Tuesday, June 27, 2006

She so never said she was going to do that

Number of weeks pregnant: 34 and 2 days
Uterus measuring: 38
Blood pressure: 142/66
Weight gained: Nada, zip, zero
Weight lost: 2 lbs! Happy days! I wonder why I can't do that when I'm not pregnant.
Cervix: closed, closed, closed
Questions asked: None, I really don't have any

Today was my first "pants down" visit as the NA calls it. The doctor measured, probed and did the cervix check. She then did a swab. I wasn't thinking about it and then all of a sudden up my bum it went! I forgot all about this. It was done I am sure at my first appointment, when she actually told me what she was doing, but today was a bit of a shocker. Frankly, I like someone to tell me that something is about to enter my arse. The element of surprise is not always pleasing. As it was I was feeling very gassy so in reality she is extremely lucky I didn't fart in her face. I don't know what it is about last trimester gas, but it is most definitely not pleasing to the nose.

She asked if I still wanted to try vaginally and I said "Ach, I don't know, I change my mind everyday." And I do. What I do not want is an induction. If she does go more than 2 weeks late than I will opt for a section. I am not willing to be induced, go through 16 hours of labour and then be told that I need the section. Of course, I do realize that I could go into labour on my own and still end up with a section but somehow that doesn't seem as bad.

Anyway, back in 2 weeks. No sign of an ultrasound unless I'm measuring more than 40 weeks I assume.

Totally unrelated but just to share some of my pain and misery, since I'm sure you've come to expect it, but we are in the midst of a mini heat wave. I don't know how much warmer it is when you are pregnant but we were expected to break a record of 32.7 and I am quite sure it happened and my pregnant self registered it as at least 40. Blech. Warmer than Cancun today it was. I am hot, sweaty, sticky and stinky to be quite frank. I'd be happy with a nice 23.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

34 is a lovely number

We've made it to 34 weeks, and I would say that anytime this baby is ready so is her mother.

Minus the fact that I am not ready for the big move, but whatever, it just means I will be very dependant on my mother's help in packing and cleaning. It would probably be for the best really, as she and William together would just throw everything away, leaving me no option about being indecisive and keeping toys that are now 11 years old. I kept alot of stuff after Taylor and Liam thinking that if I ever had another baby I might want to use it. Here's the reality...there are not many outfits that were cute in 1995 that are still cute now. Except for the lovely blue knit Gap sweater that I even put Liam in. Only once, then I realized that clothes really are not gender neutral. As for toys, Saoirse will get plenty of her own dolls and cars and whatnot. Though I am glad I kept most of Taylor and Liam's books, because books are bloody expensive now and at the time I had a 30% discount. Anyway, my point was that should baby arrive early my mum and William will just throw all my crap away. Of which I have alot.

Things are going very well, with the exception of my desire to take afternoon naps and the fact that I can not lie on my back for even a minute without an attack of sciatica on my left side. Massage has been recommended and if it weren't for the fact that my fat arse would have to be touched I might actually consider it. I don't want to hear anyone puking into a bucket because they are forced to touch my bum.

Doctor's appointment on Tuesday so talk then.

Monday, June 19, 2006

I forgot to say...

When I wrote the last post about my doctor waiting to see about the baby's size before deciding on potential methods of delivery I asked if that meant I was going to have an ultrasound.

"Ah, we'll see."

Huh? How exactly are we going to decide the size of this child? Are we going to go with a guess-timate? It is not that I do not entirely trust her word, she's 2 for 3 with my lot but the one that was wrong was way wrong.

For Taylor she said high 7s, low 8s. She was 7lbs 15oz so not a bad guess. Saoirse she was pretty dead on..high 8s she says and the baby was 8 lbs 14.

But Liam...well, she said high 7s and he was 9lbs 9 oz. Now I know that's nothing for some people (high 10s for Devynn's little guy) but as I have a negative 6 pain tolerance I am not wishing for a baby so big. Even though they are the most adorable things ever.

Liam was actually my easiest birth, but this has nothing to do with what I am writing this post about.

