Saturday, May 28, 2016

Pregnancy Update Week 34

Baby size/Important facts: Baby should be around 19-20" long and 5 lbs! The vernix  coating is reaching it's highest amount now, so if baby can hang out in there a few more weeks (s)he will be less icky. Also fingernails/toenails are reaching the ends of the digits about now - so are going to be in need of a trim ASAP.  

Size comparisons: 3 5# bags of flour stacked on each other (but only weighs 1/3 of that of course), still a ukelele, baseball glove (I thought we passed this once?), large bag of potato chips, or Tim the minion. 







Weight Change: Total gain of ~33 lbs. Really hoping I can slow this down some, even though I know a lot of it is water weight right now. I am swelling more, that's for sure.  

Waist Change: 
  • Week 10
    • Waist: 29" 
    • Bellybutton: 33.5" 
  • Size gain this week alone:
    • Waist: 0"
    • Bellybutton: 2" 
  • Total gain: 
    • Waist: 6"
    • Bellybutton: 11.5"
Maternity clothes: A little sad. For around the house comfy clothes I have my tighter tank tops...or my husband's athletic tshirts. One leaves me feeling a little itchy/confined for long term wear. The other is big & hot. Oh well. 





Bra changes: Nothing this week!


Stretch marks: Still not seeing any. Still surprised!


Sleep: Still struggling here. Between hip/crotch pain, and a full bladder causing braxton hicks (which have gotten slightly less comfortable) I'm just up and down a lot which really wakes me up. 





Workouts: Managing running about twice a week. Starting up some yoga again today I think, to try to help flip this baby. Hoping to get some light squats and wall sits in and stuff as well, and calling that good enough for my strength training.

Diet: Still doing decent here. Have managed to stay away from most of the true junk food. A couple cookies here and there don't bother me though when I'm otherwise getting a lot of fruit & veg.  

Best moment this week: Getting one full night's sleep for the first time in nearly two weeks. Also had fun at a girl's night in last night. Got to see a lot of great ladies.


Miss anything: Being able to drive without burning sharp rib pain.  




Food cravings: Nothing much in particular, but I've had a lot of good food this week.  

Anything making you queasy or sick? No, but I've thrown up a few times this week - after only throwing up once previously. It's always from brushing my teeth. I think now that my stomach is so squished by baby that any even light gagging within 2 hours of eating is enough to lose a little food. Oh well.

Sex Guess: I had a dream it was a little girl the other night. The next night I dreamed that I sleep through most of labor and by the time I got to the hospital for the c-section baby's butt was generally out and they let me deliver baby breech vaginally.   

Labor signs: Still having a ton of BH, but no real pain, so we're not REALLY viewing them as a labor sign. 


The official birthdate and sex guesses! First guess is mine, and comes in at just under three weeks from right now!

Symptoms: Braxton hicks and lots and lots of ribcage pain. My midwife clued me in that this baby has actually managed to tuck some appendages (feet maybe?!) between my ribs and the skin and thin muscles that sit on top of the ribs. So I'm actually getting abused from the outside of the ribs - which is what's causing so much of the discomfort when I sit. Thanks little one for ripping my connective tissue apart! Otherwise mostly just loose pelvis/crotch pain when I do anything.  


Baby position: Baby is still stubbornly breech. Hasn't really moved much other than swinging head from one side to another. We've been doing twice weekly chiro/acupuncture/moxibustion to try to help baby turn. So far nothing...which is starting to be concerning/sad. If we make it to 37 weeks (Just under 3 weeks from now) and baby is still wrong side down, we'll go into the hospital for an ECV External Cephalic Version, to try to manually turn baby over. Of course, before they do that, they'll do a quick ultrasound to check full body positioning as well as umbilical cord length, etc, to make sure that flipping baby won't cause any harm that we can tell. If baby successfully flips and stays that way, we're all good for birth center. If not, we're stuck with a c-section in a hospital. There's no other choice. 


Belly button in or out? It goes further out everyday I think.  

Emotional state: Still having a really really rough time here. The longer baby sits the wrong way, the more I worry (s)he won't flip. The more I feel uncomfortable with things, the more I worry about being emotionally damaging to this baby. I worry that if I can't keep myself stable now, I'm doing a huge disservice to this poor baby already and it's likely to get much much worse before it gets better. 



Just for cuteness, cuz who doesn't love this happy face!


Looking forward to: Getting my rocking/gliding chair in the next week or two. Maybe I'll have somewhere comfy to sit! Also happy about three day weekend for my husband. We happen to have the house to ourselves and we'll get a decent chunk of downtime to ourselves.

