40 weeks, maternity leave and Team GB

Happy 40 weeks to me! As you can see then, the last post did not end up being the last post, sans-baby, however I am still hopeful that it will come quite soon!

Last week I started maternity leave. It feels so nice not to be at work and to be able to stay in bed that bit longer in the morning. I have actually surprised myself by being quite organised so everything is pretty much in place for when the baby comes. Laura came down to stay with me for a couple of days last week and we had so much fun together. Our two days consisted of shopping, eating a ridiculous amount of food (yes, we went to krispy kreme and yes we had two doughnuts each, but who's counting??!) and vegging out as well. The shopping included Laura buying the baby "Team GB" olympic sleepsuits, they are amazing and I can't wait to see our baby in them! She was so excited to get them for us and we love them. Laura took really good care of me and we had a great time, it was a shame to see her go. As well as just enjoying her company and having her here, it also took my mind off the fact that I am waiting for the baby to arrive!

Last Wednesday was mine and Seth's 3rd wedding anniversary. I can't believe that we have been married for 3 years already! The time has gone by so quickly. We celebrated it by going out for dinner to a nearby Mexican restaurant and had non-alcoholic cocktails afterwards, they were so good! Virgin coladas all the way.

Last week, Seth and I went food shopping. I know, you're thinking that that's really not anything very interesting (unless of course I went into labour while we were there but you already know that  didn't!). As we were making our way through the car park, you know how you turn sideways to walk in between cars so that you can fit in between their wing mirrors? Seth found it really funny that I can now no longer do that as I am deeper than I am wide! All the things you don't really think about! I had to navigate my way around, analysing if I could actually fit in between cars or not. I quite often underestimate how big my stomach is. For the longest time, people didn't even realise I was pregnant and now, strangers ask me when I am due and say that I must be about ready to pop now. Yes, yes I am, could someone please pass that on to the baby? Much appreciated!

Ever since we got married, before we had even discussed having children, Seth had always said that when I was pregnant, he wanted to buy face paints and to paint the baby bump. I always thought that he would forget about this but a couple of nights ago, he came home from work with a cheeky grin on his face and then produced the face paints. So what better time to paint the bump than the due date?

The face paints were red, white and blue so of course, what with the olympics coming up very soon, it was only natural for Seth to paint the "Team GB" logo on my stomach! I was very limited in my view and so I had to wait until he had completely finished painting it to see how it looked. I think it turned out brilliantly, he did an amazing job! (Has anyone else noticed that it looks like the lion has an ear because of where my belly button is??!) Seth was rather pleased with his handiwork, and with good reason! It was a fun evening.

how much longer?

I am now 38 weeks pregnant. Although I know that I am still a week and a half away from my due date, I still can't help but hope that every day will be the day that I might go into labour! I had signed up to a million various baby type websites, babycentre, mothercare, SMA and all the rest and last week I kept getting email notifications informing me that I am now 37 weeks pregnant and considered full term. Whilst that is pretty reassuring, knowing that the baby could be born then and everything will be alright, it also makes me think, "okay, I'm full term........ now where are you??". Maybe it would be better if they didn't mention anything about you being full term at 37 weeks, as at that point I'm still 3 weeks from my due date and potentially around 5 weeks away from having the baby!

Then again, perhaps it does increase the anticipation! Seth and I are both getting very excited about meeting the baby. After not having anything sorted out for the longest time, I can now say that I think everything is in place as far as it can be anyway, and we are ready for the baby to come. On the other hand, am I the only first time Mum who, whilst being excited about it all is also a little bit freaked out? Take for example last night. I was really tired, Seth wasn't home from work yet. So I just laid on the sofa and watched TV. Very lazy and unproductive of me I know. But then I got to thinking that in a couple of weeks' time, everything is going to change. It's no longer going to be about me doing what I want, we have this new little person to take care of and look after. And whilst I really can't wait, I still find it slightly daunting! Okay, very daunting! I don't know anything about babies! I'm rubbish with babies! I am the overgrown child who sits there with their arms outstretched, waiting for a newborn to be placed in their arms because I am not capable of picking them up myself. You think I'm joking, but really, I'm not actually much better than that. I went to see Katie a few days ago and held her beautiful baby girl and I was afraid that somehow I would break her. How exactly I would do that, I don't know, I was only holding her! Everyone says that it just comes naturally to you when it's your own, so I'm hoping that they're not just lulling me into a false sense of security!

Despite me freaking out a bit about it all though, I am still so happy that we are having this baby. I am also really happy that I can eat pineapple again. I don't know if it's true or if it's an old wives tale that eating pineapple can help to bring on labour because it can soften the cervix. But when you've been craving it since around 16 weeks, it's not really the sort of thing you want to take the chance on anyway, is it? I'm also not eating lots of pineapple to bring on labour (although I wouldn't mind!) but it's really nice to actually be able to eat it again and not have to worry.

My Mum has decided to keep a chart of all of my family's guesses as to when they think the baby will arrive, how much it will weigh and what sex it will be. Two members of the family have guessed mine and Seth's wedding anniversary as the date, the 11th July. My midwife and I have decided that I should have it on the 9th, because she's on duty in the hospital that day. I know it will come when it's good and ready but I find trying to guess these sorts of things quite fun! Sometimes when I try to guess the sex of the baby, Seth in a very male, matter of fact way points out that I didn't want to find out the sex. I'm still glad that we didn't, because I still like to keep guessing!

I'm hoping that this will be the last blog post I write, sans-baby, so we shall see how that works out!