We made it to thirty-six weeks and things are starting to change. The achy, pressure-like feeling is definitely present. It’s uncomfortable to change position from sitting to standing, standing to walking, or walking to sitting. I can’t bend over to reach anything successfully, squatting is required. Even then, it’s a challenge to stand back up without the support of someone or something.
I haven’t had any Braxton Hicks contractions yet. I wonder if I’ll have any at all. Sophie is starting to take up more room in my belly. I can feel her body resting against the inside of mine sometimes. It’s a crazy feeling.
I’ve been getting quick, occasional twinges of pain near the “birthing center.” I’m not sure if this is normal, if this is what dilation feels like, or is Sophie’s just kicking around in a sensitive spot. At our doctor’s appointment last Thursday, Dr. B said I was dilated to one centimeter and not effaced. He said if I progress this week, she may come early. But it’s hard to tell…wishful thinking! Everything else was normal, I gained another pound for a total of 12 pounds and my belly measurement was 36 centimeters – right on target. Sophie’s heartbeat was 152 bpm.
In this uncomfortable stage of pregnancy, there are a few things that I LOVE that make me and little Sophie more comfortable. Here’s a list of my favorite things…revised for my pregnant self.
1. Big, fluffy pillows
2. Soft, fuzzy blankets
3. Orange soda (totally a random craving I never expected)
4. TUMS
5. Stretchy pajama pants
6. Back rubs (this will probably remain on the list even after Sophie’s born)
7. My husband being at home with me
8. A cup of hot chocolate while reading a book to take my mind off of work and new parent anxiety
9. Blockbuster online movie service
10.Sitting in the nursery day dreaming of our little one’s arrival
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Whirlwind Weekend
Last weekend (Sept. 19-21) was so full that it took me a week to catch up! I was lucky enough to have two baby showers thrown by great friends. To keep Sheldon busy, he and his dad went to Ennis for the Fall National drag races for the weekend. He was happy, I was happy, it was a fun weekend!
Shower number one was held at work with all my friends at the COG. We gathered in our training room, which was decorated with white and pink decorations, balloons, and lots of gifts!
Shower number two was held at Practically Pikasso with friends and family. Everyone painted a ceramic tile with a letter from Sophie’s name on it. All the tiles spelled out Sophia Kate. It’s awesome! I’ll have pictures to come on that one. I want to show a before (firing) and after (firing) shot.
Between the two showers, Sheldon’s mom and I organized the nursery and washed all the newborn baby clothes, crib sheets, and blankets. Baby smell filled my house…probably from the Dreft detergent. The only thing left to do in the nursery is hang the wall décor and add the baby! I’m so excited that I haven’t thought about the pain to come, but the joy of holding our little one. That’s what will get me through the pain.
I’m sure you’d rather see pictures than read my babble…so here you go! Thanks to everyone who made last weekend such a great weekend for the new Anderson family. Thanks for all your generous gifts and talents in painting!
COG Shower:
Pikasso shower:
Shower number one was held at work with all my friends at the COG. We gathered in our training room, which was decorated with white and pink decorations, balloons, and lots of gifts!
Shower number two was held at Practically Pikasso with friends and family. Everyone painted a ceramic tile with a letter from Sophie’s name on it. All the tiles spelled out Sophia Kate. It’s awesome! I’ll have pictures to come on that one. I want to show a before (firing) and after (firing) shot.
Between the two showers, Sheldon’s mom and I organized the nursery and washed all the newborn baby clothes, crib sheets, and blankets. Baby smell filled my house…probably from the Dreft detergent. The only thing left to do in the nursery is hang the wall décor and add the baby! I’m so excited that I haven’t thought about the pain to come, but the joy of holding our little one. That’s what will get me through the pain.
I’m sure you’d rather see pictures than read my babble…so here you go! Thanks to everyone who made last weekend such a great weekend for the new Anderson family. Thanks for all your generous gifts and talents in painting!
COG Shower:
Pikasso shower:
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Thirty-Four Weeks!
