Monday, January 31, 2005
on a roll today
And finally, click here for some pictures of the nursery.
lisa only wobbles, but she don't fall down
Two more days until week 37:
For the first time in around 20 years, my boobs are no longer the first thing to enter a room.
lord of the dance
If you ever feel the need to do the inane kick count exercise (some books/midwives/doctors claim that after week 30 you should sit for 2 hours and count the number of movements you feel - ten movements is good, anything less is a reason to dial 999 and send yourself into a panic attack, even though there are several good reasons why you often don't feel movements for long periods of time - but I digress), put on the film "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". Pip kicked, squirmed, and wriggled nonstop. Literally, he didn't stop moving for more than three and a half hours, which is pretty impressive. Maybe it was the exciting music, battle sounds, or the big bowl of ice cream I consumed before the film started, but he was having a rip roarin' time in there.
This is my first day of maternity leave, and it's a bit strange. I feel like I'm taking a sick day, but I feel fine and I don't need to dial into work to check my email. I think it's difficult to suddenly switch gears from chaotic deadline mode to preparing for birth and trying to take it easy mode. Part of my brain still thinks it has a deadline to meet, another part thinks I should really be doing something much more productive than sit in my jammies and drink tea, and the remaining three brain cells are quite happy to sit on the sofa and catch up on all the DVDs I've been meaning to watch.
Decision made. Today, I shall be mostly sitting in comfy stretchy clothes and putting my feet up. Mmmmm.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
that's so reassuring
The following update landed in my inbox today:
Hello from BabyCentre!
At the end of this week, you're going to reach an important pregnancy milestone -- your baby will be considered full-term. That means you could give birth any day now.
*hack cough splutter* Noooooooo! I haven't stretched any of my bits yet, we still haven't assembled that chest of drawers, and I want to relax for at least two weeks before Pip arrives!
I'd better go home right now and get into a bubble bath, just in case.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
probably better without all the screaming
We had our hospital tour yesterday evening, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much better I felt after having seen the facilities. I am not keen on hospitals and women who had been on the tour before us didn't have positive things to say about ours. Luckily, I didn't think it was that bad at all. When you ring them to say that you're in labour and will be coming in soon, they reserve a room for you that's yours for the entire labour and delivery. It isn't exactly the Ritz, but I like the idea of having our own space that we can sort of "move into" once we get there. There is only one birthing pool at the moment (they're renovating; they usually have two) but hopefully I'll be able to use it if it's not occupied. The only bit that I wasn't too thrilled about was the postnatal ward. It's very much what I always picture hospital wards to be like: uncomfortable-looking single beds lining the walls, surrounded by dingy floral curtains for "privacy". Paul rightly pointed out that I probably won't care too much about our surroundings at that point, so it's not really a big deal in the larger scheme of things.
Our experience was probably also improved by the fact that both the delivery suite and postnatal ward were absolutely empty. The atmosphere was calm and we were able to walk around and look at all of the rooms. Last night would have been an excellent night to give birth. I will try to organise mine to occur during a quiet moment, although I think my due date falls somewhere near a full moon so it will likely be chaotic. Arrrrooooooooo!
Our antenatal class on Monday was good (we learned all about breastfeeding), had the tour yesterday, and it's my antenatal yoga class tonight. My bon voyage work lunch is on Friday and my inlaws are coming up Friday night for the weekend. Monday, it's time to start relaxing...while I still can. We have one more class on Monday night and yoga continues right up until the week before my due date, but it will be so lovely to not have to be at work. I feel like there are a million other things I want to do right now, and writing a software manual ain't one of them.
2 1/2 more days!
Monday, January 24, 2005
who replaced my feet with water balloons?
Oh yes, and one more thing I noticed over the past few days - my feet are very puffy and I now have cankles. My calves go straight into my puffy feet, they do not taper in at the ankle anymore. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
On the plus side, no sticky outy belly button yet and still no sign of stretch marks.
final countdown
My due date is one month from yesterday, ohmygawd. I had another "Pip outside of the womb" dream on Saturday night; this time, it was just after the birth (getting closer to dreaming about the actual birth, perhaps?) and whatever drug they had given me was wearing off. I remember feeling intense pain and yelling out that the meds had worn off, and that's about it. No, I don't know what that means either.
