Ankles? What ankles?

Yep, the swelling is still here. I think it's better today though. Yesterday we were installing crown moulding, which meant being on my feet a lot, so all the gains from Saturday were lost. But today is getting better. I was getting a bit stressed because severe swelling can be a symptom of pre-eclampsia. And of course, I have no idea what 'normal' swelling is, so I didn't know if mine was outside the normal realm.

I shouldn't have worried. I had a midwife appointment this morning, and my blood pressure is great and there is no protien in my urine (real symptoms of pre-eclampsia). I was stressed for nothing. However, my weight gain was ridiculous for only 2.5 weeks. I'm sure more than half of it was the water sloshing around in my lower legs though. The midwife said to swim and to keep drinking lots of water. I'll go to the pool tonight and see if that helps.

Otherwise, everything is great. Still measuring perfectly, heart beat, blood pressure - all great. I have another appointment in two weeks, and then I start going in every week. That means we're getting close!

Home at last

We made it home last night by 3 am. That's right. 3. Our flight was scheduled to land in Austin at 8:15 pm, but didn't land until 2:20 am.

I have no feet. Just swollen lumps with toes on the end.

33 weeks

33 weeks down, 5-9 to go. It's true what Sheryl said in comments below - this is the part of the pregnancy where I might start to go crazy. Moving slowly is hard for me; I'm not used to it at all. At the same time, I'm not feeling like moving terribly quickly.

The pulled muscle or ligament from the other day seems to have healed. I'll definitely try to avoid that again - it really hurt. Otherwise, symptoms are the same. Heartburn, some foot swelling. A new thing is that now she is out past my lower rib, and sometimes if I move a certain way, or if she moves a certain way, she catches on the rib. Feels gross, and I can't imagine it feels good to her either.

I'm starting to really look forward to meeting her. She is seeming more and more like a person to me. I did freak out last week when I realized that she would be sent home with us only 6-8 hrs after she arrives, but I'm also looking forward to getting to know her.

This week:
- Amniotic fluid is at its highest level during the pregnancy.
- Her head size has increased 3/8ths of an inch due to rapid brain growth.
- Neurons and synapses are developing in huge numbers.
- While most of her bones are hardening, her skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. The bones will be able to move slightly to make birthing easier.
- She takes intermittent deep breaths -- of water. This breathing exercises muscles and encourages her lung cells to produce more surfactant (a protein essential for healthy lung development).
- She is now 17.2 inches (43.7cm) long and weighs 4.23 pounds (1918gm)

(Photo later when we get back to a connection that allows uploads)

More from Telluride

I'm having a very lazy day today. I went for a hike up on the ski hill yesterday, and I must have pulled a ligament or muscle, because I've had some sharp pains in my lower right belly since late afternoon yesterday. I called the midwives this morning, and they said it definitely sounded like I pulled something. She told me to take it easy today, and that it's time to start moving slowly and carefully now that we're really into the loosening stage. It's really easy to get injured now, as I've learned.

It's not a bad day to be lazy. There is thunder rumbling all over the valley, although it hasn't rained much yet. The bathtub at our hotel is great, so I'm going to go have a bath.

I did take some pictures yesterday, but the connection here is too slow to try to upload them to blogger.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Telluride, so I'm hoping I'm feeling a bit better so I can go for a (slow, easy) hike.

Blogging from Telluride

Greetings from Telluride, Colorado. We are here all week because Graeme has a conference. Life is so hard, I know. We arrived yesterday and went walking around town and went up the gondola. It was raining on us though, so we cut the excursion a bit short and returned to the hotel. This morning we went for a hike that took us up to a waterfall just outside of town. It was about 1000' of elevation gain in 2 miles. Totally manageable, but my ever loosening foot joints are a bit complainy now.

Tomorrow Graeme has to go off to the conference, so I'll be on my own. I have another hike planned, probably up on the ski hill. Once I'm a bit more used to the elevation, I have grander plans for longer, more strenuous hikes. And tomorrow I'll take the camera. Totally forgot today.

