Week 36 and 37 appointments

Welp, baby boy is full term now! I keep saying that he is just freeloading now. I will give him until Thursday, then he gets his eviction warning. One more week and it's an eviction NOTICE. His current location will be closing for renovations and he's gonna have to get OUT!

I've been behind blogging so I'll start with my 36 week appointment. This one didn't' go as smoothly as some of the others. First, they took my BP and it was high, which they know happens. Then my doctor came in and said that I needed to get one more blood draw for some random reason. Now I was sure I'd already had all the blood draws I needed, so this instantly put me on edge. It's like I needed some time to get used to the idea of having my arm pricked! So by the time the appointment was over, I was on edge. They were sending me to the lap (which is at my clinic) and they weren't quite ready so I headed to the waiting room. While I was there, my nurse came out and said "Oh, let me take your blood pressure again to make sure it went down!" Well that's crazy to take it right before a blood draw! It was way way way up, still.

At the lab, the phlebotomist asked why I was there and I said that my doctor told me I needed another blood draw for a test (it was for HIV/Hep B, which I'd already been cleared on and had opted out of a second test!) The lady said that insurance would pay for another one if I wanted it, and I said, honestly I don't care either way, but can we just get on with it? So they went ahead and did it. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated. But then the nurse wanted to take my bp AGAIN and it was still high!

And here's the thing about blood pressure -- there are only a few things that can naturally bring it down and one of those is not being stressed, but when youre' stressed about bringing it down,it's going to stay up. See? So that was the story of my life for about 24 hours after that appointment. They said if it stayed high that I should go to Labor & Delivery to have it monitored. Well, I'm thinking to myself, no WAY I'm going to L&D and letting them take my baby out of me at 36 weeks..I wasn't ready! All this happened Tuesday, but by that evening it was still high but only marginally so. In the morning it was back up. I took it a time or two more and by the afternoon decided to just go to L&D. They checked me in and put me in a triage room. I just kept my regular clothes on and they hooked me up to a BP monitor, contraction monitor and fetal heartbeat monitor. It was so nice hearing his little strong heart. I didn't have any contractions and over the course of 2 hours or so, my bp ended up going down so low that Kelsey wasn't sure if I was still alive ;)  They let me go home and said everything else looked normal, so I didn't need to worry if it was up slightly next time unless I had headaches or vomiting.

Then to the 37 week appointment. This was last Tuesday and I was determined to have Kelsey there so I could avoid another situation. Well it worked because my BP was down lower than it had been the whole pregnancy at an appointment! Everything was fine and normal. She kept saying, "could be any day!" but didn't have any insight into when it would be. They have no idea! She said he felt like he had dropped more. His heart beat was great and he was moving around slightly, as usual. Love that little guy!

So tomorrow will be 38 weeks and my last appointment (keeping in mind that my X week appointment falls two days before I am the next week pregnant, so this means I'll be 39 weeks on Thursday). She will be doing an exam this time to see if I have dialated further (I had dialated to 1). I think Kelsey is going with me again, so hoping I will stay calm!

Now, on to how I'm feeling. Within the past few days I've started feeling really uncomfortable all the time. I feel like I'm blessed with this because a lot of women get this way FAR earlier in their pregnancies. The worst is when I'm sleeping. It's so hard to turn over anymore. I have to lug my big belly right with me! And no matter what side I'm on, I hurt. My hips hurt and my hands are swollen. They are also very, very stiff. I can barely bend them, especially after I first wake up. Because he's dropped some, he's laying more on my hips/pelvis so I feel him just pinching all the time when I'm up and moving. It does feel good to get up and take walks, etc. but then I'm ready to sit back down again. I'm using my balance ball because sometimes it's more comfortable than the couch...never thought I'd say that! But the end is in sight!

35 week appointment

Yesterday was my 35 week appointment and it was a good one. Kelsey was able to go with me, and that always improves my blood pressure, even though the day started out stressful with a call from work. I really thought going into it that my blood pressure would be SKY high. I even told the nurse that it might be high and to keep that in mind, but it was only 126/71, which is great for me! That just proves that having Kelsey there makes things better..he calms me down!

