40 weeks...

So technically Thursday the 22nd is 40 weeks and our due date with Baby B.... the reality of course being that he can join us anytime :) and I am getting anxious to meet him.  I cannot wait to see if he looks like Grayson, or Daddy, or maybe even me (crazy talk I know since Grayson looks EXACTLY like his daddy). I am also super curious as to when he will arrive.  Grayson was intially due on September 23rd but I always thought he would be later and then an ultrasound told us he would come around September 26ish- he chose to join us on September 28th.  This sweet boy's due date is September 22nd- and the ultrasound confirmed that timing to be pretty accurate within a day or two so I am wondering when he will arrive.  I am hoping to meet him before the weekend is over :)
At my 40 week appointment with Grayson (which was on a Thursday and then he was born the following Monday) I had a cervical check which revealed I was 3-4 cm dilated, 75% effaced and at a +1 station. So that was 3-4 days before his birth.  On Tuesday the 20th (two days before Baby B's due date) at my 40 week appointment Cheri checked me and this time around I am 3 cm dilated, 60% effaced and at a -1 station...... so who knows.  If things follow the same trajectory Baby B should be here within the next 4 days, maybe :)
Oh and stats- Baby B's heartbeat was in the 140s today, I have gained a total of 13 pounds all pregnancy and Cheri measured me at 41 cm- all nice and lovely and reasonable measurments :)

Happy Birthday Mommy

 A birthday party for mommy with my two sons- Grayson @23.5 months and Baby B @ 38.2 weeks :)

We spent the weekend celebrating my birthday a few days early- just in case Baby B wants to make an early appearance- and I was spoiled greatly.  There was my favorite pasta from my favorite restaurant, my favorite ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, my favorite people (my mom and my guys- Tev had to stay in Iowa) and everyone chipped in and got me a glorious gift of a remote start for my car (woo hoo!! and thank you Ryan for being so thoughtful to arrange it all).  It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend.

38 weeks

Today we saw Cheri for our 38 week check up- and again today we were blessed to be told that all is well!
BP is good (118/64), weight gain is good (9 pounds total so far), measurements are good (38 cm) and Baby B is head down, butt up - though he is not engaged yet and still kind of floating around in his mommy pool for now.
Baby B is full term for sure now so if he decides he is ready to be born he should be healthy and fully cooked- which is reassuring for sure.  His nursery is ready, the newborn size clothes have been washed, his coming home outfit is ready to be packed.... now Mommy needs to get cracking on the next part of the to do list: pack a hospital bag for mom and dad, find the carseat so Ry can install it when the time is right, finish my schedule for my speech kids at work, finish up the last of my classroom set up at the school, and make an address list for sending out Baby B's birth announcements.  Which sounds like a lot- but honestly none of it is mandatory all just preferred.
Not much else to report- Cheri is out of town on and off until next Sunday the 18th but Alli is certain she would take great care of us so I guess things really are ready to go if he is ready.
I am kind of hoping he keeps cooking for at least one more week and would be totally fine if he wanted to stay in there for two more weeks- each week he stays in mommy's tummy is another week that I can work which obviously delays my return to full time work further into the school year....
I was rereading my journal from Grayson's pregnancy and noted that at this time when I was pregnant with him I was already so puffy that I couldn't wear my wedding rings anymore- that hasn't happened yet which is nice. I am also not as swollen or uncomfortable as I was this time last time around- which is also nice.  Though I am still hoping for a very similiar delivery experience so I don't want things to veer too differently :)

37 week appointment

37 weeks (or will be on Thursday) means technically this baby is 'full term' and if he was born now he should be just fine.... hopefully he will stay in there and keep cooking as I just am not ready quite yet... I have some things at work I would *really* like to take care of before Baby B arrives so I can really relax and focus on him when he is here. But if he decides to show up he should be cooked enough to be healthy and in the long run that is all that matters.
We saw Alli this week, Grayson was an angel boy (a sucker during and after the appointment certainly helped).  My weight went up by another pound or so- no biggie, blood pressure is nice and steady (112/64), Baby B's hear rate is slowing down a bit (131 this week) which is apparently normal.  Alli didn't have any great advice to get rid of my restless legs other than doing what I am already doing- but I didn't really expect anything new or fantastic so I am not too disappointed.
Results of the Group B Strep Test are.... Negative!!! Yippee!! That means no fluids or antibiotics during delivery- and makes me so very, very happy.  I do have to have an IV put in but they will cap it and will not make me have any fluids at all :)
Not much else to report- we have our appointment with Cheri next week, and Alli the week after.  Between appointments with the midwife, the chiropractor, back to school meetings, and more things are getting remarkably busy and I suspect that I am going to be shocked at how fast the rest of this pregnancy goes by (and I have been surprised at how fast it has gone so far) and it will seem like no time at all from now that Baby B arrives.

