It's Hard to be Sexy: 36 Weeks!

Wow!

Can There Be Only FOUR Weeks To Go?

In the final stretch & like a marathon, this will likely be the toughest part. My belly is big enough that turning over in the night wakes me up because it hurts...I need a hoist, like the engine hoists my grandpa used to have in the backyard. Better yet, it would be awesome to have a hoist in my bedroom that could suspend me in the air so I could "lie" on my stomach with my belly hanging down! Oh gosh, that would rock!

In all seriousness though, I can't believe I only have 4 weeks until the expected due date of my little daughter. Wow. In a way it seems like I've been pregnant forEVER and in a way it seems it was just yesterday that I was hanging out, having a few beers and "little beer" shots at Strasse Haus. Strasse Haus is a great pub in the village of MainStrasse in Covington, Kentucky, a sweet little spot we frequent quite often. The little beer shots there are amazingly delicious...very small and taste like a sweet treat. They are served in tiny beer steins and topped with a tiny bit of cream to make it look like the head of a freshly poured beer.

Strasse Haus: courtesy of www.mainstrasse.org

Above image from: michellefo.wordpress.com

I have to admit, I'm looking forward to enjoying one of these after I have the baby.

Eating for Two:

I get so tired of eating the same old thing every day...at least it seems like I do. I might WANT an egg sandwich, but in all honesty, I don't feel like cooking most mornings when I get up, so I do the same hum-drum cereal.

Well, today I did cereal, except I changed it up a bit. I skipped the typical Honey Nut Cheerios and had this instead:

Mix together:

Cinnamon and Raisin Granola (ours is from Fresh Market and super delish!)

Raisin Bran Crunch!

Small handful of almonds

Top with:

Vanilla Almond Milk

Uhhhh....YUMSVILLE! It is amazing and it's the first time I got full off a bowl of cereal without having to finish the entire bowl. You'll be taking your time eating this one, with the nuts and the crunch. The vanilla milk is awesome with it and almond milk has 50% more calcium than cow's milk, which can help alleviate heartburn (at least that's what I've heard and what I'm hoping for from the bottom of my always on fire heart).

Super "Fun" Pregnancy Symptoms:

Heartburn...heartburn...your chest may become inflamed and not from the glow of pregnancy...heartburn...Did I say heartburn? Maybe it's not really THAT bad, but I've never had it in my entire life, not even with my first two pregnancies, so for me this is Ugh....just not fun at all. If it wakes you up in the middle of the night, it has to be pretty bad, right? Tums help and give a good boost of calcium, but blahh...who wants to be up in the middle of the night waiting for them to work just so you can be horizontal again?

Flatulence: Well, it's to be expected with 6+ pounds of adorable baby bundled up right down on your rectum. Things get blocked, then baby moves around and things get released. Have an escape planned for when the urge hits. Don't hold it in and well, if you can avoid it; don't crop dust people in the grocery store.

Frequent urination: Did you think this was over? Oh no, it's totally not. Now, when you gotta go, you're like the lady in that adult underwear commercial, running to the bathroom, because "I gotta go" really means, "Holy shit! I'm going to pee all over myself! Get the hell out of my way!" I think it's best to find the restrooms first, in any public place. If they don't have them, go somewhere else. At night you'll be up again too. I'm up at least twice, but I've heard of women getting up like 5 times. I think if I was up that often, I'd talk to my doctor to be sure I don't have a UTI, but that's just me.

Sore butt and back: As baby gets ready to show off her beautiful self to the world, your back and butt feel the pressure. Sitting down eases your back, but your "down there in the paw-paw patch" (as my middle school Science teacher used to say) area won't feel quite so comfortable. Is there a position that IS comfortable at this point? I mean, truly comfortable? Really I haven't found it...A close one is reclining on my couch with my feet up, but eventually they swell and I have to move. But it does help with my back and butt! Hey, a perfect segue into the next symptom!

Swollen feet and hands: There's only one good thing about this...it'll be easy to lose after the baby is born, because it's all water! Yay! I was a very lucky one, because mine only started about two weeks ago. For some women, this starts in the second trimester. *hugs to those women* My feet are in a constant state of swelling...the degree of which is the only variance. At night they are the worst. I put them up, take baths, do all the things they say to do, but nothing really helps. I've given in to the swollen feet thing and I'm just happy it's summer and I can wear sandals. If I wear my Chuck Taylor's, I have shoe string straps across my feet and sock lines around my cankles. Oh...and then there's the swollen hands! This started last week for me and today I don't have my wedding ring on. :( I'll be happy to have it on again. My swelling is worse in my right hand, because I've developed yet another symptom....

Carpal Tunnel! What the hell? I never knew you could develop this in pregnancy! I have had tendonitis from factory work years ago, when I was a young, single mom, but I never had carpal tunnel. Oh gee, now I do and it SUCKS! It's caused when the swelling affects the carpal tunnel ligament? tendon? whatever. It makes it really hard to make a fist, to pour milk, to pinch your fingers together, etc. I feel for people who have to suffer with this chronically.

At this point, that's what's new with the symptoms I'm experiencing. Yours may be different. We're all different and each of our pregnancies are different. Different and wonderful, despite all the annoyances.

Oh, another thing...my aureolas are bigger than a silver dollar at this point and the veins on my breasts and belly are much darker than ever before. I look like one of those way cool electric balls kids in the 90s played with at stores like Spencers. You touched them and the lightning looking things followed your hand around the glass ball. Here's one...

from: www.superstock.com

except my veins are, of course blue.

I mean, I have blue veins all across my front! It's crazy. I also discovered I have the Linea Nigra! I never had this with my boys and I didn't even know i had it until two days ago when I happened to notice it in the full-length mirror. I have a huge birthmark on my belly, so it hides the line quite a bit, but it's there, sure enough!

Here's a photo bomb of my beautiful (hey, I said all bumps are beautiful!) baby mountain at 36 weeks!