What I am writing about is ultrasounds. Now I know that there are an awful lot of people who legitimately need many ultrasounds. But I am amazed by the amount of blogs I read where they seem to be going for an u/s every week or two, just to see the baby. In a way I wish I could do that too, but I would worry about the side effects. I think I would rather know that the baby is healthy and leave it at that, with a nice picture for my scrapbook. That being said, I do want one more ultrasound with this baby as I actually think my dates might be off and she really might be due in July.

I mean absolutely no offense to those people who have had multiple ultrasounds, I suppose the right to do so is one of the joys of being in the United States and though there might be pay as you go places here, I certainly don't know of them. When I was pregnant with Taylor I was told that I would only get one ultrasound unless there was something wrong. They wouldn't even tell me what she was and that I will totally blame on Americans. The tech said "Too many Americans sue when the baby arrives as the opposite sex so we aren't allowed to tell." With Liam I had two, the second was because in the first his head appeared to be shaped like a lemon (picture if you will Stewie from the Family Guy, which is exactly what I pictured and that was pre-Family Guy.) I think I wrote about that in the other blog. I had two again with Saoirse, and her second was because in the first they discovered she only had a 2 vessel cord so they needed to see how her kidneys were developing.

I don't regret the fact that I only had one with Taylor, she was totally worth the wait. Still, it was nice to see Liam and Saoirse at two different times. And it certainly won't kill me if I don't get to see the baby once more before she arrives. It's not like it would actually help me decide on a name.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

The 32 week appointment

Time spent in current state: 32 weeks and 3 days
Blood pressure: 128/78 (not too bad)
Weight gained: 3lbs*
Current weight: still don't know
Chance I'll find out: 100%. As if I won't be able to look at my pre-natal sheets when they give them to me.
Chance I will tell you when I find out: practically nil.
Uterus measuring: 36 weeks. After a bit of manouvering the baby on the doctor's part, it became 35.
Baby's heartrate: fast. Huh? She must've forgot her watch today and didn't time it or something.
Next appointment: 34 weeks..June 27. The dreaded pants down appointments start now.

Another quick visit. Had Saoirse with me so this was fine on my part. She mentioned something about waiting to see how big the baby was before deciding on induction or c-section, which I think she also said the last time so forgive me if I'm repeating myself, and I said that I think we would like to try and go as natural as possible this time (well, with drugs of course. I'm not crazy, people.) Seeing as how two nights ago I was perfectly willing, and in fact praying, to give birth to a 32 weeker, what do you think the chances are I will actually go to 42 should baby decide to take her time? Slim to none? That's what I say too, but we'll give it a go. You're in for alot of bitching, so to those lovely gals who said they don't mind and I can bitch away I just have to say that if you stick around I'll adore you all forever.

*3 lbs. Figuring that you gain about a pound a week in the last couple of months -until you start losing of course- 2 lbs should have been about right. So where did that extra pound come from? I can tell you. It was that half slab of brownies. Oh, butter cream chocolate chunk, look at how much I loved you...giving only tiny slices to Taylor and Liam and none to William who didn't like you anyway, and only wee bites to Saoirse...saving most for me, and what do you do, butter cream chocolate chuck? How do you reward me for my adoration?? You add a pound to my already chunky frame. Thanks. Thanks alot. My thighs and I will really have to reconsider our relationship with you. I think we might be kaput, which sort of breaks my heart.

Monday, June 12, 2006

32 down, 8 to go

Sometimes it feels this pregnancy has flown by and at others I feel as though I have been pregnant for years. I wish I had been a blogger when I was pregnant with Saoirse or at least kept a journal. I did write her a handful of letters so if I pull those out I might get an idea of how I was feeling.

Because right now I feel like I am in the midst of the worst pregnancy ever! And I know that this is so not true, I read blogs about mums on bedrest and miscarriages and early arrivals so in reality I know that this baby and I are doing great. It's just that when you're lying in bed at night and you can't find a comfortable position you feel absolutely miserable and totally sorry for yourself. At least I do. Last night I was on my hands and knees (and there was no sex involved whatsoever!) because I couldn't have any part of my stomach touching the bed, for some reason it hurt like crazy, and I was just wishing for it to be over. Last night I would have gladly had a 32 weeker, this morning I am grateful that she is safe inside me.

