I can tell that the end of the road is near. There have been bodily changes I've noticed over the past few days. Creature is still growing at a steady pace - I know because my belly started itching,meaning the skin is stretching even further. Movements are still going strong.
Thankfully, s/he seems to have settled in an upside down L position for the past few weeks. This does mean though that I'm off-centred, and that my right side gets all the kicks. S/he is getting somewhat cramped, meaning a kick is pretty visible, and I can actually feel the bottom of his/her foot clearly.I can distinguish the heel from the toes. Creature seems to have pretty big feet! Just like his/her mother I guess!
S/he is in the process of engaging him/herself for birth, meaning there now is somewhat of a pressure happening down below. It is also weird to feel punches so far down coming from inside! The building up of pressure means sitting down can be somewhat uncomfortable. It is an odd ache to explain. It somewhat resembles the achiness you feel after a good workout following along period with no physical activity whatsoever. Only, this is affecting the internal muscles of your Ladybits.
I'm constantly exhausted and insomnia is killing me. I pretty much am trying to crash as much as I can whenever sleep threatens to overtake me. My back is pretty achy, but my hips are aching even more. It feels as if I need to crack them to get some relief... but I can't.
38 and a half weeks
I have also noticed a change in my skin - which is the major indication of hormonal changes. Dry skin is back with a vengeance, and I'm getting spotty again.
Also, there have been changes when it comes to boobs as well.I can tell they're getting ready to turn me into a cow. With their filling in [even more than usual], it gives the breasts a more perky stance [yay!] so for the last few moments of this pregnancy, I can stop feeling as if they were inches away from becoming my belly button's new neighbours.
Tomorrow will be a day of potentially swearing my head off at the pram/pushchair/car seats as I try to reassemble them- wish me luck!
Going to hospital is pretty much like going away for the weekend - you need to pack for it. Unlike travelling though, you cannot really afford to leave your packing for the last minute. Baby might pop out at any given moment in time, so the sooner you prepare your bags, the better.
Ideally, you should aim to have everything sorted out before week 28 kicks in. After that point, you'll end up too exhausted to do the packing yourself, plus you become like a ticking time bomb.
I have had a look at various Hospital lists so far, and this is what I gained out of it: Don't follow the first list that comes to hand.
A lot of baby shops offer you their own version of the list and some give you some sort of special offer if you buy all the items off the list from their shop. To some mothers-to-be, this seems like the perfect deal as it saves them time. To me, it just seems like a good way to make business.
There are certain lists that have way too many things you don't truly need. I tend to pack just the bare necessities, and then get whatever I happen to need once I arrive at my destination if I happened not to pack it with me in advance. The same can be done for your Hospital Bags. The hospital in Malta has a shop that will pretty much cover your forgetful arse with most of your needs, anyway. That, and all you'd have to do is get a relative or a friend to run a quick errand for you should you forget anything behind.
So, I'll just go through the list of what you truly need for both Baby and Yourself.
First thing to keep in mind is this: It makes life much more easy to have two separate bags, One will be just for you, and the other for your spawn. It will save a lot of time and frustration by lessening the need to dump everything out of the bag in order to find something.
Baby's Bag
As soon as you open the bag, you should find a separate paper/plastic bag containing the following:
A nappy
A towel
A vest/ onesie
A baby grow
A baby hat
Baby mittens
A pair of socks
This bag will basically contain the very first things your Baby will need as soon as s/he is born. It is a good idea to have an outfit at hand which is in Newborn size, and one which is in a 0-3 months size. The reason for this is purely the fact that you won't know a)how prematurely your baby might be born and b)how bigger or smaller than expected s/he might be. I would recommend that the rest out the outfits would be in a 0-3 size as it is more likely that Baby will be on the bigger rather than the smaller side. Should it be required though, you can always get a few smaller sized clothes once s/he is born. Family/friends can help out with that.
