Pregnancy Update: Week 34

Week 34 was a busy week filled with lots of things for baby!  Andrew and I both took the day off on Tuesday to do some running around.  I really didn't want to burn any time off before baby, but sometimes you just need a day.  The weekends have been pretty busy recently, and it's nice to have a day during the week when places like the bank and post office are open and stores are less chaotic.

We started our Tuesday with a trip to our midwives.  Andrew said we will never again go on a Tuesday; it was pretty crazy in there that day.  We normally wait less than five minutes to be seen for our appointments, but we did have about a fifteen minute wait that day.  Again, everything checked out great.  I'm measuring right where I'm supposed to be.  Of course, that doesn't really tell us much about if we have a five pound baby baking in there or a potentially ten pound baby.  I'm going to hope for somewhere in the seven pound range.  Our next midwife appointment is scheduled for the Thursday after Labor Day.  That's the big 36 week appointment and they will run the strep b test at that appointment to see if I will need antibiotics during labor.  They will also check to see if I'm dilated at all.  That will actually be the only appointment they will routinely check for that, and will only check after that if I ask them to.  Also, next week starts our weekly appointment schedule.  We are getting close.  Only four and a half weeks until our due date and two weeks until they wouldn't stop labor if it started.

After we left the midwives on Tuesday, we enjoyed some lunch at Olive Garden while we planned out the rest of the day.  I do love their salad and breadsticks!  We completed a few other errands including running to the bank and taking my wedding ring in to get checked and cleaned.  Andrew and I will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary in September, hard to believe it has already been five years!

Our main goal for Tuesday was to get all our last minute items off our baby registries at Target and Buy Buy Baby.  With completion discounts, coupons, and lists in hand, we headed into the stores.  I'm sure anyone watching us was probably quite entertained.  Andrew isn't a huge shopping fan, so I have found it works better if we have a very specific list when we head into the stores; it gives him a mission.  This would be one things I have learned through five years of marriage; you have to learn to work together as a team.  He likes lists and missions, so that is what shopping turns in to.  It keeps us both happy because he has a task and I get his help shopping; it's a win for everyone!

We started at Buy Buy Baby because that was where we had a shorter list.  Luckily, we were able to use all those 20% off single item coupons I had been receiving in the mail.  On the things we weren't able to use those on, we had our 15% off completion discount for our registry.  We were in and out of the store in under and hour, which I thought was pretty good.  I knew Target was going to be a whole other story.

We made a quick pit stop at home to let the pups out.  They are totally spoiled with me working from home.  They aren't used to spending long periods of time in the kennel any more, so I always feel bad leaving them in there too long.  After our pit stop, we were off to Target.  I love a good deal, so I was pretty excited when I saw a few items pop up on Cartwheel that were also on our list of things to buy. FYI, if you don't have Cartwheel and you routinely shop at Target, you are missing out.  It's an amazing ap Target has where you get discounts on items in the store.  I have been using it for about two years now and have saved over $500 during that time.  Our big score for the day was the Kinsa thermometer.  We had a 25% off coupon that came with some other goodies when we started our registry at Target.  There was a Carthwheel that day for 15% off the thermometer PLUS we got to use our 15% completion discount for our registry.  Talk about some good savings!  We got a $50 thermometer for $30; those are the kind of deals I love.  I told Andrew I felt like I was robbing the store, but we were doing it legally.  We also had 15% off Cartwheel discounts on several other items on our list including the Diaper Genie, diapers, wipes, window shades and mirrors for the car.  Add those in with the coupons we had for a few of the items, and I felt like we scored some awesome deals!

Our load from our Target run.  Does such a tiny baby seriously require this much stuff?  And I thought we were trying to be minimalists.  

We brought everything home and put it all in the nursery.  A couple times I went in to start sorting through it all, and found it to be quite overwhelming.  Andrew continues to be a huge help and we sat down one night last week and went through everything and organized what we could.  He can tell when I'm getting overwhelmed by it all and is an amazing support system.  I'm excited for our baby girl to arrive, but there are times when the whole thing becomes overwhelming.  I would like to think it's normal.

Wednesday night we were supposed to have our final meeting with our doula.  However, we had a message from her early Wednesday afternoon that she had a client in labor, so we re-scheduled to Saturday.  We did meet with her on Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours and talked about our birth plan as well as labor techniques, when to call her, timelines, breastfeeding, etc.  Talk about another overwhelming moment realizing we are less than a month and a half, and maybe less than a month out from the big day.    

