37 Weeks

Size of baby: a stalk of swiss chard, about 6 1/3 lbs and 19 inches long

Total Weight Gain: 29 lbs total

Continuing symptoms: Hands and feet are swollen. Hard to roll over from side to side. Feeling huge. Going to the bathroom multiple times each night.

New symptoms this week: my feet are still very swollen, to the point of scary on Saturday. Dr. told me on Monday that even my lower abdomen is swollen and the only way to reduce and cure the swelling – have this baby.

Sleep: Not getting any. My body starts to hurt from forcing myself to lay in bed for so long. My belly is huge and my body is swollen. Sleep is something I crave but don’t get a lot of.

What I'm Eating: drinking a ton of water

Cravings: fruit smoothies.

Grandma gift this week: night gown for the hospital and black fuzzy flip flop slippers for the hospital.

Special pregnancy moments: We went to our routine doctor’s appointment on Monday and I measured 46 cm which is way too big for where I currently am. Dr. Clayton told us that we needed to head to Fetal Monitoring that same day in an hour for monitoring. I got my first pelvic exam only to find out that she is too high and he was unable to tell if I have dilated or thinned at all. He pretty much told me to prepare for a c-section since she is so big and I am too small and he is concerned that if I had a natural delivery that I would be able to deliver her head and have trouble with her body and she would get stuck in the birth canal causing big problems. I get to go back to Fetal Monitoring on Thursday and go 2x a week until she is born or until there is no more reason for concern. My amniotic fluid level was 24.78, normal range from 9-25. My fluid should be decreasing for as close as we are.  Then on Thursday I went for another Fetal Monitoring and my fluid level had decreased to 19. She was moving around a bump so the nurse had a hard time catching just the amniotic fluid without her swishy it around. I got to watch Baby Girl do her pretend practice breathing on the ultrasound monitor, a good and healthy sign.

Another Bump In the Road - Fetal Monitoring

Entry started yesterday at 4:00 pm:

We are waiting on fetal monitoring right now. At our doctor appt today Dr. Clayton said I am measuring 46 cm and he is concerned that I have too much amniotic fluid putting pressure on my placenta which could cause the baby to go into distress. He did a pelvic exam and he said my uterus is "way up there" so he could not tell if I was dilated or thinned out at all. She is probably not descending into my pelvis because she is too big and I am too small so she is going to have to be delivered via c-section. I am starting to come to terms with that even though I really wanted an unplanned "its time" moment. His concern is that if I had a natural delivery that I can deliver her head and then the rest of her body would get stuck in the birth canal. I would rather cope with my fear of a planned c-section surgery than risk the health of my baby.

We finally made it to 5th floor labor and delivery to check in and then up to the 6th floor to fetal monitoring and it is so hot in the waiting room. There is like 8 other pregnant ladies looking as annoyed with the wait and temperature as I am. Our appt was at 4:00 and we weren't seen until 5:30. Stressful day in fetal monitoring unit.

Entry written today:

Thank goodness I make all the appointments I can on Mondays so that Troy can come with me. He has been so supportive during all these ups and downs in our journey. I am so thankful I didn't have to do all this alone. Getting bad or scary news just seems easier when someone else hears it with you and it makes the waiting room that much more "fun" when you have someone to talk to and laugh with to keep your mind off the seriousness of the situation. Thank God that God gave me such a wonderful husband.

Once I finally got called we went back into one of the rooms and I got hooked up to the heart rate and contraction belly band monitors.

Compliments of photographer Daddy on my cell phone.

I got to see 2 contractions on the screen. It was interesting to correlate the pressure I was feeling with the lines on the monitor.

I was hooked up to the machines for about 30 minutes all together so they could get a good reading. When we first arrived Baby Girl was sleeping and her heart rate was pretty steady. Then the nurse wanted to wake her up. They pressed this little black microphone looking thing onto my belly and it vibrated and made this weird noise. Baby Girl was startled and started moving all over the place. What a wake up call!

After the monitoring was finished they did an ultrasound and confirmed that in fact Baby Girl is not a small  baby and that she is head down, butt under my left ribs and feet on my right. The nurse was so informative and talked me through everything from the moment I sat down in the monitoring chair and explained what I was looking out, the beeps, sounds, lines, and then even more what was on the screen during the ultrasound. She pointed out Baby Girl's hair and showed me that Baby Girl is practicing breathing in utero. She paused on her chest and I could see it contracting. Such a relieving sight to see!

My amniotic fluid level was 24.78, normal range being from 9-25. At this late in my pregnancy though my fluid should start diminishing and it isn't going down yet. So I will return to Fetal Monitoring on Thursday and will continue to go 2x a week for the rest of my pregnancy until she is here or until there is no more concern and they tell me to stop.

I was quite apprehensive after getting the news that I needed to head over to labor and delivery to check in and it got even worse when I had to wait so long to be seen.  And PS Google is the worst invention ever for a pregnant woman. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Google but when you are already panicked and don't have many answers, Google is the last place you should search for them!

Prayers are always welcome for me, Troy and Baby Girl - for a healthy and safe rest of my pregnancy and delivery, however she enters the world. And calmed nerves and faith that everything is fine and is going to work out. And that no matter what, Troy and I are going to do our best to be the best parents to our little girl no matter what the circumstances are.

