Week 31 -- I'm 3/4 Done!

Ok, I was actually three quarters of the way done being pregnant last week, but I forgot to mention it. So happy belated 3/4 to me! Only 9 more weeks to go, and it feels like we still have so much to do. Perhaps because of this, I have been nesting like crazy. Last week, we got our new windows put in and I spent the weekend putting the blinds back up and cleaning like a mad woman. I went a little nuts with the 409. You could even lick our walls without fear of infection. Maybe I'll get some of that snozzberry wallpaper.

How do the windows look, you ask? Gor-GEOUS! I'm kind of sad that the blinds are back up, because all their glorious sparkle is all covered up now. They do all kinds of fancy things with tilting in and they slide up so beautifully.

As you are probably worrying that I will spend this entire post blabbering about my new windows and not about anything actually baby-related, I've decided it's time to make this waiting game a little interesting. That's right. It's time to place your bets. We're talking delivery date and time, weight, and length. There's even a spot to guess the gender (if you don't get that one right, you have some reading comprehension issues -- no offense). For the fewest points, there will be an overall winner and a winner in each category, with points assigned the further away you get from the correct guess. Got it?

Don't go putting your guesses in the comments now. I'm not going to be tabulating your wild guesses and stabs in the dark post partum. I've got a handy website to help me out! So go check it out here. I'll put a link up in the "Relevant Links" area of the blog, as well. These should take you right to the game. If you somehow end up at the home page, at the top left, there's a box for "Invited Guests." Just type the name of the game in the box and hit Go! The name of the game, you ask? Duh, silly. It's BAGEL. That will take you to the game. I've already entered a guess to get you all started. To enter your guess, just click on the "Enter a Guess" link at the top right. This may seem like a lot of unnecessary explanation but, quite frankly, some of you just aren't that smart. Don't worry, I don't mean you.

Now that I'm both willing this time to drag by so I can get more done and willing it to hurry up so I can meet this baby already, he's just taking his own time and cooking in there as he needs to. So what's he up to this week? He's a good 18 inches tall now* and weighs more than three pounds. The connections between his individual nerve cells are growing like crazy. He's doing things like hiccupping, swallowing, pedaling along my uterine wall, and maybe even sucking his thumb. Let's hope he doesn't get too attached to that....



* Um, I just started paying attention to this length thing on the WTEWYE website. 18 inches? Really? That could be the ending length altogether! This is clearly a rough estimate.

Week 30 -- We Want a Pitcher, Not a.... Well, Me

So much to talk about today!

If you didn't guess from the title of this post, my new ailment is an itchy belly. Not all the time, but every once in a while. I guess my skin is as stretched out as it wants to be. Oh, well.

I had a doctor's appointment today! Bagel is measuring well. The doc says his back is hanging out on the left side, with his arms and legs on my right side. He is definitely transverse, meaning he's stretched out sideways, rather than being head up or head down. He's on his way there, I guess!

The good news first -- I passed my gestational diabetes test from my last appointment. She said my numbers were great and there were no issues there at all. Good job, Bagel. The bad news -- my platelets were low again. Sigh. The doc and I discussed this at length today. When I first came in and was pregnant, my numbers were below normal, and so the doc has been testing my blood periodically to make sure they're coming up. That means I've had a needle in my arm almost every appointment I've gone to. Good times.

What does this mean? Well, if my numbers are crazy low, my blood won't clot properly. Doc says if it gets below a certain number, they won't give me an epidural during labor because they worry that I'll bleed from the needle. Hold. The. Phone.

Yeah, you read that right. It's possible I might not be able to have the sweet, sweet drugs I've been looking forward to in the delivery room. Let's break down the numbers. A normal range for platelets is 140K - 480K. The doc says they really will be concerned about my levels if they go below 50K. They won't do an epidural below 90K. Three weeks ago, my platelets were 136-138K (I can't remember which). So we're not talking anything too far below normal. When I first had my platelets tested, it was 125K. It later went up to around 144K. So the doc is not too concerned, because my numbers are hovering around normal and aren't changing all that drastically. This may just be how my body responds to being pregnant. I got more blood drawn today and we're going to keep an eye on my numbers.

My next appointment is in two weeks. At that appointment, I'll get to meet the other doctor in the practice who could deliver Bagel if my doc isn't available.

Now, before you go telling me to eat spinach like my mom (LOL, Mom), you can't replenish your platelets through diet. It's not like iron or calcium. If they get really low, they can do a platelet transfusion. But so far, it doesn't look like I'll need anything like that.

