Friday, January 30, 2015

39 Weeks

How many weeks?: 39 Weeks

How big is baby?: Mini Watermelon - 20 inches & 7.25 pounds


Gender: Girl


Weight Gain: I have gained 35 pounds total. 


Maternity Clothes: Sweat pants and the same shirts. Pretty much just have about 3 outfits at this point. Even my sweat pants are feeling super tight on me right now! :( I can't wait to for my sweats and yoga pants to fit better once baby is born.


Nursery: Besides two boxes I need to go through in the closet, the nursery is done. I said this last week. Oh well. We also got the cute rug, a teal lamp, and another wall art picture! :)


Symptoms: Not sleeping well. Belly too big to sit comfortably at times. My belly is very itchy and almost painful. I have stretch marks on my lower tummy, and a little bit going down my inner thigh. I do put body butter (coconut oil/shea butter) on everyday, but it's caused by genetics. 


Cravings: We had Mongolian Grill last week - yay! I want it again though ha. We won't be going because it is kind of pricey. However, my birthday is in March so I know that I can go there postpartum (as well as a nursing mom) and be able to get a lot of food... My stomach will have a lot more room!!


Sleep: I'm just going to say "9th month of pregnancy" and that should sum it up.


What I Miss: Being comfortable.


Best Moment This Week: We got to take maternity photos and my sister in law had her baby a few weeks early so we met him!


What am I looking forward to?: Baby's arrival - I'm the type of person that likes plans and knowing what's going on. I can be spontaneous, but I am much more of a planner. 


Next Appointment: February 2nd for my 39th week appointment.


Additional Notes: 

  • I gave in got my cervix checked. On January 27th I was not dilated - 0, but my cervix was thin. 

Friday, January 23, 2015

38 Weeks

How many weeks?: 38 Weeks

How big is baby?: Leek - 19.75 inches & 6.8 pounds


Gender: Girl


Weight Gain: I have gained 34 pounds total. 


Maternity Clothes: Sweat pants and the same shirts. Pretty much just have about 3 outfits at this point.


Nursery: Besides two boxes I need to go through in the closet, the nursery is done. Oh, and we are waiting on a rug (it's on it's way) and need to get a lamp at some point (probably after she is born).





Symptoms: I can't sleep at night. I wake up often and pee every 2 hours. My body feels tired and uncomfortable. I am getting huge. My body is ready.


Cravings: I really want Mongolian Grill. I've been waiting forever to get it, but it's never the right time. Was supposed to go tonight, but after Jesse's week at work I am not going to drag him out. Maybe we can go tomorrow.


Sleep: Sleep?! I finally got decent sleep last night when I took Tylenol PM. 


What I Miss: Having a body with no bump. 


Best Moment This Week: Almost have the house all nice and clean and organized. 


What am I looking forward to?: Finishing the house up.


Next Appointment: January 27th for my 38th week appointment.


Additional Notes: 

  • Midwife said baby girl is close to the 7 pound mark when she felt her at the appointment on the 20th.
  • My sister in law was due 3 days before me. She had her baby boy this morning!! It's getting real. Our's will be here within 4 weeks - at the absolute latest.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Laundry Room to Bathroom

We have been in the process of remodeling our house since we bought it. Or should I call it fixing it up? Anyways, one of the areas we are working on is turning the laundry room into a second bathroom with a washer and dryer. It is actually going to get finished next week. We need to get sheet rock, paint, a fan, a heater, and finish adding the fixtures to the bathtub and sink. Once that is complete it will be done! So glad to get this done before baby comes. Construction around here always sucks as it seems to interfere with the plumbing and/or water. While they are working on this they will have to turn the water heater off/on some of the days as well as disconnect the washer and dryer. I can't wait to have the plumbing/laundry area/water heater not messed with for a long time. We have gone through having to repipe the whole house, having contractors here when there were no doors on the only bathroom, having tile put in bathrooms - thus removing toilets. All the while I am at home and pregnant. Luckily I didn't have a newborn with more laundry during this. Here is the progress so far:

This is what it looked like when we moved in:

Water Heater side
Washer and Dryer side
This is during the re-pipe of the whole house and to add plumbing to this room:
Water heater side
Facing the washer/dryer side. One door goes out the back and one goes to the house.
This is what the room currently looks like:
Water heater side - now includes new stackable w/d and a working toilet!! :)
Now there is a shower and a sink on the other side of the room!
You can see from the photos that we still need the insulation/walls, but you can also see the tile is done and it is coming along.

We have a contractor starting Monday to finish the room out so hopefully I can show a finished room at the end of next week! :) I'll also try to show other parts of the house and how we have transformed them.

36 weeks

36 weeks
How many weeks?: 36 Weeks

How big is baby?: Honeydew Melon - 18.75 inches & 5.75 pounds


Gender: Girl


Weight Gain: I have gained 30 pounds total. 


Maternity Clothes: The last thing I bought were my 2 thermal shirts. I did not and will not buy maternity pants. I've been living in my leggings and yoga pants. They are actually getting super tight around my hips/tummy so I have resorted to sweat pants and hubby's pj bottoms (when home of course!). I do put on my yoga pants if we are going some place nice though. I just deal with it to look somewhat nice.


Nursery: I can't believe I am still here saying it's not complete! I just finished washing the last batch of laundry I am hoping. I had to wash all of her clothes, a billion blankets, bedding, car seat cover, boppy... my goodness, just so much to wash when you wash it all. I have everything 6+ months in 3 different boxes and will not be washing those items until she reaches those sizes. I figured I would end up re-washing them anyways if they sat in a box that long.


