The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good

We had our 38 week appointment on Monday. According to my date it was actually 39 weeks, which is exactly where the baby measured. I have to say, I love my doctor. He explains everything in detail and really takes time to talk to us. Plus, since he is older, I feel like he has more faith in my ability to know what is going on and is less dependent on medical interventions. Essentially, I got out having an internal exam because he agreed that is means absolutely nothing. He also did a non-stress test to measure the baby’s reaction or movements, which X aced. So we don’t have to go back until May 31^st, which puts me at 41 weeks. If we don’t have a baby by then we will need to schedule an induction. Come on baby!

We also went to our baby class on Wednesday. The baby’s head is complete engaged! I can go into labor at any time. I also learned more about vaccination schedules, baby wearing and some other stuff. I just like baby classes, it makes me feel so much more prepared.

The Bad

I still don’t have a baby, and there is a definite possibility that I will go past my due date. Some people may see this as a good thing, but I don’t. Since the baby dropped I am in significant pain and working is very hard—as is putting on socks, walking, peeing and essentially doing anything. I am exhausted to a whole new degree. I am also getting nervous about going over and having to try some alternative means to avoid induction—like castor oil, nipple stimulation and god knows what else. I am also having WAY more mood swings, some of which I swear is hormonal, but some of which is just because I am stressed and tired and really sick of being pregnant.

The Ugly

I think I have been losing my mucus plug since the baby dropped on Saturday. I have never been so excited about something so gross before. I am also not sure, since I have never done this before and I really don’t want to call anyone and ask them what their mucus plug looked like and compare it to my own. I did finally break down and admit that I will need pads, which is a good thing since I will apparently bleed excessively for quite some time.

I am also (hopefully unnecessarily) paranoid about breastfeeding. My chest has not gotten any bigger (which makes me a very unattractive pregnant lady). They say it is a sign that something could be wrong if you breast size doesn’t change while pregnant, even though if you are small breasted it is fine. I am not small breasted, but they haven’t changed really. My rib cage has gotten a lot bigger so I had to get new bras, but that is it. I just really want to breastfeed, and financially, we need to.

Please let me have a baby tonight. Please.

1 Week

I am one week from my due date, 10 days from the doctor's due date. I guess it is good that the doctor's due date is further out, because X seems to like my belly a little too much.

We have a doctor's appointment today. I still really want a natural birth, so even though I am dying to have the baby, or just know what the hell is going on with him, I need to insist on not having an internal exam. Luckily, my doctor doesn't even start internal exams until 38 weeks and we had to push our appointment back a little because of Mike's schedule, so hopefully this will be the only time I have to convince the doctor, and myself, that I don't need one. Internal exams measure the dialiation of the cervix and the effacement. Unfortunately, those numbers mean absolutely nothing until you are in active labor. You can walk around 3 cm dilated and fully effaced for weeks, and you can go from 0 to 10 in a few hours (neither option is great). It isn't a predictor of labor, it just shows that thus far something, or nothing, has happened. And I am damned curious. But I have to keep repeating, it doesn't really matter. Plus, I would be slightly horrified if I was not at least partially effaced and a little dilated, and I am already starting to get really discouraged, so it is probably better to not take that chance.

The problem with internal exams is two fold, one is that you increase the bacterial levels near your cervix. Yes, of course, my doctor wears gloves, but there is all sorts of nasty bacteria around the bottom of the vagina that gets pushed up and left near the cervix. If it is effaced or dilated it can just chill there, or if it is inflamed it can cause an infection. Not what you want to do before giving birth. The second thing it can do is disrupt the amniotic sack and cause your water to break, or weaken it so that it breaks sooner. I am torn on this being a negative because it would mean that I would have a baby one way or another in 24 hours. That is the bad side though, one way or another. Once the sack is ruptured there is no going back, and if the baby doesn't make progress they will push medical interventions, which can lead to c-section. Now, it can also cause labor to progress faster or even start. So it is a toss up. But as Mike pointed out, the chance of it starting labor is not nearly worth the risk of pitocin and/or a c-section. I don't even want my water to break until I am in active labor. Transition or even pushing would be a good time. That is when my mom's water broke with both of us, so it sped up labor at the most uncomfortable time, leading to a quick delivery. That sounds ideal to me. Yet, every time I get out of bed, I am disappointed that I am not drenched in amniotic fluid, I am not going to lie.

For the last week there have been some noticeable changes. One is that I have felt a hell of a lot better. I can walk at a brisk pace, I have more energy and my swelling almost disappeared (except for my hands--which are a whole other problem at this point). I have also been having crazy mood swings. Maybe not mood swings, because that implies that they change rapidly, which they don't, but I am either grumpy, sad or extremely happy for no reason, all day. I just wake up that way. Emotionally this pregnancy has been easier than life without birth control. I really haven't had too many mood swings at all and have been overall a pretty pleasant person to everyone involved, even Mike. But this week. Man, I just wake up super angry, or sad, or ridiculously happy. Yesterday was an angry day, Friday was an annoyed day and Saturday was a happy day until I took a nap, then it was rough too.

On Saturday I woke up and walked for two hours. I felt great. I was happy and talking to people, all bubbly and pregnant, thinking about how nice everyone is to you when you are pregnant even though it was freezing cold. Then I got home and took a nap and my mom came over to go to lunch. She suggested that I may want to clean up my house a little and offered to help and I completely freaked out and started crying. Irrational. I am hoping all of this means that my body is doing whatever hormonal shifts it needs to do before I give birth, but man it is not so fun. Since my walk the baby dropped significantly and I am pretty sure he is engaged, which is good because if my water does break I don't need to worry as much about prolapse.

However, I have also returned to feeling miserable. Having him lower pulls totally differently, which makes me back and sides hurt. It also makes me need to pee even more--which I didn't think was possible. My stomach is super hard all of the time, so I have no idea if/when I am having contractions and if I manage to feel it, I can't time it. I think my body will get used to him being low soon and loosen up the skin, but until then I am just stuck this way. Swelling is back, but not as bad, or I know how to deal with it now, and the pressure I feel is really uncomfortable. I was sure I would have the baby after he dropped, but obviously not. Man, I just want him to come soon.

37 Weeks

Technically full term. Come out baby!

Today brings two beautiful words: full-term. Now, whenever baby's born, he's likely to thrive. Also thriving? Your nesting instincts, which are behind those sudden urges to bake, clean, or embroider a onesie. (Feminists, take your issue up with nature, not with us.)

This week, you may expel the cervical mucus plug, aka "bloody show," at any time. If you're worried about stretch marks, be patient. They'll begin to fade a few months after you deliver. Stretch marks are caused by broken collagen fibers under your skin's surface. The strength of your collagen is genetic, so if your mom got stretch marks, you probably will, too. The hormone relaxin is causing all of the smooth muscle in your body to unclench. You'll feel like you have loose "rag-doll" joints. You're probably having Braxton-Hicks contractions, which you may or may not notice. How can you tell these contractions from the real thing? If you have to ask, they probably aren't. Real contractions grow progressively stronger, more intense, and more regular.
Baby's now the size of a watermelon!
Your full-term (yay!) baby is gaining about 1/2 ounce a day and getting his first sticky poop (called meconium) ready. He's also brushing up on skills for the outside world: blinking, sucking, inhaling, exhaling, and gripping (it's getting strong!).

