Expected May 31, 2008

Latest Updates and Blog location

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:55:17 -0700

Please go to the newborn blog location to get the latest stories about being a mom.

Click ---> Here

May 24, 2008

Thu, 29 May 2008 16:20:58 -0700

Justin Darius Tighi
May 24, 2008, 7:08pm
6 pounds
19 inches long

status update - week 38

Sun, 18 May 2008 19:02:00 -0700

As of my last doctor’s appointment, which was last Wednesday (at 37 1/2 weeks) I:
* was dilated 1 1/2 cm
had a posterior facing, but softening cervix
which means I am progressing and getting ready for labor. The posterior part also means that the baby hasn’t fully dropped yet, which is completely amazing to me. I didn’t think it was possible for this baby to get any lower without falling out. I swear sometimes I’ll be walking down a hall and it seriously feels like he is going to start dribbling out right then and there.

My “baby out date” has been set for June 10, which means that is the last day the doctor will let me be pregnant without taking some sort of action to help move things along. Given my current status he doesn’t think I’ll go that long. Well thank goodness for small mercies because I don’t think I can stand being pregnant that long.

In fact, I don’t think I can stand being pregnant much longer in general.

I can’t wait to go into labor!

I cannot believe those words came from me, but it’s true. I am ready to do anything and everything to end this pregnancy and get this baby out of me. I am done. You can stick a fork in me and it will come out clean. At 38 weeks, the baby is now full term and can come out at any time. The bun in the oven is fully baked and at this point it is just browning on top. Well, I think the top is brown enough. It’s ready to come out. Seriously.

Why, you ask? Oh geez, you so do not want me to list my every discomfort. As you know from my earlier blog entries, I’m more than willing to share the graphic details of diarrhea and swollen feet, but quite frankly I just don’t have the energy these days. In fact, I don’t have a lot of energy to do a lot of anything these days. I’ll typically have a few decent hours early in the day, but as the day wears on my physical state, and then gradually my mental state, start to deteriorate. By early evening I’m a bit of a zombie, which is why my blog entries have been lacking the last couple of weeks. I keep thinking of topics - “Oh! I need to write about this or that experience!” - and then I get home and I can’t do anything but lie down with my feet elevated. sigh. Oh well, not much longer. Now that I’m getting close I’ll try to post status updates more often. Wish me luck (and a quick, easy labor very soon)!!

Grown out of my maternity clothes - week 35

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:48:51 -0700

As you can see, I have grown so big that I hardly fit into my maternity clothes. Those belly bands I bought at the beginning of my pregnancy to hold up my pre-preggy jeans are now again coming in useful to hold up my maternity jeans. My belly is now pushing them down to my hips where they start to slide down. I can’t have my jeans falling off at work. That would be bad. Not that I have any modesty or anything, but people would be horrified, I can’t blame them for that.

During the course of the day, I had two different people at work that don’t see me on a daily basis stop dead in their tracks upon laying eyes on me to marvel at my body’s ability to just grow and grow and keep on growing. Later this evening when I got to the gym and was putting my bag in a locker, a man I have never seen before couldn’t help but blurt out, “Woah! You look like you’re about to go!” You should have seen his eyes pop out of his head when I told him I still have another month to go.

Speaking of the gym, I have to tell you how comical my visits can be these days. Now, although John sites several times he has seen pregnant women working out at his gym, I myself have never seen one at the location I go to, and apparently neither has anyone else that works out there. The reactions I get remind me of a circus freak show. First comes the double take with the expressions of shock - Holy cow! Is that a pregnant woman?! Here?! Working out!?! Then people want to stare at me and watch me as I go about my business, but they know that is rude so they abruptly force themselves to turn away. But sometimes an eye creeps back in my general direction, they just can’t help themselves. When I first started getting really big it used to make me a little self conscious, but now I’ve reached such enormous proportions, I think it’s just funny.

And hey, at 35 weeks huge, if I can still make it to the gym (and believe me it’s neither fun nor comfortable) I think I’m doing ok :)

Burning butt cheeks - Week 34

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:04:23 -0700

I think I have mentioned that I have been having issues with my hips. The ball in socket joints are kind of falling apart, so the muscles around them have been compensating for the lack of ligament support. As a result, my outer thighs and particularly my glutes get quite sore some days.

My massage therapist recommended that I try using Tiger Balm on sore muscles, which although stinky as all heck, is safe for use during pregnancy. So the other night I rubbed some Tiger Balm on the sore areas just before getting into bed. John and I typically practice our relaxation exercises before going to sleep at night, so he turned the soft music on and cuddled up next to me. After a couple of minutes the Tiger Balm started to take affect and I started to feel the slight discomfort of the cold burning sensation.

I announced to John “My butt cheeks are burning” to which he responded without missing a beat, “Oh? You mean your @$$ is on fire?”.

The ensuing gigglefest that followed was something akin to a couple of giddy, overtired kids at a slumber party. Although fun and entertaining, it was not relaxing in the slightest. Which I am perfectly ok with because seriously, how often do I giggle like a school girl these days? Between the physical discomfort of being 8 months pregnant and being so hormonal I can hardly go a day without wanting to either cry or scream at someone, I’ll take all the goofy gigglefests I can come across. If it weren’t so stinky, I think I would put Tiger Balm on more often just so we could laugh at my burning butt cheeks.