36 Weeks: Water

Its unappeasable, this desire to immerse myself in water. Whether a pool, or beach or bathtub, relief from back pain and sore ribs as well as the entirely desirable sensation of weightlessness comes in the package of a bikini, some water, and not much else these days…

At 36 weeks, Erroll would take me pool-bathing every morning and sea-bathing every afternoon.

My doctors and from what I have read, essentially all and fitness experts, hail swimming as the best and safest exercise for us knocked up birds. Swimming is ideal because it exercises both large muscle groups – arms and legs – and provides a decent cardiovascular workout. This benefits me greatly as I get puffed out very quickly while on terra firma, in that the very mildest of activities such as combining talking with a colleague and walking together to the loo, actually renders me breathless.

So what to do? Workaday mornings are the time for my roof top pool ritual of laps; weekends sometimes find me and Erroll beachside, and without fail, every evening sees me draw a warm bubble bath where I sink in, tune out and suspend belief that in but 3 weeks I shall become a mumma.

In the meantime, let me feel weightless despite the extra weight of my pregnancy.