Bump Watch: Week 36!

Too bad the picture isn't great. I think it's one of my better chalkboards!

How far along? 36 Weeks. It's really 36.5 weeks, but I keep forgetting my camera in my desk at work. Bear with me on the quality and tardiness of the picture.

Total weight gain? Continuing my steady 2 lbs a week gain, I’m now 138 lbs. I blame this on E. She’s getting REALLLLLLY big in there. I can tell she’s frustrated with the lack of space.

Waist/Belly Measurement? 30.5”/39”. I got that ½” in my waist back and gained a whole inch in my belly! I guess my belly has finally caught up with me.. haha

Stretch marks? Still none! But my belly is starting to grow faster, so we’ll see if this keeps up.

Sleep? This whole pregnancy has been amazing for sleep, until this week. I swear I’ve had to pee at least 5 times a night. It’s not fun to roll yourself in and out of bed 5 times.

Best moment this week? Jesse finished the floors in our bedroom this weekend! We finally live in a normal house again! Plus our bedroom looks super spectacular clean right now, which I’m digging. The Dr. also told me on Friday that our little cupcake is not only head down but she’s engaged! She must have done that to herself between Tuesday and Friday, but he said she’s stuck there until she decides to come out!

Miss Anything? Being comfortable. This past week was crazy for growth with E, and I can’t really move the way I could a week ago. Since she’s head down she’s also pushing on all of my nerves down there, so getting a shooting pain in a weird place has become the norm.

Movement? Still moving around! On Tuesday night she did the most adorable thing. Well, it would have been adorable if she wasn’t doing it at 5AM. She had the hiccups and finally just got frustrated so she decided to move around and find a way to make them stop. So I would get a hiccup sensation by my pelvis, then one by my ribs, then one on the left, and so on. She continued this for about 30 minutes. Like I said, it would have been so stinking cute if I wasn’t trying to sleep. Haha Since she engaged she moves a little less. She can only really kick and punch me, and can’t move her head too much, so she’s a little less loosey goosey with the movements.

Cravings? Mostly the ice cream this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still no nausea! Still getting a ton of acid reflux, though.

Labor Signs? I thought I was going to go into labor on Thursday, which wasn’t comfortable. She likes to push on my back when I have contractions. This is going to be an awesome L&D.

Symptoms? Swelling. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. My poor little water retaining body.

Belly Button in or out?  Still in!

Wedding rings on or off? Alas, I haven’t been able to put on my wedding rings since Thursday night. I think they’re off for the rest of the pregnancy. Almost made it until the end!

Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy! Other than the usual holiday shopper being totally and unnecessarily rude, I’ve been pretty nice.

Looking forward to? This baby deciding she’s ready to meet us. I’m sure it’s getting pretty cramped in there, and my clothes are starting to be really unflattering. :)

Bump Watch: Week 35!

After moving all of the furniture out of the way, I got too lazy to be witty. Oops.

How far along? 35 Weeks

Total weight gain? Up another 2lbs 136lbs, which makes 30 lbs total! I talked to my Doctor about my weight gain and how I feel like I might veer out of the healthy range, and his response was (totally not paraphrasing), “Well you needed to gain weight.” I totally burst out laughing, and in that moment I knew that I was OK with maybe gaining 40 lbs. It’s not 80 lbs, and the important thing is that little Miss E comes out healthy. So then I proceeded to just enjoy my pregnancy and eat if I felt like it, and I actually gained less weight according to my digital scale. Go figure. Anyway, if I want a shake and some sugar cookies I’m going to eat them.

Waist/Belly Measurement? 30”/38”. I lost ½” in my belly? Someone pinch me. I seriously think she’s just dropping. I rarely feel movement above my belly button anymore. It’s kind of nice, because I never experienced the whole “I can’t breathe because my adorable little baby is kicking my lungs” thing. When I told the Doc, he said that I was lucky because I was “short waisted”. I’m really making my Doctor sound like a jerk, but in reality I think he’s hilarious and blunt, and I wouldn’t want any other person.

Stretch marks? No. Holy crap I’m getting so close to not getting these. Please, please, PLEASE let this continue.

