To Remember (34 Weeks)

There are just a few things about this pregnancy that I don't want to forget.  Actually, maybe I do want to forget them, but they seem noteworthy, so I'll write them down anyway.  This post is mostly for me, so don't feel obligated to read it...

-This baby is still incredibly active.  He's also very strong.  I keep wondering how it's possible for him to gain so much momentum before hitting/kicking me in that tight little space.  I'm still measuring big, so theoretically he shouldn't have a ton of room anymore...  And yet if he were born with a baseball bat, I wouldn't be surprised.  He spends a lot of time beating the crap out of my left hip bone, something I don't remember from Nate or Abbie, but is always very uncomfortable.  The other day while I was fixing dinner, I had my belly against the counter and he jabbed something out so hard that he physically pushed me away from the counter.  He also seems to enjoy raking knees/elbows/feet across the entire length of my uterus.  That hurts.  The most uncomfortable thing he does is use my bladder as a punching bag.  I don't remember ever feeling physical pain upon impact with my bladder before, but those hits are enough to make me gasp.  He moves all day and all night, leaving me slightly concerned for when he's actually going to sleep after being born.  I keep reading about these less active sleep periods and remembering them from my other kids, but this little guy just isn't following the manual.  Despite all of that, I still really love to watch my belly move from the outside.  His hiccups are big enough to watch from the outside and the kids get a big kick out of that (about 20 times per day).  I've also gotten really good at determining which little body part is poking out where.  He doesn't really like it when I shove his feet back in.
-Insomnia has been horrible.  I've had insomnia for this entire pregnancy, but it's gotten much worse over the last few weeks.  I haven't slept past 5AM since probably October, but lately it's turned into 2AM.  Between Monday and Friday of last week, I got a whopping 10 hours of sleep.  I seem to be able to fall asleep ok, but then I wake up at 2 or 3 and can never fall back to sleep.  After the 10 hour week, and feeling like I was driving drunk, I called my doctor and got a script for Ambien.  I don't like taking it, but I was no longer able to function.  Now I can get about 5-6 hours total per night, not uninterrupted, but at least I can fall back asleep after I wake up to pee, at least until about 5AM.  I don't know what it is about that number, but I can't ever sleep after that.
-Contractions are manageable.  With Abbie, I contracted all day every day from 31 weeks on.  At this point I seem to contract regularly some time every day, but nothing like before.  I'll just go for an hour or two and then things will end on their own.  My cervix was still the same 2 weeks ago (I have another appt. tomorrow), so I'm now "allowed" to do more during the day.  I'm not really doing the whole bed rest thing--I'm just laying down when I start contracting, instead of spending all day in bed.  It's much more manageable, although it's a bit difficult to plan when I will be able to do things.  I'm trying not to be on my feet for more than an hour at a time, although I'm still doing my prenatal yoga for an hour every day and rarely end up contracting after that.  If it weren't for the whole low placenta thing, I wouldn't be surprised if I had to be induced at 42 wks.
-My appetite is mostly gone at this point.  Up until a few weeks ago, I would wake up starving in the middle of the night and need to eat every few hours during the day.  I guess he's crammed up near my stomach, though, because I rarely feel hungry at all.  I am eating much smaller portion sizes now and sometimes have to force myself to eat a meal.  I haven't gained any weight in the last couple of weeks, so I'm trying to make sure that I'm eating enough.
-Cravings: Bacon, bacon, bacon.  Normally I'm not a big meat eater, but I could eat a BLT every single day.  Watermelon.  Lots of watermelon.  Popsicles.  Only the red, white, and blue ones, though.  Apple slices.  Cantaloupe.  Pineapple.
-Even though I'm measuring big, I don't feel huge like I did with Abbie.  I knew that she was going to be big, but I'm not sure about this baby's size.  He's definitely up in my ribs (and has been for at least a month), but I don't feel like my belly is huge like it was with Abbie.  Some of the maternity shirts that I wore with Abbie seem to be too short now, though, so I'm not sure what that means.  I'm definitely curious to know what size this boy's going to be.

Tomorrow I'll talk to my doctor about scheduling a C/S vs. attempting a vaginal delivery.  With the placenta so low, I'm not quite sure what to do.  I really don't want to end up hemorrhaging and under general anesthesia, but I would obviously prefer the vaginal delivery for many reasons.  Here's to a miraculous placental migration...