Is the baby going to be early, or is maternity leave sending me loopy already?

[moominmaiden]

Yesterday was my last day at work. I?m 36+3.

For a couple of weeks now I have been feeling increasingly restless. Worried that I would go into labour before completing my handover, worried that the house would not be ready (cleaned out all the kitchen cupboards, went through papers that have been sitting in boxes for several years, not to mention a prodigious amount of decorating)?

Been bursting into tears if the stairs aren?t hovered properly. Silly things like that. Although I don't feel down. Part of me feels eerily calm (I realise that sounds like a contradiction - what I mean is I'm not nervous about the birth or the baby being born - just the idea of being unprepared).

Baby is measuring a week big and is, according to my midwife, in a perfect position. She encouraged me to get my birth plan done asap and booked me in for my 38 week appointment ?if he?s not arrived by then.?

Diarrhoea for no apparently reason this morning (yesterday was a bit of a carb fest) and baby is unnervingly quiet. I am still getting movement but it feels different. Frequent but not as pronounced, sort of squirmy and fidgety. No proper kicks for weeks. I am peeing every five minutes and getting occasional mild cramps.

I have a strong urge to pack my hospital bag and asked DH, completely out of the blue, to do a dummy run to the hospital on the way back from the food shop this afternoon.

Am I going mad or is this a sign that baby is planning an early exit?

If you feel ready that can only be a good thing.

Who knows really if baby is going to make an early appearance or not, other than baby!

I had everyone saying I was going to go early and it started to make me think that I would. And here I am at 40+4 waiting!

Maybe baby will come very soon, or maybe you'll be waiting a little bit longer. If you feel better making sure you get everything ready for early arrival then do that. And then try to have a bit of a relax.

Re movements. If there's any change in pattern etc that you're not sure of then its definitely worth checking it out with your mw for reassurance.

Good luck with everything!

Thanks for the reply and good luck to you too :)

Part of me thinks it is a combination of handover stress and the midwife making suggestive comments that has sort of percolated in my brain and caused me to feel this way, regardless of the physical symptoms (I know baby's can 'drop' weeks before labour).

I'm not worried about movements. They are still strong and frequent - it just feels as if he's run out of room and it's making us both feel a bit uncomfortable :) Beyond the mental nesting I'm actually feeling really well in myself.

Here's hoping you won't be waiting much longer!

I was very similar - convinced DD was going to be early. Remember having intense Braxton hicks and saying You can't come yet, I haven't done my batch cooking!. She was born 38+5 so you may well be early! Try to relax now, watch some films!
Good luck with it.