36 weeks; that's 28 days, 4 weeks, 1 month left!!! In some ways the weeks are flying and in some they're crawling. Overall, the pregnancy has gone by extremely quickly, but these last few weeks seem to crawl by, though the days never seem to be long enough for me to get everything done. So I guess I'm just proof of Einstein's theory of relativity (if I understand the theory correctly that is).
Tuesday was spent crocheting and resting without much interesting going on. James keeps reminding me that not only am I carrying around a baby, but that he's "stealing my food" too, but I still feel lazy when I get tired so quickly. I do as much as I can, but a few hours out of the house wears me out, and if I push it, I end up with a lot of pain at the end of the day. Wednesday was a great day! Not only did I hit all the green lights and manage to turn left out of the complex in the morning (this never happens), but when I got to work and went to pull something out of my purse, I found a chocolate chip muffin in a ziploc bag with the cutest note written on it! James is so thoughtful and sweet and knows me extremely well :) Work was interesting; when I declined a call from James in front of my boss because he was talking to me, I got a mini-lecture on how God and family come before work stuff. Seriously, I work for a great boss, but after thinking about it, it was that I wouldn't interrupt an in-person conversation for a phone call, unless I were expecting a serious one. Either way, as I left, I was reminded "God, family, then work!" What can you do but laugh? We ended the night at First Pres' new young adult group, which involved pizza and a nooma video and discussion. I'm not a huge fan of the nooma videos, but now they're even weirder because the host reminds me of my OB.
Thursday was a LONG day. It started off with one of the contractors telling me that I looked huge. I really don't understand where people get off with ignoring basic common courtesy when confronted with a pregnant woman, and I'm even less understanding when they've been pregnant or have experience with pregnant women (ie their wives). I was upset about it, but honestly, I don't have that kind of energy anymore and being that upset is exhausting. Especially with the day we had; I spent at least 45 minutes on the phone with one of the company's warehouses dealing with about 7 different orders we had for one type of carpet and trying to figure out the nightmare that was POs, reference numbers and yardages. While on the phone, the other line hardly stopped ringing and it was just ridiculously busy. I was going to write a separate rant about people's filters and nursing bras, but ended up with no energy left. We also had a busy night since we spent a few hours at the hospital in Labour and Delivery.
It's certainly one way to get a tour of the maternity ward. Since I was still not full term--only a few days away, but not quite there--I had been told to call my doctor if I had more than 4 contractions in an hour. I had about 6 that I identified as contractions and when I called my doctor, I was told to go to the hospital. So about 10 minutes before work ended, I ran by the church and James took me to the hospital. We got all checked in, and I was nervous, but not really concerned because I was sure it wasn't anything huge. I'd tried changing position and drinking water, etc, but the contractions didn't reduce. However, they weren't hurting or getting more intense. They got me into a room (spacious and very nice) and hooked me up to monitors. Turns out that what I thought was Wallaby pushing against my stomach were actually contractions, and I was having them every 7-9 minutes (didn't even feel most of them, not even as a tightening!). However, no dilation and no effacement, so I was sent home being told that I was in false labour. I'm still having plenty of contractions; apparently mine just like to be on the right side (doctor said my uterus might be tilted that direction?) which is why I was confusing them with movement. They also said I don't need to worry unless they're painful and getting more intense. So even though I feel silly, it ended up being really good: we got a dry run, know what to expect and I feel so much better about delivering there--it was completely different than our experiences at the ER. Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad that we went; I'd rather go and feel silly than not go and regret it if something were wrong. And now that Wallaby is full term, I don't have to worry unless the contractions are frequent and intensifying, or my water breaks.
Friday was another extra work day that I picked up and another crazy day. Like Thursday, my boss was running around like crazy and the day was spent putting out fires and taking messages while he was out of the office. James picked me up for my doctor's appointment, and when we arrived my blood pressure was a bit high, so the doctor had me lie on my left side and then retook the pressure after about 5 minutes. What a difference that made! It dropped by about 20 points! It also explains the frequent headaches I've been having, which I had just attributed to stress. So now I'm more aware of it and try to spend more time lying on my left side when I get a headache instead of just assuming stress or hunger. My weight gain has also slowed, and he pronounced that I had gained healthily. The best news was that Wallaby is in the right position, which means he's already head down! That was one of my big concerns, so it was great to hear that he's all ready to go when the time's right. And that I'm not crazy and I actually do feel little feet sometimes :) I have now dubbed the process of getting a breast pump via the insurance a SAGA. This saga continued on Friday. After still receiving no calls from Apria, though being assured daily I'd receive a call back the next day, I called them only to discover that the particular style/brand I requested wasn't covered by their contract with Blue Shield. After calling Blue Shield and discovering that I have NO RESTRICTIONS on breast pumps (for the 7th time), I had them call Apria. Apria told Blue Shield it was because they had no authorization, which I had given them the first time I called. After an HOUR on hold with Blue Shield, I finally discovered that with my medical group, Apria and Blue Shield on a three way call, Blue Shield and Apria were negotiating a price on that particular pump and I would receive a call back on Monday. I'm not holding my breath. Having submitted the original authorization request in July, I'm starting to get a bit freaked out about getting this taken care of prior to Wallaby's arrival. So, the saga continues.
