33 weeks

Week 33 was a big one because we went to our childbirth/parenting class. I had originally tried to sign us up for the 4-week course (one evening a week for a month) but it filled up while I was waiting to hear back from a local midwife about a more private class, so instead we took a Friday/Saturday class. The class (in Salem) was 6-9pm on Friday evening and then 9-5 on Saturday. I didn't mind having all the information crammed into two class sessions but I did mind the chairs! They were typical hospital classroom chairs with straight backs and no way to adjust them. Luckily we had to bring two pillows to class, so I utilized the heck out of ours. ;) They also had birth balls on one side of the room and I sat on one of those at our table for awhile instead of in a chair.

They had everyone in the class line up in order of due date. There was one couple (the token "weird" couple in the class) due August 25th, another couple due August 27th and we are due August 29th. We may end up seeing them at the hospital! (Two couples were due after us, both in early October.) We learned that the couple we shared a table with lives just around the corner from us and they are also delivering in Salem because of their insurance. :)

I had been extremely un-excited about delivering our baby in Salem, but after our class I felt MUCH better about it. I enjoyed the tour they took us on and was left feeling like the nurses and staff on the L&D and maternity floors are really interested in giving you the best experience they can (more so than Corvallis). I was happy to learn that they regularly use (and encourage the use of) birth balls and squat bars and the jetted tub (as well as lots of different labor positions). In Corvallis I get the impression you really have to ask hard for these things and they have ONE tub for the whole floor. In Salem each room has its own tub.

One interesting thing we learned in class had to do with pets. They said this is a good idea for cats or dogs. When you get home from the hospital, give your pets the baby's hat and receiving blanket that they used for the first day or two. Let them do whatever they want with it (lay on it, chew it, bury it). This is their way of getting used to the baby's scent. I never would have thought of that. :)

I left the class feeling much more prepared and excited than I had been feeling before.

Other symptoms this week:

Sore back. The middle of my back gets really achy and uncomfortable if I'm sitting in an uncomfortable chair for a long time or just by the end of the day.

My fingers and toes are swollen by the end of the day, too. During the night my fingers get REALLY swollen and when I get up to use the bathroom it actually hurts to bend them.

I can't walk around the house for long periods (especially on the linoleum) without shoes anymore. My feet ACHE after a short period of time. I have to remember to put my Tevas on before I make dinner or do the dishes or I will regret it later. (Steve is getting much better at food rubs and I have to beg a little less now to get one.)

I take cold showers in the evenings sometimes now. And my morning showers are warm at best, NOT hot (I usually rinse with cool water before I get out because I get overheated easily after my shower). Forget blowing my hair dry with hot air - I hold that cold button down the whole time. ;) And I have to let laundry cool down after drying before I fold it (I used to fold it straight out of the dryer) or my fingers just puff right up again. I wash dishes in hot water and then rinse them in cold. And I rarely sleep with covers at night anymore. My drinking water pretty much has to have ice in it. ;) (But I don't like to crunch the ice, I just like the water to be cold.)

I crave fruit all the time, and it's usually fruit with high water content (cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, cherries, peaches, berries. I also crave ice cream all the time.

I experience a lot of pelvic pressure with bending and squatting.

My clothes don't fit! I really hadn't counted on outgrowing my maternity shirts! I have actually started setting aside a couple of shirts for the "after baby" phase because my belly is too big for them now.

I take a nap almost every day. Usually it's in the early evening (after work) and I often don't wake up until after 7pm. Some days this makes it hard to go to bed at night but other days I fall right to sleep around 10:30 or 11 at night (normal for me).