Third Trimester Pregnancy Journal: Week 30

I have been sick with a cold the past few weeks.  Alain brought it home and felt only a tickle in this throat.  It took over my immune-suppressed body and has held on tight.  I ended up giving it back to Alain, and he suffered miserably.  I was surprised, since he's usually a tough guy and doesn't get sick very often.  He got to take the medicine to help though, I didn't really take anything.

I'm mostly better now, I just have some residual sniffles.  No big deal.

Life has definitely gotten more difficult though.  I am more tired, and not sleeping as well.  I am sore, and my body can't seem to repair.  It's mostly hip, back, groin stuff, which I know is totally normal. My body is stretching and preparing to deliver this baby, that's gonna hurt.  Still, it's been hard.

I was surprised to see the differences in my belly between week 26 and week 30 (week 28 we did the outdoor photos).  I haven't actually put on much weight, but baby sure is growing!



26 Weeks



30 Weeks

Everyone that sees me says I am all belly.  I guess it's true, but of course, I see differences in my body all over.

Since I have been so sore, Alain and I decided it was time for me to finish up with work.  This Friday is actually my last day!

I wish I could say that I feel like I will be less busy, but I have a massive list of things I want to accomplish over the next 8 weeks.  I'm also doing prenatal swimming, yoga and going to the midwife and chiropractor every other week.  I feel like my schedule will be quite full, but of course, I'm taking lots of time to put my feet up and rest too.

Week 39: Doctor's Visit

Today I had another Doctor's visit and my first internal exam! :) Oh, to clarify, I am IN my 39th week, so I have 38 weeks down... I always feel like it's probably confusing how I post. When I started, I was ambitious with each week and now I feel a bit silly about that- hehe.

I did all the normal stuff- urine sample, blood pressure (good), then stripped from the waist down. I had a male doctor today (in the practice there are 2 females and 4 male doctors), but I'm good with all of the guys. I have an overall preference for female doctors- particularly with OBY/GNs- because they usually know better what things feel like, but with this practice I have found EVERYONE to be really fantastic! Great bedside manners, very gentle, pretty go-with-the-flow people :) And the guy who I met with today is from California (yay! hehe) and he also is very active with the blood cord donation council at Fairfax Hospital- which I think is pretty cool.

Anyways, because it was a male doctor, the female nurse stayed in during the internal exam (as did my husband). To start with, we listed to the heart (good), he measured my uterus and then felt around to guess about how big he thinks Baby H is. His guess what that she is around 7-7.5 pounds NOW and so maybe 8 pounds by next week/delivery. I actually was not scared by this- I think I'm so big I was almost hoping she WOULDN'T be 6 pounds because that basically would be I'm that much heavier- lol. Just kidding :) But, I am rather pleased by her weight as it doesn't seem TOO big and certainly not small. We'll see how she is when she is born.

So, he then started the intern, which was really just him feeling around with his fingers. I didn't find it that uncomfortable and he said 'ok, a bunch of pressure,' but I really didn't feel too much. Of course, I usually don't have problems with my yearly exams, so maybe that makes a difference. Anyways, he felt in and... I'm starting to thin and I'm not dilated at all!

I'm actually not as disappointed by this as I thought I'd be. I think if it was that way last week, when I was getting so many harder contractions and back pain and all that stuff, I would have been disappointed, but I haven't been feeling that way this week. So, I haven't been feeling like I would have anything 'going on' down there. I think it's weird that I felt so much stuff pretty much for the few weeks BEFORE this week, but ah well. :) (don't get me wrong, I'm sore and tired and all that, but the back aches and really hard pre-contractions or whatever kinda' slowed down)

So, I'm still just waiting! My mom is planning to fly out Feb 12 which should still work fine. If nothing is going on by my due date of Feb 16, they are going to wait until the week of Feb 22 or even Mar 1-3 to induce me. So, no matter what- I will have a baby soon! :)

Side note- as you can sort of see in my photo... I now have stretch marks on my belly :( I went until about week 36 I think with a clear belly (ok, 1-2 marks after week 28) and then it just exploded! So, I now have stretch marks on my tights/butt (those I got early on), my breasts (not too bad, whew!) and my belly (grrr). And this week my belly button went from really shallow to..... ok- I don't think it's an 'outie,' but it's not an innie. It's just kinda' not there anymore... lol

Week 38: the waiting game and aches and pains

Ok- I just started week 38, but I'm sure this will continue :) For the past 2 days, I have gotten a bunch of unhappiness! :( As in, my lower back just aches and it won't go away! How not cool is that? I can't figure a way to get more comfortable and so I move between leaning back and sitting forward in my chair. Rocking side to side sometimes helps to.

