Cankles

Cankles....you know, the place where your calf and your ankle meets...except its a cankle when you can't tell where one begins and one ends. That's what was going on with me last weekend. My feet began swelling on Thursday, and did not go down until Monday. I guess I have been doing too much walking and running around and my body is forcing me to slow down. At my regional conference, people were looking at my feet like wow...you need to sit down..I was even able to get in early for the dinner. A few Sorors said, let this one in to sit..she's pregnant and her feet are swollen...as I walked pass people and sat down, I could hear them say " yeah, they real swollen, let her through!" I don't think it helps much that I have flat feet, so they look wider anyways. But yeah..it was kinda nasty cause I could feel the fluid moving in my right foot...nasty....and speaking of nasty...look at my stretch marks for my 35th week pic...

Name that Body Part

Tomorrow I will be 35 weeks pregnant. Yup...count em, 35 weeks! 5 more to go....am I tired of being pregnant? No. Am I ready for him to come already? No. But I am starting to get physically tired. Over the past week or so I feel like I just popped out of nowhere. I look big/pregnant to myself, whereas before I didn't think I looked that big, even though everyone else reminded me that I was. But he and I are chillin...I keep telling him that we must make it to the month of May to be ok. But anyways, another thing that I hear from various moms is how when they were pregnant and the baby would move, they could see a foot print here, or a hand print there. I feel like I play name that body part everynight. As he's moving around, I still can't distinguish a head from a butt, or a arm for a leg, a foot for a hand. I cannot clearly say I saw a foot kick out, or a hand press out. He moves, but they are such smooth movements that it just looks like a cartoon when the person's stomach is grumbling. I always look down so that I can watch the movements, but they are indistinguishable. The only thing I can do is tell someone where he is in my womb and whether or not he's finished moving. So yeah, this is one more thing that we can add to the list of things that happened to other moms but not me. Never fear, I have no complaints....the worst thing that has happened to me, outside of the kidney episode, is that I have to take iron pills because of the anemia. I can handle that...I don't think I would've been able to handle some of the other factors. Oh, and by the way, I've only gained like 22 pounds over the course of the pregnancy so far :)

Why people? Why?

33 weeks 2 days...Baby Donovan, stretch marks and the partial tattoo (Sesa Woruban)

Disclaimer: This blog is a rant, and not specific to anyone, read at your own discretion.

Read to the baby, talk to the baby, play music for the baby...these are all statements that I have been told lately, and I question them. Now, don't think that I'm a bad mother...I think Donovan and I have a great agreement/relationship with each other so far, and that it will only get better. But I wonder, how does the baby know the difference in me reading to him, and me talking to the world? He hears my voice all day long, why, cause he's inside of me! So what is the difference??? What is the difference in me listening to the radio in the car, and me putting headphones on my belly? And as for talking to the baby, the only voice he responds to is that of his daddy. I can talk to him all day, say his name, etc, and nothing. Francis can walk in the door and say, hola mi muchachito, como estas, etc, and he's up and running. I know you may say that I sound jealous, trust me, I'm not. This is mamma's boy, bets believe it. But I'm just saying people, what is the difference?

Next question. Why does the outside world view pregnant women as substitute buddah statues? When random people rub on your stomach, do they think it will them bring good luck? I had someone walk up to me today, rub my stomach, and then ask me if it bothers me that random people just rub me. I replied, "yes, I am not a dog, I am not buddah, and I don't appreciate the fuzz marks you are making on my midsection by rubbing me". Now, I know that sounds harsh, and trust me, it didn't come out that mean...but if I don't know you, why would you rub my stomach? I have no problem with people putting their hand on my stomach...or me letting them feel the baby move...but I didn't like being rubbed or caressed when I wasn't pregnant, and nothing has changed since.

Lastly, darn acid reflux. For the last few nights I have suffered from the worst acid reflux. My little boy is acting up. First he disobeys and starts giving me stretch marks. Now he has me unable to go to bed at night because I feel like I need to vomit and can't. I heard a wives tale that it just means he has alot of hair on his head. We are almost done, why is he just now growing hair?!?!? We are also back to this going to the bathroom 2-5 times a night. We haven't done that since my first trimester. I'm up and on the toilet every 2 hours it seems. Not to mention I suffer from a little insomnia. But I'm not going to complain, well, not anymore. Things could ALWAYS be worse, and like I said, we have pretty much been in agreement over the past eight months. Maybe he is trying to tell his mommy to slow down. Maybe this is my punishment. Don't worry little man, mommy is listening...and thanks to daddy putting me on bedrest when I'm home, we have all the time in the world to relax :)

The African Fertility statue

So I'm at my cotillion yesterday, and one of my friends says to me, " You are all belly, you dont' even have breasts anymore!" LOL. I was like" I know right, you don't see boobs or booty anymore, and Lord knows I have alot of booty- all you see is belly". Which got me to thinking about earlier that day when I walked pass a mirror naked and said, I look like that African fertility chick. My belly is so big now that it made my booty look relatively small. Never in my almost 28 years of life did I ever think I would be saying that my butt looked flat! As my aunt likes to say, " That baby is just taking over yo body". And that he has...but what a blessing he is. And we are starting to gain weight as well...as of last Thursday, I am a whopping 184.4 lbs!!! That means that we gained 7 pounds over the last three weeks. I think I'm getting laxed because its all me...I eat just becuase now a days...even shortly after I've had a full meal. But, you know what they say, when in doubt, just say "I'm pregnant" and blame it on the baby, LOL.

It's Begun....

I've heard about it, I've read about it...but it hadn't happened to me so I didn't really think about it, and then last week it began. What you ask? The point in every woman's pregnancy when she loses her identity and it becomes all about the baby. Friends and family see you but they don't speak to you, they put their hands on your belly and start talking to your unborn child. And forbid if you have named the fetus, then that is all you hear! I went to a few gatherings last week where Donovan got ALL the attention. I know that it is not about me anymore. I know that a shift is about to occur...but dangit, he's not due for another two months! LOL! But seriously, it has begun. Baby Lopez is greeted before his mother is, even though he can't respond yet. Maybe I should start getting used to it...

They keep coming....

29weeks5days

They keep coming...what you ask? Those blasted stretch marks!!! I woke up today to find another dark one and a lighter one coming in...that brings my count to three!! My body and I are not in agreement right now (angry face). We have been doing so well these past 7 months, and now we are falling out of sync. I need to switch up my oil or something, my tummy has built up a resistance...

Last night, I saw the baby distinctly move across my stomach for the first time. It was all alien like...it was like a elbow or something that was moving/stretching from the middle of my stomach to the right side, craziness. And even crazier, that's just what it felt like..as if I took my finger and rubbed from one point to the next. More and more I'm like, "Wow...there really is something in there", lol.

28weeks3days

The final stretch

So a few weeks ago I was reading one of my baby books and it said 27 - 40 weeks is the final stretch...and they did not lie. On that Wednesday that marked my 27th week, Donovan began moving like no other...I had never felt so much movement. I also noticed my first stretch mark! (angry face) Which I am NOT happy about. I know its a part of childbirth, but we were doing so well I actually thought we would be able to pull off the whole 9 months smooth, I guess I was fooling myself :/ But yes, we are in the final stretch, and before we know it, he will be here :) I was telling Francis today about how last month I wasn't ready, but today I started thinking about how nice it will be to have the baby here...so maybe I am getting ready, gradually, for the arrival of my big boy :)