37 Weeks

Pregnancy Week 37 to the big day: Your baby is the size of the electric motorin the $110,000 2008 Tesla which can go from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds. Sweet.

Baby's now the size of a watermelon! Your full-term (yay!) baby is gaining about 1/2 ounce a day and getting his first sticky poop (called meconium) ready. He's also brushing up on skills for the outside world: blinking, sucking, inhaling, exhaling, and gripping (it's getting strong!).

Weekly Checklist

How far along? 37 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 31 lbs & hoping it stays that way

Maternity Clothes: Yep, but sweatpants & hoodies are my favorite thing to wear these days.

Sleep: Isn't easy. Luckily I've been off of work for the holidays & able to take naps in the afternoon.

Food Cravings: Nothing exciting

What I miss: Just about everything. I just can't wait to feel like myself again.

What I am looking forward to: Aside from meeting my little boy, I can't wait to take the focus off myself and onto him. For the last several months, I worry about what I eat, what I can lift, whether or not I'm getting enough sleep. Normally I like to be able to do things for myself and not worry about how much I can take on. Once Brody is here (and my body is recovered), I can focus that energy on him and start doing things for myself again!

Weekly wisdom: Being patient at this stage in the pregnancy is easier said than done. We're prepared to meet our son & now that he's full-term and it's safe for him to join us, I'm definitely anxious. I know he'll arrive when he's ready, but it's hard to wait!!

Milestones: Baby is now full term!

36 Week Doctor Appointment

We've offically started our weekly doctor appointments, which means we're nearing the end!

Weight: +0!! (Despite the Cinnabon I had right before hand)
Blood Pressure: 120/70
Heartbeat: 145
Fundal Height: 36
Baby's size: I had to ask him this week if he will estimate how big Brody will be when he's born. I have been told by several people that their doctor's estimates were completely off & some that were right on. But I'm a curious person, so I at least wanted to know what he thought.

So here's the consensus: He's probably already around 7lbs, and he estimated around 8 at birth. The only part that worries me is if he's late & grows a 1/2 lb a week like the doctor said he could. That would be a 9+ lb baby! Oh well, women do it all the time.

Labor Progress: This is the first week that he started doing internal exams to determine the progress towards labor. It is just an estimate and it's also not a strong indicator of how far away/close labor is. This is because I could dialate quickly or slowly. Some women remain 3-4cm dialated for weeks or go from 0-4cm in a few hours.

At this point, I am not dialated at all, but my cervix is 50% effaced (thinned out). The baby is definitely moving down & is head down. So he's getting ready to go.

Kick Counts: I have a sheet to start tracking the amount of times Brody moves. He's a pretty active little guy, so it's just important to make sure I take the time 2-3 times a day to notice if he's moving that day.

Next appointment: 1 week! Plus I'll be officially full-term!

36 Weeks

Weekly Checklist

How far along? 36 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 31 lbs? (my scale actually says less, but the evil Dr office scale always says more)

Maternity Clothes: I'm officially moving onto buying nursing clothes & am done buying maternity clothes. (That should make Jason happy)
Sleep: Is not going so well these days. My hips are expanding again (I thought they did that already?!?) and if I don't turn over frequently enough, then they get sore. Of course, turning over is like a 5 minute process by itself!!

Food Cravings: Bad food. I wished I craved green vegetables. But food combinations like peanut butter & chocolate seem more desirable to me. Maybe that's not just a pregnancy thing though...

What I miss: Sitting close to my desk. Sometimes I scoot my chair too close & end up with a desk digging into my stomach.

What I am looking forward to: Delivering this boy. I know it's premature to complain, I could easily have 4-5 weeks left. Plus in theory, I'd really like to wait until after the holidays for him to make his appearance. But honestly, I'm done feeling huge and uncomfortable. I really want to meet my son & can't wait to hold him. So if he wants to make an early appearance, I won't complain.

