Tarraguña's Blog

This morning as I layed in bed, I thought I felt almost as if I were going to pee my pants.  I got up and looked at the bed to make sure I had not broken my water yet.  Nope, no dampness. But then when I went to use the bathroom, I heard and felt a small thud. No, it was not a bowel movement. I had just lost my mucus plug or had my bloody show as some people say. I wish this meant labor was immenent but it still could be 3 more weeks or so. I still feel excited as loosing the mucus plug means labor is coming, I just still don’t have any better idea as to when. I would like to think it will happen today as my whole lower half of my body is acheing as we are shopping for some last minute baby prep items like diapers. It would also work out great as my husband is off work for the next 3 days. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

This week marks my 36th week of pregnancy.  This is probaby the first week that I have felt uncomfortable, well aside from the 6 weeks of nausea during the first trimester but that was different.

Sunday night I was unable to sleep at all.  I had a sore throat and a congested head.  This was either caused by a head cold contracted while going out to the movies the day before to see ‘The Wolfman’ or it was just due to my sinuses being aggrevated by the low humidity caused by unseasonable low temperatures over the past weekend here in southern Florida.  Either way not sleeping Sunday night left Monday a long tireing day of a sore throat and congestion that also prevented naps.

Tuesday I awoke to my aching pelvic bone.  I felt as if I could barely walk.  It was quite odd to go from walking 3 miles a day and doing pre natal yoga to feeling like I could barely walk.  Oh and when the baby’s head would move and accidently get too close to my pelvis, it felt like it’s head bones were knocking into my pelvic bone and the pain would just echo through my already achey bone.

I of course had to google pelvic pain during the third trimester and found some scary posts.  Some people and posted on forums that they began having pelvic pain at 30 weeks of pregnancy and that it did not end until they delivered.  The pain was bearable and I knew that it was a result of hormones being released that were softening my pelvis so that it could streatch and open up to allow the baby out.  I am a big fan of the pelvis softening for passage of the baby as opposed to the alternative.  Not being able to walk and to feel immobile was much more freightening.

Luckily the pelvic pain subsided the next day.

The Gregorys came down for a visit

This week marks my 35th week being pregnant.  I have really started to notice that the baby is getting a lot bigger.  I really feel like I am busting out.  Up until last week I was quite comfortable.  I can’t at all say that I am miserable and hopefully we won’t get there.  It is getting harder to find a comfortable position to sit in.  I also know need to sleep on my side laying into 2 pillows with the lower half between my legs.  Before I was quite comfortable with just one pillow.

Preparing for Labor

I find myself now quite occupied with preparing myself for labor.  I am trying to do this physically and mentaly. Physically I am keeping up with my PreNatal activities; those being pre natal yoga, swimming and walking 3 miles.  I try to do all three of these daily.  This is not always possible, but I always do atleast 2 activites.

Preparing mentaly is challenging as I have no idea what I am in for as this is our first child.  For women who had a natural/ unmedicated childbirth experience their description of the pain varies greatly.  Some women have reported it feeling orgasmic while others report it being the worst pain in their life.  Other things that I have read imply that the woman’s attitude shapes her pain experience.  It is extremely painful because she expects it to be.  What I am trying to determine is how you can expect it to be orgasmic and still prepare for it to be quite painful so that if you do feel some pain you don’t loose your head and get swallowed up by the pain.

Instead of deciding on the best way to prepare for the pain, I have decided it would be better to focus on the point of labor; the baby.  I am going to try to see the pain as secondary and just something necessary to the process of birthing my baby.  My idea is to follow the flow of my body and feel it out and try to relax and work with my animalistic instincts.  Giving birth is not something you need to think your way through but you do want to try to keep high stress and anxiety away.  Those 2 are never a good thing to have.  I have been trying to visualize the baby inside of my uterus and then I try to visual the path it will take to be born.  Hopefully if I focus on the baby and the amazing process of giving birth, the pain, if any, will be very tolerable.

I am now in week 31 of being pregnant and that translates to “Oh Sh#$% that means only 9 weeks left, If I in fact make it the entire 40 weeks!”  Next Monday I will enter the EIGHTH month of pregnancy.  When I look at the numbers, I think I should be more anxious and freaked out.  I am very surprised that I feel really calm about it all.

Anxious?

