Here is the 29 weeks bump photo:
I feel like there is a big difference between last week's bump and this week's. I definitely feel a lot bigger and have gotten to the point where it is practically impossible to get comfortable unless I am lying on the couch or in bed. I spend all day at work fidgeting and trying to find a comfortable position, its not easy. I've ended up brining in a cushion to place behind my lower back and that seems to be helping a bit.
I'm also feeling so tired! No matter how much I sleep I just can't seem to feel rested! I am also waking up fairly often most nights (more than I was before) so that isn't helping. Growing a human being is hard work!
So the big happening in the past week was our baby shower on Saturday. It was a wonderful (granted also exhausting) day. I was so touched by the huge number of family and friends that were able to be there to celebrate with us, especially those who travelled from afar to join us. I am also beyond grateful to the many people who helped us on the day (and they days leading up to it). We could not, I repeat COULD NOT, have gotten through the day without these amazing helpers.
The day was beautiful, after some fear early in the week that it was going to be raining and cold we had a beautiful sunny day. It was nice because it meant people could venture outside (which was important as there was no way we would have fitted everyone inside the house).
We were also spoilt with the most amazing and thoughtful gifts. We got enough vouchers and cash that we can almost cover the entire cost of our pram and capsule of choice (which has taken such a weight off, so thank you all) and some beautiful and practical items.
Here are some photos of the gifts, our little girl is very lucky to have such amazing people in her life:
Here we have the softest owl tummy time/snuggles! I actually wouldn't mind putting it in my bed to cuddle up to! On top of Mr Owl we have a beautiful soft blanket, that again I want to put in my bed!
This shelf is now chock full of books and cuddly friends for Lil Dash. There is also our signature bear, which has some really lovely messages from our amazing friends and family.
Top shelf here with the stackable, educational boxes, a beautiful frame (which we have already decided will hold the first photo take of Bio Mum, Lil Dash and I together), Eeyore (who I bought ages ago), some great books, beautiful box and half cut off on the right is monkey who also belonged to Bio Mum's Mum and Aunty (monkey is a little creepy, but special).
Here we have some more gorgeous toys for Bub, along with a hooded towel (pink hippo, so cute!) and the 'nappy cake' put together by my dear friend Sanjana and her husband Bal. This thing is incredible! Its all nappies with all sorts of other goodies in there too. I love it so much I haven't been able to bring myself to open it yet!
Above is a handmade quilt we got. It's just beautiful. I'll have to take some photos of it unfolded to show of!
In addition to the above gifts we also scored lots of clothes, a box of nappies (so useful), bibs, face washers, wraps and blankets, a baby bjorn (no idea how to spell that one!) carrier, a musical mat for baby to bounce on when in the jolly jumper, blocks, books, more toys, bath goodies and so much more. Really people went above and beyond!
Sunday was spent recovering and looking through all the gifts as we put them into Lil Dash's room. I love her room so much, I keep just wandering in there and looking around (so does Bio Mum and Moo).
Monday we hit 29 weeks and below is the info huggies.com.au emailed me about Bub this week:
Your baby has gained 300-400 grams this week. This is one of the reasons why so much of its time is spent sleeping; to conserve energy and lay down its fat stores.
- Your baby weighs around 1.4 kilograms this week but is still less than half the weight it will be at birth. There is lots of fat still being accumulated under its skin and if it were born now would look very thin with long limbs.
- Your baby’s movements will probably peak in the month from weeks 26-30. There is still room for complete body movements and changes of position now, before quarters get too cramped inside your uterus.
- Your baby’s airways are further maturing, with the little tree like structures – the bronchioles and alveoli increasing in number. It takes up to eight years for a child’s respiratory system to mature fully so these are still early days.
- Your baby’s chances of survival, if it were born early are increasing with every week which passes. It may not even need respiratory support if you delivered this week.
- It may be difficult for your midwife or doctor to say what position your baby is lying in this week. A bony head can easily be confused with a round bottom and your baby may be so mobile, it makes it hard to say with certainty which way it is facing.
Last night we had ante natal class numero duo and it was Physio night! I LOVED physio night! The Physio was lovely and seemed very knowledgeable, plus she kept using me as her demo person for all the positions and massage, which was awesome! Bio Mum was also very good at the positions and massage too! I have me one great birth partner!
The night was great, she talked about pain management strategies like breathing, heat/ice, TENS machine, positioning, massage, etc. It was interesting actually, hearing all these options made me a bit keener to try labour drug free, when previously I was all for loading up the epidural as we walked into the hospital! (I am still in no way against an epidural, but I think I'll give my body a chance to do its thing before leaping for one.) Prior to class last night there was a brief talk about epidurals and spinal blocks, which was pretty interesting. It was good to actually see some begin done and to get a better idea of what is involved. I feel as though now if I ask for one, I'll be making an informed choice to do so.
Anyway, back to Physio night! The best past of the night was the positioning/massage practical activity where we got to try out some positions that we could use in stage 1 labour. Like I said above, I got to be demo person which meant I got the professional massage! I have to say I was a fan of all the positions, but I especially loved the position where I got to straddle a chair (with a pillow under my head/arms) and the support person (first Physio lady and then Bio Mum) rubbed my back. It was absolute heaven. I've told Bio Mum we much practice these positions a LOT before Lil Dash is born.
We also did some breathing, which was kind of embarrassing, but good to know! S.O.S or Sigh Out Slowly breathing was what was recommended and seems pretty good to me. I'll have to try using it to settle myself to sleep (this was recommended by the Physio).
We also talked about some positions for second stage labour (pushing and delivering the baby) and the Physio talked us through why we might be asked to use a specific position over others. It was pretty interesting. I guess you get so used to the image of labour you see in the movies and on TV of the woman lying on her back on a bed. Funnily enough, this is not the only way to go about it, in fact it might not even be the best way depending on the woman.
After last night I feel better prepared for this whole labour deal.
Next week is our last session and we'll be back with our lovely midwife (I'll miss Physio lady) to talk about drugs! I'm sure there will be other stuff discussed too.
Off to Melbourne tonight to spend the weekend with the family. Should be good, but busy as I try to fit everything in! I am looking forward to spending time with Mum and my sister, but also sad as this will be my last trip down until after Bub makes her appearance. I just hope that Mum is ok until then and that I get to spend lots more time with her next year (I especially hope that she gets to spend lots of time with Bub as well).
Oh and here is the hydrangea, still going strong:
Appointment with Dr B next week and we hit 30 weeks! Yikes! This is going so fast!
I'll be updating next week so until then have fun and enjoy!
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