Belly Sunday

Sorry I forgot to post yesterday...

Here we are at 36 weeks, 5 days!

Sheeeeeeeeeesh! this morning she felt SO LOW and my hips hurt last night worse than they ever have. Think we're getting closer!!! (well, i know we're getting closer, just not sure how close!)

wish i would have cleaned the mirror some before i took these, its dusty. oh well.

she may be on her way!!! 36 weeks

I very well could be writing to you all 4 weeks from now, on my due date, wishing what I am about to write would have come true.... but I'm going to pretend like I don't believe in jinxes and write it anyway:

This morning we went to have our car seat installed/inspected at the fire dept. then picked up some lunch and headed to the doctor. Somewhere between waiting in the car at Costco for matt to get some things and sitting in the parking lot eating at Sonic, I started having contractions. By the time we got to the doctor they were about 3 minutes apart but I was still talking through them and they werent too painful.

I had a normal, routine check up and Dr. Twedt checked me. She said i'm a good 3 cm and 80% effaced. (Last Wednesday I was 2 and 80%) She can feel the baby's head pretty low. I asked her how soon she thinks she'll be here and she said "Within the week" I said "ONE week?!" and she said "Yeah. Two, max!" She said baby is measuring still about a week ahead, has a great heartbeat, and everything looks perfect. If she wants to come now, that is fine with her! I am off of bed rest and don't have to take the Procardia anymore. I told her about the contractions (which I happened to be having right then) and she felt my belly and looked at me and said "Yep! I may even be seeing you later tonight!"

It's so crazy that we could potentially be meeting our daughter within the week!!!! Matt and I were talking on the way home, wondering, had I progressed to 3 cm (from 2) just since I was having these contractions, or had it slowly happened over the past week. I guess we will soon find out. This was all about an hour ago, and I am laying here in bed with the dogs, still having contractions.

You'd think when I got off bed rest I would be out of bed, but I hardly slept at all last night and really need a nap! I will be up and about later!

Perhaps next time I write to you, I'll be a mommy or perhaps I'll be crying, reading this in 28 days saying "WHY DIDNT YOU COME THEN?! PLEASE COME OUT!"

ahhhhhhhhhhh! the anticipation is killing me :)

Belly Saturday

35 weeks 4 days

35 weeks, yall!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far along? 35 weeks 2 days

Size of the Baby? large cantaloupe.. honeydew melon

Maternity Clothes? today i put on "real clothes" (maternity) and not pajamas for the first time and they make my belly look even BIGGER!! I feel my 10 year old self walking around with a basketball under my shirt just pretending im pregnant.

Gender? girl

Movement? the lower half of my stomach never moves. i was told Wednesday (by the dr) that's bc she's already "dropped" into my pelvis and isnt really able to move her head (locked and loaded) but that from about her chest down she is totally movable (duh!) i get jabs to the ribs all day... her bony butt sits about 4 in. above my belly button and it feels bruised from being stretched out, and i get elbows to the sides a lot :)

Sleep? still bad. this week, there's only been one night i've fallen asleep before 6 am. Sheesh!!!! the other morning I fell asleep at 6 but was up 4 times between then a 9am going to the bathroom. My hips hurt SO FREAKIN BAD. i have to roll over every 30 min or so to get some relief. between going to the bathroom and changing positions, it seems as though i'll never sleep. Luckily, I have no where to be/go every day so I sleep from about 8:30 am to noon. I dont know why it's easier to sleep then.

Cravings? Still eating Philly Swirls (italian ice) a lot. Pancakes. Chocolate chip cookies.

Symptoms? new development this week: carpal tunnel. my left wrist hurts pretty bad. same ol: hip pain. back pain. pressure when i walk (feels like she's gonna fall out, so the waddle is in full effect). some sciatica still (shooting pain down my inner thigh..all the way to my knee!!.. caused by baby pressing against my sciatic nerve)

What I miss? there have been a couple of nights this week I could have definitely enjoyed a nice cold beer.

Milestones? 5 more days of bed rest, yall!!!! Then you BEST believe this mama is gettin OUTTA the house.

Weight Gain? hit the 20 mark this week!!

What I’m nervous about? How big she is getting. She's heavy. and big. and she has to come out, folks. Yikes.

What I’m excited about? My first baby shower that was cancelled is rescheduled for this Saturday and I have another one on Sunday!! Two baby showers this weekend!!!!! Im so excited!!!!

Baby Center Update for Week 35: Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basicphysical development is now complete – he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

nursery update part 2

Monday night, mom and I spent from 5:30 to midnight trying to finish up loose ends in the nursery. Or should I say... Mom did all the work while I sat in the glider and pointed and laughed and consulted. Haha, thanks mom!! All that's really left is to put pictures in frames, over the changing table (this is the only thing i dont have pictures of bc its not really done), mount the camera for the monitor, hang art work her Aunt Kelleigh is painting, and put a baby in there! :)

Here are some pictures from our night:

the new tutu lamps mom got her :) so cute!

showing off her hard work!

the whole wall..

touching up a coat of paint on the door

working on the paper lanters and pom poms over the crib

close to done.. still need to tweak a few things

And Cooper and Annie had to be part of the action, too. Even though they acted incredibly bored

It's looking pretty close (color-wise, anyway) to my ORIGINAL nursery inspiration picture, i think! :)

UPDATE: i am annoyed looking at this post bc the pictures are dark and the walls look green or something. I will take real pics w my real camera (and not my phone) when its all said and done!