My doctor mentioned today that she was happy that we're back in even weeks, because she's into numerology. That surprised me, since she seems a no nonsense sort of woman and not into airy fairy notions (shout out to Val's mom) like numerology. Since this week seems to be all about numbers, let's break some down:

Number of times morning sickness has made itself, uh, evident: 0. Go Bagel!

Number of times I have been ill this pregnancy: 2. Not so great. Let's cross our fingers that there will be no more instances of that here, shall we?

Number of stretch marks: I was all excited to put 0, but I think I might be getting one! Lest you chicks reading out there think you can prevent stretch marks with lotion or something, please realize that, due to my eczema, I have the most well-lubricated skin known to man. I put lotion on all over 2-3 times a day. Seriously.

Number of scary low points: 1.

Number of elated high points: Where's the infinity button?

Number of pounds I've gained: Yeah right, nosy! Let's just say I'm on track to gain exactly as much as I'm supposed to gain. Though I've definitely been packing on more this trimester. Gotta fatten up Bagel.

Number of times Rob has felt Bagel kick: Countless! Bagel's actually starting to push a lot more than kick, and you can see my belly dance around. His favorite game right now is to make my belly go all crazy, and then when I say to Rob, "quick, look!" he stops. Hilarious.

Number of hormone fueled BST (I'll let you figure that out) moments: 1. I had my first earlier this week. I would tell you that you can ask Rob all about it, but he probably doesn't want to relive it and would immediately go into the fetal position and start sucking his thumb. Where did all those hormones come from?! I felt like I was fifteen again. The upside is I was happy to realize I'll never be fifteen again.

Now that the numbers have aligned with the planets, or whatever, let's see what Bagel is up to in there this week. He's growing all kinds of grooves and ridges in his brain now, and his bone marrow has taken over production of red blood cells. This means he's better able to thrive on his own once he's an outside baby. That furry coat he had before is starting to come off, now that he's getting nice and fat, and his brain and that precious blubber are now regulating his body temperature.

Ok, that was exhausting. Please, no pictures.

Week 29 -- I'm Sick...Again

I came down with another cold this week and worked from the couch for a few days with some soup. Let's hope that does the trick. I just hope this cough doesn't linger for weeks on end like the one I had back in March. That was just awful. No more bruised ribs, please. I think Bagel got tired of my coughing, because he seems to have migrated lower down. This would be fantastic news, as it means he's moved away from my diaphragm. But the congestion isn't really letting me enjoy that. Plus, he's started using my bladder as a trampoline again. Good times.

I've started noticing that Bagel has a tickle spot. If I lightly rub my belly button, he'll start squirming around a bit. It's pretty cool. This is not an invitation to lift up my shirt and rub my belly button. Let's have some boundaries here, people. The other day, I was doing that, and this huge lump emerged to the right of my belly button. I've seen it again since then. I'm pretty sure that's either his head or his butt, I just can't tell which it is.

I had an interview appointment with a pediatrician today. For the most part, it went really well. They have separate sick and well waiting areas, an on call nurse 24/7, nurses available to answer phone questions at any time, 2-3 lactation consultants, about half their appointments are same day sick appointments, and they take both my and Rob's insurance. The only problem is the doctor was 20 minutes late for my appointment. The problem with that is that they close for lunch every day, and I was the first appointment after lunch. I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she took a few minutes to look at a last minute sick kid or two before she came and talked to me. The doc answered all my questions and seemed pretty cool, but I don't think I'll really know how I feel about the place until I walk in there with a baby. I think I'm going to stick with this place and see how it pans out.

You would not believe what size the baby is this month. He's the size of a squash! Seriously? First they give me eggplant and then squash? I hate squash! Except butternut and spaghetti. So let's pretend it's one of those. He weighs nearly three pounds this week and measures about 17 inches. This month, all five of his sense are fully functional, and his brain and nervous system are going through major developments. What are those major developments? The website I was reading didn't say. It's a mystery. According to another website, my amniotic fluid has reached its maximum amount -- about 2 pints. Drink up kid!

I've started doing kick counts this week. This means that twice a day, I have to count every movement Bagel makes until he hits ten, and that should take less than an hour. No problems here so far, except half the time when I remember to do them, he happens to be napping, so not a lot is going on and it takes a while. Other times, like this morning, I catch him during an active period, and it takes all of 5 minutes.

Who wants pictures? I had Rob take a few of me before I went over to the pool with Kate and Erik and Jeremy this weekend.

Of course, I couldn't just pose nicely, I had to play around like a doof. Kinda like this:

And this:

Whooooaaaa! What am I doing? And this:



Then I finally settled down and took a normal photo. You can't really tell how big my belly is though, because of the angle. Oh, well.

