Pregnancy Week 28

Our baby is officially viable now according to Dr P.! On the other hand, I’m officially on the scrapheap. The relapse continues, ploughing deep into the winter. It’s hard to say how much is the relapse and how much is the 3rd trimester of pregnancy taking the baton from the ME. I’m definitely feeling heavier, less able to lift, carry and bend and starting to feel breathless, though whether that’s due to my extra weight or reduced lung efficiency I don’t know.

I hadn’t expected to decline quite so early in the 3rd term. Maybe I’ll get another boom at some point before the last weeks of hibernation. Still, knowing that other ME mums have done this before me helps immeasurably. I feel like part of a club of heroines who defied the odds and regenerated life. Our lives may be tied to sofas and we rarely step outside into the open sky but haven’t let society put us out to pasture. We’ve responded to the cycles of time and nature and our every ounce of energy is calibrated and channelled into the most important of all projects: making and raising a child. After over 10 painful years of having no answer to the question What Do You Do? I’m bursting with pride to be nearly a mum. I’m also very lucky.

Although it’s all I do in the day I’m still managing a little bit of cooking and light washing up. Keeping up with the washing is becoming a struggle because of the bending and carrying but it’s still doable. I can still read a little too.