"You'll know when you're ready."

Hello out there! Is there anyone still reading this (besides my parents, of course)?? I haven't posted since October 9th! Yikes! October was pretty much a write off as my in laws were here for 3 weeks, then I had friends visiting during the last week of October into November. It was wonderful having visitors and I'm glad they were able to meet Adam, but it is really nice having our house back again.

Now for the title of this post - "You'll know when you're ready." I heard that a lot when I was pregnant. Most often they would say it when asking me if/when I was going to go back to work. I find it actually applies to a lot of parenting situations. You can plan and fret over lots of decisions, but you really end up just following your gut. Here are some examples over the last month:

I'm sure you're all chomping at the bit wondering what's going on with the nursing situation. Well, two days after I wrote that post I started pumping and I haven't looked back. I felt sooo much better once I made that decision and we've all be happier around here. I had the pump here at the house for a while and hadn't cracked it open. That particular day I was really trying to work on his latch. Pop him on, bad latch, pop him off, repeat. He just looked up at me and gave me huge smiles. Right. I was done with it. I cracked open the pump, ordered some extra stuff off Amazon, went out to buy some bottles and that was that. So far, everything has been going pretty well. Yes, pumping is a total drag, but I'll keep doing it as long as I can (or maybe until he starts solids). My current goal is to make it to 3 months and that's coming up quick!

Next up was cloth diapering. Good god I over thought this process. I had really good advice on using disposables for the early days as there's a lot going on and there's no sense throwing this into the mix as well. At about 5 weeks I pulled out a cloth diaper just to try it and see how it goes and boom - haven't used a disposable since. I don't know why people make a big deal out of cloth diapering, it's really not that bad. My husband even said the same thing. I use a mixture of bum.Genius and Fuzzi.bunz, but the BGs are our favorites. I love these diapers so much, I'm going to ask for some for Christmas! They rarely leak, even when we use it on him overnight. Sure, he'll get the occasional leak out of his leg (usually with a FB), but he's never had a diaper blowout up his back. Once he starts on solids, we'll use these flushable liners that make handling that poo a lot easier.

The most recent situation is moving him to the crib. When I was pregnant I went back and forth on whether or not we would have him sleep in our room or put him straight in the crib. I had no idea what I would prefer and I got a lot of good advice from both sides of the situation. My husband didn't really care either way, but he did have a sister who died from cot death, so I think he was kind of leaning towards having the baby in our room. We ended up getting a use Moses basket from a local mom and that's actually where he's been sleeping at night since he was born. It's been great! But, it's only so big and our big boy is really filling it up. It wasn't uncommon for us to wake up and he would have moved down to the end with his butt against the end and his legs up at a 90 degree angle. Oh, and the basket was tilted at a 45 degree angle. Oops! For the past few weeks I've been working at getting him to nap in the crib. See, he would spend his nights in the Moses basket, morning nap in the Pack n Play in the living room, afternoon nap either in the stroller or sling if we were out and about or on his favorite bed, mom. Where was he not sleeping?? Yeah, in his crib. So, I've been pretty successful with the morning naps. Regardless, at this point I couldn't imagine not having him in our room at night. I loved have him wake up next to us. Fast forward to two nights ago. We finally got him to sleep in the basket and we're tip toeing around and whispering so we don't wake the beast. Well, of course it didn't work and I was like, right, we're putting him in the crib. He has a perfectly good room where he can sleep without distraction! Off we went to the nursery. It took a few tries for him to realize that we weren't there for playtime, but he finally caught on and he's been in there for two nights and all of his naps (unless we happen to be out). Success! 

Oh, and as for the original reason most people ask this question. I'm definitely not ready to go back to work full time. I'm really enjoying this time with him and I'm fortunate that I don't have to go back right away. I am going to do a project part time from home for my old job. We'll see how that goes, but I have no desire to go to the office full time right now. People ask me if I miss adult conversation, but not just yet. Who knows though, maybe one day I'll just up and decide that it's time!

And, if you stuck around this long...here are a few pictures!

The pink boppy was a hand me down! 

One Month Old!

It's hard to believe it's been one month already! He just had his one month appointment and he's up to 9lbs 9.5oz. He gained an ounce a day for two weeks. Yay! No more weight checks at this point! Thank goodness, because he's been eating like a horse. If he hadn't gained, I would have been really frustrated. We no longer have to wake him to eat, just feed on demand. He's starting to discover the world around him which is really fun. Things that he could have cared less about last week are now the most fun ever. My in-laws are visiting for 3 weeks, which has been nice. I've been able to get things done (like fill out all those recall postcards) and even cook dinner. My MIL can get him to nap like a champ.
The Sore Boob Saga continues. Last night I seriously think I was going delirious from the pain. Basically, shooting pains on both sides (nothing localized, just all over), warm to the touch, a freakin' crevasse in one nipple. I called the lactation consultant who told me she thinks it's a yeast infection, even though he's not showing any symptoms in his mouth. She told me to call my OB to see if they could call in a prescription for an oral antibiotic. I did and the nurse called me back. She asked me a bit more information then relayed it to my OB. She called me again and said that she wasn't going to call in the prescription because he wasn't showing any signs. Cue me crying my eyes out. She thinks it's irritation from the breast pads (which I agree is probably part of the problem) and I should try to go without them whenever I can. Uh, I don't particularly want to walk around soaked with breast milk. The LC told me I should sleep topless. What? My boobs will not cooperate with that. Plus, it's cold. When I got to Adam's pediatrician appointment, she asked me how things were going and I told her the situation. She said that yeast infections can be only in the mother or only in the baby, they don't have to be in both (which is what I read), and she was able to prescribe me some ointment. Fingers crossed this helps! We also need to continue to work on his latch. Basically, I'm lazy and need to be more diligent. I'm so sick of thinking about my boobs all the time. They're taking up too much time in my life right now.

