Bumpin'... 39 Weeks at the Jetty

As some of you may have already noticed, we welcomed little Pecan back in August, a couple of days after these photos were taken. It has taken me quite some time to edit them, what with the breakdown of my laptop, the birth of Pecan, the turbulent, exciting, love-soaked and sleep-deprivating initial weeks with our sweet babe... Not to mention the fact that I have not wanted to spend hours in front of this bright screen when I could in fact be gazing at our beautiful baby.

Apologies for the delay in posting this final Bumpin' entry (if you've been following and waiting, thank you) and without further ado, here is the entry I had written immediately prior to our little Pecan's arrival...

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In our 39th week together, we took you to the local jetty. It was another gorgeous winters day, warm with a cool gentle breeze.

Pecan: According to the midwife at our most recent appointment, you are 3/5 engaged and in the OA position (Occiput Anterior). I can feel the smooth, round curve of your back on my right side and for the past few weeks, you have been tickling high up under my left ribs with your tiny feet. We continue to walk together and though I've been forewarned that you might just feel too comfortable in there and decide to stay for another three or so weeks, we really, really hope you join us sooner as B's family will have travelled all the way from the northern hemisphere for the purpose of meeting you and they're only here for one short week...

The Bump: By some miracle, a dash of family genes, and possibly assisted by multiple daily massages with sweet almond and coconut oil, I have managed to avoid stretch marks. The exception is one tiny purple dot below where I used to wear a navel piercing. I have noticed tiny pink dots appear and grow in number across my belly as it has grown and oh my goodness has my skin been itchy between massages, talk about stretched. On the whole, I'm rather proud of this bump as it protects and insulates you from the world until you are ready and that, my dear baby, makes it very special.

Mama: Tiny little annoyances such as lack of sleep, some discomfort with my rapidly increasing size and the occasional back and pelvis ache are gentle reminders that you are with me throughout all of this, only you're more cramped and running out of space to turn and stretch.

We have a deal, you and I. I walk daily, I stretch slowly, inhaling deep, deliberate breaths down into my belly and practice the hypnnobirthing techniques that I have done for the past trimester. Your part of the deal is to keep healthy and strong for your incredible journey. I nourish you with fresh or lightly boiled vegetables, clean, filtered water, prenatal vitamins, and a menu filled with all the sweet wonders that Mother Earth provides naturally.

I feel calm, I visualise your birth and breathing you down. I count silently with each breath to practice control. I have no fear, only love and strength to birth you naturally. My hope is for a natural birth, free from interventions and though in the back of my mind I am aware that special circumstances may arise that may take our birth preference along a different path, I hope and pray for all of us that your journey will be a peaceful one. This is what I want for you.

Papa: You have been the single constant person in my life who has provided support and unconditional love. You have provided back rubs to soothe my dull aches, your time to accompany me to medical appointments and to check on me in the night. You have continued to work in order to provide for our family and most importantly, you have been available to me at any hour, even when I have been unreasonable in my pregnancy demands. From ordering you to stop cooking and to 'take that smelly food outside' during my period of debilitating morning sickness to driving over an hour to source the one food item that I could stomach. You have waited for me in the car countless times whilst I tried to finish work, and you forgave me when I forgot our anniversary, where I put the tongs and, well, just about everything else I touched and 'put away'. You spent hours in the hot sun fitting the infant car seat in my tiny car, all the while I napped.

I will miss the way you talk to the baby through my belly. Conversations about where you want us to travel together, how excited you are about Pecan's growth and imminent birth for a proper introduction. You sang and told our baby how beautiful their mama was. In fact, you said that often and in all honesty, I have never felt more beautiful.

There are many more things to share but for now, we look forward to meeting our little Pecan with wide eyes and open hearts.

Love,

Your Mama

xxx

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Bumpin'... 32 Weeks Filled with Love and Friendship

I love it when friends come to stay. In my 32nd week of pregnancy, this sweet girl, Kailee and her beautiful husband, Lachlan came to share a long weekend with us at the beach house.

