Last Post Here

Chloe was 12 days early, so my last belly picture with her was taken at 40 weeks.  I realized I took one at 40 weeks with this pregnancy, but wanted to compare what my belly looked like 12 days after delivery in both pregnancies.  Here are the last of the belly pictures, and the last post on this blog.  To continue following along with our craziness, check out my regular blog at Blawnde's Blawg.

40 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 40 Weeks

Size of baby: 6 lbs, 15 oz

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 23.4 lbs.  (hopefully down quite a bit more now)

Maternity Clothes: Tried on regular jeans today but I'm not quite there yet.  Everything else is regular clothes or nursing tops.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: No movements from the inside anymore...tear.

Sleep: Surprisingly good!  He has been sleeping with us because he likes to sleep on his side.  He is waking up about twice a night and I've been able to nurse him right there in bed and he goes back to sleep.  He also is pretty easy to go down for the night when we want to go to bed.

What I miss: Nothing, maybe just the movements and knowing he isn't with me all the time anymore

Cravings: Ice still

Symptoms: No symptoms really except feeling a little sore down below, now that I've ahem, been able to go to the bathroom.  Up until that point I had been feeling great.

Best Moment this week: Welcoming our son into this world!

Drake is Here!!

 Click here to read his birth story.

39 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 39 Weeks

Size of baby: Drake is the size of a mini watermelon; about 20 inches long; over 7 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 23.4 lbs.  no gain or loss this week

Maternity Clothes: Yes, a majority of the time although this past week I did wear an entire outfit that was not maternity.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: His movements have definitely slowed down, I’m sure because he’s running out of room.  I still get the occasional jab, but mostly it feels like he’s doing slow somersaults in there.

Sleep: Still not good.  The dry mouth seems to have eased up a bit, but it is nearly impossible for me to roll over.  I go from one side, to a sitting up position by propping myself up on my elbows, then sitting up (which always involves pain), then sitting there for a minute, and finally rolling over and laying back down on the other side.  I’ve slept on the couch a few nights and that makes my neck hurt.

What I miss: Feeling good, like my normal self.  I hate to say this, but I am ready to be done with this pregnancy.  It has certainly not been as easy as my first.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, fruit

Symptoms: What do I not have?  Basically it’s just being uncomfortable.  I’m having BH and full blown contractions daily, but they aren’t getting me anywhere.  I’m getting frustrated b/c just when I think this is it, like how it was with Chloe, things will calm down and go back to normal.  My body is teasing me.  I can hardly get up from a sitting or laying down position, I feel like I’m leaning really far back when I walk just to balance out the weight up front, the dry throat is still there just not as bad, I’ve been burping more this week.  Knock on wood the acid reflux and heartburn have not been bad at all this time around.

Best Moment this week: Finishing the nursery!  I can’t tell you what a relief it is having that room done.  I know he won’t be using it to sleep in for the first few months, but we still plan to do all diaper changes, outfit changes, and some feeding in the glider in there.  It just makes me feel better that it’s complete.

Side note:  I can’t believe I’m even writing this post.  I thought for sure he’d be here by now.  Many of the girls who were due around the same time as me have already had their babies and here I am still pregnant.  I am trying so so hard to hold my belly and feel these last movements and enjoy them, but I am just ready to have him in my arms.  Get my body back to normal and be able to function like I used to.

So onto my doctor's appointment...I had the ultrasound done first to check my fluid.  It was 12; best it's been since we started checking.  It makes me think that initial check that showed low fluid was just a fluke.  Once I met with the doctor she mentioned the induction and I asked her if we should move forward with it or not.  She said it was my call.  I was so torn on what to do.  The pros were that I am very uncomfortable and ready to have this baby, being able to schedule care for Chloe is a huge plus (JJ's mom isn't able to watch her anymore), and the fact that I've had it in my head for days that this is happening on Friday.  The cons were that I'm not far enough along that I could go in Friday morning; she wanted me in Thursday night.  I'm dilated to a 2.  So that means an extra night away from home and Chloe, I'm not further along like I hoped, plus just the increased risks associated with inductions when I haven't even hit my due date yet.  After talking to JJ about it, we've decided to hold off on the induction and see if he comes on his own.  If he still isn't here by next Friday, we'll induce then - that will put me at 40w2d.

