38 Weeks

I think I officially hit the uncomfortable zone. Every time I move I feel like my pelvis is going to break and I'm just not sleeping much at night so I'm exhausted at work. I feel like my belly is HUGE all of a sudden. As long as I keep moving I'm ok, its when I sit for too long that things start to get sore and stiff. I want to keep working and continue to stay as active as possible. With that said, my feet are nice and swollen by then end of the day. Miraculously I am still able to wear my wedding band.

Looking sexy after a long day of work!

The anticipation keeps getting stronger and my mind has been more and more occupied wondering when baby is going to make its arrival. I've had several dreams now about my water breaking! Last Thursday at my 38 week appointment my midwife said I'm about 1.5cm dilated and 50% effaced so good signs things are progressing. She said it could be anytime now (of course), but I'm trying to accept the fact that it could still be a couple more weeks. My mom and dad are going to get here tonight (a little earlier than their original plan), so that is giving me some comfort and peace! They saw two storks flying overhead yesterday, that's got to be a sign!

Speaking of dreams, I have also been having recurrent dreams that I am training for a marathon with a huge pregnant belly. In one dream I was running a half marathon and felt so good afterwards that I decided to just run the entire marathon. I've also been dreaming about running up and down hills for hours. I'm not really sure what this all means but hopefully its a sign of the stamina I'll have during labor! Or maybe I secretly miss running.

Sunday I treated myself to a mani/pedi. I was going to get blue on my toes and pink on my fingers, but decided I really didn't want to look at blue toenails when I'm pushing. I opted for a magenta pink color on both! The lady who did my nails was really sweet and said I look too small to be due in two weeks. I think she just wanted a big tip :) She also predicted I was having a boy because I didn't look "wide", whatever that means. It amazes me how complete strangers are so quick to give me their prediction on the gender of my baby, and also their opinion on anything pregnancy related (including my body, how I'm "carrying" the baby, etc). If I wanted your opinion I would ask for it, haha! Its not just me though, the girls in my yoga class have the same rants as I do!

Tomorrow we have our 39 week appointment. I'm excited my mom will be able to go with me and hear baby's heartbeat. Tomorrow is also Mason's last day of school so he can get grades turned in and be done for the year, woo hoo! We are ready when you are little one and we can't wait to meet you!


A bird's eye view

Baby Shower- 5/4/13

Katie, Casey, and my beautiful mom hosted my amazing baby shower a few weeks ago. I was thrilled to have Casey and mom fly up for the weekend. I miss my family down in AZ so much. We were able to have some great bonding time together. Mom got to feel the baby move and even felt some hiccups. The weather was perfect. On the day of my shower it was around 85 degrees so we really lucked out. Its amazing how loved and special I felt from all of my friends and family being there to help celebrate our little peanut. We received some great gifts and I am really feeling "ready" for baby to get here.

 

 

36 Weeks

Really feeling like the final count down is on with only 4 weeks until my due date. Yesterday was Memorial Day and Mark and Karen came down to Mac to visit. We had a delicious lunch at Nick's cafe! 'Grandma B' keeps reminding me that Mason was 2 weeks early, so maybe baby will want to follow in daddy's footsteps?!

Baby is now the size of a small watermelon and weighs around 6lbs. We had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago because I have been measuring small and my midwife just wanted to check and make sure everything was A-Ok. Everything looked perfect and healthy. She said I am "one of the lucky ones" and we will probably just have a small baby. Her guess for birth weight is around 6.5 lbs which is just fine with me!





We just happened to buy a lil watermelon last weekend.
I think baby is bigger than this one though :)

 

 

Cravings: A couple weeks ago I finally gave in to my craving for Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I had been trying to ignore the craving for a few months every time we were at the store. I justified buying a box as long as I ate it for desert, yum yum. Other than that I have not had any huge cravings! However, I am really looking forward to having a Cadillac margarita after this little one comes!

 

Movement: Baby has been moving and shifting a lot but usually prefers to hang out on my right side. Not many huge kicks or punches these days. Sometimes I can feel its little bum way up high in my diaphragm which makes me feel really short if breath. On the flip side, I'm already feeling lots of pressure down in my pelvis from the noggin (sign that things are spreading and getting ready for delivery time). Overall, yoga, stretching, and massage have kept me feeling great!

 

Milestones: The nursery is  complete and most everything is checked off our To-Do list! This weekend we are going to install the car seat and have it checked out at the fire department. I also plan on packing our hospital bags! My main goals from here on are just to continue with hypnobirthing practice, taking good care of myself, and getting rest over the weekend so I can continue to work full time for as long as possible.

 

Looking Forward To: Aside from the obvious (baby's birthday), having my parents be here in just a few more weeks (June 17!). I can't wait to see Dad (its been since Christmas). Then John and Casey will be here on June 30th and Meredith will be here July 4th, woohoo. Also looking forward to maternity leave and having some time off of work!

Of course we had to get a pic with Big Sis!

 



Nursery Sneak Peak

Before: "Daddy's room" in transition


How to chose one shade of gray? We ended up choosing Benjamin Moore Gray Owl. I didn't end up getting any pic of Mase painting because he did it while I was at work so I wasn't exposed to the fumes! He did a great job!

 Daddy putting the crib together

Big sister, not quite sure what is going on

 Dresser. Art work and ultrasound pics need to be hung

Comfy glider

Crib and beautiful bedding made by Chrsitie Fluegel (Casey's mom)

Another crib shot

Close-up of our little lion!

I love how everything is coming along and can't wait to post pictures of the final product!

 

33 Weeks

 

 

This week baby is the size of the of a pineapple and weighs a little over 4lbs. Length is over 17 inches head-to-toe!

