Pregnancy Update: Week 38

Week 38 was another busy one for us.  We had a lot to celebrate this past week, and more to look forward to in the coming weeks.  We started the week keeping our fingers crossed our little lady wouldn't make her entrance into the world just yet.  Andrew had to travel to the other side of the state for business.  Luckily, he made it there and back uneventfully!

Later in the week, we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by going to see one of our favorite comedians; Lewis Black.  When we purchased the tickets earlier this summer, we were nervous about making it to the big day without interruption from our little one. As the day got closer, my nerves increased.  Luckily, we got to enjoy the show without interruption.  I'm glad we didn't forgo buying the tickets.  On Saturday, we extended our anniversary celebration by having dinner with family and enjoying our annual tradition of cake!  Rather than keeping to top tier of our wedding cake, we buy a small cake to enjoy each year.  This year we opted for a champagne cake, which was delicious.  

 
It's hard to believe it has been 5 years since our big day.  It's been five years full of adventure with our biggest one ahead of us.  Here are a few of my favorite memories from our first five years of marriage.

our first "baby", Buddy 

our first home

honeymooning in Boston 

1st anniversary trip to Green Bay 

bringing Maya home

moving day from our first to our second home

our second home

our first project - Maya helped dig the hole

our first major renovation project

4th anniversary trip to Chicago

sightseeing in Chicago 

 Orlando 

 Universal Studios in Orlando

our next big adventure! 

We went for our 38 week appointment with our midwives on Friday.  Unfortunately, all was not quite as well as I thought it would be.  I knew my feet and ankles had been swelling more and more, but I didn't invest a lot of energy in worrying about it.  When we went in on Friday, my blood pressure was up slightly and the scale showed that I was retaining quite a bit of fluid.  I was put on "bed rest" for the weekend with orders to keep my feet up and take it easy in hopes the swelling would go down.  We go back tomorrow to see if my blood pressure is back down and hopefully the scales are a little nicer.  I did keep my feet up most of the weekend, and the swelling in my feet and ankles are down; I forgot what my ankles actually looked like to be honest.  Unfortunately, if I am on my feet for more than about an hour, my feet swell up like giant water balloons.  Hopefully, everything checks out tomorrow at our appointment and we aren't talking about induction due to an spike in my blood pressure.  

In addition to celebrating our anniversary and trying to keep my feet up as much as possible, we also finished up a few of our last minute to-do items.  Including..... finishing the nursery!  I'm excited to say it's complete and ready for our little lady to make her arrival any day now.  

 To round out week 38, here is the bump photo for the week:

As we welcome week 39, we are more than ready to meet our little girl.  We have finished up our "to-do" list as much as possible.  This past weekend, we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and also celebrated what we anticipate might be our final weekend before entering the life of parenthood.  We are excited, nervous, anxious, and slightly terrified (ok, this may be more me than Andrew).  Baby watch is officially in full swing.  

Pregnancy Update: Week 37

Today marks the start of week 38 of this pregnancy; the end is near!  At most, we have four weeks left before our little girl is here.  Week 37 started out like the last few weeks; swollen ankles, decreased appetite from a squished stomach, and not so restful sleep.  The end of the week was not quite so normal and threw us for a bit of a loop. 

Early Thursday morning, I woke up not feeling right.  I had horrible stomach cramps and for the next eight hours, I wasn't able to keep anything down.  On top of the upset stomach, I was having some pretty regular contractions.  I tried to get as much sleep as possible knowing we had an appointment with our midwives the next morning.  I still wasn't feeling too hot by the time we got to our appointment, and was not all that shocked when they told me I was severely dehydrated. I did get a little bit of good news at our appointment; my strep B test was negative.  With the news that I was dehydrated , I was strongly urged to go to the labor and delivery triage unit at the hospital for some fluids.  I was supposed to get two units of fluids and some zofran as well as have baby's heart rate monitored for a while.  Baby girl was not handling my dehydration very well; her heart rate was quite high and I was having contractions ten minutes apart pretty regularly.  After a couple units of fluids, I thought we might get discharged.  Unfortunately, I spiked a low grade fever which meant more fluids and some Tylenol.  

Unfortunately, baby's heart rate was still averaging in the 170's, which was higher than they wanted it to be so we were admitted for overnight monitoring.  Fortunately, once they told us we were going to be admitted, I was moved to a more comfortable room and got off the triage cart!  In the process of getting moved, my contractions picked back up to every two to five minutes.  Overnight, baby's heart rate finally calmed down into the 130's and 140's.  My contractions also stopped for the most part after more fluids and two more doses of zofran.  I can't say I got much sleep Thursday night, but I was glad to know baby girl was safe.  Our midwife came in to check on us at 8:00 Friday morning, and was pleased with where we were at.  We were finally discharged early Friday afternoon with instructions to go home, rest and take it easy over the weekend. 

