34 weeks!

Well, it seems like this blog thing is getting harder and harder to keep up with. I will do my best to continue with updates after Morgan is born, but I may have to switch to bi-weekly updates. Thanks to everyone who reads and follows our journey. I feel blessed to have so much support!

As you can tell by my picture this week, I was too lazy to get off the couch for a proper sideways shot (the scars you see are from my appendectomy and my gall bladder surgery). The other picture is obviously of Brad. He got her name tattooed on his arm today. It looks amazing and we both love it. He can't wait to take some pictures with her next to it.

I have been completely exhausted these days. I get out of breath putting my makeup on in the mornings. Sleeping is getting more difficult, mostly because I get overheated so easily. The pinching back pain seems to be getting a little worse everyday, but I am finding ways to manage it. Sitting is usually the best option. Another unpleasant symptom that has begun this week is terrible itching on my stomach. This is really common at this stage because she is growing so quickly and stretching the skin. I am doing my best not to scratch and I lather on plenty of lotion. I am just waiting for the stretch marks to pop up because I know my skin is not going to be able to keep up with how quickly she is growing.

I had my 34 week appointment on Wednesday and everything went very well. She is still measuring perfectly, and an ultrasound confirmed that she is officially HEAD DOWN! Good girl! The doc also confirmed that my cervix has begun to soften and I am a half centimeter dilated. I about fell out of the stirrups when he told me that. He reassured me that it is completely normal and suspects that I will deliver within 5 days of my due date. It is amazing to me how my body is already preparing for Morgan's big arrival. My doctor made sure to emphasize that any unfinished business should be taken care of (pack hospital bag, finish nursery, make sure cars always have plenty of gas, etc). I am ashamed to say I have not even pre-registered at the hospital yet. Yikes! Thank goodness I have Monday off from work to get some more stuff done.

Tomorrow I have my friend baby shower. Amy and Allison have graciously offered to host the shower for me. In fact, they called dibs on my shower the same day I told them I was pregnant! I can't wait to see all of my friends. Being pregnant has definitely affected my social life and ability to keep in touch with all of them. I have been feeling pretty guilty lately about not calling or visiting my girls more often. I hope that they all still know how much I love them and understand that even though I will soon be a Mommy, I will always be their friend.

On to the stats...

How far along? 34 weeks :)

Total weight gain? 25 pounds (I gained 1 lb this week).

How big is baby? 17.75 inches and 4.75 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes! May need to get a couple more shirts to get me by.

Stretch marks? Nope! (fingers crossed)

Sleep? Ehh.. I'm definitely being prepared for taking care of a newborn.

Best moment of the week? Seeing my sweet angel on the ultrasound. She had her tiny hands up by her face. I'm in love.

Movements? Yes, lots of rolls and elbow jabs.

Cravings? ICECREAM! Can't get enough.

Gender? baby girl

Labor signs? The Braxton Hicks have calmed down, but I am .5 cm dilated and cervix is softening.

Belly button in or out? Half and half. You be the judge. Brad says it looks like a balloon knot. Haha.

What are you looking forward to? Seeing my friends tomorrow and of course...meeting my sweet baby! We are so close!

33 weeks!

Well I am super late posting this week...whoops! My energy level has gone down a ton lately, so when I get home from work in the evenings, it's all I can do to stay awake until 9:00p. It has been another eventful week in the life of this preggo. On Wednesday I started experiencing some back pain, mostly when I was walking around at work. I called the doc just to be sure it was nothing to be concerned about, and I was told to rest, drink lots of fluids, and take some Tylenol. On Thursday, the back pain came back, but this time it was hurting even when I was sitting down. My stomach also started to tighten up every so often. There was no regular pattern like there would be with true contractions, so I wasn't too worried. They also were not painful...at first. Around the middle of the day on Thursday I had a painful tightening of my stomach, which worried me some. I felt very hot, and overall did not feel good. I called the doc again after I finished up with my little kiddos, and they told me to come in right away. This scared me because I was sure that they were going to tell me I was dilated and have to try and stop labor. Fortunuately, I made it to the doctor and they told me that I was not dilated at all (yay!), but that I had a UTI (booooo). So they put me on some antibiotics and recommended that I rest when I can and drink plenty of fluids. After leaving the appointment, I immediately felt better. I think the peace of mind of knowing that I was only having Braxton Hicks contractions made me relax. I have reached the stage where I cannot be superwoman anymore. Up until now, I have felt great and rarely felt the strain of pregnancy. It has hit me hard this week though, and I need to slooooow down. There are many things to do before Morgan gets here, and she has a lot more cookin' to do, so she cannot come early!

