Pulling my hair out

I’m pulling my hair out these days.  No, not in the “I’m so frustrated” sense.  More like literally pulling out handfuls of hair every time I touch my head.

I’ve always shed a lot of hair, even prior to becoming pregnant for the first time.  My husband always complained about the piles of long, blond hair that would gather on our dark hardwood floors, especially after drying my hair.  When I got pregnant with Littleman, all of that stopped!  It was miraculous!  All of my hair stayed on my head (or so it seemed) for my entire pregnancy.  It was my favourite pregnancy symptom, by far.

Of course, after Littleman was born, I went right back to my old, hair-shedding ways.  Nothing worse, mind you, just your average, run-of-the-mill shedding.

With Bo’s pregnancy, my hair continued to fall out as usual.  I kept waiting to stop shedding, but it never happened.  What a disappointment.

After Bo was born, though, things got worse.  When I wash my hair, I pull out huge clumps.  When I dry my hair, my bed (and clothes) end up covered in it.  I find hairballs everywhere.  It’s gross.

I’m sure it doesn’t help that I haven’t had my hair cut since January.  Luckily, I’ve lined up my mom to watch the little guy so I can go to the salon on Wednesday.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that a good haircut will help a bit.  If not, it is entirely possible that I will be bald by the end of the summer.

Ahhh hormones… gotta love ’em.

41 weeks – the big day?

As I’m sitting here waiting for the hospital to call me in to start my induction, I figure I might as well write a final weekly update for this pregnancy.  I’m starting to get a little bit nervous, but I think we’re all ready to go.  I ate some scrambled eggs with toast and drank a kale and spinach smoothie.  Our bags are packed.  I washed and blow dried my hair.  Littleman’s suitcase is ready to go so he can stay with my parents.

Baby Bo is pretty active in there this morning.  Not sure if he realizes he’s getting evicted today.  This winter has been (and continues to be) horrible so I don’t really blame him for wanting to stay inside his cozy nest.  However, mommy’s body has had about enough, so it’s time to get this show on the road.

Symptoms: Over the past week, my acid reflux has definitely improved.  However, the pressure down below is becoming very, very uncomfortable.  The evenings seem to be the worst, where it honestly feels like a bowling ball is trying to come out of my ass.  The insomnia has been awful too.  I barely slept at all last night (a combination of random contractions, Bo moving a lot and my mind swirling ahead of today’s plans).

Other: Littleman seemed to grasp what was going on this morning as we got him ready for daycare.  He tried to hide when it was time to get dressed.  He did say that he was happy that his baby was coming, but then he had a complete meltdown when D dropped him at daycare.  I feel like we’ve been talking about this baby for so long but it’s a whole different story now that it’s actually happening.  We will have to brace ourselves for some backlash from him over the next little while.

Anyway, there we go.  The final weekly update for this pregnancy.  Hopefully the hospital calls soon so we don’t have to sit around waiting all day.

40 weeks

Well, here we are.  40 weeks pregnant.  The big due date.  I feel like we’ve been talking about “February 26” forever and now it’s here.  And the baby isn’t.  Oh well.  Whatever happens, it can’t be much longer now!

The past couple of days have been a bit challenging.  Littleman was home from daycare yesterday due to a fever the day before (even though he was perfectly fine).  Of course, he chose yesterday to not nap, which is totally out of character for him.  I was dying for a rest after my sleepless, contraction-filled night on Monday.

Then, to add insult to injury, I developed a nice cold yesterday.  Throughout this whole pregnancy, I’ve managed to avoid all the bugs that D and Littleman have picked up and brought home.  And now, right at the very end, I get sick.  Ugh.  I could barely breathe through my nose so I did everything I could to make myself more comfortable before bed: Tylenol, humidifier, saline nasal spray, Vicks vaporub and nose strips.  Something did the trick and I managed to get a bit of sleep.  I was wide awake by 4am, but at least I felt ok.

Symptoms: Symptom-wise, there isn’t much new to report.  I’ve actually noticed that the acid reflux has gotten a bit better.  I’m wondering if the fact that the baby has dropped is helping a bit.  However, on the flip side, the baby being so low seems to make emptying my bladder much more difficult.  That is, of course, unless I sneeze.  Then it empties itself quite freely!

Anyway, with Littleman back at daycare today, I think I’ll try to enjoy some time to myself.  I just cried watching an episode of the Baby Story and now I’m going to bake some muffins.  I’m doing whatever I can to distract myself from the fact that today is the due date AND my OB is on call today.  Maybe if I stop thinking about it, baby will come?  Maybe?  Seriously, little guy, you are welcome to join us at any time!!

