MY PREGNANCY AT 39 WEEKS - THE WAITING GAME

I am bang on 39 weeks pregnant now and boy am I feeling it. I was totally full on energy until two weeks ago and all of a sudden I feel slow, I feel heavy and just very very pregnant. 

It’s a funny stage this last few weeks of pregnancy isn’t it? It’s a real guessing game and as much as I have told myself, like with the last two pregnancies not to focus on the due date, I can’t help but second guess all the signs and symptoms that are coming up. It can get pretty emotional and exhausting at times. 

Let’s start a few weeks back, at 36 weeks. I saw my midwife and she confirmed to me that the baby’s head was very low which I had assumed as I could suddenly really feel it in my pelvis. She said she thought the baby would probably arrive early from what she could tell and even though we both know she could have no idea, it stuck in my head. So for the past 3 weeks I have been on high alert which hasn’t helped things as this time round this last stage of pregnancy has been so much more eventful than before. 

My bump was measuring a little small at this appointment so she sent me for a growth scan, where funnily enough the baby was measuring on the 75th centile. That was reassuring. However, they noticed that I had excess fluid around the baby so I was referred to a consultant. This of course was a spanner in the works that I wasn’t expecting and I was tested for gestational diabetes and told to come back in a week - it was a long week. The pregnancy has been so smooth up until this point and so I got myself into a right frenzy about it. Ignoring all the advice I ever give anyone - I took to dr google. 

Fast forward a week and the good news came that I don’t have gestational diabetes, and because baby’s head is very secure in my pelvis they are no longer worried about the excess fluid (as long as the head stays there). The lovely consultant filled me back up with confidence and I left the hospital feeling positive about birth again. 

So that was the emotional side of things, but physically it has been a bit crazy too. I had been warned that third babies often do this. I thought labour was starting multiple times in the last 2 weeks. I have had on off cramps, plenty of braxton hicks and even seen my mucus plug come loose which I never did with the other two. As you can imagine, my brain is all over the place wondering when these symptoms are actually going to become the real thing. 

It’s hard to plan anything because you don’t want to go too far away from home just in case things kick off, but equally you have to keep yourself busy otherwise you’ll go stir crazy. I have been seeing a lot of local friends to keep me and the boys busy. It’s about now that the texts start to roll in “Just wanted to see how you are?” when you know full well why they are messaging as what they really want to say is “Have you had the baby yet?” and even though you know they are all coming from a well meaning place it can get a little tiresome can’t it?

Making a whatsapp group specifically for the baby updates can be really handy we found, so all your close friends and family know that as soon as anything happens they will find out on there, they don’t need to message. 

I find it really hard to relax, in the traditional ways like napping or having baths but I do find it relaxing to go for a swim or to bake and I have been trying to do this kind of thing when I can. Being my 3rd baby, it’s hard because I have my two children to look after and they don’t really care that I’m pregnant, they still want their dinner and for me to do lego and puzzles with them on the floor which I’m sure loads of you can relate to. 

I am trying to remind myself on a daily basis that the baby will come when the time is right, and stressing about it is certainly not going to help. Easier said than done, but that is where I’m at right now, so I thought it would be nice to document for anyone else in a similar waiting space. It won’t be long now until I’m holding her in my arms, the waiting game will be over and life as a mum of 3 begins.