33 Weeks & Counting - Feeling THE BURN

As in... heartburn. LOTS of it. Like, really bad stuff. I honestly don't know how people who have this condition on a regular basis are able to cope. I guess that's why there is a whole section of the pharmacy dedicated to antacids? And yes, I realize I could (and probably should) consider going on one of those drugs. But part of me doesn't love the idea of throwing one more thing in the mix. And part of me  thinks I should tough it out until I absolutely have no other choice. And really, I've had it off and on throughout the pregnancy, but it hasn't ever been THIS bad for THIS long. Until this weekend. No, I can't blame it on the food. Actually, Thanksgiving day (when I really did stuff my face all day long) was not bad. But Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday have got me thinking that it is going to be a LONG six and a half more weeks if this doesn't let up.

Saturday night I went to bed feeling pretty crummy. I was able to fall asleep eventually, but then woke up around 1:00 a.m. and was up until almost 4:00 fighting the burn. A couple of times I thought I might actually throw up from it and had to dash to the bathroom. It is not easy to "dash" anywhere when pregnant, but especially not when it involves first getting out of bed and then maneuvering over and around sleeping animals on the floor. It also didn't help that I'd eaten something that my intestines apparently didn't like and were revolting against. Sunday night I talked Paul into putting the head of the bed up a few inches on blocks. I had read that as a suggestion in some magazine. Something about the slanted angle and gravity making it harder for the stomach acids to creep up the esophagus. I have at least slept better the past two nights as a result, but I still find I'm pretty miserable by the end of the day. It's tough because they also say not to eat within 3 hours of going to bed, but for me that's pretty much impossible. I don't get home from work in time to eat an earlier dinner, and even if I did, I'd still be full from lunch!

Anyway, enough complaining. What else is new? Oh, we went to our last baby class on Sunday. This one was called "comfort measures in labor" or something like that. It focused on techniques and strategies for managing pain and fatigue during labor. Since we're planning to at least try the un-medicated route, this class was very helpful. It didn't follow any one particular theory or method, but rather presented several options and ideas. Ultimately, the instructor encouraged us try a little bit of everything and use whatever felt best in the moment. I still hesitate to 100% rule out getting an epidural, because you just never know. But I guess we'll see!

In other news... Hmm. I'm not sure what "other news" might be. Surely there's something else to update? I swear my mind just went blank. I've had that sensation a lot lately. The so-called pregnancy brain? It appears to have struck. One minute I'm thinking what to say or do next, and the next minute... POOF! It's gone. Oh well, maybe this will just be a short post! I'll close with a short To-Do list for this week (in case I forget in like, 10 minutes, it will at least be recorded here for me to reference!):

1. Turn in maternity leave forms to HR.
2. Call the company that handles short-term disability/maternity leave claims and find out what they need.
3. Update registry lists (mark off or remove things that have been received or purchased recently but were not marked in the store).
4. I know there was more to this list..... 

 Oh well. Good enough for now!