I had some lovely long chats with my sister in law this weekend during their visit, and I found it enormously helpful to hear about her experiences with childbirth. We have very similar attitudes about the whole thing and her no-nonsense approach to labour is a welcome change from the alarmist information I keep coming across in books and on pregnancy boards.
Things the books don't tell you #112: although I heard this one from friends, why don't any of the books tell you that you'll be incredibly windy/farty in the third trimester? They'll discuss hemorrhoids, diarrhea, mucus plugs, leaky boobs, and all sorts of potty-related hilarity, but I have never seen a book mention excessive farting. Well ladies, I'm here to tell you that you may fart a lot during pregnancy and it'll amuse your partner to no end. Also, my inner thighs have started hurting lately and I'm not sure what that's about. That one's not in the books either, but I think it's got to do with how I sit and sleep these days. I wrap my legs around my body pillow at night and during the day, I sit with my legs open like a teenage boy hogging up all the space on the bus - and I walk like John Wayne. That's right, I'm a windy waddling cowboy. Pregnancy isn't all images of Demi on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, you know.
Four and a half more working days to go. I can hardly contain myself. Truly.
Friday, January 21, 2005
i want one too!
Tosha came by with little Indigo today, and what a cutie pie he is. It's been a little while since I've held a newborn (I think Rebecca was the last baby born in our circle of friends, and I had a visit just before Christmas with my workmate Mandy's son who was almost four months old at the time), and it was really lovely to cuddle him and listen to his little gurgly noises.
I had a dream last night that Pip had been born (I never seem to dream about the actual birth - strange, that) and I had him propped up in front of me. I was cuddling him and singing to him, while he giggled and waved his arms about. This is a vast improvement from my usual Pip dreams (so far, every dream I've had about him involved me losing him or forgetting him in the car etc.) and I'm sure it's an indication of how impatient I'm getting. I want to see my little boy. Now, please. Well, maybe not right now - I'm at work - but soon.
Now I know what women mean when they say they get fed up with being pregnant at the end. I think it has to do with the lack of milestones in the last two months. Nothing much changes, nothing new develops (not including the whole labour/birth thing, of course), and it's mostly just a lot of waiting. I still love feeling Pip move around and I had a good giggle last night watching his hiccups make my belly twitch, but I am so eager to get Pip to the outside world for a good, long cuddle.
And speaking of hiccups, the little pulses in my belly tell me that someone's trying out his lungs again.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
pity party, table of one
I have another cold. This is the fourth cold I've had since September and I am so not amused. I've got so much work to do that I can't really take a day off to feel sorry for myself, and apparently there is not one single cold medication in this country that's safe during pregnancy. What, do they put crack in the decongestants here? Bah. Feh. Pleh.
Yoga class last night was really enjoyable, regardless of my stuffy head and sniffles. We stretched, relaxed, opened up our pelvises, did our pelvic floor exercises, did quick back rubs on each other, and had a fun time catching up with the girls from our antenatal class. One of the women is carrying twins and at 28ish weeks, was told by her doctor that she is at the equivalent to someone who is carrying a singleton at 35 weeks.
And here I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself, yeesh.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
what a very good boy
Just got back from a midwife appointment (all is well with me), and I'm very pleased to say that our son is in the ideal birth position - head down and with his back slightly towards my left side. Of course his head isn't engaged yet so he could still end up elsewhere, but it makes me feel better to know that my couch slouching hasn't made him go into a back-to-back position. Recently, I have been using my exercise ball and making sure that I'm sitting up/forwards while I'm at work and watching TV, so maybe this has helped. For those not in the know, sometimes labour can be longer and more difficult if the baby has its back to yours.
I have been enjoying the book _The Thinking Woman's Guide to Better Birth_ by Henci Goer (thank you, Lisa!). When it comes to labour and birth, I strongly believe that knowledge is power. Although I am trying to avoid "information overload" (and I've thrown most of my pregnancy books out of the window in frustration), I want to learn about the alternatives, procedures, and drugs that I might be given during labour. I want to be able to make informed decisions rather than just go along with whatever the doctor or midwife on duty tells me is best. For example, now I'm certain that I'd rather wait to go into labour naturally than have my waters broken or be given a drug like oxytocin - and why. I understand that sometimes intervention is unavoidable, but if the baby (or myself) isn't in distress, why force a natural, involuntary process? I am definitely not saying that I refuse to have a certain type of birth - I will go with whatever's best for the baby - but I think we do have the power to make choices and request alternatives.
