Pblog 8: Third trimester and why I don't hurt

At 28 weeks this last Monday gone, it feels both like a long time coming and also in a strange, converse sense ... all quite quick. Following the stories of other pregnant ladies around me seems even quicker, to me they seem to be racing through their weeks faster than I am (which obviously isn't happening). It's an odd situation that doesn't make sense but is very real.

The best part of seeing the Midwife at 28 weeks was, for me, being told exactly where my baby was laying. She is now head down, with her arms and legs facing to the left side of my body, her back to my right side and her butt up in my navel area. There is plenty of movement going on in there still, which varies quite a lot although in the evenings I am assured of plenty of wriggling. I can see the stomach skin moving when she moves, on occasion. I only notice her there when I am sitting or laying still, the rest of the time to be honest ... I go about my business and work without really feeling her. I do have quite a small bump though, and an easy pregnancy. On to that ...

The stuff I am reading generally isn't happening to me. I haven't had any back ache or braxton hicks contractions that I've been able to feel. The only real thing I've had is softened tissue in the pelvic region which has meant moving around in bed can ache or be stiff. To be fair though, I haven't done anything to prevent this such as stretching and I made it hurt when I ran for a bus and pulled my groin. The side where I pulled the tissues - the left - is where it now aches on and off, so I think it's mostly self inflicted.

I should be swimming, stretching etc but I am not doing any of those things. One, because I am working still and two, the local pool sucks to boring high heaven and I can't be bothered to go down there and float around not knowing what to do in a square pool with no friends and nothing to do except lanes.

In short, even though mentally this has been the toughest time of my life for a long time (and not because of the pregnancy), physically the whole thing has been easy and a dream. Everything I chose to believe in and for at the start has happened. The book that I read, Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize, has proven a real support and to be honest I haven't really been even following it along, re reading or doing stuff together as a pair with my Husband. So God has really blessed me and stood in the gap for me at every stage of the way so far. Therefore ... why should He stop now? I fully expect everything I have believed for, because it's part of what was won for me by Jesus on the cross. So why not have it? What have I got to lose? Nothing good, that's for sure.

In other matters, though I am still hardly touching it, chicken no longer appears to make me feel foul (joke). Only pesto still has the effect of making me want to hurl, my taste buds seem to have undergone chemical changes to this effect.

I'm not really craving anything - I just find that I like food a lot and tend to eat much of it with regular grazing. Trying to keep this healthy has been hard but I have done all right by my standards. Another thing worth mentioning is that having my blood taken this time was much easier than the last - it took about an eighth of the time and my arm hasn't go purple!

That's all for now, I have another midwife in three weeks time!