Weekly wisdom: Being a control freak & being pregnant doesn't go well together. There is very little you can control about labor & delivery and nothing you can control over the day your baby decides to make his appearance (with the exception of a scheduled c-section). I was nervous at first because we didn't have all the essentials for him. But now that we have the important stuff, I'm just nervous because he could decide to show up at anytime and I have no choice in the matter. I've also started having dreams about going into labor. All of this just makes it more stressful, so now I need to sit back and learn the art of patience and spontaneity. I'll let you know how that goes. :)
Milestones: Stretch marks. I'm not happy about it & don't want to talk about it.

35 Weeks down 35 Days to go!

No new fruit for a couple weeks...still a honeydew.

Weekly Checklist
How far along? 35 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 31 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Are boring. I have clothes envy everytime I walk through the normal size department.
Sleep: Depends on the night. Some nights I can't get enough sleep, other nights I'm too uncomfortable for a full night.
Food Cravings: nothing new this week
What I miss: I'll just keep adding to my list from last week: Heels, belts, buttoning my winter jacket, squeezing into small spaces, having normal emotional reactions to things, fully caffenated starbucks lattes...
What I am looking forward to: Seeing Brody in all his adorable new clothes.
Weekly wisdom: Unless you are close to a pregnant woman and/or you really care about the answer, skip the "how are you feeling question?" When random co-workers ask you this on a daily basis, it gets a bit exhausting. I know they mean well, but it just gets to be a little much. To future pregnant women, I recommend making a T-Shirt that says: "I'm feeling fine, due January 15th and it's a boy." :)

Milestones: 35 & 35. After 35 weeks of pregnancy, I only have 35 days to go (give or take).

34 Week Doctor Appointment

Another run-down of my latest appointment. Again, things are going very well, so it was a quick one!

Weight: up 1 lb for total gain of 31 lbs.
Blood Pressure: nurse didn't say, but they said it was great
Heartbeat: 140
Fundal Height: 34.5 cm -- still right on track, yay!
Questions:
He asked how I was doing & I gave him the same, doing great! I did mention that Brody's movements seemed to have changed slightly (I had a couple days where he was on the quiet side) but that it seems just like he's running out of room. Dr asked if I was having at least 10 movements per day? Per day? Definitely. He moves more than that when I'm ready to go to bed. I'm lucky that he's such a mover.

Since I know i'm getting closer to that delivery day, I wanted to ask him a few questions about when to come into the hospital etc.
When to call the dr: Call with any problems or trauma etc. But if I'm having contractions, call the doctors office during the day. He also said at my 36 week appointment I'll get his home number so I can call him if it's after hours. I thought that was pretty generous.

When to come into the hospital once in labor: He said whenever I am comfortable, but once contractions are about 5 minutes apart for a full hour we should definitely come in.

Induction: If I have a favorable cervix (he gave a certain centimeters dialted & % effaced) then he will induce at any point after my due date, if I want him to. If my cervix is still pretty closed, he will let me go 10 days after my due date. This reduces the rate of "failed inductions." Obviously his goal is to not try to make my body do something it's not ready for. All totally reasonable to me. I especially like the idea that if I am favorable, I can schedule an induction within a few days of being overdue.

Winter weather: Then on his way out, he gave me a quick lecture. It was kinda funny, but just something I'm sure he does with everyone (he doesn't even know what a clutz I am!) But he just said, make sure I walk slow in the winter weather & take small steps. If I fall & land anywhere on my stomach I should give them a call.

Next appointment: Starts my weekly appointments. He will do an internal exam to see if I've started dialating. They also do a group B strep test to see if I am carrying the bacteria. If I do, they will have to administer antibiotics during delivery. Other than that, it didn't sound like a big deal, but I can learn more if for some reason I fall in that category.

Plus, our next appointment is the week of Christmas...yay!!

Pregnancy Police - Bowling

Tomorrow we are having a Finance outing in which we will be bowling. (This is very typical of Finance people --I don't know why). So of course for the last 3 weeks or so, all I have heard is, "can you bowl?" My simple answer has been, yes, I can lift up to 25lbs, why not a bowling ball?

