Week 35, April 15 - April 21

Thursday, April 15th (41 days to go)
Had my 34 week appointment today. You'll have to follow the link to see what happened... I can tell you this much. It was a good one!

Baby Update: Right now [the] baby weighs at least 4 1/2 pounds and measures about 12 inches long [crown to rump] - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Friday, April 16th (40 days to go)
I took care of Ella's medicine cabinet today. Things like hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, baby tylenol, decongestant for babies, etc. My next big task is to get the hospital bags packed. I need to make a trip to Wal*Mart one of these days to get pj's and a robe that I don't mind getting "messy". :P That's about all I need for myself that I don't all ready have. The baby's bag is packed all ready.

Baby Update: Moot... all about male babies. We don't need to hear about boy babies. :) - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Saturday, April 17th (39 days to go)
As I'm typing this Tiger is standing in the doorway to the nursery, just looking at all of the stuff. I think he's trying to figure out how to jump in to the full crib. I'll have to yell at him if he tries... no need. He just left. Just wait'll Ella gets here. I can't wait to see how they react.

Today we have shower #2 out of 3. So that's exciting. Something to keep my mind off of the constant itching I'm suffering from. I've got 2 pills I'm taking and a cream I can apply to my itchy skin, and still I itch. This next Thursday at my doctor appointment I may be given another perscription, so we'll see. While I sit and wait to see if medicines are going to work we'll slowly get to 37 weeks. Maybe then the doctor will induce me. Have I mentioned that the itching is no longer just my stomach? It has moved to my legs, arms, and a bit on my back. The doctor said the bumps on my legs should go away, but as far as I can tell they're getting worse. My arms aren't too bad yet and aren't really noticeable. I won't be wearing the cute maternity dresses I got again though. :( I'll just have to hold on to those for next time and hope I get to wear them. I am one unhappy camper.

Got my hospital bag packed as good as it's going to get for now. What's left are the things I use on a daily basis, like toiletries, so there will be some last minute packing. I'm assuming I'll have enough time to do that.

Baby Update: The baby might "drop" (shift in to [the] pelvis) before labor begins, but not all babies drop prior to the onset of labor. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Sunday, April 18th (38 days to go)
So far today I've managed to just lay in bed. All I can think about is how much I itch. It's honestly getting very depressing. I'm going to go see my doctor tomorrow. I cannot do another 5 weeks like this. I think he's got one more medication he wants to try, so we'll see if that works. The rash on my legs and arms is definately getting worse.

We had that second shower yesterday. It was the first time I had seen Isaac's family since Christmas. Mostly we got more clothes (in bigger sizes, which is good). We also got a rubber ducky that tells us if the bath water is too hot, and a doorway jumpster... you hang this thing in the doorway, and there's a seat the baby sits in and they get to exercise their little legs. I think Isaac's going to have to rig something up in the house to get it to work, but I'm hoping Ella will love it.

Baby Update: The baby almost always settles into the mother's pelvis in a head-down position, because the head is the heaviest part of its body and is better accommodated in the bottom contour of the uterus than in the top. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Monday, April 19th (37 days to go)
Monday Stuff: Heartbeat at 35 weeks, and Baby Center's Take on 35 weeks. The heartbeat file is a bit longer than usual (and therefore bigger) because I wanted to be able to hear the changes that occurred because she was awake when I did it. She actually kicked at the doppler at one point.

Speaking of kicking, last night Isaac and I were sitting on the couch and Isaac had his head resting on my belly. Using her foot, Ella lifted Isaac's head 2 times. Isaac was amazed... he had to ask if that was me or her. Adult heads are heavy. Ella's got some strong little legs.

Oh, not going to call the doctor today. Either the itch isn't quite as bad or I'm getting used to being itchy. I'm going to take this day by day. At least I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for Thursday. I will definately get new meds then. In the mean time I'm going to try some herbal stuff that I read about on a website about PUPPPs. It's more of a support-group type of website with other women sharing their experiences with the rash and what helped them out. So we'll see if the herbal stuff helps.

PBS's website has videos on the miracle that is reproduction. It's a pretty amazing process. These videos work well if you've got a fast connection. It's broken up in to chapters. Beware that the last chapter does show the birth of a baby.

Baby Update: A baby delivered at eight months will tend to lose considerably more weight than a full-term baby because its digestive tract is still too immature for complete independence. As a sort of safety precaution, the eight-month fetus stores nutrition from its mother against the possibility of an early birth. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Tuesday, April 20th (36 days to go)
We've got our 4th parenting class tonight. We just don't look forward to these. At least they help time go by faster. Time for me seems to have come to a stand-still. Even my now-weekly doctor's appointments seem months apart. This stupid rash isn't helping things of course.

Baby Update: The pinkness of the baby's skin (both now and at birth) is due to blood vessels that are close to the surface. Even babies who will have dark skin later on have skin with a pinkish cast now. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Wednesday, April 21st (35 days to go)
Realized today that we're at the 4 1/2 week point, if going by the doctor's due date, which is actually May 23rd. Which also means that Friday is the 1 month mark. Finally getting close! Of course, if the doctor just wants to let this one go until 2 weeks passed the due date, I'm looking at the possibility of another 6 1/2 weeks. That would not be good.

Had our 4th of 6 classes last night. Not really ground breaking either, though we did get an up-close look at some of the tools the doctor's use, like the suction thingy, and the forceps. We also got to hear about the different kinds of drugs. Isaac got queasy with all of the pictures of needles and stuff. Such a wuss. I hope what we keep hearing is true, that when it comes to the birth of your own child, you forget about the needles and blood. I'd really like my husband to be conscious the whole time. That'd be nice. The last half hour we did work on relaxing breathing techniques and a couple of relaxing positions. I felt so silly. It's hard for me to pretend to be "breathing through a contraction" when I'm not actually in any pain. And the two positions we tried were standing ones, which just made my legs itch. I knew I was dreading this part for a reason. Just one more week of them. The final week includes our tour of the family center in the hospital. I do look forward to that.

Baby Update: The baby's arms and legs are beginning to be chubby as more fat is deposited. Fat deposits increase from 2% at midpregnancy to 12-15% at term. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.