37 weeks 4 days. Dr appt update | LOTS of contractions

Last Friday at my doctor's appointment we discussed how I'll know when to head to the hospital.

•  My contractions need to be between 2-4 minutes apart for an hour, and need to be bad enough that I can no longer talk or walk through them. 
• If my water breaks
• If I have a lot bleeding

My Braxton Hicks have definitely picked up this past week and have been feeling much stronger than they use to be. At times I even feel them in my back which is actually a sign of REAL contractions. So of course I get all excited after a few that feel pretty close together, and I start to time them. 5  minutes apart, 4 minutes, 3 minutes... All of this for about 30-45 minutes but varying in intensity and then boom... they drop off and I don't have one for 11 minutes, and then 15 minutes and then 8 minutes. It's literally the most frustrating thing!! Especially when they start off as strong as they do sometimes.
Last night I was up until 12 because I could feel them so bad in my back, it was hard to get comfy, but I didn't bother timing them because I could tell they were all over the place and not picking up at all. They woke me up at 2, 3:30, and again at 5:30. For them to be waking me up now, I can tell the tides are changing and my body is making progress but it's still sort of confusing and frustrating letting all of this play it's self out and waiting to see where things go all of the time.

Since today (Monday, 1/18/16, MLK day) is Barry's pick, I decided to try to get things going on my own. This morning when I got to work I walked a mile on the treadmill and another mile at lunch. The one at lunch brought on some SERIOUS back discomfort but it's hard to tell if it's contraction/baby dropping related or if its from being so active. (maybe a little bit of both?) I've had some really good contractions today too but only one or two back to back and then nothing at all for 30 minutes or so and then just regular, annoying braxton hicks every 5 minutes for close to an hour and then nothing, and so on.
I'm going to get a fitness ball tonight and sit/bounce around on that thing for a while and see what happens.
If nothing else, I can DEFINITELY tell that all of my efforts today have dropped her a little lower as when she moves her little head around in there I feel a very distinct, uncomfortable, and at times, painful pressure right behind my pubic bone. And the lower she gets in there, they more pressure she'll put on my cervix to dilate it. I'm already so anxious for Thursday to get here so I can get my weekly check done and know if any of this is making a difference.
OH! And I get to have an ultrasound on Thursday! They said they felt like she was measuring big and sitting higher up than she should be at my last (37) week appointment so she wanted to get a better idea of how big she is with an ultrasound.
If they talk to me about inducing, I may just say yes at this point. My belly is so sore lately, and now my back hurts too. It's hard to breathe, especially during some of my stronger contractions and at night when I'm laying down in bed. Which already sucks because it's hard to get comfortable and I get so itchy at night too. And now on top of that, I can't hardly breath and I'm laying there panting like I just went for a walk!
STILL NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT ANY OF THIS. I've had it so good and I still do. Even though everything is uncomfortable and hurts most of the time now, I'm excited for it because I know what it all means and it's just one step closer to meeting little Elle :)

36 weeks 4 day update

And as with most of the side effects, the swelling in feet and ankles has vanished.. for the time being. Starting 2 days ago, I noticed on Saturday night, I could see veins and tendons in my feet!! OMG!!!! It felt so good to see a part of "old" Candace still in there, still alive and well. A glimpse of life after pregnancy. A speck of hope that some things will return to normal after Elle arrives. It was a magical feeling that I didn't expect to become so excited about. Then Sunday morning, on the day we were suppose to take a maternity photos, they were still their normal size and shape, albeit a little longer in length, so I got to wear my cute boots versus my tennis shoes. :) So that was obviously pretty nice considering I did have a breif meltdown the morning of the shoot. I woke up at 10 and had to take a shower to wash my nappy, dirty hair and by the time I got out, did my hair and make up , and tried on every maternity shirt and pair of jeans that still fit me, I was hungry and hot and frustrated and still hasn't had my morning cup of coffee, but by then was too hot to drink it anyways... Barry came into the kitchen just as I was about to loose it.. Asked me what was wrong to which I explained everything I just typed here to him, and added that I couldn't even cry (as the tears were welling up and my voice begining to crack) because I didn't want to have to re-do my makeup.
Sweet Bear lifted my chin, kissed my forehead and told me I looked amazing and that there was no reason to be crying. (I never for a second forget how lucky I am to have him.) After I got all recomposed, he made us BLTs for lunch and we set off into the woods for some photo-therapy.