Before, if I got back pain, if I moved or rocked, it would ease up and go away. Makes me think this is ALL baby mood related :) Now, I think that she is just so low that she is probably uncomfortable all the time and making me the same!

It's funny because every day she seems to go lower and lower. My belly looks a bit like she has also slide forward even more - like my belly is now almost 'folding' over my pelvic bone (does that make sense?). I also am getting stronger and more consistent Braxton Hick contractions. Those aren't really uncomfortable - just the very strong tightening of my stomach. I have been feeling those probably since week... 30? 32? but now they will come in groups. Kinda' fun actually because it makes me think things are moving along as they should (like I said, they don't hurt). I notice them more because they do happen more often, feel even tighter than before and sometimes afterwards like I just did a bunch of sit ups! :)

The thing that has been driving me nuts is this whole 'waiting game.' I mean, we just don't know when she will come. I'm in that zone where they won't stop labor if it starts - she is now full term! Yay! So, we are all set at home (well, I need to do some more laundry in my room and get some things out of the guest room for my mom and sister, but basically all set), but what is driving me nuts is my work.

As I have been writing on Twitter, my boss is uber supportive and is letting me work from home - THANK GOODNESS! I seriously don't know how I would do if I had to go into work these days, the way I'm feeling! Anyways, I had pretty much finished up a bunch of stuff last week and now am working on 'projects' at home (which, are basically stuff my boss and I have been putting off and now I have an excuse to do only them- blah). The weird thing to me is how to keep working, when I could in theory go into labor any day! It's just so odd and makes me feel like at some point I should just stop working... of course, then I have to use my vacation and I want to save that up because I need to use 15 days before my short-term disability starts and then I want some left over in case I want to stay home longer after that is up!

How has anyone else handled this? I think I'm going to start sending him what I have done each day; in case something happens and I go into labor... I want to make sure he gets the work! It's just so odd to me to be in this neither here, nor there situation...

Otherwise - ONLY 3 WEEKS LEFT!!! (in theory)

... I feel like she will come sooner, although I also figure every first-time mom feels that way, lol.

Week 37: Doctor's Visit

I have now moved on to weekly doctor's visits! This past one was pretty much the same old, same old, with the addition of the Group B Strep Test. I had heard about that test and some people find it unpleasant, but I didn't have any discomfort. I had to take off my pants and she just swabbed by v*gina and an*s - pretty easy and not invasive at all.

I was back to being with one of the two females doctors in the group and I decided that while she is nice, she just is not quite as talkative as the others. And I really wanted to just hear more. Even though I don't really have questions and there is not much to say that I haven't really read; I kinda' just want to hear everything from her as the doctor. So, I left and was actually a bit depressed :( Not nice...

I guess what I really wanted to hear was some sort of guess about the size of the baby, when I might go into labor - that sort of thing. I understand them not wanting to say anything, but I won't hold them to it- honest! hehe Everyone around me is saying that I'm pretty big and they think since I dropped about 2 weeks ago that I will go into labor early, although I'm not counting on that either. I just think it would be almost comforting to hear something; even if it's wrong.

Ah well. Same old, same old. It's the waiting game now...

Week 36: Nesting & then exaustion

Yay! I'm in week 36 of my pregnancy and my baby is the size of... a melon!!! :)





It's funny because everyone thinks that I am pretty much ready to give birth now... makes me feel like I should give birth early! hehe





Anyways, this past week has been interesting as I totally went through 'nesting' and am now back to exhaustion.





