Sunday, February 3, 2013

34 Weeks


Well, we got a hospital trial run. Yesterday, I fell down the stairs. I wasn't carrying anything heavy, but I lost my footing and fell about a half-flight. Fortunately, Adam was home in the man cave, heard the crash, and rushed upstairs. We called the doctor and she told us to come right into the hospital, because standard procedure was 4 hours of monitoring for any abdomen trauma. The maternity ward was quiet that night, and it was my favorite OB, so we chatted a lot. They hooked me up to monitors, took blood, internal exam (which, btw, if you remember last week's TMI post - no, I am NOT dialated) and did a quick sonogram on the baby. My OB confirmed what we knew in the 32 week anatomy scan - we have a healthy baby with TONS of amniotic fluid (which is good - more is better than less!). My OB also pointed out that he is doing fantastic breathing exercises - expanding and contracting his lungs in what they call "practice breathing exercises" for post-birth. The only thing they noticed was that I was having small contractions (I couldn't feel them), which were pretty frequent, and they suspected it was spasms from the fall. Those contractions went away shortly, and Adam/I spent the next 3 hours watching Groundhog Day and Big Bang Theory on TV.

While it was a little annoying to spend 4 hours hooked up to monitors, after-the-fact, I was so relieved we went in. First and foremost, all the checks they did confirmed that he is fine. Had we never gone, I'd be a wreck all night and today wondering if every little thing was a sign he wasn't doing well. Secondly, since we were monitored in the birthing room, we got a small taste of the procedure for labor. Yes, we had done a walk-through during our birthing classes, but it's much different when you're actually in the bed hooked up to the monitors. The nurses were exceptionally wonderful which reassured me that we'll have a good experience.

Baby size: Butternut Squash

It's a... BOY!

Total weight gain: 28.5 lbs. I was warned that the last few weeks, the pounds can really pack on. I look HUGE, particularly because I'm short (and there's no where for the belly to go!) but also I think the large amount of amniotic fluid is contributing. One of my [male] coworkers looked shocked that the baby was "only" 4.14 lbs because I was so big. 1) men are assholes when it comes to big bellies. 2) I explained I have a lot more amniotic fluid than standard (again, good thing), so that may be part of it (hopefully, or that's what I'm telling myself).

Maternity Clothes: Funny observation on maternity clothes: Waaaayyy back before I had a real baby bump, when I was buying my first pregnancy clothes, I use the "fake bump" in the store to gauge how those clothes would look with a real bump. The store "bump" is a 7-month bump. Do you know why? Because NOTHING looks good on the 8-month bump, and I can't even IMAGINE the 9th month bump. Even the cutest of my dresses are starting to look like gigantic camping tents, and my shirts look like they are barely holding together a massive tumor. Not cool.

Sleep: We're at the point where if I can only get up once or twice in the middle of the night, I wake up the next day announcing proudly: "I SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT" like we're celebrating the accomplishment of a baby's first solid night's sleep. Sun/Mon/Wed/Sat = great nights (worthy of celebration). Tues/Thurs/Fri = awful (struggle to get to sleep, waking up multiple times a night or awake for hours in the middle of the night, etc).

Cravings: Homemade smoothie (frozen fruit, greek yogurt, and juices), fresh fruit, and juice

Anything make me sick? Nada

Pregnancy Symptoms of the Week: Got my first taste of heartburn Monday night; took some TUMS and it was fine. Sounds like many preggo women get heartburn BAD so I should be thankful it was just one small burst for just one night.

What I miss: Solid night's sleep and ease of motion

Movement: All the time, especially so if there's any pressure on my belly (like me rubbing it or something pushing into it). When I snuggle with Adam in the mornings (the "I-don't-want-to-get-outa-bed-so-I'll-just-sprawl-across-you" snuggle), Baby Cole kicks Adam in the side. When we were in the hospital and I was hooked up to monitors, Baby Cole HATED the monitors and kept trying to kick them away. It was hard to even hear his heartbeat because he was moving so much! He has also started to kick at my ribs, which is VERY uncomfortable. He was never a bad kicker before, but all of sudden, he's reached my ribs and if he kicks precisely - WOW. It hurts! I'll put my hand at the top of my belly like "hey dude, stop it" but then he keeps kicking at my hand. Grrrrr.

Embarrassing Legit Cry of the Week: On Thursday, my grandma in NY was admitted to the hospital for congestive heart issues and wheezing troubles. This scared me a lot. My grandma helped raise me between the time my biological Mommy Cheryl died (I was 6 months old) and my dad remarried when I was 4 to my Mom. Adam kept reassuring me that his grandmothers were in and out of the hospital a lot in their last years, but I was still really upset; it is VERY important for me that my grandma meet her first grandson and I was in tears thinking that may not happen. Fortunately, Saturday morning she was released from the hospital (after pumping 7 lbs of fluid from her - wow!) and is doing well at home. Whew! I called her today and she told me: "The doctor said I may have a week to live, and I was thinking 'oh no, I won't see the baby.'" Now, granted, my grandmother has always exaggerated, and old age has only made it worse. If my grandma ever gave you directions, when she said "a massive 4-lane highway," that could mean any 2-lane road with more than 2 cars per minute, hehe. So I'm sure the doctor was not THAT dramatic, but no matter - I'm glad she's much better at home.

General Mood: Between my grandmother being in/out of the hospital, and my fall on Saturday, I'm very relieved that everything is fine and very happy to wait it out some more. Earlier in the week, I definitely had some impatience starting to mix in. Yes, I still have stuff I WANT to do (hire a spring cleaning service, stock up on meals, finalize nursery decor, etc), but had the baby been in distress after the fall and needed to get him out, we would have the necessities for sure. Websites say as of 34 weeks, most babies' lungs are developed enough that can survive outside the womb without future health problems - and the sonogram of Baby Cole's practice breathing exercises confirms that for me. So I wouldn't be freaked out if I went into labor now, but 37 weeks is considered full-term. Trust me, when those 37 weeks come, I'll be counting down like mad. And to make it worse, most 1st-time moms come late (up to 2 weeks), so that time between 37 weeks and 42 weeks: HELL

Excited for: ALMOST ready for the official nursery reveal! Just a few more added touches, and there will be a picture-explosion blog post of the nursery.

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