38

Size of baby: Baby boy weighs around 7 pounds now and is around 20 inches.  He will continue to gain about a 1/2 pound each remaining week.  

Symptoms: The shots of pelvic pain continue to come (and oftentimes at the most inconvenient times).  I find myself grabbing my crotch in the middle of a parking lot, because putting pressure there seems to help...awkward! I've felt a few contractions this past week.  They tend to come when I am on my daily walk, but don't last very long.  According to my NST this week, I had about 4 in a forty five minute span (but those I didn't feel at all).  

Progress: Just a little bit from Week 37... my cervix this week was nice and soft and I was dilated a whole whopping 1 cm.  Hey progress is progress...that's 1 cm down.  

Weight Gain:  +38 pounds  

Sleep:  I'm still getting up on average about 3 times a night to pee.  Fortunately, I have been able to fall back to sleep quite quickly.  I've had some CRAZY dreams this week, which I haven't had since the 2nd trimester.  The hips are still numb when I get up in the morning.  My hands are also numb and it's very hard to bend my fingers.  Anyone else experiencing this w/the hands?I've really been enjoying sleeping in late til like 9 or 10.  I know this won't last much longer, so I am soaking it all up!   

Maternity Clothes: I'm down to about a 3 shirt rotation now, along with a few dresses.  The others shirts just aren't long enough anymore.  It is what it is.  :) 

What I Miss: Being more active w/my husband - I miss our evening summer bike rides and tennis matches.  Since he is going back to work tomorrow, it looks like this will have to wait til next summer.  

What I'm Looking Forward To: Two NST's this week and our 39 week appointment on Friday.  This will be my last appt before our official due date.  Crazy!!!

Fun Purchases: 

I have read so many blogs of new mommies that swear the aden and anias swaddling blankets are the best because of their large size and breath-ability.  I'm super excited that my dear sister ordered me two 4 packs of them for baby boy.  

She also ordered us the storage baskets we wanted for our bookcase/organizer.  Thank you sissy!!! Here is our bookcase from The Land of Nod:

And here are the storage baskets that were ordered from PBK: (we did not embroider them)

Bump Update: A good friend of ours rented a pontoon boat for the day ...so we took it out today and it was such a relaxing, feel-good day (sad it's over).  

38 weeks & 4 days

Expecting Photos

Sorry to those of you that are my facebook friends too - because you're going to get a double showing of my favorite photos from our maternity shoot.

I'm so glad we had these done and I recommend it to any of you that are contemplating having them done or not.  The way we looked at it was that we wanted to embrace every single part of this pregnancy and what better treasure to have than photos of us together while we are awaiting our miracle.

And last, but not least...my favorite.  We ordered a canvas print of this one for the nursery.  

37

What?!?!?! I can't believe I'm actually considered "full term" now.  I'm getting pretty emotional at this point of the pregnancy.  I am so anxious for this little guy to get here safely while at the same time sad that my pregnancy is nearing its end.

Size of baby: Baby boy weighs around 6.5 pounds now.  He will continue to gain about a 1/2 pound each remaining week.  

Symptoms: Bring on the waddle!  I wouldn't characterize my movements as walking, just slow waddling.  The pelvic pain really doesn't go away anymore.  The shooting pains have diminished a bit, but now it just hurts down there all the time.  It's a bittersweet kind of pain though, because according to my doctor it means that baby boy is engaging in the pelvis and preparing for his debut.   My stomach also feels like it has reached its peak stretch wise.  I can actually feel the skin stretching and it's uncomfortable.  I wonder when the first stretch mark will surprise me?!?!?! 

Weight Gain:  +39 pounds  

Sleep:  I kind of walk around like a zombie all day because the quality of my sleep each night is really just pathetic.  Just turning over has become quite the chore.  Sometimes I have to wake my hubby up, so he can give me a firm hand to hold on to while I pull on him and turn myself over.  The toilet and I are really becoming good friends throughout the night.  We bond on average 3-4 times a night now.  I've also noticed it is more difficult to get off of the toilet, so I use the bathtub as leverage to lift myself up.   

Maternity Clothes: Running out of maternity tops to wear that still fit.  One of my husbands new jobs is to tell me when my belly is hanging out at the waist line, because my shirts are now too short.  I just refuse to buy anymore though, at this point.  I figure if the belly shows, it shows. People have the option to not look. :) 

What I Miss: Okay there is one this week that I honestly have been missing for a long time.  It is .... sleeping on my stomach!!!! I told my husband that is the first thing I am going to do when I have the opportunity to nap after baby boy is born.  

