My. ribs. hurt.

I had a check-up today.  I’m up 30 lbs. (not happy about that, but it is what it is, I guess.)  I’m 1.5-2 cm dilated, 60% effaced, -2 station.  So—things are starting, but labor is still off in the distance by several weeks.  They are estimating an 8.5-9 lb. baby when all is said and done.  I’m starting my weekly appointments this week, so there’s going to be a lot more driving back and forth to the hospital.  Plus, my chiropractor wants to see me now once each week, which is fine, but is just another thing to pencil into the calendar.

I feel good, other than the fact that my back, hips, and ribs hurt nearly all the time.  Sleep is hard.  Breathing is hard.  How is it that I forgot how miserable this last month of pregnancy is?  It’s been especially hard to wrangle Holden.  He’s had a few days this week with full-on temper tantrums that required me to put him in time out.  Of course, he thought it would be cute to giggle and run away from me instead of going to his room for his punishment, so I had to drag all 40 lbs of him into his room, which always kills my back and makes my stomach tense up.  I think he’s going through typical 3.5 year old stuff, but I also think that he’s upset that I can’t do as many things with him as I used to—like chasing him around the yard, playing hide and seek, getting on my hands and knees to play, etc.  He just needs to get used to it, because this is how it is.

I have more to say, but my back is on fire just sitting here for a few minutes typing.  Sitting for any length of time is unbearable.  I’m working up until my due date, and although I really love my job, the whole sitting-in-front-of-a-computer thing is not working out too well these days.

Oh, and I could use a drink:)

How do I only have 6 weeks to go?  I honestly don’t know how time seems to be slipping away during this pregnancy!

I’m starting to feel achy and tired much of the time.  My back hurts a lot, especially on my days at work where I am sitting in front of a computer all day.  If I walk too much or do too many things around the house, I get contractions.  They don’t hurt, but they *are* pretty uncomfortable.  I’ve had a lot of pressure with the contractions, so I’m just thinking my body is doing exactly what it did with Holden—that is, it’s preparing for a quick labor well in advance of my due date.

I’m up 25 lbs. total and my urine came back clean, so I don’t have to worry about additional antibiotics (whew!) Baby is measuring right where he should.  And EVERYONE comments on how active he is.  He kicks and squirms at just about all hours of the day and night.  He’s active more often than not, which is pretty different from my pregnancy with Holden, where H seemed to mostly rest but only kick occasionally.  This new baby kicks frequently *and* with force!  He wakes me up at night with his kicks.  My co-workers can see my shirt move from the kicks.  My blankets are often moved by his kicking at night.  My mother-in-law treated me to a massage last weekend (which was lovely), and the massage therapist commented that I have a very active baby. She was massaging my back but could still feel the kicking.  How weird is that?

I’ve begun packing the hospital bag already, complete with lanolin, freshly-laundered baby clothes, and granola bars.  I’m not going to pack any “tools” for getting through labor, since I am 99% sure I will be skipping early labor and going straight into transition (again).  Once you’re in transition, tools are just a nuisance and a pain.  I’m hoping for a short hospital stay this time—we were in the hospital for 4 days and 4 nights with Holden, which was way too long.  I want to be home inside of 2 days this time, but we’ll see how things go.

Holden is ready for his little brother to get here—he’s always waving at my belly, giving his brother kisses, and talking about how he wants to snuggle with him and “nurse” him after he’s born.

Other updates will have to wait until I have more energy to post—I’m *soooo* tired these days!  Hopefully I’ll have a moment to hop on tomorrow to share more of what has been going on.

Time is flying.  I’m up 23 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight (I finally gained something over the past 2 weeks!)  I’m also measuring right at 31 weeks, so no worries about growth.  Baby’s heartbeat was, again, hard to keep track of because he moves around so much.  My blood pressure is good.  The only thing that is not good (again) is my urine.  There’s still bacteria there.  I’m about to start my 3rd course of antibiotics for this pregnancy.  There’s really no choice—the type of bacteria that they are finding would not be a concern at all in a non-pregnant person, but apparently it’s a huge problem for pregnant women.  If left untreated, the bacteria can cause problems with your kidneys and it could lead to preterm labor—so like I said, there’s not really any choice about treating it.  The scary part is that I am COMPLETELY asymptomatic.  I have had UTIs before and have been very aware when I was having one, but with these, I feel nothing out of the ordinary.  So the only way they know I have this problem is by having me go to the lab to provide urine samples pretty regularly.  I have yet another week of antibiotics, and then I get my urine re-tested.  I’m hoping that this latest round of medication does the trick.

On a happier note, the nursery is done!  I don’t have pictures to post yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll stick them up here for all to see.  Holden made a beautiful painting that is the centerpiece of the room.  I let him pick out the colors himself (I let him choose 3 colors), and he opted for yellow, brown, and green.  It turned out really well!  His painting was astronomically-themed, with little comets, planets, and of course, explosions.  It’s very cool.  I made my own art for one wall, using foam shapes and decorative paper (you’ll have to see it to appreciate it!)  There are other details that I will share once I’ve snapped some pictures to share.

Tomorrow:  Work (not sure how this will pan out, since my whole lab is going to a research forum on campus and I am not, and I STILL don’t have a key to my office—argh).  After work, Holden’s best friend will come over for veggie mac and cheese dinner, and they will be bringing dessert.  Should be fun!

Posted some of these back in July; here’s more of the wacky and wonderful things that the H-bomb has said:

• “Why does that fish have EYELASHES?”
• H.: “Do we live on Earth?” / A.: “Yes.” / H.: “Is Earth in outer space?” / A.: “Well, yes.” / H.: “So *we* live in outer space!?”
• H.: “I want to be a daddy.” / A.: “What makes you want to be a daddy?” / H. (points at R.): “Him.”
• At Sweetwater’s: “Do you think they have a lost and found for butts?”
• H-bomb (holding bowl): “Here’s your dinner Mommy.” / A.: “Oh thanks Holden. What is it?” / H.: “CARRION!”
• Upon receiving his first 50¢ allowance: H.: “Yay! Can I put it in my hippo bank?” / A.: “Yes, of course. And you can save it up and when you have enough, you can buy yourself a treat–a snack or a toy.” / H.: “Can I donate it?”
• “The Magic Juice Box has a bubble that sucks the blood into their brains. And then we inspect it.”
• H-bomb: “FIRE FLAMES!” (point to the sky and make an explosion/burning noise)
• While referring to Diplodocus: “He’s a Dippy Dickless!”
• H.: “Mommy there are two Waurens in my class!” / A.: “Warrens?” / H.: “No! Wauren!” [Lauren]
• Upon inspecting one of his own poops: “It’s as big as a trumpet!”
• “The opposite of Hong Kong is dot-com.”
• While gently petting the rabbit: “We don’t have any predators in our house, sweetheart. Only dinosaurs.”
• Holden on swearing: “Mommy, you can’t say stupid. You can’t say crap. And you can’t say frickin’ bananas.”

Here’s our little guy, grinning away at 27w3d: