A pregnancy progression

From beginning to end…

Week 38

Just had another doctor’s appointment aaaannnnddd she wants to induce me.  I’m not 100% sure why, but something about the baby being small (and of course, me being small) and really already full grown.  I go in to the hospital on November 10th!!!  THERE WILL BE A BABY THIS WEEK!!!!!!!

Weeks: 38

Baby size: I forgot to log what size the baby is this week…but close to baby size I’m guessing??  And now my thoughts are on…how in the world will this baby be able to fit down there!?

Aversions: Again, everything.  Food, people.  Grumpy Randi is taking on a whole new meaning

Cravings: Still anything sweet.  All things sweet.  Sweet, sweet, sweet.  And baby.

Symptoms: I am so tired.  But I know this is nothing to what I will feel in a few weeks when baby B arrives.  And farting.  Sorry, but that is still a thing.  Like, how can a small body produce so much gas?  But surprisingly, no waddling this entire pregnancy.  How, I don’t know, because my hips have widened significantly (hence their own gravitational field).

 

Weight gain: Sigh.

Maternity clothes: I haven’t purchased anything in weeks, but I have been wearing a few of Taylor’s shirts.

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving in a few weeks and of course, baby Baldwin hopefully very, very soon!!

Week 36

Weeks: 36…NINE MONTHS.  The home stretch.

Baby size: Two plates of beignets.  I’m noticing a trend of two’s here in French food.  Possibly because there is nothing large enough in French food to compare to my American sized baby.

Aversions: Fish.  I ate some Mexican food the other night, but wasn’t very happy about it.

Cravings: Coconut water/milk?  I HATED coconut water before pregnancy.  Tasted like salty water with a hint of yuck.  Now I can’t get enough.  It’s so refreshing and I feel better about myself as a person when I drink it. And Trader Joe’s sells it pretty cheaply, which I bought about a week’s worth.  My electrolyte levels will thank me.

Symptoms: My cracked rib still hurts a bit, but I think it’s healing okay.  Future tip to self: if you get sick during pregnancy, don’t put off going to the doctor.  Your body will start breaking apart in revenge.

Also, I’ve noticed I’m breathing awfully loud.  Like, I was working the other day and noticed that the jet engine sound was coming from me.  I’m sucking in air like nobody’s business right now.  I think nobody has said anything to me because I am nine months pregnant and bloated and hungry…it’s dangerous to tell off a pregnant woman for being annoying.

Don’t trust any fart at this point.  No need for me to elaborate.

Have started actually crying to Boys II Men radio on Pandora.  Why must their beautifully harmonious voices reach my soul so??

I do have to say that I LOVE feeling Baby B moving around like an acrobat in there…even if she’s using my bladder as a trampoline.  I DO NOT, however, enjoy in any sense fetal hiccups.  Evil, evil things.  And she gets them about a trillion times a day.

Weight gain: This section is BS and I’m not writing down my continued weight gain anymore.  I didn’t think it was physically possible for my butt and hips to put on further poundage.  And if there is anything I know well from physics, it’s that gravity affects m(ass), the larger, the more so.

Maternity clothes: Two words: yoga pants.

Looking forward to: HALLOWEEN IS THIS UPCOMING MONDAY!!!  I plan on working out every single day this week to encourage labor on Halloween.  She’ll be 37+ weeks, so I think she’ll be good :)

Week 35

Weeks: 35

Baby size: Two whole clafoutis…which is French for black cherries baked in batter.  You don’t know what that size relates to either?  Well, she’s basically the size of a bunch of carrots.  Personally, I’d rather eat the clafoutis.

Aversions: Fish.  Maybe I will never eat fish again.

Cravings: Nothing this week.  I think my stomach is being smashed up into my lungs right now, so eating, although I am starving all the time, is currently on the back-burner solely due to uncomfortableness.

Symptoms: Well, I cracked a rib yesterday.  I have been coughing for several weeks now thanks to some viral thing going around.  I started experiencing painful bruising on the left side of my ribs a few days ago, but I attributed that to the baby.  Had one big cough and felt a large “pop” and down I went.  OHMYGOSH immediate, radiating pain.

I cannot breathe deeply, much less cough more than a pitiful, little sound, or twist or turn in either direction (I’m just going to say “move” in general without extreme discomfort and pain).  And there really isn’t anything I can do for this because it’s a rib.  I’ve been resting as much as I can, but I have to go back to work tomorrow to teach

Weight gain: 0.0 pounds from last week.  I might have fluctuated a little, but I think I’m evening out.