So, it has been interesting to hear different people talk about 'nesting.' It was mostly annoying because if I did anything related to cleaning, I would hear "oh, you're nesting!" Because, putting my own trash away is not something I normally do...? Anyways, over the weekend, I feel like I went through what I more traditionally hear about when I hear of 'nesting.' That is, all of a sudden I really did have this burst of energy specifically aimed at cleaning up my house! No, it's not sterile now or anything, but the energy I felt was so nice and refreshing and it was interesting how I was determined to not have the dishes/laundry/mail pile up! :) I mostly enjoyed the energy part...

Then, after 3 days of this energy, I hit exhaustion again :( I have been Sooooooo tired! I feel so useless at work because I am tired and apparently can't talk that great. I have talked with someone about a project and then had to go back with follow-up questions because I just couldn't remember what we JUST said!! It's amazing and I'm soooo lucky my boss is an awesome person, because I feel like a horrible employee right now. I mean - I HAVE A MONTH LEFT UNTIL MY DUE DATE!!!

Again, due to my amazing boss, I get to now work part at home and part in the office. It's kinda' funny because I have pretty much gotten done everything that I wanted to before I went on leave and had to ask my boss the other day for projects because... I don't want to START anything at this point! It's such an odd situation to be in. I don't like it, but it is what it is...

I feel like baby H will be born in the next 2 weeks, but I have a feeling everyone feels that way at the end like this. I don't have any internal exams until the last week of January, so I have no idea if things are 'moving.' Of course, it sounds like even if they ARE, it doesn't necessarily mean that labor is coming any sooner... humph. Ah well; things are what they are! :) Wish me luck in my final month!

After about 3 days of that, I have gone back to exaustion. Part of that can be due to the fact that I'm at work and

Week 35: Aches and Pregnancy questions

So, to go off my last posting; my hips are starting to feel very disconnected... I know, that is a good thing, but it's kinda' annoying until I give birth! hehehe


It was funny because I go between being pretty tire and very awake and active. Saturday, I was pretty tired, but Sunday I was very active and cleaning a whole bunch. I am proud of myself - I have kept the house pretty clean! I think I can now define what I am doing as "nesting." I usually am really not this good about cleaning! :)


So, I love looking at other blogs and copying their stuff ;) I saw on this blog a list of Pregnancy questions and thought I'd give it a try...



How did you find out you were pregnant?
Home Pregnancy Test. I did have a feeling though by that time - I was all of a sudden eating all this cheese! (late at night too!)

What kind of Pregnancy test did you take?
Rite Aid, First Response, Digital Blue (or something like that)

How many?
I believe 4 at first, then I was taking a test every week probably until about week 6-7 (until I saw the doctor)

What were your 1st symptoms?
Craving cheese... late at night.

Who did you tell first?
My husband

Who was with you when you found out?
By myself- I took the test and then waited another day and took another test (just to be sure) and THEN told my husband (I think it was only 2 days; I was probably planning to wait more, but didn't happen)

My 1st reaction:
I suppose disbelief. We weren't really trying or not trying and I didn't think it would happen so fast. But, excited. (I finally put the test to good use... you know, you test a bunch when it COULD happen!)

Was your baby planned?
Pretty much

When was the baby conceived?
I have no idea - seems like end of May...? I assume in our room ;)

How far were you when you found out?
Apparently only 4 weeks.

How did your parents react?
Very excited!

My baby

Due Date: February 16, 2010

Do you know the sex? Girl

Any names? Yep; we knew the name going in. My husband is from Jordan and so they all pretty much have the baby names down by the time they are 13-14 years old. :) hehehe It's kinda' an interesting cultural thing- babies and families are HUGE in the Middle East (seriously, you haven't seen family connections like with someone from the Middle East!). He feels bad because he know it looks like I don't have a choice, but I didn't have any names in mind and I like his names! :) For this blog, it's Baby H... you only get the first initial ;P The middle name is my husband's first name (again, cultural thing- you always know EXACTLY what family you are in - the last name = same family, the middle name helps you see what part because going off the last name you can literally have tens of thousands of 'family')

Any Ultrasounds? 1st appointment (7-8 weeks); 1st trimester screening- can't remember what week that was; 19 weeks... that's it! Would love more :(

Have you heard the heart beat? Yep! Every appointment! Yay! Very comforting, especially in the later part of pregnancy.

