So, let me just start by saying that I still find it unbelievable at times, that I went from googling "signs of ovulation," to "early signs of pregnancy," to "first [second, and third] trimester symptoms." And now I find myself googling signs of labor. I can't believe the time is nearing. I know I'm only 33 weeks and we will have a month before she's even full term, but I want to be prepared as possible. At least for this aspect of pregnancy. For week 33, my phone app tells me I should prepare a hospital bag. "Sure, okay. I can't wait!! But all of everything I would put in there is packed away in a tight corner of my dining room while we finish up the remaining details of the den and 3rd bedroom renovations." It's absolutely KILLING me!! I even went out and bought a cute, brown leather, overnight bag for the occasion. I got a hell of a steal on it too! It was a $60 bag from H&M and snagged it for $25! boo-ya! So anyways.. I've been doing as much research as possible so I can at least be MENTALLY prepared since I don't feel that we're even remotely PHYSICALLY prepared for her arrival. One of the things I remember reading about a long time ago was loose stools/ diarrhea being a sign that labor will start within a few days or possibly weeks. So naturally, since I've have this little problem for the last 3 days, on top of what feels like a return of [mild] morning sickness, I went on a did some more digging and learned that both are pretty common complaints in the last trimester. For a lot women, the bowel complaint will even pick up and get worse right before labor begins as the body's way of cleaning itself out in preparation for whats to come. I'm sure, and I hope labor is still several weeks away, but I'm glad to see my body seems to be following the general guidelines of common symptoms felt by other women at 33 weeks.
Another thing I read was that it's common for women to slowly loose their mucous plug versus loosing the whole in one fell swoop. If you're loosing it slowly (over the course of a few days/weeks) one should notice a loss of thicker white, pale green, or lite yellow mucous, possibly even red/pink-tinged. As long as it remains white/green/yellow, there is no need for immediate action, however if it's red or pink, one should call their OB to inform them so that they can be more closely watch for impending signs of labor. For the last few days I have noticed mine has gone from watery and clear, to thick and white. So maybe I'm beginning to loose
mine (?) I suppose time will tell. It's also possible for it to re-seal on it's own if you're loosing it slowly enough, so even if I was loosing some of it, it doesn't really mean the rest will follow. But it's definitely something I'll be watching out for more closely now.
Other than the signs-of-labor-type-symptoms, I've noticed increasing problems of swelling. I use to only get swollen at night after being on my feet for a long time and it would only occur in my ankles, and on occasion very mildly in my fingers. Now I wake up every morning will swollen fingers, feet (both bottoms and tops), ankles, and even some puffyness in my face and neck. Twice now, I've had to go to work without my wedding rings because I couldn't get them on and once, I could hardly get them off. I had to run my hand under cold water before finally coaxing it off of my finger! And if that's not bad enough, ALL of my shoes are too tight most of the time with the exception of the new Nikes that Barry just bought me in a whole size bigger than the rest of the shoes I own. My feet are so swollen on the bottoms now that it hurts to walk on them and most of the time, when I get up to pee in the middle of the night, (which by the way is about 4 times now), I have to
Another thing I had to recently go up a size in was my underwear. All my adult life, I've worn a size small. About 6 weeks ago, I had to go up to a medium, and just last weekend was forced to go up to a large because my mediums were so tight they were leaving indentations in my belly and the top part of my butt crack would peak over them! I can't even believe how big my ass is getting! HAHAHA!
Oh and the X-LARGE bras that I bought about 6 weeks ago as well...... already too tight. The doctor said I need to go up a side again because she noticed the deep indentations it was leaving on my chest at my last appointment. Holy Moly... I don't have money for all of this 'going up a size every quarter' thing!! LOL!
What in the world am I going to do with all of this maternity wear when it no longer fits me?! I will have invested so much by the end of this pregnancy! Such is life. :)
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