31 Weeks!

We have 8 weeks to go.... OMG! Let the countdown begin…..

I can’t believe how far we’ve come. Yesterday I had my 31 week check up and my doctor decided to schedule my c-section date… April 22^nd at 7:30am! It’s crazy to think that’s when my daughter is going to born! It’s Earth Day too! And she’s letting me go as close to my due date as possible since so far I seem to be having no issues with the previa… so instead of being born a few weeks early, it looks like we’re only going to be about 5 days before our due date! That’s so exciting! Granted, that could all change…. If my body decides to go into labor before hand and or I start to bleed, chances are we’ll have an emergency c-section. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!

OR if I go into my next ultrasound and the baby has flipped and the placenta has moved, my doctor will let me have a natural delivery. Who knows! It could still happen! I go in next Tuesday afternoon to check… she says if the placenta has moved enough to have a vaginal delivery, then they’ll try to flip the baby so I can deliver, but if the placenta hasn’t moved enough, chances are it won’t by the time we need it to and the date will remain the same. It’s still a waiting game, but it’s nice to know I have a spot reserved!

I was able to tell my parents too so they can book their flights. My dad has been asking me when the section will be so I was happy to give him a tentative (at least) date yesterday upon leaving the doctors. I’m excited to spend time with my mom and dad when the baby is here! And I’m excited for them to be able to spend time with their new granddaughter as well since they both live so far away! I am so blessed to have parents that are willing to travel across the country for me!

My mom comes in tomorrow for my baby shower! YAY!!! I get to pick her up from the airport in exactly 20 hours and 15 minutes! But who’s counting? Tomorrow I am working half day, picking her up from the airport, taking her to lunch and Starbucks and we’ll probably start the baby shower process… there are a few things she needs to pick up from party city… she’s been sending me boxes of stuff that she has purchased as far as décor and games go, but she made me wait to open the boxes! I’m dying to know what’s inside of them! They have been sitting in baby girl’s room for at least 3 weeks now! I’m excited to spend time with her!

Our honeymoon friends from Canada are also coming down this weekend! And so are their parents! Just for my shower… again so blessed! They’re coming down on Friday night so we plan on cooking them a nice meal and then spending some time with them. I can’t wait to see everyone!

My dress that I ordered from Old Navy came in and fits perfect, I don’t feel like a whale in it at all! It’s very comfy… I found a cute way to wear my hair.. kind of by accident, so I hope it works out for the morning of. I’m so excited! Packages have been being delivered left and right from various friends and family who live out of town that have been shopping off of our registry. I’ve been really good about not opening up the packages! However, some of the bigger items were shipped and not in boxes at all. I mean they were in boxes, but not outer boxes. It looked someone just bought the items and then dropped them at our doorstep. Our Canada friends sent us the Graco Pack N Play we registered for! It’s prettier in real life than it was online! My mom sent us the matching high chair too! My mom's best friends from her old job who have been long time family friends since before I was born sent me the mattress to baby girl's crib too! My best friend Alexis in CA sent us the bathtub we registered for, I got so excited to see it on our doorstep!!!

I’m not sure if I ever expressed my love for bath time. I don’t know what it is, the smells of the soap, a cute little wet chunky baby that is all fresh, the towels, all of the above.. but I am so in love with bath time! I love to bath babies, they’re so freaking cute when they’re in their little bath tub getting all fresh! And then they want to cuddle with you when they get out cause they’re cold! It’s seriously the cutest thing ever! I get so excited about anything that has to do with bath time! Daniel thinks I’m just weird, but when that bathtub showed up, I wanted to fill it with water and use it right then and there! Ok, maybe I am weird.

This child has been hiccuping the entire time I’ve been typing this… haha such a hilarious thing!

Currently she is the size of a pineapple!! Yikes!!!

Your Baby: Week 31

At 31 weeks, all of baby's five senses are working. Plus, she's going through major brain and nerve development.

Symptoms: Back pain, hip pain, peeing every hour, heartburn, pelvic pain, CONSTIPATION is back with a vengeance, hemorrhoids (sorry, TMI) and holy crap am I feeling a TON of movement! I mean like constant... and my belly is showing it all the time now... I love it!  

Food Cravings: We're back to Taco Bell... if we ever left it

What I'm most excited about: My baby shower!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: We set up our pack n play... high chair... and getting the room more and more ready for her arrival!

 

Here is my 31w bump:

 

 

30 weeks!!

