34 Weeks

How far along?  34 weeks

Total weight gain: up 13.5 lb.  The PA at my doctor's office seemed impressed that I hadn't gained any weight considering the massive nature of my ankles.  Or I should I say cankles...

Baby is the size of:  Cordy, the corduroy crocodile - this was a gift for Coop from our dear friends Colt and Sarah. Colt was the best man at Tanner's wedding.  Once he met Sarah, she might as well have been part of "the gang" forever.  We don't see them as often as we would like, but we always pick up right where we left off.  We got to have lunch with them while they were in town this past weekend.  Love those crazy kids!

Maternity clothes? Most definitely. I am still wearing quite a bit of non-maternity stuff too just because I refuse to go buy more maternity clothes at this point.  My scrubs had their last hoorah this week.  I might still be able to wear the pants, but the top is annoyingly clingy.   

Stretch marks?  No new ones.  But the varicose veins are coming on with a vengeance.  I'm already wondering if I could convince my insurance company to pay to have them lasered.  Probably not...

Sleep:  I've slept a little better this last couple of weeks.  Even though I've been drinking a lot more water to try to combat the swelling, the nocturnal enuresis has subsided a bit. Try to soak up these last few precious nights of relatively uninterrupted slumber. But I'm also looking forward to those solitary moments with my girl.  Yes, I'm one of those freaks who missed my kid once he slept through the night.  It took him a full year to do it for crying out loud!  After that, I missed that time with him.  He was a busy toddler and didn't have time to snuggle during waking hours.  Sometimes when I wake up in the night and can't sleep, I'm tempted to crawl into his bed to snuggle.  He's still a very squirmy sleeper so this is really only a good idea in theory. :)

Symptoms: The swelling in my feet and hands has hit a new level.  By the end of most days, my feet are swollen to point that you can tell exactly which pair of shoes I wore to work long after I've taken them off. My hands aren't noticeably swollen until I try to take off my rings.  I haven't had to employee any hand soap to get them off yet.  But I have also stopped wearing them if my hands feel at all puffy in the morning.      

Movement: My little gymnast is still flipping and kicking.  She still likes to stretch out from the lower left to the upper right of the bump.  Depending on how much room she thinks she needs, this can be uncomfortable to downright painful.  But sure is fun to watch her bounce around in there! 

Food Cravings:  At one point this week I had a pretty random, very intense craving for raspberry tea.  Thank you God for Snapple K-cups which we just happened to have in raspberry iced tea. 

Miss anything? This pregnancy has been so different from my first.  With Cooper, I felt like I was the most beautiful woman in the world while I was pregnant.  I felt like I truly had that pregnancy glow.  This time around, with all of the drama (early contractions, low lying placenta, more contractions, crazy busy at work, blah, blah, blah) I've felt more like an incubator than a glowing Greek fertility goddess.  I've still very much enjoyed being pregnant, but this time around has been much more uncomfortable and challenging.  So I guess I miss the glow...

I have started going in for weekly checkups.  They did my strep B screen and a cervical check.  Turns out I'm already dilated to 2 cm.  At this shocking piece of news I laughed hysterically since that seems to be response to all pregnancy related medical information this time around.  She said Baby was at +2 station but when I laugh she moves to +1.  Still pretty high, but a little scary that all it takes is good joke for her to move down that much.  So I'm now taking the medication to stop contractions 4 times a day.  We are hoping to get a few more weeks in the incubator before she makes her debut.  

Since I've already been at a two longer than I ever was with Cooper, it seems pretty likely this labor experience will be very different from my last.  I am toying with the idea of attempting an unmedicated delivery, or at least foregoing the epidural.  I hated how I felt like a lump on a log for quite a bit of labor with Coop.  I want to be a more active participant in the experience this time around.  I also don't want to be stuck in a bed for hours after Cate is born because my legs still feel like tree trunks.  I'm planning to discuss pain management options with my doctor this week.  I'm also planning to labor at home substantially longer than I did last time.  Best laid plans...