Wednesday, February 20, 2008

32 Weeks

Well, I gained like 4 pounds in two weeks. Oops. I am trying not to beat myself up about it too much by just rationalizing that every non-baby pound I gain I will just have to lose after the baby is born. Which isn't really working. Oh well.
I had my 32 week appt today. Everything is looking fine. The doctor who freaked me out by telling me that I was measuring 2 weeks large told me today that I am now right on track. So, I got the guts to ask her what exactly that meant. She said, "Oh, nothing. It is normal to measure +/- 3 weeks. Don't worry about it." How irritating. That would've been nice information to know when she freaked me the fuck out a couple of months ago with her, "Wow, you are measuring huge!" comment.
I had a little scare happen yesterday afternoon. I woke up from my afternoon nap with a weird pain around my kidney area on the right side. It felt like a stabbing pain that just wouldn't go away. Of course, I feared the worst and immediately starting freaking out. Which made the pain worse. Poor little A didn't know what to do because he has never seen me like that. So he got his little step stool and was trying to find me a band-aid to "make it all better." It was so sweet. He even gave me kisses on the face to make me feel better...which from him is a precious gift nowadays. It got worse so I called S and asked him where he was on his drive home and luckily he was only 10 mins away. Of course, right before he gets home the pain stops. I have no idea what it was but it hasn't come back. I asked the doctor about it and she just said the baby was probably pressing on some nerve bundles and that caused the pain. It certainly didn't feel like labor...just a weird pain.
I have no new symptoms to report. Dippe is still moving around like crazy. I am getting bigger. My hands are too swollen to wear my wedding set now. I really am lucky that this time my face has stayed clear. I also don't have a linea negra to speak of, but with A by this time I had a very faint one. My hips still ache all night long and I am not sleeping well.
We got to see Dippe on Saturday at my stepdad's office. She was putting her hands around her face and sucking her thumb. It was adorable to watch. We got some pictures but not very good ones. A wasn't too impressed...he wanted to mess with the ultrasound machine and was quite put out when he didn't get to. Then my stepdad did an ultrasound on his heart and stomach and all was well.
My friend from the Mom's Club just delivered on Tuesday an 11 pound baby. Holy shit! I still haven't heard if she managed that vaginally but I am impressed nonetheless. Dear lord, please let this baby not be 11 pounds.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

31 weeks

And still coughing. Stupid flu just won't go away. I think I am making up for all the calories I missed when I was on my death bed two weeks ago, however. I just powered down fries and fried zucchini from Carl's Jr with Ranch. Man was it good. I also ate some cookies today, had a blizzard at TCBY, and basically snacked my way through the house. It wasn't pretty. Oh well. And this weekend I will be visiting my Mom for her birthday and she is always trying to stuff me full of food even when I am not pregnant so the week will probably end up being not so great in the weight gain department. Hopefully, Dippe is going through a growth spurt so this will all just wash out. Ha!
I woke up this morning with my old friend sciatica shooting through my right leg. Ugh. I am much farther along this time than with A when it started acting up, which is definitely a blessing. The pain went away mid-day, so I am hoping that it is just irritated from the sleeping positions I am in. The baby may be resting on something that is irritating the nerve. Unfortunately, there is not much I can do about that. Except deliver this baby in 8 weeks.
Dippe is still moving around regularly. She has been giving me very powerful thumps to the cervix which make me gasp in pain every so often. Who knew such a little thing could be so strong?
For some reason my sleeping has been better. My hips still ache and wake me up, but the time between wake ups seems to be increasing. I am grateful for any length longer than two hours, especially since A has taken to waking up at 6am sharp every morning. Luckily, he is so tired from waking up so early that he is relatively compliant about taking naps.
My stepdad is a Urologist and has his own in office ultrasound machine. While we are visiting this weekend we will get a sneak peek at Dippe again. His probe is a different size than the one they use for OB ultrasounds, however, so it does look very different. We did the same thing with A and got to see him sucking his little thumb. But we won't be able to see anything as detailed as an anatomy scan. For some reason I am paranoid that Dippe is actually Dip and all this pink stuff in the baby's room will be all wasted. My mom was like, "The baby won't know" and that is true, if Dippe were actually a boy he would have no idea he was wearing pink flowered outfits. I am usually not one to fall into gender stereotyping myself. But I have to admit that it would bother me having to explain to perfect strangers that my daughter was actually a son. And I would feel obligated to explain. I find it interesting that my mom would be okay with dressing a boy up like a girl, but almost had a heart attack when we mentioned we weren't planning on circumcising A. I guess her open mindedness only goes so far.

Monday, February 4, 2008

On the mend

Thanks for the comments on my last post. I feel so ungrateful when I complain about anything while being pregnant. There was a time not too long ago that I would've endured anything if it meant that I would be pregnant and have a real live baby in the end. And I know so many people who still feel that way. I should be more appreciative of the blessings I do have in life instead of focusing so much on what I don't have.
I finally got some sleep over the weekend, with the exception of Saturday, which I will explain in a moment. I actually took 2 naps on Sunday and then went to bed early that night. I woke up this morning still feeling tired but definitely better than I did on Friday.
On Saturday my wonderful girlfriends threw me the most beautiful baby shower you ever did see! And it was a total surprise!
Here is a picture of the set up
There were 20 ladies in attendance, including my sister and my mom (who made a surprise 3 hour trip just to come). Everything was pink and brown to match Dippe's room.
One of the best presents was the bedroom set that my Mom sewed. It turned out just beautiful and I am so grateful that my mom is such a crafty lady and so generous with her gift.
There is a matching bumper pad and dust ruffle. She had left over material and is sewing some curtains to match. Love that woman!
Here is a picture of all the lovely ladies in attendance. I am the one in the dead center with the long dark hair and dark shirt. Sorry, no close ups..I am very self conscious of how I am looking right now.
I got so many wonderful gifts, the tea nibbles were amazing, and it was definitely a good end to what was a very long and tiring week. I am so lucky to have such great friends and family!
Now I have to write out all the thank you notes...the only bad part.
I had my 30 week appt today and now I start appts every 2 weeks. Hard to believe that I am 10 weeks away now.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Remember

Dear Cate,
Its days like today that you need to remember the next time you even vaguely consider having any more babies.
Remember that feeling in the shower this morning of complete and utter despair because you are about to have 12 two year olds descend upon your house in 30 minutes and you got 4 hours of broken sleep the night before because you were up all night coughing because you have been sick with the flu for 5 days and you are exhausted.
Remember how you cried your head off today because your son spent playgroup acting out on the other kids and how you blamed yourself for his behavior because you haven't been able to give him as much undivided attention this week.
Remember how you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and thought it was someone else because your face is so bloated and your eye sockets are dark from lack of sleep and general pregnancy hormones.
Remember the desperation you felt when you started picturing having another little one after A had his umpteenth meltdown of the day.
Please read this letter when and if you start feeling any sort of desire to get pregnant again.
Lots of love,
Your exhausted, frazzled, and having a moment of clarity self,
Cate