39 Weeks and Any Day Now

I have been (im)patiently waiting Andrew's arrival! It's such a weird and beautiful and terrifying chapter in life, isn't it? There really aren't that many moments in our lives where things change so completely. Sometimes we don't even see the catalyst of the change, it simply comes upon us when we least expect it. A car accident (heaven forbid). Falling in love.

37 Weeks

Other times, we know the change is coming. We've been working toward it. Preparing for it. Like with high school graduation or moving to a new city to start a new job. Most of the time, though, we have a date set and we have some control of the time and place of the change.

When it comes to having a baby, though, these last few weeks are much tougher than I ever thought they would be. I mean, I've known this life-altering moment was coming. The second I saw that double line on the pregnancy test, I knew it was coming. But now that it's here, I feel like I'm just standing on the edge of some strange in-between world. Not quite a mother, but not quite NOT a mother. Every time a pressure wave (hypnobabies term for contraction) hits, I think, "Is this it?" I get excited and nervous, then I try to calm down and rest, but then I finally realize after hours of them only coming every 10 minutes and not getting stronger, that this is, in fact, NOT IT. Not yet.

As some of you may know, my doctors want very badly to induce. Their reasons are mainly the fact that I have gestational diabetes and that my blood pressure is creeping up and up. So far, their reasons have not been good enough for me to agree to pitocin and all its risks. A week ago Friday, I agreed to my first cervical check just to see how far along I was. To my surprise, I was already 3cms dilated and 60% effaced. Andrew was at -1 station, which means his head was pretty low. Everything was pointing toward me going into my birthing time without a medical induction, so I was pretty excited. Monday and Wednesday of last week, I had membranes stripped in an attempt to encourage a more natural, med-free induction. (Wed. I had progressed to 4cms dilated, 70% effaced and baby at 0 station) Basically, all that did was throw my body in pre-labor or false-labor where I had pressure waves every night for several hours that never turned into real labor.

39 Weeks! Look how low he's dropped!

All of this stop and start has been tough. Especially because now that I'm past 39 weeks, my doctors are becoming very anxious. I won't go into all my feelings on this because that would take too long and you probably really don't want to hear it all, but let's just say that I feel that I'm now on a ticking time clock to go into labor on my own. Of course, I want what's best for Andrew. That goes without saying. I just feel right now that induction with pitocin is more dangerous than letting him stay where he is a little longer. I'm just not sure at what point that flips around for me. When does pitocin and induction really become the safer route? I wish I knew the answer to that for sure!

Tomorrow morning, I go in to my acupuncturist for his first attempt to induce through natural acupuncture points. I am very hopeful that this will get things moving. Since the very beginning, my husband has said he feels June 12th will be Andrew's birthday. We went on a walk tonight and talked about how maybe between acupuncture and massage and chiropractor appointments tomorrow, my birthing time will begin and we will have baby Andrew in our arms sometime after midnight on the 12th. It's a beautiful thought! I honestly can't wait to meet my son!!! He's going to change our lives forever, and even though I know it won't be easy, it's going to be one of the most amazing parts of the rest of our lives.

I'm just ready for the rest of our lives to begin! Come on, baby Andrew!!! I'm ready!

Oh, and just as a quick update - other than the anxiety of waiting for him to arrive, I feel great. The chiropractor has really helped a lot with any aches and pains and I'm actually very comfortable. I've only gained 23 pounds total throughout this pregnancy (and have actually just lost 2 lbs in the past couple weeks, which I've heard is normal as you near labor), which is great since I started out a little over weight. I don't have much swelling except some in my feet at the end of the day and some in my face. Overall, I've been very lucky to feel so good over the last weeks.

Also, I didn't update my blog when my parents came, but they were here over Memorial Day weekend and look what my dad made for Andrew's room:

Beautiful, isn't it?? We had a wonderful weekend with my parents, and I can't wait to see them again when they come up in (hopefully) just a few days.

And in the interest of posting some good pics, here are pics of me with each of my parents right before we left for dinner at The Melting Pot. We were celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary!! I'm so lucky to have parents that love each other so much and still have such a passion for each other. I know I will cherish these pictures forever!

Hopefully the next time I post, it'll be a photo-bomb of baby Andrew!!!

