Week 38

I had my 38 week appointment today.  My midwife went ahead and did an exam because of some somewhat stronger contractions and some pressure I've been feeling.  But mainly because when they asked if I wanted her to, I said yes!  I'm just so curious to see if anything is progressing.  :)  She told me that I'm about 70% effaced and a "fingertip" dilated (which I found out means only about 1/2 centimeter).  She could feel the baby's head, and in fact even poked at it a little, which I found kinda weird.  So, really not a lot of exciting news, but I was happy to just know something!  And, although not much, there seems to be some progress being made, so that is fun. 
The pressure I referred to earlier has been totally annoying.  Since my last appointment I have had this constant feeling of pressure (for lack of a better description) on my pelvis.  I told Jeff it feels like I just got done riding a horse or something.  So, I just figured that meant baby P had finally "dropped".  Which might be true to an extent, but another thing my midwife told me at my appointment today was that baby was at -2 "pelvic station", as far as the head being engaged.  (There is a scale that runs from -5 or "floating" basically, to 0 which is fully engaged, all the way to +5 which means the baby's head has crowned and you are well into active labor). 

Anyway, here are some updates for the week:
Sleep:  Sleeping is still pretty awful for me anymore.  Just can't get comfortable no matter what.

Cravings:  Blueberry Eggo Waffles with peanut butter and maple syrup and a tall glass of milk.  Start every morning out that way.  :)

Best moment this week:  There were a few really good moments this week.  And a a couple really bad moments.  To start with the bad, we lost Jeff's grandmother on Thursday last week (9/16).  She was a wonderful wonderful lady and she will be missed greatly.  Here is a link to her obituary if interested.  I am sad that she didn't get to live to see her 3rd great-grandchild born (and possibly her first great-grand daughter, if Baby P is a girl).  But I'm happy that she lived such a long healthy life, and didn't suffer before she passed.
On a happier note, we had a really fun get-together with friends and some family on Friday night over at Katie's house for the Baby Petersen betting pool.  Katie put together an awesome set up to gather guesses on Baby P's arrival and stats (sex, weight, height).  I think last I heard the pool was up to $62 so, someone is going to walk away a lucky winner!!  And the polls are still open, I believe, if anyone is still interested in placing your bet.  :)

Movement:  I actually think Baby P is moving around more lately.  But that could be partially because I tend to notice the movement more when I'm at home for some reason.  I think I'm just too preoccupied while I'm at work or something.  And since I took a few bereavement days these last couple days, I think I was noticing Baby P squirm around a lot more.  Either way, one new thing I've been noticing is what I can only describe as Baby P shaking it's head yes and no.  I swear sometimes it's trying to twist around in there but can't quite get comfortable (me either, Baby P!).  It's not a very fun feeling though...in fact it down-right hurts!  I still love to feel the squirms and punches though...there's no denying that!

Labor Signs:   I already spoke of the only labor signs so far (pressure on pelvis, a few stronger contractions).

What I Bought This Week:  Bought a couple of parts I needed for the breast-pump.  And ordered a fun little play mat thing for Baby P on Kidswoot. 

What I Checked off my To-Do List:  I actually checked off the last item on my to-do list this weekend.  What a great feeling!  Although, I have since thought of a couple other things I need to do, pretty much everything is ready to go.  Which is super nice, so hopefully Jeff and I can enjoy some time just being us these last few weeks (days??).  I keep bugging him to pack his bag for the hospital....hopefully by my next post he will have done that.  ;)

I'm looking forward to some sisterly and motherly bonding time this weekend with Mary, Rachel and my momma!  We are going for pedicures on Saturday, which I am super excited about!  And I think there was talk of preparing some meals for me to freeze before Baby P's arrival.  I think that was the plan...so hopefully there's time to get at least a meal or two done this weekend.

Here are a couple of new pictures of the nursery which is officially finished!!  WOO HOO!!

Picture of the rocking chair corner next to the crib...

A close up of the little side table Jeff made.  Just big enough for the monitor and a glass of water for me while I nurse in the rocking chair...

