Baby Journal: Week 36

35 weeks side view

35 weeks head on

Ben took a few photos of our nursery when he was home. My Dad, Gpa Larry, assembled the crib and changing table for us. I can't wait to arrange and decorate this room when we return!

36 weeks, the pictures looks a little funky...not sure what the deal is. I also look like I am leaning forward...hard not to with a watermelon under my t-shirt...oh yeah, that's my daughter, not a watermelon! And she's not just under my t-shirt, she's in my belly! haha!

Okay, I have been dying to blog since last Wednesday, but I couldn't...because all I wanted to write about was how I missed Ben, etc. Ben went back to the USA this past week for his Grandma's funeral and I of course had to remain here to continue taking care of our little lady until she decides it's time to come out. Anyway, I didn't want to blog about Ben being gone because you never know what kind of creepers are out there. The reason I didn't have a 35 week photo was because Ben had the camera with that photo on it. Soooo, you get some bonus photos this week. And bonus stories from my week alone!

September 7, 2010

How far along am I today?

36 weeks

What is the favorite thing you ate today?

I believe my favorite thing I ate today was the applesauce oatmeal cookies I made while waiting for Ben’s plane to land safely here in South Africa. This is the first time I have really tweaked a few different cookie recipes and made it my own, so I was a little nervous about the outcome, but they turned out good I think! And they are pretty healthy!

How’s the food stuff coming along? Cravings? Aversions?

My appetite has decreased, but I’m finding that I still have to keep eating small meals throughout the day as I have been…even if I’m not hungry. As far as cravings go….I would like some Welch’s strawberry fruit snacks. Good thing Ben brought some to me today after his quick trip to the USA.

Any new symptoms this past week?

So, last Saturday morning I allowed myself to sleep in past 8am. Usually I am up around 7am. Sleeping in has benefits, yes….but also downfalls. You can’t exactly drink water while you are sleeping! Anyway, as I sat up in bed I felt a sharp pain in my back that went around and down into my abdomen. I assumed it was a Braxton Hicks (practice contraction). It lasted about a minute and then went away. I was pretty careful the rest of the day and while I did have some tightening in my abdomen about 8 hours later, it wasn’t the same sharp pain. I was honestly kind of amused! So I posted on my Facebook status about my “sharp pains.” My friend Kelley immediately replied with, “That was a real contraction. Drink some water and call me!” HA! So I called Kelley and it sounds like I most likely had the contraction because I was dehydrated from not drinking enough water throughout the night and the day before. Needless to say, I have been CHUGGING water since then!

Also, yesterday I went grocery shopping with Kelly. Before we left, I ate an apple and drank about 16 oz of water. We drove to the store, sat in the car and talked for about 20 minutes or so, then went in to shop. While in the store, I was looking at some bottles on a shelf (Kelly stood next to me). I got that head swimming sensation where you feel like you’re going to pass out… It wasn’t terrible, so I just grabbed the shelf and the shopping cart and told Kelly what was up. The dizziness passed and I was able to continue my shopping. I still felt faint, so I got myself a strawberry smoothie. The smoothie helped a TON! I decided to go ahead and email the Doctor anyway and the Nurse called me just moments later. She stated that I need to make sure I am eating small meals and drinking a lot of water all throughout the day. And…if it persists I am supposed to come on in. Well, it’s a good thing it hasn’t persisted! I will just work on my water and food intake…

What about the exercise routine?

Exercise makes so much of a difference in how I feel throughout the day. I sleep better, breathe better, am more productive…etc.

Sleep…is it good/bad/mediocre?

Sleep has been different for me this past week. Ben has been in the USA for his Grandma’s funeral, so I have been alone at night- minus my dear Molly and Baby Girl. I’m used to having Ben there to fill up our humidifier, rub my back, massage my back, feed Molly way super early in the morning, provide me with comfort and a sense of security…. Fortunately I know a lot of people have been praying for me and my nights were not toooooo terrible. The first four nights I slept just fine. Only two of the nights were without a humidifier because I forgot how to fill it. The fifth night I had trouble sleeping because I was for some reason freaked out…stinking overactive imagination! And last night Molly decided to give me a practice run of how things will be after our daughter is born. She kept me up until 11pm, and then woke me up at 4am, 5am, and 6am. Such a stinker! I will be soooooo glad to have Ben home tonight!

How big is the baby…and/or what does he/she resemble?

Since our little lady was about 2.6 kilos last week, I assume she has grown a bit since then. She puts on around .1-.2 kilos a week lately. And as for her length…I’m still not certain where her length is…but I do know she is pretty long!