36 Weeks

36 weeks....9 months pregnant.... only one month to go until Baby B is here!
We saw Cheri again this week and Grayson was not as happy and cheerful during the visit- but with Daddy's intervention and a little help from a sucker things rapidly improved for our sweet toddler.
This week I was once again measuring at 36 cm, gained back the two pounds I had lost ;), heard a nice strong Baby B heartbeat and was poked and prodded a lot in an attempt to figure out which way Baby B is pointing.  Cheri is *pretty* sure that Baby B is head down- which I am good with for now.  She did say that if we aren't certain by next week she would happily do a quick little ultrasound herself (but our next appointment is with Alli so who knows if she would do the same).  Cheri also mentioned that I am already one to two cm dilated- interesting- but that probably doesn't mean a whole lot and I have nothing to compare it to as I haven't been checked before this week.  I had to get tested for Group B Strep again and am praying super hard that it comes back negative as I *really* don't want an IV again during delivery.  I hate IVs, I have read recently that IV fluids during delivery can negatively impact breastfeeding after birth (makes me wonder if that hurt G and I when we were starting) and that it can also make it 'seem' like a baby has lost too much of their birthweight after birth (turns out fluid weighs a lot and when the baby establishes a normal fluid balance they can seem like they lost a bunch of weight).  I took probiotics fairly consistently this pregnancy so I am hopeful, but only time and my next appointment (which is already next week!!) will tell.
We denied the fetal growth ultrasound, which I don't think anyone who knows us (Cheri included) was surprised by, so the next time we are most likely going to see our darling Baby B will be at birth (unless one of our midwives does decide to take a really quick peek to see if his head is down).  We decided that since nothing would be done other than start talking about induction or abnormal findings or benign incidental findings that could cause all kinds of hoopla there is no need to have another ultrasound.
Not much else to report- appointment with Alli next week and then Cheri the week after that, only one week until Baby B is considered full term which is pretty exciting.

Large and in charge

Baby B is taking up some serious space in my body.  Serious space and lung capacity have been given up to my little bundle of joy currently sharing my body. According to Babycenter at 35 weeks   "Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete – he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight."
At work at the hospital I have given up the elevators so I have been taking the stairs every shift.  Two weekends ago I could make it from my office in the basement all the way to the fifth floor without taking a break or feeling totally out of shape.  Today however I only made it to the fourth floor before I was panting, sweating and totally short of breath.  Turns out Baby B has grown a lot in the last two weeks and is now invading my lung space making me short of breath after even the most moderate exertion- which I have to say is slightly disconcerting as it makes me feel out of shape (and God knows I have a major physical event coming up in about 4.5 weeks) and it is also odd to take so long to catch my breath BUT if Baby B is growing and strong then all is good and I guess it is actually a good thing, right?

Goodbye Elevators

Okay so here I am 31 weeks pregnant already and I *still* haven't managed to find the time in my schedule to start working out.  That means that in 9 weeks I have to do some work called childbirth and I am not in shape to do that at all.... SO
Goodbye Elevators for the rest of this pregnancy!
I work at St Joseph's Hospital at least 2-4 days a week at this point in time- and that is a seven story hospital with my speech office in the basement.  I have discovered most of the stairwells in the hospital and am fairly confident that I can navigate all of the patient rooms I need to without using the elevators at all.
So I have issued myself the challenge of no more elevators for the rest of this pregnancy- and so far I have succeeded! My goal is to avoid elevators and use the stairs at work and in life whenever I can (I am not going to risk getting locked into a stairwell just to get a bit of exercise) and sneak in exercise that way.  The first couple of days were rough- but hopefully I can build more lower body strength, build some cardiovascular endurance (hiking a pregnant body up 6 flights of stairs takes some work after all) and build some confidence as well!

