Week 35

Two weeks until I'm full term. Time is really flying by! I had my 34 week doctor's appointment on Tuesday (34w3d) with Dr. Placide. He was much younger than I was expecting but a nice guy. Everything went well. He said my weight gain was on track (surprised me, I feel like a whale), blood pressure looked good, etc. He confirmed that she's still head down (yay!) and estimated that she's about 5 lbs right now, average weight. My fundal height measurement (measurement of my belly from my pelvic bone to my breast bone) indicates I'm a little further along than 34 weeks -- more like 36 and half weeks but I don't know if this will have anything to do with whether she'll decide to come early or not. Dr. Placide also indicated he didn't think the skin rash I've been bothered with is actually related specifically with pregnancy but rather because I'm pregnant and more sensitive to things, I came in contact with something that's causing an allergic reaction. He recommended taking Benadryl -- and surprisingly, the rash was gone by the next day and hasn't really bothered me since then. I wish the nurse would have said that two weeks ago when I called versus telling me it was just a normal pregnancy symptom.

Starting with my next appointment at 36 weeks, I'll be going in to see the doctor weekly until she's born! Emile is planning to come with at the next appointment because they'll be doing a Group B Strep test which is an internal exam -- they'll be able to tell at that point if I've already started dilating or not (won't be getting my hopes up, it will still be early).

I've started moving my projects at work over to others for my upcoming maternity leave. I want to make sure everything is taken care of well before I head to the hospital. My plan now is to work up until I go into labor so pretty much anywhere between the next 2 to 6 weeks!

We finished the nursery!!! I'm very excited about this. Since my dad and Emile painted, we had chair rail installed which Emile painted and then did some other touch-up painting. We've assembled the crib and put up the blinds, shelves, plants, decorations and diaper stacker. Just this morning, we got the glider in (but I have to call the store on Monday -- the finish is scratched up and poorly painted! Not something I really want to deal with). I'm really excited with how the room has turned out. We're still planning to add a small bookshelf next to the glider for her books but just haven't gotten one yet. Now if I could only convince the cats that the crib and the changing pad are not their new sleeping spots!

Our little girl has been moving around quite a bit now but it's much different than before -- a lot of poking out of her limbs and so forth. It's kind of weird to see my stomach go from being round to being lop-sided with a butt pushing out! My belly feels really heavy now so when I lay down on my side I typically have to have something supporting my belly. I've also noticed that my crotch feels bruised or like I've been riding a horse for awhile. Apparently this is pelvic floor pain and is caused by the weight of the baby pushing down on my muscles. It's not painful or anything, just annoying at times. According to the books, our little one should have a sufficient amount of surfactant in her lungs for them to work well on their own now.

Also, I've definitely felt her hiccup a few times over the last few weeks. At first I wasn't sure that that's what it was, but now I feel pretty confident -- there will be these repetitive bubble type feelings I'll get in my belly that last for a few minutes. Emile's even felt them with his hand. It's pretty neat!

Don't forget to enter a guess for when you think our little girl will arrive and her expected weight! (see the orange box on the right) I'm curious to see what everyone thinks!