38 Weeks: The day is nigh…

So I’ve not felt real good since Saturday.  Oh I wasn’t sick or anything over the weekend.  That was later.

I’ve had what I call “Kitty Litter Nose” since the snow back in January.  You know, you feel like your nose is full of tiny rocks or glass or something?  And you blow it and it looks like a bloody mosaic?  (Sorry I can get a bit gross sometimes)

I get this off and on and it’s mostly that my nose gets so DRY and if I’d just use the saline spray it would be better?  I even asked my ENT Chester about it and he told me to use the saline spray too.

Oh well.

Over the weekend, the kitty litter nose just felt a little dryer, a little more stuffy but nothing too terrible and I felt ok.

Monday, I went for an OB appointment and I felt ok then, but by the time I got back home, I felt vaguely like dog crap.  Nugget is right under my boobs and I feel a little breathless most of the time anyway but I felt a little more breathless Monday afternoon.

I chalked everything up to just being hugely and gigantically pregnant and went on with my business.

Tuesday, I didn’t feel very well but I had a plumber coming out to replace ALL OF OUR TOILETS so I had to keep it together…

Now I am pretty damn handy with a toilet, if I say so myself.  I am an expert plunger and will confidently open up that tank and replace all of it’s innards if it gives me any trouble.

Our potties are all original to our 20+ year old house and I’ve completely rebuilt one, partially rebuilt another and the third one did that “tinkle tinkle” sound all the time which means it needs to be tightened but I’d tightened it so much that I was afraid if I tightened it anymore, I’d crack the porcelain.

Additionally, our water bill was getting ridiculous.

So the plumber finally gets to the house about noon just as I’m sitting Phoebe down to lunch.  I get him started and finish lunch with the kiddo. 

As the plumber works, I feel worse and worse.  Not about his work, that was great.  He was quiet, not too chatty, which I appreciated since my throat was beginning to really hurt.  I kept the kiddo out of his way and busy until he was done with the upstairs bathrooms and then I put her down for a nap.

He finished up with the guest bath downstairs right at 4PM and I was about dead.  I mean, I was REALLY sick.  I managed to keep it together long enough to get him paid and out of my house but then I crashed on the couch until 5:30 when Phoebe woke up from her nap.

After cooking a more complex dinner than I should have (Coca Cola chicken, mac and cheese and green beans) and watching a few minutes of TV, we put Phoebe to bed and I got in the tub.

I rarely go to bed before 11 or so, but Tuesday, I was so sick I just wanted to go myself.  But my head was so stuffy that I decided that a warm bath might help.  I also used the Neti pot about 4 times that day and I did it once before I went to bed.

IF you’ve never used a Neti pot before, you are missing an interesting experience.  It’s not unpleasant but I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing in the world I’ve done either.  However, the results are worth a few minutes of discomfort.

As a kid, I never liked diving because the water went straight up my nose and gagged me.  Using the neti pot is basically forcing that water up my nose on purpose.  Not exactly something I’m going to enjoy under any circumstance. 

I use the Neilmed neti pot not because I like the pot itself but because the saline mixture that comes with it is AWESOME! 

It doesn’t burn my nose like other mixes.  I’ve tried a couple of different ones and they all say that you may need to work up to full strength mix but the one doesn’t burn at all and it’s easy to mix.

So Tuesday night I feel like absolutely dog crap.  Wednesday morning, I actually felt a lot better.

By today, Thursday, I feel human again and gladly went to my LAST PERINATOLOGIST appointment.  I got to see THE PERINATOLOGIST again and he said that I had done wonderfully and I should be proud of myself for the control I had.  I haven’t felt like I’ve had the GD under control very well but he says I have and since he’s been birthing babies since I was BORN, I’m gonna trust him.

The last ultrasound was a full scan so we got to look at all the organs again and did measurements of the little guy.  Right now, he’s an estimated 8 pounds 15 ounces – which is what Phoebe weighed when she was born at 38 weeks, 2 days.

With another week, he should gain somewhere around another 1/2 pound or so which will bring him in around 9-1/2 pounds.

So that’s where we are.  Waiting.

If baby boy decides to come now, they will pause labor long enough to do a c-section.  Otherwise, we wait.