Your baby has likely hit the six-pound mark by now, and her length is approximately twenty-one inches. The weight on your abdomen probably feels like twice that. Your baby is practicing her breathing, but she has increasingly less space to practice stretching and kicking. Your baby' intestines are also building up meconium, a greenish-black substance made of baby by-products such as dead cells, shed lanugo, and amniotic fluid. It'll become your little darling's first bowel movement, hopefully after she is out of the womb. Her body fat has increased to about eight percent. By birth, it'll be about fifteen percent. If your baby is a boy, his testes will have descended into his scrotum. While your baby could be born at any time, the longer she stays in, the more time she has to develop the connections in her brain in the pleasant peace and quiet of your womb. At this point, she can do all the things a newborn can, with the exception of breathing air and pooping in a diaper. Just as you're feeling stretched, your baby is being squeezed on all sides. Some of your antibodies are crossing the placenta, giving your baby's immune system some support for her first days in the world. If you breastfeed, you'll later be giving her immunities in your milk.

Miserable

I am not sure what happened in the last few days, but I went from an uncomfortable, slightly cranky pregnant woman to a miserable pregnant woman in significant pain. What changed? I have NO idea. I felt great on Wednesday, well, as great as one can feel while carrying around 30 pounds directly in front of you. I was in a good mood, I enjoyed my labor class, Mike and I had a good evening, I was uncomfortable, but nothing too bad. Then, on Thursday morning I woke up with swollen hands and feet and while walking Ella I started to have Braxton Hicks contractions. They began as normal BH, but soon turned into uncomfortable contractions and I started to get cramps in my back. I even considered calling into work, but I had two kids with interviews and one of our teachers was already out. So I went to work and it was okay except I kept having BH. By lunch time I was having them pretty consistently every 30 minutes apart and was miserable. I went to the interviews and lunch and just felt like crap. Then I had professional development after work for an hour and half and almost cried at the injustice of it all (hormonal imbalance for sure). By the time I made it home I was miserable. I didn't really sleep that night because my stomach hurt so much from all the BH so I couldn't put any pressure on it. See, you can't sleep on your back and when I lay on my side, even with my knees propped up on pillows, my gigantic belly still either touches my legs or the bed or the pillow, and none of these were acceptable and if my belly button rubbed against anything, like if I sank a little into the pillow or rolled over than the blanket touched me, it was extremely painful. What the hell? So, I woke up on Friday, walked Ella and said hell with this and called into work. I slept in the recliner belly up and then on the floor and the BH finally stopped. Since then I have felt better, but just not good. It is like I am learning to live with it, but it is awful. I am hoping this means labor is imminent. Next time I get pregnant, I am taking leave starting at 38 weeks. If I had to make it through one more week of work I would be fine, I could psych myself up for that, but right now I am looking at the possibility of 4 (that is when the last day of school is, and if X comes late, I will be there). F this.

X is fine. He is measuring at 37 weeks as of Friday, which is perfect. He is head down, but not fully engaged yet. He dropped some though. I had a strep B test, I will get those results soon. The doctor said that everything I was experiencing, including the cramping, is totally normal, albeit sucky. I am just really hoping he comes at 38 weeks. I did my mom that favor, I think it is fair. Plus we are ready for him. The baby room is done except for a trash can which we can't seem to find. Everything is washed and put away. We have all the furniture, clothes and toys we need. The room is clean and ready except for things I need Mike to do (like use power tools) but even if that didn't happen it would be okay. I know everyone says it is easy to have him inside, and I get that, but right now I am the only one who can do anything for him, and I am really sick of being in charge. I just want someone else to take care of him, even for a little while. Oh, plus Mike thinks I made up the existence of relaxin so I would like him to have to do something to take care of the baby for a while instead of thinking that the fact that all of my joints don't line up anymore and are constantly relaxed is all in my head and that I am just huge and therefore have a hard time doing things when there is really a physiological reason other than the 30 pounds I carry around these days.

On a super good note, Mike's work sort of rocks at baby stuff and they provide a medical grade breast pump, the Medela Symphony, a $1600 pump! Well, I am hoping they provide it. They do provide one, but it says first come first serve and there may be a waiting list. We filled out the paper work and Mike faxed it in, but we haven't heard from them and Mike hasn't emailed or called them to check in on it. Which is frustrating to me since I had a coupon that expired today, but his point is that they have the paperwork. My point is that he faxed it and faxes tend to get lost and misplaced and we need to know if we have one so I can buy one if not, especially since they are SO expensive. Plus, I am now really attached to the idea of having a great pump instead of the shitty one I would have bought. They also give each child a carseat! We already bought an infant seat, but we will still need one for X when we is bigger and they have one for 22 pounds until 80 pounds (it converts to a booster seat). And it is totally free which is freaken awesome.

We also tried to get maternity photos, but every time I make a date with the photographer it snows. It is the end of May, why the hell is it still snowing? So, that is the only reason I see for him to stay in, and every day I am more miserable that seems less important.

I feel like I can really start hoping for him on 5/5/11 when the Dr thinks he is 37 weeks and by 5/9/11 I am going to start talking to him constantly about getting the hell out, because that is when I think he is 38 weeks and there is no reason for him to need more time cooking. It is bizarre, I keep hoping I have all of these gross and/or painful things happen because they are a sign of labor. Like I hope I feel him drop and need to pee more, and I hope I lose my mucous plug, pretty soon I am going to hope that my water breaks. What the hell? Who thought I would ever wish for such things?

Here is the 36 week update, even though we are almost 37 now. The photos are also from exactly 36 weeks, when I was still happy and only slightly uncomfortable.



Baby's skin is getting smooth and soft, her gums are rigid, her liver and kidneys are in working order, and her circulation and immune system are basically good to go. Her lungs are the only organs that still need to fully mature, but every day she gets a little closer to breathing on her own.

With one month to go, your baby weighs about six pounds and is fattening. Her full length from crown to feet is about 20 1/2 inches. Has your baby's movement slowed down? If so, you shouldn't worry. Five to ten percent of all mothers report that babies start to slow down as they grow larger and get more cramped for space. Still, you should be able to feel your baby move more than ten times a day. If you're concerned, try drinking a sweet beverage, such as orange juice, and then lying on your side for a while. Most babies will wake up and start to move. If you're still concerned, contact your healthcare provider.

Baby should soon descend into your pelvis, which will give your lungs a little room to breathe (literally). The bad news: This puts the brunt of baby's weight on your hips and pelvis, and will make them pretty sore. Add in your ever-loosening ligaments, and you may soon be taking on that oh-so-adorable pregnancy waddle.

As women in the grocery store have probably already told you, you look like you could go any minute. And they may be right—your due date just suggests a time when the baby's likely to be born. In reality, you could go into labor any time between now and six weeks from now! Your belly button is becoming flattened, and may even stick out like a wine cork. You may feel a lightening sensation on your ribs and organs as your baby descends into your pelvis. Breathing and eating will be easier, but you'll be running to the bathroom more often than ever, and the change in pressure may cause shooting pains in your groin or leg. If you're aching (and we don't see how you couldn't be), indulge in a pregnancy massage from a professional masseuse, or find a pool, and take a swim. At home, try sitting on an exercise ball to take pressure off of your back.

Honeydew--Holy Crap!

