Week #36-More appointments and Labor and Delivery Class part 2!

Week #36

Baby is Size of: Honeydew

Fun Fact: She's getting closer and closer to being able to breathe on her own.

Weight this week:171.4

Change since last week:+1.4

Weight gain overall: 24.4 pounds

Symptoms: continued stiffness in thighs and hips-getting worse!, some acid reflux, difficulty breathing at times, still lots of movement from baby, however, not as many kicks-more movement, I honestly feel pretty good, it's just getting harder to move around, restless legs when I'm trying to get to sleep at night-so annoying!

Cravings: Still really none!

                                         

                                                                  33 Weeks

                                                                   36 weeks!

Hematologist Appointment-Dr. Pierce-11:30, Thurs Oct 24.

I was nervous for this one! This was to check my platelet levels. The drew my blood and we waited. It was at 95! Which is still good. She wants to see me back every 7-10 days to continue to retest until birth. It makes me feel better that it's more stabilized. It seems to be bouncing between 85-105 the past 4 weeks and I hope it continues to do so and not drop anymore. 

36 Week Appointment-Dr. Hayes-12:45-Thurs Oct 24

We did the usual, blood pressure/weight/belly measuring. Then they had to swab for strep B which I thought would be painful, but it wasn't. He then did a cervical check, I'm still "soft" but no dilation or effacement yet, so that's good. Our next two appointments are with Dr. Jaglan, our other favorite doctor. I wish I knew when they were on call, they are my two favorites!

Labor and Delivery Class

It really has been so helpful. This class has taught us all the different ways to give labor, what medications can be used and the side effects, breathing techniques and the hospital tour. It was very helpful and I feel much more prepared. I am however, more nervous about giving birth, but any way it goes, she's coming out somehow! 

Baby thoughts

We have the crib and dresser together and the wall color picked out! We finally found the right greens. It's all slowly coming together. We still need to order a bookshelf or play type shelves to put baskets in and a rocker. There's still a lot to do: get the hospital bag together, wash diapers, buy whatever we don't get from our shower. So, we're getting there slowly but surely! I know I said November 1 to have this done, but it may be more like November 7. I'm hoping she comes early, but not too early!

                                     The second green will be used, it's more of a pastel

                         Crib bought off Amazon, Dan put it together in about an hour and a half

           Matching dresser, pain in the butt to put together, took Dan 4 hours, but it is perfect!

Next week: Shower this weekend :)..then 37 weeks! Eeeek!!

Pictures-Crib and dresser

Week #35-35 Week appointment/Labor and Delivery Class

Week #35

Baby is Size of: Coconut

Fun Fact: Now her hearing is fully developed, and she responds best to high-pitched noises.

Weight this week:170.0-got back on track with eating healthier this week

Change since last week:-1.2 pounds

Weight gain overall: 23 pounds

Symptoms: continued stiffness in thighs and hips, some acid reflux, difficulty breathing at times, still lots of movement from baby, however, not as many kicks-more movement, I honestly feel pretty good, it's just getting harder to move around, oh and my stupid hernia I have had in my stomach area for the last seven years hurts at the end of the day now, pain goes a way when I sleep and comes back near the end of the day, probably due to all the pressure baby's putting on it, oh and restless legs when I'm trying to get to sleep at night-so annoying!

Cravings:Nothing at this time. 

35 Week Appointment-Dr. Hayes-10/17-2:45

As of recent, this has been my most uneventful appointment to date-thank goodness!! Weight, Blood pressure-103/62 :)-back to "normal low", baby heartbeat and belly measuring. My belly is actually measuring 36 weeks so she's really on a growth spirt! Next week, he explained that I would need to be swabbed for Step B. It's basically a vaginal swab to make sure I don't have it and if I do, all it is is IV antibiotics during labor. From what I understand, it is bacteria that lives in the vaginal area but too much can cause problems during delivery. I really like Dr. Hayes, I still think he is my favorite so far!

Next week Thursday-October 24, I have an appointment with the Hematologist to retest platelets and another appointment with Dr. Hayes. It makes me feel good that Dr. Hayes said Dr. Pierce, the hematologist, is one of the best he knows and he's very confident in her decisions. 

Labor and Delivery Class

We had our first class on Thursday, October 17. It lasted three hours and we also have another class next Thursday for three hours. It was very informative and I'm glad we decided to take it. It showed a few videos on birth and the role of the partner/coach. It also showed the progression of labor and a natural birth. I'm not sure if it made me more nervous or excited for birth. Natural birth looks like a lot of work, but I really want to see if I can do it. At the end of class, we practiced different positions that would help during contractions. It was very helpful. Overall, I think the class will be good and I am glad we waited a while to take it so it all will be soaked up in my brain more! Dan will be a good coach. 