Who do you think it will look like? Combination - both of our families have strong genes. I think she'll look at bit more like husband F

Will the baby have siblings? Nope

Have you felt the baby move? Yep - was 'pops' for such a long time and now squirms and stuff. Never really that uncomfortable - yay! :)

Miscellaneous

Did you have morning sickness? Not really

Did you have any cravings? Not really. Haven't really liked rice that much, but nothing extreme. First trimester, I did have a big aversion to drinking anything but water.

Did you have any mood swings? Not really; maybe a bit moody at times - particularly if tired.

Are you a high risk pregnancy? Nope.

Any complications? Nope.

Formula or Breastfeeding? Planning on breastfeeding and we'll see how that goes!

Have you bought anything for the baby yet? Yep.; she pretty much has everything she needs... We were lucky that family and friends gave us TONS of hand-me-downs!

When did you start to show? Hmmm, pretty early on - I'll have to check my pictures again. I was wearing maternity pants by 9 weeks, I think.

How long could you wear your regular clothes? Hehehe - not very long. I'm ALLL about comfort! And I'm glad- maternity pants are the BEST!!!

Will you keep the baby’s clothes? Until we're done with kids, sure! The, probably just a few things.

Home or Hospital? Hospital. Going to the one farther away per doctor preference, but may change with later births. :)

Natural or Medicated birth? We'll see how it feels. I'm guessing that the internal pain really hurts, but I'm curious to see how bad. :) I figure if I'm in labor over 5 hours, I'll want something to help so I can rest, as needed. If I do get medication, I plan to have them taper it off so that I can feel when it get time to push. People always say that otherwise you can't really push that effectively because you can't feel when and how things are going... This is pending I don't have a c-section, of course. I'm thinking my baby may be big (I'M big!)

Who will be in the delivery room with you? Hopefully my mom and/or sister. They are flying cross-country though, so it really will be iffy if they make it! Otherwise, just support from the nurses, I guess. I don't have any friends that I would really want there and I'm not that big into having my husband there either (I think he would make me tense and I know he won't want to see me in any pain).

Do you think you will need a C-section? I hope not, but I may because I think baby H is going to be pretty big! :) hehehe I suppose it wouldn't be so bad besides the stitches and stuff afterwards. I mean, does you v-gina still get stretched? ;)

Will you cry when you hold the baby for the 1st time? Although I'm not one to cry, I'm willing to bet I will. I think I'll be tired and just really emotional.

What’s the 1st thing you might say to the baby? Probably a prayer

Will you let anyone video tape the birth? NO!

Are you excited? Yep! A whole new life! :)

Who will help you with the baby after the birth? My mom will stay with us for about 2 weeks and my sister about 10 days. Then, about 3 months in, my mom-in law will stay with us about 2-3 months (she's coming in from Jordan when I go back to work - thank goodness for family!)

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant? Umm, I'm not sure. It's all pretty interesting! I enjoy feeling the baby, now that the movements are a lot stronger.

What is the worst thing about being pregnant? Not that thrilled with the weight gain and swollen everything, but ah well!

What’s one thing you miss doing since being pregnant? Right now? Bending over, hehe

Any days you wish you were not pregnant? Eh...

Are you ready for a baby? As much as I can be!

Do you have insurance? Yes, thank goodness

How many kids do you want? 4

Do you talk to the baby? Yep - try to get in both English and Arabic (of course, my Arabic is so basic - I feel bad for her already to have to hear me talk. It should be better when there is more people she can listen to!)

Do you still feel attractive? Yep- my husband is AWESOME! (but, now I'm so big, we have pretty much given up on sex... :( )

Have you had your baby shower yet? Had one in Nov at 27 weeks and one this weekend (at 35 weeks)

Do you like kids? Yep - always babysat and coached them...