I can see some indents on my thighs that show off some of the swelling. My feet too. They've never been real bad, but it's still a little weird. Glad I have some really great supportive sandals - especially because they're a men's size and slightly too big.


Working on two other separate blog posts currently, one to go up in the next few days for sure. 

Here's my awkward asymmetrical belly for your viewing pleasure. 



And here is my therapist and I communing.






Monday, May 23, 2016

Pregnancy Update Week 33

Baby size/Important facts: Baby should be around 18" long and over 4 lbs lbs! Brain is growing and immune system is developing. I just got my TDap shot so that should help with that immune system. 

Size comparisons: Ukelele, bunch of celery, size 10 men's boat shoe, store bought loaf of bread, or fanny pack.  







Weight Change: Total gain of ~29 lbs, so I'm good not putting on more weight. I'd like to stay in the total range of up 25-35 lbs. 

Waist Change: 
  • Week 10
    • Waist: 29" 
    • Bellybutton: 33.5" 
  • Size gain this week alone:
    • Waist: 0"
    • Bellybutton: 0" 
  • Total gain: 
    • Waist: 6"
    • Bellybutton: 10.5"
Maternity clothes: It warmed up, so I've had more chances to wear my yoga shorts & dresses, that helps. I have learned though that I really vastly prefer the under the belly bottoms. The over belly either make me hot if they're pulled up, or dig in really really bad if I fold them over.   



Bra changes: Nothing this week!

Stretch marks: Still not seeing any. Still surprised!

Sleep: Back to not really sleeping, even though I've been tired enough to. The seasonal change has been messing with me. I can't fall asleep due to stress, and then light, birds, heat, and the rest of the house being awake has been getting me up early enough to go to work with my husband...except that I have no reason to be up.



Workouts: We've gotten a little bit back on this train. I've given up on traditional strength exercises really, or at least back burner'd them. I hope to try that next week now that the nursery is basically done. All that's left is packing the bags for delivery! I've been doing just a smidgen of yoga here and there, but I did get back into running a little. We're trying to get back to 3 x week, and are managing a 4 x a week decent length walk for the most part. Our "run" is a run/walk, 4-5 min run then 2-3 min walk and switch. But I'm OK with that. Hoping to find some flatter softer ground for that soon, it should make it easier. 

Diet: Has improved over last week, except for one day where it turned into fast food twice and a ballpark hotdog once more. Whoops! But we've started making our own meals again and we've had a large influx of eggs and veggies at home so that helps. It also avoids some of the midnight mac & cheese adventures.  

Best moment this week: The accomplishment of running at all. 

Miss anything: Sleep, cold & dark mornings, and wearing my own t shirts. 



Food cravings: This last week I've been wanting dessert with all of my meals. Not sure if I'm just short on calories/fats or what. Unfortunately, we really haven't had anything for that. So I got ice cream the other day with my mom. That was a bonus. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? No, but I've thrown up a few times this week - after only throwing up once previously. It's always from brushing my teeth. I think now that my stomach is so squished by baby that any even light gagging within 2 hours of eating is enough to lose a little food. Oh well.

Sex Guess: Octopus, definitely. Baby has been sitting in a strange way for the last few days where it feels like the head is right in the middle of the body and so all I can think is that the anatomy is just all wrong and I'm not having a human at all.  

Labor signs: Still having a ton of BH, but no real pain, so we're not REALLY viewing them as a labor sign. 

Symptoms: Braxton hicks and lots and lots of pinched nerve in the ribcage pain. Plus everything that goes with having a basketball stuck to your front. Heartburn - which happens most often if I haven't eaten in 3-4 hours. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat though. 



Baby position: Baby is still stubbornly breech. Hasn't really moved much other than swinging head from one side to another. We've been doing twice weekly chiro/acupuncture/moxibustion to try to help baby turn. So far nothing...which is starting to be concerning/sad. If we make it to 37 weeks (only 3.5 weeks from now!) and baby is still wrong side down, we'll go into the hospital for an ECV External Cephalic Version, to try to manually turn baby over. Of course, before they do that, they'll do a quick ultrasound to check full body positioning as well as umbilical cord length, etc, to make sure that flipping baby won't cause any harm that we can tell. If baby successfully flips and stays that way, we're all good for birth center. If not, we're stuck with a c-section in a hospital. There's no other choice. 

Belly button in or out? It goes further out everyday I think.  

Emotional state: Getting worse if at all possible. I'm having a terribly hard time adjusting to this housing situation and the added heat this week (and of course, more to come) is making it worse. I'm starting to feel overheated if it's above 72-73 inside. Unfortunately we're on the second floor, so it's warmer up here. Turning the AC on while the downstairs is probably not above 70 doesn't make sense, but the upstairs seems to hover around 79 and stuffy if we don't. Either way, through no fault of anyone else in the house, I am just not really doing well trying to get used to house sharing. I don't feel much privacy and now the most private rooms in our space are by far the hottest ones. 

