39 Weeks - No Aubrey in Sight!

Today is officially 39 weeks and so far there has been no sign of any changes to come here at the Barbeauld house.  We had a really great Holy Week and Easter with family, and I just can't wait to share all of this next year with Aubrey.  The only down side was some pretty intense back pain, like "can't move I just wanna lay here and die" back pain.  After only getting out of the bed for church and Easter Dinner this weeknd, I limped into the doctor's office this morning for my weekly NST.  I talked to the doctor about it, and she determined that the pressure on my body from the little jelly bean in there has caused my sciatica to flare up.  Not fun.  So now it's looks like I'm laid up for a couple more days with some pain pills and muscle relaxers.  I'm going to wait until night time to take anything  just to see what happens.  Hopefully I can be a little more mobile in the next few days so I can start walking.

Why so much walking?  Dr. Walker brought up the "I" word today, and she suggested that walking would maybe move things along a little bit.  I'm glad she has brought it up now, just because me and Joey can now really make decisions about what we want in regards to helping Aubrey along.  If she keeps up like she is, we will have to make some decisions on May 5th.  Other than that, she's still doing great and I'm still feeling pretty decent, with the exception of the back pain, but that is what it is.

Just a shout out for Joey, he has been incredibly amazing this weekend, helping me manage the back pain and taking care of everything around here.  Aubrey and I are are so lucky to have him as a daddy and a husband.

Here's the 39 week update:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

38 weeks - eek!

As you all have noticed, I survived the full moon and Aubrey is still baking right along.

I have now made it to 38 weeks and 3 days, and boy am I feeling it.  I ended up starting my leave yesterday, as the days were just harder to get through whether it was the back pain, or the cramping or just being plain exhausted.  I went to the doctor this morning and it looks like the discomfort is finally paying off.  Aubrey is in the right position and my body is definitely preparing for labor.  Only a couple more weeks and she will finally be here!  Last week, I was panicking for no reason because everytime I contracted, my stomach went into this crazy shape and I could have swore she was transverse lie, which would have meant definite c-section.  The ultrasound of course proved me wrong, which was great.  She's holding steady at 7.5 pounds, but the doctor thinks that she might be a little smaller than that.  Her head is measuring about a week ahead, which is possibly throwing off the poundage estimate.  We were concerned about her growth due to the diabetes, but it looks it was successfully controlled with diet and didn't affect her at all.  She is however, apparently very chubby, which is just fine with me because that means she's healthy.

This weekend, I took the opportunity to get a little pampering and got my hair colored and my toes done.  It was nice to relax and to also get those things taken care of before pictures are being taken.  Not of my toes hopefully, but the hair was waaaay overdue for a coloring.  Now we wait.  In the meantime, here's the 38 week update:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Joey and I both have blue eyes, although mine have a ring of hazel in them.  I'm really curious about her eye color as my grandmother, mother and I all have the same eye color, so it will be really cool if she has it too. 

3 weeks to go!

Ok, so I'm horrendously late on getting this week's post done.  It's been a blech kind of week.  I have been exhausted some days and running around like crazy on others trying to to get everything done.  I think we are good to go though.  The bag is packed, the base is in the car and we are almost mentally ready.  I only had one doctor appointment this week since my doc was out of town, and it was just an NST.  I was on there for about 20 minutes when the nurse came in and said that I needed some juice because she was not being very reactive.  Neither was I, it was just one of those lazy days for me.  (She actually woke me up when she came in!)  After the juice (capri sun - major throwback), she was good to go and started behaving.  I am back to my 2x a week appointment next week.

As of Monday, I only have 4 days left until I am starting my materinity leave.  Yay!  It will be nice to get some rest and take care of a couple of last minute errands.  However, if you ask my mom and mother in law I'm not going to make it until then.  Since there is a full moon on Monday they are convinced I will be spending next week at the hospital.  I'm not so sure about that one, but I guess you never know. 

