33 Weeks and counting...

This is me at 33w2d, according to my count.
(Sorry about the dirty mirror. Boo streaks it up faster than I can keep it clean these days...)

If I make it to 40 weeks, that only leaves 7 weeks remaining. I have no reason to believe I'll last that long because Noodle has been trying to escape for weeks, but every night before I go to sleep I say a prayer and visualize myself making it to January. I don't want Noodle cursed with a Christmas-week birthday, neither before or after, and certainly not ON the holiday itself! And if we could skip New Years Eve and New Years Day all together, that'd be great, too.

So...Noodle...Mommy is instructing you to stay put until January. Do you hear me? JANUARY.






How Big is Noodle?
At last week's ultrasound, the tech measured Noodle's head at 10.25cm. Which means baby is already bigger than the door necessary for escape...so...while I'm VERY happy Noodle is growing and thriving and doing well in there, I'm already plagued by the very real physical memory of delivery.

Heh. *ahem* Needless to say, my anxiety level has begun to climb higher as the weeks count down...

Noodle's head to heel length should be somewhere around 19". It's hard to know for sure, but that's the statistic.

The tech also measured Noodle at 4lbs 10oz last week, give or take. So we'll estimate at least 5lbs this week. Sound fair?

They say Noodle is around the size of a pineapple this week. A pineapple!

Maternity Clothes?
If I'm not wearing them, I'm in pajama pants, hoodies or the very limited amount of larger-size non-maternity tops that still manage to hide the belly.

Stretch Marks?
None so far, thank goodness. Not that I'd really notice anymore, honestly...

Sleep?
Sleep is beginning to elude me once more. I've suffered from TERRIBLE insomnia this last week. And when I finally DO fall asleep, I'm roused awake by brain-splitting headaches, the urge to potty, body-tearing contractions or the general feeling that I can't breathe.
Needless to say, I'm wildly uncomfortable and very, very tired from lack of any good sleep whatsoever.
I am, however, VERY clean from all the showers I take in the middle of the night in my feeble attempts to relieve pain and relax. So that's something, right?

Best Moment of the Week?
Truthfully, there hasn't been any good highlights this week concerning the pregnancy itself. I've been maintaining the status quo, and I think that's a good thing.

I did, however, get to watch my daughter play basketball for the first time last weekend. And while it was awkward because of my incredibly unsocial ex-husband's presence and I spent quite a while chasing a very grumpy toddler around the school, it was worth every second to see her out there! She's had to overcome SO much to be comfortable enough to play a team sport, I couldn't be more proud.

Miss Anything?
Sleep.
Running.
The ability to walk more than 8 feet without feeling like I've just run 10 miles.
Bending over.

Movement?
Noodle is moving around a lot these days, which is one of my biggest comforts as we near the end. It's very obvious there's limited room left in there, as the flips and turns are now capable of moving my entire mid-section and the same time. I've had a very good time watching Noodle's movements when I lay on the couch at night.

Food Cravings?
We're back to cold cereal and hot apple cider.

Food Aversions?
Not anything new, thank goodness.

Labor Signs?
(NOTE: From here until the end of the pregnancy, I may, at times, include graphic details related to labor signs, symptoms or other information that some readers may be too sensitive to read comfortably. If you have trouble with sensitive information or find it offensive, insulting or inappropriate, now would be a good time to stop reading my blog and return after labor and delivery has completed. Thank you for your understanding.)

 I'm still having those darn contractions, but they're apparently something I'm supposed to ignore. So...yeah.
Increase in mucous discharge.
Menstrual-like cramping off and on.
Increase in backache accompanied by contraction.

My doctor and staff are continuing to keep an eye on me, but at this time these symptoms are not seeming to do much progress, so we're unconcerned about PTL at this time!

Belly Button?
It's not changing. I don't think it's going to.

Happy or Moody?
This week I've been a bit moody and a lot emotional. The happiness creeps in, but due to life stressors and other factors, I've found myself doing more weeping and brooding than any smiling.

Looking Forward To?
I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving next week, that's for sure!

Random Stuff:
I'm continuing to limit my activities because I feel that's doing more good than anything else at this point at keeping the contractions to a minimum. It's hard to try and keep myself inactive as the holiday season gears up, but I'm maintaining well and I'm still managing to get quite a bit accomplished from the comfort of my couch. I'm grateful for that.

I keep getting smacked in the face with the realization that Noodle will be here VERY SOON. It's magical to me that the wonder and anticipation returns at the end of each pregnancy, even while I'm aware of the impending hardship and heavy workload.

With my first pregnancy, I hit that wall where I was very anxious for the pregnancy to be over so I could hold my beautiful baby, and I was very, very done being pregnant. With my second, I didn't really get that feeling at the end, so much as I just wanted to return to work at my normal capacity as soon as possible because I was tired of being on light duty. With this pregnancy, I'm actually DREADING the end of the pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to labor and delivery (so motivated am I to do it differently this time!), but even with all the anticipation, I don't want to stop being pregnant. As hard as it's been, I'm saddened by the idea that this is nearly over and the astonishing feelings of Noodle growing strong within me is almost gone. I know I've said that before, but it's ringing more and more true as the days and weeks fly by.

I talked with Mister yesterday about how quickly this holiday season is drawing this pregnancy to a close. With Thanksgiving this week, we'll hit full-term before Christmas and then it's A LOT of prayers that Noodle stays put until after Christmas and New Year. Because of all the hustle of the holidays, these weeks are mere flashes as they pass us by. Noodle could realistically be here within a month's time. All of these months of preparation and waiting...and here we are facing the reality of the end and it's flying by so quickly, I'm afraid I'm not enjoying it ENOUGH. So I told him that I wanted, very much, to do as much as we could to enjoy the rest of this pregnancy during our holiday season. We needed to pay more attention to Noodle and keep the busy holidays from stealing our attention away from these final weeks. I'm sincerely hoping we can do that. For all of our sakes.

Anyway, that's enough for now. I'm getting all emotional again and that's just ridiculous.
Until next time, friends...