Luckily, I had a little more energy Saturday morning and ventured out for a girls pedicure.  It was nice to have a little pampering after being stuck in the hospital for a day.  Unfortunately, by Saturday afternoon, Andrew wasn't feeling so hot.  Needless to say, we weren't the most productive over the weekend.  Our big adventure for the weekend was taking the dogs for their annual physicals yesterday afternoon.  After our little scare last week, I wished I had more energy over the weekend to finish up some of the last items on our to do list.  I had been convinced we were going to have at least a week past our due date before our little one arrived.  I can't say I'm as strongly convinced at this point that she is going to stay put that long.  Right now, we are crossing our fingers she waits until after Friday night to make her appearance in the world.  

Here is my week 37 bump picture: 

  

The countdown is on to see how many more bump photos we get before we can finally introduce our little one to the world.  We hope she sticks on the inside for a few more days.  On Saturday, we celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary!  Friday night, we have tickets to see one of our favorite comedians, Lewis Black.  We took a gamble when we bought the tickets, but wanted to give ourselves something to look forward to at the end of the month since we knew we would also be anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little girl.  As our annual tradition, we have a cake ordered to be picked up on Saturday.  This year we went with a champagne cake.  We have a bottle of champagne in our wine fridge from our wedding that we have been saving.  We said we would drink it on our 5th anniversary, but that's not exactly a possibility right now.  So, the compromise was a champagne cake!  Let's hope our little bundle doesn't think we are buying her birthday cake!  

Fingers crossed we both are feeling well this weekend and can finish up our last to-do items.  At this point, we only have a few things left.  Last night, we bought the ingredients to make a couple different kinds of trail mix for early labor and after delivery.  Our hospital bag is packed and ready to go, we have a freezer full of food, the nursery is almost ready to go, and I have officially hit the wall of "doneness" with this pregnancy thing.  I'm now walking around with a bowling ball between my legs; can't say I'm ready for four more weeks of this feeling.    

Pregnancy Update: 36 weeks

We just finished up week 36 of this pregnancy and have moved into week 37.  I had a sigh of relief on Monday when we rounded that corner knowing we have reached "full term".  Granted, it would be best if this little lady hung in there for a few more weeks.  For now, it seems like she is pretty content to be rolling around and sticking her rear straight out the top of my stomach.  During our midwife appointment, they were trying to measure my stomach and check the fundal height.  Little miss didn't make it easy for them to get an accurate measurement.  As soon as I laid back her little bum was sticking straight out, so it created a bit of an extra bump for them to measure over.  Needless to say, at 36 weeks and 3 days, I was measuring at 37 weeks.  

Week 36 was the all important group strep b test at our midwife appointment.  It was also the first time they checked to see if there was any progress toward labor and delivery.  No news yet on the test results, which I'm saying is a good thing.  Of course, they probably figure I will be back this week, so no point in calling to tell me something they can just tell me when they see me in a few days.  In good news, baby is very firmly head down and is right where she needs to be for a good delivery.  That's not to say she wont squirm around between now and delivery, but hopefully she at least keeps her head down.  All signs point in the right direction, now we just play the waiting game.  I told Andrew I feel like a ticking time bomb these days.  Throughout week 36 I noticed more braxton hicks, which haven't really been significant up until last week.  Early in the week, I felt them off and on throughout the day over the course of several days.  Work has become increasingly stressful as I try and get everything done before the big day arrives, and I have noticed I have more "contractions" as my stress level increases.  It's hard to work when your deadline is "unknown" and you feel like you might have to drop whatever it is you are doing at any given moment.  At least at this point, I know we have five more weeks at the absolute max.  Anything beyond that would be past the 42 weeks we are allowed to go without being induced.

During week 36, we had our final baby class, which was a breastfeeding class.  Breastfeeding is something I'm quite anxious about.  I really hope to be able to have good success with it.  Luckily, I know several mamas who have had great success and I will be looking to them for tips, tricks and encouragement.  We did pick up a few helpful pointers from the class, so I'm glad we attended.

And, for your entertainment, here is the growing bump from week 36

Just to compare over the the past several months:

week 31 to week 36 may not look like that much of a change, but it sure feels like it! 

And just the past few weeks: 

This past weekend was our big meal prep weekend.  We busted out 20+ meals on Saturday.  Needless to say, our freezer is now well stocked.  Between Andrew and I as well as my mother in law, we made a day of it and busted everything out.  It took us about nine hours from start to finish, but we had a good time doing it (maybe I speak only for myself on this one).  It is a huge relief knowing we have a stockpile in the freezer so we wont have to worry so much about food once our little lady arrives and makes things chaotic for a while.  I tried to put together a combination of casseroles and crock pot meals.  Some of the meals we made were: taco pasta bake,  southwestern chicken and rice, creamy chicken taquitos,breakfast burritos,  lasagna roll ups, baked ravioli, maple dijon chicken, beef and broccoli, potato soup, chunky beef chili, beef bean and cheese burritos, Tuscan chicken, and goulash.  I found all the recipes on pinterest.

all of our ingredients ready to go

Meal prep shot our Saturday, and when Sunday rolled around we didn't really have a ton of energy for projects.  Needless to say, the nursery still needs finishing touches.  I did manage to get our hospital bag put together, so we can now check that off the list.  There are a few last minute items we will need throw in, but all the important stuff is now in a bag.  The diaper bag, complete with a "coming home" outfit has been packed for a few weeks now.  The highlight of my Sunday was watching the Green Bay Packers season opener.  It was a total bonus that they won the game, and even better that the game was actually an interesting one to watch!  I'm beyond excited for the return of football season.  Cool temperatures have also started to roll in finally, and the trees are starting to change in our neighborhood.  I used to say spring was my favorite time of year with all the flowers blooming after a long winter.  However, the older I get, the more I tend to favor fall.