For all the people wanting nursery pics, I have uploaded them to facebook, and didn't see the need to copy here since most of my followers are facebook friends.  If you can't get to them somehow, let me know and I will post them on here.  Well that's all I have for this week, here's the 37 week update.

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

For the record, Aubrey is as bald as a bowling ball, just like her mama was :).

36 Weeks and in the Home Stretch!

Wow, I can't believe that we only have 4 weeks to go.  Time has just flown by and I am so excited that we will have Aubrey in our arms in about a month, maybe a little more depending on when she wants to make her appearance.  We have had quite an eventful week, the doctor's appointment on Thursday was alright, Aubrey is growing right along, her fluid is good and she's been kicking up a storm.  It was great to get to share everything with my grandmother. I know she's looking forward to getting to hold Aubrey and spoil her more than she already has.

Part of the 35 week appointment was the Group B Strep culture, which has so far been the most uncomfortable experience at the doctor thus far.  I will let you all do your own research, but it is not pleasant at all.  I should find out the results this week, as well as the results of the additional testing that I had to go through this week.  When they checked my blood pressure, the reading was 147/97, which is not normal for me at all.  After two manual readings that were perfectly normal, the doctor wanted me to collect my pee for 24 hours and also get some bloodwork done to make sure that I don't have pre-eclampsia.  The biggest fear for me with this situation would be that they would have to take Aubrey early to reduce the health risks for both me and her.  Here's some information on pre-eclampsia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preeclampsia

I will keep you all posted when we get the results back.  I'm not too worried about it all though, my blood pressure was 117/74 when I was there this morning, so I'm thinking that we're all good.  Other news was that the doctor said that she wasn't as worried about the diabetes because I have been keeping my sugars pretty well in check with my diet.

On a separate note, Joey and I got the opportunity to have a little date night this weekend, and we had a pretty good time.  We went to dinner and then went to the Pops concert at the Tivoli.  It was great to take out a little time and just be a couple again.  I'm hoping that we will be able to still get out every now and then once little bit gets here.  With all the available baby-sitting, I'm sure that we will be able to sneak out maybe once a month.  We also got some maternity pics taken by our friends Meghan and Alan.  The preview pics turned out pretty good, and I'm looking forward to seeing the proofs later this week.  The link to a sneak preview is here:

http://meghanclinephotography.blogspot.com/

Well, I think that's everything, here's the 36 week update!

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Jamie 2.0

Before we got pregnant, we hadn't really thought much about what kind of parents we would be or what we wanted for our child.  Joey and I knew we wanted children, and we just were going to figure it out as we went along.  Once I saw those 2 lines and realized our life was going to drastically change, I realized that there were several decisions to be made, from what type of birth we wanted to go for to how we were going to handle child rearing.  I must say that we have gone in a direction that I didn't expect for us at all.  Not that I had firm ideas in either direction, I just didn't see our ideas leaning toward a more natural and non-intervention way of life.  I will preface all of this with I don't think there's a right or wrong way to do things, in my opinion, the only right way is what works best for you and your family.

We have decided to take classes on the Bradley method, which emphasizes pregnancy, labor and childbirth with as few interventions as possible.  I know there have been several medical breakthroughs over the past decades and many of them are great and have lead to healthier babies and mommas.  However, some of them are not always nessecary and to me can hinder the experiences that should come with childbirth.  The Bradley classes give you a great foundation in regards to how to handle your labor pains and how to bring your baby into the world with little to no medical intervention.  We have really enjoyed the classes, and have met some great and supportive people along the way.  

I have also decided to breastfeed, which is something I thought that everyone did, but it turns out that breastfeeding is not really what most mothers choose.  Like I have said before, you have to do what is best for you and your baby, but the medical studies and the research that I have done just reinforce the fact that it's a great gift that you can give your child.  I hope to be able to breastfeed for as long as possible, and with all the support out there with friends and La Leche League, I'm sure that I will be successful.  When Aubrey does get to solids, I think we will make our own food as much as possible, that way, we will know exactly what she's getting.