(Did that picture on the last post scare everyone off? I expected comments, but alas, none.)

32 weeks

32 weeks. I'm feeling really good, and I'm enjoying being pregnant. She continues to be really active and wiggly, and I continue to have occasional heartburn. Otherwise, not much to report. Instead this week, a real, true belly shot. Unfortunately, I had to do it with the flash off so it's not totally in focus. I'll get Graeme to take some for next week.



This week:
- She is up to 3.75 pounds (1702gm) now and is 16.7 inches (42.4cm) long.
- All five senses are working.
- Toenails are completely formed.
- Hair on your infant's head continues to grow in.
- Brain scans have shown that babies have periods of dream sleep (REM) starting around the eight month.

Cottage pictures - first week

Our first week in Ontario was spent at Graeme's cottage on Lake Roseau. I didn't take very many pictures, unfortunately. All the pictures that I did take were during one of our many boat rides. Jonathan, Graeme's brother, built a launch for their dad. It's a cruising boat powered by an electric motor, which makes for a nice quiet ride. We went for a boat ride most evenings and it was very lovely. We even took the boat in for ice cream one evening, and another day (when Karen and the kids were visiting) we went and did errands by boat.

Graeme's dad, Mark:


Graeme, Erika and I:


Graeme and his mom, Jannie:

Yay for craigslist

Today I got a Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump (usually about $250-$300 new) for $50. And I got our crib way back when for $40. Both on Craigslist. Oh, and I got a batch of cloth diapers (FuzziBunz to be specific) as well. Hooray to Freecycle also, where I've gotten a boppy pillow and a change pad - both free of course.

Shower at the cottage

Actually, we don't have a shower at the cottage, nor a bathtub. If you want to get clean, you have to go in the lake or do the sponge bath thing in the sink. And it was a bit chilly, so to be honest, I wasn't very clean that week. But I wasn't referring to that. I was referring to a baby shower that Karen organized for us.

It was great fun, and we had a good turn out. Graeme's mom's side of the family was the best represented, with all of the aunties being there. The food was great, the bocce was competitive and we got great gifts! Thanks to everyone who came. It was a really good day. And huge thanks to Karen for organizing it.

The food:


The aunties playing bocce:


The competitive bocce game:


Amazingly, after rain all morning, we had dry weather while everyone was there except for a few light sprinkles while opening gifts. Even so, people automatically are drawn to the porch:

31 weeks

Wow, time is passing quickly now. Most babies arrive between 38 and 42 weeks, which mean we have between 7 and 11 weeks left. Seven weeks. That doesn't sound like very long.

I had a good midwife appointment today. As expected, I gained WAY more than normal in the last month, but she wasn't concerned. It was because of all the extra sweets and no exercise that comes with going on vacation. Now that I'm back, I'm already doing better in both the nutrition and the exercise departments. Everything else was great. She's measuring right on track, head down and feet somewhere near my liver. A lot of the aches and pain of a few weeks ago seemed to disappear at the cottage. So I guess they weren't just pregnancy symptoms - they were pregnancy plus work stress symptoms.

I'm done work! Today is my second day of living the life of leisure. Yesterday was unpacking, grocery shopping, catching up day. Today I went to the midwife and the chiropractor and also took Westley for a hike and a swim. I could get used to this!

Development this week:
- The rate of physical growth slows down just a bit, but even though she doesn't get much longer, she will gain a lot of weight the rest of the pregnancy.
- Fat continues accumulating. This layer of fat turns her skin from red to the rosy pink she will have as a newborn.
- Calcium, phosphorus and iron are being stored and bones are growing and hardening.
- She is approximately 16.2 inches (41.1cm) long and weighs 3.3 pounds (1502gm)
- The brain enters another period of rapid growth, producing hundreds of billions of new nerve cells.
- Lungs are the only major organ left to complete development.

(No belly pictures for awhile. We are camera-less until we buy a new one. We'll try to do that very soon.)