32 Weeks!

32 weeks pregnant today!  I am feeling SOOO BIG lately.  I've seriously got about an inch left between my belly and the steering wheel in our van before I need to move it up and out of the way.  I don't think my picture from this week looks much different than the past few weeks, but I feel so much bigger for some reason!

I forced myself to wear my maternity jeans this week and they didn't fall down as much.  Maybe because my belly is bigger now it's easier for them to stay up?  They're still not the most comfortable things in the world because they dig in where the secret panel ends and the denim begins.  But at least I don't have to live in just leggings for the next 8 weeks anymore.  

This week Abby is the size of a red squash or a jicama.

She is most likely in the head down position now and is fattening up in preparation for life in the outside world!

32 Week Survey:

How far along: 32 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: No change this week, still a net loss of 5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.
Maternity clothes: All!
Stretch marks: Nothing new this week.

Sleep: I'm still breaking in my wrist braces and have yet to make it through an entire night with them on.  More than anything, flipping from side to side is getting to be quite the challenge with this big belly in the way!  I'm tired, but not as tired as I'm sure I'll be with a newborn in the house!

Best moment this week: Got off work early two days in a row!

Movement: Yes, still lots.  I really notice now when she's sound asleep and when she's up and at 'em.  

Food cravings: One night this week I wanted a chocolate milkshake so bad that I had to go get one right that minute!
Gender: Still a little girl!  At least she'd better be.  Hopefully we will get yet another confirmation at our growth ultrasound next week.
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out: Still in.

What I miss: Being able to run around and be on my feet without having major back pain :-/

What I am looking forward to: Our growth ultrasound and couples baby shower next week!
Milestones: I'm not sure there was one this week.

I'd now like to treat everyone to a little something I'll call "How To Speak To a Pregnant Woman In Her Third Trimester"...

When you ask her how she's feeling and she says that she is having a lot of back and hip pain, you should NOT say, "Oh, but you still have SOOO much time left!  Have you talked to your doctor about this?  How will you make it all the way to your due date?"  Instead, you should say, "She'll be here before you know it and the pain will disappear.  Here, have some ice cream!"

You should NOT say, "Wow, you look huge lately!"  Instead, you should say, "You look amazing!  You're all belly and are definitely not showing anywhere else.  From the back I wouldn't even know you're pregnant!  Here, have some ice cream!"

You should NOT tell me how horrible your birth, epidural, c-section, breastfeeding experience, etc was before I have had the chance to experience any of these things for myself.  Instead, you should tell me how amazing being a parent is and that it's all worth it.  And of course, OFFER ME ICE CREAM!

I realize that these are lofty expectations and that I am an extremely cranky pregnant woman, so I'll do my best to forgive any transgressions.  Basically, it's been a long week.  My back and hips are hurting, I do have a long way to go until my due date and I am HUGE.  Or at least I feel huge anyway.  Not to mention that we hit a car after child birth class the other night and it most definitely belonged to the only parents in our class who are having twins.  And it was their brand new car.  It was a complete accident and everything will be fine, and really I'm just grateful that no one was hurt, but it still threw a kink in the week.  Combine that with the enormous half-giant baby that I'm convinced is growing inside me and I'm ready to settle down for my long winter's nap!

31 Weeks!

Today marks 31 weeks of pregnancy complete!  And I'm officially over 7 months along too :)  Here's my 31 week picture:

This week Abigail is the size of a pineapple!!

