Almost 31 weeks

Another mostly uneventful OB appointment today. After this my appointments will be every two weeks instead of once a month--another sign that I'm getting closer to the end.

My blood pressure was 142/72, which isn't great, but since I don't have any protein in the urine we can all only sort of shrug about that and continue keep an eye on it. Fundal growth looks great, heartbeat sounds great, blah blah blah. Now the baby kicks back when pressed on with the doppler microphone. Shockingly considering the heat, my feet are not very swollen (ankles are just barely a little puffy).

I also seem to have kicked it up to a pound of weight gain a week since entering the third tri, after having gained half a pound per week through the second tri, and nothing in the first tri. If I can maintain this pace, I can bring the whole pregnancy in at only about twenty pounds of weight gain total, which would be good for everyone involved.

The novelty topic of the day was my pubic symphysis.
I've had some problems with an achy pelvis all along, but twice in the past two weeks I've had incidents where I seem to have outright injured myself. Both times I've gone for a walk, been a little sore by the end of it, but then by later that evening it's kind of like being stabbed in the bladder every time I take a step. Definitely makes me wince and gasp and clutch the doorjamb and countertops as I waddle around. It hurts like hell for about a day and a half, then it feels eighty percent better, then it feels about ninety-five percent better (which is pretty tolerable). Then a few days later I somehow start it all over again.

It happens because your hormones loosen up your pelvic ligaments during pregnancy and that can throw those joints out of whack. They get strained pulling apart, or the bone ends grind together. For many people it's accompanied by back pain, but I have not had any back pain.

So I asked her if I was in danger of causing long-term injury to myself, like tearing the ligament, and she said not really. I also asked if I could take Tylenol if it happens again, and she said absolutely. I can also get one of those oh-so-sexy pregnancy support belts if I want to, and if it continues to be a problem they can refer me to a physical therapist. None of that sounds appealing, so for now I'm just going to try to get more regular and more gentle exercise. I hadn't been walking as frequently (read: hardly at all) during the beastly heat.

In other news, I'm now thinking that my bellybutton may become an outie after all. It's now sometimes an innie and sometimes an outie depending on how it's being pushed on from the inside. Some member of the household may have likened its current changeable appearance to a "squid eye." Also, when I told him that the doc said I was not at all anemic, he said "Did you tell her it's because you suck the lifeblood out of your husband?"

I can't believe it's September--we're already into the months ending in -ber, and that's when I'm delivering! About the only thing holding my denial in place now is that I think I'm having a fall baby and delivering when it gets colder out, and right now it's anything but cold out and feels nothing like fall.