Week 31

Weight gained: 25lbs/11kg+?
Feeling: Thirsty
Baby stats: 16", 3lbs

This week Baby Wu's movements have become quite strong. She's not necessarily getting stronger, but she is getting bigger. So now every little movement feels like my organs are being shifted around inside. There has also been lots of pressure on my bladder which makes me feel like I have to pee every 5 minutes. I have also noticed that my belly has become quite hard to the touch. This surprises people since usually they assume that it feels soft and squishy, but really it's not since the baby needs a strong barrier for protection.

In preparation for labour, I've put together a compilation of all the notes taken from both birthing classes which includes hospital information, signs of labour, stages of labour, breathing and vocalization techniques to use during labour, positions during labour, as well as Vincent's role and duties during labour. We call it "The Book" and its basically Vincent's birthing bible. I also plan to add some photos to the remaining pages since pleasant visuals are also meant to have a calming effect during birth. Gotta be prepared!

Pregnancy has been quite an interesting experience and hasn't changed my daily life all that much. Well, I do seem to get out more often and feel more encouraged to walk (since this is supposed to ease the labour process). All in all it's been good and enjoyable. : ) I guess the three major things people would not enjoy about pregnancy are: 1-Nausea, 2-Weight Gain, 3-Diet. These haven't really plagued me very much (apart from #1), so I consider myself quite lucky.

The first thing, nausea, was a consistent thing throughout the 2nd-3rd month of pregnancy. I was quite lucky to not have experienced the morning sickness we always hear of and read about (except twice when I had bad food and vomited after the meals). But there was a long stage where even the slightest smell of anything would make me feel sick and turn me off all food completely. I remember barely managing to eat a slice of wholewheat bread a day. Thank goodness this stage is over!

Next is the weight gain. The extra poundage people will put on during these 9 months will differ for everyone. Average weight gain is said to be between 25-40 pounds (11-18kg). Then again, I've heard of people gaining as little as 8lbs (3.6kg) and upwards over 45lbs (20kg+). Overall, I've enjoyed the weight gain since it's a whole different experience, and I don't need to feel restricted in tight jeans every day. I'm not concerned with the trouble of losing the extra weight after the birth since that'll probably be the least of my worries. It's quite an amazing thing to see the changes in your body, so I've been trying to embrace my new shape. Hee.

Lastly, the Pregnancy Diet. For food-lovers, this is probably the worst thing of the whole 9 months. There are a bunch of off-limit foods during this time, the obvious being soft cheeses, raw and slightly less than well-done meat/fish/eggs/anything, certain cooked fish (due to high mercury levels), and anything with caffeine. Other foods include hotdogs/sausages/cold cuts (unless they're fully cooked and/or fresh), certain mayonnaises, and eggs benedict (boo). If you're Chinese, then that also means that you're not supposed to eat any type of shellfish (very hard to do if you live in Sydney), watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, honeydew (most melons you can eat maybe a few pieces), bananas, peanut butter, cooked nuts, instant noodles, pigeon, duck, ice cream (i cheated), too many sweets, and other such delectables. The list goes on, but surprisingly I haven't felt too deprived. Vincent and I usually go out for Japanese once a week, but I don't miss eating sashimi or sushi.

And here's the most recent photo of me and Baby Wu. We're both getting bigger still!