35 Weeks and Freakin Miserable.

You know I'm not one of these women who LOVES being pregnant-- I'm just not. First off, don't get me wrong-- I laugh every time I feel Elijah jab me or roll. And I'm so excited about the next step-- meeting him, seeing who he looks like, etc. I really, really can't wait. I haven't even met him, and I love him to pieces. BUT the symptoms that come along with it? The no-boundaries that some people have? Well it's enough for me to say, "Okay Elijah, you can come out now."

So here is my list of complaints:

1. I feel the need to be cold all the time. Any kind of warmth makes my feet and hands hurt from swelling.

2. I'm tired ALL THE TIME. Lugging around 50 pounds of baby and baby-related things is hard work. And when you're lugging all that around weight, it makes it very hard to get comfortable-- sleeping or otherwise. I can't eat like a normal person, nor can I really put my plate or bowl on my stomach very well. Several times I've had to take off my pants just so I could sit in a decent position to eat.

3. Naps are officially out of the question... OFFICIALLY.

4. My pelvis and pubic bone have started hurting. And this one aggravates me the most. Now I've read that this is just because my body is getting ready b/c of the stretching, which I'm thankful for-- but must I hurt so bad that I can't even switch positions when I'm sleeping??? And must it hurt so bad that it's a pain to get out of the chair and put a lot of pressure on every part of my body???

Boo!!!!

Now onto the no-boundaries thing. When I was in NC, these are the questions I got asked the most by patients: How tall are you? Are you old enough to work here? How big are your feet? What's your ethnicity? And it was quite annoying, as you can imagine. In SC, being pregnant gets these questions: Are you pregnant/expecting? (no idiot I was really hungry) Is this your first? Do you know if it's a boy or girl? And my favorite- What are you going to name him? It's gotten so bad that when I call someone back, I cover my stomach with the chart so people won't ask me about it. Just a little tip, if I don't know you-- I'm not going to tell you his name. Me telling you his name is the same as you touching me or my stomach-- it's just not going to happen. Several people have asked me what I'm going to name him, and I have to say, "I'm sorry, I'm not going to talk about that. It's private."

So those are my rants this week... Really, really, really can't wait for Baby Elijah to get here. Really, really.

What's Going On..

Not a lot going on in little Elijah's world right now-- he's getting bigger and fatter in the oven, which is good. On the outside world, his mama is feeling every roll and jab and getting more and more uncomfortable sleeping. I'm also trying to get used to sleeping on my left side and enjoying my lunchtime 20-30 minute naps.

Mother's Day weekend, Josh and I traveled up to NC for a final trip and the baby shower. I was so happy to get up there to see everyone- friends and family- and I was even more excited to get home (even though by the time we got home to SC, my butt was numb and my feet and fingers were swollen. We got so much stuff-- it was unreal the amount of stuff we got-- BUT I was so grateful for everything people got us. I was even more grateful to see how many people showed up-- it was like a female family reunion for the Collins side-- four of my bestest friends from my old job showed up-- and even Josh's mom and grandmother showed up. It was SO GOOD to see everyone-- really did my heart good. Favorite presents I got were the Eddie Bauer high chair and some green frog galoshes that my friend, Kabo, got me. We got so much sweet baby stuff that mom had to take some of it home with her.

So my projects for this weekend are to finish packing my labor bag and to wash and divide baby clothes and blankets. We'll see if I follow through with any of that. :))




33 weeks pregnant



Baby Shower Goodies.. do y'all see the little green galoshes??!!

31 weeks-- sweet lil Elijah. My belly is measuring 33cm-- so he's going to be a big baby. :)

Spotting, Bedrest, and Boredom.. oh my!!

This current week has been an interesting and scary week for me. Now I know spotting throughout pregnancy is normal, BUT this pregnancy has been easy- no sickness, no heartburn, bloating is gone, etc-- I mean, easy pregnancy. So when something like spotting happens, well, it freaked me out. Spotting to me is bad b/c I know the possibilities of WHAT can happen. The first episode happened Monday night. Of course first thing Tuesday morning, I went to the doctor and was told everything was fine. BUT drink lots of fluids, stay off your feet as much as possible, and TAKE IT EASY.

Well that is easier said than done when the doctor you work for has a 60 patient load, your work ethic is to work up as many of those sixty patients as possible (not to be a kiss ass but because that's what you're there for, those 60 patients pay you, and the sooner you get started, the sooner you leave), and because your work ethic tells you to constantly be moving. Luckily Tuesdays and Thursdays are light days, so it's easier to take it easy (25 patients is so much easier to work up than 60, as I'm sure you can imagine). So since Tuesday was a light day AND the day I was told to take it easy, I did. And everything was fine.

Wednesday rolled around with yet another sixty patient load and again, more spotting. This time I freaked out (more than I did Monday) and went to the doctor yet again who told me again that everything was fine. He told me that women spot for unknown reasons but my cervix was not thinning and perfectly intact. Said placenta could be separating a little and that could have caused the spotting. Told me to be on the lookout for more bleeding and pain because that, of course, is bad. Most important thing he told me was, "Go home and stay off your feet. Let's see if the spotting goes away." My question, "Am I out just today?" His response, "Nope the rest of the week."

While I'm enjoying putting my feet up and doing as little as possible so Elijah can continue to bake and get fat (which from what I was told yesterday, he's already a big baby-- whether that means he's long or fat I don't know), I can't help but think about work. I feel like I need to be working, not because I'm obsessed with my job but because I simply hate to be an inconvenience to anyone. I hate putting people off.. it quite frankly upsets me, BUT I have to do what's best for my body and Elijah. And if that means, staying off my feet than so be it. However I can't wait to get back to work on Monday-- I just hope the spotting doesn't return. IF it does and with the doctor's permission, I'll be reclined at work doing triage and ordering/dispensing contact lenses all day. Which is fine with me b/c at least I'll be working AND off my feet-- two for one deal.

So it's Thursday at 11.49am-- what am I doing? Watching Grey's Anatomy and The Price is Right and enjoying the company of my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece (who is quite the character). They were getting ready to go to the beach last night, and Josh took Paisley with him. As they were getting ready to leave, Ashtyn squealed and said, "This is the best day EVER!!!" LOLOLOLOL. She was getting ready to leave, and I said, "See ya later alligator." Her response, "See ya later alligator- don't let the bedbugs bite." Like I said, quite the little character. Love that little girl to pieces.

Sweet Boy.

Sweet lil Elijah boy. 30 weeks tomorrow, Saturday 04.23.2011.

SN: I am now having hot flashes and need to be cold all the time. I have a sinus infection that is getting better with Sudafed (okay'd by my doc, btw). Trying to sleep with a growing baby and clogged up nostrils is very uncomfortable. I feel the need to nap every day at lunch, even for just 10-20 minutes. And my fingertips are swollen, probably from being hot.

Short and to the Point..

I haven't done much pregnancy blogging because I haven't experienced anything unusual and haven't felt the need to blog about boring things.

Today was another doctor day, and everything went well. As you know, my blood sugar was and is fine- blood pressure has been good. My doctor told me that when they did my ultrasound, they measure every little thing and he is the right size-- no problems there!! YEA!!! I did my birth plan and she said, "Getting an early start, huh? But that's good to be prepared." She read over everything and said it was a very reasonable birth plan, which I'm very laid back and the only thing I really requested was for Josh to be with me, an epidural, and I wanted the baby circumcised.

So as far as other miscellaneous things go, we registered at Target and Babies-R-Us for our baby shower May 7th. Josh says he has noticed that there are some things I won't eat now whereas before I would have "gobbled it down." I, honestly, haven't noticed what I eat and what I won't eat. I haven't had any cravings besides the lemonade- maybe Smores- but aren't cravings things that you usually don't eat or drink? I've had one, maybe two, dizzy spells, and I've nauseous once but that was from low blood sugar. And sleeping is very difficult right now. I can't get comfortable no matter which side I sleep on... the pillow thing has its days with me- some nights I want it, some nights I hate it. I've had one day of feet swelling, but I think that was due to walking too much. And my finger tips swell if I walk outside in the heat. Probably the coolest thing I've experienced is watching my stomach move and do weird things b/c he's moving and rolling around. And that's about it... oh and my scrubs are really doing weird things. I have to constantly pull them up b/c they sit low on my belly.

Lastly we're playing with names-- his first name will be Elijah.. middle name, we're still playing with.

Today was my big doctor day-- to find out how far along I was- and get a due date- AND to find out what we were having. And I was so excited to find out and be there.. that is, after I got there and got settled.

As I have mentioned before, I have the bladder of a hummingbird. I can NOT hold liquid very well at all. Forget drinking water or coffee when we travel b/c I will and do have to pee every 30-60 minutes. And after lunch, I have to pee anywhere from 3-4 times in 45 minutes. The doctor I used to work for used to joke that he was going to get me a catheter so I wouldn't have to walk away and pee every few minutes after lunch.

Anyways for my doctor's appt today, I was told to empty my bladder and then drink 36 ounces of water to ensure a full bladder. I know me, and I know my bladder. So I drink probably 30 ounces total of water and could already feel my bladder filling up. By the time I got signed in for my appt and sat down, I really really really had to pee. The receptionist (god bless her) was super nice and told me she knew I had to pee and she was going to let the ultrasound tech know ASAP that I was there. Well person after person after person kept going back, and I'm still sitting there. I break out into a sweat and then chills b/c I have to pee so bad that I'm hurting. I tried to stand up and walk but that was just as uncomfortable as sitting down. The receptionist noticed I was still sitting there after 20-30 minutes and said, "Have they not called you back yet?" As soon as I shook my head no, I started crying--- like furiously crying but trying to hide it (didn't work in my favor, btw). Then I was the talk of the room b/c I was crying and in such pain. "Oh she looks so uncomfortable. We better call back there again." The receptionist said it would be five more minutes, but of course it felt like an eternity. I finally got called back, and it hurt to walk. As soon as we walked into her room, she had to get a measurement of my uterus and then told me to pee. By the time I had to pee, my bladder was so spasmed that I trickled pee, but it was enough to get the pressure off. So I'm laying down again and as she's going over my stomach, she took a picture of my bladder and said, "Good grief honey, your bladder is still full." Aaawww, you freakin think???? And she said, "They should have let you just pee out there because it still would have been full enough for me to get what I needed." Thanks for telling me that after the fact!!! And it was fifteen minutes later, I had to pee again and every 15 minutes for the next hour after that.

BUT on a sweeter note, I saw a sweet little boy in there. I saw his little head and his heartbeat, his little legs and stomach and arms, and his official little boy parts. Oh he is just beautiful.. absolutely gorgeous. Seeing him made me cry-- of course I was crying over seeing him AND because of my traumatic experience in the waiting room (it takes me a while to move on from situations after I start crying). The ultrasound tech measured his head and his femur and his heart.. gave me the official due date of July 1st-- 27 weeks and 4 days.

So after that was over, I headed back to Josh's work to drink my orange goo-- which doesn't taste like goo, as much as it tastes like Hawaiian Ice syrup-- and went to my OB-GYN's office. That was less traumatizing for me-- blood sugar is 112 which is perfect. AND I got to actually HEAR his heartbeat this time.. the sweetest sound I've ever heard. Doctor said I was doing GREAT and she would see me in two weeks.

YEA!!! So overall a GREAT day... that is, once my bladder quit spasming. :)