Dropping Mr. Belvedere

No, I'm not talking about not being able to hold on to the baby after it comes (although that sometimes is a fear because I can't seem to hold on to anything lately); I'm referring to that desirable lightening that is supposed to happen sometime soon when the baby "drops."

Come on down!

Almost every woman I talk to looks at my belly and says, "Oh, you haven't dropped yet, so that baby's not coming out any time soon."  That's really not the news I want to hear, but that's the reality, I guess.  Some people said that when it feels like you're sitting on the baby's head, then you know you've dropped.  I'm guessing that I'll have some major relief to the rib pain that I've been experiencing these past few days.  Last night, my ribs ached so bad that I felt like I had been repeatedly kicked like this poor dude:

Aches and Pains

The past two weeks have provided some phenomenal insight into the world of sciatic nerve pain.  One website describes it as coming on suddenly, causing immediate distress.  I would say that's an understatement.  I have woken up in the middle of the night on several occasions in agony, as if my entire left side were on fire.  Thankfully, it doesn't happen every night and it seems to be only when I lie on my left side.  I spoke to my midwife about the increasing pain I was experiencing, and she referred me to a physical therapist.  I was able to get in last Monday, and she spent about 45 minutes with me, giving me several exercises to do to strengthen my hips.  The weight of Mr. Belvedere puts pressure on this nerve, which causes the irritation.

I also have a small hole in my abdominal muscles (diastasis recti), which is a common symptom in pregnancy, so she gave me some exercises to do to correct that.  I've been pretty diligent about doing these simple exercises and so far, I've been feeling better.  I haven't awoken to the excruciating pain in the past six days, but I do notice that I'm sore in my hips in a different way, perhaps due to the exercises that I'm doing.  Who knows.

Those Braxton-Hicks contractions are happening more and more frequently, in preparation for labor.  They are so weird--like my belly is tightening up in a giant abdominal crunch.  They don't hurt, but they can be uncomfortable.  I almost always get them right after I stand up from sitting down, which makes for some awkward first steps when trying to walk.

I Think I'm having a Contraction...

I'm fairly certain that I had one of those Braxton-Hicks contractions tonight.  These are those false contractions where the uterus tightens up in preparation for labor, which, dear reader, is just over two months away!  Yikes.  Anyway, I felt this pressure in my belly, and when I touched it, my protruding gut was rock hard.  It didn't hurt, but I certainly noticed it.  It relaxed after about a minute.  My mom said that she used to get painful ones with my sister and I that would stop her in her tracks.


As an aside, she also said that she would sit on the steps of our patio when she was pregnant with me (and then later with Mary) and cry because she was so fat.  We made our mom pile on 60+ pounds each time, most of which was water weight.  I think our older brothers were much easier for her.


Birthing class #2 was pretty exciting, mostly because there were two women in labor while our class was going on.  One gave birth right as class started, and the other woman was audible throughout class.  The looks on the faces of the dads was priceless.  I'm not sure when she delivered.  I could certainly feel the energy!  The night before was a full moon, too...


We talked quite a bit about exercise and many of the benefits of keeping up with exercise during pregnancy.  There are all sorts of statistics about the benefits to both the mom and the fetus.  I found all the myths that we discussed rather interesting.  Here are a few:

MYTH: Pregnant women should not exercise more than three times per week.

TRUTH: Following a doctor’s approval, it’s recommended that pregnant women engage in 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily, five or more times a week.

MYTH: Pregnant women must keep their heart rate under 140 beats per minute during exercise.

TRUTH: Instead of counting beats per minute, use the Borg Scale (measures perceived exertion) or a simple talk test to assess intensity.

I currently swim once a week, use the elliptical machine about 2-3 times a week, and take a weight training class twice a week (Power Flex).  Oh yeah, and my homework was 200 Kegels a day for the next week.  So exciting...

Almost 100 Days Left

It's really hard to believe that I'm over halfway through this pregnancy.  Yikes.  This Thursday will mark 25 weeks, and then in a few weeks after that, I'll be in the third trimester.  And I'll get bigger and bigger and bigger...  The baby is well over a pound by now, and it's kicking and punching away like a champ.  I still can't get over how weird that feels, and I love it when Nate puts his hand on my belly and feels it moving around, too.

I'm pretty grateful with how well this is going.  I didn't have morning sickness, no complications thus far, and my husband has been beyond wonderful.  I could do without the leg cramps in the middle of the night, though.  Holy cow.  Those are pure evil.  What's up with those, anyway?  I've had three in the past month, and the most recent one was over Christmas.  That one was so utterly painful that it brought tears to my eyes at some ridiculous hour of the night.  I woke Nate up with my strained breathing, and I was in so much pain that I was practically paralyzed until it passed.  Stretching before bed has been helpful, and I think exercising has its benefits, too.

