39 weeks pics

Reflecting while waiting

Anytime now or in the next week or two (if over due and need to be induced) my pregnancy will end and motherhood with a real live baby in arms will begin. So, what do I think about the last 39 weeks of pregnancy? What’s my experience been like? How do I feel about it all?

Well, overall I’m happy. I feel so blessed. Really I mean it. Totally amazed at how well things have gone so far. When people kept asking me how I am feeling throughout this pregnancy I kept telling them ‘good’ / ‘fine’. Which was sometimes interpreted to mean ‘ this is a walk in the park’ or ‘just a breeze’. But when considering the question I think my legal mind takes over and I assess the situation as how a ‘reasonable person’ in the situation may feel/act. I answered the questions considering how I think/read/heard pregnant woman would be feeling and not necessarily how I feel compared to pre-pregnancy self. Obviously I feel/look ‘different’ to the way I did pre-pregnancy. But, I do feel incredible blessed that things haven’t been too much of a surprise to me and have been going reasonably well.

I look at my huge belly and feel the baby move inside and am truly amazed at in awe of the human body. I am totally amazed that my body just took over and groomed a teeny tiny embryo into a fetus and then a real life baby. I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to experience pregnancy. I wasn’t sure that my previously seriously damaged back/limbs (which is now miraculously all good) could handle a pregnancy or even carry the weight of a baby. The uncomfortable and downright inconvenient things about pregnancy has still added to and made me appreciate the opportunity. The fact that ‘There is a baby in me’ is totally mind-boggling. The idea that I am a mother hasn’t even sunk in yet.

As I not-so patiently wait these last few days till the baby comes. The 30th of June is my father’s birthday and on the 1st of July MO and I will be having our 4th wedding anniversary, there is a chance that baby may come then. Hmm. If the baby is late, I have no one to blame but to accept that he takes after his dad MO who has a long standing reputation for late arrivals.

About a week to go?

I haven’t posted anything coz there really has not been much to say in the last 2 weeks.

This week….

I’ve successfully applied to defer my 9 hours and 30 minutes of exams for the end of next month. I’m not sure how I’ll be feeling by then but at least I don’t have to think about it right now. There have been people going on to me about how they went to work and sat at a office desk till they were about to pop and that I should be fine doing my exams for so many hours. They don’t really read this blog.

But my reply to them has been that:

• No one is going to pay me money for doing this - in fact I pay to do them. If you pay me by the hour may be I will consider it. Actually, no I won’t.
• You haven’t been through 2 University degrees nor have you been through Law school exams
• If sitting at a desk was all that was required of me to get distinctions in these exams, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But no, it requires more than sitting at a desk and reading blogs/checking emails.
• I’m not you. So please leave me alone.

Anyyyyyyyyyyyywaaaaaaay…

I’ve washed/ironed/organised all the baby clothes, blankets, stuff etc. MO put together the cot/cradle last week. The baby room is organised. The freezer is stacked with meals that are easy to prepare. The house is pretty much all dusted, vacuumed and organised. All that needs to be done is the car seat installed into the car and the carpets in the house professionally steam cleaned. I’m calling to book the steam cleaner guy in for this Friday.

I was asked close to a million times (that is what it felt like) on Sunday when the baby is due. My back was hurting quite a bit so I went home a bit early.

I’ve received a lot of comments from women I know/met about how:

my belly looks like it’s dropped/ has not dropped/The baby is coming in a few days/ I will be over-due/ I don’t look like I’ve put on enough weight (coming from ladies on the large side)/ I’m huge (un-married women or youth) / the baby is going to be tiny/ baby is going to be huge/ it’s going to be black/ it’s going to be white/ it’s going to be a girl (even when I said the ultrasound said it was boy)/ I look great and hence I’m one of the lucky women who has it all (what the heck? Just coz I don’t pull a long face and whine about it all!)/ I’m going the have the worst labor/ first month (why please would u wish that upon me?)/ I should get all the sleep I can get now coz oooohhh boyyyy I’m in for it after delivery ( like sleep can be saved up in hours and later used the way cows regurgitate feed?)/ I should be a working mum as children are only part of a woman’s existence and a modern lifestyle requires two household incomes etc etc (from working mums getting over their guilt trips)/ I should not even consider any work outside the home as I won’t be able to protect kids from negative influences plus why would I let some stranger to influence my kid all day long etc etc (from some pushy stay at home mums with overwhelmingly strong views ) / breastfeed or die/ breastfeeding is overrated …..on and on…

I expected these kind of comments with pregnancy. Thankfully it hasn’t been anything too crazy. ummhmm. Friends and family have generally been very nice and supportive. Sometimes I think they are way more anxious about my baby/pregnancy/delivery than I am. It’s been lovely to see that people care even though some of the comments are downright inappropriate.

