Getting closer to meeting my baby!

So once we knew we were having a girl we were able to get prepared. And also decided on a name. I'd found it in a baby book & had loved it. We kept it secret & when people asked (which everyone does), got used to saying not sure yet!!

Lots of pink clothes were passed down from my (soon to be 1 year old at the time) niece! I loved washing everything & hanging it on the airer to dry.

My family & friends threw me a baby shower which was lots of fun. Silly games & lots of laughs. I was spoilt with lovely presents for both me & baby. A really nice memory.

The end of the pregnancy brought some not so nice symptoms. Really bad heartburn was one of them. So bad it felt like my throat was on fire. And gaviscon is revolting! I also suffered with awful pains in my legs which kept me up a lot at night. And of course the bigger the bump gets, the more difficult it was to get around. It was probably the only time in my life I've been glad of having a wheelchair! People still stared but not out of pity which you get with invisible illness.

My midwife was really suportive regarding the ME & had said I would probably be better having an epidural as most first labours are very long. With not having much energy to begin with it was the most sensible option for me.

Two weeks before my due date I started getting pains. They were worse than the Braxton Hicks that you have in pregnancy, which are like false contractions.  They kept coming & going & they were bad enough for me to ring the Maternity Assessment who told me to go down.

I was hooked up to monitors & they confirmed that I was in fact having contractions but they were very mild. My cervix was still closed & I was sent home. Over the next two weeks I had them on & off & spent a lot of time bouncing on my gym ball!

My due date came & all the pain stopped! Totally stopped. Not one little niggle. That's it I thought, this baby is staying put & she is going to make me wait another 2 weeks.....