35 Weeks!! Only 5 to go!

This was not the best week of my life. It's been tough, to be honest. And I hate that. I remember the pain of not being able to get pregnant and yearning for this with all of my heart. I wish I could say that all that yearning means pregnancy now contains nothing but glowing joyful moments. Every time I complain, I feel guilty - as if I am somehow saying I'm not grateful. But after the discomforts of this week, I realize that I'm only human. No one can be joyful and grateful at all times when they are dealing with pain. It doesn't mean that I'm not happy and so thankful to have a sweet baby boy coming into our lives in just a few short weeks.

That being said, it was a rough week. I pampered myself by getting my hair done (bangs!) and even though I love how my hair turned out, I came home from the appointment feeling awful. The next day, I had an elevated temperature of 99.8. My whole body was aching and I felt nauseated for a couple of days. Then, just when my temperature went back to normal, my entire body broke out in hives. I'm talking head to toe. And it ITCHED like crazy. Turns out I had some sort of allergic reaction to the shampoo I bought at the salon. I barely slept for three days. Today, I woke up with very much improved on the hives front, but now my hands are super swollen. I can't even close my fists, it hurts so badly. In fact, all of my joints ache. I hope this is just temporary, but all of these things coming back to back has been bringing me down.

So now it's time for an attitude adjustment. I have spent way too much time over the past six or seven days focusing on the aches and pains and discomforts. That's not the way I want to remember the last few precious weeks of my pregnancy. This is possibly the only time I will ever experience this, and I don't want to focus on the negative. I want to focus on all the happy, beautiful things that are happening in our lives. I want to spend my time thinking about the positive things in my life. I mean, how many pregnant women get to set their own schedule and take all the time they need to try and feel better? I'm extremely blessed, and that's what I want to remember.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, here's my 35 week update (hopefully with a positive spin!):

How Far Along: 35 weeks, 2 Days


My Baby This Week:


Weight Gain: 20 lbs.


Baby Bump: George took this pic on mother's day. A friend of mine saw it and said she thinks it looks like Andrew has dropped! I thought I had noticed that my shape changed a little bit. It's exciting to know he's getting into a good position for birth!

Sleep: It's rough. I can't sleep more than about an hour at a time before I get uncomfortable or have to go to the bathroom. I figure it's just good practice for when Andrew gets here and wakes me up all through the night.


Best Moment of the Week: Hiring painters finally to come paint the interior of the house, including the nursery! It will be so awesome to have that final piece of the home renovations done. It's going to look amazing!


Movement: Andrew moves around so much, and I love it. I am constantly feeling what I am pretty sure is the heel of his tiny little foot jutting out. So cute!


Symptoms: Pretty much everything I listed above. I honestly only thought pregnancy got super uncomfortable in the last two weeks or so, but apparently it can start much earlier, yikes!


Food Cravings: Water. I can't get enough. And sugar of course, but I try to ignore that craving.


What I Miss: Being able to walk without pain.


What I'm Looking Forward To: A positive birthing experience and meeting Andrew for the first time!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't put anything off until the last month of pregnancy. Not shopping or renovations or decorating or anything. I always thought I would get this nesting instinct people talk about and just be full of energy, but the truth is that walking around the mall or even making a thirty minute trip to Target is very uncomfortable at this point. I wish I had finished these things sooner so that I could just rest!

Emotions: All over the place. I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself this past week with all the discomforts, but I'm working every day to pick myself up and stay positive. My focus for the next four or five weeks is going to be on all the blessings in my life.

34 Weeks

Time is definitely flying by! Baby time is really just around the corner. Today I am 34 weeks, 2 days pregnant, but today is almost done, which means I really only have 5 1/2 weeks remaining until my guess date. That's so hard to believe! I can tell George is feeling the closeness now too. When we laid down for bed last night, he stared over at the co-sleeper and said, "Can you believe Andrew will really be in there sleeping in just a few short weeks?" There was definite awe in his voice.

Right now, I'm definitely feeling anxious about the fact that due dates really are just 'guess dates'. I read somewhere that only 5% of babies are actually born on their due dates. Sometimes they can come as early as a month before or as late as two weeks after. With gestational diabetes, I know my doctors are NOT going to want me to go past my due date, so I'm really hoping Andrew comes a few days early so we don't have to deal with arguments about not wanting pitocin and such. I talk to him every day, encouraging him to come just a teeny bit early. June 10th'ish would be perfect! Haha.

