Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Week 36

I have to admit that I was half-expecting to go into labor over the weekend. I was feeling a combination overall ick and this horrid fatigue that I'd never felt before - not even in my first trimester. The Braxton Hicks that I've been feeling also didn't help.

I've been feeling Braxton Hicks on and off since the onset of the third trimester, but I didn't really realize what it was until quite recently. I just figured that they were third trimester cramps, since all of the literature about Braxton Hicks seems to indicate that the symptoms feel like nothing more than a bit of tightening of the uterus. I finally laid that to rest a couple of weeks ago when I asked my doctor about the cramps, and he told me what they were. Even though they're rather uncomfortable I take it all in stride. Whenever I get the cramping, I practice one of the breathing techniques that I learned in my HypnoBirthing classes for dealing with uterine surges (HypnoBirthing term for contractions). It actually makes the pain a lot more bearable and it's great practice for when I actually do go into labor.

I saw the doctor on Monday again (now that my appointments are weekly), and got the results of my GBS swab. Not surprisingly, the test results came out positive. This basically means that I have to come to the hospital at the onset of labor, since they have to administer antibiotics intravenously for at least 4 hours. It's a bit of an inconvenience, I admit, and definitely puts a cramp in birth plan, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

On Monday, the hubby and I went on our hospital tour. I won't bore you with the gory details since I'd already done a nice long post on it. The short of it is that it was useful, and definitely overwhelming in some ways, since it really really made this whole baby thing seem all the more real. At the same time, knowing what to expect at the hospital when I go into labor is hugely comforting.

Speaking of the hospital, I FINALLY got around to packing my suitcase for the hospital on Monday. Well, sort of. I got most of it packed up, but I'm still missing a couple of items here and there. I'm hoping that I can just pick them up on the weekend and be done with it more or less. As long as I don't go into labor before then, I should be just fine. Honestly, my biggest fear right now is going into labor and forgetting the cord blood collection kit that I picked up last week. I can't keep it with my suitcase right now because my bedroom gets really hot during the day and the lady with whom I spoke when I picked up the collection kit said to keep it in a cool place. So right now it's sitting in my basement, while my suitcase sits in my bedroom with a big post-it note reminding me to grab the collection kit. Once the other items have been packed, I'll take the suitcase down to the basement and re-unite it with the collection kit.

This week I also thought I'd figured out the timing for my mat-leave. The plan was to start it on July 26th so I'd still have 2 weeks until my due date to chill out. That plan is still in effect, but my manager's boss asked me today if I could work some half-days up until my due date. It's food for thought, and I may do the half-day thing after the 26th. It wouldn't be a big deal for me if I came in for the morning and just went home at noon or 1pm.

And finally, at long last, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the kitchen renos! We got confirmation this week that our kitchen counter is getting put in on Monday, which means that the kitchen may actually be done by the end of next week. Yay!!! Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen. Still, I'm glad that there's a date. I'll be even happier if the kitchen renos are done before PK arrives. Keep your fingers crossed!

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