36 weeks, and 2 days left

Well, we finished our childbirth class today, and had our final meeting with our Doula. My bag is (almost) packed and I talked to the charge nurse at UofM and we are still on for the induction tomorrow. They could call us earlier if things are super slow, but they said otherwise we could expect to hear from them from 4-6 and we would go in at 7-8. My mom is set to hop on a plane at 6 am tomorrow to help us out, and now we are just relaxing. David said it is like the calm before the storm. I couldn't agree more.

4 days to go...

Today was especially productive, since our friends Joe and Megan came over to clean for us while David and I went out to eat and for ice cream. Our house looks great, and I am so stuffed from dinner. I actually can't sleep right now, and I can't figure out if that is more an effect of lots of sugar from my ice cream or excitement and pregnancy insomnia. Either way, David is getting some shut eye and I am on the internet trying to wear myself down a little.

I went for my last non-stress test and prenatal appointment today, and everything still seems fine. Even though I've been told three or four times now what I can expect on Sunday, I still feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants a little bit. I think shy of giving me a blow-by-blow of the whole labor experience, I won't feel prepared any way we go about it, so now I just feel ready to do this thing. There are so many variables (inducing four weeks early, how I'll respond to the medicine, how I'll respond to the pain, whether or not I can do it without pain relief, how long I'll hang in there, whether or not this guy wants to cooperate, how he'll do once he's born, etc) that I've finally been forced to release control and just have a baby.

Anyway, David has offered to try to keep up with updating the blog for you guys who are far, far away and are interested in knowing when he arrives. We won't do a play by play unless he's just super bored and feels so inclined, but I'm sure he'll be more able to post a picture or two (and a name!!) than I will.

5 more days...

I managed to do some grocery shopping and bathe our stinky dog today. I'm waddling more and more due to some seriously jacked up hips, which apparently runs in my family because my mom said her hip would practically come out of socket the last few weeks of her pregnancies. It sounds crazy, but it is really hard to just get around the apartment or roll over in bed right now!

The baby has moved a couple of times today in such a way that it looks like a scene out of alien, with a knee or foot or something pushing out from my belly button and sliding over to my ribs. Its weird to think that I only have a few days left of these strange feelings- then he will be in our house, in his bed, wrapped like a burrito in blankets while we frantically search for the mute button.

7 days to go...

I'm trying really hard to take advantage of this whole knowing-the-approximate-birthday-ahead-of-time thing. So I'm making lists of things I should do now while I get ready for Dr. Peanut. Today's list was:

Drop off donations at the salvation army - CHECK!
Vacuum out the car- err...not checked
Go to the hospital for non-stress test - CHECK
Find out more information about the induction - CHECK- We'll be admitted on Sunday night after all
Schedule last appointment with doula- CHECK
Get random last minute things from Target - CHECK
Finally return the snowpants I fixed for a friend's daughter - CHECK

Not on the list but still felt a sense of accomplishment:

Find a baby bag
Find a potential replacement for our red couch
Have first noticeable and recorded contraction

At least now I can say I've felt contractions, and this one was all by itself in the middle of the morning when I was having my non stress test. It was not that bad, but I realize they gradually bring you to your knees as labor progresses. At least now I'll know what I'm looking for. I also spent most of my day waddling around trying to get things done, just in case it helped me progress at all.

35 weeks

Last night I celebrated being THIS BIG AND PREGNANT by attending an ice cream tasting party that a friend had at her house. We tried five different flavors of Haagen Dazs five, and they were all amazing except for the ginger flavor- which reminded me of the suckers I ate during my first trimester to fend off the morning sickness. Yech. Also, I wore this dress at 28 weeks to my baby shower. I revived it last night after learning that I now loathe my maternity pants. All of them. And wearing the non-maternity pants is not even an option anymore, as the little buttons dig into my skin even stretched wide open over my belly. So I will probably wear the two dresses I fit into with leggings until they call me in for the induction next weekend. I've warned all of my friends to play dumb to this if they happen to see me several days in a row in the same clothes.

My mother's intuition needs some fine tuning.