 

 

39 weeks

I’m actually a bit surprised that I’m 39 weeks today and I’m still pregnant.  I really didn’t believe we would make it this long.  I know 39 weeks is still early, but Littleman came at exactly 39 weeks (without many prior labour signs or warning) so with all the contractions I’ve experienced this time, I really thought Bo would come sooner.

That being said, I’m actually feeling ok and am happy that (so far) Bo is staying put while D finishes up his stretch of night shifts.  After tonight, I’m comfortable with him coming any time.

At yesterday’s OB appointment, Dr. P checked me for dilation.  I was surprised to learn that I’m not quite 1 cm dilated.  I really thought that the many incidents of contractions that I’ve experienced over the past couple of months would have progressed me further.  It doesn’t really matter to me, but it was interesting to find out.  He offered to strip my membranes while he was “in there” but I declined.  With D working, I’m not really feeling the need to rush Bo along.   If he chooses to come on his own, that’s great.  If not, we can think about it again next week.

One thing that’s keeping me busy while I await the baby’s arrival is the Olympics.  In fact, it’s entirely possible that this post will make no sense because I’m supremely distracted by switching channels back and forth between hockey and bobsleigh.  Woohoo, Canada just got a gold medal in women’s bobsleigh.  Now I can focus on the hockey game only.  Geez, this is intense.  But watching it live is so much nicer than watching the prime time recaps.

So, here’s how the last week has shaken down…

Symptoms: By far, the worst symptom continues to be the reflux.  I can’t make it through the night without taking Zantac.  If I try not to take anything, I inevitably wake up at some point in the night with some barf in my mouth.  So gross.  I’ve also had a bit of cramping this week, but nothing major.  Felt a bit like minor menstrual cramps.  Other than that, I haven’t had any regular contractions for over a week now.

Sleep: Littleman has a cold so he’s been waking up in the night for the past few nights.  Since I’ve been on my own this week, I’m the one who has to get up with him.  Between that, the reflux and the general insomnia, I’m getting very little sleep these days.  I try to squeeze in afternoon naps whenever I can, but I’m a terrible napper.

Other: Just talked to my sister who is due the day after me.  She just had an appointment and is 2cm dilated.  My poor mom is starting to panic a bit about who is going to go first and where she’s going to be when each baby arrives (my sister lives two hours away).  There is really no knowing how this will all go down, so we just need to wait and see.  It’s still just kind of crazy to think that our babies could be born so close together.

38 weeks – false labour or the real deal?

I’m 38 weeks today and feeling pretty good.  Well, at least I’m feeling good at the moment.  On Monday night, I was pretty sure it was “go time” and that we’d be welcoming our new little boy.

But nope.  False alarm.  I’ve had a couple of incidents of contractions during this pregnancy, but Monday night was different.  Around 10:00 p.m. I started getting some crampy pains.  By 10:30, I could tell they were coming in waves so I started timing them.  I was pretty uncomfortable and kept having to get out of bed.  They were around 7 minutes apart for quite a while, sometimes dipping closer to 5-6 minutes.  As the time got later, we contemplated whether we should call my parents to come over and watch Littleman.

At my OB appointment this week, Dr. P had said I should go in and get checked if the contractions were 6-7 minutes apart for an hour.  Although I certainly met that criteria, I just didn’t really feel like it was time yet.  So we decided to wait it out a bit longer.  By after midnight, I was getting pretty miserable.  We decided we’d both shower and then see how I felt.  Again, I just couldn’t decide.  I dried my hair (stopping a couple of times to get through the cramps) and then we lay down on the bed for a bit.  I figured I’d be more comfortable progressing a bit further at home, rather than dragging myself to the hospital in the middle of the night, only to be possibly sent back home.

Finally, around 3:30 a.m., I must have dozed off between contractions because when the next one hit, I realized I’d never stopped my timer from the previous contraction and it had been counting for 17 minutes.  Obviously, they were tapering off.  At that point, I put away my phone, stopped timing and finally, finally, got a bit of sleep.

As you can imagine, I felt like crap yesterday after getting very little sleep.  I was kind of expecting things to start up again once I started moving, but for the last 36 hours or so, I’ve felt fine.

I’ve read that false labour can help prepare your body for the real thing, making actual labour can be quicker/easier.  I sure hope that’s true.  Because, if so, I’m super prepared!

Other than that, not much has changed this week in terms of pregnancy symptoms…

Sleep: Awkward and uncomfortable, with pretty consistent insomnia between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m.

Symptoms: The acid reflux is still horrible.  I’m snoring like a mo-fo (although I’ve bought some nasal strips which I think are helping a bit).  I’m feeling a ton of pressure down below and my bladder feels like it is constantly full.