What I'm Looking Forward To: Two NST's this week and our 38 week appointment on Thursday.  Sure, I would like to hear that we've made some progress down there, but honestly I'm not expecting it.  So many of my friends are going "past due", so I have it stuck in my head this lil boy is waiting for his due date or after to arrive.  We also are taking an Infant CPR class on Wednesday and a breastfeeding class on Sunday.  

Fun Purchases: 

The BabyBjorn Organic Babysitter Balance.  This was something my husband really wanted for the baby as he likes how it promotes the baby's motor skills and balance.  We had to special order it, so it should be here in about a week. 

The other purchase we made this week was the Medela Freestyle, Hands-Free Breastpump.  I can't believe how excited I am for a breastpump...ha!  We ordered this online from Target, so it should be here by the end of next week.  I also bought some disposable breast pads, washable breast pads, and some nipple cream.  Oh joy!

Oh and we were feeling kind of sorry for Buckwheat, making all these baby purchases. So...we bought him a new bed.  :) Believe it or not, new beds really excite him...try and look past the sad face he is giving you in this picture.   

Bump Update: 37 weeks & 4 days 

The Stokke Has Landed

Our stroller arrived yesterday! (please don't mind our brown grass - we are in the middle of a drought here in the Midwest)  Buckwheat wasn't too sure about it.  He just kept sniffing it as we rolled it around the house.  Now we just need the adapter set so we can snap our car seat right into it.  Definitely plan to get the adapter this weekend and then we will be all set, travel wise.  I'm also so excited about my new diaper bag that's hanging from it, made by petunia pickle bottom. 

We had a couple of great appointments this past week at the doctor.  On Monday, I had my first NST test, which I really enjoyed.  I loved being able to listen to my little ones heart beat for a good 20 minutes.  He was very reactive and showed an increased heart rate every time he moved.  I also found out I am having contractions! The nurse asked me, did you feel that one? I was like "what one?"  She showed me on the chart where I was having contractions and I assured her I hadn't felt any of them. I freaked out a bit and she told me not to worry.  She said if I'm not feeling them, they're most likely  not powerful enough to produce any progress.

 And sure enough, she was right!  We went to my appt on Wednesday and had my cervix check - exact same as last week, no dilation and 50% effaced.  My belly was measuring 37 cm and his heartbeat was nice and strong.  The doctor could also feel that his head has started to lower into my pelvis and after the cervix check said he was at a -2 station.  This definitely explains all the pelvic pain I've been having.

I have started to pack my hospital bag, but it's definitely not complete - just bare necessities so far. My gut feeling is that I won't be needing it for a couple more weeks.  Til then, we are just finishing up some loose ends around the house and need to make a few more purchases to be fully prepared!

Every day this becomes more real. I've been dreaming of being considered "full term" for months now and here I sit...37 weeks!  It really is surreal.  :)

The "Coveted Weekly Appointments"

Whoo hoo!  I finally made it to my weekly appointments.  Today was my first at 36 weeks 2 days.  Everything is still looking great - heartbeat strong and abdomen measuring on track.  I am up 2 lbs, which puts me at +35 total now.  I had my Strep B test and results should be back in about a week.  In addition, the doctor checked my cervix...no dilation yet, 50% effaced.

We had quite a surprise when the OB walked in today.  My OB's office is a group practice, so there are 6 doctors.  Whomever is on call the day I go into labor will deliver me.  We wanted to make sure to meet all of the doctors so we weren't meeting him/her for the first time on the day of our delivery.  So today we were meeting the one doctor there that we hadn't met yet.  She walked in and my husband blurted out "I know you!"  It turns out she is a friend of his family and he grew up with her younger brother.

This turned out to work out in our favor as I felt like I had the most detailed appointment ever.  She was very sensitive to our past history with infertility and told me the anxiety I am feeling is completely normal.  She went out of her way to say that she will do anything to help relieve any of my anxiety, including letting me have NST's.  She said I definitely don't need them because I am not high risk and having such a normal, healthy pregnancy so far.  However, I figured if it helps relieve any little bit of my anxiety - it would be worth it, so we are going to start having them and see how I feel.

So we scheduled our remaining weekly appointments all the way through my delivery date.  It sure feels good knowing I will be seen every week again  (brings me back to my early pregnancy days with my RE).  In the meantime, I plan to rest up.  I've still been very, very tired.  I would have to attribute this to my sleep being interrupted all night long with my constant urges to pee.

