Week 34

Can I get any bigger?!  A mother at the playground last night said, “any day now eh?”.   I just laughed and said yup.  (Except that she’ll see me 4 weeks from now with my beach ball belly and think I’m REALLY overdue!!)   But I also had a Mother and her children walking behind Bryce and I, who was really surprised when I turned around.  Shocked enough to tell me that I looked so “neat and tidy” from behind that she was surprised to see my baby belly.  I told her that I didn’t feel so neat and tidy!!!   And of course everyone at work has something to say.  There is a running commentary every time I enter a meeting, or walk through the lobby.  People say I’ve dropped, I’m carrying high, that I need a new shirt, that I’m all baby, that I should go home, that they are going to start wearing rubber boots, or put mats down on the floor…I even had one supervisor laugh when he saw me making my way towards him!  (Laugh it up laughy pants.  Just hope I don’t go into labour at work while you’re on duty!  Karma!)

I had another Dr.’s appointment this week.  Same as always.  She measured my belly and I am on “target”.  (Though she never ever gives me the number…hmmmm!)  I listened to his heart via Doppler.  Again, not as exciting anymore when I have my own at home.  She did comment on my elevated BP, and my irregular heartbeat.  (Heartbeat normal & benign for me.  I think Paramedic school caused it!!)  She said she would support and endorse a reduced workweek anytime and to just call her office for a note when I’m ready.  Much different than my last OB who cracked the whip right up till the end!! I think after my next appointment (May 21), I’ll be seeing her every week.  Countdown is on!!

I ordered a little bassinet for Aiden to sleep in next to my bed.  It was on clearance for ~50% off.  Not totally boyish but gender neutral enough.  (Couldn’t justify spending twice the price just to get something blue)  For Bryce, I used a playpen that had a raised platform…but found that a hassle to drag around.  This bassinet is very portable if I wanted it downstairs or even outside on the deck.  It’s the perfect bedside height, glides back and forth, plays music, has a mobile…and even a nightlight to check on baby.  Not bad for $68!! Can I just say I love Walmart.ca.  Not only is shipping free…but they deliver in like 2 days…to your door!!   A busy Mom’s best friend!!

I was reading a funny post on Facebook about a Mom’s “apology letter to her second born”.  I have a feeling I should print it off and place it in Aiden’s baby book.  It said things like “as you look through your incomplete baby book and see all the empty ‘place photo’s here’….it’s not because I didn’t love you, I was just too busy wiping your Brother’s bum.”   She said she documented every spit-up and sneeze of her first child, but practically missed the first steps of her second child because well, life is busier with 2.  Hopefully I can still find time to keep this blog going (like I did for Bryce) and have it printed into a “baby book”.  Then there will be no empty “place photo’s here”!!

I won't miss the swelling!! :s

What’s happening with baby this week? “Your baby now weighs about 4.9 pounds and measures about 18.4 inches long.  Your baby is fully developed at this point, but is growing and gaining weight now.  Baby’s chances of survival outside of the womb are very good now, with only the lungs needing further development.  Baby is probably in the head down position now and the skull is soft so that baby can move down the birth canal during birth.  Pressure from the baby being head down can make you have to urinate frequently. The immune system is continuing to mature now and preparing to fight infections.  Because your baby is rapidly building up fat, little dimples are forming at the elbows and knees.  Creases are forming around the wrists and neck.  Bones are continuing to harden now and the waxy substance covering your baby’s skin, vernix, is thickening.  There are several prenatal tests that your health practitioner may recommend at this point.  One that you need to ask for, if your doctor or midwife doesn’t suggest is, is the GBS (or Group B Step) test.  This test screens for harmful bacteria that you can pass to the baby at birth."