Well, the last update was about 6 weeks ago so I guess it’s time for another one.
I survived the two-day car trip up to and back from Pennsylvania to visit our families from mid-May through early June. We stopped every 2 hours (sometimes earlier) so I could get out and walk around per doctor’s orders. It didn’t feel weird at all to be walking in circles for 10-15 minutes at a time in a Sheetz parking lot or a Burger King parking lot or a Pilot Travel Stop parking lot and nobody gave me funny looks [sarcasm]. I did have one guy stop me at a PA Turnpike rest area to ask if I was okay — I suppose the pregnant woman walking around in circles holding her belly with one hand and back with the other may have given the wrong impression.
Our family and friends threw us amazing and lovely baby showers — one from my husband’s side of the family, one from my side of the family, and one thrown by my friends here in town. We feel very loved, and Gilgamesh is lucky to have so many people supporting him.
Acid reflux and heartburn haven’t gotten better. My OB told me to start taking the prescription strength med 2x daily instead of just in the morning. It’s helped, but didn’t get rid of it entirely, which means I still have the pleasure of occasionally vomiting well into my third trimester.
Gilgamesh thoroughly enjoys using my bladder as a trampoline, and it’s gotten worse as he’s gotten bigger and the space available for growth has shrunk. There have been several times in the past few weeks where I had to either abruptly walk away from a work meeting to use the bathroom (excuse given: sorry — baby just stomped on my bladder again) or it went from comfortably watching tv in bed to oh crap — I need to move more quickly than I’m capable of at the moment. And don’t get me started about coughing or sneezing. The joys of pregnancy.
I am very grateful for friends and family who have lent me their maternity-related items, whether it be bathing suits, dresses, skirts, shirts, baby-related items like sterilizers or car things, or nursing tanks. And also for local friends who helped us hang curtains and move furniture because I can’t do any of that and we had to get a bunch of stuff upstairs to our almost-finished attic.
I failed my 1-hour and 3-hour glucose tests, which means I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Of course I completely panicked about how I’d manage that given how hard it’s been to find things I can eat comfortably, and while local friends were able to provide me with some resources I could check out (since my OB office wasn’t able to connect me with anyone as the hospital told them they don’t have a nutritionist/dietician), I was too overwhelmed to act on it. Turns out my OB is pretty chill about it, and I don’t have to count carbs or sugars or anything. I just have to monitor my sugar 4x daily — fasting number upon waking up and then 2 hours after each meal — and it’s okay to snack in between. She’s looking for trends, not perfection, and so far the trend has been that things are controlled without the need for insulin. She is also realistic in that it’s summer in southwest Georgia, I’m pregnant, and sometimes I need ice cream or a milkshake and that’s okay. Also, diabetes-related items are EXPENSIVE. I have pretty good insurance, and it’s still close to $40 every 2 weeks for the needle things + monitoring strips. And, poking my fingertips 4x daily hurts, even with rotating fingers.
My stomach is definitely larger — I mean, I am 33 weeks — and it’s the little things that are frustrating. I can’t lean forward on countertops to wash dishes or brush my teeth (or see more closely in the mirror) because my stomach is too large, and rolling over to get out of bed is definitely harder and involves a lot of grunting when I’m almost fully reclined. It’s also harder to roll out dough for cookies because I can’t get close enough to the countertop.
I have never worn so many dresses in my life, not even when I was a kid and my parents dressed me. I am usually not a dress person, but between this summer heat and having a belly that does NOT like anything restrictive at all, dresses are the way to go.
Within the past 2 weeks, I’ve finally started to feel more movement more frequently. Lots of kicks, punches, random rolls or headbutts (I imagine), and stretches. Especially at 4:30am. And, the little guy seems to REALLY like live music. When we were listening to live music at a party last weekend, every time the group began to play Gilgamesh would start to bounce around, and when it stopped he’d stop moving. It’s fun for him and for my husband to feel him bouncing about, and super uncomfortable (yet still entertaining) for me.
I’m able to eat more things (yay!), but still only in smaller portions. And, he’s even let me start eating meat again (double yay!). Chicken is still a no-go, but chicken or turkey sausages, hamburgers, and hot dogs have gone over okay, and I’ll be trying a grilled steak this week.
In the books-we’re-reading-to-Gilgamesh realm, we (we meaning my husband) long ago finished The Wizard of Earthsea and moved onto The Borrowers, followed by The Wind in the Willows, and now he’s about halfway through Stuart Little. I still only manage to hear about 1-3 pages of each chapter before I’m out cold, but Luna (our doggo) and Gilgamesh are presumably hearing the whole thing.
The amount of baby stuff we have sitting in our living room is a bit overwhelming, and there’s more we still need to get. I’m extremely grateful for the generosity of our friends and family, and holy cow that’s a lot of stuff. The nursery furniture will be arriving slowly over the next 2.5 weeks, and then we can start putting things away and figuring out what we’re still missing.
We started taking classes with a local woman who specializes in birth and postpartum doula services, is a lactation specialist, and also offers childbirth (and taking care of baby) education. Last week we learned how to change a diaper! (Yes — somehow both my husband and I have made it to our mid-40s without changing more than one diaper in our lives, and that was 20 years ago and we put it on backwards).
I’ve also started taking some yoga/breathing/pilates-type classes with another local friend now that I (barely) have enough energy to do that. Better late than never, I suppose.
We had another ultrasound at our 33 week check today, and Gilgamesh is on target. He’s estimated to be around 4lbs, 14oz as of today, with a potential (and of course subject to change) weight of around 7lbs when he’s born in 4 weeks.
Why 4 weeks if I’m at 33 weeks now? 33 + 4 = 37 weeks, not 40 weeks. That’s because we’ll be delivering at 37 weeks because of the various risks — gestational diabetes, IVF, my age, etc. She says our local hospital has the equipment and expertise needed for babies as young as 30 weeks (we don’t have a NICU in the local hospital), and at 37 weeks Gilgamesh will be considered full term.
What does that all mean? Well, it means in 4 weeks we’re going to have a baby in the household. We scheduled the c-section today — delivery date will be Aug. 8, and if I’m in the hospital 3 days, that means we’ll go home on my birthday.
Oh boy …