When it comes to Baby Vests, it is ideal to go for Onesies instead. Onesies a.k.a. body suits have a snap-button fastening at the crotch to make it easier for you to access dirty nappies whilst making it harder for Baby's belly to become accidentally exposed and potentially leading to a chronic case of gas.
On the subject of Baby Grows [a.k.a. feety pyjamas/ sleepsuits], a nifty thing to look out for is "hidden mittens" - which is basically a 'pocket' that is sewn on the back/front of the sleeves' cuffs which can be doubled over so that it covers Baby's hands. They can save you quite a lot of grief from lost mittens. Also, if the Baby Grow has feet, it'll save you from having to deal with lost socks as they won't be necessary.
The infamous mitten cuffs
In the actual Big Baby Bag itself, you will need to include the following:
Baby shampoo and baby soap
A shawl or blanket
Tops & tails bowl/small basin
Washcloth
More nappies [i.e. just toss in a whole packet]
Nappy Bags [i.e. bags in which dirty nappies can be thrown into to dispose of]
Wet wipes
More baby outfits [i.e. onesies/ baby grows/ hats/ mittens/ socks, as well as the Going Home outfit]
A couple more towels
Cotton wool
If you plan to bottlefeed your Minion,don't worry. The hospital will supply you with both the bottle as well as formula milk if that is what you opt for.
YOU!
The most important thing you will need is your Ante-natal Card [a.k.a. Blue card]. It is vital you take it with you as without it, they won't admit you to hospital. This means that is should be in your handbag AT ALL TIMES just in case you need to be admitted to hospital urgently [e.g. you have an accident.]
As for you, you'll need quite a few things. The following should be packed in a separate plastic/paper bag and placed at the very top of your Big Bag as you'll need them soon after you give birth:
A nightdress with front opening if you plan to breastfeed
A nursing bra [if you plan to breastfeed]
Maternity pads [i.e. enormous sanitary towels since you'll be catching up with your old friend Bloody LadyBits soon after you give birth]
Disposable briefs - and make sure they are stretchy and high-waisted as if you happen to need a C-section, the elasticated waistband must be higher up than the stitches.
Face cloth / sponge
Bath towel
Shampoo, conditioner & shower gel
Socks / Slippers
Dressing gown
Comb or brush for your hair
Other things you'll need:
2 or 3 more nightdresses / pyiamas [or if you're like me, tracksuits]
Another dressing gown
Extra pairs of socks
Extra nursing bras
Breast pads [to prevent you from leaking through your clothing]
Extra briefs
Tissues
Any other personal toiletries and - if you're the kind who is unable to live with out - make up
Towels
Your spectacles or lenses and their liquid container
Your pillow if you can’t sleep without it
Going home outfit
JUST IN CASE YOU'RE ADMITTED EARLY:
Medicines/ vitamins that you take during pregnancy
Some snacks or biscuits
Teabags or coffee, some powdered milk and your mug if you prefer
Some water
Keep in mind that your stay will last anywhere between 2-5 days. You don't need to pack all your clothes for the duration if you don't want to -just prepare whatever clothes you'd like and leave them at home. All it will take is for a friend/relative to pick them up for you.
Also - you won't shrink back to your pre-pregnancy size straight away - you'll still look like you're about 5-6months pregnant at first. So plan your clothes accordingly. Don't wear skinny-fit, low-waisted stuff as if you have any stitches, it'll be hell for you.
You will also need to make sure you have a Baby Car Seat readily available as this is what you'll be using to take Baby home.
Things you are not allowed to wear when giving birth:
Fake nails- as the medical staff will need to check the colour of your real nails to confirm everything is ok with you.
Nail polish - see above reason.
Jewelry [*sob*] - though different hospitals have different policies on body jewelry - so ask in advance whether it is all jewelry or just specific jewelry [depending on material and placement].
Optional things you might wish to take with you
Mobile phone & charger
Camera & batteries/battery charger
Book[s]
Mp3 player
Address book/contact list to alert those you wish to of the birth
As a big fan of beards and facial hair in general - as already expressed in a previous blog - there have been several jokes made about the possibilities of Creature being bearded at birth - especially if it turns out that Creature is indeed a boy!