Flintstone Feet

This is how my feet looked this weekend. It was horrible. My right foot swelled more than my left which I thought was unusual. My flip flops were tight!  No ankles straight to the swollen foot and sausage toes. Doctor's appointment today for my scheduled check up. Will definitely be asking how to prevent or help with the swelling and if I should be concerned. Is this toxemia setting in? 

One more week of work until disability. Oh man, longest next 4 days of my life. 

Bucket List - Updated 4/20/12

1. Get married and go on a fabulous honeymoon! (Done!! 10/24/09 and 10/25/09 – 10/31/09)
2. Have a baby or babies (Due 5/18/12!)
3. Own my own home
4. Go on a hot air balloon ride
5. Go white water rafting
6. Go on a wine tasting tour
7. Vacation in NY and take tours of all the fabulous site seeing hot spots- including the Sex In The City Tour
8. Learn how to skateboard
9. Go to the World Series
10. Earn my BA
11. Co-own a classic car/truck with my husband and learn how to work on it
12. Go on a cruise
13. Swim with dolphins
14. Go to Hawaii with my husband
15. Go to a Nicholas Sparks book signing (Done! Went to the book signing of Safe Haven in La Jolla)
16. Own a pair of fabulous and ridiculously expensive designer shoes
17. Camp in Joshua Tree to sleep under the stars
18. Read the entire Bible
19. Zip line in Costa Rica
20. See Brad Paisley in concert (Done! In Sept. 2010 we went to his concert in Chulavista and he sang our wedding song!)

36 Weeks - 4 Weeks to Go!

Size of baby: Crenshaw melon

Total Weight Gain: 24 lbs total

Continuing symptoms: Hands and feet are swollen. Hard to roll over from side to side. Feeling huge. 

New symptoms this week: my maternity clothes are becoming increasingly too small. I feel like my belly is starting to hang out the bottom of most of them and since I prefer the jeans that only have a thin band and not an entire panel I am afraid my bare belly is showing. Can’t wait for maternity leave to start so I can just wear comfortable yoga pants everyday.

Sleep: I also am getting weird sleep patterns where I am wide awake in the middle of the night for no reason. Not exactly tired when I wake up but bored and don’t know what to do with myself. I am trying to just lay there and rest and do something like read.

What I'm Eating: drinking a ton of water

Cravings: fruit. Souplantation and Subway. Anything from the drive-thru or heavy just sounds yucky.

Grandma gift this week: Today is Grandma's birthday and she isn't at work today so I have not gotten the Grandma gift today. Happy 50th Birthday Mom! You are officially ready to become a Gma! 

Special pregnancy moments: On Sunday we took our maternity photo with 24 Feet Photography. It was fun, energetic, and creative. The proof turned out amazing and I don’t know which photo is my favorite. The challenge will be to pick which ones to print.

Maternity Photo Shoot

Thanks to 24 Feet Photography for doing an amazing job on my maternity shoot. I couldn't have it imagined it any better!

35 Weeks

Size of baby: honey dew melon

Total Weight Gain: 24 lbs total

Continuing symptoms: Lower back is really tender. My feet ache after wearing shoes and walking for extended periods of time. Hard to roll over from side to side. Feeling huge. 

New symptoms this week: feet and hands are very swollen. Shoes don’t fit anymore. Just slippers and flip flops from here on out. Hurts to walk or stand for long periods of time. Pee’ing constantly. A few nights ago I got up 5x during the night to go to the bathroom.

Sleep: Getting better. I think I am so exhausted every few nights that no matter how uncomfortable I am, I am getting a few good cat naps during the night.

What I'm Eating: otter pop popsicles

Cravings: sleep, clean nursery

Grandma gift this week: Dreft stain remover, big box of wipees, travel wipees, night time nursing pads

Special pregnancy moments: Our last ultrasound estimated that Baby Girl was 5lbs 15oz already. At my last Dr’s appointment my belly was measuring 40 cm which is much larger than average at 34-35 weeks.  Dr. said that he won't induce because he wants her to cook as long as my body will allow for lung development and because induction is a "good friend" of c-section. We are going to do another ultrasound in a few weeks for another comparison for size and then I guess we just wait until I go into labor to see if my body can handle a natural or if at that time they decide to go c-section. I am really hoping for a natural (but medicated) delivery. I want to push her out and have her little body placed on my chest for the golden hour and to start breastfeeding immediately. God knows what is best and safest for me and my little one so if a c-section is best, I will have to cope with that.

33 Weeks

Size of baby: pineapple

Total Weight Gain: 20 lbs total

Continuing symptoms: Lower back is really tender. My feet ache after wearing shoes and walking for extended periods of time. Hard to roll over from side to side. Feeling huge. Heartburn.

New symptoms this week: My feet are permanently swollen so my shoes are tight and uncomfortable. Flip flops and slippers are my new best friends.

Sleep: Hardly. I get about 4 solid hours, get up to pee and then toss and turn restlessly for the rest of the night.

What I'm Eating: otter pop popsicles

Cravings: Water. Propel. Chinese Food

Grandma gift this week: What to Expect Your First Year book and hand impression kit.

Special pregnancy moments: Work threw me a surprise baby shower! Daddy was in on the shower plans and he was able to attend with me. Scrapbooked with my Mom and Heather did one page so it can be ready for the baby shower on Saturday.