38 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 38 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a leek; over 19 1/2 inches long; 6.8 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 23.4 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I think winter is finally behind us as we are in the 80’s (and 90’s) all week.  Can I just say it’s been a blessing the hot weather has held off this long?  I am in pretty much all maternity clothes.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He’s still moving, but I do think he’s calmed down a bit this last week.  He doesn’t move as much during the night.  Every once in a while it’s like he is really crammed for space and doesn’t like the position he’s in, and will kick me a good five or six times in the same spot making my belly really jump.

Sleep: At this point I just can’t get comfortable.  Rolling from one side to the other takes about five minutes, and usually involves me sitting up in bed for a minute, him “falling” into a different position, and me laying back down again.  I’m sure it’s a sight to see.

What I miss: Feeling like a young, healthy person who doesn’t get winded walking up a flight of stairs.  Sleeping through the night.

Cravings: Ice, ice, and more ice.  Can’t get enough of it.  I hope this goes away once he’s here b/c I’m sure I’m annoying JJ eating it constantly.

Symptoms: The pressure down below seems to have gotten a little worse and I really thought I was going into labor last week. It was last Wednesday I’m pretty sure, and as I was driving home the contractions were pretty painful, and fairly regular.  I had my cervix checked earlier that day so maybe that was part of it.  But the contractions/BH contractions have definitely picked up.  I didn’t have that with Chloe.  Dry throat – what’s new.

Best Moment this week: Oh my gosh, we have a second nursery in our house!!!  Once JJ’s mom left on Friday we were able to move the guest bedroom furniture downstairs, and JJ put the crib together.  Can I just say how weird it is to see two cribs in my house??  I have been working as much as I can on the little decorating we are doing.  I hope to have it finished tonight – just need JJ’s help hanging two pictures, two shelves, and a mirror.  Then I can say the nursery is done!  Then it will be onto organizing the gobs of little boys clothes we have and putting them away.  We also did our pre-registration and tour at the hospital.  So two big things were crossed off our list this week!

Side Note:  Well, we made it to my appointment today!  Baby’s heart rate is good, I’m still at a 1.  Measured small again so they checked fluid, which I assume they will do now at each appointment.  I’m kind of liking all these sonos towards the end, even though he won’t ever show us his face.  Today his little fingers were grabbing onto the back of his neck.  Anyway, she was having a hard time finding a pocket of fluid to measure at first which had me nervous (going into today I just had a feeling everything was going to be fine) but she finally got some measurements.  It was 7.3.  So slightly lower than last Friday but higher than the 5 they are worried about.  The doc had to go to surgery so she was to call me after talking with the sonographer.  We have a plan - I will go in for another fluid check on Friday.  If all looks good, I will go to my normal appointment next Wednesday.  If all looks good then, they will induce me next Friday.  So either way, we will meet our son in 9 days or less! 

37 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 Weeks – FULL TERM!!

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a stalk of Swiss chard; over 19 inches long; 6 1/3 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 23 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I swear I have been going through my maternity wardrobe each week and wear the same things over and over.  It’s finally starting to warm up so I can put a few long sleeve shirts away and pull out some “new” short sleeve shirts.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: This boy is really starting to show how strong he is.  He can stick his butt up and out into my ribs and it is so freaking uncomfortable!  The kicks in my right ribs still happen, but between his butt up high in the middle and his feet off to the right, those are the only movements I’m feeling.  And the hiccups, can’t forget them.

Sleep: I am doing good to average about 4-5 hours a night.  My normal is about 8-9 hours a night, so it’s been a bit of an adjustment.  The heartburn has played a factor a few nights, and my mind just won’t shut off because we have so much to do.  I lie in bed thinking about how much we still have to get done in the house, how we have to get this room and this room just right before we can even begin on the nursery (um hello, yes I am 37 weeks pregnant and our nursery still looks like a guestroom).  Then I have started thinking about the logistics of how are we going to get to the hospital and Chloe wherever she needs to go?  These are the things that keep me up at 3:00 in the morning, while I’m lying in bed in the guestroom because JJ has been snoring too loud to sleep next to.  Oh, the Tyle.nol PM seemed to help the first night, and did nothing the second.  Damn.

