Two things I can't believe today: I made it alive to Friday, and I'm 36 weeks pregnant.
The belly has certainly dropped a little since last month, and it's protruding almost straight out. Yep, just when I thought everything was pretty much done growing, I'm now expanding horizontally as well as vertically. It's all kind of Stretch Armstrong-y to me.
Feeling: Like a pile of rocks, if you're looking for a good simile this afternoon.
Really, though, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to make it to 40 weeks like this without offing someone. Physically, I'm dealing with:
- A dull, constant pain in the lower right quadrant of my back. Unless I'm walking around, which usually leads to puffy feet and ankles, it's sore.
- Exhaustion that leads to well-defined black circles under my eyes the likes of which $100 at Sephora can't even save right now. Most days I come home from work to crash on the couch for 2 hours, and I'm still snuggled in bed easily by 10.
- My body feeling a bit like it does after a marathon - overworked arches in my feet, tight quads, and useless abs.
Mentally, I'm hanging in there. The thought that I'll be off for 10 days over Christmas is my saving grace right now, I believe, and despite my complaints, I absolutely can't stand to have to wait any longer to meet the little one. It's really starting to get exciting now.
Weight Gain: I'm up another 2 pounds this month for a total of 26 pounds gained.
Food Talk: The scale rather surprised me this time around as I've been living off of peanut butter & honey sandwiches, granola bars, a few apple fritters, and random bouts of junk food. While I'm still making a honest attempt to keep my protein and produce intake up (thanks, clementine season!), I've been rather indulgent lately.
A food confession: Nothing cured my bad mood last night until Kevin arrived home with a 10-piece McNugget meal from McDonald's. I always feel bad when I eat McDonald's as though the produce section of the grocery store knows I'm cheating on it, but sometimes, it's just so right. Those fries? Magic.
Other Week 36 Kibbles 'N Bits
Lightweight boxing may be a hobby in her future. From our last ultrasound at Week 35, LBA is weighing in in the 40th percentile for weight and length. Our doctor says that's normal, but on the small side of normal which my body and I are totally okay with.
We have two final, but huge, items left on our to-do list. 1) Find a pediatrician. Meant to ask for recommendations at my check-up yesterday and forgot. Whoops. 2) Nail down a daycare for when I (regrettably) return to work in April.
My sub plans for work need to be finalized. This is one of the few times I wish I still worked in a Cube Job where someone else could just do all of my stuff without much training. Leaving a classroom (and a school yearbook and a newspaper) to another person is terrifying to this Type-A gal. I don't delegate tasks very well. Luckily, I have a great sub lined up; now I just need to get some type of plan together for him.
It's strange to think that Baby A could make her red-carpet Graco SnugRide debut in as little as week. Since I'll be considered full-term next week, there's a chance she could arrive then and be just fine. There's also a chance I'll go past my due date, though, and then she wouldn't show up until late in January. I need to get my bag packed soon, just in case, because lord forbid I get to the hospital without my favorite pajama pants in tow, right?
Call me crazy, but I've also been having anxiety-laden dreams over what outfit to "bring her home in." Yes. I know. It's childish and shallow. But I wonder if what I'll pack for her will be too big or too small, overly warm or not warm enough. It's a good thing I won't need to fly to a hospital because I'd surely be charged an overweight baggage fee for all of the stuff I'm bringing with us for her.
Lastly, keeping the name a secret has been uber-tough. Everyone asks me (even Target cashiers and the nurse at my endocrinologist's office), yet I've managed to keep it under wraps. Popular guesses lately:
-Samantha
-Sabrina
-Ellie
-Jordan
-Kennedy (a suggestion by one of my male sophomores today and I wondered if maybe he watched some mid-90's MTV reruns?)
A hint for you today: The name contains both a consonant and a vowel! Yay!
Catching up? Check out the last few months:
Week 32
Week 28
Week 24