34 weeks

Technically I'm 35 weeks today but the photo is at my 34 week mark (it's been a long week!). We got back from Sioux Falls last week and then I had a mild preeclampsia scare. Well not really. I had one symptom of it (this sharp pain in my ribs on the right side, which apparently is where your liver is) but it was enough that my doctor wanted me to be tested for it. So that's where I spent Thursday evening, in the Phoenix hopsital, contemplating what I would do if they made me have this baby (that's the only cure for preeclampsia....and if you don't do it, you could die). I mean, I was pretty sure I didn't have it (because there are a lot of symptoms and I only had the one) but after a few hours I started second guessing myself (did I really not have any headaches, am I really not seeing stars...?). Turns out, I have gall stones (women, pregnancy, and those approaching 40 are the highest risk group for gall stones...I prefer to think of myself as in the first two categories). So the good news is it won't kill me (literally the doctors words), the bad news is is there really isn't anything they can do about it (and it should go away once I give birth). But now that I know what it is it really doesn't bother me as much. It's weird how pain is like that. Also, my feet are no longer swollen like they were - so that's good. That means real shoes for the wedding (I got a back up pair of green flip flops at target for $2.50!). Speaking of, my MIL got my altered dress back to me. As predicted, the bottom part flared out like an a-line skirt. Not only was it not cut straight down but it actually continued to get wider at the bottom. wtf. Luckily my husband was there to help me convince her to take it back in. We got a compromise on it (and after a few jokes of my knees not getting any bigger) so we'll see how it looks when I get it back again. But in any case, the dress fits and looks good (I just don't want to have the hoola hoop bottom....that is SO 19th century). And I actually think it didn't make me look AS pregnant (well to me anyway).

I saw my doctor on Friday and I was so sad to here he is retiring! Like literally his last day is next Friday (which would be my normal appt but I have to re-schedule since I'll be at the wedding). It just is really unusual to see the same doctor all the time (since most doctors are part of clinics they usually rotate around so you see a different one all the time) but I get too because he's the only one that comes up to Casa Grande to do "outreach" (I still find that term hilarious....like I'm one of his pregnant teens). And he tolerated my lack of cooperation with them whenever they wanted to run their "routine" tests. So yeah...I'm a little sad. But I guess my pregnant time is almost over anyway, and the doctor who will ultimately deliver the baby will be there all of ten minutes (or so I've heard).

I decided to hire a doula and gave her the down payment on Saturday. I'm excited about it because she has so much experience in the hospitals and it'll be nice to have someone always there that can suggest different things to make me feel comfortable. My other pregnant friend (who was 6 weeks ahead of me) had her baby on Friday. I visited her in the hospital on Saturday and it was awesome. Both to see the baby, but also to check out first-hand where I will be in approx 5 weeks. I even got to listen to the breastfeeding lesson the lactation consultant gave during my visit. Plus she had a pretty good birth story so I wasn't too scarred (not that it was easy...she definitely didn't downplay the pain...but that at the end she had the baby and everything was fine).