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Jul 17, 2014

36 Weeks

The baby is... about 6 pounds 7 oz already, according to the ultrasound I had on Monday.  My doctor says that's in the normal range and things are looking good.  I always feel so good after ultrasounds- it's nice to get a peek at what's going on in there and be reassured that everything is developing as it should.  This time was by far the most fun, too.  Chris and the kids came in and the tech showed us the heart beating, all the connections forming in the brain, and then the baby rolled over and we got to see its face!  It was blinking and sucking and it was crazy to watch.  Spoiler alert, I think it's going to be REALLY cute.

I'm feeling... well, about 8 months pregnant.  It's getting hard to eat because there's not a lot of room left in my abdomen for food, but I'm hungry.  But I also have heartburn.  I radiate heat, forget the fact that it's 100 degrees outside.  I get tired and want to lie down, but lying down is extremely uncomfortable.  When I lay on my side I feel a tremendous pulling sensation as gravity pulls the baby weight down (and trying to prop my belly on a pillow has not helped) but laying on my back isn't an option either as it hurts all around and pinches things that shouldn't be pinched, makes it hard to breathe, and screws up my circulation.  All of that combined with my brain working overtime in anticipation has meant that time I take to "rest" like I did this weekend is not particularly restful or restorative.  Between my 3 kids and the extra 2 I watch during the day, I definitely end up doing a lot of things I don't feel like doing because I need to- but physically I don't think I'm any worse off than I would be anyway, and mentally I think it's helpful.  They distract me and they motivate me to do stuff, rather than sit around begging this baby to come out already.

I should be spending more time in the water, but it's been a week since I've gone swimming because every time I consider it getting ready sounds like too much work.  I need to just buck up and go, because sitting in the water is the only place left that's still comfortable.

Cliche (or not!) Pregnancy Symptoms... See above.

Gestational Diabetes... My baby is healthy and growing, my blood sugar levels are even and in the normal range, and I'm not gaining weight- so we're doing well.  Eating is getting difficult just because of the heartburn and the human being squishing my stomach, so that's kind of distracting me from the diabetes complaints.  Now I don't worry so much about my blood sugar levels being too high, but I hope I'm getting enough nutrition.

I'm enjoying... little things, for short bursts of time.  My stamina is shot.  One game of Mancala or 7 Wonders with the kids- I can handle that.  Sewing a quick and simple hankie style bib (for catching drool in style!) = very satisfying.  A few bites of a really good meal- right before my abdomen starts to feel like it's going to pop under the pressure- awesome.  We went to Thai food the other day when the kids were at a sleepover.  We split an order of spring rolls and mahi mahi with panang curry, and it was delicious.

I'm looking forward to... having everything "ready."  We've been putting off buying a lot of baby stuff until after the shower this weekend, and I'm getting impatient!  I'm a list-maker, a preparer, a planner.  With my due date less than a month away I've suddenly felt this sense of urgency- like I need to have everything on my list bought, washed, set up and put away.

Of course Chris pointed out that even if the baby came early, we have the things we truly need: a carseat to get the baby home, a safe place for it to sleep, and the means to keep it fed and a comfortable temperature.  (As long as breastfeeding works out- and it should!  Right?  Here's to staying optimistic!)  The only things we really couldn't live without that we don't have already are diapers, and we could pick those up on the way home from the hospital.  Everything else is a matter of comfort and convenience, and in some cases probably our sanity- but if the baby were early and we had to get some of that stuff after it was born, it just wouldn't be that big of a deal.

That being said, the baby probably won't be early, in which case we have plenty of time.  Still, I'm excited about the prospect of having it all done.


P.S. We took more maternity pictures last weekend, maybe I'll get another post up soon with more of those.

P.P.S. At the baby shower this weekend we're finally revealing the gender, and I'm REALLY excited about that!