Going into week 37, we have our midwife appointment on Thursday this week.  We are also both pretty busy with work stuff as we try to wrap up things on our desks.  This weekend I'm looking forward to a last minute pedicure with a good friend who has been a huge help throughout my pregnancy.  She just had her first in May, so I have relied on her a ton for advice.  Sunday we take the dogs for their annual check up with the vet.  I know they are both SUPER thrilled... not!  We wanted to get this out of the way before baby arrived so I'm glad it looks like we are still on track to be able to make it to their appointment on Sunday.  I'm anxious for them to see how well Buddy is doing after all of his issues in the spring.  He has his final adjustment before baby arrive this coming Monday.  I really believe the periodic adjustments will help him from having another episode like he did this year.  We will likely go back one more time this year and continue going every three to four months moving forward.

Pregnancy Update: Week 35

Week 35 is officially behind us, which means we have rounded the corner into the final month of this pregnancy!  This week was pretty busy trying to get all of our tasks done that were due September 1st.  We might not have gotten them all done, but we are well on our way.

Last week we ordered a few remaining items off our Target registry.  They arrived throughout the week last week, which made the week go a little faster.  Our ottoman came in, which was the final furniture piece for the nursery.  I think we now have everything for the nursery, and just need to work on putting it all together.  I worked in the nursery a couple of times over the past week for an hour or so at a time before I have to take a break.  Third trimester exhaustion is no joke.  

Going into this long holiday weekend, we had good intentions. Saturday didn't start out the best.  I was about to start one of three loads of laundry containing baby things when we lost power.  We still aren't really sure what happened, but it ended up being out for about two hours.  We ran out to grab breakfast while the power was out since we weren't able to make anything at home.  When the power did come back on, I was able to get all three loads of laundry done.  Luckily, baby clothes don't take long to dry!  Folding all those clothes and linens on the other hand seemed to take forever!  Who knew folding such small clothes could take so long.  I don't think our baby girl should have any concerns about going naked!

Sunday it was time to put all these clothes away.  We currently have newborn and three month clothes in her dresser and larger sizes in bins in her closet.  We will see what size this little lady comes out wearing!  Sunday was also the day to clean up the nursery a bit more.  It isn't completely picked up and ready to go yet, but a lot of progress has been made.  All her clothes are washed and put away, the crib is ready to go, and her changing station is set up. 

Sunday I also put together our list of freezer meals we will be making next weekend.  Last weekend we scored some stock up deals when Target was having a 10% off your total transaction sale.  Yesterday and today they were running a deal for a $10 gift card when you spent $50 on groceries.  Since our big cooking weekend is only a week away, we decided to take advantage of the sale.  I'm not sure how much time we spent in Target last night, but by the end of the shopping trip I was never so ready to leave Target.  We rang through five different transactions, so we were able to get $50 in gift cards.  Thank goodness for Cartwheel as well, we were able to same some money especially on the expensive items like meat.

 

Our lists for cooking weekend next weekend!  Our kitchen is a bit of a disaster at the moment.  We have bags sitting around full of ingredients for next weekend, and frankly l didn't want to bother unpacking them.  I think we have a pretty good list of meals to make.  In total, these lists will give us about seventeen meals.  Hopefully we will be set for about a month after little miss comes along.  

As for week 35 symptoms, they remain about the same as the previous few weeks.  The exhaustion is probably the thing I notice increasing the most.  Being up walking around for a couple of hours at Target last night about did me in.  I have to make sure to keep my feet up whenever possible, or the ankle swelling becomes ridiculous.  I definitely wasn't prepared for the exhaustion that has come with the last part of this pregnancy.  I know, it isn't going to improve much after she is born either.   

Here is a look at the week 35 bump.  Don't mind the half asleep look.  This was taken about midnight.   

Looking ahead to week 36, my main goal for the final day of our extended holiday weekend is getting our hospital bag packed.  We have one final class to attend Tuesday night at the hospital.  We have a midwife appointment on Thursday this week; we should find out if there is any progress toward delivery.  Finally, this coming weekend we will be working on putting our freezer meals together.  Hopefully we can also officially call the nursery done and I can post some pictures.  Last but not least, Sunday is the first regular season Packers game, and that just makes me happy.  Football season is officially here!  

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture of my snuggle buddy.  Apparently Maya has decided my stomach makes a good pillow now.  She really has become my shadow these last few months.