36 weeks: 58 inches tall, 46 inches around. I won't make it to legit sphere, but I might be able to get to the 48" max circumference I reached with Charlie. Only time and my measuring tape will tell.
Minimalist Nesting
Apartment living has made nesting pretty basic. After we did out buying bonanza because all our baby stuff ended up stashed in the back of a storage unit (which we can't access until the end of September), things sat around in boxes for a while. Then on Saturday we woke up to a cozy, rainy day and Steve said, "Want to put together all the baby stuff?" :)
I'm a teeny tiny bit sad that I haven't been able to make a nursery for this sweet girl yet, but at the same time it has been a huge relief to just focus on what we really need/find useful as we've prepared for her arrival. And it was still super fun to get everyone in on assembly and setup. The kids were really excited.
They started by unboxing the pack'n'play on my side of the bed in our room.
Charlie took his job as mobile-assembler very seriously and did a good job. He's dexterous and loves building things. :)
Then they all helped put together the stroller and checked out the car seat.
...at which point Juliette turned to me and sternly demanded," Mom, get your Betsy out. GET YOUR BETSY OUT!!!" and I wished I could follow her instructions.
We pulled out the Boppy, and Squish showed us (with no prompting) exactly how she would hold her baby sister when she was born. She looked like she could really see the baby, and it made Steve and me melt into absolute puddles.
And then her beloved Pluto got a turn, too.
When Steve had assembled the baby swing (our final assembly-required piece) everyone descended upon the baby items with their stuffed animals to make trial runs.
So now we know that miniature elephants, dogs, and foxes can all thrive in our baby's environment, which seems like a good indicator that the newborn weeks should be okay. ;)
Dr. Appointment
I've now officially graduated to weekly visits and *ahem* paper gowns, which means we are totally in the final countdown! I vacillate between being overjoyed that the days are ticking down, and trying to ignore that the days are ticking down but not yet over. So far ignoring seems to be working better for me from a mental health standpoint. ;)
Here are some flowers outside the doctors office for you to look at.
I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for ages now--some quite painful, most happening in the evening--but that's just kind of how my body rolls during pregnancy. So I was very surprised (and happy!) to discover that I'm already dilated to a 3! While I'm still hoping not to deliver until induction day (for the sake of figuring out logistics with three kiddos and Steve's job!) it is nice to know that discomfort isn't for nothing. Plus, less work to do on delivery day, right?
Baby girl is head down, heartbeat in the 140s, and at next week's appointment, we get induction details! That really makes it seem soon. Just a few more details (emergency early-baby-arrival babysitter, packing my hospital bag) to go, and we'll be about as ready as we can be.
Symptoms and Such
So... pregnancy is not pretty. It's just not. I'm just going to say that I am uncomfortable, nauseated, and dealing with other (familiar) pre-labor symptoms that the baby girls in my life have given me in the past. And in addition to that, my poor burdened pelvis is killin' me. Charlie-pregnancy-level sharp and dull pain. I will not miss this stage. But at least this time around, I know I can get through it.
Aside from the not-pretty stuff, though, a lot of my symptoms are pretty funny:
- Fat fingers and cankles are a thing now. Actually, my swollen fingers started in NC, where I upgraded to a bigger (fake) wedding ring. When we arrived in Texas (read: even hotter) they got EVEN FATTER, and I had to get an even bigger, even faker ring! Cankles this time come and go. If I have a day with a lot of rest/keeping my feet up, I have some ankle definition. If not: tree trunk legs.
. - Sleep fighting... Okay, not legit Ron Swanson sleep fighting. But my sleep is definitely weird now that I wake up so often in the night and can't sleep as hard as usual. I snore. I hear things in my dreams (not real things) that jolt me awake. I talk in my sleep (mumbo jumbo non-words) and sometimes accidentally wake myself up talking. And this morning Steve said I was taking swings at something with my arms. Totally unconscious. From what I remember of that dream, it was because I was mad at him for buying himself a ticket to a Jason Mraz concert without inviting me.
. - Loose joints. For the last few weeks, things just sort of slip out of my hands. Soap. Silverware. Whatever. Like my muscles just give up for a second because they're tired of doing all the things that muscles have to do. It's both annoying and funny. Mostly funny.
. - Eating all the ice. I stand in front of the freezer multiple times a day eating ice pellets straight from the bag of Sonic ice we keep in there just for me. It is literally the equivalent to me right now of eating a warm brownie straight from the pan. I cannot explain it, but since it's actually good for me to be doing stuff to stay hydrated, I'm grateful for it. Also, it is serious euphoria. So strange. But so wonderful. I also enjoy my Sonic ice in a glass, sometimes with apple juice or water, or sometimes just eaten with a spoon. Yep. Like a crazy person. But it makes me so happy.
And one thing that hasn't happened--this might be the strangest of all--I'm not crying. I mean, occasionally I'll get a little teary over something cute on TV, or have a good bawl over my helplessness as a nearly-spherical human who can't get out of bed without ratcheting up three or four times to reach sitting position. But I'd say all my cries thus far have been not only rational, but also reasonable.
So... that's weird.
But I am still basically having-a-good-attitude-about-feeling-miserable. So Steve requested I make a really sad face at him for one of my belly pictures. :)
This guy keeps my head on straight. ;) He's got the best sense of humor, gives good hugs, and is very good for pregnant-woman morale.
And let's wrap up this week with some of the things people have said about my belly this week. There has been some belly touching, but these Southern ladies are so cute about it that I mostly don't even mind.
Things People Have Said this Week:
Lady at church: "Is this your first?"
Me: "No, our fourth." :)
Her: "Oh! Well this isn't your first rodeo!"
Lady in elevator after OB visit: "That baby's gonna be bigger than you are! Bless your heart!"
#texas!
No comments:
Post a Comment