I just realized it's been about a million years since I blogged anything... Okay more like half a month or so, but it feels like forever! The thing is, is that I feel like I don't have much to report on the whole baby thing, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that there are always things happening even though I feel like I've been stuck the same way for so long... I really haven't been.
Today I am one day shy of 33 weeks. That means I have only 7 weeks left until my expected due date. That is less than two months! That means, I'm almost done with the pregnant part of this, that means the REAL adventure begins!! Oh man! When I think of it that way it's just a little nerve wracking and VERY exciting!
Can you even believe how big that bump is getting! Here's where we stand... A couple tiny stretch marks that are less than an inch long on my side there by my hand, if you look really closely you may be able to see them. Other then that, no stretch marks on my tummy or my chest. Thank God! I just hope it stays that way. I don't want to speak too soon.
As far as doctor visits go, I just had one a few days ago at about the 32 week mark. Prior to that I had been seeing the doctor about once a month. From that appointment on, I'll see the doc every two weeks until the end of December. Starting in January I'll go once a week until baby comes. At this point Eli weighs approximately 3lbs and is probably around 14 inches long or so. In the next 7weeks he'll gain approx 1/2lb per week and overall gain about 4inches or more. It all just depends of course. These numbers are sort of an average that the doctor gave me. I on the other hand should gain approx 1lb a week for the next 7 weeks. This far I've gained 24 lbs. Which is right around average/normal for my before prego size. Meaning I may not have too much extra fat to try to work off after baby comes... which also means I have not been stuffing my face more than i need to. Hopefully the next 7 weeks will continue in much the same way.
At this point, although it sorta looks like it in the picture, my belly button has still not "popped" but i have definitely gotten my pregnancy line down the middle of my tummy. I honestly don't know why that happens or what it's actually for, so if you do, feel free to share your info!
Eli is running out of room I think. As far as his patterns go he moves around alot every night as I'm falling asleep and moves around every morning when I get up. I think he moves his whole body sometimes in really weird places because I swear I feel an uncomfortable sort of awkward bulge in one are of my stomach but not in another. During the day he's very sporadic and doesn't seem to have much of a pattern as far as I can tell. He'll move a couple times then I'll feel nothing for a few hours. I'm guessing he hangs out a lot with his head down because I am constantly being kicked in the ribs which is very uncomfortable. I swear I can barely sit anymore because he doesn't have enough room and kicks me for it. I doesn't necessarily hurt but it is VERY weird and VERY uncomfortable when he does it.
I've also been experiencing A LOT of back pain in my upper right side and around my ribs to the front. The pain is in a very specific spot and is at its worst when I'm sitting for long periods of time. I finally gave in and went to the chiropractor for this. He said it's nothing to worry about and it's very common for pregnant women. He "popped" my ribs a bunch of times and "popped" my hips too which provided some relief for about a week. Now the pain is back and it's getting worse. Unfortunately he said that he cannot cure it, he can only provide some temporary relief by "popping" things back in place. The real problem won't go away until after the baby's born. Great.
I've also been having a lot of trouble sleeping. This I think is in large part due to Troy's deployment. When I have to go for a long period of time without hearing from him I get very anxious, sad and depressed. I start to miss him way too much and I think it effects my sleep. Pair that with a trip to the bathroom every couple hours, a really heavy tummy, a moving baby, and back and hip pain its no wonder I don't sleep so well anymore! Some of it i think is hormonal but I've been a lot more moody lately too. I think it's partly because of the no sleep thing too though. It is weird to feel SO irritated at everything for no reason. I know when I'm feeling this way or am acting bitchy so I do my best to control it, but it's very scary, it's like this dark evil creature is creeping around in my head making me angry just because he can. I don't like it. It's like PMS on overload.
I don't mean to complain, I just figured this blog gives me a way to track how I'm feeling and what changes I'm going through. This is definitely getting harder physically. This 3rd trimester is the most uncomfortable and most painful by far. Everything is becoming more and more awkward. I'm still very thankful that my pregnancy is considered very normal and very uncomplicated. I am glad that God has blessed me with this overall breeze of a pregnancy. I hope he'll bless me with a breeze of a baby too ;-) However, I'm less hopeful on that one, how would he teach us anything about love and faith and such without complicated children to challenge us physically and emotionally?
I am becoming VERY anxious about meeting my little one. I'm ready to be on with the next step. Especially as more people I know get to have their babies before me I feel a little jealous. I feel so attached to Eli already and I'm just so excited and so anxious for him to finally be here. Obviously I don't want him here too soon because of the complications he may have as a preemie, but I want him here because I'm ready to take on the next steps, I'm ready to see my son and touch my son... I just can't wait! It will be the happiest moment ever... or at least it will run a close second to finally getting my man back!