Here you can see the fun square frames we painted and the ottoman Jeff made (it's a cube that the top comes off for storage inside!!)...

Picture of the changing station all finished and the shelves Jeff built to rest our family pictures and knick-knacks on...

We added a bar to the closet for extra hanging room.  I don't have a ton of clothes yet for Baby P since we don't know if it's a boy or girl, but I'm sure this closet will fill quickly once the little booger arrives!  You can see the entire top shelf is filled with all our diapers right now...

Here's a close up of the fun little clothing spacers for organization.  I just LOVE how these turned out!...

Here's a better picture of all the diapers we were so blessed to get from family and friends!...

Week 37

Officially considered full-term!  Hooray!  It's so weird to think any day now we could be parents!!  So exciting.

Here are my updates for the week:
Maternity clothes:  Thanks for the advice from everyone on the nursing bras.  I ended up liking the couple that I ordered online last week, but want to wait to buy anymore till I see how it goes with sizes and stuff.  At least I have a couple to get me thru the beginning. 

Sleep:  Sleeping has been pretty much down right terrible lately.  I can't seem to stay asleep for longer than an hour or so.  This is either because I have to get up to pee or because I'm just so dang uncomfortable anymore.  I was sick over the weekend though too, so a lot probably has to do with that. 

Cravings: Fruit! 

Best moment this week:  Getting to watch my nephew Owen.  Even though I wasn't feeling the greatest, he can always put a smile on my face!

Movement:  Baby P is still moving around quite a bit, which I am glad about.  I think that will be one of the things I miss most when I am not pregnant anymore.  It is just such a cool feeling. 

Labor Signs:  Nothing in particular.  I had my appointment yesterday where I thought I was going to start having exams to see how progress is going, but I found out they don't do those until 39 weeks.  Unless of course I'm showing signs of labor before then.  So, I'll have to wait a couple more weeks to find out anything more.  She did feel my stomach for the baby's position and said that the head is now partially engaged!  So, that is exciting.  Headed in the right direction at least...  On a side note, they also said my blood pressure was slightly elevated.  Nothing to be alarmed about yet, but a little scary as that can be a sign of preeclampsia.  Eek!

What I Bought This Week:  I haven't bought much more since my last post, but we received the last few items I had ordered online off our registry (which included a second set of sheets for the crib and changing pad and our second car seat base). 

What I Checked off my To-Do List:  Again, not a whole lot since my last post.  I was pretty much a complete bum all weekend since I didn't feel good.  But we have lots on the agenda for this week already.  Hope I'm feeling up to it all!  :)

Pregnancy Pictures

Here are some pictures that Mary's sister-in-law, Janan, took for us back in early July (I was about 28 weeks in these).  I thought a lot of them turned out great, so I was happy she offered to do this for us. 
If you're reading this...Thanks Janan!

You can see I liked a lot of the black & white ones.  But the color ones are great too...

