I was hoping to post a picture today to show my gigantic bump but Brett's away so it'll have to wait a few more days. In the meantime, I had a checkup at the OB's yesterday and everything looks great. For the first time, I measured a full 34 weeks!!!! I gained a pound since 2 weeks ago and everything looks great. My baby girl is sitting VERY LOW in my belly, with her little head wedged in just above my pubic bone, which has gotten me nervous about her being born with a cone head or her little head getting stuck down there or even that it means I will give birth early. But, my doctor says I may go early but there are no other real signs of premature birth and if I were to go into labor at this point, they no longer try to stop it...so I'd just have my little baby earlier. She said that babies born after 34 weeks do so well that they don't even risk trying to stop labor....wow. She said that she'll probably have a cone head for the first few days but to bring some cute hats, lol. She also pushed a little on my belly and grabbed Teagan's little nugget and said she is super-low but still moving freely so all looks good. She said that in a way it is great because I am less likely to get kicked in the ribs and get heartburn because she is so low...also that it is very unlikely that Teagan will flip into a breech position b/c it would be very hard for her to get her head out of my pelvis in order to do that - so it looks like all systems are a go!
In the meantime, we've had snow. Not tons and tons of it but constant, accumulating snow. It started on Friday and hasn't stopped yet...and looks to go for another 5 days straight. So, 16 inches over the weekend and then a few inches a day since. Brett had to go on another business trip but my neighbors were wonderful and called yesterday to tell me that if we get enough that they have to snowblow their driveway, they will come over and do mine too! They are great and it is so nice having fun neighbors to share daily life with!!!!
I am starting to get really excited about having our baby. Over the holidays, Brett installed the car seats since he finally had extra time and wanted to make sure he did it right. We also washed some of the baby's clothes so that some things will be ready and I can start to pack my hospital bag. We put together a few more baby items and placed them around the house so that the dogs can start getting used to them...Harley has mostly left the stuff alone but Sherman has to bump everything with his muzzle, especially if it is likely to cause a toy to swing or noise to start. He just bumps it and then looks at me. So far, so good.
As for symptoms, I've been very lucky. I still have pretty bad hip pain, from all that lovely hip spreading, and I get up about 6-10 times a night to pee (a consequence of her being so low, I guess). Besides that, I'm surprised I feel so good. I really thought a pregnant belly would be a serious pain by now but I still barely register it. Seriously, I thought it would be more "foreign" feeling b/c I am used to a somewhat flat belly...but nope. I'm having fun with all the crazy movement. Since she is getting so big, the movements are smaller but are so much more intense. I can watch her tushy move from my left side, through my belly button and over to the other side. Its hysterical. She also gets the hiccups about 2x a day for 20 minutes or so at a time...and with her head so low, it is a very interesting feeling, I must say. Sometimes they are so intense that even her little tushy jumps with them! The books all say that the hiccups are a result of them practicing breathing and that babies just don't mind the hiccups as much as we do...but I still feel bad for her...I hate the hiccups!
So, that is my update. Things are looking good. Part of me is still scared that something could go wrong. Given our history, I almost feel like maybe she'd be safer outside of my uterus by now? But, I do understand that isn't true...its just when you start thinking of our uterus as a black hole of death...well, you get the idea. It is hard to change your thinking.