She's now about 16 inches long and 3.3 pounds and is heading into another growth spurt!  I, on the other hand, feel like I can't get any bigger.  Since I still have a ways to go, though, I'd better get used to it!  I've had most of the week off work and it has been WONDERFUL.  In direct correlation, I've felt a lot better too.  My back pain hasn't been nearly as bad, which I attribute to being on my feet so much less throughout the day.  I've still kept busy and actually had a lot of errands to run and stuff, but I've been able to take breaks when I need them and that has made all the difference.  Less than four weeks left of work now (but hey, who's counting?!) so I've got to just suck it up and get through it!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and for the first time in a few years I didn't host.  We went to my in-laws house and had a fabulous meal and a very nice day with the family.  While I love cooking and have really enjoyed hosting Thanksgiving the last couple of years, it was SO wonderful not to have to do it this year!!  Plus my mother-in-law still sent us on our way with some of her delicious sweet potatoes and of course PIE, which I'll probably be having for breakfast today! :)

Here's my 31 week survey:

How far along: 31 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Net loss of 5 pounds total.  I was scared to weigh myself this morning since yesterday was Thanksgiving, but I was only up a pound from last week, which is better than where I was a few days ago.  I'll take it!  I'm supposed to be gaining about a pound a week from here on out anyway, so if I can limit it to that one pound that's great in my eyes.
Maternity clothes: Oh yes.  Some of my maternity shirts are even getting tight and my maternity jeans aren't comfortable at all anymore so I have completely stopped wearing them at this point (other than for some of the weekly pictures!).  I really don't want to have to buy many more new things so hopefully I can manage with the pieces that I have.  
Stretch marks: Nothing new this week.

Sleep: Better since I got my carpal tunnel braces, but I'm still breaking those in.

Best moment this week: Thanksgiving and having lots of time off!

Movement: She definitely has patterns to her movement now.  There are times when I can tell she is sleeping and then other times when she's awake and playing around in there.  Yesterday Dave's mom and grandma even got to feel her kicking!  Although she wouldn't cooperate for Aunt Jennie, unfortunately :(

Food cravings: Nothing new here - sugar!
Gender: Still a little girl!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out: Still in for now! 
What I miss: Wine/cocktails.  Especially with it being Thanksgiving.  We usually let the wine flow!

What I am looking forward to: Friends Thanksgiving tomorrow, plus a growth ultrasound and our couples baby shower in two weeks!
Milestones: Over 7 months now!  And a complete over-share...I had to buy the largest size bra I've ever purchased in my life!  Nothing fit anymore so it was time.  I can't even imagine what things will be like once my milk comes in.

Child birth classes are still going well and have been kind of interesting.  It's been good to learn about all the different pain management techniques, but I still know that I want an epidural if it's possible for me to have one.  All the talk of tearing and cutting had me pretty freaked out, but that's a normal part of child birth too so it's probably going to happen if I have a vaginal birth whether I like it or not!  Next class we have a "labor rehearsal", which just sounds ridiculously embarrassing.  I know that in the moment I won't care who is there, but practicing labor in a class with 30 other people is awkward!  We're supposed to be scheduling our tour of labor and delivery soon and then I should probably start thinking about packing my hospital bag sometime in the next few weeks, just in case!

30 Weeks!

30 weeks today!  Abby is 3/4 of the way baked!  I'm excited, to say the least, about being in the final home stretch.  Our baby countdown says there's only 69 days left until our due date!  That seems like nothing when I really think about it.  Perhaps almost as exciting, I only have 20 actual work days left (not counting today)!  I remind myself of this multiple times a day when I'm almost going crazy at work because I'm just so DONE with it all.  Only 20 more days is incredibly doable, plus reminding myself of how much extra $ will be in our bank account because of those 20 days helps keep me motivated too.  I'm sure the time will fly!

Here's my 30 week pic:

This week Abby weighs as much as a large head of cabbage and is as long as an English cucumber:

How far along: 30 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Minus 6 pounds total. I put on about 3 pounds this week and managed to hang on to them.  I feel like 3 pounds in one week is a LOT, but I have to remind myself that I'm still under my pre-pregnancy weight and everything is completely fine.  At my last appointment the doctor said my weight is great, so that was good to hear.  
Maternity clothes: Yep, everything.  
Stretch marks: Nothing new this week.

Sleep: Meh, not great.  Not good at all really.  My pregnancy carpal tunnel has gotten really bad.  My doctor prescribed wrist splints for me, so hopefully I'll be able to go pick those up in the next few days.  They're at a special medical supply store and not our usual pharmacy, so that's why I haven't gotten them yet.  My hands are not only going numb while doing almost anything lately (especially sleeping!), but I've started to get some pain in my right hand.  It makes doing normal, every day things much more difficult!