How Far Along: 34 weeks and counting!


My Baby This Week:  Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. (From www.babycenter.com)


Weight Gain: So far, I am right at 20 lbs gained. Not too bad!

Baby Bump:


Sleep: I'm just trying to sleep whenever I can these days! I am up about every hour to hour and a half during the night to use the bathroom or toss and turn. I take lots of naps, haha.


Best Moment of the Week: Before I can get to the best moment, I need to mention the scariest moment. At my doctor's appointment on Thursday, she thought she heard a very slow heartbeat. They hooked me up to an older monitor and even though Andrew's baseline looked okay, he kept dipping below normal. Basically, she freaked me out and set up an appointment for me to have a modified BPP (biophysical profile) done Friday. I was honestly scared to death something was going to be wrong with my baby.

I barely slept at all on Thursday night. Friday, we had to sit in the waiting room at the hospital for about 2 hours just waiting for them to create an open slot. Finally, we got in and I was hooked up to a heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor for about 20 minutes. (This is called an NST or nonstress test, which I'll be getting very familiar with over the next 5-6 weeks.) Luckily, what the test showed was that Andrew's heartbeat is normal. Yes, it does dip down to about 105 every now and again, but the tech said it was nothing to worry about since it pops right back up. She said all he has to do is bump against the umbilical cord and his heartbeat will drop for an instant. Well, during our 3D ultrasound the little guy actually had the cord in his hand. For all we know, he's in there squeezing it! Hehe.

Hands down the best moment of the week was finding out he was okay. They also measured my amniotic fluid and all is normal there. I will have to go back now for weekly monitoring in addition to my normal appointments, but I think everything is going to be fine and we will have a healthy little boy. A trouble-maker maybe. But a healthy one. :)


Movement: He's moving around a lot. I think I'll miss that the most after he's born. I love feeling him in there. I'll never be this close to my baby boy again.


Symptoms: Aches, especially in my pelvic region! I guess everything is stretching out, which is a good sign! It's just getting hard to move around and get comfortable these days! Also, the heartburn never ends.

Food Cravings: I do have one major craving!! Honest Kids juice packs. It's insane! These are low sugar juice drinks for kids, kind of like Capri Sun, only organic with a lot less sugar. They don't spike my bloodsugar since they are only like 6 ounces each, and I've been downing them! Tonight, George actually bought me like 7 cases, haha. It's an addiction. I'm half afraid I'm going to OD on vitamin C!



What I Miss: Having a brain that works at full capacity :P.


What I'm Looking Forward To: Enjoying these last few weeks with Andrew tucked safely inside. I hope I can stay focused on the happy things instead of the aches and pains!


Weekly Wisdom: Try not to freak out and get worried about something until you know for certain it's a problem. Positive thinking is so much healthier in the long run.


Milestones: Completed our hospital tour and got all of the baby clothes washed!


Emotions: I'm so happy Andrew is healthy. I'm anxious to meet him, but determined to find happiness and joy in these last weeks of being pregnant.

Pregnancy Update: 33 Weeks!

Well, almost 33 weeks. Today I am 32 weeks and 4 days, but close enough right? Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but there is so much going on! First of all, remember all those home renovations I was talking about earlier? Well, my brother came up the weekend before this past one to do a lot of the work!! We have all new wood floors downstairs, a new floor in the kitchen, new countertops, newly painted cabinets with all new hardware - the list goes on and on! It's beautiful and I'm so grateful to him for coming up here and working his butt off for several days to get it done. Also, we decided to go ahead and have the carpet on the stairs and all the upstairs rooms replaced. And let me tell you, it was worth every penny!! The carpet is so luxurious and beautiful.

