Friday, September 2, 2016

Week 38

Well, I'm actually managing to get week 38 on time, which is surprising to me. I'm still working on my translation project, but I need breaks now and again, so I might as well get this post written. Also, week 38 has been a little bit crazy.

Speck has dropped, or is dropping, I'm not sure what counts as fully dropped but I'll ask my midwife at my next appointment. The first phase happened overnight. I went to bed on Monday night with Speck riding above my pelvis and woke up to this:


It may not be easy to tell from where you are, but my lower abs have turned into a funnel pointing straight towards my crotch. This was not happening before. 

As if to confirm my suspicions my cervix felt like it was getting twisted and pinched on and off all day Tuesday. My midwife informs me that it's not actually being twisted or pinched, but rather those feelings come from it preparing itself for labor (ie. working on effacing and dilating) so it's a good thing even if it doesn't feel like it at the time.

Since Tuesday I have felt... less comfortable than before. My lower back has started to ache, something I had been blissfully free of for most of this pregnancy. My hips are even less comfortable than they were and sleep is even harder to come by (almost impossible on many nights, but I did manage to get at least 6 hours last night). Apparently this is all normal especially once something the size of a baby has decided to bury its head in your pelvis. So, yeah, I am starting to think Speck could arrive any time (although Speck is still statistically likely to stay in til 40 weeks or later) and I would be ok with Speck arriving on the sooner side in terms of bodily comfort. (Although there are a number of things that will be less comfortable for a bit after Speck arrives.)

Which brings me to some of the fun adventures I've had this week:
  • Buying adult diapers

    Curious about this one? So, there are lots of things that people never tell you about pregnancy, but I've found that the largest number of surprises lie in what people don't talk about postpartum. For example, did you know that by the time a woman gives birth to a child her uterus is over 1000 times the size it is when not pregnant? Well, after you give birth, it starts shrinking, and also, as it shrinks, it sheds the lining that it's used to incubate the new human it was growing for the last 9 months. So... yeah... that's a period TIMES 1000. In other words, you bleed a lot for a while. So much so, that regular pads aren't going to do the job (tampons are off the table entirely) and adult diapers become a thing that you need before the age of 85. So, yeah, I bought adult diapers yesterday, so that I have some ready for the aftermath of this epic endurance event I will be participating in at some point in the next 4 weeks. Boy do I feel sexy now.

  • Making padcicles:

    In addition to the fun bleeding copious amounts via ones crotch, one also gets to experience the joys of having pushed a melon sized object out of a decidedly not melon sized hole. The results of this can be anything from bruising, to mild tearing, to having had a giant cut made and then sutured up, and are bound to be... tender no matter what version or combination of those results you experience (and the bruising is apparently guaranteed even if you're lucky enough to miss out on the rest). This is why I've been doing my perineal massage folks. I'm trying to reduce the likelihood of the more dire results here. But, still, no matter what I do to prepare, I'm going to be sore after this, so... padcicles are a thing. What thing are they? They are maxipads soaked in witch hazel and slathered in aloe and then put in the freezer for a good long time. It's like a freezy pop for your vagina.

    I had never heard of them before becoming pregnant, but they have now been recommended to me by many women, and I think they sound blissful for a beat up crotch. I'll let you know how they do after the fact, but I have a stack of them in my freezer ready to go. Very strange thing to have in one's freezer.
So yesterday was a weird day, as on top of buying adult diapers, and assembling a bunch of padcicles, I felt strange all day, and even though I was able to walk 5km with the dog and such, nothing ever felt comfortable, I had a few practice contractions, my back ached, my body cleared out my digestive track in a quick and impressive fashion, and I generally spent the day wondering if any of it was going to turn into early labor or if it was all just twinges. Seems like it was all just twinges, but today I feel the same. Also super tired and needing lots of naps which I am allowing myself to take because if I do go into labor any time soon I want to be as rested as possible before hand. It's making getting work done pretty difficult, but I'm trying anyway.

I am seriously considering going for a prenatal massage soon, just to help me relax and get more rest before Speck arrives. That might be on the docket for next week. Perhaps I will treat myself once I've finished this translation project.

Ok, enough about the discomfort. Onto other things!

Like how generous our friends and family are.

Honestly, thanks to the generosity of our family and friends over the past few months we have hardly had to buy anything at all for this kiddo. We are getting ALL THE HAND-ME-DOWNS and it is making life awesome. I cringe at the thought of buying a bunch of new stuff for an infant that will only use any of it for a few weeks or months max. I LOVE that so many people are willing to give us all the stuff that they've already used for their kids. On Tuesday night we got a huge haul of stuff from some local friends and could barely fit it all in the car. I think Speck now has everything Speck could possibly need until age 3 or so. 

I'm particularly happy that we have filled out our cloth diaper collection and have only put down $40 but thanks to friends and family who have handed along their old supplies we have ALL the cloth diapering supplies we'll need until Speck is using the toilet. Amazing. Many people spend between $200 and $400 outfitting themselves for cloth diapers. Between buying and receiving used supplies we have saved SOOO much money. Yay reusing! 

Ok. So, yeah, we're excited about that. We've even purchased supplies to make our own cloth wipes and cloth wipe solution. As two DIY nerds from way back, I think we're getting extra excited about all the DIY aspects of cloth diapering. 

Alright, I'm sure I'm forgetting something (I feel like I'm perpetually forgetting things at this stage), but my body is telling me that it's nap time, and I am inclined to let it have it's way. Then it'll be time for lunch, dog walking and an attempt to get more work done. 

Here is a bump photo from today! It honestly feels as though Speck is dropping a bit more every day, and today I woke up and felt like my bump was smaller. 


Or maybe I'm just losing my mind. I think either option is equally likely.

Anyway, that's all for week 38. See you in week 39! I might make Corey do another guest blog sometime soon, so that's something to look forward to. ;-)

2 comments:

  1. Hey Vee, there's one more thing you need, and it's a large inflatable ring, like a lifesaver. Postpartum you sit on it and it allows you to sit comfortably without any pressure on your tender bits. It's really a miraculous thing. I used to have one but I seem to have given it away somewhere over the years. Highly recommended by yours truly.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, for the tip, Susan! I might have something that could work, but if not I will try to track one down. :-)

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