35 Weeks

36 weeks pregnant

This baby is continuing to train me for the upcoming sleep deprivation by waking me up around 5 am on most days of the week. Usually I get up to use the restroom, then have a snack (I am usually starving early in the mornings), then have a hard time going back to sleep. So I just get up & find something to do.
Luckily, I've had plenty to do lately. With only 5 weeks to go before my due date, it seems the time has accelerated. For example, yesterday (my only day off this week), I started the morning with a meeting with my manager at the hospital to sign my maternity leave paperwork & finish some of the required annual continuing nursing education competencies (chest tube care & epidural pump programming, just to name a few).
Then I rushed to downtown Seattle for a meeting with a lactation consultant at the Birth & Beyond store. With 2 failed attempts at breastfeeding, I have a major anxiety about being unsuccessful again, so I've been in touch with a lactation consultant to prepare as much as it was possible in advance. She looked at my inverted nipples & recommended I rent a hospital-grade pump about a week before my due date. I bought the BPA-free personal use electric pump kit & filled out paperwork for a pump rental. The rental for the Medela Symphony will run about $70/month (still cheaper than the cost of formula). We also talked about me using the Medela SoftShells to draw out the inverted nipples, but not until 1-2 weeks before my due date (they can stimulate breasts enough to cause premature labor).
I started my afternoon with a visit to my chiropractor for another spinal adjustment, followed by a pregnancy massage. I've been having more back pain since the start of my 3rd trimester. After finding out that my Aetna health insurance covers chiropractics & massage I decided to give them a try. The only paperwork I had to do was obtaining a massage prescription from my midwife. What a relief! I should have done it sooner. Every pregnant woman deserves to be pumpered with some kind of body work.
It was 3 pm by the time I finished my morning & early afternoon errands. I was starving! After having some lunch at home, I've decided to make the most of a few hours my kids had left with their nanny. I headed to my favorite Value Village (a thrift store) for much needed home birth supply shopping (it's advised to have everything ready by the 36th week of pregnancy). I was very productive & bought many large & medium-sized towels, 2 bed sheets, 2 large pieces of plastic - one for the bed & one to be placed under the birth tub (actually, they were U-Hall plastic mattress protectors), 2 large metal bowls, 2 large cookie sheets with raised edges, a flash light & a gooseneck lamp. I also found a beautiful white sheer bed canopy - got to have the right setting for those postpartum family photos! Of course, I couldn't pass up some other good finds & bought a shoe rack for my closet, almost new pair of Umi shoes for Sophia, 2 large soup bowls, a springform baking pan, a new linen shower curtain liner, & beautiful red Christmas table cloth. I didn't have any trouble falling asleep that night!


Gerritt has discovered another favorite activity - listening to books on CDs


Gerritt pretending to go on a trip (on the evening Shon got back from his business trip)


Sophia learning to eat all by herself


Gerritt dressed himself as a race car driver (including wearing my boots!)

Gerritt has been more irritable lately. The fact that he still sleeps with me is probably to blame. I wake & toss & turn often while trying to find a comfortable position, so his quality of sleep suffers as well. Gerritt has been making great strides in learning Russian. His favorite activity to do after turning off the lights at night is to "practice Russian." I usually name various Russian words (objects in the living room, fruits, vegetables, body parts, colors, etc.) & he translates.
My husband took a recent business trip to San Francisco recently. He was gone for 4 (!) nights. The kids, 2 dogs & I all slept in one king-size bed. It was challenging, but we managed. We were very happy to pick up Daddy at the airport on Friday night. I am grateful my husband doesn't have any more trips planned after the baby's birth.
My Mom's criminal background check is ready, however, I am still waiting for her photos to come in the mail. It looks like she won't make it in time for the baby's birth, but it may not be such a bad thing. The idea of home birth frightens her, so her presence may hinder rather than help my delivery.
I had a OB/GYN VBAC consult at the UW Women's Health Center about a week ago. The doctor told me she thought home birth was dangerous, but at least was nice going about it. We discussed all the VBAC risks involved, & she told me it was my choice at the end. I was dreading the appointment not knowing how I would be received by the provider. I am glad it's behind me.
Good news! My latest platelet count went up from 113K to 146K! My ITP treatment plan must be working. I am that much closer to my dream birth!