39 weeks

We're getting so close! Baby could be here any day...but it could also be another three weeks yet, who knows!  I'm hoping for closer to the any day option.

Still feeling great!  Bending is getting a little trickier-I definitely have to sit down to put my socks on.  I'm still sleeping fairly well.  In fact, I've ditched the goofy pillows between my legs set-up.  One night this week I actually slept through the night-no potty breaks!  Then two nights ago I got up three times, but I'd say it was worth it to get a real, full night's sleep (especially this late in a pregnancy).  I've had two days in the last week where I've felt crampy like my period was coming (many say that's how contractions feel at first) but then nothing happened.  Yesterday I tried to time it, but there was not a very clear start and stop to the feeling and, obviously, it turned into nothing.  Baby is still moving as usual, no bleeding or loss of mucous plug.  My energy level is pretty good-I go to bed early, but that's fairly normal.  I still like naps, but who doesn't?  I've committed to taking my iron pills twice a day (doctor said for sure once a day, twice a day if I can), so maybe that helps, plus lots of water/fluids.  I have to eat smaller, more frequent meals because I run out of room.  I ate a ton at our last Christmas get together on Sunday and told my six-year-old nephew I was "so full."  He said, "Well yeah! There's a baby in there!"

We're still both very excited!  I think it's starting to sink in for Trevor more than for me.  I still feel like we're never going to have a baby and probably haven't fully grasped the idea that we could be parents by the end of today.  I've gotten to the point where I try to treat every day at work as my last, no loose ends.  It's really weird not knowing when this will all go down.  Trevor can't wait, but he also has a lot on his plate right now (finishing the basement, trying to get ahead with school work, Army stuff, etc.) and is trying to focus on all of that while he can.  Like many of you (I assume), I google things in times of boredom.  I found a few studies and it seems there's actually not a lot of truth to women delivering earlier if it's their second/third+ pregnancy and the average for first time moms is 39 weeks, 4 days.  Of course, that really means nothing for me specifically.  

Someone told me in a meeting this week, "Due next week? You look healthy!" and it was the best comment on my appearance I've heard in a long time.  I get sick of hearing how tiny I am because, really, I'm just the right size.  What can also get annoying (remember this when talking to pregnant women) is hearing over and over when I'm going to have this baby based on my size, appearance, dilation, etc.  The truth is, no one knows, not even me or my doctor.  Again, dilation/effacement/dropping/Braxton Hicks contractions or anything else does not mean labor will be here today, tomorrow or in two weeks.  I'm generally a bit of a planner and I've come to terms with the fact that I'm just not going to know until it's actually happening-I just wish other people understood that, too.  And I digress.

Car seat is installed, hospital bag is packed and ready to go, Rowdy's care is set, just need baby to be ready!

We'll be sure to update people on any news! I've got an email draft ready to go, just need to add details and a photo once she's here.  And, of course, we'll post on the blog and, eventually, include her birth story.

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-A

38 weeks, 3 days

Had another ultrasound and doctor's appointment today. All looks good!

Baby girl is head down, face to my back (just how we want her!) so hopefully no back labor for me. The tech commented twice how low her head is (woo hoo!). She also mentioned she's pretty cramped up in there and her feet are right up in my ribs (I honestly rarely feel it, another woo hoo!). She gave us some prints from the ultrasound but I'm not even going to post them-they look like nothing because she's getting to big to fit anything in a screen shot. Her amniotic fluid level was 11.7 and we were shooting for over 10. Also, she got an 8/8 on the other checks they did. Edit: During the ultrasound the tech showed me where my gall bladder and liver are.  I'm not an expert at organ placement in general, especially not when things get moved around during pregnancy, but it was quite strange to see.  I just kept thinking "my liver is way up there?!" 

