36 Weeks - A Honeydew

November 20, 2014

Photo Thoughts: A big event this week was my Houston Baby Shower, so this photo with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law/ shower co-host is featured in this week's collage.  

How I'm Feeling: Feeling good!  It was a busy, but fun week!  I can't believe we are just one month out now...

Baby/Bump: I can't believe that baby is most likely in the 5 pound range!  This week his circulatory system is most likely ready to go, and his skin is getting less and less wrinkly.  

The bump is definitely feeling heavier.  If I lean forward while sitting, I can definitely feel his feet/legs or whatever is up at the top getting in my way.  

Symptoms: OK, I know I'm a broken record here, but this back pain is getting worse and worse.  It did get a little bit better last week, so I thought maybe I had just pulled a muscle or something, but it came back even worse this week.  By the end of the day, I am basically limping around.  It's strange though, because it doesn't bother me when I workout or do any Pilate's stretches.  When it does hurt is when I'm doing just basic movements- like walking. When I transfer my weight to my right leg, I get shooting pain from my lower back to my butt... so that makes walking, climbing stairs, putting on pants, etc. really fun.  My doctor said that since the shooting pain isn't going down my leg that it's most likely not my sciatic nerve.  She thinks baby is probably just resting his head on some other nerve down in that general area.  Ouch!  Other than that, I still have some shortness of breath and nausea if I lay down on my back.  

Weight: + 0;  +27.0 total.  

What I'm Anticipating: I'm looking forward to our Childbirth and Infant CPR classes next week.  

Sleep: I'm so thankful to still be sleeping so well at this point- with only one wake up per night... I'm definitely pushing my bladder to the max.  

Exercise: Pre-natal Pilates/Barre and the occasional Zumba class or home workout video.  

Movement: Lots!  I can definitely tell he is getting more crowded in there though.  The movements are less roll-y/stretch-y and more jab-y. I can also tell he is getting a lot stronger, because those jabs are getting a lot more painful.

Milestones: One month (or so) to go! I am starting weekly appointments from here on out.  Between these weekly appointments and the classes we have coming up, I am going to feel like I basically live at the hospital.  

Highlights of the Week:  So many fun things this week!

-Houston Baby Shower: My friends Kim and Lori and my sister-in-law, Renee co-hosted a fall-themed baby shower.  They did a great job, and it was so fun to celebrate with friends, family, and co-workers.  This baby shower brought together a lot of different groups of people, so it was fun to introduce people and see people from different parts of my life together.  

My hostesses!

Some of the adorable Fall decor

Some of my favorite gifts were: Baby Air Jordan's from my sister-in-law's fiance and THE most beautiful quilt made by the group of girls that I met in Australia. They are all spread across the world now (Canada, US, Indonesia, Australia), and yet they somehow managed to coordinate this. It is so beautiful, and it will always be such a special gift for both me and Baby H to enjoy. I'm so lucky to have these girls as friends!  

-David's 32nd Birthday: David isn't much of a birthday guy, so as usual, he requested to just keep the day low-key. It was a work day for both of us, so that evening I just made chicken pot pie for dinner and his favorite cookies for dessert.  Like most men, David is very difficult to shop for, but I was pretty proud of my gift selections this year.  I got him some cute race car baby outfits (forgot to take a picture), a bottle of his favorite whiskey, and the mini version of his beloved IKEA chair, so he and his son can relax in style together.  For a guy who rarely shows much excitement, I'd say he was pretty excited and surprised... he especially loved the chair!

Chicken Pot Pie ready to go into the oven

 

-36 Week Appointment and Ultrasound: The 36 week OB appointment marks the beginning of the dreaded internal exams.  It's as unpleasant as it sounds.  BUT, after the torture was over, I found out that I was 1cm dilated, 50% effaced, and at the -2 position.  Technically those aren't really predictors of when baby will come, but it's good information and it feels good to know that my body is making SOME minor progress in the right direction.  ALSO at this appointment (which David came along for), we got a bonus ultrasound due to a study that I have agreed to participate in during my pregnancy and through labor and delivery.  It was SO fun to see our little guy, especially since we hadn't seen him since 20 weeks.  And we even got some 3D/4D views of him!  He looks SO big and baby-like.  And he most definitely has his dad's nose and lips.  He was sleeping pretty much the whole time, and the tech really had to struggle to get him to move his arms from covering his face.  This happened at the 20 week ultrasound, too.  So I'm interested to see if he will sleep with his hands up near his face once he is here, too.  Oh, and we even got to see the cutest little grin!