35 weeks & vacation's over

Thanksgiving was pretty fun this year, as I got to eat everything I wanted and as much as I wanted -- guilt free! I weighed myself this morning and had only gained about a pound and a half since Wednesday, and that was even after eating breakfast. Normally I weigh myself first thing after I get out of bed so I'm pretty sure the damage was minimal.

Yesterday I decided to go for a swim, since that is one of these 17 ways to help get a breech baby turned over. I went up to the gym and paddled around for about 45 minutes. I don't know if it worked or not but it was glorious just the same. Something about floating in water was just totally relaxing. And on the Saturday after Turkey day I had the whole pool almost to myself, so it was very peaceful. Eric is convinced Seth has turned over now, but I am not so sure. I do feel like I'm getting kicked in slightly different places but I won't really feel better until the Dr. confirms it.

We had a really lazy morning today watching the Seahawks game and then finally got out of the house around 2:30pm and managed to get almost all of our Christmas shopping done in a whirlwind 2.5 hours. Then we stopped for some Pho on the way home and I'm about to heat up some egg nog and be lazy again until bedtime.

Here are my pictures for the week. The one in the middle I really liked but it turned out kind of blurry so I goofed around with it in Photoshop. I think it's kind of cool :)



This one Eric snapped after we were "done" and I was walking toward him checking myself out in the mirror. But it actually turned out pretty good. It's really starting to look like I'm smuggling a soccer ball in there or something. Just a few more weeks and our life will be forever altered! But we are ready! As ready as we'll ever be I guess. We actually drove by Babies R Us today and didn't go in!!! Amazing.

Still breech

Well Seth's little head was still up top at my appointment today. Other than that everything looks just fine.

B/P: 120/70
Wt: 181.6
Baby's HR: 140

Pretty uneventful appointment for the most part. Even though I haven't gained much weight in several weeks she didn't seem concerned. Overall I've gained about 28 lbs so that's completely normal. We chatted a little bit again about what the next steps are if Seth stays right side up. My appointments are every week now and so next Thursday I'll be seeing Dr. H. At that point if he's still not turned he probably won't turn on his own and we'll have to plan on an external "version." The gal I saw today said she had a breech baby and nothing worked (thanks a lot). But, she said her amniotic fluid was really low so there wasn't much room for the baby to move around. That is not the case with me I guess, there's lots of water around him so if he wants to he should be able to flip. So I guess for the next week I'll be trying all the tricks in the book. One of which is swimming, so I think I might try to get up to a water aerobics class at the gym on Saturday and/or Tuesday before my next appointment.

Work has calmed down a bit, so I have the next 4 days off, YES! Turkey & gravy, here I come!

Is it bad luck to wish for bed rest?

Work has been KILLING me lately. We've been dealing with this mysterious issue now for about 2 weeks and it's really stressful and it's an all hands on deck situation. I worked Friday night from 10pm - 4am Saturday, then off and on from 9:30am Saturday to about 1pm Sunday. Today I found myself rehearsing a little speech for doctor, it goes something like this... Me: "What kind of pain would I have to be having in order to get restricted from work? Because I'm pretty sure I'm having that pain." So far no regular contractions or anything though, so that's good. I've had a few I think but no more than I should be this late in the game anyway. Work just SUCKS, I am sick of it. On top of it all, the spa called today and canceled my massage for tomorrow because my masseuse had the nerve to go into labor this weekend. Actually I'm kind of worried for her because she's a week behind me and is having twins. The receptionist said they were trying to slow things down because the babies really need to hang out for a couple more weeks at least. So anyway, I got rescheduled for next Wednesday with another gal and Eric will have to be a sub in the interim.

I went to the other Motherhood in town after work to see if I'd have any better luck finding some good sizes. Nada. They actually did have a couple more 40E's but they still didn't fit right. The really cute ones with lace on them have a very strange shaped cup, it's almost pointy, resulting in there being an empty space there (like a reservoir tip, LOL) but part of my boob still bulging out the front. And the "soft cup" t-shirt bras didn't fit quite right either. So I ended up buying another one of the same that I got yesterday, and a couple of bra extenders. I tried on a couple more at JCPenney too and those were horrible. What is the deal?? Why can't Victoria make me a nice "Very Sexy" nursing bra, huh??? HUH?????? When I get a minute I am going to write her some hate mail.

So then I headed home, exhausted. Called Eric and sobbed a bit in frustration on the phone until he made me hang up and pay attention to my driving. When I got home I heated up some egg nog and rocked in the glider with Max on my lap while I waited for my brown rice to cook. There's nothing like a hot drink and a soft kitty to make me relax, ahhhh. Then I ate dinner which was FABULOUS Crock Pot Jumbalaya, and now here I am. Time for bed though. Now.