3 weeks!

It's amazing how much longer it feels than 3 weeks. Thanks everyone for their comments on the blog or via email regarding my last post. He gained 3oz at his appointment on Tuesday (now up to 8lb 11oz) and they said they like to see .5-1oz per day, so at .75oz per day we were right in there. We don't need to go back now until his one month appointment on the 9th. We definitely have our good days and bad days. It's funny because he was good at latching on the left for awhile, but that seems to have switched to the right and now that's his better side. Babies don't make much sense!

It's amazing to see his development and changes on a daily basis. He is still sleeping like a champ and is happiest in the morning. His worst time of the day is the evenings, but last night he was actually fairly settled, so that surprised us! Someone gave us a mirror that hangs in the crib. I took it out of the box to show it to him earlier this week and his reaction was less than impressed. Now he can't get enough of it. He also really likes the playmat I set up for him the other day. He's more awake now when he feeds and he tries to flip all around (all while holding my nipple in his mouth, ouch!). We need to go to the drugstore this afternoon and we're going to attempt the carrier and head over to a farmer's market that's going on nearby.

PS - I'll be glad when this blog isn't just about babies again. Unfortunately, I don't really have anything else going on in my life right now! I am ridiculously excited to go to the farmer's market this afternoon, that's how lame it is around here.

Breastfeeding woes

I'm sure you've seen other posts with the same title. Actually, maybe you haven't. It seems lots of mothers don't like to admit that breastfeeding is really. freaking. hard. until you yourself admit to THEM that it's hard. There certainly is a stigma attached to admitting this. Well, it's hard and painful. Oh my god is it painful. My friend pointed out that it makes no evolutionary sense for it to be so painful as that's the main reason most woman throw in the towel and shouldn't they WANT to keep feeding their child?? I can completely understand why people stop. I don't get excited when it's time to feed him again, I don't feel a nice bond while we do it. I do it because my body is producing the milk to give to him.

Adam will be 3 weeks old on Thursday and it feels like we've been battling this for months. He latched on beautifully as soon as he was born, but his interest in latching waned while we were in the hospital. He was losing weight, which is normal, but since he wasn't really interested in nursing the colostrum-which meant a very frustrated baby and mother-we ended up finger feeding him formula. Starting on the Wednesday after he was born, he has only received breastmilk, either by nursing or by expressing it and finger feeding him. Getting him to latch on was still extremely painful and I was in tears most of the time. I had a huge crack slicing across one of my nip.ples and the other side wasn't much better. I went to see a lactation consultant and she was great. Of course he latched on like a pro and probably had the best feed of his life. When she was instructing me on how to fix things she said, 'Use one hand to do this, one hand to do that, and one hand to do this.' See...you need to have three hands to nurse your child! Even with my lacking a third hand I was able to get to a point where it actually doesn't hurt when he latches on. However, they hurt pretty much all the rest of the time. The let-down hurts, they're heavy, engorged, and everything is sensitive. It feels like little needles are poking all around. I'm afraid I've been lazy with his latch and now we're backtracking a bit. I got a nice electric pump, so I'm hoping that will help to give me a break periodically and allow things to settle down. I'm also looking forward to my husband being able to give him bottles and bond with him a bit more. He's really wonderful and helpful to me when I'm nursing, but I know he wishes he could do more and seeing me in tears leaves him feeling a bit helpless.

By Adam's first pediatrician appointment he was back up to 8.4lbs from a low of 7.7lbs in the hospital. By two weeks he was back to his birthweight of 8.8lbs and he's been primarily nursing. We only used formula once and that was because everything hurt so bad I couldn't even express. Apparently, this still isn't good enough and the doctor would have like to see more of a gain from him (although she did admit a gain is better than a loss!). After days of him eating every hour and lots of pain, this is really frustrating. We're back for another weight check tomorrow. He's been eating like crazy, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

I've been told it gets better and at this point I'm setting mini-goals for myself with the thought that it WILL get better. I'm taking it all on a week by week basis!

Adam!

Sorry for the silence, but I imagine everyone can figure out why I haven't been able to update! Adam was born on Thursday, September 6th at 4am via c section. He was 8lbs 8oz and 22in long! The weight didn't surprise us (well, it surprised us that it wasn't more), but his length sure did! He definitely gets that from his dad!

