The Kid- Week 35-38

So this post is going to cover the last few weeks. It's only a tiny bit late since I delivered a month ago... wow.


Week 35- As always, there was a lot of work going on this week too. I have a couple of large projects at work so I have been trying to get everything wrapped up, or at least packaged together, before I leave to have the kid. I was hoping that one of my projects would be completed, but the time line kept getting moved by other people. When a time line was finally established, it came right in the middle of my 40th week. This started stressing me out, and my contractions were really strong this week. I finally calmed down a bit, but I was STILL stressed out about it. Ah well.

We also went to our friend's neighborhood birthday party. There are several peeps in their neighborhood that have birthdays in March, so they all generally celebrate together. Scott and Joi, our friends, have been married for 20 years and have three kids. They are the sweetest people and often invite us to their neighborhood shindigs. Scott was my hubby's Big Brother through Big Brother Big Sisters and has kept in touch all these years. When the hubs and I started dating he introduced them to me and Joi and I hit it off right away. She has many of the same granola tendencies that I do, so she is my natural living guru and has been a huge help with information about natural birth and breastfeeding.

We also FINALLY got the kid's room mostly cleaned out and I finally got all the clothes and stuff put away. Now we just have to finish running everything through the wash to get it ready.

Week 36- This week had a lot more work stuff going on, but was also a lot more frustrating. I can't really jot it down, but I was feeling pretty frustrated with a couple of my co-workers. The contractions were stronger this week and it seriously felt like the kid was separating my ribs. He was head down, but posterior. He really liked to put his knees or feet under my top ribs and push them apart. It really hurt, but there isn't a whole lot I could do about it. It's really funny to me that he will stop kicking whenever the hubby puts his hand on my tummy. He calms right down if D tries to feel him kick. I told the hubs I just need him to follow me around and keep his hand on my tummy all day!

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution started this week. It is one of my favorite things. I am pretty passionate about food, and would love it if the hubby cared more about what we consume. He hates most of my food, so we eat out. A LOT. Like, every day... This show got us thinking about eating at home more.

My midwife also questioned what I was eating this week because I was spilling sugar in my urine. (eeew, right?). I don't actually eat a lot of sweets because many of them contain wheat. But I do consume a lot of fruit, so my midwife told me to lay off it a bit. I was also eating marshmallow cream, and so she told me to knock that off as well. I know, I know, but it was reaaaaaaaaallly really good. :)

Week 37- This was one of those weeks where I spent more time in meetings, than I did actually working on my projects. But that's the way it goes when you have to prepare other people to take over all of your stuff when you are gone. Silly, but true.

I had another midwife appointment and was finally starting to dilate. I was dilated to a one, and was still having crazy strong contractions. I was also still spilling sugar and I got lectured on my diet again. At least my midwife understands that I eat some things deliberately (like Trix cereal) because I can't eat other things (like doughnuts). My mom was convinced that I was going to have the kid this week because of the change in barometric pressure. I just told her she was crazy, just like the HUGE spring storm we got.

I finally stripped all the cloth diapers we got from the baby shower and washed a lot of the little baby clothes. Felt like I was getting closer and closer to having the kidlet, but still no appearances.

Week 38- I woke up one night during this week with crazy pain in my side. I knew it was not contractions, but it felt like something was terribly wrong with my guts. I was doubled over and crying in the bathroom and the hubs and I decided to go to the Emergency Room. Now, here is a tip for you if you are pregnant and visit the emergency room. They will think you are in labor. No matter what else you say, the hospital staff will think you are having contractions and will think you are in labor. I walked into the ER and told them my side hurt. They asked how far along I was and then took me up to Labor and Delivery. When I got there I told them my side hurt. They asked how far apart my contractions were. I told them I was not having contractions, but my side hurt. They hooked me up to the Electronic Fetal Monitor and the nurse came in and said "we don't show you are having really strong contractions, so we don't think you are ready to have this baby." I said "I know I am not having contractions. MY SIDE HURTS!!!". They finally got it that I knew I was not in labor, I was in PAIN. They called my midwife who guessed that it was gallstones. She sent me on my merry way with some Percocet. About three hours later I called my boss and left a 'drunken' message on her answering machine to tell her I would not be into work. She got a kick out of that, and I don't really remember much of the rest of that day.

