Sitting is My New Hobby

Yes, it's been over a week since I posted last, but be glad... If I had been writing consistently, it would have looked something like this: Sunday -- My Back Hurts, Monday -- My Back Hurts, Tuesday -- My Back Hurts, etc. When you're in constant pain, it's hard to think about anything else. Now I know why old people like to talk about their ailments. I'll try not to bog you down with the details but the pain has definitely gotten worse. I read that I was supposed to keep exercising as much as possible but I finally figured out that that, even yoga, was making it worse. If I walk for more than 5 or 10 minutes the pain starts radiating down my thigh, my leg seizes up, and I feel like I can't take another step without collapsing. Therefore, as unattractive as it is, my walking has devolved into hobbling like I'm 90. So, I am no longer exercising and this really upsets me but I guess I'd rather gain a few extra pounds than do permanent damage. I just hope it goes back to normal after the baby arrives. 

I have another massage tomorrow (yay!) and I'm going to try to make an appointment with a chiropractor next week. Maybe that will give me some relief. I was supposed to work until next Friday but had to change my last day to this Friday. I have so much left to do and, whereas before I could check 4-5 things off my list every day, now I'm lucky if I get one thing a day accomplished so I felt like I needed the extra time. One kind-of good thing about having to sit a lot is that I've gotten a lot of this done:

Even though just about every book contradicts the next one in its theories about baby care, I've decided to use what I like or agree with from each one and hope I don't screw him up too much. ;) Side note: If you'll notice, the second book from the top is entitled "Diaper Free" -- can I just say, yeah right. That's another gem from my well-meaning coworker. I'm sorry but there's a time and a place to potty-train and it isn't when they are babies and it's definitely not all over my living room rug like a puppy. 

I've also gotten a lot of list-making done: "To Do Before Baby's Arrival," "To Pack for the Hospital," "Questions for Pediatrician Interviews," etc. I also have a list of recipes that I'm planning on making and freezing so I don't have to cook for like 6 weeks after he's born. That list led me to sit down on Sunday and make another list of ingredients I need, which is in an Excel spreadsheet broken down according to what section of the grocery Paul (hehe) can find them in. I may not be getting a lot of physical work done but I sure am organized :)

In other news, we had another appointment with our midwife yesterday and it went well. Wilder is growing just as he should and his heartbeat sounded good. He's considered full-term a week from tomorrow. We're probably going to start trying to self-induce in 3 more weeks because a) my sciatic nerve is screaming at me to get him off of it and b) if I'm going to deliver naturally he can't be a 9-pound baby. My midwife told me last week that you're supposed to be able to comfortably deliver your shoe size... meaning if I wear a 7 shoe, I can deliver a 7-pound baby. I'm pretty sure he's getting close to that because at our 3D ultrasound almost a month ago he was already approximately 4 lbs. 11 oz. I don't know how accurate the shoe-size theory is, but I also read that a infant's head is 2/3 the size of an adult head and that scared the crap out of me so, yeah, I think it's just about time for him to go ahead and make an appearance. 

Well, I hope everyone has a good rest of your week and a Happy Halloween! I have a funny idea for a Halloween costume if I can get the energy to make it, so I'll post pictures if I can pull it off. Adios!

Sunday Funday and Prego Update

We had a great day on Sunday. My cousin, Amber, her husband, Travis, and their precious baby boy, Henry, came down to San Diego to visit us for the day. Even though it was rainy and we couldn't eat outside and go to the park like we wanted, we had a great time visiting with them, playing with Henry, and watching football. Henry is the absolute cutest. He loved bouncing on our overstuffed couch and, if he got fussy, all they had to do was step out the front door with him. The fresh air soothed him immediately. I felt like I was observing a parenthood class. It was really nice seeing how a baby reacted to different aspects of our house. 

Amber and Travis are so great with Henry and seeing them made us so excited for Wilder to get here soon. Even though our immediate families are really far away, we are so lucky to have Amber and Travis close and we can't wait to get Wilder and Henry together. It will be fun to have them so close in age. 