Best moment this week: Got a new iPhone 5!  Dave and I decided that this year for Christmas we were going to buy new iPhones instead of other gifts.  We both had iPhone 4's, and while mine was working perfectly fine, Dave's was not.  His screen was starting to go and his camera no longer worked.  With baby girl on the way, I really want us both to be able to snap pictures and take videos easily, so new phones made sense.  I love my new phone!  It's not even that much different from the old one, but it's much lighter, has a bigger screen, and is FAST.  Plus, the camera is a really great improvement over the camera in my iPhone 4, and I upgraded to more storage so that I'll have plenty of room to store lots and lots of pictures of Abby!

Movement: Her movement has really seemed to slow down this week.  The only reason I can come up with is that it's starting to get a bit crowded in there.  I'm pretty sure she had the hiccups last night for the first time though, so that was pretty funny to me!

Food cravings: I doubt this will ever change...SUGAR.  I really need to start trying to change my habits now because there is no way in hell I'll be able to eat as much sugar once she's born as I do now without gaining massive amounts of weight.
Gender: Still a little girl!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out: Still in for now. 
What I miss: Wine this week!

What I am looking forward to: We've got the last tailgate of the year tomorrow, so here's hoping that we don't freeze!  Then next week the family I nanny for is going out of town for Thanksgiving, so I'll have some paid time off, which I am really, really looking forward to.  We're celebrating Thanksgiving with Dave's family, and then we have our annual Friend's Thanksgiving over the weekend.  Also, our couples baby shower is just a few weeks away!  Lots to look forward to :)
Milestones: 3/4 of the way baked!

This week Dave and I started our childbirth classes.  The class was much larger than I expected!  There were about 15 couples and the class was completely full.  I really like the instructor, but I have to admit that I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know from books and other research I've done.  If anything, I think the class will be good for Dave so that he can have an idea of what to expect.  He refused to watch the video of an actual live birth (he just looked at the screen over his glasses so he couldn't see anything!), so I'm sure that no matter what kind of birth I end up having it will be an interesting process for both of us!  He still maintains that no matter what, he will be staying "north of the equator".  We'll see how that all pans out when we're in the moment!  We've got three more classes over the next three weeks, and then I am taking a breastfeeding class and we have a hospital tour scheduled, so after that we should be all set.  

The next big project to cross off the list is finding a pediatrician, and I feel like we need to get on that pretty quick!  I have an idea of a few practices that I would like to check out, so hopefully the decision process won't take too long.  The main requirements that I have are that it's fairly close to home, the doctors and nurses are friendly, yet professional, and a bonus would be a practice with separate waiting areas for sick and well children.  I know for certain that I do NOT want to choose the pediatrician that the kids I nanny for go to, because I really don't like their office, nurses, or doctors.  Plus the wait times are always terrible.  It would be nice if I liked that office better though, because it's in the same building as our family doctor.  Hopefully we can find a place that we like easily!

29 week office visit

I had another OB appointment this morning and saw yet another doctor from the practice.  Her name was Dr. Garren, and while she was very nice, she was quite a bit more intense than any of the other doctors I've seen so far.  Basically, because of my history of hypertension, plus the fact that my sister had pre-eclampsia with her fist pregnancy, they want to start monitoring me very closely soon.  In a few weeks we'll go in for a growth ultrasound, and then from there I will be having weekly - or possibly even biweekly - non-stress tests, amniotic fluid checks, and office visits.  They basically just want to make sure that Abby is still growing properly and that the placenta is functioning normally as my pregnancy progresses.  It means a lot more appointments for me, which on the one hand I'm grateful for because we'll have reassurance that Abby is doing well.  On the other hand, the appointments will be long and I'll have to miss some work, which I'll need to try to work out with my bosses.  I'm looking forward to being done with work so that I can have greater flexibility with my appointment scheduling and won't have to stress out about missing work for an appointment.  Dr. Garren said that with my previous hypertension, plus the fact that this is my first baby, and that my sister had pre-eclampsia, my risk for developing pre-e is over 50%.  That was a little scary to hear!  There's not really much I can do about it though besides continue my blood pressure medication, monitor my blood pressure at home, and be closely monitored by my doctor.  Other than the increase in appointments coming up soon, Abby was doing great.  My blood pressure was really good, and I am measuring 31 cm, which is just a tad big but Dr. Garren said is totally fine.  Abby's heart rate was 146 and the nurse noted that as of right now she is lodged up in my rib cage.  I think that's all for the updates right now!