Saturday was spent working on the nursery since it was a bit cooler than previous days. We got almost everything done in the morning, just a few pieces of furniture left to get and getting picture hanging supplies to finish the wall art. The afternoon was spent running around doing errands and getting those last few things we needed. It made it a really long day, but also made me feel better since a lot of what needed to get done happened, at least for the most part. Unfortunately, running around to a bunch of stores and walking all day took its toll on me and by the time we got home that night I was exhausted. After lying down to get rid of the headache I had brewing, I got up and could barely move I was in so much pain. My hips were just screaming out, from the joint itself all the way into my lower back. I could barely walk. I'm really not sure how many more evenings like that I can take, and will be glad when I can go back to walking or sitting or lying down without pain or clicking. Sunday started early: heartburn woke me up at 3:45. I was awake for about 2.5 hours before I finally felt better enough to crawl back into bed and sleep for another hour or two. At that point, church was out of the question; we were just too late. We did get a lot done--we drove all over the county getting stuff from Craigslist. We picked up an awesome toy chest (with pistons to prevent slammed fingers, a chalkboard inside the lid and a little organization tray) in Long Beach, a play mat that retails for $80 (!!) for only $10 in Mission Viejo and after running home to drop those things off, we ended the day picking up a two drawer file cabinet that's doubling as a nightstand/side table in San Clemente and getting more water (and some Bio Oil) at Costco. There was also an incident in the mall; a little boy walking by with his mom tapped my belly as he walked by. His mom didn't notice, and I almost turned right around to follow and bitch out the kid, but I didn't. Nonetheless, it was another energy-draining incident which upset me, despite my efforts to ignore it. Really, personal space at the least should be respected, and you should NEVER tap someone on their stomach; is it really that hard to teach kids to respect others?! When we got home, we were able to Skype with both our parents and show them the nursery before we moved everything into the crib in the middle of the room and covered it all with sheets because our unit was being sprayed for bugs (we found a cockroach!) the next morning.
Monday started sooner than I expected. I had my lovely international Skype date with a friend, and thought I had about an hour to finish up the last few things I needed to move, change and eat something before pest control arrived. I had just finished changing and pulling my long dresses onto the bed when the doorbell rang, and pest control arrived half an hour early. After feverishly picking up the last of the rugs, throwing some food into a bag and harnessing the dogs, I got kicked out of my apartment for the next four hours. With nowhere else to go, I took the dogs to the church and we hung out in James' office. I slept on two chairs pushed together, we got lunch at Panera and after another nap, I walked over to the library to pick up some reading. I was finally ready to shell out the $3 for a replacement card, since waiting in the customer service line when the quick check out was always available was getting old (I've never had to pay for a replacement card, so it was principle! Plus, I'd never activated the old card because we got married then moved!!) As I checked out my books and asked for a replacement card, I got a pleasant surprise: not only do they now offer keychain cards, which means I don't have to carry the big one with me, but this month only they're offering free replacement cards! I knew there was a reason I was waiting, even if I didn't know what it was. I left with 6 new books and have already devoured half of one of them. I read a chapter or two aloud to Wallaby every now and then; if he comes out of the womb with a love of murder mysteries, I guess I'm to blame. I finally got to go home, though there was a lot to clean up/put back when we got home. James did a lot of it, and even cleaned my bathroom while nothing was on the counters. We waited a bit too long for grocery shopping so ended up going to In N Out for dinner. I wasn't too upset--their animal fries are delicious!
Tuesday was spent crocheting and resting without much interesting going on. James keeps reminding me that not only am I carrying around a baby, but that he's "stealing my food" too, but I still feel lazy when I get tired so quickly. I do as much as I can, but a few hours out of the house wears me out, and if I push it, I end up with a lot of pain at the end of the day. Wednesday was a great day! Not only did I hit all the green lights and manage to turn left out of the complex in the morning (this never happens), but when I got to work and went to pull something out of my purse, I found a chocolate chip muffin in a ziploc bag with the cutest note written on it! James is so thoughtful and sweet and knows me extremely well :) Work was interesting; when I declined a call from James in front of my boss because he was talking to me, I got a mini-lecture on how God and family come before work stuff. Seriously, I work for a great boss, but after thinking about it, it was that I wouldn't interrupt an in-person conversation for a phone call, unless I were expecting a serious one. Either way, as I left, I was reminded "God, family, then work!" What can you do but laugh? We ended the night at First Pres' new young adult group, which involved pizza and a nooma video and discussion. I'm not a huge fan of the nooma videos, but now they're even weirder because the host reminds me of my OB.
