35 Weeks

I will be 35 weeks this Sunday and at this point I'm wondering how I will make it to April 10. We've had an eventful couple of weeks. I've had Braxton Hicks nearly every day and have missed two days of work due to them. They are often accompanied by cramping, back pain and nausea, but I'm always just below the threshold of what the OB nurse deems serious enough to come in. When I had my appointment with Dr. Paul last week I had lost my mucous plug that morning. I was barely dilated and only 20% effaced, so she was not concerned. She did tell me little Callie was head down, which made me very happy. Even though I'm having a c-section, I like knowing things are lining up as they should. I had also lost some weight, which put my total weight gain at 24 pounds. I started out 13 pounds heavier with this pregnancy than with Mia, so the lower weight gain is putting me in a better position for loss afterward, for which I am very grateful.

I definitely feel 40 and pregnant. I'm so uncomfortable, and everything hurts. I'm having occasional sciatic pain, painful swelling just below the waist and back spasms woke me up the other night. Even with all that, I just love feeling my little Callie move around. She is every bit as active as Mia was, and Mia really enjoys laying next to me and feeling her sister move around. She fell asleep the other night with her hand on my belly, and when she woke up the next morning she immediately put her head on my belly, kissing it and talking to Callie.

Dad has finished painting Callie's room. I just love it and am now waiting for Mike to bring up the crib and put it together so I can get everything settled. I have a baby shower next weekend and really only have a few things left to get. I've washed and put away all her clothes. I have diapers out and her swing and rocker are ready for her.

At this point, although I want her to get all the time she needs inside of me, I really want to meet her. After nine miscarriages, I still have a surreal feeling about this pregnancy. I have not enjoyed it nearly as much as I did with Mia because I'm scared. I want to look at her and see that she's okay. I want to hold her close and shower her with all the overwhelming love I have for her. So many people are excited to meet her, no one more than her mommy, and I can't wait for her birth day to arrive.

That being said, I'm completely overwhelmed with school right now. The last class of my MBA before my capstone started last Monday and it's a bitch. No other way to put it. It is the most difficult I've had in these two years and my brain is operating at less than optimal speed these days. I'm worried I will not do well, or that Callie will arrive before the end of this class and I will fall behind. It's adding a huge level of stress to my life right now that I just don't need. But I'm determined to get through it. I want my girls to know and appreciate the value of their education and no one can set a better example for them than their mommy.