Wednesday, January 10, 2018

weeks 30 - 32 Christmas #pregnancyDiary


Week 30

I almost can't believe I've made it to 30 weeks! There are only about ten weeks left till we meet our little one. I've been enjoying the buildup to Christmas. I put up our tree the first day of December already and hubby and I often play Christmas songs at home. This year my family did Secret santa, so we instead of having to buy for loads of different people we would all just have to focus on one person with one bigger gift. That made things a lot easier. We've gotten the presents for hubby's side too so I'm feeling fairly organized.I sent out my first batch of Christmas cards but I still have a bunch more to send.


We'll be spending this Christmas with my husband's side. It's always different being away from your own family at Christmas time and experiencing different traditions but it should still be a lovely time. I've only a few more weeks of work left until my maternity leave starts!

This week we had our final birth preparation course day. It was good. Newborn care was the focus. Such as how to bathe the babies, baby wearing, more about breastfeeding etc. At the end of the course I got some of the girls numbers and said I'd set up a whatsapp group so we can meet up sometime.

My appetite has definitely increased lately! I went out for lunch on Saturday with friends and ordered a lasagna, realised after I was still starving then ordered a large starter of bruschetta! The next morning I woke up at five am feeling hungry and couldn't get back to sleep so got up and had some porridge after which I managed to sleep a few more hours. Baby must be going through a growth spurt. My bump is definitely much bigger but it is still small in general for 7 months. A few people have commented. At my last doctor's appointment he noticed my iron count is low so I've been trying to eat more iron rich foods.

Week 31

This week is Christmas and my birthday. Last year we had a lovely Christmas with my family but it was still tinged with sadness wondering if we would ever be able to have children. I was in the middle of the two week wait after our third IVF cycle which ultimately failed. I remember testing on Stephen's day morning thinking for sure it would be positive and the horrible feeling of shock and sadness when it wasn't. It was a hard way to start into 2017. It is so different to how things are now with our baby on board and feeling hopeful.

I often think of all the couples who are still in the trenches and finding this time of year particularly hard. Christmas can be very kid centered! It can also be very hard when you have lost loved ones. It was just before Christmas that my Mum lost her battle with cancer years ago and so it can bring up a lot of hard memories. I also have been thinking recently how sad it is that she won't get to meet her grandchild. I just hope she is in heaven living on in some way. I think I have to believe that.


We had a nice Christmas with my husband's family this year. There isn't enough room at his parent's place and we just found it easier to stay at a hotel in town for a few nights but that worked out well. It was a lovely few days. Lots of eating! My mother in law served fish with Sauerkraut on the 24th and on the 25th we had roast duck. They don't traditionally eat turkey for Christmas like we would in Ireland. We also caught up with one of my husband's friends from his hometown which was fun.


I also had my 36th birthday! It was a quiet one, but there was yummy chocolate cake. Of course it felt special to be pregnant on my birthday after hoping and praying for so long for this. Hubby bought me a pretty rose gold bracelet and necklace with butterflies.

Week 32

Both my husband and I had some time off the days after Christmas and around New Year's. We met up with some friends but also spent a lot of time hanging out just the two of us and relaxing. Sometimes we'd stay in our pajamas till late morning when we didn't have anywhere to be. I bought Inda May's Childbirth book and I'm finding it really good so far. It's full of positive tales of how birth can be and it's nice to fill my head with those sort of stories to help me feel less nervous about the birth.

I've noticed a lot more aches and pains in general now. It's getting harder to move around and I'm much slower walking. I'm going to try to keep up going for walks when I can even if they are short and maybe go swimming a few times once I'm on my maternity leave. I also find I often wake up once or twice in the night to pee now. In general I feel more tired and get exhausted more easily, however I also have these random bursts of energy and then just feel really motivated to get stuff done! Hubby and I spent two days organizing things around the house and that felt great. Maybe it's "nesting", haha! I wish I had taken before and after pictures but we made some good progress clearing out one of the rooms in our basement.

New Year's Eve we just had a quiet evening for two! I had said to hubby that probably in the future it will be hard to go out on new year's eve with a child so now is our chance to do something if we want but he prefered to just spend it at home. Part of me felt a little like maybe we should be doing something, like going out for dinner at least but I was also happier just staying in! We made a yummy mushroom, corn and tomato cheesy pizza together, drank alcohol free prosecco and then watched the neighbourhood fireworks.

I only have one more week to work before my maternity leave starts. In Germany it's six weeks before the birth. To be honest I feel ready to stop. Although the idea of not being in the office for so long is a strange one! I'm looking forward to this time to get as much ready for the baby as possible and also catch up with friends and have time to relax. I've always been the sort of person who likes to plan things and know what I'm doing. So it seems strange to me the idea that the baby could choose to come at any moment! I hope she will stay in there until at least week 36 which is considered full term anyway but also ideally not go too far overdue past 40 weeks. I started packing my hospital bag already just in case.