We then headed to the clinic for our appointment which included another non-stress test. When we got there they said, "you didn't get a call? Dr. Carlson isn't in this afternoon because she was on call this weekend." Um... They did some checking and apparently under the circumstances (we drive an hour and needed this follow up info on time or there was mention of inducing) we got to keep our appointment, just with another doctor. So, my blood pressure is still good and I'm up to 163.5 pounds, still within the target range for weight gain (up about 34 pounds). The non-stress test went great. The goal is to see that her heart rate can increase and decrease which shows she's getting enough oxygen. This was a follow up to last week's all because of a tiny bit below "ideal" amniotic fluid level (that is now back on track). Then they told us our fill in doctor got called to a delivery so we had to wait some more. When she got there she said the ultrasound and non-stress test looked great. She checked me and said I'm dilated to "wiggly 3cm" and called my cervix "favorable." We can't remember the word she used, but said something about baby's head position and we took it to mean she's a little more settled in for labor than she was last week. She also made sure to point out that because we live 45-60 minutes from the hospital, I'm already 3cm dilated and my cervix is "favorable" we shouldn't wait too long to come in once labor starts, especially if I want an epidural. I asked about visitors at the hospital because of all this flu craziness and she said only our immediate family can come which is fine. It would be nice to be able to have the option for more, but they have the rule for a good reason so no big deal.

For the record, we have had WAY more ultrasounds than the average pregnancy. I don't want people reading this to get the wrong idea. At our clinic, one typically gets an ultrasound at her first visit (8-12 weeks) to check initial growth/due date and an anatomy scan (18-20 weeks). We had both of those plus another because she was moving too much in the anatomy scan, another to check on some cysts that appeared on her brain (common and went away as expected), another to check on growth (I was measuring a week behind-Dr. figured it was because baby dropped but wanted to be sure, measured right on but amniotic fluid was a tiny bit below ideal), and one more today to check on the amniotic fluid (all looked good!). So, don't expect that many! Some clinics don't even do that initial ultrasound at 8-12 weeks.

That's all! I finally finished packing my hospital bag and the car seat is good to go! I'll be doing a post about packing a bag for the hospital after baby is here to share what I was glad to have/didn't need/wish I had.

Hopefully a baby intro post soon! :)

38 weeks

Ah! We're getting so close!  The biggest questions I've been getting are How are you feeling? and Are you nervous? So let's start there.

Thankfully, I'm still feeling great!  I'm starting to waddle every now and then and having a little more trouble getting comfortable on the couch/in bed/at my desk at work, but still nothing major.  I expected much worse at 38 weeks pregnant.  My usual winter dry nose that often leads to bloody noses seems to be worse (the books say that's to be expected).  I have still been getting some, well, diaper rash which is uncomfortable.  I used some of our cloth diaper safe cream (Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm and CJ's BUTTer) and it worked very well, almost immediately.  The A&D just wasn't cutting it.  I gave up on trying to shave my legs in the shower and took my first bath in about 2 years last night.  Clearly I'm not much of a bath person, but it actually felt great.  I tend to get too hot in the tub, but maybe it was better since half my torso was sticking out of the water this time.  I haven't actually felt as tired in the last week as usual, although I never pass up an opportunity to take a nap.  Since childbirth is getting closer, I've started taking two iron pills a day instead of one, which could be helping my fatigue.  So far, so good with staying regular while on iron-I have been making sure to drink lots of water and get plenty of fiber.

Honestly, I'm not nervous at all.  I imagine once labor gets going I'll have all kinds of emotions, especially if anything "abnormal" happens during labor/delivery.  For now, I'm just very excited to meet this little girl and I feel as ready as possible.  I don't want to speak for Trevor too much, but from our conversations I don't sense that he is nervous at all either, just ready and very excited.  We both keep thinking about all the things we want for her (things in life, not material things) and everything we want to teach her.  We joke about starting sign language/no-smoking speeches/self-respect lessons on day one.  Never too young, isn't that what they say?  :)

Since I already wrote about our doctor's appointment this week, I think that's all I've got for now.  Oh, I have had Braxton Hicks contractions ("warm up" contractions) for a couple weeks now, but they seem to be getting more frequent.  Although I'm having those and dilated to 3cm, I'm not convinced that means anything about the timing of labor.  I could name so many people who were stuck at 3cm (or more) for a few weeks.  I don't feel like I'd go over due at this point, but that is probably more optimism than anything.  One she arrives, I'll do my best to post a photo or two ASAP and I plan to do an in-depth birth story post when I'm able, too.