How far along are you now? 35 weeks and counting…

Week 35: Doctors Appointment

I had another doctor's appointment today; I am 34 weeks down (in my 35 week, hehe) and have another appointment in 2 weeks, then start every week until Baby H is born!!!

Unfortunately, my husband was not able to come with me this time. This is the first appointment he hasn't been able to make :( Ah, well.

For the most part, it was the same old, same old: Blood pressure (good), check heartbeat (good 130 a minute I think), measure uterus, and check where baby is. Baby H is head down now and she pointed out where her backside was (to the left, which baby H seems to like).

She asked if we got a Ped doctor yet - I said yes, although I haven't actually filled the paperwork; we have a visit on Jan 18 where we get a tour of the office and ask questions. Note: What questions should you ask? They had a pretty good webpage and I guess I am going more to get a feel of their office and doctors...

She asked if we did a birth class; I said no, what did she think? She is very ok (as was the other doctor last time who asked this) with this -she said that she finds it more helpful for the dad's who don't read as much stuff as us moms :) To which, I brought up that we were NOT planning to have my husband in the room during delivery. She did ask about that - basically, she said that her and her husband (of course her husband is also a doctor) really found it very important to have him there. She said that my husband can be in the room, but doesn't have to see anything- just hear what's going on and hold the baby once it comes out. She was also concerned about me having a support partner there; I said that my mom and sister were going to try to time it right to be there, although I do know there is a pretty good chance that no one will be there (my mom is in CA and my sister is in Washington State - I'm in Virginia). Anyways, I'm not that concerned about having people I know be there for support - I think that may actually make me more tense, really... I brought it up with my husband again and said that he wouldn't be able to hang out in the hall, but would have to be in the downstairs waiting room and he was still ok with that. I'm ok with that too; It may be nice to have him there so that he could hear Baby H's first cry, however if I'm in pain, I know that he will be VERY worried and that could possibly be rather disruptive to the labor process...

Oh; I was actually the first person to say that I didn't want him there - I don't think the whole process is that 'pretty' and, again, if I'm in pain I know that my husband will be very concerned. :) This is how we are doing it; I know that other people wouldn't change it for anything! If we decide that we would like it differently, we'll keep that in mind next time :)

What else...? Oh - I have gained a bunch of weight this pregnancy and am very swollen; My doctor walks in and exclaims "You are all cheeks!" She went on to say that she was that way in her pregnancy (her baby is 18 months) and that one of her first deliveries when she joined the practice was on this women who ended up needing a c-section because she wasn't progressing. She went in to do that and she said the women was rather large... 6 weeks later, she was to see that women again for the post-delivery check-up and she walked into the room and thought that she had the wrong room, so apologized and walked out. She asked the nurses if they changed the rooms and they said, no. She walked back in and the women was like "yep, this is how I REALLY look." hehe My doctor said that it was like going from Oprah to Halle Berry! :)

Hopefully, I'll be like that. Ok - I'm been pretty mute on this, but I have gained 65 pounds so far this pregnancy. I still have 5-6 weeks to go! I averaged about 10 pounds a month; I changed my diet and stuff, but nothing really changed... :( Ah well. I know I have to work hard after I give birth and I CERTAINLY plan to breastfeed to help with this! hehehe

Week 35: My checklist of things to do before baby arrives

As so many people have been inspired (me from hisboyscanswim.com), here is my Checklist of Things I still need to do before baby arrives. Thankfully I just found my pediatrician and sent off my hospital pre-registration! :)



Here’s my list:

1. Send thanks you notes from shower in November (and for shower next weekend)
2. Buy Nursing tanks
3. Set up appointment to get car seat installed in car (http://www.seatcheck.org/)
4. Pack hospital bag for me and husband
5. Register for CPR class ? (I took a class, but it's been over 10 years, so I probably need a new one)
6. List of people to call after baby is born
7. Print out address labels for baby notifications
8. Buy bottle nipples (???)
9. Buy Nursing bras
10. Buy petroleum jelly
11. Buy infant Tylenol
12. Buy saline drops.

