thirty-six weeks | baby five

My blood pressure has been all over the place with no real rhyme or reason to it, but everything else looks fine, so apparently no one cares?  Whatever.  I've had numbers between 120/80 to 160/95 over the last two weeks.  But more blood work came back just fine.  My family was all hoping I'd be induced this coming Friday (the 29th) but that isn't looking likely at all.  Maybe this will be the first time I actually make it to 39 weeks?  Whatever the case, I'm meeting baby girl in 16 days or less.  It is still pretty surreal.

how far along:  36 weeks + 3 days (compare to 36 weeks with Ryann, Elsie and Thea)

size of baby:  A ripe papaya.  She is likely nearing 19 inches and 6 pounds.

weight gain: +29 pounds.  I hadn't gained any weight in a few weeks, and then BAM.  Christmas happened.  Oh well.

maternity clothes: Definitely.

symptoms:  Restless legs, back pain, constipation, headaches, and now we can add swelling to the list.  I've had a few days of horrible swelling, but overall it isn't too bad.  But it is definitely pitting now which is awesome if I try to wear real shoes.

exercise:  Nothing really.  But now that I'm nearing the 37 week mark, I'm thinking I need to increase the walking again, encourage little miss to join us on the outside.  :)

cravings/aversions:  Truthfully nothing really.  Maybe white cheese dip still.  I really need to just eat some before I have this baby so I can say I did.  I'm pretty sure the dairy will make me feel like crap though.

movement:  She has actually slowed down over the last week.  Still a fair amount of movement in the evenings and middle of the night (which I'm sure will carry over after she is born, fantastic) but during the day I have to really concentrate on it.

sleep:  With all of the things on my to-do list and Christmas stuff, I didn't sleep much in the last week in general.  But overall I'm sleeping fine.

gender:  Girl

looking forward to:  Meeting this baby girl!  We're basically at that waiting stage point and I'm antsy.  It doesn't feel like it is going to happen any time soon, but it could!  Also call me Scrooge but I'm looking forward to taking down the Christmas decorations and getting my house back in order.  I love the decorations and the festiveness, but it always feels soooo good to get it down!

worries:  I'm a little anxious about changing up the family dynamic again.  I think Thea will be a good big sister, but she also plays the baby of the family pretty well, and as always, it breaks my heart to think of completely rocking her world.  I'm pretty sure Ryann and Elsie will be mostly unphased, and in general just enjoy the extra screen time they get when she is born.  HA.

best moment this week:  The wall paper and custom name sign we ordered arrived!  And they're on the wall and I'm in love.  And it was Christmas and I got a new computer and a new diaper bag and I've checked a few more things off my to-do list.  Just keep nesting, just keep nesting... :)

With the new wallpaper in the nursery and the belly in front of the Christmas tree.

thirty-four weeks | baby five

I think it is safe to say I'm in the home stretch!  An induction date of January 12th has been set if she doesn't decide to come on her own (or get evicted) before then.  Exactly one month or less to go!

To be honest though, I'll be surprised if we make it to the 12th.  Last Monday I was sitting at the counter (waiting shamelessly for my husband to bring me Sheridans, because PREGNANT), when all of the sudden I got a head rush, followed by a headache and nausea.  It was bizarre and I could tell something was off.  I asked Chris to take my blood pressure when he got home, and it was 150/90.  We rechecked in the morning and it was the same.  That evening it was down to 140/80, but Wednesday morning when we checked it was 160/95.  At that point I figured I better at least be seen to rule out pre-eclampsia.  But Wednesday wasn't convenient so I said I couldn't make it in until Thursday.  When the nurse called back she didn't seem amused, and said my doctor wanted me to head to triage in labor and delivery at some point to be evaluated.  I felt like that escalated quickly!  I didn't want to end up stuck in KC in the dark or driving back late at night so I convinced them (basically refused to come) to let me come in Thursday morning.  Wednesday evening my pressure was better and Thursday morning it was a normal 120/80.  I still went in and had labs drawn, but everything checked out just fine.  It was definitely bizarre.  I felt like an idiot for calling, but it was the right thing to do.

I had another doctor's appointment today, and for the most part all still looks well.  My blood pressure was 135/80, and I'm measuring two weeks ahead which seems to be freaking my doctor out for some reason (I've measure ahead with every pregnancy and not had large babies, stop trying to scare me!).  But otherwise, everything is fine.  She wants us to keep monitoring my blood pressure at home and call if I have any other crazy symptoms, or it gets to 150/90 again.

how far along:  34 weeks + 2 days (compare to 34 weeks with Ryann, Elsie and Thea)

size of baby:  A Savoy Cabbage.  This app and it's weird foods.  Baby girl should be around 18 inches and in the neighborhood of five pounds.

weight gain: +27 pounds.

maternity clothes: Yes.  A decent portion of my maternity shirts don't fully cover my belly.  Fail.

symptoms:  Restless legs, back pain, constipation, headaches, and a long list of other random crap that is annoying.  Really overall I feel 'fine', just pregnant.  I'm not miserable by any means, but I don't know very many people who could claim the last six weeks of pregnancy comfortable.

exercise:  Since my blood pressure has been weird I've been trying to take it easy.  So basically I feel like a lazy lump.  But on the days where my step count is under 7,000 my back hurts less and I have few to no braxton hicks.

cravings/aversions:  Light foods, nothing too greasy.  I can't eat very much before I'm uncomfortably full. 

movement:  I cannot begin to describe the amount of movement from this kid.  I posted a video on instagram of her shenanigans.  She is constantly moving all over the place.  Which leads me to believe she can't be as gigantic as my OB is making her out to be, she clearly has plenty of room to move around.  At church on Sunday she was moving and kicking throughout the entire hour.  It is just now starting to become slightly painful at times, but for the the most part it is just funny.

sleep:  Some nights are fine, some nights are more restless, but I'm not finding myself awake for hours at night so I'll take it.

gender:  Girl

looking forward to: The little blood pressure incident prompted me to start getting my butt in gear and I've been making lots of lists and crossing things off.  Thea made the transition to her new room and new bed over the weekend, and now there are itty bitty baby clothes hanging in the nursery closet.  I can't wait for the wall paper and custom sign I ordered to be delivered so we can get baby girl's room all set up!

worries:  That this girl actually will be a giant.  I think I'm in the minority, but I love my teeny tiny newborns.  And they come out pretty easy.

best moment this week:  Thea successfully switching to the new bed just feels pretty huge.  It wasn't seamless, but she is doing a great job!  Also the girls desperately want to know what baby sister's name will be, and just their excitement over all of it is fun.  A swaddle with her name on it was delivered yesterday so I think we'll share with them in the next couple of days!