Hip Pain

I had not had very much hip pain till the middle of my 2nd trimester, but once it started it was a real problem. I lost allot of sleep because of it. Fortunately I found a couple of things that helped me.
1) Invest in a pregnancy pillow. They are expensive, but they really help you sleep longer.

2) Get out of bed and take a walk (I walk to the restroom, killing two birds with one stone).

3) Bounce on an exercise ball for a little while.

4) Always ALWAYS wear good shoes when you are standing or walking. I got some slide on sneakers (on the advice of my beautiful sister-in-law) that I keep with me all the time.

None of these things have taken care of the problem, but they all help me, and I hope they help you.

Big Time

I said that I would blog about the last few weeks of my pregnancy very honestly so that anyone who is earlier in their pregnancy would have a play-by-play. So, here goes...
I am big... really big. It takes me forever to get up and walking happens in slow motion, man, I thought I was slow the last few months but that was nothing compared to now.
The other thing that has changed, again, is my sleep pattern. I seem to get around 5 hours a night in 1 1/2 hour stretches. I have to go to the restroom, or be sick, or change positions after a little walk. I was given a pregnancy pillow which seems to help with the soreness. This all seems to be really good practice :).
I think it is a good thing that the end is so uncomfortable, otherwise you wouldn't want to give birth. If you aren't ready, or if you are having angst about your birth, you will be ready by the time you are at 9 1/2 months.
On the bright side, and there is lots of bright side...
Simone does some really cute things. She likes to tickle me with her feet (I wonder if I will be able to swaddle her feet) she brushes against me with her toes so much that I have begun to wonder if she is trying to make her way out by digging.
I love that it is so obvious that I'm really pregnant! People are so much nicer and full of smiles around me. No matter what people may think they think, they are always made more cheerful by the thought of a new little human. I like to see the joy happen.

Home Again

We spent a few hours at the hospital last night. I was very dehydrated and seem to have some kind of intestinal bug. I was experiencing moderate contractions that were fairly regular, and I was in a lot of discomfort. I had to drink a bunch of water and given saline through an IV. The nurses had a lot of trouble getting the IV in so my hands and wrists are quite bruised. once I was hydrated my contractions stopped so we were sent home just after 1 am. It was quite a night, and I learned a few things.

1. I have to drink way more water than I thought. About 16 oz. an hour.
2. Jer is very calm in the midst of a crisis.
3. Moderate contractions are uncomfortable but not really painful.
4. get your bags packed at least a month before your dew date, you may not need everything in them, but its really nice to have everything you may need all in one place.

Hmmm

Well I just got off the phone with our doctor. I am experiencing severe pain in my abdomen, some pain below my belly button and some pain above with some "shooting" pains around to my back. The doctor thinks (and I agree) that it is probably just because of something that I ate, but he said that if the pain doesn't get better in the next hour I must go to the hospital and have an ultrasound.

So... please pray for us. Jer seems a little worried, but I am very calm... strange.