So I can remember....

I have been thinking about making this blog posting for several days now and I just have not done it for some reason. So here I am -awake too early (6am) b/c during these last few weeks of pregnancy if I wake up between 4-6am I can't go back to sleep so I have learned to stop fighting it and just get up. During the end of this last trimester have had so many so many feelings (both emotioal and physical) and little experiences that I want to remember and I know that once baby comes I will either forget or the memories will be obscured by the effects of new motherhood. Ladies (Ellen, Manda, Rebes, CCH) if you are reading this-you will probably think it is boring but maybe someday if/when you are pregnant the same things will happen to you. Amber, Shan, Mej-did you experience any of this?

I am thirsty ALL the time. so damn thirsty it is ridiculous. And water is great and I drink lots of it but I have needed juices and gatorade to really satisfy the thirst. I have HOT hands! yes hot hot hands-they feel hot to met but when I touch someone else they are amazed at how hot my hands are. of course my feet get hot too and a little swollen at the end fo the day but mostly it is my hot hands that are so weird. I can't walk around with bare feet at all. I ahve to wear my tevas or cushy flipflops at all times even around the house. the problems is that my arches are not handling the extra weight very well and get hurt and stretched if I have bare feet-this is quite annoying & different for me b/c I am very particular about my feet and footwear and in the summer I usually like to have bare feet sometimes. Of course I get the dreaded acid reflux/heart burn of late pregnancy. So a few Tums have been my friend on most eveneings. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat so I have stopped trying to be super careful-I get the heart burn anyway b/c my stomach is squished. I have come to think of myself as "girl who pees"-obviously frequent urination is something that everyone knows happens during pregnancy but somehow when it is actually happening to you-you are amazed at just how much pee there is...nmaybe b/c you have to drink all the time b/c you are thirsty. I have actually started to feel guilty about flushing the toilet b/c I fel like I am using too much water for one person (I guess it is actually 2 people)! Of course it is not just pee that happens all the time-#2 as well. People rarely mention this b/c it is not as pleasant and benign as urine but it is happening and all of my friends who have not yet been pregnant might want to know this. Baby pushes "everything" out of your body with great vigor so when baby wants more room you had better be prepared to make more room for baby. I'll leave it at that.

Of course I have trouble getting comfortable this late in the pregnancy due to the big belly-sitting on the couch or sleeping are not even comfortable-standing is fine but I get tired quickly. Luckily so far the baby is presenting in a classical position. which is great but whenever he starts getting active I am always wondering whether he is flipping around or soemthing and that is quite unnerving. He is positioned with his head down on the right side of my pelvis, back facing my right side than his limbs facing my left side. His butt and feet are up near my ribs and he always lets me know this by kicking and pushing on my ribs and stomach. His arms and elbows are pushing at the left side of my pelvis and starting at about 32-35 weeks when I feel my belly I can feel all of these parts. The ultrasound showed that the placenta is at the top of my uterus near my stomach.

Speaking of stomachs...mine is quite squished right now and just as picky as ever. I can't eat anything that expands (eg. pasta, pancakes) so I have stayed far away from these foods. Fruits, veggies are great and make me feel good and often quench the thirst cravings but I have to eat alot more often if I am eating alot of fruit/vegs. I had always thought that most pregnant women were hungry all the time-the whole pregnancy-this is probably not true and has not been true for me. The 1st trimester I was hungry alot and had to eat small amounts or else I felt nauseous. Then during the 2nd trimester I was fine and needed no more food than during my normal pre-pregnant life. This even went into the 3rd trimester for a while but then around 31-33 weeks I strated needing 1 or 2 extra small meals a day-like cereal or oatmeal or salad. Also at this time my stomach was being pinched so I could not eat as much at 1 sitting anyway. Then at 34-35 weeks the seriously increased appetite started and has not yet stopped. At this point I pretty much graze-eating and drinking the entire day-just little bits here and there along with a few small meals.

Cravings and food issues.....well I have not had this as bad as it apparently is for some women. The whole pregnancy I have craved and needed citrusy fruits and drinks and cereal. However at the end of this pregnancy I have needed either a slush or an icecream shake or blizzard at least once as day. This need accomplishes 2 goals-the 1st-it is is HOT summeritme and I need to be cool and 2nd-I need calories dammit! and I really can't think of any better reason to get icecream and slushes than being pregnant. of course after baby comes I am sure I will think being a new mom is a good reason too.......hmmm interesting logic. Other than that nothing stands out to me as huge food cravings or dislikes. I have pretty much been vegetarian during this pregnancy except for eating chicken and turkey. I have had a very little white tuna along the way and maybe a handful fo meals in which I had a few bites of red meat from someone else's dish but otherwise-no meat. I have not wanted it at all. So to get the missing vitamins I ahve had to take iron supplements in addition to my prenatal vitamins also during this last trimester I started taking flaxseed oil to get the omega 3's necessary for brain development b/c I am not eating fish.

Body issues....well this is an ever evolving part of my 3rd trimester. I felt like crap back in July when I was having issues but then since the end of July I ahve been feeling quite good. Generally I feel the baby moving around all day with periods of quiet when I assume he is sleeping. I feel pulling and tension in the muscles sometimes and also the baby oushing on my bladder is always a lovely sensation. then also there is a very new and uncomfortable feeling I had never known until pregnancy-I think it is the baby pushing on my cervix from the inside. this is a painful and weird sensation and started sometime around 32-33 weeks. I was getting it every couple days but now I pretty much feel it a couple times a day. I haven't had many headaches during this pregnancy-thank god. I could probably count the number on my hands and they have not been migraines at all so it has been a great relief. I have not been very sick or unhealthy-I had a 1 day fever back in February along with a urinary tract infection then of course I had the preterm labor & infection issues back in July. Other than that-no colds or flu or allergies. Overall it has been quite nice.

Mobility issues....well this has not been that bad for me. It has not been untile very recently (35 weeks or so) that I have been affected by seriously reduced mobility. (according to Bill) I do waddle (as he so lovingly tells me). But I have been able to bend over and be quite flexible throughout this pregnancy and even paint my own toe nails. not so much this last week or so but I have no complaints. I certainly have had (since about the 6th month) shortness of breath & light-headedness issues if I over-exert by going up stairs too fast or moving too fast. I now need to always sit on the edge os chairs otheriwse it si very difficult to get up/out wihtout help. Also if I sit too long I get a sore a**/tail bone. This is quite annoying and I wonder if this is more due to the weight increase than the pregnancy itself.

Nesting instinct....aaahh yes the much talked about, sometimes dreaded, somehow embarassingly silly nestng instinct. Yes this has hit me but I did not realize it until I actually thought about it a bit. My nesting instinct has mainly manifested ina great need to organize things around the house-thus I have done this and am continuing the process now that I am off work for a while. I have super organized the shelves in the baby room as well as the kitchen cabinets and the bedroom closet & linen closet and storage area in the attic and basement. It has been great and I feel a nice sense of accomplishment. Also yesterday I assembled the pack & play and the baby stroller! what a day.

Well I think that pretty much covers it. There is probably lots I am already forgetting bt this will give me food for thought in the future.

I am going to make another posting right now to update on my life happenings.