Well ya’ll, I’ve officially made it. Baby Hadleigh is now considered “early-term”, which means if she were born today, she would most likely be in perfect health! It is so crazy to think that in 3 weeks (give or take) I am going to have a little human in my arms…that I have to keep alive…YIKES. Yes, technically that’s my job description as a nurse, but being responsible 24/7 for someone else that YOU created is a little scarier.
I have been doing SO. MUCH. READING. Pinterest articles, blogs, vlogs, books, everything. My brain is so racked up with baby info that it ‘s spilling out of my ears. Between that and people giving me their own input and advice, it’s safe to say I am overwhelmed. There is absolutely no way I can remember it all. But what I’ve come to realize is that every labor, every delivery and every baby is different. I can do all the reading and listening in the world but the only thing that is going to prepare me for having this child is actually having it. My poor husband tries to read every night to prepare, going over our birthing class papers, feeling like he has no idea what he’s doing. His type A personality cannot handle the unknown of this upcoming delivery. And I don’t blame him…there will only be so much he can do when the time comes. It’s going to be hard for him because he just always wants to help. As long as he does what I tell him to do he’ll be fine! 😉
I feel like I’ve had a relatively easy pregnancy thus far, considering all of the extra monitoring they’ve “had” to do because of my low hormone level. Part of me has been annoyed that they keep insisting on frequent ultrasounds and checkups, even though she has been perfectly healthy. But the other part of me is happy because we have gotten to see her a lot more than other moms usually get to see their babies, and we have the reassurance that she’s okay. I had an NST (non-stress test) today, which monitors baby’s heart rate and contractions for 30 minutes while I sit in a chair. Everything turned out perfect. She is super active. It showed that I am having very small contractions but I can’t feel them so it’s nothing to get excited about. Next week they will do one more ultrasound and will start checking my cervix! I also gained THREE POUNDS IN ONE WEEK! Ugh. But since I have been swelling a lot more I’m convincing myself its fluids and baby. Pregnancy symptoms I have had this month include:
- Swelling: in the mornings and at night is when it is the worst. I now have kankles, fat feet, sausage fingers and jubby cheeks. So attractive. The only plus about this swelling is my lips look a little more plump.
- Achy joints: especially in the mornings. I can barely move my fingers. I was convinced that I have carpal tunnel syndrome, since that does run in my family. But the doctor said the hormone, relaxin, is at its peak trying to get my hips and pelvis to loosen up for delivery. Unfortunately the hormone can’t tell the difference between a hip joint vs finger joints. Lovely.
- Emotional: everything makes me tear up or cry these days. The littlest things will trigger it. I’m assuming all of the hormones plus the anxiety of getting close to D-day is the culprit. And from what I hear, it gets worse after delivery. Something else to look forward to! Also, some days I am the biggest grump, mostly on days I have to work. It’s getting harder every day. Praying I can make it until May 1st! Luckily I have been blessed with some awesome coworkers who are always trying to help me out.
- Cramping: so since I’m new to this whole pregnant thing, i’m not sure if they are Braxton-Hicks or what but I’m starting to get lower abdominal cramping. It’s pretty mild and my doc says they’re probably the start of BH contractions. It happens mostly at night and in the morning so might have something to do with dehydration.
- Energy fluctuations: some days I have so much energy and am super productive, but most days I am just so exhausted. I’m starting to sleep slightly better at night surprisingly. I think it’s my body literally forcing itself to rest because it knows what is about to come…no sleep ever again.
- Restless leg syndrome/sciatic pain: still getting these lovely symptoms. Baths are still helping but I don’t do them enough. I also bought a heating pad which helps A LOT. Last night I started drinking chamomile tea before bed because it promotes sleep and I also read it can help joint pain.
- Big appetite: so I’ve officially hit my max weight gain of 35 pounds. I still have 3 weeks so it’s probably safe to say my goal has failed. The last couple of weeks have been hard because my appetite has gone up so much! And I thought cravings were not a thing for me anymore but I quickly realized they are. Lately I’ve been obsessed with kettle corn (ate an entire bag by myself 2 nights ago), grapes, strawberries, chocolate, pretty much anything sweet. My work threw me a baby shower the other day and I literally had 2 servings of banana pudding, a piece of carvel cake, cinnamon bread, and that was just the dessert portion. LOL. Maybe that’s where the 3 pounds came from? I still exercise 2-3 days/week but there are only so many squats I can do that will cancel the amount of food I’ve been eating. Oh well! (And we just got back from eating frozen yogurt….whoops)
In other pregnancy news…our nursery is officially complete. My next post will be an update on all of that with lots of pictures. I’ve packed up the baby’s bag and my hospital bag. Our car seats are installed. We got one car seat from the baby shower (Thanks Lolli & Pop!), but we also got another Graco car seat from Facebook Marketplace for 20 bucks! In very good condition and 5 more years until expiration. We were originally just looking for a Graco base but we couldn’t pass up that deal. Facebook Marketplace has been a blessing for us this pregnancy. We got our halo bassinet, crib, and other furniture from there at unbelievable prices. I like it more than craigslist because you can actually see the person you are buying from.
Lets see…most of the baby’s newborn and 0-3 month clothes and blankets are washed. Baby swings and gadgets are pretty much all set up. I set up a nursing station by my bed and I’ve bought all my postpartum needs. Luckily one of my good friends works as a postpartum nurse so she’s given me a lot of good advice on what I’ll need for recovery. I also have 2 sister in-laws who just gave birth so I’m always asking them for advice too! Needless to say, we are ready! Or should I say as ready as we can be.
In kitty news…we had to take Ash to the vet last weekend. He was acting very strange and not letting us touch his tail or stomach. I couldn’t see any bleeding or wounds but he wouldn’t let us touch him to get a really good look. The vet told us the top of his tail was swollen and he probably had an abscess growing from either getting in a fight with another cat or getting his tail slammed in something. We do have a lot of sketchy cats near us so it wouldn’t surprise me. Man, these kittens are about as much work as having kids sometimes I swear! Anyway, the vet shot him up with some antibiotics and now he is back to normal!
Well, it’s officially 20 days until Hadleigh’s D-day! We are so excited to meet her!
And the adventure continues.
