Sissi with baby bump: 38th to 39th week of pregnancy

In Winter 2018, our LILLYDOO midwife Sissi Rasche is expecting her third child! Despite her expertise in pregnancy, these nine months with a baby in the belly remain simply magical for Sissi. And the best part: she takes you along on her exciting journey! Every two weeks, she provides an update on her pregnancy in our LILLYDOO magazine and shares her very personal experiences with you. In addition to five consistent questions about the current state of affairs, Sissi answers a special additional question in each column. We wish you lots of fun accompanying Sissi with her (growing) baby bump in the coming months!

1. What is your current waist circumference?

So close to the end of my pregnancy, I have become a bit rounder again: my belly measures 101 cm right now.

2. How are you feeling right now?

My mood is still good, I am just incredibly exhausted and tired. Additionally, I notice that I am no longer seeking much contact with the outside world, but prefer to retreat. I also find social media exhausting at the moment. Instead, I have the urge to stay in my cave, my nest, but that is quite natural so close to the birth.

3. What does your body tell you?

I am already experiencing very many contractions. My body is therefore showing me that it won't be long until the baby is born. :) The do sometimes stop in between, which is typical for women giving birth multiple times, but I still feel that the baby has already descended and moved into position, and my entire body is working towards the birth.

4. What was your most beautiful moment?

From the last two weeks, I can't really pick out a specific moment. Overall, I just feel a bit like Christmas right now – full of excited anticipation! Everyone is eagerly awaiting who will join our family soon and whether it will be a girl or a boy. Especially my daughter is very excited and asks every day when it will start – really adorable.

I am also glad that everything is finally ready for the baby: , the crib is set up, the stroller is here, and the carrier has been retrieved. It had been making me a bit nervous all along that nothing was ready yet, but now there’s nothing standing in the way of our new family member’s arrival!

How are you preparing for the postpartum period with (soon) three children?

Fortunately, my children are no longer so small (my daughter is almost 6 and my son is almost 8), so they can already understand a little that I will need more rest after the birth. In the first two weeks, I will be supported by a maternity nurse who, among other things, takes care of cooking. This is incredibly valuable, to have something freshly cooked every day during the postpartum period. Usually, this assistance is even covered by statutory health insurance, at least for the first few days after the birth. Unfortunately, this is not the case for me, and I have to cover the costs myself, but I gladly indulge in this kind of support – especially since my husband unfortunately cannot take extended time off. Additionally, we have an au pair who picks up and drops off the two older children from activities, so I can really stay in bed with the baby for the first two weeks. And finally, a cleaning lady comes once a week, so I can be completely relaxed in this regard as well.

Furthermore, my mother will come during the first few days to support us, and we have also received a lot of help offered from our circle of friends, for which I am very grateful. I have already put together my little "village" in advance. I would recommend every woman before childbirth to consider in time, "Who can support me?", "Where can I get help?", so that you can then focus entirely on yourself and the baby during the period.