Leila Rose Petal

There isn’t a great deal to say about reaching the 30 week point. March still feels a long way away, but I know the time will fly by and suddenly I’ll be down to one or two weeks to go and wondering where the time went.

Leila is still pretty active, but less so than she was 2 or 3 weeks ago. Space must be becoming a bit of an issue for her. She still makes her presence known regularly, which I like, but it’s a bit less bouncy, which I also like. If I push gently on my stomach I can generally tell where she is, although I can’t identify which bit of her I’m feeling.

I’ve bounced back a bit from the post-Christmas let down, but there can be no denying that I’m slowing down physically and the hot weather really saps the energy I do have. I’m also very prone to various aches and pains. Most of them are improved by activity but, of course, overdoing it makes them worse. So life is really all about pacing myself at the moment.

Yesterday I made some lists of things I’d like to get down around here before Leila arrives, things that need to be done for Leila and things I need to take to hospital with me. None of these lists is set in stone, but I felt the need to put them in writing to get my thought processes going. They’re also a useful way to identify and sort the necessary from the nice to have.

It’s a relief to know that we don’t need to buy any of the big stuff, but I have a lot of small stuff buzzing about in my head that I’d like to get done. Some of it I’m chipping away at day by day (like knitting some little jumpers, etc.), but some of it needs to wait until I have a suitable day available. For instance, I will wait until Finn’s back at childcare before I spend a day with the sewing machine set up making wraps and fitted sheets. I don’t think I have the patience for toddler management while juggling scissors, pins, hot irons etc. The good thing about the small stuff is that most of it can be achieved in less than a day, shouldn’t be expensive to do and I don’t think the world is going to end if it doesn’t get done. It makes it kind of fun, rather than a chore.

My next appointment at the hospital is on Friday and, now that I’ve decided to go with the caesarian delivery, I’m looking forward to finding out when Leila will arrive. It’s as exciting as finding out that she’s a girl.