Neurotic Mommy

So, I had a bit of a scare this morning... I tried to talk myself out of it, but it just wouldn't go away. I was thinking last night that I hadn't really felt the baby move that much during the day... and then he didn't really move at night either. Jason tried singing and there was really just like one small movement that either of us felt. So I just figured he must be tired and went to sleep. Then in the morning, I was laying there expecting to feel him moving because he's been moving more often in the morning lately but ... nothing. I was getting nervous but I just told myself "okay, calm down just eat something and see if that makes him move...." and still nothing. So, I called the doctor's office and left a message... my mom randomly called me and of course she just sets off the water-works immediately. But, as I was talking to her, he moved and it was a pretty big one... so that calmed me a little. Then the doctor's office called back and said that since he's getting bigger, he'll start moving less because he has less room (which I knew)... but that I should be able to expect 4-6 movements after I ate... I told her I felt one... so she said to wait and eat lunch and pay close attention; if I didn't feel 4-6 movements after I ate lunch, I was supposed to call her.

So I ate lunch... and waited in angst! I felt a couple movements but not 4-6 and as I sat and debated calling, he moved about 5 -7 times in a row... it was like a jungle gym! So, I just sort of laughed to myself and took a deep breath! Whew.

I guess this is the beginning of my neurotic behavior as a fretting mother............. great.

31 Weeks

Okay so it's week 31 and I officially cannot breathe! The diaphragm is feeling a little cramped these days. It's weird to imagine your UTERUS pushing up on your diaphragm! It just seems like those things are designed to be so far apart from each other! lol! From what I read, my body is going to be spare on air until the baby drops near the end of pregnancy in preparation for birth. He should be weighing in at three-plus pounds and measuring 18 inches long, quickly approaching his birth length though he's got to pack on another three to five pounds before D-day. The baby's brain connections are also developing at an amazing speed! He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses. He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which explains why I'm noticing more defined patterns of awake (and moving) periods and sleeping (still) periods. He's starting to move quite a bit in the morning these days, whereas I would feel the majority of his movements at night before. Jason is excited that he might be a morning person like daddy, after all! (although that makes me a little nervous! I'm SO not a morning person!).

He shoots! BRICK! Off the rib!

So, lately (meaning the past week or so) when the baby jerks or kicks, my whole body shakes... like sometimes when I'm laying in bed, I wonder if the bed shook or if it just felt like it from the inside. It's crazy!

Today I had another "first." At work, we had a meeting and I was getting really uncomfortable sitting there for so long so I kept changing positions. Well, one of the positions, he must not have liked because I felt a kick in my rib cage and it HURT! It actually really hurt! It sort of felt like a kick that sent a pinched nerve sensation across the front of my body... Some of the other women in the meeting who have had children knew by the look on my face and where I grabbed that the baby just kicked my ribs! I thought that was funny.

It really hurt!

Sunday Stretches

So today in church, Jason and I were holding hands and his arm was sort of on my leg but part of his arm was touching my belly. The baby decided he wanted to stretch and Jason was surprised to have felt him bump his arm but I was even more surprised that I felt him on the other side too! He like.... stretched out straight from one side of me to the other! It was so weird to feel him on both sides of my abdomen at the same time!

A New Experience...

So, we made a trip to the emergency room this morning (not the new experience, if you haven't guessed; I feel like I've been living at hospitals the past 5 months or so!). Kacy got clobbered in gym class playing volleyball and it was recommended she go get checked out.

After a CAT scan and other basic diagnostic tests, they ruled out any brain bleeds... she just has a minor concussion. BUT.... while we were waiting for her in the ER room, I had a brand new experience with baby!

You know that horribly annoying beeping that those machines do while you're in there... sometimes they're not on... but when they are that sound is just like SO unnerving. Usually, you can just tune it out after the first few "errrrrr"s happen since you're prepared for it and you know it's coming... but, when there's a little baby experiencing the world vicariously through your experiences, he doesn't really know how to just tune things out just yet....

Well, let me tell you! Karson does NOT like the "errrrr" noise at all! Before today, when my mom would tell me stories about how she could tell which types of music I liked in her womb on her hour long drives to work every day, I always thought to myself "well, how do you know I didn't like hard rock? Maybe I moved around more because I LOVED it!!!" I mean, it's believable because I still don't like very loud bouncy music unless I'm really hyped up for some reason, but I still wondered how could you possibly know the difference. Now, I understand.

His movements were so jerky and almost even panicky in nature. He was like punching my belly button and it was making me feel uncomfortable like I needed to leave. It was very strange, but also kind of cool in a way... being able to distinguish between feelings of enjoyment and agitation just by the type of movement. Nana (Minter) said he got nervous because he knew he wasn't ready to come out yet... lol.

Week 30

So, reading about this week, I've learned to be thankful for heartburn....

Yeah, sounds bizarre, I know but listen to why it happens! The same pregnancy hormones that cause your body's pelvic muscles to relax so you can deliver your baby also relax the ring of muscle that separates the esophagus from the stomach. The upshot? Food and digestive juices can head upstream from your tummy into your chest and throat — hence, the infernal inferno. Very cool!

The baby should be weighing in over three pounds now. Also growing daily is his brain, which is actually starting to look like the real thing with those characteristic grooves and wrinkles. And now that the little genius can regulate his own body temperature and turn up the heat, he'll start shedding lanugo, the downy body hair that's been keeping him warm up until now. Also very cool! No monkey baby! Unless, of course, he's like his mommy... who had dark brown hair in swirls all over her face and back when she was born. lol.

So, now I'm officially 7.5 months pregnant! Only 10 weeks to go already! CRAZY!

Renee's Baby Shower!!!

Renee's baby shower was this weekend! It was very fun to go and it started to make me more excited and made it more real that the baby is coming so soon! (because, I'm only a month behind her!).

This was my table having a blast............................................

We played JONAH (instead of BINGO)... and Christy won our centerpiece.

She cheats.






AND I FINALLY GOT TO MEET LITTLE NOA! She's so stinkin' cute and her eyes are so blue!
The next baby shower that will be reported on here will probably be mine! But, I had to make mention of some of these other little ones (like Noa, Jonah, and whatever Tina names the bun in her oven).... because these will be some of Karson's favorite playmates!!! :)