Other: It’s a really good thing that I’m on maternity leave now because I would be having a really hard time if I had to continue to get dressed for work.  Most of my tops are too short now and I struggle to keep the bottom of my belly covered.  I don’t feel like I’m all that huge, but I guess the baby’s dropped just enough to make clothing awkward.

37 weeks

Wow.  At 37 weeks, the end is truly in sight.  I dragged myself to work today in a bit of a blizzard, but it was easier knowing that I only have two more mornings left of commuting.  After Friday, I’m officially on maternity leave!

My biggest worry these days is how Littleman is going to adjust to the big changes that are about to come his way.  I think he’s starting to realize how soon the baby will be here (at least as much as a three-year-old can) and we’re finding he’s being a bit more sensitive than usual.  This morning, for example he decided he only wanted daddy and wouldn’t come near me.  He told me he didn’t love me, which of course, set off tears from both of us.  It took me a moment to pull my hormonal pregnant self together, but we talked about it and were both feeling better before I left for work.  But, I expect this is just a sign of what’s to come over the coming weeks/months.

Other than that, pregnancy continues to kick my ass, but as I noted yesterday, I’m doing my best to embrace it and enjoy whatever time is left.

Symptoms:  The acid reflux is still coming on strong and making me pretty miserable.  I’m medicating myself as much as possible and it helps a bit.  This is one symptom I’m hoping doesn’t stick around after the baby is born because it is NO FUN.

A new symptom this week (just to keep me on my toes) is carpal tunnel syndrome.  At least I think that’s what it is.  Most mornings I wake up with pain in my right wrist/thumb that kind of radiates a bit into my inner arm. 

Sleep:  Apparently I’m continuing to snore quite a bit, which causes D to sigh loudly and then head downstairs to the couch.  Sorry buddy, but I spend so much of my night awake that I’m not going to fret over snoring during the couple of precious hours that I actually sleep.  Not sure if this is somehow related to pregnancy or more a symptom of the cold I’ve been fighting and the winter dryness. 

Other: I’ve finally removed my wedding rings for fear of getting them stuck on there.  I don’t have any really noticeable swelling but they were definitely starting to feel a bit tight.

36 weeks

This is the week where my pregnancy tracker app tells me that the baby is the size of a watermelon.  Eek!  That’s so big!  And speaking of baby’s size, at my OB appointment today, I asked Dr. P if he could tell anything about how big Baby Bo may be.  He said that he seems about average.  My fundal height is one cm smaller than “normal” but he said that it’s perfectly the fine.  I know that, at this point, he’s really only just guessing about the size.  The only reason I asked is because I’m curious if I’m going to have another giant baby.  Littleman was born at 39 weeks, weighing 9lbs 5oz!

I had to do my Group B Strep test today.  I still vividly remember the first time I had to do it.  It was one of those standard tests that was always mentioned in pregnancy books, but no detail was ever given, beyond the fact that it was a “swab.”  I guess I took that to mean it was sort of like a Pap, which is what I expected to happen.  However, when Dr. P told me it was time for the GBS test, he pulled out a tube containing a swab, handed it to me and sent me into the bathroom with the instructions of how to do it myself.  For anyone who hasn’t had this test yet, it requires a swab of both the vagina and the anus.  Yep.  That’s right.  I’m sure my face was priceless.  I remember stumbling awkwardly into the bathroom and standing there by myself, laughing.  Anyway, I gave my friends who already had kids an earful for not warning me about that one.  At least this time, I knew what was coming.

Symptoms:  The crappiest symptom this week has definitely been the acid reflux.  While it is especially annoying when I want to sleep, it’s starting to hit me at pretty much any time of the day.  Dr. P told me a few medications that are safe to use, so I stocked up today.  Given that I could have almost six more weeks of pregnancy left (although that would totally surprise me!) I want to make sure I have some options for fighting this symptom.

One pregnancy symptom that I’ve been lucky enough to avoid during both my pregnancies is swelling.  I’ve seen the women with the puffy ankles struggling to put on shoes and I’m relieved that I haven’t had to deal with that.  I am, however, starting to notice my rings getting a little snug.  I can still get them on and off, but they are definitely starting to leave a bit of a mark.  Perhaps it’s time to retire them until after the little guy gets here.

Sleep:  Just when I thought that my sleep couldn’t get any more interrupted, I caught a cold.  After a few days of dealing with the dry mouth, drooling and snorting, I find myself missing the sore hips and knees.  Oh well.  I don’t expect to sleep well again for a long, long time.  Might as well get used to it.

Other: Another baby boy was born on our street this week.  If you’re keeping count, that’s two in the last two weeks!  There are two of us left who are expecting before the end of March.  It will be fun to have some other mommies close by during my maternity leave.