Wow! I’m almost there! Only six more weeks to go (fingers crossed). Sophie and I have had this talk…she should either be a week early or be on time, but there will be none of this tardy business. We’ll see if she listens or not.
I’m getting to the point where it’s tiring to be pregnant. I love, love feeling her move in there, but I can’t wait until I can see her. It’s getting harder to do some pretty simple tasks like getting off the couch or rolling out of bed. And I’m getting tired of wearing pants. If only it was acceptable to not have to wear pants or anything with a waistband to work. Wait, but then I’d have to shave. Ah…the dilemmas of pregnancy.
According to my web sources, Sophie should be somewhere between 18 to 19 inches long and weigh about five pounds. She’s definitely gotten bigger over the past couple weeks because her movements have changed from a bunch of fluttery movements to big, move-my-belly around movements. It’s so cool to watch my belly shift from one side of my body to the other. Crazy kid.
I had suspected that she may have dropped yesterday, but because I have never felt this feeling, I turned to the expert (my mom). She said when her babies dropped, it felt like constant pressure on her bladder and she could feel that the baby was really low. I feel some pressure in a lower area, but the bladder situation is still the same. We determined that Sophie probably moved into position, but hadn’t completely dropped yet. Sheldon had also come to this conclusion last night while we were trying to feel how Sophie was positioned. While we were feeling the belly, I think I felt Sophie’s whole bum in my hand! It was a crazy feeling. It felt like she “pushed off” with her hands in my lower abdomen and her bum filled my hand, which was resting on the top part of my abdomen. My whole hand moved up!
The time is coming! Speaking of which, we’ve moved forward with a few more nursery projects. Here are some pictures of the completed dresser. We took Sheldon’s childhood dresser, sanded it down, and painted it black. We also bought new hardware. It looks perfect!
The adorably cute pillows resting on top of the dresser were handmade by my friend Kris. She did an awesome job! She also made the curtains pictured. I may be a little biased, but I think I may have the cutest baby room ever created!
P.S. Thanks LN for suggesting toile! I love it!
I’m getting to the point where it’s tiring to be pregnant. I love, love feeling her move in there, but I can’t wait until I can see her. It’s getting harder to do some pretty simple tasks like getting off the couch or rolling out of bed. And I’m getting tired of wearing pants. If only it was acceptable to not have to wear pants or anything with a waistband to work. Wait, but then I’d have to shave. Ah…the dilemmas of pregnancy.
According to my web sources, Sophie should be somewhere between 18 to 19 inches long and weigh about five pounds. She’s definitely gotten bigger over the past couple weeks because her movements have changed from a bunch of fluttery movements to big, move-my-belly around movements. It’s so cool to watch my belly shift from one side of my body to the other. Crazy kid.
I had suspected that she may have dropped yesterday, but because I have never felt this feeling, I turned to the expert (my mom). She said when her babies dropped, it felt like constant pressure on her bladder and she could feel that the baby was really low. I feel some pressure in a lower area, but the bladder situation is still the same. We determined that Sophie probably moved into position, but hadn’t completely dropped yet. Sheldon had also come to this conclusion last night while we were trying to feel how Sophie was positioned. While we were feeling the belly, I think I felt Sophie’s whole bum in my hand! It was a crazy feeling. It felt like she “pushed off” with her hands in my lower abdomen and her bum filled my hand, which was resting on the top part of my abdomen. My whole hand moved up!
The time is coming! Speaking of which, we’ve moved forward with a few more nursery projects. Here are some pictures of the completed dresser. We took Sheldon’s childhood dresser, sanded it down, and painted it black. We also bought new hardware. It looks perfect!
The adorably cute pillows resting on top of the dresser were handmade by my friend Kris. She did an awesome job! She also made the curtains pictured. I may be a little biased, but I think I may have the cutest baby room ever created!
P.S. Thanks LN for suggesting toile! I love it!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
33 Weeks!
A day in the life of a pregnant woman at 33 weeks gestation:
- Grip the side of the recliner to sit up to turn off alarm. Rock back and forth until chair moves enough to allow feet to touch floor to get out of chair.
