Only a few more of these pre-natal Bumpdates to go!
This week I started to put together the hospital bag. I threw in stuff I know I won't need for the next 4 weeks but will need in the hospital. I'm honestly not too stressed about forgetting stuff at home, we live super close to the hospital and if we do forget anything I can always send Jack home to get it!
Fudge had a check up with our lovely midwife on Friday. At first her heart rate was slightly above normal so we proceeded with doing some of the necessary tests (I had to do my Group Strep B test) and then we revisited Fudge and her heart rate had settled. We also found out that Fudge has begun to engage, she's currently about 2-3/5ths engaged which means almost the widest part of her head is now sitting in the pelvic brim - a good sign! We also went through our birth plan and went through a few post-natal midwife related stuff.
This week was a super busy one as prep for Fudge really kicked into a new gear - we've got less than a month to go and there were a few things that needed doing. I think we're just about there now though, there will be a few surprises but we're adaptable and HK is super convenient for all things so we'll be fine.
Training
More of the same approach as last week. Wake up, physical check-in, mental check-in, go with the flow!
Monday
Today marked the official one month countdown which meant prep mode is in full effect! We're going to spend the first 10 days or so after the birth with my parents so today was about prepping for Fudge's arrival at theirs. I also had to do things like: sort out clothing to make sure we have enough (but not too much), put orders in for diapers (skin- and eco-friendly of course), biodegradable water wipes, and all that fun stuff.
I also popped in super briefly into the studio to check in on the renovations and do a mini studio clean up. It's looking SUUUUPER fresh - can't wait to show you all!
Fudge was hyperactive today which would have made trying to do any training rather frustrating so it was good to be busy with other stuff!
Other than running errands and doing prep work, I finished my current book. For anyone keeping track, I've started and finished 25 books in the last 36 weeks. The aim was to read 30 books in 2020 which I know is a strange goal because some books I read are 1000 pages while others are only 200, some are super dense and take a few weeks (like my History of the Bible book) while others can be read in a few hours (like John le Carre novels) but it's the effort that counts!
Tuesday
Today was gym, walk, and stretch day! Had a decent gap in the afternoon during which I did allll the day's activities.
80 min walk
3 sets each:
A1. 10 Incline Chest Presses
A2. 10 Alternative Bicep Curl with Isometric Bicep Hold
B1. 12 Single Arm Bent Over Rows
B2. 10 Kneeling Diamond Push Ups
C1. 50m Prowler Push (66% body weight)
C2. 30s Battle Ropes
30min lower body stretch and mobility
Oh, and of course, I started another book in the early evening.
Wednesday
I have no idea where time went today. I trained a few clients, ran errands, and before I knew it it was 5pm and I needed to get home and think about prepping for dinner. Luckily all the walking around and errands helped me clock in 10k+ steps but I honestly can't tell you how!
Thursday
Had a day off today but I used it to relax as tomorrow is a very busy and very hectic day. I was weirdly sore and tired but still wanted to do some moving so I set off for a 1 hour stroll in the morning before pulling out some resistance bands and heading to the gym in my building.
3 sets:
A1. 10 T Pulls
A2. 12 Tempo Bodyweight Squats
A3. 30s Side Plank (on my knees now!)
B1. 12 Frontal Raises
B2. 15 Standing Fire Hydrants
B3. 3 Hip CARS
I spent the rest of the day running a few errands and reading.
Friday
Had a very busy day with clients and a check up with the midwife and didn't have any spare time for myself. My only free hour was at 3:30pm and by that stage I hadn't eaten since my 6am breakfast so desperately needed food! Luckily all the walking helped me clock well over 10k steps.
Saturday
Today was another one of those days where time escaped me. We unfortunately made the tough decision to sell the kayaks we currently have in order to upgrade them to proper kayaks so Fudge can join us on adventures (once she can swim of course!). It meant we popped over to Stanley in the morning and, with the help of my dad (thanks dad!), brought the kayaks out of Ma Hang Park and sold them to a lovely family who live in Sai Kung.
We spent the afternoon building more Ikea furniture (for my parents this time!) and doing a preliminary shop for my sister and brother-in-law who are arriving in HK next week in time to come out of their Airbnb quarantine just before Fudge's arrival.
Sunday
Popped into the studio in the morning to do train and do a general studio clean up to prepare it for clients.
3 sets:
A1. 12 Lat Pulldowns
A2. 15 Swiss Ball Hip Thrusts
A3. 30s Swiss Ball Plank
B1. 15 Banded No Moneys
B2. 15 Standing Kickbacks
B3. 3 Shoulder CARS
30min lower body mobility
Life in General
I've noticed for the past week or so that although my energy levels tend to fluctuate massively, I have been able to breathe much more easily! I didn't want to say anything out of fear of jinxing myself but after hearing about Fudge starting to engage - it makes so much sense now! Fudge has started her trip down which means there's less pressure on my diaphragm.
Thursday was a day of unusually high activity on Fudge's end. She had hiccups at breakfast and at lunch and basically didn't stop moving unless I was walking. I brought it up with the midwife who said she does advise I call the doctor if there's any unnatural movement, be it too little or too much, but that everything looks fine from her end so it was probably just a day of extra excitement.
WEIRDEST sensation of the week definitely goes to Friday night. We went out for dinner with a couple of friends and about 45min in, Fudge moved ever so slightly to the right and immediately the top of my right femur and upper inner thigh went tingly and numb. The feeling didn't intensify but did last 15-20 seconds and went away when I ever so slightly shifted positions. At first I thought it might be a Braxton Hicks contraction (I'm not aware that I've ever had one so don't know what they feel like or where they start), then I decided it was probably just Fudge moving and hitting a nerve. It only happened once and hasn't happened since. I tried to do some follow up reading to find out what I felt but there's so much conflicting "this is what that feeling is"and "no this is what it is"out there, I decided if it happens again I'll bring it up with the doctor. It wasn't accompanied by any other weird or unusual feelings so I'll just assume it's just another one of those things that happens in pregnancy and not worry too much about it.
I've decided to conclude once and for all that glowing, clear pregnancy skin is a myth. I used to blame it on mask usage (I still kind of do) but I think it's ultimately just pregnancy hormones. Again, it's not like I've ever had the best skin in the world and I've never really been too bothered by that, but I think a part of me was hoping that these 9 months would be my moment of clear skin. It wasn't.
The last thing I'll report is something some of you may chose to skip over, and that's fine: the perineal massage. I won't go into too much detail here but essentially the perineum is the area of the body that is subject to tearing during a natural birth. There is some (inconclusive but highly suggestive) evidence that massaging the perineum for a couple of minutes a day ahead of delivery reduces the severity of tearing. While I won't go into details here (you can reach out to me if you want to know more and I can point you in the right directions), it is worth noting that you can can only start this massage from around the week 35/36 mark as it may trigger labour. I started in the latter half of this week, while people warned me it wasn't the most pleasant experience the only thing I kept thinking was "well, a lot worse is about to happen". That seemed to do the trick and I'm getting through it just fine.
Other than that, it's life as usual. We're cruising, we're chilling, and we're just counting down the days until Fudge is earth side. She's gotta hold out a few more days until my 37 week mark on Wednesday, then she's in the clear to come out whenever!
Until then, I'll obviously keep you all posted! Have a lovely week everyone!