Sissi with baby bump: 32nd to 33rd 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?

By the end of my waist circumference is now 95 cm.

2. How are you feeling right now?

My mood is unfortunately quite clouded at the moment. This is partly due to my exhaustion – I have had a lot of stress in recent weeks because of my self-employment. On the other hand, I am a bit sad that my pregnancy is already nearing its end. Since our family planning with the third child will probably be complete, I feel a little nostalgic that I did not enjoy the pregnancy more consciously and did not take more time for myself.

3. What does your body tell you?

My body is telling me very clearly "Stop!". Everything is exhausting me right now and I am very tired. I actually need rest urgently, which I have rarely given myself due to my numerous commitments. No wonder that my body is intervening more and more often.

4. What cravings are you currently experiencing?

The readers of this column probably can't hear it anymore, but cold drinks are still my greatest craving – despite autumn temperatures. ;) Aside from that, I don't have any particular cravings. Such preferences tend to diminish more and more as pregnancy progresses.

5. What was your most beautiful moment?

The most beautiful moment of the last two weeks was when a friend gifted me a pair of hand-knit socks – the very first item for the baby. We haven't gotten anything ourselves yet, although of course we still have the old stuff from the two older children. That's why I was very happy about the socks and have already put them in a small box, as a symbolic start to the nesting process, which I want to start focusing on soon.

What do you advise your pregnant women, that you do not follow yourself?

Recently, I have had to realize that I am a good midwife, but a rather bad pregnant woman. For the pregnant women I care for, it is always very important to me that they allow themselves enough rest periods and do not overexert themselves. I myself have not really adhered to this at all and must honestly say that it is not good at all that I paid so little attention to myself and my body. But many things simply cannot be changed due to my self-employment, especially when you have just started a company. You can't just leave things lying around, but it is a rather painful experience for me that I have paid so little attention to myself, which I always advise my pregnant women to do.