A week or two late writing this post, sat here post-hormonal breakdown with a bag of frozen vegetables on my feet, feeling what seems like constant baby hiccups in my tummy, it's safe to say that the last two weeks have been pretty uncomfortable.
Probably due to the heat that has graced the UK over the past couple of weeks, week 33 and 34 of pregnancy (and nearly 35) have been really very uncomfortable and possibly the worst yet. It's no surprise now that the countdown is down to single figures, but I honestly am really beginning to struggle physically and honestly, just want to meet my baby boy now.
Week 33 and 34 saw me feeling a little sorry for myself and if I'm being completely honest, the beginning stages of it were due to my weight gain. There's no denying that I've put on a lot of weight through the later stages of pregnancy and as normal and healthy as this is, for any girl that has ever suffered with insecurities, it's difficult. I felt pretty down about it which has made me feel really selfish, but it's not easy, especially when dressing for the heat, when dressing for a cool day is a hard enough challenge.
Along with the weight gain, bump has had what I imagine will be one of his final growth spurts. Now beginning to drop, it's pretty uncomfortable and so oversized pyjamas and top knots have been my best friend. When I'm not working, my time mostly consists of me doing nothing, with a bag of ice on my ever swollen feet. My energy levels are at an all time low with exhaustion creeping back up on me. It's a different kind of exhaustion from what I've experienced in past weeks, in that I don't necessarily want to sleep, I just don't want to do anything. Even now, sat here with my feet elevated, writing a blog post seems like such hard work, which is another thing that's making me feel a little stressed.
I've never been the girl with the most hectic of lifestyles, but I do like to keep myself busy blogging daily, working full time whilst also keeping up with my social life and getting out and about, which is seriously frustrating when you haven't got any get up and go and can't be on your feet for more than an hour without feeling seriously uncomfortable putting serious pressure on your already severely swollen cankles ankles. I can't seem to find the energy to do even the simplest of tasks and currently, I'm dreading the thought of even getting dressed and driving round to the post office, which is a mere two minutes away.
This post is probably coming across as extremely negative, but I'm so uncomfortable and can't portray the last couple of weeks in any other way, another example of how pregnancy isn't an easy ride. I've realised that I'm probably putting a little bit too much pressure on myself, which is most likely, although I don't want to admit it, causing me unnecessary stress which isn't good for neither baby or me.
I've begun to listen to my body more now, as it's become a little more real that after a day of feeling tired, swollen and stressed, I could actually go into labour- and how exhausting would that be?
It all began to feel that little more real, when mid week 34, I had an unplanned trip to the labour ward. After a long day on my feet, experiencing some pressure and pains in my pelvic area, I noticed a little bit of bleeding when I popped to the loo, which although I was pretty calm about at the time, in hindsight, is pretty terrifying. I got in contact with the my GP and the hospital and was instructed to head to the labour ward immediately, where I was hooked up to monitors to check baby was ok, given plenty of fluids to bring my pulse rate down, monitored for contractions and given an internal examination which was the moment I guess I started to lose all dignity where having a baby is concerned.
Thankfully, everything was absolutely perfect, baby was happy and healthy and my womb was still shut. There were no signs of contractions and the blood that I experienced could have just been caused from the pressure on my pelvis, but even now, we're unsure why, it's just one of those things I guess. I had a slight bladder infection, which is being treated with antibiotics at the moment so that it's cleared up for when I'm full term, but other than that, all was/is well. This experience made me realise that baby is actually starting to make his little journey down to his welcoming into the world and forced me into relaxing a little bit (and packing my hospital bag!)
Now well into week 35 of pregnancy, I'm well aware that I'm no longer able to do the things I could before and have realised that doing nothing is allowed when you're pregnant, when you need to wee- you need to wee and quite frankly, who cares if I wear my most horrendous yet comfortable outfit all week? Trivial things and jobs that don't really need to get done can wait- the main thing is mine and my baby boys health isn't compromised and if that means me doing absolutely nothing but eating Cheese straight from the fridge and watching the entire contents of Netflix with a bag of frozen vegetables on my feet until he shows his face, then that's what I'm going to do.
Oh, and another thing- don't Google Image anything to do with giving birth in the weeks leading up to your turn(!)
