I've had it in my mind all along that once Johann's birthday was over (July 29th) that everything "baby" would finally kick into high gear. This timing, coincidentally, corresponds to the beginning of the third trimester and there's nothing like knowing there's only 12 weeks left to light a fire under and get me moving on the last of my important to-do list items. Still on the agenda are finding a pediatrician, getting our dang registry done, signing up for infant CPR and, of course, figuring out some names. As the deadline approaches, though, I'm confident the mounting pressure will be motivational. I think we writers purposely work to deadlines to keep ourselves disciplined and on track!
Speaking of the Johann birthday, it was two nights of fun that we both really enjoyed. I'm so glad that both of our birthdays fell in the second/early third trimester timeline and that we got to enjoy both of them. And enjoy I did as I found out today stepping onto the scale at the doctor's office - to the tune of three pounds worth of weight gain. Holy Cow! All that cake, Spanish and Mexican food added up. I guess no one will ever be able to say I didn't gain enough weight while pregnant. Good grief!
At long last, our hotly-debated crib finally arrived today. It's now all assembled waiting for the mattress that we'll buy tomorrow. It looks great in our nearly-completed nursery and I'm stoked that we're only a couple pieces away from completion. We'll soon be able to cross that off the to-do list. Woo!
We started our birthing classes last night which was interesting. The couple we sat next to were really nice people and sort of the class clowns so that, combined with Johann's smart-aleck running commentary, I was sure was going to get us kicked out. Not that I'm all that straight-laced about birthing education or anything but you have to appreciate how P.C. Seattle is. The demographic of this room was as stiff and stereotypical as it could be (25 to 40 year old heterosexual white, married DINKS). In other words, not exactly a hotbed of diversity, or comedy, for that matter.
Still, it was an interesting class and our instructor seems very caring and knowledgeable. I know we'll learn a lot about the birth process so I'm confident that even despite our humorous thoughts and comments we'll pick up a few useful pieces of information. And heaven knows, let's hope we do because we currently "don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no babies". :P
I went to my doctor today for the first of my now every-two-week appointments. Everything was fine (other than gaining those 3 lbs from birthday pig-out week!). My belly measured fine and the baby's heart rate was at 148 (it seems to fall anywhere from 144 to 155) which was perfect. The one frustrating piece of information was that my doctor is leaving the women's clinic for another opportunity so this will make the third doctor change I've had since I got pregnant. Yeesh. I'm definitely glad I'm at a practice with several doctors so I've been able to transition easily between them. So, now I'm with Dr. Kurachi who's in her 30s and comes well-recommended. I suppose she'll be as good as anyone at this point especially considering I'll likely end up with whoever is on call the day I go into labor. I'm learning that this pregnancy thing goes a lot more smoothly when you're agreeable and flexible!
Physically, things are just fine with me going into this first week of the third trimester. My BP was up a smidge (122/76) but the doc says it's still in the OK range so I'm taking her word on that. Otherwise I feel fine save for the little aches and pains that seem to be normal for pregnancy. I'm sleeping okay for the most part though sometimes it's hard to fall asleep initially. My ankles seem to swell only when I'm sitting or standing too long and decrease when I put my feet up and rest so that's been totally manageable. I get waves of my heart racing and shortness of breath but the doc says that's pretty normal and they don't last more than about 20 minutes at a stretch. Just my body pumping an extra 4 lbs of blood so I guess it's going to have a labored effect for sure! Things, though, especially considering all the weight I've packed on, seem to be going along pretty normally and I'm grateful for that. I wish I had more stamina - I think that's my only complaint at this point (well that and pretty consistent heartburn that I could definitely live without!) but there's likely no real changing that. Hauling around the extra load's going to make me slow. Guess I should just accept that now. :)
Attached, as you've noticed, is a photo. It's the first acceptable one that's been taken of me so far so I decided it was blog and Facebook post-worthy. After all this time I am finally starting to look fairly pregnant (this photo seems to emphasize that from the angle it was taken). Most days I think I still just look really chubby which is whacky but I guess that's okay. Seeing how belly-full some of the women in class were last night I'm grateful a good deal of my belly still flies below the radar. I could be as big as a planet so I'm glad to still look fairly proportional most of the time. We'll see how that changes as the weeks go by though!
J.
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