One day of the Christmas holidays when we were over with my husband's family I thought I hadn't felt the baby move so much that day and started to get a little nervous. But then later that evening I felt her as usual and since then a lot. I think I'm getting used to the movement patterns. Like mornings and when I'm lying in bed I'll feel lots of kicks and often in the evenings watching tv. Or whenever I haven't moved around for awhile. She gets hiccups a lot too which is funny!

Sometimes I am reminded that this could very likely be the last time I am pregnant (since it was so hard to get to this stage in the first place and hubby and I have decided we wouldn't want to go through IVF again), and then I feel like I don't want this time to end and I'm in no rush! But at other moments I feel ready and excited to finally meet our little one. I have another doctor's appointment this week and then from now on it'll be every two weeks!

I'm a bit late posting this but Happy New Year to you all!

14 comments:

  1. I say this every time, but your pregnancy is flying by! Less than ten weeks to go is just mad.

    I always find Christmas very kid-centred - to me, Christmas is mostly about children/people with children. All the "magic" is aimed at kids anyway. I'm so sorry about your mum. Something about losing people just before Christmas makes things even harder. My step-mum died on Christmas Eve when I was 12 and Christmas in our family hasn't been the same since.

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    1. Yeah it really has gone so fast.

      I'm so sorry about your step-Mum. It's such a hard time to lose someone. For years Christmas was just painful and we even tried going away and not celebrating. It's only in recent years that we have been having proper Christmas again as a family and trying to create new memories.

      I agree that it can be so very kid centered. My facebook feed was full of friend's children meeting santa, under the tree etc and it struck me how hard that would have been to see if we had still been in the middle of infertility struggles.

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  2. That sounds like an awesome Christmas! Having families that live apart does unfortunately mean missing out on something....although having them close together means a ton of sometimes awkward scheduling, which can be difficult too. It sounds like you are in a great positive space. Six weeks of leave before birth is heavenly! (I say as I make myself get through the last two weeks of work before due date end of month). How much leave do you get after birth?

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    1. That's true I can imagine having both families living nearby could be awkward when it comes to scheduling and trying to find time for everyone!
      Having the six weeks off now is really nice. Not even sure what to do with myself, it's been so long since I've had so much time not working or having somewhere to be!
      I hope you get through your last two weeks at work ok!
      In Germany you can divide the parental leave among both parents and it's up to 14 months! My husband will take the first month off with me, I'd stay home for about 7months then hoping to go back to work part time and hubby will stay at home the last few months. It's nice how the father's are valued so much here.

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  3. So glad you were able to experience this Christmas pregnant with your little as well as your birthday, so special :) I used to love getting in the pool while pregnant because it would take all of the weight off your body, so relaxing!!

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    1. Yeah it definitely made this Christmas feel extra special! Looking forward to next years which will be very different!
      I've started having baths now too, also relaxing.

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  4. Hey,
    So good to know about your pregnancy journey and the last trimester. Take care and happy new year to you :)

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    1. Thanks so much! Wishing you a wonderful 2018, hoping it brings good things x

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  5. I love duck! So happy you had a nice holiday, you are almost there, best of luck. It sounds like you'll have an easy time being a bit smaller is a big plus and might make the birth easier as well.

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    1. yeah the duck was delicious! Thanks. Yeah I'm hoping the birth will go well!

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  6. You're almost there. Just a little more until your daughter arrives. Have you decided on a name yet?

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    1. Yeah we picked out a name a few months ago that we both really like. We just aren't telling anyone yet until she is here! Only a little over a month to go

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  7. My partner and I have been trying for a baby for over 11years, We were going to a fertility clinic for years before somebody told me to contact this spell caster who is so powerful called Agbazara Temple for him to help me get pregnant,And I'm glad we contacted DR.AGBAZARA, Because his pregnancy spell cast put us at ease, and I honestly believe him, and his powers really helped us as well, I am thankful for all he has done. contact him via email at: ( agbazara@gmail.com ) if you are trying to get a baby, he has powers to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My partner and I have been trying for a baby for over 11years, We were going to a fertility clinic for years before somebody told me to contact this spell caster who is so powerful called Agbazara Temple for him to help me get pregnant,And I'm glad we contacted DR.AGBAZARA, Because his pregnancy spell cast put us at ease, and I honestly believe him, and his powers really helped us as well, I am thankful for all he has done. contact him via email at: ( agbazara@gmail.com ) if you are trying to get a baby, he has powers to do it.

    ReplyDelete

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