Hairy babies aren't that uncommon. Now, when I say 'hairy' I am not just referring to the hair that grows on top of their heads.
If Creature turns out to be as hairy as the above-portrayed kidlets, I will probably be giggling to myself for a good few days! Oh the fun one can have with their spawn's hair!!
Anyway. Back on topic.
All foetuses go through a hairy stage whilst still in utero. They are covered with a coat of fine hair called Lanugo which can make its first appearance as early as on your 14th week of pregnancy. This is thought to be a remnant from our primate ancestors as really and truly there is no need for our very own humane fur coat whilst still snug inside our mothers' womb. On average, the temperature in there is about 37°C [a.k.a. 98.6°F].
If a baby is born prematurely, or even slightly early, they usually are covered in Lanugo. Some full-term babies still have some Lanugo present and it usually is shed after a few weeks from birth.
Lanugo on Baby's shoulder.
Lanugo on Baby's face
Though I know that Creature is highly unlikely to be born with a full beard, it is still fun to imagine what that would be like. The Lanugo will be covering Baby’s whole body except for his/her palms, the sole of his/her feet, his/her lips, penis, nails and sides of his/her fingers and toes.
Fun fact: A newborn boy has as much testosterone as a 25 year old man. The levels drop drastically, and then start rising again once the boy hits puberty. This means that some babies are born with more testosterone than their own fathers!
"So where does the Lanugo go when it is shed in utero?" you'll be asking. Good question! Apparently, the Lanugo is somehow absorbed by Baby and sits in his/her bowels, ready to be pooped once Baby is evicted out of his/her mother's womb. It is used to make up the Newborn Baby Poop called Meconium, along with other special ingredients such as cells, mucus, bile and amniotic fluid. I will spare you the details of what it looks like and whatnot. IF you'd like the details, they have been covered in this previous blog.
Last night was yet another insomnia-ridden experience. This meant,I got to watch my Belly Show. I finally managed to capture a brief moment of it on video - which you can see below:
I uploaded this video clip to my Facebook account, and most of my friends who have never experienced pregnancy first hand seemed to be somewhat traumatised. I've been told by a handful of them that they didn't think there would be so much movement going or, nor that it would be THAT clearly visible. To be fair, I', sure that on some level - be it conscious or subconscious, they made the link to the famous Alien scene. Not sure which one I'm referring to? Shame on you!! Here you go!
When I was first told it would be visible, I myself made the connection with the chest burster scene and thought I would probably freak out if I see something moving inside of me. Instead, I just tend to giggle at it all most of the time, with a "Ouch, stop that will you?" thrown in every so often, especially when Creature throws in a mega-kick or punch.
As painful as the movement tends to be most of the time, it means that all is well and I don't have to worry. Before I started feeling movements, I used to worry all the time whether Creature is ok in there.
Other mums tend to tell me "I miss being pregnant - I miss feeling the movements inside of me." One of my mum-friends actually went to the extent of saying that she envies me for being pregnant, and that she was really upset after giving birth - on both occasions [seeing as she is a mother of two] - just because she felt deprived of the movements.
I can imagine getting nostalgic about it, one way or another - however the trick with nostalgia is to recall both good and bad stuff related to the topic. That way, you can move forward instead of getting stuck to dwell in the past.
I keep picturing what the first few moments will be like, once Creature is born. I have half-jokingly said that if I have a boy and call him Duncan, I want to listen to Princes of the Universe the moment he is born. The plan has changed to a gender neutral one now - once they hand him/her over to me, I just want to go.... "IT'S ALIIIIIVE!!!!! ALIIIIIIVE!!!!" Think the midwife and medical stuff will mind? :D
Does that sound familiar to you? That, is pretty much the reason why I seem to get screwed over time and time again. I have this crazy notion [ *gasp*] that everyone is an individual and therefore deserves a chance to prove themselves to be decent. Unfortunately this means that by the time their true colours show, someone gets hurt. And that, isn't them, usually.