Oh, lookit me getting all hippy like.
Monday, January 17, 2005
yay!
Just got a call from the college and the antenatal yoga class is all set to go. Hurrah! What's even more fun is that four women from my NCT class have signed up for yoga, so there will be many familiar faces.
Excellent. Hopefully I'll be able to get up off the floor at the end of each class.
yay/boo
Yay!: The Rosie (the maternity ward of Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge) are doing another scan teaching session next week - you can volunteer to get scanned by a doctor who is training other doctors on ultrasounds.
Boo!: You can only participate if you're a maximum of 34 weeks pregnant.
Yay!: I put the bear Stikarounds up on the walls and they look very sweet.
Boo!: Still haven't put together that chest of drawers yet, so nursery pictures are still pending.
Yay!: Antenatal yoga classes are starting up again now.
Boo!: They need three more people to sign up, or else the course won't go ahead. This happened last October as well. Feh.
Yay!: We don't have to attend the half day parentcraft class to get the hospital tour; we can simply show up for the tour at the end of the class.
Boo!: There is no "boo" about this one - yippie, we don't have to sit through a lecture about stuff we already know for four hours!!
Yay!: I have discovered the joy and comfort of sitting on an exercise ball (get yours now at Argos - £6.99 for the 65cm Reebok exercise ball!). It really does force you to sit up straight and it's great for my back.
Boo!: I feel like a bit of a dork when I sit on it and it makes a lot of rude noises when I move around.
Yay!: My appetite has returned!
Boo!: But that doesn't mean that I can eat a small pepperoni pizza for supper after a dim sum lunch and not feel like shite at 1.30 in the morning.
Yay!: 9 1/2 more working days to go!
Boo!: 9 1/2 more working days to go.
Friday, January 14, 2005
...and then there was one
Conchita, you lucky, lucky girl! It's Conchita's last day at work today and I am incredibly jealous. "Take me with you!" I begged her. It's going to be sad and lonely being the only pregnant lady in the office. *sigh*
What did we do before eBay? I saw some "Stikarounds" for the nursery in the JoJo Maman Bebe catalogue that I liked for £14.99. Well wouldn't you know it, I found the same decorations on eBay for £7.99! Lookee here:
I know, I know. They aren't very avant-garde, but I thought they were sweet (although I probably won't use the little flower stickers). I like that you can put them anywhere, so they don't need to march around the room in an orderly border; I am going to put them around the cot and on one other wall. All we need now is a shelf for books and knickknacks, and we're all set.
Lord help me, I am starting to sound like a demented new mother, aren't I?
Thursday, January 13, 2005
nursery bits
A few snaps of some of the nursery details. More pics to come when we finish decorating and assemble the chest of drawers that's still in a pile on the floor.
Here's one end of Pip's cot. The clown doll was made by Paul's Mum and the Tweety Bird was a present from her at Christmas, and Snoopy travelled back with us from California.
Here's where I can collapse after/during numerous late night feeds once Pip moves into this room.
I like Snoopy. That's the chimney sweep from our wedding that Paul's Mum made.
For Pip's first car ride home!
putting big red x's in my calendar
11 1/2 more working days to go...11 1/2 more working days to go...11 1/2 more working days to go...11 1/2 more working days to go...
As I sit here at my desk with my eyes half closed and feeling like I need another 8 hours of sleep, 11 1/2 more working days seems like an eternity. It's not just the fatigue, it's the inability to concentrate and the discomfort of sitting in front of a computer. Most women in my antenatal class have already stopped working, and all of them (but one) are a week or more behind me. Why did I decide to work until 36 1/2 weeks? Oh yes, I remember - I thought it wasn't going to be that bad and I didn't want to leave any work unfinished. I'm an eejit. There isn't really anything or anyone stopping me from leaving early, so I've no one to blame but myself. I'm not incapable of working, I'd just rather not right now, thanks. My last week at work should be relatively easy, which will help a bit, and I've opted to work from home the next two Mondays so I can work at my own pace...and take a nap at 3pm. Mmmm.
