One week to go before I become a mother

I have come a long way since I first found out that I was pregnant, the all day sickness. The mood swings, the sleepless nights, the acid burning my throat and more recently the sharp pains of sciatic nerve in my hip and the constant dull pain in my left hip. Sometimes pregnancy gets to much for me and I break down, but Andre brings me back down to earth and reminds me it is not easy making another human. It has not been all bad, when I think of my baby, the joy and the unconditional love I feel in my heart has been worth any pain I have been through. Lets see if I still agree with this after I have been through labor.

My belly is huge and very tight, the baby is filling out with fat nicely. Due to the limited space in my belly the baby movements are less, I kind of miss the mischief my baby use to get up to. The baby's hiccups have become so strong, they annoy the baby. But hiccups are good, they prepare the baby for breathing out of the womb. I can't help but giggle each time the baby get the hiccups, and I'm sure the baby does the same when I get the hiccups myself.

The baby wakes up every 3 to 4 hours for a stretch in my belly and I have read that this will be the sleeping patterns once the baby is born. I worry how and when I will sleep myself, I'm not very good with broken sleep but I guess I will have to get use to it. I will not get to sleep in now for at least the next 18 years. I am surprised how responsive my baby is with me and not just when I talk to it but a simple thought that the baby has not moved for a while, are you ok baby. Seconds after I have the thought the baby moves and puts my mind at ease. I wonder if the baby will be just as responsive to me out of the womb.

A couple other down falls with pregnancy is the constant peeing, I will be busting with pain to go to the toilet and when I get there and pee almost nothing comes out. My poor hemorrhoid has taking a beating with the added pressure of the baby's weight and pushing. My belly gets in the way and I keep bumping it everywhere, doors, benches and tables. Sometimes I really enjoy my big belly, I love to rub it and Andre asked why I rub my belly so much. I think it's because I won't always have this big belly so I'm making the most of it. It's a way of giving my baby some love to, I cannot hug it or kiss my baby yet, so rubbing some love into my belly is a way to show I care.

As each day passes I grow more curious about what sex my baby, but I have come this far without knowing so what is a few extra days. Benjamin or Jasmin? Andre and I have a middle name worked out for Benjamin, Luke. But finding a middle name for Jasmin has been a bit more difficult. We cannot agree on many names, we agree on Leah but I also love Pearl. I came across a German name "Wolfgang" for a boy which I adore as it so different and unique. I wish I came across this name earlier, I think I would have a hard time trying to convince everyone to change from Benjamin now, but I do love "Wolfgang".

My baby must be about 50 cms by now and I cannot understand how it fits inside me, pregnancy is so amazing when you think about it. Creating another life, Andre and I will be responsible for this life, it's a little bit scary. I guess anything new or different is a little scary and the best way to deal with this new life is to take it day by day.