I wouldn't necessarily call it nesting, but it's just that I'm fully aware that A) I might not feel like doing a whole lot past 36 weeks, and B) It's a possibility that I could go into labor early. All of which has caused me to want everything to be done...NOW!
Poor Kyle doesn't really understand it, but he's being a trooper none the less. I have to remember that he can't read my mind and all of the crazy that's running around in there, so I finally made a "pre-baby to-do" list. Then he got it. Right now we're just working on getting the nursery finished. We have almost all of the furniture in there and the closet cleaned out, so I'm feeling better about it. Now I mainly just have some decorative things that I need to do. There seriously needs to be an extra day in the weekend!
Also, as strong as my will is, my body just can't quite keep up with the plans I have in my head. I've always had that problem though...putting more things on my to-do list than are possible to accomplish, making me feel like I sucked it up and am not the super woman I would so much like to be. But, there's not a whole lot you can do when your uterus is gaining about a half a pound a week, and your lower back just can't quite keep up.
I will say, something I remembered about body awareness helped me a lot throughout the first 2/3 of pregnancy...ballet posture. What? Ballet? Yes, I took dance when I was like, 4 (and now that I'm 5'10", it's probably a good thing I didn't have my heart set on becoming a prima ballerina), but the posture part always stuck with me...not that I always used it (much to my mother's dismay). Anyway, ballet posture is elongating the spine, shoulders rolled back and down, and most importantly...tucking your hips under. This plays into pregnancy because as the uterus grows, it pulls on your lower back. If your lower back gets pulled forward to the point that your hips are no longer supporting it, your back will indeed begin to hurt. So, by remembering to pull the hips under, you're able to provide a base and support the rest of your spine...keeping it from doing so much work that it's not used to doing. I also recently switched out my office chair at work with one of the conference room chairs. It's made a world of difference!
Speaking of pregnancy discomforts...the other night I climbed into bed and noticed that my abdomen was kind of hurting. Not like a contraction, just like I may have tried to do too much that day. Anyway, so I get out of the bed, face it, and lean over so that my stomach can hang down and allow my uterus and stomach muscles to relax. My back and hips were tight as well, so I began to sway my hips back and forth to loosen them up...like I've seen on so many pregnancy videos. While I'm doing this, Kyle's sitting in bed watching SportsCenter or something, and after a few minutes he says in all seriousness, "Babe, I'm not sure if I should rub your back, pray for you, or pull my pants down." Needless to say, extreme laughter is not conducive to relaxing your stomach muscles, but it was nice to laugh all the same.
We attended a birthing class a couple of weekends ago...and I'm extremely glad that we did! Most of it I had heard before or knew from just reading, but it was nice to have an experienced L&D nurse teaching the class so that we could ask questions. She also gave us a tour of the L&D rooms, nursery, and postpartum rooms...and took apart everything we might possibly see (monitors, warming tray for baby, epidural kit, etc...). We also practiced some different breathing techniques for the different stages of labor. True to form, however, Kyle and I giggled through the whole thing. We just couldn't keep straight faces while trying to "heeeeeee, heeeeeee,whoooooo".
I'm just one of those people that reads all of the directions first because I like to know what to expect, even if there are potential detours, so the whole thing just took away any mystery that there might have been and made us both feel more prepared, which was the whole point! Next up...Breastfeeding, Newborn Care, and Infant CPR classes. Yes folks, this is where the Type A portion of my personality shows up!
How Far Along: 31 Weeks
Size of baby: OB did an ultrasound yesterday and said he was around 4 lbs.
and measuring a little larger than average. Great.
and measuring a little larger than average. Great.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, I know one thing for sure...my OB's scale is really messed up. I'm not kidding, I even had Kyle get on it to make sure. It said that I had gained 4 lbs. in two weeks which I knew for a fact wasn't true because I've been weighing myself at home.
Maternity Clothes: Ha ha. I put on one of my small, regular t-shirts on the other day just to wear around the house and Kyle asked me if I wanted a bigger shirt. I looked at him and said, Why? This isn't cute? He just shook his head and said, um, no.
Movement: Let's put it this way...This past week I've opted to sit at the side or back of the room during meetings instead of sitting at the main table because I am certain that I make faces when I get punched/kicked in the colon, bladder, ribs, and side. I don't want people thinking that I have Tourettes or an issue with what someone is saying.
Sleep: With the exception of consistently waking up 30 minutes before my alarm goes off, I've been sleeping really well.
What I miss: Doing everything for myself. I had to have Kyle help me tie one of my tennis shoes this last week because I couldn't reach it without feeling like I was squishing the baby's head. I am proud that I'm still wearing heels, however.
Cravings: Just food in general.
Symptoms: I've noticed that I get out of breath a lot easier.
Best Moment this week: Seeing the little guy on the ultrasound yesterday and the OB telling us that everything was perfect. Can't ask for much more than that!
A-dorable!
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