Well, here I am with only 4 weeks to go until my due date; technically 3 weeks and 5 days as of today. Not that I want to get too hung up on my due date. I’ve told my midwives that I don’t want to be induced and they’ve agreed to only induce me once I reach 42 weeks. I’m prepared to go through hell and high water to do anything to avoid being induced (like acupuncture and other natural remedies). But I won’t worry about that, just yet.
Symptoms:
Can I skip over this section? I feel like my symptoms are obvious right now. Can someone please explain to me how people don’t know they’re pregnant?
Baby Update:
Boy, is my little man active! I find myself wondering, do other people’s baby’s move this much? Since I work at my computer, I’m lounging in a still position a good portion most of the day. It seems like 90% of the time I’m still he makes huge movements. The kind of movements that are hard to ignore while I work. These aren’t “Look, I think that’s a foot!” movements. These are “I feel like an alien is about to rupture out of my stomach!” movements.
At my last midwife appointment, he checked out as perfectly healthy. I haven’t had an ultrasound since I found out the sex (at 18 weeks), but I’m happy about that. There are mixed opinions in the medical world about ultrasounds and what kind of effect they have on the baby so I’m happy to avoid them unless necessary. He was measuring about a week ahead a couple of months ago, but now he’s measuring right on time. His heartbeat is healthy and strong. And (very important to me!) he’s been head down for several months. As I mentioned two weeks ago, he has been in the same place for so long that he has bruised my stomach muscles by pressing his little butt against the same spot over and over again. However, I’ve appreciated the peace of mind that he’s not breech. I do not want a C-section unless absolutely necessary. And unfortunately no doctors in this area and only one midwife will deliver a breech baby vaginally.
Cravings:
My cravings now aren’t too far outside what I typically crave. I could eat pizza once a day. I actually bought some Lean Cuisine pizzas the other week when I was in a pinch and didn’t want to order to pizza. Now I have the stuff on hand to make pizza from whole wheat tortillas. I really just want the cheese and marinara, so this is a good substitute to avoid getting takeout several times a week.
I could also eat ice cream pretty much any time of day. Brad and I went to the Whitewater Center with friends last night and then drove an extra 20 minutes west to go to Tony’s Ice Cream (in Gastonia — the area where I’m from) for the best ice cream in the whole world. It was Brad’s idea, but it didn’t take much to talk me into it.
I also am still craving protein like chicken, pulled pork, steak, shrimp, salmon, etc. I used to be able to eat vegetarian meals for days without missing meat and now I feel like I need meat at lunch and dinner.
Fun Stuff
I had my last shower last weekend and then my family hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law the very next day. So, it was a fun weekend filled with lots of baby celebrating.
The fall season of Charlotte consignment sales are starting so I’ve been going to those when I find out about them to pick up some more stuff for Baby E (Is anyone interested in hearing about my consignment shopping experiences?).
The nursery is 99% done. The only thing I’m missing is an oar I ordered that was supposed to be here by now. I can’t wait to show it off when that oar comes in. It’s the icing on the cake so I feel like I need it before I do the big reveal.
My diaper bag came in yesterday and it’s even more beautiful in person than it was online! We even bought a “diaper” bag for Brad, which is more of a messenger bag. We plan to have a custom insert made from an Etsy shop so it can function as a diaper bag. He wanted a bag that he could also use as an overnight bag for business trips once he no longer needed the diaper bag.
The other gift I was most excited to receive was my jogging stroller, which my parents got me. I got the Bob Revolution Single Stroller. Although I liked the purple, I figure that if I’m running with my baby, I want people to see me, so I went for the orange.
Everything is starting to feel so real. I can’t believe that technically, my baby could come any moment, but I’m trying not to focus on that, else I’ll drive myself batty. It’s felt surreal when I’ve held friends’ babies for the first time knowing that just hours before, the baby was inside my friend’s body. I can’t imagine what this is going to be like when it’s my very own baby and I reach down and pull him out of me (as I plan to do).
I’m starting to pack my bag for the hospital, so I have to ask:
What were your “have-to-have” items that you’re so glad you packed in your hospital bag? OR, what did you forget that you really wish you had?