thirty-six weeks

Thirty-six weeks, thirty-seven centimeters (my belly size). It's hard to breathe, but that's both because of the baby's size and position (although he/she has dropped some) and because of my stuffed up nose. Last night I had to wake myself up from two or three dreams because I knew--somehow--that I had stopped breathing (I have always been able to wake myself up from dreams, and am often able to control them to a degree. I don't know how. I just do.).

On Wednesday, the doctor said that the swelling in my feet and ankles are normal. As the baby grows bigger, it puts more strain on my circulatory system, and the feet often take the brunt of it. He said to lay on my side with my feet up as much as I can, or, since that is hard for me, to just be off my feet and have them elevated when possible. That I can do. The worry, he said, comes in when your legs and calves start to swell and edema sets in. A quick examination of my shins ruled that out for him. So far, so good! No bad signs yet in this pregnancy.

Our last (I think) ultrasound was this morning, and they are now estimating the baby to be about 7 lbs, 10 oz. It was hard drinking those three glasses of fluids and holding it for an hour since the baby's so big and pressing on my bladder constantly now. The ultrasound tech said that if I do have another ultrasound, I just shouldn't bother with the fluids. There's no need, because there's barely any room in there as it is. The size, although big, sounds about right if I'm supposed to be on track with my mother's birthing history (which is what the doctors and the ultrasound techs tell me). I was 9 lbs 10 oz. at birth, and if our baby gains 1/2 lb a week until it's born, it would be approximately 9 lbs. We'll see what my ob/gyn says Wednesday, though. He might think their measurements are way off again--who knows?

On the agenda for today? Stay off my feet as much as possible. Breathe. Forget about finishing the trim for now (it still needs two more coats of the poly-stuff--not polyurethane, but a water-based kind) and let Al work on the flooding in the basement, which we discovered yesterday is actually the sewage drain backing up into the basement (disgusting, probably a health hazard, hopefully not another huge expense). Go to church. That's about it! Until tomorrow...