36 weeks: less than a month to go!! (hopefully)

Well, throughout the entire pregnancy, I haven't been in any hurry for the pregnancy to be over.
Honestly, most of my symptoms had been mild, and I guess I figured it is probably easier to relax and enjoy the pregnancy than to take care of a newborn.   Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want to meet my baby, but I am a bit aprehensive about what is to come.  Over the last week, though, my least favorite new symptom, the carpal tunnel syndrome, has gotten progressively worse, and there are days when it is almost impossible for me to do anything useful.  When I wake up, I can barely brush my hair, and have to use both hands.  I also find it almost impossible at times to sign my name or drive the car anymore.
I am still able to type, but it is starting to get uncomfortable typing with numb hands, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep up the blog either, although I may do some short entries little by little.
On Tuesday I didn't feel much like going to my class in the evening, but I wanted to go to try bringing up the issue of my swollen hands again with the midwife.  I was guessing she wouldn't have much more to tell me than what she did at last week's appointment, and I was, of course, right.

I wasn't feeling very well that day to begin with.I hadn't slept very well the night before, had a bit of a cold, and was more swollen than ever.  So, I almost decided against going to the class, but was worried that I might miss out on something important.   Plus, I didn't want to miss out on the books she hands out, if she just happened to hand them out on the one day that I didn't go to class.
Mauri offered to drive me to class, so I had one more reason to go.  I had been worried about my hands cramping up and not being able to drive well with my swollen hands.  He arrived home a bit late, though, and I ended up getting to the class a little late, despite running up the stairs, and saw that the door was already closed. The midwife always makes comments about people arriving late, and I was tempted to turn around and go right back home, but decided that already being there, that would be dumb.
So I walked in, and could feel the look of "why are you here late."  She didn't even say anything, but I was feeling a bit sensitive and tired, and when one of the girls that I usually talk to asked me how I was doing, when the midwife stepped out to get us some books on lactation, I started to cry in front of everyone.  I said, I'm mostly fine, but can't move my hands, and I feel completely useless.  Of course, the other girls, desite not suffering the same symptom, being in an otherwise similar state, were quite sympathetic.  They told me to go ahead and cry, that it was good for me to let it out.  When the midwife came back in, she asked if I was crying, and I said that yes, and that it wasn't really anything (to which she responded, yeah, because you're usually doing so well) , but that I was frustrated at how much my hands had been swelling, and how it had gotten to the point of not being able to do anything.
Her response was "well, then, don't do anything."
Hmm, problem solved, I guess.
So, we went on with the class. The midwife talked about how actual labor and birth are "nothing," and that what is really difficult is the first days/weeks after giving birth.  She said that even a tough woman like her found herself crying for no reason like I had been (embarrassing).  She said that the mix of the reduccion in hormones and exhaustion contribute to it all; something to look forward to, I guess.  I calmed down, but realized that my real problem was that I was exhausted, and felt myself yawning throughout what was left of the class.
After class, I talked to my new friend again, and she said that she had been having a bad week herself, and that she didn't see how she was going to make it to her due date.  That actually made me feel much better.
The next day, I realized that what had contributed to the way I had been feeling was that I really wasn't feeling that well.  I had a sore throat, and a little bit of a fever.  I spent the day mostly sleeping, and felt quite a bit better afterwards.
So, while I am a bit uncomfortable with my swollen hands, I otherwise am doing pretty well, and am feeling quite a bit better than I was on Tuesday, when everything made me want to cry.

Here are pictures my hands these days.  I guess it's hard to tell how swollen they really are, but I will say that the first picture shows me using all of the force I have to try to make a fist.  It actually is painful closing my fist that far.
I was reading more about it on the internet, and I found a girl who was complaining about the same symptoms.  She had numb hands like me throughout the last few weeks of her pregnancy.  She had gained 40 pounds, but lost 34 of them within the first week, along with the numb hands.  Most of them had been water weight.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will have a similar experience, seeing as I have gained 40+ pounds myself, 15 or so of them during the last couple of weeks when I was actually eating much less than usual, and when my hands, feet and face started to really swell up.
Other than that, I don't have much more to say.
I'll leave you with my email from Tuesday for 36 weeks of pregnancy:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

How your life's changing:

Now that your baby is taking up so much room, you may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to "drop" down into your pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. (If you've given birth before, it probably won't happen before labor starts.) If your baby drops, you may also feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and you'll probably find that you have to pee even more frequently. If your baby is very low, you may feel lots of vaginal pressure and discomfort as well. Some women say it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs!

You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent now. Be sure to review the signs of labor with your practitioner and find out when she wants to hear from you. As a general rule, if you're full-term, your pregnancy is uncomplicated, and your water hasn't broken, she'll probably have you wait to come in until you've been having contractions that last for about a minute each, coming every five minutes for an hour. Of course, you'll want to call right away if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity or think you're leaking amniotic fluid, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, a severe or persistent headache, constant abdominal pain, or vision changes.

Even if you're enjoying an uncomplicated pregnancy, it's best to avoid flying (or any travel far from home) during your final month because you can go into labor at any time. In fact, some airlines won't let women on board who are due to deliver within 30 days of the flight.