Looking forward to: Hm....that's a toughie this week. Looking forward to no longer being pregnant I suppose? But that means a baby and a larger lack of sleep, so that's scary too. Looking forward to having some out-of-town family visit next week I suppose. 



Here's some nursery/baby gear pictures!


First, it was the local Tough Mudder race this past Saturday. This was me "participating." I'm wearing my husband's shirt because mine no longer covers me. This is one race I wouldn't even consider past the 1st trimester.



Basket of baby pharmacy type goodies. Nose sucker, thermometer, liquid tylenol, butt paste, and of course my nice cloth breast pads for nursing!


Baby bath toys in a bag, plus baby bathtub hanging up. Baby shampoo on the tub, and towels hanging for mom, baby, and dad. 


Padded cover for the bathtub faucet!  


This turned out a little dark, but we hung up our banner from the baby shower in front of the nursery window, it's still adorable!



Crib, complete with three layers of waterproof mattress pads and sheets already installed! Plus the totally fun zany mobile.


Storing the bouncy seat in the crib for now, until it's grown out of probably. I figure swing, bouncy seat, and bassinet will be outgrown around the same time.




Changing table! The stuffed animals on top are working on a new home. Bins underneath hold our whole cloth diaper stash (which I'll get more pictures of later as we move into them and perfect our methods), plus a toy bin, and the stacks of blankies. Diaper bags are on top of diaper pail. This also might be the last time the laundry basket is empty! In front I have the diaper caddy stocked with newborn stuff ready to go and of course Barley needs his bed in this room to keep him out of baby's things. 


Baby's half of closet with all of our newborn and 0-3 months clothes hanging, plus the socks/shoes/hats stacked. Also the pack & play, bottle storage, plus bibs & burb cloths. 

We have our stash of bigger clothes washed, folded and stacked up boxed up in the closet too, along with the car seat. Car seat moves into the car in the next week or two though - we'd rather be ready!

So we'll mostly materialistically ready - still waiting on baby carriers and tubing for breast pump, but those are quick & easy. 

Now just to work on trying to find a way to be emotionally ready. Plus - gotta pack the bags and get the Ipod set up. 


Sunday, May 15, 2016

Pregnancy Update Weeks 30-32

Baby size/Important facts: Baby should be around 18" long and 4 lbs! Is mainly working on developing senses and accumulating more fat!

Size comparisons: We went through cabbage and coconut to a Jicama fruit. Still hovering around a loaf of bread, passed up a jar of nutella, compsognathus (adorable tiny dinosaur), and american football to now rival a Mega Chup Chups lollipop, deerstalker hat, or hard hat. 



Weight Change: Total gain of ~27 lbs, back on the gaining train. Though I'd be fine stopping about now.

Waist Change: 
  • Week 10
    • Waist: 29" 
    • Bellybutton: 33.5" 
  • Size gain this week alone:
    • Waist: N/A
    • Bellybutton: N/A 
  • Total gain: 
    • Waist: 6"
    • Bellybutton: 10.5"
Maternity clothes: I actually blew out a pair of maternity jeans. Sigh. Also: my jeans just fall down ALL THE TIME. The rest of my pants seem to be doing alright. Otherwise alright except that it's been chilly and wet up here and I didn't really accumulate clothing to deal with that. Luckily my pre-preg hoodies are Men's Large - so they still fit - barely.  





Bra changes: No new sizing, which is good! Picked up a few more for nursing. I have one more online store that carries I think ONE bra in my size before I'll have to resort to $80 bras at Nordstroms or even more pricey options...


Stretch marks: Still not seeing any. Still surprised!


Sleep: My new wedge pillow has helped amazingly well. Also I've been more tired the last couple of weeks and now that we're done unpacking mostly I think it's a pregnancy thing and not just a too busy to function tired. 


Workouts: My workouts have consisted of moving and unpacking and moving and unpacking. Then once we got the house unpacked, it was unpacking and sorting baby items, plus putting together a crib. Plus some nice long walks. So not as regimented but I certainly don't feel like I've been physically lazy.  

Diet: Well we had three birthdays to celebrate in the last week, plus all the random craziness from moving and everything else. There's been a total crap ton of pizza. I've been trying to otherwise do well, putting some grain supplements (chia seeds, flax seeds, etc) into my morning oatmeal and adding spinach to everything I can, plus snacking a lot on carrots & apples. Working to do better this coming week now that things are settling down. 





