update!

If you got my email, then this is pretty much the same thing, lol!
warning: I say things like dilated and cervix in this post. uncomfortable? then stop reading :)

I had a doctors appt this morning, this was to find out WHEN we were having a baby! Well, we left feeling just as confused as before we got there... still no real idea on when the baby will be here. She feels that the baby will be here soon on its own, in fact, she went over the reasons to head to the hospital and what to watch out for before we left today. And then she said "see ya next Tuesday, if not before!" as we were leaving.

Not that I feel that we will be having this baby this weekend or anything, but I guess it could happen! I am 36 weeks now, and today we found out that I am 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. And, when she was checking all that, she said "wow, the baby's head is right there, its really low!" So I guess the baby has dropped, I wasn't sure...

I'm not naive enough to think that now that I'm dilated, that it could be tonight or something. I've heard enough stories of people being dilated for weeks with no progress. But *fingers crossed* I hope I make progress!

While she was checking all that stuff, she said that she was also stripping my membranes. I've heard of this before, but never really knew what it meant. From what I understand, its sort of a way to bring on labor, although it doesn't in all people. Technically, its separating the amniotic sac from the cervix, which can trigger some hormones to start producing and lead to labor. It didn't hurt but it does cause cramps. Which are oh-so-fun. She told us to pay attention to them though, and make sure they don't turn into contractions. Never having had a real contraction, I'm not sure what to look for, but people keep telling me "oh, you'll know!"

So thats all I know for now! Can't wait to meet our baby!

PS: I just found out through spell check that I've been spelling "dilated" wrong. I've been saying, and spelling it "diAlated"
oops!

36 weeks

as of yesterday (july 23), we only have 1 month left!
and as of today, i am 36 weeks.
so only 4 weeks left!

How far along? 36 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: i actually found this out. 24 lbs
Maternity clothes? of course
Stretch marks? nada
Sleep: super tired of sleeping on my side. i sleep ok, but not enough
Best moment this week: seeing the baby again and saw the lungs working!
Movement: lots of rolling around and around
Food cravings: i'm really into pasta at the moment.
Gender: i said girl last time, i'll go with boy
Labor Signs: no, but i've been having cramps and braxton hicks contractions
Belly Button in or out? innie
What I miss: having energy
What I am looking forward to: meeting our baby!
Weekly Wisdom: ask questions! people are usually more than willing to share their wisdom
Milestones: one month left, 4 weeks left, saw the lungs working. signed papers at the hospital

35w 3d ultrasound

i appologize for not getting this posted sooner! its just been one of those weeks :)

ok, so last dr's appt, she mentioned that she was concerned about the baby's size and waiting till 40 weeks. i see her again on tues (28th) but she wanted me to have another u/s before then. so this past monday afternoon i went in to have that done.

brandt had worked late that morning and was sleeping, so i asked my mom to come! she hadn't ever seen an ultrasound before, so i thought it would be pretty cool for her to see her grandbaby.

i'd like to mention that i think the best u/s are from 20ish weeks, when you can see the whol baby at once. now, the baby is so big you only can see like one part of the baby at a time.

here's the face:

and another shot, mouth, cheeks and nose

look at those chubby cheeks! brandt is still concerned that we will have an obese baby, but i'm sure he or she will be fine. and then i found a picture on google of this baby with rolls on top of rolls, but i keep telling him that's not what our baby will look like. after all, we were both over 8 pounds when we were born!

as of monday, they were estimating that the baby weighed 7lbs 9oz! so now i can't wait till tues when we find out what the dr has to say!

OhMyGeeeeezzzzz

earlier this week we all agreed that maybe the baby had started to drop! ummm no, apparently the baby just got waaaay huge-er.

pics in the red: july 10 (last fri)
pics in the blue: july 17 (today)

i didn't feel huge till i compared these! ahhhh!
(oddly enough, i didn't gain any weight between my last 2 appts)

tuesday i had a dr's appt. she measured my stomach, which is still measuring 3 weeks ahead. so, at 34 weeks, i was measuring 37. both the baby and my belly have been consistantly measuring 3 weeks ahead for awhile now, so i guess thats good. better than bouncing around, i would think.

dr said that she doesn't think i will make it to 40 weeks. so next week i go in for another ultrasound to see how big the baby is, then when i meet with her the following week, we will decide what to do. she made it sound like we may induce. however, the bigger the baby, the higher the odds of having a c-section.

as tempting as not having to push may be, i'm not crazy about the surgery thing. the extent of my medical history has consisted of 4 stitches in my big toe when i was 12. that's as bad as it's been. no broken bones, surgeries, hospitals, etc.

excuse me now while i go find some wood to knock on...

34 weeks today!

click at the top of the page to give your guess on when the baby will be here! as well as if you think it will be a boy or a girl!

How far along? 34 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: ?
Maternity clothes? sick of them!
Stretch marks? keeping my fingers crossed
Sleep: varies. i tend to wake up earlier than i'd like
Best moment this week: finding out no gestational diabetes!
Movement: no more kicks, lots of rolling
Food cravings: i would love some chinese
Gender: i voted girl in our baby pool. did you vote yet? link is at the top!
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? innie still
What I miss: normal clothes. fall stuff is coming out and its so cute!
What I am looking forward to: temps with highs in the 80's
Weekly Wisdom: pregnancy is most fun when you have pregnant friends!
Milestones: people are starting to tell me i look like i'm about to pop. thanks.

tagged!

crystal tagged me! thanks, b/c i wanted to play too!