So then they did the exam. They had to do a swab for Group B which I still have no idea what it is, but it's not harmful at all for Mommys but is very harmful to babies, so if I have it, I just have to take antibiotics. The things I've learned....then she did an internal exam to see where he was sitting and if he had dropped. The first thing she said was, "He's facing the right direction!!" And then she said he had a nice, hard head. I said he gets that from his Daddy, and Kelsey said he gets it from BOTH of us, which is so totally true. Then she said he had dropped a little bit, but not completely. WE're getting closer!

I have to say, I really love my midwife. I was reading an article the other day that said of women who saw a doctor for their prenatal care, 65% said they were satisfied with it, whereas women who saw a midwife/nurse practitioner reported a 85% satisfaction rate. I think it's because midwives have more time to sit down with their patients and answer questions, and they answer them in a more relaxed way than doctors do. I know I've had problems with doctors before who seem too busy or "uppity" to care about my concerns. Sharon, our midwife, sat down and just talked to us about our concerns, and always tells me how well I'm doing. Of course I love that. :)

With all that being said, I'm really excited about his arrival. It's funny, I'm a little bit torn between loving my baby belly so much that I'll miss it, and him being here. Now , this doesn't mean that I'll be wanting to pop out another little one as soon as he's out, but there is something really cool and comforting about him being in my belly moving around...it feels like I can control that situation. But I'm also really looking forward to holding him and hugging him and seeing Kelsey do the same (and of course, Aunt Sis, Grammie, Grumpa, and the rest of the crew). Everytime I see one of his little onesies or diapers I just wish he was here now. It's a good place to be in. I wouldn't want extremes either way (like, devastated that I wont' be pregnant anymore or begging for him to get here soon). Knowing that he could really come anytime in the next 4 weeks is so exciting!


Mom and Dad are leaving today to drive down for the weekend, my shower at work is today and we're doing maternity pictures this weekend! So it should be an exciting week!


Here is my 36 week picture:

Baby shower at Cornestone!

Yesterday we had a baby shower at Kelsey's school. Instead of doing individual gifts, the school had families/kids donate and they bought our gifts with that money. Two women were "in charge" of it and they did the most phenomenal job. It was really amazing how much love they poured into us. I just am blown away about how much people love this little guy, and he's not even here yet!

The theme was "monkeying around", just like the theme of our nursery, and it was in nursery colors, too. Most of the kids at the school wore baby blue in honor of the shower and our baby! We walked onto the patio and they were serving banana splits. The tables were decorated with bananas and balloons, and there was a diaper cake on the side. For those of you who don't know, here is it:

Basically, it's diapers made into a shape of a three tiered cake. This one was made from a whole case of diapers and had little odds and ends stuck into it, like baby nail clippers, swabs, lotions and that kind of thing. The monkey was like a little cake topper!

There were a few individual gifts, like some clothes, a little picture frame, lotions, little storage containers, and a few other things. Then we got into the rest of the gifts from the offering. Our nursery has little blue, green and brown storage boxes, so some of the gifts were placed in those. We got all sorts of clothes, hats, booties, sleepers (which we needed), mittens, gowns, bath stuff and other goodies. We got our diaper bag, which was a "5-piece set" including a smaller diaper bag, a changing pad cover, a "dirty duds" bag and an insulated bottle holder.

Another set of gifts were in a monkey hamper...SO glad we got that one! This package had a lot of nursing things, like the breast pump I registered for, some bags, then lots of sheets, flannel pads for the bed, and pack and play sheets.

The "big gift" from the staff was a second car seat for the other car! We were super excited about this one, as it was really the only other "big ticket" item that we really needed to get. It's a booster carseat so he can use it when he's bigger!

I was just overwhelmed by the love that the school showed to us, for a little baby boy who isn't even born yet!! I just feel so blessed that he's being taken care of.

34 week appointment & breastfeeding class

I had another normal appointment yesterday! My blood pressure was up at the beginning and low at the end (as usual). My midwife measured my belly and said it was the perfect size, so that means he's the right size for his age. She said he must be "stretching out" because she could feel him on both sides of my belly. Next appointment they will do an exam to see how my cervix is doing and at that point she'll determine how big he is (well, it's just an educated guess) and if he's head down. My next appointment is in 2 weeks and starts my weekly appointments...THAT'S close! I will only have 4 more of them left, unless he comes early. His heart rate was great and she didn't have any trouble finding it this week. He was being calm and patient for once!