Embellished Burp Cloths

One thing that we don't have many of yet is burp cloths.  Spit up and I don't really get along too well.  In fact, burping is one thing that I really don't have down...ask any of my friends with babies.  Once the baby needs burped or spits up, I give that baby back to its mom or dad!  Of course, when Abby is born I'll be her mom and will need to get the hang of burping and not gagging whenever she spits up.  I've heard from friends that plain old cloth diapers work great as absorbent burp cloths.  I wanted to make them a little prettier, since if I'm going to be getting spit up on I at least want to use a cute burp rag!  I picked up a pack of plain Gerber pre-fold cloth diapers and embellished the center panel with fabric scraps leftover from Abby's baby quilt and other old sewing projects.  I basically followed this tutorial: http://chickpeastudio.typepad.com/chickpea_sewing_studio/diaper-burp-cloth-tutoria.html

As with all of my sewing projects, these burp cloths are far from perfect!  The great thing about this project is that they don't have to be anywhere near perfect because a) no one will notice, and b) they're going to be used to clean up drool and spit up anyway!  I think they're adorable and love how they turned out.  I used a zigzag stitch on some of the panels and a straight stitch on others.  The zigzag worked more effectively to catch all the edges of the panel, but I have very limited experience with that stitch and using it definitely had a learning curve!  I used a straight stitch on some of them simply to speed things along, but I prefer the look of the zigzag stitch.  I think a big stack of these would make a great baby shower gift!

29 Weeks!

Today marks 29 weeks!  I am definitely starting to feel Abby's size these days.  I believe that she might be in the head down position (at least some of the time, she still has enough room to change positions at this point).  There are times in the day where it feels like there's a bowling ball between my legs! She also likes to get right up under my ribs on my right side and sitting can be very uncomfortable sometimes.  I'm really starting to feel the discomfort that comes with being in the third trimester!  Here is my 29 week picture:

This week Abby is about the size of a butternut squash:

Abigail is a little over 15 inches long this week and about 2 and a half pounds.  She is over 2/3 her final size and her bones are almost fully developed.  That I definitely believe, I can feel her bones poking me!  It's a very strange feeling.  This week I've started to feel REALLY big.  My back has been hurting me a lot and I've lost some of the usual pep in my step, especially while working.  Bending down to pick things up or put my boots on is getting to be pretty difficult as well.  I'm thankful at this point that I don't have too much longer left at work!

29 week survey:

How far along: 29 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Minus 9 pounds as of this morning. I'm now convinced that this baby is just using my fat stores from other places on my body.  I'm fine with it!  I've got an appointment with a different doctor on Monday so I'm sure it will come up.
Maternity clothes: Yep, everything.  
Stretch marks: A few more are stretching out.
Best moment this week: Skyping with my niece and nephew was definitely one of the highlights!

Movement: So much movement!  I've started doing kick counts in the mornings and it's never taken me more than a few minutes to get to 10.  She's a busy girl!

Food cravings: Still just sugar, sugar, sugar.  MUST STOP EATING PEANUT BUTTER CUPS!
Gender: Still a little girl!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out: Still in for now. 
What I miss: Not having back pain and ligament pain :-/ 

What I am looking forward to: Date night tonight and then another quiet weekend at home.  Seriously, I have become incredibly antisocial lately and I don't even care.  By the time the weekend is here I just want to lounge around and nap all weekend!
Milestones: Passed my glucose test!