So, for week 34, I guess you could say my symptoms have become more emotional than physical. I still have the same physical symptoms. The feet and ankle swelling, dairy cravings, and frequently forgetting that I can't squeeze through spaces I used to.  I have to remind myself to take it easy and not to push it.  I have a growing list of things that "need" to get done and I forget I can't go at the pace I was able to before.  On Sunday, my goal was to get our bedroom cleaned up.  We had random junk accumulating and the whole room needed a general cleaning.  What would normally take me about an hour and a half took me four because I would work for a while and then have to sit and take a break.  It's frustrating, but I have to remind myself my body is doing overtime right now.

Here we are at week 34:

Yes, this is the same dress I had on a few weeks ago during week 32, so here is week 32 below for comparison.  Baby girl is clearly packing on some weight.  

Looking ahead to week 35, which we are currently in, we have a pretty low key week in terms of appointments and things.  Don't let that fool you, I have quite the list of things to get done this week.  I can't wait for our three day weekend!  I know fall doesn't officially start for several more weeks, but fall starts for me when the calendar rolls over to September!  Fall decorations will be going up in the house this weekend.  Anyone who comes to our house between now and December 1st will probably be looking at the same decorations; sorry, not sorry.  I love decorating for fall probably more than I do for Christmas!  Also on the to do list this weekend is washing baby clothes and linens for the nursery.  Our goal is to have the nursery set up by the end of the weekend.  Yes, that means I might post pictures next week.  We also need to get our hospital bag packed (eeek) since we hit that magic 36 week mark on Monday.  Andrew has very clearly stated he doesn't want to be running around while I'm in labor trying to pack a bag.  I have our list of things to pack ready, so I don't imagine it should be too difficult. The hardest choice will probably be what bag to use.

Next weekend we are doing our big frozen meal prep day, which means I need to work on our grocery list this weekend so we know what we need to buy.  I hope to have at least 15-20 meals put away in the freezer and ready to pull out and cook since I know we are going to have our hands full with other things those first few weeks home.

So, there you have it.   Things are getting a little more chaotic in this house and will probably remain that way now until little miss makes her entrance into the world.  We are trying to enjoy a few moments of calm where we can.  We make sure the dogs get lots of extra love and attention; we know they also sense the coming changes in our house.

Pregnancy Update: Week 33

We made it into the 40 some odd days remaining until baby girl arrives range of time.  I say it every week, but where has the time gone?  I look at posts on facebook of people who have just found out they are pregnant and think holy cow, that was us only a few months ago.  Now I have this giant belly and a baby kicking me all the time.  Pretty soon, she will be out in the world and I will wonder where all the time went when she was baking.  With everyone posting their first day back to school pictures of their little ones, I know that's going to be us in the blink of an eye.  Is time seriously speeding up?

For all the weeks that were really pretty low key with baby related items, this past week as well as the current week are packed full.  This is going to be the new norm for the next few weeks as we get ready for the home stretch.  When I made my to do list with due dates for things back in July, September 1st seemed like it would never come, but it is right around the corner.  Honestly, I'm not complaining.  I love fall.  Fall is football and cooler weather.  Fall means scarves become an acceptable accessory again.  It also means fires in the fireplace, leaves falling, warm coffee..... I could go on for a while!

The highlight of week 33 for me was my beautiful baby shower hosted by some wonderful friends.  Luckily, my mom graciously allowed us ladies to invade her house on Sunday afternoon.  That was no small task considering she had been leading training at work all week and probably really just wanted to collapse on the couch for the weekend.  I owe a huge thank you to everyone for making the day so special.  It makes the whole pregnancy seem more real and drives home that this baby will be here before we know it!

Here's the week 33 bump photo I snapped before running out the door to my shower on Sunday.

 
I often forget just how far out I stick out in the front now.  I can't squeeze through spaces like I used to.

I think I only snapped one photo at my shower on Sunday.  I need to collect photos that others took; if you have some, send them to me!

  Of course the photo I took was of the cake because I love cake, and what's not to love about this one!  The cake looked adorable and was quite delicious!

Sunday wasn't the only busy day this past weekend, the whole thing was quite a packed.  We ended up running out to the fair for a couple of hours on Saturday.  It was such a beautiful day out, I couldn't resist.  We didn't do a ton a walking, but we did do enough to make sure I got my corn dog and funnel cake in.  We also came home with a bucket of cookies, which is my other must have!  Let's see if we venture out to the fair next year with a ten month old!

During week 33, we finished up our birth plan in preparation for our meeting with our doula this week.  This will be our final meeting with her before the big day arrives!  I also went through all the baby clothes we had accumulated to get a better idea of what sizes we have and what we still need.  I don't want to be doing laundry every day, but I also know she is going to grow so stinking fast.  It's hard not knowing what size she will be when she is born.  Andrew was a premmie and I was born 10 days late at almost 10 lbs and wearing 3 month clothes when I left the hospital.  Those two opposites aren't much help.  Maybe we will get lucky and she will be in the solid seven pound range!  That's what I'm going to keep telling myself!

