Week 29 Randoms

My fingers are sausages.

My butt is growing.

Baby boy still will not let his daddy feel him kick.  He'll be happily kicking away at me and the second Hubs rests his hand on my belly: nothin'.

Baby boy still does not have a name.

I've started getting the "holy crap, you're getting huge!" comments at work. Ugh.

Going into work is becoming extremely difficult. (Not because of the comments, haha.)  A 9 hour work day plus a 1.5-2 hour commute each way ends up being a 12-13 hour day and I just can't physically handle it much longer.  I need my recliner and pillows!!

My sister told me she found all of my niece's old (neutral) baby stuff and it's coming my way!  Brand new clothes, pjs, swaddles, bibs, burp cloths, diaper bags, carseat buntings, toys, bouncy seats, crib stuff...  I am pumped.  After completing my registry I realized just how much CRAP a baby needs and I don't expect my shower is going to be all that large. I'm so happy I'll be getting a bunch of hand-me-downs.

I've been sleeping some nights!  I would say I have pregsomnia only about half the time these days which is amazing.  I have developed a new system which seems to be working:  I start the night in our bed with pillow mountain and sleep on one side until 1:30am. (On the dot. Every night.)  Get up to pee, go back to bed and lay on my other side until 3:30. Get up to pee, then go to the spare bedroom which has my snoogle (and a softer mattress). I often lay in there awake for1.5-3 hrs - I usually read a little, have a snack, pee again - but eventually I fall asleep. Sleep a little on that side, get up to pee, then go back and sleep on my other side until it's time to get up for work.  It's been working pretty well and has been keeping my hip pain mostly in check! I am so relieved and have been a little more 'with it' now that I'm only a partial zombie.

OB appt on Tuesday. I'm going to demand that they let me give them my pee - haha! I've been using the protein urine test strips on my own and the results of the tests have been showing varying shades of green (the darker the green, the more protein in your urine).  I don't feel like the tests are reliable so I want the official OK from the doctor. I don't think it's too much to ask. (Seriously - how hard is it to dip something in a cup of pee if it's going to tell them whether or not there's something wrong?!)

One more week until I hit the 30 week mark!  Excitement!

3rd Trimester!

I have officially reached 3rd Tri!  I am so happy. This pregnancy is viable. We are actually going to have a baby. I am actually going to give birth and bring home a son and raise him.  I am actually going to be a mother to a baby who will BE IN MY ARMS. I am amazed.

It's hard to describe but until recently I really was not convinced that would ever happen. And now (barring anything going drastically wrong -- could the world POSSIBLY do that to me again?)  it's going to. Finally. By the time this little baby enters our lives it will have been 3 years of waiting and hoping and trying for this.  And I cannot WAIT.

The countdown is on.  Just 12 weeks to go  :-D

I have almost completed the registry.
I have started working on the nursery.
I am now feeling like I'm in my 3rd Trimester (aches & pains, etc. etc.)
My baby shower (MY baby shower!) is scheduled for March 1st. 
My weight is increasing approx 1 lb/week, I've grown out of the early maternity clothes I was previously wearing, I've grown out of most of my shoes, and oh yeah, the other day while examining my stretch-mark ridden belly I actually touched the back of my belly button. Ha! (And also: ick!)

I just love this little eggplant-sized baby growing inside me. I cannot wait to meet him. 

27 week check in!

Major things this week:

Heartburn: It is out of control.  I need to look into Pepcid or Zantac because EVERYTHING gives me heartburn these days - even plain water. I think I've been eating more Tums than food lately.

Weight gain: It's been fluctuating.  I've been relatively...puffy lately so I think I'm retaining water (edema). A couple days ago I was up 9 lbs total which isn't crazy for being 27w PG but it was a 3 lb weight gain in less than a week so it made me a little concerned. I made sure to drink lots of water and check my BP regularly and things seem to be fine I think. I also ordered protein urine test strips off of Amazon just in case. (Since rapid weight gain, edema, high BP and protein in the urine are all indicative of Pre-e.)

Tangent: Maybe I'm overly cautious but I got the test strips because my OB office NEVER feels the need to check my urine even though everything I have ever read says it should be part of every routine prenatal visit. I had it checked at my very first intake appt (~10weeks or so?) but it came back 'contaminated' so they couldn't use it. At the next appt I asked them if I needed to give a new sample and they said no. At the following appt I demanded to give them a sample and got an eye-roll from the nurse but that's how I found out I am positive for Group B Strep (kind of important to know). Ever since then, I have asked at every single appt if I should give a sample and they always say no because my BP has been fine. This is beginning to piss me off (no pun intended).  I asked all the girls in my PAIF group what they do and every single one of them gives a urine sample at every single appointment. Except me. Doesn't my OB care to know if there's protein in my urine? Or if I have a UTI with no symptoms? I am still undecided as to how much of a stink I should make about this...  In the meantime I'm testing my own damn urine.