I got an email from my OB's office this week that the results of my glucose test came back normal, which is great!  They also informed me that my hemoglobin is low, which means I'm anemic.  It's super common in pregnancy and they just want me to take an iron supplement twice a day.  The good news is that it may explain why I've been so exhausted lately and also the tingling and numbness in my hands, which I guess is a sign of anemia.  Anyway, I still need to go pick up a supplement, so I am hoping to cross that off my to-do list asap and we'll see if the added iron makes a difference.  In the meantime, I've been trying to add more iron to my diet too, so hopefully that will help.  I am thrilled about passing the glucose test though! I just really didn't want to have to take the three hour test, or even worse, give up my beloved sugar for the rest of my pregnancy.  Of course I would have if necessary, but it's nice to not have to deal with a complication like gestational diabetes.  In other news, I decided this week to have half of a small glass of red wine with a pasta dinner we were having one night.  It was absolutely delicious and I savored every sip...but then I felt horribly guilty the entire rest of the night!  There is conflicting research on the topic of alcohol in the third trimester of pregnancy, but I'm not really one to believe that half a glass of wine consumed with food is enough to cause any sort of detriment to the baby.  That being said, I was paranoid and worried about her movements all evening, so I can very safely say that while I really enjoyed that small glass of wine, I will be waiting until after delivery to do it again!  I have a routine appointment with yet another doctor on Monday, so I'll post about that sometime next week.  Until then, I'll be sleeping...hopefully!

Quilt & Nursery Pics

I sequestered myself in the house this weekend in an attempt to just relax and take it easy...but of course I ended up cleaning and sewing a bit too.  I finally finished Abby's baby quilt!  I am absolutely in love with how it turned out.  The mix of patterns and colors goes really well with her room.  As with all of my sewing projects, it's far from perfect, but I think there's something about the imperfections that makes it even more special.  Here are a few pictures of the quilt:

Obviously she won't be using it in her crib for quite a while, but I still like having it up in her nursery so that I can see it when I'm in there :)  Here are a few more pictures of the nursery right now. 

A view of the crib and mobile.

The changing table wall.  We still need a changing pad, but this area is pretty much done otherwise.  It's even complete with diapers and wipes!

Abby's closet as of right now, with a fresh coat of white paint inside to spruce things up.  I had a hard time deciding what clothes to hang and what to put in the dresser, so I may reorganize down the road.  

The "mom corner", as I like to call it. 

    

 The dresser alcove when you first enter the room.

 My sister made us an awesome diaper cake for our baby shower and it came with a TON of hair clips and headbands!  She even made this bow holder too :)  Let's just hope baby girl has some hair and isn't a baldy baby like I was!

 Speaking of my sister, she also made us this art work that I absolutely love!

The housekeeper of the family that I nanny for got us this adorable owl night light.

I think those are all the updates for now!  Honestly, we need some more winter clothes and few other odds and ends, but otherwise we are pretty much ready for Abby's arrival.  Kind of scary!  The last big purchase that we need to make is a breast pump, but I was advised by my insurance company to wait until January because they *may* cover part or all of one at that time.  Most insurance plans are currently required to cover breast pumps and other nursing supplies thanks to Obamacare, but since we have a grandfathered plan that was in place before the Affordable Care Act was signed, our insurance plan is not required to comply.  However, the best answer that I can get out of our insurance company is to check back in January to see if the terms have changed, so here's hoping Abby doesn't come too early!  Thankfully, we put a lot of money into our health savings plan this year in anticipation of our fertility treatment costs.  Insurance actually ended up covering a great deal of those charges thanks to some loopholes, so we have a lot of money left that we need to use or we lose by March, so if insurance won't pay for a double electric breast pump like I want, then we can use our health savings to pay for one.  If they do end up covering one, then Dave and I might both be getting some new glasses instead.  Still no word from my doctor about my glucose and anemia test results, so hopefully I'll hear soon.  Or maybe no news is good news?  I should have asked at my last appointment!  I have another routine visit a week from Monday so at least I'll find out for sure whether I passes or failed then!

