T-Minus 8, or so they say...

I postponed the weekly update because I had an appointment scheduled with Dr. John today and I wanted to wait until I had all the information I could get for you, fellow readers. However, tomorrow I have an ultrasound now, so there may be yet another update after that. (There probably will be, you know me...) However, I didn't want to put off the weekly update that far into the week. So...here we are, catching up. Pour yourself a cup of whatever makes you happy and sit a spell...

How Far Along Am I Now?

According to me, I'm 32w2d.
According to my doctor, I'm 31w5d.
According to my fundal height, I'm 34w.

I'm going to say 32w2d, because that's what I know. So there. Mwahahahahaha!

My tummy is growing at a very rapid rate right now and will continue to do so until delivery, but I feel like a house. I'm looking forward to feeling like an apartment complex before the end of it.

I FINALLY had strangers ask me how far along I was. FINALLY. At 8 months pregnant. Sheesh! But 3 different people asked me all on the same day. It was nice to finally be recognized as pregnant and not just fat.






How Big is Noodle Now?
I'll know a lot more about Noodle's weight and length after tomorrow's ultrasound, but according to statistics, Noodle should be about 4lbs and roughly 19" long.

Noodle is certainly is long enough to push against my ribs and pelvic bones at the same time! While I secretly enjoy those painful rib stretches, they are indeed rather painful. It makes me happy, though. It means my baby is in there doing his or her baby thing! Stretch, Noodle, stretch!

Maternity Clothes?
I purchased a few more shirts this week so I could keep my belly covered. As you can see from the picture above, even my previous maternity tops are beginning to get too small. But if I'm not in maternity clothes, I'm in overly sized clothes for lounging. I only go out in public in maternity clothes, however.

Stretch Marks?
Nope. I thought I had one the other day, but I had just scratched myself. Tee hee!

Sleep?
Sleep is still a hardship for me, and beginning to get even worse. My insomnia has returned and continues to plague me for roughly half the week now. I'm getting up several times to potty and I have a hard time falling back to sleep, if I've fallen asleep at all. This has left me incredibly tired during the day, but I try not to take naps unless absolutely necessary, in hopes I can fall asleep later that evening.

To make matters worse, Noodle HATES when I sleep on my back, so now I've got to wedge a pillow behind my back to keep from rolling off my side. To keep this from happening, I tend to sleep on the couch more often than not.

Mister laughs at my nest when I do sleep in bed. I'm so surrounded by pillows and blankets now that he can't even see me! But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Best Moment of the Week?
We've kept it under wraps for the most part, but Mister and I went and had maternity pictures taken this last weekend! It was incredibly hard for me to do because we had to do quite a bit more walking than I've been doing lately, but we took it slow and the photographer was great about being patient and understanding when I struggled.

I haven't seen even ONE myself, but you can rest assured, when I do, I'm going to share those things with pride! We had a GREAT time and I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result.

It was absolutely WONDERFUL to be able to do that. I never got the opportunity to do so with my previous kids because my ex-husband was pretty...idle. It was such a fun experience, and Mister is such a good sport! I'm very lucky to be with a man that loves to experience things with me. It's not something I take for granted. I think we had quite a few stunning pictures, too, so I'm REALLY excited to see them! Hooray!

Miss Anything?
I still miss running, of course. But I've come up with some GREAT postpartum strategies and I'm more motivated NOW than I've EVER been to get back to running and get into shape. But...that's another blog, for another time...
I miss sleeping!
I miss feeling like I can breathe!
And unbelievably, I miss doing chores! (I'll regret saying that later, I'm sure.)

Movement?
Noodle is typically very active. There were a couple days that Noodle was a little more quiet than I'd like, and I had to do active kick-counts to be sure there was ENOUGH movement, but there always is, even if it's very subtle. With the cramped quarters, it's now very easy to see movement from the outside, as well. Mister got to watch the kicks earlier today at the doctor's office. However, as usual, Noodle is quiet when others are around and I have YET to have the opportunity to share kicks with either of my Moms or siblings. I keep hoping, though!

Food Cravings?

Ice Water!

Apple Juice!

Oreos and milk!

Fried kielbasa and potatoes! 

It's been a very crazy week for cravings. You can probably throw baked potatoes in there, too, but that's a fleeting craving. What a weird, weird food week.

Food Aversions?
Hot tuna fish.
This, of course, isn't appetizing to me when I'm not pregnant, either. But lately, just the THOUGHT of it makes my stomach turn. Ugh.

Labor Signs?
Nothing new, really. I'm still having contractions in clusters, sometimes up to 15 an hour for 3+ hours. I've got a pulling/tearing sensation in my cervix this week, and a bit more mucous discharge than before, but nothing really worth note.
(And for those of you who know the story...yes, I know what my cervix feels like. Ha ha!)

Belly Button?
It's still there. I'm not an alien, as we suspected!

Happy or Moody?

I've been kind of a jerk this week. Truthfully.

I could give you a million reasons, but it all comes down to me being an big, grumpy jerk.

Sorry, people.

I tried.



Looking Forward To?
The ultrasound tomorrow!!
I've never had a late term ultrasound before. I'm VERY excited to see Noodle this close to delivery! And it'll certainly put me at ease to SEE everything is alright in there. After all these scares, it'll really be a welcome comfort to have visual confirmation that things are truly alright.

Random Stuff:
Taking me off the Procardia has certainly taken away all of the near-fainting spells I was experiencing. It hasn't, however, taken away my shortness of breath. Dr. John and I are convinced this is just a symptom associated with my pregnancy, despite it's different sensation, and neither of us are concerned. My blood pressure, urine and lab work all confirm that I'm safely normal in every aspect, so my shortness of breath is just another thing not to worry about. I can easily manage it by sitting down with my feet up, so it truly is what it is.

Like I said before, my fundal height is measuring 34 weeks. That's perfectly normal at this stage. Dr. John isn't at all concerned about that and I look forward to getting an even more accurate growth measurement at tomorrow's ultrasound!

I've been experiencing a KILLER nesting urge this week, so much so that I've done too much and overdone it a couple times. (Believe me when I tell you I pay for it later and have found myself in hot showers, sobbing, because I'm such an idiot!) However, I'm getting rather intrigued as to what my moon chart says because these instincts aren't typically this strong this early. While Dr. John and I are confident I'll make it to at least 36 weeks, I'm wondering if I'll make it much past that.

(Fun Side Note: 36 weeks is the 12th of December...!!)

Truth be told, everything is good. I'm still in loads of pain and dealing with very limited activities, but I'm finding relief from stopping the Procardia. The twice-weekly NST's continue and they're doing A LOT to put my mind at ease, as well.

Speaking of NST's, we've discovered that Noodle does NOT like it when I lay on my back. Noodle has no good accelerations when I'm on my back and only shows good heart accelerations when I'm on my side. I spoke with Dr. John about that today and he assured me that it's absolutely NOTHING to be concerned about. He explained that Noodle just isn't comfortable that way, but the lack of good accelerations in that position is no reason for concern whatsoever. Noodle is perfectly fine. So that took a HUGE load off my mind.

Well, that's about it for now. I am so excited about our ultrasound tomorrow that I'm sure I'll have a hard time sleeping. I feel like a kid at Christmas!

I'll update all of you fabulous readers just as soon as possible!
Until next time...