She gave me a little card and I'm supposed to "count my kicks". This seems like a lot of hassle for me, considering he moves all the time. I have to start counting and when I get to 10 kicks, I stop. If I don't feel 10 kicks in 2 hours, I'm supposed to call their office immediately. In our childbirth ed class we had to do the same thing, but she said to lay on our sides and if he doesn't' move, drink some juice and see if he moves. The biggest problem with this kick counting stuff is the fact that the instructions tell me to lay on my side..now how am I supposed to do that at work? So I'm just sitting with my feet propped up doing it at my desk!

We had a breast feeding class last night and it was really informative. I am very committed to sticking it out because I feel like it's best for him AND (selfishly) it will save money on formula. I'm thinking, why spend all that money on artificial stuff when I could use what God gave me (well, let's hope he gives me enough) and use that money to buy fun stuff for Luke! The coolest thing about the class was them talking about getting skin to skin contact with the baby from the minute he's born, up to an hour, right on my chest! The teacher said a lot of Moms will just fall asleep like that for a little while, with that warm little baby right there being cuddled. I told Kelsey nothing sounds nicer to me. He said later, "I have to admit...that is pretty special. Moms are lucky they get to do that." Then later in the class, he asked the instructor if Dads could give skin to skin contact too!  She said it was a great idea and to hold him as much as possible at first. I can just imagine us all laying in bed napping and cuddling. Can't wait!

The other day we were at Mochi, which is this really yummy yogurt place where you get your own toppings, and I saw a Mom with her baby eating yogurt and just seeing her made me want to cry. I just can't wait to see his little face, and although 6 weeks doesn't seem like a lot, it feels like an eternity!!

We had our childbirth ed class (the first 2 sessions) so I'm going to wait till it's all done to write about that.

Here is my picture from last Wednesday (33 weeks).

Nesting

I've got some major nesting going on, at least I think that's what's going on.

I got on a kick this weekend to clean. Maybe it was because Kelsey was gone Friday and Saturday and I had nothing better to do. I started with laundry folding, then decided to tackle our bathroom which was absolutely disgusting. I've been meaning to scrub the tub, but it's way too hard to get on my hands and knees and do it. I just felt so much better -- more at ease -- when it was done.

Then I started on Luke's nursery and his clothes. He has A LOT of clothes! We bought some bins that will go in the storage unit. It's great because they are little and his things wont' get lost in the shuffle.

Here are the bins. They match the bedding (brown, green and blue). The brown ones have little monkey faces on them. So far I have onesies; sleepers; socks, hats and pants; receving blankets; and bibs & burp cloths. I have about 4-6 more bins, so I'll have plenty of room for other stuff.

How cute are all these socks?? They barely covered the bottom of this tiny laundry basket. LOVE IT!

I continued with my productivity by cleaning out underneath the guest bathroom sink and making room for his bath supplies and his tub, then making his own shelf in our hallway linen closet. This is where I have his little hooded towels, washcloths, crib sheets and blankets.

I have never been able to fold fitted sheets, and as I was folding his freshly cleaned stuff, I realized that was ALL the sheets he has!  So they look terrible. Mom has tried to teach me and I do ALRIGHT, but it still bugs me. I like having things really folded nicely.

I went in his room and tried to put things away as much as I could, but there is still so much to do with the nursery. We need to get the curtains hung, the furniture painted, toy box painted and covered (Kelsey is going to put padding on top and make it an extra seat) and also paint the little wooden LUKE letters that will go in his room. We also have some cute stick ons for the walls and some other artwork to hang. I know we still have two months, but that is going to go by so quickly.

I literally worked until my body just gave out, but it felt so good to be able to look at all those clothes and make some sense of it all. 

A couple friends had babies this weekend, and seeing their pictures makes me want to see him even more!

Obsessively shopping for baby

Y'all, there is just way too much cute stuff in this world for babies.