Stupid Glucose

I failed my glucose tolerance screening/ diabetes screening at 28 weeks by two dumb points (a pass is 140 or below and I got a 142). That means I had to do the long three hour glucose tolerance test to be sure that I don't have gestational diabetes.  This shouldn't be shocking to me as when I was pregnant with Grayson I only passed that same screening by one point with a 139, but somehow I am shocked and sad about it.  I also shouldn't be shocked since I have possibly, just maybe been indulging in ice cream on a nightly basis as well, and yet I was. Shocked that is.
So today I took the three hour test. I had to fast for 12-14 hours before the test so I didn't have anything to eat this morning before I went in.  The lab tech took my blood when I arrived at the office and then I had to drink a whole lot of a very, very sweet drink. And then wait. And wait. And wait....for an hour until the lab tech came back to take my blood again.  Then I waited for another hour until the lab lady took another vial of blood and then waited another hour before she took the final blood sample.
My elbows are bandaged and I was one hungry, grumpy lady by the time the whole thing was over.  Then I went to get something to eat and all that food combined with all that time of not eating made for a really nauseated and shaky feeling- so I had to lie down and nap while Grayson napped for about an hour or two.  After that I felt much better and life seems to have resumed at its normal and hectic pace.
I am really hoping I passed this test- I really don't want a super sized baby, I don't want to end up diabetic later in life, I don't want a c-section delivery, I don't want to increase the risks of anything bad happening to me or baby B --- and Gestational Diabetes increases all of those risks.  So perhaps nightly ice cream should be done and daily walking should begin....perhaps.
Here's hoping I don't get a phone call from Cheri or a diabetic counselor anytime soon- which means I would be in the clear!

28 weeks

28 weeks already!
Midwife appointments every two weeks already!
Seriously this pregnancy is flying right by- we are so very busy between me working multiple part time jobs to save up enough money to stay home as long as possible with Baby B and chasing a very active toddler around.
Midwife appointment this week was with Ali again. Baby seems to be fine, good heartbeat, good size.  I didn't gain any more weight (phew) so I am standing at 6 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.  I did however fail my glucose tolerance screening- which means I *may* have gestational diabetes and now have to undergo the long three hour glucose tolerance testing and hope I pass.
In the meantime- I am planning some nice long walks, a bit less ice cream and a more balanced diet.
Not much else to report- I finally have some maternity scrub tops and so I can comfortably sit down to chart at work which is very nice.  Baby B is moving and shaking and generally seems awesome- though so far less active than his big brother was at this time.

24 weeks

At my 24 week appointment this week I discovered that I have gained 9 pounds in 4 weeks! Whoops....is about all I can say.  Ali kept telling me that because it has been SO blessed hot and therefore I could be retaining water or maybe not moving as much due to the heat that the weight gain may not be 'real.' But I also need to be careful. Since I lost 3 pounds in the beginning of this pregnancy this weight gain puts me at only 6 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight- which is not awful.  However no one should really gain 9 pounds in just their fifth month of pregnancy so I better keep things in check from here on out.
It has been SO hot and miserable and we have been so busy that I haven't been able to walk or work out much at all this pregnancy.  It makes me kind of nervous because I worked hard during my pregnancy with Grayson to walk daily and work out frequently to try to support an easy and safe delivery- and I haven't been able to do that this time at all.  I would LOVE to experience a similar delivery as I was blessed with last time but that also means I should probably try to find the time and energy to get moving, walking, doing Bradley exercises, being treated by the chiropractor..... and yet it seems that there just isn't enough time.  Hopefully things will slow down a little bit and I can make taking care of myself and supporting a good delivery a little more of a priority.

18 weeks

18 weeks
18 weeks already!! and finally feeling better. This time around the nausea and food aversions have really been kicking my butt- but finally between 14-16 weeks it seems to have resolved. I am super hopeful this baby is a boy so I can watch G and he buddy up and boy around and just be awesome together- but I secretly think this one might be a girl since I have been so very nauseated and feel pretty much the opposite of how I did when I was pregnant with Grayson.
I am feeling Baby B swimming around on occassion now- and I love it. I find the baby's movement so reassuring and so connecting. I love it when I can feel it and right now can hardly wait until I get to feel it every day (I am sure in 10 weeks I will be kicking myself for wishing for more movement sensation :).
I made the big switch to maternity pants this week during my spring break and am so very happy I did- I am so much more comfortable and plus it kind of feels like I have whole new wardrobe (I am sure that feeling will wear off long before this pregnancy ends as I cycle through the same few tops and pants). I am hopeful for warmer weather soon- apparently my pregnancy with Grayson must have been during warmer weather even though their due dates are just a week apart as I have mostly capris and t shirts in maternity clothes. It will be nice to be able to get out of the house and get moving too- I am feeling pretty housebound and wishing that we could have afforded a spring break vacation to get some sun for a while.
Here's hoping that May brings some warmer weather, more baby B movements, an ultrasound revealing a healthy and well developing baby and the chance to be outside!!