As for my symptoms and cravings this week, they remain about the same.  I still can't get enough milk.  I drink a big glass with breakfast and have several dairy items throughout the day including yogurt and cottage cheese.  I have also been on a huge fruit kick most of the summer.  If a bowl of fruit is in front of me, it will disappear.  Grapes, peaches, and strawberries seem to be my go to fruits.  I'm really ready for some good honeycrisp apples, which should be showing up here soon.

Baby girl remains quite active.  She usually has an active period during the late morning and then again starting around 7 or 8:00 at night.  I told Andrew this better not mean she is going to be a night owl like he is.  If that's the case, I will send them both down to the basement and she call fall asleep to the sweet sounds of whatever xbox game Andrew happens to be playing that night!   Meanwhile, I'll be up sleeping with the dogs who know that a normal bedtime is 10:00!

This week, we have our 34 week appointment with our midwives.  Only one more every other week appointment after this and then we move to appointments every week.  As I mentioned, we also have our final meeting with our doula this week when we will go over our birthing plan and what to do when labor begins.  Andrew and I both took a day off this week, so we are going to finish up our registry shopping; let the nesting begin!

Pregnancy Update Week 32

We finished up week 32 on Sunday this past weekend.  Once again, it was a fairly uneventful week in pregnancy land, but at this point no news is good news.  We had our 32 week appointment with our midwives last week,  and finally got to meet the second midwife in the group.  I'm not sure how we made it 32 weeks into this pregnancy without meeting her, but we did.  Luckily, we hit it off with her and now feel comfortable that we will be in good hands no matter which midwife is on call when we deliver. 

Our little lady was measuring right on track again at this appointment.  Her heart rate is settling in right in the 140's typically.  While they were listening this time she got excited and jumped up to the 160's, but came right back down and settled into the 140's.  They were glad to see her spike and come back down, and assured us this is a sign of a healthy baby.  We only have a couple more appointments at every other week and then right after Labor Day we start having appointments every week. 

I'm still having the same issues with swelling in my feet and ankles; my right is always worse than my left.  I asked the midwife about it again last week, and she basically said it's par for the course when you are pregnant in the summer.  My hands and face aren't swelling and my blood pressure remains low, so they aren't too worried about me at this point. 

I have noticed the "furnace effect" the last week or so.  I normally run pretty cool.  Andrew laughs that I'm the only person he knows who wears a scarf and sweatshirt in the middle of summer.  I haven't been quite that bad this summer, and I have noticed myself walking around in a tank top more often.  I have also been sleeping no covers on most of the night, which is a huge change for someone who is used to sleeping with ten blankets on.  We have the ceiling fan going in our bedroom as well as a fan sitting on the floor, and it still doesn't seem to be cool enough.  I would say this little lady is for sure producing a little extra heat!  Thank goodness we had a pretty nice balance accumulated this year for our budget billing, or I would hate to see what our electric bill might be the next time they review our account. 

Here is the week 32 bump picture.  I have to say, this picture makes my bump look quite large.  Most of the time it doesn't feel quite that bad. 

Last week, I finally finished one of the books I have been reading about natural child birth.  It was an excellent read, and one I would highly recommend for anyone considering a natural hospital delivery.  The book is Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds by Cynthia Gabriel.  The book does a wonderful job of walking the reader though each stage of labor and birth as well as a few tips on what to expect after.  I know I will be using it quite a bit when I sit down to write our birth plan this week.

Something I have been missing during these warm summer months is a nice, refreshing adult beverage. While it isn't quite the same, I picked up a delicious sangria tea at Starbucks this week. I have to say, it hit the spot!

Week 33 is looking to be pretty low key for the most part.  I'm looking forward to my shower on Sunday and spending time with a lot of awesome friends!  I also think I might have Andrew talked into going out to the fair one evening.  I explained to him that I really NEED a bucket of chocolate chip cookies, and a corn dog, a funnel cake, an apple turnover... you get the idea.  I have my needs, and he takes pity on me!  I think the saving grace will be the cool temps in the forecast for this weekend.  On my to do list this week is getting our bedroom cleaned.  My need to clean has kicked into high gear, and I have made lists of everything to clean before October.  Of course, cleaning takes a little longer these days when I have to take a short rest every twenty to thirty minutes! 