Growing has slowed down, the circumference of my belly has been the same for over a week and I haven't gained any weight in about a week too--which truly is a blessing, I felt like my belly was going to literally rip open. I had been experiencing some new pains though and I am honestly thinking I won't make it to 40 weeks. Although I am completely healthy and I don't have any complications all of my mom's pregnancies ended around 38 weeks. Obviously this isn't science, but I just feel like the baby will be a little bit early. Granted, that may be wishful thinking. This week I have been having crazy Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are completely normal. Most people describe them as painless tightening in a portion of the belly lasting less than a minute and fading. Mine are not like that, they are painful. The only other time I had BH was when I was sick and therefore dehydrated. Now I am getting them pretty regularly, and I wasn't even sure it was BH until I read up on different people's experiences. To me it feels like my stomach is too small for the baby and like he is pushing to get out, but all over, in way more places than he could possibly push, and not lumpy like arms and legs and back, but as if you put a large bowl over him and let him push it outwards. I also get cramps during them and feel like I did a bunch of situps. At first I was concerned, but I found a lot of other women that experience this type of thing, so I am not worried at all, but I do think it is a sign of more imminent labor--not like next week or anything, but it seems like my body is practicing pretty hard so I assume it is getting close. Regardless, it is exhausting and painful and often makes me stop walking or change position (which is how my mom told me to tell between real labor and false labor--false labor will not stop with a change in position and you won't be able to continue with the same activity, you will change what you are doing). I also have a miserable time picking stuff up from the floor, which makes putting away the gigantic pile of baby stuff that erupted in my living away pretty impossible. It is the last foot or so that makes it hard, so large items are okay if they have way to life them like a handle, but small things, oh my god, it is impossible.

I also have another baby shower on Sunday from the teachers I used to work with at Welby. I am super excited to see everyone. I am expecting pretty small things--clothes, blankets, things other people know I will need :) It is a double shower for me and another guy, so I am assuming presents will be less since people have to buy two, they are all teachers and it is coed. Mostly I am excited just to see these people, I LOVED working with them and I can't wait to just visit. Plus, I get a haircut before that which I desperately need :)

I am starting to feel the pressure to get things done--baby clothes washed, other items bought, nursery finished, house cleaned, hospital bag packed, birth plan written, etc. It isn't really nesting since I am not doing it, I am just stressing about it, but maybe it is pre-nesting or something. Six more weeks at the most, well seven I guess, seems so soon.

In baby news:
Baby's now the size of a honeydew!
Baby can recognize and react to simple songs...time to start practicing your lullabies! In fact, baby will recognize frequently sung tunes after birth and probably find them soothing. Less cute news: She now urinates about one pint per day. Get the diapers ready!

Your baby weighs five pounds or more, about the size of a bag of sugar. He will continue to gain about two or more pounds in the next six weeks. Now that your baby's brain has formed billions of neurons, it must accomplish the even more complex feat of hooking the neurons and synapses together. Your baby's brain is forming trillions of connections, making it possible for him to learn in the womb. All of this brain development may be the reason that your baby sleeps frequently at this stage. He may even be dreaming—his eyes dart around rapidly just as an adult's might in REM sleep. Your child's development is in no way complete at birth. In the first year after birth, a baby's brain triples in size and becomes three-quarters of its adult size.

The loveliness of pregnancy:
No, it's not (just) the lack of sleep that's making your vision fuzzy. Pregnancy hormones and fluid buildup can affect your eyes' curvature and tear production, making them extra-itchy and sensitive. No matter what your vision's like, take a look toward the light -- less than two months to go!

The volume of your uterus is five hundred to one thousand times larger than before you got pregnant, so it's safe to say you're feeling huge and slow. You're still running to the bathroom frequently and probably will from here on out. Try to drink a lot of water early in the day, so you don't get thirsty at night and make things worse. If you haven't purchased your baby's car seat and installed it facing rear-ward in the backseat of your car yet, do it now. You'll also want to start thinking about what you want to pack in your hospital bag.

32 Week Appointment

Yesterday we had our 32 week appointment--hopefully I only have two more! Our doctor was an hour late, yeah, fun times. Oh well, I guess Kaiser enjoys making me wait. I still really like our doctor and I just assume something happened that morning. Anyway, I had some mild concerns, nothing that I felt was pressing or urgent (I did wait for my scheduled appointment) but the doctor wanted to check my amniotic fluid anyway. So, I had a wonderful pelvic exam (which gets more painful as I get more pregnant I think) and then a surprise ultrasound!! It wasn't the cool ultrasound where you can see everything, it was just the little machine that they have in the office that they use to check for a heartbeat at 8 weeks--so we couldn't see the whole baby at once--or his face since he was facing my spine, but we could see the back of his head, his spine and ribs, his lungs breathing, his fist and one giant foot. I wasn't expecting that, but it was awesome. His heartbeat was 144 and his lungs looked really good (I think, at least the doctor was happy with it). My amniotic fluid was fine through the exam and the ultrasound, so nothing to worry about. He talked to us a little bit about preterm labor again, reasons to come in or call and gave Mike a DVD on circumcision.

I find it amusing that they have a video. When I was born everyone was circumcised, I think it is more of a decision now. I think most people probably still do have it done, but it is not automatic. The American Pediatric Association doesn't recommend it, but they don't recommend against it either--they say it is a personal and religious decision. Essentially they say that circumcision lowers some risks but very mildly, and that other people say that having foreskin teaches boys better hygiene which then lowers the risks anyway. It also says that the risk of infection FROM the surgery is about the same as the risk of infection from not having it done--so it doesn't really matter.

I think it is Mike's decision, but if there wasn't a Mike I wouldn't do it. First, I am not a guy, so I don't really care or maybe I don't get it. I have had sex with uncircumcised guys and never really cared. It was way easier to get certain things done :) That may be a down side for some guys. No idea. The main reason I wouldn't is because it is painful, and it is just a tiny baby. You can't explain to him that it will hurt, or need to heal. It just hurts him and I would assume it hurts like hell when he pees. Babies can't reason logically, but I am sure they get "when I do this it hurts" scenarios. It seems mean to make a baby's first week result in when I pee it burns. However, risk of infection is really low, they do use numbing agents for the actual procedure and in the long run he won't remember it at all. I don't mind that Mike wants to get it done, I really don't care that much, I just don't want anyone freaking out about it if we chose not to. It is not dangerous either way, it is not a medical decision, it is a personal decision, and if everyone could just acknowledge that I would be a lot happier and not feel the need to educate everyone :) I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about how it will get infected, but there is just as much information saying that an exposed penis is dangerous too--it just isn't as main stream. Neither are cloth diapers, but they are still a really good choice.

Other than that, gigantor is not really gigantic at all. He isn't small or anything, but the doctor did not seem at all surprised by the size and he is measuring perfect at 32 weeks, which I would assume puts him in the 50th percentile--which makes me happy. It is not a very accurate reading, it can be off from 1-2 weeks, but that is no big deal as I want to deliver at 38 weeks anyway :) The baby is tall though. His head is down by my pelvis, the doctor said he can still flip, but probably won't. I always feel him kicking REALLY low and pushing out on my right side so I was confused about him being head down. Well, his head and feet are down there. Essentially his head is down there, his back curves up my right side to about 1-2 inches below my ribs in the center (he follows the rib line from what I can feel) then he folds over so his butt is a little right of center at the top of the belly, and puts his feet back down towards the left where he likes to peddle his feet into my left side and kick outward. I am always sore on that side really low. Sometimes he likes to kick my back and sometimes he moves his butt and flips around (which you can see) or stretches his legs upwards, but since the doctor explained how he was laying it make sense with his movements. I rarely get kicked in the ribs, sometimes punched or pressed on, but I always get kicked in the bladder, spine and belly crease. It doesn't seem comfy to me, but if he is happy I don't care.

Next appointment I get another pelvic exam to check for strep B (36 weeks) and do the heartbeat and measuring thing again. Then at 38 weeks they will check my cervix for dilation and efacement and I hopefully I will go into labor before the 40 week appointment when they talk about induction!

