Catching up…

Yesterday I had my 32 week prenatal appointment. I am starting to really look forward to my appointments now as I get to see little Ava via an Ultrasound.

The Ultrasound Technician took the time to show me her face. It was so exciting (although somewhat strange as the eyes are basically seen as dark circles and look hollow).

At 29 weeks, she was measuring in the 70th percentile. At 30 weeks, she was measuring in the 60th percentile and yesterday, she measured in the 55th percentile. Although the Ultrasound isn’t entirely accurate, at least she appears to be measuring more on the average size right now (about a week ahead). Maybe my baby won’t be so ginormous after all! I’m expecting about an 8lb baby. Currently, I am carrying 4.2 pounds of baby in my tummy.

Blood pressure is still good at about 100/60 (although I have no reason to expect it not to be…before pregnancy my blood pressure was so low I felt like I was about to pass out if I stood up to quickly).

I have gained 24 lbs and feel quite good these days.

My only complaints are that I can’t get out of bed very easily anymore, my fingers are starting to experience numbness, and I can’t keep up the pace with my regular exercise routine. I like to walk about a mile and half to two miles on the treadmill everyday (on the full incline), but I just can’t manage the full incline anymore.

I can still, however, manage stairs, and it’s always funny in the morning as I meander my way through the underground PATH system to my office and take the stairs instead of the escalators. People must either think I’m crazy or insane. Either way, those watching me from the escalator must find it entertaining to watch an 8 month pregnant lady bumbling and waddling her way up the stairs, and the people behind me are surely frustrated that I’m not moving fast enough.

I have been having a hard time with eating as of late. I just can’t seem to eat a teeny tiny crumb without feeling totally bloated. The fullness makes it even harder to breathe. I am used to eating about 6 times a day, but now I have to graze all day long to keep up on my nutrition while still leaving enough room in my stomach for my lungs to expand as well.

The numbers on the scale are starting to feel a bit daunting. My goal all along was to gain between 30 – 35 lbs (because my pre-preggo weight was quite low), but no matter how much you prepare for that amount of weight gain, it’s still shocking. I’m curious how much you loose right after the baby is born? I know there are of course the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid, which is probably about 11-13 lbs or so, but is that it? Would your fluids and blood volume start decrease right away as well? I suppose the shrinking of your uterus should be taken into account. Regardless, I’m pretty confident I’ll still have enough fat maternal stores built up to breastfeed my baby.

Today I officially handed in my notice of when I am going to begin my maternity leave. My last official day of work is April 1st, but I am taking my three weeks holidays up front, so “technically” my last day is April 22nd. It is quite busy at work these days (hence my sparse blog), and I can tell my mind is not on the job anymore. Just last week I managed to take down our whole Remote Access Server (the server that allows people to connect remotely to our network and work from home, an airport, hotel room…or anywhere else remotely). I couldn’t believe I had done such a thing and felt mortified when I had to explain what had happened to my boss. Here we are investing hundreds or thousands in a Business Continuity Plan to ensure we have remote access capabilities in the event of an emergency situation, when all they really needed to do was keep me away from that machine! How do you invest in protection against staff who aren’t concentrating when they work? YIKES!

It's probably a good thing I am leaving work three weeks before my due date!