Thirty-Five Weeks

I’m pretty certain that the baby is engaged. No, I haven’t brokered an arranged marriage for him; he’s merely moved down a bit and I can definitely feel it.

On Saturday night, I had this really strange pressure in my pelvis and had to go pee every few minutes even though I hardly had anything. Then I felt this really strange tingly/jolting sensation — sometimes painful, sometimes like the baby was poking his fingers down there. This went on/off throughout the night and while I slept. Same thing happened on Sunday. For a minute, I thought maybe I had a UTI, but it really wasn’t the same feeling. Then I got nervous that he had dropped and I kept muttering, “I’m not ready for you yet!” Given all the recent happenings — from contractions to dilation — I was deathly afraid that I was going to go into labor soon. But I knew he hadn’t dropped because I still couldn’t breathe.

On Monday, I looked up this weird sensation and it sounds like engagement, which can happen between 33-34 weeks. It doesn’t mean I’m going to go into labor soon but it definitely puts a damper on things because it’s so uncomfortable with the constant peeing and strange poking/tingly sensations.

Today I went in for my sonogram. Well, he’s big. The baby’s already 6 lbs 9 oz and considering that he is supposed to gain 1/2 pound a week… and I’ve still got five weeks until my due date… well, you do the math! Needless to say, I was in shock and quite depressed to hear this news because I had always imagined myself squeezing out a 6-7 lbs baby, not an 8-9 lbs one! But then I heard the sonograms aren’t always that accurate, it can run +/- 2 lbs, so maybe he’s really average or REALLY big. But this doesn’t explain why I have consistently measured two weeks ahead.

I’m a little surprised that he’s a big baby because I feel like I have been eating well and keeping fit. So, I wonder, if I had done none of these things, would I still have a big baby? In the “Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy,” the author is convinced that it’s all about how you carry no matter if you exercise, eat well, etc.

Anyway, it was nice to see the baby one more time before he’s officially here. It was amazing to see how much he’s grown and the dr said everything looks fine. I asked if his head should already be so low and the dr said, “Yeah, it’s normal. You probably feel a lot of pressure… it’s just going to be very uncomfortable for you from now on.” No kidding! At least we got a print-out of his profile that we can put in his baby book.

I’ve also been feeling frumpy lately. With the swelling and expanding belly, I just feel really unattractive. The ankles and feet went back to normal this past weekend, but started swelling again yesterday, so I broke down and went to get some imitation Crocs. I am so ashamed because I hate Crocs and always made fun of them. But nothing fit my feet anymore! At first I tried to get the Mary Jane ones because those are at least decent, but they didn’t have my size and I had to get the traditional ones. I wasn’t willing to shell out $30 for a pair of shoes that I will only be wearing for the next few weeks, so I went to Target and got imitation ones. But they have that yucky plastic smell and I wonder if they’re safe.

The friend who was three-four weeks ahead of me in pregnancy had her baby either Sunday or Monday. I had called her last week to ask a question and she returned my call on Friday, but I had missed her. Then I tried to call her on Monday but couldn’t reach her and I kept wondering if she had gone into labor. On Tuesday, I got an email announcing the baby’s arrival. I was at the hospital for my sonogram and we stopped by but I didn’t get to see my friend because her husband said she had a rough labor. He didn’t go into specifics, but from what little he said, it sounded bad. Something about complications with the epidural and a lot of blood. I was a little shocked. First worried about her, then really worried about me! We left the hospital in silence — with me teetering between crying and screaming hysterically.