Wow! Did you see her stripy tights as she walked out the boardroom? My yell from the bedroom made Peter wonder what was going on…!

Jenny was fired from The Apprentice last night, and about time too! Sir Alan saw through her lying and manipulative ways, and she was sent home in addition to the regular dismissal of one of the losing team members! I have to admit, the task wasn’t as exciting as previous weeks (bartering in Marrakesh for ten specific items) but it showed up Jenny’s underhanded tactics - even attempting to sabotage one of the other teams purchases by trying to bribe a local shopkeeper to delay their preparation of the bought article!

The field of business has a reputation of being composed of ruthless, ambitious, sometimes unethical individuals, but I was comforted last night that Sir Alan and his formidable team of Margaret Mountford and Nick Hewer were not blind to the crimes and were swift to affirm their disapprobation of the habits of lying and cheating by releasing the fiery-haired Jenny. Hats off to her, though, she has endured difficulties in her life (contracting meningitis a couple of years ago and being told she would never be able to live independently again) and has overcome them magnificently. If only she would apply the same tenacity to upholding decent values.

In her exit interview, Jenny likens the experience of The Apprentice to having a child… Now, I can’t comment yet, having experienced neither (!), but I would prefer Peter as my doula than Alan Sugar!!

I don’t know who will win The Apprentice, but in this neck of the woods we’ve been impressed by Raef Bjayou - who wouldn’t trust an estate agent, especially one who drinks cognac?!

Well, this is the end of the road. Our due date is tomorrow, and Bubba hasn’t arrived! The chances of them making an appearance on time is very slim - only 5 % of babies turn up on the estimated due date (EDD). In fact, I have heard a story of a lady who phoned her local hospital, believing herself in labour; when the midwife discovered that the due date was the same day, she told the lady not to worry and instructed her to stay at home. Needless to say, the baby had other ideas and arrived contrary to the picture of national statistics!

Talking of pictures, Peter was sent an awesome T-shirt by family over in Australia (heads up to Jacqui, David, Charis and Ethan!) that operates on several levels (see image). I can imagine you can see the immediate reference (yes, I’ve put on at least a couple of stone in the last 9 months..) as well as the reference to Peter as father; it also works if Peter puts on a collar…!

We had our 40 week midwife appointment today. Bubba is head down - they’re not likely to somersault now! I’ve increasingly noticed our bump get denser and denser - I can feel every movement and just by touching the bump I can feel Bubba’s back and limbs! I do have a tendency of rubbing the bump after a bum wiggles, and both Peter and I are expecting that the only way to soothe Bubba when they get out will be to rub their bottom..!! When I asked Sallie our midwife how big she thought Bubba was, she said they were probably a very average baby and estimated being about 7 lb 10 oz to 8lbs! Obviously, this is a proper guesstimate and we’ll only know on the day, but it’s reassuring that they’ll be a good healthy size on their arrival!

Sallie also talked about induction.. if nothing has happened by our appointment next Tuesday then we will be offered an induction to follow a couple of days afterwards. Personally, if I had any control I’d prefer it all to get going in the next couple of days so we can meet Bubba very soon - we’re getting very impatient!!

Our default hospital was presented to us as the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. At the time we were allocated to it (pretty much as soon as the pregnancy was confirmed back in September 2007) we didn’t think twice about it. However, just one session at the antenatal class stirred our interest to check out another local hospital..

We had the tour of the QE2 when I was about 34 weeks. It was ok. Nothing special. Lots of delivery rooms and lots of beds in the postnatal wards, as you might expect. At our first antenatal class, although almost everyone had committed to going to the QE2 for their birth, one couple were undecided: Dad wanted to go to the QE2, simply for reasons of proximity; Mum was veering towards Harlow - and being a fellow mum-to-be, I paid close attention to her reasons for contemplating Princess Alexandra in Harlow (PAH).

We organised a visit to PAH on a Sunday afternoon, and just immediately we both felt better about going there than the QE2. We’ve heard good and bad tales from both hospitals, and you know, it’s probably just a gut feeling thing, but psychologically it can make a big difference when you’re driving in the car (or your husband is..) and you feel like you’re going to a warm hospital with ambience, than a white, stark and clinical ward. The main advantage of PAH is that it has a midwife-led unit (MLU) that is separate from the main obstetrics ward, which is apparently proving more and more popular. Generally, it is felt that you’re less likely to opt for the ‘heavier’ forms of pain relief in a MLU than in a joint midwife-consultant-led labour ward. The MLU is only available to those with low-risk pregnancies, but we’ve been blessed by a very uneventful pregnancy and are in that category.

So, now we’re just waiting.. I’ve heard the old wives tales that your baby tends to slow its movements the day or two before labour begins. If that’s true, we’ve probably got at least another week as this one is wriggling and writhing on a daily basis! ;o)

I know, the weekend has come and gone, but I thought I’d try and make a regular habit of reviewing something, a book, movie, activity; I’ll leave Peter to keep you up-to-date with Dr Who..

