39 Weeks Pregnant – The Hardest Week Yet

This last week or so, leading up to being 39 weeks pregnant, has been the worst week of this pregnancy by far for a number of reasons;

a. Matt has been doing longer hours than usual due to a colleague being off.
b. Elsie’s been knocked for six by her 13 month immunisations and has developed a full on cold accompanied by a sky high temperature.
c. The heat was unbearable.
d. I’ve become a walking lump of eczema. My hands are covered in itchy blisters and my bump and boobs are red and scaly! Sexy. I’ve also got blisters on my wrists and elbow which bleed as soon as I scratch them.
e. I’ve got a cold! Not sure whether it’s something I have caught from Els or whether it’s pregnancy related but it’s not fun.
f. Finally, I feel housebound and it’s getting me down.

The eczema is bothering me the most though. It started, as what I thought was a heat rash, whilst we were at Alton Towers in May. We did A LOT of walking and so I assumed I’d just overheated a little. Fast forward to today and my skin has gone nuts. I had very mild eczema as a child but never anything like this. I’ve used lots of lotions and potions but I am currently using Colief’s Mum to Be Cream which is definitely helping give my skin a good moisture boost and soothe the itching. I also take anti-histamine when I really feel the urge to itch myself until I resemble a giant scab. I really don’t know whether the heat is the cause of this flare up or whether it’s due to hormones and is being exacerbated by the heat. Either way it’s a constant pain in the back side!

Speaking of heat – it’s really hard to keep a feverish child well and cool when her bedroom is 28 degrees at bedtime! We’ve had night after night of crying out and coughing. I sit in Elsie’s room wondering how on Earth we are going to manage with a newborn waking every few hours as well. Definitely a few “what the hell have we done” moments during this last week….

I specifically asked the nurse when Elsie had her immunisations if she was likely to get ill and she shook her head and said no, quite sure of herself. Two days after having them we had a little temperature sneak in. Once that was under control (or so we thought) Els developed a cold; blocked nose, runny nose, cough – the works! I can deal with a cold but then the temperature came back and she seems worse than ever. She woke up over the weekend the hottest I’ve ever felt her and inconsolable. Eventually Calpol worked it’s magic and she was a little perkier and managed to eat and drink. Matt did a bit of Googling a1nd apparently the MMR can make them a little poorly after 10 days or so and even a dose of the measles….!

Anyway, back to the pregnancy….

I had a 38 week midwife appointment last week and all was well. Bump has grown a little, blood pressure and urine all a-ok and movement and heartbeat good too. What more could you ask for? In terms of labour signs I have had a few and thought I was in very early labour on Friday night but alas I was not.

My mucus plug has been coming away in small parts for about a fortnight now but it seems to have ramped up a little in the last few days. Alongside this I’ve definitely noticed a drop in my bump (and so have others) and more shooting pains in my cervix (?) and down the tops of my thighs so I’m guessing things are starting to dilate and widen ready for the big shove! I’ve had a lot more Braxton Hicks in the last week and the odd more painful contraction too which has given me mega labour anxiety.

I know it’s a little grim to discuss but this is a pregnancy update….

Trips to the toilet are becoming much more frequent and it’s making me wonder if my body is having a clear out. I believe the hormones which surge prior to labour increase the need for you to empty your bowel in order to allow the baby to pass through.

Unfortunately sleep is just not happening. As well as Elsie crying out I’ve also become somewhat of an insomniac in the last week of this pregnancy. I don’t think it’s all to do with the heat although I’m sure that doesn’t help. I’ve heard insomnia is a fairly common symptom of being in your third trimester. I moan all day long about being tired and then I get into bed and it can take 2-3 hours before I nod off.

Usually just as Elsie wakes up.

My emotions are all over the place which isn’t much fun. On Friday I was a very shouty mum. My patience is paper thin and my current bug bear is people dropping crumbs on the kitchen floor. If you read my home birth post you’ll know I am planning on birthing in the kitchen (yum) so I think it’s making me paranoid about keeping it clean.

Sorry about all the moaning – can you tell I’m not really enjoying being pregnant? I am grateful for my blessings but living like this day to day is hard. I’ve forgotten what not being pregnant is like after having, what feels like, two pregnancies back to back.

My 39th week is when I gave birth to my two girls so I am banking on the next week being THE week she arrives. It feels like ages ago since we were panicking about choosing our double buggy, bedside crib and where to give birth but everything is now in place and it’s just a waiting game.