On an unrelated topic, I am having a really hard time finding nursery decorations (like borders or "stikarounds", curtain tiebacks, pictures, etc.) that don't make me cringe. I don't want Winnie the Pooh, Micky Mouse, Peter Rabbit, or any other television or book character trotting across the walls. I'm not big on "cartoony" decorations either, which seems to be the only other alternative. The problem is, we've gone for a fairly neutral colour for the bedding (click here to see the design we got) and the walls are a light blue/purple colour, so I don't think big bright decorations will go. The best designs I could find were from Mamas and Papas, but unfortunately we don't have a retail outlet in our county. Why not go with the matching border paper for your bedding range, you ask? Because I don't want a "theme" room (i.e. use one design for everything) either. I'm a picky cow, I know. Maybe I'll give eBay a go.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
delivery in 4-8 weeks
Criminy, I've hit the 34 week mark today. I fluctuate between feeling like I want to give birth NOW please, to I'd rather not think about it because it's making my tummy hurt. What's certain is that I am getting very impatient. Impatient with pregnancy discomforts, but mostly impatient about wanting to get Pip to the outside world and give him a good, long cuddle. Now if they could invent a way to do the latter without involving any pain on my part, that would be grand.
It does feel good to go into the nursery every day and see that it looks like a real baby's room now that we have added a few more decorative items. I love picking up and holding baby clothes knowing they will contain our little boy soon. It's still a bit surreal to make the mental leap from wriggling Pip inside me to our son ___ (what, you thought I'd reveal his name before the birth?) we can see, touch, and hear. It's odd to think that I'm going to be a mother - I am a mother already, really. I will be a mother on Mother's Day this year (Paul and I knew I was pregnant just before Father's Day last year, which was a nice touch), and I don't mind one bit that I will be sleep deprived and doing something low key for my birthday this year.
I will admit one thing, though. As soon as Pip is born, I'm gonna have an entire wheel of deep fried brie and I'm gonna sleep on my stomach.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
back to school, part 2
Last night's antenatal class was actually a lot more enjoyable than the first, thankfully. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that I got a lovely shoulder and back massage for part of the class from Paul. Mmmmm. Apparently we have more massage technique learning next week as well - yay! The people there are a lot of fun and more girly cackling and giggling ensued throughout. In a way, I don't think I fit in with the majority of the group, though. All the women were talking about how they didn't want their husbands at the "business end" of the birth and how squeamish the husbands will be. They joked about drawing a curtain around themselves from the neck down. One guy winced in horror when I explained to him what a "show" is, and was shocked to learn that he could cut the umbilical cord if he wanted to (I'm guessing he'll decline).
We talked about this when we got home and while Paul is not the squeamish type (he can watch those surgery programmes on Discovery Health without blinking), he said that he would find it difficult to see me in pain/distress. I'm grateful that Paul has never been the type to get grossed out by anything happening to me during pregnancy. It's weird enough to see the changes in your body yourself, let alone have your partner point them out with a loud "EWWWW!" He has never made me feel self conscious, and I have always taken comfort knowing that he will be my pillar of sanity during the birth. He wants to cut the cord. He will jump into the birthing pool with me if he can. Hell, he'd dive underwater and video the whole thing if he could. That is one of the many reasons why I love him so much. All together now - awwwww.
On a totally unrelated note, I apologise to the woman I interviewed today and probably frightened with my undulating belly. Throughout the interview, Pip decided to roll from one side to the other, making my belly contort into various interesting shapes. It's fun; it's sorta like a lava lamp.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
the baby made me do it
Pip said to me today, "Mummy, remember how you made me eat nothing but dry toast and a couple of hard boiled eggs on Friday? Well today, yer gettin' me a Whopper meal deal." So I did. And it was good. Really, really good. It's been such a strange day; I woke up at 11.15 this morning after ten hours of sleep, ate breakfast close to noon, and had my Whopper meal at 4. I suppose I won't want any supper until late tonight at this rate.
We have gone through a series of specific phases when it comes to buying baby things. The first phase was the initial buying bonanza after our detailed scan, and hooowheee was that fun! Then we went through a phase of "better not buy that in case someone else gets it for us" and we didn't buy anything else. Now we're going through the phase of "ohmygawd the baby's coming soon and there's stuff we need when we go to the hospital and as soon as we come home", and so we visited Babies R Us today. We bought some newborn-sized sleepsuits (we have tons of 3-6 month clothes, thankfully), a blanket to wrap Pip up in on the way home, a hat to keep his little noggin warm after he's born, a moses basket mattress and fitted sheets, and a completely unnecessary set of bedding that was only purchased because it was on sale and it was the pattern that I wanted. We still need quite a few things, but they can wait.