8 More Weeks

I just keep telling myself, eight more weeks, I can do this for eight more weeks. There is sort of a lot going on in baby land, and in Mike and Donna land, right now over all. I don't feel like blogging all of the details, so here comes my ever-trusty, reliable, bulleted list:

• I have gained 10 pounds in the last month, the goal is three
  
• With said weight gain, it is no longer just baby weight, I am legitimately getting fat
• I passed my GTT test with super odd results that indicated I was more hypoglycemic than anything, which I suppose is good, but now I am supposed to eat every three hours and include a protein, see bullets one and two for more details about that
• My belly and Mike's belly measure the same in circumference this week, right at 41 inches.
  
• I am on Spring Break, and really don't want to go back to work at all
• I had to take my car into the shop for a couple of reason--I needed a new key and remote, my airbag sensor light burned out and Mazda doesn't let anyone but them fix something if it has to do with safety, and overall it was making a slight humming noise that was increasingly getting louder. I figured it was the dealership and all so about $500-1000. Nope, $1500--and I am not sure that included the key and remote. F.
  
• A squirrel made a nest in Mike's truck and ate a bunch of wires--I have no idea why it would want to do that. So now we soak his truck with pepper spray and moth balls in an effort to keep the damn thing out. His truck smells amazing if you were wondering.
  
• We finished out birthing classes and I learned that I am terrified of epidurals. I already hate IVs, so going natural is definitely the option I am going for, which I already knew, but that was more preference, it is now the least of two evils.
• I have eight more weeks of pregnancy, but I am hoping X is on board with coming about two weeks early. Not anymore than that, I want him fully cooked and there is a lot of evidence that says even 37-38 weeks makes a big difference, but holy god, please only let it be 6 more weeks.
  
• We have a ton of stuff that we still need to buy for him, but I am waiting until after my shower which is in about two weeks. I am excited, but I have no idea what to buy for hostess gifts :(
• I compulsively made a list of every single thing we need, priced it at BRU and Amazon, added the various discounts we get at both and now have a list of where I will buy everything. Overkill, yes, super organized, double yes.
  
• I still don't have stretch marks, but I am scared to mention any pregnancy symptoms I don't have because I feel like I immediately get them after that. That dark line is starting to form, but it is pretty light still. There are quite a few other things I don't have, but I am not putting them to paper (err, electronic paper) until after the baby is born.
  
• I bought a sewing machine so that I could make X a book sling, to buy one would cost me about $100, to make one cost about $200. Great job Donna!
  
• The nursery is almost complete, we are waiting on our glider and ottoman, we need to hang the book sling and some shelves, put up some decals, wash diapers and clothes and we are done!
• I still need to buy about $100 in diapers. We will be able to diaper X for a total of $400, which is pretty amazing. Our electric bill may go up about $10/month, but compared to disposables I am pretty excited.
• I can't find our camera, which is where there are no photos of all of this stuff.
• X has been moving a lot the last two or three days, I am not sure what the hell he is doing in there, maybe discovering a new sport?
  
• I decided to play soccer with my nephews, I paid for it later. I was in so much pain that night and the next day I was almost in tears and had to take a four hour nap. It was miserable. Note to self, do not run when carrying 20 pounds directly in front of you that bounces. I pulled a muscle in my groin, stretched some ligaments in my belly and really hurt my back. Plus, with X bouncing around in there I irritated my sciatic nerve again. Yesterday was rough. I feel better today.
  

Okay, that is it I think, I will upload photos when I take them :) I am off to the dentist, to spend more money I don't have. Yippee.

In baby news (remember, it is a week off because I didn't get how it worked :)

Baby's now the size of a squash!
Ready or not, baby's getting ready to emerge. He's probably in the head-down position by now, with his bottom facing up. This is the comfiest way for his body to fit in your increasingly cramped womb and will make his eventual exit (only a few months away now!) much easier. (If he's still head-up, don't panic -- there's still time for a flip before birth.)

Your baby weighs about 4 pounds and is about fifteen to seventeen inches tall. Photographs of babies in utero at this stage show their skin becoming less translucent and pinker, as layers of fat are deposited under the skin. His skeleton is rapidly ossifying (turning from cartilage into solid bone), which means that kicks will become visible through your shirt as the trimester progresses. Well-placed kicks under your ribs can take your breath away!

For mommy:
Was that a contraction? Yup, but it's just for practice. Those strengthening Braxton Hicks contractions are just your body's way of prepping for the real deal. (If you feel more than four in an hour or have discharge, call the doc.) Farther north, your nipples are getting darker and (yes, it's possible) bigger -- all the better for baby to see (and latch onto) in a few short months.

From now until delivery, you'll be gaining about a pound a week. About half of that gain is the baby's, the rest is fluid retention. Fight bloat by avoiding high-sodium foods and carbonated beverages. Call your care provider if you suddenly feel puffy in your face or hands; this is a symptom of preeclampsia. If you're still working, you're probably already counting the minutes until your maternity leave starts. During the next six weeks, you may be trying to decide if you'll be one of the sixty percent of moms who will return to the workforce in the year after having a baby, or if you'll be among the forty percent who stay home.

30 weeks!

I am 3/4 of the way done! I will meet my baby boy in 10 weeks. Please dear god let them be short weeks. Brandon measured me the other day and my belly is 39.5 inches around. WHAT? Yeah, I am not sure when that happened either. He also pointed out my cankles. So, I am getting big. I have also gained more than enough weight for the rest of my pregnancy, so it could slow down now, but it isn't I will probably gain at least another 10-15 pounds. Oh well, it is time to get swollen and huge I guess. It is also getting very hard to sleep and move around, plus walking up hills is almost impossible. I also got a crazy leg cramp last night that still hurts now, so that is insane, but apparently just another pregnancy symptom. They really should make a list of all of the shitty things the human body does and then title it pregnancy. Oh well. I passed my GTT test, I think, I am missing the results from the fourth test, but the doctor didn't call, so I think all is good. I did read this really cool article while I was at the hospital though.In baby news:
As baby's skin smooths out, her brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. She's also adding some brawn -- her grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

You baby's length is about 16 inches—about as long as a laptop computer—and he measures almost 11 inches from crown to rump. He weighs approximately 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. From now until delivery, every baby will gain weight at a more individual rate. Your baby has doubled in height over the past six weeks, and from now until delivery, he'll gain only a few more inches in length. Don't worry if he's in a strange position (what your care provider might call a "transverse lie"). There's still plenty of time for him to get settled into the head-down (cephalic) position for birth. He's floating in about 1 1/2 pints of amniotic fluid and has some room to move. Your baby's most important organ, his brain, continues to develop at a rapid pace. His eyes are able to track light, and some researchers have theorized that exposing your belly to light may stimulate development. Try moving the beam of a flashlight slowly over your belly in a dim room, and see if he reacts.

Mama news:
Your massive belly and nighttime heartburn might be making sleep difficult to come by. If you are able to drift off, you're probably having some strange and vivid dreams -- your subconscious is no less anxious than your waking mind.
You've now been officially pregnant for seven months, and the home stretch is in sight. You're big now, no doubt about it! Your belly is about the size of a watermelon. Tying your shoes is a challenge, and you may already have adopted the pregnant "waddle."

To keep your sex life alive, continue having intercourse unless your doctor says otherwise. Most couples' sex life tapers off temporarily, but this may not be so much a problem of desire as one of engineering. The solution: be creative with positions and techniques.

We have a squash!

