35 Weeks

Well, here I am in all my glory at 35 weeks pregnant. That's A LOT of belly!

At my last appointment (12/29), Nola's heartrate was 138, down a little from the 143-145 that it has been at the last few appointments. My blood pressure was fine and I didn't have any problems to discuss with my doctor. Dr. Ford hasn't said anything about my measurements or weight, so I'm not asking. :) I won't tell you what I weigh, but I will tell you that I have gained a total of 22 pounds. That's about what I gained with my first pregnancy too, so I'm not worried about it.

Here's the lowdown on 35 weeks. No, I'm not complaining - just stating facts. I know how blessed I am to be in this position and I know how many people would love to be where I am now. I'm overjoyed that I get to meet my daughter in just a few weeks and I know all of the discomfort and inconvenience will be worth it!

• I feel like Nola has dropped a little bit, but I can't tell for sure. I seem to be able to eat without feeling constantly full and I'm breathing a little better now as long as I'm sitting upright. There is constant pressure on my pelvis and I can feel my hips stretching. All of these things are pretty good signs that Nola is riding a little lower in the saddle these days.
• When I lay down, I can hardly breathe at all and I have terrible reflux and heartburn.
• Sleeping is limited these days. I absolutely cannot turn over at night without waking up completely and putting a lot of effort into my movement.
• When I gotta' go - I gotta' go and that's pretty often!
• Getting in and out of bed is tough as is getting up and down from chairs and couches. But...standing is uncomfortable too and I constantly look for a place to sit down. (Someone told me that a pregnant woman's motto is usually "why stand when I can sit and why sit when I can lay down?" I kind of agree!)
• I can no longer give Caleb a bath because I can't sit and reach into the tub.
• I'm finding some trivial things that are difficult as well: getting clothes out of the washer, rinsing my mouth after I brush my teeth, washing my hands without getting the front of my shirt wet and playing in the floor with Caleb (and getting up afterward).
• My belly button looks like it's winking at me in the mirror.
• I'm really tired of my maternity clothes. I'm ready to wear something different for a change other than the same 10-15 shirts, 2 pairs of jeans and 3 pairs of pants. If I never wear a Bella band again it'll be too soon - but I can't go without them at this point, because my pants would absolutely fall down! Four of the 5 pairs of pants that I own are too short from being washed and dried repeatedly for the past 20-25 weeks.
• I won't even go into the discomforts that are bathroom or breast related, but suffice it to say that discomfort exists.
• Shaving my legs is getting more and more difficult because I can't balance well enough to prop my leg up in the shower.
• My back hurts all the time. All. The. Time.
• I waddle when I walk no matter how hard I try not to.
• I'm tired. Really, really tired.

But did I mention that my baby girl will be here in 5 weeks or less?!? (Six weeks at the most before I beg my doctor to make it end!) I could not possibly be more excited about meeting Nola and I could not be more excited about bringing her home to live with us. I am overjoyed about the promises that 2010 brings to our family - and those only start with Nola.