            

            

            

In other news, my back is still hurting on the left side. I refuse to let it stop me from exercising though. I've been taking short walks daily and doing yoga about every other day. At my appointment today, my midwife showed me a couple of new poses to try. Yoga doesn't relieve the pain but it does stretch out the muscles around the nerve that tend to get really tense from me favoring that part of my back. It also relaxes me and makes me feel better mentally. Recently, the baby has started this thing where he'll shift to the right slightly and it will press on the nerve on my right side for a minute. That feels like ice on a sensitive tooth times 10. 

Needless to say, I'm getting really ready for him to come on out. It was kind of discouraging today though because my midwife said first babies usually don't make an appearance until about 41 weeks 3 days... which, inconveniently enough, is right about the time my parents will be leaving San Diego. It will be interesting to see if we can coax him out sooner. I plan on starting the week before the due date with self-induction methods. I know of a few but if anyone has a surefire way to induce labor, let me know. Gah, I really don't want to spend the whole 10 days of my parents' trip being stared at and asked, "Is it time?... Is it time now?"

Also in other news, I just wanted to mention how proud I am of my talented hubby. At the NewSchool's convocation last Friday, he was given a Design Excellence award for his first-year studio work. This award was handed out to only two people from each year's studio class, in this case 2 out of about 50. He didn't want me to blog about it, but, after a lot of begging, he consented to a little blurb here. :) I am so proud of his hard work over the last year! 

TGIF

My prenatal massage yesterday was exactly what I needed. She propped about a dozen pillows under me and, for about an hour and half, worked out all my tension and stress while I lay there practicing my visualization techniques for labor. She really concentrated on the sore spot on my back and managed to work out a lot of the stiffness around it. Although I still had pain in it afterwards (since it's not a muscle pain), I felt more relaxed and more mentally equipped to deal with it. I've been in a much better place ever since... more calm and just soothed in general. I even slept better last night than I have in months! So I went ahead and scheduled another one in two weeks and plan on having them every couple of weeks until the birth. They even offer labor massages and I'm seriously thinking about taking them up on that. 

I would definitely recommend a prenatal massage, or a series of them, to anyone who is pregnant. When had regularly, they have been shown to reduce prematurity rates, provide shorter and less painful labors, and fewer days in the hospital following delivery. They also reduce postpartum depression. You can read more about the benefits here.

Today is a great day because it's Friday! Going to work has become increasingly difficult, partly because of the pain in my back, but mostly because I just sit there thinking about all the other things I could be doing or need to be doing. But after today I only have three weeks left and that makes me really happy! Don't get me wrong, this has been one of my favorite jobs I've ever had but I'm ready to have some time to rest and finish preparing for the baby, both mentally and domestically. :) 

I'm also happy today is Friday because my cousin, Amber, and her husband and 8-month-old little boy are coming down from LA for a visit on Sunday. We haven't seen them since the 4th of July and we are so excited to see how Henry has grown and get to play with him. 

That's all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend! 

Oh My Aching Back!

I've been lucky so far. The only pregnancy-related health problem I've had up to this point has been the first 6 weeks of awful morning sickness. That was pretty bad, but I knew it would end soon. However, what I'm experiencing now I see no end to until the baby is born. For the past week and a half I've been having the worst back pain I've ever felt. It's not like a muscle pain that you can soothe with massage or a heating pad; it's a sharp pain in my lower back to the left of my spine and it hurts when I walk or put any weight on my left side. 

It's gotten pretty excruciating and I'm so frustrated with it because I want to keep exercising and I have so much left to do before the baby arrives but just about every movement is super painful. I don't know exactly what's causing it, but I do know that the baby's head and torso are on my left facing my right side so maybe he's pressing on a nerve or it's just the added weight to that side? Whatever it is, I'm tired of it and I can't wait 6 more weeks to get some relief. I've decided to call tomorrow to make an appointment with a chiropractor. I've never been to a chiropractor and I'm wondering if any of you have and if it helped? I'll take other suggestions for relief too if anyone wants to contribute! I'm even wondering if there's any way to shift the baby into another position... yes, I'm desperate!

