Bumpdate! 31 Weeks.

220 days of housing our precious little poppet. 220 days of getting to know her rhythms and routine. 220 days of “WHEN IS THIS ALL GOING TO BE OVER?!” 220 days since our lives changed forever.

It’s been a little while since I’ve had time to sit down and get to the blog. We’ve signed a new partner to our business, moved house and I’ve entered my third trimester… The final stretch. The home-run!  SO much has happened in the last 220 days. So many emotions and so much life change; so I thought I’d give you a sneaky update… a bumpdate. Firstly, moving house whilst pregnant… WHY DO WE DO THESE THINGS TO OURSELVES?! I saw my sister do it with both of her pregnancies (and she’s about to do it again… in her 3rd trimester too!) and she made it look HELLA easy (I’d like to take credit for the fact that I was her co-packer, with both of those moves.) But don’t let her smooth-sailing fool you. It is not easy. I 100% thought that I was about to have a nervous breakdown over the last month. I’m pretty certain that I entered the beginning stages of one. Eh.

Packing up our first little home as husband and wife was an emotional rollercoaster. Bitter-sweet. I was so eager to get out of our flat, for a really long time (like, since our first week in it) but once the reality hit - I realized how attached I had grown to that little space, our fighting neighbors and all that we had been through within those walls. So many memories. So much struggle. A heck of a load of beauty.

Not only were we leaving our first flat, but we also left the Northern Suburbs, (my little safe bubble) and made the long trek on the N1 to the SOUTH!

The first few years of my life were spent in the South of Cape Town. It’s where I was born, where my family survived a church massacre, where I went to Primary School and it was the last place we lived before my parents got a divorce. So whilst there is a level of familiarity, there is also whole lot of “new.”

Currently, we are still trying to find our new rhythm. New places to work during the day. New shops to quickly run to for some milk. New walking route to rock this little babe to sleep. We’re also “far” away from our community, so we're on the search for some new, nearby friends (if you’re in the South & want to be buds, hit me up!)  We are however, still making the trek to the North for church… That was our non-negotiable for now.

Apart from all of that - like I said before, I am in my third trimester of pregnancy and I cannot believe it! True to that cheesy-internet quote, “the days are long, but the journey is fast” (or something like that.) We are only 8 weeks away from meeting our little girl (and we have SO much to do! Like… Find a hospital for the birth… Long story.)

So let’s finally get to what you came here for… The BUMPDATE. For me, 31 weeks has looked like:

• First Trimester exhaustion all over again (this could also be influenced by our move!)

• Clearer skin (PRAISE BE!)

• A ravenous appetite (Feed me. All the time. Please.)

• Heartburn that could set the world alight (does this mean my baby girl is covered in hair like her daddy?? Oh dear.)

• Craving CHALK on the daily… (Don’t ask me about this. It’s embarrassing.) (Also, don’t worry, I’ve not given in to it… yet.)

• Running to the loo, once I’ve just returned from the loo. (The bladder is small with this one.)

• Backache (little poppet is weighing in at 1.6kgs - so I’m basically carrying around a dumbbell all day. Hoping to come out of this with a six-pack.)

• A swollen cervix (which resulted in a middle of the night ER visit, medication & rest).

• Uncontrollable tears & an undeniable love at the very thought of her.

It’s the craziest thing you know… Feeling so protective and in love with a human whom, besides in dreams, you have not yet met.

And in all of the pain, the groans and the gains (GAINS!) I’ve developed a deep sense of gratitude & awe for the gift that I have been entrusted with. This pregnancy has honestly been hell-ish and I’ve truly struggled to find even a glimmer of optimism within these last 7 months. I know some people may read that statement & think that I am ungrateful or undeserving - and whilst I am neither of those things; it has genuinely been a rough ride & I refuse to lie about or glamorize it. BUT recently, the more I feel her move, the more I get to know her - wow - the joy, the love, the possibilities of the future are bountiful and beautiful.

This little girl burst into our life like a whirlwind. Unexpected & wild. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. She is mine and I am hers.

Forever and ever I hope and pray that she would know that she is safe, she is loved and she is carried by You & Me.