34 weeks & the challenge of strapping in the girls

I've definitely gotten to the point where it's harder to breathe, since my lungs are getting awfully crowded in there. But the fact that all my bras are too tight doesn't really help. I haven't wanted to buy any more huge ones since I assume this phenomenon is only temporary. But since I do need to get some nursing bras I went to Motherhood Maternity today to try and find a couple that I might be able to wear for the next few weeks. I swear I tried on every bra in the store and only walked out with one that fit. It is a 40E. Holy cow!! Granted, it definitely has some wiggle room, which I figure is good for that whole engorgement thing I have heard about. But still... I tried on a ton of 38E's and 40D's and they were all too tight, or fit weird, or just weren't comfortable for some other reason. And nursing bras are just weird in general... I am used to bra cups that have some substance to them, light padding or whatever, mainly so I don't have to cross my arms when the room gets a little cold. Well, in a nursing bra it seems like that style is a little awkward. It just doesn't fold down very well, and when it does it seems like it would be poking the baby in the face all the time. I don't get it. Anyway, like I said, I walked away with one, and have my eye on another one that will probably work, they just didn't have the size I need. Then tonight when I got home I had a revelation -- BRA EXTENDERS! Duh! I can get one of those at Sears for like $1.50 and that should allow me to keep wearing the bras I already have for a bit.

I still have not gained any weight for like 4 weeks now. So I'll be eating Seth's weight in food at Thanksgiving dinner without a lot of guilt. But I definitely have stretch marks, yuck. So far just under my belly button but there's no doubt about it now, they are here. And they itch! It also kind of looks like I have one starting to radiate out from the hole where my belly button ring used to be, but I'm not sure. Meh, oh well, they are so worth it.

Starting maternity leave early is sounding better and better all the time. Not too early, but I am tempted to let work know that I won't be back after Christmas, baby or no baby. I am pretty sure my Dr. wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks, so worst case scenario I'd only be off for about 2 weeks or so before getting induced. But wow, 41 weeks seems like an ETERNITY from now, he better get here before then!

Eric got the stroller unpacked from the box and I'm happy to report that it fits into my trunk with room to spare! Sweet! The car seat appears to fit in my back seat okay too. I haven't strapped it in or anything but I shoved it in there and didn't have to move the driver's seat forward at all. Eric won't be able to go anywhere with me and the baby in my car but that situation is pretty unlikely anyway. Eeek, we are almost ready! Can't wait!!

Hospital Tour!

We went to our final night of Prepared Childbirth tonight. We learned about all the weird issues sometimes newborns have, a brief overview of breastfeeding, and toured the Labor and Delivery floor at the hospital. Honestly, it wasn't as nice as I expected, but it is still pretty nice I guess. Both the birthing rooms and mother baby rooms are HUGE! The birthing rooms all have jacuzzi tubs in them, refrigerator, dvd players, stereo, etc. Apparently you stay in there until about an hour after you deliver, depending on how mom and baby are doing. Then you go to the (private) mother baby room, which also has all of the above, but not all of them have tubs I guess. There are 15 birthing rooms I think they said, and then they have some other rooms that can be used as birthing rooms if needed. Worst case scenario they have an agreement with another one of the hospitals downtown so they can send people over there. But our instructor said we really don't have to worry about all the rooms being full. Now the waiting room on the other hand, it was seriously packed. When I peeked in I totally got tears in my eyes thinking about my friends and family anxiously awaiting updates on the grand entrance of baby Haynes! The rules at the hospital are really strict right now and they only allow 2 people in the birthing room with you, not including your "coach" (or husband in my case). And the sign said only immediate family members over age 18 can visit at all. So I'm going to have to clarify that a bit at our pre-delivery visit. My BFF/"photographer" is often mistaken for my sister, so maybe it won't be an issue ;)

So now we are almost done with our classes. We've taken Prepared Childbirth, Natural Childbirth, Breastfeeding Basics, and Child/Infant CPR. In a couple of weeks we have Baby Care and then we're done! We are getting SO close! 34 weeks tomorrow... 3 more weeks and I'll officially be allowed to go into labor and they won't try to stop it! Yikes! I dreamed last night that I was at the hospital. I thought I was in labor for some reason even though I wasn't feeling the contractions. And of course they checked me and sent me home. I think maybe I dreamed that because I've been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions - especially lately at work I have been really stressed out and my whole uterus feels like a giant boulder. It's a good opportunity to practice my breathing though.

