Baby Names

It is really hard to pick a name but it is even harder when you don't know if you are having a boy or a girl. We have gone back and forth between a few names. I like more names than Chad does... but we finally have made a decision...but we are going to make people wait till baby arrives to find out which boy and girl name we chose :)

37 Weeks

We are almost into May and that is BABY MONTH! EEK! 37 Weeks pregnant now. Baby is the size of a winter melon. He/She should be weighing anywhere between 6-9 lbs. Let's all say a quick prayer that he/she is more in the 6lb range right now.
How am I feeling? Large and in charge! I defiantly can feel my belly has really "popped out and rounded out" in the last week or so and everyone at work is commenting on it. I have been wearing skirts a lot of days because they are stretchy and don't touch my legs. I feel like everything is so tight and I want nothing to touch me... so skirts are perfect. I don't have a dr appointment this week because Dr. Brandes is out of the country on vacation. I could have made an appointment with a different doctor but she said that because I wasn't dilated and the baby hadn't dropped at all, I could easily get away without coming in. However if I have any contractions this week, I am supposed to call and come in to get checked. Well no contractions yet, just lots of crazy movement by the baby and maybe some dropping...? I felt a lot more soreness and like I needed to waddle a lot more around school today, but I don't want to get my hopes up and go in next week to hear nothing has changed. Oh well eventually it will change and before we know it baby will be here. I know I can wait!
At our next appointment I want to talk to Dr. Brandes about the plan for delivery. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go into labor on my own but I also know I could be waiting for ever and never have it happen..or it could happen at 42 weeks and baby could be 10+ lbs and I may need a c-section (the idea of having a c-section is honestly my biggest fear at this moment). So I am torn and not 100% against getting induced again (after my due date of course). I am due May 20 (a Tuesday) and want to talk to the dr about if I don't go into labor by that Friday (May 23rd) can we have a scheduled day to come in for an induction like I did for Ellery. That Monday (May 26th) is my mom's birthday so I would like to avoid having the baby that day but I think for school purposes it would be nice to let me long term sub take over on a fresh new week aka Tuesday May 27. So obviously this is about a month away but I will see what the dr says next Tuesday at my appointment. Who knows, maybe I will get my wish and actually go into labor on my own at some point. :) :)
May 21st sounds like a perfect day baby to have you start to make your way into this world on your own!

Car-Seat Installed

I figure with less than a month to go we should get on a few things that have to be done for the baby. Today I tackled the car-seat install. I thought this would be the easiest and fastest thing I had left to do. WRONG! I wanted to keep Ellery in the middle but after lots of trials I can't fit her in the middle and the baby's seat on the passenger side. So looks like we will have one on each side.  Problem was that Ellery's seat I am a pro at installing now. I have done my research, watched videos and read my manual, so I know exactly how to do it and can do it fast (plus most importantly I know it is installed 100% correctly and in the safest way possible). The old car-seat we have...well I kind of forgot how to install it and honestly never really did much research on it. I mean think, this is your child's life, you need to make sure it is done 100% correctly...so I watched some videos, re read my manual and used the LATCH's to install it. It looks okay but I don't feel perfectly comfortable with it. It still seems to wiggle around a lot if I push on it. I think next weekend we are going to the fire department in town to have them check it and give me some feedback.
I do have to admit that it looks weird to have 2 car-
seats now in the backseat. :) soon enough 2 little ones back there too!

Baptism Class

Tonight we had our baptism class for this baby. It was the same class we had to take for Ellery to get baptized but they make you go every time. We were there with 2 other families and the Deacon. We watched movie about why we should baptize our child, the process we go through to have a baptism and the criteria for picking godparents. We asked Chad's brother Derek and his wife Kristie to be the godparents tonight and they both seemed very excited when they said yes. :) So I feel excited that we finally have 1 thing in order for this baby. Literally it is so far the only thing we have done. Still no nursery or birth plan or hospital registration...but then again we still have a month right? :)

36 Weeks - A month to go

Baby is the size of Honeydew Melon

How far along? 36 weeks-1 MONTH TO GO!

Baby's Heart-rate? 145-150bpm

Total weight gain/loss? +29.8lbs (haha no I will not round up to 30lbs...that .8 means a lot to me!)