My water broke at home at 8am on Wednesday morning. Since it wasn't a big gush and I wasn't sure if that's what really happened or not, I sent my husband off to work and told him I would evaluate the situation. I called my doctor and she told me to head up to L&D to have them check it out. There was no doubt that's what happened, so we were admitted around 11:30am. I was 4-5 cm and 50% effaced. I wasn't having any contractions (at least that I could feel), so they put me on pitocin, which didn't thrill me, but I didn't really have much choice since my body didn't seem to be interested in doing it on its own. They had to keep ramping it up as the contractions still weren't that strong, so by 4:30pm I was ready for an epidural. Eventually they put in a monitor to see how strong the contractions were. I guess they should have been around 180 (180 what? I don't know), but mine, even with high doses of pitocin were only between 140 and 160. Around 11pm I was checked and I was 8cm, 100% effaced, and the baby was only at 0 station (it needed to be at -2). My doctor came back to check me again at 3am and there was no progress. At that point, since my water had been broken for so long, they opted for a c section. I was totally okay with this and I was just glad that I didn't have to try pushing for 2 hours before that decision was made. The baby wasn't in distress, but seemed to be a little too cozy in there! He was born at 4am on the dot and he was perfect!

 

He has the longest toes of all time. Again, just like his dad! 

Using the shushing technique to calm him down. It actually works, even if he's not so sure about it!

 

One week old! Hanging out with his buddies in the pack and play. 

He likes to stare at the imagines around the edge.

Due Date!

Okay, baby, here it is...your due date. TIME TO COME OUT!!!!! Mommy wants to walk/sit/sleep without pain, wear non-maternity clothes, eat an italian sub, drink more than a sip of daddy's beer, and most of all...meet you!!!

At my last appointment I was almost 2cm dilated and still 50% effaced. If I don't go before my next appointment on Tuesday she'll do a sweep and if that doesn't get things going, we'll induce on Wednesday. When she told me that last Monday I was kind of hesitant to induce, but now I just want to get this show on the road!

Still here, so time to catch up!

Sorry for the silence, I'm still here! In all my 39 week glory! I was going to do the little survey thing, but over the past few weeks nothing has really changed, except the size of my belly!

For your viewing pleasure:

37  weeks

38 weeks

39 weeks

Jaysus...I look tired in that last shot! I promise that I'm actually not as exhausted as I look, even if I am up 4-5 times at night to pee and switch sides. And you may notice that I finally cleaned the mirror! It's a miracle! Today I even decided to take a picture of my bare belly. That will NOT be on the blog, even though I don't think it looks too bad. The last time a picture was taken of my bare abdomen was when I was three years old and rocking the halter tops.
As of Monday I hadn't progressed any more from 35 weeks. Well, instead of being 'a fingertip' I was 'a tight one'. This baby seems to be in it to win it! I told it last night it if it came out it would have a lot more room to flail around, but no luck. My Braxton Hicks had seemed to peter off, but now they're back, so even if my body isn't going to do the real thing for awhile I appreciate that it's practicing!We've finished our classes and somehow I still feel totally unprepared. Today was my last official day of work. Hour long afternoon naps seem to be on the agenda every day. I'm not complaining about that! I've done some cleaning that was way over due. I don't really consider it nesting, more like procrastinating.
I've been very, very blessed with an easy pregnancy. I truly don't mind being pregnant, there are actually a lot of things I enjoy about it, but I'm starting to get to the point where I'll be happy to have my own body back - in whatever postpartum form that may be. And of course we're anxious to meet the baby!

36 weeks! Oops!

Ack! I didn't realize it's been 3 weeks since I last blogged! I have two excuses, even if they're not very good. 1.) I was tired. Seriously. The last thing I would want to do when I got home from work was get off the couch. and 2.) I was sick of trying to get a good picture with the camera. It was very frustrating. Good news - we got our new camera this weekend! Yahoo! It's basically the upgraded version of the one I bought before I moved to the UK in 2006 (and then dropped at the 2010 Dublin marathon). So, I'm familiar with the settings and it's pretty much just awesome. I took the picture this week on the auto setting. With the old camera, this would have been impossible to achieve.

