Nobody warned me about the itchy pregnant belly!

In the final days of pregnancy (fingers crossed) I have learnt a few things...

First, pregnant bellies can become incredibly itchy! At first I wasn't sure if scratching would be a bad thing... we're always taught not to scratch at mosquito bites, but this is hardly the same? Well, here's my advice - it's not a great idea because it doesn't help and is often followed by pain. Luckily my doc prescribed me some cream that helps during the day, and recommended Benadryl which makes me drowsy and helps me sleep at night - but the nights are still pretty bad. I'm trying not to think about whether or not this'll go away once I've delivered the baby. Worst case scenario, I figure, instead of playing Spider Solitaire all night, I'll play with baby instead.

Second, every pregnancy is different, don't despair, the baby can come within 3 hours of nothing. I've been receiving baby updates from the various parents who took the Queen Aleaxandra Prenatal classes with us, and their stories are all so different. Some of the women with smaller bellies have had their babies, whereas those of us who were bigger still have yet to be able to say with 100% certainty that they're in early labour (although perhaps she suspects it) Their labour times vary from 3 hours to 18 hours... some were barely dilated when they went in. From this I've learnt to calm down. The kid is coming, there's no stopping him, it's just that it'll happen in it's own time. I'm going to stop worrying and just try and relax now because really, you never know when I'm going to need to make several frantic calls and get busy.

Good thing I have that lasagna in the freezer... hope it lasts longer than the tail end of my pregnancy.

Positive baby thoughts my way!
Jenn

WELL.

Here is the official Stevenson family blog - stay tuned to this one, it's bound to be exciting over the next 6 or so weeks... then it may peter off into a series of "Look at my baby and what he can do's"!!! (i.e. look, he puked!, Look, he opened his eyes!)

12 days until DUE DATE of baby, and soon after that Matthew, child and I become nomadic, until Matthew finds his way to Pasadena, California.

The countdown is on, and my list of To-Do's is getting shorter and shorter. I've been off work for a week now, and I'm feeling fairly rested, however baby keeps that balanced out by waking me several times a night.

Anyhow, off to a doctor's appointment for the latest update on precious... No pictures of pregnant Jenn, while they exist, I am not currently prepared to share them with the world.