40 Weeks = Due Date

I expected today to be rather anti-climatic so at least I'm not too disappointed that I still have no baby. We have friends coming over for dinner tonight so I am at least distracted.

The only real change is that the baby has dropped. He had dropped a little, but now he's dropped a lot. Jonathan and I went and played putt-putt golf at Main Event the other night and after we got home I felt a ton of pressure and I was extremely uncomfortable. The only way to get somewhat comfortable was in the bath tub so I got in for about an hour with a book while the baby burrowed his way further down. I have to pee way more often, which isn't that big a deal, but my back hurts all the time now and sleeping has become much more difficult.

I've tried almost every home remedy to get him here. I start again tomorrow with acupuncture and a doc. appt. and I'm hoping that I'm dilated enough for him to strip my membrane. I'm also hoping that I actually get to see my doctor tomorrow as I have some questions. If he is able to strip my membrane I may also try the dreaded castor oil, especially if he insists on inducing by 41 weeks. Desperate times call for desperate measures.


This Week:

• Much of the vernix has vanished but you will notice traces on her body.
• 15% of your child's body is fat. Since he hasn't learned to shiver yet, these fat stores will help regulate his temperature.
• Approximately 60 - 75 percent is water!
• Your baby's chest sticks out, almost as if he's ready to strut proudly over his accomplishment!
• His lungs will continue developing until birth. They are manufacturing large quantities of surfactant which works to keep the air sacs open.
• She continues to grow; her hair and nails longer as well. You may need to trim those fingernails soon after birth or protect her face from scratches with mittens.
• Small breast buds are present on both sexes.
• The baby now weighs 7.6 pounds (3462gm) and is 20.2 inches (51.2cm) long.
• Congratulations! Any day now you will be cradling your son!
  

Super Dad

This is Jonathan a little over a weeks ago. We went to Dream Dinners and put some meals together for when the baby comes. The meals are good and the freezer is over flowing so we should be set for a while. It's fun to do because they do the clean up for you.

I do have a really cute story about Jonathan and the baby. One night last week I was sitting on the couch and the baby was going nuts. Sitting and watching the baby bang around is often our evening entertainment. This particular night he started around 10 PM and by 1 AM I was exhausted. I wanted to go to bed but there was no way with all the activity. So Jonathan got a few books and he sang to the baby and then read to him. Amazingly the baby calmed down as Jonathan started to sing and he was sleeping by the time the books were finished. Baby already calms down just from hearing daddy's voice. Yay!

time is creeping by

I swear someone slowed the clocks down. Everything seemed normal, whatever normal is, until this week. Now it's like it was at the beginning of the pregnancy, like the clocks have practically been stopped.

Don't get me wrong, I want the baby to be cooked when he gets here. I'm just ready to get my body back. I'm swollen everywhere, my feet, hands, and face are all bloated. I hardly recognize myself. And I think my ass has doubled in size since this whole process started. I can't walk any faster than a snail, and calling it walking is pushing it.

This trimester has been the easiest on me. During the first we didn't know if we were going to lose the baby and I was on and off bed rest. During the second trimester I was sick 3 times, still working, and had low iron levels that weren't treated. During this trimester I've been uncomfortable but I've had more energy and even if I don't sleep at night I can nap during the day.

Honestly, being uncomfortable isn't that big a deal. I went through 2 years of CONSTANT pain from when I broke my elbow and was having the surgeries. Compared to that, this is a walk in the park. It's the swelling, looking like shit, and not being able to do what I want to do because I'm so huge that is getting to me.

And I'm having virtually no signs of him coming any time soon. On Monday I had my dr's appointment where they checked me (nothing has changed), I had acupuncture to induce, got some herbs (that make me nauseous) to help things along, had sex, went for a walk, drank green tea, and the most I got were a few mild cramps. I've had some uterine awareness at times. I wouldn't go as far as to say contractions because I can't time them and I have no problem talking, walking, or sleeping while they're going on. They don't hurt at all and it could simply be because this baby is so big that his weight is making my uterus ache a little. They might be braxton hicks contractions, but even calling them that is pushing it.

