Week 27 - The LAST Trimester!

I have my last doggie class this week *sigh* Freya is SO going to miss all those pooches trying to scratch her in my tummy. At the rate I’m doing doggie things these days she’s gonna be born barking instead of crying… By the way, we’ve started calling bub Freya almost full time now as she feels more and more real (delivering punches and kicks a la Jacky Chan). Mikkel Rev still dominates my day with the intensity of singing sometimes increases to 4 times a day.

My tummy is so big now people can’t have no more excuse not to give me seats on the bus. Ironically, I no longer take buses nowadays and won’t have a chance to get a good scream at ignorant people. Have to find another excuse to scream.

FACT: Freya has grown so much she’s running out of room (time to buy a house) and it takes a little longer to manoevre about and turn upside down and sideways. She has been practicing breathing (without any scuba aparatus) here and there, but from now on its breathing will become more rhythmic and constant. Folds and grooves appear on the surface of the brain, which is developing very quickly. Weight: 920 gr, Height: 24 cm.

How mommy’s life is changing:

• Mommy is now a size 14D!! Woohoooo! Pamela, try to beat THAT!
• Kaz suggested I raise my feet up whenever I can: at work, if possible on another chair - better still, make the boss massage the feet.

Week 26 - Mikkel Rev

Really, I shouldn’t have mentioned about playing music to Klumpen. Marek insisted that she would benefit a lot more if she listens to her father singing so he starts to sing to her religiously twice a day. Early morning and night he dives under the doona blanket and sings shamelessly to my precious (poor) little baby. The same song. The ONLY Norwegian children song that he knows and it goes like this:

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Mikkel Rev, satt og skrev (Michael the Fox, sat and wrote)
på ei lita tavle (on a little blackboard)
Tavla sprakk (the blackboard cracked) - there’s a lot of sound effect on the word “sprakk”
Mikkel skvatt (Michael dashed) - more sound effect on “skvatt”
oppi pappas flosshatt (up on daddy’s tall hat)

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Sharon and Warren are in Sydney this week, yippee! They went to Tetsuya for dinner and left me drooling all night with the stories of how good the food is. Warren almost even weeped and we’re talking Warren here. That’s it, first thing we’ll do when Klumpen is out is to go there and I’ll go mad on the raw food and cheese!

FACT: Freya spent most of her time putting on more fat (see what she has to say about this 16 years from now…) and muscle. According to one pregnancy expert, this week in the uterus the bub is showing signs of sensitivity, awareness and intelligence. So if me put a little calculator in there Klumpen could probably estimate the Gross National Product of Botswana. It can detect light even through its still-closed eyelids, smell (sadly for her the only thing on offer is the amniotic fluid, which smells like a swamp), as well as hear, and possibly play the slide guitar. Klumpen will recognise other voices from now on: friends, daddy singing (oh NO…) and Zoe barking. She’s now 23 cm and 820 gr.

How mommy’s life is changing:

• Mommy should get lots and LOTS of rest and exercise (mommy doesn’t like this exercise bit).
• Mommy should should stop wearing heels - tick!
• Mommy should not do any climbing or hurling about - tick!
• Centre of gravity has changed and tummy needs to be protected.
• Mommy will be steadily gaining weight (aargghhhhhh!)

Week 25 - Swimming Regime

I invested big bucks in a HUGE black frilly frilly pregnancy swim suit that looks like it once belongs to my great great grandmother. Even Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie wouldn’t look good in that. Start swimming twice a week this week and am very careful to only swim very early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid killing all those schoolchildren from laughing at my attire. Definetely want water birth - no gravity feeling in the water is bliss!!

FACT: Klumpen looks pretty much like a baby at birth by now. She will definetely (so Kaz says) have developed its own sleeping patterns, usually awake when me asleep and vice versa as me movements soothe it to sleep. Klumpen may be startled by loud music and start bashing me up when it hears a certain tune. Or maybe that’s just dancing. This is apparently a good time to play music, talk to her and see if there’s a reaction. She’s now 22.5 cm and 720 gr.

How mommy’s life is changing:

• Klumpen is about due to start putting pressure on me ribs and me digestive system.
• Me could get pains down the sides of me tummy from now on as the uterus stretches (yuck!)

Week 24 - First heartbeat

Went to see the obstetrician last Friday and heard Klumpen’s heartbeat for the first time! Among the sound of my oats & banana breakfast digesting themselves, I could hear “woosh woosh woosh” really quickly. Kawaaiiiiii!!

FACT: Many babies born at this stage have survived with the help of tubes and more tubes in the hospital intensive care. Problem is, the lungs aren’t really finished yet so if Klumpen is out early she would need help to breathe (maybe we should invest in a junior scuba equipment?). Klumpen is 21 cm now and weigh about 630 gr.

How mommy’s life is changing:

• Still waking up every couple of hours to wee at night - how’s that for a life-changing experience!