Do you feel like I’m posting these weekly updates every day? I sure do! I feel like what should be weeks are passing in a matter of days. And not in the seven days to a week fashion. More like one or two days and then it’s a new week again.
My body is slowly taking on a new form. It doesn’t look any different to the outsider, but I can tell.
- For instance, driving leaves me feeling a little short of breath. On the flip side of that, it makes me so thankful that this little boy sits so low. I’d hate to have him taking over my lung space ALL of the time! I’ve been trying to find a position for my seat so I don’t feel this way, but I can’t quite find it. I always forget about it until I’m driving across town. Luckily I don’t feel the same way when I’m sitting in the passenger seat. I would quickly dread the 45 minute drive to the doctor appts. or the hour drive to Des Moines that we seem to be making all of the time.
- Hiccups have become a much bigger deal. I do mean this in the literal sense. No more, touch my belly to feel the hiccups. We’re at the point where you can stand across the room and watch the hiccups happen. Yep, that’s my baby vibrating my whole stomach. And yes, he likes (he probably doesn’t actually like them) to get the hiccups while I’m eating. It’s a little distracting to be belly up to a counter, taking deep breaths before taking a bite of food, and trying to ignore the vibrating going on in your stomach. So, I sit back in my chair and wait for them to pass or get less violent. Just the other day I said, “wait until you see him do this on the outside. It’s going to be crazy!”
- Since I’ve already brought up eating, let’s continue with that theme. Here are the things that can cause me to stop eating even if I’m really hungry. 1. Moving baby. 2. Hiccuping baby. 3. Baby who’s taken over my stomach. A moving baby is ok while you’re eating, but a baby who is trying to see if he can move his butt so far that it stretches out of your stomach, not so awesome while eating. While doing this move, he can take away your capacity to breathe or your stomach space. Both of which make it difficult to eat or bend forward to eat. My solution, rub his little body until he moves and patiently wait him out. When he takes over my stomach, I don’t always feel or see him taking up the space. If I can’t see him taking up the space, I can’t get him to move. So, I sit back and wait for the feeling to pass. He’s front and center the majority of the time, so a slight move here or there can mean it’s a little more difficult to breath or eat.
- Without explaining too much, I can say with confidence that “certain” body parts now rest on top of others. There’s not questioning that my belly bump has grown higher. I know she’s telling me that each week, but there reaches a point where it’s quite obvious.
- T-shirts are becoming harder to wear. Sure, they can stretch in the middle, but can they cover the surface area? Sounds like an easy solution – head to the boy side of the closet. Except the boy side has shirts that have sleeves that look HUGE. So, I try on a lot of t-shirts before I stick to one that is acceptable in public.
- Tired? Nah, it’s not so bad. I’ve slowly pushed my bedtime back to 9:30-10 because it’s so hard to go to bed when it’s light out. That means I don’t want to get up in the morning, but it’s not as bad as the first trimester. There have been a couple of nights that I’ve taken a nap after work. The nap has been well worth it, but I don’t feel like I need it every day.
- Sleeping well? Eh, not like I was the last few weeks (or months). I officially wake up each night to go to the bathroom. I’m thankful that this hasn’t affected me the whole pregnancy, but the pain you can wake up in! Whew! Boy sitting low, full bladder, and sleeping do not equal a pleasant experience. Hoisting myself out of bed and hobbling to the bathroom are pretty painful, but coming back to bed is much easier. It’s amazing how much pressure a tiny baby can put on your pelvic bone! It’s amazing how much pain you can have just turning from one side to the other. I think that pain is something I’ll remember. It wouldn’t prevent me from having other children (because seriously, I plan on having him naturally, I don’t think it will compare!), but it’s a memorable pain. Only once or twice have I gasped out in pain. Mostly I try to be really quiet when I get up or move around. We don’t all have to wake up, right?
My thirty-four week appointment was just as uneventful as all have been the last few months. Please read that to be uneventful in a positive way. Another pound and another inch and a half gained in the last two weeks. The heart rate continues to gradually slow down, as it the norm. He’s working on a 135-138 heart rate right now. He was pretty consistent in the 145s for many appointments and has been slowly easing down. He continues to be head down as he’s been the whole pregnancy. If you sit back and think about it in a nerdy way, it’s odd that he doesn’t feel gravity or notice that he’s upside down. That fluid is just so awesome that he’s literally floating the months away in a comfortable and cozy bubble.
Note: no picture this week. I thought about pulling out the iPhone for some shots, but that would involve walking into a bathroom. I spend enough time walking back and forth to a bathroom, I don’t want to consciously take my phone in there also.
