Pregnancy Update October 29, 2012
How far along: 36 weeks! 28 days left...
Size of baby: 18.75 inches, 5.75 lbs. - A "Crenshaw Melon"
What developed this past week: Still packing on the pounds at the rate of about an ounce a day! He's shedding the soft hair that has covered his body the past 8 months, and is also losing the waxy covering (vernix) on his skin that has protected him while he's been floating in fluid. He is currently head down and ready to go!
Weight Gain: 34.6 lbs. Seems I capitalized on that food-obsessed feeling I talked about last week... Yikes! :)
Maternity clothes: All maternity or Caleb's shirts/hoodies.
Gender: HE'S ALL BOY! "Bryson Nicholas"
(Bryson means "smart", Nicholas means "winner" or "victory of the people")
Movement: Haven't noticed a decrease in movement yet, as they say happens when he gets bigger. Still feeling him move all day long, but especially in the evenings. Crazy to see the entire shape of my belly change as he pushes out both sides at the same time!
Sleep: I've been seriously capitalizing on my ability to sleep in on the weekends - getting 9-10 hours a night both Friday and Saturday nights! I feel a little guilty because I know I still have so much I need to be doing to get the nursery/house ready... but then I realize that I only have (potentially) 2-4 weekends left of this, and I decide to be happy living it up by getting tons of sleep while I can!
What I miss: Not feeling like my ribs are being SQUEEZED by my bra or shirts that have a tight empire waist... Sometimes I feel like there's an elephant on my chest and I can't breathe because I am so uncomfortable. As usual, this mostly happens when I'm sitting. Which means that all day long at work, I want to claw off a rib or two! I dread going to work and sitting in the car because of this discomfort.
Cravings: I've been a total drunk the past couple weeks - drinking whole bottles of sparkling cider :) I love the stuff! Both before and during pregnancy! My husband was even so kind as to surprise me with a bottle last night when he picked up a few groceries :)
Best moment this week: Celebrating my golden birthday! :) I turned 27 on the 27th. I started the day off with a bowl of strawberry frosted mini-wheats and a 1 hour pregnancy massage (from my SILs at Mother's Day)! So great!
Caleb is very thoughtful and got me gifts that I didn't even remember talking about wanting! And he took me to my favorite restaurant (Firebird's) for fillet mignon - melt in your mouth goodness! It's funny how when I was younger, I wanted to have a party and spend the day with every person I've ever known. And now that I'm older, I just want to spend the day with my honey - I don't even care what we are doing... just watching tv together is good enough for me! Another way to live up our time together before we have a baby taking so much of our attention.
We had our 4th and final Newborn Care Class on Thursday. We learned about taking care of children in the toddler years. I'd say some of it was useful, the rest of it is pretty much open to your own discipline techniques. All in all, I thought the first 2 weeks of the class were the most beneficial, but it was worth going to all of it. There's always more to learn!
I had my 36 week doctor appointment on Monday, the 29th, with Dr. Wise (my favorite dr). Heartbeat sounded good - in the 150s, BP was good, and I measured right on track! The nurse gave me a quick lesson in what to do when I [think I] go into labor or if I notice any abnormality in how much the baby is moving (basically if anything happens - call the office and they'll advise. 5th floor of the hospital if I'm sent in!). She also described the difference between false labor and real contractions, which feel like they encompass your hips and back as well as belly.
Dr. Wise said that their office will be on holiday from Thanksgiving through until Monday... so basically if I go into labor anytime in the 4-5 days leading up to my due date, I will not know the doctor who delivers my son :( AND there's a chance I'd have a man doctor... which I don't love the idea of, though I'm assuming when I am in the pain of labor, I won't care who does what to me! :)
As we get closer, we can talk about inducing as of 39 weeks, especially if I'm already starting to dilate/efface - that way I can have my doctor deliver him before the holiday. We'll see - I'd rather not induce if I can let my body do what it wants, when it wants to do it... But if we get to 40 weeks, they'll do an ultrasound to check his size. If he's "too big", they'll want to do a c-section. As of the last u/s, he was measuring average, so I'm hoping the chances of a c-section are slim, though all the boys in mine and my husband's families were 9+ lbs. Yikes!
SO I think I'm down to just praying Bryson comes of his own accord sometime around 38 or 39 weeks! Feel free to join the prayer team :)
Caleb's brothers had a diaper party for him this weekend and we were ABUNDANTLY blessed with diapers! I can't even believe how many! Thank you so much to everyone who came and to those who took the time to plan, prepare, and throw the party! We love you and appreciate all the hard work!
Random info:
-I have one little stretch mark - from my old belly button ring :(
-I've started getting acid reflux, randomly. No heartburn. It just feels like acid is in the back of my throat - gross, but not too painful.
-The doctor said I
do have Strep B - which apparently is very common. Just means I'll get antibiotics through my IV when I go into labor. That will keep any infection from getting in my uterus or bladder or hurting the baby. When she said I have it, I laughed and told her I guess I deserve it, since I haven't had MOST of the problems other women deal with in pregnancy! This is an easy one - just get a medication at the end - I can handle that! :)
-Caleb helps me put on/take off my tall boots. He helps me get up from the couch/bean bag a lot. And he often tells the baby he loves him and can't wait to hold him.
What I am looking forward to: Finishing my final week or being "pre-term". After this week, the doctor won't stop me if I go into labor because the baby [should] be healthy!!
I did get a bunch of things crossed off my baby to-do list last week, but there's plenty more to do! Hoping to get a ton more done this weekend. We also have a guy coming to do some work in the bathrooms and other odd-jobs this weekend - SO excited for everything to be completed!