In other news, we finally have a changing table and another corner of the nursery set up. Here's a picture. Man, those curtains still look chartreuse... I promise they're not! Grrr! I'll have to get a picture in the daytime without the flash.

Life These Days

First of all, I just want to acknowledge my sweet husband's 27th birthday, which was yesterday. I've been so blessed to know him for the past 12 years and feel so lucky every day to be his wife. He's one of the best men I know and I know he is going to be an amazing father. 

Well people, the countdown has begun. We have just under 7 weeks until we are no longer a family of two and our lives are changed forever. The carseat came in the mail today and we'll be installing it in the car pretty soon; we have interviews with pediatricians lined up; our newborn care class is tomorrow; after my next appointment with the midwife I'll start going back every week; and baby Wilder's insistent kicks plus occasional Braxton-Hicks contractions are a constant reminder to me that he's getting ready to make his appearance. 

Speaking of kicks, this little guy's movements are really starting to get out of control. I read somewhere that he's supposed to be sleeping 90% of the time, but I feel him squirming around, stretching, and jabbing me during way more than 10% of the day. It is hands-down the most amazing thing I've ever experienced and I can't get enough of it. It takes my breath away both because it's so awesome and because a swift kick to the ribs will do that to you. Sometimes I'll look down and see what's clearly a foot poke out and then move three or four inches along the top of my belly. Other times my belly looks like it's the epicenter of an earthquake. 

I've been doing kick counts for the last three weeks per my midwife. That's where you pick a time of day when the baby is active and try to count 10 kicks in an hour. Let me tell you, with the hyper baby I'm carrying, 10 kicks in an hour is laughable... I usually get 10 kicks in 2 minutes. If I count during a not-so-active time of day it may take up to 10 minutes but it's never taken longer than that. This kid is crazy busy in there! I keep telling myself he must just have cabin fever and hopefully he'll mellow out a little once he arrives. :)

We have our newborn care class tomorrow morning and I'm super excited about it. I'm hoping now I can stop feeling like Paul, since his daddy bootcamp class, is the only one in this house who knows what the heck to do with an infant. I mean, I'm pretty sure I've changed a diaper before but not in recent memory and the art of swaddling frankly looks a little intimidating. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to getting in some practice and some Q&A time with a knowledgeable instructor. 

My mom was asking tonight if I felt any bigger and I definitely do. Wilder is gaining weight rapidly these days. When we had our 3D ultrasound a week ago he weighed approximately 4 lbs. 11 oz. and I'm pretty sure by now he's tipping the scale at at least 5 lbs. So do I feel bigger? Um, yes definitely, and let me just show you... Here's Wilder and me at 33 weeks 1 day: 

Well, that's all for now. I need to go do some yoga after looking at this picture. ;) Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! 

Wilder Roman aka Mini-Paul

I'm in heaven! We went for our 3D ultrasound this morning and got to see our sweet little Wilder. He had gained a lot more baby fat since the last time we saw him in 3D at 15 weeks when he looked like a little alien. Now he looks like a baby and just like his daddy. I may be slightly biased ;) but he is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I totally teared up when we first saw him again and the 30 minutes we had with him flew by. I can't stop staring at the pictures and am so ready to hold him in my arms. 

His head and abdomen measured normally and he already had some hair. The tech said his legs were really long, which isn't surprising considering my dad and brother are both 6'4". It's also not surprising because he is jamming those feet up under my ribs more and more these days. I guess there's nowhere else for them to really go. Since the placenta is anterior (in front of instead of behind him) it was difficult to get an image of his full face so I had to keep turning from my back to my side trying to get him to move back away from the placenta. I'm totally thrilled with the pictures though. Here are a few images of our precious angel:

Look at those cheeks!

Smiling :)

Love his little mouth

Hands curled up together

Love this... Legs crossed at the ankles

After the ultrasound we went to Babies R Us and bought our changing table. Paul put it together when we got home and the nursery looks so much more complete now. I can't wait to start hanging pictures and finishing it up. It's all getting so real now and I get more excited every day!