Week 35.

Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 35 weeks

Total weight gain: +31 total.  This is +-0 from last week.  When I went to my Dr. appointment last Friday, I’d actually lost some weight from my previous appointment which really made zero sense.  My Dr. wasn’t concerned, and neither am I. 

Here’s a picture of my 35 week bump:



Side-by-side comparison for 34/35 weeks (sorry I didn’t do any silhouette pictures before 34 weeks). 

Sleep habits: Sleep has been pretty decent lately.  Of course I’m still having clockwork pee breaks every hour on the hour, but I’m easily able to fall back asleep now.  My only complaint is my inability to sleep on my back.  I often wake up in this position and feel absolutely wretched – hardly able to breathe, chest pains, back pains, hip pains. 

I also get hot a lot more easily since I’m carrying an extra 30 lbs. of weight. 

Getting up from a lying position takes a lot more effort.  I find myself grunting and sighing a lot which is probably super aggravating for Joe to have to listen to my exasperation.  Oh well, if men ever have the ability to carry a child, they’ll finally understand.

Maternity clothes: I think I’ll be able to finish out this pregnancy without having to buy any additional clothes.  I bought 2 pairs of jeans in the 1st trimester, and I miraculously still fit into them.  Now that we’re approaching spring/summer weather, I can wear a few of the pieces I wore with Anna or even use my pre-pregnancy shirts w/ my belly band and just fold my jeans up like capri jeans.  I went to a few stores the other day just to get some new shirts, but I really can’t justify spending any money on clothes that I won’t be wearing in a few weeks/months.  I’m a cheap bastard like that. 

Best moment of the week:  We got to spend the day with Joe’s parents and grandmother this past Sunday, and we had a blast.  Anna loves going to Grandmama’s house!  She has lots of property, so we can drive her around on the golf cart and just let her run wild. 

Food cravings: It’s jelly bean season.  I’m not complaining!

Symptoms:  My swelling has subsided, thankfully.  My feet still look pretty huge at the end of the day, but that’s because they’re…pretty huge.  Heartburn comes and goes.  I’m definitely fatigued more than normal.  Doing normal, daily tasks like walking requires way more effort.  I waddle like a duck. 

One thing that differs with this pregnancy is that Baby J is carrying high still.  While I didn’t keep a journal/blog with Anna, I do remember her permanently residing down south for pretty much the entire 3rd trimester.  There were some days where I could barely walk from the pressure.  J prefers hanging out in my rib cage which makes for a very uncomfortable experience when I have to sit at a desk all day. 

At 35 weeks with Anna, I went into pre-term labor (PTL) and had to take Terbutaline/Brethane for 2 weeks.  I stopped taking the pills on a Thursday, my water broke bright and early Friday morning.  I remember being checked at the hospital, and I’d already begun dilating and effacing at 35 weeks.  I’m not so sure this is the case with J.  Other than a few mild cramps here and there, I’ve had zero issues that would make me feel the need to go to the ER.  I mean, I have tons of BH contractions, but that’s about it.  Even those have subsided a bit. 

Movement:  Very painful kicks still.  They’re not as frequent, but when they happen, they’re mind blowing.  Now that I think about it, though, he’s hardly kicked the past few hours.  I know he’s OK because I just felt him kick, but it seems that he’s slowed down quite a bit.  I’m pretty sure this is common these last few weeks as there’s just no more room for him.  When he does kick, it feels like he’s kicking everywhere possible.  I wonder if this kid is huge?

The nursery:  I’ve made quite a bit of progress in the nursery this week.  It’s not that I’m less lazy, it’s just that I feel like time is quickly winding down here, and my opportunity to finish things once the baby is here may not come. 

So, Joe primed and painted the dresser.  He still has some touching up to do on the “breadbox” part of the dresser, but I think it turned out great.  I was going to go for a beaten up look and sand it/glaze it, but I actually like the paint so much at this point that I will probably leave it as is.  It reminds me of a 50s Chevy.

I hung his artwork:



And the adorable letters that my friend Allison made:

The letters look even better in person, and I imagine they’ll look even better still once I add the dresser and other decorative items (oh, and the bird mobile will be hanging here as well) beneath them!

The perfectionist in me spent way too much time trying to make these letters perfect.  Then I was like, eh, the heck with it, and I threw them up there without much thought and actually like the way they turned out!  So, my suggestion when hanging alphabet letters, just roll with it – don’t worry about making them perfect because it’s impossible. 

Also, poster putty is a joke.  After I hung the letters with the putty, they began falling down.  The letters weigh absolutely nothing, so it made no sense why the putty wasn’t holding them up.  Then my wonderful mother-in-law (as if she’s psychic) brought me some of the poster tack stuff that she uses for school.  It worked like a CHARM!  Here it is if you’re interested:

Here’s a cute picture of my child throughout the process.  She wanted to help! 

She can’t smile w/o sticking out her tongue.  She gets it from her mama.

I started hanging the orbs, too, but I’m not done with them yet, so no pics.

Here are the orbs:


I’m still on the fence if I’m going to use these rings.  I like them, but I’m not sure if I’ll like them when everything is in the room. 



We’re getting an antique rocking chair from Joe’s grandmother to use as the “glider/rocker" – I’m really excited about that.  We have a chair that we used in Anna’s room, but it’s too big for this space, and Joe wants to use it as his man chair in the living room. 

It’s slowly coming together!  I hope to have everything done (that I can) by this weekend.

Still need:

- Artwork for behind the crib
- I’m going to attempt to make a chair cover for the rocking chair using this tutorial.

What I’m looking forward to:  Eating raw cookie dough and raw cake mix. 

What I miss: Skinny clothes.

Last appointment details:  My last appointment was Friday, March 2  Joseph’s h/b was 143.  I am measuring at 33 cm. 

My OB kind of caught me off-guard at this last appointment.  While we were having our regular discussion about the future weeks, she said she wanted me to get a growth ultra-sound to determine how large (approximation) Baby J is at 38 weeks.  If he’s above a certain weight, she wants to push for a c-section since I had a level 3 episiotomy with Anna. 

Huh?

I had a flawless, text-book labor and delivery with Anna.  Yes, I had a level 3 episiotomy, but I think that’s because 1) I had a cut-happy Dr. and 2) he was ready to go home for the evening and didn’t really care how much he had to cut as long as she came out quickly.  The man gave me Pitocin when I was progressing 1 – 2 cm/hour on my own. 

A c-section is the last thing on my mind, and while I’m not against them if medically necessary, I’m certainly not going to schedule one just because my OB thinks that J may be too big and may cause some damage. 

If anything, he’s been measuring behind or right on track, so I honestly have no idea where this came from.

My OB is actually on maternity leave now, and I’m kind of glad.  If she’s pro-c-section already, I don’t want her delivering Joseph.  I feel that if anything goes off kilter for a few minutes, she’ll be rushing me into the OR to do the c-section.  I’m very laid back about my birth plan, my only requirement is to get the baby out, but I’m taking control of this aspect and making sure that I only have a c if medically necessary and that no Pitocin is administered unless I’m stalled. 

I just hope that the on-call physician won’t pressure me into anything I don’t want.  I’ve been talking to Joe and my mom about it to make sure they advocate for me during the process because I may not be in the best frame of mind to stand up for what I want. 

Next appointment:
My next appointment is Thursday, March 15.  Since my OB is on maternity leave, I will meet with the NP (whom I love).  I wish she had her midwifery license because I’d love for her to deliver Joseph.