33 Weeks

7 weeks to go, 49 days, that means I'm under 50 days...yikes! I'm now feeling REALLY pregnant and it's getting even more uncomfortable to sleep, sit in the car (or even on the couch) for long periods of time, and I'm peeing even more often than before.

The last few nights I was seriously getting up every 5-10 minutes because I felt like I had to pee SO BAD. Of course my body can't generate a ton of urine that quick, I would probably only pee a tiny bit, but I couldn't just hold it in because it felt like my bladder was going to explode. Finally after an hour or so of this I fell asleep and only woke up every hour or so to pee. I'm assuming the extra weight of the baby must be pressing on my bladder so even if I have a tiny amount of urine in the bladder, my body wants it out. I can't wait until my bladder is back to normal.

Friday and Saturday I also had a TON of Braxton Hick Contractions. I seemed to be getting them every 10 minutes or so and they would last for about a minute. I found I had them worse while sitting and when I walked around or laid down they would go away. They aren't painful, just slightly uncomfortable and of course because I haven't had them as frequent it made wonder why I was getting them so often. Unfortunately every person is different, so it's not like everyone has the exact same experiences. I know I wasn't going into labor but it still made me worry that it was a possibility. I am very excited to meet my baby, but he/she still needs to grow a little more.

I'm starting to get lazier and am finding myself lounging on the couch more often than I probably should. I'm still getting out and exercising, but sometimes I need a little boost. I swam twice this week, 750 yards on Monday and 1000 yards on Wednesday. I also went for a 2 mile walk with Suzy on Friday. I set my walking date up in advance so I couldn't get too lazy and opt out. I was hoping to do a bike ride on Thursday, but I was so exhausted after work I came home and crashed on the couch.

Walking and swimming are both still feeling good despite the drastic slow down. I didn't remember my watch for either of the swims, but for the walk I think it took about 42 minutes to walk two miles. That's a speedy 21 minute mile, 2.9 miles per hour if you're used to the speed you choose on the treadmill, sweet! At least I'm getting out and moving, or waddling, or whatever you want to call it.

I went for my 32 week doctor's appointment on Tuesday. The doctor I met with kind of rushed everything. I hadn't met her before, and because of my first impression I wasn't a big fan. I gained 2 lbs since my last appointment 4 weeks earlier. I thought this was pretty good considering the baby is supposed to be growing about 1/2 a pound a week, so in the 4 weeks I only gained baby weight. I'm up a total of 26 lbs in 32 weeks, so I am really happy with this. I've been pretty good about not over indulging in junk food and staying healthy.

The doctor also checked the fetal heart rate, she didn't tell me what the HR was but it sounded good. I thought she'd measure my belly like they had done at 28 weeks, but she didn't so maybe they'll do that at my next appointment. The belly is definitely growing. I don't fit in a lot of my maternity clothes that I was wearing earlier on. Maybe I should rephrase, I fit in them, but they just aren't as comfortable. I really like the pants with the belly panel that goes all the way up covering my entire stomach. The band provides support and doesn't dig in to your belly like the ones that go half way, and the support is awesome, compared to the pants that are just low rise. I am now onto going to the doctor's office every 2 weeks, this is going to make the weeks fly by.

Friday night Sean and I watched The Business of Being Born. It was a very interesting and informative movie but it was also very one sided. One of those movies you have to watch open minded and take what you want. I'm glad that I am educating myself and exposing myself to a little bit of everything.

Speaking of educating myself, Sean and I have our first Child Birth/Lamaze class tonight. This is the first class of 6, each class being 2 hours. I'll blog about the class after the fact, but I'm really excited to have further exposure and be surrounded by other couples that probably have questions just like Sean and I. Than on Thursday we have an infant care class as well. I figure the more we can learn and expose ourselves to the better.

In other news, I set up a baby pool for everyone to play and guess the day and time the baby will be born along with gender, weight and length. If you want to play click here. I'm excited to already see all of the guesses that have come in. I'll see if I can think of a fun prize for the winner.

And of course...this weeks photos!