A tough week

I've had a tough week with my back pain and the pain has also moved around to my ribs (under my right boob). I googled it and found this page. This is exactly what I'm experiencing and the symptoms and the way to relieve it are exactly what I’ve been experiencing with the back pain too. I guess since the baby has moved it has just made the pain shift around to the front. My time sitting at work has been really tough going. So much so that I devised a plan to request to take annual leave from 3:30pm each day between now and just before I go on maternity leave. It's by 2-3pm in the afternoon that I'm starting to lose my mind with the discomfort. This would mean a total of 5 days annual leave which I would no longer have to add onto the end of my maternity leave but I think that this is a good use of the time. I'm also getting more and more tired and the rib pain, plus general discomfort, is affecting my sleep more and more so working a shorter day would be really welcome. My manager agreed to this for next week to see if it's the right thing for me to do which seems sensible. I'm really looking forward to walking out early and coming home to lie down, do some stretching and some other light exercise, maybe take a short walk and get some stuff done around the house to avoid sitting, maybe take a nap. I think it'll be a good move. At the last midwife appointment, my OH asked her what she knew about the magnesium citrate that I've been taking. She wasn't sure and said that she would look into it. She sent me a text later in the week so say that as there isn't enough research about it she didn't recommend that I take it. I can't bear the thought of going without it at this stage. So we were then left frantically asking anyone who might know for some reassurance. My sister in law asked a medic friend of hers who she trusts and she felt it was fine. And another medic friend said it should be OK. They are both Americans looking at different data from docs in the UK. So I'm still taking it... I feel pretty happy with this decision. I think a lack of research shouldn't be reason alone not to take it. But I understand that my midwife would have to advise me the way she did on those grounds. All of my organs seem to really be feeling the pressure now. Even sitting and lying around seems to put pressure on my lungs and the heartburn comes and goes through every hour. I don't know where she is going to go as she gets bigger! Hopefully I will keep stretching out front as there is no more room for her inside! The lack of being able to find a comfortable position has been getting me down quite a bit. I'm not sure how the remaining 10+ weeks is going to work out! Not sure if I've mentioned this before but I occasionally get very unexpected gushes of fairly watery discharge...which is nice! I'm now using panty liners pretty much all the time as a precaution... My husband is building a wooden box which will be a time capsule for our daughter to open when she turns 18. We have a few ideas about what we will put in it. The pregnancy tests, her scan photos, hospital wrist bands, the outfit that we will bring her home from the hospital in, a newspaper from the day of her birth, her first shoes, favourite baby toys, a savings bond of some kind, letters that we will write to her each year, a 2013 bottle of wine, her baby blanket, music from 2013, a collection of Christmas tree decorations (one bought each year), and I'm sure that we'll add to it. Maybe I'll print this blog too! I'm also planning to do a photo book of the pregnancy and her first year which she can look at before she turns 18. I've been half expecting that my "surprise" baby shower might happen this weekend. My OH told me that a friend of mine is planning one as he knows I'm not great with surprises and he didn't want me to worry that no one would throw one for me! But nothing so far...so I'm thinking maybe in the next 2 of 3 weekends  We did a bit more shopping this weekend for, to be honest, slightly dull things that we are unlikely to get as presents: nappies, muslins, cot sheets, flannels, baby bath and foam support, maternity pads, nightshirts and nightgown for the hospital. For the hospital, my OH bought a cute pink sports bag for the babies stuff and he and I will pack our own separate bags as well. I'll slowly start pulling the necessary stuff together over the next few weeks! It still hits me occasionally that we have come from the journey of IVF to actually buying nappies and stuff! So surreal. So lucky.