I had my midwife appointment today and not much has changed. Still not dilated, baby is still very low. I was actually relieved not to have any real progress since last week . . . after hearing that the baby is a little small, I want it to stay in for a bit and grow!
My belly went from measuring 33 cm last week to 34 cm this week, so it's great that it's growing at the appropriate rate. It's still little (should be almost 37 cm) but at least it's growing!
Our next ultrasound is Friday. They'll be checking the fluid to make sure that the right amount is still there, and checking the blood in the placenta to make sure it's still working perfectly. I'm not too worried--the baby is SO active that I feel like the placenta must be bringing it a lot of nutrients and oxygen. I keep trying to tell it to settle down, stop burning calories, and fatten up.
They'll also do a nonstress test . . . hooking me up to a monitor for 20 minutes to watch the baby's heartrate and activity level.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
The baby is "smaller than normal"
Well, this came as a surprise, since we tend to have hefty babies in my family. But the ultrasound Friday showed that the baby is smaller than average(estimated to be about 5 lbs, 2 oz . . . in the 18th percentile). Everything was normal (movement, fluid levels, bloodflow, placenta) but the baby is just a little peanut.
We have to go for follow up ultrasounds for the next two Fridays, and this Friday will include a nonstress test (when they watch the baby's movement and heartrate for a while) and some other test that I've forgotten already.
Also, I'm going to have to cut back on work, for two reasons. The more active I am, the more calories I'm using and at this point I need to keep all of them to fatten up the baby. Also, if I'm on my feet less than it's less likely that I'll go into labor early, and we want the baby to stay on the inside for a bit longer.
So this is a little stressful bump in the road. I'm trying not to worry too much, and to eat a lot of ice cream :)
We have to go for follow up ultrasounds for the next two Fridays, and this Friday will include a nonstress test (when they watch the baby's movement and heartrate for a while) and some other test that I've forgotten already.
Also, I'm going to have to cut back on work, for two reasons. The more active I am, the more calories I'm using and at this point I need to keep all of them to fatten up the baby. Also, if I'm on my feet less than it's less likely that I'll go into labor early, and we want the baby to stay on the inside for a bit longer.
So this is a little stressful bump in the road. I'm trying not to worry too much, and to eat a lot of ice cream :)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Spring "Break"
The "Break" in the title is in quotes because we have been so busy that it seems like a ridiculous title for this week. Pictures and more to come soon (hopefully).
This week has been an extravaganza of activity as we've been trying to get a million projects done before the baby arrives. Here's what we've been upto:
Saturday/Sunday: Dave had shows, I assembled baby gear: pack & play (where the baby will sleep initially), swing, bouncer seat, strollers.
Monday: trip to home depot, where we got big shelving things for our storage unit. Dave assembled the shelves and re-arranged the storage unit, I moved everything that we had dumped in the baby's closet into more permanent housing.
Tuesday: big shopping trips: Babies R Us to get the remaining stuff that we need, Container store to get organizing stuff for the baby's closet (among other things), Williams & Sonoma to finally spend the gift cards that we got from our wedding (yes, that was 2 years ago), etc. Once we were home Dave spent a few hours re-organizing the guest room, while I spent the same amount of time trying to figure out what's going where in the baby's room, and moving things into containers.
Wednesday: 36 week midwife appointment (details below) then off to a big grocery trip. I'm trying to cook and freeze some meals now so that we have easy options (besides take-out) after the baby arrives. Last night I made a meatloaf to freeze, Dave disassembled our big dresser and moved it into the baby's room.
Today: Cooking & freezing & organizing for me (and my mom), a show for Dave. Interviewing a pediatrician this afternoon.
The busy-ness will probably continue until we're back at work on Monday, since there are a million projects that could be done. Sometimes it just sounds like a cop-out when people say "Sorry I didn't return your email, I've been busy" . . . but really, I've been busy! Now that we've hit the 9 months pregnant mark I also feel a little achy and get tired too . . . so things take a bit longer than they really should.
This week has been an extravaganza of activity as we've been trying to get a million projects done before the baby arrives. Here's what we've been upto:
Saturday/Sunday: Dave had shows, I assembled baby gear: pack & play (where the baby will sleep initially), swing, bouncer seat, strollers.
