- Make Me an Honest Woman: I have previously mentioned the edema I've been dealing with, but always in the context of my poor, poor feet. Well my hands are also suffering. In fact, for probably a month now I've been too swollen to wear my engagement and wedding rings. I'm terrified of getting them stuck on my fingers and being forced to have them cut off, so I've put them away for the time being. I've been moping around about my naked finger for long enough that this week, to my delight, my stand-in ring from R arrived. It is a lovely, tiny band in a gigantic size that should safely be wearable through the remainder of this pregnancy, delivery and journey back to my pre-baby size. I have visions of having it resized after all is said and done and then someday giving it to our little girl - it seems like a rather special memento from her parents!
Speaking of pre-baby bodily glory, check out this side-by-side comparison of Week 12 and Week 29:
*BAM* I sure have blown up! All for a good and worthy cause, though!
- Pregnancy Brain is REAL: From this week's "DUH" headline, we learn that scientists have proven the validity of pregnancy brain. Thank goodness for science, but this doesn't make me feel a whole lot better about how scattered and batty I seem lately. I cannot remember anything (names, words, reason for going to the store/kitchen/basement/etc.), I lose things all the time (a container of apple slices R prepped for my snack went mysteriously missing all day yesterday, only to be found on my car's passenger seat tonight), and today I actually realized that I feel stressed out but can't remember why that is. This is a decidedly unpleasant side effect, and R has even threatened to start pinning items to me in an effort to help me remember!
- You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's Gone: I mentioned in the last post all the exciting news about the progress in the nursery this week. I also mentioned that we slept in the nursery (for two nights, actually) while R has been working on installing new lighting, painting the ceiling, getting the new ceiling fan hung, painting the walls/trim/doors, etc. in our bedroom. (Side note: this may very well be his own version of nesting - adorable!) He's making great progress, but given that he only has a few hours each night to work on this project, it's taking some time. Last night we moved our in-home camping party to the pull-out sleeper sofa in the office/den/guest room upstairs since the work and mess in that room is all cleaned up. It was definitely superior to the air mattress on the nursery floor, but oh how I look forward to sleeping in our own glorious bed again soon. For tonight, it looks like we'll spend another night upstairs. It's lucky we have the option to do so... the floor sounds mighty unappealing to one who has a hard time getting comfortable enough to sleep under the best of circumstances lately!
- Like a Swift Kick in the Ribs: Baby Girl has been antsy lately, moving around for hours at a time (seriously - is that normal?!). Her movements have become increasingly emphatic, and I have visions of a particular kick or punch being strong enough to actually poke straight through my belly button, resulting in a tiny baby arm or leg peeking out of my stomach! This morning while getting out of my car I received a noteworthy kick straight to my rib meat. I let out a howl, as the surprising pain took my breath away. The good news is that the sheer adrenaline of that experience helped me shake off the stubborn sleepiness that was clinging to my foggy brain. Sometimes I think the reason we experience a rush of oxytocin after our babies are born is so that we don't immediately grab hold of them, peer into their tiny faces and say, "So you're the little squirt who caused me so much misery for all those weeks!"
Okay, with that, I'm beat and the sofa bed is calling my name. Here is this week's tracker:
Week: 30
Weight: +21 pounds (as of Week 29; my next appointment is this Friday - *gulp*)
Baby is the Size of a(n): Head of Cabbage (~3 pounds!)
Symptoms: still always hungry, round ligament and general "growing" pains, really achy pelvis (SPD), tailbone pain, extreme shortness of breath (I felt winded after getting off of an elevator this week!), mental lapses, wacky dreams, the beginnings of nesting and general moodiness (noteworthy breakdown: I've been raging around the office this week because I've been feeling it's just too hot in there to expect anyone to get anything done!)
Current Obsession: orange juice, oatmeal, red meat, all the vegetables from our farm share (especially squash), apples, cinnamon applesauce, peanut butter, milk, vanilla almond milk, and the Signature Latte from our local coffee shop
Current Aversion: not much!
Thinking About: who our little girl will take after; seeing the actual little elbows, knees, hands and feet she's using to poke and jab at me; finishing up the nursery and layette; securing a pediatrician; taking maternity photos and getting newborn photos scheduled; attending birth classes (this weekend!); choosing a hospital for delivery; and still pondering names
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