During Thanksgiving when my sister and brother in law came to visit, she was 30 weeks pregnant. I remember thinking, "Wow, 30 weeks!!" Now I'm there... so crazy! I can’t even believe how quickly the time is flying…. We have just over 7 weeks left (since they won’t let me go past 38 weeks)… It’s so crazy to think about. Crazy is really the only word I can use right now to describe it. Maybe surreal… insane….and completely amazing!! I can’t wait to hold this little girl in my arms…I can’t wait to kiss those feet that have been jumping on my bladder…. And I can’t wait to look into her eyes and feel all of the things that every mother feels the first time they look at their brand new baby. Chills, chills I tell you!

My mom flies in a week from tomorrow! I can’t wait to see her!! Our friends from Canada are driving down next Friday as well to spend the weekend with us too! I can’t wait to see so many loved ones in one place… it makes me feel so overwhelmed when people take the time out of their days just for me… it makes me feel so loved every time my mom tells me there is another RSVP confirming that someone else is attending. The thing I hate about showers is opening up presents in front of everyone. It makes me feel so uncomfortable. I feel undeserving and I hate when all of the attention is on me. I always feel like “Thank you” isn’t deep enough to express my gratitude for gifts from people… I feel like I can’t say thank you enough so I keep saying it over and over again in hopes they understand how much their thoughtfulness is appreciated. I’m really looking forward to the shower though, it’ll be great to see my house full of people I love!

So I’m well into my 3^rd trimester and I feel like I’m back in my 1^st trimester. I’m not AS tired as I was in the beginning weeks of my pregnancy, but lately my body just feels so… pregnant. Today I was feeling my stomach just stretching. I know that’s what it’s supposed to be doing, but my skin feels so tight, I’ve never been able to feel my stomach actually stretching before. Could be the pants I am wearing today though. I think I officially have to retire these jeggings… they’re not maternity, but they’re stretch jeans that have fit me up until now. They’re pretty tight and sitting at my desk all day I feel like they’re about to bust open. With just 7 weeks to go I’m not sure I want to buy another pair of jeggings, but they’re the only skinny jeans I have that fit with boots… we’ll see. Maybe I’ll find a good deal on them.

I’ve started to develop sciatica as well, at least that’s what I think it is. When I’m standing up for long periods of time or even walking around, the upper part of my right leg starts to go numb.. the first time I felt it I was standing in line at Pier One and it felt like I had something heavy in my pocket. Thinking it was my phone I patted my leg to see and I couldn’t feel my hand touching my thigh. It scared the ever living out of me, let me tell you. It doesn’t happen all the time and it’s not SUPER uncomfortable, but I am going to bring it up to my doctor when I see her next Tuesday.

This week baby girl is the size of a cucumber... I'm guess length?

Your Baby: Week 30

At 30 weeks, she’s not just moving a lot, she’s also plumping up. And as she continues to put pressure on your digestive system, you’re going to feel the effects: hemorrhoids, heartburn, pelvic pain and frequent urination are all common at this stage in the game.

Check...check...check...and check....

Symptoms: Back pain, hip pain, peeing every hour, heartburn, pelvic pain, CONSTIPATION is back with a vengeance, hemorrhoids (sorry, TMI) and holy crap am I feeling a TON of movement! I mean like constant... and my belly is showing it all the time now... I love it!  

Food Cravings: Nothing really sticks out...

What I'm most excited about: My baby shower!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Nothing really new this week... although my parents are starting to look up plane tickets to come to see me when she's born... how exciting!!

Here is my 30 week bump:



29 weeks!

Sorry, sooo late again this week. I've been so busy at work that when I come home, the last thing I want to do is stare at THAT computer screen.... so you'll get two updates this week. This one and my 30 week (probably a little later this week.)

My mom comes into town in 10 days for my shower! Which means my shower is in 12 days... ahhh! Insane that it's close!! That dress that I had previously mentioned was finally delivered and it was so not the color that I was anticipating. It was called rave red, but in the picture it looked like a dark coral, which is kind of what I was going for. However, when I opened the package I was shocked to see BRIGHT red... so not what I was going for. So back to Target it went... I ended up going a different route completely.... you'll see eventually.

Also, initially I had planned on forgoing maternity pictures, but I think what I might do is get ready super early for the baby shower and have my mom take some nice pictures of me in the nursery and outside in the backyard... just a few really pretty pictures to have to document this awesome time in my life. The only thing I really have are my weekly self portrait iPhone pictures, haha. I think she'll be happy to do them.

Currently, baby girl is the size of an acorn squash... (wtf is that?)

Your Baby: Week 29

At 29 weeks, she’s not just moving a lot, she’s also plumping up. And as she continues to put pressure on your digestive system, you’re going to feel the effects: hemorrhoids, heartburn, pelvic pain and frequent urination are all common at this stage in the game.

