34 weeks… wow

(Warning, this is way longer than I anticipated, but it’s because I haven’t been posting so it’s all in one big one now!  Actually, I’m breaking it into two.)

So I’ve been wanting to post an update since 30 weeks.  As much as I’m not busy (like I used to be) I apparently get my time filled.  A fair amount of it seems to be just resting on the couch, whether in front of the TV or not.  This is a whole different kind of tiredness than in the first trimester.  That was straight up tired, just slept a LOT.  This is overall fatigue.  I don’t usually need to sleep more, just rest; stop and sit; or just plain stop.  There are also times I get suddenly or severely body tired.  A feeling like I just *can’t* keep going.  Sometimes it hard to get enough air, even though I can breathe fine, which is worse when I can’t find a position that helps.  It isn’t the baby pushing on my lungs, it’s either my clothing – usually bra, occasionally shirt, but a couple times has been the elastic waist panels of my pants feeling too tight – or how I’ve been sitting.  Or just that I’ve been too active too fast.

Oh, people probably want to hear about the baby more first.  Well, at the ultra sound on Tuesday (the 20th) the baby:
->    measured 4 lbs 15oz, which changed to 5 lbs 0 oz by the end (lol)
->    heartbeat was in the 150s – which is right about where it is every OBGYN visit, high 140s into the mid 150s
->    was head down, which the baby has been for the last three ultrasounds (20 wk cord check, 18 week routine, 12 week routine) and the manual abdominal check I remember hearing about in May.
->    The computer gave a delivery date of Sept. 4th.  Previous ultrasounds have said 9/2 and then 9/3.  So perhaps we’re creeping into late.  I don’t mind, I want the baby to come later rather than earlier!  I want a September baby.  I wanted a Fall baby when I was planning this all, but Sept. 21 would be way too late for the baby, due the 2nd.  So I’ll take however long into September we get.
->    I now know where all the baby’s limbs are too, so when I feel a kick/punch or pushing now I know just what part of the baby is doing it!
->    I TOTALLY did not recognize the baby on the monitor.  It took the lady four times explaining what was where and how before I saw the baby right.  I was expecting skull or alien images, like before.  Nope.  It looks like a baby baby now!  Skin, mouth, nose (aw!) and all.  Might partly have been that this was a 3D ultrasound, which I haven’t seen before.  But probably not.

And the baby still does NOT like being monitored.  Every time at the OBGYN’s when they try to get the heartbeat the baby first moves away from the microphone, and then when they follow the baby finally goes and kicks it square on (except for the most recent time).  At the non-stress test on the 15th as soon as the put the monitors on the baby tried to curl up down away from them.  When that didn’t work, because they were lower on my belly, the baby crawled waaay up my stomach!  It hid out there for a little while, but still not happy turned to retaliation.  It kicked/punched both the monitors in turn, but targeted the one monitoring the baby’s heartbeat more than the other monitoring me.  Not only could I feel it, but you could hear the direct hits through the speakers.  The baby got one of the them so hard once the needle on the chart spiked and the monitoring thingy actually lost the ability to track for a second!  (Probably just paused or reset or something.)  Then at the ultrasound on the 20th, the technician said this baby was the most active she’d dealt with in years.  It took 40 minutes to get all the pictures she needed, instead of 15-20, because every time she’d get a good (enough) picture the baby would move again before she could take it!  She said the baby’s head kept spinning, so she couldn’t get a clear view.  And each time she tried to get the heart the baby would actually move away.  At a couple points she would just laugh at it all – thankfully!  I didn’t want her getting upset at how difficult the baby was making her job.  And at the non-stress test that same day they had to keep repositioning the baby’s monitor because it kept being able to hide away from it.

Okay, back to me.

The pregnancy is part of my self image now.  When I dream and I’m in the dream, I’m pregnant.  It’s kinda cool.  And I see myself pregnant.  And it’s so odd, thinking back on how long I’ve been pregnant.  On one side it seems like it hasn’t been long at all!  Especially at my first shower when I was saying I was 6 months along, and someone did the math (and not the 4 weeks = 1 month, but actual 30-31 days in a month math) and told me I was now 7 month, and I checked and they were right!  I felt like I had lost a whole month of my pregnancy. :(   Like just now, I did the math again, and I’m just a couple days from 8 months.   I know I only have 6 weeks left, but I still think of myself in the 7th month and not the 8th.  *sigh*  But then again I think back on January and I was pregnant and that seems like SO long ago!  I mean, it was Winter!  And we’re well into Summer now.  Interesting how the change of seasons can add to the sense of length of time.

I love feeling the baby move.  The baby is SO active sometimes!  We even “play” once in a while.  For a while I was feeling like work was stealing my bonding time.  :(  But I’ve started using meetings as time to bond with the baby, hehe.

I also am trying to remember to sing to/for the baby more.  One of the baby’s gifts is a bear with a pull that plays Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star.  I try to remember to put that on my belly every few days and let it play through a few times, singing along twice.  The last time I did it the baby responded almost immediately!  So cool.

The nursery is done.  Again.  Oh, and will be yet again once I get the valences and pictures up.  I’ll have pictures up online too, eventually, I mean it!

Both baby showers were wonderful.  I want to do a post about baby showers separate, this is my reminder….

I’ve come to accept that I won’t be able to get everything done before the baby comes.  Some thing(s) are going to have to fall off.  I still haven’t decided what those are yet though.  I’ve all but picked a Doula.  I’ve started researching daycares, again.  I need to start researching pediatricians.  I need to get my bedroom ready, at least for the co-sleeper.  Think those are the ones that I’m not willing to let go of, yet.  OH!  And picking a girl’s name.  Yeah, gotta do that too.  I’m still not sure I’ll be able to get them all done.

That’s long enough, baby’s good, I’m good, yay!