the house, I am already dead tired!! Oh and I was dreading public transport more than ever, the extremely packed trains just made me a bit cray cray. I started taking earlier trains to avoid the crowd, and with going home, I took the train from Flinders Street instead of my usual station Parliament, which added an extra 15-20 mins to my usual journey (going one big round in the city loop) just so I could secure a seat.

During the month of May, every Thursday night from 7pm-9pm we attended antenatal classes at the hospital. It was very good, and I highly recommend it to friends who are expecting their first baby. Grumpy was very attentive at classes, and it definitely opened up his eyes a bit more, in terms of playing the role of a support partner. We were warned at the start of the class, that labour is not a sprint, it is a marathon! These classes are usually conducted by midwives, and we were lucky because we had such an amazing team of educators (very experienced midwives) and they taught us about what to expect with labour, drugs, procedures, what happens once the baby is born, breastfeeding etc. At the end of the classes, they make it sound like having a baby is the most rewarding experience ever! I swear, Grumpy always goes home feeling very confident after these antenatal classes (which can be a bit of a worry..? haha)

The hospital bag is nearly done. We have 3 categories to prepare:

(a) Things for me - the mum-to-be, such as clothes, toiletries, camera, etc

(b) Things for baby - romper suits, nappies, wipes, singlets etc

(c) Snacks and drinks for myself and Grumpy (especially if labour is going to be long - need to keep the energy levels up). We were recommended to pack sports drinks, nuts and dried fruit. I delegated this task to Grumpy. I checked the bag this morning, I found some sports drinks.... and..... two cups of instant noodles, one bag of Picnic chocolate and a bag of honey flavoured popcorn. He also left this bag unattended one night, and of course... the dog helped himself to the bag of popcorn, and also took out one cup of instant noodle from the bag. But lucky, the dog did not open the cup of noodles. Or eat the chocolates. Oh dear. These two!

In terms of finishing work, I had mixed feelings. A bit sad, because I will miss going in to the city, I have been enjoying the work I have been doing lately, etc.. but on the flip side, I am quite happy to be able to stay home and get some rest before the bub arrives.

Work was very nice, I will miss the team. I had a nice farewell lunch organised, and I got this OiOi nappy bag as a farewell present.

To finish this post, here is a picture of me at my last day at work for the rest of this year!