Thursday was a LONG day. It started off with one of the contractors telling me that I looked huge. I really don't understand where people get off with ignoring basic common courtesy when confronted with a pregnant woman, and I'm even less understanding when they've been pregnant or have experience with pregnant women (ie their wives). I was upset about it, but honestly, I don't have that kind of energy anymore and being that upset is exhausting. Especially with the day we had; I spent at least 45 minutes on the phone with one of the company's warehouses dealing with about 7 different orders we had for one type of carpet and trying to figure out the nightmare that was POs, reference numbers and yardages. While on the phone, the other line hardly stopped ringing and it was just ridiculously busy. I was going to write a separate rant about people's filters and nursing bras, but ended up with no energy left. We also had a busy night since we spent a few hours at the hospital in Labour and Delivery.
It's certainly one way to get a tour of the maternity ward. Since I was still not full term--only a few days away, but not quite there--I had been told to call my doctor if I had more than 4 contractions in an hour. I had about 6 that I identified as contractions and when I called my doctor, I was told to go to the hospital. So about 10 minutes before work ended, I ran by the church and James took me to the hospital. We got all checked in, and I was nervous, but not really concerned because I was sure it wasn't anything huge. I'd tried changing position and drinking water, etc, but the contractions didn't reduce. However, they weren't hurting or getting more intense. They got me into a room (spacious and very nice) and hooked me up to monitors. Turns out that what I thought was Wallaby pushing against my stomach were actually contractions, and I was having them every 7-9 minutes (didn't even feel most of them, not even as a tightening!). However, no dilation and no effacement, so I was sent home being told that I was in false labour. I'm still having plenty of contractions; apparently mine just like to be on the right side (doctor said my uterus might be tilted that direction?) which is why I was confusing them with movement. They also said I don't need to worry unless they're painful and getting more intense. So even though I feel silly, it ended up being really good: we got a dry run, know what to expect and I feel so much better about delivering there--it was completely different than our experiences at the ER. Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad that we went; I'd rather go and feel silly than not go and regret it if something were wrong. And now that Wallaby is full term, I don't have to worry unless the contractions are frequent and intensifying, or my water breaks.
Friday was another extra work day that I picked up and another crazy day. Like Thursday, my boss was running around like crazy and the day was spent putting out fires and taking messages while he was out of the office. James picked me up for my doctor's appointment, and when we arrived my blood pressure was a bit high, so the doctor had me lie on my left side and then retook the pressure after about 5 minutes. What a difference that made! It dropped by about 20 points! It also explains the frequent headaches I've been having, which I had just attributed to stress. So now I'm more aware of it and try to spend more time lying on my left side when I get a headache instead of just assuming stress or hunger. My weight gain has also slowed, and he pronounced that I had gained healthily. The best news was that Wallaby is in the right position, which means he's already head down! That was one of my big concerns, so it was great to hear that he's all ready to go when the time's right. And that I'm not crazy and I actually do feel little feet sometimes :) I have now dubbed the process of getting a breast pump via the insurance a SAGA. This saga continued on Friday. After still receiving no calls from Apria, though being assured daily I'd receive a call back the next day, I called them only to discover that the particular style/brand I requested wasn't covered by their contract with Blue Shield. After calling Blue Shield and discovering that I have NO RESTRICTIONS on breast pumps (for the 7th time), I had them call Apria. Apria told Blue Shield it was because they had no authorization, which I had given them the first time I called. After an HOUR on hold with Blue Shield, I finally discovered that with my medical group, Apria and Blue Shield on a three way call, Blue Shield and Apria were negotiating a price on that particular pump and I would receive a call back on Monday. I'm not holding my breath. Having submitted the original authorization request in July, I'm starting to get a bit freaked out about getting this taken care of prior to Wallaby's arrival. So, the saga continues.