It was the first time their little dog, Laramie (named after the American town in which they met) had ever seen the beach. He bounded along the shore, splashing about with our little Coco, his energy catching.

On one hazy morning, where the sea salt hung thick in the air we had a pancake cook-off. Kailee's tantalising orange and almond pancakes impressed the judges (Lachlan and myself) for a narrow win over Byron's strawberry and banana offerings.

We slept in each day, a true seaside holiday where this 32 week pregnant mama could relax in comfort with dear friends. The greatest highlight for me was seeing my friends, who travelled such a long distance by car. Though the duration of their stay felt more like a heartbeat than four glorious sun-soaked winter days, I am grateful that we could bask in the warm winter sunlight. She, 19 weeks pregnant with their first baby and I, 32 weeks pregnant with ours.

What greater joy than to experience this life-giving time with my dear friend at the very same time that she is expecting. I am so pleased they allowed us to take some maternity photos down by the shore. If I manage to catch up with my own pregnancy posts, I will be sure to share Kailee and Lachlan's gorgeous images here for you.

There's something magical about sharing your pregnancy with another pregnant mama, don't you think?

Bella xx

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Bumpin'... 28 Weeks in the Sun

Dear Friends,

I'm a month behind with the bump updates- That's what happens when you're getting busy living. The weekend of week 28 was spent at the Emerald Beach coastal fare, where we enjoyed freshly squeezed sweet, pulpy orange juice and I met a tall surfer named Todd.

Todd is a former colleague of Byron's, he cooks at a local restaurant and spends the rest of his days with his family by the beach. He shared several funny stories, including one where he caught a ferry, then cycled 12 kilometres on an old bike with a backpack containing a bottle of water and a couple of homemade sandwiches slung over one arm and his surfboard tucked tightly under the other. Todd spent the day surfing point breaks under a blistering sun and returned, famished to his bike as the light began to fade only to discover that some crafty currawongs had opened the zip on his bag and devoured his lunch.
We were in stitches! I could imagine this annoyed, tall bronzed, broad-shouldered surfer gulping down his water during a long 12 kilometre ride and hour long ferry trip before he could eventually eat.

If you've ever surfed, you will understand how hungry this guy must have been after a gruelling day of physical exertion in the water. Now one crucial piece of information I forgot to divulge is that Todd chases the big waves- The scary ones that freak out the average surfy Joe from the shore. His stomach must have been howling.

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Following the markets we wandered along the coastal walk between several headlands. On the exposed cliff tops the cool breeze chilled our faces and tousled our hair. Every now and then we stopped to watch the kangaroos graze in the shade, we even stumbled across the old graves of two unknown souls, lost at sea during a collision between two ships. The danger of this treacherous section of the coast is very cleverly cloaked by it's haunting beauty.

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28 Weeks: This week my energy returned, and then some. I felt new life return to my body with every breath of sea air into my lungs. Heart pounding in my chest during each steep ascent and steadying to a regular lub-dub during our descent to a quiet beach where we dipped our toes in the water.

Pecan, you certainly have grown and as we entered the first week of our final trimester together, I have never before felt your presence so strongly. You are most active during the evenings when I lay down to rest or after I consume a cool, sweet, pulpy orange juice...

Byron, your excitement at the growth of my belly fills me with joy. This week you have helped out so much at home, despite your longer working hours. I am grateful for the efforts and sacrifices you have made to accommodate me when I toss and turn in bed, flush the toilet in the middle of the night, and skip from one unrelated topic to the next with this crazy pregnancy chatter that fills our conversations.

I have to thank B for documenting this pregnancy for us. I love his enthusiasm for climbing sharp rocks to capture different angles. Most of the pictures in this post were taken by him.

28 weeks has been wonderful.

Bella xx

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