62 Days Left... But Who's Counting?

I created a profile at The Bump dot Com, which is basically like The Knot, but for preggers peeps and not those getting married. I check that site fairly regularly, because they have good checklists for all things baby, and most of you probably know me well enough to know that I live by checklists. Plus, there's something very satisfying about crossing off something on a "to do" list, or looking back over completed tasks... maybe that's just me (sheepish grin). Anyway, my greeting this morning was, "Hi Nicole! You're on Week 31! Just 62 days left." Holy crap! 62 days left until my due date!!! I thought to myself, "This just cannot be possible - I'm not due until the spring, and there's still snow outside, meaning that it's still winter." But then I started counting, and sure enough, 62 days left until my due date of April 10.

I can't believe we're at this point - we received and have completed our hospital pre-registration. We've searched for (and have pretty much selected) a day care. Next step is to interview and select a pediatrician (which we'll be doing in the next week). We bought a rug and curtains for the nursery, and will be finishing up the decorating tomorrow. We do have other baby needs to buy, but we're holding off until we get a little closer to the due date to buy them. All in all, we're almost ready for Jackson to make his debut... in approximately 62 days. Just... wow.

After having a relatively smooth 28 weeks or so of pregnancy, the third trimester switched on with full force. I won't deny I've certainly been more uncomfortable or in pain in my lifetime, but I have never been this consistently uncomfortable, and the pain, while not the worst I've ever felt, is certainly more consistent.

A couple of weeks ago, I began having round ligament pain - your round ligaments connect your uterus to your pelvic area, and as the uterus expands with the baby's growth, the round ligaments also stretch to help bear the weight of the baby. I would notice the pain whenever I would bend forward to take my socks off, or to put on pants... it was like a bruised feeling in my lady-bits. At first, I'd feel the pain only when I'd bend over. Now, I feel it every time I stand up. At work, I need to make sure I get up and take a little walk every half-hour or so, otherwise it hurts something fierce to stand up. I'm also more fidgety in my sleep, and when I roll over from one side to the other, the pain is really bad. It also hurts in my upper abdominal muscles for some reason - like a pulling pain, and it's like a hurt-y, burn-y sensation that lasts for a good two to three seconds (doesn't sound like a long time? Count it out... one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand... longer than you thought, right??)

I'm 5'1" tall, and I'm short-waisted. My "bump" is a mountain now, and no wonder - this baby has nowhere to go but forward, as moving upward is not an option. However, Jax does not realize that, as the fetus of a stumpy woman, he gets a studio apartment uterus instead of a McMansion, and he has taken to squiggling about as if he has all the room in the world. He used to hang out low, and kick me in the bladder and cervix (a very weird feeling, I might add). Now, he likes to hang out high, making it difficult for me to take a deep breath. Also, whenever he hangs out up high, he's pressing against something that's right below my rib cage on the left side of my body, which results in a stabbing pain... I think he's kicking me or pressing against a part of my liver, or the stomach... I'm not 100% familiar with the internal anatomy, so I'm not entirely sure what he's pressing up against... but it hurts really badly when he does it.

I have fairly constant middle-back pain. Fortunately my lower back doesn't hurt much... in fact, the relatively constant pain I used to have in the area right above my pelvis has mostly disappeared, and the mis-aligned vertebra about 2" above my pelvis has miraculously migrated back into place. However, with the increased weight in the front pulling me forward, I have a fairly regular ache between my shoulder blades. I try to sit up straight whenever I notice myself leaning forward to forestall the ache, but usually I notice myself slouching due to the pain in my back, and by then it's too late. Jesse's been awesome about rubbing the area, but while it feels better while he's rubbing, it goes back to aching when he stops. What's extra frustrating is that, because of the fact that I have stumpy legs, when I sit on most chairs my back is not supported by the back of the chair because the seat of the chair is deeper than the length of my thighs. Even on our sofa at home, I have to prop my back up with several throw pillows.

I keep reminding myself that it's almost over... and while scary to think that it will all be over in about 62 days, it's also reassuring to have an end in sight to the discomfort of pregnancy. Of course, this will be replaced by the discomforts of taking care of a newborn... !!!