And special milestones for baby?

Baby Girl is pretty much to the point where she would be a-okay if born a little early. Still, her lungs are improving and strengthening…which is quite important!

How about the baby’s activity?

Our sweet girl gets the hiccups many times a day. As I type this my belly is jumping with her poor little body as she hiccups. Her movements have slowed some; I believe that is because she is simply out of space! She still moves, don’t worry, they are just slower and more painful these days…

Did anything special (besides the baby growing!) happen to me this week?

Well, I survived a week on my own, without Ben. I’d say that’s pretty special. There were some tough moments, as I mentioned earlier when it came to sleep and new “symptoms.” I was also nearly attacked by another one of those HUGE animal-like spiders one night- Kelly saved me again. (Remember last year around this time there was a big spider on our door? And Kelly used her shoe to get him off?) Well, this time, Kelly used a stick and had to fling the spider away from that same door. He didn’t want to cooperate by climbing onto the stick for a safe ride to a new location. Too bad for him. Chris also saved me and my swimming pool from a very LARGE dead rat. I noticed the rat mid-afternoon on Thursday floating around the bottom of the pool. But I didn’t want to fish it out of there myself…how gross! Chris and Kelly came over for dinner and I went to show them the rat. However, we couldn’t find him. We stood in silence, contemplating the whereabouts of the previously very dead rat…when we noticed the pool pump wasn’t doing its job. Yup. Rat was stuck in the pool pump. Chris used his manliness to get the rat out of the pump and thrown over the electric fence to never-never land. Thanks Chris and Kelly. I don’t know what we would have done without you guys…

All in all, we have survived. But we are definitely ready for Daddy’s return!

What was the most random thing that happened this week?

So Ben's flight to the US left last Wednesday evening. Of course someone had to get him to the airport, and while it seems logical for me to be that person, we opted for some help from our friends Chris and Kelly. For one thing, the traffic to/from the airport is often horrible and I don't like to drive in Joburg traffic. For a second thing, the airport is a little bit crazy and it helps to have someone along...plus it is more safe. For a third thing, I wasn't sure how my emotions would be and I didn't think it would be wise for me to drive back on my own.

Anyway, I picked Ben up from work around 4pm, then we went back to the house, loaded up the car, picked up Kelly and returned to the office to get Chris. Ben used his badge to enter the office parking lot and we used his badge to leave the parking lot. We thought it was odd when the security guards tried to stop us, but then gave up when they saw Ben's badge, but we didn't think too much of it. When Chris got in the car he told us that a car had actually been stolen from the parking garage today, so the security guards were actually doing their jobs.

We drove on to the airport and dropped Ben off. I managed to do it without tears, which I found impressive since this has been a tough past couple of days and I am 8+ months pregnant. As Chris, Kelly and I made our way back to the parking garage to pick up Chris's car, we talked and joked- I felt pretty good. We drove into the parking garage, Chris got out and got into his car and followed us toward the exit. That's when it registered in my head that there might be a problem... The security guards stopped me. I quickly showed them Ben's badges and explained that we had just dropped him off at the airport, and returned to get our friend's car because he drove with us. The guard kind of laughed and rolled his eyes and said, "No, no no. We don't do this." I couldn't tell if he was being serious at first, so I tried to explain again that we had just driven past them to get into the garage and we used Chris's badge, I just needed to go home." He continued with, "Nooooo, we don't do this. You can't leave with this car." At this point I felt the tears starting to come up. He asked me where my husband was. I said "He's on a plane going to America. What am I supposed to do? I can't leave our car here. What will I do for transportation? Shoot, I'm going to cry." And the tears began. Chris got out of his car and came around. I can't recall all that he said, but he put up a good fight and then even called Ben's boss, Joe down to assist in my rescue. I felt so embarrassed! Joe came down and asked how I was, and of course, I just cried some more. Ha! Such a baby! If it were any other day, I am sure I could have managed on my own, but those guys were not letting down. I suppose it is understandable since they did, after all, have a car stolen from under their noses today. Maybe if they had been doing their jobs then....

Anyway, Chris and Joe managed to call the rental place to confirm that I was who I said I was and could leave with the car. The security guards eventually relented, but not because I was pregnant and crying. Not because I was obviously innocent. Not because I had my husband's badge or anything like that. I think it was because Chris and Joe put up a good argument. I don't know what I would have done without them!

The guys kept Ben's badge, so he will have to get it when he returns to the office on Wednesday. Goodness. What a way to begin my time home alone without Ben... And by the way, Ben went to pick up his badge today from security and they CANCELLED it. So now he has to get a new badge. They are such liars!