Sleep? Considering that we’ve migrated into the queen bed in the guest room, it’s not that bad. Jesse got the urge to finish the floors throughout the house, which I guess is his version of nesting. Sadly, the only room to finish was our bedroom, so our house is a disaster area at the moment. This is absolutely torture to the pregnant woman he’s living with. All I want to do is clean, but the house is such a disaster that it’s not even worth it. I can’t see E’s crib at all because it’s blocked by our mattress… haha

Best moment this week? The Doc telling me that: 1. It’s OK to gain weight, and 2. Baby E is head down. Sooooooo exciting!! I think she might have been positioned like this for a while.

Miss Anything? A clean house. :)

Movement? My little pelvis kicker is still very active. Jesse likes to watch her move, because he thinks it’s so funny. She’s crazy! Plus I think his reactions are adorable.

Cravings? More of the same. Hamburgers and ice cream. Oy vey.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope! It’s been a great 3^rd trimester!

Labor Signs? Just that she’s still very low, and I get the occasional BH Contraction. I have my first “internal” exam on Friday, so we’ll see how favorable I am.

Symptoms? Actually, not much this week. No back pain, no acne, only the slightest amount of swelling, and a few nights I wanted to sleep a lot. I guess I’m also super slow, mostly because I’m not real mobile at this point.

Belly Button in or out?  Still in! Looking flatter each day… haha

Wedding rings on or off? Still on this week.

Happy or Moody most of the time? I was pretty happy for the most part. There were some times at work when I wanted to rip someone’s head off, but it was the same people who usually get that reaction from me regardless of my pregnancy. So I’d say happy.

Looking forward to? The holidays! Our office is clearing out and soon it will just be me, my Pandora station, and the gentle hum of the fluorescent lights. I love working over Christmas!

 

Maternity photos!

I'm finally getting around to posting the shots from my maternity shoot, even though I got them almost 2 weeks ago. Yikes, I'm one busy mama. I know a lot of you have seen them on facebook, but I also know some of you don't have facebook. :)

I'm sure you'll also notice I'm alone. A friend of mine actually said "So it was kind of like an immaculate conception, huh?" Well the husband doesn't like photos. It's like pulling teeth to get him to take pictures! He promised to make an appearance in the newborn photos, but seemed extremely relieved that I didn't drag him along to the maternity shoot.

I'm also way too lazy to go around posting all of them..... So I just threw some quick collages in Picasa. Best. Program. EVER.

Special thanks to Jeanette at Simply Sweet Portraits, she does amazing work! I seriously can't wait to see E's newborn photos when the time comes. Hairbows, ruffle butts, and blankets, OH MY!

Bump Watch: Week 34!

It looks like Baby (and Mama) got back. Yikes.

How far along? 34 Weeks

Total weight gain? Up 2lbs (again) to 134lbs. At this rate, I’ll be 146 when I deliver, which is a 40 lb weight gain. Yikes. Just…. Yikes. haha

Waist/Belly Measurement? 30”/38.5”, so I grew ½” in my belly.

Stretch marks? Despite the fact that I feel like a whale, I still don’t have any. Fingers crossed!!!

Sleep? I slept like a boss this week. I’m only waking up to pee, which is about twice a night. My body is going to be really upset when E gets here and keeps us up all night.

Best moment this week? Plenty of crappy moments (like working all weekend, losing in the first round of the fantasy football playoffs, the Bears losing…) but not a lot of great moments. Because of this, I think I’ll have to go with decorating sugar cookies with the husband and getting the carseat installed. We’re so exciting.

Miss Anything? Not really, just the typical Sunday afternoon beer while watching football. It’s starting to feel normal though.. haha

Movement? She must have heard me saying she slowed down, because she picked it up this week. My little kicker is back! She’s much more into kicking my pelvic region lately, though.

Cravings? Oh, the chalkboard says it all. I had 4 cheeseburgers this week (all from different places, I’m not picky), only one ice cream, and I made myself a sweet potato casserole. None of those things go together.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope! Nausea was gone this week.