Holy hell are they right!!

Symptoms: Back pain, hip pain, peeing every hour, heartburn, a little swelling here and there...  

Food Cravings: Nothing really sticks out... other than chocolate...

What I'm most excited about: My baby shower!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Nothing really new this week... although my parents are starting to look up plane tickets to come to see me when she's born... how exciting!!

 

29 week bump:

 

 

28 weeks!

I'm late to posting, but it's been a hectic week. We had a friend pass away this week. Our good friend Cheryl that we used to live with was married to an amazing man that was diagnosed with a brain tumor about 10 years ago. Around December of 2012 they stopped treatments because his body was just getting weaker and weaker. His health started to quickly deteriorate and he passed away February 1st. We attended his funeral this week and paid our respects to his family at calling hours the day before. So sad.... he was only 28. A year older than me. Him and Cheryl were the strongest couple I've ever known. She was his rock and vise versa. Even though everyone knew his prognosis, it doesn't make his passing any easier. Cheryl and his family and friends gave him an amazing rest of his life. Rest in peace, Ryan. You are already so missed.

On a happier note, and to prove that the Lord is still working miracles, our baby nephew was born the very next day! Simon William Burns was born February 2^nd at 1:05am. My sister in law was amazing I hear and labored for nearly 20 hours, med free. All the power in the world to her! Lord knows after the first hour this girl would have been hooked up to some meds! He’s adorable, weighing in at 8lbs 9oz…. such a little bundle of joy.

Also this week, I moved out of my office and I am now upstairs in a cubicle on display to all of my employees... so it's a little hard to update at work which is what I usually did. Now I'll have to do it at home or on my lunch break. Boo...

In baby news... my ultrasound results came back and it turns out not only is my placenta still completely covering my cervix, but baby girl is still head up! Stubborn little thing....  I know she still has plenty of time to flip though. They’re talking c-section if my placenta doesn’t move by 30 weeks. The doctor said if at my 30 week u/s if the placenta hasn’t moved, chances are it will not move enough to have a natural delivery by the time I could start to dilate. It’s complete previa right now, not even marginal or partial, so if I start to dilate while the placenta is still completely covering the cervix, there is a great chance of hemorrhaging and having major complications during the birth… Apparently these have caused hysterectomies before, so they like to take the babies as close to 37-38 weeks as possible, obviously being closely monitored for any changes. So there's that.....

Daniel and I went to a newborn care class this weekend as well. It was pretty much all review of everything I knew about newborns. It was funny to watch Daniel give a fake black baby a sponge bath though… and swaddle and change their diaper. There were about 12 couples in the class and 10 of them were having girls… the other two couples were team green so they didn’t know what they were having, but both of them had girl instincts…. So needless to say by the time we got there the girl dolls were taken… we were given a cute little boy doll at first, but the nurse wanted us to practice on a girl so we had to switch with another couple and give them our boy doll and we were given the cutest little black baby doll… not gonna lie, I bonded a little. How could you not when you have to care for this little thing like it was real! Cuddling including….

After the class we were scheduled to go on walking tour/orientation of the hospital. However, because of the huge flu epidemic that is going around they have new visiting guidelines that are in place until the flu season is over.. so weren't able to actually look at the birth center and the rooms I'll be in. We only saw pictures. Right now they’re down to only allowing one designated person (Husband) and two visitors… and these visitors have to be the same two people the entire time I am in the hospital. They all get wrist bands and if they take them off, they’re SOL…. So since my parents are flying in, we chose my mom and dad as our two visitors, but that means that Daniel’s parents have to stay home until I get out of the hospital and wait to meet their granddaughter… and no other visitors. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand why the hospitals are doing this, it would just be totally weird to have to make Daniel’s parents stay home. Sad! We’ve spoken to them though and they understand, I just really hope these rules will be lifted in time for us so we can go back to the regular visiting guidelines which is one designated person and then 5 other visitors that can interchange with each other…

I got my dress in the mail from Target, I did love it, however it was wayyyyy too big for me and the ruffles that were on the neckline made it look really awkward with a cardigan over it…. So I took it back. I got another one in the same color that was in the maternity category online that has a little different neckline, it’s made out of a different material and it has a little different look at the bottom with the way it falls. If this one fits and I keep it, I’ll post a picture of it. I don’t want to get attached!

Currently baby girl is the size of an eggplant.

Your Baby: Week 28

At week 28, baby is breathing (it’s amniotic fluid, not air, but it still counts) and even showing brain activity.

