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April 21, 2004
My due date is approaching… (4-21-04)
Only 4 days until my due date, so I figure it is about time for another update! I’ve been posting little bits about how I’m doing on my TTM board and on various other boards, but it is probably time for a more complete look at the last few weeks.
Well, I am happy to say the last few weeks have been good! I am feeling great and am not even too impatient yet. In fact, I really think this last month of my pregnancy has been one of the most enjoyable so far, and I am far less miserable than I was with Aden at this point. Of course, it is also not July, and that has helped tremendously… being extremely pregnant and overdue in the heat and humidity of a Kansas July was a unique form of torture, LOL! Beyond the difference in weather, I am also much more laid back about my due date this time. With Aden, I expected to go into labor at any time from the moment I hit 37 weeks, so everything after that seemed “late.” This time, I would be astounded to have a baby before my due date and would have thought she was way too early if she had shown up at 37 or 38 weeks. That mindset is helping a lot. :) I am curious to see how I feel once my due date has passed, though. I think if she hasn’t made her appearance by Mother’s Day I will probably be getting a little grumpy, LOL!
I’ve been thinking about the differences in these two pregnancies and wanted to jot some of them down. Beware that some of this is probably TMI, but they’re things I want to remember so just skip ahead if you’d rather! I’ve already spoken about many differences, but there are other things I am just noticing now. The earlier parts of this pregnancy were so much harder both physically (more pelvic pain and much more nausea and vomiting) and emotionally (I felt very depressed this time). I felt milestones such as fetal movements and Braxton-Hicks contractions so much earlier. I’ve had so many more BH contractions also, and I never expected that nearly every time I did something for Aden it would trigger a contraction! And although my sex drive is probably just as high as it was when I was PG with Aden, actually making time for sex does not seem nearly as important. At first I was not too keen on the very-intense BH contractions that it triggered, but now I just find myself valuing my sleep more and I also find it much harder to get physically comfortable enough to enjoy it. Nice to know, right? LOL. But you know, there have also been things that have been better about this second pregnancy, especially toward the end. I started gaining weight later and have not gained as much weight total (25 pounds so far). I am not struggling with constipation. The lack of swelling has been great. I feel like I still look like myself, except with a big belly in front. I swear my butt and thighs have not grown like they did last time and I keep being told that I “don’t look pregnant from behind.” Maybe it’s a lie but I’m very happy to believe it anyway!
Of course, all of these differences have been a great reminder that this child will be different also—she will be her own person, not another Aden. I know that sounds silly but it’s easy to forget. I often find myself picturing her as an identical copy to Aden (except with blond curls instead of his short hair) and I have to remind myself that they may look completely different! And even if they look similar, I’m sure their personalities won’t be. I can’t wait to find out!
So, enough of my pregnancy musings. What have we actually been doing for the last few weeks? We had a great time dying Easter eggs even though I was nervous the whole time about the mess it could turn into, LOL. Aden was very excited to find books and candy in his Easter basket the next morning and he thought looking for eggs was a great game. He was quick to catch on and found them almost too easily—the Easter bunny could have been much sneakier! The rest of our Easter was low-key. We hung out at my dad’s all day and came home with full bellies, a borrowed cradle for the baby, and lots of hand-me-down books from my brothers for Aden. At 8 and 15, my brothers are really growing up—not to mention that my sisters turned 21 and 23 this month! I feel rather old comparatively… :)
I put the very last touches on the baby’s room and installed her car seat in the days following Easter, which either makes us very prepared or jinxes us to another very late baby—I’m not sure. For a few days I think she changed position to face my left side rather than my right, and I was very uncomfortable and had a sharp twinge in my lower right back. I think maybe her shoulder was hitting a nerve back there. But after a little bit of time and a heavenly pregnancy massage, I was feeling much better. Our weather turned very hot at the end of last week—almost 90 degrees—and since we didn’t have our air conditioners in or even our screens up we had a few hot, miserable, sleepless nights. Of course as soon as we had the time to get these things installed, the weather turned cooler again and it’s been perfect ever since. Great baby-having weather! I just hope she gets here before the heat and humidity arrive for real.
On Sunday, when I turned 39 weeks, I noticed a sudden increase in pressure low in my belly and groin. My upper thighs, groin, and hips felt achy and crampy and it increased with each (still irregular) BH contraction. The baby seemed a lot lower and when I checked my cervix it had also moved much lower and felt possibly 2 fingertips dilated, although I am certainly not experienced in that area. I did a lot of cleaning that night, just in case, and although the pressure has decreased a bit I do have a sparkling clean bathroom!
Last night we watched our home movies from the day we went to the hospital with Aden through when he was nearly 5 months old. Aden loved watching himself and he kept talking to himself on the TV, calling his name to try to get baby Aden on the TV to look at him or saying “It’s okay” when baby Aden cried. It was really cute! I’m not sure whether it increased his awareness of what this baby will be like, but it was a nice trip down memory lane. And I swear I had more cervical twinges and contractions while I was watching that than I normally would! Maybe I should watch it and reminisce every day. :)
I think Aden is pretty well prepared for the baby’s birth, as much as possible anyway. He talks about her a lot during his day-to-day activities, saying what she’ll do or what she’ll like, etc. Sometimes he also comes over for a big hug and tells me, “I love my baby sister!” He is very sweet to the babies in our playgroup as well. I’m hoping for a smooth transition while trying to remain practical about what may *really* happen when she arrives.
In other Aden news, he has become quite the early bird again, much to my chagrin. We are also having some penis issues that I would love some advice on. This ought to embarrass him greatly if he ever reads it in the future, LOL! For a few days he was reaching into his diaper to touch his penis a lot, which doesn’t bother me but I did talk to him about how even though that feels good, it’s something we only do when we’re alone. He seemed to have no problems with that, but then a new issue arose that I’m having a lot more trouble dealing with. It seems that when he first wakes up, either in the morning or after nap, that he must spend some time touching himself. Fine, whatever, I know that’s perfectly normal. But then he leaves his penis pointing up and inevitably pees and makes a huge mess because it goes right out the top of his diaper. I am so sick of trying to explain to him that it needs to point down, and I’m sick of doing laundry, and I’m just overall frustrated with how to explain it to him in a way that won’t give him some life-long hang-up about his body but will stop the problem. We’ve told him that his penis has to point down, we’ve told him that it’s not okay to touch himself when he has a diaper on, we’ve tried having him go to the bathroom on the toilet as soon as he wakes up… it’s just not solving the problem. He gets really upset when he wets the bed or himself, but it keeps happening anyway. Any advice? Boys, argh! I had no idea when my son was born how much I would end up talking about penises!
So anyway, after that fun discussion, I guess I don’t have much more to say, LOL! I’ve been going for lots of walks and having lots of BH contractions but they are still irregular and neither I nor my midwife seem to think this baby will be here anytime soon. But don’t worry, I will be sure to post on my board if anything exciting seems to be happening. And I *just* received the e-mail announcing that Sherry (PT) had her baby—she is an amazing woman whom I met in Chicago in November, and I am so excited and overjoyed about her new baby boy and her amazingly short birth! Congratulations Sherry!!!! I guess I am now the pot to watch…
Tara
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