Time Flies!

It's been more than "a while" since I posted and I'm not sure why. I keep having these great ideas for posts but I never actually sit down and write them. Perhaps it's the fact that my belly is getting astronomically bigger and is sucking all brain power, or maybe I'm lazy. I happen to believe it's a combination of the two. In any case, I'm going to wing this one and do a little stream of consciousness blogging. 

Let's start from where we left off last time: 32 weeks. I am now currently at the end of 35 weeks, almost to the 36 week mark (Monday). This means a lot of things. I've gained more weight. I'm officially done looking at the scale because it's now over 200 at any given time and I simply can't handle that. Yes, I'm pregnant and carrying a child inside. Yes, I'm almost done. Yes, I will lose a bit after delivery and even more breastfeeding. But being someone who has struggled with weight for as long as I can remember, it's not an easy thing to see the scale move so much higher. I could probably use some therapy for this but we just bought a new car so that's not entirely in the cards at the moment.

New car?! Yes, we bought a new car. It's the first big purchase Thomas and I have put into both of our names and it's terrifying and amazing all at once. We researched, looked tirelessly at AutoTrader, went over our finances a million times and then we finally just went for it. We bought a 2003 Toyota Highlander and it's perfect. I love driving it. It's a little weird to transition from my little sporty v6, stick shift, red Jetta but it feels a heck lot more comfortable and I can actually get in and out in less than 10 minutes. I had very literally gotten stuck in the Jetta recently because of my belly. Awkward and uncomfortable. So now if anyone wants to buy a 1991 Volvo, let us know! It runs great and will last forever but we are looking to get that off of our hands!

So almost 36 weeks...insanity. How did we get this far?! The weirdest part of all of this is that September 5th, a mere week away, we will be full term. After that baby Junebug can make her appearance at any time she wishes and she would be considered a full term newborn. How did I produce a nearly full term newborn? I know how in terms of anatomy and physiology but otherwise, how did this happen? She's still moving around like a wild woman in there and she loves to shove her butt into my right side as far up as possible. My belly looks like a weird mountain terrain when she does that. I can also distinctly feel a knee or foot slooooowly move down my left side at times. It's fun for the most part but sometimes it is downright painful. I think she tries to stretch out and it feels like she's trying to make a break for it through any opening possible. 

This week she started to "drop," a process called lightening (not lightning, like a storm). That basically means that she's started to move her way into my pelvis. The first sign for me was that I could breathe. Seriously, I couldn't not breathe for the life of me for the past 5 or so weeks. She was so far up into my ribs that my lungs had no choice but to just stop working. The next hint was that I could eat. Again, all of those organs are pushed so far up that eating is nearly impossible. Until Wednesday night and I ate an entire 6 inch philly cheesesteak. (Which I could never do, even before this pregnancy!) The third little clue was that now I can barely walk because her head is so far down. It's a whole new phase of baby positioning making mom crazy. It feels like she's trying to come out when I walk so it's a whole lot easier to just stay put.

I'm swelling at an astronomical rate. My feet are pretty gross and I now get indentations from my sandals. It's delightful. I'm sure the heat isn't helping anything even though I'm drinking as much water as I can and keeping my feet propped above my heart when possible. 

All in all, I'm ready. I'm ready to be done. I'm not quite to the point yet of even considering induction even though my doctor did tell me he will induce any time after 37 weeks if he feels it is safe to do so. I just can't see the value in forcing June out before she's ready. I do, however, understand why I have seen so many women choose to induce on their due date. This stuff gets old at the end. But even with the internal fireplace we call Junie, the swelling, the contractions (oh yeah, still having those), the lack of sleep - I can wait. I'll let her decide when she's good and ready to make her debut. I think after nearly 9 months of cooking her, I owe it to her to make sure she's completely done before evicting her. 

Not quite ready for that.

32 Week Check Up.

I really like going to the doctor. I know, I'm crazy but there's something strangely reassuring about getting to talk exclusively about the baby and my other favorite subject, me. I also love the fact that my OB is a solo practitioner so he only has one nurse and one front desk admin. So they know me by name and it feels more intimate and like a little family. 

The only part I don't like about going to the doctor is the scale. Call me a typical female but the scale sucks. I've talked about my feelings of superiority about my previous weight gain and how it bit me in the ass when I gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks at 28 weeks. Well, this week was worse. Last check up was 2 weeks ago and I had gained 2 pounds at 189, right on point. I hate the scale at the office even more because it's one of the older ones where you have to manually move the numbers. Of course it started at 150 and she moved the other part up, and up, and past the usual 30s and into the 40s. It stopped at 44. Add those two numbers together. 194. I gained FIVE POUNDS in TWO WEEKS. How the hell do I keep doing this?! 

I was, yet again, concerned that Dr. Man would be upset with me. He, yet again, wasn't. He said overall my gain of 26 pounds at 32 weeks is perfect and that he's not concerned. I always hear these horror stories of women getting reamed for gaining too much or too little or the wrong way or whatever but Dr. Man is so reassuring. I wish every woman could have the same experience as I have had with him. He is so laid back and calm and always answers my inane questions. His suggestion was to try to fit in a little more activity, even through the pesky contractions and "maybe lay off carbs." His words exactly. He knows me too well...

