36 and 37 week bump photosUp until Monday I had unwillingly resigned myself to having a c-section… I could feel that the baby hadn’t moved, my midwife had confirmed it a few days before and every single piece of information I could find told me that my short body wouldn’t be helping matters. Then I spent Monday evening getting in and out of the bath, contemplating a call to labour ward and watching my stomach do all kinds of crazy things… I woke up on Tuesday and had a quick prod of my tummy. I won’t pretend that I ‘knew’ she’d moved but I did say to my sisters that something felt different.

Off we went to the consultant for a scan to confirm baby’s position and size, I was beyond relieved when I noticed my favorite (yes I’ve had so many scans that I now have a preference on who does them) sonographer would be doing the scan. She is fab at explaining exactly what she’s looking at and putting you at ease. Thankfully she noticed how nervous I was so immediately got down to checking baby’s position and told us straight away that she’d turned. Cue me battling away the tears of relief! She also noted down that despite what our last scan said baby isn’t a huge beast but is following her growth line perfectly and should be just a little bigger than Francesca was.

So now we’re just waiting… I think we’re ready to go. Our bags are packed, Frankie’s grandparents are on standby for a middle of the night call to come and look after our monkey and the moses basket is set up next to my side of the bed. Everyday I squeeze Frankie just a bit tighter and tell her I love her 10,000 times more than usual just incase she wakes up the next morning and is no longer our only baby.

In terms of being ‘medically’ ready I can feel my body gearing up. I’m getting very strong braxton hicks atleast once a day, I’m back to peeing every 30 minutes and the pressure on my hips is just about beyond uncomfortable. After a few weeks off vomiting has returned and I can feel the acid in my chest after every bite of food. My birth plan is tucked in to my folder and the extra page on how my third stage should be managed is highlighted with a big gold sticker in my green notes.

The relief I’m feeling now I know the chances of a c-section are almost no existent completely over shadows any nerves I was feeling before. The only tiny niggle I have is about the third stage as my consultant is concerned that if I have a similar delivery to my first then there could be some problems with placenta delivery and blood loss. I didn’t realise how lucky I was with my blood loss the first time round so knowing there is a chance it could go a bit wrong this time is on my mind. I’m not going to let myself worry too much though as my notes include directions to set me up with an IV of the hormones to keep my womb contracting instead of the normal injection and to be prepared for a blood transfusion.

My next appointment is on December 4th, just 4 days before Frankie’s 2nd Birthday and 9 days before my due date. I’ve gotta say… I’d be pretty happy if I didn’t end up at that appointment. Instead I’d quite like to be having newborn snuggles!