35 weeks

Before I get into the Q&A portion of this post, an update on my high blood pressure and pre-pre-eclampsia is in order.

When we last spoke, my doctors were convinced that my body was attempting to develop pre-eclampsia. I had several high blood pressure readings, protein in my urine (not the 300 cutoff for pre-e, but a near miss with 274), and pre-eclampsia seemed to be in my future.

Since then, I've had one doctor's appointment, and several blood pressure readings at the nurse's station here at work. And I'm happy to report that things are going really well! I haven't had any higher-than-normal readings, which is great.

At my appointment last week, they did an ultrasound and a biophysical profile on Henry. And Henry passed with flying colors... an 8 out of 8! I was 34 weeks at that appointment, and he was measuring two weeks ahead according to the ultrasound tech. She estimated him to be 5lbs14oz already! My amniotic fluid was aplenty, and no signs of pre-eclampsia.

The tech also gave us this adorable photo:

Baby boy (and a really odd giant-worm-looking piece of placenta) at 34 weeks.

So all in all, it was a great appointment. And a good week. I go in this afternoon for my 35-week appointment. My doctor had mentioned that they may alternate biophysical ultrasounds and NSTs each week, so we'll see what happens today. They may opt to do neither if my blood pressure seems to be ok.

How far along?
35 weeks exactly today.

How big is baby?
One week ago he was 5lbs14oz. If (big if, I know) that was accurate, I'm assuming he's up over 6lbs at this point. It certainly feels like he's that big. But I know guesstimating baby's weight in-utero is tricky business, so I'm not really banking on the estimates.

Weight gain?
The last time I looked at the scale at one of my appointments, I was up 46 pounds. Since that was over a week ago, I'm assuming I've now hit the 50-pound mark.

Belly photos?
Appears I've been slacking in posting some belly pics.

And I didn't take an official 34 week photo, as we had our maternity photos taken last week! Here's a sneak peek that the photographer shared with me:

34 weeks - from my maternity photo shoot!

And I can't not share a couple more from the photo session...

And maybe my favorite:

Cravings/Aversions?
Nope. But I have noticed that if I eat anything other than my Mini Frosted Wheats for breakfast, I have a severe dip in energy. So I don't think it's a real craving, but I make sure to have those damn rectangles of deliciousness every morning.

Sleep?
Sigh.

That's a pretty much sums it up.

No more insomnia, thankfully. But now I just wrestle with getting comfortable. And that wrestling match lasts all night long. I toss and turn constantly. I check my phone clock often, and it ends up being about every two hours. Laying on either side for too long results in a numb/painful hip. Laying propped up on my back results in a painful lower back. Not really sure if I have any other options at this point. So I just roll and flop around and try to salvage any shut-eye possible.

Symptoms?
Not really too many to list. No more BH than usual (at least I don't think so...?). Increased discharge, but that seems to be normal at this stage in the game.

I've noticed I'm a bit more hormonal recently than I have been this entire pregnancy. I guess that was bound to happen at some point.

And I'm getting another cold. Lovely.

Swelling in my feet hasn't been bad since the reallllly bad weekend after Thanksgiving (where my BP was through the roof as well). I've been diligent in propping my feet up when I can, and trying my best not to overdo it. My fingers still swell something fierce overnight. And hurt. After I get up and around, though, they start to feel better.

But speaking of swollen fingers... I made a $10 splurge at Claire's this weekend, and bought myself a pretty sweet ring:

$10 bling!

Since I haven't been able to wear my wedding rings since 28 weeks, it's nice to not feel "naked". My normal ring size is 5.5. That ring you see in the photo is size 9! It's a bit big, but better slightly big than small at this point.