Question of the week: Do you automatically use a humidifier in your baby's/kids' rooms during the cold, dry months? Or do you wait for them to show signs of needing one? I need one myself all winter, just curious if we should use Baby's right off the bat or not.  PS-you can now comment via your Facebook account.  If the box isn't showing up, just click the "No Comments" or "# Comments" at the bottom of the post and it should appear.

Thanks for all the well wishes, everyone! The clock is ticking...

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The Nursery

Each week I keep meaning to post photos of the baby's room, but then I don't.  So, here they are.  The room is fairly small, so there are probably way more angles than necessary, but this room used to be one giant storage closet so I'm proud of how neat it looks now.

First, here's a photo of Trevor setting up the crib.  This has been put together for quite some time, but I just rediscovered the pictures.

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Rowdy helped, too.

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OK, here's what you see as you walk in the door.

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And again right as you walk in the door, but a little to the right.

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That is enough to get the point, but here are a few more just for fun.

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We often get asked what the nursery "theme" is and I guess it's ocean/dolphins, but we certainly didn't go overboard.  The walls were already tan, the decorations are all things we already had, and her bedding is just blue/green/tan sheets.  So if all of that makes a theme, then that's what it is!  I know those of you who are parents may be looking at the pack and play bassinet in the baby's room and thinking we're crazy for not having it in our room.  We've already heard the speeches, so two things on that.  One, the place it would go in our bedroom is literally three steps around the corner, so we're hoping we can just have her sleep in her own room from the beginning.  Two, we are very flexible and, trust me, if that doesn't work well we will move it in a heartbeat.  There, now you don't have to give us a lesson or roll your eyes...or both!

The only thing that's missing is Baby's Scentsy warmer.  I'm using it in my office until we put this room to use!

So, now that that's done, we just need a baby to put in there and we'll be all set!

37 weeks, 3 days

I suppose more frequent updates are okay now since any one of these could be the last pregnancy update!

Like I said last week, my fundal height (uterus measurement, just measures with a tape measure) was about a week small so Dr. wanted an ultrasound just to be sure. We had that this morning and baby was measuring just fine. Their estimates say she is 6lb 11oz (the tech said the estimates are usually accurate within one pound). Her foot measured 8.3cm, she may have big feet like I do. Sorry, baby girl! Her amniotic fluid was at a 9.4. Anything below a 5 is considered low, but they'd like to see it at a 10 or higher. The tech said the Dr. would likely hook me up to a monitor just to check things out. Baby was moving a lot and fighting the tech when she pushed on my belly during the ultrasound. She's positioned head down and basically on her side, her face pointed to my right with her feet at my ribs on my right side. Bless her heart she hasn't been kicking me in the ribs much at all. Her heart rate at the ultrasound was 153 which is higher than usual but she was pretty active!

At our actual OB appointment my doctor checked my cervix again. This week I'm dilated to a 3. My body is doing something which is awesome, but I've known many people to be stuck at a 3 for a few weeks so it really doesn't mean a whole lot as far as timing. My Group B Strep test was negative so I won't need any extra antibiotics during labor and delivery. Then, like the tech thought, the Dr. wanted me to do the non-stress test just to be sure everything is okay. We went to a different room and they put two straps around my belly, just like they'll do when I'm in labor. One was to monitor the baby's heart rate and the other was to monitor contractions. The nurse also gave me a button to push any time I felt baby move. They were looking to see that her heart rate would go up, stay there, then go back down. Her "baseline" heart rate was 130 and she appeared to be sleeping so they have me some orange juice to wake her up which worked great. The nurse noticed some contractions on the monitor, which is perfectly normal, but i explained they showed up at the times baby was kicking so hard my whole belly would move and she said that could do it, too. The nurse said baby did awesome, the doctor stopped back to confirm and we were on our way.

We have another ultrasound and non-stress test in a week with our next appointment to make sure everything looks good. We're very anxious to meet her and I'm a little excited to stop going to the doctor so much!!

37 weeks

Full term!  I know we're not in the clear yet for everything going great and everyone being perfectly healthy, but it is nice to know "pre-term" is at least out of the question now.  Today is also her daddy's birthday (actually yesterday was, I wrote this yesterday but didn't have a photo until today), but it doesn't look like he'll be getting a daughter for his present, at least not on time!