Maternity clothes? I am finding that maxi skirts are the best right now. Comfortable and stretchy waist bands plus lately the feeling of things on my legs really annoys me. I need to go shopping I think for more skirts. They will be nice post baby too. 

Stretch marks? I still don't think I have any:)

Sleep: I sleep okay but have been waking up lately with the WORST cramps/charlie horses in my calves. They hurt not only when I sleep but also days later. 

Best moment this week: Easter was this week and it was also the 1 month countdown to having the baby!! :)

Movement: Lots of hiccups and pushing his/her butt out. Even the students at school got a chance to feel him/her moving around and hiccuping today at school. Every once in a while I get some crazy strong *surprise* kicks into my rib cage.  

Food cravings: ICEEs! Target the other day I had 2 of them, and the next day I stopped at Burger King for another one. :)

Belly Button in or out? Sticking out-looks like a 3rd nipple in my shirt

Wedding rings on or off? Rings are all still on

What I miss: Being able to work and walk around without breathing heavily....oh and easily getting off the couch. I'm like a turtle when I sit on the couch.I try to roll off or pull myself off yet it never works. Chad always has to come pull me off. 

What I am looking forward to: The basement finishing. We are having carpet people coming out this week to measure and hopefully 2 weeks from then we will have it installed. Then we can finally set a crib up and give this baby his/her own nursery.

Upcoming events: Baptism class is on this Thursday (better figure out godparents asap) 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from our growing family to yours! 

A night in labor and delivery...baby is fine and still in my uterus :)

They say after the first trimester you should feel comfortable about living life and the baby being fine because you are in the "safe zone". Well let me tell you, you never fully feel comfortable until that baby is out (and crying) and even then your worries just change.
Well I am 35 1/2 weeks now and last night I felt fine but randomly started bleeding. So off to the hospital I went. I had felt the baby moving all day, wasn't having any contractions and overall felt fine so I wasn't overly worried...but still going into labor and delivery is a bit scary when you know baby is only 4-5lbs. Chad was at work, but met me at the hospital. That helped calm me down a lot.
I got hooked up to have a 1 hour NST when I got there and had to give a urine sample (and was still bleeding a bit).The NST was great, I could hear the baby's heart-rate going strong (between 175-155) the whole time, it was showing that I wasn't having any contractions but I was having irritability in my uterus (mini cramps-but I wasn't feeling them). The nurse brought be some water to see if that would help.
Next the nurse had to do an exam just to make sure I am not dilated a lot. Well...I'm not dilated at all...and baby's head isn't even in position yet. So that was a good sign that labor isn't probably in my near future. She could tell I was bleeding though...but unable to discover why. She said it may just be my capillaries in my cervix breaking, which happens as your body starts to dilate...but because I wasn't in any pain it wasn't a reason to worry.
By the end of the hour, the bleeding had stopped and my irritability in my uterus had also calmed down. I got strict orders to relax and take care of myself more over the next month, I am also not supposed to carry Ellery anymore (because she is 30+ pounds) and most of all I need to drink more water to keep my uterus calm.
Hopefully this was a random event and won't happen again before it's the real deal. I would like to not have to go back to labor and delivery until I get to actually have the baby. :)

35 Weeks

Hello 35 weeks! Hello not being able to breathe regularly anymore....haha. People at work are commenting on how I am always breathing heavily lately. Yes, always when I walk up the steps but even worse is that I still breathe heavily when just sitting at my desk working on grading papers. Darn baby needs to get his/her feet out of my ribs/lungs. Baby is the size of a coconut. He/She is literally crazy in my belly. Nonstop movement and rolling. I am hoping that means he/she isn't very big. Otherwise I keep thinking how does he/she have that much room anymore. My upper back has been killing me and my right side is still swelling up most days. It is weird to think that my due date is only 5 weeks away. I saw the dr this week and she said my belly is actually measuring 34 1/2 cms, so a bit small. Baby's heart-rate was a shock for us all this week. Every time we have gone in it has been around the 150s (one time is was in the 130s) but at today's dr appt it was in the 170s! WHAT!?! I thought baby's heart-rate was supposed to slow down as he/she was getting bigger. It also makes everyone who said "boy" all along start to question their guess. Can you believe in 5-6 weeks we will finally be able to know if you are a boy or girl baby? I can't wait! 