Last week we got our stroller and carseat, swing and some other stuff at a huge consignment sale called JBF (Just Between Friends). It's held twice yearly and people take their stuff there to sell from all around the area. It started last Sunday and we didn't get there until Thursday so we didn't expect much from it. So as we're walking in, and there she sits -- the exact stroller that we have on our registry...same color and style and brand. I thought to myself, this is way too good to be true. We checked it out -- "kick the tires" if you will -- and didn't see a flaw or stain on the thing. The note said the seller's baby grew out of it too quickly and they didn't use it more than 6 or 7 times.

It's a travel system where the car seat fits into the stroller, but then it is a regular stroller after he gets bigger than 22 lbs. I have no idea when that'll be because I know nothing whatsoever about babies. But I do know that this is like, the mid-range sedan of baby strollers. I am going to say the "Caddy" of strollers because clearly it's not, but it does turn on a dime and folds up REALLY easily (with one hand).

The best part was that this stroller retails for over $300 and we got it for $200! It was a steal.

We also got a baby swing:

Luke, if you're reading this later, let me tell you how much your Daddy LOVES zebras. It's his favorite non-domestic animal and there is a zebra right there on the tray, so he felt that it spoke to him. It also has jungle critters all over and matches our monkey pack-n-play. This is a Graco swing with 6 settings, nature sounds and classical music sounds. It retails for probably $80 to $100 and we got it for $40!

We also picked up some cheap Christmas stuff, since he'll be around 1 month at Christmas:

STUPID CUTE. Look at the little fake boots! Now all we need is a santa hat!

Also stupid cute! Two bibs for the holidays and that little hat was only 50 cents. I have a plan for that hat and his newborn pictures...stay tuned.

We are pretty much good to go on clothes, so the only other thing I found at the sale was a little sleeper that was $1. We also found a diaper warmer for $8, some little toys and some safety equipment (latches and that kind of thing). All together we spent $289, which is less than JUST the stroller retail! I think we made out!

Week 31 doctor's appointment

I just got back from my bi-monthly doctor's appointment and all is well. My blood pressure was up at the beginning of the appointment, but then dropped substantially by the end. I think I just get nervous about the appointment (even though I know what's going to happen) and then calm down by the end. I have to tell them that every time. I think it's weird that they can remember my jewelry or shoes, but not something like that! But I can't complain because the staff at my clinic are really amazing people. I gained I think two pounds. I can't remember what my weight was last time, but if I remember correctly, I was 2 pounds more today. Notice I don't put my weight on here. I'm not that bold!

I didn't have any swelling and really haven't much at all. Sometimes when I get hot or I haven't drank enough water, my feet get a little swollen, but overall I've been feeling good as far as that goes. She put the doppler on my belly to hear his heartbeat and as usual, he squirmed. He really shows his personality when she does this. He will move away from it and she has to literally push on my belly and pin him against the doppler, then his heart speeds up like he's mad. I would be mad too if my room suddenly got smaller! I mean honestly, I get mad when Kelsey is "in my space" in our queen sized bed! So he's moody like his Mom, I guess. She said she could feel some kicks from "an extremity" and she couldn't feel his head at the top, so looks like he's pointing toward the exit (although he still has lots of room to move around and she said he still flip flops a lot, most likely).

As far as that goes, Luke is moving around pretty much all the time. Starting probably Sunday night until this morning, he was moving constantly. it's not just kicks, either, it's full turns. I'd really love to know what he's doing in there!  I also wish I could find out how big he is. There are just so many questions I still have, like what he looks like, when he'll get here, how big he'll be. It's a lesson in patience, that's for sure!

I've been feeling really good so far.It's starting to get a little more difficult to get out of chairs and turn over in bed. Sometimes I'll drop something and wonder if it's worth it to pick it up. But I really can't complain..I've had a really healthy pregnancy so far and haven't experienced many of the really bad symptoms (yet) that other women have. Maybe that makes up for the rough first three months! I haven't had many cravings, although I'm starting to notice a little food aversion popping back up -- things will smell "off" or bad to me that I liked before. I still crave sweets of all kinds, so I'm thankful my glucose was normal! That would have been bad news bears. Today's specific craving is hash browns..how weird is that?

Here is my week 31 picture, and thanks to "Aunt Sis" (I keep wanting to call her that) for reminding me about it!

I feel like I look like a house! But dresses always make me look bigger, I think. The arm is strategically placed to minimize flab. Mom didn't raise no dummy.