My Big Fat Belly - 33 Weeks

I can’t believe it….I’m 33 weeks pregnant now.  WOW.  Time has flown by and there is still so much I have left to do before little man makes his debut!!  The nursery isn’t done, I haven’t unpacked/put together ANYTHING we’ve gotten from our showers, I still need to clean the entire house…the list is never ending.  But as hard as it is to believe, Carter will be here sometime in the next 4-6 weeks.  I say this because in 4 weeks, I’ll be full term and the docs won’t stop it if he tries to come on his own then.  6 weeks is my 39 week mark and St. Vincent’s will induce starting at 39 weeks if I am showing some progression (in terms of dilation and effacement).  If I am dilated at 39 weeks (December 20th) then I will ask to be induced because I truly want Carter to wake up in his home for his first Christmas.  Not to mention we’ll have loads of family and friends in town right at that time and they’ll be gone if we wait until his actual due date. 

So what’s been going on with me in the past 3 weeks since I last did a belly post?  Well, I’m exhausted all the time and yet, somehow, Mr. Sandman has completely forgotten I exist.  I sleep VERY little through the night which obviously leaves me incredibly worthless when I come to work the next day.  I used to only wake up a couple of times in the night.  Now, even with the assistance of my friend Mr. Unisom, I am still waking up every single hour.  I usually am up at 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, and finally at 6 when I can’t put myself back to sleep.  I’m not having to pee at all these times, I just wake myself up and can’t go back to sleep.  I hear this is nature’s way of preparing me for what’s ahead.  Could someone send nature the memo that I only have a few weeks of sleep left and instead of KILLING me, she should be giving me what I need!?!?!

I still have no stretch marks (praise baby and adult Jesus), the belly button hasn’t popped, and I’m assuming it probably won’t, I’m weighing in at a total gain between 26-27 pounds, my upper back is on fire, and Braxton Hicks contractions are kicking my butt.  I am no longer doing my normal walks because every time I walk I feel what I think is BH contractions, so I feel like it’s best if I take it easy because as excited as I am to meet my son, I want him to stay in for at least 4 more weeks.  Hot baths have become a nightly ritual for me.  Each night before bed, I take a 30 minute hot bath and read a chapter in the Happiest Baby on the Block book.  It’s taken me months for some reason, but I’m only shy a few chapters from finishing this bad boy.  As soon as I’m done with it, I need to get a move on and start reading Baby Wise.  Both are books my sister that recently gave birth to their son recommended to me and both of them I’d already heard of.  Happiest Baby on the Block is all about calming a crying child and Baby Wise is about getting a baby on a sleep schedule and sticking to it. 

Swelling has taken over my fingers and feet.  I can’t wear my wedding ring anymore.  Actually I had to stop wearing my wedding band a few weeks ago because my wedding band  is smaller than my engagement ring (not really sure why).  I just now had to stop wearing my engagement ring.  Fingers and feet are usually fine first thing in the morning, but in the early afternoon they start swelling, especially my feet because my desk at work won’t allow them to be propped up.  My ring finger in particular will become uncomfortable when it feels restricted by a ring, so I just stopped wearing it a few days ago.

Some of my family members, including my husband, has been kind of freaking out lately wanting me to call the doctor because I’ve been experiencing some crazy headaches that never go away and have gotten dizzy and nauseous.  Justin tried numerous times to get me to go to Walgreens to take my blood pressure, but I wouldn’t.  When my sister came in town from Tampa and I went over to my mom’s to hang out with her, they forced me to take my blood pressure which was higher than what mine normally is, but still in the normal range.  So I didn’t call the doc.  But it’s been happening a few times since then and I still haven’t called.  It hasn’t happened in the past few days and I promised Justin and family that if it happens again I will call the nurse.  In the meantime, the guy whose office is next door to me at work has a blood pressure machine so if I feel bad, I’ll go check the pressure and make sure I’m good.  I don’t want to run into preeclampsia issues. 

I have no 33 week belly pic, so one from my shower will have to suffice.  My 33 week appointment is on Friday so I’ll blog after that and let everyone know if any major things happen.  And I plan to mention my headaches and dizziness issues to him on Friday, I was just trying to not call the nurse before then unless I really needed to.