Week 30, 31, and 32 update

Remember how I said that I just had so much to do in March? Turns out, I was right. I haven't even had time to simply write my weekly bump post, and have gotten three weeks behind! Again, in a way... I kinda like it. It means that for the past three weeks I have not been just sitting around waiting for days to pass like a 5 year old waits for Christmas.


Here is a catch up:

I have enjoyed being pregnant so much, partly because I have wanted it for so long, and partly because apparently my body just handles being pregnant pretty well. That being said, I am 8 months pregnant now, and although I have two more to go (can we as a people just start agreeing that pregnancy really is in fact TEN months and not NINE?), I am getting more and more uncomfortable and tired. I think that if I didn't have a job that required me to be up on my feet all day, either teaching, walking, or chasing down a rowdy friend.... I may not be such a grump about this one. I'm not delusional, I know that so many people are pregnant and work full time with no issues. But, I also know that many jobs also allow for a few minutes of  sneaking a 'foot rest' under your desk, or even a long enough lunch period to allow a tiny nap.


I have also been getting some killer insomnia. I think in the last two weeks I have only had 4 full nights of sleep. This makes my 7:30-4:30 days feel crazy long, and leaves me feeling quite zombie-like. I usually am unable to fall back to sleep after my nightly pee break at about 2:00, and then either toss and turn until about a half hour before my alarm goes off, or I try to be productive by taking a shower, which makes me hungry, so I eat, which makes me tired, so I go back to sleep, and then my alarm goes off as soon as my head hits the pillow (or so it feels like), which makes me think, well I already took a shower, let me snooze, which restarts the whole tossing and turning. I'm starting to feel like I'm living in a Laura Numeroff  book (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)... she could title it, "If a Pregnant Lady wakes up in the Middle of the Night..."


I have started to get some swelling. My wedding band fits fine, but my engagement ring is pretty tight in the mornings. As the day wears on, it loosens up, and I can wear both as usual. On the other hand, I have started to get the opposite problem with my feet! As the day goes on they get swollen, and I have to put them up for a while when I get home from work. I feel lucky that this just started as I hit 8 months!


Also, my Braxton Hicks are back to 'out of control' territory. I am getting them pretty much every time I stand up from a sitting position, if I walk too much, after I pee, etc., and I am also getting some cramping along with them. At our 30 week doctor visit, told her about my 'period-like' cramping, and she gets this serious look on her face, stops looking at her chart and says, "Are you having them now?".... I say, "No, I'm thinking it was just because we were walking around at the rodeo a lot the day before....." Then she informs me that period like cramping is the real thing and that if you have them a lot you NEED to call the doctor because you don't want to be in pre-term labor. Wow, seriously never thought I would be hearing that one! Every time I think it is something serious, it turns out to be totally ok, then then when I think it is not a big deal, turns out it could be huge! I am glad that I told Tim about them because then he could remember exactly which day I told him I was having them pretty badly. I am starting to tell him all of my symptoms so that if something comes up, I can say, "Remember when I told you ______? What day was that?"


So far, so good on the stretch mark thing. I am religious about the lotion in my belly, even though I heard it has more to do with how your mom fared with them. To be totally honest, I just assumed she got them. I don't know why, it's not like I ever saw any on her belly. I just knew she had 4 babies, 4 C-sections, gained quite a bit of weight with a couple of us, and then 16 years after her last baby she got a tummy tuck. I also assumed that it was not something you really want to ask someone, because if the answer is yes, then they may feel uncomfortable telling you. I finally asked her, and she said that she was very lucky as well! This gives me a glimmer of hope for the remainder of this pregnancy!


Speaking of vain and selfish things, I happened to look through my photo book of our Hawaii vacation last summer, and I cannot believe how skinny I was! Don't get me wrong, I wasn't crazy skinny, but compared to the beach ball tummy I have now? The non-exercise is playing a role in my thighs and upper arms jellying up, and the general tendency of pregnancy is causing my picture taking to seriously dwindle because I don't really like seeing swollen face me! Which brings me to....


Thing I miss:

• Sleeping on my stomach. It is so hard to sleep on strictly your left side every night!
• Exercise. Not that I lived at the gym or worked out everyday, but if I wanted to go for a jog or get back into P90X or something, I totally could. I can't wait for Hunter to get here so I can take him on walks, just to get my legs used to exerting themselves again!
• Having a regular 'sniffer'. My nose has gotten back into being on extreme overdrive since entering the third trimester and with that comes searching for the source of bad smells. I was seriously sniffing EVERY surface in our living room and kitchen the other day, and the only conclusion that I can come to is that possibly our sink disposal slightly smelled? Husband couldn't smell anything at all, and I could never figure out the source. It isn't fun when you can smell every little thing!
• Sleeping through the night.
• Occasional heartburn. I didn't mind having random bouts of heartburn, I mean, I don't like it but I can deal with it. Being pregnant is a whole new ball game! I get it after one bite of food, if I lean back past a straight upright position for longer than a few seconds, or if I lean forward too far for longer than a few seconds. One night, I woke up and it felt like it was shooting up my esophagus in a volcanic fashion. I swear it would have made it up my nose if I stayed laying down!
• Being able to put on shoes, change my toe polish, etc, etc, etc.
• Tanning. I still haven't heard whether or not self tanner is ok, so I haven't risked it. Not that I could rub it on my legs anyway.
• My old body. There. I said it. Thin, toned thighs. Slim tummy. Slender arms. We'll get back there, until then, I have pictures....

There are also things that I like about being pregnant. The compliments.... oh, the compliments! I must hear 10 times a day, "Aren't you just so cute?!", "You are ALL belly, you can almost see the outline of his little body in there!", etc. I must admit, I like hearing it from co workers, but I love hearing it from strangers. I have also been getting the royal treatment from husband. He doesn't mind helping out around the house, picking up food on the way home from work, and letting me go to bed early. I also got a pedicure before my first baby shower (more on that later!), and I have never been able to enjoy one so much. The back massager was heaven, but it had NOTHING on the foot massage. Those may be a once a week type of thing from now on!


My belly is still growing nicely, and my weight hasn't totally frightened me over the past three weeks. You can check out the info in the tab at the top of the page, but in a nutshell:


30 weeks: +15 lbs (still!!)..... 38 1/4 inches
31 weeks: +16 lbs................. 39 inches
32 weeks: + 18 pounds.......... 39 inches

I think that just about covers everything! I am down to two months until estimated arrival, but have a lot to look forward to until then!

• Finishing his nursery. We just need some wall decor and the glider.
• Doctor's appointments. We have one scheduled in a couple days, I will write about that one because we get an ultrasound! We have been going every two weeks now that I am in the last trimester, but once April is over, we will be down to an appointment every week! So, 32 weeks, 34 weeks, 36 weeks, then every week after that. Crazy!
• 3D ultrasound! We also have this scheduled for in a couple of days.
• Breastfeeding class. I am so excited! This is the first 'official' thing that I will do for preparation of AFTER he gets here. 
• Baby Shower #2!! We are having our 'big' shower near the end of April. I say 'big' just because everyone is invited, from my mom's friends, to my friends, to family, etc. Our last one was just co workers. I am really excited! This will be our last one, I love parties and cake and getting gifts and all else that goes with showers, but it is hard for me to be the center of attention! Having only two showers helps with that!
• Easter!
• Possible lake trip??? Husband knows that I have been having a craving for water. Not to drink it, but to be on it or in it. He told me that he is trying to get a lake trip planned for a week end coming up. The weather has been perfect for it!

Also.... don't forget to vote :) Somebody has been! We went from 400 and something to 292! Yay, for sparkly heels!