Pregnancy Update: Week 31

Nine weeks to go, but who's counting?  Conversations in this house seem to dominated by all things pregnancy and baby these days.  However,  this dog mom is pretty happy to announce that we finally have Buddy off all of his medications he was on from his neck injury!  He is back to taking his heart meds twice per day and a glucosamine supplement in the morning, which are his regular maintenance meds.  I can't tell you what a relief it is to see him doing so well and being able to function without a system full of medications!  At one point, he was taking gabapentin, prednisone, tramadol, and methocarbamol three times per day.  That was in addition to his vetmedin twice per day.  It took us three months, but we were able to get him over the hump and back to his normal self.  He has his old spunk back and runs around like a crazy man!  You would seriously never believe he is 12 years old.  I think back to May and how worried we were that we were going to have to say goodbye to our first furbaby.  We had some dark days when he didn't want to eat and I was hand feeding him wet food.  He is walking proof that canine cervical disc problems can resolve without surgical intervention.  I cannot discount the benefits of acupuncture either.  Between the acupuncture and the medications, we have our Buddy back.  We continue to take him for regular chiropractic adjustments every three to four months and have added in the glucosamine supplement to keep his joints healthy.   

These weeks seem to be flying by.  How is it already August?  How are we less than sixty days away from welcoming our little girl into the world?  Of course, we may still be at the over sixty mark if she decides to stay in the cooker past her due date.  This past week was pretty busy.  So busy that I don't remember most of the week!  Of course, that could also be the pregnancy brain taking over.  I continue trying to get my nightly walks in with the dogs.  We usually get a walk in four or five nights per week.  I can tell Buddy is starting to slim down from the weight he put on while he was sick.  His weight gain probably had more to do with the hot dog pieces we were hiding his meds in, but it was the only way we could get him to take some of them.  I don't know why they can't make all dog meds peanut butter flavored!  

This past Saturday, we made a trip down to the outlet mall.  It was crazy crowded with people parking in the fields.  Luckily, we were able to score a pretty nice parking spot so I didn't have to waddle too far.  We only had a few stores we wanted to shop at, so we were in and out in under two hours.  We were able to score some pretty good deals.  I hit the clearance racks at the Motherhood Maternity outlet where everything was half off the lowest price.  I was able to score some post partum items for a very good price.  On our way out of town,  Andrew wanted to stop at the winery, which was a reminder of how much I'm missing my summertime wine.  I know it will all be worth it! 

After we got back from our shopping trip on Saturday, we worked in the yard for a while.  I have been complaining for weeks that our back yard looks like a jungle.  Our main garden area had weeds growing like crazy, and it was driving me insane.  I couldn't get out there to weed because it has been so hot out.  I think the weeds finally got to Andrew too.  He was doing most of the work pulling weeds, but I was able to help a little.  I try to help where I can, but man do I feel worthless these days.  Andrew continues to be so supportive and understanding.  At least if he is judging me on my lazy days, he is keeping that to himself, which I appreciate.  He is always reminding me to take it easy and take care of my back.  He has been a huge trooper throughout this pregnancy despite have a huge pillow take over our bed, eating Chinese for a week straight early in my pregnancy, and having a less than mobile wife. 

In other pregnancy news this week, exhaustion has set in hard core.  I think I probably overdid it on Saturday because I had absolutely no energy on Sunday.  It took all I had to walk from the couch to the kitchen.  I fell asleep on the couch last night about 9:00 while watching the Olympics.  This little lady growing inside me has become quite active.  It isn't hard to count my kicks like I'm supposed to be doing during the third trimester.  I still haven't had any off the wall cravings.  Although, I will say I can't get enough dairy right now.  I drink a gallon of milk each week all on my own.  Between milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and regular cheese, I'm pretty sure I'm getting my daily allotment of dairy.

Here is the week 31 bump picture (no sweatpants in this picture either):

Coming up in week 32, we will be celebrating my goddaughter's baptism on Sunday.  I can't wait for our little girls to enjoy all sorts of fun times together over the coming years!  I'm also so thankful to have a friend doing the new mommy thing four months ahead of me.  She has been a huge help throughout my pregnancy answering all my questions and giving me tons of helpful tips!  I continue to make lists of things we need to get done before October.  We are slowly crossing things off, which makes me feel accomplished.  I have set due dates for most of the items on our list.  We have a lot of things due September 1st, which will be here before we know it.  This week we also have another check up with our midwives.  We are supposed to meet the midwife we haven't actually been able to meet yet, so we are looking forward to our appointment on Friday with her.  I have several questions I have been stockpiling since our last appointment, so I'm anxious to ask those!  

