Saturday, March 21, 2009

36 Weeks

36 Weeks! Wow! That's like very pregnant. Oh boy and do people know it when they see me. Lately, I've felt like I'm walking around with a huge, lit-up billboard that says, "Very pregnant lady coming through!!" People don't try to hide it now; they don't even attempt the polite ogle-and-glance-away. It's an all out stare these days. I'm perfecting the pregnant lady look-o-death glare response but I feel sort of bad because before I was pregnant I'm sure I stared too. I did master a good death glare the other day. When walking by some bar, a guy in a group sitting outside for happy hour yelled out..."hey pregnant chick!" Believe me, all sorts of obscenities and and insults came through my mind. I just about turned around and gave them the bird....but I held my fierce prego control and simply gave them an all-out amazing look-o-death. I'm pretty sure they shuddered in fear.

Now, I have to say it's official-- staying active during pregnancy helps keep the aches and pains to a minimum. I've kept up the yoga to about 3-5 hours per week and have tried to get in at least a couple miles of walking a day-- by getting off the bus early and walking a few extra blocks, walking to class and back, walking to work, to the grocery store, breakfast on the weekends. I just try to incorporate it throughout the day. I've also done some minimal weight-training and I've added a few minutes of stretching at the end of almost every day. And so far, I feel strong and energetic! I only get a little back pain at the end of the day and pelvic pain at night. I spoke with a friend of mine who used to work at a gym this week (as we were walking together on our lunch break from work). She told me that all the women who continued to work out during pregnancy complained very little of pains in comparison to those who didn't or quit early. Now I know that there are many situations in pregnancy that can make exercising difficult or impossible, but I've been very lucky to avoid that. Looking back, I really think that staying active has helped me immensely.

So, I took a photo last night of the monstrosity after I'd consumed a burrito and was feeling rather full. I took a photo this morning post digestion and end of the day fluid retention and I look so much smaller. In reality, I'm somewhere in-between this photo and the next:











































So I finished the term off early by turning in my final paper Monday night. Can you believe it??? Ms. Procrastinator Extraordinaire finished a paper early!! The moons must be misaligned! But....it felt so great to be done. I did it! I completed my first term of grad school! I've taken Spring term off so I won't have to return to school until the little bub is about 5 months old.

Even with school over, I've still been busy these days. Dave's family is planning to come up to visit today, however I have not heard yet whether or not they've left. Trish and Kim (Dave's mom) have both gotten sick this week and they're worried someone else may come down with it. If all goes well though (as I hope), we'll get to see them this evening! We've been looking forward to their visit for weeks now. We even spent all night Thursday scrubbing this apartment so it looks pristine!

Des came over Wednesday night and the three of us cleaned out the remaining boxes in the spare room and organized the baby stuff. It's all ready and waiting for the furniture. Last night, I went out and bought a bunch of travel toiletries and other items I would need for the hospital bag. I also found a robe at Ross last week. I'm going to try and get it packed today so I'm ready to go when the time comes (be it a week from now to 6 weeks from now). It seems like things are all coming together nicely. When I'm done, I'm not sure what I'll do with myself.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on finishing your paper and your first term of grad school! Sounds like you've got it all figured out, now it's about playing the "waiting" game for the little guy to come. ;o) I'm sure glad we had the opportunity to work on the baby's room last week, it looks great--due to my superb organizational skills--and your motivation to do so :oP. See you tomorrow at the shower--I'm so excited!

MissAnneThrope said...

Your belly looks pointier on the bottom picture...but I don't know what that means. :) I do know, however, that I love and miss you, and am glad everything's working out well for you. :)