February 5th-February 11th
How big is baby? This week, baby is the size of an English Cucumber which, apparently, is longer than the American version. I actually hate cucumbers, and I hate pickles, too. But, that is neither here nor there in this case! Baby is 15.2- to 16.7-inches and 2.5- to 3.8-pounds. Grow, baby, grow!
How I’m feeling? Large. And in charge. Actually, I am not in charge at all… this little guy in my belly is. This week I got hit with several pregnancy symptoms I thought I was going to escape (I seriously need to stop smugly smiling whenever I read about these symptoms and I don’t have them myself!!!) – swelling in my feet, unable to bend at the waist (squats it is!), shortness of breath at doing even the simplest of tasks (ever worn yourself out putting socks on? I have. Ever been unable to remove your own pants and have to ask someone for help? That’s another positive for me), rib pain from tiny pokes and difficulty sleeping. I can deal with everything else but the sleeping is particularly annoying. My thighs ache like I have the flu when I lay on either side for more than an hour which is just cruel considering I can’t lay on my back!! Bright side? Only 9 more weeks left of this. Oh but wait… then the baby will be here which means more non-sleeping time. Oh well. Who needs sleep anyway?
Any cravings, weird dreams or other symptoms? Apart from the ones I mentioned above, I’m also still experiencing heart burn. And I’ve seen the return of a sensitive stomach which is no fun. I thought I’d said goodbye to throwing up when I hit the 14 week mark.
I have had two really weird dreams this last week. The first was about an acquaintance of mine stealing my baby and dressing him up in a striped bodysuit. That may not sound weird, but it seriously disturbed me. In the other dream, Alex and I and some of our family were on an African safari (why I went on this while pregnant I’ll never know) and, of course, I gave birth. And, of course, a zebra decided he had to have my baby so he took it away. Of course.
No weird food cravings, though. Except chocolate. But that isn’t weird. That’s completely normal.
Any other details? My belly button continues to shape shift and now vaguely resembles an awning. Except when I’m seated, at which point it completely pops out. This is the first time in my life I’ve seen the bottom of my belly button and it is not nearly as thrilling as I thought it would be.
We had our third childbirth class this past Thursday and it was a real eye opener. We toured the wing of the hospital where labor/delivery occurs and got to see an actual LDPR room. Seeing the bed really got to me. The whole room was very serene and calming… but it doesn’t stay that way and I still don’t quite have the words to describe how it made me feel. I think it was a combination of an ‘Oh Shit!!’ moment and a ‘What have I gotten myself into??’ moment, mixed with a ‘Thank God my body has instincts and will know what to do’ moment. I’m just focusing on the latter moment to keep myself sane.
Yesterday, I got some fabric for curtains but, when I brought it home, I was disappointed to learn two things: I didn’t buy enough and it looks terrible with the rug in the room. So back to the drawing board on that. In my anal retentive way, I have made an Excel spreadsheet of our current spending on this child plus what we still need to buy (estimating the cost of those items, of course) and the money spent on that fabric is a bust. I might turn it into a pillow for the rocker, though. If it’s a pillow, it may not clash as much with the rug.
The only other really super thrilling news (as if you could take anymore???) is our first shower is coming up in a couple weeks, and the invites for the second shower went out this week! I have been stalking the registry like crazy and do a happy dance every time I see something was purchased. It’s all so very exciting!
I honestly can’t believe I’m 31 weeks tomorrow. I remember back in August thinking it would take forever to get this far. It’s flown by. Only nine weeks remaining. Where did the time go?
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