With each new pregnancy, the poor not-yet-born baby gets fewer and fewer mentions on this blog. This post will not remedy that, but I feel like he deserves at least one post dedicated to him while he is still in utero. So here goes!
Gender: Boy
How far along: 34 weeks and 6 days
How far out: Exactly 100% of the time, my belly reaches places before the rest of me does
Weight: The gooseberry has probably gained between 4 and 5 pounds by this point, while I am sitting at a not terrible 15 pound gain.
Most annoying part: The nonstop need to pee.
The best part: Feeling the little limbs poking out of my sides.
First trimester: I had some mild nausea at random times throughout the day for weeks 7-9. I did not care for most foods. I lived for the afternoon nap if the other three boys cooperated with their naps and quiet time hours. I dreamed SO MUCH, multiple dreams per night that I could easily recall the next day, which for the most part was so much fun. I made it through the first 13 weeks without gaining any weight and, more notably, without stressing obsessively about whether the baby was actually still moving around in there. A much more peaceful first trimester in all the ways.
Second trimester: Nausea was long gone, but foods just were not that appetizing. I could eat anything - I just didn't care for anything in particular. It's not a terrible problem to have as it definitely allowed me to snack less than I normally would have, but it's still an odd thing to think about a food you know you would usually eat and eat and eat and be, "Meh, I could take it or leave it." We, of course, had the anatomy scan during this trimester and discovered the not-at-all-surprising news that the gooseberry was baby boy #4. We received the also not-at-all-surprising news that he was another potato baby [as we endearingly call them] with shorter than average limbs. At the start of the year, I determined to walk/exercise as often as possible. Jason's easier semester gave him more free evenings and he was able to keep me motivated to hop on the treadmill for a 1.5 mile jaunt 4-5 times a week. I think this has definitely kept me much more energized this time around weirdly enough [but not all that weird, I know]. Also, as long as I got to bed by 10:30, I would feel great the next day. If I happened to stay awake until 11 pm, I was pretty useless the next day, mood and energy wise. Despite having a slow recovery of appetite in this trimester, I still finished out the second round of 13 weeks with 11 pounds gained. Oof.
Third trimester: Eat.All.theTHINGS. This is always where it gets tricky. Now I want all the foods and I can actually hold more food with the baby slowly making his way out of my ribs, but I don't want to weigh 150 pounds. Such a conundrum. But we've made it to the end game! Only five more weeks to go. Only FIVE MORE. I have felt great. I have the classic "I need to pee" waddle pretty much 24/7 because of the 24/7 need to pee. I am currently in an I Want an Afternoon Nap phase, but I'm pretty sure that's because of how late I've been staying up while Jason was Spring Break-ing. While I can no longer comfortably have people climbing all over me or sitting in my lap to read books, I can still heft my soon-to-be-dethroned-from-resident-baby-of-the-house-status Sebastian up and down within reason and I don't feel at all old and decrepit and huffy puffy while going for walks. I am experiencing the annoyance of having to stand farther away from the sink and having to do this awkward hunched over reach while washing dishes, but all in all, not too shabby for almost 35 weeks along. ONLY FIVE MORE TO GO.
Now that I am very, very, very obviously pregnant [like, there is no way anyone would possibly feel uncomfortable or anxious about assuming that I am 100% a pregnant Asian - there are not enough tacos in the world to make this a questionable assumption about my stomach], I find it entertaining fielding people's reactions when the boys and I are out on a walk around the neighborhood [walks that inevitably consist of three false starts down the street, only to have to head home to pee again and again before actually getting to go on the walk...]. Lucas and Finley ride ahead on their bikes and I follow behind with Sebastian in the stroller, and my Walmart-sized watermelon belly proudly sways from side to side as if to say, "Look at me! Look at me!" And look the good people do. And comment and question. Yes, number four! Yes, another boy! Yes, probably more in the future! I enjoy it though, because it is a human interaction/conversation that I am comfortable with: one that comes with predictable questions that I already have the answers queued up for and have rehearsed in my head a dozen times [these are normal parameters for normal people's conversations, right?]. I end up feeling like I'm sociable without devolving [usually] into mumbles and awkwardness and nonsensical responses that make zero sense [my baseline norm for human interactions]. Apparently at 35 weeks along, THIS IS MY GOLDEN MOMENT. Also, ONLY FIVE MORE WEEKS.
Today's appointment at the birth center was uneventful, which is what I prefer. The gooseberry was head down, measuring on schedule, and bopping the Doppler monitor thumpity thump the whole time we were listening to his clippity clop heartbeat. We have the GBS test at our next appointment in two weeks and then we hit the weekly visits until this fella makes his glorious debut. Everything is picking up and I love it. Labor and delivery is honestly one of my favorite parts about pregnancy so I await it with much anticipation. It's work, work, work for some number of hours and then boom, instant gratification baby. Such a high.
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| a 35-week along potato mama |
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| a 24-week along potato baby |
