Baking a Baby - 30 Weeks

Photo Courtesy of Brianna. {Please excuse my haggard, worn-out, sick, exhausted self. And the stupid striped shirt. Not a fan of wearing striped shirts. It was the first one I grabbed this morning before we went to the Doctor, and I'm far to worn out to change. Or put make-up on, for that matter. This is what I'm calling real-life blogging.}

30 Weeks! Wow. Today--actually the last couple weeks, culminating in today--are going to be some of those days of pregnancy, of life, that are forever seared in my brain.

We've been battling this horrible cold--calling it just a cold makes it's evil self sound so much more trivial that it has actually been-- for 2 full weeks now. And, Garrett, Brie and I have progressed, and slowwwwwwly, and agonizingly headed towards feeling better. I think. We can all at least function on a more limited basis. Meanwhile, poor Keira has gotten worse. Keira usually gets coughs worse than the rest of us, and takes longer to recover from them. So, we usually give her a bit more time to get better, and today was the day that Garrett and I had set that if she hadn't shown improvement we'd take her in to the doctor. So bright and early this morning I took her in, and sure enough it was as we had begun to fear--she has pneumonia. The doctor sent her home with some antibiotics and various other medicines, and now we wait for them to work.  And pray they work quickly.  If she doesn't show improvement within a couple days they want to hospitalize her, of course. I just want my snarky baby back. And for us all to feel better. I'm beginning to doubt that's ever going to happen.

So, here we sit at 30 weeks-- 3/4 of the way done with this pregnancy. I'm trying to take life as it comes right now--go easy on myself and just do what has to be done to get through until we feel better. If that ever happens.

Size of Baby: As of the last growth check, she was measuring little, but not by too much. It was on the 28th week and 4th day, and she measured out at 28 weeks 1 day--2 pounds, 7 ounces. Crazy how precise they get, huh?

Total weight gain: I haven't actually gained any weight since about 22 weeks--I'm sitting right at 15 pounds. I'm guessing that should start increasing here again soon as she packs weight on for delivery.

Maternity Clothes: I am somewhat tired of them-mostly I really miss my normal pants. I have plenty maternity clothes, and I'm thankful for them all-they sure are a lot cuter this time around. My pickings for Sunday are a little slim, but I'm getting by ok, so I'm not stressing it. The one thing that is kind of driving me nuts is the waistbands on everything. At the end of the day I'm so happy to just get rid of whatever I'm wearing so I'm not dealing with a waistband anymore. They all are on clothes that fit me, so it's not a size issue--it's just waistbands bugging me for some reason.

Movement: Yes, constantly. She is upside down, and seems to have a cycle of some busy days, and then a few days of rest/growth aka mild squirming and movement but nothing drastic, and then back to busy. Most of the time I feel like I'm a bag full of angry cats. I find myself sitting straighter a lot, so as to give her and my ribs a bit of room. Which doesn't really work, but it's a nice thought. And we've reached the point where she'll adjust, and suddenly it becomes VERY important for me to find a bathroom rather quickly. :-)

Sleep: What is this "sleep" you speak of? Ha. I don't know that I've had a good night sleep in two weeks. To be fair, neither has Garrett. And, it's not all been due to pregnancy--a lot of it has been due to sickness, and as Keira has not improved, worry. I hope to sleep again someday--I'm worrying that my days of good sleep are gone until after Bebe' is here and we've managed to get her into a sleep schedule. Serenity now! I don't deal well with missing out on sleep.

What I miss: Lifting things. Snuggling my kids comfortably in my lap. Eating a normal amount of food.Seeing my feet. I'm sure they're there, as they ache at the end of the day, but if it wasn't for that, I'm not sure I'd believe they even exist anymore. :-)

Cravings:  Not really. Food hasn't been much of a priority lately though--we've been eating to get by--fixing dinner is like climbing a very large hill, and not in a good exercisey way, but in an insurmountable exhausting way. I've taken to eating extraordinary amounts of toast with peanut butter and jam. I have been endlessly thankful for Brianna's help in the kitchen... she feels better than all the rest of us combined, and the kid makes a great salad already. So, we've been eating a lot of salad with chicken breast on it.

Symptoms: All pregnancy symptoms have been usurped and/or exaggerated by cold symptoms. Coughing reduced me to my eyes leaking (I wasn't crying, my eyes were leaking) in the first stage of this cold. Violent coughing and violent sneezing, along with some crazy intense pelvic pressure due to pregnancy are a cruel and unusual combination. Have I mentioned that it doesn't feel like we're ever going to get better? 'Cause it sure doesn't.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling better! Ha. It had to be said. Meeting this munchkin. Getting the girls room ready to go for them and for her. I feel bad, because the day I got sick I ripped it all apart while I was busy denying that I was getting sick. Then I got sick, and it's been a jumble of toys and mess everywhere ever since then, so not really even usable. I think the timing of this illness means that I'm not going to be accomplishing all I'd hoped to accomplish in there before she's born, but I do need it to be organized and ready to go, and some of the furniture moved around to accommodate things for a third human. I'm hoping to be able to accomplish at least that, and we'll work on everything else, decoration-wise, as we can after she's born.

Milestones: 3/4 of the way done! More than, technically, because they won't let me get to 40 weeks. Even as ill as we've been, it feels like this pregnancy is still flying by. And, I am enjoying it.

Best moment this week: Being sick lends itself to more snuggles. Earlier this week Brie climbed up on my lap and wrapped her arms around me and just giggled while Bebe' punched and kicked her (us both) in the stomach. Then she ended up falling asleep in my arms, which NEVER happens anymore. They're growing so fast. And it will be fun to have a baby again, but I'm realizing that having a new little one isn't going to diminish the bittersweet ache of our oldest two growing up. All in all, if we've got to find ourselves a silver lining in this plague we've got,  and while I'd much prefer that our family be healthy,
 the silver lining has definitely been to have so much couch time with our oldest two, and lots of snuggling before this one we can't wait to meet joins us and life changes forever.

Thanks for sticking with me through the pregnancy updates, and especially through this one, with the excessive complaining about this illness. I appreciate my readers very much. :-)