As you can see from the photos below, baby has dropped a little in the last week.  We had our first weekly checkup on Monday.  Her heart rate was fine (our doctor didn't even tell us what it was I don't think, and we didn't ask).  The doctor was very surprised at how soft my cervix is and that I'm a "fingertip" dilated-she wasn't expecting either for a first timer at 36 weeks.  My weight gain is still on track-I am up to 158 (up 29 pounds according to the clinic, maybe a couple more because I think I gained a little before my first appointment) and I now weigh as much as, if not more than, Trevor!  My belly measured at 35, but the doctor wasn't concerned at all.  She said it's likely because baby dropped (that's what made me think to compare photos in the first place and she was right!).  She ordered another ultrasound to double check anyway so we are looking forward to that on Monday before our next appointment.  She also did the Group B Strep test (many women have it, not harmful to the mom but it can be passed to the baby during childbirth if not treated).  I was supposed to get a call if it was positive, but we know how that goes.  I haven't gotten a call but we'll find out for sure on Monday.  For the record, I've heard that test (vaginal swab) is uncomfortable or even painful and for me it wasn't at all, didn't even notice really.  The cervix check was just fine, too.

After our appointment we went to the hospital for our pre-admission appointment and tour.  The woman was very helpful and informative.  We saw the labor/delivery rooms, recovery rooms, C-section room, figured out where to go in when we arrive, talked about policy/procedure stuff, etc.  I seem to deal much better with foreign situations if I can gather as much information as possible, so it was very helpful for me, Trevor, too I think.

With baby sitting a little lower, I'm starting to waddle a tad, getting tired from moving around more easily and having to go to the bathroom more, still only once at night though.  I went a little nuts vacuuming yesterday and my back is paying for it today (that's a little dramatic, but I can tell).  I was awake from 1:30am-4am this morning which probably doesn't help any.  Over the last couple years, I've been in physical therapy multiple times for my upper back, knee and ankle and all of those problem spots are starting to bug me.  I'm sure the cold weather+added weight (off balance weight at that) are to blame.  But really these are all minor complaints and I'm feeling pretty darn good.  I still love a good nap though!

More next week!  Only a couple more of these then I can attempt to write baby updates-much more exciting than hearing about my cervix.

Question of the week: We keep our house a tad chilly in the winter and let the temp drop even more over night.  What temp have you all used when you have a baby in the home? How cold is too cold?

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36 weeks

Only four weeks until our due date!  My whole plan all along was to be vague about the due date because I didn't want people bugging me when the date came around if baby still wasn't here, but our date is about as "late January" as it gets, so I gave up.  I'm hoping she comes right on time or a little early.  And if I could pick, I'd say not while Trevor is in class in Mankato.  Or at drill.  A Friday would be good.  In the evening.  Maybe if I schedule it on my Google calendar she'll understand.  Of course, I realize we don't get to pick.  And truly, I don't think we'll care.  Except for the weather since we have an hour drive to the hospital (thanks, insurance, for making us doctor an hour away), so a non-blizzard would be nice. 

I used our registry completion coupon at Target yesterday.  I got the rest of the things we figure we'll really need (well, we honestly don't need much at all, but we'll call them pretty basic convenience items with a few necessities) so we're all set!  Thankfully, we actually had enough in gift cards to cover it all.  I could say this a hundred times and it wouldn't be enough.  We are SO blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who have offered support, guidance, and many thoughtful gifts and hand-me-downs.  We're so appreciative of all of it!  The best part is, our baby isn't even here yet, so we know she'll be very loved upon arrival.  We'll be installing the car seat base this weekend and I'll probably start packing my hospital bag, too.  Then I think we'll be 100% as ready as future parents can be. Well, I suppose 95% since our hospital tour isn't until Monday.

