The beginning of the end...

Yesterday I entered my third (and final!!!) trimester. It's a very strange feeling, as up until now time has literally flown by.

The first trimester was cut short five weeks short as we didn't actually know I was pregnant. Whilst the following weeks of fear and anxiety made up for this, the ease and joy felt after the twelve week scan meant that the second trimester went by so so fast and thankfully without a hitch.

I've been very lucky so far in my pregnancy (a fact that lots of people like to repeatedly tell me!!!)

I've suffered no morning sickness, so far no stretch marks and for the most part have felt wonderful.

Yes I've suffered a few bits & bobs...

Tiredness, increased worry, (it's been a big thing for me so I count it as a symptom!) bad skin, gas, growing pains and a little bloating, but nothing that has had a serious negative impact on my life.

I've also got a relatively small bump (a fact I've now come to terms with) so it's only now that I'm really starting to outgrow my normal clothes.

As of last week, I did begin to notice some changes. For one I started to suffer a pain under my left breast, this pain only heightened when I attempted to sleep, or rest on my side. Not ideal when you're only allowed to sleep on your side. As the days went by, the sensation continued and started to increase a little. I felt nothing all day, it was only at night when I sat on the couch, or got into bed that it kicked off.

I didn't panic about this pain, but I did tweet about it, and searched it on Google. According to the net, it could have been any of the following... ribs stretching, organs moving or (this ones my favourite!) feet!

When I asked my midwife about it at a check up yesterday, she answered with a slight chuckle...

'It's really nothing, and to be honest you're only going to get more and more uncomfortable as time goes by"

Great.

Last night in bed, for the first time I started to read the back end of my pregnancy books. The chapters I've been avoiding for the past six months. Not the bits about when the baby is here (I like those chapters and have read them many times!) the bits about the symptoms of trimester three... And the bits about the birth itself.

Whilst for me, the birth is a means to an end and something women have been doing forever... I do have a very low pain threshold and do tend to over dramatise things in my mind (thus the denial and refusal to read anything on the matter so far!!)

In truth, I am a little frightened. Not only about the labour itself, but about the next few weeks. I'm told the baby will double, maybe even triple in size before I'm full term... That's an 'interesting' prospect!!

I'm told I could suffer a wealth of awful symptoms due to the babies growing size...

And I'm told that those few symptoms suffered in trimester one are likely to make a reappearance soon.

It all sounds rather daunting and rather terrifying, but it's the beginning of the end. And what an end it is (all being well).

I love the feeling of kicks on the inside, so can only imagine what hugs on the outside will feel like.

I've adored being pregnant, knowing that I'm responsible for a growing Baby J so, can only imagine how wonderful it will be to have the title 'mother' and be responsible for a living, breathing, tangible person and for the first time, properly share that with the hubs.

It's going to be a challenging twelve weeks! When I'm not moaning to the hubs or blogging/tweeting about my experiences... I'll be whispering the following to myself repeatedly "a means to an end, a means to an end"

If you're in the same position... I advise you to do so too! It's a hell of a journey, but the prize at the end (I imagine!) is priceless ;-)