contractions & morning sickness

I feel like I'm either on the home stretch or getting really close. In 3 1/2 wks I will officially be full term....but who's counting? It's hard not to count when I get contractions all the time. Most the time they're braxton hicks-like contractions, but sometimes I notice back pain/mild cramping with them & that makes me really nervous. Especially since I get them really frequently at least one or more times each week (like every five minutes). I thought it was a Saturday thing for this little baby, but this week it's been occurring more consistently. Am I dehydrated you might ask? Since that is the #1 cause of preterm labor. No I am not. I have been very mindful of my water intake since my first scare with contractions every 5 min, and I still seem to get these. Even tonight I went to a breastfeeding class & I looked at the clock every time I got a contractions & they were consistently every 10-12 minutes. What's the deal?

People say that the 2nd trimester is the honeymoon of the pregnancy & that you see a return of different symptoms in the 3rd trimester. So far I have found that to be true. Although, I can't say my 2nd trimester felt like a honeymoon since I have never had complete relief of my nausea & vomiting... or even heartburn for that matter. I had to keep myself from eating chips & salsa, spaghetti or anything with red sauce, nacho cheese dorrito chips, etc. to avoid how awful I would feel afterward with the heartburn (and that was even after eating some tums). Well it has gotten worse in the 3rd trimester. I was so excited to make it to the grocery store the other week & finally get my starburst I had been craving... just to find that it gave me terrible heartburn? That really surprised me. Who knew starburst could give you heartburn. In my 2nd tri the nausea & vomiting was less frequent, once a week at the most. That seems to be speeding up now :( And I'm wondering if zofran even works for me anymore. Not that it every worked amazing, but it's not preventing me from feeling nauseous or even throwing up. I've been feeling really crummy lately & haven't had a great appetite due to that but for some reason I am always in the mood for a bean burrito from taco bell come dinner time.

I'm noticing that it's hard to put socks & shoes on. Most the time I wear flip flops or my danskos that just slip on. The other week Morgan wanted to go for a run, so I rode the bike while he ran. In getting ready, Morgan actually put my shoes on for me - it's hard to reach that far down. Now I try to imagine if I was as big as a typical 8 month pregnant woman... I don't think I'd even be able to put my socks on...

Baby girl gets hiccups A LOT. Today she had the hiccups 3-4 different times. Morgan doesn't like it when she gets the hiccups & always tells me to jump up & down or do jumping jacks. Sometimes I wonder if I should be doing anything when she gets them...

Cravings/foods that I love... I already mentioned my bean burritos from taco bell, medium cheddar cheese, string cheese, cookies & cream ice cream, and I would almost say starburst except now I don't like them because of the heartburn.