On other notes, I was dilated to a 2 this week and continued to have contractions (except for the night of the ER visit). I cut out a lot of the sweet stuff I was consuming and only spilled a trace amount of sugar. My midwife told me that we wouldn't worry about it anyway because I was so close to my due date that they wouldn't do anything but watch my food intake. I was very excited that I was getting closer, but totally wanted to deliver early because I was so uncomfortable.

Next time: Week 39, 40, WEEK 41, and Delivery!!!

The Kid- Week 31-34

So this update is a little bit late, but not nearly as late as my last updates were. Considering that I am currently in week 39 right now, I feel I am making awesome progress. I might even get my updates done by the time the kid arrives (HA!). I really do want to have some record of what's going on with me, but it seems like I am on the computer all day at work, and so I don't want to be on the computer all night too. I hope to be better about it, and actually get things posted, but I guess I will have to wait and see. 

So Week 31 was a really, really busy work week. I know I say that a lot, but I really did have to pour a lot of my energy into this work week. My mom also threw a baby shower for my cousin. She is about a month ahead of me and was also due with a boy. It's her third baby, but my mom wanted to throw her a small "social" shower. It was pretty fun. I was recruited to help with food, decorations, and all that. I also crocheted her a blanket that I mentioned here. It was really cute and I learned a new stitch. YAY ME!

I also had a three hour glucose tolerance test because my sugar levels were a tiny bit concerning to my midwife. You would think that the medical profession would be kind enough to figure out another way to test a pregnant woman's blood sugar than by starving her for four hours. My wonderful MIL sat with me through the test and kept me company. I was in normal range for the first two blood draws, high for the third, and normal for the fourth. I was told to watch my sugar, but I should be fine. I must say that blood draws are horrible for me. I have only one good vein and a VERY specific way to get to it, but most of the lab techs don't listen to me. So when they were at 4 tries for the first draw, I was ready to go home. I finally got someone to listen to me for the last draws though. 

Week 32 was all about more work. I started having contractions this week too. They were not that strong or long lasting, but I wasn't quite sure how to handle them. I ended up working on my breathing a lot but I was a bit freaked out. My midwife said that they were braxton-hicks contractions and totally normal. She was thinking I would deliver early for a bit, but then decided that I would probably go all the way to my due date. I needed to start putting the kids room together, but I was still really tired. I was hoping to get the room done before the baby shower, so that I would have space to put everything, but that did not end up happening. Alas. 

Week 33 was still all about the contractions. They weren't regular and they were not terribly painful, but they were annoying. I figured out that they were much stronger if I was exhausted or had tried to do too much in a day. This week was also my nephew's birthday. I will have to explain about my nephew and his circumstance one day, but I will just say that he is my little brother's kid and was born when my brother was 15. 'Nuff said, right? Anyway, my mom doesn't get to see her grandbaby as much as she would like, but she was pretty excited about the birthday party. My mom gets the place for the party, the decorations, the cake, the party favors, pretty much everything but the food. The hubs and I helped my mom get ready for the party but Jessica (my nephew's mom) didn't show up until 20 minutes before the party was supposed to start. The entire party was just a mess. The hubs and I were both furious, but held our tongues. We are both in agreement that at least we won't be raising our kid the way that she is raising hers... Sad, but true. 

I still had grand plans to finish the kid's room this week, but scrapped them because I had no energy. The hubs kept telling me to take it easy and rest, but of course I don't listen and end up kicking myself later. Waaaaa. 

Week 34 was a really busy week, too. Work wasn't terribly busy or taxing, but I was working on preparing for the baby shower. I had pretty wicked contractions this week, so I ended up resting a lot. I finally started gaining weight, but I was tired. My mom organized my shower, and my aunt was nice enough to host, so I was really looking forward to hanging out with some friends. My mom let me pick the menu for the shower so I had safe, gluten free, healthy food. Chicken salad lettuce wraps (and sammies for the gluten eaters), veggies, fruit, and punch. We also only played ONE baby shower game. It was a memory game and was a huge hit. Everyone said they liked it much better than the "poo in a diaper" game or the "baby food" game. I opened presents and and I actually loved everything I received. I got a whole lot of the gerber prefold cloth diapers and no disposables. I know they aren't the best cloth diaper, but I am confident they will work until I can build up a good cloth diaper stash. I was surprised that so many people showed up and that I got so much stuff. I felt loved and realized that the kid will probably be quite spoiled!

In upcoming editions: Weeks 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and beyond??? My thoughts on Jamie Oliver, more work, more contractions, my separated ribs (JK), my hospital visit where NO ONE LISTENED and more midwife visits and sugar drama...