precious scribble: Week 33 - The Truth About Pickles

I had to open my fat mouth and talk about how great I have been sleeping, so now I can't sleep, argh. I can't even nap. Its not that Baby Gerrans is bothering me, it is simply that I can't fall asleep and when I am asleep I am not even sure that I am. Does that make sense? I lie there, tired, relaxed, but I can't say that I am actually asleep, especially with my mind racing the way it does these days. Burp cloths, car seats, diaper inserts, oh my! No wonder I can't rest. I have had two nightmares about nursing bras this week, so I guess I have been getting some shut eye :)

Everyone wants to know what I am craving these days and I have to disappoint you all with nothing. No weird cravings and even worse no cravings at all. When I go out to eat with friends they always want me to choose, but honestly it is hard enough to get through the fog that is pregnancy brain to make a decision. These days anything cold, seems to sound good to me, oh and of course sushi! I believe I have demystified the pregnancy pickles & ice cream craving though. Early on while on one of my grocery trips I wandered past the pickle aisle and began to ponder the typical craving. Since I was a wee tot I have always loved pickles, so it was not too much to experiment with them in my early pregnancy days. I picked up a couple of jars of cornichons since the chance of getting a large mushy pickle seemed too much to bare. At home I proceeded to taste a few to see if my taste buds had miraculously changed and they would sing for this new vinegary love, but alas they did not taste any different. They are still good, but not anything out of the ordinary. However, when they hit the back of my throat I knew instantly why these would become so desirable during pregnancy. See when you are pregnant your lovely hormones make your body produce more mucus, which makes your nose stuffy, which then makes your throat itch. What feels good on an itchy throat?? Answer: the vinegar in pickles. I love the cornichons because they are so crunchy which is a texture I seem to love these days. Now what is up with the ice cream? The cold temperature also feels good on an itchy throat. See mystery solved :) I still haven't eaten them together and I can only see this being great if your pickles were at room temp when you eat them, mine are always cold. And yes I do go through a lot of them.

I have been eating ice cream or frozen yogurt pretty regularly but after my doctor's visit today that will be no more, not cold turkey, just not indulging in a spoon full everyday. I stepped on the scale and lets just say that I am not longer half of Robert's weight, though I am still more than a foot shorter ;) Actually we decided that if Robert was twice my weight now we might have to put him in a wheel chair. Yikes. Well at least my college self is happy that while pregnant I have surpassed my freshmen 15 days; I think she would have been rather offended if that was still my heaviest. I am 32 inches from top of uterus to bottom, which is right on track, and 41 inches around (meaning I have grown 2 inches in four weeks). Will I beat mom?? She measured in at 42 inches, I still have at least four more weeks to go, so we'll see. Baby Gerrans' heart beat is in the 130-140 range, slightly slower than last time....so old wives does that mean I am having a boy?

Can you all order up some colder weather? Pregnant ladies don't do hot weather and I thought I was supposed to miss it! Most nights as the indoor temp registers 81 degrees I find myself standing in a bathtub full of ice cold water swaying back and forth as I read. The sitting position is the hardest for me to be in these days and when my feet are hot my whole body is miserable. They aren't swollen, they are just hot and I can't stand it. The only way I can cool them down is by soaking them in the tub. I am multi-tasking by bringing my book in there and for some reason I sway back and forth, maybe it encourages the blood to my feet, maybe I am practicing the rocking motion? I guess its good I don't get seasick ;)

My pregnancy app says that Baby Gerrans is about the size of a pineapple these days and boy can I feel it. He apparently has moved into the right position for birth (yay!!) but man oh man can I feel him moving around in there. All day long I am getting reminders that he is there. Robert pinned it best when he said Baby is not punching or kicking, but rather is sweeping my belly. It really does feel like that. He runs his body part across the belly rather than hitting it. The only time I really get kicked is when I put something cold on it. Sometimes while reading I will rest my glass of cold water on my belly and that is when he will hit at it, but other than that it is a sweeping motion. He must not enjoy the change in temp as much as mom does. I haven't seen any body parts come through yet. Shelly mention seeing her daughters bottom and being able to feel the cheeks, and my cousin Chris mentioned being able to see his daughter's nose poke through. I am constantly looking and feeling to see if I can recognize what is moving across my belly, but nothing looks familiar yet. I guess we have plenty more time for this.

Well we are off to practice our breathing in another birthing class tonight. Hopefully Daddy-to-be will learn to do something other than pat my head and sing Johnny Cash to me as he keeps threatening to do while we are in labor. (does he want to be kicked out of the room??)

xoxo

Here are the pics from the shower that I promised last week.