The 24-week belly

And just like that, we have been properly pregnant for six whole months.

These two weeks have been all about being thankful. Not a day goes by without the two of us feeling grateful that we have a little somebody sitting snugly in my belly. Just like my friend P – who is glowing and looking seriously radiant despite it being the hardest, heaviest weeks of her pregnancy! – I thank the big guy up there for gifting us with life every day. Yes, our journey hasn’t been easy but all that doesn’t matter now. What matters is the present and the future.

I had a scare the other day, when I started getting cramps that lasted for more than an hour. Usually, the twinges and aches come and go but these were like waves of period cramps that were occasionally painful and persistent. Thankfully, there was no bleeding. By late afternoon, the cramping subsided and I resolved to relax and trust my body to do its job as an incubator.

On another note, pregnancy brings with it a whole host of things that are designed to bring embarrassment to the mother.

First of all, the infamous pregnancy brains have besieged me! I could be speaking to husband about something and all of a sudden, I would forget what it was that we were talking about. Or I’d scan my brains for the right word to use, even if it’s something as simple as “ice-cream” or “milk”. I’d go, “err err the err err” and flounder like a silly, brainless bimbo while he laughs. Or I’d ask him to pass me the iPad, open up Safari and stare at it, wondering what it was that I had wanted to search for in the first place.

I don’t know what the relationship is but DAMN THE HORMONES.
That’s my motto. If in doubt, BLAME THE DAMN HORMONES.

I’ve started feeling Braxton Hicks contractions. Actually, it was Mr Thick who first noticed how hard my belly was and a quick consult with Dr Google tells me that it’s nothing to worry about. If these practice contractions are anything like the real thing, then yeah, labour totally feels like taking a great big dump.

And of course, let’s talk about the various orifices that the growing uterus has been putting pressure on! Cos we are DYING to know ALL about farts and pee, don’t we?

It’s like the uterus is expanding and shoving aside all my other organs, going “SCUE ME SCUE ME” like a typical Singaporean. The bladder’s been pushed unceremoniously to one side but THANK GOODNESS for the fact that I was born with a bladder of gracious steel. I haven’t been plagued by the nightly visits to the loo that I have heard so much about YET so the lack of sleep has mainly been due to external reasons.

Like, oh, THE MAN I MARRIED AND WHO KNOCKED ME UP. And who just FARTED IN HIS SEAT.

Speaking of which, we were lounging on the sofa just now after a yummy dinner that I cooked (COS I IS NIGELLA) when we started laughing about something. I was laughing so hard, I FARTED. We stopped, stared at each other with the “did you hear what I just did” look and then laughed even harder than before.

If this is how labour is going to progress, man, I DO need to bring my aromatherapy diffuser to the L&D suite.