So, recently, we visited our local Cineworld cinema with a good friend to view the latest offering from Essex-born director Garth Jennings: Son of Rambow. This is a tale of young Will Proudfoot growing up in an uncompromising Brethren family where TV viewing is strictly prohibited. On being sent out of the classroom during a teaching session in which television is used as part of the learning medium, Will encounters the local school bully who is secretly filming his own video. At the beginning of this blooming but unpredictable relationship, Will views a pirate copy of the newly released Rambo: First Blood movie and is inspired. What follows is a believable tale of the joys and difficulties of friendship, family and religion in the early 1980’s. We laughed all the way through and were moved by the unexpected ending..

So, here’s our star rating: Peter gives it four and a half stars, and I’ll give it four stars - worth a look-see!!

Enjoy the trailer!

The end of an era has arrived. We had our last antenatal class today; sigh! It was an all day job, filled with discussions on parenting, pain relief and other paraphenalia.. It was a bit weird at the end of the day, since it means the arrival of our Baruch is even more imminent..!!

There were several other exciting things happening today: I went to have our 38 week midwife appointment with Sallie. My fundal height is on track, my blood pressure is as low as ever (never a bad thing, since I can continue to enjoy salty crisps to my delight and not worry too much…!!) and our Baruch is now 2/5 engaged. The best thing I found out was that it’s likely that Baruch is in an anterior position with their back to the front of my belly - this hopefully will influence labour in a good way: the tale goes that with such an arrangement of babe in mum, labour is less painful and shorter… Hmmm, I will let you know the truth of that in due course!! For those who were wondering, no, I did not get on my hands and knees to scrub the kitchen floor; that’s what husbands are for!

We were eight couples at our antenatal class last week. So, I expected to see eight women for our second women-only session yesterday. As I approached our venue, I did wonder if our group may have reduced in size in the space of only seven days. And indeed, there was an empty chair when I entered the meeting room.

Lisa and Billy have had a little boy, and not without its melodrama: apparently, Lisa fell, and fell on her stomach, which ruptured the membranes and her waters broke. A trip to the hospital was swiftly arranged just to check things out, but while she was there contractions began and a short time and a C-section later, their little boy was born! Hooray!

It does make you think who’s going to be the next fly to drop.. There are six days between now and the next class, and I’ve placed my bet already!

Just for the record, if you want to try kick-starting labour, a fall on your stomach is not recommended by healthcare professionals.

Well, it’s not really a holiday, but maternity leave does give you a few more hours in the day to pursue your own ends than traversing from home to office and back between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm..!

My first ‘official’ day of leave was yesterday, and it was a very strange feeling. I talked briefly to Peter about it, and likened it to exams - you know, you’ve done the course, attended the lectures, had a structure to your day for as long as you can remember, and all of a sudden it stops. Dead. The time is your time. As with exams, there’s that anticipation of something big and significant about to happen. The only difference between birth and exams is you don’t know when it’s going to happen..

There is another story to this picture of Mary. We had our first antenatal class last week (our second tomorrow, though it’s only for the mums-to-be..) and the lady running our class apparently thinks of this sequence from the Mary Poppins movie when she thinks about the ‘show’ that appears prior to or just at the start of labour. We all laughed, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t think I’ll be singing, ‘It’s a jolly holiday!’ when in the throes of active labour..! ;o)

But if I’m not singing, it doesn’t mean you can’t…

We all know the old adage that size isn’t everything, yet still we like most things supersized. Thankfully, our Baruch has grown steadily over time and our bump isn’t huge. Big enough, but not huge! We bumped (!!) into another pregnant mum whilst walking down the baby clothes aisle in one of our local stores, and she was due just days after us but had a totally different shaped bump!

So, in response to popular demand, I’ve posted a few piccies of how our Baruch has grown over the weeks.

Apparently, in the last weeks of pregnancy, the growing child can put on an ounce of weight every day (up to a pound a week..)!! I’m wondering if, when they’re born, our Baruch will have hiccups as frequently as they do whilst in the womb!

We’re 37 weeks next week, so we’ve reached what could be called The End Game - on Wednesday, we’ll be considered full term and thereon in anything can happen..! But yes, we’re prepared: Peter has packed his Mars bars, Red Bull and Play Station Portable..!

Oh, and just in case you missed it from Peter’s website, here’s Baruch’s heartbeat at 24 weeks:

 

 Baruch's heartbeat: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We had our first antenatal class yesterday, complete with Elvis The Pelvis (with adjustable ligaments), homemade placenta (of the beanbag variety), and vibrating duck.. We really enjoyed ourselves, actually, and our confidence has increased - so much so that we might change the hospital that we choose to deliver in (that’s another story!).

During our day-long session, we encountered the urban myth that going into labour whilst in a reputable department store may entitle you to claim a free hamper - or if you’re in Scotland, £500 worth of gift vouchers! I don’t know if I’m willing to take the risk of visiting Marks and Sparks when I’m heavily pregnant on the off chance that my waters might break just for the prize of a basket of good food! I’m not proud enough to refuse the gesture should it be offered, though..!

As a random stream of consciousness, I was listening to one of my favourite bands in the car on the way home from work today that made me think: Hallelujah is a word that is underused in Christian circles these days…!

 

 Wholly Yours - David Crowder Band [4:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download