I'm still feeling really good and sleeping fairly well.  My lips are still unbelievably chapped, but the lanolin (Lansinoh HPA lanolin meant for breastfeeding nipples, to be exact) has been working like a charm as long as I keep using it.  I toss and turn quite a bit and wake up to go to the bathroom once, sometimes twice, but better than I thought I'd be doing at this stage.  Every so often I wake up wide awake in the middle of the night.  Sunday night I was wide awake from 1am-4am, but luckily it didn't ruin my day at all.  I frequently get asked if I'm waking up because I'm worried or anxious about the baby.  Nope.  I literally just wake up wide awake, nothing on my mind, as if it were 9am.

Speaking of things I frequently hear...  Let me answer/respond to some common questions/statements.  I'm partially being funny about it and partially answering these questions because it seems everyone I see asks :)

How are you feeling? Really good! No majorly annoying symptoms, not terribly uncomfortable, starting to get more tired but all things considered, really good.
You're so tiny! If that's meant to be a compliment, I appreciate it, but my weight gain and belly measurements are exactly how they're supposed to be.  My doctor even pointed out if you start out with a small frame, that's not really going to change and you'll look small in comparison.  PS-I've always been a healthy eater and I walk Rowdy regularly, my spot-on weight gain isn't an accident.
Wow! You really look pregnant today/in that shirt. Well, that's because I am.  Still.
Only a few weeks left, huh? That went fast! We've wanted this for almost two years and we're still waiting.  Just like a deployment, it seems to go quickly for those who aren't directly experiencing it.  Baby isn't here yet; once she is I'm sure we'll eventually say it went fast, but not yet.

OK, enough of that fun :)  I know everyone means well and is just excited and I really do appreciate it.  We are very excited, too!  In fact, I got a little mushy thinking about the past year (or two) over Christmas.  On our regular blog, I wrote about how Trevor and I have never exchanged Christmas gifts, we just make sure to enjoy the time together.  That said, he still gave me the best gift of all this year just by being home.  I got to thinking about where we were in life last Christmas: six months post-miscarriage, I had just sent him back to Kuwait after having him home for two weeks, and in those two weeks we had tried with no luck to get pregnant again.  Let me preface what I'm about to say with this: I'm a big believer in everything happening for a reason, but I will never ever say that our, or anyone's, miscarriage happened for a reason (and I would advise against anyone else saying that to someone in that situation-it's not helpful).  Some things in life just don't have explanations and there is no bigger picture.  It just doesn't make sense other than some fluke thing led to something being so seriously wrong with our baby/babies the pregnancy couldn't continue-completely medical and random.  It was terribly sad, always will be, but it does get easier (I've repeated that to myself a  million times and it really has helped-you know who you are who told me that) and I knew our time would come.  That said, the second best gift I got this year was patience.  I am in no way thankful our first pregnancy ended the way it did.  I am, however, very thankful I learned to be patient and appreciate when life happens on its own time sometimes.  I would have loved those babies to pieces, but if that pregnancy had continued we surely wouldn't be having this baby right now and that makes her pretty special, too.  Patience this year was a solid combination of waiting for Trevor to come home and waiting to try for a baby again...and waiting for this baby to arrive!  (Luckily that patience lesson didn't include waiting for a positive pregnancy test since this baby came as soon as humanly possible.)  Trevor has been to every single doctor's appointment and ultrasound with me this time.  He was with me when I felt kicks for the first time and felt them for himself five days later.  It's been amazing having him here to help clean/cook when I was feeling awful, shovel, play with Rowdy, put together the crib/dresser, etc.  And, of course, it's a huge relief knowing he'll for sure be around for labor/delivery/the weeks and months to follow.  Every so often I get pretty worked up about how much our finances have changed/will change (income is obviously a bit different now than it was while he was deployed, we just got his last unemployment check and my paychecks aren't big at all, especially not after daycare costs), but Trevor just says it'll work out, we'll always put our family first and be able to provide for our children, he's not scared, etc.  I know that's all true, I'm just really struggling to fully wrap my head around it all.  What would I do without him?  In addition to all of that, I have always been an organized planner, and still am for the most part, but I have learned to be much more flexible and much less particular.  I may not exactly be thankful for everything that's happened in life, but I'm truly thankful for the way everything has worked out and the lessons I've learned.

I'm going to do my best to hold on to my patience wisdom throughout the next year-I imagine I'll need it :)

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-A