I’ve been feeling OK lately. Just swollen feet (not that bad though) and considerable amount of back pain. I’m avoiding long trips away from home this week. I don’t want my water breaking on crowded public transport or while braving the busy stock-take sales at the department stores. Standing is a bit better than sitting up in a chair for too long. Baby is moving around a lot and the poor thing is probably really squashed in there. The midwife appointments at the hospital are now every week on a Friday morning and are fairly uneventful. I’ve been told that the baby’s head is now really low down and fixed- ready to go. The usual checking the baby’s heartbeat and measuring the belly goes on and then I’m asked to come back the following week.

MO and I read our baby book together every week. It’s a great book detailing the weekly developments milestones of the baby and detailing some very down to earth/ helpful information. It’s been something we look forward to doing together for FHE as the weeks have progressed. Other than that, we’ve been doing what we usually do on weekends by going to church, visiting family, going out with friends, out at the movies and shops. Much slower and much shorter trips out but still trying to do the usual things. We watched Narnia-Prince Caspian the other night. Thank goodness for the new comfy big couple seats at the Greater Union Cinemas. The seats were so big that I was able to even lie on my side during the movie. Yay!

One of the girls from my pre-natal class had her baby last Tuesday. It’s a little boy and they named him Robert. Her and her husband didn’t want to know the gender in advance so they had a few names picked out for a boy or a girl. The little one was 5 days overdue and weighed 3kg at birth. She said that labor was long but she didn’t have to push for too long. I’m excited about the class reunion in September when I get to see all the little babies.

I’ve gained 19 kg in weight during this pregnancy. Probably even 20 kg since I checked a few days ago.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope the baby comes this week. If not I’ve somehow got to keep myself occupied for the next little while and not get too excited/anxious. MO has been so great. He’s been very helpful and patient with everything. Not long now.

This time next month…

I could have had the baby…

unless

I’m overdue (no,please, no)

So lately there have been changes

• MO’s maternal grandmother passed away. We are really devastated. We used to go visit her and talk to her often. She was 84 years old, paralysed, permanently bedridden for about 9 years and had dementia. Life wasn’t very easy for her. It was good to see her a couple of hours before she passed away and say our good byes. She is survived by her husband of 65years of marriage, 5 children, 25 grand children, 30 great grand children and 8 more to come this year. We would have liked our baby to have met her but we take comfort in knowing that in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, families are forever and we will see her again in the life to come. The funeral is on Thursday.

• On Sunday I got released from my calling/lay responsibility at church teaching the Adult Gospel Doctrine class (Sunday School class for Adults). I’ve been teaching that class every week for 2 years now. It was daunting at first especially because of the sheer number of people in the class, the people in the class being between 18 and 86 years old and teaching the application of the doctrine in everyday life to such a broad age range. I know the Lord called me to teach this class for a reason. It is so that I may teach myself extensively the principles and doctrines of the gospel, that I may live them in my day to day life so that I can in turn share it with the class and encourage them to do so also. I loved the hour long discussions and all that I’ve learned from the people in the class, their vast experiences and knowledge have enriched my own. There is no use in knowing the scriptures unless you are constantly trying to live it in your day to day life. My goal is to be an example of the believers of Jesus Christ. To try to be more like Him. Why? : As President Hinckley said “When [an individual] is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself, not because of demands made by the Church but because of the knowledge within his heart.”(Tambuli, Oct. 1993, 4; Ensign, July 1973, 49). This class has helped me better understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Here’s this talk on faith that I love. But this talk by Elder Wirthlin on what defines us best as members of the church is one of my favorites. I wonder what responsibility the Lord is going to call me to do next. I love that not one person in my church gets paid for their service/responsibilities. It is completely a lay ministry with our responsibilities changing from time to time and I’m amazed how well everyone works together.

PREGNANCY

• My feet had a bit of swelling for the first time this week. My back has become quite uncomfortable as most of my weight is in my belly. I’ve gone from a pre-pregnancy weight of 55 kgs to currently 72 kgs. I was kind of excited when I weighed myself in my mother’s bathroom scale on Saturday (I don’t own a scale). I yelled out to MO that he was the skinnier one of us now..hahha. If the baby is only 2.5kgs right now, what the hell is the rest then? Placenta? Amniotic fluid? Cushioning fat? Hmm. Walking or standing feels better than sitting up. As the baby is still quite high when I sit up it is quite uncomfortable and hurts. Which makes me think that I probably won’t be feeling any more comfortable in 3 weeks when I have to sit 3 exams all 3 hours each. I may have to investigate if deferred exams are an option. Honestly, studying is as far from my mind right now as Algeria is from Australia.