So, where are the pictures? Well, even though the floors are in place and a lot of the work is done, the house still feels like a mess in places! We had to move everything upstairs first to make room for the work downstairs. Then, as soon as Douglas left, we had to move everything downstairs to make room for the carpet people. In the middle of all that, I stepped on a rusty nail. While pregnant. Ugh. Talk about stress! I haven't had a tetanus shot since 1997, so I had to make a decision about whether to get a vaccine while pregnant. Long story short, I decided against the vaccine and have been taking it easy on my foot to make sure I don't get it infected. It's mostly healed now, but with all the work and stress, I've been totally exhausted! Anyway, I promise to post pics as soon as we have things more put together.

Then, there's the whole 30+ weeks pregnant thing, haha. I never knew it could be so tough. I don't want to whine, but wow! Just two trips up and down the stairs with a handful of baby items exhausts me to the point where I have to sit down. (I lost 2 pounds this week, btw, if that tells you anything.) So, my blog has gone ignored. Hopefully I'll remember to post at least a few more times between now and the time baby Andrew is born.

How far along: Almost 33 weeks! Only 7 more to go!!!!


Picture of Baby:

My Baby This Week: By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.


Weight Gain: 18 lbs.


Baby Bump:

 

Sleep: I am not getting very good rest, unfortunately. I'm up every hour and a half on the dot to pee, haha. Plus, the vivid dreams of the first trimester have returned, so I feel like I'm never really into a deep sleep. My hips are starting to ache, too.


Movement: Andrew is moving all the time these days! It's not always kicks. Sometimes, it is more like he's just rolling around, hehe. I love it though, because I can see him move from the outside and it's like a little alien moving around in my tummy. I love it!


Symptoms: The third trimester has brought headaches as a new symptom. Yuck! Also, I'm very forgetful these days.


What I Miss: Being able to eat anything with sugar! I also miss being able to sleep through the night (not that it will change once the baby comes, ha!) and being able to walk around without some kind of ache or pain. However, let me just say I would go through this for another year if I had to in order to make sure Andrew is a healthy baby!!! It's all so incredibly worth it!


What I'm Looking Forward To: Meeting the baby! Sometimes I can hardly believe it's happening so soon, but most of the time, it just feels like 7 more weeks is forever. I want to see him and snuggle him so badly!


Weekly Wisdom: Don't let doctors bully you into something you don't feel comfortable with. A doctor might tell you that a vaccine is "completely safe", but when it comes to your body and your unborn child, it's worth it to take a little bit of time to research that vaccine and its possible side-effects. In the end, it's still your decision. Doctors are wonderful, but they don't always know what's best for you.


Emotions: There's a lot of crying going on at my house these days, and the baby isn't even here yet :P. I'm very emotional, and I know that it's okay. It's all a part of pregnancy. Overall, I am incredibly happy and excited, but there are also moments where I feel overwhelmed. Thank the Lord for bringing me such a wonderful, caring husband who is extremely patient and loving with me during this time!

29 Week Update

I can't believe I'm already at 29 weeks!! I'll be down to a single digit countdown in no time. Time is beginning to fly by at warp speed. I find myself wondering when little Andrew will make his appearance. Will he come early? (A friend just had her baby almost a month early!) Or will he come late? My hope is that he'll decide to come sometime during week 39, hehe. That way I don't have to worry about them wanting to induce me, but he'll still be close to his due date. Of course, I know better than to hope for a completely perfect scenario. All I can do is exercise and eat healthy and take good care of my body until he arrives!

So here's my 29 week update:

Picture of Baby: I don't actually have a recent picture of the baby. Our last ultrasound was our anatomy scan at 17 weeks. BUT, exciting news! We have our 3D/4D ultrasound scheduled for this Thursday afternoon!! I can't wait to see our little man and see how much he's grown. Also, some of these 4D ultrasounds show really great pictures of the baby's faces! I hope we get to see his face!! I'll post some pics as soon as we get them.


My Baby This Week: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day. (From www.babycenter.com)

Weight Gain: 16 pounds. Eek! I am hoping to keep the gain to under 25 pounds. Will I make it? I hope so! I'm certainly not going to stress it either way.

Baby Bump: This picture was taken at our mountain retreat this past weekend. We had such an amazing time! It's a billowy shirt which makes me look a little bit bigger than some other shirts, but I still love the pink.

Sleep: Getting up more and more often during the night. Also, it's tough to even turn from side to side, hehe. I'm having to literally roll myself off the bed to go to the bathroom. It's not a pretty picture, I'm sure. I'm definitely looking forward to normal sleeping positions after the baby comes. Unfortunately, I have a feeling it might only be for a few short hours at a stretch once he's here!

