Crazy Side Effects of Pregnancy

I had my 28-week appointment yesterday (but just hit 29 weeks...Fridays seem to work best with our schedule). I've packed on 23 pounds so far. I also got stuck with two needles--one for my glucose test an hour after I drank my orange soda/syrup and one for my RhoGAM (since I'm A-). My time with the OB was still lacking at best. She doesn't seem very personable. If I hadn't already switched doctors half-way through this pregnancy and I wasn't 11 weeks away from D-day, I'd consider doctor shopping (again). I was spoiled with my first pregnancy in Okinawa. "You're not going to have what you had with Ann," Jason reminds me. It's certainly nice having your best friend as your OB-GYN. I remember one night when she called me up at home, "I want to see your baby--come on in tomorrow so we can peek!" Hmmmm....definitely isn't working that way this time around! Ann, if you're out there reading this, expect more phone calls over the next few weeks! :)

On to my crazy pregnancy side-effects:

1) HYPERCOLOR BELLY. Do you remember those Generra Hypercolor T-shirts from the late 80s? That's what my belly looks like. There's a constant, subtle red hue to it at all times. When I place my palms on my belly, they leave white palm prints. I'll try to get a photo. I had hypercolor belly with Nate, too. Great party trick--except I've noticed that many people have no desire to see the naked skin of a pregnant woman's belly. Little bumps can be cute under a shirt, I guess; but, please, no skin. (Here, finally a photo at 36 weeks:)

2) MYSTERIOUS BELLYBAND RASH. I woke up last week with a rash around the belly band. Just tiny red bumps around the protruding parts of my abdomen. It didn't itch any more than my pregnant belly normally itches. It lasted about 4 days, then disappeared as quietly as it arrived.

3) BEAUTIFUL FINGER NAILS (if you catch them at the right time). My finger nails grow super fast, but break easily (perhaps because it's so dry). But when they break, I'm not too upset because they grow so fast--do you see the cycle?

4) SNORING. Between this pregnancy rhinitis (swollen nasal membranes causing congestion) and "cedar fever" (I think my allergies are the worst they've ever been here in San Antonio), I haven't smelled in months. This congestion, fatigue, and perhaps little extra weight has led to a bad case of snoring. It can be so bad that Jason, a light sleeper, has gotten in the habit of sleeping in the guest room on nights I scare the Richter scale. That doesn't bother me, he certainly needs rest for his surgery rotation; but when it's our newborn Baby Girl waking us up in the middle of the night, I certainly hope he realizes it takes TWO to tango! I've tried the Breathe Right Strips, but can't keep them on my nose. I think I pick them off at night.

5) MOMMY METRONOME. That's what I like to call Baby Girl's hiccups. She gets them quite frequently. It's like having a built-in tempo keeper...if I ran marathons or played in a garage band this nuance could perhaps be useful.

I think that about covers the fun side effects of incubating a baby. The Braxton-Hicks contractions (practice for the big day) have subsided--I still get one or two a day, but nothing like the dozens or so I was getting upon our return from Christmas travels. I now make it a point to just sit, put my feet up and drink some peppermint tea throughout the day. I was having some moderate cramping earlier in the week, too. Both times, it happened at around 6:00 pm, after a full day on my feet. My self-treatment was to lie down, apply a heating pad to my lower pelvis and drink some water. The cramps went away after an hour or so. Dr. didn't seem too concerned about it. Baby Girl has also been doing quite an in utero performance these past few days--tumbling, twisting and thrusting in every direction. Maybe I'll sign her up for gymnastics NOW!

I've been having fun wearing the few pieces of "cold weather" maternity clothes that I had hovering in my closet--black cords, light sweaters, thick canvas pants, etc. Julie and Jill sent me home from Minnesota with a few borrowed maternity pieces, so I've had fun putting them in my fashion rotation. When we returned to San Antonio the first week in January, temps were already back in the upper 70s. I was afraid I'd missed my opportunity--that "winter" was gone. I'm not saying I love the current weather--it's mid-to-upper-30s and raining--but I do get to bundle up. Pros & cons.

I've graduated to OB appointments every-two-weeks. Hopefully more frequent appointments will lead to more frequent updates. We'll see. But, until then, I must fold the family laundry--a pregnant lady's work is never done! ;)