- Go to the bathroom.
- Get in the shower. Realize the tummy is blocking all vision of lower-half of body. Clearly, this is not a day to wear a dress.
- Throw up.
- Rub tummy hoping not to throw up again.
- Finish getting ready for work.
- Dread putting on clothes because of their restrictiveness.
- Put on clothes. Grr.
- Eat cereal with banana for breakfast. Healthy, yay for me.
- Waddle to car to drive to work.
- Half-way to work realize that apparently baby is still hungry.
- Stop at Starbucks (decaf people, it’s fine).
- Waddle in to work with cinnamon coffee cake and mocha in hand.
- Go to the bathroom.
- Turn on computer, begin working.
- Go to the bathroom (which requires gripping chair handles to stand up without grunting).
- Return to desk, get distracted and begin looking at baby stuff online.
- Start working again…20 minutes later.
- Go to bathroom.
- Go to lunch.
- Wonder what I could get for lunch that would be covered in peanut butter and still be nutritious.
- Go to bathroom.
- Realize when standing up, the “area” feels pressure. Wonder, “Did she really just kick me there?” Continue to wonder, “If my water breaks in the bathroom, would I realize it?”
- Return to work again.
- Realize bum is sore from sitting and decide to waddle around the office for awhile.
- Talk to co-workers.
- Go to the bathroom.
- Return to work.
- It’s 3:30 p.m. and hunger strikes again, eat snack.
- Return to work.
- The end of the workday is here, hooray!
- Go to bathroom.
- Waddle to car, drive home.
- Feel exhausted from such an obvious day of hard work. (It must have been all the bathroom breaks that caused the exhaustion).
- Make dinner.
- Eat four bites and become full.
- Try to wash dishes with belly smushed against the counter. Realize arms get shorter every day. Leave kitchen with “water ring” around front of belly.
- Walk into nursery and stare.
- Go to bathroom.
- Get end table (currently the night stand) prepared for sleep: includes glass of water, tums, cell phone, Kleenex, and glasses.
- Get comfy in recliner (since that is the current sleeping arrangement).
- Feel hunger strike again, but too tired to rock out of the chair to get up.
- Try to watch some TV.
- Randomly cry or become outraged.
- Go to bathroom.
- Fall asleep. Snore. Annoy husband with snoring. (8 p.m.)
- Go to bathroom. (12 a.m.)
- Get heartburn. (2 a.m.)
- Go to bathroom. (4 a.m.)
- Alarm goes off for another day of fun. (6 a.m.)
- Go to bathroom.
- Grip the side of the recliner to sit up to turn off alarm. Rock back and forth until chair moves enough to allow feet to touch floor to get out of chair.
- Go to the bathroom.
- Get in the shower. Realize the tummy is blocking all vision of lower-half of body. Clearly, this is not a day to wear a dress.
- Throw up.
- Rub tummy hoping not to throw up again.
- Finish getting ready for work.
- Dread putting on clothes because of their restrictiveness.
- Put on clothes. Grr.
- Eat cereal with banana for breakfast. Healthy, yay for me.
- Waddle to car to drive to work.
- Half-way to work realize that apparently baby is still hungry.
- Stop at Starbucks (decaf people, it’s fine).
- Waddle in to work with cinnamon coffee cake and mocha in hand.
- Go to the bathroom.
- Turn on computer, begin working.
- Go to the bathroom (which requires gripping chair handles to stand up without grunting).
- Return to desk, get distracted and begin looking at baby stuff online.
- Start working again…20 minutes later.
- Go to bathroom.
- Go to lunch.
- Wonder what I could get for lunch that would be covered in peanut butter and still be nutritious.
- Go to bathroom.
- Realize when standing up, the “area” feels pressure. Wonder, “Did she really just kick me there?” Continue to wonder, “If my water breaks in the bathroom, would I realize it?”
- Return to work again.
- Realize bum is sore from sitting and decide to waddle around the office for awhile.
- Talk to co-workers.
- Go to the bathroom.
- Return to work.
- It’s 3:30 p.m. and hunger strikes again, eat snack.
