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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Week 36

It's here. The week by which I should have already packed my bug out bag is upon us and guess what? I only have socks and nipple cream in my bag. Yes, I just shared probably a little too much but at this point in the pregnancy, I really don't care. I figured I've already lost the readers that have "boundaries".


Poor quality picture tonight. We had the camera but B turned it on and noticed it was it was dead. Neither of us wanted to go get the full battery. We're going to make such awesome parents.

This week Baby B is the size of a honeydew. Weight and length haven't made many improvements over the last week but that's ok because I'm running out of room. The baby is starting to make his way "down the shoot" as B likes to phrase it. What he means is the baby is starting to descend further into my pelvis in preparation for delivery.

I went to my OB yesterday for my first weekly appointment and they did my GBS test. I'll get those results back on Friday so I'll update you next week. He asked me all the normal questions but, again, added a new shocking on in just to make sure I was paying attention. He asked if I would like to plan to have my membranes stripped to help speed up the end of my pregnancy. Stripping membranes is when a physician uses a finger to basically separate the water bag from the cervix which releases prostaglandins to help induce labor. This method is definitely not a sure way to start labor but if everything is progressing well, it shouldn't harm a pregnancy either. But either way, I freaked out. I'm totally not ready for this baby to show up any earlier than we have planned.

Then he gave me the fantastic (sarcasm) news that I'm 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced. Effacement is when the cervix is thinning out top to bottom. When the cervix is 100% effaced, labor is right around the corner. *Barf*

After all this excitement, we headed downtown and ate at a great burger joint and headed to Ikea for some retail therapy which consisted of a dresser for the baby's room. Have you ever bought a dresser from Ikea? Yeah, it's like doing a 1,000 piece puzzle without the picture. Great fun.

The good: Baby is starting to drop so I can now breathe a little bit easier. I don't feel myself getting out of breath as easy anymore. I'm beginning to feel the nesting urges, which I'm sure makes B ultra happy, so I want to get everything ready for baby's arrival.

The bad: Seeing how the baby has dropped a bit, it now feels like someone takes a taser to my lady bits every hour or so. More often when the baby active. Not fun at all. I'm also having painful contractions. They aren't too bad right now. I'm usually able to make the pain go away so I know it isn't true labor just yet. Keyword, "yet". Oh and I still sleep horribly. Poor B calls his extra blanket on the bed his "survival blanket". I, however, sleep in a t-shirt and sometimes pull the sheet up. The a/c is still on 72 and I'll leave the fan on as long as he doesn't come home with divorce papers. I stand my ground.

That's all the excitement I have for now. I have another appointment next week but I'll try to post before that one. I'm also still trying to talk B into posting a little something but I'm not having any luck. He claims to better things to do like install carseat bases, look up child safety gates and pack bug out bags. Buzz kill.

-W

Friday, September 20, 2013

Week 35 *barf*

Week 35 is upon us and I'm not sure what to think. For some reason I look at this week as being the "baby could come at any time" mark. It isn't too far from the truth. Our hospital policy is that babies born after 36 weeks are just considered low birth weight and, if healthy enough, can stay on postpartum with the moms. Which basically means, next Monday, I'm pretty safe for delivery.

I also went to the OB for my last bi-weekly appointment and the physician said the baby is measuring about a week ahead of schedule and if I were to go into labor right now, I'd be safe and he wouldn't stop me. Of course, that was at the 34 week appointment.

I have another appointment this Tuesday and this will begin my weekly appointments. This week he is going to do a swab for my GBS status. GBS stands for Group Beta Strep and is a bacteria that lives in a woman's vaginal and rectal areas. If passed to the baby during delivery, the baby can become sick and need antibiotics. Fingers crossed for a GBS negative status!!


This week, Baby B is about the size of a coconut. She weighs in now at 4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measuring 17.2 to 18.7 inches long. Her hearing is fully developed now and responds best to higher pitched noises. That's a good thing because her eye sight will not be fully developed at birth so she'll at least be able to hear me. She's also beginning to beef up a little more in preparation for her big arrival.

