33 Weeks Pregnant (Baby #4)

We were still on vacation for the first half of this week. I was able to see my grandparents a total of 4 times during the trip, plus we took one day for just us (after all, it was our only vacation for this year!) and decided to take the boys to the zoo. Como Zoo is the only truly free zoo in the country! It has no admission fees, and no parking fees. It's a place my parents have taken me since I was a little child, and I wanted to bring my children and husband to one of my old haunts. The rest of this week was spent in driving the 19 hours home, and unpacking.

33w 0d PregnantHow Far Along: Recapping week 33 (picture taken at 33 weeks pregnant)

How I'm Feeling This Week: Another relaxing week. Vacation was wonderful (once we got past Nick's food poisoning!). The first night we were home, I slept like a rock! It was great.

Braxton Hicks Contractions: Very few at the beginning of the week, and then I had one evening where they were coming fast and hard. 

It was because I was the angriest I've been over a situation in a long time, and my emotions tied into my body functions. The contractions wouldn't slow down until I was able to deal with the situation. It taught me how powerful the mind and body are connected, and how having unresolved anger can mess with the body.

Aversions: None this week.

Pregnancy Symptoms: 

•bleeding gums when I brush 
•vivid dreams 
•dark hair on my belly 
•light heartburn
•darkened areola
•linea nigra, my belly's "tiger stripe"
•bigger breasts (not as fun as you'd think!)

New symptom this week: Extreme crotch pain. Especially at night. I've read of a lot of pregnant moms feeling this pain, but I've never experienced it in any of my pregnancies. It happens for several days in a row, then lets up a little.

Doctor/Midwife Appointment: None this week. 

Gestational Diabetes: I'm still learning how to manage the GD. While my numbers are fantastic during the day, they spike once in a while in the evenings, especially if I eat a lot of carbs without balancing them out with some protein. I prick my fingers to check my blood sugar level about 4-7 times a day. 

17P: I received my thirteenth 17P shot this week. It was nice taking a break from it last week. The 17P shots are progesterone shots that supposedly help to decrease my chances of delivering an early baby again. We'll wait to find out if they helped, in a few weeks!

Weight Gain So Far: Now that I'm in the third trimester, I'll be allowed another 100 calories (added to the 300 calories I was allowed in the second trimester) if I'm hungry. I'm already eating about 2,250 calories each day, and I'm using the My Fitness Pal app. to help me keep track of my eating habits. 

If you'd like to see my diet, you can look me up and I'll add you on my friends list. I'm listed as horseopeaceranch. 
For the third trimester I'm supposed to add 400-500 extra calories to my regular diet each day, which translates to about one peanut butter and jelly sandwich with maybe some carrot sticks on the side.

Starting Weight: 119 lbs. 
Week 32 Weight: 
No idea. I didn't see a scale while on vacation, and that was fine by me!
Week 33 Weight:  138 lbs.

Goal Weight Range For This Pregnancy: High: 154 lbs. Low: 144 lbs.

Food Cravings: It didn't surprise me when I had the craving for peanut butter M&M's on our drive home from our vacation! I have been craving peanut butter for weeks already, but I've also made a habit on the last few trips we've taken, to buy one package of the peanut butter M&M's to munch on as we drive. They are so good, and they were exactly what I wanted at the time.

Regular or Maternity Clothes: Both. I wish I had more maternity shirts, but the 3 I have, interspersed with stretchy material shirts, are getting me by until the end.

Missing anything: Yes! Missing intimacy with my husband (due to pelvic rest since week 14), missing sandwiches made with lunch meat (I don't eat these often, but when I want one and can't have one for months, it's not fun), and I'm missing being able to brush my teeth without bleeding gums (so annoying!).

Boy or Girl: Still a secret to me. Won't be for much longer. Nick is keeping me guessing.

Baby's Chance of Survival this Week: Still at 95%.  

Baby Movement: The movements are HUGE this week. I don't know what changed, but probably a combination of the baby getting bigger, plus running out of room. All I know is that some of the movements are actually getting suprisingly intense. Especially if he/she puts a foot or hand near my waistline. That is one movement that is distincly different from the rest and is instantly uncomfortable for me. Thankfully, the baby moves after only a moment, so I get relief pretty quick.

Size of Baby: By now our baby weighs over 4 pounds and is over 17" long. About the size of a pineapple.

What I Did to Prepare for Baby's Arrival: 
-I ordered the birth supplies this week! We now have 3 plans for this birth, since I labor fast and we don't know what to expect, so we are covering all our bases.

Plan 1.) Home birth. In NC it is illegal to be attended at a home birth by a midwife, but the law can't stop a woman from having a baby at home since babies make their debut anywhere they please. So we are ready for this scenario.
Plan 2.) I've registered at the nearest hospital, which is only 3 stoplights away. If I need to get to the hospital fast, I'm not going to try to make it to our doctor 20 minutes away. Last birth, we barely made it to that hospital before the baby came.
Plan 3.) With our doctor 20 minutes away.

-Since I brought home items from our trip that had been at my parents' house, I needed to find places to put them all. And, as I found places for my things, I took the time to clean and organize along the way. The nastiest place I had to clean was above our kitchen cabinets. That was so greasy and dusty! Yuck.

Pregnancy Thoughts this Week: I was glad we made it safely home without delivering a baby on vacation. I set my mind toward getting the house back in order, and my thoughts were mostly about the areas I wanted to clean/organize to be ready for this baby.