I was just in the car on the way home from Target with David, and I was telling him how the whole pregnancy has gone differently than I expected. I expected it to take longer to happen, but it happened almost right away. Then I expected to have an easy first trimester, since I didn't remember my mom struggling with morning sickness. 5 months later, I expected to glow with pregnancy bliss, but I started complaining from back pain and lumpy preggo awkwardness. Being that I'm young and in pretty good health, I expected a full-term, complication-free pregnancy. Eesh.

I went to the doctor last weekend to have some blood drawn because of some crazed nighttime itching that wouldn't let me sleep. I couldn't find much in the trillions of pregnancy books about itchy palms and feet, with the exception of a tiny blurb in "What to expect when you are expecting" saying to tell your doctor immediately if you have itching all over. A google search later of "itchy hands during pregnancy" and I learned the primary pregnancy rule: Don't google your symptom du jour. We called the midwife on call and she had me come in just in case.

We've had two "non-stress tests" since that Saturday, and Dr. Peanut still looks healthy and beautiful. I'm fine too, with the exception of itching and sleep deprivation, but the blood tests confirmed my initial internet diagnosis: I have Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy. Or, my liver/gallbladder is temporarily broken and dumping bile salts into my blood stream, causing the crazy itching. I have to be monitored a couple of times a week now, and it looks like we will be having a baby in two weeks, instead of the 6 or 7 that it might normally take. He'll be a month or so early, but the doctors and midwives at U of M seem pretty relaxed about the whole thing and I guess would rather Err on the side of caution, since if left unchecked the Cholestasis can have some pretty scary outcomes for baby. I'll go back on Thursday to be monitored again, and then twice more the next week, and holy cow- they've scheduled an induction for March 29th (not this Sunday, but the next one!). That said, I still need to: Pick a pediatrician, call and alert our doula, buy one of those things that go in the carseat so the baby's head doesn't bob all over the carseat, pack for the hospital, take the stinking childbirth education class, and probably do forty five other things I haven't even thought about. Yikes!

34 weeks...

33 Weeks

This is new too...

It is beautiful for March in Ann Arbor, and I got to leave the house today with NO SOCKS OR SNOWBOOTS. In fact, I wore cute purple flats and after my lunch break I worked upstairs on labeling books for my boss, seated at a desk in a big comfy chair. I stood up to leave 2 hours later, and my feet look like this. My apologies if even normal feet gross you out.

8 month Midwife visit

I realize most all of my posts have been baby related, and that is because I have the energy and personality of a slug lately. I think I caught a little stomach virus (luckily the symptoms have been mild) so I am working on that.

We visited with our midwife and the baby seems to still be doing fine. His heartbeat was around 140, and his head was positioned down, so I guess he is getting ready too. He's measuring right on target and seems to be happy as a clam. I brought a little notebook with 15 questions this time, and my midwife was so sweet and patient to go through each one with me. I have to up my water intake, which will probably give me a little more energy according to her, but all of my other questions were pretty reassuring. She also said the blood sugar test and iron test both came back normal.

I'm really glad so far that I used the midwives instead of picking a random OB. I feel like they really take the time to sit down with me and answer questions or chat, and I don't feel like I've had to go through a battery of tests and hoops, either. I should go back in 4 weeks, and my regular Midwife will be back then. I really liked this midwife too, and I'm glad I got the chance to meet her.

32 weeks (8 MONTHS!)

I'm officially at the beginning of my eighth month of pregnancy, so we're closing in, folks!

This week was a lot better than the one before. I got some sleep, am less emotional, and haven't been as congested. I am having some headaches lately that are pretty killer, but I think it is maybe my sinuses. I am also having to slow down a lot more than I expected, because if I run more than two consecutive errands you would think I just tried to run a 5K with an elephant strapped to my belly.

We met our doula yesterday, and I think she will do just fine. She is pretty young but has attended 13 births, and had lots of great questions and suggestions that I hadn't really thought of. She is also perfectly fine to help out as much or as little as we want, either running around as an extra set of hands or knitting in the corner until we need her. I FINALLY signed up for childbirth preparation classes, too...but they don't start until the end of March. I'll be 36 weeks along, which is one week before the baby is considered "full-term". Better late than never?

Just keeping it real...

