Pregnancy Phenomenon #1: Foot-in-Mouth disease

Being pregnant is one of the greatest things I have ever done in my life. It is something that should be cherished and enjoyed as much as possible, and pregnant women should be praised!! I've never felt more beautiful, or accomplished as I have during the last few months. However, during this same time period, I have found that there are a few very interesting phenomenons that occur during pregnancy that don't normally happen during any other times in our lives. Some of these things happen to the pregnant woman in question...but others happen to those people AROUND the pregnant woman. One such phenomenon is what I would like to call "foot-in-mouth disease." This is one of those that people interacting with a pregnant woman are bound to face, and few seem strong enough to beat it. I have several examples:

1. While carrying 2 drinks into a building (1 for me and 1 for my husband) a woman told me that I should be careful or I would put on too much weight. Would you ever question the weight of a non-prego out loud?? How about to their face???

2. Several times throughout the day I hear "Holy crap, you're big enough you look like you're going to pop" or "Damn that thing is still in there??" One person even went as far as saying "Are you sure there aren't 2 of them in there??" Nothing makes a pregnant woman feel more beautiful than being told how enormous she is by every single passer-by. Next time I may be tempted to explain to you how fat your butt looks in your current pants.....I actually weigh LESS now than I did 9 months ago, and I'm carrying another living being? Can you say that??

3. While discussing induction with random people at work, one woman told me "you need to have more sex." Now, I tried to be tactful as possible and told her that I think my sex life was probably ok considering that's how I got to this point in the first place. Instead of keeping quiet, she decided "Well then you must not be using the right position." I was flabbergasted. Never question someone else's preferred method of sexual interaction.....ever!

4. Standing in the living room next to my little sister, she exclaimed "Your boobs look ENORMOUS!" I laughed it off, but at the same time I was confused...they are the exact same size as they were before. Considering how big my belly has gotten, you would thing that they would look smaller. I guess that's not really an insult at all...but still not something you would generally say to a non-prego.

I'm really not sure what causes this phenomenon. I really question what it is that makes people feel so open and honest with pregnant woman. Is it our beautiful glow that brings all in and makes them want to express their every thought? Or do we simply remind them of dear ol' "mommy" and make them want to snuggle up and tell all of their secrets. Next time you see a pregnant woman in a store, and get the desire to make a comment on her body, clothing style, or anything else, ask yourself if you would make the same comment to the fat girl across the street.

Another lovely dream.

So I've been slacking when it comes to recording the crazy dreams I've had during the last few months. However, last night I had a dream that I thought was VERY funny. A little back story on some of the details. Early on in my pregnancy I bought a pair of shoes for cheap, that are these simple black clog thingies. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned, and I have lovingly named them my "squishy" shoes. One of the biggest fits I have thrown during pregnancy was because Zombie got a hold of my shoe and chewed on them. Now, last night I had a dream that Zombie not only chewed on my shoes, but actually completely ripped the soles of the shoes off of them and left them as shredded fragments of slipper. He did all of this while Tyra Banks watched him, and just stared at the craziness that ensued. I walked into the room and seeing Tyra watching my dog destroy my beloved squishy shoes, I started bawling and tried to beat Zombie with the shoe itself, but it was so shredded at that point that it was like beating him with a cotton ball or something. I looked up at Tyra and she looked at me like I was nuts....and then I woke up. That's twice now that Tyra has graced me with her presence during pregnancy dreams.

The first time I had a dream about Tyra, we actually were hanging out and building a tree house. The planks that we used to build a bridge from the tree to the ground were very interesting. Each plank told a small part of a story on them, and as you approached the tree house you could read the story. Tyra dressed up as a fairy princess and there were little kids everywhere.

Week 36--Developments and Changes

Welcome to week 36. We're getting down to the wire now, and baby could literally come any day (although I'm not holding my breath). There isn't a whole lot going on this week, and Dr. appointments are taking up most of my mornings. I'm definitely ready to have the baby, but not because I'm uncomfortable. I'm simply ready to be done with going to the doctor and hospital all the time. Other fetal developments that are occurring:

• The gums have become rigid
• The sucking muscles are now fully developed
• The brain is developing rapidly
• Baby is practicing blinking.

That's about all that is going on with the baby. The only other big news with us is that we bought a new car last weekend. We traded in the Honda (which made me a little sad because I loved that car) and bought ourselves a 2007 Hyundai Tucson. It's a cute little SUV which will let us travel with the dogs and the baby safely. We both love it and got a great deal on it. I have another Dr. appointment tomorrow, so we'll see where things sit from there.

