The up side and down side of pregnancy

Today was my 30 week appointment.  I had a lot of questions this time around because I have started to have some new symptoms.  I got in and started with the usual pee in a cup, which by the way has become a MUCH easier task now that there is a baby sitting on my bladder!  Also there is a new, young nurse who is super nice, so the whole experience is more pleasant than in the beginning.  After that I was weighed and according to the chart I have gained 29 pounds so far.  Not too bad.  I wanted to stay between 25 and 30 and it looks like I will go over a little, but still not bad.  Recommended weight gain is 25-35 pounds so we're doing good, which is amazing considering my diet the last 8 months (Did someone say McDonald's?)!  The nurse then said that my hemoglobin was low, so they needed to get a little blood sample to check my iron.  It's a little on the low side, but nothing to be worried about.  I also had some sugar in my urine so they did another blood test to check my glucose, but that was also fine.  So far so good!  When it was time to see the doctor, I mentioned that I had been cramping the bast 2-3 days, with some feelings of nausea and headaches.  I had already read that these can be signs of pre-term labor, so I was a little worried.  She decided to check my cervix just to be sure all was ok and it was...still shut tight (this is good since I swear baby's head is pressing as hard as it can "right there" so good to know he can't get out yet!).  She checked for a bladder infection too, but I was clear there, so the cramps are just another joy of pregnancy to go with the aches and pains and swelling.  I mentioned I had got off easy in the beginning with no morning sickness, so she said the pregnancy was going to make up for that now.  Yea!  We listened to the heartbeat and it was good...136 bpm.  She measured my uterus and said I was measuring 2 weeks big, which seems to be the norm now.  We discussed that from now on we will be monitoring the size of the baby and if he does seem to be big we may look at a c-section, but for now we'll assume he'll come out just fine.  We'll have more info after my ultrasound on Tuesday as well.  

Now the fun side of pregnancy....I went to go get my haircut because we're getting maternity portraits done tomorrow and the lady that did my hair was great!  I went to a Fantastic Sams which is normally no thrills, but she could see how hot I was so I get extra time at the hair wash station, cool rinses, a cool towel on my face with yummy smelling peppermint on it, a cool refreshing facial cream stuff....it was great!  I felt like I was at a spa.  She was super funny too, so it was a good experience.   I also stopped at a garage sale on the way and got a bunch of cute maternity stuff (and an outfit for baby of course) for only $1 a piece!!  YEA!  

That's all for now.  Oh...the pics above are my 28 week belly.  I think I am bigger than that now!  I'll get the professional pics from tomorrow up as soon as their ready.

A glimpse inside the womb

Saturday was the big day when we got to see what our son was going to look like!  I think I was pretty anxious about this, because I had nightmares the week leading up to it, all about not getting to the appointment in time, issues when we got there, etc.  But Saturday came and all seemed ok.  Chris and Emmy came up to go with us and my parents to the 3D office.  They have it set up like a mini movie theater....stadium seats and a 120" screen to show the images on.  It was pretty cool.  While we were waiting for my appointment time, we sat in the waiting room being our usual silly selves.  Taking silly pictures of each other pretending to pick our noses, and being obnoxious.  I am sure the people working there loved us!  Finally it was my turn.  The whole experience was kind of surreal.  It's one thing to see the normal 2D ultrasound and kind of guess what your looking at, but in 3D there is no question.  She showed us he was definitely a boy first.  Then the next 25 minutes are spent just capturing various images and watching him move around in there.  The ultrasound tech at one point asked how far along I was, and when I said 28 weeks she didn't really say anything.  So Kevin asked if the baby looked big for that time and she said no, he looked small!  That was the first time we had heard that!!  They don't give medical advice at this place though so I am only going to take that with a grain of salt.  I go back to the specialist at the end of the month for one last u/s so we'll see what they say then.  

So 30 minutes later (and $170) we were done.  We got 6-4x6 photos, a DVD and a cd with all of the pictures on it.  I was kind of numb after it was over to be honest.  It's a little weird to see that there is a person inside me!  Plus the realization that he will be here sooner than we think and that he will be calling us "mommy" and "daddy" is a little scary!  It's one thing to want this as long as I can remember, but another for it to actually be happening.  I think that's where the anxiousness comes from.  I feel very unprepared for how our lives will be changing, but I know it will be good thing.          

I'm now at the point in the pregnancy (third trimester-woohoo!) where I go to the doctor every 2 weeks.  Another sign I am in the home stretch!!  We better get to picking out a name!!       

Oh my aching feet!

I have heard that swollen feet are a normal symptom of pregnancy, but I think my feet decided t0 take it to a whole new level! They look like water balloons with 5 sausages attached to each one! Now, on top of my shoes not fitting, they are starting to hurt quite a bit too. I go back to the doctor on Thursday, so I will be bringing it up then. This morning when I got out of bed I almost cried because it felt like both my feet were broken! I don't know how I am going to get through 3 more months of this! I am sure going to a concert on Thursday night didn't help things much. I did sit as much as possible, but I was on my feet much more than usual. Hopefully things will feel better after a few days of rest. I feel bad that I sat around with my feet elevated today while Kevin scrubbed bathrooms and cleaned the house!