28 Weeks!

Today marks 28 weeks of pregnancy!  I feel like I'm back in the first trimester all over again, and it seemingly happened overnight!  I have been absolutely exhausted this week and have been falling asleep on the couch or calling it a night around 8pm or so the last few evenings.  In the first trimester I was the same way, and as soon as I was finished eating dinner, I would doze on the couch for most of the evening.  Apparently third trimester fatigue is very common, but I'm really hoping that a few days of lots of extra sleep will help me feel more energized!

Here is my 28 week picture:

And just for fun, I wore the same outfit that I was wearing in my 18 week picture!  Here is a side-by-side comparison of what a difference 10 weeks makes:

I thought I was huge at 18 weeks!  Ha!  This week Abby is either the size of an eggplant, or a Chinese cabbage, depending on the source.  Here's a picture of both!

At 28 weeks, Abby is around 14 inches long and 2 and a quarter pounds.  She can blink her eyes and see light that filters into the womb.  Her lungs are now mature enough that if she were (God forbid!) to be born now she would most likely survive!  She is also adding more body fat to prepare for life outside the womb...although nothing can really prepare her for cold Michigan winters!

28 week survey:

How far along: 28 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Minus 8 pounds. But I feel ENORMOUS lately!
Maternity clothes: Yep, everything.  
Stretch marks: Nothing new this week as far as I can tell.
Best moment this week: Dave was able to feel Abby kick really hard the other day :)  He had very cold hands and that worked great to get her moving!

Movement: Lots!  I've been able to feel her kicking higher up too, which is a lot of fun.  In fact, our friend Jessica got to feel her kick at the Halloween party last weekend.  She's the first person besides Dave and I to feel her kick :)

Food cravings: Since it was Halloween this week, I'll just say CANDY!!!  Oh my word, I have eaten WAY too much candy this week.
Gender: Still a little girl!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out: Still in for now. 
What I miss: The usual things...sleeping on my stomach, a glass of wine after a crappy day at work, not having to pee every two minutes.  

What I am looking forward to: A very quiet weekend at home.  Seriously, other than dinner out tonight with Dave, my plan is to not leave the house for anything all weekend long!  I'm even taking a break from tailgating this weekend.  I just need some recharging time.
Milestones: Glucose test this week!  I am really praying that I passed!  I felt totally fine after drinking the fruit punch drink and having my blood drawn.  I didn't do very well abstaining from sugar the day before the test though, so I'm hoping that doesn't have a negative impact on my results.  If worse comes to worst and I end up having gestational diabetes, I will of course do everything I need to do to make sure that Abby is healthy...but man would it be hard to give up sugar!  I have no idea when I will get the results, so fingers are crossed until then.

After writing my post about how hard it will be to leave my job, I had a couple rough days in a row (go figure). My sister recommended that I get a countdown app so that I can see just how few days I really have left.  After counting up all the actual work days that I have left, I found out that as of today I only have 30 days left!!  That number seems so much more doable than seven weeks :)  I still need to give my bosses my official last day, which I've determined will be December 20.  Hopefully time really will fly by until then!  I'm ready for some nesting time before Abigail makes her big debut.

Speaking of Abby's debut, I've been reading lots and lots of birth stories online lately.  They've been both beneficial and terrifying!  Women who go through natural childbirth have my utmost respect...but that is NOT something I want to experience!  In my ideal world, I would have one of those "A Baby Story" births where the mom comes in, gets her epidural, dilates to 10cm while smiling and chatting with her husband, and then pushes out the baby no problem.  Now, I KNOW that most likely will not be my birth experience, but a girl can dream!!  Dave and I start our child birth classes in a few weeks, so I'm hoping that will help prepare us both for what lies ahead without scaring me too badly.  I'm really, really terrified to give birth, but I just have to keep in mind that it's a natural process and women have been doing it since the beginning of time!