What I miss: Can I say everything?  I never thought I would say this and honestly hated when people asked me with Chloe “are you ready to be done being pregnant?”  My answer, in my head, was hell no!!  I fought too hard for this to just be over.  But this time, I kind of want to say it.  I miss being able to go for walks, I miss being able to go to the grocery store and shop for my family.  No joke when I went this past week, about halfway through I had to walk hunched over the cart the entire time, had to keep stopping, and I thought I was either going to puke or pass out in the checkout line from pain.  I contemplated ditching the cart numerous times.  I miss sleeping through the night, I miss having a lap to let Chloe sit on, I miss being able to move around normal and not feel like I’m waddling.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, fruit

Symptoms: Heartburn a few times, major stomach cramps if I do too much, and by too much, I mean any activity where I’m standing or moving around for more than 10 minutes.  Dry throat, snoring at night.

Best Moment this week: We finally (yay) have two cribs in our house!  Even though one of them is in its box in the hallway, at least we are making some progress and heading in the right direction.  We didn’t hit our deadline of getting the nursery finished yesterday, but…this week.  This week I tell ya! :)  We got the dresser all finished too, so now we just have to make room for them in the nursery and we can start calling it that – a nursery.  Because poor baby boy is stuck in a room the size of a closet so that’s about all we can fit in there, and maybe squeeze in the glider from Chloe’s room.  We missed our hospital pre-registration and tour last Thursday due to snow (freaking snow in May!) otherwise that probably would have been my best moment this week.

Side note:  Check out this post here on my other blog for an update on how my doctor's appointment went today.  There is a possibility I might be induced this Friday.  This! Friday!

36 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a Crenshaw melon; over 18 ½ inches long; almost 6 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 22 lbs. I only gained .8 lbs in the last two weeks. 

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and a few non-maternity clothes here and there.  I feel like wearing heels at work helps my posture; I don’t seem to waddle nearly as much if at all if I have heels on.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He is back to being a mover...and a kicker!  Man can that boy kick!  He likes to kick, which forces his butt to jut out and sometimes even moves his head all at the same time.  That makes for a weird sensation and also a weird shape that my belly contorts to.

Sleep: Same – I would have to say this week was a little better.  My throat wasn't quite as dry so I felt like I went longer periods sleeping throughout the night.  The doctor OK'd taking Tylenol PM so I took one tonight and am curious to see if it makes a difference.

What I miss: A good night's sleep, moving around normal and not hurting if I do too much.  Being able to play on the floor with Chloe or go for walks around the neighborhood with the family.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, almonds

Symptoms: It's hard to get up in the morning, get tired during the day, but then tend to stay up later than normal at night because I know no matter what time I go to bed, I'll probably only get about five hours of sleep.  The doctor noticed a little bit of swelling in my feet.  I have major cramping if I do too much, and by too much, I mean hardly anything.  I could be making dinner for Chloe and cleaning up the kitchen and have to sit down.  Our walks around the neighborhood are definitely shorter.  We cleaned this past weekend and just a little bit of bending over sent me to a chair to sit down real quick.  The cramps are so strong, but luckily let up after I've sat down for a few minutes.  Still having some BH. Pressure seems to be a bit worse but I think it goes hand in hand with the cramps.

Best Moment this week: Finally making some progress in getting the nursery ready.  We did some major cleaning and have set a deadline to at least have the guestroom furniture out and the nursery furniture in by next Tuesday. 

Side Note: I had my appointment today.  Doctor said everything checked out good with the ultrasound last week and that he's measuring in the 37th percentile, which is just fine with me.  I also measured 35 weeks so that was good.  She did the Group B Strep test and checked my cervix.  It's closed but nice and soft in her words.  She could feel the baby's head through tissue and just confirmed that he is head down.  I asked if she had any vacations scheduled for the month and she mentioned a day here and there, mainly around mother's day.  I was just asking to see if she'd be around closer to our due date.  She said in a week or two we could talk induction if I wanted which they schedule for Fridays but I don't plan to go that route.  Just weird to even be having that conversation.  And as she left the room she said "if I don't see you before, I'll see you next week!"  It makes it so much more real to hear her say that.  Also, I got my first "are you about to pop" comment this week. :)

Maternity Pictures

We got our maternity pictures in the mail today (we bought the rights to all of them) and I am so pleased with the way they turned out.  Chloe was definitely not easy to photograph; it was the first nice day in a long time and all she wanted to do was run free.  But the photographers managed to capture some great shots and I can't wait to add some to the nursery (once we start on the nursery that is...yeah, we still haven't done that yet).  Here is a small sample of them, and then a link at the bottom will take you to all of them.  There are nearly 100 pictures!

 Click here to see the rest of the pictures.  Then click on "proofing" and the password is "maternity." I'm not sure how long these will be on the website, but I know they are there now.