Best Moment of the Week: Hands down - the prenatal massage at the resort!! George got the hot stone massage and I'm sure he enjoyed it, but man, the prenatal massage was brilliant!! It was literally the best massage of my life. Not that I've gotten that many, but it was just so needed. I was having some pains in my hips and lower back and for a few glorious days after the massage, there was zero pain. I loved it.

Movement: Wow, our little guy is moving around all the time! We found out at the latest doctor's appointment that he's already head down. That's got to be why I feel him kicking at my ribs all the time, haha. I also feel him stretching his arms out against my side. I love it. And I'm seeing these crazy alien movements on the outside. My entire stomach moves, haha. So amazing!!

Symptoms: I think at this point they are all just starting to run together. Aches everywhere, heartburn, stuffy nose, carpal tunnel, the list goes on. But you know what? It's all so worth it!!

Food Cravings: Apple Juice. I want it so bad! Unfortunately, juices are off limits :(.

What I Miss: Being able to stay up as late as I want. I'm exhausted by midnight!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Holding my little baby in my arms. The closer it gets, the more excited I am about meeting him!!

Weekly Wisdom: Pregnancy is not comfortable, but it's important to keep priorities straight! Growing a baby is hard work, but in the end it's so worth it. I know once it's over, I will miss being pregnant, so I want to focus on the happy things instead of the discomforts.

Emotions: Feeling overwhelmed lately between trying to finish the book and getting things ready for renovations. I am also just so incredibly grateful for all the love from friends and family during this pregnancy. Especially the support of my husband, who is really taking good care of me. And there I go again with the tears. 

28 Weeks!

Wow, time is flying! I can't believe I'm already 28 weeks and into my third trimester. As of today, I only have 82 days until my due date. Unbelievable. In one way, I am so anxious to meet my little man and to hold him and nurse him and get to know him. In another way, though, I am determined to enjoy this very precious time with him still growing inside me. Every time I feel him move or kick or squirm, it makes me smile. :) He's such an active little guy!

How far along: 28 Weeks

Weight Gain: 15 pounds. This is a little bit more than I should have gained by now, but I'm not doing too bad overall.

Baby Bump: Ah! No new pic! I promise I'll have a new one soon!

Sleep: Yikes. Sleep is a struggle these days. I seriously have to get up to go to the bathroom almost every hour on the hour! And with my huge nest of pillows surrounding me, it's quite the production to get in and out of bed. It's a small price to pay though. I just hope I'm not waking George up every single time I get up, lol.

Best Moment of the Week: When I got home from my weekend with friends in Charlotte, George got on his knees and put his head against my belly. He said, "Hi little baby, did you miss me?" and Andrew gave him a big kick right against the cheek, hehe. I guess that was a YES! I love that he recognizes his daddy's voice already. So sweet!

Movement: He's moving around all the time these days, and I love it! Sometimes it's kicks and sometimes it's a rolling movement. He seems to be most active at night when I'm trying to sleep. :)

Symptoms: Carpal tunnel. Boo! I didn't even know this was a possible symptom, but apparently it's rather common for pregnant women. My fingers on my right hand are numb, which makes typing awkward, but at least there's not much pain yet. I am just hoping it doesn't get any worse. I'm also having the worst allergies of my life! There is literally a carpet of pollen all over the world outside right now, and I'm feeling it in ways I never have. Other than that, though, I feel great!

Food Cravings: Everything I can't have - I want! :P We went to Zaxby's today for lunch and as I was eating my salad, I kept staring at their ad for the new Brownie Batter Milkshake. OMG. Torture! Hehe, really it's not that bad. I'm just trying to eat healthy and ignore anything else.

What I Miss: Sugar and Apple Sake


What I'm Looking Forward To: Renovations on the house and getting things just right for when Andrew arrives!

Weekly Wisdom: Try not to get overwhelmed. Stress isn't good for momma or for baby!

Milestones: Third Trimester! (Technically, I think I hit it last week, but I'm still excited about it.)

Emotions: Joy. Terror. Everything in between. :) Mostly happiness, though.