33 Week Update

While in law school all I did was post about pregnancy, but now that I'm working I'm blogging about it less. Maybe because law school isn't as fun or interesting to me as working? Or maybe it's just because I post less in general. Anyway- I had my 33 week check up yesterday at my Austin doctor's office. My weight is frighteningly high- it's still in the range of normal and 95% of it is in my stomach (or so I am told by Everyone around me, including random strangers)- but it's a very high number and that freaks me out a little. So far the few baby dreams that I've had involve me looking at my stomach and being relieved that it's flat again. This may reveal a troublingly shallow side of me. Other people have dreams of leaving their baby somewhere or not being able to take care of him or her- I dream about fitting in to my old clothes. It's not that I'm supremely confident in my (lack of) parenting skills, I think it's that weight struggles are a very familiar thing to me whereas taking care of an infant is so foreign that my subconscious hasn't even processed it enough to dream about it.

When I was in the early stages of pregnancy I was desperate for information about what it would be like near the end. All the books and articles speak in such generalities about stretch marks, swelling, hemorrhoids, etc., apparently "many women" and "some women" experience these things. Here's my personal 33-week observations: I do not have stretch marks yet. I do not have any trouble sleeping and still use one regular old pillow. I wear high heels to work every day and haven't noticed any swelling. I don't feel any hungrier than normal (unlike the 5th month where I was hungry all the time). My skin looks the same and is not any drier, oilier, or more prone to break outs (and I'm pretty sure any remarked upon "glow" is just Austin heat). My hair is not thicker (pregnancy books love to mention that one). I have not had any other unfortunate side effects: constipation, hemorrhoids, gas, heartburn, etc. I don't know if I'm really lucky or if the pregnancy authors just paint a bleak picture to make you feel good when your pregnancy goes well. However, I still have 7 weeks to go, which leaves plenty of time for a few of those observations to change for the worse.

The doctor did mention that my blood pressure was oh so slightly elevated on Monday. I'm normally 110-120/60 and yesterday I was 130/70. After reading Shelley's blog, I'm acutely aware of preeclampsia. I'm supposed to keep an eye out for any other symptoms and they'll be checking me closely at my next appointment.

So that's about it. I'm getting more and more excited about holding our son in my arms- I think about it quite a bit. He's so real now- I feel him squirm around and can make out elbows and limbs when I press my stomach. I don't think much about the labor and delivery part. Not because of any delusions of any easy labor, but because I just don't think there's much I can plan for or worry about. JP and I are going to a class at the Chicago hospital when I get back- we'll get a tour of the maternity wing and learn the basics of labor, c-sections, and baby care. If there's one things I've learned from people's birth stories it's that anything can happen. I have no real plan except for the epidural (which is written in big red letters at the top of my chart). I have preferences, but no deep convictions about any particular kind of birth, so whatever has to happen to result in a healthy baby and a healthy me is fine. At least for now I'm much more concerned with getting our baby's nursery properly outfitted! (and apparently fitting in to my old jeans ;)