Midwife appointment update

Yesterday I had an appointment with my midwife. It was a very basic appointment, where she basically just checked the baby and my blood pressure and asked me a few questions (headaches, swelling, drinking enough water, eating healthy foods, etc.). I feel I've been a bad patient as I haven't been drinking enough water and I've been eating quite a bit of junk food. But all is well, and baby is in perfect position. Still not fully engaged, as there's a bit of wiggle room with her head down there, but otherwise showing a good position. Heart tones were great as well, in the 140s with a bit of acceleration here and there, which is a good thing my midwife assured me.

Baby Adelaide hadn't been very active for the past couple of days, but my midwife says that as they get further along and more ready for the birth, babies settle down a bit. She said that if I do get worried, that I could just eat something sweet, lay down for a couple of hours and I should feel about 10 movements in that period of time. Thankfully though, the appointment must have woken her up, because baby has been very active since and I've not needed to worry.

As I get closer, my moods are going crazy! I'll be so excited to meet this little one, and the next minute I'm crying because I'm worried I won't do a good job as a mom. I stress about how the house gets so messy so quickly and that makes me think that if I can't keep my house clean how am I supposed to take care of a BABY??? I think nerves and excitement and anxiety and fear and joy are all mixed into one. Lack of sleep from tossing and turning (and getting up to pee), and a poorer than normal diet both have something to do with these mood swings, I'm sure. I'll take extra attention to get more rest and eat healthier these last couple of weeks (and spend time every day picking up a little here and there, no matter how tired I am).

It will be so soon that I get to meet my little sweet girl! I hope I'm ready.

Don't you find that adorable?

A fellow teacher just came in my room to say goodbye.  Tomorrow is my last day of work for the rest of the school year (it can't come fast enough) so as I'm seeing people, I'm saying goodbye.

She came in and the first thing she said was, "I guess I haven't seen you in a while... you're looking fuller in the face now, actually looking pregnant!"

Um, thanks?

Then, noticing my displeasure at her comments, she asked "You don't find that adorable?"

No.

My appetite has definitely grown over the past 3 weeks and I've noticed it.  I can't stop eating!  I feel hungry all the time and no matter what I have, it doesn't satisfy me.   So yeah, I feel a little fatter than normal.  I hadn't really noticed it in my face, but of course I see myself everyday and maybe wouldn't notice it.  But to actually have someone tell me, and then say it's adorable.  Blech.

I need more sleep.

36 Weeks and the Hubster

I really wish our camera was working.  These are taken with Kevin's cellphone.  They aren't bad, but they aren't good, either.  I just want our nice camera fixed soon, so it's here and waiting with all our other goodies for the birth.  Yes, I will be one of those people who takes pictures of the birth.  Why wouldn't I?  This will be the most important day of my life.  I need pictures to document the momentous occasion that is the birth of our daughter!

[I think I look sleepy.  I probably am, considering how I feel most of the day now.]

And this is the hubster, Kevin, holding our cat Cassiey.  He can't take a photo without making a face like this!  I can't wait to see him as a dad.  He already loves this little girl so much and talks to her and jokes and laughs and pretends that she knows what the heck he's saying.  Sometimes he gets so close that his beard prickles my belly, and that hurts... but I know it's out of love so I try not to make a big deal (even though I hate, hate, hate when he prickles me).

I wonder who Adelaide is going to be like?  I wonder what her personality will be, who she will become?  What music she will like, what jokes she will tell, what will make her sad, who she will choose to love?  I know she will be a special person, though.  All the rest will fall into place as it happens!

Numb Tummy! And other pregnancy woes...

I've had a good pregnancy, I'll admit.  Compared to the horror stories that I hear women going through, I've been lucky.  No morning sickness, no constant backache, no sciatica, no major swelling.  

But just because I've not gone through major problems for the past 35 weeks doesn't mean that it's all roses over here.  Here's some of the issues I'm beginning to have:

• Swollen, tingly hands.  In the morning when I wake up my hands will be so sore!  It's difficult for me to bend my fingers and sometimes they feel like the joints are popping in and out!  They tingle and they feel swollen, though they don't look that swollen.  (Well, except for the one time that I tried wearing a wrist brace to help the soreness... when I woke up, my hand extending out from the brace was very visibly swollen!!)  My midwife says it's probably because of the mix of the hormone relaxin and water retention.
• Sore wrists.  This is carpel tunnel syndrome.  It creeps up during pregnancy because of pressure on the nerves in your wrists.  So far it's just my right hand (my dominant hand), and it mostly just hurts when I'm trying to hoist myself out of bed for the bathroom or waking up in the morning.
• Numb tummy!  The skin on my stomach around my belly button feels numb all the time!  It started at around 30 weeks and the numb area has just gotten bigger and bigger as my stomach does the same!  Some think it's due to the baby pressing on a nerve, others (and myself) think it's because your skin is stretched so tight.  It's totally fine, and my midwife says not to worry.
• Sore feet.  Duh!  I'm carrying around 30 extra pounds for hours and hours every day.  I'm a teacher and I'm on my feet all day running around the classroom, so of course my feet hurt at the end of the day!
• Feeling so tired!  At the end of the day, when I come home after working for 8+ hours, it's all I can do to fix dinner and get some chores done.  It's not every day that I feel this way, but it's starting to be.  I've been lucky that it's only just now hitting me, but I hate it because I want to be working on Adelaide's room or getting other baby-related projects done... I just don't have as much energy.

So there's my list.  It's not too bad, but then again... I still have almost 5 weeks to go.  Who knows what will creep up on me?  If you're preggers like me, hopefully you don't have any major problems that you're dealing with... and if you do have major issues, just remember it's for the best reason ever!

