34 Weeks

I just read my 34 Week post from when I was pregnant with Logan and had to smile... that week was when I received my job offer for the company I'm still working for.  I still can't believe how that all happened but am so thankful that God blessed me with a great job, even when I was 8.5 months pregnant :).  Some interesting things have been happening at work this week, some that I won't go into detail about but I will talk about my benefits briefly.  When we completed our open enrollment for insurance last year, I could swear I elected to receive short term disability coverage, just on the small chance that I would get pregnant ;).  This week I started getting my paperwork together to file for it and was told that I'm not currently covered.  Oh, the thoughts that ran through my head ;).  And what makes it even more difficult is that the HR Manager resigned his position and moved out of state a couple weeks ago.  The interim HR Manager has been trying to help me but can't find my original signed copy of benefit elections anywhere (what are the chances?).  So, I've been trying not to stress about what's going to happen when the baby gets here.  I'm just praying that something will work out so that we don't have to rely solely on Jason's salary.  Everything will be fine, though...

I had my 34 week checkup this afternoon and it went fairly well.  I told the doctor about my slip last weekend, which is still causing me a LOT of pain and he sympathized but said it's going to hurt because of where the muscle/ligament strain is and where the baby is positioned.  I imagine it will take a while to heal so I'm just trying to manage as best I can.  The doctor seemed completely unaware that I was sent to Labor & Delivery on Monday so I had to explain things to him, including the part about the nurse saying the baby was either breech or transverse (sideways).  He decided to do an impromptu ultrasound (with the same prehistoric u/s machine he used to confirm my pregnancy).  He said the baby is head-down but slightly transverse, so kinda diagonal, I guess?  He's not concerned about it at this point but wants to check again at my next appointment too.

The doctor read over my birth plan and said everything looks fine, yay!  I've read a few articles/blogs this week that have touched on birth plans and they seem to be very anti-BP, which is fine but I just want to comment quickly on that.  I know that labor and delivery can be a very unpredictable experience and many different things can happen, however.... that's why I titled mine "birth preferences".  It's a plan but as I experienced with Logan, it can change very quickly.  There are some things that I'm pretty adamant about (skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, delayed cord clamping, etc.) and I have good reason to want those things.  For example, when Logan was born, I got to see him briefly but then he was whisked away to the NICU and I was taken to my room.  I wasn't able to get out of bed for 12 hours, which meant I couldn't see him, hold him, feed him, talk to him for 12 hours.  It was a very difficult day for me filled with a lot of longing, guilt, anger, etc.  If I can avoid that from happening again, I will make every effort to, including drafting up an 'annoying' birth plan ;).  I'm not knocking anyone who chooses not to have one... that's fine and dandy, but I want to have one in place.  If anything, it will be something that Jason and I can look at throughout the labor & delivery process to help keep me focused.  That's my little spiel ;).

My blood pressure is still 120/80 (normal) but I have gained a total of 27 lbs, ack!  I'm guessing the fact that I haven't been able to walk this week has played a part in that gain but the doctor didn't seem concerned about it. 

I started getting a sore throat last night and it has been even worse today along with some ear pain and pressure.  I had the doctor check it for an ear infection but he said it isn't infected at this point.  I'm taking some Sudafed to clear up the small amount of fluid that was in my ear and hoping the pain will go away quickly.

Ok, here is the weekly summary:

Contractions: Haven't really noticed any this week.
Cravings: Nothing this week.
Weight:  My total is up to 27 lbs
Swelling:  The swelling is back with a vengeance.  I'll blame it on the 70+ degree weather that returned this week ;).
Things to do: Still need to buy furniture and other items from my registry (Target), pre-make meals, pack the hospital bag, pack a small bag for Logan, reinstall the infant car seat, etc....
Heartburn:  It is under control but only because of my friend Zantac.
Stretching: Stretching and more stretching.  I take it as a sign that she's growing :).

Baby's current size is about 18" long and 5.5 lbs, whew!  Only 6-ish weeks to go :).