Stats!

How far along? 33 weeks (well I am really almost 34, but you get the point. I didn't want to skip a blog post. I am going to print these bad boys out so I can go back and read them down the road).

Total weight gain? 24 pounds. I gained one pound since my 32 week appointment. Right on track!

How big is baby? Over 17 inches and about 4.25 pounds!

Maternity clothes? Yep! Fortunately I am still fitting in all of my non-maternity coats. Not sure how much longer that will last though.

Stretch marks? Still none on my tummy. I have a few elsewhere (not going to say where though, haha)

Sleep? Sometimes great, othertimes not.

Best moment of the week? Finding out that Morgan was "very content" and would not be arriving anytime soon. Yay!

Movements? Yes. Sometimes it is painful. I have felt a couple of complete flips this week so I am not sure if she is head down. I am very anxious to find out next week!

Cravings? None.

Gender? sweet girl.

Labor signs? Braxton Hicks! I guess my body is preparing itself for the real deal :)

Belly button in or out? In, but looking different every week.

What are you looking forward to? My baby showers coming up!

32 weeks/ 8 months!!!

Can you believe it!? Only 8 weeks left until my due date. Brad and I realized that we can count on two hands how many weekends we have left just the 2 of us. It's weird because we have been together for almost 8 years now and in just a few short weeks our lives are going to be completely different. Hopefully this isn't coming across as a bad thing, because we are obviously thrilled to meet Morgan and be parents. It is just hard to wrap our minds around such a life-changing event!

This week Brad and I went to our second baby class. While we both found the class very informative, I found it to also be TERRIFYING. We learned about SIDS, which is a rare, but also very real threat to infants. There are many recommendations to help prevent SIDS: place the baby on her back to sleep, don't put ANYTHING in the crib with her, make sure the mattress she sleeps on is firm, etc. We will certainly follow all of these guidelines, but I still can't help but worry myself. For the past several months I have focused my worries on the pregnancy (will I miscarry?, am I eating the right things?, can I take a Tylenol?, will she stay breech?, etc) and last night for the first time I started worrying about when she actually gets here which is waaaaay worse than the pregnancy fears. Fortunately Brad is not a worrier and will do a great job of helping me keep things in perspective.

Sorry it has been so long since I have given a nursery update. We have made a lot of progress with the help of my awesome parents. For the most part, the only thing missing is our sweet baby. I can't wait to get a glider because there are so many times that I would love to just sit in there and look around, but I can't (sitting on the floor for any amount of time is very uncomfortable, and trying to stand up is a joke). We also need decorations and little accessories, but I still have 2 showers left so I am going to hold off on that stuff until I see what we get.

I had my 32 week appointment today. Morgan is doing great! My doc said she is measuring perfectly, her heart rate is normal, and he thinks her head is down (YAY!). He will be checking again at 34 weeks to make sure she is definitely head down. If not we may need to start seriously considering a C-Section.

Ok that's enough for today... STATS!

How far along? 32 weeks (5 more weeks until I am "full term")

Total weight gain? 23 pounds (whew! Didn't gain any this week)

How big is the baby? 3.75 pounds and 16.7 inches long

Maternity clothes? Yep!

Stretch marks? I thought I saw one forming the other day but I think I was seeing things because it's not there anymore, so fortunately, still NO!

Sleep? I was sick this week so I did not sleep at ALL Sunday night but I was so sleep deprived from Sunday that I slept great on Monday and Tuesday night. I do miss my Nyquil when I have a bad cold.

Best moment of the week? Date night with hubby on Friday. We had such a good time together.

Movements? YES. I had a feeling she had flipped over because I felt it happen in the middle of the night.

