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Jan 13, 2012

Week 38 – getting close

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How far along?: 38 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: I think about 10 kilos in total. The midwife weighed me at my appointment on Tuesday but she was quite willing to weigh me fully clothed and wearing my big winter boots. I insisted on taking them off beforehand, but as this is only the second time she’s weighed me throughout the pregnancy, it all seems a little arbitrary anyway.

Stretch marks?: Not sure if there are more of them or if they’re just widening and darkening and merging together.

Sleep: Sleep? Really? Some people sleep through the night? That would be nice. What with Little O waking twice or thrice a night over the past couple of weeks and my aches and pains (including a sharp burning sensation in my lower back on Tuesday night that woke me up and left me unable to catch my breath), I’ve not really been getting too much sleep. Enjoy as much sleep as possible before the baby comes? Huh, what nonsense…

Best moment this week: The fun that Little O and I have had when I pick him up from preschool. I think that we are both a little calmer now when I pick him up: he’s at preschool for about an hour less a day (in the Stockholm area, once you are on maternity leave for a second child, your first goes down to part-time at preschool, which works out at up to 30 hours a week) and I am not working and so am not hurrying from the office, still fielding calls and replying to emails and jumping on the bus to get to the preschool in time.

Worst moment this week: The pain I experienced on Tuesday night…

Movement: There’s still a lot of movement from gyermek but it does feel more subdued than before – not so much space for the little one now!

Belly button in or out?: Out – bleurgh…

What I miss: A good night’s sleep (although that’s not going to change for a long time!) and being able to get anywhere at any kind of speed.

What I am looking forward to: Being able to return to the hairdressers and get my hair highlighted again. Had not realised how grey I was going until now… I guess I should just count myself lucky though, as my mum started to go grey while still in her late teens.

Milestones: Well, this is it, really. On Tuesday, I had my last pre-due date midwife appointment. My next one is booked for 31 January (6 days after they calculate that I am due) and if I’m still pregnant then, we’ll be discussing when they want to induce me (at 42+0 weeks here).

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Dec 30, 2011

Week 36 – So near, yet so far…

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Photo © English Mamma

How far along?: 36 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: Who knows! What I do know is that I feel huge and only getting bigger each day…

Stretch marks?: Oh yes, many. Luckily, I cannot see them too often as they’re hidden away down underneath my belly.

Sleep: Random. Some nights are good, others bad. Generally, the good nights follow on from a bad night, because I am exhausted and just crash out.

Best moment this week: Husband and Little O returning from their extended break down in southern Sweden.

Worst moment this week: The usual aches and pains that come in these weeks and the point on Tuesday when I thought I was about to go into labour all alone in the apartment. That was a scary moment.

Movement: Oh, oh, yes. This is one very wriggly little baby, even in that cramped space.

Belly button in or out?: Almost fully out. Let’s say no more about it.

What I miss: Oh so many things, but mainly being able to move as freely as I could before. I am trying to walk as much as I can, but I am oh so slow these days.

What I am looking forward to: A fun New Year’s Eve night. We had originally planned just to spend the night in, but yesterday a friend arrived on our doorstep to invite us to their place for the evening – lovely.

Milestones: Reaching “full term” (ie 37 weeks) in only a few days. According to Baby Centre, I can now give birth at any time. And it really feels like it.

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Dec 17, 2011

Week 34 – slow moving

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Photo © English Mamma

How far along?: 34 weeks and 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: Still fluctuating weight but no one else seems that concerned,s o I guess it is fine. That said, my colleagues all think I look enormous already and one of the preschool teachers asked during the week how many days over I was now. A little worrying as I still have six weeks to go – and six weeks with a lot of growth!

Stretch marks?: Depressingly, yes. But I’m back using the almond oil again, so hopefully I can keep an extra ones at bay!

Sleep: Less and less. Although part of that might be because of problems that are cropping up at work, rather than pregnancy.

Best moment this week: Christmas rather than pregnancy related. On the way to Little O’s preschool Christmas concert, three teenage girls started singing Jingle Bells in harmony on the bus – it felt like such a Christmassy moment. Then, the Christmas concert itself was just adorable. Little O did not contribute much – he spotted me immediately, ran to me and would not leave my side to rejoin his classmates, except to join in the clapping at the end of the songs. All the older children sang their hearts out and the littlies sat, stood, cried and laughed at the front of the stage and were just so very cute in their little costumes,

Worst moment this week: The problems at work… I only have a handful of days to go but there seem to be so many things that I need to fix, and every time I cross one item off the To Do list, five others arise.

Movement: Ohhhh, yes. The midwife has confirmed that gyermek is head down now and all I can feel are hiccups deep, deep down and a little foot that likes to kick, kick, kick on the same, same, same spot. We wonder if this means another active little one is on its way.

