Belly buttons and bloodwork

So, in the last 5 days or so, I've begun to feel like Audrey has discovered my belly button and is determined to "break out" through it. :) Not only has the button, itself, nearly completely flattened now, but it's very sensitive, and it really feels like she's pushing on it from the inside, trying to poke out. I don't think she'll be successful, but it is an odd feeling. I have felt her moving a lot more...

BTW - my expectant friends had their baby a few days ago - a boy. Yay for Ari and Terry!

We're currently on the East Coast with Ken's family. We've had a lovely Christmas, and today was my birthday. At Christmas, my sis-in-law passed on the "Marsh booties" to us as a gift. These booties were knitted by my father-in-law, Dave, in anticipation of his sister, Tina's, first baby over 50 years ago. They've been worn by Marsh babies home from delivery ever since. My mother-in-law, too, has been busy accumulating family heirloom and new receiving blankets, plus a prayer shawl that the ladies at her community group blessed en masse and knitted together. It's gorgeous - oranges, and greens and browns. And, soft.

Today, I got a call from the midwife re: some bloodwork results we were awaiting. Turns out, the good news is I don't have to worry about gestational diabetes. On the flipside, it turns out I have such LOW blood sugar that she wants me to eat protein at least 6 times a day, if not every hour or so. Plus, I'm apparently just "one point" above the oh-shit-sound-the-alarm! results for anemia. So, joy, I get to go buy an additional supplement of iron pills to take twice a day. This, in addition to the supplement she added a week ago to alleviate the symptoms of the pregnancy-induced slight heart murmur I've developed (I get "winded" a LOT easier these days, I tell you - and, even lying down makes my heart beat harder than I'm used to). I know, I know, just suck it up, Lorie, and take all the pills, powders, etc. I really don't mean to complain. It's just a habit I'm not used to - still (even 6 months into gestation) - taking handfuls of pills and powders.

I'm finding it rather fascinating to have these physical processes, overages and deficiencies, supplements, and so forth brought to my attention, though. Most of the time, I just expect and experience my body to function "normally." Like it's a machine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But, it's being used for different processes these days, so it's requiring more attention and support. And, I've never experienced my belly button feeling sensitive to the touch, for instance.

Omigod, and am I burping all the time, or what? To top that off, I find that, without thinking, I tend to announce, "I'm gonna burp." in advance of each gutteral projection. Which is OFTEN. It's almost like there's an invisible string in my back that gets pulled every time I have indigestion, "I'm gonna burp. I'm gonna burp." Just in the last day, I've been trying to just GO FOR THE BURP without any pronouncements, with so-so results. :)

Oh, and one last thought. By the end of the day these days, I feel so round and usually, full, that I can't imagine my skin stretching to get any bigger. Though, I know I'm going to. This is rather blowing my mind.