Almost 33 weeks

It's been a long while since I wrote anything about this pregnancy. We're still pluggin' along and getting bigger every day (clearly). I can't believe we're nearly 33 weeks along with this little boy. The time seems to have gone so quickly and I know these last weeks will fly by even faster. With Christmas passed, we're now turning our focus to preparing more for his arrival and for his big sister's 2nd birthday (Jan. 26) and her fun Sesame Street party.

I feel pretty good right now and every now and then even find myself feeling totally normal (by that, I mean not pregnant). It is a rare moment, but it happens every now and then whenever I'm sitting somewhere comfortable and our son is not kicking, punching, rolling, dancing, hiccuping or tapping on me. He is so active. I am continually amazed at how much he moves and how STRONG his movements are. Emma definitely had her active moments but they were nothing compared to this! I even asked Dr. Webb at our last appointment whether or not his strength and activity will translate at all to a quicker labor. Her answer was that not only does he have to do his part but my uterus has to cooperate too. He might be quick but that doesn't mean my body will be quick too (although it should definitely be faster than the first time around). Every now and then, fear creeps in that we will be rushing to the hospital and barely making it in time. Whew. I have to just trust that all will happen as God intends it to happen and that He will give me the strength to endure whatever I need to endure!

I've been visiting Dr. Webb every two weeks now. At our 32-week appointment, our son's heartbeat was 140 BPM and my belly was measuring at 34 cm. I don't remember my blood pressure (I have it written down in my purse) but it was pretty much the same as always. I'm still down four pounds from where I was with Emma at this same point in the pregnancy ... but I ate so much chocolate yesterday on Christmas that I'm sure I'm catching up to my Emma weight quickly! Time to ration myself for the rest of the weekend. I'm definitely not pleased with the "fullness" that is showing in my face -- I wish I were like those pregnant women who don't gain any weight in their face. I can deal with the wider waistline and little extra thickness in other areas ... but yuck to the disappearing jawlines and full cheeks. Oh well, it all comes with the territory, it goes away, and it's for such a beautiful cause.

I had a ton of help two weeks ago in our son's room. (I am so close to accidentally writing his name ... and then I realize I haven't officially "revealed" it yet on this blog -- I have a fun way I want to share it, if I ever get around to doing it. I think most of you know it already anyway.) Nicole, one of the girls I used to coach when I still worked at the high school, came over to spend the day with us and helped me totally clear out his room. She was good at helping me sort through everything and encouraging me to keep only what we couldn't bear to part with. Then, Ebie came over and spent two nights with us the very next day. She and I tackled the painting and got two coats of light blue paint up on the top parts of the walls (the bottom parts, underneath the chair rail, are going to take a little more work to do what I have planned). I was so pleased with how much these dear friends helped me accomplish -- and my back definitely let me know how much I overdid it the next few days.

Speaking of that, I don't want to complain much but I do want to accurately journal this pregnancy as I did with Emma's. So bear with me for just a second while I whine. There are days when my back is practically unbearable. It feels like there is a metal rod in my spine and it will not bend for anything. It gets SO STIFF and painful ... mainly my lower back (what else is new?) and usually after I've been trying to plow through my to-do lists each day, changing the sheets on the totally impossible guest room day bed, wrapping presents, carrying Emma everywhere since she's been sick recently, cleaning for all of our recent guests, etc.

Carpal tunnel has creeped back into my right hand! And my left hand has decided that it does not like my wedding ring again. UGH! Two things I had hoped would not come back this time around. I'm wearing my ring on my pinky finger now. I'd say that started around 31 weeks. I'm not sure when I had to start doing that with Emma. Some days it's really loose on that finger and I'm worried about losing the ring -- but it's better than how tight it feels on my ring finger sometimes. And the carpal tunnel is not too bad yet but I can tell it's there. My thumb and palm feel really tight and go numb really easily. Dr. Webb reminded me that nothing really alleviates this pregnancy problem other than having the baby. I can wear my wrist guard at night to try to make things a little better and I've been doing that the past three nights.

Speaking of nights ... it's been two nights now that I've slept in our old recliner chair (my Papa's old chair, in fact). James dragged the chair into our bedroom from our office on Christmas Eve and I have slept much better the past two nights. We put it right by our bed and although it doesn't really fit nicely in our bedroom, it's nice to find a comfortable position to rest in. I have found that I can't sleep on my left side because something in my ribcage starts tingling and then I have a weird numbing/pain sensation there. So I flip over to my right side, but then because of my carpal tunnel, that hand/wrist/forearm go numb really quickly. Hence the reason for sleeping in the recliner. Much more comfortable and easier to get out of when I have to get up for all my potty breaks at night. I'm sure despite missing his wife in the bed with him (right?), James enjoys me in the recliner more right now too. It is not an easy feat to find a comfortable position in the bed and I have to bounce around and create a lot of havoc before I can rest. I am just surprised he hasn't yelled out in frustration, "WHAT are you DOING?"

Anyway, other than those things, I am enjoying this pregnancy. It's amazing how much I still find myself doing, even with how difficult it is to stand up after playing with Emma on the floor. My belly gets in the way of a lot of things but I've also found ways to work around it. I think that's part of the reason I'm lower in weight this time around (even if only slightly). Emma keeps me on my toes and active enough to burn calories during the day.

I'm so excited because Sara and my two sweet sisters-in-law (Jill and Amy) are throwing our son a baby shower two weeks from today. I cannot wait! They're again keeping a lot of the shower a secret so I don't know what they've been planning ... I really do like surprises but I also am not good at being patient. I'm just too excited! I'm thrilled to start really focusing on our son and preparing more for him. I haven't even written to him at all yet -- which is strange because by this point with Emma I had half a journal filled out for her. I'll make up for it with our son, I promise! James has the entire week off next week and and we have lots of plans to do our final research for our new family vehicle, work on the boy's bedroom and check off a few more things that need to happen before we get closer to the 40-week mark. We're getting closer and closer and it's time to pick up the pace!