Ouch ouch ouch!!

Oh dear. I am still plagued by bouts of insomnia. Almost every night, falling off to sleep and staying asleep is a struggle. Firstly, I am not joking about this. I promise I shit you not. I literally have to wake up once every hour and a half at night to pee. Yep. That is because my dear baby boy is still using my bladder as his beloved pillow and has been doing so since 12 weeks ago. I honestly don't know how I survive at work each day when I have to be up by 7.30 in the morning. As if these frequent trips to the bathroom aren't annoying enough, I have also been dealing with terrible heartburn/indigestion since about 2 months ago. I make it a point to have dinner as early as possible. Sometimes, that even means having dinner at 6.30 pm because from what I had read, they say you should not eat within 2-3 hours of bedtime. I've been doing everything right it seems, and yet when I lay my head to rest at night, I feel these awful discomforts in my upper chest & a churning sensation going on in my stomach. I have also had the very unpleasant acid reflux. MANY TIMES. YUCK.

If frequent trips to the bathroom and heartburn aren't bad enough, I have one last thing to contend with at night... My baby's ongoing daily karate sessions within my stomach. He punches, he kicks, he twirls, he kicks once more this time right under my rib cage before he smashes his head down right onto my bladder and takes a 10 minute time-out before resuming the game all over again. SIGH! My dearest baby J. Your mama's stomach is already as stretched out as it will go and my entire abdomen has never ever felt tighter and heavier in my entire 31 years of life. How I wished you would just give me some peace and quiet at night, just so I can get some decent sleep even if it's just a mere 5 hours. I'll make a deal with you. You can practice your karate moves all throughout the day if you'll just leave me alone at night. Perhaps I'm not singing to you enough & you're restless in there?

So, here is a short list of some of the things that I shall NOT be missing when I'm no longer a pregnant woman :

- the inability to sit with both your knees touching.
- the extreme lethargy that comes naturally with being pregnant.
- the mood swings that I get from time to time.
- how every small little thing can upset me and make me cry.
- the slight waddle that I've acquired.
- the inability to sleep due to all the many pregnancy discomforts.
- the constant heartburn.
- those nasty Braxton Hicks contractions that I get every single day that are supposedly your body's way of preparing your uterus for actual labor.
- having trouble getting up from the couch or bed.
- those painful kicks and jabs in my stomach from the baby.
- the non-negotiable ban on alcohol.
- the constant aches and pains in my stomach due to tightness & round ligament pains.
- the nausea and morning sickness that I had for the first 3 months of pregnancy.
- the dull back aches.

On a happier note, I spent half of yesterday clearing up the baby's room and making space in the closet for all his clothes, diapers, wet wipes, powder, mitten and booties etc. I am so pleased with myself cos I got it all done on my own! I'm relieved that this is done. Now I just need to get some last few baby items and pack our hospital bag by week 36 (November 7th). We are almost ready for your arrival into this world, baby J!

Almost week 34.