35/35 - Take #2!
I'm writing this post a little early, since I don't technically hit 35 weeks until Sunday. However, we're headed to the zoo that day and I'm going to try to catch up on housework this weekend as well, so I thought I should write an update now for this "golden" milestone in case Sunday is simply too busy!
I'm happy to report that I did successfully submit one of the two grants that I was kicking around. The process of writing while massively pregnant was brutally awful, and it reminded me of how hard I worked at the end of my dissertation as well - getting up at 5am to force myself to write science when my brain was so maxed out that it seemed like nothing I was writing was even marginally coherent. It was a painful process then, as it was now - but it was only one bad week this time around, whereas to finish my dissertation, it was like that for like 3 months and I gave myself an ulcer. Moreover, the grant really isn't going to get invited/funded, so it was a pretty massive waste of my time and effort for no payoff. At least (as of last night) Maya is back to sleeping the night in her own room instead of on our floor.
The main good news with the grant submission is that now I am (sort of) FREE!!! Of course, I still should be writing like 15 papers, and there's another grant that I'm not lead on for which I will have to do work (I told them to load me up with scripting figures, or collating data, or other super brainless tasks), and my students still need stuff. However, the recent manuscript revision coupled with the recent grant submission has convinced me that it's not healthy to work like crazy these last few weeks of pregnancy if I can *possibly* avoid it. Over the course of this last week, I had two major episodes of regular (and painful) contractions, I drank THREE lattes (I think I'd had three lattes in the previous 6 months before that), and I was a cranky bitch. I think it's definitely time to simply switch gears, slowly at first, to life outside of work and the impending labor, delivery, and nursing!
Which brings me to the return of...the Epi-No!
You may remember my discussion of the Epi-No during my pregnancy with Maya. It was supposed to help me avoid an episiotomy during delivery, and I was excited to report back about whether or not it had actually worked. Well, since Maya never got further than a +2 station, there was no report to be had. In hopes that this time will be different, I am now busting it out again for daily "perineal training and stretching." The training last time was pretty uncomfortable once I got above 5cm, but my confidence going into labor was higher with it than without it. So, here we go again, lucky me :)
As with Maya's pregnancy, it's pretty crazy to me at 35 weeks that new baby could be here in 2 weeks, or she could be here in 7 weeks. Those are such different timelines!!! Like, two weeks means I seriously need to bust ass and make sure the house/my body is ready. Seven weeks means that I actually should write another paper this month. It's just so crazy not to know! I will say that I definitely feel way more labor-y this time around, even this early, as contractions are most definitely longer, stronger, and more frequent. But, then again, that's perfectly normal and I could still go 42 weeks again. We just don't know, and must be prepared (mentally and physically) for all eventualities.
The next update of importance will be on Feb 2nd, which is my next midwife appointment, at 36 (and a half) weeks. We will do a confirmation of fetal presentation (I think she's breech again today), my GBS test, and while she's in there doing that, I'm going to ask for an update on my cervix (squishy? dilated at all?). In the meantime, more pelvic tilts and circles on the birth ball, cat/cows, rebozo sifting, and prenatal aquafit.
I will update this post later this evening with a belly shot - my first of the pregnancy, I think? :) I am wearing all black today in mourning about the inauguration...I can't think about it too much because the world is indeed coming to an end and it's super depressing. Focusing on the new baby is much more healthy for me mentally!
I'm happy to report that I did successfully submit one of the two grants that I was kicking around. The process of writing while massively pregnant was brutally awful, and it reminded me of how hard I worked at the end of my dissertation as well - getting up at 5am to force myself to write science when my brain was so maxed out that it seemed like nothing I was writing was even marginally coherent. It was a painful process then, as it was now - but it was only one bad week this time around, whereas to finish my dissertation, it was like that for like 3 months and I gave myself an ulcer. Moreover, the grant really isn't going to get invited/funded, so it was a pretty massive waste of my time and effort for no payoff. At least (as of last night) Maya is back to sleeping the night in her own room instead of on our floor.
The main good news with the grant submission is that now I am (sort of) FREE!!! Of course, I still should be writing like 15 papers, and there's another grant that I'm not lead on for which I will have to do work (I told them to load me up with scripting figures, or collating data, or other super brainless tasks), and my students still need stuff. However, the recent manuscript revision coupled with the recent grant submission has convinced me that it's not healthy to work like crazy these last few weeks of pregnancy if I can *possibly* avoid it. Over the course of this last week, I had two major episodes of regular (and painful) contractions, I drank THREE lattes (I think I'd had three lattes in the previous 6 months before that), and I was a cranky bitch. I think it's definitely time to simply switch gears, slowly at first, to life outside of work and the impending labor, delivery, and nursing!
Which brings me to the return of...the Epi-No!
You may remember my discussion of the Epi-No during my pregnancy with Maya. It was supposed to help me avoid an episiotomy during delivery, and I was excited to report back about whether or not it had actually worked. Well, since Maya never got further than a +2 station, there was no report to be had. In hopes that this time will be different, I am now busting it out again for daily "perineal training and stretching." The training last time was pretty uncomfortable once I got above 5cm, but my confidence going into labor was higher with it than without it. So, here we go again, lucky me :)
As with Maya's pregnancy, it's pretty crazy to me at 35 weeks that new baby could be here in 2 weeks, or she could be here in 7 weeks. Those are such different timelines!!! Like, two weeks means I seriously need to bust ass and make sure the house/my body is ready. Seven weeks means that I actually should write another paper this month. It's just so crazy not to know! I will say that I definitely feel way more labor-y this time around, even this early, as contractions are most definitely longer, stronger, and more frequent. But, then again, that's perfectly normal and I could still go 42 weeks again. We just don't know, and must be prepared (mentally and physically) for all eventualities.
The next update of importance will be on Feb 2nd, which is my next midwife appointment, at 36 (and a half) weeks. We will do a confirmation of fetal presentation (I think she's breech again today), my GBS test, and while she's in there doing that, I'm going to ask for an update on my cervix (squishy? dilated at all?). In the meantime, more pelvic tilts and circles on the birth ball, cat/cows, rebozo sifting, and prenatal aquafit.
I will update this post later this evening with a belly shot - my first of the pregnancy, I think? :) I am wearing all black today in mourning about the inauguration...I can't think about it too much because the world is indeed coming to an end and it's super depressing. Focusing on the new baby is much more healthy for me mentally!
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| Not a flattering photo, but there you have it. Now you know why I haven't been taking any. |
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