Josa’s pregnancy diary – week 34–36

Shifting about

When I move around during the day the baby lies quietly, rocked in the cradle of my pelvis. When I settle down evening and morning for a rest, he gets active. Sometimes humps appear as he sticks his bottom out to the left of my tummy button. Sometimes a little foot sticks out on the right, under my ribs. He seems to be stretching. I see the surface wriggle, or someone with a hand on my belly feels a gentle prod, but I feel nothing. And there is never any sensation of movement at the back of the womb at all. For ‘reassurance’ we pregnant ladies are sometimes urged to do ‘kick charts’ on graph paper, filling in squares in a thoroughly anal way to make sure the movements are still happening. A recipe for paranoia if ever I heard one – particularly as the baby can be whirling about and you can be quite unconscious of it. I read somewhere that if you drink a lot of alcohol when pregnant, the baby is practically comatose and emerges with ossified joints, because it doesn’t exercise itself.

Now the exercise is no longer so lively – not such big bumps and jerks. I think he is running out of room for bouncing off walls. It is extremely difficult to visualise his position. I tried with a pelvis and small doll in my yoga class but it didn’t help.

I wake in the early hours and lie thinking about the future

Even though I have had two children, the early bit is very hazy in my memory. I have a nice stack of terry nappies left over from Archie, which I’ve washed. They range in colour from pink through grey to white – due to various laundry mishaps. I’ll have to practice my origami method of nappy folding on the biggest teddy. This leaves a good thickness between the baby’s legs where it counts. It can be used right up to potty training as it is so neat.