It's the home stretch! So close in fact, I could pop any minute now. I’m writing this at 38.5 weeks pregnant which means Ebi chan is fully cooked and ready to go. And I’m just about ready to evict this not so little shrimp from my womb because my belly is enormous and heavy. Carrying this extra weight is exhausting but in the grand scheme of things, this has been a fairly easy pregnancy and for that I am beyond grateful.
I’d been having appointments every two weeks until I hit week 35 when things kicked into high gear with me heading to the hospital weekly. Most of them included the doctor but some were just to meet with a midwife. Those appointments mainly consisted of checking the baby’s heartbeat, my belly size, scrutinizing my weight and inspecting my nipples. Yes, inspecting my nipples to check their breastfeeding potential - more on that in a few moments. The appointments with the doctor were to do ultrasounds and check both my and Ebi chan’s overall health and development. Thankfully, all was good in those departments as we were progressing along nicely.
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| Ebi chan thumb sucking at 31 weeks |
The third trimester started out with what was probably the most interesting appointment of all and a very important one. It was so important that my husband had to come and they still brought in an English translator to make sure I didn’t miss a thing. It was here that we went over what to expect when I go into labour, when to call the hospital and most significantly, when to get my butt to the hospital. They also stressed any warning signs to watch out for, like if I didn’t feel the baby moving as much as usual or if I had any unusual pain. I was also encouraged to get my hospital bags packed and ready and told what I’d need to bring.
We were also informed that due to COVID restrictions my husband (or any support people) would NOT be able to attend the birth or visit me and Ebi chan during our 5-6 day hospital stay after. I’m not sure which of us was more devastated to learn this - me realizing I would be giving birth on my own or him realizing he wouldn’t be able to see me and that our baby would be almost a week old by the time he could even hold them for the first time. My husband is a clever man though, earlier I had asked if I was able to leave the maternity ward to go to the convenience store or cafe downstairs and was told yes (but not with the baby). So my husband asked how they would know if he came to see me there or not and he was told they wouldn’t so it was trust based. Figures, he was already plotting a way to visit me anyhow, even if he would have to wait to meet Ebi chan. We were also told I could call or video call him at any time, even during labour and delivery.
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| Hubs and I with Ringo the chihuahua on New Years Day - eagerly awaiting Ebi chan's arrival |
After that crash course, the translator left and I went for my regular midwife appointment to check the things I’d mentioned above. I got a little bit of flack for my weight which was well under Canadian standards but already creeping up to the higher end of Japanese standards. I’d mentioned this before - but for my pre-pregnancy weight, Japan has me slated to gain 7-12kg (15-26lbs) in total while Canada recommends 11-16kg (24-35lbs). At that point I had gained 10kg (22lbs) with an entire trimester still to go. I wasn’t too concerned with her lecture however, and neither was my husband because he had read that when mom has a thicker butt and thighs, baby grows up to be smarter. I doubted that but upon googling realized he might be right! Something to do with DHA and baby’s brain development. And the funniest part of this appointment was when the midwife asked me for the first time to take off my top and bra so she could inspect my breasts and nipples for future breastfeeding. Now - these puppies have grown a lot during pregnancy (to the joy of my husband) so it was no surprise when the midwife clapped with glee and professed that I had excellent breastfeeding bongos while hubs nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
The rest of my bi-weekly appointments were relatively uneventful after that, I got to see Ebi chan growing via ultrasound, had another test to check my iron and learned I was no longer anemic (hooray!), and had a non stress test to check baby’s heartbeat in closer detail. That test came back showing a very healthy baby and it was a blissful 20 minutes for me as I got to rest to the wonderful sound of Ebi chan’s heartbeat that was projected through the room. I also had an X ray of my chest (I think). I’m still not totally sure of what it was for or the outcome but it must have been fine since the doctor didn’t say otherwise. Now that the appointments are weekly, there are no more ultrasounds but plenty of visits in the rocket ship chair I wrote about in my first trimester so the doctor can investigate what’s going on up in my lady parts and to see if Ebi chan was making their descent.
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| The "Rocket Chair" (photo: https://koba-lc.gr.jp/p_naishin/) |
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| An example of the "rocket chair" in action (Photo: https://m.alibaba.com/product/60389389304/BT-GC001-hospital-Multifunction-electric-childbirth.html) |
As far as how I’m doing and feeling, all things considered, pretty good actually. Sure my balance is useless, I feel like Humpty Dumpty with my big belly and I can’t see my feet while I stand but I seem to have skipped a lot of the gnarlier symptoms. No varicose veins, my feet and legs haven’t swelled up at all (go compression socks!), I can still wear my wedding ring comfortably and I have had energy. The downsides have been having to pee a LOT (especially at night), weird dreams and this belly is HEAVY. It’s like carrying a sack of potatoes duct taped around my middle. Actually, the worst thing has been brutal nighttime heartburn that has kept me up all night on a few occasions. To be fair, I haven’t been helping much for that with all my cravings of curry and spicier foods. So yeah - I’ve been bringing that on myself knowing my digestive organs are all squished from baby.
In the grand scheme of things however, I recognize this has been a laid back pregnancy. Phew! I DJ’ed up to 38 weeks, walk at least 30 minutes every day and have been able to keep up with both our 16 year old pug, Missfit and our new 9 month old chihuahua puppy, Ringo. Sleep can be uncomfortable at times, especially getting out of bed because of the weight around my middle but my pregnancy pillow continues to be a shining star.
I’m due for my 39 week appointment where the doctor wants to do something called a membrane sweep (naishin guri guri in Japanese) which sounds every bit as painful and uncomfortable as it sounds. It’s a way to potentially bring on labour naturally, which isn’t terrible since in Japan the doctors will seldom let you go over 41 weeks before a medical induction happens. I know I definitely do NOT want that - many times a synthetic hormone is used that ends up making labour pain more painful and intense - and without the availability of pain meds like an epidural, induction sounds like a real bad time.
Aside from the medical stuff, the third trimester is going both quickly and now very slowly. It’s wild knowing Ebi chan could arrive at any moment and as much as I’m excited, I’m also getting a little nervous to meet them. I keep hoping the missing pieces of motherhood will snap into place once my little shrimp arrives and that somehow I will know what to do. I can’t wait to see who this baby is going to be, though and the thought of holding Ebi chan in my arms at last is the most exciting thing.
I'm also going to write about what I've been doing physically and mentally to prepare for childbirth - there's been a lot of behind the scenes action happening over here so please keep an eye open for that!
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| Photo by: Yana YZ (@yzimagery) |
*Cover image photo by: Yana YZ (@yzimagery)
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