Monday: trip to home depot, where we got big shelving things for our storage unit. Dave assembled the shelves and re-arranged the storage unit, I moved everything that we had dumped in the baby's closet into more permanent housing.
Tuesday: big shopping trips: Babies R Us to get the remaining stuff that we need, Container store to get organizing stuff for the baby's closet (among other things), Williams & Sonoma to finally spend the gift cards that we got from our wedding (yes, that was 2 years ago), etc. Once we were home Dave spent a few hours re-organizing the guest room, while I spent the same amount of time trying to figure out what's going where in the baby's room, and moving things into containers.
Wednesday: 36 week midwife appointment (details below) then off to a big grocery trip. I'm trying to cook and freeze some meals now so that we have easy options (besides take-out) after the baby arrives. Last night I made a meatloaf to freeze, Dave disassembled our big dresser and moved it into the baby's room.
Today: Cooking & freezing & organizing for me (and my mom), a show for Dave. Interviewing a pediatrician this afternoon.
The busy-ness will probably continue until we're back at work on Monday, since there are a million projects that could be done. Sometimes it just sounds like a cop-out when people say "Sorry I didn't return your email, I've been busy" . . . but really, I've been busy! Now that we've hit the 9 months pregnant mark I also feel a little achy and get tired too . . . so things take a bit longer than they really should.
Baby Update
I'm now (just about) 36 weeks pregnant. The baby probably weighs around 6 lbs (we may get a better idea of that at tomorrow's ultrasound). It's big and it moves a lot, it looks like my belly is a wave that rolls from side to side at night. The midwife visits are now every week, and include internal exams (yes, they're about as fun as they sound). For those who really want to know every detail, the info is below. If you can do without knowing the condition of my internal girl parts, stop reading here :)
Currently I'm not dilated at all, but things are soft (which means we're progressing). The baby's head is "low in the pelvis" so it's not going to flip over at this point. That's about it for this week.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
More pictures
These pictures are from my Aunt Chris . . . their quality is way better than the pictures from my camera!
Things are really busy at work right now . . . parent-teacher conferences and lots of loose ends to tie up before spring break (next week) . . . so I may have time to write more next week, but this is it for now:
Things are really busy at work right now . . . parent-teacher conferences and lots of loose ends to tie up before spring break (next week) . . . so I may have time to write more next week, but this is it for now:
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saturday was our baby shower, which was fantastic :) My mom and sister did a really great job planning and organizing everything . . . and people were so generous! We got a ton of great stuff for the baby.
Today I'm not feeling too well (hopefully it's just allergies) so I'm not going to write too much, but I wanted to put these pictures up:
So that's it for now. I feel like I should talk about everyone's presents, because they were so generous, but I guess that would be pretty boring for anyone reading this. I'll have to post pictures of the chart from the shower. Lisa made it (it's really well done) and everyone made guesses about the baby . . . everyone seems to think it's going to be big! (I agree.) I'll also have to get a picture of the bracelet that Lisa had made for me . . . it has my birthstone and Dave's and the baby's---so the baby better make its debut in May!
Today I'm not feeling too well (hopefully it's just allergies) so I'm not going to write too much, but I wanted to put these pictures up:
Aren't the decorations cute? They even put balloons on my chair to dress it up. (The shower was held at my mom & dad's house.)
Opening presents, with the help of my sister, Lisa (in blue):
My mom, sister & I (it's a little dark)
Shower Guests:
Cake (yum!)
My cousin Coleen brought brand-new baby Delainey (only 5 weeks old!).
Coleen, Delainey, Aunt Cathy, Jenn, Aunt Chris
Tina & me
Lisa, Mom, Emerson (6 months) and me
Mom, me & Helaine (Dave's mom)
All of the women on my dad's side (minues Caileigh, who was playing at home :)
So that's it for now. I feel like I should talk about everyone's presents, because they were so generous, but I guess that would be pretty boring for anyone reading this. I'll have to post pictures of the chart from the shower. Lisa made it (it's really well done) and everyone made guesses about the baby . . . everyone seems to think it's going to be big! (I agree.) I'll also have to get a picture of the bracelet that Lisa had made for me . . . it has my birthstone and Dave's and the baby's---so the baby better make its debut in May!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Boy's Names?
We are not in love with any boy's names. They seem to be too common, or too weird, or just "eh". If you have any suggestions or favorite boy's names, feel free to "add a comment" to this message with your ideas :)