As far how I'm feeling, this week is actually a little better than the last. I slept amazing well 3 out of the last 4 nights. I've been getting headaches for the last week which my doctor believes could be a symptom of my high blood pressure so he wants me to monitor both and call in if my BP stays consistently high two times in a row or if my headaches become too much to handle. Like I mentioned before, the swelling has gone down everywhere (except my knees) which is nice and unexpected so we'll see how long this lasts. And my back is also feeling a lot better this week. I'll have to enjoy all of this while it lasts I suppose.

DIY Maternity Photo Shoot. 36w3d

Sunday, we finally took some maternity photos.
Yes, "we."
Thankfully Barry and I are pretty skilled in the world of technology and photography and pulled off our own shoot. I couldn't have imaginied someone else there pointing their camera in my face all day, although as Barry put it, we probably did miss out some sweet candid photos. But we did manage to squeeze in a few by accident that we have saved on our computer. And with all of the renovations and everything, it was nice going in on a project together that was actually fun and at times, funny and we could laugh and cut up and be ourselves without the awkwardness of another being there with us. Especially because it was a busy day on the trails we were on, and we had enough noisy passerby's to deal with anyways.

Tribulations of the third trimester. 35w5d

Everyone who sees me these days asks how I'm feeling and for lack of energy to respond to each one I usually just reply with a simple and generic, "I'm well, thanks!"
I promised God that if he allowed IVF to work, I'd never once complain about being pregnant, and I think I've held up my end of the bargain so far.
So I start this by saying, in no way am I complaining in this post... I'm just updating my records for future Candace to look back on one day.

I'm 2 days shy of 36 weeks! I'm still feeling pretty good, considering...
I still don't have any stretch marks although I started getting some dark purple spiderey veins popping up on my upper thighs this week. My hair, skin and nails still look amazing. ESPECIALLY my skin. I haven't experienced this long of a streak in clear skin since before I turned 11 so for me , this has been one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. Hopefully it doesn't all come crashing down after the birth.

For the not so pleasant things: I can't sleep. EVER. I wake up every 2 hours on a good night, and every hour on the hour, the rest of the nights to get up and go pee. I have heartburn to some degree almost 24 hours a day which contributed to my sleeplessness. I have contractions throughout most of the day and night too. My feet hurt the instant I stand on them in the morning and don't stop hurting until I lay down at night. And when I lay down for bed, the bottoms of them become really itchy (I guess from the swelling) which again, contributes to the sleeplessness. But basically, if I am standing, I am hurting.
Yesterday and today I've been really crampy and I can feel pressure much lower than before however I don't think she's "dropped" yet because I still feel pressure under my top right rib and I become winded very easily still. I've read that when they drop, it becomes much easier to breathe and the rib pain ceases for the most part.
I'm not sure if it's Elle sucking the life out of me or the lack of sleep, but I've felt more tired than usual lately too. EXCEPT for the random bursts of energy last weekend in our race to finish the nursery where we worked until 12:30 at night and then about 12 hours the next day too. And every night when I get home, I make it a point to do at least one thing. Last night for instance, I put the stroller together and figured out how to use it and the infant carrier together. The night before I got the infant carrier out of the box and put the rock n' play together. As far as finishing the the house/nursery is concerned, we still need to get down to IKEA for a new rug, lamps for the den, shelves for Elle's room, and maybe a toy chest and some storage items for her room/closet. We also need to make a trip to babies r us to finish purchasing some things from the registry that we didn't received that we're still in need of. Maybe after those things we can rest a little. Although its really hard to rest when all you want to do is nest. Even though the house is mostly done and everything is almost put back where it belongs, everything still needs to be cleaned. LIKE majorly cleaned. LIKE, an entire weekend of nonstop cleaning. I don't think my floors have been mopped in a month!
Oh! And we have date guessed rolling in. I've said since the beginning that I think she's going to come either the day before of after my Dad's birthday. My Mom thinks the 20th, and I can't remember what my little sister said, I think the 22nd. Barry said the 18th because he had a dream about the number 18 and in his dream it ended up becoming the day Elle was born. When he mentioned he had dreamed it he impersonated MLK, "I have a dream." and my Mom went, "wait a minute... the 18th is MLK day." Of course no one believed her until google confirmed it and then upon this realization I think we all wanted to change our date  guesses to the 18th! It was  pretty hilarious! We all got quite the chuckle out of it. I just hope with all these early guesses, she doesn't come any later than the 4th. I know me, and that will drive me bonkers!!

