Huzzah. The belly continues to get bigger.

Baby

I took Baby in for her 32 week growth ultrasound today. As a reminder, this was a special ultrasound above and beyond the normal pregnancy procedures by my doctor’s standards. It was ordered by the perinatologist to check to make sure that the compressed vena cava hadn’t slowed baby’s growth through restricted blood flow. She had mentioned that she really didn’t think there would be any issues with size, and that it was just a precaution. I was able to internalize that message up until this morning, when I got very, very nervous.

However, Baby Girl is not small. In fact, she measured big! All the pregnancy emails say that baby should be 3.75-4ish pounds this week, and according to the ultrasound, our sweet girl is measuring around 5 lbs! Of course, it isn’t an exact prediction, but it is definitely an indication that she is either average or above. Doctor said 5 lbs isn’t so big that it is of any concern – just that some babies have to be “above” the average in order to create that average. Phew!

Baby Girl is also still head down, which I knew from her hiccups, and facing towards my left hip. I’m very hopeful that she’ll choose to rotate back towards my spine before delivery, instead of upwards like her brother so I don’t have to do another posterior birth.

Other measurements that were shared with me were: head size is average, but femur length and abdomen were both measuring over 35 weeks. Sounds like she has got daddy’s long legs and perhaps some of mommy’s heft! The ultrasound tech also described the heart as “beautiful”, and my doctor said that there were no red, yellow, purple, or any other color flag other than green green green! Hooray!

In other news, Baby Girl’s room got a bit of a kickstart this week, which is thrilling for me. My mother took me shopping at IKEA, where she got us the dresser as an early shower gift (yaaaaaaaaay!). I also took advantage of the trip out there to pick up the new chair for Lewis’ room (the big rocker is going in Baby Sister’s room), the laundry basket tower, and a few other little things. It was 100 degrees yesterday, so we stayed home and Kyle built everything with the AC blasting.

Kyle is my heeeeeero! He spent 5-6 hours altogether building everything without a complaint, and he wouldn’t let me lift a finger. He built the chair first and then made me sit in it all day with my feet up. All he asked of me was to keep him company, and to occasionally get him a snack or some water.

There are just a few little missing pieces for the baby’s room, which should all arrive this week, and then we have all we need to figure out final furniture arrangements and then start hanging decorations and organizing the nursery. Getting Baby Girl’s room in order makes me feel so much better. And so excited too!

Me

While the IKEA trip with my mom was lovely and fun – because everything with my mom is lovely and fun! – I definitely struggled with the exertion of walking through the whole store. I contracted like crazy the whole time, and when we got downstairs to the part where you actually put things in a cart, I had to lean on the cart to support myself. That helped a lot, since leaning forward through a contraction seems to make them more bearable. My mother commented on how I was walking, and said I definitely looked like a pregnant lady who was carrying low.

I spent yesterday recovering from the strenuous Saturday, but I’m not sure if Baby has descended even more, or if I’m still recovering from the IKEA outing. Whatever the explanation, the lower part of my belly (kind of in a V at my hip bones) feels very strained, which is a brand new sensation. The contractions continue to hurt sometimes, but not others, and come with varying frequency. So it is basically the same old story, with new little tweaks added on to keep life “interesting”.

The nice thing is that my doctor is still pretty unconcerned about what all of this means, especially after the hospital visit showing no opening in my cervix. She did point out that she could tell I am anxious about all of this and offered me some resources (therapy, medication) to deal with the anxiety if I felt like I was having a hard time coping. I don’t feel like I need the assistance at this point, but what a lovely thing for her to observe and offer. I think it is so nice that she knows me well enough to be able to tell when my anxiety is heightened. And even though I don’t need any help coping right now, I am so happy to know that I can turn to my doctor if that changes.

Lewis

Oooh Lewis. Sweet, clingy Lewis. What a star he is. Navigating his clingy-ness is our continued challenge du jour, but we’re getting better at it. Lewis himself is actually getting better at it too. His tantrums usually end abruptly with him announcing, “Mom! I’m happy again!” So everything is A-OK with kiddo – he’s just as silly and funny as ever!

We started summer swim lessons this weekend, which end the week before my due date. I figured it was a good way to get myself out of the house, plus being in the pool feels really good on a highly pregnant body, and Lewis loves the water. He didn’t ever want to stop moving, not even to listen to the teacher or to sing songs with the class. He just wanted to kick and swim and splash and jump in the pool. It is so fun to see him getting into activities, and I enjoy seeing the difference in his level of engagement and enthusiasm compared to the last time we did lessons.

Finally, I want to document a moment from yesterday so I can look back on it someday – Lewis was keeping me and Kyle company while Kyle built the nursery furniture, and as nap time approached, we went downstairs to get some lunch. Lewis brought a rather long piece of cardboard with him, and on the way down the stairs, he swung it so that it hit the light fixture on the wall. He wasn’t aiming for it, but that’s where it impacted, and SMASH! the glass cover fell off and shattered all over the stairs.

I repeat, Lewis was hungry and tired. And on top of that, he thought he was going to get in trouble, which he finds devastating. So he freaked out. Total meltdown. I retreated back upstairs with him in my arms while Kyle cleaned up the mess and tried to calm Lewis down. He was, of course, not in trouble. It was an accident, and no one got hurt, and everything was fine. But he needed to be talked down from the ledge.

Eventually, he calmed down and Kyle got the mess cleaned up, and we went downstairs for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which Lewis ate every bite of (whoa!) in total silence, almost like a trance. Then he fell asleep for his nap in record time and slept for two hours.

Here is my favorite part – when he woke up, I went in to him and the first thing he did was tell me his version of what had happened with great enthusiasm. And then he repeated it a million times throughout the day (and even a couple times this morning!):

“The light got broke. I felt sad. But there is another one, and that one is okay!”

I wish I had gotten his “story” on camera. It was sooooo sweet the way he told it, with appropriate facial expressions (happy, sad, surprised) at appropriate times. Swoon! So cute!