So, I apparently count my weeks wrong. I am 29 weeks 1 day pregnant, which means I am actually IN my 30th week. Oops. Oh well, no reason to change it now. Just instead of what is happening now, all of these "growing" posts are actually what happened a few days ago. Oh well, no biggie.

I am definitely getting huge, fast. After talking to my cousin-midwife I am once again concerned about my protein intake. I failed my 1 hour gestational diabetes test, which isn't a HUGE deal, but it totally sucks. Even if I pass the three hour test, which I most likely will, it still means I had a spike in my blood sugar which isn't good for anyone. So my awesome cousin sent me this list and said the biggest deal is the protein. F. I hate protein. I am supposed to eat 80 grams per day. After working as hard as I could today to get more in my diet (yogurt, eggs for breakfast, peanut butter snacks, skim milk, etc) I am still only at 63 grams. Oh, and I am not supposed drink juice. Boo. All I am supposed to drink is water, milk and raspberry leaf tea--which tastes like green, not like raspberry at all. It is supposed to make my uterus stronger and prevent hemorrhage later. Awesome. So, I am trying to eat right and getting ready for the three hour diabetes test, which should be super fun. I almost threw up last time, so this should be awesome. I just hope I don't pass out from not eating for 15 hours and getting my blood drawn.

The baby is doing well, aside from him giving me diabetes maybe. He likes to move around a lot, more flipping than kicking. I feel him all of the time, sometimes it is painful, most of the time it isn't. At night it seems to hurt a lot, I am not sure why, maybe he gets stuck and then doesn't want to move, but if I am laying on one side and need to flip over because of hip pain I get intense belly aches. Or if I have to get up to pee, which is about every 3 hours. But it is sort of fun, I can kind of play with him. And when I talk to him, or Mike talks to him, he gets really active and moves around. I still feel him really low, like at my bikini line, which means that he is head up. It is not concerning yet, but I would rather him at least flip to head down sometimes. He mostly is head up or traverse.

In baby news, this is what Xavier was doing last week I guess :)

Baby's now the size of a squash!
Baby's energy is surging, thanks to white fat depositing beneath his skin. And since he's growing so fast (weight will triple by birth), things are getting kind of cramped in the womb. What all this means for you: Get ready for some more kicks and jabs to the ribs.

Your baby is about two and a half pounds and would be between fifteen and seventeen inches tall if he could stand. Your baby's adrenal glands are producing a chemical which will be made into estriol (a form of estrogen) by the placenta. This estriol is thought to stimulate the production of prolactin by your body, and the prolactin makes you produce milk. So even if your baby comes early, you'll still be able to breastfeed. Each passing week improves the likelihood that your baby will be born strong and healthy. His brain can detect rhythmic breathing and control body temperature, so he's less likely to need breathing assistance should he be born early. He's growing eyelashes, adding fat, and developing his brain. Because of brain wave activity, researchers have speculated that babies can even dream at this time!

And in mommy news:

Thanks to your ever-expanding uterus, it's time to welcome back the constant bathroom dashes. And try your best to forget about any emerging varicose veins -- they might be ugly, but they're harmless and should fade after delivery. Until then, avoid standing or sitting for long periods of time and make sure to get some exercise (it'll boost your circulation).

As the levels of prolactin increase in your body, your breasts may secrete colostrum, which can dampen your bra. Prolactin also has a sedating effect, and you may feel the need to take naps the way you did in the first trimester. Your uterus is now in a position where it exerts pressure on your bladder. Your frequent trips to the bathroom may also remind you of the first trimester. If you can, keep up your swimming, walking, yoga, or other non-weight bearing exercise, though you're not feeling as energetic (and as comfortable) as you did last trimester.

3rd Tri

Boring Week 27

Wow, the baby has been really active the last few days. I think he has decided he likes to chill in front rather than in the back where I can't feel it. I am not sure when he sleeps. He often wakes me up moving around and as far as I can tell he never really mellows out. I really hope me feeling sick doesn't affect him, but I am sure all of the sneezing, coughing, etc bothers him since it makes me stomach contract. Luckily I haven't had any more severe Braxton Hicks contractions, just a few little ones here and there. I am torn between really liking feeling him move and just wanting him to calm down for a few minutes. He is also really squirmy, and I am not a huge fan of that feeling in general, it is gross feeling, like he is slimy and slithery. I like it better if he just kicks or flips, even though it sort of hurts sometimes. I just hope I feel better soon so that I can pay more attention to him.

Baby's lungs are going through some major developments these days, which (combined with the opening of previously plugged nostrils) means he's now able to practice inhaling and exhaling. The lack of air in your womb means every "breath" is filled with amniotic fluid, but hey -- it's progress.
Your baby weighs about two pounds and is about 12 to 15 inches long, about the size of a small pot roast. If your baby were born now, he would have an excellent chance (85 percent) of surviving. He still isn't fully formed and would probably not be able to breath by himself. He would need to stay in an incubator to keep his body temperature regulated, and he would have a weak liver and immune system. (Fact: Babies have more taste buds at birth than they will have later in life. Newborns can sniff out and tell the difference between their mother's milk and someone else's.)

The weight of your baby is putting pressure on your back, which can cause shooting pains (sciatica) in your lower back and legs. Lifting, bending, and walking can make the pain worse. Warm baths, ice packs, and changing positions may help. The volume of your amniotic fluid is reduced by about half. With less cushioning blocking the view, you'll be able to see bony knees and elbows poking out of your stomach when the baby kicks and turns. As you grow, you may start to see stretch marks on your breasts and abdomen. You may also have a hard time bending over and tying your shoes. Your heart rate may have increased, causing you to feel flush and look winded with less exertion.

26

Holy crap, I only have 14 weeks left! Less than 100 days. Shit!! I am feeling better overall because Colorado is no longer in the middle of an arctic cold front that prevents me from being outside for more than 10 minutes unless I want frostbite. Literally. I guess it was actually less than two minutes for exposed skin the other day. Don't get me wrong, I love not having to work because it is too freaken cold to heat our ancient building and kids cannot wait for buses, but it also means you have to stay inside. I get really depressed without the sun, and vitamin D isn't really the answer. So this weeks high 50s and Colorado's plentiful sunlight makes me a much happier person.

I am definitely getting HUGE and that is hard. Growing so fast is hard on your body--your bones, muscles, ligaments--really everything, are just not prepared for it. My belly hurts all the time, and the round ligament pain is sort of ridiculous. I also eat all of the time and am gaining the amount of weight I am supposed to in a month EVERY WEEK. However, I only have 14 weeks left, so I can do anything for three months.In baby news, he is finally a new fruit and is the size of an eggplant.
Baby's soaking up your antibodies, getting her immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and she'll soon be practicing the blink...perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes. Your baby weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and has undergone a growth spurt in the past few weeks. From weeks twenty to twenty-eight, he almost doubles in height and now would be about a foot tall if he could stand. This week marks a major milestone in your baby's hearing and sight. Your baby's hearing system (cochlea and peripheral sensory end organs), which began fine development during week eighteen, is now completely formed, and over the next few weeks, he'll become increasingly sensitive to sound. In about a month, you'll feel him jump if he hears a sudden loud noise. Sound passes easily into your uterus, which helps her ears develop. His eyes are almost fully formed. Did you know that all babies have blue eyes in the womb, no matter what their genetic inheritance is? A baby's eyes don't get their final color until a few months after they are born. The air sacs of the lungs, called alveoli, will be developed by the end of this week and will begin to secrete a substance called surfactant that keeps the lung tissue from sticking together.