Symptoms: Oh there are so many symptoms. Ugh! I can't sleep at night. I wake up often and pee every 2 hours. It really sucks. I debate going back to bed once Jesse leaves as I can't tell if it will be worth it. I can't roll over in bed, I have to push up with my feet to lift myself into the air to turn. It is too uncomfortable and hard to just "roll". I have felt period like cramping the last week and TMI (the area down there feels sore for no reason). My body feels tired and uncomfortable. I often have trouble in the mornings and feel super fatigued and lightheaded. I went to church 2 weeks ago even though I felt really faint. I had a hard time the whole service. I ended up feeling the same last Sunday and decided to skip it. I really hate doing that, but knowing what happened last time... it didn't just go away. My hair is absolutely gorgeous and I love it!! Oh and I am always hot when I sleep. We have been using one comforter the last few nights (I washed the heated blanket we use but don't turn on) and I set the temp for 64 degrees and I still need my legs out of the blanket half the night. 


Cravings: I have been craving hamburgers and fries, fruit juice, and scrambled eggs. I know my body needs more protein, so I am really trying to give it what it needs.


Sleep: Sleep?! Where can I find this?


What I Miss: Sleep.


Best Moment This Week: We met with a 
pediatrician on Tuesday and will go with her. 

What am I looking forward to?: Having our little girl and bringing her home.


Next Appointment: January 13th. This is the first of my weekly appointments.


Additional Notes: 

  • According to the last appointment she is head down and ready to go. I have kicks on the right and her bottom is on the left. She is facing away from me since the placenta is anterior, but she is in the best position for anterior. Hopefully she moves around during labor so I don't have bad back labor. Either way, she is head down and that is what she needs to be to give birth.
  • We have finished getting most of her things as of now. We only need to get a diaper/trash bin, clothes hamper, and a rug for her room.
  • We are having to switch insurances as of the 1st of the year. We are getting all the information over to them today I am hoping. This also means we should be eligible for a breast pump. Our old insurance was grandfathered, so no breast pump at all. We had to switch insurances with Jesse's promotion... unfortunately the old insurance was better and free since he was union with only a $300 deductible. This one has a monthly deduct from payroll and has like a $2500 deductible. Too bad the birth wasn't before the insurance change.
  • We ordered some props for Emily's newborn photos! :) I am so excited to get these photos done when she is 4-7 days old. Jesse/daddy is our own professional photographer. We even have the whole studio setup for it!
  • One of my favorite parts about being pregnant is not having to worry about my weight gain or body issues. I told myself as long as I didn't go past 35 pounds (max of normal weight gain) I would be perfectly happy. If you are pregnant you will gain weight, and I gladly accepted it and have no regrets. I have eaten what I want and love it. It was oddly invigorating and strange to come to January 1st and not make a diet attempt. Everyone is talking about getting back on track and I say pass the brownies please and thank you! ;) I may go over 35 pounds by a pound or two as I have gained more weight the last trimester than the rest of the pregnancy. Emily has another 2-3 pounds left to gain so there is a possibility of going over. I will be okay with that. I am close enough. 
  • As part of our birth plan, we are not allowing visitors during our stay at the birthing center. This has been a bit of a shock, especially for my family, but it's what we want. I want peace and quiet and just the company of my incredible partner. I imagine it would be a different story if I went to the hospital, got an epidural and just had an easy enough birth without much pain. But I am planning to go natural and need the room to be dim lit, without much noise, and my husband next to me. In our birthing class I learned that I need to fake sleep by relaxing (laying down with eyes closed) between contractions in order to keep my energy up. My birthing center also discharges 3-6 hours after the birth. Just enough time to get mommy and baby looked at, do the first latch and then get up to pee. Once I am able to get up and pee, we can get packed up and head out. With an epidural of course you stay longer at a hospital because you can't even stand up right away. 
  • I have been stressing out the last few months about having visitors after the baby comes. I really want to enjoy the first few weeks with my husband and our new baby. I am really hoping to not have people over all of the time. I will be sore, tired, and not wanting to share MY baby with everyone else all the time. I hope people make their visits short and sweet, and anything longer then they should be helping around the house and not being a baby hog.
  • I totally forgot there are at least 2 more loads of laundry to do - I need to wash my new woven wrap and wash all my cloth diapers. I ordered 4 prefolds and 2 fitted diapers off a diaper swap on FB. They are the green mountain diaper brand and I wanted to try them out. If I like them, I'll get more. I have quite a few others a friend gave us - lots of fuzzibunz size small, 2 thirsties, 2 blueberries, and 1 bumgenius. I also have one fitted I bought from a small company here in Tacoma. I was told not to get all of the same ones until I see what works. So that's what I have.
  • I have also started taking gentle birth per my midwife's advice. You start at 35 weeks and take it daily to help your uterus do little contractions to help strengthen it. It supposedly helps when you go into labor. Your uterus should be stronger and I should have a faster labor. I hope it works. I don't want a super long labor. I have heard of people being in labor for 48 hours. I'd prefer less haha.
  • I made a list for our labor/post birth bag. I'll be doing 2 bags. One for just the labor portion and then one for the post birth. Jesse can run out to the car once Emily comes for the second bag. I just don't want to haul in too much right away. The labor bag will have a lot less things in it - snacks, some clothing pieces (planning to labor in the tub), and a few other things. I am really excited about the huge water jug with a straw I found on amazon. It looks like a hospital one. I got it because the birthing center doesn't provide everything like the hospital and I know I will need a lot of water. I already am thirsty ALL of the time.
    Hoping this isn't too big for a going home outfit. It's 0-3 months.
    Large Water Container - Yeah!

Well, that sure was a lot for one week, but I haven't been posting many weekly pregnancy blogs. We have been busy around here, and every time I think about posting something I think - should I take the time to do that or work on the dishes/laundry that needs to be done. You can see what has been winning out.