Pictures of this 34th week:
#1
#2
The awkward full length shot.
And the weird looking 33 week shot (the kid MUST have been all stretched out in the week 33 pictures).
How I'm feeling?
I feel like I've exhausted all my adjectives here. Perhaps I should start writing this section in a different language so we all get a different vibe? I guess I don't really know a second language... I took 4 years of French in high school (not sure what I was thinking on that one since the majority of the US speaks English or Spanish) but am more "fluent" (if you can call it that) in Spanish after living in Phoenix. So... I guess the second language is sort of out of the question so you'll just have to listen to me repeat adjectives in English. (Wow, tangent... also known as pregnancy brain...or the reason why I can now relate to my husband when he starts to do something and goes in a totally different direction)....
SO.
I'm feeling tired and huge, huge and tired. The amazingness of the 2nd trimester feeling "normal" has long gone and now I'm just feeling ready to not be pregnant. I'm not quite ready to have a baby yet so I guess that means we are in this for at least a few more weeks. I did play volleyball during this week and it was fun. I couldn't quite dive or jump like I used to but I still had a lot of fun playing. Still working out too, though not as much this week as I would have liked. That wasn't as much a function of pregnancy as it was a function of that other annoying thing- you know, work.
How I'm changing?
Still getting bigger! It doesn't really seem possible but I'm assured that I will keep getting bigger until the day that it all comes out.
Oh, and all that growing and changing is super awesome for my hips... OW. Really painful. Preparing for labor, which is good... pain, which is not. I'm thinking of upping my calcium intake to help control it some but as the baby gets bigger and more positioned down in the birth canal, it's just going to be increasingly uncomfortable.
One thing that has slowed down is boob growth. I can't really tell if that is really accurate because now my stomach growth is exceeding my boob growth or if they have just stalled. I'm thinking that they are stalling for the time being because they will take off post-pregnancy when my milk comes in. I will say that they are still VERY tender and the thought of a little guy nursing makes me cringe. At one point in the pregnancy, we were told by one of our practitioners to start "brushing" my nipples to prepare for nursing at around 5-6 weeks out from birth. She even eluded that this could be intimate and erotic. First of all, I am at that mark where I could start brushing my nipples but my first thought is OH HELL NO with perhaps even a stronger word than hell in there. Secondly, erotic and intimate? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!? Justin would lose a testicle if he even brought a brush within 2 inches of my boobs at this point. No effing way.
Oh, and all that growing and changing is super awesome for my hips... OW. Really painful. Preparing for labor, which is good... pain, which is not. I'm thinking of upping my calcium intake to help control it some but as the baby gets bigger and more positioned down in the birth canal, it's just going to be increasingly uncomfortable.
One thing that has slowed down is boob growth. I can't really tell if that is really accurate because now my stomach growth is exceeding my boob growth or if they have just stalled. I'm thinking that they are stalling for the time being because they will take off post-pregnancy when my milk comes in. I will say that they are still VERY tender and the thought of a little guy nursing makes me cringe. At one point in the pregnancy, we were told by one of our practitioners to start "brushing" my nipples to prepare for nursing at around 5-6 weeks out from birth. She even eluded that this could be intimate and erotic. First of all, I am at that mark where I could start brushing my nipples but my first thought is OH HELL NO with perhaps even a stronger word than hell in there. Secondly, erotic and intimate? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!? Justin would lose a testicle if he even brought a brush within 2 inches of my boobs at this point. No effing way.
What I'm eating?
We've been eating TONS of salads... we have so much produce right now. That is what summer in the northwest is all about. Our local farmer delivers produce to us once every 2 weeks and we get so much more this time of year so we have veggies and fruits coming out of our ears. TMI alert: remember the 1st trimester where I didn't poop at all? Well, welcome to the 3rd trimester where that has done a complete 180. HOLY CRAP (literally). I honest to god have never shit so much in my life. I'm told this is totally normal. It's due partly to your body getting ready for labor and emptying out, so to speak... and I think mine is also attributable to all of the produce/fiber and probiotics we've been taking. I'm pretty sure I'm pooping out poop that has been stored in there since 1989.
Weight I'm gaining?
I was 145.5 this week... last week was 144.7. Pretty solid again. I think I'm going to be right in the perfect weight gain range when this kid pops out. Not that I'm really trying to be in any sort of "perfect" range as I don't believe that this really exists as pregnancy is different for everyone and also as evidenced by the fact that I'm not counting how much I'm eating AT ALL and just eating when I feel hungry (and sometimes totally missing the boat on that one...)
How I'm sleeping?
Bad. Still bad. Peeing a lot but had a few nights where I slept 4 hour blocks. Somehow I think I will miss even these chunks here in a month or so.
What's the baby doing?
-The baby is 17.75 inches or the size of a cantaloupe (finally, these past two weeks are produce I have heard of!) The baby weighs 4.75 pounds.
-The waxy coating (vernix) is much thicker this week as the lanugo sheds (and is almost gone)
-Again, basically the baby is just gaining weight and putting on fat.
-The baby's skeleton is also continuing to harden (although we all know the skull doesn't totally fuse together)... additionally, the lungs are continuing to develop. (I might also add that we're really working out that diaphragm too...holy hiccups!)
What we are doing to prepare for the baby?
We did go to the midwives this week- yes for doing something for the baby! Everything looks great- the baby's heartbeat is perfectly normal and healthy and he's still head down. Again, YES!
And... that's about all we did this week.
And... that's about all we did this week.
Random thoughts on pregnancy (pregnancy brain?)
I can't say that I have any random thoughts on pregnancy this week. I can't even think, really. That's my thought. I'm too tired to form much of a cohesive thought. There is a lot of research out there that pregnancy and just after post-partum is a point in time when women are at their most intuitive...with their bodies and the world around them. I truly believe that and have found it to be true for me, too, but I think right now I'm just wiped.
