Week 38.6; June 11th, 2015

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What will I miss about being pregnant?

I will miss the belly…a little bit. I will miss feeling the kicks, the turns and the tickles. Even when I am laugh-pleading with Baby ASW to stop, it feels great to feel that movement.

What will I not miss?

The lack of comfort during sleep. Constant feeling that I need to nap. ALL. THE. FREAKING. TIME.

Being prohibited from eating sushi. Being able to walk at a normal rate – I have visibly slowed down these last two weeks. My doctor’s office  was like, yeah you usually come in all energetic, bouncing off the couch and all…and today, you are visibly dragging. I just feel super tired all the time. I woke up this morning, for example, by 0600, psyched to head to work early before my weekly appointment at 0900. I had breakfast. Then all I wanted to do was to sleep.  Continue reading →

Work Day Musings

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Spending the afternoon with a roomful of beautiful women who have survived breast cancer and are thriving 31 years , 10 years or even 6 months after treatment really makes you sit up straight. These women were full of smiles, positivity and joy of spirit despite what many may feel is a death sentence. Days like today make me realize the frailty of life but also make me realize the joy inherent that can sustain you in life. Keeping a positive mind, laughing often, and not letting one thing define you and determine your happiness…I appreciated these ladies today and I am looking forward to learning from them as I grow in my position.

Week 37.5; June 3, 2015

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I was out running errands after work the other day and I pulled into a parking spot. After taking care of some things inside the building, I waddled walked out to find a white van parked in the spot next to mine, on my driver’s side. I tried to open my door to get into my car but the van, though parked within the painted white lines marking their spot limits, was a bit too close to allow me and my girth to successfully maneuver into my car. I stood there for about 5 seconds, trying to see if I could crawl in from the passenger side. Nope, no go. Far too tired for acrobatics. I did pull those moves when I was 28-31 weeks, when the belly was not as, uhm, prominent. I had to walk back up to the building and kindly ask the security guard to get the driver and, luckily, he was understanding enough to go inside and holler around for the driver. The driver popped out in less than 3 minutes and was
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The Wait

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It’s a waiting game now as

days fade into nights,

and the velvet ink of the

dark nights bleeds into

the brilliant sunlight as

the light of day streams

through the drapes…

and you tumble gently within,

talking to me with each push,

each pull showing me

what you have become

as these days turned into nights

into days.

With each passing hour,

each passing movement,

each passing increase in girth,

my love explodes beyond the imaginable…

It’s a waiting game now.

Update! Week 35.5, May 20 2015

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Yes, my appointment with my OB went well.

The baby is measuring a week and a half out, apparently. Doc says it doesn’t mean that he will come early…

I got my TDap vaccination, had my GBS swab (exciting…) and got my prenatal vitamins refilled.

Let’s see what this little boy decides to do in the next few weeks.

Week 35.5; May 20 2015

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Feeling tired is an understatement for how I feel these days. I am in the middle of Week 35 and getting up from my chair at work feels like I am lifting up a Boeing 777 dreamliner. This just hit me over the last week so I am unsure where it came from! Baby moves a lot more these days, especially when I am getting ready to sleep. I remember complaining going on about how he hardly moves and now it seems he is making up for it. Double time.

My workmate reminded me that my maternity leave starts in 3 weeks BUT I do understand why some women take that 4 weeks before delivery as part of their leave. I get up, energized and ready to attack my day, then I fade by 10 am. Ha.

I have to clear some things off my to do list:

  • my insurance – dealing with the county…sucks.
  • paid family leave and disability applications
  • child care options
  • have a (handsome) CHP officer install my car seat into Waf
  • register at the hospital
  • finish packing my hospital bag
  • finish my music playlist compilation + get my speakers together for that day
  • ETC ( whatever else I can’t think of or remember right now)

Here are my notables for this week:

How far along: 35 weeks, 5 days

Gender: Boy

Weight gain: Not sure – Doc appointment tomorrow…Baby feels super heavy :-/

Maternity clothes: Working with my regular wardrobe; converted my jumpsuit into a workable outfit…I just pull the elastic part over my belly and then rock a shirt over that…I don’t even use the belly bands any longer…I have my Express elastic waist pants that I have been wearing…no full-on maternity wear.

Sleep: I no longer have reflux…but now it’s all about baby boy moving like mad when I am about to sleep! I have reverted back to sleeping without pillows and it feels like I have come full circle…LOL

Best moment this month: Getting to feel the baby move even more! He hiccups like mad! I had my regular baby shower this month (pics and post are up) AND my workmates had one for me yesterday. I am not a huge fan of shower games but we played some awesome games that had everyone laughing till they cried! It was really nice of them to do that for me, I really appreciated them! OH, I almost forgot – I got a surprise package at work (well, thinking back…it wasn’t really a surprise because she said she would mail a gift to my work address BUT I had forgotten) and it was a Bringing Home Baby Bundle from freshlypicked.com courtesy of my friend Toni – I was so surprised and pleased and it took me a good 4 hours to figure out it was Toni who’d sent it! There was no card, no note BUT I figured it out. I have just enjoyed getting gifts from my friends and coworkers for this little boy. My friend, Becky, surprised me too and got me my travel system (car seat and stroller)! I feel so blessed, really!

Worst moment this month: Getting tired so easily and so fast – I can barely talk without losing my breath and I can’t really move around with the energy I had at the end of last week!

Miss anything: Miss talking to my mpenzi every day, since he has to travel for work more often now. I have been eating everything in sight so I don’t really miss food…:-)

Movement: Hiccups seem to occur more often now. He has been upside down for a while and he shifts his butt around a lot…when I am on my bed, on my side, I can feel his feet grazing the side of my right rib cage right below my boobs…such a weird ticklish feeling!

Cravings: I am STILL extremely prone to suggestion…

Queasy or sick: Well, last week I had a headache, nausea and general body aches (no, it was not malaria) and I was a bit nervous, thinking of preeclampsia…so I went down to the firehouse and had a handsome young firefighter measure my blood pressure (110/80 – perfect) so I figured I was fatigued from my previous day’s work activities (14 hr work day) and I went home, drank some water, ate some meat and slept. I felt a thousand times better the next day. lesson learned: DO NOT be a hero.

Looking forward to: Getting my house fully ready – I got a sofa ($24.99) and a chair and my friend Renee, her daughter and her mom helped me move them in. I made injera and shuro for them (their first ever time) and I was laughing so hard because tummies started talking. I love my friends…anyway, I am looking forward to having everything set up in the next week or so!

Stretch marks?: None yet. Fingers crossed, still.

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: One very prominent belly.

Belly Button in or out?: Out, but that’s normal

Wedding rings on or off?: On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: a little happy BUT when something upsets me, I move from 0 to 120 in about 2 seconds…

Week 35, 5 days
Tired!
Love these! A gift from Toni
Surprise no-card package at work…:-)