Labor Signs? PHEW! Yes. Braxton hicks are in full effect (at least that’s what I think they are). I had two days this week where I felt like I was going to go into labor. I’d get what felt like cramps in my uterus accompanied with backaches for an hour or so and then it would go away. It was really regular though, like on the order of 5-10 minutes apart. The hospital says if it lasts more than an hour and water doesn’t make them stop to come in, but these were only 45 minute episodes so I let it slide. I’m also feeling her really low. Like, super low. Almost as if at any moment she could come bursting out like the Kool-Aid man. That low.

Symptoms? Oh man the swelling. I’m starting to think my legs will never be cute again. Seriously, I can’t even wear mid calf socks (which I like to wear  with boots) without getting indentations. My feet are fine, it’s mostly just my ankles and calves. My hands join the party every once in a while, too.

Belly Button in or out?  Still in. I showed Jesse this weekend and he said “It doesn’t look like it’s going to pop out. It just looks really tiny and flat.” He’s so insightful.

Wedding rings on or off? I can still jam them on my fingers most of the time. I can tell in the morning if it’s going to be a “leave the rings at home” kind of day.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Ohhhhhh was I ever moody. Just another reason I thought I was going into labor! Jesse and I got into an argument about who was cranky and starting said argument, and my response was to cry. Like an adult. Very mature. Poor Jesse had no idea what to do, and profusely apologized for making me cry while I sobbed and said “You *sniff* just keep *sniff* yelling at me!” For the record, he was not yelling at me, and I might have started the argument. The fact that I never cry (unless there’s a poor animal involved) freaked him out more, I think. I swear, this baby is going to pop out at any time.

Looking forward to? Still just waiting on baby E! I’m also kind of looking forward to Christmas. Most people have told me that my presents are things for E, which just makes me MORE excited to open them! I love getting cute little things for her. I also can’t wait to get going on her baby book this week. I bought some scrap paper and a scrap book last week (both on sale for $9.99!!) and I made my own printable pages to fill out. I’m so excited to start!

Packing for Labor and Delivery

I've always really wanted to do a labor and delivery bag post! For one, just because they're fun to read in my opinion. For two, if we do this again I'd really like to know what I did and didn't use. So here it goes!

I started out by doing a quick google search about common labor and delivery bag items. I printed out 3 or 4 lists from blogs and from websites (the bump, etc) and used those to make my own personal list. Alot of things I decided we just didn't need, like money for vending machines and snacks. We live in a highly populated area and everything is open 24 hours here! The hospital is literally 5 minutes from a 24 hour Walmart and McDonald's. I also found out at our prenatal class that there are snacks like sandwiches, pudding, and juice available for "patients" but that the husband can feel free to rummage through it if he's hungry and the cafeteria is closed. I also made the executive decision to not bring flip flops for the shower because the rooms (labor and delivery AND recovery) are all single family rooms. I'm not going to have to share a bathroom with anyone but the husband, so the flip flops seem silly. I also saw that alot of people said to bring 2 bags: one for labor, and one for recovery. Knowing that, I made separate sections of my list to accomodate a two bag scenario. After all that, my list looked like this:

I knew that we'd probably need the toiletry bag in the labor section since even though I might not want to shower or brush my teeth, Jesse might. Then E's stuff went into the recovery portion because she wouldn't need it until we were ready to go home. I had it all stacked and decided that two bags for the same trip would be ridiculous because there just wasn't much there. My rolling suitcase has separated upper and lower compartments, so if I pack it properly Jesse won't be rummaging through the whole bag to find what he needs anyway. All laid out, it looked something like this:

1st row: Hospital gown I made, my robe, Jesse's clothes, and Jesse's pajamas.

 2nd row: 2 nursing nightgowns I made, socks, my slippers, the toiletry bag, and a swaddle sack.

3rd row: NB size outfit, 0-3 month outfit, 2 hats, 3 mittens, and 2 pairs of socks

Not pictured(but packed): undergarments, feminine napkins, carseat, and bundleme

Not pictured(not packed): Wallet, electronics, boppy, pillow, hair brush, and makeup

At that point, I had basically reaffirmed my decision to only pack one bag. There really isn't much there! Jesse's clothes and the toiletry bag take up most of the space, but this is a family event and I want him to be comfortable, too. Some of the stuff isn't pictured because you don't need to see it, and some of it isn't even packed because it's still in use or won't be in the bag. Finally.... I crammed it all into my rolling suitcase and it looked surprisingly un-cramped.

