I am receiving a lot of kicks and elbows and especially headbutts to the cervix, but no contractions. Still 1-2 cm dilated, and Squirmy is dropping lower and lower, making my groin very uncomfortable, especially when walking, trying to put on pants, rolling over in bed... yeah, moving my legs hurts my groin.
I was actually asked at HyVee if there is ONLY one baby in there. When I responded yes, the woman said, "That must be a BIG boy!" Uh, thanks for calling me/my baby fat and assuming the sex.
Note: Don't ever tell a pregnant woman how big she is; we're self conscious enough in the first place, and on top of that I am already worried that I somehow made my baby a fatty because my OB has suddenly said the baby is very big, even though I've measured to-the-day at all my appointments. I know we don't REALLY know until the baby's out, but it still makes me nervous, especially since the baby might not even be here for another week and should be gaining an ounce per day at this point.
Some brief, mild cramping has taken place here and there, but nothing truly interesting, nor nearly as painful as the menstrual cramps I used to get before I was put on the Pill to regulate my cycles... Now THOSE were agonizing. The other night I was hopeful I might be having a tiny contraction or Braxton Hicks. Instead I ended up farting on the dog. Sorry, Sadie.
Change "mother" to "mother-in-law" and "ice cream" to "junk cereal" and this is fairly accurate. Haven't really pinned down names yet though.
(P.S. It's okay not to have names picked out prior to birth... calm down, peeps.)
So while I walk on the treadmill and swim in the pool and sit on my physical therapy ball hoping labor will start, I anxiously await Thursday of next week when I will be induced if nothing comes to pass. I think I'll call that "manual override" and desperately hope to avoid it.
I have been consuming a lot of cereal lately. It takes very little effort to prepare, comes in a variety of flavors and textures, is quick to clean up, and is fortified with tons of vitamins. So even when I'm eating total crap like Marshmallow Maties or Reeses Puffs Cereal I can at least know I'm getting some form of nutrition. It's not like I have the stomach volume to stuff my face and eat thousands of calories anyway -- I've stopped gaining weight and in fact lost a little bit according to the OB scale at Medical Associates.
Sleep has become even more sparing. Even when I'm exhausted and fairly comfortable, I usually only doze for a couple of hours, seemingly without ever entering into REM sleep, before I'm up again for another hour or so. After that I usually can catch at least a couple of full cycles of sleep, and, although it usually means I sleep into the afternoon, it seems to be enough right now, which helps me get over the fact that I can't sleep when I actually want to. Squirmy's going to come and screw all that up, anyway. :)
Overall, I have to say that if all my pregnancies are like this one up to this point, that will be fine. I can't complain at all given how sick some women get because of various problems, and especially knowing that there are a lot of women who want to conceive but greatly struggle to get/stay pregnant or can't at all. I'm really thankful I've been able to conceive and carry my child in a safe and healthy way, regardless of mood swings/being a psycho, morning sickness, physical discomforts, or poor sleep. I know it's all worth it, including the last few long days ahead of me before Squirmy finally arrives.
One thing I'm minorly disappointed about: My belly button never popped out. I was really looking forward to weirding out my husband with an outie.