So the thirtieth week of pregnancy wasn't exactly one of my finest ones. I get asked a lot how I'm feeling, and for some reason I feel obligated to put on a big smile and tell whoever asks that I feel glorious, happy glowing pregnant lady, miracle of life and all of that. And sometimes I do. But lately, I think the third trimester stinks a bit. It's really hard to get comfortable around all this belly, so I toss and turn and can't fall asleep. If by some miracle I do fall asleep, I wake up 4 or 5 times a night to go to the bathroom, and most nights I wake up another time to work out a leg cramp or two.

This girl ain't so sweet without a decent night's sleep. I never have been, and I know this is just a hint of what's to come. I know.

But also, some first trimester-y things have returned, namely the aversion to garlic (when I can smell), some hard core mood swings, and homeboy has figured out how to kick me in the stomach- causing me to lose my dinner. Ah, miracle of life indeed.

I really never felt crazy emotional in the beginning like all the pregnancy books said I would, but lately if David doesn't gleefully run to do whatever I ask, I get my feeling sorely hurt and this afternoon I cried for 15 minutes for LITERALLY NO REASON. I feel like a crazy woman. With insomnia. After gastric bypass surgery.

However, it is nice to see single digits of weeks until we meet our little boy, and even though the thought of labor and contractions and medicines and vaccination decisions and countless other decisions makes me hyperventilate a little, it is all still very exciting.

I realize I have been a little vague about due dates and super vague about names, so I will try to clarify. Our due date is officially April 25th, but I continue to say "End-of-April/Early-May" so that when April 25th comes and goes and my little boy stays in my belly, I don't have too much of a let down. From what I read, most first babies are born after their due date, and the average is something like 41 weeks and 4 days. Since I am using a midwife and not a typical obstetrician I will be less likely to be induced until 42 weeks or if there are any concerns. As for names, we are deciding between two favorites right now and I think I will keep it under wraps until we've made a decision. Unless I get super indecisive and decide to make you guys vote and decide for me.

Week 30

Only 10 or 11 weeks to go, depending on Dr. Peanut's timing. Hopefully that will give me plenty of time to finish this...

I guess once I've started baby projects I might as well keep the ball rolling.

Crazy Preggo

I'm not sure if it is just because I couldn't get comfortable last night or if the Sudafed I am taking for my cold jacked with my sleep patterns, but after an hour and a half of laying in bed trying to go back to sleep last night, I got up and dusted the living room and pieced together the baby sweater until 4 am. I am surprised by how un-zombie-like I feel.

7 month midwife update

There is not a ton to update on, other than I had blood drawn for the gestational diabetes screen today and will hear back on that tomorrow, and I met the stand-in midwife while mine is on medical leave. She was really peppy and David and I liked her a lot, and she said that the baby seemed "happy" from his heartbeat and measurements. When she asked me about concerns, I told her that I thought our son had extra knees and elbows, but we seem to be doing pretty well.

My new hobby is to lay in bed or in the bath and watch my belly contort as he flips around and gets comfortable. I think he is a little squished when I sit normally, and reclining gives him a little more room to maneuver. But it is mostly freaky and magical at the same time to wonder if the movement under my skin is a back or head, and whether he is trying to reach up through my belly button to wave or if that is just by accident. He has also gotten hiccups a couple of times which is funny. I'm not positive that they're hiccups, but if not, he likes to drum a beat on my belly and keeps pretty good time for a fetus.

Most of the books say that I am solidly in my third trimester, which means his eyes are no longer sealed and can detect light, he can hear us, and his lungs could probably handle breathing air if he were born early. Which, to me, means oh-my-gosh have I still not really come up with a final name for my son?!

27 Weeks

 

I've had to buy some new clothes, as the non-pregnant ones are beyond too small. I took this first picture, and then realized how arched my back was. I stood up straight and took this one:

 

And I don't look nearly as pregnant. Also, I really should clean the mirrors in my bathroom. What a disgrace!

This is new...

