Week 35 - Struck With a Case of the Mehhhhhhhs

Week 35 - February 6 - 12, 2014

 

Countdown continues!!! 3 weeks until I am "full term," 5 weeks until my due date!

 

So my sophisticated observation is that by the time you are 35 weeks pregnant you are like...legit pregnant. Like...don't mess with me pregnant. I'm THAT stereotypical pregnant lady.

 

It's true. It makes me cringe and sigh and roll my eyes at myself - but seriously, I'm really pretty darn pregnant at this point! Do not even think about cutting me off when I am trying to park towards the front of the parking lot or squeezing in front of me in the line for the ladies room!

 

This week has not been my favorite, although again, I am trying to make the most of it all. But...I think by week 35 I can complain a little. (I remember a few months ago telling my very-pregnant-at-the-time friend that she had officially reached the point where complaining was legit and vindicated...she was 35 weeks along). So here goes...and then I'll go into all the other happy, fun, oh-my-gosh-we're-really-in-counting-down-mode stuff.

 

This week's reality check -

My rings still fit! My shoes still fit! I don't look in the mirror and find myself unrecognizable (in other words the killer chipmunk cheeks have not surfaced yet...but I'm bracing myself). Heartburn and lower back pain are really minimal and virtually non-existent! And I still managed to have a day or two this week where I felt good! (It has sharply inversed from a few weeks ago when I only felt crummy 1 or 2 days a week, but hey, I'll take a few good days over no good days!)

 

My complaints at 35 weeks -

-I have a cold. Mehhhhhh. Having a cold sucks, but having a cold when you are pregnant just seems grossly unfair. And we all know there's lots of drugs for pregnant ladies. Ha. ...I think I can technically take more than I am...but I feel safest sticking to guaifenesin and benedryl. If I start coughing to the point that hacking up a piece of lung is a concern I will reevaluate. I'm actually thrilled that this is only the second cold I have had during my pregnancy. I am not thrilled that like my other cold, this one is hanging on and enjoying each day it is allowed to habitate my body (you know how they tell you colds can last up to 10-14 days? Yep...mine will take 14 guaranteed if it is anything like the last one). However, I have patted myself on the shoulder and thanked myself for not being absolutely miserably sick with this cold. It's an annoyance, not the full plague. I have however wiped us out of almost every single box of tissues we had in this house. And...Daniel went to Sams and picked up tissues just a month or two ago. :-/

 

-I have been developing carpal tunnel syndrome over the past few weeks...but it hit an all time high this week. ...As in I woke up with shooting pain in my right thumb that would only subside if I physically got out of bed at 5:30 am (who needs sleep, right?) and would only stay away if I moved around. ...When it went away I tried to go back to sleep and it came back almost instantly. Yowzers. After it happened two different nights and I found myself at the nearest CVS buying a night time splint so I can sleep. (It's working btw. Amazing!). ...When I take the splint off in the morning half my hand goes numb. ...In fact...during various points in the day when I flex my hand in various carpal tunnel inducing ways I lose feeling in my thumb, index, and middle fingers. Like...when I'm driving my car and trying to grip my steering wheel. (You can drive with your pinky and ring finger, right?) Or sometimes when I'm walking the dogs and gripping the leashes. (They can walk themselves, right?). Sigh. ...It's something that is supposed to get better post-baby. It has to do with fluid build up (although that makes me nervous because as of now fluid build up is minimal...rings still fit...if the pre-baby swell kicks in I am concerned I'm really screwed). It is not as constant as I make it sound, but certainly an annoyance.

 

-Between the cold and the pregnancy stuffiness and out of breathness OMG do I breathe loudly. ALL THE TIME. I am SO tired of being able to hear myself breathe. It's just so freaking disgusting. Gross gross grossity gross.

 

-(Not) Surprisingly my fatigue is not improving. Especially on my carpal tunnel attack days or the days I have a cold (oh, right, that will be for fourteen days, awesome). But sleep? I frequently go to sleep, actually sleep (so I know I shouldn't complain...so many of you are not sleeping) and wake up feeling...exactly the same as I did when I went to bed. If I'm lucky there's a ten percent improvement. Some days I am oh so completely beyond spent.

 

-I've loved feeling Hannah move...and when I get frustrated with her movements (which is only when they are downright painful) I try to remind myself that in just a few weeks I will never get to feel her like this again. But that said - the kiddo has an obsession with her feet and my right side/ribs. Sometimes it's just really not cool. It's the one movement I could do without. Everything else? Still super awesome. She's not somersaulting and flipping anymore (no room for that!) but I do have a wiggly one who is continually wriggling and adjusting.

