Belly Day – 36 Weeks

I am very pregnant, people. I am flashing my pregnancy card left and right… “Why, yes, I’d love for you to carry my groceries.” and “Wow, I’m sorry I just made you suffer through the biggest brain fart ever, see… I’m pregnant.” I have a fascination with stepping back mentally and looking at the big picture of my life and how it’s moving through time. The month is filling up with little plans and appointments and any remnants of “normal, functioning incubator body” are being consumed by “massive body preparing to give birth.” I think all the random things that are going to be happening this month serve as the perfect countdown to the day baby brother arrives.

Yesterday I had a pre-natal appointment and a sonogram. With Miles I only had one sonogram the entire pregnancy (at 20 weeks), but this was my 3rd for this baby. They made it sound standard, so we decided to do it. Mostly, things looked pretty great! His head is down and he’s measuring just over 6 pounds and his heartbeat is strong and steady. The only weird thing is that they couldn’t see his left kidney. My doctor said she wasn’t overly concerned, but just concerned enough that she wanted to schedule another ultrasound, this one a level two, which would be more accurate. She said they saw it at 20 weeks and it could have just been obscured by something else this time, but I’m going in tomorrow (April 8) to have the level two sonogram just to make sure. My doctor told me not to lose any sleep over it (and I haven’t) but it has been on my mind since my appointment yesterday and I’m feeling eager for the sonogram tomorrow and praying we see the left kidney.

UPDATE: I decided to update you after having my level 2 ultrasound. The technician confirmed that there is no left kidney. It must always be difficult to hear there is something “wrong” with your baby, no matter the issue, but I’m relieved to know that there are many people who live perfectly normal lives with just one kidney. The doctor was very reassuring and they measured the amniotic fluid around the baby to make sure there was a enough and no reason to induce an early labor. The fluid levels are good so everything about my labor should be as normal as it would have been. There will be some extra monitoring of our baby once he’s born to make sure the remaining kidney is growing large and able to perform to the right level. He will possibly need to avoid high-contact sports like football and hockey, but otherwise be able to live a normal life. I’m very happy it doesn’t seem to be anything more serious, but I would always appreciate prayers that there are no other issues and that everything turns out well for him before and after the birth. 

If you’re my friend on Facebook, you probably saw my status yesterday about the amazing woman who paid for my groceries. The story is slightly more crazy than that, so I wanted to share. Primarily because her kindness deserves the recognition. It’s a little long winded and probably boring, so you can skip it if you want. Haha. I’ll start by telling you that we like to do our weekly produce shopping at Sprouts if we’re near the city because they have great food and good sales. Since I usually have my OB appointments on Monday, it’s a good time to grab this half of our weekly grocery list before heading home. Yesterday our day included some extra adventuring… specifically a trip to Ikea with lots of walking. Miles conked out in his car seat just a minute before arriving to Sprouts and the poor kid needed his sleep, but I was desperate to get us food so we could eat dinner this week. So I managed to make him a comfy bed in the bottom of the shopping cart, where he slept soundly while I did my shopping. After the cashier finished scanning my items and I swiped my debit card, I realized it had expired. I didn’t have cash with me and we’ve been trying to avoid using a credit card for awhile now. I remembered that my credit card was in my other purse in the car, so I left my groceries and took my sleeping boy with me out to the car to get it. While walking back in, I realized that my credit card had also expired at the end of March! I told the cashier sorry and that I would just pay for a couple things with the cash I had and be on my way. She cancelled the transaction just as I remembered I had a check I had planned to deposit at the bank afterwards, so I asked if they would be able to cash it for me. She said yes, so I made another trip to the car to grab the check. After returning again to store with my check I stood a moment while the cashier began to re-scan my items. This is when I had the thought that perhaps she had misunderstood and thought I would be paying with my own personal check. I paused her scanning again to confirm that she could cash a check from someone else to me and, as I had suspected, that wasn’t going to be possible. I felt SO bad! I told her that I would need to just pay for my couple things with cash again after all and abandon my other groceries. I was embarrassed and felt bad for causing the cashier so much trouble and making people wait for me in line. That was when a sweet woman stepped forward with a bright smile and insisted that the cashier ring up all my groceries along with hers. I told her that wasn’t necessary, but she insisted and as I said “thank you” I broke down in tears. Talk about pregnancy hormones! She came over and hugged me and told me she had two children, one Miles age and an infant that was in the cart with her and she knows what it’s like. I was pretty vulnerable at the moment and embarrassed to be crying in front of a bunch of strangers. I’m sure I looked like a total mess, but it was kind of nice to be humbled to a point that I could let go of all the silly things that keep strangers distanced from each other during our daily lives. All of a sudden I connected with a complete stranger who knew the routine struggle of being a mom and trying to get it all to work out somehow. I’m a pretty shy person and I stay quiet and I don’t really talk to people I don’t know because I wouldn’t know what to say. But here I was, at a weak moment, leaning on someone who knew nothing about me. The cashier began scanning my items again and I stood there, unable to shut down the waterworks and trying to calm Miles, who was now awake and fussy and wondering what was going on. Like I said… humbling. But it was humbling in the best way. I walked away with my faith having been made stronger, in people, but especially in God. It was so nice to feel the affirmation of His absolute presence in my life. So that’s the full story and further proof that I’m an emotional mess these days. :)

Baby’s Size| Size of a head of romaine lettuce. My fave!