• How far along? 36 weeks and feeling every bit of it.
• Total weight gain: About 23 lbs. I'm going to the doctor every week now. Last week I had no gain, so things are slowing down in that department. 
• Maternity clothes? Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. 
• Stretch marks? Just below my belly button and a couple on my each hip. Nothing too major though. 
• Sleep: Not great. I'm sick of waking up so I can flip over. 
• Best moment this week: I hung some pictures up in the nursery and pretty much everything is washed and put away. The only major thing left to do is install the car seat and pack the bag. 
• Miss Anything? Wearing non-maternity clothes.
• Movement: All the time. I've noticed a difference though, just from the end of last week. The movements are there, but not as roly poly. It's definitely running out of room. 
• Food cravings: Still craving cold, orange things. Oh, and not sure if it's considered a craving, but I'm thirsty all the time.
• Food aversions: Nothing really and in fact, some of the earlier things I wasn't interested in eating (like sausage), I'm starting to become interested in again!
• Gender: No idea. 
• Labor Signs: Nothing obvious. I told Wes that today I felt the way I would feel about a week before my period would start. Kind of crampy, but nothing too painful (i.e. if it were my period I could go without taking ibuprofen) or localized. Regardless, it's a sensation I haven't felt in 9 months! He asked what that meant. I said I have no idea, but probably nothing at this point.
• Symptoms: My stupid swollen feet and legs. The other night my legs were crossed down by my ankles and when I uncrossed them there was a huge divot. Wes said it looked like I had a shark bite. Awesome.
• Belly Button in or out? Well, you'll see in the picture that the top of the belly button will occasionally pop out. It's weird. 
• Wedding rings on or off? Off. :-( 
• Looking forward to: Being full term on Friday!

I'm going to the doctor every week now. At my 35 week appointment she said I was a fingertip dilated and 50% effaced. That pretty much equals 0. I think she was trying to make me feel better, but at 35 weeks (and with Wes away for business until that evening), I wasn't interested in delivering the baby anytime soon. If I get the same results at 39 weeks, well, that will be a different story! Last week she didn't check me internally, but all was well.I had a breastfeeding class the other week. It was interesting, but it's not really something you can learn until you're actually doing it. We started our childbirth classes last week. I'm pretty sure I'm the oldest person in there and we're definitely the first ones due in the class. The next closest couple is 10 September. One couple isn't due until the end of October! This week we'll take the tour of the unit, which we're both looking forward to. 
Right-o...it's 9:45, so I'm off to bed. Maybe overnight my nesting instinct will kick in?? The vacuum has been brought down and now I need the motivation to use it. Oh! I just remembered. My shower was a couple of weeks ago! It was a really nice day, hosted by my sister and mom. We got lots of excellent stuff. I didn't have a camera, but my sister took some pictures and once she sends them to me, I'll post them!

33 Weeks!

• How far along?  33 weeks

• Total weight gain: About 20 lbs. When I saw the number on the scale I started yelling out excuses, "We just ate breakfast!" "I just drank a coffee and a bottle of water!" "I'm retaining water...just look at my feet!" "I haven't had a bowel movement in 2 days!" - My doctor started cracking up. She said I'm on track to gain 20-25lbs total and she's thrilled with that.

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. 

• Stretch marks? I have a couple below my belly button now. Nothing too major though.

• Sleep: This is actually my least favorite part of the day. My belly hurts in the mornings from trying to flip from side to side and from the multiple times I have to haul myself out of bed at night. I also have a bit of insomnia some nights.

• Best moment this week: Wes finally put together the dresser, so I can start washing some clothes and putting things away. I've ordered the changing table which is the last piece of furniture we need. After the shower I'll decorate it a bit and get some pictures.

• Miss Anything? Having a lap. Cutting the cat's claws was interesting this week.

• Movement: All the time. The baby's running out of room, so it can be hurty at times.

• Food cravings: Still craving cold, orange things.

• Food aversions: Nothing really.

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: Not sure if Braxton Hicks are considered a sign of labor. I don't think so.

• Symptoms: Swollen feet are probably the worst symptom I have. My feet just look ridiculous.

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end, if at all.

• Wedding rings on or off? Off. :-(

• Looking forward to: My baby shower on Saturday!  

Appointments

We had three appointments today - the last scan, my regular appointment, and a chance to meet the pediatrician. All went well! The baby was definitely head down and sleeping with its arm draped over its face. Sleeps just like its mom! We saw a yawn, then we saw a lot of facial expressions that said, 'Screw you for waking me up!'. I'm surprised we didn't see a middle finger fly up on the screen.They estimated the baby's weight at 4lbs 10oz, putting the baby around 8lbs at 40 weeks. I take all that with grain of salt as that measurement is notoriously inaccurate.

The next appointment went a-okay. For the record, SAFEWAY AND HOME DEPOT, my doctor was completely fine with the size of the bump, baby, and my weight gain. My next appointment at 35 weeks will include my first internal exam which I've heard is not nice. Oh, and I found out I've actually be having Braxton Hick's contractions. Every now and then the top of my bump gets hard and I just figured it was the baby, cuddling up there. I thought it was totally cute! Nope, turns out they were contractions. Not quite so cute. At least they don't hurt, which would have been a bad thing.

This evening we met with the pediatrician. I was woefully unprepared for this with absolutely zero questions to ask. She seemed nice enough, she's affiliated with one of the best hospitals in the country, and the office is close to ours. She comes highly recommended by parents on a list serve I'm a member of. We figured if in the end we don't like her, we'll switch.

And the best thing that happened today is my good friend was kind enough to have her baby this morning, so I was able to pop in and see her and her new beautiful daughter since I was off work and in the area. I love when people are so accommodating to my schedule!

32 Weeks!

I was in a really good mood today...I mean, really good! Today is my husband's birthday, I was going to go get the stuff to make him dinner, I got to work from home and managed to get some stuff off my plate. I had been thinking about how much I enjoy being pregnant. I like the way my bump looks. Yeah, there are aches and pains and I haven't slept through the night in 7 months, but it's all worth it. If I listen to my body, I'm amazed at how much I'm still capable of doing and I'm proud of myself for that. I mean, I'm not running marathons (as if I ever was before!), but I'm not sitting on the couch completely useless either.

Then I went to the grocery store.
 

It was like the Home Depot all over again. The cashier asked how I was doing. I said fine now that it's cooled off a bit. She asked how much longer I had to go and I said I am due September 1st. She proceeds to tell me how she's sure that it won't be that long, I mean, look how much I'm out there already! She's sure I won't go make it to my due date! FFS!!! She didn't even want me to carry my one grocery bag that had a loaf of bread, two bags of rolls, some meat, and two peppers in it because, you know, 40 years ago her son was born with the cord wrapped around his neck and I should stop lifting anything from now on! For the record, I'm pregnant, not ill or disabled. I just wanted to get out of there so bad that I didn't realize she hadn't scanned the gift card I got Wes for his birthday, so not only did my husband come home to no gift, he came home to a crying, blubbering wife on his birthday. Yes, I know I need to ignore their ignorant comments, but for someone who has battled with their weight their whole life, when people keep telling you how huge you are, it hurts...even when you're SUPPOSED to get bigger.


Not awesome. People need to learn to keep their traps shut. Unless of course they want to tell you how great you look. It's okay if it's a lie. LIES ARE OKAY!


So here's my picture for this week. For the record, I actually like the way I look. :)

I'm sorry I didn't post last week. It seemed like I was tired all the time and I couldn't motivate to even take a picture. I would wake up, look longingly at my bed, go to work, pick Wes up from his driving class, and go to bed. Repeat.We managed to make some progress on the nursery, so hopefully there will be some pictures of that next week.

• How far along?  32 weeks

• Total weight gain: I'll be weighed again on Wednesday. I think I'm up about 18 lbs total.

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. 

• Stretch marks? I think I have one forming below my belly button. I can't tell if it's a new one or an old one that's be reactivated!

• Sleep:  Sketchy at best. I'm up 4 or 5 times a night to pee and/or switch sides.

• Best moment this week: Sleeping in on Saturday AND Sunday! 

• Miss Anything? Wearing my wedding rings. 

• Movement: All the time.

• Food cravings:  I'm craving orange things - drinks and popsicles mainly. I'm addicted to Edy's Frozen Fruit Bars.

• Food aversions: Nothing really.

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: None, thank goodness! 

• Symptoms: Swollen feet are probably the worst symptom I have. The stabbing pains in my crotch aren't nice, but those come and go.

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end, if at all.

• Wedding rings on or off? Off. :-(

• Looking forward to: We have a scan on Wednesday and we'll meet the pediatrician Wednesday evening. This is the last scan we're having to check the position of the baby, but I'm concerned it's too early since I'm only 32 weeks and the baby can still change position. 

The big 3-0!

Yay for being in the threes!!! My fellow pregnant friends are actually at the point that they could deliver any time, so it's very exciting! This week was actually fairly low key. We didn't get much done since Wes has started his driving classes that are required for him to finally get his license. It's a bit intense as it's every night for two weeks from 6-9:15pm. It makes for long days for him which stinks.

I was feeling pretty good all week, then all of the sudden on Friday things kicked off a bit. I was walking to the Metro to head home and I had some intense pain in my nether regions when I was walking. Not in the middle, but more towards the left. Once I got to the train and sat down, I was fine. In fact, I was fine for the rest of the evening (although I didn't walk too much once I got home). We were camping with family this weekend and it started to happen a bit again, so I sat down and I was fine. I'm afraid I'm developing symphysis pubis dysfunction. I had a friend who had it and she said she could swim for an hour, but couldn't walk long distances. I discovered if I try not to take large strides and walk too fast I feel fine. I don't mind doing this, but it means I can't be late for the train since there will be no running for it anymore!

Here's my picture for the week!

• How far along?  30 weeks

• Total weight gain: I weighed myself on Saturday and I haven't gained any weight since last week. I have an appointment on Wednesday, so we shall see what that scale says!

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. 

• Stretch marks? I already had some and so far no new ones have cropped up.

• Sleep:  It's becoming a bit more difficult to get comfortable. I use a blanket to prop under my belly, which helps, but it's not as comfortable as it used to be.

• Best moment this week: We were camping with family this weekend and my 7 year old nephew was sitting on the couch in the camper. I leaned over him to get something in cupboard above him and it started patting my bump and gave it a huge. I almost died from the cuteness! 

• Miss Anything? Wearing my wedding rings. 

• Movement: All the time. It doesn't seem to like when I rest my arms on my belly because I'll end up getting a kick (or 20). 

• Food cravings:  Anything cold. Water, fruit, popsicles. 

• Food aversions: Nothing really.

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: None, thank goodness! I don't think I've even had Braxton hicks contractions yet. Or maybe I have, and I don't realize that's what they were.

