Easy does it

29 weeks pregnant and all seems to be going well. I've had a check every week during the last three weeks. The second of the three was an extra check, after I called in about continuing and painful Braxton Hicks (practice contractions), that even woke me up in the night. 

Baby Bubbles heartbeat was monitored for an hour, together with the contractions of my uterus. I was checked for a bladder infection and through ultra sound the baby's position was checked and the length of my cervix got measured. The gyn just didn’t want to take any chances considering the history of Noor Isolde's premature birth.

I, or we, got a bit anxious; after all, we're getting close to the 31 weeks of pregnancy when Noor Isolde was born. If possible, I'd like to carry Bubbles the full term of 40 weeks. 

Everything looked good! So far I have nothing to worry about, still, I need to keep a close watch on these Braxton Hicks and listen to my body. I was told to ease down and get as much rest, whenever I can. Let's see this little event as a warning.

The gyn saw no reason for us to cancel our trip to Paris, as long as we took a slow pace. And that we did. We took the train early morning Thursday, which took us to Paris in three hours. Our way of enjoying the city is to focus mostly on spots for a nice relaxing meal, whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner. If we happen to run into sightseeing spot along the way, it´s a bonus.

We decided to visit Centre Pompidou on the one rainy morning. The thing with museums is that it takes a lot of strolling. After the first exhibition I got tired. Leaning against the wall as a way of resting, I was noticed by the ticket lady, who offered me a wheelchair. Putting all embarrassment aside, I took the offer. Are strolled me through the next exhibition, which was somehow so much more interesting that the first one.

We managed to really relax and even got to catch up with Svein Erik during a long lunch, who is nowadays based in Paris. The Braxton Hicks were still there, but shorter, with more and longer breaks in between and not (so) painful. Last Friday I had another check. There had been no changes to my cervix, blood pressure was good and fluid retention was nothing to worry about. 

We also got to see Baby Bubbles again. People have been asking me if I was sure that my due date was still another three months away or if I was not carrying twins. According to the gyn the size of my belly is normal, the amount of amniotic fluid is normal, the growth and size of the baby is exactly average. Of course the Western European standard is followed here, in my South East Asian body. That´s all there is to it.

Bubbles is moving and exercising a lot, which is comforting and sometimes uncomfortable at the same time. At least Are gets to feel her kicks and punches too, something he never got to experience when I was carrying Noor Isolde.

So far so good. I just have to take it very very easy. Luckily Are is home.