35 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 35 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a honeydew; over 18 inches long; 5 1/4 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 21+ lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yep, with a few regular shirts and pants here and there.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He still likes to kick my right ribs.  I often feel a slow, hard push up high between my ribs, I’m guessing it’s his butt.  That is a weird sensation.  Also have felt more pressure in my own butt (tmi, haha) when he moves and also against my bladder.  For the most part his movements are slowing down but occasionally I’ll get a quick kick.

Sleep: Not good.  The acid reflux hasn’t been an issue anymore which has helped, but I have been getting up to go to the bathroom every few nights when I’m awake anyway and most likely heading into the guest bedroom.

What I miss: Sleep and feeling useful.  There are things I want to do around the house, yard work for instance and I cant without feeling like shit afterwards.  We mowed the grass and cut back the roses on Sunday and that evening I felt the worse I’ve felt this entire pregnancy.  I was so worried that I was going into labor that’s how uncomfortable I was, and of course JJ was getting ready to go to work leaving me at home alone with Chloe.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, almonds

Symptoms: Fatigue is back, running out of breath easier, and I am convinced now that I am having BH contractions.  Luckily Sunday night when they were at their worst, if I would lay down, everything would calm down.  Still trying to get some exercise on the days when the weather has actually been decent, but we don’t go quite as far and I don’t walk nearly as fast as everyone else.  Same dry throat and pressure week after week.

Best Moment this week: I need to take this one off, I feel like we are at a standstill right now as far as getting the house prepared.  We are doing some major cleaning later this week and weekend though so I hope to finally move furniture into the nursery after that.  The crib has come in and we got to see the rest of our maternity photos!  That was probably the best moment!

Side note:  Well I went in for my weekly appointment today, but after waiting an hour and still not seeing the doctor, I left.  That buys me another week for the Group B Strep test as Josey commented on last week, and I didn’t have to endure a “check.”  My appointment did start off with an ultrasound though so at least I got to see the babe.  He is measuring right on track at 35w1d and weighing 5 lbs, 7 ounces.  He is still head down (yay!) and I hope he stays that way.

34 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of an average cantaloupe; almost 18 inches long; 4 ¾ pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 21 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, with a few regular clothes thrown in here and there.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: This little one is following in his big sister’s footsteps.  Instead of it being a butt that’s digging into my right ribcage, it’s his feet.  And boy does he like to kick!  It amazes me how much room he has access to, especially my right side.  I’ll look down and see where he’s kicking and it looks like it’s coming out of my back it’s so far around!  (Not really, but I forget that he’s not just hanging out in the front).  His movements are constant, doesn’t really seem to favor one time of the day right now.  Hiccups are becoming fairly regular.

Sleep: A new demon to battle this week is acid reflux.  And when looking back on my weekly update with Chloe, this is the same week it started with her also.  I usually eat a cup of ice before bed.  The first night it was just ice, the second night it was ice and a bowl of cereal.  Both nights I had bad acid reflux, and the second night was so bad I ended up sleeping sitting up on the couch.  I took some Tums before bed last night and seemed to do better, but it’s just one more thing to add to my list of why I’m not sleeping well.  I’m also getting hot at night and have started getting up to go to the bathroom.  I probably don’t ‘have’ to, but I’m up and usually moving into the other room anyway, so I might as well go.

What I miss: Having a good night sleep and being able to walk fair distances without pain.

Cravings: Ice, sweets, funnel cake after smelling them at the STL Zoo last week.  Mmmmm!!

Symptoms: Starting to get worn out easier.  Lunch time is a good time to just sit and relax, and take a little snooze if I didn’t have to go back to work.  When I get home, sitting on the couch sounds like the best thing right now.  The pressure is still there, although it’s either not as bad or I’m just getting used to it now.  I couldn’t believe how slow I had to walk at the zoo this past weekend, but then at the Bud.weiser tour I seemed to do better.  The acid reflux is just starting.

Best Moment this week: We finally settled on a name!  Yay!!  I thought this kid was gonna be here before we decided, but after going round and round with two we liked, we have picked our son’s name.

