I guess I should do an update on my pregnancy. It's only been since 20 weeks along that I've shared
specifically about it! Yikes!
Well, things are coming along pretty
nicely! I'm just getting bigger, and bigger, and...well, you get the
idea. I'm really shocked at how much
bigger I am with this pregnancy. Almost none
of my old maternity clothes are fitting any more. And I had purchased
a few pieces that I thought would last through the pregnancy, only to
basically outgrow them a month later. Sheesh.
I have been
measuring ahead by three weeks pretty consistently for the past few
appointments. I am now going every two weeks! In some ways, this has
definitely flown by.
On my mind:
- Getting ready for the birth. Every few weeks, I have this sobering thought that flashes across my mind "the baby has to come out!" It's still so surreal, even though I've already done it twice. I don't know if you can ever get used to the idea of a person coming out of your body!
- Getting my "nest" ready. I began to do some early nesting last week, but this week, I have been more tired. I need to figure out where we are going to keep the new baby's things, and I want to do some reorganizing in my bedroom and the children's room. I'd also like to prep some meals ahead so that I don't have much work to do at dinner time, and so we don't have to waste a a lot of money to eat out a bunch in the early weeks.
- Birthing at home. This is so exciting for me! I just love the fact that I don't have to go anywhere to have my baby. The other children can be nearby, I don't have to arrange for other care for them (Grammy will be on standby in case the birth happens during the day, and they become too much of a distraction- but hopefully Grammy will be able to be here to share in the excitement). Also, I don't have to eat hospital food, or wait for their scheduled meal times (I can even eat during labor if I want- yay!)
- The birthing at home thing nearly didn't happen. At my 28 week appointment, I did the glucose tolerance test, and I failed! I couldn't believe it! I even had what I feel is a better test for pregnant women- that doesn't include the Glucola drink. My midwife tested my blood an hour after a "normal" meal and my glucose levels were sky high. I opted to have the three hour test (my other option was to test my blood sugar at home for a period of time). I really dreaded doing it, but it wasn't as bad as I remember from my first pregnancy. Thankfully, I passed. If I hadn't passed (meaning I would have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes), I would've been "risked out" of a home birth, and referred to an obstetrician along with a nutritionist. There would have been a chance to return to prenatal care (and ultimately home birth) with my midwife if everything was able to be controlled easily with diet, but I'm really glad I don't have to go that route!
- The older two children are really excited. I'm not sure if they imagine that I'm permanently pregnant or what, I try to communicate that the baby will be coming fairly soon, but who knows what that means to them! They do fly-by belly rubbings throughout the day, and my daughter, a couple times, when I've told her the baby was kicking at her in response, began to try to kick back at my belly! (I stopped her before she was able to, of course!) They have also started referring to the baby by the boy name that we picked out, which makes me a tad nervous since we opted to keep the gender a mystery until birth (I don't really know how they picked up on the name, since I don't refer to baby by name). Anyway, I am fairly convinced that this little kicker is a boy, but only time will tell!
- Discomforts. I find it hard to be on my feet for very long. Also, I'm starting to notice that I'm waking up more frequently during the night. For a couple nights, it was basically every 1-2 hours. I really think it's God's way of getting me ready to accommodate the needs of a newborn. And then when I can sleep otherwise, I can't stay in bed because I'm uncomfortable. And my bed is generally very comfy. I'm happy to report that even though I was having pretty major pubic joint pain (Symphisis Pubis Dysfunction), chiropractic seems to have really helped, and I've only had two visits. The first visit, after my adjustment, it was completely gone! It has returned somewhat, but nowhere near what it was before.
- (More discomforts!) Swelling. Ugh. My feet have been swollen off and on for probably more than six weeks. Some weeks are better than others- like I can go for three or four days at a time with virtually no swelling, and then for some reason or another, the next day- more swelling. I've started drinking lemon water almost exclusively to combat this. I really think the lemon water helps, but it's hard to say why it's so off and on.
Anyway, about 5-8
weeks to go! I suspect I'll go about 39 weeks, but only God knows
when this little one will be ready. My first baby was born at 40
weeks, 1 day; and my second was born at 39 weeks and 4 days. We shall
see!