How far along | 36 weeks

Sleep | The worst has been the stiff pain in my feet, hips and legs each time I have to get up to pee during the night. I hate having to reorient myself and find my balance just to walk 15 feet.

Clothes | So funny, last pregnancy I was also whining about “the underwear that doesn’t fit.” My favorite maternity jeans that I found at old Navy earlier in the pregnancy are starting to get uncomfortable. It’s like the final blow. They were my only answer for when I needed to wear real clothes and not just lounge pants. I also realize I need new flip flops, but I’m torn between wanting them now and waiting until I’m no longer pregnant so I won’t ruin them prematurely with my swollen, stinky feet.

Cravings | Oh guys, I have a legit craving to report this week. It all started last week when I was at Walmart picking up some groceries. I spotted a cupcake on the discount bakery rack so I picked it up, thinking it would be a nice treat for Miles (hahahaha). When we got to the car, I opened it up, took a bite, gave a piece to Miles, then crammed the remaining cupcake in my mouth and moaned. Then I went home and dreamt of cupcakes. Not really… I did dream of them but that was last night. Actually, what happened next was that I needed to run to Walmart the next day for a quick item I had missed the day before, so I decided to pick up another single cupcake. This time I unknowingly grabbed one with whipped icing. Back at the car, I once again gave a small piece to Miles and proceeded to enjoy my portion. And ENJOY I DID! It was about the best thing I had consumed in months. I was exhausted and sick of walking and wrangling a two year old in a grocery store, but that wasn’t enough to stop me. I pulled out of my parking spot and proceeded to loop the parking lot and pull back into a spot, unload Miles from the car seat again, walk into the store and leave with a half dozen cupcakes all for myself. I bought another dozen a couple days ago and the craving has not gone away. Mmmmmm…. I’m going to go eat some now. No joke.

Food Aversions |  I have a couple bad teeth that I plan to have taken care of after baby is born and I’ve been managing to chew on the one side that didn’t give me pain. Unfortunately, last week, I felt pain. This leaves no safe side of my mouth for chewing, so I take a long time to eat and find myself avoiding foods that require extra chewing. Also, I’m not sure if it’s hormones or something else, but I haven’t had much desire for the foods I’d normally get so excited about. Except for the cupcakes, I have been wanting veggies and fruit. So weird, but I’ll take it.

Symptoms | The swelling is really bad today. I definitely don’t remember my hands being this swollen last time. I have trouble holding things. The other day I let my Starbucks latte slip out of my hands and spill in the car. I wanted to cry, lol. My hips felt great after my chiropractor appointment last week but it was only that way for a few days. I need to go back sooner than I thought. Today is really bad because I was walking so much yesterday. I think my belly is lower and I feel the weight so much more while I’m walking and it tires me out pretty quickly.

Doctor’s Appointment | I told you about the invisible kidney. Otherwise it was really great to see his face on the sonogram and to see his big wriggling body. At one point he reached his arm over his head and snuggled into it and I melted. I can’t wait to meet him! I also had my cervix checked for the first time and it’s barely dilated, which is to be expected this early. She also told me that we’re at a point now, if I go into labor they won’t stop it and told me what I need to do and it was all very real sounding.

Movement | Even the ultrasound tech was amazed at how much he was moving. I love almost every second of it. Almost because I don’t love having my cervix area punched or whatever.

Belly Button | Easter Sunday, a sweet little girl was convinced that my belly button was actually the baby’s finger because he was poking his finger out. Such a cute and funny thought.

Gender | The ultrasound tech decided to point out his scrotum and penis yesterday. If we had any doubts about this being a boy, thy are gone now. Lol.

Best moment of the week | Seeing our little man on the sonogram yesterday. It was also cute yesterday at the Dr.’s office we saw another mother with a brand new baby and we pointed it out to Miles saying “see the little baby?” and he goes “take it home with us?” So cute. I can’t wait until we’re actually able to say yes.

What I miss | My un-swollen nose. My un-swollen hands. OH! I really miss being able to wash my hands and reach the olive oil in the cabinet above our stove.