34 Weeks

Can you believe that there used to be a lot of space between me and the other tree???  Now I'm getting so close!  With less than 6 weeks to go, I'm thinking I'll get there, for sure.  My friends and family are guessing as to which week they think I'll no longer fit!

Dear Adelaide,

Things are going really well, for the most part.  The house is getting tidier, your room is getting ready.  You are still head-down and the midwife thinks you're engaging, which means that your head is dropping down under my pelvic bone to get ready for birth!  

For some reason, now that I have 6 weeks left, everything feels surreal again.  In the beginning it didn't feel real because I couldn't feel you move.  Now you're so big that I simply can't ignore that you're there, but it feels unreal because it'll be so soon that your body will be out of my body.  And we'll be able to hold you and hear you and see you.  

I've been very lucky to have an easy pregnancy.  There are three other ladies at work that are pregnant.  One is due 2 weeks after you, and she's had problems with her back.  One is due in February and she got really bad morning sickness for a long time.  And the other is due in May with twins, and she's had a whole slew of pregnancy-related issues.  

Thankfully I've only had to deal with headaches (in the beginning, from not drinking enough water) and heartburn (off and on for the past few months.  I'm not taking any medicine for it though because I don't want it to get to you!) so I just have to deal with.  

However, I have developed a little bit of carpel tunnel syndrome, which makes my right wrist hurt pretty badly sometimes.  And in the morning when I wake up, my right hand feels so swollen and painful that sometimes I want to cry.  It's hard for me to bend my fingers or hold things first thing in the morning.  I think it's because I sleep mostly on my right side and the weight of my body on my arm makes it hard for the blood to flow.  And since there's so much more blood in my body now, for you, that equals painful swelling and joints.

Other than that, I've had no issues (well, and that week-long freakout of you being breech!).  I hope that the last 6 weeks continue to treat me well!  Stay in there, girl, and keep getting strong and ready for us!

We love you!

31 Weeks - and the countdown is on...

Dear Adelaide,

My baby girl, you are getting so big!  My belly has changed shape, from being a nice round bump to hanging down more low.  It always feels so full and heavy now.  You kick and punch and turn constantly.  You never let me worry about if you're alright in there because I can always just wait a few minutes and you'll let me know things are just fine!

I especially like it when we play handsie/footsie.  If I feel you pushing out at one particular spot, I'll press on it pretty hard so that you feel me.  Then you kick or punch, and sometimes you just slide away.  Either way, all I can picture is little hands and feet all wrinkled up.  Not too much longer and I can kiss those hands and feet and watch you learn the world with them.

You're definitely growing, and changing how you're resting in there.  Sometimes when I'm sitting around, it feels like you're up so high!  I have to push you down just so I can breathe.  I know you're only going to get bigger as the weeks go by.  I can't believe we have only 9 more until we meet you!!!  We're into the single digits, baby!

I can't wait to see how our four cats will treat you, and how you will treat them.  I plan to raise you with a deep sense of caring for all creatures, and it will start with them.  I think Cassiey - the brown one - will love on you as long as I will let her.  Skit - the black one - will probably ignore the fact that there's a itty bitty baby around.  Keagan - the white and black one - will run and hide at your slightest cry (he's such a scaredy-cat).  And Tan One - not pictured because she has to stay inside due to allergies - well, I think it will take some time, but she will love on you as crazily as she does us, I bet.  They are our furry babies.

Our family feels so right, and you're not even here yet!  Last night while you had the hiccups (again), I put your dad's hand on my belly and he said "Give me my Adelaide!"  I mentioned that I couldn't wait until I could really hand you over to him and see your tiny self in his big arms.  He then corrected me, saying that it will be more like me having to pry you away from him because he won't want to let go.  I am really looking forward to seeing that bond between you two grow.  I wish for you a wonderful and deep father-daughter connection, and if I know your dad, he's going to make sure that happens.

Love, Moma

1st Trimester Wrap-up

Today it hit me: This is the first day of my 2nd trimester. !!!

These past three months have literally flown by (and can anyone believe 2010 is almost halfway over?), and it struck me that the time between now and mid-December - when I will hold my little baby for the first time - will pass just as quickly. I want to really enjoy this time in my life, my pregnancy, and want it to take as long as possible because once it's over... it's over. But at the same time, I want December here so quickly... I don't care what I miss on the way, as long as it gets here!

Anyway, I thought it might be nice to do a little 1st trimester wrap-up.

So far I've gained 4-6 pounds, depending on the day and what I ate the night before. Which is right on track, from what I've been reading and from what my midwife has told me. Up until Friday, when I told everyone that I was pregnant, I was super paranoid about looking pregnant. I didn't want people to guess until I told them. So I had a few nights of agonizing over what to wear to work the next day. Amazingly, these past couple of days, now that everyone knows, I feel a sense of relief knowing that I can be pudgy and it's okay! Shew!

I haven't been sick at all, thankfully! My only symptoms, other than a bit of weight gain: tender breasts, tons of fatigue, and an aversion to vegetables.

Aversion to veggies... as a vegetarian, this sucks. All I've wanted to eat are carbs - bread, sandwiches, pizza, pasta. I'm eating healthy carbs - whole wheat and whole grains, but still... Corn has been okay, as well as green bean casserole. Other than that... nothing. Fruit's okay, so I've been loading up on strawberries, fruit smoothies, berries, pineapple, and fresh peaches.

Whoops... can't forget those mood swings. I've always been a bit moody, but wow. One moment I'll be so carefree, the next I'll be crying because I'm frustrating at being so out of energy, and the next back up again. Kevin's been SO good to me... very understanding and helpful. From day one, he's been so attached and in love with this baby, so of course he's going to take care of the resident moma. :)

Day one of stage two... almost done.