This baby is an active baby. I have been pregnant to this stage three times before and even with twins I don’t recall this level of activity. There are bumps and angles on the bump. You know the smooth round belly so many people associate with pregnancy? This baby is making a laugh of the entire concept. This baby bump is never smooth, it is near constantly lopsided, shifting, and you can definitely tell there is someone alive in there. My children are fascinated with It, my husband is grateful he is not the parent having to go through this. As we are closing in the activity seems to only intensify which led my oldest to ask very seriously what would happen if the baby kicked so hard he/she would burst out of my tummy? I saw my poor husband cringe at the thought and I tried to explain to her that it was pretty unlikely but it would be a pretty bad case scenario if it happened. She was satisfied with not going into too many details.

This did push me to consider how many other ways this pregnancy has been teaching me how the human body can be pushed to extremes. I for instance never knew your feet could get swollen to the point of haematomas forming under your nails, that was a very unpleasant surprise (sorry but this is the type of lovely details you feel like sharing towards the end) though it is slowly resolving itself… the sad part being that while it would be easily hidden by a pedicure nature has it that it is impossible to reach your feet and paint your nails in a satisfactory manner and on a basis regular enough all the way till your baby arrives. The swollen feet and legs have this week also decided to take on a brand new level of aesthetic, you see it is common for pregnant bodies to see the appearance of stretch marks, I was lucky enough with my first pregnancy to avoid them but after the twins it was a lost battle on my stomach. This time around though stretch marks decided to make their way on my thighs at the front and as an extra surprise at the back of my knees! They hopefully will not remain permanent as they are still new but the ones at the back of my knees decided to appear superposed on the lovely marks I gained as a child who grew to her adult size way too fast… this type of growing up stretch mark is horizontal… so I now am sporting gridded stretch marks which I never thought were a possibility!

I feel the need, as this is turning into a pregnancy venting post to also talk about heartburn. I never really had a problem for most of my first pregnancy, it was one during my second that required medication, in my third I managed to handle it despite it being twins… in each case though the heartburn was caused by the simple fact I was running out of room and could be eased by eating small quantities at a time and foods that were not encouraging the production of acid. This time around though no such measures are helping, because even if I have barely eaten, there is little one can do against someone directly kicking at your stomach location to the point of making you physically sick. In those moments I wonder how bruised my internal organs might be getting.

All laughs (and tears) aside, I know I am pretty lucky to have made it quite healthily this far, I might be tired, nauseous and swollen beyond recognition but I am grateful for this little baby making sure I spend time aware of her/his presence and that I can tell he/she is doing well. I hope this level of activity will mean they will be tired enough to sleep well after birth because I sure could use a nap! In the meantime though, if any of you have any good and pregnancy safe tips to ease swollen feet, please drop me a suggestion in the comments! Thank you!

@thelittlemermaidnow