Week 28 -- Diana's Belly Becomes a Canvas...For Food

A few weeks ago, my mom asked me if I'd started spilling food all over my belly yet. Despite the fact that such behavior sounds like me even without being pregnant, I told her I didn't know what she was talking about and told myself that just because it happened to her didn't mean it would happen to me. Well, nevermind. Not a day has gone by in the last 4 or so when I haven't spilled some sort of food all over my belly. Maybe Bagel is like a food magnet and is trying to attract food through my skin. Eating through osmosis? Maybe I'm just a slob. So far, today's masterpiece has been created with chicken salad and chocolate.

I reached another milestone this past week: my last air travel until after Bagel arrives. I had an awesome weekend in Seattle at a fun farm wedding (why yes, I was just in Portland, what of it?). Bagel and I went hiking by the ocean and checked out an art festival, as well. Here's a picture of the awesome view on part of my hike:

And here's a picture of a cool slug I saw:

Jealous? I know you are.

I'm excited to have no more travel plans, other than a quick drive down to Richmond in September, until Bagel arrives. No more dealing with airlines. No more sitting for 5 hours of turbulence. No more empty fridge because I didn't have time to shop for groceries. It's time to spend the next few months feathering my nest and hopefully enjoying close proximity to a bathroom, since Bagel has started using my bladder as a trampoline in earnest this time. TMI? DWI (deal with it).

He also seems to have moved, or rather his growing is growing upwards. I can tell because I can't breathe as well anymore. I read that this is normal as he's starting to push on my diaphragm. It's definitely starting to slow me down in terms of my activity level. My sporadic jogs at this point are more like walks and I'm far more likely to cut a workout short if I'm not feeling up to it. The pool is really feeling great these days. I can still move pretty easily and Bagel is well supported in the water.

The downside is that maternity suits are not made for lap swim. Even Speedo finally started selling maternity suits, but they're tankinis. Too much dragging fabric. So instead, I just bought a suit that's way too big for me otherwise. It's like a 16. I look hilarious in this thing. It's way too huge in the butt and the chest. I look like a freak in it. But whatever gets the job done....

Now that you know how Mama is doing this week, how's Bagel? We're in the final week of eggplant! Actually, I just read somewhere that he's the size of a Chinese cabbage, whatever that is. He's between 2 and 2.5 pounds and is 15 to 16 inches long. His fat cells are increasing, so he's putting some meat on those bones and prepping to be a little Michelin baby. Until now, Bagel's brain was smooth, but now, it's starting to form grooves and indentations. I remember from psych classes in college that the smarts are in all the grooves. That's why (arguably) smart species like humans have groovy, bumpy brains, while the dumber ones, like rats, have smooth brains. So wrinkle away, Bagel. Cram some smarts into those grooves.

Week 27 -- Into the Home Stretch

I'm officially in my third trimester! Let's take a moment and savor that, shall we? I can see the finish line off in the distance.

I had all kinds of excitement with my doctor's appointment today. First, I'm no longer measuring small. I was 27 cm, exactly where I should be. Way to grow, Bagel! I also got my rhogam shot so Rob's Rh positive blood doesn't mess me up. Finally, I got my glucose test for gestational diabetes. I don't have my results yet, but I told my doctor I was really hungry (I had to fast for the test, so I didn't eat breakfast). She said that meant I probably didn't have it. Good news there. And I heard Bagel's heartbeat thump thumping away. He's hanging out on my right side today.

From now on, the doctor's appointments will be closer together. I've got one scheduled for three weeks from now, and then I'll have three more that are two weeks apart. Two appointments from now, I'll meet the other doctor in the practice who does deliveries.

Still in the eggplant month (yuck), this week Bagel is measuring in at over two pounds and about fifteen inches (this is because he's more fully formed, so he's now measured from head to toe, rather than from head to booty). He can suck his thumb now, and can also cry, though we can't hear him, of course. I'll enjoy that while I can. His hearing is getting better, and he might be able to recognize my voice and Rob's. Also, his taste buds are very developed now, and in fact, he has more taste buds now than he'll ever have once he's an outside baby. I'll have to make a concerted effort to get a wide variety of flavors in there for him.

I didn't even notice until it was pointed out to me that the name poll has closed! Thirty days was just way too long for that poll. But the winner is (drumroll please)....Diana Jr.! Thanks to all who voted. We will be considering our options, and Diana Jr. will now definitely be near the top of the list. There's something about the name that just sounds nice to me. I can't figure out why....

I know what you're thinking. "We were promised pictures! Where are the pictures?!" I finally took one! Here ya go:


Also, note that I updated last week's post with some pictures of my Portland trip. There! You are practically swimming in pictures.