36 weeks pregnant today

Well I'm 36 weeks pregnant today and have been on maternity leave for a week now. The week has just flown by! My colleagues gave me a lovely send-off at work with a surprise picnic lunch in the office last Tuesday, and some beautiful pink Roses (still doing well at home) and some little bits and pieces for the baby.

Last Wednesday I drove up to Halesowen to spend a couple of days with the family. Jo, Jess and I went for a dress fitting, which is a little complicated for me at the moment not knowing if the wedding will be before or after I've given birth! But the style of the dress should mean not too much alteration is required. Jess and I popped over to Grandad's for a cup of tea and chat to Murray the budgie on Wednesday afternoon. Then on Thursday I did abit of shopping in Merry Hill (for nursing bras), went for a walk up Clent (see previous blog) and went to Pizza Hut with Dad, Ste and Jo. I got back Friday lunch time, but by Friday evening was starting to feel really ill with a sore throat and general tiredness, so gave the half night of prayer at church a miss.

I'm still fighting the cold off now, and really miss not being able to take Echinacea at the moment, which I've found is fantastic for preventing colds developing when you first get symptoms!

Luke's off work this week and it's been really nice relaxing at home. We went to Ikea on Monday and enjoyed a free drink with our family card. My general plan for maternity leave is to get a walk or swim in everyday and to spend the rest of the time relaxing and doing all the things I want to do before the little one arrives.

On Monday we had another antenatal class - this time the topic was relaxation and breathing. Picked up some really useful tips, although the actual class turned into a bit of a comedy!

So far this week, I've been for a brisk walk everyday, and we've done quite a lot of washing. I've pre-washed all the nappies 3 times to optimise the absorbancy. When we start using them I'm going to switch to soap flakes and white vinegar (with maybe a drop of tea tree) for washing and conditioning, which according to the forums makes the nappies lovely and soft, removes stains, and smell lovely.

The baby is kicking away nicely, and regularly gets hiccups.

Just waiting in for my birth pool to arrive today....