- Return to work.
- The end of the workday is here, hooray!
- Go to bathroom.
- Waddle to car, drive home.
- Feel exhausted from such an obvious day of hard work. (It must have been all the bathroom breaks that caused the exhaustion).
- Make dinner.
- Eat four bites and become full.
- Try to wash dishes with belly smushed against the counter. Realize arms get shorter every day. Leave kitchen with “water ring” around front of belly.
- Walk into nursery and stare.
- Go to bathroom.
- Get end table (currently the night stand) prepared for sleep: includes glass of water, tums, cell phone, Kleenex, and glasses.
- Get comfy in recliner (since that is the current sleeping arrangement).
- Feel hunger strike again, but too tired to rock out of the chair to get up.
- Try to watch some TV.
- Randomly cry or become outraged.
- Go to bathroom.
- Fall asleep. Snore. Annoy husband with snoring. (8 p.m.)
- Go to bathroom. (12 a.m.)
- Get heartburn. (2 a.m.)
- Go to bathroom. (4 a.m.)
- Alarm goes off for another day of fun. (6 a.m.)
- Go to bathroom.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tummy Tumbler
Sophie seems like she might be at the peak of her movement this past week. I had read that babies’ movements usually peak around week 28, but it wasn’t so for me. Recently, she’s been moving around constantly in there. I don’t have a clue what she’s doing, but it’s fun to imagine her somersaults.
I do, however, know very well what her little movements feel like. It’s like a reverse massage chair. You know those awesome massage chairs they have in spas/salons? The ones they use when you’re getting a pedicure? Well, those little “massage fingers” that roll up and down your spine in the chair is what it feels like inside my tummy. It’s a weird, but fun feeling from the inside out.
A random note – I was walking toward the bathroom and passed one of my co-workers on the way. In the bathroom, I thought, “Man, I really want peanut butter.” And then I went on to think how I could go about scoring some peanut butter during lunch. And then I thought, “Why am I thinking about peanut butter all of a sudden?” And then the “ah-hah” moment occurred.
The co-worker I passed on the way to the restroom usually eats something peanut-butter related during breaks. She keeps a large jar of peanut butter in the cabinet in the break room. So when I saw her, I immediately associated peanut butter with her. And then the craving kicked in. And I still want peanut butter. Ha! That’s funny how the mind works. Anyone have any Reese’s? Or maybe peanut butter on bread? I would be willing to just eat it from the jar if that’s all that’s available.
I do, however, know very well what her little movements feel like. It’s like a reverse massage chair. You know those awesome massage chairs they have in spas/salons? The ones they use when you’re getting a pedicure? Well, those little “massage fingers” that roll up and down your spine in the chair is what it feels like inside my tummy. It’s a weird, but fun feeling from the inside out.
A random note – I was walking toward the bathroom and passed one of my co-workers on the way. In the bathroom, I thought, “Man, I really want peanut butter.” And then I went on to think how I could go about scoring some peanut butter during lunch. And then I thought, “Why am I thinking about peanut butter all of a sudden?” And then the “ah-hah” moment occurred.
The co-worker I passed on the way to the restroom usually eats something peanut-butter related during breaks. She keeps a large jar of peanut butter in the cabinet in the break room. So when I saw her, I immediately associated peanut butter with her. And then the craving kicked in. And I still want peanut butter. Ha! That’s funny how the mind works. Anyone have any Reese’s? Or maybe peanut butter on bread? I would be willing to just eat it from the jar if that’s all that’s available.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Crazy Pregnancy Stuff
In the middle of week thirty-two (!!) and things are starting to happen that people have warned me about all along. They didn’t happen earlier in my pregnancy, and so I thought I was just lucky…well, except for the morning sickness junk.
One thing you should know, don’t EVER be mean to me or look at me in a funky way because I’ll cry and then you’ll be sorry. I cry at everything. Sheldon told me he’d be in San Antonio this week for work (a normal occurrence at our household) and I thought I would have an emotional breakdown. Ok, I did have an emotional breakdown, hence my trip to San Antonio with him.