Maternity clothes: I’m wearing the same clothes in as long of a rotation I can manage without seeming like I’m being gross or lazy.  There is an art to mix and matching, but I’m getting better at it.

Looking forward to: Halloween in just a few weeks!!  I plan to have this baby on that day.  It’s about 2 weeks early, but this is the highest of priorities right now.

Week 34

Weeks: 34

Baby size: Baguette Batard, a less elegant version of the classic baguette, but still chic…and delicious

Aversions: Maybe seafood a little…haven’t tried it out yet, but doesn’t seem to make me feel all yucky inside like it used it.

Cravings: Surprisingly, hamburgers.  And the milkshakes that come with them.  It’s an amazing combination that really deserves more credit.

Symptoms: Gas.  Sorry to everyone reading this, but that’s the beauty of pregnancy.  You’re just lucky I’m not around you.  And I think farting is seriously hysterical, so I can’t stop laughing once it happens.  So everyone knows it’s me.  Baby B is moving around like CRAZY.  She is the most active little thing.  I never really imagined what this would be like, but I kind of love it.  Not the incessant hiccups though.  I could really not have those in my life.

Weight gain: 0.0 pounds from last week.  I might have fluctuated a little, but I think I’m evening out.

Maternity clothes: I’m wearing the same clothes in as long of a rotation I can manage without seeming like I’m being gross or lazy.  There is an art to mix and matching, but I’m getting better at it.

Looking forward to: Halloween in just a few weeks!!  I plan to have this baby on that day.  It’s about 2 weeks early, but this is the highest of priorities right now.

Week 33

Weeks: 33

Baby size: Three chocolate croissants to be exact.  Three delicious, chocolate-y croissants.  Oh man.  But I’m eating for two, right?

Aversions: Mexican and seafood.

Cravings: Not much this week.  I’m sick and I don’t want to eat anything.  Boo.

Symptoms: I’ve still had some periodic cramping…haha, periodic.  But I have had this horrible sore throat thing going on for a bit.  It’s awful and I’m miserable.  I thought the baby was supposed to send healthy cells to my body from the placenta if I became sick.  Um, hello baby Baldwin!  Do your job!

Weight gain: 0.6 pounds…of tears and snot.

Maternity clothes: Nothing.  I live in pajamas right now.

Looking forward to: Not being sick.  Besides the first (and a good portion of the second) trimester, I am the most miserable right now.  Completely wallowing in self-pity.  Self-preggo-pity.  There is a reason I’m not looking directly at the camera in the picture above.

Week 32

Weeks: 32.  EIGHT MONTHS BABY!!

Baby size: Pan d’epi, a bread made for sharing (pssh, or not).

Aversions: Mexican and seafood.

Cravings: The usual.  And then some.

Symptoms: Have had a few cramps this week, along with backache, and of course, gas.  Insomnia has become a daily part of my schedule so nothing new there.  I did call my doctor about the back cramps and she advised me to stay very hydrated and to not worry unless the cramps become very close together or my water breaks or something.  So, I’m going to drink like I live in the Gobi.

Weight gain: Weight lost: 0.8 pounds.  Again, I don’t know what I ate the previous week to gain almost 3 pounds, but I lost almost 1/3 of that this week.  Water weight??  Or maybe salt weight?

Maternity clothes: I refuse to go shopping now.  Just a little longer to hold out.  I think I can make it!  But seriously, my staples are legit staples.  I wear them all the time.

Looking forward to: Counting down until Baby B arrives!!  And another mini baby shower thrown by my mom for next week with my friends!  Can we make this a Halloween baby, please?!

Week 31

Weeks: 31

Baby size: Croquembouche.  Otherwise known as a giant pile of pastry balls in a cone shape and held together with caramel.  Seriously, the French know how to do desserts.  Baby B is most likely around 3 pounds right now.

Aversions: Mexican food and seafood.

Cravings: Still anything sweet.  I won’t say no to any dessert.  Nor will I stop eating if something is being put in front of me.

Symptoms: Crazy insomnia.  I am now a walking zombie.  And I bite when I’m angry.  So watch out. No Braxton Hicks.  Heavy breathing, especially when walking up stairs.  My legs kill when I have to walk up stairs.  Ugh..