It is my husband and I’s first child so we have no idea as to what is in store for us when the baby comes nor do I have a clue as to what labor and delivery will be like.  Yet I find myself feeling quite calm.  Why am I so calm?  Why do I not feel anxious?  I am actaully rather enjoying this moment in my life.

Why Not

I think I am not anxious because I physically feel quite well.  Being almost 8 months pregnant isn’t what I imagined or read about.  By now I thought I would be uncomfortable all of the time. Nor have I suffered all the little things I read about in “What to Expect When you are Expecting” book.

The reasons that I don’t feel uncomfortable all of the time; I have a very supportive and knowledgeable husband, I am not working full time, and I have not gained a lot of extra weight.  It is amazing how much of a burden it takes off of your shoulders to have a competent, helpful, supportive partner.  I hear other people talk about their unsuppportive partners and I appreciate my husband even more.  If you want to make your life a whole lot simpler, don’t get financially entangeld or have children with someone who does not help you out.  Not working full time and being able to sleep in when I have been awakened every 2 hours to urinate, or being able to eat small meals all day and being able to lay down and put my feet up whenever I want really helps create an environment of very little discomfort.  Up until now I have only gained maybe 25 pounds, and compared to the 60 or so pounds that other women talk about gaining, it feels very managable.   Don’t get me wrong, it is still uncomfortable to get up from laying down or bend over and tie my shoes.  But my husband and I go walking for 3 miles each day and that surprisingly feels great.

Third Trimester Protein Intake Increase

One big change in this third trimester is eating more protein.  During my last visit with my midwife, she advised me that I need to be eating 60-90 grams of protein everyday.  Protein? I asked her, why?  She advised it is because so much of the baby’s brain is being developed during the last trimester and nuerons need protein.  The next day I kept track of everything I ate and by the end of the day I had eaten 107 grams of protein.  Not to say that I didn’t change my diet and just kept track of everything I ate, I purposely added protein heavy items to my diet.  The first day I may have gone a little overboard.  Since then I have kept my protein intake between 80 and 90 grams.  It is necessary to eat fiber like apples as you increase protein intake, otherwise those bowel movements will not remain regular.  Being regular is great.

Cakewalk

All in all this pregnancy is not what I expected after doing research before I got pregnant.  Aside from the nausea during the first trimester, it has been pretty much a cakewalk.  We will see what the end has in store for me.  I will continue to expect the worst pain imaginable during labor.  Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.

I am now in about my 27th week of pregnancy. I weighed myself last night and overall I have gained about 19 pounds. Gaining 19 pounds over all of your body might not feel like too much but when it is all in one place like the uterus it feels quite strange. I feel quite off balance. Sometimes I walk with my hand on my stomach so I can tell how to not run into things.

The second trimester was amazingly better than the first. My appetite returned. Really the best thing was the nausea ending. Now it feels strange getting used to my knew body size. Depending on where the baby is positioned I sometimes feel short of breath. Activity like walking usually cures that. I think it must lull the baby to sleep.

I am looking forward to preparing for labor and delivery. As it is 2-3 months away I can really start preparing, visiallizing and setting up a plan. I will publish more details of my birth plan as it becomes more finalized.

With all of the media attention that H1N1 has received, I find it hard to determine if getting the vaccine is necessary. Normally I would not concern myself with this as I do not get a flu shot every year. I don’t get the flu shot because I don’t get the flu every season like some people do.

With me being 21 weeks pregnant, I find myself in part of the “high risk category” group according to the CDC and other experts. Originally I had thought that I would not get the vaccine as I thought it was a brand new vaccine that had never been given before. I of course was not going to let them try it on me and my baby. I also was not sure if they had not rushed the vaccine into production to sell as much as they can during this pandemic.

Increase the demand artificially, keep the supply low and simple economics means that equals money, money, money.

My husband, who is an RN, received the vaccine at work and then did some investigating. He advised me that I should go a head and get it. He advised that the shot is the dead virus and advised me not to get the option that contains perservatives. He explained that H1N1 is a strain of a flu that made its fame previously. This explains why experts now are theorizing that the reason that less older people are getting H1N1 is because they have previously been exposed to a similar strain.

I think if I remember correctly my HR Director told me about having the option to be vaccinated at work, so I guess I will be looking into this.