Symptoms: Back pain, hip pain, peeing every hour, heartburn, a little swelling here and there...  

Food Cravings: Chocolate chip cookies and most sweets... anything to do with chocolate and sweets.

What I'm most excited about: My baby shower!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Nursery is about 90% done!

 

Here is my 28 week bump:

 

 

 

27 weeks!

Whoo hoo for the 3rd trimester!! I seriously feel like the minute I hit the 3rd tri, my body was like "Ok, let's amp up these pregnancy symptoms!" For reals... I'm feeling more and more pregnant with each passing day. It's ok, I'm counting my blessings! I'm not complaining by any means, just very surprised that my body didn't waste one second. Kind of funny...

Tomorrow I have another ultrasound to check on my placenta, I'm not gonna lie, I am more excited about seeing our baby girl more than anything! I guess tomorrow if my placenta hasn't moved they may schedule another ultrasound at 30 weeks to check to see if it's moved at all and then from there they'll decide if I am going to have to have an early c-section or not.... I really don't care either way, whatever is the healthiest option with less medical risks!

The nursery is coming along, we painted, all of the furniture is together and in place, shelves are hung and some decor is already in it's place! It looks kind of naked still because the things we registered for obviously we don't have yet... so the crib is without a mattress and bedding, the windows don't have any curtains and there is only a small little cushion on the changer. It's the one that came with it, but we registered for a more plush one. We also have to wait 2 weeks from the day we painted the room to apply the decal to the wall, so once that's up, I'll post pictures. It's really coming along though and it's everything I imagined it to be. I love it!

My mom booked her flight for my shower, she'll be here in exactly 29 days! I can't wait to spend some quality time with her! I am taking a half day on the day she flies in since she gets here at 12:30 and then the next day is Friday which I'm taking off. I can't wait!!

I bought my shower dress today too, I got it on sale at Target with some shoes that were on clearance! I am excited I get to wear sandals! It'll still be pretty cold for sandals, but the shower is in my house so I won't have to worry about it. Sandals are also a good excuse for a pedicure.... something fun to do with my mom too!

Here is a picture of my dress... I plan on wearing either a jean jacket or a white cardigan to go over...

And these are the sandals I got to wear with them.... a total steal at $7.50, and I can wear the heck out of them during the summertime!

Soooo excited!!!

Also, things have started to get rolling with HR at work as far as my FMLA and Maternity leave go... Depending on when I deliver I'll be back to work about mid June. It looks like I'll  be taking some time off to extend my leave too, so that may change to later in June. We already have our first summer vacation planned! We're renting a lake house in the Finger Lakes June 8th through the 13th with Daniel's entire family! I am so looking forward to it! It'll most likely be the first time any of Daniel's family meets the baby since they all live far away! Our new little nephew (who is supposed to be making his arrival Feb 4th) is going to be there also! It'll probably be the first time baby girl meets her cousin outside of the wombs anyways. We'll have to get her a cute little bathing suit! So that'll most likely be my last hoorah before going back to work.. I'm already dreading it and I haven't even left!

This week our girl is the size of a Rutabaga (wtf is that??)

Your Baby: Week 27

At 27 weeks, baby is breathing (it’s amniotic fluid, not air, but it still counts) and even showing brain activity.

• She's practicing inhaling and exhaling with her rapidly developing lungs.
• It's official: Baby's showing brain activity! And her brain will keep on getting more complex.

Ahhh, the homestretch!!

Symptoms: Back pain, hip pain, peeing every hour, heartburn, a little swelling here and there...  

Food Cravings: Chocolate chip cookies and most sweets... anything to do with chocolate and sweets.

What I'm most excited about: My baby shower!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Nursery is about 90% done!

 

Here is my 27 week 4 day bump:

 

 

26 weeks!

One more week until I'm in the 3rd trimester! Well technically I only have 3 days left as today I am 26w 4d... How exciting!

So last weekend we left for Canada to see our honeymoon friends and their adorable 4 month old, (aka baby girl's future BFF) and about 5 miles from the border of NY and Canada, we got side swiped by a 19 year old girl that wasn't paying attention. She was changing lanes so quickly and apparently wasn't interested in sharing the road with anyone else and she clipped us on the drivers side of my car. Luckily we weren't injured at all and no body work needs to be done, it's all paint. Needless to say we were lucky... she wasn't injured either, although her car did do a 180 spin and luckily landed on the shoulder... otherwise things could have been a lot worse. It was raining that night so the roads were wet, but we're very thankful that it wasn't a downpour or worse, snow.