Cravings? nothing new

Gender? baby girl

Labor signs? nope, and I haven't had anymore Braxton Hicks either.

Belly button in or out? Inny

What are you looking forward to? Hunting season is OVER (happy dance) so Brad and I are going to spend the whole weekend together. Can't wait :)

31 weeks!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm so excited to be in the "30's" at last. Brad is too. We are so excited for Morgan to get here, but Brad has not has not been able to enjoy the pregnancy like I have. I get to feel all of the kicks, rolls, and flips, and I get to carry her around all day. So it makes sense that these past several months have not gone by as quickly for him as they have for me. Unfortunately, I am getting more and more uncomfortable as she gets bigger. I knew this was coming, because so many pregnant women have this issue. But I am not ready for her little tooshie to come out just yet, so I am perfectly content with her cooking until 40 weeks (we will see what I am saying in a few more weeks, ha ha).

This week Brad and I attended our first baby class with Kristin and Aaron Campbell, who are expecting their little boy in February. The class was very informative and it seemed like Brad actually enjoyed himself. He was very proud of his swaddling abilities, and takes a lot of pride in knowing that he can do it better than I can. We have the second part of the class next Tuesday, then we take Labor Basics 1 and 2 at the end of the month. We are going to do a tour of the hospital as well. Yay for classes!

Not muh more to post this week so here are the stats...

How far along? 31 weeks!

Total weight gain? 23 lbs (I gained 2 this week. Guess that Thanksgiving weight just needed a few weeks to kick in)

How big is baby? 16.25 inches and over 3.25 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yep

Stretch marks? Nope. Lotion lotion lotion!

Sleep? Some nights great, other nights not so much.

Best moment of the week? Seeing Brad swaddle the baby doll at our class. He is going to be the best Daddy.

Movement? Yes! I have noticed that her movements are slower and more pronounced now. She isn't just randomly kicking all the time (although she still does this some). And I swear that I felt her little foot or hand in my ribs today and when I tried to push her away, gently of course, she moved! Good girl :)

Cravings? Obviously I am craving something. 4 pounds in just over 2 weeks. Yikes!

Gender? beautiful little girl :)

Labor signs? No! But I think I had a Braxton Hicks contraction last night. I felt everything in my stomach tighten up for about a minute and then it went away. It didn't hurt at all though. I wish real contractions were like that.

Belly button in or out? In. At this point I think it will stay in. Fine by me!

What am I looking forward to? Seeing Brad with Morgan for the first time. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

30 Weeks! Let the countdown begin :)

I would be a day late posting on the week I am off from work. Whoops! It has been WONDERFUL being off these past 2 weeks, but I am actually not dreading going back to work on Monday. I know the sooner I am back at work, the sooner Morgan will be here. So exciting! One of my lifelong friends, Sara, had her baby this week. Sara was exactly 10 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy so it is crazy to now say that I will have my little girl here in just 10 short weeks. I still feel like there are a ton of things to do. Brad seems to think that the nursery is pretty much finished, but to me it isn't even close. I am very ready for hunting season to be over so that he will be home on the weekends to help me get things in order. I decided to put Morgan's bouncer together today, and to my surprise, I was very successful! Now all we need to do is put her swing and travel system together and we will be good to go for her first couple of weeks at home. We have not yet gotten her Pack N Play, but I am holding off on that since it isn't something she will need right away. We do need to get a glider for her nursery though. It will be so much easier at feeding times to have a glider than to sit in a chair or on the sofa.

This week I had my 30 week appointment with my new doctor. Again, I was very impressed with him. He took a lot of time with me and talked to me at length about some of the symptoms I have been having. More recently I have been feeling short of breath, and he explained to me that this is common for many pregnant women, but if it gets worse to let him know. He also listened to my heart and said everything sounded fine. My blood pressure is still good, but I have noticed it is creeping up at every appointment. I did a little research online and found that your blood pressure is typically lower in the first 2 trimesters than it is in the third. I am going to start watching my sodium intake just to be safe. The doctor also talked to me about Morgan being breech. He explained that at 34 weeks they would check to see where she is because she can still flip a lot between now and then. Many babies will flip up until delivery. I have decided that I will not have her turned by a doctor, because there are risks involved and it may not even work. If I have to have a C-Section, oh well. As long as she gets here safe and is healthy, I will be so grateful.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families. I certainly did. Brad and I feel so blessed to have our health, a house, our wittle Waylon, and sweet Morgan on the way. Happy New Year!