Pregnancy Update: Week 30

It's hard to believe we have reached the thirty week mark; it seems like four weeks was just yesterday.  I feel like we have crested the pregnancy hill and are on the downward slide at this point.  It's safe to say exhaustion has set in. I told Andrew as we walked into our appointment last Monday that I was ready to be done.  I figure the next ten weeks are either going to fly by, or they are going to crawl.  Luckily, we have some fun things coming up the next few months, so hopefully that will make time feel like it isn't crawling. 

The week started off with our 30 week appointment with our midwives.  Everything checked out, and rather than measuring almost a week ahead like I had a couple of times, I was measuring right on track.  Sadly, between the heat and the fried food, I was strongly discouraged from attending the state fair this year.  I'm not sure Andrew was too upset with that news, but I was.  It's not that I can't go, I just have to use common sense if I do.  I shouldn't go during the heat of the day, drink lots of water, and don't eat a ton of fried food (that could be a major problem).  I'm guessing we may have to take a pass on the fair this year, which is slightly depressing.  A spot of good news for me was that I only gained one pound in between appointments!  The nurse told us that the biggest weight increase is typically seen around the 28 week mark and it should start to slow down now.  That was comforting, and I hope hope the trend continues. 

My drama for the week was our car seat and stroller choice.  Before making our final selection on these items, I spent countless hours researching all the options and pouring over reviews.  We knew wanted a jogging stroller, but the jogging stroller we picked to go with the car seat we also picked is being phased out and was only available for purchase on Amazon.  Upon doing some additional research, I realized the stroller might not have been the best option for us in the first place as it was missing a few key features.  Many google searches and online reviews later, we settled on a new car seat and stroller.  Saturday, we went to Babies R Us so we could test drive the stroller I had my eye on.  I wanted to make sure it was going to be a good height for Andrew since he is on the taller side in addition to having all the helpful features we were looking for.  Andrew actually found another stroller he liked better to go with our new car seat choice.  We ended up taking advantage of a sale going on at Babies R Us and got a travel system with the stroller and car seat all coming in one box.  Our final decision was the Graco Modes Jogger with the Snug Ride 35 car seat.  Being thrifty, I thought we would be able to find a better deal online or put it on one of our registries and use our completion discount to purchase it.  However, I learned through a quick online search Graco only made this model for Babies R Us and it only comes in one color.  Luckily, I had a $100 giftcard I won at a work function earlier this summer that we were able to use toward the purchase.  While it didn't cover the whole bill, it made a nice dent in it. 

Saturday night, we got things hung up on the wall in the nursery, which was exciting to get done!  We still have some clean up and organization work to do in the nursery, but we are getting closer and closer to having it ready.  I like to stand in the nursery and imagine our little girl in there in just a few short months.  The dogs have also been getting familiar with the new smells.  They were quite curious when Andrew was putting the stroller together the other night. 

Sunday we had our one hour fast track birthing class.  We were anxious for the class, which included a tour of the birthing unit.  I think it put our minds at ease to see the birthing unit and learn about the process when we show up on the big day.  It made me a little uneasy to learn about many of the things that could go wrong throughout the final weeks of pregnancy and during the delivery.  However, I have to remind myself we have had a very healthy pregnancy with no reason to believe we will encounter any complications.  Our final class is a breastfeeding class, which is right after Labor Day.  

I did well keeping up with my nightly walks last week, which I know Maya appreciates.  She starts to pout around 8:00 if she doesn't think we are going on a walk; I'm not sure Buddy cares either way.  I have also kept up with my healthier eating as much as possible.  I'm trying to stick with eating tons of fruits and veggies and minimizing my sweets.  I also find my stomach is getting smaller and smaller and rather than eating meals, I'm basically eating snacks all the time. In addition to a shrinking stomach capacity, my lungs are feeling quite squeezed these days.  Climbing stairs is no longer an easy task.  This little one continues to rock and roll inside me.  It's funny to see when she it sitting more on one side than the other.  Any time I rest anything on my stomach, she's a kicking fool.  She doesn't make it an easy task to read these days.

Finally, the bump from week 30.  You got another week of me getting dressed in normal clothes and doing my hair!  It's quite an accomplishment these days.  

During week 31, there aren't a ton of exciting things happening.  We are in an off week for appointments with our midwives.  This weekend, we are taking a day trip to do some shopping during our tax free weekend.  Fingers crossed it isn't ridiculously hot this weekend!  We still have a list of projects to get done before October, but we are making progress and getting things crossed off!  Other exciting non pregnancy related things include the start of Packers football season!!!  Ok, it's only the preseason, but I don't care.  Football season has to be my favorite time of year.  I can't wait to curl up on the couch with our newest Packers fan this winter and watch the games!