Her insurance company is taking care of everything and I just picked up my rental this morning and left my car with the body shop to get fixed. I currently drive an '06 Corolla and they put me in a 2012 Corolla... I was joking with my friend earlier this week that they were going to put me in a Corolla, but at least it's 6 years newer... and it has new car smell. I love new car smell! My car will be in the shop for about 5-6 days... take as long as you need! I'm enjoying this sweet little ride.

The baby is fine, I decided not to go to the hospital that night since it was such a minor accident, there was hardly any impact (less than you would feel going over a speed bump) and I felt the baby move all that night and the weekend after. No cramping, bleeding, bruising, nothing... so I was pretty confident in my decision. Well after a few days past and I got a hold of her insurance company, they were talking about wanting my statement saying that I was healthy and the baby was ok and I honestly wasn't comfortable telling them that  information when I hadn't been to the doctor yet... When they told me I hadn't been to the doctors yet, they then proceeded to tell me that if they did find something wrong with the baby at an appointment that was already scheduled before the accident, the company couldn't be held liable for the medical charges. They could only be liable if I made the appointment for the accident specifically and and I had a year to file a claim... so I got my butt in the office and of course turns out, everything is fine. So thank God for that.

Things have been progressing very well and I am totally anxious for the coming weeks. I have to take my glucose test on Saturday (yay for Saturday hours in the lab!) and then another OB check up on the 29th and then another ultrasound on the 31st to check to see if my placenta has moved. If it hasn't, I think they're going to talk c-section, which I am surprisingly ok with.

Also, here are some of the 4D ultrasound pictures that I forgot to upload last week...

Look at that face!! Too bad she was covering most of it with her hands, but  I love what I can see!

Today baby girl is kicking like crazy and is the size of a head of lettuce!

Your Baby: Week 26

At week 26, baby may be interfering with your sleep, messing with your brain (forget much?), and even be giving you a stress headache or two. It’s normal to be experiencing some mild swelling, but around this week, it’s important to watch out for swelling severe or sudden -- it could be the sign of a dangerous condition called preeclampsia.

Symptoms: Back pain, mostly at night and in the mornings.

Food Cravings: Chocolate chip cookies and most sweets... anything to do with chocolate and sweets.

What I'm most excited about: Getting her nursery finalized!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Well my plans for having the nursery painted by now have fallen through... still waiting for my sweet sweet husband to move the two remaining bookshelves from the room so that I can get to painting. The tape is up however and I am ready to rock and roll... After the paint we will work on getting her furniture together and all of the decorating aspects of it that are now all purchased, just waiting to be used!

Here is my 26 week 4 day bump:

25 weeks!

25 weeks down 14 to go... or maybe less if they decide they need to do a c-section. I was able to schedule another ultrasound today at my check up to see if my placenta has moved at all. I'm honestly not too concerned anymore, I haven't had any placenta related health issues and baby seems to be doing just fine.. doing flips and rolling and 1-2 punches I like to call them.

I wasn't supposed to have an appointment until the 29th for a check up, but we got in a little car accident on Friday night so for insurance purposes, I went in to get checked out today. And I say only for insurance purposes because 1. It wasn't a super bad accident at all, the impact itself wasn't any worse than rolling over a speed bump and 2. because I felt completely ok, no bruising, bleeding, contractions, tightness or anything of the sort to report after the accident. We were side swiped on the freeway by a 19 year old girl that doesn't know how to look before she switches lanes apparently. The estimate cost of repairs on my car is about $1,600.. no body work either, just paint. I get a rental too which I'm kind of looking forward to. I hope I get one of the SUV's on my "Interested in" list... but fat chance of that one. I'll probably get some little Geo Metro. Lol. However, all that matters is that baby is fine, Daniel and I are fine and the crazy teenager is also fine.

In other news.... baby girl is the size of a head of cauliflower today. (According to the bump)

Your Baby: Week 25

Maybe you’re getting nervous about delivery, or maybe it’s your haywire hormones, but you might start to have trouble sleeping around week 25. This is a common complaint of many moms-to-be. Experiment with different strategies for getting some sleep.

Sleep issues... nope! Proud to report that I have none of that nonsense.

Symptoms: Back pain still, but really only when I wake up now… and minor swelling again.

Food Cravings: Chocolate chip cookies and most sweets... anything to do with chocolate and randomly I've been wanting mozzarella sticks and fruity pebbles. But not together... lol.

What I'm most excited about: Getting her nursery finalized!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: We've started to clear out the office to make room for her... we bought the paint for her room and once the office is cleared out we'll paint, set up her furniture and start decorating! So exciting!!

 

Here is my 25 week bump: