Week 34 and 35

     Things have been super crazy busy around here the last few weeks. I apologize in advance for the longer post, as the two weeks are combined.

     According to TheBump.com for Week 34, we are still at the size of a honeydew, and is 17.2 - 18.7 inches long and 4.2 - 5.8 pounds. She is beginning to recognize simple songs and tunes. I better start singing my lullaby to her now so she is accustomed and soothed by it once she comes. My lullaby to her is the same one my mom sang to me every night before bed, the lullaby from The Lady and the Tramp. I got the song and have already begun practicing. I actually fell asleep last night to it while trying to sing it and remember the words. That's a lullaby that works! I just hope I don't fall asleep myself while singing it to her... that would be no good! Also, TheBump says that she's urinating a pint a day now. No wonder I'm running to the potty every hour or less now. geez! It also says that my vision could be getting blurry now, and my eyes itchy, but I haven't had any of those symptoms yet.

     For Week 35, TheBump.com says, that baby is the same size as last week, and that most of the growing from now on will be in plumping up (she won't really grow much longer, but that she'll gain up to a pound or more of fat between now and birth). Also, her hearing is totally developed now, and responds best to high-pitched noises. She is now pretty much sitting on my bladder now, basically explaining why the bathroom visits have increased this last week. Yesterday, while subbing, I went to the bathroom in between one of the classes (which were all 35 minutes long b/c of the early out schedule, and right after class I had to desperately go again. I thought it be one of those fake outs, where you go, and you piddle nothing, and get frustrated that you even went through the whole routine of going to the restroom; but no, I had to really go again, full bladder... man this is no joke!)

What have I been up to:
     Last weekend my mother came up and helped me with a few things... which was a tremendous help! Just when I'm feeling overwhelmed and unsure about being able to get all this stuff done, she shows up with some energy and helps me get a lot accomplished! She brought up the rest of the things from the shower and helped me organize it all and put it away (it was lying on the bed, and we were able to get it all cleared off and put into baskets and into the closet so she had a place to sleep). Then she helped me paint the dresser! Happy day! It went so quickly with her help! We were thinking it would take a couple hours, or an hour at least, but together we got it done in 30 minutes or less. And Sunday afternoon, we went back for a second coat before she went home. It felt so good to get that done. One less thing to worry about. Now all I need to do is put a coat of sealant on it and it's good to go!

     The drawers for the dresser are still not done. I need to get some wood putty and fill in all the holes from the old nails, and then sand them down, prime 'em, and then paint 'em. Who knows when that will happen. But at least, there will be a dresser in her room to set the changing pad on. And b/c of some poor amateur woodwork done previously, G is having to take the bottom drawer apart completely, and we are going to attach it to the dresser with hinges, and just put some baskets or a long plastic bin in there that I can pull in and out. Eventually I'll be able to put the cute pullies I purchased on the drawers and the dresser will be complete.... one day... hopefully one day soon.... But I think I've finally come to terms with the fact that it will likely not be done by the time Abby arrives, which is fine. I can't do it all.

     We also took the tape off the stripes that G and I painted the previous week. It doesn't look too bad actually. There are a few spots that need a little touch up, which I am hoping to fix this coming week. Then I'll be able to begin hanging the collage of frames and put the dresser in place underneath it.

     While we were painting the dresser, I asked G to work on the crib. I was going to spray paint over the few scratches on the crib, but mom and G said that it probably wouldn't work and we'd end up having to do the whole thing instead of just spots b/c the finish of the spray paint is different from the crib. Whatever, it's just a few. I can't complain, it was freely given to us by a generous couple in our church. I'm so grateful to have a wonderful crib, I can take a few scratches that come along with it. So I asked that he begin setting it up instead, but I guess there some screws that went missing in the garage. Rather than spend a ridiculous time searching for the unfindable, we just ordered new parts. They finally came in today and G spent the afternoon of his day off putting it together for me while I lay down stripped of sweaty clothes with every fan possible pointed at me trying to cool off and rest; good man that husband!

     Man, that crib is ginormous. I guess I've never been in a nursery before and seen how huge the cribs actually are. They're huge! wow! Now we just need to get the twin bed out of the room, and I can position the crib exactly where I want it and put the sheet on. It's beginning to slowly come together!

Some things I've noticed the past two weeks:
     My feet are still swelling. I'm still trying to guzzle the water, and raise my feet at some point throughout the day, but they're pretty much swollen. The right foot more so than the left, which is weird. However, as several people have pointed out, my wedding ring is still fitting, knock on wood! It gets tight at times, but that was normal even before pregnancy. Being able to still wear my wedding ring is awesome! I remember a friend that was unable to wear hers for most of her pregnancy because of how much weight she gained and swelled. I remember it being frustrating for her not to be able to wear her ring. My belly is getting seriously itchy more and more. I should be putting more lotion on it, I know, but I just forget. I am underestimating how spacious my belly has become and am bumping into things all the time. Or finding that I can't bend over the counter to get to the sink like I used to.

Doctor's Update:
     I went to the doctor's yesterday for my checkup. I met with an actual doctor this time. Since the doctor I requested was on vacation for a super long period of time and I needed to get it, I just chose to see another doctor. This ended up working out great for me. The more I thought about it, I'm really glad it worked out this way. Having Kaiser means that I have no clue who will be on call whenever I go into labor. Any one of the doctors could be there. I think there are eight or nine. Therefore, the more I meet the merrier. I've met the doctor I originally chose once; he was nice. I also met with another doctor for an appt when my nurse had to take the day off unexpectedly, and he was able to fit me in; he was interesting. And then yesterday, I met with another doctor, this time a female; and I super super liked her! I sorta hope she's the one on call when I give birth. She was super easy to talk to and we got along well. She spent time talking to me and answering any questions I had, not that the others didn't do this, but I just really like her a lot.

     Anyway, she checked me out and said that she's really pleased with how everything looks! I gained another two pounds, I've lost track at what that puts me at now, blerg. It's over the amount they wanted me to gain, and I still have 5 weeks to go. But still, it's significantly lower than what I thought I was going to have to gain originally, which is good. My urine looks good; my belly is measuring at 33 inches, which she said is normal; Abby's kick counts are around 10-20 minutes still (honestly, I haven't been as up on it as I should be just b/c she's always kicking me); she's happy with my weight, etc etc. The only thing she mentioned was the anemia, but I told her that my nurse had me begin taking the iron pills last time, which was only two weeks ago, so she said it wasn't sufficient time to take another test to check it, but that I should continue taking it so as to make sure that.... something about a blood transfusion.

     I also asked her about attending the Pastor's Wives Retreat that I'm signed up for next weekend (I'll have 4 weeks left at that point). She said that as long as I don't begin contractions or anything else major happens, then she is fine with me going since everything looks so great. I just have to make sure that I get out and walk around every 90 minutes to ensure that a blood clot doesn't form... since ya know, that could be deadly and all! I'm really excited about going next weekend. I really hope that everything continues to progress well so that I can attend!

Progress: