Weeks 30 and 31

Time is flying - and I mean FLY-ing by now. I was still getting over the shock over having just reached week 30, when I got an update today from babycenter.com about this week, week 31.

For the week 30 visit to the medical center, Scott and I got to meet another mid-wife. (I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but we will be meeting with each of them individually during our next health check-ups over the coming weeks before the delivery).

We were VERY pleased with this last one that we met. She was very patient and listened carefully to all of our questions. Also, she did not seem surprised by our 2 ongoing questions/concerns about the Hep-lock and Routine pitocin for 3rd stage labor. Even in contrast to the last mid-wife, whom we also liked, this week's mid-wife did not try to convince us that we should just go along with the institution's policy. After stating the pros and cons, she simply indicated that this was a decision that was up to us.

The mid-wives at our medical center say that it is the baby who picks which mid-wife will deliver him. (Since there are 4 mid-wives who rotate at our hospital, we won't know which one will deliver the baby until the day VJ decides to come out). Based on our last visit, I'm hoping that VJ picks this mid-wife! (Scott was very pleased with her too).

Now that we are in week 31 already, I'll summarize the major developmental milestones for VJ this week. Apparently he is now 3.3 pounds, he is heading into a major growth spurt this week, and he can turn his head from right to left. Also, he is moving much more now - which I don't need to read to figure that out.

Last night at our baby birthing class, my instructor was so surprised when it came up that I have not felt my baby hiccup-ping in my stomach yet. She seemed incredulous. I was surprised that she was so surprised. I didn't know that that was so common by this stage of development. I'm determined not to worry about that for now though. When VJ is ready to hiccup, I'm sure he'll let it rip~! : )

Post-script: I just had a look at some on-line postings/pregnancy e-forums, and found out that some women/babies don't get the hiccups at all... while other women have babies that get the hiccups several times a day! I was also surprised to read that fetuses can start getting the hiccups as early as 9 weeks after conception. Most of the mom's that wrote about their babies having the hiccups said that they didn't start feeling this activity until at least weeks 30-32....

Swimming with the Baby

Last week I started swimming every other day as a way to relieve the strain of carrying all of the extra weight I have been building up. It has been great. I swim for about 40 minutes per visit, and continue to feel really great, even hours after the swim. I have never liked swimming so much as I do now. A woman I met at the pool says that the water pressure is great for swelling too. I didn't know that, but given how much better I have been feeling afterward, I'm not surprised.

In order to start swimming I had to buy my first pregger swim suit (ugh). Here is a picture. Again, this is not me in the picture - it's a model for Target, where I bought the scary thing. (I'm actually much bigger in the tummy now than the woman in this pic.)

Also, I decided to join the YMCA. I decided to go with them after first making a visit to Bally's, which had a "special deal" going on. Turns out their deal was not so special, once you added in all the long-term obligations and restrictions. I next visited the Y after that and was so pleasantly surprised. The Y has a financial assistance program for low-income applicants like myself, which makes the pricing much more reasonable. Also the YMCA that I will be joining in West LA has FREE child care (at least 1 hour per day for kids aged 6 weeks to 1 year, and then 2 hours per day for kids up to age 10!), free group exercising classes (including yoga), and free Mommy and me swimming - among so many other things. I've been very eager to sign VJ up for swim lessons once he's born, so I am very happy about all the Y's programs for kids and families.

Until then (when the little guys is swimming in pools rather than Mommy's amniotic fluid), I'll just keep enjoying the Y on my own. (They also have better parking than most clubs around LA too).

Dodgey Stomach and General Gripes and Complaints

This week - Week 28 - was a bit rough. For the first time in the pregnancy I got a bit ill and, as my mom says, I "fed the fish." (Although since I wasn't on a boat when it happened this time, I guess I fed the septic tank) Anyway, it happened the evening after we had gone to a Dodgers game, sat in the sun for several hours, and eaten a "world famous" Dodger Dog. (Great game by the way, Dodgers kicked some Arizona behind and we got to see the new player, Manny Ramirez, score his second Homer at the Dodgers Stadium.) After the game we went to Korean, which is basically what got fed to the porcelain gods. (Trust me, after this recent experience, I won't be eating Korean food for a very VERY long time.)

After a difficult Sunday night, I had a hard time keeping food down for about the next 12 hours. Fortunately I never risked getting dehydrated, and started feeling a little better the next day. We had an appointment with the mid-wife on Tuesday and were able to hear that the baby's heart beat was still nice and strong - so, apparently - hopefully - no damage there. (Throwing up is pretty common for pregger ladies anyway, right?)

Still, I was feeling kind of nauseous for the rest of the week - until about Thursday. I also caught some kind of bug/cold that had me sleeping a lot this week also. I only started feeling "normal" (as normal as a pregnant woman in her 3rd trimester can feel, right?) again on Friday.

VJ has been kicking a lot, so we know he is getting along well in my ever-expanding, cushy yet tumultuous stomach. As for me, putting aside all the excitement of my Dodgey stomach, sore throats, and excessive nasal drip, I definitely felt a difference in size and my general "well-being" this week. For the first time in the pregnancy, it has been getting hard for me to turn over in bed, and when I lay on my right side, my stomach can begin to ache as the weight of the baby seems to tug quite strenuously on my chest. When I get up from laying on my left side, the area between my rib cage and heart seems to ache. To try to diffuse some of the pressure, I have been putting a pillow under my belly/baby so that it doesn't fall so far/pull so hard in order to reach the bed.

I want to say that I enjoy being pregnant, but this week has definitely challenged me in ways that make it hard to be properly gushy and enthusiastic. I try to remind myself that we are really lucky - the pregnancy has been relatively smooth and healthy. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to having my body back all to myself in a few months.