All right. Hi guys, welcome back to my pregnancy updates. Today is going to be my 39 week update
and I wanted to start out by answering a question that I've had quite a few times now, and that
is whether or not I plan to vlog the birth. We do plan to vlog the birth as much as we
can. My husband, obviously it's kind of down to him on what he can film and then what I
can edit afterwards, so who knows what we're going to get. But I don't plan anything graphic
or anything like that, but just progress, like labors happening, I've got contractions,
he's coming, kind of thing. So we'll just see how it goes but I just thought it'd be
really special that I could vlog this birth because I never have in the past. I have some
really nice clips of when Caleb had just been born, maybe I'll insert them here. [inaudible
00:00:54] this time.
Hello Caleb.
Does he look cute?
He's perfect. He's like, an hour old.
Oh, Caleb.
Well done mummy.
Thanks.
Fraser is he cute?
Yeah.
Do you like him?
Oh, it popped! It popped out.
Should we take him home?
Mommy look, it popped out like pop! Like that.
The day we brought you home Caleb. Fraser who's just so into you. I mean the present
[crosstalk 00:01:43] important.
I think if we can get some footage of the birth and how it all went and stuff that would
be really special because sometimes when you're actually giving birth, you're in the zone
and you can't remember anything and I think it'd just be really nice memory to have if
I can get it. I'm also going to do some Facebook live sessions, which I know might sound crazy
but I'm going to do a few videos on Channel Mum's Facebook page of the progress of the
birth. Obviously it all depends on how the birth is going but if it is like my previous
births I don't see any problem with it, probably just high, I'm going into labor, setting up
the house, having contractions and hopefully his safe arrival and maybe meeting his brothers
and stuff like that, so if you are interested because some people have said, "I'm checking
your page every day to see if you've had the baby," but if you want to follow Channel Mum
on Facebook that you will get a notification of my Facebook live videos, so it might be
worth doing that.
And I'm also going to do some pictures throughout the labor on Instagram, on Channel Mum's Instagram.
I don't know whether I'm going to do it during the labor or the next day, it again just depends
on how it all goes. Sorry if you can hear any outside noises, I have all the windows
open, my hair up, I am so hot. Obviously in my last week of pregnancy there is a heat
wave, so I've just been this sweaty melting pregnant woman and it's really not very attractive.
[inaudible 00:03:17] baby now. He is the size of a watermelon now, he should be about six
and a half pounds to seven pounds and 20 inches and in this last week or last two weeks he
is just literally building up a layer of fat on his body to keep him nice and warm when
he comes out but he's completely formed and ready to go basically.
I had my 39 week midwife appointment this week, everything was fine in terms of heart
beat, she checked, he was very much head down and all of that was all good but then when
they measured my stomach and they blotted on a growth chart, they said that they thought
he was a week too small, he almost hadn't grown in the last week, so then they said
that I needed to have an ultrasound scan in the next 48 hours and go to the hospital and
have this scan. So I was a bit worried. This is growth chart of how they measure the baby,
and he was here at 35 weeks, and then here at 37 weeks and then on the same level at
39 weeks, so they were saying he should keep going with the curve and have not sort of
stopped, but that this midwife here could have measured really generously and this midwife
here could have measured a little bit small. So anyway, I went to the scan and they scanned
me and she said that at the moment they think he is six pounds eight and he should put on
half a pound a week.
So if I did go a week late with this baby as I always do, then he should be about seven
pounds eight at birth, which is a tiny bit more than what Caleb was. So, we're not worried
now. She said it's weird that my children aren't getting bigger, they seem to be getting
smaller. I got a bit defensive of him, she was like, "You know, he is a bit on the small
side, blah, blah, blah, if he's born on his due date," but I think they've got my due
dates wrong and I was bit like, "He's not small, look at the size of me." In a way I
think it's really good that they are over monitoring me and that they're being really
careful so that they don't miss anything and it was quite nice to see him again, although
having now seen an ultrasound where a baby is at 39 weeks, you can barely see anything.
It is just so squished up in there, all I could see was head and a bum, there was really
no room left in there.
At my midwife appointment they also asked if I wanted to book in for a sweep on my due
date but I said no because both of our boys previously have been exactly six days late.
I feel a bit like give him a chance and if nothing happens then maybe I'll come in just
after 41 weeks, but one sweep isn't going to be that pleasant and also, I just feel
like give him some time. I have this really funny feeling of you know when you're about
to go on holiday and you're kind of going through your head and thinking, "Have I packed
everything? Have I remembered everything? Have I booked the taxis? Have I done this?"
I feel like that because I'm just waiting for the baby to come and I don't know when
he's going to come so it's kind of just running through my head, checklists and every night
I'm sort of tidying up in case he comes that night.
So a lot of you all know that I'm a having a home birth, so my home birth kit is all
set up. I was going to run through it with you but I kind of did in my last vlog, so
I will link that down below but it is basically dust sheets with waterproof backing, towels,
puppy pads, hats and cardigans for the baby and it's just really the most unglamorous
kit you'll ever see. So that is all set up and ready to go and as I said, my hospital
bag is all packed, so I'll link that down below as well. This week because of the heat
I have just been craving so much ice lollies. I'm not even exaggerating when I say I probably
eat about four or five ice lollies a day. Last weekend was also quite a hard weekend
because my husband worked the whole weekend at V Festival.
Every year his shops go backstage to style stars and it's a really amazing weekend, you
get to see all the bands and all this stuff and I went last year and it was incredible
and I was gutted that I couldn't go this year but he wasn't around, so it was a bit like
I was a single mum for the weekend and heavily pregnant in the heat and I feel a bit run
down, I've got a bit of a cold sore and I feel like it was probably just because I was
doing way too much. The only other real symptoms this week have been achy pelvis and hips,
just really hard again, to roll over in bed and just everything just feels like an effort,
you know, getting up off the couch. I feel like I've been relying on my five year old
to say, "Oh Fraser, could you pick that up for me?" He's such a good boy and he totally
understands that I am heavily pregnant and struggling to move.
Right, so I think that's everything that I wanted to share with you, hopefully I will
see you still pregnant at my 40 week update. I'd really like to go a week overdue only
because my baby is actually due on the 30th of August and in England the school year starts
from September, so I kind of think, "Oh, he's going to be such a young one in that year
if he doesn't make it to September, if he can just wait two days he will be one of the
oldest in his year," and because he's my last baby, I'll be able to hold onto him for five
years rather than four, so selfishly I would love for him to be a little bit late. Anyway,
I'm waffling now, thank you so much for watching and I will see you very soon. Bye. While she
was here she did a midwife check on me as well.