In mama news:
Don't panic if your uterus suddenly starts tightening and relaxing -- Braxton Hicks contractions often begin around this time. They're simply your body's way of practicing and preparing for labor. (If the contractions are regular or particularly painful, call your doc just to be sure it's not the real thing.) Sleeping is definitely getting uncomfortable. Try sleeping on your left side. Your baby has to battle with your backbone when you're lying on your back, and sleeping on your back will also position your uterus over a major artery, cutting off blood flow. Between now and the next three weeks, you may be tested for gestational diabetes with a glucose tolerance test. This test requires you to fast for twelve hours and then drink a glucose-rich liquid usually in the form of a syrupy orange-flavored drink. After an hour, a blood sample is taken. If you do have gestational diabetes, you'll be advised to adopt a low-carbohydrate diet. Gestational diabetes is a temporary condition, which goes away after the baby is born.

Alien

I think the baby is trying to get out. I have been able to feel the baby move for a really long time, like 15 weeks or something. Mike has been able to feel him since 18 weeks or so. However, it has always felt cool, now it feels....I don't know, like he is trying to come out through my belly! I think he grew a lot, I gained some weight and was really tired, and that may have been due to a growth spurt, but this is crazy. I think he is going crazy in there. I think he loves to flip around, not up and down, but traverse over and over. And I think he uses his legs and arms to propel him, so I just feel and see all of these things move as he turns. And I feel him on both sides at the same time, but not the top and the bottom. So weird. He pushes SO hard. My belly is just this weird lumpy mass and instead of feeling light movements it really does feel like something trying to escape. It doesn't hurt or anything, but it is not a "sensation" anymore, it is clearly a living being moving around in there. SO WEIRD!

Week 25?

I have been slacking on the blog front. It is exhibition time at school, which on top of a lot of other shit means that I work 7:30-7:30 most days, have no time to do anything at work and am generally stressed and exhausted. Exhaustion leads to mild depression for me, which makes me more exhausted. If I can sleep it off I am fine, but if I can't it gets worse. It also triggers insomnia. I am sure you see the catch 22 here. So, after posting about sleeping all the time I faced a week that entailed not sleeping, stress, exhaustion, a lot of crying and mild breakdown (or three). At least Mike is on nights :) Anyway, Friday night I crashed hardcore, I don't think pregnant Donna can do insomnia the same way (plus Mike was actually gone--I have a miserable time sleeping alone if he is here, but if he is at work I am usually okay). Anyway, I slept all day, went shopping with my mom and had dinner with Mike, just to go to bed at 8:30 and sleep another 12 hours. I woke up in a much better mood and opted to not spend my only day off (I am counting yesterday as mental recovery and NOT as a day off) cleaning. So I went baby shopping...

It didn't go well. For one, I am out of clothes because I didn't do laundry yesterday. So I wore my only remaining pair of maternity pants in my closet. It is a sad day folks, I have grown out of a pair of maternity pants. That cannot be a good sign. Anyway, I was super uncomfortable. I went to get a pedicure figuring the massage chairs would be nice, and they were, except my pants hurts my belly. Then I went to Home Depot to get some room stuff and got very hungry. So I blew $100 on some Martha Stewart organizational bins and came home, where I spent the next hour in my underwear eating roasted potatoes on blood oranges (not together).

Finally I went grocery shopping, in a comfy, albeit dirty, pair of large maternity jeans. I got general groceries and stuff for dinner tonight, that I suppose we will call Valentine's Dinner. Plus I made two pans to go in the deep freeze for when the baby arrives.

For our last Valentine's Day as single people this is what we are having:
Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells in a Pesto Cream Sauce
Romaine Salad with red onions, cucumber and avocado
Extra thick brownies with balsamic macerated strawberries and whipped cream

As far as baby goes (or went about 6 days ago):

That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down.

Your baby weighs 1 1/4 pounds and is a little more than 11 inches long, about the size of a small bag of sugar. In the last third of pregnancy, he'll double and triple his weight. Your dexterous baby can touch and hold her feet and make a fist. Your partner may be able to hear his heartbeat by pressing his ear against your belly. Your baby has a regular sleep schedule now and active and inactive periods. You may or may not be able to discern what those periods are. his nostrils, which have been plugged, open up.

And in mama news (although thankfully this hasn't actually happened yet):

Got a dark line running down your belly? That's your linea nigra, and it's totally normal. Pregnancy hormones might also be making your complexion a little spotty. Switching to oil-free, water-based, noncomedogenic makeup should help clear things up.

Welcome to the third trimester! You're really in the homestretch now. While reaching the third trimester feels like great progress, with it comes a return to fatigue, dizziness, and constant trips to the bathroom. To relieve back, hip and leg pain now, try to keep walking, swimming, practicing yoga or doing any other nonweight-bearing activity. This also can help you recover faster physically after childbirth. To make sure you'll enjoy your baby shower, schedule it between weeks 30 and 36; you'll still be spry enough to enjoy it.

And my favorite piece of advice this week:

[ tip ] Skip the elaborate nursery decorations and spend the savings on an extra-comfy rocking chair. At 3 a.m., baby won't know the difference...but your back and bottom sure will.

V Day

Yesterday was viability day, the day that medical personal will do everything they can to save a baby upon early delivery. Although the chance of survival is still really low, it is nice to know that theoretically gigantore could survive without me. Though I would really prefer if he stayed in until at least mid-May. Normally I would take a photo of myself to commemorate this event, but it is 0 degrees here and I am not taking off my sweatpants until I have to go to work. I do have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning though, so maybe I will get a belly photo in before then. I am definitely getting bigger very fast. I am starting to catch up and actually look like I may be 24 weeks pregnant. I need to slow down on this weight gain thing before I end up gaining too much.

What is up with baby?
Baby is still the size of a papaya. Baby's skin is becoming more opaque as the fat starts to pack on. And, thanks to the formation of small capillaries, his newly thick skin is taking on a fresh pink glow.Your baby weighs a little over a pound and is about 8 1/2 inches long. Your baby's skin becomes less translucent as pigment is deposited, and it looks wrinkly because her body is making her skin more quickly than it makes the fat to pad underneath it. Your baby's unique hand- and footprints are forming. You may feel jumps as she has bouts of hiccups. In fact, it may seem like the baby is in perpetual motion. Some babies now kick in response to sounds and touch from outside the womb. Encourage your partner to talk to the baby, and see if she kicks in response!

And the ever awesome list of great thing that happen to me:
Take a break from the computer if your fingers feel numb or tingly. It's probably carpal tunnel syndrome, often brought on by pregnancy. Stretch your hands frequently to loosen them up. For significant symptoms, try wrist braces or splints at nighttime. Your uterus is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches above your belly button, and your bump is definitely apparent and hard to disguise! You may be suffering from heartburn, muscle aches, sore feet, fatigue, and dizziness. Call your care provider if you feel dizzy often or if you faint; it may be a sign of anemia. Dizziness if often caused by low blood sugar or by standing up too fast. Rise slowly, and eat regularly.

