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. :)