39 Weeks and Waiting

39 Weeks 

 What's happening: 

• She's still in there. Still.
• We've made it to July so we know she'll have a July birthday... now we'll see if she decides to come on the 4th!
• More frequent and stronger Braxton Hicks contractions. Very uncomfortable. 
• Baby is most active at breakfast, lunch, and bedtime. 
• I've had some acid reflux/ upset tummy issues which has made eating less exciting this past week :( 
• I'm still going to work even though I've been leaving early.
• The anxiety is building as every day we think "Is today the day???".

 

38 Weeks and The External Version

 

38 Weeks  6/21/2012

 (Still frank breech at that point)

 

 Aster discovered the changing table pad.  In an effort to deter him napping on it I stuck baby's stuffed animals on it.  I didn't even notice him at first when I came into the room he blended right in!  Little booger.

THE EXTERNAL VERSION 

6/25/12

We had our appointment scheduled for noon but I got a call at 9am from the hospital asking if we could come in earlier.  I had 30 minutes to mentally prepare while DJ drove home from work!  I was quite nervous.  We ended up getting there around 10am.  They had us check in, do paperwork, and we even had to fill out her birth certificate form already since there was the possibility the EV could end in an emergency c-section.  Once I got changed they did a quick sonogram to make sure she was still breech (she was).  I was put on an IV (just in case) and on the fetal monitor for about 30 minutes to make sure baby was doing okay before they started anything.  I was then given a shot of tributaline to relax the muscles in my uterus since I was having contractions every couple minutes- which I couldn't feel. Everything looked great so the fun began!

 

Taking me off the monitors.... mentally preparing for pain... (my doc told me some people need an epidural- thankfully I did not!)

Yup, it was major pain, shoving my belly like bread dough, fists and everything to get the little stinker to turn!  They tried twice counter-clockwise and she popped right back up... then I got a breathing break to relax myself- OUCH... then they tried clockwise and FLIP!  She stayed down!  Phew.  Overall it lasted about 15 minutes- very quick.

Thumbs up!  I was exhausted at that point- hence my face.

I was monitored for an additional hour and a half just to be sure baby wasn't in any sort of distress.   Apparently when they flipped her the "wrong" way she got kind of upset :).  Her heart rate was about 130bpm until my doc came in a put this little vibrator thing on my belly to wake her up- she kicked me HARD and then her heart rate jumped to 150bpm!  I also got some yummy strawberry hospital jello to get some sugar in my/baby's system.

I'm so glad my wonderful hubby was able to get off work and stay with me- it would have been overwhelming to be there on my own!  He also did a great job of not letting me fall asleep- which wasn't entirely necessary but sweet :).

The whole experience lasted a little over two hours.  It came with it's risks (like an emergency c-section), and I would have been glad we tried even if it didn't work, knowing we had exhausted all options for having a natural birth.   

We feel very blessed that it worked!  The resident told us it was the first successful version she'd been a part of.  If she does flip back to breech when I'm in labor the doc said they could probably get her to flip again doing another EV (she's small and I have good amniotic fluid).  Hopefully that doesn't happen!

We are praying she stays head down!

36 Weeks and Nesting

36 Week Belly (6/7/12)... now 37 weeks but don't have a pic yet.
What's happening: 
- Lots of hiccuping.
- Baby likes to lay on the right side of my belly, often leaving me looking lop-sided, also resulting in some nice rib-kicking in the evenings.
- She likes her daddy's voice! She moves towards him when he talks to her, so sweet :)
- She also likes music. A lot. She kicks dances in there while I play Pandora on my Kindle.
- My belly button is weird.  It refuses to pop out all the way, half of it pokes out the other half is still in.  
- She is leaving us guessing as to her position. I have an appointment today for a sonogram to see if she is still breech. Cross your fingers- I do not want a C-section!

Nesting:
- We have finally set up her bassinet. I decided it was time since technically I could go into labor any day. Now we are training the cat to NOT go in the bassinet- he seems to think it is his new bed.
- Baby laundry is all washed and ready to go! So fun to fold those tiny clothes!
- Baby's closet and changing table are mostly organized.
- The hospital bag is PACKED! I looked at so many "What to Pack" checklists, all of which listed different "must-haves", but I think I have enough to make our stay comfy.

Aster likes to try on baby's clothes.

Attempting to sort and organize baby's things= chaos!

34 Weeks

31 Weeks and Growing.... and Some Pictures

This is my 31 week belly.

I think at this point I am starting to actually notice the bump growing daily. It is a little crazy. Sitting on the floor or laying on my back makes me feel like a turtle on it's shell... I have to roll to the side to sit up... or holler at my accommodating husband! I've experienced some heart-burn for the first time as well as some achy growing pains in my belly. Sometimes I'm sure she's punching me from the inside to expand the belly. Still wouldn't trade any of those feelings- it's amazing! 

Aster has decided my stomach is a great place to rest, I like to think he wants to be close to baby... but I know how cats think... I am just a shelf to sit on. She does kick him sometimes but he doesn't seem to notice and goes right on purring :). 

The belly can be very handy for holding drinks or bowls.  My husband finds this very amusing and had to document it. 

We had another sonogram at 30 weeks because I was measuring small at my previous appointment.  My OB wanted to be sure she was growing okay.  We were excited to get to see her again, but nervous there would be something wrong.  Luckily everything went great!  She is 100% perfect: weighing (appox.) in at 2 lb. 11 oz., in the 26th percentile for size, so she's smaller than the average bean.  She was also in the frank breech position (feet up by her head), I've felt her rotate since then but I don't think she's in the correct (head down) position yet.

Her profile is so much more defined than the previous sono... such a cutie already :).  The sonograms definitely make her more real, can't wait to meet you Ladybug!

28 Weeks, Third Trimester!!!

I am finally in the third trimester!
Sometimes the pregnancy seems surreal so it never felt like I would actually get to this point! I'm still feeling pretty good other than some energy slumps and stretching pains from a growing bump- which renders bending somewhat difficult :). She's gettin' big!

23 Weeks

The bump has officially popped out!

First Sonogram Pictures

Our scanner will not connect correctly to our computer, so I took pictures of the pictures... which never works as well! You get the jest of it though.

Here she is!
Profile: the bubble looking thing by her face is the umbilical cord.

It's a girl!


Little alien :)

That's her hand waving up by her face... all five fingers!

IT'S A GIRL!

We had our first sonogram on Wednesday, the little bean is a girl!
We are very excited!
I have "known" since day one that it was a girl, we would have been happy either way, but it was fun to have our suspicions confirmed.
She is growing perfectly and everything looked healthy for both me and baby in the sonogram. We even got to count her fingers and toes! Such a blessing.

We enjoyed visiting the hospital I'll be delivering at this past weekend. My parents were able to come up for the visit as well. The staff was really friendly and seemed to love their jobs. The hospital also offers a free breastfeeding clinic to new moms which is a nice bonus.
It is such a relief to know that we will have good care.

Meanwhile, the bump continues to grow, and baby girl's kicks are getting stronger. Some nights it feels like a little octopus swimming around in there!

20 Weeks! The Bean is half way there and kickin'!

We've reached the half way point!
I thought I'd been feeling baby for awhile now and last week, pretty much right at 19 weeks, baby started kicking! DJ felt it too so it was pretty exciting! Now I feel the little bean every day. Nice to know everything is going ok in there :).

I've been feeling really good other than I can tell the bump is starting to get in the way of bending. That was bound to happen eventually! Work is a little more challenging since I stand all day, I look forward to coming home and putting my feet up every day. The problem is I am a busy-body so it's hard to try and relax when I get home.

Did I mention I have the BEST husband? He's doing a lot around the house, cleaning, taking care of the fur-babies, moving furniture when I get the urge to re-arrange... anything I need. He is awesome! Love you dear :).

Sunday we're going to our hospital open house to scope out the birthing center and hopefully win some door prizes. Next Wednesday we have our FIRST sonogram! We will find out if the bean is a boy or a girl... can't wait!

The books say baby is the size of a banana :)

Watch Baby Grow! Update up to 17 weeks

If you didn't already know... DJ and I are expecting!
Baby Bookout is due July 5th!
We've known since I was five weeks along (back in November), but wanted to wait until our second appointment, where we would finally meet my doctor, and were assured that everything was going good with baby.
So far so good!
We did wait a long time before telling- 17 weeks!
It was difficult not telling family over the holidays... luckily no one seemed to notice I wasn't always feeling great... or drinking coffee... or taking dips in my parents' hot tub!
It felt so good to finally break the news this past week!

I've been taking pictures of the bump every other week since I can't seem to remember to do it every week (preggo brain).
The baby bump is now visible...





Once the second trimester hit I started feeling better- no nausea.
I do get tired easily and hungry more often.
Baby likes to get me up in the wee morning hours to use the restroom... so fun :).
Thankfully, I haven't had any swelling or other weird symptoms- yet.
I haven't felt any movement which is normal, but I might start feeling it in a couple weeks.
We do plan on finding out the gender and telling people.
We do not plan on telling people the name until baby is born!

We're so thankful for all the kind words and support we've had from everyone already! I'll try to keep the blog updated with what's going on :).