I know my body and I have continued to make safe decisions for the last 7 1/2 months for me and the baby. If women can train for marathons when they're pregnant, I can throw a 10 lb bowling ball down a lane for an hour or so!!

Then today, another co-worker is talking about the outing and says "well of course you're not bowling!" So I told her, yes I am planning to bowl. She mentions that another co-worker in her department was told by her doctor that she wasn't allowed to and she's not even as far along as I am. At this point the rest of my co-workers in the discussion begin to voice similar concerns.

Okay, fine, fine, I'll call my doctor. So I did, and guess what he said? "Yep, you can bowl!"

I just wish being pregnant didn't mean justifying the decisions I make on a daily basis.

33 Weeks/34 Weeks

Month 8: Weeks 33-36
"Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month. " -Thebump.com

"Pregnancy Week 33-36: The next time you look into your17-inch computer screen, know that your baby is now that long." -hisboyscanswim.com

Weekly Checklist

How far along? 34 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 30 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I think it would be hilarious to try on something non-maternity right now...

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty good, but turning over in the middle of the night takes considerable more effort than before.

Food Cravings: I'm still waiting for that random pickle craving in the middle of the night or something!

What I miss: Where to start? Heels, belts, buttoning my winter jacket, squeezing into small spaces...

What I am looking forward to: Finishing all those last minute details so I can stop stressing. (Like what if I go into labor tomorrow & we still don't have a car seat?!?)

Weekly wisdom: I thought being 8 months pregnant in December would be a good thing because it's not in the dead heat of summer. What I forgot about is all the choas of the holidays. Buying baby gear during peak shopping season plus worrying about buying christmas gifts (we're almost done with that at least!), plus holiday parties and family celebrations makes for a very busy time. All of this going on when my body decides it needs more rest and I can't stay up past 9:30 anymore!! Lesson learned, February or March babies seem like the right answer. :)

Milestones: I've gone from "oh this is what heartburn feels like" to "hmm, I can't remember what it feels like to not have heartburn all day long"

32 Week (Quickie)

A quick check-in this week since things are so busy for us right now.


Weekly Checklist
How far along? 32 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: still 27 according to my scale at home, we'll see what the OB office scale says...
Maternity Clothes: Some of my maternity shirts are getting a little short, not a good sign!
Sleep: Pretty good -- the pregnancy doesn't keep me up at night but my dog does.
Food Cravings: Cinnabon - I finally went and got one this week!
What I am looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery. It's getting very close, all the furniture is in and all of our wonderful presents have been put away. Now it's just time for final decorations and purchasing all the necessities that we don't have yet. Time to shop!
Weekly wisdom: Dogs are great practice for children. I know people don't like always like it when animals are compared to children, but there are a lot of similar skills to being a "doggie-mommy" and a "baby-mommy". This week we neutered our 4 year old dog, Cody. I worried about him all day long while at the vet (what if something happened during surgery?), when he came home and seemed to be in a little bit of pain, it made my heart break. Dogs can't tell you what's wrong when they're hurt either. Neither can babies. I assume i'll feel similarly helpless when Brody is sick for the first time. He's also keeping us up in the middle of the night right now because he's wearing a cone around his head that runs into everything when he moves around. I'm getting a glimpse of what it will be like to be awake half the night!
Milestones: Officially less than 2 months to go!

Letter from Mommy

Dear Brody,

It's not nice to kick your daddy in the head. I know, I know, he was invading your space. But he really just wanted to hear your little heart beating.

Yes, mommy did laugh really hard and we'll let you get away with it until you know better. But once you get older, it may not be so cute when you kick someone.

Next time we'll try to let you know ahead of time that daddy is going to be putting his ear up to mommy's tummy to listen to you. He loves you very much and just wants to hear what you're up to in there.

We can't wait to see you!
Love,
Mommy

Special Nurse

The hospital I am delivering at has a program where you can connect with a nurse during your pregnancy and she/he will be there with you through your birth and even after going home. Ideally she would be your labor & delivery nurse as well, however, since babies come on their own schedule, nothing is a guarantee.


