Baby

Jen's Updates - Week 32

Sunday, February 23rd, 2003

Wow, only eight weeks left! Sometimes it seems like it has gone so fast, and other times it seems to drag. I'm looking forward to having our baby around!

The midwives told me that they will consider me to be at term at 37 weeks, and wouldn't make any effort to stop labor. After 35 weeks they won't try very hard to stop premature labor, because that isn't very early and most babies are fine when they are born that early, without even a hospital stay. Their lungs develop last, so if they come out early they can have breathing difficulties, which can be handled in the hospital.

Baby Development

Well, I don't know if I believe in stuff like this or not, but I've started playing classical music for the baby. Yes, I know he is still in the womb. It may or may not make a difference, but I don't think that it can hurt. I've got headphones that happen to fit around my belly, so I just wear them while I'm at work. The side effect is that I've been listening to more classical music, too, which is probably good. I need to be smarter.

This is interesting... each time that I did this, he became very active. Unfortunately, I don't know if that was because he loved it or hated it. That's the trouble with him still being in the womb.

Movement

The baby has been very active lately. Someone told me that that is an indication of an intelligent baby, but as with most things that people tell me about pregnancy, I don't really believe it.

Anyway, today (Thursday) I had a different experience. The baby was shifting a lot, so I put my fingers on the place on my belly where I could feel him pushing, and I could actually move his (most likely) foot! He kept it pressed against the side, and I could move it around! It was really interesting because it was the first time that I felt like I interacted with him directly. Usually it is just me feeling him move. It happened again later in the day, too... very interesting!

Travis and I were sitting down watching TV tonight (again, Thursday), and the baby kicked me really hard! I actually gasped and grabbed my belly because it was so strong, and it hurt a little. Definitely the strongest he's been yet.

Symptoms

I'm tired of wearing clothes! First of all, most of them are uncomfortable. I like to wear my 'blankie pants', which have a huge waist so they ride below my belly, and a sports bra, so my belly is just completely exposed. This is just around the house when no one else is there, of course. I just think that my belly is gorgeous and magnificent! I like to look at it and rub it, and prefer not to have any constricting clothes putting pressure on it.

When we were driving back here from Michigan, I had my shirt pulled up so I could look at my belly, and the vanity mirror pointed at the bottom half of my stomach (which I can't usually see anymore), and guess what I saw?

Linea Nigra! I've developed quite a dark line down the center of my belly, which is called linea nigra. I hadn't realized that it had appeared, because it is darkest below my belly button, and I usually can't see any of that part of my body. I'll try to get a picture for the web, but our camera isn't very good at closeups.

There is no real purpose for linea nigra, it is just a result of the extra hormones flooding through my body. The same hormones cause your skin to be very sensitive to the sun, and can give you the 'mask of pregnancy', which is a light brownish butterfly-shaped mark that covers most of your face. I don't seem to have it.

Travis has started calling me a clone, because my belly button has essentially disappeared. I don't think that it will pop out, so I'm not sure I'll know when he's done.

Exercise

Have I mentioned that I love my treadmill? I've been going at least three miles, often three and a half or four, nearly every day. It is excellent! I've found that it is getting too easy, so I've been increasing the incline, which helps a lot. I also bought some hand weights to increase my arm workout... they've become embarrassingly soft since taking a break from karate.

I feel wonderful! My legs and butt are clearly stronger than they were when I started working out (again), and as you can see above, I've stalled my weight gain a bit. That should make recovery easier.

I've also noticed that while I'm walking is the only time that I can notice Braxton-Hicks contractions happen. My belly just feels really tight all of the sudden. I usually have about five or six contractions during the course of my workout. Five or six Braxton-Hicks contractions per hour is what you are expected to have at this point, so I'm right on target.

Other People's Babies

OK, I didn't actually interact with anyone else's baby, but I did spend some time talking to someone who has had three, and learned all sorts of interesting info. Dana (from Karate) knows tons about pregnancy, childbirth, and kids and is willing to share all of her information with me. She even typed up three pages of detailed information about things I should know. Very helpful!

Dana loaned me her belly belt, which is basically a big elastic band that you put on to support your belly. It is awesome! She says that it is always great to use when you have back pain, but since I haven't had any (yet), I only have been wearing it while walking on the treadmill. It makes me feel more secure, so I've been able to increase the incline and the speed of my workouts. I feel great!

She likes to do everything the natural way, which I'm very interested in but not very knowledgeable about, so her help has been invaluable. I have a slight preference for using cloth diapers, because they are generally healthier for the baby, and also for the environment. However, it is nearly impossible to get good information about them, and you can't just buy them at Babies R Us, which I find strange. Anyway, Dana gave me a list of good brands (available on the web) and other info that I need to get started.

We'll see if I actually use cloth diapers. People who use them swear by them, but I know that they will be more work. There aren't any diaper services around here, so I'll be washing them myself, which means doing laundry (just diapers) every other day. It is a tradeoff (environmentally) between putting detergent in the water system and putting 'disposable' diapers into the landfills. Which is more harmful? I don't know. I need to do more research.

Gifts

While we were up in Michigan last weekend, my parents showed us a cradle that they have for us to use. It is beautiful, all carved walnut wood stained a lovely deep color, but the best part about it is that it is a family heirloom! My great great grandfather was a carpenter, and he made it for his children! The first child that my grandfather remembers using it was my great great aunt, who was placed in it in 1892. Since then, many children have slept in it, including both my sister and me! My dad's plan, from now on, is to take pictures of each child in it, and keep them in an envelope underneath the cradle, to record and preserve the heritage. I feel very honored to be a part of it!

The other heirloom item that I have for our child is a sterling silver baby rattle that was my dad's when he was a baby. My grandparents bought one for each of their children, and my dad's was still at their house when they moved out last September. There are pictures of my sister and I each playing with it when we were infants. I took it home with me, saying only that I was likely to have children sooner than anyone else in the family. The funny thing is that I knew full well that I was pregnant at that time, but only about 7 weeks, so we weren't telling people yet. It was a neat little secret.

Miscellaneous

Be Careful!

It's been very icy (and snowy) around here. I fell down today while I was going into a store. I didn't land on my belly, luckily, but I did scrape my knee. Where's my mom when I need her to kiss it and make it better? Travis admonished me to be more careful, which I will be. This is why he won't let me shovel the driveway.

That's all for now... talk to you next week! Can you believe that there are only eight weeks until his estimated due date? I'm so excited!