Friday, May 24, 2013

Almost there! 39 weeks!

I am now 39 weeks and three days. I can't believe it's almost time for Bridgette to arrive. Part of me is really going to miss being pregnant. I'll miss feeling her little movements, watching her grow from the outside, having everyone be excited for our family, wondering what she looks like, getting lots of gifts for her, fixing up her room, not ever having to lift anything heavy, and being able to eat whatever I'm craving that Chris is willing to go out to find for me. There's also a difference in the way total strangers treat you when you are pregnant. People often offer to let you in front of them in line, they'll give up their seat for you, or they'll hold the door open for you. Everyone, those you know and sometimes even those you don't know that well will ask how you're feeling. These are perks for pregnant women.

I won't miss the weird pains everywhere, morning sickness (that I only had in the beginning), worrying about everything, having to avoid eating certain foods and drinks, swollen feet, swollen legs, swollen ankles, varicose veins, not being able to breath easily, not being able to walk easily, weighing almost 30 pounds more than normal, having dry skin, being hungry all the time, having to pee all the time, waiting in the lab at the clinic for 30 minutes to give a urine sample before every doctor's appointment. Seriously, people! Just give me the cup. I can go pee in the restroom down the hall! I promise to bring the sample back to you! 

She will be here on the outside soon enough. I am trying to soak up my last few days of being able to sleep through at least most of the night. Everyone is telling me to rest now before she's born! I am so excited and nervous about her arrival. It's been hard to rest -especially my mind, but I am trying.

I went back for my weekly check up on Wednesday. I am progressing slowly, but my prediction is that she will not be here by her due date, which is Tuesday. I was 1.5 cm dilated and still 75% effaced. She could come any time, I suppose, but this is not much progress since last week. I was still the same weight as last week. My blood pressure was 110/70.  Her heart rate was 144. I was measuring 37 cm, which means she might have dropped down a little. I am not sure about that since the doctor didn't mention her being high or low. Maybe she's in the middle. He did talk to me again about being induced. I think he is probably hoping that I schedule an induction very soon. I told him that I am not really interested yet. We decided that I would come back for my 40 week appointment on Tuesday if she's not born before that and we'd talk about it again. He said he'd probably be twisting my arm a little by 41 weeks if she's not here by then. I told him I could probably be convinced to be induced at 41 weeks but that I hoped she would come before that on her own. We'll see! I've heard from lots of people that first babies are sometimes stubborn!

Come on out, baby girl! Your mom and dad are anxious to meet you!







Thursday, May 16, 2013

38 weeks

Not a lot has changed since my last post earlier this week. I am 38 weeks and two days now. That means I am due in 1 week and 5 days. CRAZY! I saw my doctor yesterday, and although I had been having some more regular contractions a few nights in a row, I hadn't progressed any.

My weight gain leveling out must have caught up with me. I was up another 2.2 pounds since last week, which makes my total weight gain 28.9 pounds. I believe I will surpass my goal of 30, but that's okay. My husband says I've been the cookie monster lately. He is right. I need to watch the sweets. They are not helping with keeping my weight under control. Maybe I will still be within the recommended 25-35 by the end. If not, I will just have to work a little harder to lose any extra weight after she's born!

My blood pressure was 110/70. Her heart rate was easy to remember. It was the same as my weight,157.

I was measuring only 37.5 cm even though I am 38 weeks. The doctor says that's normal and was hopeful that it was an indication that she had dropped down a little, but once he checked, it was clear she hadn't. I was still at 1 cm, no more effaced and the baby was still way up high. All those contractions the other night hadn't done anything for our progress.

My doctor finally did bring up being induced. I think he's a big fan of inductions, apparently even on first time moms. I am guessing he regularly induces patients at 39 weeks. He said that he wasn't going to make me get induced, but he brought up a patient who was 40 weeks and not dilated at all. He said I was progressing better than her since I'm at a 1, but that they had decided it was best to induce since she wasn't progressing on her own. In his opinion, nothing good happens after 40 weeks, the placenta stops working as well, the baby gets too big, etc. He said we could take it one week at a time and figure out what would be best. I am leaning towards an induction at 41 weeks if she's not here by then. Chris and I still have a little while to think this through, and who knows, she still might decide to come a few days early. I told the doctor that we'll see, but I am hoping she'll just decide on her own at 39.5 weeks that it's time to be born! That would be perfect!

By the way, this is my 100th blog post! Woo Hoo! 




Monday, May 13, 2013

37 weeks...trying to get prepared

I have fallen behind on these weekly updates! This is my last day of being 37 weeks, so I thought I'd hurry up and post again!

I saw the doctor last Thursday. I was measuring 37cm, which he said was on track, however it could be large because many women start measuring a week or so behind when the baby drops down into the pelvis at the end of pregnancy. That means she either hasn't dropped down much or is a large baby!

I had gained about .4 pounds, so I am noticing a leveling out with weight gain. I am still not up to my largest by a few tenths of a pound, but that's fine with me. I am up 26.7 pounds total. I would be fine with staying where I am at with the weight until she's born! We'll see what happens! Her heart rate was 163, so she was awake! My blood pressure was 110/70. I was back to, "Almost a one. We'll call it a one." In other words, I was more dilated than last week by just a little bit, but there's still not a lot happening yet. I was not anymore effaced. This baby may have plans to be born in June!

The doctor is estimating that she will be an 8 pounder! He said that based on the ultrasound measurement at 34 weeks when she was supposedly 5 pounds and 11 ounces, she was in the 75th percentile. That would likely make her a 7 pound baby at this point. She'll probably be 8 pounds by the time she's born. I am hoping my doctor is not just trying to scare me into being induced a week early. I would like to wait it out to see if she'll come on her own. I'm willing to wait until she's a week or so late unless the doctor tells me she's 9 or 10 pounds and needs to come sooner. We'll see. I have heard this doctor is a fan of inductions, so I will need to make sure I am clear with my preferences.

