Week 36
We are coming down the home stretch! I can’t believe b-day is less than a month away. It all went by so fast. Although, right about now I am feeling huge and hot and ready to pop any time, so I wouldn’t be too sad if this baby came before her due date.
Had another growth ultrasound today because two weeks ago I was measuring small…but at yesterday’s appointment, I was actually measuring a week big. I asked Dr. O if I still had to go and she wanted me to anyway. So as always, it was nice to see JellyBean on the big screen – and we got some cute 3D pics this time. The tech thinks she has my lips. We’ll see!
So JellyBean looks to be fine, everything was great and they estimate she’s 6 lbs 7 oz right now, which is 59th percentile. Right on target, but hopefully she won’t get too much bigger! She is all crammed over into the right side of my belly, which is why I think I keep measuring small. It’s hard to see looking at me straight on but when you look down at my belly from my perspective, you can see how lopsided it is. So when Dr. O measures my fundal height straight up and over my belly button, she’s missing ¾ of the baby, so obviously it won’t be as big. Anyway, all went well at the scan today and that should probably be the last one.
Yesterday’s visit with Dr. O was fine also. Did the group b strep test, which I’ll get the results for next time. I was GBS positive with Fletch, which just meant I had to have IV antibiotics in the hospital before delivery so it wouldn’t transfer to him.
Dr. O also did an internal check and was sorry to tell me that despite the fact that I swear this baby is coming early, there was no cervical activity going on right now and that baby’s head has not dropped and engaged in the pelvis. Not surprising – I am carrying really high still right now.
So far at least JB is cooperating and still in a good position for delivery. She is laying on her right side with her back facing to my right. So the big hard lump we can feel in the top right is her bottom. And I had asked Dr. O yesterday what the horrible pain I keep getting up under my right ribs was and she felt my belly and said most likely JB has one knee bent and that’s her heel sticking me in the ribs. And on the ultrasound today, you could totally see her little foot up there! She was dead right and I can’t believe she could tell that just from poking me in the tummy. Guess that’s what years of experience will do for you.
When I told Dr. O how hard it’s been for me to walk – seriously, I can’t even do the grocery shopping anymore or the whole belly and ladyparts gets very unhappy – she said I should be walking even more! Ugh, it’s seriously painful to walk and I can’t imagine just walking with no purpose. Well, I suppose the purpose would be to get JellyBean moving, but still, the last thing I feel like doing is going for a walk.
In general, I’m feeling ok. Having a hard time sleeping still. Not so much falling asleep but staying asleep. Seems like I’m up every hour to pee. Plus my right side hurts pretty much constantly – it’s being stretched (kicked, poked and otherwise maltreated) way more than the left. I was hoping that sleeping pretty much only on my left side would help move the baby back into the middle some but Dr. O said she is floating in her own little bubble and how I sleep won’t make her move.
Also, my feet are swelling. I think a lot of that has to do with the recent heat. But it’s crummy because even my flip flops get uncomfortable after a while! And I can’t wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row because I need to let the parts that got all rubbed wrong rest before I put the same pair back on. I never realized, but my shoe wardrobe has very few pairs of middle-of-the-road shoes. It’s either cheap flip flops and tennis shoes or 4 inch heels. I do have a few pairs of wedges that are comfy enough to wear to work (yet still high enough to make poor Mr. Fantastic cringe when I’m wearing them) so I’ve been wearing those to the office and switching to flip flops when I get home. It will be nice not to have to dress for the office for a while, that’s for sure!
Speaking of the office, my awesome boss has said that after my maternity leave is over, it’s ok for me to work full time from home for at least a couple of months before I start going back to the office. That rocks! I am still dreading when I’m going to have to drag the breast pump to the office and deal with all that, but at least I’ll have quite a bit of time at home before I have to worry about it. Being able to work full time from home with Fletch played a huge part in how smoothly breastfeeding went for us. Since he would never drink even a drop of formula AND my milk had excess lipase so we couldn’t build up a freezer stash, it would have been incredibly difficult to keep him fed and happy if I had to be at the office all the time.
Of course it goes without saying that hopefully JellyBean will not be quite so picky as big brother and maybe take some formula now and then if we need to, and hopefully I won’t have the lipase problem again. But if we can get to 6 months before I have to go back to the office, even if we have the same problems, she’ll hopefully be starting solids by then and can be appeased with some smushed peas if the boobie juice (or the boobie) is not available.
So excited for this baby to come! (And also pretty much ready to not be pregnant anymore…) Lots of things we still need to do…wash some clothes for JellyBean, pick out a going home outfit, pick a NAME for heaven’s sake, get her room organized and finish decorating. Wrap Fletch’s present from JellyBean, pack hospital bag, go to the grocery store and stock up on some frozen essentials so we don’t starve after she’s born, dig out the breast pump & wash all the bits and pieces, find the baby bath tub, swing and bouncy seat, set up the pack n play downstairs. I’m sure there’s plenty more I haven’t thought of yet!