We have 3 different social things planned this weekend, so at least I'll be distracted. On Monday I start again with acupuncture and a doc appointment. Hopefully I'll actually get to see the doctor this week. I haven't seen him in 2 weeks because he was on vacation and then last week he got called away to an emergency. Starting this week I'll have to go in every other day to get monitored because I'll be past my due date. That's gunna suck. They want to make sure that the baby is still doing fine in there and that the placenta isn't getting old. I suspect they'll start talking about incuding too. The main reason I don't want to be induced is because I don't want it to end in a c-section and inducing increases that risk. Just like getting an epidural increases the risk of having a c-section, so I'm planning on going without one. I've had enough surgeries to know that I don't want another one. My point is that I want this baby to come on his own. They can't induce without me giving consent, I'm just worried that my will is going to crack at some point.

One hail of a storm

They say bad things come in threes. The refrigerator, the washer, and the dryer all had to be replaced not long ago. Then nanny died, Jonathan got laid off, and my parents are getting divorced.

Is this starting to sound like a bad country song to anyone else?

Now in the last 3 days the window on my jeep doesn't work (thank God Jonathan managed to rig it so it will stay up and we don't have to spend $400 to get it fixed yet), the belt on the vacuum broke (I'm praying Jonathan can fix it because we use it all the time and I love it) and then we had this happen this afternoon:



I'm actually really excited about this one. It will cost us some money but hopefully we'll be getting a new roof out of it! We've needed one for a few years and we're really pushing it right now. The roof is 17 years old and it doesn't look good.

When the storm started I was napping (because some little baby kept me up really late and got me up very early). The poor dogs were terrified and it was extremely loud. I've lived here all my life and never been in a storm like that. It didn't last very long but it dumped a lot of hail on us, some of it golf ball sized. I'm really glad that everyone is okay and both our cars were protected.

After I took the pictures the dogs though it would be fun to play in the rain and they came in looking like drown rats... and smelling like dead ones.

Jonathan was driving home when it hit here and he decided to pull off down town, park in a garage, and have coffee until it passed. Apparently traffic got shut down in several places up this way from all the hail.

Happiness

It's something we all want and something we want for the people that we love.

Last week my parents told me that they are getting divorced. My mom hasn't been financially happy for a long time, and we've all known it. I guess the important thing to know is that everyone is okay. It's sad, but it's okay. I don't see the point in putting blame or fault on anyone, it wouldn't change anything and really would only make it harder.

I've seen and spoken to both of my parents several times and they are doing well. For them, this has been coming for a while, it's just a shock for the rest of us. No one expects this to happen at the age of 29, this generally happens to peoples parents when their in high school. I guess the good thing about it happening now is that both my brother and I are completely independent of my parents. We're close to them because we always have been and we live in the same city but we're not dependent on them.

As long as I focus on what's going on right now, I'm totally fine. It's only when I start thinking about the future and family events that I get a little wonky and that's only because I don't know what's going to happen. But there's no point in worrying about that kind of thing yet. As Jonathan and I start our own family, we'll simply start our own traditions. It might be a little different than we originally though, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The first thing that's coming up is Memorial Day Weekend. I've spent every one of those of my life at Lake Travis. But we were all looking to change that weekend anyways, it just wasn't working for us anymore. I don't know what this year will bring because of the job situation but we'll figure out some crazy adventure to have that weekend and start doing that.

I don't know what's going to come of all of this. I don't know how things are going be. But it's all okay. Everyone is going to be fine.

39 Weeks (-1)

As usual nothing has changed. I'm uncomfortable and I think the baby has finally dropped a little. The fronts of my hips are more sore and I have to pee more. I can only imagine what the water bill is going to be like this month. I haven't noticed that I can breath any better so he hasn't dropped much.

I go to the doctor tomorrow but I suspect I'll be in the waiting room for a very long time because it's his first day back from vacation. Before pregnancy the wait was usually about 3 hours. If he wasn't such a good doctor I wouldn't put up with that but given that I've had 2 surgeries by him and have been seeing him since I was 18 I just plan for it. Now that I'm pregnant the wait is much shorter but last time I saw him it was still an hour. I plan on taking my lap top to distract me.

