Before I starting warbling on, I should probably warn you that this post isn’t about a chocolate marble chiffon cake at all. What, you say? I know this is misleading, given that yes, that there is a photo of some chocolate marble chiffon cake. And in an effort to avoid being sued for a misuse of your time, the recipe is indeed on the bottom of this post, so feel free to scoot down there. This post – as will be many future posts I’m sure – is about… baby! Surprised? Don’t be.
Actually – and this will surprise you – this post isn’t strictly about baby.
Many people believe that stress brings on labour. Many don’t. I do, only because… remember the Sex and the City movie? When Charlotte is mega pregnant and sees Big at the cafe and is all “I CURSE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN!!”…? I know you know what I’m talking about. If you dont…
So you see, stress absolutely brings on labour. And I now know this for a fact because…
Four weeks ago today I was still working (I was 37 weeks on the dot, and looking forward to finishing the week and starting my maternity leave. You know, Dr Phil and all that). The universe wasn’t planning on granting me an easy final week. I had one of the most stressful days I’d ever had, when everything that could go wrong did, and everything that was going smoothly went wrong. And on top of that, my WiFi kept dropping out. If that doesn’t cause stress, I don’t know what does.
I’d worked from 8am, through lunch and when Panu came home, I snuck a quick hug and actually shed a tear, that’s how stressed I was. I ate dinner at the computer (which I never do – though I work evenings, I make every effort to sit and eat with Panu, even if it’s only for 10 minutes) and dragged myself through the utter shit that was work that day, focusing on the fact that in three more days, I would be on leave! Yay!
At 10pm I called it quits, had a shower and went to bed.
At 11pm, my waters broke, contractions started and I went into labour straight away.
16 hours later, well… my life changed.
Moral of the story? Stress brings on labour, people. Forget chilli and herbal teas and acupuncture. Have yourself a grand old panic attack, hyperventilate a little, and baboom, you’ll have yourself a baby 😉 (I do not actually condone this, ok?)
It’s now been four weeks. Four weeks of utter extremes, of loving life, and hating being awake. Of bursting with love for my baby, and wondering who the f*** is this screaming little creature. Of not wanting to go to sleep so I can watch him all night, and wanting just to get more than three straight hours of shut eye. It’s confusing, this thing called motherhood, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And oh, here’s the recipe for chocolate marble chiffon cake:
| Chocolate marble chiffon cake |
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| 1 cup self-raising flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup cocoa 1/2 cup canola oil 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten 3/4 cup milk 4 egg whites |
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| Makes 20cm round cake (serves about 8). |
you might want to change 37 days to weeks……the stress never leaves!
Haha good spotting!!!
CONGRATULATIONS! This was a great post. You have done an amaziing thing! I bet your little one is perfect.
Fab clip, I must watch that movie again!
I would tell any pregnant woman to slow down and take it easy when pregnant. We take it for granted baby isn’t going to arrive until 40 weeks (and indeed many are late) but they can always come early and pull the rug from under us. There’s plenty of opportunity to be stressed out and knackered once they arrive and if I could go back and change anything it would be to have given myself an easier time.
Congratulations on your new arrival. I’m loving all the pics on FB! x
I love that scene! I always thought that would happen to me, that my waters would burst in public somewhere and I’d have to hail down a cab to take me to the hospital. But alas no, and I didn’t look anywhere near as glam as Charlotte either!
I bet Samuel was thinking – I think Mum needs a break from work. And she doesn’t have proper wifi anyway. So what else will she do? Time to say hello!!
I took leave after 35 and a half weeks – I highly recommend it to all expectant mothers! If nothing else, it gave me lots of time to do nothing as well as sleep…Oh alright, I snuck in a few Sugar Hits as well, okay? =p