Pregnancy Post

A friend from high school recently asked me on Face.book how I was feeling and how Whitney is doing with the whole "big sister" gig...in typical Kathleen fashion, I responded with a bit of a novel and it made me realize I havent documented a whole lot of details about the pregnancy so far.  I am 30+ weeks and figured I might as well start now :)   This was my response to Karyn:
Kathleen Svoboda Bass I feel.....pregnant. ha. I didn't feel pregnant through 2 trimesters, so this 3rd trimester is a bit shocking. Bending is rough already and I seriously can NOT believe he's gonna get bigger and bigger over the next 70+ days. Yikes! Whitney is already in looove with her little brother. Her prayers at home and at school always include a "fank You fo my baby bwudder" and she talks about all the things she is planning to teach him and show him and read to him. We really could not have planned the timing better..she is sooo excited for a baby. :) she loves to point out my belly and ask if "gwady" is kicking me or if he's sleeping, and she thinks its really been an awesome way to takl o her about her adoption and how she grew "inside miss T's belly". Of course I eat it up when she says "and I couldn't wait to get out and come home wiff you and daddy!" Melts my heart :)

Until about eight days ago, I never felt entirely pregnant.  I was still comfortable and able to do almost all of my normal activities with ease. Now? Not-so-much. Dont get me wrong! I am NOT complaining! I am just stating facts....pregnancy is not for sissies. I am short of breath a LOT, doing silly things like dressing Whitney in the morning or, embarrassingly, even dressing myself most days.  Getting out of bed is tricky, which makes the 9482 middle-of-the-night potty trips a bit of a sport. I have had to ask Eric for help getting off the couch twice this week, which made us both laugh, as we are both aware that this belly is only going to get larger as the weeks go on.  Eric ever-so-gently gawked looked lovingly at my belly tonight and said, "Wow.....wow. We laughed when I told you it was going to really get "THIS" big...and now it is this big." which lead to more talk of how much bigger this boy is going to get. I am blessed with a husband who is super willing and ready to jump in where I cant with Whitney, and who doesnt even mention the fact that no one in this house can recall the last time Mommy cooked a legit meal. 

I havent had any severe cravings, but nothing has really sounded overwhelmingly delicious or appetizing for quite some time.  The third trimester has me feeling full soooo quickly, that even when something sounds good, I cant eat as much as I want. Big eyes, small stomach. I have gone through phases of only eating the handful of things that were guaranteed to not induce nausea. Cheetos, Salt and Vinegar chips, swiss cheese with pretzels (perhaps an entire block of cheese in one day..? on more than one occasion?), ceasar salads, hershey's chocolate bars (I dont think Ive ever bought one in my life...now? Cant get enough.), powerade (the zero calorie bottles dont last more than a few hours),  tomatoes with cucumbers and mozzarella cheese with Italian dressing, and while I havent had a lot of red meat, I will never turn down a steak (and yes, I still eat it rare because I dont have it often enough to be worried about it making me sick).   I dont like the scales at my doctor's offices because they weigh me fully clothed and after Ive already eaten breakfast. No fair.  According to our home scale, I have gained 20 pounds at 30 weeks, which is hard to see, but I know its all for a good cause :) Grady was measuring an entire pound ahead of schedule, at approximately 3 lbs 3 oz, and I know "the girls" have gained considerable poundage since this whole game started...so I will be interested to see where I end up on the weight-gain spectrum. I definitely dont want to starve the kid, but I also know how I am about weight loss (I severely lack the discipline to lose weight and keep it off.) and know that having two kids will only decrease that mojo, so Id like to remain in the "average" category of pregnancy weight gain. (Note: I am aware that my food choices are likely dooming me to the "you-gained-too-much-weight" category. Trust me...if spinach sounded good, I would eat it.)

30 weeks, 3 days (Have no fear...I was headed to see Kathy to get my hair done, as 'the curly look' was all I could do with this mop lately. Kathy fixes everything :))

 Grady has been superrrr active lately, and I while I absolutely LOVE it, there are times when his jabs and kicks actually become painful as he seems to be grabbing onto a rib or grinding his heels into my hip bones.  I told someone yesterday that it seems like he can somehow have himself in my ribs, my tailbone, and my hips simultaneously.  The sweet little kicks are long gone, and have been replaced by strong, powerful rolls and stretches that are very visible from the outside and are enough to kick my cell phone or the remote or a book off my stomach if I lay still.

I am afraid to say it, since I dont want to "jinx" myself, but time appears to be ever-so-slightly picking up the pace.  Our next several weekends are filled with showers and my parents' big St. Patrick's Day party, as well as my birthday and our anniversary.  Eric laughs at me because I have lists upon lists upon lists. Right now I am ticking things off lists titled "Before March", "Before April", "Before Whitney's 3rd Birthday Party", "Before Grady", and "Before Beach Week".  See? He has good reason to laugh.  I was successful in completing my "Before January" and "Before February" lists, and Im pretty close to completing the "Before March" list this week, so the list method is working for now. Most of the items on the lists are shirts or skirts or other sewing items I need/want to get done before Grady arrives or before certain holidays or celebrations.  It is getting harder and harder to sit at my machines for the time required to produce cute tees, onesies, skirts, and such. As much as my heart wants to sit and knock out five shirts at a time, I just cant do it right now and I know its only going to get worse in the coming weeks, so Im trying to get all the sewing done as soon as possible.  I have been able to use Whitney's school days to sew in the past, but those school mornings are quickly being sucked up by doctor's appointments.

Next week we start our weekly appointments with our regular OB. I have non-stress tests each week which, I am told, will require me to lay down for the doc to get 30 minutes of heart-rate monitors on Grady, looking for any extreme drops or variations.  At my last appointment, my regular OB mentioned that the high risk group made a note in my chart stating, "38-week induction". No one had mentioned this potential plan to us yet, and my regular OB admitted that he didnt see anything indicating this was necessary.  I told him that I really dont want to be induced, nor do I want a c-section, but that I would do whatever they all agreed was best for me and Grady.  I know my pregnancy has been labeled "high risk" from the start, but nothing has indicated it truly is "risky" in any way.  Without doing so much research that I scare myself, I have learned online that my blood clotting issue isnt necessarily an issue during the pregnancy, but can be a big risk during and after delivery.  This makes me think the high risk group just wants to have as much control over the situation as possible, in case a clot develops or in case I need extra interventions at the very end.  I know its all in God's hands, and that it will work out the way it is supposed to, but I was pretty shocked to hear this little boy could be here as soon as April 18th.

So I dont want a C-section and I dont want to be induced for many reasons...but I also dont want this guy making his debut so early that it puts him at risk, nor do I want his big sister to have to share her birthday week.  I know it doesnt really matter in the grands scheme of life, but it would be nice for Whitney to have her own day, her own party, and her own celebration for at least one more year.  Her birthday party is firmly scheduled for Sunday, April 22nd (Family and Friends, mark your calendars!!), and I reallllllllly want her day to be about HER, so I just cant imagine bringing her newborn baby brother to the park that day.  I mean, if Grady is ready to arrive before his "due date", then we will of course welcome him! But I sorta wanted him to decide that on his own....not the docs.  We'll see how it all plays out, and I'll be sure to ask the high risk people when we see them in a few weeks.

Im off to make more lists and check them twice :) Excited to see all the family and friends who are showering this little boy in the weeks to come! Cant begin to thank all the awesome girls who have been working hard to welcome Grady James to the world! It means so much to us and I wish I could repay each of you, as I am wellllll aware of how dramatic and expensive baby showers can become. You girls are THE BEST!