Welcome third trimester

Week 27: 13 more weeks to go (eeks!)

In the past 4-5 days, there has been dramatic increase in movement with the baby. I am starting to notice defined waking and quiet periods which are all a few hours apart from each other. Most noticeable movements happen during the afternoons at work, mornings at church and evenings! They don't just feel like rhythmic hiccups anymore but squirming sensations, tickling from the inside and just some hard kicks that don't really hurt but have on occasion, startled me and is just plain uncomfortable. Last night, Rob and I were watching Batman Begins and it was insane how much the baby was moving during the movie. Perhaps she likes Batman or the sound was too loud and she was kicking to get us to turn the volume lower =)

The past few weeks have all been about the baby, more specifically preparing for the birth of the baby. Both the yoga and prenatal classes have focused on the physiology of birth, the most effective positions to be in during the different stages of labour and how your birthing partner can also be an important part in the whole process. What amazes me so much is how the body systems works in such harmony with each other to ease (or squeeze) the baby through the body. How the heck do most babies know to position themselves perfectly where the pelvis is at its widest in diameter and then know to twist themselves in a way so the shoulders go through the same widest diameter of the pelvis?!

I'm starting to feel antsy about how little time we have left. Hopefully the renovations downstairs will be completed by August so we have time to clean up the baby room and furnish it before the babe arrives. We still haven't gotten a mattress yet and none of the little things relating to feeding, bathing and diapers have been dealt with but I figure all will be ready by September. I'm still sleeping quite well so can't imagine how women deal with insommia and have to still work a full-time job while pregnant. My last day of work is October 10 which gives me just over a week before the baby comes. I couldn't decide if I wanted more time off to prep and relax before the baby came or not...we'll see how it goes.

Some good tips I've picked up in the last while relating to birthing:
-drink lots of water, exercise often and eat well
-squatting is a very comfortable and effective birthing position
-bring familiar things with you to the hospital so you can birth in a relaxed and comfortable environment
-good to practice with Rob the different birthing positions so we'll know what to try during labor
-how to estimate where the baby is lying inside

I haven't had the chance to take any photos yet but we welcomed new flora into our household. Kermodi was having a 15% off sale on all their plants so my nesting self decided to pick up this neat looking grape-like plant that I have been eyeing since my last visit to the store. It changes in color depending on the amount of light it gets and the tiny grape stems germinate.

Rob is heading to Vegas for the weekend so it's going to be a girly weekend for me =)

Ciao!