36.5 Weeks

I haven't had a post in awhile that focused just on this pregnancy.  I am exactly 36 weeks and 4 days along today.  At my appointment yesterday, baby bump is measuring at 33 cm or 3.5 cm small.  I am going in for a complete ultra sound next week to make sure everything is okay. I am sure everything will be fine, it is more a precautionary just-to-be-100%-sure-the-baby-is-good kind of thing .  Baby and I have been getting bigger, slowly and surely (even though EVERY single person that asks my due date is in utter shock and disbelief that I am as far along as I am).  I have been called, "jerk," been told, "I hate you," ladies have gasped loudly,"how unfair" etc.  All in good fun of course.  One lady asked me to tell her what complications I was having to make herself feel better, because she said she was as big as me when she was 3 months pregnant.  I want to say, having a smaller belly doesn't make me feel any less pain or feel any less pregnant.  I can understand the obvious advantages of having less belly in my way, but come on.  I am still very uncomfortable.  I still pee about 100 times a day.  My back pain is excruciating.  I can't paint my own toenails.  I still have a hard time bending over and picking things up without losing my breath.  I spill on my shirts when I eat.  None of my pants fit.  I have all warm, long sleeve, maternity clothes, so those have become useless in this Fresno heat (and I am not gonna go buy clothes that I will only be wearing for the next 20 days).  Everything, from the inside out, feels very compact, tight and itchy.  I can't sleep.  Once I do fall asleep I am instantly awoken by a kick, hiccup, pressure on my bladder or a sharp pain surging through my low back.  I have been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions regularly.  Some have been a bit stronger than others and some kind of hurt (more than I remember with Talmage).  If I stand for too long, my feet and ankles start to swell.  I sweat like crazy and am never comfortable temperature wise.  I know that all the exercise I did before I was pregnant and for the first half of my pregnancy has completely gone kaputz.  I have no muscles, no strength and everything has gotten soft.  I have gained a total of 26-28 pounds so far.  My teeth took a serious hit this go around and I got several new permanent dark spots on my face.

Enough about my body, lets talk about this little bean inside me.  I have the feeling he will be a lot more calm than Talmage (I probably shouldn't jinx anything) but every ultra sound I've had he has been asleep and curled up in a ball.  He doesn't kick me nearly as often as Tal liked to.  He has definitely made his way down and is in a pretty good position right now with head down, bum on my right side and his limbs on my left side, with most of his kicks in the middle or close to my ribs.  He responds the most to any sort of music or singing, and food of course.  Talmage has already taken up drawing on his baby brother (my stomach) with washable markers.  I allow it because it entertains him for 15-30 minutes, and in a weird way I see it as him bonding with his brother, because Tal will break out into song while he's doing it, so the baby hears his voice.

We are down to about 3 1/2 weeks (24 days), before our little guy will be here.  It is actually looking like we will get to see him even sooner.  After talking to my OB, I might be getting induced on the 15th or 16th of August.  Reasons, it will be safe enough after my 39th week mark and we are trying to work around Cody's outrageous work schedule, so he can be present for the birth of his son.  So cross fingers that everything works out and we can have a 15th or 16th birthday for this little guy and his father gets to be there.