Pregnancy Update

We're getting ready for this new addition to grace our home! Things have been washed, bought, sanded & painted, installed and rearranged.

My body is getting ready with lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions, some more powerful than others, but nothing regular or serious. I tend to have them the more physically active I am. Every time I climb the stairs, walk a lot (running errands or elsewhere), bend down, shift my weight and even while reclining to sleep.

Weight gain has been more than I've hoped for, but not above the normal range for pregnancy. I've gained 30 pounds thus far with two weeks left to go. I really hope not to gain more than 5 more pounds, but we'll see what happens. It's all baby at this point, right?!

I've still been going to the gym, but not as religiously as I was before. I've taken to prioritizing sleep and taken those few extra hours in the morning to rest if I don't feel rested. I still make it about 3 times a week. For cardio, I'm just walking on the treadmill for about 30 minutes. Then I'll use the machines for lower body, back and chest strength training and I use the free weights for arms and shoulders. Compared to when I first started going to the gym, I feel like a wimp, but it's good to be humiliated sometimes, and it's for a really good reason. This too shall pass. I am content.

Swelling comes and goes, but it seems to be coming more than going. There are some days that I can see the ligaments and muscles in my feet and most other days, I cannot and jokingly call them my fankles. They are tender to the touch and to step, but a massage on the bottom/underside feels really good.

The baby is moving all the time. Most of the movement occurs when I'm hungry and when I'm sitting down. I would describe her movements as stretching, and beating and banging around, like someone trapped in a box trying to escape. Other times her movements are very rhythmic, like she'll be a percussionist. It really surprises me how regular her beats are. It's like she's taking her elbow or knee and gently beating out a metronomic rhythm! Yay! I know she's got rhythm. :-) Moriah had her feet in my ribs all the time. Lily had hiccups all the time.

At this point, and even before now, there has been much talk about when to go to the hospital, since my labors were so fast before and people are afraid of my stopping traffic to give birth on the highway. Well . . . if this labor starts like either of the last two, then I know when to leave and who to call. If it's completely different, then we'll just play it by ear. My water broke with Moriah. With Lily I had regular, non-serious, contractions for about 2 hours which all changed with a glass of ice water. Go HERE to read Moriah's birth story and HERE for Lily's. I'm excited to see what will happen this time, what she will look like and what her disposition will be like. It's exciting!

The doctor did not do a pelvic exam so, there is no new word on the condition of my cervix.