Belly button in or out?: Out. End of. Don’t want to think about it further. Bleurgh…

What I miss: Being able to bend down, crouch down, look down comfortably. Being able to eat without heartburn and/or acid reflux.

What I am looking forward to: Stopping work, sadly enough. I am just too tired and too emotional these days.

Milestones: Apparently, I have missed a few, and according to Baby Centre’s checklist, I should already have made my birth plan and packed my hospital bag. Oops…

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Dec 11, 2011

Week 33 – raspberry leaf tea time

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Photo © English Mamma

How far along? 33 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain/loss: I think I’ve put on about seven kilos but as I’ve said before, it’s all a little vague.

Stretch marks?: Thanks to the light over the full-length mirror having gone and having to use a table lamp on the floor, I can now see a lot of new stretch marks on the base of my bump – damn you, cruel uplighting!

Sleep: Not the best quality sleep these days. And Thursday night/Friday morning was interesting, to say the least… Little O has always been a great sleeper, but we had the single worst night with him. He woke at 00.45, shrieking. We bought him into our bed where he proceeded to start dozing off, then cough and wake up every ten minutes for the next three hours until Husband finally hit on the idea of a little bit of Calpol. Little O then crashed out in a heavy sleep until nearly 7am, but he lay starfished between us, his feet in my face and his head burrowing into Husband as we clung to the opposite edges of the bed…

Best moment this week: A Christmas get-together with friends yesterday afternoon – four little ones and a slightly bigger one running around and around till they exhausted themselves while we sat and chatted and ate. So much fun that we’ve decided to do it again soon.

Worst moment this week: Thursday night (see above)! A terrible shock for the parents of a good sleeper…

Movement: Yes, lots, and lots of hiccuping very low down. (Gyermek’s head is deep, deep down, according to the midwife; although I could have told her that already without having to be examined. The hiccups make me feel like gyermek could make an appearance any time now!)

Belly button in or out?: Too unpleasant to even think about. Luckily, it’s now disappeared into the no man’s land that is the bottom of the bump.

What I miss: Being able to bend over or bend down.

What I am looking forward to: The Christmas concert at Little O’s preschool on Thursday afternoon should be fun.

Milestones: Gyermek dropping into position is the biggest one that I can think of. Starting to feel a little more real now.

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Nov 20, 2011

Week 30 – fleeting sleep

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How far along? 30 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain/loss: Still quite confused about this – my weight seems to fluctuate by around a kilo from day to day.

Stretch marks?: I think I have an extra one or two but they are pretty low down. Also, I cannot really remember how many stretch marks I had from before and where they were exactly. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess!

Sleep: Oh, yes, sleep is great, when it happens. I don’t think I can remember the last full night of sleep that I got but I do remember this from being pregnant with Little O. Just par for the course!

Best moment this week: A fun playdate on Friday afternoon, playing silly games with Little O during the week, cuddles and kisses from him on a regular basis now.

Worst moment this week: At least the stress rash (which proved to be an allergic reaction) has died down. I don’t want to sound as if this pregnancy is tough or that I am struggling, but I will highlight cramp at night (and at times during the day) and SPD as the week’s worst moments.

Movement: Yes, still lots of movement. A bit of a tense moment during my last midwife appointment as gyermek was apparently sleeping soundly, meaning a much slower heart rate that initially concerned the midwife. But all was okay and with a little bit of prodding, gyermek turned more lively.

Belly button in or out?: Still half out – bleurgh… And it seems that I have a mole on what used to be the edge of my belly button that has now reappeared.

What I miss: The ease with which I used to be able to tie my shoe laces.

What I am looking forward to: Some quieter weeks in the run-up to Christmas.

Milestones: Around this time, gyermek should turn head down and it certainly feels that way from the kicks high up and the pressure on my bladder.

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Oct 29, 2011

Week 27 – spotty

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Photo © English Mamma

How far along? 27 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: I’m very confused as either my weight is fluctuating randomly or our bathroom scales are highly inaccurate. The midwife calculates that I’ve put on about five kilos (and was happy with that) but then again I was fully clothed (minus shoes) when she weighed me.

Stretch marks?: None yet, but seeing as I cannot see my previous set, and as I guess that’s where more will arrive, it’s hard to tell really.

Sleep: The old cramping in my legs has started again – ow-wweeeeeeee. Around 4am this morning, I woke in a panic, shouting instructions to Husband on what he should do (“Foot, cramp! Pull my foot! Now my leg! No, the calf, the calf! My foot!”), which is really when our communication issues arise, him being half asleep and screamed at in not even his second but third language – poor man… And the cramps started in the middle of a horrid nightmare, so I was WIDE awake by the time we’d sorted out my leg. Off to the pharmacy this afternoon to purchase magnesium tablets.

