I cannot believe that I have finished 30, THIRTY, weeks of pregnancy and now it is down to the final countdown. (Que theme music!) I am now in the single digits for the weekly countdown! While I am super excited, I am also mixed with anxiety.
- Do we have everything we are going to need?
- What if we don't get the items we need from the baby showers?
- What do I need to do for the baby showers?
- Will I be a good mother?
- How will I know what to do with a newborn?
- When do we install the car seat?
- When should I have my hospital bag ready to go?
- Is everything at work prepped for when I am on maternity leave?
- When do I start washing sheets/towels/clothes for the tadpole?
- What are we going to name this kid?
- What will he look like?
- Will he have all his toes and fingers...and no extras?
This past week flew by. Seriously, how is it already October 17? We had birth class last Wednesday and it went really well. We learned about interventions that will help and/or prevent complications and the process for a c-section. I felt a lot better about talking about the different possibilities that may need to happen and options that are available. I felt better getting to see pictures and learn the process of a c-section. God forbid we need any intervention but it's nice to know what will happen if we do. Tonight is our last class and again I can't believe how quickly 5 weeks have gone!
We went up to Washington for the weekend because one of Dan's friends got married. We arrived on Friday and stayed up way too late. It was fun and scary to see Dan with his Roseburg friends and, dare I say, natural habitat. After sleeping in, Dan went off to help with wedding prep. The ceremony was lovely and love from the couple radiated through the evening. It was simply beautiful! On Sunday, we helped with wedding cleanup details and drove home.
Things were pretty calm until last night when we noticed that Dolce had whacked the heck out of her poor tail. Her tail is the worst it has ever been. We just have not been able to get the open wound to heal and she keeps cleaning it which makes it worse. Last night we were sure that the vet would amputate it but thankfully we have one more attempt to get it healed. Poor Dolce suffers from a chronic case of Happy Tail. I kid you not, that is the actual diagnosis! She will not be so happy with her new mussel which will prevent her from messing with her tail, her tail bandaged up with a hard plastic pill bottle to protect it, and her tail tied to her leg to prevent her from wagging it. This poor dog is going to look absolutely pathetic but if this is what it takes...so be it!
Week 30
Baby Size: a head of cabbage or a cucumber! He weighs almost 3 pounds and is 15.7 inches long.
Baby Development: According to BabyCenter.com:
A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will
decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her
eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after
she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When
she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have
20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches
from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)
How I feel about being pregnant: I am now more focused on being a new mother than being pregnant. I love feeling the little guy move around so that is always exciting!
Symptoms: Nothing new. The line down my belly is getting a little darker. Stretch marks are continuing to show up and grow. I have a hard time eating a full meal and catching a full breath of air. I have to use the restroom every two hours. My legs are cramping, mainly as I stretch first thing in the morning. My breasts are huge and tender. My back aches. My ankles and lower legs swell a little by the end of the day if I don't keep them up, get enough water, and/or don't move enough during the day. My joints are loosey goosey so I am off balance and clumsy most of the time. I have times when I just want to cry...yay hormones! My poor nose does not know what to do with the extra fluid in my body so it goes from being runny to super dry in 5 seconds flat. When I cough, I pee a little and feel like I am going to throw up. I don't sleep well during the night because I am tossing and turning which I am sure resembles a beached whale. I have absolutely no short term memory. I am in complete nesting mode. But, even with all of that, I get to feel my baby more and more as he grows and gets stronger which makes up for all the rest! The "joys" of pregnancy really are joyful when I feel my little guy and nothing else really matters!
Cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary. I want chocolate but I don't NEED IT NOW. I want fall smells around me all the time like apple pie and pumpkin pie and mulling spices but that's typical for me this time of year.
What I am most excited about: Completing week 30. Bring on the single digit countdown!
Something sweet your daddy did for me: He took great care of me while we were in Washington. He made sure that I had a good breakfast each morning.
Funny moment: Getting pregnancy, breastfeeding, and parenting advise from Dan's friends who are new parents! Simon in particular had a lot to share about how swelled I would get and ways of dealing with that, how wonderful the benefits of breastfeeding are, and the awesome joys of being a parent. He also provided advise on pain management during labor. Simon was sweet to share his knowledge and it's always great to see a passionate father but it still cracked me up!
Special moment: This is not necessarily pregnancy related but I had a special moment/realization on the drive home from Washington. I realized that this was the first trip in about two years, maybe longer, that I did not have anxiety with! I did not have anxiety during the week while prepping and packing and getting the house in order and organizing the details. I got home late so we left later than planned on Friday but that did not stress me out. I did not stress out when we hit bad traffic. I did not stress out while packing everything up to leave from the hotel. My stress/anxiety were under control the entire time. This was so exciting to not feel the pent up energy of anxiety and not to have an actual panic attack related to travel! On a second special moment note, Dan and I had great conversations in the car on the way up and back!
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