The Good: We installed our car seat bases this week which was pretty exciting. Now no matter what vehicle I waddle to when I go into labor, we'll have a base installed for the baby's first ride home. The OB also told me the weight from the previous week probably wasn't accurate and even though it looks like I've lost weight this week, I'm actually right on track.

We had a baby shower with work friends last week as well which was amazing. After the shower was over, I took B on a tour of our labor and delivery unit and the postpartum unit so he could feel a little more comfortable when we arrive. Of course, he asked tons of questions, which I'm so excited about, and got a grasp of what is to come. At the end, we turned in our preregistration form so when we get there, all we have to do is check in and get an arm band.

I also ordered about 6 more cloth diapers this week and they came in the mail. My favorite is definitely the red, black and white plaid ones. Now the baby has panties for the Dawg games!

The Bad: I'm really beginning to get uncomfortable. My Braxton Hicks contractions have started to become more frequent which makes me feel like I have to sit up straight all the time. I'm also starting to have the "real deal" contractions which aren't all that fun at all. Of course, I'm only having one or two a day so I'm still a long way away from delivery.

And of course, the very possible worst happened. I saw my first stretch mark while getting in the shower one night. Ok, so maybe it isn't the worst that could happen but it still made me sad. B doesn't understand why I'm not just embracing the stretch marks as a small side effect of the much more important human that I'm growing. While I'm incredibly impressed at what my body has been able to endure during the last 8 months, it's also a little sad knowing that I now have "tattoos" that are going to be staring me back in the face every day.

The next day, B sent me this link. Check it out. I'm pretty amazed.

Until next time!

-W

Monday, September 9, 2013

Week 34

Expectations need to, once again, be lowered. I feel so horrible about not posting last week that I'm not worried about making this week's picture all pretty and fancy. I worked today and I work again tomorrow so this is all you're getting. Take it or leave it.... but please don't leave. K? Love you!


 Oh jeez. What a horrible picture. Thanks, B. Week 34 is upon us and I'm really feeling the pressure. Pressure in my bladder, lungs and in life as I try and make sure things are ready for Baby B. This week, that sweet thang is about the size of a butternut squash. A lot of the stuff I've been reading says the baby can be up to 5 pounds by now. That's a little larger than I had expected at this point. The baby can also recognize songs that I sing. The ones that are sang more often may actually grab her attention when she's here. Maybe I should start filtering what I'm singing. I catch myself singing and/or humming You Are My Sunshine a lot.

The Good: We're almost to the end!! YAY! I can't believe we're in week 34. I see the OB this week and then one more bi-weekly appointment and we'll be going weekly.

The Bad: Sleep is a thing of the past. Seriously, I'm not sure when the last time was that I slept through the night. I pee at least twice and it takes forever to actually get out of bed not to mention getting back in bed and settled. I'm also getting really stiff all over. I'm sure it has a lot to do with where the baby is laying which causes certain nerves to be pinched and other areas to swell. Who knows, I just don't like it.

As you can tell from the picture, me and B have been working on another project. I'm kind of getting tired of constantly working on a room in our house. It doesn't feel like things have been settled since we moved in. This time it was pretty simple. All we did was slap a little paint on the walls and bought an actual bedroom suit, thanks to all the Labor Day sales. I must say, it was hard to convince B a king size bed was much needed but it was well worth all the hard work.

Here's where we started.


The way the room looked before wasn't horrible but It just didn't feel warm and cozy. Here's where we are now. *Note: The room still isn't finished*


We definitely need a new bedspread. Matching lamps would be nice. Nightstands that are the height of the new bed would be great as well. Pictures on the walls. We still have a ways to go but we'll get there.

My parents came over on Saturday to watch the UGA game with us. They brought along their amazing and totally cute lab, Charlie. I LOVE HER!

Charlie gets interested in cameras.


And then she invades your personal space.


And on that bombshell... Goodnight!!

-W