Twenty-Nine Weeks -- Feeling Better!

Losing the separation between breast and belly? 

Long and lean girl with suddenly very long hair riding the bump

I'm thrilled to report that I think I've turned the corner on the reflux front! It finally occurred to me to try Zant.ac as a preventative med (one hour before meals instead of after eating, for relief of symptoms). Two days ago I did this in the morning and felt great... until I ate dinner. And then felt wretched all evening. And had to sleep on the couch, head propped up high while leaning on my left side to keep baby parts from pressing on my very sore right ribs.

And yesterday I remembered to take Zant.ac preventatively both morning and night and... I'm a new woman! I ate more food than I had in weeks! Which is not to say huge portions, but big in comparison. It felt amazing to actually get a little bit full!

And then to spend the whole night in my deliciously soft and cozy bed... ahh!!! (Except for when Calliope's diaper leaked, which NEVER happens, so I had to get up and change her sheets... naturally I was finally falling back to sleep when the alarm went off this morning.)

I also went to acupuncture twice this week and to the chiropractor once -- all on my lunch breaks -- to help with the reflux as well. The treatments were none too comfortable but I definitely felt better afterwards.

And I went bra shopping to a wonderful shop where the owner personally fits each woman. I probably tried on thirty different bras. And now I have a new bra that doesn't hurt my sore rib. Sitting in my office, wearing my too-big nursing bra with the hooks unfastened, just didn't feel as professional as I would hope for. So my new, surprisingly sexy (but not revealing) and comfortable bra is just the thing.

I'm feeling very, very grateful.

I'm definitely feeling bigger and a little less cute. I think I'm losing the distinction between breast and belly as they appear to meld together into one giant beach ball. My weight is up three pounds in three days (up to 11 total), and I definitely don't think I've actually gained that fast, but still, the belly is growing fast. My midwife said that I was measuring 31 cm this week at 28.5 weeks, but she thinks that's mostly positional -- the baby is in a partially transverse lie. Still, there's no doubt that Tree Leaf is growing, no matter how well or poorly I eat.

Once again, I'm just loving my midwife. I went in with lots of fears about my many BH (or real?) contractions and she put my mind at ease, and again urged me to call (her cell phone) whenever I am worried. She said, "that's why you chose to come to me!" I have this fear of being "that patient" but she really put my mind at ease. She also made me feel so much better about my guilt in taking so many medications. Although they are all Pregnancy Category B, I still have nameless fears about exposing my vulnerable fetus to them. She urged me to remember that first and foremost, I have to function.

God bless her.

I still have tons of BH contractions -- sometimes it feels like every time I stand up -- but they are a lot less worrisome to me now.

I'm feeling like the final eleven weeks of pregnancy are a lot less daunting now that I'm finally feeling better. For the time being, anyway. Hallelujah.

In the meantime, I suddenly panicked in mid December about how quickly time was flying by, and realized that waiting until my February break from work to do all my pre-baby preparation was not such a great idea. After all, by 35 weeks I might very well not have energy to be rushing around doing projects.

So I've swung into high gear. Though my work amuses me because last time around, it was all about the baby. And this time, I've yet to do a thing for the baby. It's all for my big girl.

So I ordered her a fabulous organic latex mattress -- telling her she's "big enough for a soft and cozy mattress like Mommy's" but carefully NOT calling it a Big Girl Mattress because apparently that can be threatening with a new baby getting all the attention -- and a "storage bed" with six drawers underneath, so I can use the dresser for the baby's clothes and not have to buy a new one. This week we picked out a fancy purple quilt for her new bed, and I ordered fuzzy white flannel sheets -- just like Mommy's! -- to go underneath. I moved her toys to her new, much larger, set of shelves, and took photos of all the toys. I ordered prints of those photos last night, and will use the prints to label the bins so she can find her things more easily. I also ordered, at last, some large photos to frame from our two recent photo shoots (in Prospect Park and in Cancun).

So I'm on a roll. Feeling better really helps. But getting things done is also very satisfying. Having a deadline is helpful that way. Just a few weeks until my "sprinkle" -- hoping to have the apartment mostly done and ready by then. But if not, my sister can help me do some organizing then. She will bring Calliope's baby clothes from her basement then, and also all her kids' outgrown 4T clothing, because my current child has sprouted up and it seems at less than three and a half that her age will no longer match her size. So there will be lots of clothing sorting to do but luckily that's not too strenuous.

Now we are on Baby Watch for Calliope's best friend Eleanor, whose mom is 38 weeks today! Eleanor will come to us when her mom goes into labor, and in exchange, Eleanor's parents will take Calliope when I go into labor. Amy's first labor was very quick, about six hours, so I think it will be a very quick hand off when the day arrives! Her hospital is easily an hour away so I've (somewhat but not entirely jokingly) offered to catch the baby (and my midwife offered to be phone support!) if things are moving too quickly. Hopefully it won't come to that!