We have been busy, busy, busy preparing and nesting for this little one. My to-do list is gradually being checked off and additional things added. The nursery is almost finished. We ended up buying a dresser from a furniture store in McMinnville because the wood shop teacher injured his knee and needs surgery (he was going to make us the dresser). We are making a trip to Ikea this weekend to get some final items. We also still need to get some "big ticket" items from Babys-R-Us like our pack-and-play (we will be using in our room for a bassinet), car seat, and the swing! Thankfully our insurance paid for my breast pump!

The last two Saturdays I had baby showers. One in Salem given by my work friends and last Saturday was my big friends and family shower in Beaverton (hosted by my bestie Katie, Mom, and Casey). My mom and Casey flew into town and we had a great time. I had not seen them since Christmas, which was way too long. I felt so blessed that my aunts, cousin Kelley, and Grandma K were all able to make it as well. This baby is so loved already and I'm getting more and more excited to meet him/her! I will add shower pictures in a separate post.

We finished up our Hypnobirhting classes 3 weeks ago and I am so happy we decided to go with this method. I am feeling so calm and relaxed overall and feel especially prepared for our birthing day. We practice our breathing and relaxation techniques every night which has been great bonding for me, daddy, and baby. I love feeling all the movement, hiccups, and that little bum that likes to hang out in my right side under my ribs. This baby is more of a swimmer than a soccer player at this stage in the game. My midwife has said baby's head is down for the last 3 visits and it would be pretty unlikely for it to flip at this point. Baby's growth is right on track, heart rate is in the 150's, and my BP has been great! From here on out I will be having weekly appointments (I can't believe we are already to that point).

I must be starting to show more this week because I have had a lot of patients ask me if I'm expecting. When I tell them, yes, I'm due next month, most are pretty surprised. I also have a lot of people asking me lately if "I'm ready to be done". Honestly, I'm not to that point yet. Overall, I feel great and really do not have any complaints. I must say, it is getting harder to get out of bed, turn side-to-side in bed, and bending over to tie my shoes. I think I suffered enough with morning sickness for the first 4 months, so hopefully from here on out things will continue to go this smoothly. The weather has been so sunny and beautiful which I think also contributes to my good mood and energy level! I must be one of those women who really enjoys being pregnant. It really is such a miracle!


Just a bump pic!

29 Weeks

I can't believe I'm almost 30 weeks and that means only about 10 weeks left. The last few weeks have been really busy. 3 weeks ago we took a weekend trip to Bend and had amazing massages at Anjou Spa. It was so relaxing and fun to have some time just the "two" of us. We've been trying to appreciate those times when we can just walk into a restaurant and sit at the bar instead of waiting for a table.



27 weeks in sunny Bend

We also had a 28 week ultrasound and got some cute pics of our little bug (who is actually the size of a butternut squash now). Everything checked out great and growth is right on track. Baby was moving around a lot and playing hide-and-seek with its arms. The same day I also had my glucose test, took a tour of the birth center, and got pre-registered. I was glad Mase was on spring break so we could get so much accomplished that day!

 

 I'm so obsessed with that little face and can't believe I have such a beautiful baby growing inside me!



 29 weeks after work, I felt like I looked really pregnant that day! I look tired!

 







26 weeks

I can't believe its already been a month since my last post. Time flies when you're having fun (or when you're just super busy). I had been suffering from 2 separate colds/ bronchitis over the past 4 weeks (yes, it feels like suffering when you're preggers and can't really take anything to help w/ symptoms). Hopefully the sickness is over for the season, although allergy season is on the horizon. Praying for health and wellness!

 

Size of baby: Baby is the length of a cucumber (14 inches heel to head) and weighs around 1.75 lbs.

Can hear and recognize mom and dad's voices. Inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid. Continuing to develop baby fat!

What I'm looking forward to: We are headed over to Bend next weekend and I'm really looking forward to a little get-away. It will be so fun to spend time in our favorite place. This weekend we picked up some paint samples for the nursery and I'm excited to get started on that project. Next week is spring break for Mason so he will be working on clearing out the room (and moving into "my" closet). So far the bedding is done, we have the crib, and the glider is supposed to come in in the next few weeks. The advanced wood-shop class at the high school is making us a dresser that will double as the changing table. Benefit of my husband being friends with the wood-shop teacher. It will look similar to this one from PB Kids.

I will definitely be adding pictures as things progress on the nursery.

Milestones:  We started registries for the bebe at Target and Baby's R Us. This was one thing I was not really looking forward to because I felt really overwhelmed. However, it went pretty smoothly and luckily I have a husband who is decisive (unlike me) and helpful at identifying essentials vs needs/ gimmick products.

 

Movement: Lots of kicking and squirming around and getting stronger. Daddy felt a good strong kick a few nights ago and he got really excited.

 

Cravings: Pineapple and chocolate peanut butter ice cream (not together). I splurged on some Cadbury robin eggs today and am eating them as we speak.

Best Moments this past week: We had our first hypnobirth class yesterday. The more I learn about the process and philosophy of hypnobirth, the more certain I am that this is the right choice for us. I am so lucky to have Mason on board and have him as my birth partner. He is so strong and will be a great advocate for me and the birth of our little one. Our instructor Liz is awesome and there are three other couples in the class. I have been keeping up with yoga 1-2 times a week and walking as much as possible so my body has been feeling great. It is getting more difficult to bend forward (ie tying shoes, shaving, certain yoga poses) because this belly is getting in the way. Mason keeps reminding me, its only going to get bigger :) Reassurance that baby B is growing big and healthy!