The program is obviously optional, but I figured it would be great to have a familiar face around the hospital when I am in labor. So a few weeks ago I talked with my special nurse and set up time to meet with her and get a private tour of the birthing area of the hospital.


I didn't coordinate very well with Jason, so I ended up going solo, which was no problem since he'll get to see the hospital during our baby classes anyway. The meeting and tour went great! Nurse "K" was very friendly, informative and reassuring. The best part was that everything she told me would be very specific to the place I'll be giving birth. I can talk to other women who have been there before, but she has worked with my doctor before and could give me a really good feel for the philosophy of the hospital.


Here's what I liked:
The rooms! They are very spacious and everything is done in the same room (labor, delivery, recovery). The baby will sleep in the room with us (Jason will be on the pull-out couch) during our stay. There is a refrigerator in the room (and a stocked fridge down the hall as well with plenty of popcicles) and I read online that they have WIFI in the room (in case I'm bored and want to blog!).

The atmosphere: I may have a slight misconception of this since I was there on a very quiet day, however, it had a small hospital feel on the floor. The nurses seemed very friendly and it didn't feel like you were just a "number."

Their philosophy: Nurse K made it very clear that the mother's wishes are important. They actually give you a "birth plan" to fill out so that they can try to meet your expectations as much as possible. No birth can be planned and she was also very open about that. She wanted to make it clear that they do what they can to allow every mom to have the birth she wants but there is always risk of c-section etc. She really just tried to promote that having a healthy baby is what is important. That may not work for everyone, but it works for me. I don't have high expectations of my birth for that reason. If a C-Section is the right thing to do for my baby, then by all means, do it. I trust my doctor and know he'll do what's best. The nurse even mentioned that my doctor is really good at making quick decisions during labor and had positive things to say about him.

Along with making sure the mother's wishes are upheld from a labor standpoint, she also reiterated how important my plans are for visitors as well. She basically made it clear that she would kick anyone out for me at anypoint if I needed her to. That just made me laugh & glad to have someone on my side. We haven't finalized our "friends & family" plan yet, but we know it's important that we spend time bonding with the baby before the parade of visitors start, which she highly suggested as well.

It was a good experience for me to meet her and see the rooms early on. It helped relieve some of my fears of the unknown now that I can visualize where I will be giving birth. It's also just nice to know that I've met a couple of the nurses on staff and hopefully will have a familiar face around on his birth-day.

31 Weeks

"Baby's now the size of a squash! Baby's going through major brain and nerve development these days. His irises now react to light, and all five senses are in working order. (He won't pick up anything from his nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.)" - Thebump.com

Weekly Checklist
How far along? 31 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 27lbs (usually my favorite number...)
Maternity Clothes: Yep
Sleep: Yes please!
Food Cravings: A Cinnabon! I woke up last Sunday dying for a Cinnabon. Unfortunately it was like 7am and the mall doesn't open until 11 on Sundays. I didn't want to wait that long so I went to McDonalds and had their cinnamon rolls. 5 days later, I'm still craving one, so I know where I am going Sat morning.
What I am looking forward to: Baby showers! This Saturday my wonderful mother-in-law and sister-in-law are hosting a shower for us and Sunday my mom and sister are hosting another one. Next weekend my bestest friends are throwing a co-ed one for all J & my friends. All three will be great and I can't wait to see everyone!
Weekly wisdom: Drive 20 minutes to the mall to give into cravings. Maybe if had last weekend I wouldn't still be craving a Cinnabon.
Milestones: Leg cramp. I read that these are a symptom of pregnancy but hadn't experienced anything yet. Then one morning this week I had a really bad cramp in my calf, not fun. Dehydration can make it worse, so I'm definitely paying attention to my water intake!

30 Week Doctor Appointment

Today was my 30 week doctor appointment. Appointments are pretty quick now and I'll be there pretty often for the next 10 weeks.

