Archive for November, 2008:
34-week check-up
I went to see a midwife earlier today, and things are going well! The midwife practice I’m seeing has five midwives. You won’t know who will be catching your baby until you go into labor and get to the hospital, so they try to schedule your prenatal appointments so that you meet them all at least once.
I’ve now met four, and they’re all fabulous! I briefly said hello to the fifth midwife and I’ll spend more time with her as she checks me out at my 36-week appointment. We’ll get mighty personal at that visit, as I’ll have the group B strep test done. Heh. Nice ta meetcha, lady!
My blood pressure is great, my weight gain is on target, pee test results are good, etc. etc. My belly is 33 centimeters, which is fine.
Baby is still head-down and the midwife du jour thinks he’s low enough into my pelvis that it’ll be pretty hard for him to turn breech at this point. His head is sorta facing my right side, his butt is a few inches left of my belly button, and his feet are extended pretty far into my right side.
It’s pretty when he stretches his legs, because my belly moves both where his feet touch and where his bottom is.
I’m going to continue to sit on my exercise ball, avoid the recliner as much as I can, and keep on doing ‘pelvic rocks’ so his torso has plenty of room to move more toward my center, if he wants to do that. Mainly, I’m trying to keep him facing my side or my back. If he’s facing my front, that will mean some painful back labor. No thanks.
My sister was born face-up, and I’m pretty sure that made it uncomfortable for my poor mom.
Oh, and I’m enjoying a cup of raspberry leaf tea every day. It tastes good, and supposedly it’ll help strengthen my birthin’ muscles. Every little bit helps, right?
My pal Michelle wanted to know my thoughts about labor. I’m mostly just really curious for how it’s going to go. I’m not afraid of being in pain and I’m not going to worry about some random complication that may or may not happen. Overall, I feel pretty good about the whole deal. I’m anxious to know when it’ll be, and how it’ll feel. Everyone has a different experience, so while I’ve read tons of birth stories, I know mine won’t be exactly like anyone else’s.
And goodness, I can’t wait to meet this little guy! I’ve loved talking to him, poking him and imagining what he’s up to and what he might look like. It’ll be nice to finally put a face to his name (we have it, and no we’re not telling ya! 
The thing I dread the most? The post-labor bleed. Lochia. Yeah. Gross. It has been really nice to not have a period for oh, a really long time. Apparently after you deliver, your body plays a practical joke on you and gives you all the periods you missed concecutively. What the heck, bod? I’m sure I’ll be too sleep-deprived and busy with other things to care all that much, but if I have to name a thing that I wish I could skip, that would be it.
34
So I’m 34 weeks pregnant this week. THIRTY-FOUR. What? That sounds like a lot. I’d better get busy getting things finalized around here! This week, I hope to stock the freezer with a few meals that we can heat-and-eat in the months ahead. I need to buy just a few more things for the baby, including teeny-tiny fingernail clippers, crib sheets, a sling, and some diaper rash cream. Hope he doesn’t get too rashy, but just in case–yeah, I wanna have some on hand.
We bought a nifty baby bathtub at a yard sale earlier this summer, and it might be a good idea to oh, I don’t know, clean it soon.
I’ve gained about 20ish to 25 pounds thus far (depends on when I’m weighed). The extra weight has made me a bit more awkward, but it’s not that bad. Your body adjusts to it, so fortunately it doesn’t feel like you’re just your normal size, and happen to be carrying a few dumbbells around.
My dad asked me if my belly touches the steering wheel when I drive. UH, NO. He must think I’m having quintuplets or something. I’ve got a good foot and a half between me and the steering wheel, thankyouverymuch.
Sounds like I should take another belly shot soon.
The other day I bought some more maternity jeans. I really really like this pair from Old Navy, which I got for 30 percent off. They’re long and a bit stretchy and have room for me to grow a little more. Maternity-wear designers tell you that you can just wear your pre-pregnancy size. Whatever. That worked for the first two trimesters, but after that, all bets are off. My new jeans are two pant sizes larger than I typically wear. No biggie — just letting you future preggos know so you don’t feel bad.