Reflux sucks

It seems that I have the pleasure of experiencing a new pregnancy symptom – acid reflux. I have yet to figure out if there are particular foods that set it off, but I’m going to start paying better attention because I’m not enjoying these “barf burps” at all! For now, I’m popping the Tums and hoping for some relief.

It appears that lying down makes it feel worse, so I am currently propped in an awkward half-sitting-half-side-lying position.

D was just giving Littleman a bath and asked him when his brother was going to get here. Littleman answered, “when he’s born!” (Obviously, Dad!). So D says, “when is he going to be born?” Littleman says, “three days.” Yikes. Let’s hope not. Three weeks sounds a bit better to me. You hear that, baby? I’ll quit whining about reflux if you’ll hang in there a few more weeks. Thanks!

35 weeks

I spent much of yesterday tracking contractions (yikes!) so I was a bit worried that I would be writing my 35 week update from the hospital.  But, everything seems to have calmed down and I’m feeling totally fine and normal today (or as normal as a pregnant lady can feel).

I finally washed some baby clothes and blankets last night.  My fear that something could go wrong has kept me from doing that, but I’m realizing that my baby will be cold and naked if I don’t pull myself together!  As I went through the bag of Littleman’s first baby clothes, it was hard to believe he was ever that small.  And he wasn’t even all that small… 9lbs 5oz!

I also started packing my hospital bag.  I have a feeling this little one is going to come early and I don’t want the stress of not being ready.  Last time, I packed one large suitcase, which we ended up dragging with us from the labour/delivery room into the postpartum room without ever opening.  This time, I’m packing two separate bags: a small one for labour with just a few things I may need and a larger one for after the baby is born with the rest of our stuff and stuff for the baby.  That way, we can leave the big bag in the car until we need it.

Symptoms:  The aforementioned contractions came on  pretty suddenly around lunchtime yesterday.  They were about 10 minutes apart and lasted for a couple of hours.  I left work and tried to relax at home.  It was harder to track the contractions when I was dealing with Littleman, but they were definitely still happening throughout the evening.  I couldn’t decide what to do about it.  I didn’t want to “cry wolf” and go to the hospital for nothing, but I also didn’t want to ignore them if they actually were “something”.  Finally I decided to see if bed rest would stop them.  Sure enough, going to bed for the night seemed to calm things down and my sleep was just fine.  Today, I’ve felt pretty good and haven’t had any contractions at all.   I thought being a second time mom would mean things wouldn’t be so scary or unknown.  Nope.

Sleep:  Hip and knee pain is a fun new development for me.  I find that I have to flip over many, many times per night because of aches and pains.  Keeping a pillow between my knees helps a bit, but trying to roll over with said pillow is quite an awkward challenge.

Other: My next door neighbour had her baby this week!  I got to meet him on Sunday when he was two days old.  6lbs 5oz of pure adorableness.  As I held him, I felt my little guy kicking from the inside.  It made me so excited for meeting my boy!

34 weeks

Six weeks (give or take) to go!  This past week was a busy one with my sister’s shower.  Now that it’s over, I’m trying to shift my attention to all the things I need to get done in the next few weeks.

I’m starting to really come to terms with the fact that this baby will be here soon.  After this week, I’ll only have three weeks of work left.  It’s time to start wrapping things up and transitioning my files to my colleagues.  I’ve been lucky to get a ride to work with my new next door neighbours for the past two weeks, so I’ve been able to avoid the public transit system.  Unfortunately for me (at least unfortunately for my commute!), the neighbours are expecting a baby (due this weekend!) and today was her last day of work.  So, I’ll have to suffer on the subway for three more weeks.  Wish me luck!

Symptoms:  The contractions have settled down quite a bit, aside from some random ones in the evenings.  I find them much less scary now – probably because they are much less regular and frequent. 

Dinner has become a major issue for me.  As in, I can’t eat dinner.  For some reason, if I eat even a normal amount of dinner in the evening, I end up writhing in pain all night.  I guess my stomach just fit it in anymore.  During the day, I’m more likely to snack rather than eat a large meal, so that will have to become my new evening routine too.  What a pain.  I really like dinner.

Sleep:  Sucks.   I’m trying to go to bed really early these days because I find that I get my best/longest stretch of sleep in the first couple of hours.  After that, I’m up a ton to pee and can’t seem to get comfortable enough to fall back asleep. 

Other: I put on one my maternity tops this morning, only to find that it is too short now.  I don’t know if it’s because I’m massive or if the baby is sitting lower, but either way, my belly was showing beneath the top.  Not cute.