40 weeks

That number always seemed completely unbelievable, and now it is here it still seems completely unbelievable!
People keep asking me if I am nervous or excited & I don't really know how to reply, cos I'm not sure how I feel.
It is something we have prayed, dreamed & hoped about for so long that the reality of it has not yet even hit. The pregnancy has keep my mind pre-occupied because of all the changes & strange things happening to my body.
Now at the culmination of it all, at times I do wonder "What have we done?" For us it was such a conscious decision to go ahead & have a baby, in fact we have moved half-way round the world to do so -- to me it seems much more a decision than a natural process.
I suppose this also is strange for me because I tend to be the type of person who doesn't think too hard about a decision until after it's too late!
Anyway that's one side of my brain -- the other side is looking forward to meeting this little one & seeing what she looks like, holding her in our arms & then hopefully doing a decent job parenting her! :-)
This is what I look like with my stomach blown up like a huge balloon at 39 weeks.

39 weeks

So now at pretty close to 40 weeks, we have just had a meeting at Kaitaia hospital with the obstetrician.

And the outcome is that we will not be able to have the baby in Kaitaia because it is an IVF baby. 

Also because of that they won't take the risk of her being overdue, so they have booked us in for an induction on Monday 26th Nov in Whangarei hospital.

Even if I go into labour naturally before then we will have to travel to Whangarei for the birth. 

Cant say I'm really looking forward to the extra travel or that we have only found out about this now, but that is the way it is. I would really have liked to have the baby here in our own town & with the people we know, just up the road from our house...

So I wonder where I will be & what I will be doing this time next week -- seems strange to try & imagine!  Life will change SO dramatically in such a short amount of time!

I think the phrase for the next few weeks will be "Keep calm & carry on." :-)

40 weeks

6 weeks to go!

Starting to get a little nervous now as the countdown begins for real!  I have been keeping mainly well, although I have slowly been getting slower & slower & less and less energy.  I decided to finish school 2 weeks out from the end of term because of my tiredness & losing focus on actually teaching!  It was a good move & my body benefited from it, especially with the build up to camp & then the week on camp.  It was a bit of a struggle & I really missed being so involved with camp, in fact I found it rather boring & not as exciting as usual because I didn't spend a lot of time with the kids -- the part I really enjoy!  The past week or so, she has been moving A LOT -- which you can see on the video below, but also I have found it almost impossible to sleep.

We went to the midwife today & she told me that the baby is not in the right position -- her head is down, so she is not breech, but her back is at my back, which is not ideal.  So she wants me to get her to move, so I have to spend 10 minutes twice a day on my hands & knees (which is actually really sore) to try & get her to come around. I am hoping this may ease my un-comfortableness & help me to sleep better.  Apparently she still has quite a bit of room to move, so this shouldn't be a problem.  She is at the moment still quite a small baby -- I have only gained about 8-9kg since I started going to the midwife at week 12.
I have started thinking about getting nappies & other things sorted for her & got a list of things to try to purchase or get somehow.  Jon is also working hard on the babies room.  It actually is starting to become an imminent event on our horizon...and we can't wait to meet her :-)

6 weeks to go!

Last third...

Now being over 25 weeks, it means I am now about to enter the third trimester!
I am feeling pretty good & heaps of people tell me I am glowing -- whatever that means & not that I can see it myself!!
Tiredness is really my best friend at the moment, along with not sleeping all that well -- I seem to wake myself up every time I have to turn my wine-barrel body over!  I feel as though I have swallowed a gold-fish bowl & there is a small little "Dora the Explorer" roaming around in there!
I am definitely getting bigger & bigger (it seems each day!) and it is starting to get uncomfortable -- such as getting up out of the chair, or thinking I will just run & grab something.  Yeah funny joke! O well I guess I have bigger to go & am just having to learn to slow down a little.

She is very active & kicks A LOT!  I am wondering if she will be like me & walking at 8-9 months!! Jon went to listen to her heartbeat the other day (with a toilet roll inner to his ear) and got a good boot for his efforts -- he said it was rather loud!  

The babies room & things to be bought have kinda started, but not to much extent.  I think I will really kick into this once I finish school & my days off start in earnest.  Rather looking forward to that :-)

Last third...