Jul 9, 2014

35 Weeks

The baby is... about the size of a honeydew melon, and growing.  There's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now, and supposedly that means there will be less flips and wild rolls because there's just not enough room any more!  Most of the time I can feel the baby's feet and legs on my right side, whether they're way up in my ribs or trying their best to poke out the side of my belly.  You know those pictures you've seen of pregnant women's bellies with the outline of the baby foot pushing out? Well I don't know if those are real, but it feels like that's what the baby is doing on my right side, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for the outline of a foot.

I'm feeling... pretty good- trying to stay upbeat.  I've found that if I stretch every day I'm more comfortable when I lay down at night.  I call it yoga, but it's more like the basic stretches you do in PE when you're a kid.

Cliche (or not!) pregnancy symptoms... I have heartburn frequently throughout the day, seemingly unrelated to what or when I eat.  It's very manageable with Tums, and I'm hoping it means our baby has a fuzzy little head.  Obviously when the baby gets here I won't care either way, but it's so fun to imagine a little head of soft downy hair.

Gestational Diabetes... Keeping my numbers low and consistent has actually gotten easier- which is not what I expected to happen.  I assumed as the baby got bigger it would get more difficult, but maybe I've just gotten better at it.  I do eat less carbs than I did in the beginning, but I've found that the most important factor seems to be eating enough protein.  Not only does it keep you full, but it really seems to lower your blood sugar.

Despite all that, sustaining a positive attitude has definitely gotten harder.  I'm tired of the restrictions, I'm tired of poking myself, and the holiday weekend was rough.  To avoid driving myself crazy I'm trying to shift my perspective back to something less negative.  As a result I've spent the last couple of days repeating dorky mantras in my head about how I'm doing a good job, I'm going to have a healthy baby, and I'm going to have an easier time getting into shape after the baby is born because I'm developing healthy habits and I'm not gaining a bunch of weight.  In the interest of keeping with the healthy lifestyle/fitness mindset as opposed to the woe-is-me-I-can't-have-anything-I-want perspective, I've also been keeping up with some of the light exercise they recommend for pregnant women every day.  FYI, Mister thinks squats are the most hilarious things he's ever seen in his entire life.  After he saw me do them for the first time the other day he periodically recalls it for everyone's enjoyment, "Hey, you guys remember when Jeska was squatting?"

I'm enjoying... Well yesterday the kids and I enjoyed Project Runway pretty much all day, and I don't even feel guilty about it.  Today a couple of them are drawing and designing clothes, which I find pretty awesome and totally get.  Watching that show makes me want to sew.  But not really, because I'm too tired to sew right now- I'll get back to that hobby sometime after the baby is born.  For now I'll just watch other people do it.

I'm looking forward to... a fairly uneventful weekend.  I plan on taking family maternity photos on Saturday evening- other than that we'll just relax.  Maybe we'll spend some time at the lake.

Speaking of photos, the kids (and a tripod) helped me take some silhouette photos yesterday.  I'm really happy with how they turned out.

I chose this pose.

Dear chose this one. ;)

Jul 7, 2014

Lately...

Sometimes the weekends are so full that I think the weekdays are actually easier.  Thursday night we had Chris's birthday party.  I made a cake, the kids blew up balloons, we ate barbecue and salad and it was a good time.

The only picture I took all weekend.  I got my camera out, snapped a picture of the cake, and then left it on the counter so I could take pictures when people were around- and it stayed there untouched the rest of the night.

Friday was Independence Day and we went to two different barbecues that day.  We swam and visited and ate (and I stared longingly at but refrained from the copious amounts of margaritas, sodas, fried fish, chicken slathered in barbecue sauce ((did you know barbecue sauce has a TON of sugar?)) fresh fruit and punch, garlic bread, and the most delicious homemade strawberry ice cream ever made).  Toby ate more dog treats than a dog should eat in a lifetime, and I feel really guilty about letting it happen because he did NOT feel well the rest of the night or all the next day.  So, when I went home early with him and passed out while Chris and the kids were at fireworks, he barfed all over the house and I slept through the whole thing.