• Symptoms: This potential SPD. I'm not happy about this at all. And of course I still have the swollen feet.  

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end, if at all.

• Wedding rings on or off? Off. :-(

• Looking forward to: (Last week) -  Working on the nursery some more this weekend and hopefully getting the crib put together in the next week. I put the first coat of paint on the trim. I'll do the second coat this weekend and Wes will paint the walls and ceiling. I'll probably do the edges because I'm totally anal retentive about painting!           Well, huh...I was feeling pretty productive that day! None of that actually happened. I'm still on the first coat with high hopes to get things done this weekend. I'm looking forward to my husband finishing his driving classes on Friday so we can see each other in the evenings again!

29 Weeks!

Oops...missed week 28. That's because we went on a mini-vacation to Mystic, CT. Once I get the photos edited from that, I'll do a post about it. Rest assured, you didn't miss much from week 27. Same cravings, etc. 

Here's the 29 week post. Sorry to be short, but It's 10:30pm and I need to get my sleep on! Sorry about the quality of the picture. I had just gotten home from Aqua Zumba, it was 9pm and dinner was still in the oven. I didn't feel much like fiddling with the camera!

• How far along?  29 weeks

• Total weight gain:  I'm up somewhere around 15 lbs from the start. I can't really remember what my starting weight was so that's a guesstimate. I think I gained 3 lbs since my last visit. That's what happens when you go on vacation!

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. 

• Stretch marks? I already had some and so far no new ones have cropped up.

• Sleep:  Still up a few times at night to hit the bathroom and I'll switch sides when I come back. Occasionally I'll wake up just to switch. It's getting a bit more difficult to flop from side to side! 

• Best moment this week: My doctor's appt. Finding out I, indeed, passed my glucose tolerance test! Boo-yeah!!! Hearing the heartbeat loud and strong and being told that now I'll be seen every two weeks until week 35 when it's every week. Eek!

• Miss Anything? Wearing my wedding rings. It's hot, so my hands will occasionally puff up if I'm walking a lot (they did this a bit even when I wasn't pregnant). I'm paranoid of them getting stuck, so I've taken them off just to be safe. :-(

• Movement: This kid is a maniac.

• Food cravings:  Still fruit - all sorts. Thank goodness one of the restaurants downstairs from work has a salad bar with fresh watermelon and pineapple. I get some everyday!

• Food aversions: Nothing really.

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: None, thank goodness!

• Symptoms: My feet and ankles are swollen a wee bit by the end of the day and as I've said my hands will swell from the heat. The heartburn has backed off a bit, but not totally. 

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end, if at all.

• Wedding rings on or off? Off. :-(

• Looking forward to:  Working on the nursery some more this weekend and hopefully getting the crib put together in the next week. I put the first coat of paint on the trim. I'll do the second coat this weekend and Wes will paint the walls and ceiling. I'll probably do the edges because I'm totally anal retentive about painting! 

Some other things that happened this week:

I had to have a Rhogam shot because of my negative blood type. My sister had to have one with my nephews, so I wasn't surprised when she told me I'd have to get one. You get it in the backside and I've never had a shot there, so I was a little nervous. It wasn't nearly as hurty as I thought it was going to be.  

I finally booked our childbirth class and I've also booked us into a 'caring for a newborn' class. Because I waited so long, the new born class is two weeks before my due date. Oops! I also get a free breastfeeding class to go along with the childbirth class, so that's helpful. All three classes were $105 total. I didn't think that was too bad.  

Okay, sorry for the lame post, but now it's 10:50 and I need to go to bed! I hope my post about Mystic is a bit more exciting! (I have no idea what's going on with the font here.)

27 Weeks!

I did it! The nursery is cleaned out! I think I was motivated by the fact that Friday was exactly 3 months from our due date. Yikes!

3 hours later....

There's a pile of stuff sitting in the hallway that's either trash or going to the basement. The cat is freaking out because she probably thinks we're moving again. Now we just need to paint, put furniture together, decorate...I'm tired just thinking about it! However, we need to paint soon because I want to move stuff in there and it's always easier to paint an empty room. What color will we paint it? No idea. Having a child forces you to make all sorts of tough decisions!

Other things that happened this week - I had my glucose tolerance test on Thursday. Still waiting to hear the results on that. We picked up the stroller. It's the first purchase that Wes has seemed truly excited about. He wanted to test drive it with the cat in it. Um...no. A woman in our neighborhood is selling some cloth diapers at a great price, so I'm picking them up this weekend.

Here's the stats update. It's not changed much from last week, so kinda boring. 

• How far along?  27 w 2d. 

• Total weight gain:  I'm up somewhere between 10 and 15 lbs from the start. I can't really remember what my starting weight was so that's a guesstimate. 

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. 

• Stretch marks? I already had some and so far no new ones have cropped up.

• Sleep:  Still up a few times at night to hit the bathroom and I'll switch sides when I come back. Occasionally I'll wake up just to switch. I'm not uncomfortable though, it just takes a bit of effort! 