Saturday was spent working on the nursery since it was a bit cooler than previous days. We got almost everything done in the morning, just a few pieces of furniture left to get and getting picture hanging supplies to finish the wall art. The afternoon was spent running around doing errands and getting those last few things we needed. It made it a really long day, but also made me feel better since a lot of what needed to get done happened, at least for the most part. Unfortunately, running around to a bunch of stores and walking all day took its toll on me and by the time we got home that night I was exhausted. After lying down to get rid of the headache I had brewing, I got up and could barely move I was in so much pain. My hips were just screaming out, from the joint itself all the way into my lower back. I could barely walk. I'm really not sure how many more evenings like that I can take, and will be glad when I can go back to walking or sitting or lying down without pain or clicking. Sunday started early: heartburn woke me up at 3:45. I was awake for about 2.5 hours before I finally felt better enough to crawl back into bed and sleep for another hour or two. At that point, church was out of the question; we were just too late. We did get a lot done--we drove all over the county getting stuff from Craigslist. We picked up an awesome toy chest (with pistons to prevent slammed fingers, a chalkboard inside the lid and a little organization tray) in Long Beach, a play mat that retails for $80 (!!) for only $10 in Mission Viejo and after running home to drop those things off, we ended the day picking up a two drawer file cabinet that's doubling as a nightstand/side table in San Clemente and getting more water (and some Bio Oil) at Costco. There was also an incident in the mall; a little boy walking by with his mom tapped my belly as he walked by. His mom didn't notice, and I almost turned right around to follow and bitch out the kid, but I didn't. Nonetheless, it was another energy-draining incident which upset me, despite my efforts to ignore it. Really, personal space at the least should be respected, and you should NEVER tap someone on their stomach; is it really that hard to teach kids to respect others?! When we got home, we were able to Skype with both our parents and show them the nursery before we moved everything into the crib in the middle of the room and covered it all with sheets because our unit was being sprayed for bugs (we found a cockroach!) the next morning.
Monday started sooner than I expected. I had my lovely international Skype date with a friend, and thought I had about an hour to finish up the last few things I needed to move, change and eat something before pest control arrived. I had just finished changing and pulling my long dresses onto the bed when the doorbell rang, and pest control arrived half an hour early. After feverishly picking up the last of the rugs, throwing some food into a bag and harnessing the dogs, I got kicked out of my apartment for the next four hours. With nowhere else to go, I took the dogs to the church and we hung out in James' office. I slept on two chairs pushed together, we got lunch at Panera and after another nap, I walked over to the library to pick up some reading. I was finally ready to shell out the $3 for a replacement card, since waiting in the customer service line when the quick check out was always available was getting old (I've never had to pay for a replacement card, so it was principle! Plus, I'd never activated the old card because we got married then moved!!) As I checked out my books and asked for a replacement card, I got a pleasant surprise: not only do they now offer keychain cards, which means I don't have to carry the big one with me, but this month only they're offering free replacement cards! I knew there was a reason I was waiting, even if I didn't know what it was. I left with 6 new books and have already devoured half of one of them. I read a chapter or two aloud to Wallaby every now and then; if he comes out of the womb with a love of murder mysteries, I guess I'm to blame. I finally got to go home, though there was a lot to clean up/put back when we got home. James did a lot of it, and even cleaned my bathroom while nothing was on the counters. We waited a bit too long for grocery shopping so ended up going to In N Out for dinner. I wasn't too upset--their animal fries are delicious!
How far along: 36 weeks
Total weight gain: 33 lbs
Favourite clothes: My pyjamas. I just want to nap!
Sleeping: Not great, but not as horrible as it could be. Mid-day naps and lots of rest are still required though
Best moment: Getting the nursery all done and seeing everything put together!
Worst moment: I did freak out a bit in the hospital since we were so not ready for him to be here yet
Miss anything: Same old, same old. Sushi, we will be spending some quality time together soon
Cravings: Never, ever watch Diners, Drive Ins and Dives when pregnant at midnight...
New symptoms: Same old, same old again. More stretch marks, hence the Bio Oil
Looking forward to: Meeting our boy. I can't wait to hold him!
Pregnancy brain moments: I've been doing ok this week actually
Listening to: No particulars
Crafting: Still working on that cocoon. It shouldn't really take this long, but I just don't pick up the crochet anymore since I'm usually spending my "leisure time" lying down
Baby projects: I think they're all being placed on hold, or being abandoned. We just don't have enough time left. |
| 36 Weeks: One (1) Month Left!!! |
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| Profile shot. Despite the fact that my belly is large, I still don't feel *that* huge |
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| Belly zoom |
Don't get upset by stupid people. You don't look huge, you're pregnant! I had a belly of 110cm surrounding just before Jonas was born and he was 4 weeks early! With Emma it was 108 cm. I always get really angry when people are that stupid with pregnant women. And you're looking great - so that is! Looking forward to seeing your little boy! Love Miriam
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