The 30 week appointment is apparently the milestone of baby-swag. I was sent home with a travel bag, small diaper bag and tons of samples.

Weight: up 4 lbs for total gain of 27 lbs. Not ideal, but the doctor isn't worried.
Blood Pressure: 110/70
Heartbeat: 134
Fundal Height: 30.5 cm -- right on track (should be 30). This makes me less worried about having a big baby. But like I said last time, it's still early to tell.
Questions:
Not much to talk about this week. He asked about headaches and backaches, so I told them that both were getting better.

I told him that I started feeling braxton-hicks and he confirmed that it was what I was feeling. He told me to call if I was having real contractions that occur within 10 minutes of each other or cramping. Those are signs of pre-term labor, which I haven't felt either of yet.

Then they gave me the H1N1 vaccine. For some reason it hurt a lot more than the regular flu vaccine. I don't know if there really was a difference between the two or if the nurse I had last time was just better. My arm still hurts as I'm typing.

Next appointment in 2 weeks...

30 Weeks

"Baby's now the size of a squash! As baby's skin smoothes out, his brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. He's also adding some brawn -- his grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger." Thebump.com

Weekly Checklist
How far along? 30 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 23lbs (I'm down a pound thanks to my soup & bread diet this week)
Maternity Clothes: Yep
Sleep: Constantly...but I think it's more related to being sick this week than the baby.
Food Cravings: Cheesecake & a spicy buffalo chicken sandwich. So J & I made plans to go to the Cheesecake Factory this weekend. Then my stomach started acting up -- so I think i'll have to wait until I'm eating solid foods before I attempt that meal!
What I miss: nothing in particular this week

What I am looking forward to: Hanging out with Brody. I realized Thursday night when Jason was at bowling that in a couple of months I won't have very many nights at home by myself anymore. I'm looking forward to it! (Remind me of this in about a year when I'm complaining about my lack of alone time)

Weekly wisdom: If you don't really want to know if your butt has gotten bigger during pregnancy, don't put on a pair of pre-pregnancy pants!! I didn't have any dress pants to wear to church on Sunday, so I figured I would just pull out a pair of pants that were slightly big before getting pregnant and use my bella-band to hold them up. Then I discovered they were a lot more tight on my butt/hips than before. Not a confidence booster!

Milestones: Braxton-hicks contractions. Really I just figured out what they were this week. They don't hurt and many women don't feel them. Supposedly some women can actually start having braxton-hicks as early as 6 weeks! I looked up the description & realized I had been experiencing them randomly, I just didn't know what it was.

"Your lives are going to change"

After telling people we were having a baby, we've been hearing this a lot. Our first reaction was, well yeah, of course it's going to change, that was the point right? Then this comment became a little more annoying when people acted like our lives were going to end when the baby gets here. I'd say we're not your typical mid-twenty year-olds. We're already very family oriented and couldn't tell you the last time we were out past midnight. So I believe all the changes we have coming are only for the better and our lives as we know it are not over.

However, I've come to the realization in the last month that there is one really big part of my life that will need to change drastically. That's my work-life. Luckily I work in a company that supports working mothers (on-site daycare) and I have a very supportive management structure. So it's not like I'm going to be giving up my career when the baby comes.
What will need to change is how I approach my job. Today, I take advantage of the weeknights where Jason is bowling or playing volleyball by working late. On those nights and many other nights, I end up at work until 7pm without thinking twice. When the dogs are taken care of and Jason isn't home, there's no reason to worry about how many hours I work. Obviously working mothers don't have that luxury.

We are very lucky that Jason has a job where he leaves between 3:30 & 4:30 everyday. This will allow him to pick up Brody from daycare at a reasonable hour each night. While this will allow me to stay at work late on most nights, I know myself well enough to know I won't be okay with missing time with my baby. I love my job, but I also love my family and I know there will be days I will struggle with giving the right amount of attention to both. It will be an interesting ride...

29 Week Bump Pic

Yes, we're baby-gating the house already! Actually it should really be called our naughty puppy gate.