34 Weeks :)

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far along? 34 weeks 3 days

Size of the Baby? large cantaloupe

Maternity Clothes? more like matts pajama pants and t-shirts... that's what bed rest has done to me

Gender? girl

Movement? still moving all the time, despite all the pregnancy apps and blogs saying she should stop moving so much due to running out of room. her movements actually hurt sometimes, now. headbutt's to the bladder...sharp elbows in my sides.... heels under my ribs. she is having a grand ol' time in there. feels like shes ready to get out!

Sleep? terrible. miserable. awful. being in the hospital for four nights and on bed rest for the past week have made my sleep schedule pretty wonky in the first place. you aren't THAT tired at night after laying around all day. however, last night was the worst of them all. by this time, my body is producing a lot of a hormone called Relaxin that loosens your joints to prepare for birth. my left hip and shoulder are really feeling the effects. combined with the weight from my belly, it makes it miserable laying on my side at night. but that's the only way i can sleep (not on my back or stomach). so i just switch sides all night long and choose which hurts less. last night i didnt fall asleep til 5:30 am and only slept on and off for 30 min intervals. I guess thats ONE good thing about being on bed rest, i dont have anywhere to be and can try to nap throughout the day.

Cravings? Phillie Swirls (they are italian ice cups from bilo) ive eaten a whole box in three days. so good! strawberries. orange juice and apple juice.

Symptoms? haha. everything in the book? leg cramps. sore and achy joints. contractions. shortness of breath. headache occasionally. back pain to the max. HEAVY belly, haha. she feels so big in there!

What I miss? sleeping comfortably. sitting comfortably. putting on my shoes and socks easily.

Milestones? making it to 34 weeks was a great milestone after all thats happened! the doctors kept telling us 34 weeks is a great milestone, 36 weeks is an EXCELLENT milestone. So I hope she'll stay in until February 1st!

Weight Gain? 19 lbs. wheeeewwww

What I’m nervous about? i had a nightmare that i hemorrhaged after delivery and all the blood loss made me pass out and i didnt get to see the baby for a long time. i woke up woozy. this is my worst nightmare. i already cant deal well with blood, particularly blood leaving my body (like giving blood, or cutting myself). the blood that is going to be on the baby and come out with placenta and everything, i am prepared for. that is normal and supposed to be there. but excessive or unexpected blood loss would for sure make me pass out so i am PRAYING my placenta detaches normally and everything goes smoothly.

What I’m excited about? Finally a baby shower this saturday!!! my first one got postponed bc i had just gotten out of the hospital and we were unsure what was going on. Think it's been rescheduled for next Saturday and I also have one next Sunday! So that will be a fun weekend!

Baby Center Update for Week 34: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers – which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born – are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her 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.

is there a stronger word than thankful?

Just a week ago today, we were in the hospital, being briefed by the head NICU neonatologist on what to expect should Mary Tyler arrive within the next 48 hrs (as they were expecting). You can imagine the panic/excitement/nervousness/worry/etc. One of my stressors was that the house wasn't clean... the nursery wasn't ready! She would most likely have to stay in the NICU for at least a week, but still. NOTHING was done!

I didn't even have to say this out loud, my mom knew. The new carpet for the nursery had to be installed Tuesday morning, so monday night while I was in the hospital, Mom, Trav, Tyler, and Janey came to the house to take care of some things for us. We had been planning on painting the baseboards Sunday night then moving the nursery furniture out so the carpet could be installed. So they came over and worked their tails off to get the carpet ripped up and boards painted and furniture moved. Also, the cleaning ladies we hired we going to come clean Wednesday morning and I was going to have to "de-clutter" in order for them to deep clean everything. SO, my family had to do that, too.

Luckily... they all took some pictures of each other to document their work for me:

here's the nursery once they got all the furniture out...

our bedroom with all the nursery furniture moved in

tyler and janey ripping up the old carpet

mom taping

Janey getting ready to paint..

new carpet.... (bad lighting)

the nursery should be completely finished by Sunday and I will post pictures then. In the meantime, I needed to give credit where credit is due and THANK my Mom for the endless work she's put in and help she's given me not just in the past 11 days but since June 17th when I found out I was pregnant. I really, seriously don't know what I'd do with her!! She keeps telling me as long as I do the same for Mary Tyler one day, she doesn't mind doing it for me. I hope I can be even half as good of a mother to my baby girl as my mommy has been to me :)

And to the rest of my family and friends who have been here for me, any little thing I need. Trav, Tyler and Janey for doing all that work... Cindy for bringing me Hardees in the hospital three mornings in a row so I didnt have to eat nasty hospital food, Kelleigh for coming over two days in a row and cleaning my entire upstairs, Dad and Susie have brought me dinner and offered to bring anything we need, truly EVERYONE has been so great. Mary Tyler is so incredibly blessed to be joining our family!

Don't even get me started on Matt, he deserves much more than a blog post. There are still two weeks of this bed rest left and I'm sure he's going to blow my mind even more than he already has As most of you know, my husband isn't normally the most patient person. He has a very short fuse before he becomes easily frustrated and irritable. These past 11 days he has been the most cool, calm, and collected I've ever seen him. Although I know there have been a few times he's been panicking inside or nervous or irritated, he hasn't shown it. He's been a wonderful caretaker, grocery shopper, dog nail trimmer, laundry man, pharmacist, masseuse, pack n play assembler, refrigerator cleaner-outer, shoe and sock putter-onner, chef, etc. He still melts my heart and I know he's going to even more when I see him with our daughter.

I've been overwhelmed several times this week just thinking about how blessed I am and how I can never express to all these people how truly grateful I am for everything. I wish there was a word stronger thank THANKFUL, but for now, that will have to do.

Thank you EVERYONE for the prayers, the meals, the phone calls and texts! I love you all and can't wait for Mary Tyler to meet you :)

-B