If there is anything to report I'll update here, but I suspect that nothing has changed... still.

Here is the picture I painted for the baby's room. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

This week:

• The lanugo has mostly disappeared, but you'll probably find a bit on his shoulders, arms and legs and in those protected little bodily creases. It will vanish completely on its own in time.
• His lungs are maturing and surfactant production is increasing and fully prepared to take on the outside world!
• Your baby doesn't have much room to move and certainly mom agrees! Did you imagine 8 months ago that this wee one would be able to hook a toe in your ribs while elbowing your bladder?
  
• His body continues laying on the fat stores that will help regulate his body temperature after birth. In addition to normal fat, he is accumulating a special "brown" fat in the nape of his neck, between his shoulders and around organs. Brown fat cells are important for thermogenesis (generating heat) during his first weeks.
• Your infant's weight is around 7.25 pounds (3288gm) and length is 19.9 inches (50.7cm).

Dr's apt.

Everything is fine. Nothing has changed. Kid isn't cooked yet.

38 Weeks (-2)

Not much is new, I'm just getting bigger. I'm actually so big that I can see him hiccuping. Waiting for this baby to arrive is like waiting for Christmas morning, only we don't know when Christmas is coming. The suspense is killing me.

My belly is getting so big that it's going square now and the skin is starting to hurt a bit. Thankfully I'm still sleeping okay and feeling okay.

Last week I went a little stir crazy because I didn't leave the house much. I'm trying to fill my social schedule this week so that doesn't happen. So far I have a few things going on so that will help.

We officially have his room finished. I finished the painting for the wall, we have everything hung, and all the furniture is nailed to the walls too. I even have all the little clothes washed and ready.

We went in today and had the baby monitored for about 1.5 hours. He looks perfect, apparently he just wanted to really sleep in. I have to be put back on the monitor on Tuesday at my appointment, I just hope it's for a shorter amount of time. It's difficult to get comfortable strapped to a table.

This Week:

• If he is the "average baby," he weights 6.8 pounds (3083gm)and is 19.6 inches (49.8cm) long.
• Have you noticed she hiccups a lot? Because there is no air around her, those breathing exercises cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe. The result? Hiccups!
• Your child's intestines are accumulating lots of meconium. Meconium takes on the role of being your baby's first bowel movement -- removing the waste that has accumulated.
• He may have a full head of hair now -- an inch or more long! Don't be surprised if it's an unexpected color. Some blond couples have dark haired babies; some dark haired couples have red-haired babies; some couples have babies with only peach fuzz! It may just persuade you to take a closer look at your family tree!
• Circumference of head and abdomen are about the same size for your baby. No wonder it's so hard to get a t-shirt over a newborn's head!

Eviction Notice!

I am issuing 30 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 30 days in which he can either gather his belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, he will be physically removed from the property.

He's being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back and sides of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 30 days from this day that he doesn’t comply with the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at my discretion. Vacating the premises is to take place on or before April 12th, 2009.

In other words, GET OUT!

Dr's apt.

Well, the good news is that my body is showing some sign that it's going to actually have to get this kid out at some point. I'm dilated 1/2 a centimeter. It isn't much, but it's progress.

I also made it very clear that I don't want a c-section and I would also really prefer to avoid being induced. So far he seems to think that both are possible. There's no point in really worrying about it until it's actually an issue. I know that they don't like to let the baby cook longer than 41 weeks, which is April 5th. I'm not exactly sure why, but again, I'm not going to worry until we get there.

I was in the waiting room for a friggin' hour today. It sucked. I can't sit in one position for nearly that long. My doc will be on vacation next week and the only good thing about it is that I'll be seeing a nurse practitioner and won't have to wait for long.

This evening we took a breast feeding class, and it was very good. We got some great tips about how to handle things at the hospital. One thing that we'll be doing is setting the alarm on one of our phones to go off every 2 to 2.5 hours during the day to remind us to feed. When the alarm goes off we'll ask any visitors to leave the room. I'm not necessarily again some people seeing me breast feed, but at the beginning we need to not be distracted and have time to figure things out. We don't mind visitors at the hospital but if you come, please don't be offended if we ask you to leave.

