8 Months Pregnant

8 months pregnant, baby girl bump, 35 weeks pregnant belly

On the first of June, this pregnancy and this baby suddenly became a whole lot more real.  Rather than an event in the future, I had to admit that I was due next month and suddenly all the instincts which I had been missing decided to kick in.  I went from completely disorganised, to staying up until 2am building furniture so that this little lady will have some drawers of her very own.  I organised all the little clothes and packed them away, washed the shell of the Snuzpod and started to get my head around the fact we will soon be a 6.

I am now 8 months pregnant which means that there is only a month until my due date and only a matter of days until I am considered 'term'.  I am starting to feel much more excited about having a little baby around again but still completely not ready for her arrival either.

This month I feel like my growth has really slowed down, but at the same time I seem to constantly have limbs up in my ribs so it may be that baby has moved position.  I am convinced this little one is going to be into martial arts of some kind as some of the kicks and punches I get are strong enough to take my breath away or make me sit up very straight.  Considering my placenta is at the front again that is quite impressive and I don't remember Finn being so strong.  I think the bump has definitely dropped over the last week, but I don't know whether she is engaged yet or not - at the last midwife check she was completely free.

The heartburn I was experiencing has pretty much gone and my bladder still seems to be coping well.  I wake up in the night to turn over but I don't have to get out of bed (other than for Finn).  My feet seem a long way off but I still feel quite physically active and have no problems navigating soft play with the boys or going for long walks.  I can walk all day, but standing still is hard, and I get light headed if I stay in one place too long.

This last month is about preparing the boys for a new arrival and enjoying my final weeks where I can refer to my family as 'my boys'.  I always thought it would be just us, that I would always get to use that term and I think anything else is going to take some getting used to.

This last month has brought up lots of questions and I have found myself explaining the role of the placenta to a four year old as well as showing them lots of google images of quite how this baby fits in my tummy.  It has been really lovely seeing their curiosity, even if I don't always have the answers.

This week I have a growth scan, consultant appointment and a home visit from the midwife to talk through my plans for the birth.  As I approach term it looks like my home birth plans are all go, but I am hoping for co-operation from the whole team.