I had my 33 week check-up this morning. It
was a long morning. We started at the dentist for an 8:45 appt
(all good there), then to the hospital to pre-register for the
delivery, then up to see the midwives for an 11:40 appt. Lex
was perfect, but definitely exhausted by the end and he was
asleep pretty quick when we got in the car to come home.

As anyone reading this probably knows, I’m
seeing the midwife team at the hospital. There are five or six
of them and you’re supposed to see all of them throughout your
prental care, with the idea being that you’ll be comfortable
with whomever is on call the day you deliver. They do the same
thing with the doctors. This is apparently common. Didn’t work
so well with Lex since I saw four of them and never met the
woman who ended up delivering him. Quite honestly though, it
doesn’t matter much in the heat of the moment. Anyway, I say
all of this to say that one drawback to this method is that
there is the potential for conflicting information and mixed
messages. On the plus side, you can get a second opinion just
by asking the same question at your next appointment (different
midwife).

For example, last time I was
there I asked if there was any correlation between when you
deliver your first baby and your second. Since Lex came 8 days
late I was wondering if I’d be more or less likely to deliver
this next one late as well… or no relation at all. The
midwife last time told me that you tend to deliver around the
same time, so if baby 1 is late, odds are good baby 2 will be
late as well. Maybe not as late, but late. Of course, this is
all just odds and nothing is for sure… but that’s all I was
looking for. I mentioned this at today’s appointment and
today’s midwife told me there is absolutely no correlation
there at all. So even though I delivered Lex 8 days late, my
chances are equally good to deliver 8 days early this time…
or late… or who knows. She said that there is no way to even
begin to guess when the baby may come. Both sounded equally
confident though, so how do you know who to believe? I guess
I’ll go with today’s opinion because… well, why not?
Gah!

Also, and this doesn’t surprise me
at all, the midwife last time did some bad math and my weight
gain was actually 23lbs, not 13lbs. I was surprised by 13 and I
think 23 is more accurate to how I feel these days. Now I’m up
to 27lbs (but in my defense, most of my appts are at 8:30am and
this one was at 11:40am and I didn’t take my winter boots
off!). I need to start being more careful though because
loosing the weight is much harder than I ever expected.

Baby is also measuring big this time around. I
guess this isn’t a problem now (perhaps just a recent growth
spurt), but if baby continues measuring big over the next few
check-ups, we may need to go in for another ultrasound. She
said most likely I’m just carrying a bigger baby than Lex…
which also matches well with how I feel these days. Hell, half
the time I’m carrying a bigger baby *and* Lex!!

I think my belly dropped yesterday. Sounds
weird, I know, but it’s perfectly normal. Baby feels much lower
and is no longer in my rib cage. Ahhh… I can breathe again
:)

It occurred to me tonight that I haven’t
taken any belly pictures this pregnancy. Guess the novelty of
showing the world my big ol’ belly wore off the first time
around :) But, since I keep telling you all how huge it is,
here is proof. I hope I can handle 8 more weeks of
growth…

It does make a great seat for Lex
though…

And for comparison, here is a
picture of the belly (with Lex inside) at 30 weeks last time
around. Definitely bigger this time, don’t you think? Must be
the weakened stomach muscles. My abs of steel (hehehe) are no
longer…

We’re coming into the final stretch of
this pregnancy now… just a few more months to go :) I like
being pregnant though. Have I mentioned that? It’s especially
neat now that baby is very active and Alan and I can both feel
good kicks. I’ve also started taking a prenatal yoga class,
which is a good way to stretch and whatever, but also a nice
hour and a half each week to remind myself that I’m pregnant.
The instructor started the first class with a few minutes of
breathing and thinking about the baby. I never get that kind of
time at home! Always thinking about the big baby who’s tackling
me, jumping on me, or begging for a book. Lex, that is, not
Alan ;) So once a week I get to relax, stretch with other
pregnant mommies, and think about this new little bundle of joy
who will soon be joining our happy family. It’s nice.

There are, of course, aches and pains and I’m
gaining way too much weight (Alan dug out the scale the other
day — sad, sad day), but overall I like being
pregnant!

I felt baby kick today! Lex and I were
wrestling on the floor and he was climbing on my and basically
gently kicking my belly. Then he jumped up to look out the
window (a big truck drove by) and I started feeling tiny baby
kicks from inside. I think baby wanted to play with Lex :) I
felt them a few other times later in the day, so I’m certain
they are kicks.

I’m at 18 weeks now and
we have our regular 18wk ultrasound tomorrow morning. I’ll try
and post another picture, but I’m guessing it’s going to look a
lot like the last one :)

The house is
coming along well. Just a few more days until we move. I’m a
big mess of excitement, nervousness, and pure exhaustion. I’ll
be happy when the whole thing is done and we’re in the new
house. Just a few more days….