Yolande

I'm officially 9 months pregnant today, going by the strange '10 total months of pregnancy' thing. Wow. Just wow.





At 36 weeks I'm not quite considered 'full term' but if I would go into labor on my own, my doctor would not do anything to stop it. Totally crazy, right? Even crazier: I'm pretty sure I've been having more frequent and definitely more intense contractions lately. I'm going to call them 'Braxton Hicks' because they aren't at regular intervals or anything so I doubt they are anything productive. But every now and then, especially when I'm laying down on a side or sometimes when I'm up walking around, I'll feel very crampy as if I'm about to start my period. I'll feel my belly and it is hard as a rock so I know my entire uterus is contracting a bit and it's not just baby boy poking his head on my ovaries or something. I've had that crampy feeling a lot more over the past few weeks but now it's getting to the point where it's a lot more painful and noticeable so we'll see what my doc thinks about that when I see her on Monday. Oh, and this is possibly too much information for you but last Wednesday night I had some very light brown spotting which my doctor is not concerned about but it could be a sign of changes in my cervix preparing for birth, or possibly the beginnings of my mucous plug. Whoo hoo! :)

My last appointment on Thursday was a long one, but luckily nothing has really changed with my status yet. My blood pressures are hanging right around the acceptable mark but even so my doctor ordered a whole battery of tests since it's been over a week with high pressures to make sure there aren't any other signs of pre-eclampsia. She ordered more blood tests, I had to pee in another giant jug for 24 hours (and this time I did it at work, which was incredibly fun and challenging to pour my pee into a jug and refrigerate it during a work day), they did a non-stress test on baby Carlos to make sure he's moving around okay, and ordered an ultrasound for Tuesday to check his growth and amniotic fluid levels. The stress test was fine, I think--he moved like crazy at first but once I got comfortable during the 20 minute test so did he and I think he fell asleep for awhile. So the nurse came in with a mini-tazer gun of sorts to zap my belly and he woke up for a few seconds before settling down again. Maybe that means we have a good sleeper in our future? :) His heart rate was fine throughout and the nurse didn't seem too concerned so I'll take that test off my worry list. The ultrasound on Tuesday is something I'm looking forward to because normally I wouldn't get any more after our 20 week session, so this is a chance to see our boy again! But of course, I'm hoping the fluid levels are okay and his growth is normal...I'm not getting too excited for their weight estimate on him since I always hear about techs over-estimating a HUGE baby and then they come out 2 pounds lighter than predicted. We shall see what they say but of course, I hope he is okay in there!

I also had my first internal exam after the Strep B test and it wasn't bad at all. I'm not dilated yet but to quote my doctor, the baby is 'locked and loaded with his head VERY low' so apparently he's in position to make his move. I really think this fact paired with my more frequent contractions and the light spotting means I might go into labor before I have to get induced but I'm trying not to get too attached to that idea just yet. My friend Laura, who is possibly one of the most intelligent people I know as the chief resident at her hospital, says there are studies out there that show women who work in physically demanding jobs and work on their feet have a greater chance of going into labor earlier than their 'desk job' friends. I'm starting to see why that is true.

I managed to work full 8 hour days on Wed, Thurs, and Friday last week with Friday being a whole day of patient care on my feet. I was totally exhausted afterward and took a 2 hour nap that evening but the good news is my pressure stayed under the red line the whole time. I know my doctor is trying to buy me more time at work, without using my maternity leave, by running these tests and making sure there isn't a reason to pull me out early. But in my heart I really believe she won't let me work until the very end because my pressures will go up or something will show in my tests and I'm willing to accept that when it comes. It's SO hard to be at work and feel like I'm not pulling my weight around there, especially when we are crazy busy and I can't go into overdrive like I usually do to see extra patients and take the load off my coworkers. It's a mental battle for sure, as I remind myself that right now my baby boy is most important and if that means I walk slower and sit more often while I work then so be it. I'm still doing my job and functioning at work but I have to take it easy or I won't be able to help at all on bedrest at home:) I'm lucky to have understanding and 'mother hen' coworkers who don't resent my new 'slow but sure' speed but it's more of a challenge for myself as I feel guilty for seeing less patients than my normal. Ultimately my doctor has the final say regarding my safety at work and when she says I'm done I won't fight it next time. But for now I'm taking it a day at a time and scheduled all week long....cross your fingers I can make it!

Other than hitting an awesome milestone of 36 weeks, Nate and I celebrated our 7th Valentines Day together on Sunday by going to one of our favorite brunch joints. It's amazing to think we've been together for almost 8 years and married for almost 3 and this will be our last V-day with just the two of us. I am one lucky lady to have such a hawt, thoughtful, and caring Valentine and through all of this end-of-pregnancy drama Nate has proven to be my voice of reason, as always. He loves me and I love him and we're going to be parents soon. That about sums it up:)



Pretty centerpiece at brunch


My stuffed french toast: complete with strawberry banana cream cheese filling. (((drool)))


Mostly decaff coffee with a few splashes of caffeine. I know, I got SO wild, didn't I?