Man, I could go for another Whopper right now.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
but then some days, it's not all that bad
So today I feel pretty good, and even had the energy to muster up dinner for my friend Chiara (with a little help from Paul). I had a short nap this afternoon, but otherwise, I actually felt human today.
Best not to dwell on it too much and simply enjoy the moment with a nice slice of homemade tiramisu (courtesy of Chiara). Mmm yes.
Friday, January 07, 2005
some days, you don't glow
I'm tired. I've spent the afternoon and most of this evening desperately trying not to throw up. I've taken four Zantacs today and I still have heartburn. My bump hurts. My back hurts. My boobs hurt. I fell asleep for three hours this afternoon. I have three pairs of trousers that fit and they're all in the wash. I have three more weeks of work left.
Feh.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
back to school
We had our first NCT antenatal class last night, which was okay. Not great, but okay. The people there were really nice and some of them were downright hilarious, but the woman running the course isn't exactly the most dynamic person in the world. She has an incredibly annoying method of speech, that goes something along the lines of: "So if you have fear, then you have tension. Yeah? [5 second pause] And if you have tension, then you have pain. Yeah? [5 second pause] And then if you have pain, it creates more fear. Yeah? [5 second pause] Any questions?" It was slightly David Brent-esque, to be honest. Apparently she is a trainer by profession but Paul and I agreed that her people and presentation skills need improvement. She spoke to us like school children and seemed nervous and awkward.
Despite this, we did learn some interesting things and even the wanky "getting to know you" exercises forced upon us weren't too bad. What really interested me was the attitudes of the men - some of whom seemed to be there under duress. Most were quite happy to be in the course and eager to be fathers, but some seemed pessimistic about the concept. We were all asked what we were looking forward to as parents and one guy said "to know that it's not as terrifying as I think it will be". Which is fair enough, really. I can't claim that I'm entirely calm about being responsible for a little human life either. I think what surprised me was the surliness of some of the men. Some rather snide comments were made, which might have just been a blokey way of handling the discomfort of being in a room of pregnant women, but it took me aback. And made me appreciate the fact that I've got a fantastic husband.
One memorable moment was when the course leader pulled out a big bag containing items that represent all the "extras" pregnant women carry around with them. A sack of potatoes for the baby, a bag of pasta for the placenta, a two litre bottle of water for the extra blood and fluid, a litre bottle for the amniotic fluid, two bags of sugar for the uterus, and my personal favourite, the three litre bottle of cooking oil to represent the added fat stores. Mmmm nice. I liked the bloke who kept guessing that each item represented cream cakes.
It was really lovely to chat with a group of ladies who are all around the same stage as I am and who are all giving birth at my hospital. We compared notes about where to shop, swapped advice about maternity clothes and heartburn, and most conversations started with "do any of you ever experience this...?" I feel lucky because so many of my friends have given birth in the past year or two, and I think I've learned a lot of valuable lessons from them all. These women said that they didn't know anyone who was pregnant or had a child recently, and they were in the dark about most aspects of pregnancy and birth. Knowledge is power when it comes to pregnancy, if you ask me.
Hopefully this first session was an off night for our instructor and that we will learn something on this course. If anything, it's great to meet local people in our situation and get to know them better. And here's hoping one of the sessions involves learning (and specifically, being the recipient of) massage techniques.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
another perspective
Looking down at my belly at 33 weeks.
On the plus side, the big belly makes my thighs look so much trimmer.
doin' the wave
Here it is, my belly in all of its gyrating glory. Click here to view the mpeg (please select Save or right-click on this link and select Save Target As and download it to your PC to save my ever-dwindling bandwidth). It's definitely not the most dramatic Pip movement I've seen - there have been times it looks like he's batting a tennis ball around in there - but it's the only one I've caught with my digital camera. I'll try to get another clearer one at some point. Enjoy!
red alert!
I ran out of Zantac yesterday, which meant enduring a morning and afternoon of hideous heartburn. I stocked up on our grocery excursion last night and celebrated by popping two tablets when we got home. I know how to live, hooo yeah!