Post Baby H
1. Get photo announcement cards from Costco
2. Mail out said photo cards
3. Call insurance with birth info
4. Call to update my info for short-term disability benefits

Thankfully, I have much of the other stuff done that I have seen on other people's lists - yay! :) Anything else, you would recommend I do/get?

Week 34: Complaints ;)

So, if you are following me on Twitter, you have noticed my complaints. ;) I actually kinda' use twitter to keep track of what I am feeling so that I can write about it later here. Here are some things I have been writing on Twitter:

"So, mostly @ night & first thing in morning,I have pelvic pressure and now this: Stinging in my vag**a area- not constant; just quick stings"

"Ugh, awake w/heartburn. Apparently I'm meant to get a max of 4 hrs of sleep at a time for the rest of this pregnancy! "

"I keep wanting to walk around and then it's SO uncomfortable :( And it makes me feel super fat ... All sorts of unhappiness tonight "

"I feel like I'm in the first trimester again with all this dairy I want! "

So, my new and ongoing things are: 1. Not able to sleep as much, and 2. Heartburn.

1. I can't seem to sleep more than 4 hours at a time. I actually have a SUPER hard time falling asleep at night and then wake up early. Which always annoys me and before I was able to get back to sleep right away, but now I'm up for between 1/2 hour and hour (and usually do go pee). The good news is that I don't feel tired after that, which I normal would be.

With all this lack of sleep, I DO REALLY hope that when I go into labor it is either morning-afternoon. If it's at night, I would probably be tired and sore from the day and therefore MUCH more aware of any labor pains. If it's earlier, I would probably be happier and able to handle pain better. At least, that's my theory... ;)

2. Heartburn. Ok - this is new for me. I don't really get heartburn and I don't really get acid reflux (are they the same?). For the last week or so, I find that I get the burning sensation, kinda' like my food is going back up. The annoying this is that it always tastes the same! lol - before if I had any sort of regurgitation, it would taste a bit like what I ate. This is all the same! At first, it seemed to be worst laying down; now I think it's worst if I'm sitting up a bit. Overall, it's not so bad.

Other Updates

My mom came from CA for the week between X-mas and New Years, which was very nice. She certainly is more active than my husband and I on a normal day and so I walked around a TON more than normal. :) But, we also cleaned house really well and got the baby room painted and all set up! Yay! It's very cute. The baby clothes for months 0-6 was also washed and put away. I'm all set for Baby H to come out now!

This past weekend I packed the baby bag for the hospital. I need to still pack my bag. Any 'must haves' that you recommend?

Body Updates

Looking back at my photos, I feel like I was now so skinny then and so big now! Ok, not skinny, but my belly is so much bigger now! And still growing! I'm a bit sad, I finally started to get some stretch marks on the underside of my belly. Not too bad, but I was happy that I didn't get them until week 33.

My breasts have been leaking, which is interesting. Usually the right breast gives me a small dot of wetness on my nightshirt. The left one not so much, although the other night I had a wet spot that was about the size of a half dollar! hehe

Baby kicks: She is very active now - today she has been jumping all around! It is certainly mostly movements; she never really seemed to be into the kicks as much as just moving and jumping around. I sleep mostly on my left side and she will slide over there at night and then move back to the right during the day. Right now, she's just stretching all around.

Location: I'm not sure if she has 'dropped' or not - she has been rather low the entire time! I think at times she does, but then she seems to move back up. I have noticed in the last few days that there is more pressure on my pelvic area and I have to pee more often, but also that I get these brief stinging sensations. I don't sting when I pee, just these quick little stings at times. The pressure and stings seems to be mostly in the morning and at night, and these are when Baby H seems to be the lowest. I'll have to ask the doctor about this.

I see the doctor this Wednesday - yay!!! They don't do much when I go in besides listen to the heartbeat and measure me; I kinda' want them to check to see how things are 'down there' - ie, is anything changing or still all closed up? We are anxious to meet Baby H!!! Less than 6 weeks to go!

