Still Cooking.. and things I wish I would have known..

Hey all, well, I'm still here and baby boy is still cooking and appears to have no intention of going anywhere in the outside world fast!!!  I am officially 38 weeks today and will see my dr. again tomorrow morning. I thought I had some contractions on Sunday but haven't felt anything since. I was actually in the pool and was somewhat bored so I started doing some squats and once I got out started having some cramping but once I laid down, they left me..  sooo...  here I sit.. just waiting.

I had a dream last night that involved a beach and a tidal wave, which woke me up in a panic thinking my water had broken, but it didn't.

I woke up this morning and forgot I was pregnant for a minute, which was wierd too. did that happen to anyone else ever??

I'm off tomorrow to get some things taken care of. Important things like Pedicure, Eye-brow Wax, and Hair cut/color.. can't be having this baby looking like a hot mess.. 

Sarah  posted a really great blog yesterday about her thoughts on being banded and pregnant.  I remarked to her that I thought it was ironic that she did that post b/c I had been thinking a lot about things I wished I would have known and also how I think being banded has affected this pregnancy. So, I'm kind of stealing her idea with some thoughts of my own!

THINGS I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN

• first let me say that my girlfriends/moms rock, however, they were blatant in their non-disclosure or  lack of information on all things pregnancy!  I mean, we have beaten the subject of pooping on the table during birth and "down-there" pain after birth to death, however, how could they have left out some of the following?? 
• The peeing situation. I knew what I signed up for when I got pregnant that I would be peeing A LOT, what I didn't know was how much money we would be spending on toilet paper due to said peeing situation..  I also thought that it was supposed to taper off a bit during the 2nd trimester.. um.. not so much!! And then to take it to a whole 'nother level..  I thought that your bladder got loose AFTER you had the baby.. notsomuch with me..  I can't tell you the number of times I've had multiple undies changes during a day due to laughing,coughing,sneezing, moving and subsequently wetting my pants..  ridiculous!
• While we are talking about things "down-there" - DISCHARGE..  WTF?? 
• The pain I've experienced in the past month or so as baby got bigger and started pushing down on my lower regions is enough to kill a horse.. pregnancy is definitely not for the weak. 
• Baby kicks are not all cute and "awwwwww" inducing.. they can be violent, like "get me the eff out of here" violent..  I am continuously amazed that babies haven't figured out an alternative way out of the belly. 
• The looks, the smiles, the "how are you feeling"s, the "when are you due"s...  are enough to make you crazy. I want to wear a sign that says, "I feel pregnant", "I'm due 7/7/11" and "No, I don't have any idea if he's coming early" so that people leave me alone.. I can barely get to the bathroom in time before my next undie change without getting 20 questions on the way there!! 
• I'm increasingly surprised that the divorce rate isn't higher during pregnancy..  my poor husband has been a trooper. There are days when my mood swings are so beyond that if he even looks at me funny, he's in for a doozy of a fight.  I'm not making any excuses, I've been a crazy bitch these last few months..

BEING BANDED

• I have to say that being banded is the number one reason why I believe I was even able to get pregnant. As many of you know, we've been strugging to get pregnant for a long, long time and I truly believe that the weight was keeping me from it (that and a a little bit of miracle going on!)
• With that said, I wish I would have lost more prior to getting pregnant. I had lost 80 lbs when I found out I was pregnant.  I have gained about 40 lbs back and it's been rough on my body. Thankfully, I worked out up until about a month ago and really only gained in my belly area, but that extra 40 lbs is no joke. Sometimes, I'm really shocked that I carried an additional 40 lbs on top of that less than 2 years ago. 
• I was definitely naive in thinking that I wouldn't gain too much weight or that I'd be able to follow the band rules during my pregnancy.  When I was about 10 weeks, I had 1/2 the fluid taken out of my band.  I was at 9 cc in an 11 cc band and now have 4.5 cc.  For a long time, you would think I had NO cc's in my band. Releasing the fluid in my band eliminated any morning/afternoon sickness I had and when I discovered I could eat the things that I couldn't with a higher fill level, I went to town.  So, my only advice to any bandsters who are trying to get pregnant and using the band as a tool for weight-loss, LOSE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN prior b/c you will gain weight.  The three bandsters I know on here who have been pregnant, have all gained around the same amount. It's unrealistic for anyone to tell you that you won't.  Maybe it happens, but I haven't seen it yet! 
• I find I have more restriction in the past couple of weeks. I think it's due to baby boy getting larger and pushing up against my band and there just being a lack of room in there these days.  I'm not able to eat as much as I was 2 months ago.
• One good thing is that I know from where I came. I know how it feels to be 40lbs lighter and I have some mad motivation to get back there and then keep losing the additional 70 or so lbs I wanted to lose to get to where I think I'd be happy with my weight.  I find myself already looking up gym class schedules and planning my plan to get back on track with weight loss in a couple of months! 

So, with all the (really not so major) annoyances, I know how lucky I am that this is happening to me. I'll take a million sleepless nights and repetitive questions to be able to go through this experience, especially one that I honestly never thought was possible.  I'm surrounded by people who are generally sooo excited for me and for my family and who can't wait to meet him.  We've had a rough 1st part of our year and I can only hope that this little one brings the joy that we all so desperately need! 
I'll keep ya'll posted!!!