Weight gain: 2.8 pounds!!  Whoa!  What did I eat this week?!  Obviously a hippo.

Maternity clothes: Nothing new so I’m now in the process of careful recycling of my wardrobe.  So far, no one has judged me out loud.

Looking forward to: Family baby shower next week!!  A whole bunch of my family is coming from all over to celebrate Baby B with me!  I am so excited!!!

Week 30

Weeks: 30…10 weeks to go!!!

Baby size: Brie en Brioche.  I don’t think that’s fair that my pregnancy app tells me my baby is the size of Brie, considering I can’t eat it.  But she is supposedly around 17 inches long and around 3.5 pounds.  Sometimes I doubt that considering I was around that length (or maybe shorter) when I was born, but she’s delivering hammer kicks to my bladder, so who knows.

Aversions: Mexican and seafood.

Cravings: Pop-Tarts.  Cherry Pop-Tarts.

Symptoms: A little insomnia and some headaches this past week, but other than that, it’s been a good week!  Embarrassingly, some gas too.  Now that I teach in a closed room with a door, it has become a lot harder for me.  There is an art to quiet crop dusting, and I plan to master it.

Weight gain: 0.0 pounds from last week.  That’s not exactly honest.  Saturday to Saturday, I somehow gained no weight, but if you went from Saturday to Sunday morning, I gained a pound.  It’s the Pop-Tarts.

Maternity clothes: My jeans purchased from H&M fit!!  Thank all that is good in the world right now.  And they couldn’t have come sooner since crisp weather is right around the corner…not to mention the fact that I can wear jeans with a school shirt on Friday’s.  I will be taking full advantage of this.

Looking forward to: Over Labor Day weekend, Tay and I purchased a new mattress (finally!!).  Ours was ancient and it was so firm.  I’m usually a stomach sleeper, but that ended months ago, and I’ve been forced to sleep on my side.  Back sleeping is a no go–get a crazy sharp pain that runs down my lower back and legs, and since I have broad shoulders, side sleeping isn’t comfortable either.  The new mattress comes with a plush topper and should be arriving Monday or Tuesday!!  Sweet dreams, here I come.

Week 29

Several low points this week, one of which I’ll discuss below.  The other…I went in for my standard 28 week glucose test.  Which meant I had to have my blood drawn.  Which is a horrible thing for me.  I am terrified of those big needles that draw blood from my body.  It’s not the blood.  It is the act of a metal foreign object piercing my skin in a vein.  And it hurts too.  I’m a weenie–pretty sure I had a traumatic incident when I was about 3 with needles and that has scarred me for life.

So I had my glucose test.  And I failed it.  Which means that I have to go in to the office in the early morning (after several days of carbo loading followed by fasting) and stay for over three hours and have my blood drawn once an hour…three times.  When the nurse called, I wanted to cry.  I could feel the blood rushing into my face, I was so upset.  If there weren’t a baby involved, I would somehow skip that appointment forever and pretend nothing ever happened.  But I guess gestational diabetes is a legit thing, so I need to make sure I don’t have it :(

Weeks: 29

Baby size: A fougasse, similar to focaccia bread, and about the size of a small pizza or pineapple; weighing in close to 3 pounds and stretching 16 inches long!

Aversions: Mexican and seafood.

Cravings: Surprisingly, not much.  Haven’t had intense sugar cravings…or really any cravings recently.  Well, I lied.  I crave sleep, but I mean, who doesn’t?? :)

Symptoms: Constipation finally hit.  I’ve had light constipation before, but nothing like this.  I was on the toilet in agonizing pain for over an hour…and nothing.  Nothing was going down, so something had to give.  I ended up throwing up all over myself while sitting on the toilet.  So there I am, tear-streaked, trying to poop, and covered in vomit (I really tried to make it into the toilet, but projective vomit is hard to control).  Poor Taylor has cleaned up more vomit in the last 7 months than he probably ever has in his life, but he made sure I went to wash off in the shower while he sat there and cleaned it all up.  And he brought prune juice and stool softener from his mom over too.  What a guy.  I did finally end up pooping, hours later, but no more vomiting.  It’s been a rough week.

Weight gain: 0.4 pounds

Maternity clothes: Sent the jeans back to Gap Maternity, and are patiently awaiting some H&M jeans to try on…here’s hoping!  (I really hope these work, because I can wear jeans on Friday at school!)

Looking forward to: The long weekend :)