The end is near...

Weeks 34-35: Most of my experience now is More of the Same from the last couple posts -- unwieldy belly, very challenging to roll over in bed, lots of kicking at night when I'm trying to get back to sleep after a bathroom trip, chewing ice most of the day. Have had some new belly discomfort -- some feels like a renewal of round ligament stretching, other more achey muscle stuff -- and a couple of definite contractions; not sure whether they were isolated "real contractions" or belated Braxton-Hicks (which I've otherwise never perceived), but I decided to sit with my feet up and wait them out. Also, I have a very faint vertical line on my belly now, from a few inches above to a couple inches below -- almost subliminal, but real. That was described as something that might happen months ago, but I guess not (or my pigmentation is so low generally that it took until now to be perceptible, heh).

The main thing is that delivery is starting to seem like a concrete thing (not a threat, but the next thing to work out). Have packed a bag (actually two -- one with me/baby stuff for hospital stay, and one with comfort/distraction stuff for labor itself), but it's still upstairs for another week or two. We're having some people over this weekend, as a last blast of adult-only socializing, and basically I have to be prepared that things could happen any time after that. (After 36 weeks is full term anyway, and they'll induce by my due date if need be.) Has lit a fire under me in terms of the couple of intellectual projects I want done before Speck arrives!

More low-level tribulations

Week 32: Well, my bellybutton is essentially gone -- it's flat, with a little bruising below (part of stretching, or did I just bang it into something?). This comes close to grossing me out, irrationally. Additionally I've had some periods of mild nausea -- out come the sea bands again -- and the heartburn is a constant friend to the tune of some half-dozen Tums per day (and into the night), although I can get away with no propping in bed. Of course, my belly is starting to make it just a bit harder to get comfortable to sleep, although the pregnancy pillow helps, and Speck is into rumba overtime whenever I'm still, including some impressive somersaults at night and other activity that I've described as "weasel in a bag"...

Made a note to mention two things that developed a while back but never got mentioned here: freckles and skin tags. The latter developed really early (month 3?), perhaps in response to the heat; I have a bunch under one armpit (not the other!), and little bitty ones under my breasts. I understand that they stick around, yay. As for the freckles, I have red hair, so have lots normally (light in winter, darker in warm months), but there have definitely been changes in my chest area. (1) Reasonably early I got a couple of large dark freckles on each breast -- like near-black. (2) I got a number of new/darker small freckles on my upper chest and onto my neck sometime later; the top of this smatter is visible in a crewneck (and odd for this time of year). (3) I am just starting to get a third wave of large light freckles all around and onto my breasts. Now, I haven't been sunbathing (heh), or really even spending an unusual amount of time nude in the (sunny) bedroom. So I just have to guess that skin pigment is another system that in some way responds to hormones...

Week 33: Ugh. Had several nights this week of insomnia. It felt physical; surprisingly, not my unweildy belly, but just sort of restless leg action. I'd get all comfy (and I'm plenty tired) and then fidget, kick around, etc. for ... a couple of hours. One night I think I got all of 4 hours sleep by the end, and that night I even propped myself up. I've tried taking a Tum (in case I'm missing some low-level heartburn), Tylenol (because my hips do get achey), water, potty visits, and the usual distractions one tries in the wee hours, all to little avail. Luckily, I slept like the dead last night, so back to semi-functional to wrap up the week.

On other fronts, I have some odd low-level gut sensations that are just short of nausea but also a bit much to overlook (especially in the car). I find that sucking on/eating ice seems to dull it, so am spending a lot of time either eating ice or fantasizing about it. (It's not just thirst.) Spent a lot of my holiday vacation sitting around with cups of chipped ice nearby...

Also new this week is the start of new medical fun: non-stress tests. They're doing them on me in part because of my age and in part because of the diabetes, but essentially they seem like a sort of physiological test for the baby's well-being. You sit in a recliner with a couple of monitors strapped to your stomach (one for the baby's heartbeat, the other apparently to watch for contractions) for, say, 20 minutes, and then the doctor just looks at the chart (which has been tracing two needle-lines like an EKG). My experience doesn't entirely jibe with descriptions I read online, but I guess they're just looking for a steady heart-rate that occasionally jumps upward (presumably when Speck moves around), rather than showing any drops (that might indicate distress of various types). I'm going to have this test weekly for a while, although they threaten a biweekly frequency as we get toward the end -- eek! (I feel like I'm doing tons of medical busy-work visits already!) One amusing point: folks keep giving me charts to monitor fetal activity via kick-counts -- as though I ever go more than ten minutes while sitting without a full karate exhibition! hah, you can keep the form.

Becoming unweildy

Week 31: Well, the belly is definitely becoming the defining aspect of my experience now. I struggle to roll over in bed at night, am awakened by discomfort in abdomen and hips, get out of breath doing simple things, find it increasingly difficult to work my shoes and socks. (And, you know, find my tiny line of belly fat, way down there almost out of sight, when insulin time rolls around.) Have also had a couple of bouts of nausea that kept me lying on a couch, and every time I stretch in bed I risk triggering a series of leg cramps (at any level of my leg!!)... Plus, Speck's little kicks and roiling have become pretty eye-opening all on their own at times.

At the same time, I find it faintly alarming that we're down to a two-month countdown! The bedroom may be ready, but there's still plenty on the To Do list!