Right on target

So the beginning of the 3rd trimester came and I didn't post. I meant to, but school is eating my time right now. It's not like I didn't notice the beginning of the 3rd trimester because it ushered in new pregnancy symptoms and the return of 1st trimester symptoms that had pretty much faded to almost nothing. Like clockwork. My body's calendar said: "Oh? 3rd trimester starts today? Have some nausea in the morning after breakfast. Oh, and have some Braxton Hicks contractions that you can really feel." These contractions, also known as "practice contractions" are more or less painless (I sometimes feel light cramping for a minute), but make my belly as hard as a rock and can be pretty uncomfortable. On a few occasions, we've been walking and I've had to stop to sit, once we even went home. I talked to the doctor about this Thursday and she said it was normal -- as long as I don't have more than four in an hour (which has not been the case -- I might have one or two and it's not every hour). She also implied that over-exertion can set them off, so I wonder if my lack of sleep during the week has been a trigger -- along with some of Benjamin's more uncomfortable kicks.

(I just googled "Braxton Hicks" to put the link above and it's interesting how different the descriptions can be. Compare the one BabyCenter offers to the one I chose above. My symptoms are closer to the one from AllAboutMoms.com. In fact, the BabyCenter one would have worried me if I had read it before going to the doctor's.)

Not only are my symptoms right on target, but so is my weight and so is my fundal height, meaning that Benjamin is growing exactly as he should (and as I write this he just kicked or punched me in the belly button). Benjamin's heart is banging away -- by the far the loudest we've heard it, but it's hard to tell if it's because of his size or the volume of the equipment. (His estimated size, according to the iVillage pregnancy calendar and BabyCenter is 14.5 to 15 inches from head to toe, weighing in at about 2.5 to 3 lbs).

This visit I also got a Rh immune globulin shot. My blood type is A-, meaning that I lack the Rhesis factor protein that 80 to 95% of people have. It is likely that Benjamin is Rh positive (Brian doesn't remember if he's positive or negative), so I need a shot at 28 weeks and then one after delivery to keep my blood from becoming Rh-sensitive, which could create complications in a future pregnancy because my immune system would attack the Rh protein in a fetus's blood, causing Rh-disease. (Thanks to modern medicine, I think it now mainly means that I would have to get lots of shots during pregnancy to protect the fetus from my antibodies.)

It was strange getting a shot in my hip. As I stood there I suddenly had a very vivid memory of getting a booster shot at the pediatrician's when I was maybe 10 or 11. It hurt a lot (this one did not -- must be more muscle and fat there to buffer the pain) and I was sick the next day (I remember being in music class in the old gym and feeling like my head was on fire and wanting to vomit). I don't think this shot made me sick, though I was very tired yesterday (what else is new?).

At some point I'm going to write about how so many pregnancy experiences -- body changes in particular -- seem to be lessons in empathy to prepare me for the new baby. As adults we forget what it felt like to grow, we have a sense of how our bodies work and how they are balanced, but pregnancy wipes the slate clean and reminds you what it feels like to be a Weeble that can fall down.

- maman