Things people actually say to me: updated for the 9th and final month!

MONTH 9

person: my friend's sisters, cousin's niece......... just had a baby and that sucker weighed 8lbs4ozs!!!! That was a HUGE baby! Almost 9 pounds!!!! (uhhh..??)  how much did the doctor say your baby weighs right now?

me: roughly 5lbs

person: (looks wide-eyed at my belly) oh there's no way!! They're wrong! It's way heavier than that!! How long do you have left?

me: 4 weeks.

person (again, with the bulging eyes.) How my gosh! They gain about a pound a week in the end! Yours is going to be at least 10 pounds if not more. 

(actually.... They gain about 1/2 pound or a little less in the last 4 weeks.. So by the time she's born she should weigh about 7 pounds... not 10+. Also I'm not sure who told you 8 pounds is heavy for a baby but that's about what most of them weigh when born around the 40th week....)

MONTH 7 & 8

person:  "let me see your belly! Turn sideways." [GASP!!!] "OH MY WORD! When is your due date?"
Me: In about 6 more weeks
person: NO WAY!! you're not going to make it. You're belly looks like it's about to burst.
(yea.. nice of you to notice.)

person: "so how many weeks do you have left?"
me: "about 7."
person: "so wait, you're only seven months?! Are you even going to make it to month nine? Like, your belly and all?"
(well, gee.. lets hope so.. I didn't come all this way for nothing.)

person: Are you gaining weight? You look like you've put on a few pounds. (har.. har.. at least come up with something original.. please.. for entertainments sake..)

person:: You haven't had that baby yet? You look like you're about to pop! (yea, well at least I'm pregnant. What's your excuse?)

person:: you pick out a name yet? me: No. (when really, yes. I just don't care to listen your opinions of it)

person:: You look more fat today than pregnant. (yes.. someone seriously just said this to me.)

person:: Want some ice cream? (this one has been a running joke, to them, since finding out I'm pregnant. I really only found it semi-cute the first time though. And unfortunately, I have to hear it a couple times a week.

person:: *walks into my office* Got any food in here? You're always eatin something! (I'm not ALWAYS eating something. Let me throw some basic anatomy at you. While pregnant, a woman's ever-expanding uterus pushes her organs and stomach up higher and higher which means: A. she's more prone to heartburn and B. she have less and less room in her stomach to store food, so to help with these things, I eat smaller snacks throughout the day instead of three big meals a day. As per my doctors instruction.  And to answer your question: No. You can't have any of my food, f**k head. )

MONTH 6:
person::  What?! You're only 6 months? You still have 3 and half months left?! You're going to be huge!

(first of all... wtf kind of math is that? Second, men of all people, have no business commenting on a women's pregnant belly diameter.)

person::  how do you feel about episiotomies? 

(how is this an appropriate thing to ask someone?)

 person:: Oh!! you gettin' out there.

(well.... I am pregnant and all..)

  

person:: Your belly is so big! Like way bigger than 6 months should be!

(says the pregnancy/child expert whom, oh yea.. has no children...)

person:: sleep while you can because...... (oh yea... because sleep comes so easily for me already..)

 MONTH 4 and 5:

person:: Oh, I see you're getting some pregnancy acne.
(upon seeing the first lonely little zit on my face since starting IVF back in March.. Who the F says that?!)

person::  Did you get morning sickness real bad?
me::  Not real bad, just....
person interrupts:: Yea because you don't get it with your first babies, only with your second baby.
 (Oh! Please, do go on and enlightenment me with this backwoods, redneck, pregnancy philosophy of yours. Surely morning sickness has nothing to do with the sudden rise in Progesterone and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin levels.)

person::  Oh my gosh!!! You got like, waaay huge overnight! 
me::  Thanks??