One of my pet peeves during Christmas was all the remarks about how much I could eat because I'm pregnant, and how lucky I was that I could indulge. I didn't bother going into details (like how I now have a tendency to throw up if I eat more than a toddler-sized portion of food) but I did inform people that the baby takes up a lot of room and I can't actually eat that much. On the plus side, no one lets me do anything anymore because of my delicate condition, which means I get a lot of tea and sympathy. Which is nice. Some women get really irked when they are treated like china dolls during pregnancy, but it doesn't bother me in the least. I'm tired. I can't stand for more than a few minutes at a time. You're offering a helping hand? Oh, yes please. Gratefully accepted.
I have just managed to drop a roasted nut down the front of my top. This wouldn't be such a bad thing normally, except I now have someone sitting across from me at work. Although he doesn't seem like an uptight kind of guy, I don't know if he'd appreciate it if I went diving down into my belly bra looking for a stray cashew. I'll fish it out in the car on the way home for lunch and freak out my husband instead.
There is no such thing as grace and decorum during pregnancy, I don't care who you are.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
never on a sunday
Every Sunday, without fail, Pip goes very quiet. He doesn't start shifting around until at least 11am and will barely give me a wiggle the entire day. Then, at around 11pm, he'll start tumbling and squirming, continuing right through the night. I was actually shaking my belly last Sunday just making sure all was well in there (he responded with a lethargic prod). So strange.
I managed to get an mpeg of my belly doing the wave yesterday. I'll post it on here soon, but will try to get another clearer one at some point. I have discovered that it's really hard to take a picture of my belly looking down (i.e. from my usual perspective). I either need a lens that can zoom out more, or longer arms. Maybe I'll get Paul to stand behind me and take a shot.
First day back at work after the holidays and I'm ready to take a nap. And it's not even lunchtime yet. *sigh*
Monday, January 03, 2005
he must not be done baking yet
I'm amazed that I'm still an innie. Seriously, I expected my belly button to pop out like a Butterball turkey timer weeks ago. While my belly button is undoubtedly smaller/flatter than before, I've still got an innie. Furthermore, it delights me to no end that I've not got any stretch marks. Okay, I've got some but they are white and hardly noticeable. In fact, I'm certain they are remnants from the bazillion times I've lost and gained weight over the years. Of course, I've still got at least 7 weeks to go so there's still time for belly button popping and angry red lines to appear. Here's hoping.
Congratulations to Tosha and Nik on the birth of their little boy Indigo J. He was born on New Year's Day, which should guarantee that no one will forget his birthday in the future. Congratulations also go to Lucie and David on the birth of Gracie on Dec. 30. That means 50% of our Pregnant Ladies Lunch Club are now no longer pregnant...which means more food for Conchita and me, woohoo! Pffft, like I can fit any extra food in there. Anyway, very exciting news all round for the festive season and I am looking forward to meeting the wee ones.
In other exciting news, I have discovered that I can sneeze comfortably if I lean to the right and bend my right leg up slightly. Additionally, if I take one Zantac in the morning and another before bed, I can go through the day heartburn-free. Really, it doesn't take much to make me happy these days. Speaking of things that make me happy and smiley, I have been loving the pictures of Rebecca on Heather's site lately. The falling asleep after lunch piccie from Jan. 2 is too cute for words. Go see.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
it's a bit like alien, but lower
I think Pip is trying to push his way out through my belly button today. Over the past couple of days, the kicks and thumps (and occasional squirms) I've been feeling have turned into strange undulations and some sort of foetal Cirque du Soliel. My belly moves in great waves and I feel little limbs stretching all over the place, looking for new spaces to stretch and poke. Yesterday I felt something wriggle below my right hip bone. I didn't even know the baby could reach down that far; I'm starting to think he's got a broom handle in there. He tosses and turns, stretches and shakes, and gets the hiccups at least twice a day. It doesn't hurt, but it's a downright weird sensation.
I pulled a muscle or did something painful to a delicate tendon the other day after a good sneeze. Now I cannot sneeze without wincing in pain, but what's worse is that when Pip lies on my right side, every movement he makes sends sharp pains down my side. I've started lying on my left side while watching TV and was even leaning towards the left while walking around Tesco today. I am the Leaning Tower of Lisa, thank you very much. Must get the osteopath to work on that muscle for me on Tuesday.
I am eager to give birth now. Partially to get it over with (I'm not scared per se, I'm just not really enjoying this waiting around for labour to start malarky) but mostly because I am so keen to see our little boy. Roll on February.