Weeks 23-31

Soooo.... I haven't written for about the last 2 1/2 months. I know, I know - I'm a bad blogger. I hate to say this, but I only blog while at work and work has been busy! :) I work at a university and so we run in ups and downs during the year. Thankfully, the students are now on winter break which means I have a bit more time to relax - THANK GOODNESS! My pregnancy was timed good like that ;) Bad for my boss because I'll be out this spring during what is usually our MOST busy time, but I'm glad to have this 'breather' as I go into my 3rd Trimester.

As you have noticed, I also have been twittering only off and on. I try to tweet anything I notice that I would want to write about later and... there really wasn't much to write about in between around week 23-27! It was interesting because there just wasn't all that much to say! I was continuing to get big, but nothing really different in feeling from before. Or rather...

... I gained lots of weight
... My feet started to swell a bit (although it went down when I flew to CA; maybe because I was closer to sea level?)
... The baby kicks got stronger and I got to get to know her pattern

... Otherwise, nothing else too much!

Now, after week 28 (when I came back from CA), things DID start to change again - right on cue for going into the 3rd Trimester. I can't recall everything week by week (my mental recall has gone downhill as I got more pregnant! Not good for me, as most things are in my head...), but here is what is going on now:

*Feet/ankles swelling
*MUCH more movement - it freaks me out when she doesn't move so much... this Sunday she seemed quiet and often when I'm busy at work I wasn't noticing it, but all this week (Mon-Wed) she has been very active and consistently every hour there is a period of movement. It's getting to be less 'kicks' and more 'movements.' It changed over at the start of this week to the movements and part of the reason I felt I didn't feel her this weekend was that I was more feeling her on my internal organs and not really seeing the pops from movement outside. Now, I get more of both.
NOTE: The movement is probably the most interesting thing at this point because it's what I notice the most and is so obvious... The other physical stuff with me is just stronger feelings of what I was getting before :)
*Back aches - I've been having this since early 2nd trimester, although starting around Week 25-26 or so my butt stopped hurting - yay! It also seems to bother me less, but I may just be getting used to it; it's GREAT if DH F rubs my back a bit
*Sex - not really comfortable in many positions now - poor DH! We usually have sex at least once a week, but went recently a whole 2 weeks (I think) without it! I think it's going to be less here on out because I just feel big and it's hard to get in a good position...
*Pregnancy Brain: I'm VERY distracted at work and in general and feel sometimes like I probably don't talk properly and trail off and can't focus so well. Again, I'm so lucky that the semester is over and I'm also SUPER lucky my boss is awesome and understanding with everything.

Hmmm, if I think of anything else, I will write.

So, I now see my doctor every two weeks, which I'm very glad because I just start getting anxious about things. Although now that I feel baby H more often, I am more relaxed. Oh! The other day I was just upset for an entire day (no reason - just cranky) and she totally responded by kicking the heck out of me all day! Kinda' funny.
Anyways, I'm glad to see the doctor every two weeks because it's just nice to hear the heartbeat. I don't get any more ultrasounds - the last I had was at 20 weeks (to which I think I started a blog about and didn't finish - I'll have to look back at that) and it's sad that I don't get any more unless they want to check something. I mean, I feel her, but seeing is always something COMPLETELY different. Ah well. So, when I go, I just get the basic measuring of my uterus, weight check, urine check, blood pressure check, questions...?

BUT - the last appointment I had (Dec 10 at 30 weeks), they gave me a goodies bag of stuff!!!! Yay! I love goodies! It was free samples of some magazines and formula and then the hospital pre-registration and stuff. PLUS, I found out that while my doctors usually deliver at iNOVA Fairfax, if they don't have anyone else they are already 'working on' (my words, not theirs), I could deliver at iNOVA Fair Oaks!!! Everyone says that Fairfax is better for most things, but Fair Oaks is like 10 min away from my home, compared with at least 30 min to Fairfax! :)

Finally - I get TONS of spam about blood cord banking; which seems to be fine if you have a family history of illness. For the most part, I have been viewing them as spam. But, my doctor brought it up last time and (I don't know WHY I didn't think of this) YOU CAN DONATE your baby's cord! Your hospital must be a participants in the campaign, but I am a big believer in donations, when possible! More more information, go to:
http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html
I'm sure there are other links out there, or ask your doctor or hospital.