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Week 31 Week 32 (or maybe 34 or 35 or something) Week 33

"Her head is so big because she's so smart... you watch: she'll come out and her first words in the delivery room will be 'Mummy, may I have a lemon cookie?'" -k.

Baby stats:
Current size: 5 massive pounds.
Weight she should be: 4 at most.
Aimee's key symptom: Shock.
Potential new due date: Who knows?

Arrived in the post this week: Baby sling, baby grobags, cute toys that I couldn't resist. The stuff just keeps on coming...
 
Kevin's thoughts:
Hooray! Early, early, baby's comin' early! Yippeeee! I'm practically dancing!

Okay, I know that a five pound baby at month number seven means one of two things - either the baby is regular-size and early, or she's super-size and coming when we expected - but between you and me, I'll take early! Given the circumstances, Aimee probably would too.

I've got two reasons to wish for early. Okay, three, if you count "making labour easier on Aimee", but two selfish reasons.

The first is that I'm so excited to meet her. Because I read to her and talk to her and sing songs to her through Aimee's belly, I feel like she knows me but I don't know her. I want her to be out as soon as possible so I can be introduced. I'd also like to see if the game we play where she pokes me and I poke her back is fun to her or just annoying. When I can see her face, I'll get a more accurate impression and maybe the game will have to stop. We'll see.

The second, and most important reason, the reason that gives me the most joy if the baby is weeks ahead, is this: I'll get to quit work early! WHOOPPEEEEEE!

I've given a final date of either November 15th (which until this last scan, gave us a good three weeks' leeway to putter around the house saying 'where is this stinking baby?') or when the baby arrives, whichever comes first. That means if the baby is born on November 10th, I'm done work on November 10th. If the baby arrives October 30th, I'm done work on October 30th. Come on baby, out you come!

I don't mind saying it: I don't like my job. And I don't care who knows. Technically, I'm an animator, because I'm paid to animate, but the things I animate aren't things that give people joy. In fact, people only see my animations when they are forced by their bosses to watch them. I animate training course materials for a health and safety organisation. That means I either have the most interesting job in the most boring industry, or the most boring job in the most exciting industry. When I meet someone new, the conversation goes something like this:

New person: "What do you do for a living?"
Kevin: "I'm an animator."
New person: "Cool! You mean like Disney?"
Kevin: "No, actually, it's nothing like Disney."

To add insult to injury (ha ha health and safety pun) the job is in Leicester. For those of you who don't know of Leicester (a) it's 1.5 hours north of London by train, and (b) it has no marketable qualities. Apologies to my friends from Leicester who are reading this, but I'm afraid it doesn't. I can't think of anything that Leicester does better than anyone else in the world (unless you count the Chicken Cheese and Bacon Stack at the Bell Fountain, but even that's technically in Wigston).

So, the sooner that baby comes, the sooner I get to quit, and pack up all my stuff, and move back to my family in London so I can see them EVERY SINGLE WAKING MOMENT OF THE DAY instead of just four days a week.

And THAT is something worth celebrating! ZIPPITY DOODAH! Daddy's comin' home!
Aimee's thoughts:
Let's talk dates a little bit. We think we're at 31+6 weeks. The hospital, based on our first scan, thinks we're at 33+4. Throughout all of this, we've maintained that we're right because what does one ultrasound at week 12 really know, right? I mean, WE were there.

However, we are now seriously doubting ourselves. We just got back from our ultrasound scan and not only is our baby big for her week according to us, she's big for the 33+4 measurements. Quite big.

Are you ready for this? She's already 5 pounds.

If you look back, you'll see that last week I recorded her weight at a healthy 3.2 pounds, which is what is normal for a 30-week old baby. Now, she's suddenly catapulted upwards two pounds and two weeks and I'm in a little bit of shock.

I understand that a baby can come early anyway, so you shouldn't put too much stock in due dates anyhow but at least you always have those goal posts. Now the goal posts have changed and I don't even know exactly where they've been relocated to.

The most common question I'm asked is 'when's the baby due' and 'how far along are you?' From now on, I can only give very general ideas... Novemberish, perhaps?

The additional fun part is that I work until November 15th, which would have originally given me almost three weeks at home before the due date. Now it's more like one, or maybe not even that. I didn't expect to be one of those supermoms who work right up until their due date, but it looks like that might be the case!

Let's hope I don't go into labour on the Victoria Line. Eep.

At least the baby is most definitely, absolutely, without a doubt a girl. I think if I had had to adjust to a new due date along with a new gender, it all would have been a bit too much to handle today.

Did you know?

This is the week that the baby runs out of room in my uterus. From here on out, her movements will be much more squirmy and much less kicky.

I wonder how any human can suffer from claustrophobia, since we've all spent such a long time in a confined space - and upside down no less. You'd think confined spaces would make us feel all warm and cosy.

 
If only I knew then...

This week: The Art of Rolling Over

For weeks, rolling over in bed has been difficult, involving painful twists, sitting up, and practically getting out of bed and getting back in the other way. I thought this was as bad as it would get.

I was totally wrong. This week, I can barely even sit up in bed without having to wake Kevin up to help prop me up. Rolling over is impossible. I'm just too massively huge to do anything. This is occassionaly frustrating, but I'm still keeping a good sense of humour about it.
 
Aimee's cravings

I got out of bed at 10pm to make myself scrambled eggs. I hate scrambled eggs normally. Strange.

Note: If Kevin had been home, he would have gotten out of bed to make me scrambled eggs. I almost feel sorry for him, as this was my first middle-of-the-night craving that he could have helped with.

 
Everyone into the poll!

Due dates are funny things... It has always seemed funny to me that the doctor will give you a concrete date, and then tell you that a full term baby is anywhere between 37 and 40 weeks. Let's see what good a due date really does. By the way, if you've got two kids, go ahead and vote twice!

Q. How accurate was your due date?
A. My baby was...
    Over a week early
    A little bit early
    Right on time!
    A little bit late
    Over a week late

Results next week!
 
Baby's Book of the Week: Part Two

Bedtime Stories: There's a Bear in the Bath
By Terry Jones and Nanette Newman
Two of the stories in this book are about Jam, the arrogant, obnoxious, bragging bear. If you read him with a dopey bear voice, he's okay, but he's especially hilarious if you listen to Kev do his voice like a Brooklyn cab driver. Jam (named Jam because his ma loved jam more then anything in the world) spends most of his time teaching Liza that bears know everything, and she does not. But he makes up for his arrogance with his gregarious friendliness and self-confidence. If we could all be more like Jam...
 
Send a message to the womb and beyond!

we've got visitors from san fran! but katy and jeff forgot their punch card. whoops! my tummy is so huge... ... it scares small children. okay, that's really kev scaring her.


We've got mail...

I'm so glad to hear that everything is going well with the pregnancy and that the placenta has moved. :) Plus, I'm glad she can wear all the pretty dresses too! I'm not surprised that you're probably going to be early... : ) How exciting!
- Cindy
Airdrie, AB


Wow!...............and I haven't even started to knit! You are early and I am late. Well I better get busy. This is all very good news of course -- the placenta and healthy baby and all that news. Being early does make it a little sudden, but maybe she is making up for her father, who was A MONTH LATE. (doesn't matter if it was a miscalculation.....it makes for a looonnng pregnancy) He seemed to like where he was and probably didn't want to wear all those tiny nondescript newborn clothes........wanted to jump right into 6 month size.
- Gramma
Thunder Bay, ON



 
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I blame Rye.