8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. having this baby (duh)
2. being able to breath again
3. the weekend! any weekend, really
4. maternity leave
5. brandt getting some time off of work
6. and finishing his masters
7. finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl
8. wearing normal clothes

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. worked
2. watered my plants, so of course it rained. you're welcome
3. took a well deserved nap
4. watched a marathon of cake boss. we'd never seen it before
5. finished a book
6. made b's lunch
7. fed the cat, played with beagles
8. learned that i am not allowed to let my water break at work

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. go on vacation
2. have a margarita
3. not work
4. sleep through the night
5. put on tennis shoes w/o almost killing myself
6. see friends more often. quit moving out of state!
7. have a quick, painless labor. (i'm wishing, right?)
8. win the lottery

8 Shows I enjoy:

1. grey's
2. how i met your mother
3. wipeout
4. scrubs
5. the office
6. mantracker
7.
8. dont watch much tv...

8 Friends I'm Tagging:

1. Angela
2. Colleen
3. Becky
4. Rebekah
5. Erin
6. Emily
7.
8. everyone else has already done it!

the room, as of now

the room is painted and set up. not totally organized, but its getting there. here are the pics so far :)

night stand! the basket on the left is full of toys, and the dogs go for when they come into the room. it will be interesting trying to keep them from the baby's toys...

speaking of dogs... here's madi showing off the crib skirt

my tree, and the rocking chair

nev, with the changing table and hutch

the curtains and the cute ottomans from target, that matched perfectly!

drumroll please! here's the amazing bedding!
my mom made ALL of it, the curtains, rocking chair pads, ottoman cover, crib skirt, sheets, bumpers, and quilt. i. love. it.

close-up. there's also solid green and solid turq sheets. the ribbons on the side are for a hanging organizer that she made too, but i forgot to get a picture of it :(

THANK YOU MOM!

travel system is here!

it actually came in to work on thursday, but i took off thursday and friday of last week, brandt and i took a little trip out to san antonio/new braunfels/san marcos. it was alot of fun! we went to the zoo, and my feet didn't swell at all! i was so excited!

anyways, luke (bro-in-law) brought it home from work with him friday, and brandt put it together on saturday. i love it! well, i am still not a fan of travel systems, but if i have to have one, this would be it! (blue is my fave color!)

stroller

carrier/infant carseat

together as a travel system

and my madi-pie, who sat there watching me take these pics :)

32w 4d ultrasound

on tuesday i had another ultrasound! not my last though, i should be getting one more around 36 weeks. its not as exciting anymore, its harder to see things since the baby is getting so big!

profile view


waving hi!


the face!


the u/s tech said that our baby has chubby cheeks! you can kind of tell in that last pic. also, baby has a full head of hair. (i couldn't tell what she was pointing at, but i guess she knows her stuff) not that we didn't see that coming, just look at both me and brandt lol!

the head is measuring 6 days ahead, as has been pretty much the whole time. but the belly! that's measuring 3 WEEKS ahead! the tech was like, "this kid hasn't missed a meal!" wow... so we will be having a chubby baby! but chubby babies are cuter than skinny ones, right? they are estimating the baby to be 5 lbs already! brandt had a ton of questions... esp about the baby potentially coming early. they said they prob wouldn't change my due date, but if the baby stays on the same track, i will probably be induced early. so much for making it 40 weeks!

(my in-laws, who, of course, all moonlight as doctors, don't think i'll make it to the end of july! and my sister, Dr Barron OB is worried it will just be 2 weeks or so till the baby is here!
i'm just picking on them though, i love them!)

when i went in tues for my regular appt, the measured my belly with a tape measure, and i am measuring 35 weeks. 4 weeks ago, they were concerned that i had alot of amniotic fluid, but my levels are normal now. so they are concerned that i may have gestational diabetes, which causes the baby to grow quickly.

now, i already took a test for that, and i passed. the results were "questionable," whatever that means, but they weren't worried. but now, since the baby is so big, they wanted me to take the 3 hr test.

so yesterday, i missed yet more time at work, and got to go sit at the dr's office for 3 hrs and get my blood drawn 4 times! (one before i drank the glucose drink, and then once every hour of the test.) thankfully, there was an internet signal, and i had brought my laptop, so i played online for the 3 hrs.

the worst part though was that you have to fast. sometimes, i skip breakfast, so waiting till noon to eat wasn't a big deal. the no water part was the difficult part. but its sort of a mental thing, i *can't* have anything to eat or drink, so of course, i was starving and dying of thirst!

they reassured me that if the results come back the same way they did 6 weeks ago, that everything will be fine, and no gestational diabetes. if i do fail the test, i will have to change up my diet some... less sugar. so no white bread and sadly *sniff* no dr peppers! brandt's been very supportive though, and keeps reminding me that, worst case, it will be for just under 7 weeks that i will have to change up my diet.

i feel like i've spent more time at the doctor's this week than at work... with 2 appts and the diabetes test! but now everyone is up to date :)

32 weeks!

ok i'm late posting this...
32 weeks was last friday, but i'm just now getting around to posting

How far along? 32 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: no total, but 4 lbs in the past 4 weeks. not bad!
Maternity clothes? yup yup yup
Stretch marks? so far so good!
Sleep: been sleeping great all of the sudden!
Best moment this week: getting the baby room all set up
Movement: all the time
Food cravings: nope, i'm so boring
Gender: sorta thinking girl. but that may be b/c the clothes are so stinking cute
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? innie, but its getting flatter lol
What I miss: sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: an outside baby
Weekly Wisdom: dr's change their minds alot... ugh
Milestones: we pretty much have everything we need!