• Best moment this week: Cleaning out the freakin' nursery! Woohoo!

• Miss Anything? Not really anything this week.  

• Movement: Always. Some days it feels like the baby is laying with the head at one hip bone and the feet at the other. I tell it to move up for more room, but what would I know??

• Food cravings:  Still fruit - all sorts. 

• Food aversions: Cooked vegetables. I'm just not eating a lot of them these days. 

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: None, thank goodness!

• Symptoms: Still heartburn. My feet and ankles are swollen a wee bit by the end of the day. 

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end, if at all.

• Wedding rings on or off? On.

• Looking forward to:  Getting away for the weekend and seeing Liz and Co.!

26 weeks!

This week I managed to get quite a bit accomplished in the big ticket item category! I ordered the crib which arrived on Friday. Today I ordered the stroller which will be delivered next week sometime. I made an appointment with a pediatrician for next month. Turns out the practice that we already go to has pediatricians and they're highly recommended. Who knew!? I'm still trying to swim at least twice a week. Right now my Aqua Zumba class is on hiatus until mid-June, so I've been doing an aquatic kickboxing class (with modifications) one night, then swimming laps another night. Last week was the first I had done laps since getting pregnant and it was a slooooow go. I went again last night and it was a bit better, but I'm not winning any races. It's okay though, the water feels nice and refreshing. I'd like to do yoga, but there isn't really one near me and the one I do know about isn't great timing with work. Plus, yoga is expensive. Swimming is cheap!

We booked our one and only vacation for the summer! We're going to Mystic, CT for a few days in June, coupling that trip with a visit to see Liz and celebrate Ellen's first birthday. Wes doesn't have much time off work since he just started a couple of months ago, so it will just be a long weekend. I'm looking forward to getting away, I just wish it could be for longer.

• How far along?  26 weeks. 

• Total weight gain:  I'm up somewhere between 10 and 15 lbs from the start. I can't really remember what my starting weight was so that's a guesstimate. 

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. 

• Stretch marks? I already had some and so far no new ones have cropped up.

• Sleep:  Still up a few times at night to hit the bathroom and I'll switch sides when I come back. Occasionally I'll wake up just to switch. I'm not uncomfortable though, it just takes a bit of effort! 

• Best moment this week: The baby sits quite low, so kicks and movement tend to be at or below my belly button.  It moved up one day this week and was moving and kicking like crazy (more than usual which is a lot!). I had my arm resting on the top of my belly when I was reading and it kicked my arm so hard it scared me! 

• Miss Anything? Not really anything this week.  

• Movement: Yes. At my appointment on Monday the doctor asked if the baby was active and I said, 'Oh yeah!'. She just gave me this look like I was in for it. At our 8 week appointment she was listening for the heartbeat and told us the noises we could hear was the baby kicking the side of the uterus. And that's back when it just had leg buds!

• Food cravings:  Watermelon. I can't stop thinking about it. What makes this so strange is that I really don't like watermelon.

• Food aversions: I don't have an aversion to it, but I'm avoiding pepperoni. I had one slice of pepperoni pizza and the heartburn was brutal. Which reminds me that I need to buy more Tums.

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: None, thank goodness!

• Symptoms: Still heartburn. My feet and ankles are swollen a wee bit by the end of the day. 

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end, if at all.

• Wedding rings on or off? On.

• Looking forward to:  The pedicure I was headed out to get after I took the picture, some friends are having a pig roast on Sunday, and seeing other friends on Monday (although we're supposed to have a picnic and it's going to be 93 degrees. Might have to go for a plan B).

25 Weeks

Last weekend's big plans of getting stuff done was a bust. All I bought was a gift for my friend's baby shower this weekend. Being short is a total pain when you're pregnant. Nothing fits short people. Now that cribs don't have drop down sides, I can't reach all the way down to the bottom of the crib when it's in the lowest position. This is a bit of a problem when trying to put your sleeping child in the crib. I can't really drop it from 5 inches up, right? Since Wes is tall and I'm short, we need a stroller that has an adjustable handle. Of course the stroller we really like doesn't have that. I'm willing to compromise a bit on the stroller (even though the handle comes up to about 3 inches below my chest), but the crib isn't something I can really compromise on. Of course this means we can't get the great-value-for-money crib and it really cuts down on our options.

Man, that's a boring post. Sorry, but it's been a pretty lame-o week. Wednesday I woke up with a headache and realized that I have to be more careful about not becoming dehydrated. I thought about what I ate on Tuesday (lots of salty things), the very low amount of water I had to drink, and the fact that I had a water aerobics class after work (in a pool that was too warm) and I put it all together. Now that the weather is heating up, I need to carry water with me at all times.

Here's the picture and the update. Hope they're a bit more exciting! I tried to show my face in this one and not have giant arm like last week.

• How far along?  25 weeks. 

• Total weight gain:  I'll be weighed on Monday. No idea what it is this week. 

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses. I wore a pair of maternity pants I bought at Tar.get early on in my pregnancy. The waistband was WAY too tight, which is really annoying because otherwise they fit great.