Stats:

How far along? 30 weeks (only 7 weeks away from being full-term. WAHOO)

Total weight gain? +21. Up another 2 lbs from my last appointment. But hey, who DIDN'T gain 2 lbs over Christmas? ha ha.

How big is the baby? almost 16 inches and almost 3 lbs!

Maternity clothes? Yep. Still wearing non-maternity "lounge wear"

Stretch marks? None! So far so good. Please God let me have inherited my mom's stretchy skin! She had NO stretch marks and my brother was over 8 lbs when he was born.

Sleep? Pretty good!

Best moment of the week? Spending time with Brad and my family at Christmas. We can't wait for next year!

Movement? Oh yes. She got me pretty good in the ribs today. I had to have a little talk with her about that.

Cravings? Sweets. I feel like I am Buddy the Elf.

Gender? GIRL :)

Labor signs? No no no

Belly button in or out? In still, but looking weird.

What am I looking forward to? Finishing all of the little projects and shopping that I have left to do for Morgan.

29 Weeks - Lots of baby updates!

This week has certainly been an eventful one in babyland. I left off last week with my decision to change doctors. Well, I firmly believe I made the right decision. On Saturday, Brad was hunting so I decided to go hang out with my parents for the day. I had started feeling crampy on Friday night, but summed it up to having a busy day and decided to see how I felt in the morning. The cramping never subsided, so I called the on-call doctor around noon. Oddly enough, my "old" doctor was the doctor on-call that day. She did little to reassure me that I was okay, and basically said there was nothing she could do for me over the phone, and I would have to come in to the hospital. Of course I was terrified, so I decided to lay down for a little while and see if I felt any better. After about 2 hours, I decided it was time to go in. Brad came home from hunting and we were at JW by 4:00pm. My doctor came in for about 5 minutes when I first got there, but I never saw her again. The nurses were wonderful though. They monitored me closely for contractions, and although they were picking up "blips" on their machine, they reassured me that they weren't true contractions and that I was fine. I also had some tests done to check for a UTI and preterm labor, both of which came back normal. YAY! I followed up on Monday with my new doc, who is SUPER friendly, and took a lot of time with me. He also decided to send me for an ultrasound, just to be 100% sure everything was okay. Although I did not like the circumstances, I was very excited to see Morgan again on the ultrasound. She looked wonderful, and the ultrasound tech commented that I had a little gymnast in me. However, she is currently breech, but from my understanding she still has PLENTY of time to flip around. And from all the movement going on in my belly these days, it seems like she flips over often.

So where in the world are these cramps coming from? My new doc thinks that I should focus on drinking TONS of water and purchase a pregnancy "girdle" to support my growing belly. Morgan seems to have hit a major growth spurt and her constant movement has made my uterus very sensitive. It is so nice to know that everything is normal, and I am not experiencing pre-term labor. VERY SCARY. You really can't put a price on peace of mind.

Nothing else eventful this week, so I will leave you with the stats...

How far along? 29 weeks (can't believe next week I will be at 30. In my mind that is the home stretch!)

Total weight gain? +19. My weight on Monday was up two pounds from last Wednesday.

How big is the baby? still about 15 inches and 2.5 pounds!

Maternity clothes? Yep, but still getting by with some non-maternity tops

Stretch marks? None! So far so good.

Sleep? The past few nights have been great. I haven't even been getting up to use the bathroom until about 5am.

Best moment of the week? Seeing Morgan on the ultrasound and being reassured that all is well.

Movement? Yes! The nurses said she is a wild baby (they had to move the monitors constantly because she was so active). Oh lord....

Cravings? None

Gender? GIRL :)

Labor signs? Nope

Belly button in or out? In, but getting flatter.


What am I looking forward to? Spending Christmas with my family and having an entire day with Brad. Doesn't happen too often nowadays and I really cherish that time with him!

