Hello third trimester! It won’t be much longer now before we get to meet baby #1. I answer regularly asked questions and share my experience.
When I bumped into one of my Instagram palls recently and saw her surprised face when she noticed my pregnant belly. I realised that I haven’t shared much about my pregnancy on here or on social media.
To be honest, I have even been slow to mention it to people in work. Some of the volunteers didn’t know that I was pregnant right up until my maternity leave started!
This lack of sharing is not because I’m not excited. Because boys bach, it has been a very exciting journey. I suppose I just found it tricky to suddenly say in a conversation: o by the way, I’m pregnant.
Now that my maternity leave has started. I felt that it was the perfect time to sit down and answer some of your questions and to share my experience thus far.
Q: WHEN IS THE BABY DUE?
First things first, the baby is due on the 20th of August. My, my sister Levi’s, and my sister-in-law Po-Tin’s birthdays are in August as well. So it will be a real birthday month.
On top of that, something cool has happened. My sister-in-law Esther, is due on the same date! How crazy is that?! It has been so much fun to be pregnant at the same time as her. And since it’s her second child, I’ve been able to ask her for advice and tips too.
One thing that I am anticipating is that I will find the warm weather quite tricky at times. I am not the type of person to last well in the sun for hours on end and with my big belly it might be a tad harder than usual!
So, I am already trying out fun ice lolly recipes that could cool me down on those hotter days. And I may have to convince Nathan that we need one of those little blow up pools.
Q: DO YOU KNOW THE SEX OF THE BABY?
We actually do not know the sex of the baby! It has been tempting at times to ask for it during ultrasounds. But we stuck to our guns because we both like this idea of a surprise on the day that it’s born. It won’t just be a: yay there’s the baby! But also a: it’s a boy or a girl!
Instead of building up certain expectations specific to the sex. We are going into it with open expectations. Which has been very special. The nursery will have a neutral design and we have already been gifted lovely clothes that suit both sexes.
It has been so much fun to speculate about the sex with friends, family, and each other. The names that we have come up with just ‘click’ for us and we’ve both felt very certain about them from early on!
Q: WHAT HAS THE PREGNANCY BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?
I am the type of person who doesn’t get ill very often and I have always felt quite ‘sturdy’. Nathan and I sometimes joke about me being a little viking due to me being Dutch (and my genetic Nordic heritage). So being pregnant has been a very humbling experience for me.
The first trimester: From about week 7 until week 13 I experienced nausea and tiredness. The first four weeks I was nauseous all day and got sick regularly. But the last three weeks it would variate every few days. And for a good month I needed a nap most afternoons.
We also thought for a little while that we were losing the baby. I would lose blood now and then and had to go into hospital a few times to check if the baby was ok. This was quite emotional and some intensive praying took place during this time.
God has been very kind and the baby is doing well thus far. But that little period made us realise even more how much of a miracle and a blessing a healthy baby is. And until I hold our little one safely in my arms I will still be a bit nervous.
The second trimester: It is true what they say about the second trimester. It’s the easiest one! At least it was for me. The nausea was gone and I didn’t experience much discomfort because my belly was still quite small.
The only thing that I did notice was that I found it harder to maintain a good posture. And nearing the end of the trimester my hips and lower back were starting to hurt (especially in the night).
Another thing I had to get used to was physically not being able to do everything anymore. Where I usually would get on with it and carried that heavy crate, I had to be wise now and ask for help. This was challenging at times but I got used to (and accepted) it over time.
During this trimester, I definitely grew amazed with my body for being able to grow a baby. The first time I clearly felt the baby kick was so special and fun. It still gets me very excited to this day! I may have woken (a very grumpy) Nathan up a few times in the night to feel the baby kick.
Hello third trimester: Being in week 31, I have recently entered the third trimester! Physically I am definitely starting to find things a bit harder. I get out of breath a lot quicker and things are just heavier to do.
Regarding my speed and movements, Nathan lovingly refers to me as a Dalek. I had to Google that one for a second. But it’s basically a very slow moving (and deadly) creature from the tv series Doctor Who.
