35 Weeks

Bebs:  Bebs doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (like a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in the womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Hebs:  I got a pre-natal massage last weekend and it was wonderful. I felt relaxed, refreshed and most importantly, like I could actually MOVE again. That lasted for about two hours. Woot.

I was out of work Tuesday and Wednesday due to some cramping and (what I thought) were contractions. I called the ob/gyn on Tuesday with my concerns and was told to drink a large glass of OJ, lay on my left side, and count baby kicks and cramps for an hour. I had 7 baby kicks and 5 cramps. She told me to call back if I had 6 cramps in an hour because it could be pre-term labor.

By 5 p.m., I had 7 cramps in an hour. I called the on-call doctor, who told me to give a call back if I was getting a cramp once every 6 minutes. Ugh. Who knew there'd be so much math involved?

Yesterday was more of the same, except I called the ob/gyn again and kind of demanded to come in for an appointment. I was able to see a nurse practitioner who did a cervical exam (ow) and concluded that the baby's head was directly on top of my cervix. She is "ready to go" according to the nurse practioner, and all the cramping I had been feeling was mainly the baby pushing down on my cervix. The baby's heartbeat is a perfect 150.

The NP told me that feeling the Braxton Hicks contractions constantly did not necessarily mean labor was right around the corner. Just like some women find out they are dialated to 2 centimeters and are sure they'll have their baby that night...only end up to be 2 weeks overdue.

Pregnancy is confusing. And lonely. And painful. I've even lost my sense of humor in all of this. I'm just in this funk of "get this baby out of me NOW" that I know I'm losing sight of the things that are really important. There's a disconnect between my brain and the rest of my baby-ridden body.

An example of that....

Hubs went out for happy hour last night with his co-workers for their Christmas celebration. I asked him to bring me home some chicken fingers. He came home with a burger because the restaurant screwed up his order. I didn't just cry; I BAWLED my eyes out for a good 20 minutes, after locking myself in the bathroom. Jason told me he'd drive back to get me what I wanted, but my sadness had turned into anger by that point and I was just over it. And then I cried again. A lot.

5 more weeks, 5 more weeks, 5 more weeks...

Milkshakes and Body Pillows

I had a doctor's appointment last night at my OB/GYN. We listened to the baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound machine, and even got to see Bebs! S/he was hanging out in there, upside down. :) Bebs looked like a skeleton and it was a little freaky. The heartbeat was perfect!

We saw a different doctor this time--Dr. Kainz. So far we've seen someone different each time we've gone in. At first I didn't think I would like this, but I actually do! Each person we've met--nurse practitioner, midwife, doctor, even the secretary who schedules my appointments--has seriously been awesome. Dr. Kainz was the first man I've seen, and though I was a little skeptical at first, he was great. I felt really comfortable talking to him, he was funny, and he was wearing trendy glasses. :) He also introduced himself as "Greg" and knew our names right as he entered the room. I told Dr. Kainz about my headaches, and he was able to prescribe Fioricet--a stronger form of Tylenol that has caffeine in it. He said the side effect may be that my headaches still occur. Since they're still happening anyway, I figured I would give Fioricet a try regardless. Hubs is picking it up for me at the pharmacy tonight and hopefully my headaches are gone forever and I will never even need to use it!

So while everything is looking great with Bebs, there is a slight issue going on with me. Apparently I haven't gained any weight since my initial appointment; I'm 113.6 lbs and holding. Dr. Kainz assured us that the baby was getting everything s/he needed; s/he is just stealing the nutrients from me. So even though my belly is definitely bigger, I must be losing some of my weight somewhere else.

Dr. Kainz's prescription? Milkshakes! He suggested a lot of milkshakes, those Ensure breakfast drinks, and plain ol' "indulging" myself. I have two months to gain 12-14 lbs to stay on track with where my weight should be for both my sake and for baby's sake. If I still haven't gained weight by the next appointment, I'll have to talk to a nutritionist to help me figure out a better way of eating.

So, in keeping with the doctor's recommendation of "indulgence," Hubs and I went to Carrabba's for dinner last night after the appointment. Again, I felt ok eating some meat (chicken parm--my favorite!) so I'm hoping at least that food adversion is over with. :)

Now that I've reached the 16 week mark, I have to stop sleeping on my back and/or stomach. It hurts to lay on my stomach now, so I'm ok there. Sleeping on my side is really difficult! I can't get comfortable. I read some suggestions and have heard from other moms that sleeping with a body pillow helps.

When I graduated from high school, my friend's mom made body pillows for all of her daughter's friends in the colors of the college they were going to. (Great gift idea!) So I used my maroon and yellow body pillow in my dorm the first year of college, and then my brother used it when he went to the same college as me. So now this body pillow smells like a mix of my brother Ryan and my parent's house, haha. Neither are bad smells! I just think it's cute.

My parents dropped off the pillow last night (as well as a gift of onesies with mittens for Bebs!) and I attempted sleeping/wrestling with it. I went up to bed around 9:30 and saw the clock at 12, 3, 4, 5 and finally 5:30 a.m. So, first night side sleeping was a little tough. Hopefully tonight goes better and I don't wake up on my stomach like I did this morning! :-O