• At the routine hospital midwife appointment last week I was told that my belly is measuring about a week bigger than it should be. The midwife said everything looks good/sounds good. She said that I am to continue taking the iron supplements and getting good sleep and that should help with the tiredness.

• The tiny spare room which used to have our bed and nothing else in it now houses all the baby’s stuff. There will be no painting of walls in nice baby-friendly colours as we are renting. I’m hoping to take things out of the packagings and be organised this week. We are yet to set up the cradle thing which is still in it’s box. It’s about half the size of an average cot/crib and we bought it here when they had a massive sale. It wasn’t a massive enough sale though but because of space constrains we’ve had to resort to this. Friends who have this cradle say that it is great as it can be wheeled easily from room to room, is steady sold construction and the baby can sleep in it till about 7 months of age till a normal size cot/crib is required. We hope to have the baby sleeping in our room (the larger of the two rooms in our apartment that currently contains our bed and MO’s desk) for the first few months at least.

• We bought a new digital camera. It’s the same SONY Cyber-shot with the Carl Zeiss Lens except the newer model. We had the 6mega pixel but now we have the 7.2mega pixel. It takes the same battery as our old camera so we have a spare battery now and we already had memory cards for it so it saved us money. we bought our old camera about 2.5 years ago and just two weeks ago it’s kinda died. Mostly coz it’s always in my handbag and not in a case just banged up with all the junk in there. I wish I had taken better care of it and left it in a case. The new one was on sale for $194 here. It’s cheap, small and easy to use. Plus takes decent pics. Perfect for the handbag (but this time I’m using the case). What more can you ask for in a camera, really?

35week pics @ “rub my belly for good luck” party

About 20 of of our friends came over for a party MO and I had last Saturday. I catered high tea style treats and everyone around around 4pm. Everyone loved all the savories and different cakes, especially french mud cake. It was lots of fun and we took so many pics. You can see all the photos on my facebook profile. Here are some of my favorites.

MO & I:

My favorite group photo:

Shazza & I:

I love these guys, they are so much fun:

POST SCRIPT: Baby showers are the norm here in Australia. Since Mo & I are blessed beyond measure and can afford it, we bought everything we need for the baby already. So, we declined offers from family and friends who wanted to throw us a baby shower. I personally find the baby/bridal shower female only events with lame games and everyone sitting around opening presents at the end restrictive, repetetive and boring. Isn’t the couple pregnant/expecting a baby- not just the woman? and don’t women these days have close male friends?
But we still wanted to celebrate the pregnancy and thank all our closest friends for their support during the pregnancy and gain their wishes for a safe labor. So we threw a party for them instead. Some did bring presents, others made donations to Oxfam and childrens charities in our name. So overall it worked out well.

2nd last stage

34 weeks preggy & prenatal class 6

The last prenatal class was all about crying babies, why they cry, what to do when they do, what’s normal, real/rumor, more about breast feeding etc. We took some photos of the group with all our baby bumps. The reunion is scheduled for the end of August after all our babies are born. I liked our prenatal class group. Everyone was so involved and the instructor was really informative and honest about what to expect. I recommend it to anyone having a baby to try it out. It’s especially a nice date night thing to do with your husband and helps bond with the baby and feel all family-like. I felt that way anyway.

I missed my appointment with the hospital midwife this morning. I cringe when I think about having to call and re-schedule when I know how absolutely rude the receptionists there are. Hopefully they’ll give me another appointment for next week and not any later.

But next weekend, we are having a fun party with all our close friends (male and female and their children- but no pets). The party is to celebrate us as a couple, our love and us expanding our family. People are also invited to come and rub my belly and wish us good luck for the labour. There will be no baby shower type games. Am I the only one who dislikes bridal/baby shower games? Plus why are showers an exclusively a girl only thing? Don’t girls have good friends who are also boys? Hmm. I donno. Traditions I guess. This is how I see it: if people wanted to give something for the baby - they would. I don’t like the idea of inviting people to bring me a present. Something so tacky about it. But I think it’s just the curry culture in me that thinks so. I always request presence not presents. People should give coz they love and want to with a pure heart (no bad feelings/not feeling inconvenient) and not coz they have to. Plus we have so much. I would also like to see them give the baby a present when they meet him and not just my bump. It’s not possible for many of my family who live overseas but my friends and family here will be coming to see the baby right? But that’s just me. Not necessarily right or wrong. But one thing is for sure: baby showers/weddings/parties/mother’s days/ Valentines days/Birthdays etc etc - should all be celebrated. Any excuse to celebrate the miracle of life and love in our lives is a good excuse, commercial/consumerist or not. =)

Hmm. Is it normal to be happy about this? Hmm.

