Week 30: I love being pregnant!

Okay I know I sound a bit Jekyll & Hyde here because I have moaned in so many other posts about feeling miserable in pregnancy. BUT! This week has been really brilliant. I feel great, I have a good appetite, I am sleeping really well, I feel strangely more agile, I am positive and Bean is kicking lots. 

I would lie down and watch my whole belly wobble as he moves about. He is like a little Loch Ness monster. His body parts would occasionally push or grind hard against my abdominal wall so I can feel the growing tension and touch his little hard foot or head or hand. Then he submerges deep into the womb and the surface of my belly becomes soft again. It's really fun for me and R, although R does find touching the "hard, stony" bits of him a bit weird and somewhat gross. 

We attended an all-day antenatal workshop at the hospital yesterday. It was delivered by one of the midwives in the labour ward and I thought she did an excellent presentation. We talked through the labour and delivery process, pain relief options, breastfeeding and the best part was getting a tour of the labour ward and watching them wash a 24-hour old baby. Oh yes, we also learnt about poo colours. It should start off black like tar or Marmite, then become orangey and then dark yellow. Lovely! 

Because the midwife was so good at explaining what to expect and what we should do when we are in labour, I am feeling a lot more confident and mentally prepared for it. I found the explanation of how the cervix would open during birth particularly helpful because before that, although I knew you are supposed to dilate to 10cm before you should push your baby out, I didn't know what that really means. 

Basically, with each contraction, the uterine muscles shorten, which gradually pulls back the cervix so it will eventually fit over the head of the baby. It's a bit like putting on a turtleneck jumper. It will stretch so that your head can go through the hole. There is no point pushing when the hole is not wide enough because the baby will not go through and you will just tire yourself out. 

Knowledge rocks!

On Monday, we went to IKEA and got a carful of items for the house. We got a cot bed which Bean can sleep in till he's at least four, two wooden kitchen trolleys so we can move the dining table and chairs into the new dining room. 

And today we spent the whole day building everything. I'm pleased to announce that the nursery is looking fabulous! I just need to put up my cartoon wall decals and cotton bunting! Once I've done that I'll take some pictures and post them here. 

Oh! Another thing which really made my week was finding out that K has had her baby boy on Thursday. She had quite a straightforward delivery in the birthing pool with minimum pain relief and I am so over the moon for her. 

I'm a happy mummy this week!