Seth is defying gravity right now. I feel like he is curled up in a ball, floating at the very top of my uterus. He's been like that for about a week and a half now. I can't say I'm excited really for him to drop, because it's nice to not have to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes. But I am anxious to know that his little head is pointing down, that will make me feel a little better. Anyway, I better head off to bed, I have an early meeting tomorrow. Here's my 33 week pictures, better late than never!

The dreaded "B" word

I had my 33 week checkup today and found out that little Seth is currently in a breech position.  His little head is up, his back is against my right side, and his butt is down by my right hip.  So I guess maybe it has been shoulder or elbow I've been feeling under my ribs.  Not to worry yet, S said there is still plenty of time for him to turn.  She said there are some things people do to try and get babies to turn, like inversions.  But she said if he has been particularly active lately (which he has), that is a good sign and he probably will just turn right back around on his own.  She also mentioned it feels like there's plenty of fluid in there which is another thing that makes it easier for him to move around on his own.  He was head down at my last appointment.  If he doesn't turn by 36 weeks they usually don't turn on their own, so then they would try to turn him manually around 38 weeks.  She said that Dr. H is really good at it, but it only works 50-60% of the time.  If it doesn't work, then we'll have to have the dreaded "C" word.  But I am not too concerned about it at this point.   It was interesting watching/feeling her poke around to figure out what position he is in.  She was seriously manhandling me.  So I guess there are no worries about hurting the baby with all the poking and prodding he gets from family members, haha.

 

Other fun facts about today's appointment...

 

B/P: 110/68

Weight: 179.2 (down 2 lbs since last appointment and she DIDN'T EVEN MENTION IT!)

Baby's heart rate: ~150 when he was still and it went up to ~160 when he was kicking, which is good!

 

Next time (day before Thanksgiving) I get to be screened for Group B Strep, which is a bacteria that causes infections that can be really really dangerous for newborns.  Sounds like no one really knows why some people have it and some don't, but if you have it then you need to have antibiotics during labor to protect the baby.  I don't even want to talk about HOW they screen for it.  You can look it up if you want.

 

We also had a little chat with someone in the billing department to find out just exactly how much this is going to cost us.  So far for all my appointments I have had a single $20 co-pay, plus 20% of labs and ultrasounds.  For the delivery, we will have a $300 co-pay.. and THAT IS IT!  No matter what happens (to me), $300.  Then it appears that Seth will have his own $300 co-pay as well for any care he receives in the hospital.  Sweet, $600 sounds like a pretty good deal, if you consider that the average uncomplicated delivery actually costs around $10,000!  So my final thought for today is that I am thankful for my job and my health insurance.

Stretching out

The last few days I have been very discouraged from slouching by the tiny hands and feet that seem to be EVERYWHERE now. I've got limbs on my hips and under my ribs. Under my right ribs to be exact. If I don't sit up very straight I get a poke in the ribs as a reminder, as if to say "hey you out there, in case you hadn't noticed I am running out of room in here!!" Yesterday my little man was SUPER active in the afternoon. I was in a meeting from 4-5pm and the entire time it seemed he was squirming around and punching and kicking. One of the most active days so far I think, or at least the strongest movement I've felt in awhile. I guess he's just trying to get comfortable, or he really likes the soup I had for lunch. I can't blame him I suppose. Anyway, I've been having to scoot out and sit on the edge of my chair at work so I can almost arch my back a little to escape the poking at times. I'm considering bringing in an exercise ball to sit on at my desk... but I'm not sure I want to deal with the comments from the peanut gallery.

Last night we had our Breastfeeding Basics class. I didn't feel like I learned a whole lot that was new, but Eric said it was useful for him so I am glad we went. I've heard over and over again that one of the biggest keys to breast feeding success is having support, especially from your partner. One thing I did learn is that a newborn's stomach is the size of a marble. That is really small! No wonder they have to eat so often! I do need to figure out where I am going to pump when I go back to work. Hopefully in a 4 hour day I will only have to pump once, but right now I have no clue where I would do that. I have to sit down and talk some other things over with HR before too long so I guess I'll add it to my list.

I'm sad to say I *think* I might be getting some stretch marks? I just noticed the other day way down below my belly button I might be getting a couple. I didn't notice them before because I obviously can't see them unless I look in the mirror and lean way back. It seems like a strange place to have them though because it doesn't seem like that skin hasn't stretched nearly as much as the skin higher up or on the sides, or on my boobs for that matter...but I can't imagine what else they would be. On the other hand, if that's where I'm going to get them, fine, because they are low enough that they will always be covered by pants, or underwear, or swimsuit bottoms, etc. So whatever. I think of them as medals of honor anyway :)

Better late than never, I always say

A thousand apologies for the delay, but here they are, Nursery Pictures!! Here's the crib corner of the room. Don't mind the pack and play haphazardly thrown up against the wall. Or the still-unpainted letters on the windowsill.