Week 35--Developments and Changes

This week marks the point that baby's measure 12 inches from crown to rump and likely weighs more than 5.5 pounds. At this point, the baby's eyes are probably blue at this point as well, but there is always a chance of change after the baby is born. Other developments that should be happening this week:

• For males, the testes have completed their descent
• Baby continues to gain weight and store fat all over his/her body
• The fingernails reach the end of the fingertips
• The lungs are almost fully developed.

There isn't a lot happening, but that's ok I suppose. That means we're getting down to the end of things!! I had the second NST yesterday and it went smoothly. Even the Dr. says "I sometimes wonder why we do these things, but we have to do what's best for the baby. " Lame!! It was even more traumatic than last week though, because they put me into the triage room, and then after I got situated (which was more difficult than last time because baby was having NO part in being monitored) they brought in another girl who was actually spotting and in major pain at 32 weeks, and wasn't feeling her baby move. Nothing like laying behind a curtain for an hour listening to someone in pain and panic and feeling guilty for hearing your baby's heart beat, and even louder movements. UGH!! I'm so grateful that everything is going well with the baby, but that was a really awkward situation to say the least. We have a Dr. appointment tomorrow where they should be actually doing something more substantial than the normal ones, so hopefully I will have something to report then.

Fetal Non-Stress Test

I went to my first NST this morning. The test went fine, but there is not much more boring than laying in a labor/delivery room by yourself strapped to multiple monitors. It was entertaining to listen to the baby's heart beat for an hour, and to see the reaction between the heart beat and movement, but it still sucked. The monitor shows that the baby's just perfect, and the heart reacts exactly how it's supposed to. Here's what went on:

I showed up at the hospital and had to report to the labor and delivery floor, where I was actually put into a delivery room. Once there they made me lay on a hospital bed, and then strapped a heart monitor on my stomach to listen to the baby. Once they found the heart beat, baby did a cartwheel and the monitor lost the heart monitor. They took off the monitor, re-gunked it up, and then went on the search of the heart beat again. They found it after a minute of searching, and strapped the sucker back on. Baby held still that time, and then they hooked up a second monitor to my stomach to see if I was having contractions (I'm not). The baby hated the second monitor and kicked the crap out of it for a while. They then put on a blood pressure cuff and handed me a button to push every time I felt the baby move. They then left me in the room by myself for nearly an hour, which gave me the chance to listen to the baby and stuff, but was really boring. They came in and looked at the sheet and the baby looked perfect, so they took off all the monitors, scheduled my next NST (for Monday), and let me go home. So like I said, it wasn't really all that eventful, and everything turned out fun, but I am not looking forward to doing it twice a week on top of my weekly Dr. appointment. Meh!

January 27 Dr. Appointment

Today we went to the Dr. once again. From this point on it appears we will be going every week, which I am not looking forward to. I know I know, it means that we're approaching the end...but at this point it really seems like a waste of my time. Ugh!! Today's appointment went fine. Good blood pressure, weight, blood sugar, etc. They listened to the baby's heart beat and baby decided it would be fun to play the drums on the monitor while they tried to listen. Even the Dr. was surprised at the movements that were goin on in there. The only icky thing is that I have to go have an NST on Thursday, and probably twice a week from now until the baby comes. That is a fetal non-stress test where the hook me up to monitors and watch the baby's heart beat and look for contractions. They're doing this because of "potential" problems since they've been monitoring my blood pressure and blood sugar (both of which have been perfect through the entire pregnancy I might add!!!). So I'm really not looking forward to that. Going to the hospital twice a week on top of going to the Dr. once a week is going to suck, but I suppose that means we're really closing in on the end of this miracle we call pregnancy. This weekend is my baby shower and I am SOOO looking forward to it. Hopefully it will turn out well. The weather looks like it is even going to cooperate (which is pretty amazing in Nebraska, especially in January). Let's hope it stays that way.

Week 34--Developments and Changes

Welcome to a new week in baby growing 101. This week, the baby reaches 12.8 inches, crown to rump, and weighs about 5 pounds. Also this week:

• The skeleton hardens, although the head remains pliable to maneuver through the birth canal
• The skin becomes less red and less wrinkled
• The toenails are present, and the fingernails have reached the tips of the fingers
• Baby is also developing immunities to fight mild infections.

It's pretty quiet in the area of big changes and developments from here on out, pretty much only developing the lungs, and gaining weight. It makes for less interesting reading, I'm sure, but it also means that my little one is almost complete and ready for the world.