My Sunday has consisted of....

My Sunday today has consisted of:
*A great mass at church (Ellery loved all the people and palms for Palm Sunday)
*A nap on the couch
*Heartburn

Pedicure Saturday

Lately I come home from work and my feet (especially my right one) have been starting to swell up. Not horribly but enough that my right shoe is completely uncomfortable. So I decided to spend Saturday morning with Ellery going to get a pedicure and a cheap new pair of shoes. My feet felt so good to soak in the tub of warm water and be rubbed down. They also look a lot nicer painted. My new shoes are nothing fancy, just basic shoes but a 1/2 size bigger so my feet will be more comfortable in the next 5 weeks.

OUCH

I can't believe I am complaining but I have been in so much pain the past two days. Not enough pain to actually want this baby out because deep down I know he/she needs as much time in there to fully develop (at least to 39 weeks-full term). I can barely move around the house lately thought. My stomach is tight constantly, I am feeling electrical shocks in my crotch (apparently his/her head grinding into my pelvic bones). It just feels like he/she is HUGE in there and every movement he/she makes hurts. I don't remember this with Ellery.
Please don't take this as me wanting a pity-party and baby out. Nothing drives me more crazy then people who want the baby out at 34-39 weeks because they are uncomfortable. Sorry but the baby needs to stay in there and its your job as a mom to keep them safe and growing even if it puts you in pain.
I have tried to not take any Tylenol or any meds that I could get by without this pregnancy but if this keeps up I may need to take something. Hopefully when I go in to the dr next week, she can reassure me this is normal and I don't need to worry about labor coming quickly...I still want to stick to having this baby a week late. :)

34 Weeks

Baby has been in there for now 34 weeks. He/She is the size of a cantaloupe. Baby has the hiccups constantly lately. Tonight was the first night I had *what I think* was an actual contraction. It hurt so bad, my stomach was like a rock and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Hopefully it was just him/her rolling around and not a real contraction. He/She still has 6+ weeks left in there. I know I may be uncomfortable but there are so many studies that show the last few weeks are the most critical for the baby's lungs and brain. If me being uncomfortable for a few extra weeks helps baby develop to his/her fullest potential, I can handle that. I never assumed this would be EASY.

I am 26lbs heavier now and I feel HEAVY. I waddle when I walk and struggle to get up off the floor/out of bed. I go to the dr. next week and then start going every week for my check ups to see if I am dilating or not. I have a feeling these last few weeks will fly by and we will be finding out if baby is a boy or a girl in no time. Can't wait for that moment that Chad gets to tell me *BOY* or *GIRL*. I am dying not knowing....

Painting Party!

We are getting close to this due date and it's starting to scare me because even though Chad, Ellery and I may be mentally ready, our house is not ready for another human to live here. Stressed is a very accurate word to describe how I've been feeling lately. We still haven't started the baby's nursery and I know the baby will stay in our room for the first few weeks but I still want to have a crib up and a nursery ready by my due date (if not sooner).
The sheet-rock is now up and taped, so it is time to get painting! We had a painting party with our families yesterday. Chad's mom, brother and sister-in Law, my mom, dad, and brother all came over. With only 4 trips to the hardware store (yes they were laughing by the 3rd and 4th time we walked in) we were able to get the entire basement painted and ready for Chad's brother Jeremy to do the woodwork (trim, windows, and doors) and then we can get carpet and then it's done! We are on the home stretch. We still have probably a month of work left but the end is in sight (although so is the end of this pregnancy-hopefully baby will decide he/she likes it in there and stay a few days past my due date).

33 weeks

We are officially into April and that means baby will be here in less than 2 months! I have 7 weeks till my due date but I am still really wanting to go a full week overdue. It'll save me a load of money at work (not having to take any non paid days) and its always good to let baby cook in their.
Baby is the size of a durain (whatever that is).
I am still feeling pretty good , pregnancy wise, but overall have caught some bug. I have a runny nose, cough and am losing my voice. Maybe it is the seasons changing and just allergies. We have been busy still painting the house and remodeling. The basement is making progress. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I can post a pic of the nursery actually having carpet, paint on the walls, oh and a crib in it. Here is hoping we can be ready for you in the 7-8 weeks. Keep growing and moving baby!