I have work overdue.

I may get a fail grade.

I may be $$$$ out of pocket.

I may have wasted hours of work already done in the last few months.

I may not be a card carrying solicitor by the end of the year.

I may have to re-do it all next year.

I may regret this procrastination in the months to come.

But

Strangely, for the first time in my life….

I really DON’T CARE!

Not one bit.

zero.

Instead…

I want to get that teeny tiny spare room organised for my teeny tiny baby and

I want to sit in bed and eat fancy chocolate and feel my baby move in my belly.

But the thing is…

I only have a few hours of work left to get it all done.

But…

somehow I just don’t have the motivation for it.

AND

I have never been happier about this.

=) truly….this is a wonderful peaceful feeling.

p.s I’m 34 weeks pregnant ….is it the pregnancy or have I gone mad?

Prenatal class 5 and a weekend of fun

Last Wednesday was the 5th prenatal class. It was a lot more relaxed and we discussed more freely about being prepared for the baby, postnatal tests, jabs and check-ups for both baby and mum. I really like every one of the couples in the group. We’ve all bonded really well and are excited not only to see our own babies but each others’ as well. The due date for the first baby to be born is 7th of June and the last baby is the 31st of July. Our midwife/instructor said she’d schedule a reunion/catch up session in August sometime after all our babies are born.

Our baby is now due in about 6 weeks. But could possibly come anytime between 4 and 6 weeks. My belly has grown a lot more now and the baby is kicking a lot. Sitting up for long periods of time is a challenge but otherwise I seem to manage OK. I was thinking of getting some maternity photos taken of MO, belly and I as soon as possible. This makes me miss my dear friend Kelli who is a very talented photographer who does some amazing work and whom I love.

This last weekend was very busy. Friday night was MO’s cousin Matt’s engagement party. Most of the extended family were there and we love catching up with all of his cousins so we stayed late and partied on. There are 8 babies to be born on his maternal side of the family this year. That would be a total of just over 30 great grand-children for his maternal grandparents. All my grandparents have now past away so I really love spending time with both of MO’s maternal grandparents and paternal grand mother. I’m very excited that our baby will be able to meet his great grandparents. That will be a wonderful blessing.

On Saturday day our friends D and K and their 2 little boys came over to our house and we ate Japanese bakery treats and lazed around the couch. Later that night we went over to their place for dinner where we also met with MO’s group of school friends and all their children. So far we have 7 baby boys born to 5 couples in this group of friends. Our baby will total 8. 2 kids are between 3 and 5 years old and the rest are under 2 years old. It’s interesting how it’s turned out to be a little boytown.

At 7am on Sunday morning I was trying to get myself wrapped in a saree. Trust me, this is not easy with a massive belly. I gave up after the first attempt as I was running late and felt massive in it. I wore a shalwar instead. MO wore a very nice maroon silk kurta like this one. We were dressing up for my friend Divya’s wedding that was starting at 8am at the Hindu temple. It was such a beautiful wedding and we had so much fun. The ceremony, the food and especially the bride were all just amazing! By the time we got home it was 4 pm and we were full of food and very tired. A quick nap and at 7pm we were off to a 21st birthday dinner for another family friend Amalan. He is the youngest son of one of my mother’s closest friends. We met up with some of my relatives there that night and the topic of conversation was my belly, the baby and my plans. I wore a cute satin dress that I bought on sale a few weeks back. At the rate my belly is growing, I doubt it’ll fit me next week though. I don’t have any proper photos of the day cos my camera decided to stop working. Now we have to go buy a new one. It served us well through my adventures around the world in the last 2.5 years but just gave up all of a sudden on this day.

So by the time we got home on Sunday night it was close to midnight and we were both very tired. Poor MO had to wake up very early on Monday morning to get to his meeting at work. I was so exhausted from the night before and getting up to go to the loo multiple times during the night that I stayed in bed much longer on Monday morning.

I have so much work due this week and I already missed my deadline for today. I’m hoping I get myself sorted for tomorrow.