Side note:  At my doctor’s appointment today she asked when the last time was we did an ultrasound.  I told her we haven’t done one since we found out the gender around 19 weeks.  I was seeing flashbacks of Chloe though…she said I was measuring small and wanted to do an ultrasound at my next appointment to do a weight check.  When that happened with Chloe (granted I was further along) she was here two days later.  I sure hope this boy stays in a lot longer though because we are SO NOT READY!!  At 34 weeks they like to see me measuring between 32 and 36 and I was measuring 32.  We also will do the Group B strep test next week and she will start checking my cervix.  Already?!  Seems early, but I guess we are getting closer and closer to this little guy’s big day!

33 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 33 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a pineapple; over 17 inches long; over 4 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 19+ lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and with the spike in temperatures, I’ve worn a few regular dresses and skirts.  Too bad it’s supposed to dip back into the 40s again after today though.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: A couple days the past week I’ve thought to myself “he hasn’t been very active today” and then he follows that up with a dance party a short time later.  He continues to get the hiccups, and will really kick me at certain points.  If I am laying down, the kicks to my side make me jump a bit.  Some of his movements are more fluid, kind of like the feeling you get on a roller coaster when you lose your stomach, other times he pushes on my bladder and instantly I have the urge to go to the bathroom.  I can tell he’s starting to run out of room.

Sleep: Last night I actually didn’t do too bad, but I have been moving into the guest bedroom a lot partway through the night.  I’ve also gotten up a few times to go to the bathroom, mainly because I’m eating ice before bed and drinking water through the night to help with my dry throat.

What I miss: Mr. Goodcents sure has been sounding good lately.  I craved Goodcents my entire pregnancy with Chloe and have a feeling it will be one of my first go-to meals after delivery.

Cravings: I’ve hit up QuikTrip a few times in the past week for ice, and learned that if you bring your own cup in, they don’t charge you!  Woohoo!  I have a feeling I will be taking advantage of that a lot more in the next several weeks.  I’m sure JJ gets annoyed with me always having a cup of ice that I’m chomping on.

Symptoms: One thing I keep forgetting to mention is that I am now a snorer.  Lovely symptom, right?  JJ has always been a snorer so I feel like it’s just a little payback.  He was nice enough to record me the other night to show me how bad I was actually snoring.  Thanks honey.  I blame it on the dry throat.  It’s also been a bit harder to go to the bathroom as of late, I think I need more fiber or something.  No swelling or heartburn to speak of yet, knock on wood.  The leg cramps spiked up again, mainly it’s cramps in my feet.

Best Moment this week: Is it bad I can't come up with one??  Nothing out of the ordinary happened.

32 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 32 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby J is the size of a large jicama; about 16.7 inches long; 3.75 pounds

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 19 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yep, although I do have on a regular pair of pants today.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: His movements have gotten stronger and have hurt on a few occasions.  Something is pressing right up against my ribs, so when I’m sitting down and he moves, it’s not comfortable.  I took a few videos in the last week of my belly; once when he had the hiccups and once when he was just going crazy.  I swear, if people just watched my stomach for any length of time when he was going crazy they’d think I have an alien in me!

Sleep: Same 'ol.  I seem to be going to bed later and getting up earlier.  I just know I won’t get a good night’s sleep, so I have stopped trying.

What I miss: Sleeping through the night, being able to move around easy, and helping in general.  My dad moved last week and I just felt totally helpless not being able to do anything.

Cravings: Ice, sweets.

Symptoms: Back pain has gotten a bit worse, but it’s very hit and miss.  Dry throat has continued, I don’t think I’ve mentioned that for a few weeks.  The pressure/fullness is still there too.

Best Moment this week: Getting our maternity pictures taken!  I can’t wait to see how they all turn out, but it could take up to four weeks.  Boo.

Side note:  At my doctor’s appointment this week I asked about the fullness.  At first she said it was my pubic bone stretching and moving.  That the first pregnancy it’s nice and strong, supports the baby well, and any subsequent pregnancies it gets weaker and worse and the baby settles lower.  But when she pushed on my lower abdomen asking if that’s where I felt it, I told her no it was even lower, like on the outside.  And I mentioned that it’s kind of making me start to waddle some.  That’s when she said I bet it’s vulvar varicose veins.  It’s just what it sounds like – varicose veins in the vulva or labia which are dilated and cause the fullness.  She said most likely things will go back to normal after delivery, but it sounds like this symptom is something that’s here to stay until the end.

Side Note Two:  After looking at my full body shots week after week, I feel like he's definitely dropped since Week 30.  Either that and/or I got quite a bit bigger this week.  

(I had just scratched my back and stomach so it looks like I have stretch marks, but luckily - knock on wood - I don't have any...yet)