On the 5th Slim had baseball practice in the morning, and in the evening Chris drove the kids 3 hours up into the mountains to a cultural event for the tribe.  I didn't go because right now I just can't stomach the car ride.  I had been dreading it because it meant he would have to drive home on a mountain road in the middle of the night, and he had been dreading it because he was worried about me sitting at home worried.  It turned out fine- they had fun and made it safely there and back.  I had dinner and played games with friends, stayed out late and fell asleep easily when I got home.

Yesterday we worked on chores and laundry- just trying to get the house put back together.  In the afternoon the kids were invited to go swimming with friends, so Chris and I got to go to the grocery store for our week's fruit and vegetables by ourselves: exciting stuff!

To top it all off, I plastered Mister with 10 thousand temporary tattoos last night.  I typically restrict him to one at a time, (mostly because after the first day they just look like the dirty sticky remnants of a torn off bandaid), but he had amassed a ridiculous collection and I just thought, whatever.  It's summertime- time to be ridiculous.  And it's fun.  And he's 7.

I did not predict how important symmetry would be to him- he carefully planned the placement of every tattoo.

What you can't quite see in this picture is that he's got one on each of his palms, on the insides of his wrists, and on the backs of his hands.

And of course the knees.  It really doesn't help them NOT look like dirt when they're just random squiggly black shapes in the first place.


I (we) had a lot of fun, but I'm honestly relieved it's all over.  I'm a whiny baby and get really tired of not being able to partake in all of the holiday food, and I'm ready for pajamas by 7, and sleep by 9.  So I'm glad we did fun stuff, I'm glad everybody had a good time, and I'm glad that it's Monday, I'm a few days closer to my due date, and there's no reason I can't go to bed on time tonight.

Jul 2, 2014

34 Weeks

The baby is... roughly the size of a cantaloupe!  It feels bigger, but I guess if I imagine a cantaloupe with elbows and knees that moves a lot it sounds about right.  By this point IF the baby came early for some reason, assuming there are no special health problems, it would probably be fine.  It's still maturing in there, but quite a bit of what it's doing by now is just plumping up.

I'm feeling... like I'm in the home stretch.  6 weeks left has always been the arbitrary number in my head that meant I was almost there.  Of course 6 weeks is no walk in the park, but despite any discomforts I've had, the last 4 have really flown by.

Cliche (or not!) Pregnancy Symptoms... I get uncomfortably hot way more easily than I used to.  We've got the AC set to arctic temperatures, and we're paying for it.  I've decided it's worth it though- I'm so achy and tired all the time and there's not much I can do about it, I may as well address the things I can control.  We also go swimming often, and when we're out of the house we turn the thermostat up so we use a little less energy.

Gestational Diabetes... Everything is humming along just fine.  My numbers are consistent- I don't have dramatic highs and lows, I usually hover between 95 and 110.  I have my moments where I feel completely resigned and just put the food in my body because I have to, but I've also found some meals I've really enjoyed.  I'm hoping to put together a post soon with a collection of recipes that have worked.

I'm enjoying... some fun activities with the kids.  I'm pretty satisfied with myself when I pull stuff off sometimes.  I'm tired and I'm sore and I'm grumpy by the end of the day- but when I manage a backyard camp out marshmallow roasting glow stick dance party sleepover, I feel pretty cool.  Of COURSE Christopher did a lot to make that happen, too, but the point is I participated!  I helped! I was out there planting tent stakes and snapping glow sticks together and stacking pieces of chocolate between graham crackers.  And I had a good time!  Really wished I could've had a s'more, but I had a good time!

I'm looking forward to... tomorrow morning when Chris gets to open his birthday present.  It's not like it's some amazing thing, but I like getting people presents and watching them open them, and I like Chris.  So it'll be fun!  We've also got some plans for doing our own maternity/family pictures soon, and I'm kind of looking forward to that.  I really want to HAVE the pictures, but it might be a pain to take them.  My top 2 concerns are heat and potentially grumpy children.  We'll see how it works out...

Not the best picture today, but better than nothing- a belly silhouette.