I feel a bit like a fraud. A few weeks ago I posted about how I was managing to work and be a mum and be pregnant (here). Whilst those tips certainly helped me maintain my professional life amidst being a mummy and wife and homemaker and baby-brewer, they couldn’t save me, and I started my maternity leave a week ago.

I feel so much better. More relaxed. I can eat and sleep whenever I need to (seems often!). The house is more under control and I’m more organised with everything. I’m getting things ready for Christmas, and visitors, and soon I might wash some little baby things and get ready for the new arrival. I’ve been buying too much baby stuff this pregnancy. I have been making a few things as well – I love preparing for a new baby like that. I’m also spending time making Christmas gifts, which takes a lot of time!

The greatest thing about having finished up working is that I can spend more time with my Elora. I wept a bit when I realised that the beginning of the summer school holidays will be the end of my days with just my sweet sweet adorable three year old daughter, who loves me so much that she *always* has to sit sidled up to me, as closely as she can. When Georgia and Matthew begin their holidays, I will have the three of them at home – and towards the end of the holidays we will welcome a new child into the family, so even when the big kids start grade 5 and 2 next year, I will have two children at home with me! I’m excited, I really am, but I am sad that my days with just Ellie are coming to an end.

On the baby front, we are really pleased that this little munchkin is growing well and has no signs of anaemia from my weird Anti-S antibodies. Given that this is my fourth pregnancy (I always feel like saying ‘and last’) it’s quite remarkable that my antibodies have been stable (titres of 32, which is quite high) throughout the entire pregnancy. Doctors seemed to think that there was more risk of the baby suffering the effects of my antibodies this time, but so far, the baby is the picture of health and growth (another big baby for us!).

In the last ultrasound, the baby had flipped into breech position. I know it’s too early to be concerned about this, but all my other babies were vertex by now and as far as I know they stayed that way until delivery. This time I have more fluid in my belly and, due to this being my fourth (and last) pregnancy, my uterine muscles are no doubt much looser, so baby has more room to spin about in there. I can often feel it doing somersaults and I can kind of tell when it is lying in breech or vertex… The doctor and sonographer were confident the baby would turn the right way. At 30 weeks of pregnancy, 1 in 5 babies are in the breech position, but by full term, this number changes to 1 in 30, apparently. Anyway, we will see what this baby decides to do. I just don’t like my chances of being allowed to deliver a breech baby naturally at my hospital.

So for now, I’m pottering about, setting up cubby houses and dolly tea parties for my pre-schooler, tidying up my house and doing lots of washing and cooking and baking and resting and sewing and swimming and crochet. I’m thinking, I feel tired and sore and slow, but I am loving life. I love this time of year, with its crazy chaos.

30 weeks, favourite dress