PREGNANCY - MONTH EIGHT (WEEK 34)

Aren't people nice? Took my car in for its MOT and service this week - and the lovely lady at Volkswagen had obviously clocked my bump, and when I went to pick my car up - she handed over a bottle of (not cheap) champagne to wish me luck! How lovely - was really surprised. NB - car is now also fully equipped with car seat and base, generously donated by my best friend. Baby stuff gradually infiltrating all our space!

Had to pop back into work too, to tie up a few loose ends and have an appraisal. After the unusual circumstances of leaving after a mammoth shift on Royal Wedding day last week, I was given a Good Luck card and gift voucher from everyone, which was also lovely. Didn't feel remotely strange to walking out of the building for who knows how long - I think I'm definitely ready to put my feet up for a few weeks now.

Been busy though - done all sorts of bits and bobs like sorting my car, eye test, ante-natal checkups (all good), last ante-natal class, breastfeeding class etc,  so it's not exactly felt like a week off. 

DP and I also did a tour of the Birth Centre and Labour ward at the hospital where we'll be having the Little Monkey. I thought I'd pretty much made up my mind about all that - I thought  I was all set for the Birth Centre. But when it came to it, I felt much more comfortable in the Labour ward. The rooms reminded me of a Travelodge - albeit with plenty of amenities and all the pain relief/operating theatre closer to hand. The Labour ward has one birthing pool available (so long as there are enough midwives to monitor it), so I could hopefully still use that. The Birth Centre just seemed a bit older, more 'hippy', and nothing like a 'home from home' they bill it as. So I think for the first one, I'll be much happier in more of a hospital environment - not that it felt too 'hospitally'.

Annoyingly, the  midwife showing us round was giving us conflicting information to things we'd been told by the midwife at our ante-natal classes (all from the same hospital) - about things like which ward I'd be on after the birth. I got quite frustrated and angry at what seems to be emerging as a pattern of no one really knowing what's going on, and constant conflicting information from within the same NHS trust.

I'm also getting a bit wound up by the constant negative messages from people like my GP. Things like "oh, you'll feel like a whale soon" and "no one's birth ever goes to plan". Not true. I've had plenty of friends whose births have - and, while it may change in my last month, I'm constantly surprised by how NOT big I feel at the moment. I know I have to keep realistic about everything that might or might not happen at the end of my pregnancy and during labour/birth - and I am - but a few positive messages wouldn't go amiss...

PREGNANCY - MONTH EIGHT (WEEK 33)

I have finished work. A very odd feeling, especially as my last day was the Royal Wedding, and as a journalist it was one of the busiest days EVER. And most of my colleagues were out of the office reporting from location, so when I finally left there wasn't really anyone to say goodbye to (other than the two people I'm very good friends with at work, and I was seeing the following day anyway!).

 

My actual maternity leave doesn't start until May16th - the first two weeks are annual leave -  so perhaps that's why it doesn't really feel like I've left. I thought I'd feel a bit more emotional after 10 years at the same place, and not having a clue when I'll be going back, but it really doesn't feel like anything at all. I have wondered whether I've taken time off too early, but with the long, anti-social hours that I work, I decided I could just do without the stress and enjoy as much relaxation time as possible.

All my friends with kids say that's definitely the right thing to do. One of them has even sent me some books that I was planning to buy - and told me put my feet up and relax as much as possible. It really blew me away that she was so thoughtful - and I intend to do lots of reading and DVD watching in the 6-weeks or so until the Little Monkey puts in their appearance.

There is a sign that I am ready to finish work - a few pregnancy niggles are starting to creep in. Had quite painful and irritating piles in the last week (nice - but had them years ago quite severely so doesn't concern me too much). And more frequent disturbed nights sleeps from not being able to get comfortable, or the Little  Monkey giving me a right hammering as he/she decides to do an Irish jig in the middle of the night. But seeing as I'm so near the end I'm not surprised, and I'm also very grateful the little niggles have taken this long to appear. I know how lucky I am that they're so minor and not been throughout my pregnancy.

We've ordered and paid for the pram (Bugaboo Bee) finally. And we're still buying odds and sods - bottle stuff (although planning to exclusively breastfeed at the start), a few sleepsuits and baby-gros. Also picked up the car seat and base that we're borrowing from my best friend - so the car is now baby-ready! That also meant another brief visit to my parents - and they'd had another mooch around  Mothercare, and bought some hooded baby towels and bath stuff... stuff that I really wanted to buy myself, but of course I was grateful to them. Mum's done a great job of knitting a couple of cardigans too - a particularly lovely arun one (shame it will be the height of summer).

PREGNANCY - MONTH 8 (WEEK 32)

The Little Monkey is perfectly average. In a good way. I don't think there's any danger of any child of ours being 'average' once they're out - but for now, I'm happy if all the measurements, positions etc are as average and 'normal' as can be.

Had a precautionary 32 weeks scan to check the position of the placenta, which has moved up so that's good. And the sonographer told us the Little Monkey is - going by the measurements - weighing around 4lb. Given that there are still eight weeks to go, and from now  on it may well put on half a pound a week, it could be a biggun'. Given The Little Monkey's Dad though, that's no great surprise! No picture this time - too big and not in the right position to be especially photogenic.

32 week ante-natal check up at my doctors (with a locum) also went fine. No concerns. So all looking good. And we went to our first ante-natal class together this week. I would say it was definitely useful to be able to ask seemingly 'stupid' questions, and learn a bit more about the actual biology of what will happen through labour and birth. I felt a bit uncomfortable though - everyone was a bit quiet and nervy. There were only four couples there, and I can't really see me making any new Yummy Mummy friends from them. But DP tells me it was "fascinating" and really helpful and useful for him, which makes it really worthwhile for both of us.

Can't believe I only have one week left at work (and a full week at that - no Bank Holidays off for me). One of the things I think I'll miss is the office being a bit of a sanctuary away from constant 'baby stuff'. My pregnancy isn't discussed all that much at work - which is fine by me. Sometimes a bit odd when people are discussing my colleague's impending arrival of twins, and I'm not brought into the conversation, but I get all the attention I need from DP and family - so it doesn't really bother me. And I can quite understand how TWO babies in one go is far more fascinating than a "run-of-the-mill" (to them, certainly not to me) pregnancy.

Still reflecting on how it's all gone so far. Aside from the anxiety and rhinitis that I mentioned last week, the other things that have not really impressed me is my HORRIBLE outie tummy button, and very dark, hairy belly. Hopefully they will both disappear not long after I've had the Little Monkey. 

And if there's one thing I regret, it's that I've not been able to relax and enjoy my pregnancy as much as I'd like. Now that I'm on the home straight, I'm going to really try to enjoy these final weeks - especially once I'm on maternity leave. I'm going to try and see it as a bit of a holiday - before all the hard work really starts...