So that's it for week 36. More of the same issues but nothing has worsened as of yet, so I'm still plugging away as I can. Just taking a heck of a lot more naps in the process...

Since I usually write these weekly posts on Sundays, I can say that today is my 35/35. Not sure what that means? It's the really sweet day in your pregnancy when you have completed 35 weeks and have 35 days to go. Pretty cool, huh? I can't believe I'm here already/finally.



Must be the fact that my pants are lower than usual or something, but it looks like my belly dropped a bit and is more round on bottom now? I dunno.

And I don't think I've shown a full frontal shot before:)

At least I can see a hint of ab muscles up there?

This past week has definitely been one of the most eventful weeks in my pregnancy complete with abnormally high blood pressure out of nowhere, bedrest, peeing in jugs the size of milk containers, startling numbers on the scale, lots of unplanned time off from work, and two baby showers in one day. See? Doesn't it make you tired just to read about my week? Me, too. I need another nap.

Let's talk about a few of those events, shall we?

Blood pressure: I only worked for a few hours on Thursday before my pressure went up to the 'goal' point of 140/90. Then on Saturday I worked all day and it hovered right around that point all day, sometimes testing a little lower and a few times it was a couple of points higher. I lasted 6.5 hours that day and then required a 2 hour nap afterward, which I guess is a success? On Sunday I was scheduled for a full day but my nice coworkers let me leave after 4 hours. The numbers started off very high for my BP (higher than my goal for sure) but then simmered down to below the red line...so I'm not sure what to make of that day as a whole.

I can't help but wonder if I'll make it at my job for the remaining 5 weeks. My boss has said they will be flexible with me and if I need to drop down my hours, they will try to accommodate that. I just hope my pressures stay about like they are and don't spike up again and if I can hold them to this point it should be okay. If these mediocre numbers are a precursor for worse things to happen then I'm certain I won't make it until the end. Why do I have to work on my feet all day, walking/bending/pushing/pulling and talking until I'm blue in the face? Right about now I'm wishing for a comfy desk chair and a computer job but I'm sure that would get old in no time, so I'll just do my best while I can.

Showers: yes, we had TWO in one day. One thrown by Nate's PT school classmates and one thrown by my co-workers at the hospital. Both were so much fun and it left us with that familiar 'humbled and overwhelmed' feeling of gratitude. We feel the love, for sure. Baby boy got some amazing gifts and we ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed celebrating with friends outside the confines of work and school. There's always something special about removing yourself from those four walls that can be stressful and hassled, then seeing each other 'in the real world' and realizing that socializing is fun! And talking about a newborn baby is even more fun! Have I mentioned that I cannot freaking wait?

I'm sure it's because of my little scare this week but labor & delivery is seeming REALLY close these days. My initial reaction to the idea he might arrive earlier than planned was one of panic for many reasons, but mostly I felt like I had so much more to do to prepare for mister man. But honestly, all that is left on 'The List' are little piddly things like : installing the car seat, doing a final load of baby clothes laundry, packing a hospital bag, and buying some nursing bra/tank supplies. That doesn't mean you can pop out any time soon, Carlos, but if that HAD to happen I'm sure we'd manage just fine. I guess that's one of the perks of being Type-A and ahead of the game, huh?

I've definitely been more tired lately and it's getting to the point where I've reverted back to my first-tri ways of daily naps. But this time, I'm sleeping a lot worse during the night so it's somewhat justified. The other night I got up twice to pee (which is a lot for me!) and could not fall back asleep either time. I was just too uncomfortable and had too many thoughts running through my mind. I finally decided to get up and start the day at 5 am, which scared the crap out of Nate because he thought something was wrong with me. No, of course not, honey--isn't it totally normal to organize baby gifts at 5 am? :)

As far as baby blueberry Carlos goes, he is packing on the el bees right with his momma, and is expected to gain a half a pound for each remaining week, probably tipping the scales at 5.5 pounds or so at this point. He might not grow much more in length but will add a lot more fat in the rest of his time incubating. Another fun fact? His testicles should be headed south this week, descending to the outside of his little body. Growing up so fast, aren't we, baby boy?

So I'm pretty pumped for this upcoming week, mostly because on Monday I have my maternity pictures with the one and only Andrea followed by lunch with her and Erin, followed by another OB appointment (I hope she's still happy with me!). I work the rest of the week after that but I will not work another weekend until after my maternity leave is over....do you know how amazing that feels? I usually work about 7 weekend dates in a 4 month period so to have NONE on the horizon until June or so feels like a huge gift. Just working normal hours during the week? Whatever will I do with myself (oh, who am I kidding---we all know I'll be napping, reading and doing low-key projects as able).

At 35 weeks, the back cover for my pregnancy album is looking pretty darn good. (It already has 108 pages, too, don't worry). Care to peek?

Only 5 more weeks....give or take! Eek!