Baby thoughts-We have decided on a nursery color/theme. It will be a green, just a matter of how green. It's going to be green walls and the room will be accented with pinks and some brown. I didn't want it to be too girly and don't want a lot of pink. I also washed all of her clothes last week and ordered the crib and dresser, which will be here this weekend. It is coming a long! My goal is November 1 to have it all done. I will be 37 weeks, that gives us about 2 weeks to complete the nursery. I will also have my shower by then so that will be nice to know what we still need.

                                    I want to have green walls with accents of pink and brown

                                                                I love this!!

I still have been pretty stressed lately. I had off on Thursday so on Wednesday I came home and Dan said he was making dinner. I did some much needed grocery shopping while he cooked and I came home to Steak (on the grill), baked potato, a sweet roll and a nice salad with dimmed lights, soft music and the fireplace going. It was so nice and thoughtful. We then went to Mayfair to see Gravity, which was an excellent movie. I'm going to miss nights where it's just the two of us! I don't know if I stress how wonderful Dan has been, from doing laundry, to making sure I'm not doing to much, cleaning the kitchen, keeping everything tidy and keeping low stress. He's been very supportive and I feel very blessed.

Beck and Steve returned from their Caribbean Cruise Honeymoon and brought us this home:

                                                          Too Cute!

Five more weeks!!!

Week #34-Maternity pictures/Hematologist appointment

Week #34

Baby is Size of: Butternut Squash

Fun Fact: Regardless of the eye color baby will end up with, right now her eyes are blue. The pigmentation process in his iris won't be complete until her eyes have been exposed to light for several weeks after birth. Her final eye color may not be evident for years. We're hoping it stays blue!

Weight this week:171.4

Change since last week: +3.2-Yeah, I ate my feelings this week...stress! I find I'm gaining weight a little too easily now, so I need to calm it down! Also-still no stretch marks...I'm trying to keep it in check if I can!

Weight gain overall: 24.4-goal is no more than 30. I'm not worried, I think I'll start maintaining more than anything as I plan to eat a pretty healthy diet here on out due to the platelet issue (see below).

Symptoms: continued stiffness, some acid reflux, difficulty breathing at times, still lots of movement from baby, however, not as many kicks-more movement, I honestly feel pretty good, it's just getting harder to move around, oh and my stupid hernia I have in my stomach area hurts at the end of the day now, pain goes a way when I sleep and comes back near the end of the day, probably due to tall the pressure baby's putting on it.

Cravings:None this week really, still on a bagel kick

Maternity Pictures

We had our maternity picture shoot on Tuesday, October 8. My good friend Stephanie Olson did them. They were done in Whitnall Park. It was a beautiful evening. The trees were a perfect color and the sun was out and shining. We went to a few different spots in the park to get them done. Steph posted 4 teasers on Facebook. It was fun and I'm glad we were able to capture this pregnancy in beautiful pictures!

Referral to Hematologist

Earlier in this pregnancy, they said my platelets were low, which isn't uncommon in pregnancy, but they wanted to keep an eye on it. Well, I noticed it slowly dropping and at 20 weeks, it was 121 (it's supposed to be between 150-400). I asked last Friday to get it re-tested. I got my test results back on Tuesday morning and it's at 87. Ugh. So, the nurse called me and told me a referral was put in to see a Hematologist as I am still over 6 weeks a way from delivery. I made an appointment for Tuesday, October 15 at 8 am. I wanted to get earlier so I called to see if they had any cancellations. They were able to get me in on Thursday, October 10.

It was a wonderful appointment. Dr. Brenda Pierce was very nice and very information. Basically, worse case scenario, they would have to induce me early if my platelets continued to drop.  They took about 7 viles of blood. She said they are basically testing me for anything and everything possible that could cause low platelets but she is convinced it is all related to pregnancy as my platelets were fine 2 years ago when she saw my blood work. She said if we stayed 15 minutes, she would have at least the platelet results. We waited and she said it was at 103!! I was super happy. She wants to see me back in two weeks to retest. It makes me feel better that it didn't continue to drop. I was really nervous about that. So, I'm feeling a bit better about things. It may or may not matter, but I plan to change my diet to very healthy from here on out to see if that helps: more iron (meat), greens and organic foods. 