• Stretch marks? I already had some and so far no new ones have cropped up.

• Sleep:  Wes felt the baby kicking and asked how I get any sleep with that going on! It doesn't usually wake me up (that's thanks to the bladder or the needy cat), but the kicking can keep me from falling back asleep right away. 

• Best moment this week: Taking off those pants after work today! Seriously!

• Miss Anything? Being able to exercise at full capacity. I had to modify lots of fun moves in my class this week. 

• Movement: The baby was lazy a couple of days this week, but came back full force!

• Food cravings: Earlier in the week it was cold things, like sorbet or frozen yogurt. 

• Food aversions: Sausage

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: None, thank goodness!

• Symptoms: The heartburn has eased off a bit, but that could be because I bought some Tums! 

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end.

• Wedding rings on or off? On.

• Looking forward to:  Getting my haircut on Saturday and my friend's baby shower on Sunday. 

24 weeks

24 weeks. More than half way. Viability. I finally told my husband that perhaps we should buy some things...I don't know...like a car seat and maybe some furniture?? So today we're going to that huge baby box store to test drive some strollers and get completely overwhelmed with everything that's out there. Should be great! I've started a baby registry and as of last week it had 3 things on it. I made some serious progress on it this week and I think it has like 20 things on it! Woohoo! It's all very overwhelming, so I was happy with that.

I've read lots of these types of posts and I think I'm ready to do my own! Hopefully keeping up with these will make my blogging a bit more regular. Oh, and this picture is a bit of a cheat. It's not really from the side! And look at my one giant arm and one normal arm. I promise my arms are anatomically correct!

• How far along?  24 weeks. 

• Total weight gain:  At my last appointment 2 weeks ago I was up 10 lbs. 

• Maternity clothes?  Yes, although I can still wear some non-maternity tops, yoga pants, pajamas, and dresses.

• Stretch marks? I already had some and so far no new ones have cropped up.

• Sleep:  Some nights are better than others.

• Best moment this week: My husband felt the baby move for the first time.

• Miss Anything? Ordering things with feta cheese in restaurants (since I can't be certain if it's pasteurized or not). And I would absolutely MURDER an Italian sub from the pizza shop. I never realized how much I'd miss lunch meat. 

• Movement: Lots of kicking. One night it was non-stop.

• Food cravings: I'm back to craving fresh fruit, even watermelon, and I don't really like watermelon.

• Food aversions: None really, but I don't get jazzed about cooked vegetables like I used to.

• Gender: No idea.

• Labor Signs: None, thank goodness!

• Symptoms: Heartburn. Some evenings my ankles are a bit swollen. I just noticed my skin is looking very veiny. And one symptom that I never knew about: when I blow my nose in the morning it's bloody. I never realized bloody noses were a pregnancy symptom. Fortunately, it doesn't actually flow out. That would be a nightmare.

• Belly Button in or out? In. I don't see it popping out until closer to the end.

• Wedding rings on or off? On.

• Looking forward to:  The cleaning fairly cleaning out the nursery and finally ordering some of these big ticket items. 

Symptoms

I've been pretty fortunate with the pregnancy symptoms, mainly by dodging the morning sickness bullet. My weight gain has been kept within reason. There's the standard round ligament pain and now that I'm getting bigger I have some back pain by the end of the day. I've had some cravings, but not too many. The weirdest one being meat sauce. For a while there we had spaghetti or some other meat sauce based dish at least twice a week. Honestly, I could have just eaten a bowl of meat sauce, hold the pasta! Then it was on to fruit. I'm not much of a fruit person (I prefer veggies), but I would eat at least 3 pieces of fresh fruit a day. That one too has passed (but I still try to eat at least two pieces). Right now I don't think I'm craving much of anything in particular.

Actually, I do have a craving...I crave the day I can eat a black bean and not worry that I'll be up all night with trapped wind! I heard that pregnant women fart more, but really that hasn't been an issue with me. It's the stuff that never comes out, just moving around my belly causing me major pain. I learned the hard way that cabbage is out for the rest of this pregnancy. I'm afraid to eat Brussels sprouts, which I love. On our anniversary we went out for a late dinner (problem number 1). I had a plate of carby pasta (problem number 2) with spicy sauce (problem number what-the-heck-was-I-thinking!). It took TWO DAYS until I finally felt better after that meal! Another problem is that a meal that's perfectly fine one night, will have me up all night the next time I make it. If this baby comes out with even half the gas that I've been having we're in for some long days and nights.

Oh, and I told Wes if this is a boy we're probably going to want to name him Steven Gerrard since it seems he already has his shootin' boots on! I've been feeling the baby move since about 17 weeks. It was funny because at an earlier appointment, before I could feel the baby, the doctor had the doppler on to hear the heartbeat. She had a slightly horrified look on her face when she told us those noises we were hearing were the baby kicking. I think she was nervous  for me! So far no karate chops to the bladder, but I know they're in my future. Last night was the first time I could actually see my stomach move when the baby kicked which was pretty cool. :)