Oh and we bought our stroller today at buy buy baby...the Stokke Xplory in red...yay! We were very excited because we had a 20% coupon for buy buy baby.  The coupon did have a lot of exclusions on it - but to our surprise did not exclude Stokke, so we were able to get quite a few dollars off of the purchase.

Lazy Summer Days

The past few days have been just that...lazy summer days.

I have been sleeping in quite late (9:30ish)...then wake up and hubby makes me breakfast.  After breakfast, I find myself napping for about another hour while I watch some daytime television from bed.  I'm pretty sure I've been so tired because I'm up so often throughout the night peeing, tossing, & turning. I figure my body is telling me I need rest and that is just what I intend to keep doing.

The afternoons have been dreamy.  Hubby and I have been just sitting outside in the shade reading side by side. I picked up a new breastfeeding book the other day and have been immersing myself in all this information that I truly know nothing about.  Hubby has been reading a book that goes over what to expect throughout baby's first year of life.  We sip away on our ice cold lemonades and share tidbits that we find interesting with one another.  I'm really grateful to have this time with him...means the world to me.

35

Since I'm 2 days shy of 36 weeks, I figured I better post my Week 35 update.  :)

Size of baby: Baby boy weighs about 5.5 pounds and is around 20 inches long. 

Symptoms: The frequency of my pelvic pains has increased.  Most of the time it hits me while I'm walking and I need to stop and put some pressure there to relieve some of the pain.  Looks pretty awkward in public though.  Last night it even was happening when I was sitting, which is new.  The doctor says this is normal and that it is the connective tissue softening and loosening to prepare for birth, so I guess I should be happy that my dear pelvis is making room for the departure of baby.  


Weight Gain:  +33 pounds - my weight gain definitely slowed down in the 3rd trimester.  I put on most of my weight in the 2nd (so far).  

Cravings: None really.  I am pretty flexible with my meal choices for breakfast and lunch.  Dinner seems to cause the most hesitation.  Nothing ever sounds good to me, so I convince my hubby to just pick something and make it.  I always eat whatever he chooses and it ends up tasting good.  But for the life of me - I can not select my own dinnertime meal.  

Aversions: Still Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing and Caprese salads.  

Sleep:  Sleeping has officially become uncomfortable.  Every time I toss and/or turn I wake up in pain because my hips have become numb from sleeping on my sides.  I'm also up 3-4 times a night to pee and it's getting harder and harder to fall right back to sleep.  I had my first cases of insomnia this past week.  

Maternity Clothes: 100% of the time.  I've even grown out of a lot of my tank tops.  They are too short and my belly peeks out at my waist line.  

What I Miss: This one will not change - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Our 36 week appt. on Thursday - first cervical check! I'm also looking forward to being able to go to the doctor every week now.  My pregnancy photos are DONE and I absolutely love them, but we are finding it difficult to find any $ in the budget right now to pay for the digital rights to them...so it may be awhile before I can share them with you.  There are just so many more things we need to buy before baby gets here...prioritizing $ sucks! Oh and I also can't wait to finish the nursery!

Special Pregnancy Moments: The nursery is really coming along.  We went to Chicago two weekends ago and bought the furniture-yay! We put up the crib, dresser, changing table, and bookshelf/organizer this past week.  I was able to go through all of my shower gifts (so blessed) and organize them and put a lot of the new things away.  This week I plan to wash his outfits, blankets, etc and get them placed in his drawers.  We've made a lot of progress, but still have a lot to do.  We still need a nursery chair, lamps, and wall hangings to complete the nursery.  Getting there! 

Bump Update: 35 weeks & 5 days 

Baby Shower River Cruise

My baby shower surpassed anything I ever imagined it would be! I don't even know how to begin to thank my sister for planning and putting it all together.  It was on June 23rd and we were blessed with amazing weather, which worked in our favor since the shower was held on a boat.  Yes, my shower was on a river cruise.  It was fully catered with brunch and champagne and included fantastic views of the city.  I was pleasantly overwhelmed with the number of family members and friends that were able to join us.  Everyone's company was the greatest gift of all on this special day.  I will never forget this day...thank you sis for making it so memorable.  Every last possible detail was just perfect! I love you so much and don't know where I would possibly be without your unconditional love, support, and encouragement over the years.  

 My wonderful mother and sister

 Me with the amazing party planner

Loading the boat

 The hydrangeas that my sister searched the whole city for

 Guests playing a game

Party favors

 My friends that I met through my local RESOLVE support group -what a blessing!

 Opening gifts

 My mother-in-law and I

 This gift was a tricycle made out of baby supplies - cutest, most creative gift I've ever seen!

The "after-party" crew