Left(top of suitcase): Recovery items

Right(bottom of suitcase): Labor items

It's kind of hard to tell from that picture, but there's plenty of room in both sections for the electronics, makeup, and hair stuff. I didn't pack those because I'm still using them at the moment. Since the boppy, the pillow, and the carseat/bundleme won't go in the bag, those are just off to the side. I'm supposed to be keeping everything in the car at this point, so think I'll pack a small makeup bag with essentials and a spare brush just in case and then Jesse can run home to get the tablet, chargers, and camera bag when he has a chance. That way if we're both at work when I go into labor we won't have to worry about being unprepared.

What do you think, did I overpack? I think that considering my history of wayyyyyyyyy overpacking that one suitcase for three people is pretty darn good. Then again, I live 10 minutes from our hospital so that probably swayed my overpacking ways.

Bump Watch: Week 33!

Thankfully, she's much less spiky than a pineapple.

How far along? 33 Weeks

Total weight gain? Up 2lbs to 132lbs this week, which puts me at 26 lbs gained total. I’ve been told to expect a gain of 1-1.5 lbs per week at this point because the little cupcake is putting on about ½ a lb every week now!

Waist/Belly Measurement? My measurements are the same, at least they were this morning. I’m finding that it varies a lot more during the week as far as day to day size goes. I swear I looked 25 weeks pregnant when we were out and about yesterday, but I looked 40 weeks pregnant on Friday. I guess it just depends on where she’s sitting.

Stretch marks? Still none! Only 7 more weeks… :)

Sleep? Yes please. I was exhausted this week! I slept great, though. I’m surprisingly not uncomfortable yet. Most of the time if I’m not sleeping it’s just because I’m not tired.

Best moment this week? I had a friend give us a TON of clothes from when her little girl was born, so E’s closet is absolutely stuffed to the gills from 0-6 months! We’ve got some stuff in 6-9, and even less in 9 months +, but I’m not sure how big she’ll be as far as percentiles go. Since I was really tiny I’m not in a hurry to buy any larger clothes until we see how her growth progresses. We also had our prenatal class this week and it was super informative! I found out that my breastfeeding book is a dirty liar, and that I should be able to breastfeed just fine if I have a medical induction and epidural, that our hospital doesn’t perform episiotomies (YAY!), and that we apparently get a free infant car seat. They also don’t have a well baby nursery and want you to begin nursing within the first 30 minutes of birth to promote bonding, which I’m totally on board with.

Miss Anything? I really wanted a mimosa. Our first family brunch will include a mimosa for Mommy.

Movement? She’s still moving around in there, but it’s more like rolling. I imagine she’s getting pretty cramped. She’s also literally getting on my last nerve, as she seems to kick my pelvic nerves all the time. Not. Cool.

Cravings? I saw someone with what looked like broccoli cheese soup, so I wanted broccoli cheese soup. It wasn’t Cady Heron.

Anything making you queasy or sick? I’ve started to get a little nauseated in the middle of the night again. Nothing extreme, just a general queasiness. Thankfully I’m usually sleeping.

Labor Signs? None this week!

Symptoms? I’m starting to get headaches again, which I haven’t had in quite a while. I’m starting to swell sometimes, too, so that sucks.

Belly Button in or out?  It’s not out.. It looks a little less halfsies though. It looks more like a really tiny innie than a half in and half out.

Wedding rings on or off? The wedding ring is on about 80% of the time. Being up and about walking tends to make my hands swell a bit, though. My hands have always done this, it’s just worse now.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Still really happy.

Looking forward to? Baby E’s arrival! I finished sewing everything, so the sewing machine is out of the nursery. Then I washed literally everything, including the covers on her carseat, chair, and bouncers. Her newborn fluff is washed and ready to go, and I plan to wash her small (12-20 lb) fluff tonight. Then all I have to do is prep the grovia’s in nb and one size (they’re organic, so they need to be prepped separately) and we’re ready to go! I even (re)packed the L&D bag!