The tiredness that I experienced in the first trimester has come back too so naps are back on the schedule. O and folks, baby brain is a thing. I regularly forget things and half a baguette may or may not have ended up in the cutlery drawer!
Q: WHAT IS YOUR BIRTH PLAN?
I originally envisioned giving birth in a birth pool in a midwifery led clinic. There’s one a 25 minute drive from us which isn’t attached to a hospital. But unfortunately we have discovered that, that very likely isn’t possible. There’s a fybroid in my womb which is growing over time.
It is quite common to develop fybroids in the womb during pregnancy. But because of the position of it (in the lower area of my womb) it might make a natural birth harder or impossible.
I have an ultrasound planned in at 36 weeks. Based on the size of the fybroid, the birth plan will then be decided on. If it has grown too much, I will need to have a C section. But if it has stayed the same size I could have a natural (vaginal) birth.
I was disappointed when I heard about the fybroid for the first time and the consequences it could have. The idea of a C-section felt so ‘anti-climactic’ to me and the recovery process can be quite long (compared to a vaginal birth). But I have gotten used to the idea now and in the end I want the both of us to be healthy and well.
I look forward to the 36 week scan because I’ll finally have a clearer idea on what to expect and prepare for!
In the meantime, I’ve been reading up on hypnobirthing after a friend lent me a book about it. No it’s not about giving birth in water (which is what I thought it was at first!). It’s about understanding the process of giving birth. This to replace some of the fear and nerves one might be feeling with confidence.
And it’s very much about creating the ‘right’ circumstances for the birth. By preparing little things that calm you and make you feel comfortable. Like a music list, your favourite snacks, comfortable clothes, and so on.
I won’t be doing everything that’s suggested in the book but there are a few things that I personally found very helpful. I’ll mention the name of the book at the end of this post!
Q: WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING DURING YOUR MATERNITY LEAVE?
I started my maternity leave 3 months before my due date (this includes two weeks of annual leave that I needed to use up). Which felt a bit early at first.
Now that things are getting heavier and I am feeling more tired. I am so glad to have started my maternity leave when I did. I would struggle driving up and down to work (which takes 2 hours) and sitting behind a desk three days a week now. I have a lot of respect for those women who work full time during pregnancy and work up until the day they give birth!
It has been lovely to be able to take better care of myself and to be able to listen more to my body’s (and baby’s) needs.
At the moment the nursery is one big mess (no floors, wallpaper that’s slowly coming off, and just a lot of stuff). And we haven’t bought anything for the baby yet. So, I am excited to get going on that.
It is also great to be able to spend time with friends, family, and, most importantly, Nathan. Before it’s not just the two of us anymore.
One other thing that I’ve been doing (and plan to keep doing until baby arrives) is writing content for the blog. I aim to have a few months worth of content ready to go when the baby arrives. So I will be able to soak it all in without going all quiet on you!
ITEMS THAT I’VE LOVED DURING PREGNANCY
- This pregnancy pillow that was recommended by a friend. It looks silly and sometimes is a bit clunky in bed but thanks to this pillow I have been in less pain than I could have been. I have this odd thing where my hips hurt after sleeping on one side for too long. But thanks to this pillow, I’ve been able to sleep in an angle which makes my hips hurt less and sometimes not at all. The small pillow that comes with it was a brilliant back pillow for in work as well. I look forward to trying this out as a nursing pillow. I’m sure that it will be very useful for that too.
- This book about hypnobirthing. As I mentioned earlier in this post, this book has really helped me to mentally (and practically) prepare for the birth.
- This exercise ball. I’ve had my eyes on it for a while and I finally bought it a few weeks ago. It’s been great for when I’m sitting behind my desk writing content for the blog or for when watching tv. It soothes my lower back and helps me to maintain a good posture. It might also be really useful for when contractions have started (if I’m having a natural birth).
- This frozen fruit smoothie. I have absolutely loved this smoothie the past few months. It has kept the hunger at bay, helped me to get those good vitamins in, and it has just been a really lovely treat now and then.
