I am 38 weeks pregnant today and honestly this pregnancy has flown by compared with my first. It has also, thankfully been so much smoother. With my SPD rearing it’s head at just 6 weeks pregnant I was so worried about how hard this pregnancy would be, but thanks to the physio throughout we have kept it at bay and I am so much more mobile. I haven’t needed to use my crutches at all and just generally feel so much better and still have quite a bit of energy. I think because I have been more mobile this time I haven’t put on nearly as much weight as I did last time either, which is also no bad thing.

It hasn’t been a bed of roses and I still get a lot of pain in my back and pelvis, and of course I am shattered and ready to not be pregnant anymore… But with just over a week to go I am trying to focus on the positives now.

I am well and truly running out of clothes that fit now, and am in fact wearing some of the primark tunic dresses that I bought in the early days of pregnancy... though they are by no means dresses any more and are only just tops! Yes this “top” in fact used to come down to my mid thigh…. not anymore lol! It has saved me buying anything more though and good to get some use out of them.  I am in bigger maternity trousers now purely for the wasteband as the maternity trousers I bought in early prgenancy still fit but I do find they cut in under my bump after a while, and I am all about the comfort right now! Shoes are interesting too actually as I am needing to wear some of my winter boots, which aren’t exactly easy to get on… and also only just fit as it seems my feet have widened! I am hoping they go back to normal afterwards otherwise I need some new shoes lol!

There is a lot of preparation going on in our house, the nursery is finished, the freezer is stocked with a couple of weeks of meals, and there is lots of little bits of prep going on. I’ve also decided to spend a bit of time on preparing myself. With lovely grandparents and Daddy helping with Monkey, I have had a bit of me time. It has been lovely and I have been making the most of as I know that is going to be a little hard to come by for the next few months, especially if I am breastfeeding.

So one day last week I dyed my hair, and on Saturday I went for a last hair cut and blow dry. It was lovely and right now my hair is still lovely and straightened (something I can rarely be bothered to do myself at the moment!). When I was pregnant with Monkey I was such a zombie that I basically stopped caring about my appearance, then he arrived and I was so focussed on him (especially when coping with colic) that I didn’t focus on myself at all. That is not necessarily a bad thing but I did eventually realise that I had to make a bit of time for myself and by that point my hair was in a ridiculous state and I definitely wasn’t looking my best.

In all honesty going back to the newborn baby days makes me very nervous. I didn’t have an easy time last time and so I worry how I will cope with two little ones. I’m trying very hard not to focus on that though, what will be will be and I did cope last time so I know I will again. I am just trying to do as much as I can now to make life as easy as I can with a newborn, and also to try and hopefully feel good about myself. (I’ve been recommended a fab book which is helping with this a lot and there will be a bit of a review of that coming up in the next week or so.)

Worrying about my hair and appearance may seem daft at this point but it is nice knowing that my fringe is cut and my hair is in good condition so that at least there is one less thing to worry about. It will take some time before my body feels like my own again and I imagine I won’t have the time or energy to be caring much about how I look in those first weeks so it is nice to be able to make time to do so now!

Did you have any last minute pampering before your baby arrived?