They really have become close friends! It makes Daniel and me so happy to see them so content to be together!!!!

 

This little one is growing too! Long and lanky at just over 4 months!

Such a cutie!

Okay, complaining over! Despite my cold and carpal tunnel nonsense I did my best to enjoy the past week and continued to chip away at my never-ending to-do list.

 

My rite of passage this week? I attended and survived the county TotSwap! Not as amazing as I had hoped, but I left with a big ole bag of adorable clothes to fluff out Hannah's wardrobe. :) I have done several loads of laundry and marveled at the fact that dryer lint can actually show up pink! The nursery is coming along! I'm super excited to share pictures, but am trying for everything to be completely done first! Soon!

Trying out the sling I snagged at the tot swap. Not proclaiming I have my "baby" remotely positioned correctly, but it was a great way to see if I could get it to work!

 

We went bowling with our friends on Saturday - and this 35.5 week pregnant girl bowled a 153 and 139 with her bowling ball belly! I was pretty proud of myself! Evening entertainment this week has been watching my belly (oh and the Olympics!), but we have had fun observing what I call Hannah rocking out and what Daniel refers to as a scene from Alien. ...Pretty amazing, huh? I'd read somewhere that their movements tend to decrease by around 35 weeks because they are running our of room, but honestly this week she seems as active as ever!

 

I also need to give a shout out for Daniel. The kid is a beast. He never shares this with people (unless they directly ask). He runs a LOT. Almost each week last year he ran 35 miles. 5 miles M, T, W, and R and 15 miles on Saturday. This Saturday he ran 17 miles. Super excited for him! (jealous as hell that he can work out like a normal human being...or super human human being...but he's actually allowed to elevate his heartrate over 140 or 150?...I can't remember what the pregnancy limit is...but it's low and disappointing for people who enjoy working out). Anyway - I wanted to give him a shout out because I was super impressed! :) He's also run here through the winter - like even when the temperature is 2. TWO. He's loving this weather though!

 

Monday night we totally broke the standard Monday night mold and went to see Monument Men with our friend Meredith. Movie on a Monday night? Yep, embracing the baby-still-on-the-inside while we can. Tuesday I couldn't believe how incredibly grumpy I felt for no good reason (thanks pregnancy hormones, you're making my life even easier). But I found myself grumpily stumbling through my favorite day of the week instead of getting to relish it. Sigh. I included a pedicure to try to cheer myself up (I have wanted one my entire pregnancy and hadn't caved yet...I decided at 35 weeks 5 days it was time) - so my Tuesday was the chiropractor, a pedicure, and prenatal yoga - not bad! And by the time I got home? I was in a better mood and slept awesomely that night.

 

**Funny image for all of you...because of the impending snowfall I wanted to pick up a little Valentine's Day treat for Daniel earlier in the week in case we were snowed in. So post pedicure, before yoga, I dropped by the liquor store...uber pregnant...in the little neon foam flip flops (because I forgot that now that I don't live in FL I don't have 2-3 paris of flops in my car at all times! And my danskos were going to destroy my pedi if I didn't wait a while) and waddled around the liquor store like that. ...I am sure I was memorable. And hilarious. Yep.

 

Wednesday was my happiest day of the week - I woke up after sleeping awesomely and for the first time all week felt semi-rested and pretty good! I discovered there is a Trader Joes near our home, did the obligatory snow is coming grocery stock up, spent the afternoon blissfully working in the nursery, and the evening cooking dinner and hanging out with Daniel and Meredith. Awesome day.

35 weeks! I actually thought to take a picture of myself from the back - made me feel much more justified in the fact that some days I look in the mirror and feel like I strapped on a front-sided fat suit haha.

 

I've bargained with myself every week. Like I might think to myself - okay, you may be less comfy, but at least x, y, and z aren't issues yet! And you only have x number of weeks to go, so if they do creep in, you have one less week to deal with it! My target that seemed very optimistic was 36 weeks. I told myself that by that point all bets were off. ...Now that I am heading into 36 weeks I cringe...and yet...it is a heck of a lot easier to tell yourself...okay, you only have to deal with this for a month, you can do this! (Yes, I know I may past my due date...but isn't it just mentally easier to cross that bridge when/if you get there?...then it's telling yourself one day at a time)...Who knows? Maybe it will be less than a month! We'll see!!!

 

At this point we're not going to say "grow baby grow" - she's gotten quite big in there. We'll say "mature, baby mature!" Cause honestly, that's the most important thing she's doing at this point! Maturing those lungs and making sure all her organs are ready to function on their own! At the end of week 35 as we hit 36 weeks my message is - Hannah - two to three more weeks and then you can pick your birthday! :)

 

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