Papa's Birthday

May 16, 2013 (33.5 weeks):

The baby should be over 4 pounds now and over 17 inches long… no wonder why her little feet get caught under my rib cage when she kicks. She hasn’t actually settled into position yet, but when she is head down I sure can feel the pressure!!! I have been napping after work for at least an hour lately… Last weekend I napped for two hours on Sunday. Prenatal yoga went well, but I really don’t have the Sunday availability to do it until I am in my last month… if I am already this big and have to make so many adjustments to my poses I can’t imagine how I will feel in 2 more weeks… Getting bigger every day now. “They say” the last 6 weeks are the most uncomfortable… I think “they” are right.

My lifting work-outs for the week have changed because of this exact discomfort “they” speak of:

Goblet Squats 4(60lbx6); Incline DB Bench 2(70lbx6), 2(80lbx6); Pull-ups/Chin-ups 5x6; DB Shoulder Press 4(60lbx6); TRX Inverted Row 4x6; Lateral ALT Lunges 3(35lbx8e); SL RDL 3(40lbx8e)

I had to change up my routine again... No more Back Squats or Reverse Lunges after last Friday. Well, at least I am still doing something 3x/wk. Not to mention my swimming 5x/wk. It’s not Erin’s usual, but nothing is “usual” Erin anymore.

Monday’s doctor’s appointment was great (my doctor is in a much better mood later on in the day). We started to go over my birth plan, which he was on board with completely. He said this is your experience, and I just want to make sure it’s safe. His only “requests” are that the baby is monitored the whole time and that he has IV access. When we were listening to Sierra’s heart beat she started moving around a lot (like usual) and her heart rate jumped up, and my doctor actually started laughing. He loves that she moves around so much, he said it was very good. So in 2 weeks from today I have another appointment with him.

Wednesday I met with my HR lady and we went over the “final” plan. I will be taking sick leave (paid sick days) for 5 days, and July 1 – August 12 I will be on maternity leave and come back on a part-time basis starting August 13 (taking paid vacation hours for the time I am not there).  A bunch of paperwork needs signing and all of my hours need coding, but it’s basically all figured out. I asked Gus to go in early to work because there was a “surprise” (that my athletes slipped) baby shower for us from my teams and coaches that I work with. The best part was having all 6 of my teams in one space at the same time. It gave my husband, the other teams I work with, and me a better scope of how many kids I work with on a weekly basis. I loved it! Luckily there weren’t too many gifts to open (the embarrassing part). We were given BOXES of diapers and wipes from Costco and a gift card to Target. Even though we plan on using reusable diapers, I am thinking about using the free diapers we were given first… Still I know I will be contributing to the horrible environmental consequences of diapers in landfills, but it would be wasteful not to use something we were given. Also the first week after the baby is born you don’t actually want to use reusable diapers because their excrement comes out like tar and makes it extremely difficult to get out of the reusable diapers. Oh the dilemma!

Papa turns 32 on Sunday!!! It’s quite exciting for me, as I love to celebrate birthdays. Especially my favorite person’s birthday! Gus doesn’t really care that much about his birthday though. I have already given him his birthday gift and he gave himself one already too, so that “exciting” aspect of birthdays won’t be happening this weekend. He’s heading out to do an all-day mountain bike ride on Saturday and on Saturday evening we are heading over to Lisa and Jeremy’s (who only live 1 mile away) for a BBQ! While Gus is on his ride I will be baking a cake and waiting for our internet to get installed… WOOHOOO! Skype with Sierra here we come! It feels strange to get looped into another “contract” though… Gus and I don’t really like the idea of being tied to a bill. We’re going to have challah bread French toast on his birthday morning, baby/labor class, and then we are going out to dinner of his choice in the evening. It will be a happy birthday I’m sure.

 

I didn’t gain any weight this week, which is a first (29 pound total weight gain). I am beginning to resemble the hallmark basketball shape of being very pregnant: