The pregnancy diaries by Dunja Knezevic

35 weeks

So I thought I knew what carrying low was all aboutsince my bladder and cervix have been getting a bashing through most of the pregnancy, but lo and behold, this week, she dropped! Wow, talk about a brand knew level of discomfort. Hello cowboy wobble!
I knew it was eventually going to come but I’ve been in denial about the scale of discomfort it would cause .After all, the medical practitioners like to refer to this as the ‘lightening’. Sounds quite nice really, doesn’t it? They say you get a bit more room for your stomach and lungs, meaning you can eat a normal meal again and not feel out of breath when climbing a few steps. However, I would happily continue eating six small meals a day if it meant that my lower back, cervix and bladder would get a rest.
But hey, at least Christmas is here to distract me. And to look on the bright side, there’s no better time to have a bit more extra space in the stomach!

Have just about finished clothes shopping for the little one now, and think we may have gone slightly overboard considering we now have about 60 outfits just for the first six months. We just found the cuteness too hard to resist. And then the Christmas sales arrived, as if I needed an added incentive!

Oh well, at least it means that when she’s here there’ll be less need for shopping and more time for cuddles


37 weeks
I’m about 37 and a half weeks as I write this, and have certainly reached the ‘get out now, please’ stage. I thought my sleeplessness was due to my great overall physical discomfort, but really the excitement is what’s keeping me up at night. In fact I am writing this at 3am, all bright eyed and bushy tailed.  I find it so difficult to not think about her. What the labor will be like, what she’s going to look like, what her little personality will be… No matter what I do to distract myself, she’s always on my mind. I rest assured that these are very normal thoughts in your last month when the arrival is imminent, but I still can’t help feeling sorry for my hubby when his eyes glaze over as I manage, yet again, to squeeze her into a conversation. And I am good at this, I have to say, whether we’re discussing his work, my work, the gazastrip or what film to watch that evening, I will somehow manage to include her in the discussion.

Have also spent the last couple of weeks researching how I will know when I’m in labour. Everyone keeps saying the same old thing, ‘You’ll know when it’s the real thing’ but I keep thinking it’s the real thing every time another Braxton hicks comes along. And that certainly isn’t easy on my poor hubby.

So all in all, it’s a bit of a nutty time in the pregnancy but I’ll try my very best to just go with the flow.

Next time you hear from me I shall be holding my little bundle in one hand and typing with the other!

 

First three months with my first born by Oreke Mosheshe

I have never been happier! The chronic sleep deprivation, debilitating worry, chewed nipples and pee puke and poo are nothing compared to the sheer, soaring joy I feel at the birth of my son.

Carter was born on the 22nd of March – after a 2 day labour. Leading up to the birth, one of my many concerns was whether I would know when labour started. I knew. Superman knew. The poor cabbie that drove us to hospital knew, and half the population of the hosipital knew by the time I got there.

After the initial shock of the pain of final labour – with the contractions 7 minutes apart – and having refused pain relief, I focused on breathing through the almost other-worldly pain. It wasn’t easy, and I may have passed out – I certainly lost track of time but my baby was born happy and healthy and has remained so.

If you are lucky enough to have willing help for the first few weeks, TAKE IT. I could not have survived without the help of my wonderful mum who moved in for a month and of course Superman as well as other family and friends who dropped in when they could. Helping hands to run errands, get things done around the house or just to watch baby while you get a much needed break are essential and will preserve your sanity. You will be more tired than you thought humanly possible.