Thirty-Three Weeks

Today I am thirty-three weeks pregnant. I can hardly believe it. I feel it though. The last few days I have been feeling really big and awkward. I shaved my legs the other day, but fear it may be the last time for a while. Bending at the waist is just not comfortable anymore and I feel like when I try to do it, I cannot breathe. My mom gave me a pedicure yesterday...my feet really needed the attention. LOL! And I am trying to find some warm winter shoes that I can slip on because again, tying shoes and zipping boots is just not very possible these days.

Tomorrow I have my first non-stress test. Although it's causing me stress! I have to go to Labor and Delivery at the hospital. But the deal is they cannot schedule me an appointment. They have to fit me in when and where they can. So I have to call first thing in the morning and then they'll let me know if there's any time available to come in for the test. If not, I just have to call back later. Never mind that I do work a full-time job and am slammed with end-of-the-year deadlines and projects! Now that I am nearing the end of my pregnancy I can see the benefit of not working while pregnant or at least not working the last trimester...it's brutal! Art least I do have some flexible time at work, I cannot imagine attending to all these medical appointments and having a job with no flex time.

Other than that, the days seem to be flying by. I am into a routine now with the GD diet and testing, although I forgot to take my insulin one morning last week and nearly did it again yesterday. I was two blocks from work, remembered I had forgotten to take my morning dose and had to drive all the way home to do it. I was so mad at myself! Seems my brain is very distracted these days and my short term memory is shot. So post-it notes are my new best friend.

Libby seems to be getting bigger and more active too. My Braxton-Hicks contractions continue...but just a few a day. They don't hurt, but they can be distracting, especially when I am in a meeting at work! I am hoping she'll turn over and be face down the closer we get to her birthday. The last thing I want is a sunny-side up delivery with lots of back labor. OUCH! I have been doing pelvic rocking as well as "hanging my belly" for about 30 minutes a day using my pilates ball and hope that will encourage her to turn over and face down. Hopefully she'll make her move!

According to BabyCenter, here's what's happening this week:

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This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

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