I was talking to my friend Shelley last night, she has been on nights the since Thursday so I've not talked to her at all, but on Friday she had a brief conversation with William who had told her I had had a bad week, lots of back pain and the start of Braxton Hicks contractions. I only ever had them with Saoirse, and they were nothing compared to this one, where they seem to come and go all day. Anyway, Shelley said to me "Do not have this baby early, we have no room at all." Apparently, every NICU in the region is full, they are flying babies to Saskatchewan. I asked if the mother goes with them and she said no, if you've had a section you can't fly out. Imagine that...you've got a brand new baby, who is 6 or 7 weeks early and you cannot be with them. I would fall apart I think. No, I definitely would.

So although I bitch and complain and all you poor souls out in bloggerland have to read about it, I am glad that other than pain and discomfort all is well! Except I would really prefer not to pee 4 times in one hour. That'd be nice.

In other news, I applied for my EI benefits on Friday. It takes a month so at least I'll be finding out how much I get before the baby's arrival and we can adjust our (my) spending habits accordingly. I foolishly put in that I had had small weeks (where I earned greater than 0 but less than $225) and they ask for proof of it. For fecks sakes! If youknow me, you know that I do not keep all my paystubs, I'd be lucky to find a quarter of them. I think they affect me negatively so I am going to take a quick look around and if I find none I will call and say so. The gal said it shouldn't be too big a deal, but I do need to let them know either way so my form can be processed. I'm not expecting much as I only had 800 hours, maybe $200-250 biweekly. That's my four household bills per month so if I get that I will be pleased. Any extra is just a bonus.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Just some random things

I don't really have much to write about, but I thought I had better attempt something otherwise I am going to lose what few readers I have.

So here's a bit of what's going on lately...

Things I can no longer do:
-I can't roll over in bed without strategically planning the next best move for me to make this as painless as possible. Due to the fact that I know have to think about moving, I am constantly waking up throughout the night.
-Same goes for getting out of bed or up off the couch.

Number of pre-pregnancy pants I can wear:
-2. One pair of jeans and one pair of capris. That are denim of course. Let's hope I don't get invited anywhere fancy. I do have maternity clothes, I am just not a fan of the way they sit on my body. I have a theory that the kind folks who design maternity wear think only really skinny people have sex and hence only skinny people get knocked up. Even when they make clothes over a size 10, they design them with a stick in mind, a slightly bigger stick, perhaps a board like stick. What I am trying to say is that they are designed for people who are straight up and down, with only an expanding tummy. What about expanding thighs? I have a pair of maternity jeans that are too loose in the tummy and the calves, but stick to my thighs like a second skin. Granted, even pre-pregnancy my thighs were huge. Bloody hell, they were huge when I was 10 and the skinniest kid in the class. So maybe it is not entirely the fault of maternity wear designers. Sigh. Oh well, it was nice to have someone else to blame, if even for a moment.

Stupid things that freak me out:
-I have a fear that in the next few weeks I am going to lose my belly button and it is going to become an outtie. Yikes. This has never happened to me before and i don't want it to happen now.
-I also worry that I'll get that brown line. Never had it, never want it, even though I know it goes away. Funny that the stretch marks that are now winding their way up past my belly button don't bother me as much as that. And I'll have those bastards forever.
-I worry that I will actually go into labour on my own and not have shaved my legs since my last doctor's appointment. I think I said in the other blog, or maybe in the comments here, that this is the one baby I do not want coming early due to the fact that we are moving August 1.

Things that are happening now:
-I get sciatica everytime I sit down after I have been doing something that requires effort on the part of my legs. You know, walking, cleaning, the usual.
-After an extremely active day yesterday the baby did not move at all today until 4.30. I was starting to feel just slightly more than paranoid.
-Tonight William said it looks as though the baby has dropped. But no, it is way too early for that. I know they say it doesn't happen after the first baby, but all of mine did to some extent. Not that it mattered, because all of them needed to be prodded into the world. Still, a little freaky. I was saying that I have had intense pressure in my cervix, not just the odd kick or whatever, but constant, which is when William made that comment. Thinking about it, I ran up the stairs and then right back down when the phone started ringing, and I didn't even lose my breath. This is a big thing, as normally just going up the stairs poops me out. So who knows. I'm assuming she's just changed positions and not actually dropped, but I'll find out at the next appointment.

And that's it. Not much really. Sometimes you'd think I'd never done this pregnancy thing before, wouldn't ya?