Best moment this week: Leaving work on Friday afternoon! (See below)

Worst moment this week: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at work this week – incredibly busy week at work, full of timelines and deadlines and stress. My face has broken out in a delightful stress rash that lingers still. I’m all itchy and lumpy and bleurgh…

Movement: Yes, lots, and now clearly visible externally. I have no idea what is going on in there but I think we have another active one on our hands!

Belly button in or out?: Urgh, half out.

What I miss: A ginormous glass of red wine on a Friday evening…

What I am looking forward to: Calmer weeks at work from now until my last day!

Milestones: I haven’t had the chance to look at any of the “this week, your baby is…” type emails that I get, so I have no idea what milestones I should have been aware of. It felt on Friday afternoon that getting through this week was a milestone enough…!

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Sep 13, 2011

The halfway point

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Photo © English Mamma

How far along? 20 weeks and 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: Just weighed myself and have put on about three kilos (eek!) but I do have an excuse: we’ve just returned from two weeks in the UK and that always involves an extra kilo or so!

Stretch marks?: I don’t think there is anything new so far but the problem area is now out of my sight (and therefore out of mind!).

Sleep: Well, I’m firmly into the second trimester now and although I don’t need extra daytime sleep any more (although it would be nice!), I am not feeling as energetic as I did at this stage when I was pregnant with Little O.

Best moment this week: Actually, and sad as this may seem, it was returning home on Sunday and sleeping in our own bed again!

Worst moment this week: Confirmation of the bad news about a family member that we had been anticipating.

Movement: Some movement from time to time, but I am sure that Little O moved far more than this at this stage, but maybe I am wrong… I’m trying to calm myself that this doesn’t mean that anything is wrong, just that this little bean is not as active as Little O (and they could not be more so!).

Belly button in or out?: Still in but getting dangerously close to popping out (bleurgh!).

What I miss: Walking anywhere at any type of speed.

What I am looking forward to: The next few days with Little O. I’m using up my maternity leave these three weeks, so Little O is home from preschool and we’re spending some fun times together. It feels like we’re catching up on the past couple of months when I was so tired from early pregnancy that we could not play properly together.

Milestones: Reaching the halfway point of this pregnancy.

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Jan 3, 2011

2010 review

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To celebrate the new year, I thought I’d take a quick look back at 2010, month by month.

January: I got itchy feet. Just knowing that I only had a couple of months left in which I could travel but not really enough time to do so, made me want to get the hell out of Sweden and go abroad. I also discovered the joy of the Mother-to-be treatment at Centralbadet (bliss!) and the perils of eating spicy Thai curry when five months pregnant.

February: We ordered our pram. I started to walk like John Wayne. My midwife became convinced that my job was going to cause me stress – little did she know that the stressful moments are what make my job. And I discovered just how hard it was to understand the in and outs of the parental benefit system here in Sweden.

March: I found out that yoga, Baby O and I did not a good combination make. I tried everything to combat the dreaded stretch marks. I lost sight of my feet. The T Family went skiing, and I slunk around the resort feeling sorry for myself at not being able to join in. I listed ten things that people do not tell you before you become pregnant. I discarded Rennies in favour of Gaviscon in an attempt to stop the heartburn and acid reflux.

April: I read as many books as I could find to prepare myself for every eventuality. Baby O allegedly reached the size of a watermelon. I started packing my hospital bag (little knowing that it would not be used). I stopped working. My inner control freak came to the fore. I had a pregnancy photo session at home.

May: I celebrated the purchase of a new camera lens by setting up a photo blog. I decided that the imminent arrival of Baby O would not give me enough to do, so I signed up for the Day Zero Project. I tried different tactics to encourage Baby O into the world, including city walking and hill walking. And then, on 11 May, Baby O was born!

June: I struggled with breastfeeding. I heard about the Wonder Weeks. We travelled to England and I found blogging increasingly difficult to fit into the day.

July: I struggled further with breastfeeding and started Baby O on formula once a day. I fell in love with the Baby Björn carrier. And my blogging became even less frequent.

August: Baby O was subjected to his three-month injections. We encountered another Wonder Week. And I tried to win new friends at my Swedish mothers’ group.

September: I was such a bad blogger that I did not even log one post during the month of September…

October: We booked our flights to Thailand.

November: Baby O mastered “commando rolling”. And I promised to try harder to blog…

December: Hmmm, well, that was one promise out of the window, as in December I again failed to blog. However, I do have a batch of excuses to hand: O started “commando creeping”, then got sick, then started teething, then got sick again, then made me sick, then we went to England and he made my mum and grandmother sick, then a first tooth popped through and then we came home!

So, 2010 was a momentous year – the year that we went from being a couple to a little family. It is certainly a year that we will never forget, with ups and downs and ups again and full of happiness.

Happy 2011!

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