36 Weeks and Counting!

Wow! I have definitely "popped" again as the baby house (as Steve likes to call my belly) has continued to grow. I now have less than 4 weeks until my due date and am finding that I am working really hard just to do every day tasks. I have noticed the past couple of days that baby girl has settled down even further into my pelvis. Our midwife confirmed this at our appointment yesterday and said she is positioned at -2 (the range is from -3 to +3) and is still head down. This makes for some lower backache,discomfort when walking, frequent urination, round ligament pain, and pelvic expansion - not the most pleasant sensations! Sometimes she gets into a position that just tugs on my left round ligament, rotates her head which makes me nauseous or punches my bladder and intestines - also resulting in unpleasant but amazing sensations. She has one foot under each set of ribs and sometimes when she pushes on my ribs her little butt prominently pushes my belly out (her spine is up against my belly).

Dairy production is in full force as I am feeling fuller and heavier in the bust and am experiencing some colostrum leakage. I also have strange shooting sensations at times, which I haven't experience since very early pregnancy. All of these changes are exciting and bewildering at the same time!

Belly Update

Only a little over a month to go until my due date and baby is really packin' on the onces now! She has "dropped", putting pressure on my pelvis and bladder, but at least I can eat a normal sized meal and breathe again! I am starting to get the delivery jitters as the day I have to push another human being out of me approaches.

Belly Update

As of this Thursday, August 30th, I will be 32 weeks along and boy do I look it! My weight has continued to steadily increase and as you can tell from my circumference measurements, my figure is like an amorphous blob as my waist will soon out-measure my hips... ahhh! Baby Hartwig's movements are very strong, and she displays predictable patterns of activity. She is in a head down position some of the time now, I can tell because of the kicks to my ribs! By this point, she measures somewhere around 4lbs and 17in and will gain a half to a third of her birth weight in the next 7 weeks. Steve and I are getting more and more excited as our little one's birth day approaches.

Baby Love

It is hard to know if pets can sense pregnancy, but it seems like they at least know that there is something different with their Mom (me). Lately the kitties have been more affectionate, especially our baby girl Pita. She usually isn't one to snuggle with me (she likes to snuggle with Steve, though), but now that my belly is prominent, she has taken to sitting on my lap and placing her paws on my belly. She then stares at me or falls asleep with her head on my belly. John Deere and Rascal follow me around in the house and stare at me as well. It is weird to suddenly have a captive audience 24 hrs a day!

Belly Update

Here is a new pic of my stats and expanding belly. As much as I have been dreading this update - here it is due to many requests. I have to admit I have been having some body issues from the increase in my weight and rapid disappearance of my waist. However, I keep reminding myself that there is a growing baby girl in there and she is going to be getting bigger from here on out, so I better get used to it and give her room. It is very obvious to everyone now that I am pregnant, and I get constant advice from strangers. For example, in the grocery store a woman told me that drinking Perrier is good for acid reflux. I don't have much of that yet, but it's worth a try if needed!

It's A Girl!

Steve and I had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday, I was 19 weeks and 5 days along. The ultrasound checked major organs like the brain and its ventricles, blood flow to the kidneys, the 4 chambered heart and body parts like the spine and limbs. Everything is developing normally. The baby has a heart rate of 157 beats/min and weighs 11 oz (so where are the rest of the 10 lbs I have gained?!?). The placenta is in the right spot (not covering the cervix) and baby likes to kick it! My uterus is up to my belly button.

The baby was being very shy and would not open her legs. At first, she had her feet up by her head and then quickly moved to a cross legged pose. After all the other images were taken, she finally stretched her legs out, but had her ankles crossed. Our sonographer was very good and said that this baby was the challenge for that day. Steve and I both replied that we hope this wasn't a sign of things to come! Finally, I got up to walk around to try and get the baby to change positions and the ladies in reception gave me some chocolate to help. When we got back to the ultrasound, the baby moved just enough for us to see that she is a she!

The estimated date of delivery based on baby's development is only one day different from the date determined by my last period, so my due date is still Oct 25th. Steve is hoping to share his birthday though, so we will have to see if baby will hold out until Halloween!

The Quickening: Baby Strikes Back

Every pregnant woman has a strange and new sensation occurring about half way through their pregnancy called "the quickening". No, it isn't a strong urge to listen to The Vandals or the life force she gains when she beheads an immortal enemy. It is the first tiny sensations of her growing baby inside of her.

I began to feel a different sensation at about 16 weeks, but attributed it to gas as I have been in no shortage of it lately (just ask Steve - poor guy!). The sensation became more distinct over the past couple of weeks and now I realize it is the baby moving. It comes in different varieties, sometimes it feels like the fluttering of wings and other times it feels like many tiny bubbles moving around. It still is too subtle for Steve to feel, but it is becoming stronger and more consistent for me. It even kept me up last night... is it too early to put a fetus into time out?