Week 23

Pregnancy is weird. Well, I guess that is sort of obvious, but that isn't really what I meant. You try to hard to get pregnant and when you see those pink lines, or blue lines, or digital "pregnant" reading, or all of the above, it is hard to believe. At least for me. Then you have all of this pent up excitement that you can't share with anyone. Then you doubt it, then you go to the doctor, then you are all excited again. By the time you can actually tell anyone it is sort of old news. The shock value has worn off for you. Then you go to the doctor again, and now you have to wait for the gender scan, so it is exciting again. You wait and wonder and during that time the baby starts moving and you start growing (or normal people do). People can feel the baby. You learn how to poke it to make it move, or when it moves, or whatever. Then you find out the gender, and it is all exciting again, and you buy LOTS of stuff because you finally can. And now? Now what do I do? It is too far from delivery to actually get excited about meeting gigantore. Then there is that whole actually birthing gigantore thing to worry about, but right now, what do I do? The baby moves. A lot. Other than my kids no one finds that exciting any more. We go to doctors, I check my weight gain (I am FINALLY gaining the right amount of weight and am almost up to the minimum required weight gain). I take tests. The nursery is almost done, and we aren't going to buy more stuff until after my shower. The baby grows, I grow, I eat a lot, I sleep a lot, sometimes I cry for no reason. Mike steals my prego snacks and I freak out. But really, that is just sort of life, except now life revolves around me being pregnant. That is all I hear about, how big I am, or people asking about the baby, or whatever. Which I know is well intentioned, but it is also obnoxious. Sometimes I am the way I am just because I am me, not because I am pregnant. Sometimes I eat like shit just because I do, or sometimes I am tired because my job sort of blows are the moment and is really stressful. Not everything about me is growing a baby. And I have four more months of just waiting, and really nothing to be that excited for until we are close enough that I can start wanting the baby to get here. It is boring prego time. Yet, I am still pregnant. Which sort of sucks (obviously I don't want the alternative either). I would like to have a bottle of wine. Yes, I know I can have a freaken glass, but I don't want a glass, I want a bottle. I am sick of getting fat, even if it is a good thing. I am sick of counting my protein intake. I just want to be done being pregnant, and have my baby. I don't get why anyone loves being pregnant. I mean, I get why you are excited to be pregnant, and am definitely fortunate and happy to be pregnant in the sense that it means there will be a baby, but actually being pregnant sort of blows. Luckily I read an article today about hating being pregnant and how to cope (my favorite being, don't feel guilty about not enjoying being pregnant) where one of the lines was "Hating pregnancy and being a good mother have absolutely no connection."

However, I promised Rachel that I wouldn't get like this and stop posting pictures, so here are a few where I look particularly pregnant, thanks to Anne Taylor non-maternity silk sweater which clings like no other to my maternity pants.

I did go to a breast pump class. Yes really. It was informative, but pretty boring since I will be staying home and not needing a fancy shmancy pump. The $50 one will do me just fine.

I need to take pictures of the nursery, it is really nice. I think I also want to learn to sew, make cushion covers for the new glider and ottoman and some curtains for the room. I do actually know how to sew, but I don't have a machine. Recovering major furniture is out of my comfort zone though, so we will see. I can't really mess anything up with it though. Everything else is done really, we have a closet, dresser with changing station, mirror, glider, ottoman, table, lamp, linens, some clothes and I have selected diapers. Not a whole lot to do but wait. I hate waiting.

In baby news:
Baby's now the size of a papaya!
Baby's little face is fully formed...minus the baby fat, of course. The next task at hand for baby: sprouting two teeny-tiny nipples!

Weighing in at a pound, and at eight inches long, your baby is starting to really look like a baby! You can compare her size to a box of sugar or a bag of coffee beans. Her skin is filling out as the first layers of fat are deposited and her muscles grow. During the next month, her weight may almost double.

I guess I can get new shoes out of the deal, even if I haven't hit the 15 pound mark:
Swollen from head to toe? Increased blood flow, by now an old friend, is to blame. Consider a trip to the shoe store because loosening ligaments will cause your feet to expand even more in the weeks to come.

Your care provider should be monitoring your expanding uterus and weight. You should be feeling movement at this point. If you haven't, talk to your care provider. No feelings of movement could be a sign that your placenta is in front of the baby. It may also take more time to feel movement if you're overweight. As your baby gains weight, so do you. You've probably gained at least fifteen pounds by now.

Huge much?

In the last week, really just over the weekend, I grew like four inches across my belly. It was weird. Today I noticed that my boobs are also gigantic. I look pregnant instead of just fat! Yay!! I am also gaining weight at a rapid pass, so I may need to slow down a little on the peanut butter crackers and lucky charms. On the down side, my trusty weekly baby updates are now based on month. Boo. Essentially, baby is just growing now. So, as my pregnancy gets more fun for me, for baby it is just about getting bigger, which is sort of ridiculous.

The nursery is also coming along. I bought the crib bedding online and Mike and I are picking up a new dresser on Saturday that will double as a changing table. I also found a nice glider and ottoman on craigslist for dirt cheap, we will see if I actually get it. After we get the furniture in we will put up the wall decals, a tree and some monkeys, and get some curtains. I am leaning towards tan curtains just because we have so much going on, but at BRU there are the CUTEST leaf curtains, so I am still deciding. I want the closet and window curtains to match so that the room looks more put together. At the same time, I am afraid it will look too matchy. I suppose I will just wait until everything else is in and then pick.

We also went to a cloth diaper class. I already knew most of it, but it was reassuring and Mike got to see what I have been rambling about for the last five months. I LOVE cloth diapers, and cannot imagine using disposable ones for so many reasons. However, Mike and I don't agree on the actual diapers. I like prefolds and covers for newborns, and he likes pockets. I think we will get some of each, definitely one size pockets for the baby after he is over 15 pounds and probably a few all-in-ones for night time, but for a newborn I think we need sized diapers. I would really like prefolds and sized covers, I think Mike would rather have sized pockets or fitteds. I guess fitteds need covers too, so investing in a few prefolds wouldn't really cost anything more since they are so cheap. So for the newborn we will get a few covers that will work with Kissaluvs 0 and prefolds, maybe some lil joeys or something. When the baby gets bigger we will go with a combo of Best Bottoms and Fuzzibuns one size and maybe a few Rumparooz for night. If I like the prefolds for the baby, I may buy some larger covers and infant prefolds. We are asking for gift cards instead of actual diapers, so that way we can buy as we go and get what we like when we know what works. Plus, my mom gets a discount so that is awesome. God, I LOVE cloth diapers, I spend hours reading about them. I can't wait to start buying them. Mike on the other hand likes buying baby clothes. We already have a ton of clothes. They are so cute and little. I will take photos soon.

My baby boy is as big as a papaya:

Your baby is about 7 1/2 inches from crown to rump and weighs between thirteen and sixteen ounces—about the size of a small grapefruit. She is entering her fifth month of existence. Her fingernails are almost fully grown, and her organ systems are becoming more functional and specialized. She has a distinct pair of lips, and her first canines and molars are developing below her gum line. She looks like a miniature newborn. Blood is traveling through the umbilical cord at four miles an hour, fueling her growth with oxygen and nutrients.

Your uterus is certainly growing, but you can probably still bend over, sit, drive, and function fairly comfortably. You may have increased vaginal discharge as your pregnancy progresses. Yeast infections during pregnancy are quite common. Symptoms include redness and itchiness around your vagina and a yeast-smelling discharge, but douching during pregnancy is not advised. This is a good time to have your iron levels checked and to make sure you're drinking enough water, given how much your blood volume has increased over the past few months. As many as 20 percent or pregnant women are anemic, and anemia can put you at serious risk if you hemorrhage during delivery.

Real estate within your belly is getting tight, with growing baby leaving little room for your lungs to...well...breathe. Expect the huffing and puffing to start soon. There's not much room for your belly button, either -- it'll pop out any day now.

