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| "Does this baby make me look fat?" |
Oh and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you who celebrate!!!
How far along: 36 weeks, 2 days
What did baby do this week: We had a growth ultrasound on Monday and found out that OUR little one weighs 6lbs 11oz! OMG that sounds SO LEGIT!! Baby is in the 69th percentile so they're not even super huge compared to other babies at the same age. I asked the perinatologist how accurate the weight is and she said it's a bit of +/- but our ultrasound tech is one of their better ones, plus they just got these BRAND NEW machines and we were only the 2nd or 3rd couple of the morning to get their U/S on it! So she thinks that's pretty accurate to true size. The average baby is the size of a coconut this week at around 6 pounds and 19 inches long. If you haven't already - you'd start weekly visits with your doctor this week, but I've been doing them since about 32 weeks since I have complications (she wants to measure my amniotic fluid each week.) Baby just continues to get bigger. The brain and lungs continue to develop - but in just a few short days our little one will be considered full term! What a landmark that will be!
Total weight gain: 29.8 pounds - ACK!! Almost 30! This means I'm definitely gonna push through that 30 pound ceiling. Oh well, at least it's just 2-3 more weeks before it will start coming down.
Symptoms: Ugh - the carpal tunnel I talked about last week. It's different in each hand. Left hand isn't painful, but gets tingly/numb if my hand/arm are bent or raised for too long. Right hand doesn't get tingly/numb, but will get very painful if I don't sleep with a brace on to straighten my wrist. Crazy... Feeling a lot of pressure “down there” especially when I sit on the toilet or squat (to get things out of cabinets, pick things up, etc.) OB said it's just the weight of the baby + all the fluids. In another pregnancy blog, I read about someone having “lightning crotch” and I think I know what she’s talking about. It’s sort of like a sharp feeling (not exactly a pain) that suddenly happens from somewhere in my pelvis and down to my vaginal area. Not sure what that’s about but it can take my breath away. A good amount more swelling in my feet and maybe hands. The swelling in my feet was so bad on Wednesday that I ordered some compression socks that arrived today. I put them on immediately and they're definitely helping. Plus, they're cute and warm! Maybe it's worth mentioning that I'm still dealing with constipation even though I'm taking the Colace twice a day. Sometimes I go 2-3 days without "going" (not even feeling the need to!) Argh!
Queasy or Sick: No - feeling great for the most part!
Sleep: Actually a lot better than last week, after getting the brace for my right wrist. My wrist no longer wakes me up at night in pain (from the carpal tunnel) and perhaps it's subconscious, but I sleep deeper too. I think I was worrying about what position I was sleeping in before I got the brace and my body would wake up to reposition as necessary.
Best moment this week: Finishing work! The first few days of this week were my last and while I didn’t go into the office and it's been super light due to the holidays, it will be nice to start next week off knowing I no longer have to call into any meetings and can just spend each day relaxing, enjoying those lovely days between Christmas and New Years and prepping to meet my baby! I ordered my breast pump through insurance this week (must be 30 days or less before due date) and am working on slowly crossing things off my list. (researching life insurance, installing the carseat and base in each of our cars, bought some nursing bras...)
Hardest part of the week: Dealing with the carpal tunnel in my hands/arms. It was so bad overnight last week - but like I mentioned, I finally got a wrist brace (for my right hand, which was worse) and it’s definitely better.
Looking forward to: All The Things! So I used our 1-time-use 15% Amazon discount to order all the rest of the items on our registry that I thought we’d need sooner than later (or items that were especially high priced like our stroller and baby monitor). It was the largest shopping cart I've ever had (30 items) and the most expensive too (esp with a big convertible stroller + baby monitor on there). But I'm looking forward to having all these items arrive so that I can sort through them and put them in place.
Movement: Lots. And Baby (who continues to be in the same position they have been for over a month now: head down, body on the right side of my body, butt just under my right ribs and limbs all over on the left side of my torso) seems to be a little booty dancer: that butt is always pushing up into my ribs! The movements overall are very different than before though. I would say it feels more like "waves". Like I can feel these subtle shifts when the baby is repositioning, but they aren't really jabs - more like a slow deliberate movement. There is less and less space in there so that all makes sense.
Food cravings: More than anything I'm just really ready to be able to eat whatever I want whenever I want. This GD diagnosis has really put into perspective what it'd be like to have a health-restrictive diet. I hope it makes me appreciate my youth and ability to eat most things (when I'm not pregnant) and maybe even be a catalyst to eat HEALTHIER than we already eat!
Happy or moody: Happy and feeling very peaceful. I know I'm going to be having a baby in just a few weeks or less, but with the warmth of the holidays, feeling pretty prepared, and knowing that Baby would be just fine if they were born now - I really do feel at peace. It's a great feeling.
Labor signs: No
Belly button in or out: In - I'm really wondering if it's gonna pop or even flatten. It's getting very small but I'm just not sure it'll stretch out all the way! I guess maybe my belly *is* small, so said the L&D nurse!
Wedding rings on or off: On but I might need to start keeping it off pretty soon. I take it off before we go for our evening walks since my hands definitely swell then.
Stretch marks: Nothing new
Learnings from the week: I got my Group B Streptococcus [vaginal] swab done last Friday and I found out the results at my appointment this morning: negative! All women should be tested for GBS which can be passed from mother to infant during childbirth. While as many as 30% of women carry the group B strep bacteria without showing any symptoms, GBS can lead to life-threatening infections in newborns. If someone tests positive, then they'd be given antibiotics during labor. Something else I learned this week was that my OB won’t let me go past ~39-40 weeks because of the gestational diabetes. She said that the placenta will start to age and not function as well. So we’ll see where I’m at in 3 weeks and figure out what the plan is…
Final Thoughts: I've started planning out my hospital bag. I have a list that I created a few weeks ago and have been adding to/taking from, depending on what I read online and in Mommy forums, etc. In fact, I think I'd like to actually start PACKING it in the next week here. Obviously there's only so much I can pack since I use my toiletries every day and will want/need access to my comfy/loungey maternity clothes. But even just having a list ready is a great step - in case I go into labor and need to start rushing around packing.
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