Week 31 - Attack of the Heartburn, and Why You Shouldn't Tempt Fate

So far, I've had a relatively easy pregnancy, all things considered. People would ask, "Are you dealing with this? Is that giving you a hard time?" And in my infinite foolishness, I would respond with "Oh no, that hasn't been a problem at all. I guess I'm just lucky!" Well, Murphy's Law tells us that this is an excellent way to immediately be bombarded with something.

And that something is Heartburn. With a capital H. And fireworks, and 27 out-of-tune tubas. Because that is just how over the top and obnoxious Heartburn has been lately. I had minor problems with heartburn after eating marinara in the first trimester, but we figured it out pretty quickly, I stayed away for the most part, and eventually I ate it again without problems. But we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner last weekend because it sounded really good. Big mistake. Heartburn all night, and because it was the only option for Monday's lunch, I took leftovers. Which meant more Heartburn. Then the next night I made a Latin-spiced chickpea dish and tasted one of the chickpeas to be sure I got the seasoning right. I discovered that I might have put a tad too much cayenne in, and immediately was graced with more Heartburn. So it looks like our menu rotation will be changing soon to take out the spicy and/or acidic stuff, at least for the next two months. Which is no fun, because I love spicy food.

In other news, the Cinnabon was FABULOUS. Absolutely delish, especially washed down with a perfectly sweet-tart lemonade. Until it gave me heartburn. Luckily, that craving has been nicely satisfied, so I think I'll be good until I go home to California in a couple weeks. Either way, I'll be having my mom's cinnamon rolls, or failing that, a Cinnabon at the airport. And I get to have In-N-Out when I arrive, which is just awesome. A double-double animal style, paired with a chocolate shake. So. Damn. Good. And I can have it without worry because the 3-hour glucose test came back okay. One of the levels came back high, but that just means I have to be careful with what I eat instead of stabbing myself every few hours.

Brianna is now a whopping three and a half pounds and measures around 18 inches, give or take a smidge. Her brain is in high gear development, so I'll be loading up on eggs and flaxseed now (Omega-3's: nature's wonder food). She's filling out and getting fat on her body so she can keep herself warm, which means she'll look less and less like a hairy Bigfoot when she's born. What she might look like instead is a synchronized swimmer. As she gets bigger, she has less room to move, so I'm getting less of the big kicks (good for my bladder) and more sweeping and stretching motions. One night it felt like she was practicing somersaults and then gave a rousing rendition of YMCA.

We're starting to wonder if she's dropped now since she's in the head-down position most of the time. There seems to be a bit more room in my chest, and my belly seems a little low. Or it could just be that with her being head first she keeps her legs tucked more often than not, and I just carry low in general. But I'm definitely having to pee way more often. Sometimes every hour, occasionally even more often. Sleeping is becoming a pain because I wake up every couple hours and have to hoist myself out of bed despite the fact that my hips are stiff. She's putting a lot of pressure on my pelvis too, which doesn't help with the hip situation and makes it feel like I have a bowling ball resting on my cervix. Which is scary when I think about it, because I know her weight is going double, if not quite triple. It's going to be a long two months.