Whilst having a conversation with a friend last night [or rather, too-early-this-morning] we were discussing how it seems almost impossible for someone who is "too good" to be otherwise. In theory, it is simple enough. It is only a matter of time and practise. Once you get out of your "too good" comfort zone, and learn how to force yourself to be more assertive, and to put your priorities before others', then you're sorted. You will be wrecked by feelings of guilt for a while, but eventually your comfort zone will evolve and it will become second nature for you.
He pointed out to me "Ah, but you can achieve that easily by cheating. By bringing Creature's priorities first, you can justify being 'egoistic' whereas in reality you will still be bringing his/her needs first and foremost."
That gave me some brainfood to chew on.
Being a parent means that yes, your number one priority becomes your child. However, your life does not need to end the moment the child is born. I look at my mum, for example, and get pissed off at how she brings everyone else's needs before her own - at her own health's cost. I end up telling her off and trying to get her to set her priorities straight. I am sure that the vast majority of parents out there can relate. Gods know how many times, growing up, we swear to ourselves that we won't do the same mistakes our parents did.
To me, that means one thing. Yes, your child priorities should come first. But, don't forget your own needs, and every once in a while, do something for you. "Me" time is still important. If you don't look after yourself, both you and your child will suffer long-term consequences. Your child will grow up and look back at his/her childhood, and realise how much you have sacrificed for him/her. S/he will be grateful, sure, but not without feeling guilty and wishing they could turn back time and make you take better care of yourself.
Spare your child that unnecessary guilt trip - it is your choice entirely; they have no reason to feel guilty about it.
Chesticles, Boobies, Tits, Hooters, Jugs, Bazongas, Titties, Breasticles - call them what you will. Fact is, everyone loves boobs.
To some, getting pregnant means they finally get "big boobs" - and they are happy with the growth and hope to keep it even after it is all over and done with. These are usually the kind of women who lacked in the bra-filler department pre-pregnancy.
Then you get those who already have quite a bit of boobage going on, who curse the growth caused by pregnancy and hope that their breast will go back to what it used to be after the whole ordeal is over.
When it comes to The Partner, they're usually pleased with the... ahem.. new developments. Let me tell you this though - it is not fun to go through. I find myself in the second category of women. It is pretty much a matter of days til I end up with my nipples saying hi to my belly button.
And guess what? Not only do the boobs carry on growing throughout the pregnancy - but if you opt to breastfeed - yes! They grow even more! They won't stop til the day you stop breastfeeding. If you were on the smaller side before the pregnancy, you will probably lose whatever you gained, and then some. If you were on the bigger side, forget about losing whatever you gained. All that'll happen to your boobs is gravity.
Throughout the pregnancy, you'll get itchy boobs from the skin stretching itself, your nipples and areolas will go darker and threaten to take over your boobs, and then it will finally happen. You'll start leaking. Word of advice here: wear loose clothing, and preferably, padded bras. Wearing black, and other dark colours, can help you hide the leaks should it happen at a really inconvenient time. Get breast pads. Or if you need some sort of emergency padding, those make-up removal cotton pads can work just fine.
If you're as unlucky as I was, prepare yourself for some serious upper back pain. I don't have any advice on how to lessen it - though if you have a partner, or someone available on a daily basis, asking them for back rubs should be mandatory. Try to rest as much as you can, as the moment your lower back starts hurting as well, you'll be seriously screwed. It has been painful enough to interfere with my ability to work [since I work in an office environment where I'm seated pretty much all the time, my back started to hurt after 5 minutes into my shift. And it hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes. Considering I have a pretty high pain tolerance... that is saying something.]
