pregnancy @ 31 weeks

31 weeks. It feels like we are in the home stretch now in this pregnancy. We are certainly much closer to the end than the beginning. I know that sounds like a very obvious thing to say, but in some ways, it all still feels so fresh, this feeling of having a life growing inside me, and yet it also feels like such a long time ago now that I was counting through the first 12 vulnerable weeks, when it was all a secret and no-one would know from looking at me that there was a tiny life growing in my womb.  Knowing that we have only nine or so weeks to wait until it is time for our daughter to be born is so exciting – it is not far off, and at the same time, nine weeks feels like forever away.

Time and again I am amazed and thankful that this baby continues to grow inside me, week after week. I have been thinking a lot about how,, if the little lady was to be born now, she would be alright, and more than likely to survive. And yet, these next nine or so weeks that we anticipate she will stay put, are still so important. To think that my womb is the safest place for her right now humbles me each time I feel a little fed up from the aches and pains of pregnancy.

I am so excited by the prospect of meeting our daughter. I cannot wait to see her face to face, and study her features, taking in every last part of her little self that has been growing inside of me all this time.  To see with eyes what her little limbs look like; to match the sight of her moving with what I can only experience as an incredible sensation now. Her wriggling and rolling goes from strength to strength, and I love the feeling of her acrobatics.

Physically, things have changed significantly over the last few weeks. The waddle in my walk serves as a permanent reminder of the effect that pregnancy hormones have, along with the added weight that a baby provides. Swimming has provided an even sweeter relief than before, the weightlessness of the water giving instant relief to the aches and pains in my bones, and for that, I am incredibly grateful.