Another Pregnancy Update

I'm in week 34 of my pregnancy and baby Alisa is about 4.75 lbs and 18 inches long. My belly is quite large but I'm not uncomfortable yet. It just takes me longer to get up from a sitting or lying position. Alisa's movements are very interesting now. Many of them glide across my belly and can be seen by anyone sitting near me. She moves at least every few hours and always right after I eat. Sometimes she won't be moving, but I can feel what I think is her head pressing against my belly creating a hard spot. It is all so fascinating. At first her stronger movements were a bit disturbing because she would keep kicking the same spot over and over again and I just wanted her to stop or at least pick another spot for a change. Her movements haven't disturbed my sleep yet, which Craig found amazing one night as he felt her pounding away in there while I was sleeping with his hand on my belly. I read about babies having the hiccups in the womb and I finally felt the rythmic bumping that indicated that Alisa had them. I've noticed that she's had them 4 times now--one time was really noticeable and lasted like 10 minutes.

The thing I've noticed about my pregnancy is that just about every day is different. If I have a problem one day I shouldn't worry too much because it will probably be gone by the next day. Then something new will pop up. Some days I'm highly emotional, some days I'm not. Some days my back hurt, some days it doesn't. Some nights I don't sleep well, some nights I sleep great. Some nights that uncomfortable feeling in my thighs returns, some nights I don't have it at all. Some days I'm hungry all the time, some days I'm not so hungry and skip snacks between meals. Some days I have heartburn, some days I do not (even when eating the foods that tend to cause it). Some days I'm really tired, some days I'm not.

I had read that you don't shed much hair while you are pregnant but the normal shedding will return afterwards. Well, I didn't notice a change until maybe the 3rd trimester. I realized I suddenly no longer had hair falling out in the shower or when I brushed my hair. Glorious! A new development that has stuck around for awhile is that I sound congested like I have a cold and my voice keeps cracking. I feel fine though and don't have a stuffy nose or anything. I still don't ever have to go to the bathroom when I wake up in the night. Some nights I wake up many times to roll over but at least I fall back asleep quickly now. I blow my nose daily (like I did before I was pregnant because of allergies) and there is usually a bit of blood, which is common. I'm starting to see the hint of stretchmarks on my belly below my belly button--yikes! Course I can only see them if I hold a mirror there since my belly is so big that I can't even see my feet when standing and looking down. My left ankle and both hands were swollen for weeks but finally my ankle is no longer swollen. My hands are still swollen and they fall asleep every night now even when I'm not lying on them at all. I've felt a few Braxton Hicks contractions in the past month (not painful...my belly just feels tight for around 30 seconds to a minute).

The day after I returned home from Christmas in Tulsa (week 28) I had the diabetes blood test. They had me drink a glucose drink that tasted like fruit punch and they drew my blood an hour later. The results were normal--wahoo! I felt fine during the test and had no trouble drinking the drink within the allotted 5 mintues (it wasn't super sweet like I thought it would be). I had a fasting glucose test years ago to check for insulin resistance and I didn't feel so great during that test. The drink was orange and much sweeter than this fruit punch one. I didn't have to drink as much but I had to drink it faster. I felt a bit sick during the hour wait with only that glucose coursing through my veins.

A new development has been back pain near my right shoulder blade and on the right side of my spine in the middle of my back. This started around the beginning of February and was very sporatic and mild. Then, a week ago on Friday night it was very intense. I felt a bit sick and was writhing in agony and crying. I've tried heat pads, ice packs and an electric Shiatsu massager. None of them really help, though they felt nice on the rest of my back. Craig's massages help for a bit but then the pain returns. Standing and walking around helps but if I do that too long, my lower back begins to hurt from the weight of my belly (I may get one of those belly support bands to deal with that).

I went to the chiropractor last week and he told me what was going on with my back. Craig has been going to this guy for months now since he's had back pain for years. I really like the guy and he really seems knowledgeable. He did some simple tests to determine where my problem areas are (I went to a chiropractor for several months after a car accident over 10 years ago and I don't remember him doing anything like that). He had me turn my head as far as I could to the left and then as far as I could to the right (it didn't go as far to the right as it did to the left, which surprised me). He glided some kind of heat sensor over my back to spot problems areas too. During all of this, he kept rattling off a bunch of big words (names for muscles and parts of the spine, etc) into his little recorder so he could make notes in my file later. It was all pretty cool. The best part was when I got to lie face down on the "table" (with the center section adjusted to make room for my belly) and he put warm pads, etc on my trouble spots and turned on the power and I got a nice heated massage. He also adjusted my back a bit with a precise tool and with his hands. I will be going to him twice a week for awhile until things are straightened out. I can't wait for this pain to be gone! It has been coming back more frequently since that one brutal time. It creeps back after I've been sitting for a bit so it makes it hard to work on the computer all day, to drive places, to watch a movie and to sit in church, etc.

Being pregnant costs money. Obviously the doctor visits and hospital stay cost money, but something you don't think about beforehand is the extra money you'll spend on food, toilet paper and your water bill. We go through a gallon of milk before a week has gone by (one used to last us more than a week) and I eat more (and more fresh fruit) so I have to go to the grocery store more often. I urinate a lot more often than normal so that uses more toilet paper and water (flushing). And because I eat so much (lots of cereal too) I use lots of dishes and we have to run the dishwasher like every other day, which makes our water bill go up.

I rarely get sick and I don't like going to the doctor. I don't go at the sign of a cold like some people do...I only go if I'm really sick and not doing well (if something lasts more than a few days). In fact, even though I've had the flu (or something else that caused me to throw up) a couple of times in the past few years I don't remember the last time I've gone to the doctor for an illness. I've gone to my gynecologist many times each year, but not a regular doctor. I hate waiting 30 minutes in the lobby with other sick people and then waiting another 20 minutes in the examing room for the doctor to come by. Well, I actually like going to the obstetrician, which is a good thing because you go monthly, then bi-weekly, then weekly during your pregnancy. It's fun to see all the other pregnant women in the waiting room (and it's nice to be in a waiting room where nobody is sick). The appointments are nice because they are quick, painless and reassure me that everything with the baby is fine. It's just so exciting to talk about the baby!