30 Weeks
25 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
Last Friday I reached the 30 week mark in my pregnancy, a couple of weeks into the 3rd trimester. Now that we have made it this far I wish I would have taken and posted photos of my ever-growing waistline every so often and maybe written a little bit about what was happening to body and how I was feeling about it. I think I’m finally realizing that this is real and we are going to have a real live baby in our arms soon.
It’s not too late to start documenting this pregnancy though and, really, my baby bump was pretty small up until just a few weeks ago anyway. Baby boy has been healthy and active, though not as active as Andy was, and growing right on schedule. He gets hiccups often and doesn’t like the waistband of my pants encroaching on his territory. I am now visiting my midwife every two weeks and will have another ultrasound soon to check on the status of my placenta previa. Hopefully it has migrated and I can avoid a C-section. This same thing happened during my pregnancy with Andy with good results so I’m not too worried.
When I was pregnant with both Josh and Andy I saw an OB/GYN and delivered in a labor and delivery unit at a hospital. I had great experiences with the nurses during labor and with the hospital in general but this time I want to try something a little different. I am seeing a midwife and will deliver in a birth center which is located in a hospital. If all goes as planned, I want to experience a water birth. I had a pretty laid back approach to labor and delivery with my first two and was blessed that they were both easy births. This time I am a bit heart set on a water birth so I hope and pray that history will repeat itself and it will be possible.
I am getting really excited about meeting this little guy. I am not really one to bond prenatally with my babies, and with Andy it didn’t happen until well after he was born but the other day, baby boy was poking out on my side and I could actually feel the little knob of his knee or heel through my stretched skin. It was then that this little person in my head became a little person in my heart. When Josh was born I fell immediately in love with him and felt I was put on this earth to be his mommy but, much to my surprise, it wasn’t the same with Andy. It turns out I had postpartum depression and although I loved him deeply I had an extremely hard time responding to his needs without flipping the freak out. It’s so hard to explain and, like so many women, I couldn’t even identify it at the time but saying it was awful is an understatement. I’m quite frightened that it will happen again so I am trying to be proactive about my expectations and the reality of caring for a newborn. I’ve talked with my midwife about my fears and she has given me some ideas to help combat depression naturally. She has also assured me that if natural remedies don’t help that it’s ok to get help through medication. Thankfully, now that I know how it feels, I think that I will be more apt to ask for help if I need it.
Physically, I feel like I shouldn’t complain but I am older this time around and I can definitely feel the difference. I am much more achy and crampy and seriously exhausted. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my cousin about the obnoxious prenatal pillow she used during her last pregnancy and Chris took the clue and immediately (I have a great husband!) ran out to get me one. All I can say is that pillow has changed my life. Oh, and I’m sorry, Christine, for teasing you about your insanely large and weird-looking pillow. I now own one! I have also been having painful leg and foot cramps quite often, usually in the middle of the night. I’ve even had to take a hot bath at 2am to help alleviate the pain once already this pregnancy. Not fun at all. It will soon be all over and a distant memory though. I’ll be happy to get my body back but I’m even more excited to meet my little guy! Whatever I have to go through, and, really, it’s nothing compared to what many women have to deal with, it’s all worth it in the end.
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