The countdown begins...

I write again at 38 weeks pregnant and am still in awe of what God is doing in my life and that of our child. Baby Willett is still tucked up cosy in Mummy's womb and I am still getting used to the big belly and carrying around all this extra weight yet I am preparing for the end of pregnancy and the start of becoming a Mother! It still amazes me that all my organs have shifted inside me to accommodate and grow a small human, that a muscle that seemed so small now overtakes my body and my appearance and that I can feel legs, feet and a bum all wiggling inside of me. Yesterday our child was on the monitor at my most recent midwife appointment and not only did I hear their heartbeat (which by the way is one of the most amazing sounds ever!) but I also heard their hiccups through the speaker- little pops that I have felt so many times in my belly but just heard for the first time: there is a human inside me, one that is soon to come earth side! I do sit and write this blog just after 3am as the insomnia strikes again alongside the acid reflux and trapped wind, some symptoms which are now very familiar to me.  Though these are uncomfortable, though my body needs more rest, I would not change what I am doing for anything else in the world. This past week has been more difficult: I have been trying to stay motivated to write my assignments for University (I have no idea how I can/will manage being a Mummy and a student!), I have got a little "fed up" and "impatient" waiting and waiting for a sign, a pain, some progression yet I know it's predicted that I have a couple more weeks to go! Some of my friends are due to give birth after me yet are booked to have their babies before! Then I remember... this is a blessing: every movement I feel, every squirm and kick from the inside won't be happening much longer, Baby Willett won't be doing big stretches and hiccuping on the inside but rather doing so in the big, wide world! I also praise God because some women would have loved to get this far into their pregnancies and so I feel selfish moaning and being impatient. I do really want to meet our child very soon though. I want to kiss their face and hold them close, I want to love like I have never loved before so I hand the rest of this time to God whom I know is strengthening me and growing me and Baby in so many ways. I want to keep enjoying this precious time in my life and all the changes my body has and will keep going through. I want to say being a pregnant woman is challenging at times but a great way to prepare for the greater challenges of motherhood! I want Baby Willett to know that l know and love him/her though I haven't met him/her, I know his/her kicks and movements, I love it when Baby head butts me and I like to know Baby is still there and still enjoying life on the inside. I want to protect him/her in every way not just by the fluid he/she can swim in and by being all cosy in my belly but also from the moment he/she comes on to the earth I want to protect every bone in their body, I want him/her to feel loved by Mummy and Daddy and by God. I want he/she to be healthy, free to explore, discover and live. Most of all, I want the joy of the Lord to be our child's strength. I am ready now to meet our child, I am scared yet excited to birth our baby with my amazing Husband/Daddy to-be. I now return to trying to sleep and waiting for the grand arrival not knowing when or how it will happen but knowing its the most amazing and unpredictable feeling ever. Thank you God for knitting me together in my mother's womb, for knitting the child in my womb together and I trust the Lord as I enter into Motherhood and all the challenges and moments that will bring that He will keep me healthy and strong in faith to see each day in a new way through this empowering opportunity. I thank you God I have this chance and say sorry for when I don't seem appreciative or joyful. Being a woman is an amazing blessing, being pregnant is an even greater one!