We’ve returned from holiday and thrown ourselves back into the daily grind.
As much as anything else it was amazing to have David around every day for two whole weeks to share the load. It really felt like a break and I managed to lie in most mornings whilst he got up with the kids and dealt with breakfast and the debris that it leaves in its wake. The days were long and exhausting. Growing this tiny human is certainly taking it out of me. Survival techniques at this point are an impressive and constant cycle of napping and snacking. Which leaves the household chores firmly placed on the backburner. I’ve barely so much as managed to throw some bleach at the toilet bowl in the past fortnight.
As the unrelenting piles of dirty washing continue to mount, conquering just one colour load feels like a massive sense of achievement. Even if that clean load does then sit in the drum for a few hours whilst I muster the strength to hang it to dry. I know what you’re thinking, it’s a glamorous life. But hey, I wouldn’t have it any other way right now. The pregnancy clothes are absolutely coming out of the wardrobe now. I’m finding my usual jeans a bit, well, erm, restrictive shall we say. I am having to wear them slung low to make allowance for my expanding tum. And it’s not just this bump that’s growing, I seem to be a little wider all over in general. The comfort of a pair of soft and capacious maternity leggings is much welcomed apparel right now.
I guess it’s all about comfort from here on in. Talking of which, I have attended my first pre natal exercise class in my efforts to keep the ol’ pelvic girdle pain at bay. I’ll admit I was dreading the thought of it, what with my energy levels floored as they are. But actually, I loved it. I found myself in the middle of a church hall, bouncing around on an exercise ball to uplifting tunes I hadn’t heard in a while, surrounded by women who are all in the same pre natal boat. Without sounding too hippyish, it did me wonders, mind and body, and I left with a renewed vitality. I can’t wait to go back next week.
It has also prompted me to start squeezing those pelvic floor muscles again. I know, I know, I should have been doing them the whole time, after all, they are what is holding everything in place. But hey, better late than never. Oh come on then, I’ll be honest with you about something, it’s not all roses down there right now. You see I’ve got a bit of a problem with (and I’m whispering this from behind my hand) p i l e s. There, I’ve said it, piles. So apparently it’s not an old person’s thing or something you contract from perching for too long on a damp wall. It’s something that can happen when you have the full weight of your baby pushing down on all your bits. As embarrassing as it is, I don’t mind telling you how blimmin’ painful it has become. I first noticed it half way into our car journey back from Cornwall. I had to stop at a service station to buy one of those travel cushions to sit on. I’ve spoken to the doctor and unfortunately there’s not a great deal I can do to make it go away right now. Hopefully it will disappear once baby is born