Aaaaaanyway, my weight has gone down a bit and as of this morning I am +7 lbs total which seems more normal for me.

Here's the bump:

I am uncomfortable. I am finding that I groan a lot these days - especially when I'm trying to readjust my position on the couch or in bed. I can't help it. My hips and pelvis and back and abdomen are all just SORE.  And I can now feel the weight of my full heavy ute all the time so sometimes I find myself holding up my belly when I'm standing. Maybe it's time to look into a support belt.
I definitely think I look better than I feel. I'm getting annoyed with all these people at work looking at me and saying "Oh you must be feeling so good!". I don't. I feel like crap. Still happy to be pregnant, but no, I do not feel good.
The other day I was in an all-staff meeting and my boss asked me to give everyone an update on a project I'm leading. I started talking and just completely ran out of breath partway through the second sentence. I kept trying to talk which just led to gasping and squeaky noises.  I'm not sure if I imagined everyone looking around at each other in alarm or if it really happened, but I'm sure I must have sounded like a fish out of water (or like I was dying). Eventually I had to just stop mid-sentence and apologize for being "unable to breath while sitting" and then I hoisted myself up out of the chair and limped to the front of the room (since my right leg doesn't like to work for a minute once I stand up) in order to finish my piece, with what I am sure was a bright red face. (And even then I could barely get the rest of it out.)  I do not embarrass easily but that was really really embarrassing for me.  Ugh.

I fell this week. I slipped on black ice in the parking lot at work and now have some lovely bruises to show for it. Luckily I didn't fall directly on my belly - more like my knees and hip/side. I was mostly just banged up and shaken up and my ankle is still not normal, 4 days later.  I won't lie - I was freaked out for a little while and convinced myself that the baby was moving less than usual that night and the next day.  Everything is fine though and I now have a shiny new "medical parking permit" on my car so that I can park close to the building for the rest of my pregnancy instead of having to trek all the way across the parking lot in the snow/ice. Yay.

This weekend: 3-day weekend! I will be making a little bit of progress on the nursery and hopefully a LOT of progress on the registry :-)  We decided to register at both Babies R Us (since there's one close to pretty much everyone) and on Amazon.  I have a lot of research/work to do to feel ready for this but on Monday Hubs and I are going to bite the bullet and go to BRU to do the whole registry in-store.  After I get home I'll re-evaluate and then register for anything additional through Amazon.  I have had a LOT of people start asking where we're registered so I'm thinking there's a baby shower in my future...

One more week till 3rd trimester!! Hooray! And I read in my baby book last night that if something goes wrong this week and I have to deliver (God forbid) baby boy would have an 85% chance of survival!  I know I probably sound like a super negative person even thinking about that but it makes me feel better that I've gotten far enough along that even worst-case scenario is not so bad anymore! Yay :-)

 

Nursery Progress!

I was gonna title this post "AW: Nursery Progress!"  as in, "Attention Whore", but honestly, isn't every post on one's own blog AW-ing? 

Anyway, I'm slowly making progress on the nursery!  Yay!

All the Christmas stuff that was thrown in the spare room has now been packed away and we gave the spare bed to my sister & BIL so the room is finally starting to get cleared out so I can turn it into a nursery!  I've begun to go through the dresser and closet since they are full of my old clothes that I always hoped I would fit in again some day but know that realistically, there is about a zero percent chance I will be that size again.  (Goodwill is about to make out like a bandit.)  

As I clear my old clothes out of the closet, I've started replacing them with baby clothes :-D  That makes me ridiculously happy.  I know we only have a little bit and most of it is probably going to go in drawers anyway but I just can't help but hang them up and gaze them, amazed that we will have a reason to finally USE these cute little things! I told Hubs that and he ribbed me a little about making a big deal about it and then later, told me he went and looked and that he couldn't help but tear up a little seeing them hanging there :'-)

I've also purchased a few more decorative things off of Etsy (like the tree vinyl decal with shelves in the pic) so I'm excited for that stuff to come in. I can't wait to start actually putting everything all together :-)

Big purchase this week though was a glider-recliner!  Yay.  This picture is it but we ordered it in a darker grey to match the nursery decor.  I am very happy with it. It's nice and big and comfy with great lumbar support, a high back, AND it not only glides but also reclines so I can fall asleep in it (which I am sure I will do often). 

So next step is getting the carpet professionally cleaned since it hasn't been done since we moved into this house about 4 years ago. The crib will be arriving in the next 1-2 weeks and then the recliner a few weeks after that. We still need to buy a couple pieces of furniture: I want a long, low bookcase type piece for books and toys, and also some sort of cube like in the tree picture above that will double as a table next to the recliner for when I am nursing.  I also still need to get new shades and curtains for the windows, bedding for the crib, lamps, changing table stuff, a couple more pictures for the walls, etc. etc.  (Ok so maybe there's still a lot to do).  I'm so excited I get to start pulling it all together soon though!!