28 weeks = 3rd trimester!

It seems surreal that I am already posting about being in my third trimester. I was convinced that the second trimester would drag on, considering it really is the longest (it goes from 12 weeks to 28 weeks), but it has gone by quickly. I hope that the third trimester is the same way, because I am SO excited for our little girl to be here. I will be a Mommy in a matter of a few months.

This weekend my roommate and good friend from college, Abby, came to visit me. We lived together for two years and were pretty inseperable during that time. We had a blast catching up on stuff. She is a newlywed and lives in Northern Va, so needless to say, we don't get to see each other often. She gave me some cooking lessons on Saturday, and the chili and cookies we made turned out great! I can't wait for her to come back down to visit once Morgan gets here.

I had the DREADED glucose test today, and to be honest, it went much smoother than I had expected. I did crash this afternoon though, so I am glad I took the day off of work. My appointment was scheduled for 9am this morning, and several friends recommended that I fast before the appointment so that I would pass the test. I decided to eat a light breakfast (toast and milk), so that I wouldn't risk passing out. If I fail this one, I will have to fast for the 3 hour test. Hopefully my results come back on Friday. I also had my Rhogram shot today, because my blood type is negative. Morgan's is most likely positive (85% of the population has a positive blood type), so to prevent any issues with future pregnancies, I have to receive an injection at 28 weeks and then again after she is born. No biggy, but the shot REALLY hurt.

One major concern of mine that has been weighing on me my entire pregnancy is whether or not my doctor is right for me. I switched when I found out I was pregnant so that I could be at an office closer to home. I was hopeful that the one I picked would work out, but each appointment I find myself leaving very let down and confused. Being that this is my first pregnancy, I usually have a list of questions and concerns for my doctor. I avoid searching things online because the internet can be a scary place for a pregnant woman. At my appointments, I feel incredibly rushed, I am never asked to list any concerns, and I ultimately feel like a burden when I do ask my questions. My concerns are always dismissed as "normal" signs/symptoms of pregnancy as well. Today was the final straw. My doctor had obviously not even looked at my file before walking into my room, and assumed I was only 24 weeks along. I had to remind her that I was in fact 28 weeks. After rushing through the normal checks, she left the room, but said she would be right back. She never returned, so I had to send the nurse to get her so I could ask my questions. She came back, stood in the doorway with arms crossed, and glared at me as if I was a bother. I realize that she sees pregnant women all day long, and that my regularly scheduled appointment is no big deal to her, but it is a huge deal to me. I took the entire day off of work for this appointment, and my mom also took off a half day to take me. These appointments are milestones in my pregnancy, and an opportunity to for me to be sure my little one is doing okay. I ended up scheduling an appointment with her for 30 weeks (I go every 2 weeks now, YAYAYAYA), but as soon as I got home I called and switched to another doctor who came highly recommended. He is older, he is a he and not a she, and he is known for his ability to spend time with his patients. I hope he works out, because I would really like to get to know him, and better yet, for him to know me, before D-Day arrives. If I make it to 40 weeks, I have 7 more scheduled appointments, which means I will have as many appointments with the new doc as I did with my old one. Sounds good to me!

Sorry to ramble on this week. Here are the stats!

How far along? 28 weeks (not 24, ha ha)

Total weight gain? +17. I only gained about a half of a pound this month. I am guessing that is okay, but being that my doctor never looked at my file, I doubt she knew my weight.

How big is the baby? about 15 inches and 2.25 pounds!

Maternity clothes? Yep!

Stretch marks? Not yet, but I am lathering up twice a day now that she is growing so fast.

Sleep? It's hit or miss, some nights are great, others are not.

Best moment of the week? Spending time with my friend Abby and hearing little Morgan's heart beating at my appointment today. Always makes me smile.

Movement? Yes! She seems to be all over the place. Sometimes she will be up in my ribs, other times she is down by my hip bones.

Cravings? No real cravings this week.

Gender? GIRL :)

Labor signs? Nope

Belly button in or out (for some reason I have missed this question the last two weeks)? In, but getting flatter.


What am I looking forward to? My next appointment with my new doctor! :)