Pregnancy Update Week 35

I turned 30 this week. I’m happy. Happy with where my life is at 30 years in, happy with the future I see on the horizon, and happy to be what I consider a real adult.

We also had our baby shower this week. We got 7 more blankets (mostly hand made, several hot pink), which brings the count up to 19. That’s right, we have 19 baby blankets, not including the more useful receiving blankets and swaddle blankets (which we are thankful to have lots of). We bought a giant blanket box at IKEA and it only fits half of the blankets. We are going to hand some down to friends who are having twins any day now, and take some to the cottage for next summer.

I don’t want to sound ungrateful by complaining about blankets – the shower itself was amazing. My sister-in-law pulled off a killer party, which is extra amazing considering she did it with a four month old in tow. Most guests stuck to our registry, and some of the hand made stuff was truly beautiful and so our taste. We got all gender neutral clothing, just like we hinted at wanting. We even got a baby pleather jacket. That will go so nicely with her plaid shirt – she will be matching her mama perfectly. We got a lot of disposable diapers in larger sizes, which just means we will have a great emergency stash in case of lengthy travel or diaper rash that requires medicated cream. We didn’t get the second cloth diaper system we wanted (our friends and family didn’t really seem to get the whole cloth diaper thing), but if that’s the only big thing we need to buy still, we are in really, really good shape.

Oh and the baby library we have accumulated thanks to our amazon book registry is sooo awesome. We have a lot of books about social justice, peace, and being kind. Gotta start brainwashing our daughter to be a social justice warrior right from the start 😉

Preparations for Baby

• Bought nursing tank tops and a nursing bra (all Bravado) second hand from a local mom I met on a Facebook group. Saved a pile of money. But then I also went out and bought a new one so I could have something I felt nice in. Two nursing bras and two nursing tanks should be enough until my milk comes in and I can see what else I need. I’ve made it through most of this pregnancy with just two bras that fit me.
• All diapers we will need for the first few months have been washed and organized in a drawer. Wool covers will be washed and freshly lanolized when the last of my wool orders arrives in the mail.
• All baby clothes have been washed and put away.
• My wife already dealt with the baby shower returns and we got pretty much everything urgent that was still on the list (e.g., wipes, breast pump parts, newborn sleepers).

Bodily Experiences This Week

• UTI and False Labour. Had what felt like a nasty UTI that came on fast and strong – blood clots in my pee and searing burning sensation when peeing. The night I started noticing these symptoms, I had what felt like contractions, and they became quite regular and frequent before tapering off in the morning. This scare involved two night-time pages to the midwife, an in-clinic check of baby, and antibiotics. However, by the time I got my urine tested (a whole 24 hours after the symptoms started), my urine was free of any bacteria. The midwife wondered if the pain and blood was from the growing uterus putting pressure on bladder area, and if the rhythmic contractions were false labour. We’ll never know for sure.
•  Sleep is not great… not great at all. I am hot and sweaty all night even with the AC on, and my abdomen gets stretching pains even when I am laying still on my side. I just lay there all night, tossing and turning and sweating, frustratedly waiting for morning. I am tired.
• Swelling hands and feet. Not too puffy to the naked eye, but I can no longer wear my wedding rings. I hate not having them on.
• Many of my maternity clothes are no longer fitting. I have accepted the fact that if I wear leggings, I won’t be able to cover my butt (a concern from when I cared that “leggings are not pants”). My shirts are all a lot shorter on me now.
• I am getting a very faint linea negra. It’s quite crooked, veering off to the left of my belly button.
• Belly button is flat. No longer an innie, not yet an outie.
• Starting to waddle. Baby has dropped, and while it is easier to breath (unless I am laying down), I am peeing about 5 times a night and the only comfortable way to walk is to waddle slightly.

Baby This Week 

• 5-1/4 pounds and 18-19″ long
• putting on the pounds