35 Weeks

Well, I got another cold. Yes, that's number 5 if you're keeping track. This one knocked me on my rear pretty good. I did suck it up long enough to go to dinner with Kyle on Saturday night. One of the perks of what he does is getting to try a lot of good, new food. He had a restaurant doing a soft opening last weekend, so that's what we decided to do for our V-Day celebration. The restaurant is kind of a high-end, Latin steakhouse. The meat was good, but honestly, I could go back and just get the lobster bisque (with poblanos and roasted corn), wedge salad with avocado-buttermilk dressing, and the chocolate torte cake. [all of which is making me feel sorry for myself as I sit here and eat my instant pho and apple at my desk]

The ladies at work threw a shower for us on Valentine's Day, which also happens to be my birthday, so we had a great lunch-time party! I was honestly shocked by the level of giving on my co-workers' parts. We were truly overwhelmed by their gifts and support. (A few more details below)

We had a great doctor's visit yesterday (Wednesday). She did another ultrasound to check on the baby and all of my innards. He was rolling around so much that she had a difficult time getting any clear shots of his face (shocker), but we did catch a glimpse of his little nose and lips. It makes me so excited and anxious to see them in person!! The good news is that he is head down and looks really healthy. We asked about what size she thought he was, so she felt around on my belly for a while and then sort of laughed and said, he's a pretty good size! As in, larger than average. Not wishing for me to have to try and deliver beyond my due date, she highly recommended that I be very active, walk a lot...and "have lots of sex". Yes, you read that right. I gave her a quizzical look and she explained that medications like Cervidil that are used to ripen the cervix are primarily made up of the drug Dinoprostone...a synthetic derivative of hormones in the prostate. Make sense? Good. That's your health class lesson for the day.

The further along we've gone in this process, the more I like my OB. There was a time when I felt like just another "thing" being herded in and out, but honestly, it was because I've had a very normal, uncomplicated pregnancy...so there hasn't been much to do. The last few visits, however, she's taken a lot more time with us and gone over her philosophy on things. For instance, we were discussing episiotomies and tearing, and she said that typically, the patients that she delivers that receive an epidural tear a lot less, if at all, because they are better able to control their pushing and can stretch everything slowly...rather than being in severe pain and wanting to hurry and "just get it out of me". That made a lot of sense to me!

One of the semi-stressful things I'm in the process of doing right now, is getting everything at work prepared for my leave. In Tulsa, I had the perfect counter-part...she could do my job and I hers, so I never had to worry about things, but I don't have that luxury here. So, my duties are getting split up among several people...some of which have never laid eyes on what I do. I'm doing the best I can to write out instructions, leave examples, and train...but that's all I can really do. After that, it's out of my hands...at least for a few weeks.

How Far Along: 35 Weeks

Size of baby: Um, based on what the doctor said, he's probably 6-ish lbs.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I think on target.

Maternity Clothes: All day everyday. It's making me a little sad, though, to see all of the cute spring/summer maternity stuff coming out. I would much rather wear some of those items, but I realize that it's pointless with a month left to go.

Movement: Although a bit restricted, he's still moving like crazy.

Sleep: No bueno. I've been waking up at 3 a.m. every morning. My alarm goes off at 5 a.m., so of course I finally get comfortable and feel sleepy again about 4:45 a.m. I've got to figure out a way to sleep more. I look like death warmed over at work.

What I miss: Using my abdominal muscles, having more than two positions to sleep in, my immune system

Cravings: Food in general. I can't eat much at one time, so I feel like I'm always hungry.

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks off and on, mostly at night. I used to not even be able to tell they were happening, but they're starting to get a little stronger.

Best Moment this week: A few things...

The ladies at work threw a shower for me, and I had told Kyle about it in passing, but that was about it. Well, while we were eating during the shower, I hear "Aaaawwwe!". I turn around and see a big bouquet of flowers, and then I look behind the flowers and see Kyle! It meant a lot to me for him to show up, especially with flowers in hand. It was his busiest day of the week and I knew that it took some extra effort for him to come by, even if it was only for a few minutes.

That shower was the last of our showers, so over the weekend I sorted out all of the gifts we had received to determine what we had, still needed, and could return. Luckily, there were only a few items that I needed to return, mainly because they were duplicates. Sunday, we went to BBRU to use our gift cards and coupons. It was a rather frustrating experience because they didn't have everything on my registry (either they didn't stock it, or it was wiped off of the shelf), BUT we got all of the necessities taken care of, so if kiddo decides to show up extra early, we're mostly prepared.