So I remember getting charlie horses in 10th grade a lot. I would wake up in the middle of the night and point my toes (no, OW OW OW OW) than flex them until the cramp went away, silently becoming rigid and working out the kink and then trying not to move my foot again for the rest of the night. These apparently come back for some women during pregnancy (YAY!) and I am not the exception. I've woken up a couple of nights and just worked it out by pointing, ouch! no- flexing my foot and then gone right back to sleep. However, on Saturday morning I woke up with one in my calf and then when I pointed, (*ouch*) flexed my foot I got another one in the front of my leg too! So if I worked out the one in the back then I flared up the one in the front and I couldn't get either one to go away. David rolled over and asked me what was wrong, and after I told him about it he offered to help me massage the top one away so I could relax and finish sleeping until noon. We went to a late breakfast later on and I asked him how he knew something was wrong, since I was trying not to disturb him and being so quiet.

Apparently I wasn't so quiet after all. When I wake up a lot during the night, or get charlie horses, or can't get comfortable, apparently I do this really loud sighing thing that he thought was my way of saying "I don't want you to think I am trying to keep you up, but WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP and be miserable with me". Whoops. It reminded me of when my mom went into labor with my brother Brady over Christmas break during my freshman year in college. She slept on the other couch in the living room with me and would not stop groaning in her sleep and moving around. Finally I asked her "What!? Is!? Wrong!? With?! You!?" and she apologized, explaining she was trying to "quietly" cope with her contractions.

6 month checkup

We had another appointment with our midwife today, and so far things look good. The baby was measuring right on track and the heartbeat was in the 130s. However apparently my midwife is going away for a couple of months and I will be meeting in with a new midwife next time. It isn't that big of a deal, since whichever midwife is on call the day or night I go into labor is the one that will likely deliver the baby, it will still be interesting to be 7 months pregnant and meet a new provider for a couple of visits or so. I will also have to drink the neon orange glucose drink that I've heard such nasty things about for a (routine) gestational diabetes test next time around, so that is another thing to look forward to.

I feel like I haven't done any real preparation aside from accumulating gifts from friends and family, and now I am staring down choices in childbirth preparation classes (the one I'm leaning towards is a lengthy 2 hours every Tuesday for 7 weeks!), hospital tours, and a midwife meet and greet so that you can at least claim to have seen the person who delivers your baby if your midwife isn't around that night. We did, however, pick up a brand new car seat today (Thank you, Peggy!) so we have everything now that we are legally required to have to bring a baby home from the hospital. You know, just in case he shows up 4 months early.

Whoops! Happy New Year guys!

Sorry about my month long blog hiatus. To keep it completely real, after thanksgiving I took two belly pictures and promptly deleted them because I am vain, then we came to Arkansas for a couple of weeks. I loved getting to see you guys and had a wonderful holiday. I think all of that great southern food and hearing things aside from how huge I was (maybe I ranted enough that everyone was scared to tell me if I was huge) did me some real good.

We got back on the evening of the 29th, and David and I went to our local Japanese hibachi place for our third year anniversary. We also spent some time finding bins and baskets and shelves to help us organize the (much appreciated) baby loot that keeps rolling through the door. He isn't even here yet and he has more clothes, shoes, and space than David and I have I think!

Then for New Years Eve we hung out with some friends and had pizza rolls and sushi and sparkling apple cider ( I did anyway) and watched the ball drop. Since I stayed up until one or so, I slept most of the next day. My new year's resolutions are as follows:

1. Have a baby.
2. Name him something.
3. Accept help when someone offers.
4. Adjust to new life as best as I can

Anything beyond those are far too ambitious. I'm sure I'll make enough mistakes as a new mother that I won't need the extra guilt of not losing the baby weight in 4 weeks and having an all natural birth and keep house spotless and whatnot. My priorities are have a named baby and figure the rest out as I go.

Finally, my belly gets in the way when I bend over or try to roll over in bed. That's all I have to say about that.


I do feel him kicking all the time now, which is cool and especially funny if I'm holding another kid on top of the belly. For the super curious, I have gained about 10 pounds so far, or twelve if you count the two I lost during my first trimester. I weighed myself after my 3 Christmas dinners and I had gained almost six pounds. Yikes.

Week 19

And bigger! This was post Thanksgiving, right before I went to go see 4 Christmases with my friend Stephanie (very funny movie by the way!).