Week 24 - Finding Forester

My body:
* Undies are getting too small, not sure if my bum is getting bigger or all my undies have shrunk in the dryer or combination of both.
* Braxton hicks? Well, as always, am not very sure if I did experience the hicks. Braxton Hicks are intermittent contractions of the uterus that some women experience during their pregnancy. They were first described by Dr. John Braxton Hicks in 1872, an English gynecologist, and are often referred to as practice labor because they are thought to help prepare your body for the real deal. Apparently most women notice Braxton hicks contractions in their second half of their pregnancy and in their third trimester in particular. Most of them last between 30 to 60 seconds, often feel like a tightening of the front of your abdomen or pelvis. * Numbness - the blood circulation in the body of course is affected by the pregnancy, and as result I feel numbness on my fingers or feets from time to time. Mostly when I lay down in bed and not moving for a while.
* Just like an old pregnant woman, I started to need Scott's help to move around after getting comfortable or settled for a while in bed or in the lounge. Sometimes he needed to push my back or I need to roll to my side before able to actually standing up or changing my position!


My baby:
Weighs about 1.2 pounds and about 12 inches from head to heel - that is around 30 cm! He's growing for sure!) His lungs have started secreting surfactant, the substance that keeps the moist, interior surface of the lungs from sticking together, and he is practicing breathing. His eyes are also watching for lights and his ears are listenign to the heartbeat and the stomach growl.

While we were on the topics of his hearings, the other day I put an easy listening classical CD on - you know what they say, it is supposed to calm the baby down and stimulate his brain while he is still inside the womb. A few minutes after the music was on, he started to kick. I haven't got any clue whether or not that means he liked the music or hated it (Maybe he prefers top 40 music?)

Also this morning, I was woken up by the sound of a truck blowing his horn. A split second later I felt his movement as if this had startled him as well. He didn't really have a good reflex though, he kicked a bit too long after the horn blew but at least we know he was reacting to sounds!

Pregnancy is a funny thing. It is funny enough having someone (a real person!) growing inside your tummy - and you can't control it. It grows without you have any saying about it. Sharon said last night - it wouldn't sink down in her until she sees me holding the baby in my arm. I almost feel like that too. Sometimes it is real, sometimes it is not.

On Thursday we had a maternity hospital tour at Masada. The lady showed the facilities around. That time it felt real, that I am having a baby - looking at the birthing room made me shiver. When the lady said some women have been in those rooms for a long birth, it dawned to me all the pains and the things that can happen in the labour. Eeeeeeks.....

The other day I was also freaked out by the thought that I AM going to be a mother. And this is it, no turning back! I thought, what if I didn't enjoy being a mother? What if I hated not being free as I was before, or if I wasn't a good mother? So many things that started to sink in as the pregnancy grows. So many worries. And joys at the same time.
I have to say, despite all that, I have been enjoying my pregnancy.

We picked up the new Subaru Forester on friday. How exciting! I got to drive it after dinner at Sharon's on Saturday (pregnant women = designated drivers!) and it was as smooth as. Scott's been like a little boy with his new toy - he went to see the car in the garage before he went to sleep and checking the car out on the way to the shop around the corner (walking!).