--End AW--

I passed! (26 weeks)

I have a bunch of exciting updates today:

I passed the glucose test! Yahoo! No GD here!  I am actually shocked I passed and attribute it to being on Metformin. My result was 120 which is good. They want to see it under 140 (although some places say under 130). I am so relieved.  I remember eating a glazed donut last week (still my only true pregnancy craving) and savoring every morsel as I mentally prepared myself to say goodbye to them for the next few months. It was a sad day, haha.  But NOPE!  No GD so bring on the sugary goodness!
 
I had a prenatal appt earlier this week and everything went well. My BP was good, baby's HB was good, and my belly is measuring right at 26 weeks! I've also finally starting gaining weight appropriately and am now up 6 pounds. If I'm somehow magically able to maintain a 1 lb/week gain that would only be a total of about 20 lbs which would be amazing.  We'll see though. 
Here's this week's bump:

Pregnancy wise, I can no longer:

• see my feet (not to mention my lady bits),
• roll over in bed without grunting and huffing like a hippopotamus,
• wear socks without them leaving indents in my ankles (I use the term 'ankles' loosely), or
• wear my engagement ring.

And I think my hand is slowly eating my wedding band. For now it's okay but eventually I'm sure I will need to take it off and run the risk of looking like a teen mom.


NEXT:
We bought a crib last weekend! Ta da!:

It matches the dresser that we already had in the spare room which will stay in the nursery and double as a changing table.  I'm also excited because this is a convertible crib so it will grow with the baby - into a toddler bed, day bed (if we want it to) and then eventually to a full sized (double) bed.  This kid better like it.

It's amazing how much better I feel just getting that ONE thing done. I am feeling slightly less crazy.  Now if I could only get to the 40 million other things on my To Do list...

Last but not least, as of today I officially have just 99 days left until my EDD! Double digits!! Yahoo!  And as Ana pointed out, soon enough I will have just single digit WEEKS left! Ahhh!!  I'm now knocking on 3rd Tri's door.  I'm a bit sad I never did get that elusive 2nd Tri energy everyone talks about (especially since I'm STILL on Zofran daily for nausea - the doc thinks that at this point I'm just going to be one of those women who has nausea throughout the pregnancy) but that's okay. I'm just happy to be moving forward :-)

25 weeks!

Starting off with the best moment of the week: Hubs felt baby boy move from the outside for the very first time yesterday on New Years Day! Happy new year to us :-) :-)

Now that it's January I feel like the countdown is on. In less than a week there will be just double digit days left until my due date. That makes me happy and excited and also slightly panicked because I have done NOTHING. The spare-room-soon-to-be-nursery is full of random shit that I need to sort through and find another place for; I really haven't done anything for the nursery itself yet and we haven't even been shopping for furniture yet (now I'm sort of regretting returning all the furniture we had bought for Petey although I may have been right in that seeing it in the house every day would have made the last 9 mos that much harder for me to bear...); I haven't looked into any kind of birthing/motherhood classes; and I only have about a quarter of the registry done even though I suspect I will be having a shower in February.  Oy. That stuff coupled with the fact that A) I am still feeling like crap most of the time and B) work is CRAZY BUSY and very stressful for me right now and will continue be until I go out on maternity leave (I'll spare you the details on that one), makes me a bit worried about how I'm going to get everything done over the next few months.

But besides that, things are... good.  I definitely feel like an expecting mom now.  I don't really know how to describe it.  Prior to reaching 6 months I knew I was pregnant, it was a big part of my daily life of course, I even looked pregnant, but recently something changed.  Now I FEEL pregnant. I feel big and heavy and... like a pregnant woman.  I realize that makes virtually no sense but something has shifted lately.  Now I'm not counting UP until we reach some milestone and excited for new things/symptoms/growth to come, instead I'm now counting DOWN until the baby comes and just managing the uncomfortable symptoms and focusing on preparing for his arrival.  

In a way that's kind of neat since I never reached this point with Petey and didn't know until now that I would feel these different feelings.  At the same time, it's stressing me out a bit.  And it's HARD.  It is HARD being pregnant!  It is wonderful and a miracle and I am grateful every day since it's something we worked so hard for over the years but it is also physically painful and so limiting. It's tough not being able to do what I used to be able to (like climb 2 flights of stairs haha) and I'm starting to need my husband's help with things now. I didn't realize until the other day when I unexpectedly burst into tears while he was talking about some of the traveling he needs to do for work over the next couple months that I am also actually SCARED!  I am scared about how much I need him -- about how much help I'm going to need as each week ticks on. And also how scared I am of something going wrong and having complications or going into preterm labor when he's on the other side of the country or the other side of the world.  Shit's gettin real I guess.  
That's a good thing though. 

So, 25 weeks today(!), which means I'll be in the 3rd trimester soon and my double digit day countdown to EDD will begin.

Next OB appt and my 1 hr glucose test will be this coming Tuesday!