Not long ago, I mentioned feeling really pregnant and slightly uncomfortable. As predicted, I’ve grown (hehe) accustomed to my new size, so now I feel fine again. In fact, if I’m in a gravity-neutral position, such as lying on my side, I don’t feel big at all. And if I’m wearing a baggy sweatshirt or something, I think I can (somewhat) still hide my belly if I want.
Anyway, I’m now just three weeks away from being considered full-term. If Baby is born at 37 weeks, that’s still a bit early, but even if he’s born this week, he shouldn’t have any long-term health complications from being early. What a relief! I’m hoping to make it at least 38 weeks, but longer is better. So…we’re looking at maybe three more weeks, but it could be seven or eight more. Hmm, that’s still a lot.
Pretty soon, I’ll need to have y’all guess his birth day and birth weight!
Here’s what’s happening this week, according to Babycenter.com:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he’s born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you’ve been nervous about preterm labor, you’ll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
See what your baby looks like this week.
33 weeks
I don’t feel too different from last week. This week, at 33 weeks, I’m feeling strong kicks (just like last week) and I play a little game where I try to figure out what baby body part just moved around. Sometimes, I think it’s a knee or a foot. Most of the time, I have no idea.
Still feeling good, and I’m starting to get my balance back. I’m sure that’ll change as soon as I grow a little more.
This whole thing goes in stages: Grow a bit, feel uncomfortable, body adjusts, feel better, then grow some more. Repeat. And repeat some more.
From BabyCenter.com:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He’s rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren’t fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don’t entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.
See what your baby looks like this week.
OK, I feel pregnant now
I think I feel really pregnant now. I know that’s a silly thing to say, but for the past, oh, eight months or so, I’ve felt different, but I can’t exactly say I’ve felt pregnant. Maybe I had different expectations for how I would feel. Maybe I’m in denial. I dunno.
I’m feeling pretty pregnant lately because:
- My belly button has popped out to the point of being completely inverted (and has been that way for awhile now).
- I have that vertical line of pigment down my belly. Kinda like a natural pregnancy test, except one line = pregnant, instead of two lines. Heh.
- I can no longer walk without waddling.
- When standing normally, I cannot see my feet. Did I mention I have big feet? We’re talking size 11 sneakers. And yet, my belly makes them vanish before my very eyes.
- Putting on shoes…yeah. Not easy. At all.
- My abdominal muscles are completely useless. If I’m lying on my side and want to turn onto the other side, I have to use my arms to help myself sit up, turn, and then lay back down. No simple rolling over for me any more.
- Recliners aren’t comfortable anymore. Too soft and unsupportive. If I lean back, even a little, my belly weight pushes on my back and it’s not pleasant. I had my hair cut the other day, and I opted not to have her wash it, simply because of my belly. I love having my hair washed, but I knew it would be too uncomfortable.
- All those kicks and punches and rolls and hiccups and who knows what else going on in my belly. I know early on, some women describe baby’s movement as little pops or bubbles. That’s how it was for me at around 16-18 weeks — little pops. Now, we’ve got a 3.5 to 4-pound person thrashing about. It certainly feels like I’m being kicked by a tiny person!
- I have a baby crib, pack & play, car seat, baby clothes, and a ton of diapers in my apartment. That generally means a pregnant person (or newborn) lives there.
- Strangers have started to notice and comment!
- At happy hour with some of Shane’s coworkers, I didn’t get carded walking into the place. What? Also, the bartender immediately asked if I would like some water. Yah, sure! But I think that only happens when you’re obviously pregnant. Cuz who drinks water at a pub? DDs and preggos, that’s who.
I was wearing a form-fitting shirt while checking out at Kohl’s the other day. The cashier wanted to know if I wanted to open a Kohl’s charge card. “No, thank you,” I told her. She asked again, trying to pressure me into taking on debt so she could get a bonus (I’m guessing), and she pointed to my belly and said, “You’ll need it soon!”
Um, what? I need your store credit card soon because I’m going to have a baby? Yah right.
But, it was nice she noticed my belly. I *think* she might have been the first stranger to say something. Shane thinks there was one other instance, but I can’t recall.
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