I also found out that the hospital has hand pumps (the ones that are $50 at We-Be-Babies) that you can request and get for free. Woo Hoo!

37 Weeks = Full Term (-3)

Baby is officially considered full term now. He could come at "any time" but I don't think he's in any hurry.

I've been a bit more tired this week. Sleeping at night is getting a little more difficult so a nap mid-day is usually needed.

I have another dr's apt on Monday. Last week after my apt I had contractions for a day-and-a-half from it. Nothing I could really time much but lots of cramping and aching. If it's doing something than I don't mind, if it's not doing anything I'll be a little annoyed.

On the plus side we got baby's room mostly ready today! I've been doing one thing a day in there, to at least make a little progress but with both of us (and Jonathan able to move furniture) we made big progress. It actually looks like it's ready for a baby!

This Week:

• This week, the average size is about 6.3 pounds (2859gm) now and 19.1 inches (48.6cm) length.
• He is official full term now but can still benefit from extra days in the womb.
• Your baby continues to practice breathing movements.
  
• Grasp is firm now. It won't be long until you'll feel that strong little fist confidently grasping your finger (or tightly clenching your hair)!
• A few weeks ago, your baby would move his eyes toward light. Now he turns towards light outside the uterus.
• As the uterine wall stretches and thins allowing more light to permeate, he develops definite daily activity cycles.
  

Locked up tight

I had my 36 week doctor's appointment today. Basically, everything is good and this baby isn't coming any time soon.

We had a sonogram. He's head down and he's living on my right side, which is why I feel so much movement on the left side where all of his limbs are. He has cute chubby little cheeks and is practicing breathing. They estimate he's weighing just under 6 lbs so will probably be high 7's at birth, if we make it to d-day. The good news is that doc says even a 9 lb baby would fit out of me so he's not at all worried about me being able to deliver this guy.

My cervix is locked up tight. Nothing is happening... at all. It doesn't necessarily mean anything, but the chances of him coming early aren't looking good. They even said they wouldn't be surprised if he's late but they don't like to let them go past 41 weeks which is April 5th. For the time being, I'm not going to worry about that, we'll deal with it when it comes.

I would prefer if he didn't come the week of the 15th - 21st because it's spring break and my doc will be out of town, so we're aiming for the following week. And I don't want the poor kid to be born on April 1st, that's just mean.

But while I wait I have plenty to do. And I'm going to start walking to see if we can move things along a bit.

your daily giggle

This video cracks me up. One of the best I've seen in a long time.

36 Weeks (-4)

It's March!!! I'm just praying this baby comes by the end of the month. Not much has changed, I'm just getting bigger. I've had a little sciatica, which sucks, but it may be a sign that he's dropping further into my pelvis. I have yet to be able to breath any better so if he has dropped any, it isn't much.

I'm officially allowed to exercise some now. Before now I would either have some spotting or contractions but at this point if it causes labor to start it's totally fine. Today we took the dogs to the dog park and hiked around for a bit. We came home, ate, and then went to the gym to float in the pool. I'm exhausted but I feel good.

And Jonathan finished the bathroom counter! It's very exciting to have a functioning bathroom again. It looks great. I can't wait for the floor to get installed, it's going to look amazing.

This Week:

• Your baby is almost ready and most likely, so are you! The only organ still to mature is the lungs. While certainly you are both growing anxious to meet, remember that each day (up to 42 weeks), that your little one stays within your womb will multiply his chances to breathe on his own.
• If he hasn't already, this week your baby may drop into the birth canal. While breathing for mom becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite! If he's not your first baby, this "lightening" may not occur until right before labor.
• Fat is dimpling your baby's elbows and knees, and forming creases in the neck and wrists.
• His skin is growing smooth and, shall we say it, "baby" soft.
• His gums are very rigid. It won't be many months before you'll see his teeth.
• She has a fully developed pair of kidneys and her liver has begun processing some waste products.
• Your child's average size is now 18.66 inches (47.4cm) and 5.78 pounds (2622 g). Between now and birth she will gain about an ounce a day!