Half-Baked

Yesterday marked 20 weeks down, and about 20 more to go!  I celebrated by...eating!  This is my favorite thing to do, especially when I find something that hits the spot.  I can go to the Pick 'n Save somewhat hungry, but not find a single thing in there that I want to eat.  And I will look hard, too, even doubling back through the aisles trying to find that one thing that's going to hit the spot.  I keep telling Nate that I want steak, but we don't have a grill that would make that possible.
I am horribly repelled by any reheated meat, however.  I noticed this the day after Thanksgiving as I pulled my piping hot leftovers from the microwave, took one whiff of the reheated turkey, and quickly moved it far away from the rest of my food.  I have sometimes remembered to zap lunch meat in the microwave to fry the Listeria bacteria before I ate it, but I couldn't tolerate that dead carcass smell, so I'm done with that precaution.

Unfortunately, one not-so-tactful 8th grade young lady who frequents the office I share with a couple of other teachers noticed how much I am consuming and the frequency with which I'm eating.  She said, "Ms. W, every time I come in here, you're always eating."
I stopped the forkful of salad on its way to my mouth and said, "So?  I'm hungry.  And I eat lots of little meals throughout the day."
"Yeah, but you eat fattening things like pasta.  But I guess the broccoli you add to it makes it better.  You really should be careful."
"Thanks for the advice, Olivia."
Punk.

Unwanted Pregnancy Advice Slayer

Week 15

My mother-in-law and her husband came to visit this weekend, and she really can't wait until Christmas!  I've been an amateur knitter for about eight years, and she got me a book of baby patterns and a few skeins of baby yarn.  It's been awhile since I've knit, so I started a very easy baby blanket with some guidance from my mom.  I'm so good at starting knitting projects and then abandoning them, and I hope that's not true for this one!

On Saturday, we went to Boerner Botanical Gardens and took a bunch of pictures, some of which were my first belly shots.

Grandma Becca rubs my belly for good luck

I'm still convinced that it's all just chub that's been pushed up and out of my abdomen.  That, plus bloating.  I can sometimes feel the top of my uterus, but it hasn't pushed itself out of my abdominal cavity quite yet.  However, I'm definitely rocking maternity pants and the BellaBand.

We also had some conversations about names this weekend...I am fairly certain we've decided on a last name.  Nate's is hyphenated, and we're going to take his C.-G. and combine it into one name: CG.  But, what do I do when Nate and I disagree about first names??  I know, we've got time to figure it out.

Physically, I'm alright, but I'm pretty sure I'm experiencing round ligament pain.  It's a pretty weird sensation, like a dull ache in my right groin.  It's been more frequent lately.  In weeks four and five, I had a super sharp pain in the same area when I would sneeze, but it would only last 5-10 seconds.  I thought I was going to sneeze the little zygote right out back in August.  Anyway, that's since gone away, but replaced by this intermittent pain I now feel.

Oh, and the other symptom I'm experiencing required me to go out and by some Citrucel at Walgreens.  It's got SmartFiber, which is apparently supposed to "give me the fiber I need, without the fiber effects I don't want."  Awesome.

Oral hygiene

I had a dentist appointment this morning that I was rather dreading.  I normally love the dentist.  I love taking care of my teeth.  I love flossing every night.  I love brushing for 2 minutes with my Sonic Care toothbrush.  I love my hygienist.

However, this morning was awful.  In the past week or so, my mouth has turned into a wreck.  My gums are swollen, my teeth feel like they're going to be squeezed out of their sockets, and when she flossed my teeth after brushing them, it felt as if I had never, ever flossed before in my life.  And, on top of that, they found a cavity.

Thank you, hormones!

I did go swimming yesterday, and that felt great.  For some reason I can button my favorite pair of jeans today, so that's delightful.  Another teacher at my school is due a week before I am, and she happens to be the physical education teacher with keys to the pool, so we went swimming for a half hour.  It was a safe way to cut loose:

Feeling...Not pregnant?

I'm not nauseous.  My boobs don't hurt much anymore.  I've got lots of energy.  I'm not running to the bathroom nearly as much as I have been, and I'm sleeping through the night without having to get up to pee.  Nor, can I remember the last time I cried.

I don't feel very pregnant.  Or, maybe this is the beginning of the "glorious" second trimester.  My ultrasound is this Wednesday, so I'm pretty excited to see some evidence of what's is going on down there.  I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful principal who is allowing me to go and have it done during my 2 hour (!) prep in the morning.  As much as I'd like to have some time off, preparing sub plans no easy feat.  Besides, I've got to save those sick days for spring!

Ick

Early excitement thwarted by nausea, super sore breasts, and cramping!  I'm five weeks today, and I am not feeling like the rock star I was when we finished our bike trip three weeks ago.  If I had to get on the Fargo right now and bike 40 miles, I would laugh, probably cry, and then lay down for nap.

We had to report back to school today... I wonder what this year will be like.  Hey, at least I'll be done teaching in late April this year!  Oh yeah, the due date is April 28, 2011, the day after Nate's birthday.