At last, the new arrival

He's here! My beautiful baby boy was born on Friday 18th December, 3 days overdue. I'll be back with the full story a little later. Right now everything is a haze and I'm exhausted like I've never been before. But we still find time during waking hours to gaze adoringly at him, he's amazing!

Fully cooked

Today is my due date. My bun is officially cooked! No sign of him making an appearance yet though, so I guess he still needs a little browning off. Hope it won't be too long though, I'm getting impatient now. I didn't really expect to make it to this day.

I've been getting some early nigglings...I think. It's weird because I'm really not sure what to watch out for, having never done this before. I had a midwife appointment yesterday and she seemed to think it was all heading in the right direction. I've been getting some cramps and tightenings and I'm never sure if that's early contractions. Somehow I didn't expect them to be quite so low down. They're getting more frequent but not regular enough yet. She said that's what I will be looking out for but they need to get regular and (sorry) more painful. I've also had a bit of backache here and there which I know is part of the package. So let's hope it's not too much longer. I could do with no longer being pregnant by the end of this week!

Off to bounce on my birthing ball. Then some walking. Maybe a curry and some bedroom shenanigans later. Anything to help nudge him towards the exit!!

Approaching d-day

I'm due next Tuesday, and feeling kind of strange about it. It's just this bizarre waiting game. I had several friends due around the same time and most have had their babies already, including the one person due after me. I think there are just three of us left, one due tomorrow and the other overdue from Wednesday. I feel like I will be the last. The nice thing is you get some great advice, but you do also have to hear a few scary stories!

Right now I'm feeling weird about it. For a couple of weeks now I have felt like I am really over being this tired and huge, and everything is ready and waiting and I feel really ready to meet my baby so I was getting impatient. But over this last week I have wanted him to hold off for a little longer. At the eleventh hour of my pregnancy I have started to feel like I'll miss my bump and also feeling my baby move inside me. Right now it's just him and me and I want to protect him, even though I of course can't wait to meet him and hold him. I've also had a stressful week and hardly slept so I don't feel strong enough to go through labour if he decides he's ready now.

We'll see. Hopefully things will start to happen next week and he won't wait too long.

GBS

So, as mentioned earlier, I tested positive for Group B Strep. I talked to the midwife about it at my 38 week appointment yesterday and it looks like I will be receiving IV antibiotics during labour. This is apparently standard procedure and pretty straightforward but it worries me that my baby will be getting antibiotics on entering the world. I don't know what to make of it. The midwife said it's a case of weighing up the benefits of it, and if I don't get the drugs and the baby does become sick as a result of GBS it could be pretty serious so it's worth it. I do see that. I'm just bummed.

On a more positive note, it looks like he is 4/5 engaged so he doesn't have much further to drop before he is fully in position. I'm also getting some cramps and a lot more frequent and regular Braxton Hicks so it looks as if we're heading in the right direction. Sleep and comfort are officially a thing of the past now so I'll be really ready for him to make an appearance by end of next week if not before. Not that I'm naive enough to think sleep and comfort will return after having a baby!!

Immodesty

The thing that has both surprised and amused me most about being pregnant is the lack of modesty that comes with it. It starts off slow and increases until by the end of pregnancy you no longer give a damn! Now, I have always been a little bit of a shy and modest girl. Don't get me wrong, I'm no prude but I am the kind of girl who likes dim lighting and turns her back to get undressed. Now I find myself not caring about letting it all hang out!

I've heard stories from friends of mine who were mortified after their deliveries to hear from their other halves that they threw off their clothes in the middle of labour and spent hours panting naked, and about the sheer amount of people who enter the room and have a good peak at your nether regions during birth. I guess this is the norm and you spend those few months of your pregnancy building up to that.

It's not just nudity either, there's also the bodily functions. Nobody warned me about the sounds I would be making all through pregnancy. I have never been a burping or farting kind of girl. Burping was a largely silently into my hand sort of affair after a gassy can of Diet Coke. Farting was rare and my husband always suspected I was shy and did it privately but that wasn't true, I just didn't do it much. It was kind of a shock to find myself emitting these sounds all of a sudden but once I (quickly) got over the shock and initial embarrassment of it, I have embraced it, and with glee! I have found myself making sounds that could sink a battleship and laughing over it rather than being mortified, and what's more, if I'm honest I'm kind of impressed with myself!! Luckily, Hubby finds it very amusing!

But anyway, if nothing else this lack of modesty is probably good preparation for labour and birth. I'm sure it's nature's way of helping us get through it. I for one am embracing it, it's strangely liberating!

It's never ending!

It seems like it's one drama after another. I just want to get on with my pregnancy in peace and hope for a safe and reasonably uncomplicated delivery resulting in a healthy and happy baby. Is that too much to ask?

"What now?", I hear you ask. Well, I tested positive for Strep B (GBS). I don't know about elsewhere but in the UK they don't test routinely for it, I only did the test because a friend told me about it. They did do a swab test for me at the hospital but were very honest about it being not totally reliable, so I paid to have a lab test done. This came back positive and I will have to discuss the implications of this with the midwife at my 38 week appointment on Thursday. What a drag. As I understand it, I may have to be given antibiotics during labour to avoid the potentially threatening infection passing to the baby. Not all babies are affected by the infection but it is potentially very serious for those who are. The worry about antibiotics is that they may affect either of us following the delivery so it is a case of weighing it up. I'm feeling really confused and anxious about it so I'll see what the midwife says before taking any next steps.

What a drag!