Here's my favorite corner, the glider corner. This is where I imagine I will spend about half of my life for the next year or so. I already go up and sit there and rock just staring into space, feeling the baby move and wondering what he's doing in there. Sometimes I'll read, but mostly I just rock and daydream. I love, love, love the glider. LOVE. IT.


Here's the changing table/closet corner. Here is where I imagine I will spend the other half of my life. Or maybe just a quarter, I assume Eric will change a few diapers, too. He better.


And here's the mommy corner of the room. Dang, I am getting kinda big. I don't really notice as much until I see a picture. I think the horizontal stripes on this shirt make me look even bigger. I also look very tired in this picture. Probably because I was. Which is why tonight I am going to be under the covers by 9pm.


Anyway, sorry the pictures are so dark. I'll get some more in the coming weeks when I'm actually at home during daylight hours. The room still needs a little more flair, but I'm happy knowing that if Seth came now, we'd basically be ready.

Sorry... I lied

Okay, I took some pictures today but I think I am going to wait to post them until tomorrow. It's been a horrific weekend on call. I had to work Friday night until after 11pm. Then I got called at 6am Saturday. While I was up dealing with that I checked the backups and found one had failed. So then I had to re-run the backup this morning from 12am-1am. Then I woke up around 7am and couldn't really get back to sleep. So now I am really tired and am heading to bed here pretty soon. I'm not sure how the pictures I took will turn out anyway, they look pretty dark. And I won't have time to take any daytime pictures probably until next weekend. :(

I did have a pretty productive weekend though, in spite of everything. I cleaned one bathroom plus the shower in another. I vacuumed the main floor. I put together some more shelves for the closet in Seth's room, and for the kitchen to build my "pantry". I found some full length crib mattress pads, and some changing table pads at Target. I sorted through Eric's giant hat collection that was strewn everywhere, made him pick out his favorites, and packed the rest away in the basement. I worked out. I made a delicious tortellini cheesy pasta bake. I did more baby laundry. Phew! Meanwhile I seem to have lost control of my limbs. I cannot tell you how many times I have stubbed my toe, rammed into something, hit my head, or scraped my arm just this weekend. It's like I have no concept of the space I'm taking up in the world. So weird. But I guess clumsiness is just another charming symptom of pregnancy, especially in the 3rd trimester. Can't wait to see what's next!

OK 9:30 - BED!

32 weeks and gettin' educmacated

Whew, I made it through another week. People tell me these next few will be the longest of my life. Well I think they might be right. Work is not going all that great to be honest, I'm just getting so burned out. Maternity leave will be a welcome change from the day to day BS I have been dealing with. I know there will still be day to day "stuff" but at least it will be different. Change keeps life interesting, I have sure come to realize that.

32 weeks seems VERY close to the end! Full term is technically 37 weeks so I could only have 5-8 more to go, Yikes! We had our 2nd week of Prepared Childbirth class last night and I have been SO pleased with it! So far the instructor has barely even mentioned medication in terms of coping with labor pain. She has only kind of referred to an epidural as an aside (as in, you probably won't be able to try this position if you've had an epidural). We've been doing lots of breathing practice, and going over tons of ways to help your labor move along faster. It has been getting me really excited! We saw a really graphic video clip last night that kind of left me in shock though. Yowsers! I mean, I knew the baby was going to have to come out of there but so far I haven't actually SEEN it happen. And believe you me, I DO NOT want to SEE it on THE DAY. No mirrors for me, thank you very much. *shudder* Anyway, next week I guess we are going to talk about some interventions, and on Tuesday we also have our Breastfeeding Basics class.

Oh, and I say calories, schmalories. Since last Thursday's drama I've started up my food diary again so I can keep track of my calories. On the 6 days I kept track so far I've been averaging 2100 (S told me I didn't need more than 2000) per day. I haven't gained an ounce, in fact I'm down 1lb from the weight I was last week on the morning of my appointment. However, I've been eating a lot more snacks all day throughout the day and smaller portions, which has significantly reduced my heartburn, so that's a plus. I don't want Seth to be starving though, so I'll probably inch my way up to 2200 or 2300 this coming week and see what the scale does. Gaining nothing can't be good since half my weight gain at this point should be going straight to the baby.

Stay tuned, 32 week pictures tomorrow and maybe some of the nursery. It's really looking good!