Baby Thoughts: I am overwhelmed-I think I've said that a lot the past few weeks! We have a to do list and it's so long, I don't know where to start. I think I will feel better once we have the nursery painted, crib and dresser in and clothes washed and shower over with so we know what we have to buy yet. I think with just worrying about health issues with myself, it has my mind too occupied, but I really need to focus on getting more things done. Our goal is November 1 to have the majority of things done. We're even thinking of putting the Christmas tree up early so we don't have to worry about it after baby is here. 

So, I have been getting samples in the mail...literally almost everyday. Debbie Appel also has given me a few as well.  If breastfeeding doesn't work or if I can't do it for too long, I know what I can fall back on! Geez!

On to week 35! Baby is considered full-term in 3 weeks!!!

Week #33-Wedding/33 Week appt

Week #33

Baby is size of: Durian!-I don't know what the heck this is!..Oop, just googled: an oval spiny tropical fruit containing a creamy pulp. Despite its fetid smell, it is highly esteemed for its flavor.

Fun Fact: Baby girl is keeping her eyes open while she is a wake

Weight this week: 168.2

Change since last week-+ 1.8-I swear my belly is growing by the day!

Weight gain overall: 21.2

Symptoms: Braxton hick contractions-more and more, some nights I wake up for an hour and go back to sleep-however, I am still sleeping well overall, shortness of breath, very stiff if sitting too long in legs and hips, achiness in back, no longer spotting brown blood-thank goodness!, more clumsy-I feel like I drop everything!

Cravings: Bagels! I like half a bagel every morning now :). Dan and I picked up the baker's dozen from Panera last week and froze them. I also have my egg every morning!

Wedding!

Beck and Steve's wedding was this last weekend, September 28th. It was just beautiful! The rehearsal was at Champs and the food was very good. I had a Turkey wrap, Dan had a burger. Beck gave the bridesmaids different wine glasses with different phrases on them. Mine said "Mommy's Juice"-I'm very excited to use it! She also gave us our jewelry we would wear the day of. Dan was given a German beer mug with two German beers and a Best Buy Gift card. It was a nice time and we were able to talk to some of Steve's friends while we were there and get to know them better.

Saturday was just beautiful! The weather was perfect, about 80 degrees, partly sunny. We started off at the hair salon. My hair is at such an awkward stage and I ended up not liking it at all. I really should have done it myself! Oh well. We got ready at the church. The nylons I was supposed to wear and looked all over for didn't fit right, so I ended up not wearing any at all. The ceremony was beautiful! Pastor Earnest did it. He also married Dan and I. He's just so great at speaking and doing ceremonies. Baby was moving the entire time! It was cute. I was a little uncomfortable standing there, but no biggie.

We took pictures at Botanical gardens and stopped at Beck and Steve's house where they took pictures. The photographer was wonderful and got some beautiful shots! 

The reception was just beautiful! I never had a chance to see it before the wedding, just pictures online but with all of the up lighting and table decor, and chair covers and flowers, everything turned out so nice. They had nice appetizers for cocktail hour. The wedding party's grand march went in to the "price is right" theme song which was fun. Amanda, Dan and I all had beautiful speeches. Dad also got up and spoke and I was so proud of him! He didn't even have it written down! The dinner was delicious: salad, rolls, beef, chicken, vegetables, potato and a noodle salad. The cake was also very good. The DJ was awesome all night. I can't say enough about it. It was just a nice evening! It's always nice to see family and friends that you don't see too often. It was lightly raining at the end of the night and this is my favorite shot that the photographer previewed: 

33 Week Appointment, Friday 4:15pm

It feels like I was just at the doctor! It has only been two weeks. We were able to meet Dr. Jaglan, I think he's our favorite next to Dr. Hayes. It's funny, I like both of the male doctors the best.  The appointment went well. My blood pressure was the lowest it's been all pregnancy 86/52. I don't feel any different so he wasn't concerned.  I did ask for a full CBC again to test my platelets so I had blood work done before we left.  Baby's heartbeat was between 138 and 144 when he was listening to her and he said it was strong. He also said she's in a very good birth position right now. Overall, it was a good appointment, I'm just hopeful that my platelets haven't dropped anymore. He said as long as it stays above 100, it's okay. I was at 121 at 20 weeks.  If it drops below that, there can be issues with clotting if I needed a Cesarean delivery. We'll see! What's crazy to me is he said at this point, if I were go into labor, they wouldn't stop it since baby is grown enough to survive without too much time in the NICU. Crazy!!!!

I made my next 3 appointments with Dr. Hayes and Jaglan, fingers crossed they are one of the two that deliver me!

We have lots to do this month now that the wedding is over: getting nursery in order, washing diapers and clothes, installing car seat in car, organizing things. I better start nesting soon!

                                                                  Week 29

                                                                33 weeks!

On to week 34!