Sophie was bee-bopping around in my belly making it move from the outside and Sheldon didn’t stare at my stomach as long as I thought he should, so I cried. At the time it seemed very legitimate. It’s serious business in the actual moment, but later I’ll think, “Did I really cry about that?” I have to stick a compliment in at this point for Sheldon. He’s been really great at handling my mood swings. He can generally calm me down or make me feel better within the hour of my breakdowns.
Another fun thing that happens at this point in pregnancy is the inability to bend over longer than two seconds. For instance, the majority of my pregnancy has been in the summer. Summer = HOT in Texas. I love the water. The problem? I can’t go in public in a bathing suit without shaving my legs. If you’ve never been pregnant, have you ever thought about how complicated it would be to shave your legs while holding a baby on your lap? I never did. Waxing scares the crud out of me. I’m afraid I’ll go into labor from the pain of the experience. So unless you want to go swimming with Big Foot, you won’t see me at the local pool this summer.
In addition to not being able to shave effectively, there’s no way I can reach my toes long enough to polish them. I could just fling some polish in that direction and see if it splatters in a flattering pattern. Or I could make a pedicure appointment…yah, maybe I’ll do that.
Lastly for now, I finally have my appetite back, but I can’t eat that much. Grrr. I’ll want to order a giant bowl of pasta with an entire loaf of bread and salad for myself. I’ll be full with two bites of pasta, one torn off piece of bread, and three bites of salad. And the kicker? I’m hungry an hour later.
Is it selfish to say I want my body back? I’m so happy to be pregnant and be able to feel my little girl’s kicks and squirms, but I’m just so ready for her to be here! Only eight more weeks Sophie!
Sophie should be about 3.75 pounds and 16.7 inches long. BabyCenter says she already has toenails, fingernails, and real hair. Her skin is also becoming soft and smooth, and she’s fattening up for the outside world.
One thing you should know, don’t EVER be mean to me or look at me in a funky way because I’ll cry and then you’ll be sorry. I cry at everything. Sheldon told me he’d be in San Antonio this week for work (a normal occurrence at our household) and I thought I would have an emotional breakdown. Ok, I did have an emotional breakdown, hence my trip to San Antonio with him.
Sophie was bee-bopping around in my belly making it move from the outside and Sheldon didn’t stare at my stomach as long as I thought he should, so I cried. At the time it seemed very legitimate. It’s serious business in the actual moment, but later I’ll think, “Did I really cry about that?” I have to stick a compliment in at this point for Sheldon. He’s been really great at handling my mood swings. He can generally calm me down or make me feel better within the hour of my breakdowns.
Another fun thing that happens at this point in pregnancy is the inability to bend over longer than two seconds. For instance, the majority of my pregnancy has been in the summer. Summer = HOT in Texas. I love the water. The problem? I can’t go in public in a bathing suit without shaving my legs. If you’ve never been pregnant, have you ever thought about how complicated it would be to shave your legs while holding a baby on your lap? I never did. Waxing scares the crud out of me. I’m afraid I’ll go into labor from the pain of the experience. So unless you want to go swimming with Big Foot, you won’t see me at the local pool this summer.
In addition to not being able to shave effectively, there’s no way I can reach my toes long enough to polish them. I could just fling some polish in that direction and see if it splatters in a flattering pattern. Or I could make a pedicure appointment…yah, maybe I’ll do that.
Lastly for now, I finally have my appetite back, but I can’t eat that much. Grrr. I’ll want to order a giant bowl of pasta with an entire loaf of bread and salad for myself. I’ll be full with two bites of pasta, one torn off piece of bread, and three bites of salad. And the kicker? I’m hungry an hour later.
Is it selfish to say I want my body back? I’m so happy to be pregnant and be able to feel my little girl’s kicks and squirms, but I’m just so ready for her to be here! Only eight more weeks Sophie!
Sophie should be about 3.75 pounds and 16.7 inches long. BabyCenter says she already has toenails, fingernails, and real hair. Her skin is also becoming soft and smooth, and she’s fattening up for the outside world.
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