I had been reading this past week how you can palpate (basically feel) the baby and get a pretty good estimate of the weight and how it's often more accurate than an ultrasound because of all of things ultrasounds don't take into consideration (position of mother, levels of fluid, etc). I asked Dr. Man if he would be up for giving me a rough idea. He grabbed her head, which is down in my pelvis and felt all the way up. Her little knees are in my left side (usually in my ribs) and her butt is wedged in my right side. It was pretty neat how he could totally tell where everything is located. His guesstimate is that she weighs around 4.5 pounds and will most likely gain another 4 pounds before delivery. I had a dream a few weeks ago that Junie weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces and was 22 inches long so I'm very curious how close my intuition will be! Dr. Man is equally curious now!

I want to draw this on my belly before my next appointment.

I didn't blog about this for some reason but for the past two weeks I've been having a ton of contractions. They're only Braxton Hicks but they landed me in L&D last Monday. Everything was fine, no dilation, no effacement, nothing to be really worried about. Dr. Man did say to limit my activity as my body tolerated. Well, my body hasn't been tolerating any activity. It's still contracting pretty much every time I stand up. They're getting more uncomfortable and frequent. Today he told me to call if I have more than 6 in an hour. So at least now I have a number in mind and anything under that is okay. I asked him if maybe because of all of these contractions preparing my uterus my labor will be a little easier. His reaction: a funny smile and almost snort like laugh, "well, maybe." I'm going to keep telling myself that...

Odds and Ends

Oh my, we've made it to 32 weeks! Or 33 weeks, however you choose to count it. Eight months in and I still don't understand why people count the weeks and months differently. In any case, we've made it!

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I'm getting big. Not that I was small until now but my word, I feel like I've exploded. Some of my maternity tank tops barely cover my belly so my wardrobe has been severely limited. Luckily, I don't get out much so I can get away with throwing on random clothes. I broke down and bought a new pair of shorts that are the exact same as the black ones I wear almost every day. I did go wild and got them in grey so at least they're slightly different. I refuse to buy any more maternity tanks so I'm sticking with my Target long and leans for now. I'm slightly obsessed with them. 

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Along with my clothes starting to shrink on my growing body, the large belly is also killing my back. I had sciatica before baby girl and just kind of dealt with it but when I was around 16 weeks I saw a chiropractor because it was making my left leg numb. That was great but expensive and eventually my back somehow started feeling totally fine. However, this past week my back has flared up again. I'm debating calling the chiropractor again. Not sure if that or a massage would be more helpful. I had a fabulous (and very expensive) prenatal massage at Burke Williams about 2 months ago and that was heaven. Either way, I need some form of relief! Any tips?

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Car shopping is usually a lot of fun. (And when I say usually, keep in mind that I've only owned two cars in my driving career and only shopped for one of those so I actually could be totally wrong.) However, when you're trying to save money and living with your parents and eight months pregnant, it's not quite as joyous. Thomas' car is running but there's no way we could put a baby in it and while my car is pretty okay, we would truly be better off with a new (to us) car to drive with Junebug. I do like the idea of a new car but I would really rather someone just buy us one and drop it off at the house rather than shelling out the money and actually doing work for it. (That was slightly sarcastic, only because I know that's not ever going to happen.) So moms, dads, grandparents, others, what cars do you like? What do you drive?

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My mom is in Hawaii this week celebrating one of her best friend's 50th birthday. She totally deserves this trip and I'm so happy that she gets to spend a week in paradise. But I'm really kind of bored. I'm usually home with her during the day while the daycare kids are here and sometimes we run errands together after they leave. She only left on Saturday so today was the first weekday since she's been gone. I ran two errands today but getting in and out of the hot car and walking and carrying crap and all of that is really not so much fun, especially with said large belly and aching back. 

So this was my Monday: lounged around, watched tv, ran errands, watched more tv, ate lunch, sewed and then watched even more tv. I sewed something that I'm really proud of though! I made a reusable sandwich bag! I used some fabric that we had lying around, found some velcro and only had to buy the food safe nylon lining. It was pretty easy and came out great. I think I'll try another one tomorrow and try to get it even more perfect! I have four more days of being alone during the day and need to find things to do. So if you ever hear me complain about my mom bugging me, remind me how lonely I was while she was gone. (PS I know she'll read this so don't worry, I'm not being mean when I say she bugs me. I bug her too. That's what happens when you live with someone you love and are with them all the time. Trust me.)

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So friends, our count down is starting. Eight weeks until she is officially due but only five weeks until she is "full term." After 37 weeks, it's no holds barred and if she decides to make her debut, she will be allowed to do so. While I totally hope and believe she will make it to 40 weeks (and probably beyond), it's weird to think that she could come before that and be born as early as September 5th. I do think that it would be really cool if she was born on 09/10/11 and she would share a birthday with Thomas' mom (June's Meema). I know Junebug will make a fabulous debut when she decides the time is right. But let's start taking bets, when do YOU think June will make her appearance? I want dates and times, people! GO!

Your motivation is this baby gambling.