Even fairy tales have a villain

Phil and Warren painting

During this pregnancy, I have regularly commented on how much I love being pregnant and how special this time is. I love feeling the baby move. I love seeing Phil get excited about putting things together. I love the adorable clothes and cute accessories in the stores. And in the past 2 weeks, I have seen the continued and growing love that others have for this little girl. Last weekend, I had a swim meet in Watertown, so I was gone for about 7 hours on Saturday and another 7 hour on Sunday. On Saturday, my parents in-law came up and helped Phil paint the nursery. On Sunday, Phil tackled the crib and the dresser and made a room turn into a nursery. In the past few weeks, we have also received packages from family members with clothes, toys and cards full of well wishes. It's just amazing to have so much love for someone that only God has met.



Crib with bedding and curtain

However, in every fairy tale, there is always a dark cloud or villain that appears at some point in the story. For me, the villain of our story has come in the form of  insomnia, physical aches and pains as well as high blood pressure. Towards the end of pregnancy, I know there is going to be the typical aches from a growing baby and a not-so-growing body. Anyone that asked me how the pregnancy was going during the first 33 weeks would have received an honest, 'this is awesome!'I love being pregnant!' Enter the 33rd week and you now get the response of, 'yep, only 6 more weeks' with a half-hearted smile. It's as if this little girl didn't think that she would rule our world, so she wanted to make sure she put her stamp on things right off the bat. About 2 weeks ago, my blood pressure started to creep up, so the doctor has kept a close eye on that. About the same time, my feet started to balloon and not return to their normal size (in previous weeks, I had mild problems with swelling, but my feet would always return to their normal size after a few hours of rest). In the past week, I have not been able to sleep through the whole night due to abdominal pain that wakes me up. I sleep sitting up and about 3 hours after falling asleep, I get woken up with a sharp pain in my upper abdomen. I stay up for about 2-3 hours trying to get the pain to go down and relax and then go back to bed for another 2-3 hours. I have seen the doctor twice in the past week and have had multiple tests done. I'm waiting on some results that should be in tomorrow, so hopefully I'm able to have some relief. But if not, I have to find the silver lining and think about the prep that I'm getting for the next 6 weeks (because we all know after baby's born, I'll be excited to get 3 hours of continuous sleep)! And I have to keep reminding myself that pregnancy is something that a lot of women have gone through and each of us has our own story, so I'm just making sure mine is extra special :)

So, I am now 34 weeks- yikes! Baby girl is about 4.5 pounds (so the size of a cantaloupe) and she's about 18 inches long. I'm trying to rest as much as possible to help her grow and trying to stay on the healthy track, although my diet could be much better (as always). Still no weird cravings or making Phil do any late night runs... but there's still time for that!  Nothing really has changed in that department- I still like cheese, key lime yogurt, cheeseburgers, and fruit snacks. Oh, and tis the season for Girl Scout Cookies! (Thin Mints and the lemon ones are particularly delicious) :)

Only in pregnancy

During the past 32 weeks or so, there's been a few things that have happened or things that have been said to me where I think, 'only in pregnancy can this possibly happen.' In the beginning, it was the longer stares when people were trying to figure out if I had just gained some summer weight or if I was pregnant. Then it was the constant napping in the first trimester, which has re-occured in the third trimester (I will not enjoy giving up my naps once the baby is here)! Poor Phil, my mom and a few close friends got to experience the emotional outbursts, uncontrolled emotions and other mental things that my hormones have put me through. Recently, the simple acts of getting in and out of my car, sitting down to put on my shoes and putting on pants (along with some other things) have become a chore. Yes, I have been on the phone in the past week or two with people when I am getting out of my car and they have asked me if I was on a walk or working out. Bless this little girl for making my lungs feel smaller each day :)
The best things that have happened occured at the 32-week appointment on Friday. During the ultrasound, the tech told me that I have a 'cervix that's nice and long.' Again, only in pregnancy will I hear something like that. At the appointment, our doctor was looking at my vitals and talking about the results and without missing a beat, said 'can i get some urine?' and then continued on with the conversation. For those of you who have been 32 weeks, you know that you have to pee every 10 minutes anyway, so that wasn't a problem. But the fact that it was part of a normal conversation just made me smile and know 'only in pregnancy!'

It seems that I have hit the point of 'true pregnancy.' I have swollen ankles (or swankles as Phil refers to them), I can feel hungry and yet feel like I have no room in my abdominal area, have some nights where I wake up every 90 minutes or so and others where 8 hours seems like too little and of course the ever constant heart burn. Unfortunately, my blood pressure is a little on the high side, so that will continue to be monitored. But the best news is that my placenta has moved (I had placenta previa at the 20 week appointment), so we can continue as planned.
After the appointment, we took a little detour to Babies R Us to pick up a few items. So, gosh forbid, if this baby comes tomorrow, we at least have the pack and play, stroller, car seat, swing and bedding (with the crib and dresser being delivered in the next week). And tons of clothes :) So, while not totally prepared, we are at least on track of being prepared.

Our 32 week appointment was yesterday and it was wonderful again to see the little girl (yes, we got confirmation that it was a girl). She continues to measure on the smaller side and the measurements put her birth date at April 9 (expected due date is April 4), but only God knows when she'll be here!  She weighed in at 3 pounds 15 ounces and she's in the 45th percentile. Everything looks healthy and so now it's just the wait and see game!