I have had a few more nights of more intense Braxton Hicks contractions with cramping in my back, so hopefully that is helping move things along. Chris and I timed them for an hour or so on Saturday night. They were pretty regular for a while, about every five minutes, however, they weren't getting any more painful. I actually dozed off on the couch after about 45 minutes. I figured that if I was falling asleep, it probably wasn't the real thing. I don't think I'd be able to sleep very well through real labor pains. I went on to bed and had a few pains through the night that woke me up but slept fairly restfully. When I woke up on Sunday, the contractions were gone. It was a false alarm, but it was good practice for the real thing whenever that may be!

We had our last prenatal class tonight! Tonight's class was on breastfeeding. It was a long, yet good class to attend. They shared some practical tips. We went to a class that covered newborn care and safety last week, which was good. It covered how to give medicine with the various types of medicine droppers, how to take a baby's temperature, change a diaper, how to hold a newborn and pass them off to another person, how to give CPR, how to stop a baby from choking, how to baby-proof your house and call poison control, how to give a bath, etc. It was great! This class was sponsored by Kohls, so it was held at the health and wellness center in town and not at the hospital. We were actually the lucky couple who won the prize provided by Kohls, which was a baby monitor. Too bad we already have one!

Here's a photo of me from last Tuesday at 37 weeks!


We've made a little more progress with her room. The dresser finally came in! Chris put it together on Saturday evening. My stepmom came this weekend to give us the curtains she had made. The colors in the curtains look great with the bedding my friends made for me! There are lots of different patterns going on, but I think they're going to look cute together! I can't wait for school to get out so Chris and I can really get things organized in there! This is the last week of school for him. I have tried to be really patient with him on getting done with that before he puts a ton of time into helping me with her room. Once school is out, I am going to really put him to work. I have done a lot of it already, but there are still things that need to be moved out of that room that I can't lift, I need help organizing or I just don't know what to do with. I will be glad to get it all done! We still have a few things to buy and a few things to take back. There's just so much stuff that comes along with a baby. I get overwhelmed pretty easily!

I have my hospital bag almost all the way packed. I just have a few things left that I need to get for that. I am feeling a little more prepared.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and Chris surprised me with a special card and gift from our baby. Since she's not here yet, I didn't expect anything for Mother's Day. It was a very thoughtful thing for him to do. His note from her to me was so sweet that it made me cry. What a thoughtful man. I love him so much. I can't wait for us to become a family of three!




Monday, May 6, 2013

36 weeks...so close, yet so far!

I passed the 36th week mark last Tuesday. It's getting close now. Chris and I are excited. We're also bickering more than usual. He's trying to finish up teaching for the school year. Only two weeks of school left this year! Woo Hoo! I am trying to work on Bridgette's room, which is the room he's still using as his home office, and it's driving him a bit crazy that I keep messing up his room! We're driving each other a bit crazy, but I guess that's just how it goes sometimes in marriage. We're both about do to something that's really pretty stressful, become parents.

I went to the doctor on Thursday for my check up. Bridgette's heart rate was 141, so she was pretty relaxed. My weight dropped down by .6 pounds, so I am up 26.3 total so far. That's better than being up another 3.5 pounds in a week! My blood pressure was 120/80. That was up a little for me. I was measuring right on track at 36 cm.  Unfortunately, I will have to be on IV antibiotics during labor and delivery to protect the baby from group B strep. The doctor checked me, but he said there was no progress, which likely means I will not be having this baby for a little while. That report from last week, "you're almost at one. I am going to call it a one," must have been wishful thinking. This time he said it wasn't even close to a one! Oh well. That's okay at 36 weeks, I guess. He said he could feel the top of her head. She's still head down, but that she hadn't dropped at all. She was still "way up there," so until she decides to drop down, there probably won't be much else happening!

I guess we will continue to hurry up and wait! Chris has a work baby shower with two other teachers that are having babies this summer tomorrow after school. That's our last baby shower, so we've decided that after that, we can buy the stuff we still need for her with the cash and gift cards we've received. Hopefully we'll be able to continue to organize and get things in order over the next couple of weeks. Her dresser should arrive this week, which will help a lot! We've been trying to get that piece of furniture for a month already, but there was an order mix up that required us to cancel and reorder. We're moving along slowly.

Last Tuesday at 36 weeks!

This is what Bridgette's room looked like last week before I started taking things out of gift bags, a complete disaster. It doesn't look much better now, but it will get there eventually!

work baby shower

Corie and Stacey at work hosted a baby shower for me the Wednesday before last. We had a wonderful lunch of BBQ pork, baked beans, cole slaw, chips, drinks and adorable cupcakes decorated with owls and other birds! So cute! It was great! There were about 20 people who came to it. I felt so blessed to be working with such generous people!

We got two large items from the baby registry, a Jumperoo and Pack n' Play! We also got a baby monitor, sound machine, gift cards, cute burp cloths, story books, adorable onesies (including a Hilltopper onesie, of course!) and other baby essentials! It was really funny that we ended up getting another Pack n' Play from Chris' mom later that same day (shipped to our apartment), which was fine. The folks at work were fine with us returning the one they got us for another big item that we need!

Wonderful work baby shower!  I was not expecting so much love!




The Belly Button Fairy, a story book signed by the author at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest, thanks Jennifer!






Cupcakes decorated with owls other birds. Similar to a sketch Chris did for a canvas painting he has planned for the nursery.

Beautiful flowers from my shower! Thanks, Corie!