If you have nipple piercings, get longer barbells. Your nipples are going to swell up, thus needing more room. If you decide to breastfeed, be prepared to say goodbye to your piercings. Babies want to be fed every 2 hours or so, and you will have to take out the jewelry in order to nurse [choking hazard, and it can also damage their soft palate, if you don't remove it]. Your nipples are going to be sore after you finish nursing. Putting jewelry back in, only to have to remove it again shortly after, will not be fun.
If you decide not to breastfeed, you will have some not-so-fun times ahead where you will spend a few days with your boobs being engorged and sore as hell. Apparently, cabbage can help soothe the aches. Refridgerate said cabbage, then get a leaf per boob.
For more info about your boob changes, feel free to clicky here, here, here and here
Due to my inquisitive nature, I decided to look up on Google how the placenta is removed after a natural [i.e. vaginal] birth, and how long it takes.
As soon as I typed "placenta" in the search bar, this is what showed up on the suggested search items:
Needless to say, I was perplexed.
I had heard of people who bury the placenta as they believe that it too has a soul and therefore, deserves a burial. That much, I can accept as making sense in some warped way. But seriously, recipes?!
This prompted me to investigate it further and find out odd things one can do with the placenta.
Lotus Birth
A Lotus Birth is pretty much a normal birth, which the exception that the umbilical cord is never severed. Yep, you pretty much have Baby still attached to the placenta until it dries up and shrivels and detaches itself naturally.
I first heard of this through a friend of mine. My first reaction was "ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!"
My reaction now is..... yep. Still "eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!"
I cannot imagine how awkward it must be to carry around Baby and Placenta. It is pretty much like having to move about Conjoined Twins, for example. At least that is the way I picture it in my head.
Speaking of pictures.....
Why opt for a Lotus Birth? Why indeed! Well, the practise has been leeched off by New Age practitioners off some Ancient Eastern Philosophies [not unlike lots of other theories and practises] such as Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, as well as other cultures such as Balinese practises. The reason for it seems to be that they believe that the Baby's aura remains intact.
There might be some medical validity to it all though - apparently there has been a reported absence of healthy neonatal weight loss and breastfeeding jaundice in lotus birth scenarios. These studies have shown a significant decrease in jaundice where the umbilical cord was severed later than 60 seconds after birth.
Those of you who know me know I like to make things. I'm crafty. :D
But. This, I feel, is taking Craftiness a step too far.
Placenta Teddy was designed by a guy called Alex Green. It has been described as "a crafty alternative for those who don’t necessarily want to eat their baby’s placenta, but want to pay their respects to the life sustaining organ by turning it into a one-of-a-kind teddy bear."
The placenta must be cut in half and rubbed with sea salt to cure it. After it is dried out, it is treated with an emulsifying mixture of tannin and egg yolk to make it soft and pliable. Then, you craft it into a teddy bear.
My thoughts about this? Yep. You guessed it. "Ewwwwwwwwwww."
Then again, how different is having a Teddy made out of Placenta to having any goods made out of leather? Perhaps the disgust factor only comes into play because I know where Teddy is coming from. Hmmmm.
It is not uncommon for animals to eat their placenta [and sometimes, their young]... Does this mean we should be doing so too?
I'm referring to the placenta, not eating our young.
The practise of eating the placenta is called Placentophagy.
The placenta is pretty much treated like meat for cooking purposes. There are recipes out there on how to make Placenta Lasagna, Stew and Soup, amongst other dishes!
For those who are squeamish at the idea of eating the placenta, it can be turned into pills. The whole idea behind the consumption of the placenta - be it in pill form or otherwise - is that it is packed full of nutritional and hormonal properties and can help prevent postpartum depression and helps women speed up the recovery process after giving birth.
Research has shown that the afterbirth is indeed a packed with nutrients, but there is no hard evidence that humans benefit from consuming it. Having said that, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the human placenta [a.k.a. Ziheche] is often dried up and used to treat several conditions, including infertility and impotence.
After reading all of the above information, I got curious. I asked my midwife what happens with the placenta once it is out. She gave me a weirded out look and said "It is incinerated as biohazard waste. Why? Did you want to eat it?"
