Durban Doula's Pregnancy Diary - Week 26

Our baby boy has a name...

Even though I'm planning my third natural birth,

I do still have moments of disbelief:

'This baby is coming out where?'

Get it on Etsy

Pikkewyn

No, that's not the name we'll be putting on his birth certificate, but that was the name my mom-in-law wrote on little one's Christmas gifts this year, so we're sticking with it for now. In case you're unfamiliar with the Afrikaans language and feeling a little lost, pikkewyn means 'penguin', hence the 'Happy Feet' references, quite fitting considering how active this little sproglet is! My attempt at phonetic pronounciation: Pikke - vein

As for his real name, we have some ideas, but we're not sharing them until he's born, just because we've had experiences in the past where we share our ideas and people make disparaging comments about our choices... You know who you are! So like we did with number 2, we'll wait until this one is born to announce a name.

Choosing names is such a funny thing. Personally I  don't like popular names - I remember an instance at school where there were 3 Michelles in our netball team, and Grants and Ryans and Marks were also everywhere. (Apologies to anyone with those names, they were just the first ones I could think of.) So we're trying to avoid that for our children, but it is a bit of a challenge!

When I chose Amelia for our eldest nearly 7 years ago, it was very unusual, like 350th in the list of girls' names or something like that, but has been steadily climbing the popularity charts since. As my husband is Afrikaans and I'm English, we need names that work in both languages, and of course there is always the matter of initials. With a surname like Jansen, we're staying away from names starting with B...

In progress... But one I needed this week!

Get it on Etsy

So I like older names, ones that are not common but also not too obscure, names with reasonably traditional spellings and positive meanings. So yes, finding a name we both like that meets all these requirements is a feat in itself!

I saw our midwife again this last week - all is well as expected. We had a good chat about plans leading up to the birth, including my questions on what the earliest possible date for a home birth is, and when I need to collect the birth pool I'm hiring from her, and checking on when to call in the troops come B-Day. In that discussion, I came to the realization that the possibility of going into premature labour or having premature rupture of membranes (i.e. waters breaking early) has been a bit of a preoccupation for me, even though I have none of the risk factors. 

Baby #1 - 27 weeks pregnant

I'm taking magnesium which has been known to help prevent premature labour, and I'm thinking of supplementing my vitamin C intake, something which has been shown to prevent premature rupture of membranes but I hadn't realised it was such a preoccupation until Arlen pointed it out, and I'm grateful she did. I've made the adjustment to remember that my body is wonderfully purpose-built for this task, and has proven itself trustworthy before, and I am an otherwise healthy and reasonably fit woman. I choose to trust my body, and I choose to nurture my body at the same time.

Baby #2
28 weeks pregnant

Speaking of nurturing my body, I need exercise! I've mentioned before that I'm feeling much creakier this time around, and I know it's due to lack of exercise, coupled with a general decrease in fitness levels over the last few years. It's usually my hips that feel unstable, and my core is generally weak as I'm feeling out of breath because I'm slouching too much. So in the new year I'll be taking the plunge and signing up for some antenatal exercise classes. I've been doing aqua exercising in the pool when I get a chance, but I need something a bit more structured. When I suggested it to hubby, he was immediately on board, especially considering it is an extra monthly expense. But I think he knows I'll be much more comfortable, and hence easier to live with, if I'm not feeling so creaky.

Ok, maybe I

am imagining it...

My feet look

swollen in this pic,

Time for another

lie-down methinks!

Just so you can see I'm not imagining that I'm carrying bigger this time around, I found a picture from my first pregnancy, taken at around 27 weeks, where you can see how tiny my bump was, and one from my second pregnancy as well. Despite bump size, apparently Pikkewyn is now just over 35cm long, about the length of an English cucumber from crown to heel, and weighs around 750g.

I'm really enjoying being on leave and we had a good time visiting with Hubby's family over Christmas. I got some crochet done, to the extent that I've depleted my stocks of t-shirt yarn that I was using to make a pouf for the lounge. (Any donations of holey t-shirts are welcome!) And I also got some time to colour in some of my new colouring book. The non-conformist in me detests fads, but when I saw this birth affirmation colouring book I knew I just had to get one! You can order them on Etsy via the link under the images if you'd like one yourself, but be warned, postage can take over 3 weeks so order sooner rather than later!

The cover pre-colouring.
Soften, Open, Release by Amber delaine

It's been lovely over the last few weeks to have friends and family be able to feel baby kicking. I love seeing their faces when he gives them a good strong jab! It seems his most active time is in the evenings after supper. Like clockwork he starts kicking in the same spot, and keeps wriggling about for a while, within about 15 minutes of me finishing my dinner. I'm not sure if it's the  noise of digestion, or the blood sugar boost, but it does give a great opportunity for me to prove I'm not just hiding a soccer ball under my shirt!

Post-Colouring...

The girls are fascinated with my belly button - my innie has become an outie! They think it's great fun to try push it in. It is so sweet how they spontaneously come and give the baby hugs and cuddles, I think they are going to have great fun being big sisters! As I've mentioned before we've been laying some groundwork for them to understand that little babies have big needs, and we're all a team helping everyone to get their needs met, and how giving time and attention doesn't equal giving more love, and giving them ways to express when their love tanks are feeling empty. I'm finding it amazing how perceptive and understanding they can be! I suppose we'll see how effective this has all been when the baby is actually here.

Hiding My Outie... No more toes peeping out!

So that's about all we have this week, no big mommy confessions this time... 

Find my moments of mourning last week here, otherwise follow me on Twitter - @DurbanDoula, or subscribe to the blog so you don't miss next week's update...

And, as before, if you have any questions or comments please submit them below! I love hearing from you!