38 weeks, 2 days

Ugh.  Just 5 days until baby arrives, and I am counting the minutes.  My hands and feet get more and more swollen every day.  I wake up in the morning (supposedly the best time for edema) and my hands are already numb.  Not great for someone whose hobbies include knitting, Nintendo DS and using a computer all day.

But it's not all bad.  I have a new, desperately needed computer chair, at long last.  We finally found a good deal at Staples and pulled the trigger.  It's fantastic and comfortable, and I have it jacked way up high so it's easier for me to stand up out of.  I love it completely.

We're catching up on sleep and movies, since those are two things that will definitely go away after the baby is born.  We've seen the Dark Knight, Wall-E, and Tropic Thunder in the last few days.  Today, probably Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

At my last doctor visit, the doctor was feeling for the baby and totally looked surprised when he said "Hmmm, not that big!"  I guess maybe she'll be a normal size baby, although I was sort of figuring she'd be enormous, since I am enormous...  I guess there's no correlation.  Then when I was checking out, the lady at the front desk told me that my belly was "really tiny" for someone whose due date was so close.  Weird.

I will definitely, absolutely be going on a diet once the babe is born.  We were watching the mens shotput competition and I was astounded at how close my current weight is to theirs.  I DON'T WANT TO LOOK LIKE I AM A MALE SHOTPUTTER!!!!  I'm sure a lot of this weight is fluid and baby, but still...  I've been too heavy for far too long, and I want my daughter to look at me and not be ashamed.

So that's all for now...  C-section on Friday, unless she decides to come out before then...  

Baby Bell Bottoms

DSCN1199
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

Yet another finished project for baby! They seem a bit big although I knit the newborn size. Baby projects are great for using up those small quantities of yarn!

Nursery Pic

Nursery Pic
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

Still need a dust ruffle for the crib since you can see into the little drawer underneath the mattress.  Buying the right color dust ruffle is hard because most of them come in sets with a bumper, sheet and quilt.  We didn't want to do a bumper because supposedly they're dangerous, but now we can't find the right color ruffle.  Oh well.  Not really a high priority.

Tomorrow is my big pre-op OB appointment.  Will post more then!

Insanely swollen feet

Insanely swollen feet
Originally uploaded by linuxgrl

37 weeks

I've been thoroughly enjoying my "babymoon" before baby arrives.  Here's a rundown of my activities since the USMLE:

1.  Finished knitting 1 baby sweater, 1 baby hat

2.  Setting up crib & nursery (totally loving how it looks!!!)

3.  watched Season 2 and 4 of Project Runway, along with the current few episodes of season 5

4.  Read 2 books (itching for more good ones!  Will probably go to the bookstore tomorrow)

I'm feeling better about choosing to have a c-section now.  Zampano and I discussed it with the doctor today and she was totally cool about it.  I feel a little guilty but I really think it's the best option.  While I am curious about experiencing a natural childbirth, the idea of going through so much pain really terrifies me.  While I've heard it's a different pain from, say, breaking a bone or something, still, it's not something I'm all that eager to experience.  And someday, far, far in the future, maybe I will experience it with our second child, if we have one.  

And it's not so bad to get to meet our baby a week early!  :)  We're so eager to meet her.  I can't even imagine waiting another 5 weeks, which is the absolute max she could stay in there.  All this relaxation is nice and all but I'm starting to get a little... dare I say...  bored?

Breech

Ugh.  I've suspected for weeks that Baby Girl was breech...  Everyone always talks about their babies kicking them in the ribs.  I've never once felt her do that - and I thought maybe it's because I'm overweight and she sticks out too far or something.....  But today my midwife felt for her position and suddenly said, "Hey, that feels like the head up here."

So we marched down to the ultrasound room and there it was.  A big baby head in exactly the wrong place...

So now I'm looking at 3 options...

1.  she turns on her own

2.  external cephalic version

3.  c-section

The first option just means I'll have to spend a lot of time on all fours with my butt in the air, to encourage her to turn.  There are definite risks associated with the last two....  And I don't want anything bad to happen to the baby!  So this is definitely not good news....

36 weeks

Life is good.  Zampano took the NY Bar on Tuesday and Wednesday and now we're back home from Buffalo, relaxing.  Since the USMLE, I've watched the entire season 4 of Project Runway and am now downloading season 2.  I might or might not watch it right away.  I've heard great things about Battlestar Galactica and would love to give that a shot.

I'm knitting another little baby sweater and would be done with it already had I not made 2 catastrophic mistakes that required me to unravel half my work.  

Zampano and I were looking through a baby memory book at Walmart tonight and there were lots of questions in there that I can't remember the answers to.  When did I first start to feel the baby kick?  Don't remember!  Thank goodness I have this blog or else I probably would forget the whole pregnancy!  I definitely want to fill out the baby book because when I was little I looked at the one my mommy made for me and was mad that there weren't more answers in there.  She started off strong and then trailed off, as I'm sure most moms do when things get busy.  I don't think she even bothered doing ones for my sisters.  I wonder where that baby book is now?  Lost in the sea of boxes, I'm sure.  Hopefully I can do a little better than that. :)