A fine way to start the first work week of the New Year.

[rivka]

I spent two hours at the hospital this morning doing my best pincushion imitation. I had to get labwork done for my 28-week midwife appointment, which is a week from Wednesday. (Gah! I'm in my third trimester!) Interestingly, in Maryland one gets tested for syphillis three times during pregnancy: once at the first prenatal visit, once at 28 weeks, and once at delivery. I complained about the overkill factor to my mother, who said, "I had a client who got syphillis twice while she was pregnant." Well, okay. I believe they also tested for anemia and for thyroid problems.

And they tested for gestational diabetes. That was fun. I had to skip my normal breakfast of Cheerios and milk (too many carbs) in favor of some cheese (no carbs, high in protein). Then, after my first blood draw of the morning, they gave me ten ounces of a repellent, sickly-sweet orange soda (50g of glucose!) and told me I had five minutes to drink the whole thing. After that, no food or water for an hour, during which time I spent much of my time focusing on not throwing up. Then four more tubes of blood.

I finished off this perfect morning with a shot in the ass to prevent my immune system from trying to kill any future Rh+ babies I might carry. And a desperately needed carton of yogurt from the hospital cafeteria - more protein to balance out all the simple sugar cascading through my bloodstream.

I got back from the bathroom just now to find my research assistant sitting with her coat on, waiting for me. Her father has been in a rehabilitation hospital for the last couple of months, and they've suddenly decided to release him a day early, regardless of whether or not the family is ready. So she's gone. I'm actually kind of looking forward to a quiet day of catching up on paperwork and writing, instead of training her and coming up with projects she can do, but I'm also irritated on her behalf.

Actually, I think I'm probably just generally cranky.

I'm a little freaked out about starting the third trimester. It suddenly seems scary that there's going to be this baby and she's going to be with us all the time and we will always have to take care of her, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Which, duh, is exactly what we want, which is why I got pregnant in the first place. I know. But it's suddenly seeming frightening and overwhelming. This is a stage, right?

Physically, the third trimester is a time of massive fetal growth, which means massive belly growth. My organs are starting to squash together, as evidenced by heartburn and shortness of breath. My belly button is starting to look weird - sort of stretched and everted around the edges. I'm still an innie, but obviously not for long. And although, so far, I've been carrying low, I'm starting to see major growth above my belly button, accompanied by fierce itching that cocoa butter doesn't really tame. I'm still not eating much more than I did before I got pregnant - the main difference is that I'm having high-protein snacks instead of sugary snacks. But I bet that, this time, I will have gained weight.

In the shower this morning, I discovered that I am now wider front-to-back than I am side-to-side. curiousangel and I showered together, and I figured out that when we switch places it's easier for me to get by if I walk straight ahead instead of sidling. Damn.

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[kightp.livejournal.com]

Aveeno also makes kick-ass moisturizers that contain colloidal oatmeal; their Skin Relief moisturizing lotion is the only thing that keeps me from scratching myself raw in the winter. It's thicker than most lotions but not at all greasy, and it contains the tiniest bit of menthol, which is very soothing to the itchies.