Week 36

Getting close!  Less than 4 weeks till D-day.  I'm so curious at this point if baby will come early at all, or if perhaps we'll go past our due date.  People ask all the time if we are ready and I never know how to answer that question exactly.  Because in some ways, I am definitely ready, but in others, I am definitely NOT ready.  If that question means are we ready as far as having all the necessary items needed for baby, then the answer is yes.  Of course we have a few odds n' ends things left to do, but if baby were to arrive today, I am pretty confident that we have everything we need to have (at least I think we do).
And if that question means, am I physically ready?  I'd have to say yes also.  I know I'm lucky that I've had a fairly easy pregnancy so far, but I feel like I am ready to be done with this pregnant body.  It will be nice to be able to breath comfortably, not have sore feet, swollen ankles, a gigantic belly, etc.  And especially nice to not have to hear anymore people tell me how huge I am.  I'm definitely tired of all of that.  But then I catch myself and try to remember that unless we have a second baby, I may never be pregnant again in my life and these last 9 months really have gone quite quickly, so I shouldn't wish them away just yet.
But, if the question of whether we are ready means are we ready for baby to be here, alive and physically in our arms, ready for all the diapers and feedings and restless nights??  I'd have to say No...not quite yet.  At least for me.  I'm not sure about Jeff.  I'm just really starting to get scared that I won't be any good at this parenting thing.  And I probably shouldn't admit this out loud, but I'm also scared that I won't enjoy it.  Isn't that a terrible thing to say?  I'm not saying that I don't think I will enjoy it, because I really can't see that actually happening.  But I can't help but wonder...am I going to love being a mom?  I think I will love it, but can anyone really know how they will feel once they have a baby?  I mean, my life is about to change one thousand percent.  And as excited as I am about that, you have to admit, it's a pretty scary realization to come to.  And again...how can anyone know how they will feel when their life has turned upside down, inside out and backwards?  I guess we'll just have to see.  :)
I'd also have to answer No, if the question of whether we are ready meant do we have our bags packed for the hospital, a birthing plan in place, and all our "ducks-in-a-row" so to speak.  I'm actually hoping to get some more things planned out and written down yet this week.  We had our third prenatal class tonight where we took a tour of the hospital birthing center, which I was really excited about, and found helpful.  Next week we will go over our birth plans and what-to-pack sheets in more detail as well.  Tomorrow we meet with the midwives for our 36 week appointment, and from here on out we will see them every week.   I have a whole list of questions for tomorrow's appointment too!

Anyway, here's my update for the week...

Maternity clothes:  Went on a hunt for nursing bras over the weekend.  No luck.  Found one at JC Penny that was ok, but I thought was a little on the expensive side.  So, I ordered some online yesterday and will have to see how they work out.  Anyone have any suggestions on this?  Found any perfect and inexpensive nursing bras?  Do tell!

Sleep:  Definitely not sleeping thru the night at all anymore.  Wake up at least 2 times a night to use the bathroom.  Last Friday I had a nightmare shortly after I went to bed...even woke Jeff up because apparently I was screaming (I was screaming in my dream but Jeff said it sounded more like yelling and moans, than a scream).  Anyway, after that I woke up about every hour and eventually moved to the couch about 5 AM.  I started getting really worried because I was having trouble feeling the baby move, even after I poked at it for about an hour.  I finally went back into the bedroom to wake Jeff up because I was so scared, but I eventually felt baby moving around again, so I was able to get some sleep.  And since then all has been back to normal.  Still...your mind starts to wander and worry sets in....better get used to it, I guess.  I hear moms worry all the time! ;)

Cravings:  Still my good ole Ice Cream cravings.  I have a bowl every night....can't even remember the last time I didn't end my night with some yummy ice cream!

Best moment this week:  The three day weekend!  Jeff and I got SOOOOOO much accomplished this weekend.  We both feel great!

Movement:  Already mentioned this above under "Sleep".

Gender:  I'm going to take this one off my weekly list because it doesn't ever change.  We have no idea and not even any hunches one way or the other.  If for some reason I start to feel really strongly about the sex either way, I will be sure to post about it.

Labor Signs:  Still nothing...

What I miss:  Walking down the halls at work and not having anyone ask me how much longer I have left. Actually, I don't really mind this too much, honestly.  I just always dread the follow-up response I get all the time regarding people's thoughts on how they are SURE I won't make it till my due date because I'm just SO BIG!  Ugh...annoying.

What I Bought This Week:  We have bought LOTS of things for baby this past week.  I don't even want to list them all, but just know that there is officially pretty much not anything left on our baby registries, so that is a good feeling.  We are so blessed that we got everything we needed and wanted, and were able to purchase what was left with gift cards we received, or with exchanges we made.

What I Checked off my To-Do List:  Again, lots!  We really accomplished a lot over the 3-day weekend...too many things to list.  What a great feeling!

Ultrasound Video

It took me a while to get this posted, but here is the video from our 21 week Ultrasound.  It's kind of long, but fun to see Baby P wiggling around.  :)  Can't wait till it's wigginling in my arms!