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

21 Weeks, sort of...

We are almost to 22 weeks and I still haven't updated the blog with information about 21 weeks. Eeep! This week at work has been ridiculously stressful to say the least so blogging has not really been a priority. Plus, not a whole lot has changed. My kids know I am pregnant now, although many of them claim to still not believe me because I am too little. The rest are pissed they didn't know sooner. Oh well, at least once an hour one of them says something about it. One nice young man even wanted to press his belly against mine so he could feel the baby kick. I don't think he visualized that until he saw my look of shock and dismay. So much for boundaries I suppose (I didn't let him, obviously). Now reading the baby stuff is funny because he is SO much bigger than the average size of babies. Oh well. I am also extraordinarily tired, not in a normal way either. I think I will have them check my iron levels at my next appointment. So much for the mommy update too, I guess it just doesn't apply to me an my little guy this week.

So, here we are with a banana!
Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, if baby is a girl, her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth).

By week 21, your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces, and her length from head to rump is seven inches, about the length of a spoon. Ten and one-half ounces is also the size bear cubs are when they are born. Your baby has begun her main project for the rest of your pregnancy: putting on weight. She regularly drinks amniotic fluid for hydration and nutrition, urinates in the fluid and breathes in and out (fortunately, the fluid pool refreshes itself every three hours). Her eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. Taste buds are forming on her tongue. Her eyelids are still sealed, but her eyes are active.

Mommy update:

Some women report feeling better and more energized at this stage of pregnancy than they have at any point in their life. We hope you're one of them! To safely build up your endurance for labor and for taking care of your baby later, take long walks outside or on a treadmill, ride a stationary bike or use an elliptical trainer. To keep your uterus and pelvic-floor muscles toned, do Kegel exercises and have orgasms! If your doctor has told you to avoid sex because you're at risk for preterm labor, ask what he means by "sex" and which acts may be off-limits.

20 Weeks

Whoo hoo, we made it half way, and I am sporting a permanent bump! I will do my best to upload more images for my best friend who lives so far away again, but hopefully she is back for peaberry's grand entrance.

I am feeling pretty good, have maternity clothes, a decent amount of energy and am really excited for the baby. I think being pregnant makes me happy, I was accused of "not really being all that negative and cynical compared to other people" today, so obviously that is a change. I can't wait until Thursday when we find out the gender and get to look at the baby, I just want to see it again. I hate only having two ultrasounds. Plus, I LOVE our nursery. Going into the yellow room just makes me happy, I just lay in there all the time. Ella will even come in there now. On a sad note, the baby is most active around 7:30 am--I used to just lay in bed and feel it move and poke it back, but now I am driving to work then, so I can't feel it or pay attention as much. :( Oh well, I had two full weeks of feeling it uninterrupted so I guess that is better than most people. Mike can even feel it in the morning if he is home too, so maybe on weekends. We are registered for all of our baby classes, except one that Mike may want to take, but it is his deal at this point. I have my first class in a few weeks. It is excited when you can actually start doing stuff, until now it has just been waiting. Now things are actually happening.

As far as week 20 goes, I have a freaken cantaloupe under my shirt!
Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you'd like your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

By week 20, your baby begins to produce vernix, a white, creamy substance that protects his skin in his watery environment. Permanent teeth are starting to form behind his baby teeth. He seems able to differentiate between morning, afternoon and evening and starts to become more active at certain times than at others.

For mom:
Congrats! You're halfway there...and at one of the great milestones of pregnancy. Increased blood flow is making the pelvic area extra-sensitive, libido is resurging, and the weight gain has just barely begun.

Around now, you should feel a psychological boost: You've made it halfway already! It's a good time to find a childbirth class to educate you about labor and calm any anxieties. Plus, you'll meet other parents-to-be and possibly create friendships for both you and your child in the years to come. Your care provider will now monitor your growth by measuring the height of your uterus with fingers or a tape measure. Your uterus is now about in line with your belly button. From now on, the top of your uterus will grow toward your rib cage at a rate of one centimeter a week.

Half Way

At nineteen weeks a lot of books consider me half way, although at twenty weeks I think I will be more comfortable calling it half way. I can't believe I have been pregnant for so long. I am definitely starting to show more constantly, rather than the baby playing hide and go seek every day. I can also feel my belly more, like I bump into things and I feel a hard lump when I lay down or against something. Mike says he can feel it too when I sleep against him, just like a constant pressure. The baby definitely kicks now--or punches, headbutts, something--it is more like a thumping than a fluttering or a vibration. I feel the fluttering more still, but there have been a few thumps in there. I am excited to see it moving all over the place in the ultrasound and to finally be able to call it something other than it! 10 days and counting until our anatomy scan.

It is also time to start making real decisions. We are completely registered on Baby's R Us and Amazon.com, although I need to add some gender specific items and update the amazon registry to include our stroller and car seat choices since those changed. We started the nursery, or we cleaned the room and picked out paint. Jill is going to bring me the crib on Wednesday. We are going to do the closet ourselves, but it is going to be really hard for me to wait on buying stuff. At the very end of pregnancy both registries will give us a one time coupon to get everything still left on the registry at 10% off, but that doesn't leave a whole lot of time to actually finish the nursery, so I think I will end up buying some stuff early. Even though it is a good deal, there are certain things we do really need for the baby and there will be plenty of other stuff for people to buy, like clothes and stuff. We will see how I do on self-control. I also need to put in for my leave of absence at work. I think we have book decided that it is best for me to take a year off, but it makes me really nervous. I am not good at depending on someone else and I am very worried about how I will handle the stress of dependency plus the stress of loosing so much money all at once. Neither of us are very good at budgeting, and we sort of need to figure that out now. I have been trying to get out of debt before the baby comes, and I have made some good progress, but I still have outstanding debt and although we have plenty of money it doesn't seem like we are rolling in it.

The hardest thing is that I need to come to terms with the fact that I have to actually have the baby. You always know you have to, but it seems so distant. We need to take some labor classes and I need to read a lot of books on how to have a natural labor so that I am prepared. Right now The Bradley Method of childbirth is all the rage with natural birth advocates, but I don't like it, it creeps me out. I am not sure why. So I need to find books on other methods and prepare myself. Mike also needs to prepare to be able to help me, or something. I am not sure. I think I want my mom there with me to help. She really wants me to get a doula, and although I can see the benefits, I can also see the expense. I am just not sure having yet another person in there will help. I mean, they are supposed to advocate for you and your choices, but I want to be able to make those choices as the happen, although I am not sure that is realistic. I need to talk to Mike and see how comfortable he is in making choices or being assertive while I am in labor. If he isn't then maybe I will get a doula. I just don't know. Regardless, really big deal that I need to deal with soon :)

As far as the baby goes, we have a mango:
Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil, and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Your baby is between five and six inches long and weighs about seven ounces—about the size of an apple. If the baby is a girl, early ovaries contain follicles with forming eggs. Soon, half of the genetic material for your potential future grandchildren will be formed. Pictures of babies at this age show them touching the membrane of the amniotic sac, touching their own faces, reaching for the umbilical cord, pedaling their legs, and sucking their thumbs. If you're carrying twins, they may already be swatting at each other. Your baby may already have a preference for the left or right hand. In the brain, areas of the nerve cells that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing are becoming specialized and are forming more complex connections. Loud sounds as well as any feelings you may have of stress or alarm may be communicated to the baby. The baby responds to these stresses by becoming more active. Practicing yoga and meditation can be good for your sense of calm and balance.

And for me:
Those nasty leg cramps are probably making it tough to get comfortable. One way to ease the pain: Extend your leg and flex your ankle and toes toward your knees. Or enlist your partner for a calf (and back!) massage. Good news: Your now-bulging belly should get you a little more compassion from everyone around you.