Best moment this week: Some wonderful cuddling up on our couch with my wonderful husband. 


Miss anything: Painless driving...that's the biggest one. Also missing being able to go 8 hours overnight without peeing.

Food cravings: Not much. Not as hungry as I had been for months. Mostly now I eat because I feel obligated to.   

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope

Sex Guess: After this leech spent a few hours today completely sideways, I decided only a stubborn boy would have struggled that long and hard for something so not helpful. 




This picture on the wall at the hospital made me feel better about my choice to travel to the birth center. I hate the idea of not being allowed to hold my baby (or keep him/her in a carrier with me) while I walk the halls if I'm going to be stuck on the hospital for a couple of days...

Labor signs: Spent a few hours in the hospital the other morning due to braxton hicks contractions every 3-6 minutes for a few hours. After an icky cervical check plus vaginal ultrasound (nope nope nope in the fun department) it was determined that my cervix is still quite favorable for holding onto this baby for quite a while and the contractions aren't do anything to hasten labor, so I should just ignore them...Also normal advice to slow them down is to drink a lot of water and lay down quietly. My experience so far is to stop drinking so much and get up and do things is the best way to slow them down. Either way, it could be a long 5-8 weeks of a lot of contractions. 

Symptoms: Braxton hicks and lots and lots of pinched nerve in the ribcage pain. Plus everything that goes with having a basketball stuck to your front. PUtting on pants and shoes is quite humorous, and I don't want to talk about shaving or cutting my toenails. Suffice to say I'm thankful that I've spent years doing yoga. 




Baby position: Other than the few hours transverse (sideways) still breech. Started seeing chiropractor on Friday and starting some exercises and such this week to try to help out, plus burning some herbs near my toes. I'm not sure if the herbs will help, but I'm willing to try anything. What I can say is that since the first chiro treatment, leech has been especially active and has been making more major movements. 


Belly button in or out? It goes further out everyday I think.  

Emotional state: Still pretty stressed out. The move itself went about as well as it could have gone - the truck was huge but stable and it was a workhorse it did everything we could have wanted and was definitely big enough. It was still four very long very hard days of moving, then 4 more days of unpacking and just a lot going on all the time. Doctor appointments are an hour drive one way, birthing classes are more like a 90 min drive to get to, only 45 minutes home. Taking care of Mystique's leg injury is a 60 minute drive. And that is how I spend a lot of my week in between readying baby's room. Adding time spent packing labor bags and readying labor music this week. Luckily the chiropractor is a short drive. Also, hired a doula for the birth last week too, so it's nice to have another fountain of information and advice. At the same time: I am borrowing a car for next week because mine is in the shop...I think the water pump went out. Grrrrrr. 


Looking forward to: Getting all the baby stuff sorted, clean, and organized this week. The only things I am still in need of before birth are the new tubing for the breast pump and a few more mattress covers (they're already on order), and baby carriers. I think I can amass those in the next two weeks. The other things we need (stroller, high chair) we can wait at least a little while before they get here. The stroller is on order and should deliver right around 38 weeks, which is OK because if little leech arrives any earlier than that we probably won't be taking stroller walks for a few weeks anyway.



Week 30 shot was taken after the first day of driving. During unpacking week we apparently for the first time missed taking our weekly shot! Oh well!



Here's moving pictures, plus my favorite set of new shots: Barley testing out all of our baby gear!


Our truly ridiculously long/large rig for the trip



Truckin' while Barley tries to sleep


Barley curled up in his favorite towel for the trip, because we didn't think to leave him out a blankie and the vinyl seats were too cold/slick for him.


The cab. It was a huge huge truck. Like eye level with semis, looking over the top of lifted pick ups. 



Our car seat! Britax Marathon in Kiwi, but really it's nothing without those ears


Our stroller "cocoon" aka Moses basket. It doubles as a napper or cosleeper for the tiny time but clips snugly into our stroller (when it arrives) for safe newborn travel.


Bouncy seat. And that's the harness, not a diaper on Barley...we did not try out the vibration feature - I didn't want to literally scare the piss out of him.



Super awesome bassinet that we are borrowing for the next few months. You can fold up wheels and rock it like a cradle, or pull out the basket and use it as a cosleeper (larger than our cocoon) or portable nap space if you want/need.


Super awesome handmade solid wood rocking horse!



Our new swing that is portable and foldable. 


Last but not least - the crib!

Next week I'm hoping to have nursery photos up once everything is clean, folded, and put away. Working on it for sure. Also should have an update from the chiropractor AND the midwife as it pertains to breech-ness and contractions.