Week 26

Some things have changed this week.

Just for comparison's sake, here's me wearing that same shirt in week 7:

I don't think my belly has gotten a lot bigger this week, but I have noticed some physical changes.

First of all, it's become impossible to sleep through the night. I don't really have to get up to pee, but I just randomly wake up somewhere between 4.30 and 5.30 AM every night. It only takes me about ten minutes to go back to sleep, but on weekdays Klaas's alarm clock goes off at 6 AM. He snoozes it for 5 minutes and about halfway through that snooze, his iPhone goes off too (he needs two alarms...). This goes on for 45 minutes (I kid you not), during which he constantly falls back asleep for 2.5 minutes at a time, while I lie awake. After he has left for work, it usually only takes me another 15 minutes to drift off to sleep again, but this whole process is SO tiring. Anyway, I guess I can't complain because it's not like I have to get up to go places... Another thing that's changed this week and which is causing me to wake up in the middle of the night, is that it's getting harder to turn over in bed. It's as though whenever I subconsciously feel like rolling onto my other side, I wake up for 5 seconds to do so.

It's getting harder to put on my socks and shoes and I think Klaas will have to start helping me in a few weeks. Getting up (from the couch, from a chair, out of the car, out of bed) is also becoming more difficult and can sometimes even be painful because my pelvis tends to act up. I don't really mind these things, though. Sure, it can get pretty uncomfortable, but I'm writing about it because these weekly blogs serve as my pregnancy journal. In a weird way I guess I kind of cherish these inconveniences because they're a reminder of the awesome job my body is doing. Does that make sense?

I've been getting Braxton Hicks contractions about daily, usually when I'm lying flat on my back. I'm not too worried, but it is something I'll be talking to my gynaecologist about, just to make sure. They don't hurt, but it's just reeeaaally weird to suddenly feel your uterus get as hard as a rock. I'm guessing this must be what having a sixpack feels like, haha!

I'm also not sure what position the baby is in right now. I still feel it kick all over the place, although ever since Tuesday (I think) I have hardly felt any kicks in my bladder. This makes me wonder whether he or she has finally turned and is now lying head down. As of this week I also sometimes get this uncomfortable feeling in my side, as though the baby's in my ribs. But again, am I feeling the baby's head or feet? I don't know. I'm looking forward to our second non-medical ultrasound on Friday, because then we'll know for sure what position the baby is in. We're also really curious to see if it looks like either one of us!

This is my last week in the second trimester! As of next Sunday I will officially be in my third and last trimester, so I think all of the above "inconveniences" are pretty normal.

Anyway, Klaas and I went on a tour of the maternity ward yesterday. It was fun to do this together, I think, and Klaas actually thought it was really interesting to see in what kind of room we'd be having our baby (you go through labor and the actual delivery in the same room, which is really convenient because you don't have to move from one room to another in the middle of intense contractions). We also saw the bathtubs that are used to relax and even give birth in. I'm really hoping I'll be able to do the whole water birth thing, but the midwife said we shouldn't focus on that idea too much. If there are any complications, you aren't allowed to actually deliver the baby underwater, and I wouldn't want to feel too disappointed if that should happen.

We also went to the bank on Thursday to check whether we could set up a savings account for the baby, but it's too soon for that so we'll have to go back once the baby is actually born.

So, I guess that's it for this week. If you've read through all of that, I applaud you!