There are ways however, that we are not going to "crunchy" parents.  I will not be doing cloth diapering.  We did think about it, but since we are going to be sending Aubrey to day care when I go back to work, I didn't feel that cloth diapering is the way to go for us.  I understand that it has it's benefits, but those do not outweigh the cons of having our daycare provider deal with the extra work that goes into cloth diapering.  If I was going to stay at home full time, I think we would have definitely placed more consideration into it.

There are so many more decisions to be made and I hope that we make the right ones for now.  However, I know that we also have to be open to things not working out like we have initally planned and that we will definitely have to make adjustments along the way.  I can't wait to find out how it all turns out!

In regards to being 35 weeks this week, (yay!) Aubrey is doing good, kicking around like crazy.  I also have my Group B Strep test this week.  I am hoping that it comes back negative, because I don't want to have to be hooked up to antibiotics during labor, which would limit the positions that I can get in to make labor more comfortable (as comfortable as it can be I guess).  Wish me luck!  We have another ultrasound on Thursday, and I'm kind of excited about it because my Granny is going to come with us and to be able to see the ultrasound.  She's never seen one, so it's going to be really cool to have her experience that with us. 

Enough about our parenting plans, here's the 35 week update:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Spring time is cleaning time!

We decided to do one more big clean before Aubrey gets here, which happened to coincide with Spring Cleaning time.  We made a huge list, which included cleaning every nook and cranny.  We are almost done except for the kitchen and finishing up the  straightening up the nursery, so needless to say we are beat!  Well, mostly me anyway, it's not so easy to be running up and down the stairs and scrubbing floors when you have an extra 30 pounds on you.  I'm definitely ready to hit the sack tonight and I'm thinking that I am going to need a back rub this evening for sure.

It looks like we only have one trip to make to Target to get a couple items for the nursery and to finish up packing our bag for the hospital.  We are waiting until next week to install the car seat and then we should be ready for whenever Aubrey decides to show up.  I have decided to start my maternity leave on April 25th, so on Monday, I will have 4 weeks until I am off work for a little while.  I can't believe it.  It has gone by so fast, but I have heard that the last month is the slowest, so I'm hoping I have quite a bit to do at work to make the time pass a little faster.  We do have the pediatrician appointment on the 7th, so I will let you all know how that goes.

We have our last Bradley class this week, I'm thinking Joey and I will be the only ones there, as one couple has had their baby and the other couple is due the day before class.  It's really exciting to see that couples are being able to achieve the natural birth that they wanted and that their children are thriving.  It's really given us a little confidence boost that we can accomplish natural child birth and it's really not as scary as most people make it out to be.  Only a few more weeks until we find out for sure!

Feeling McHuge - 6 weeks to go!

So I have made it to 34 weeks this week and for some reason the transition from 7 weeks to 6 weeks seems way more real than the other ones.  I have a feeling it’s going to totally bizarre when I get to 4 weeks.  The time has flown by, but gone incredibly slow at the same time.  There is literally one more item to be completed in the nursery and then I promise that I will post some pics.  Sorry for the delay! Luckily life has slowed down for me at least anyway, so now we can finish up all the little items that are need to be completed before Aubrey gets here.  Our appointments went really well this week as usual, so nothing new to report there.  In our Bradley class, we went around to different stations to simulate different labor techniques.  It was very eye opening (and exhausting!), and it made me feel a lot more comfortable about the birthing process.  I know nothing can prepare you for the actual event, but I feel like we will be a prepared as possible, and that makes me feel a lot better about the labor process.   Also in class this week, we got to meet Paisley Esther, who decided to make her entrance 3 weeks early to our classmates Emily and Philip.  It was great to hear her birth story and to see that a natural birth can be done and be a great experience.

Mom and I went to a consignment sale this past weekend, and I got quite a few good outfits.  The sale is called “Just Between Friends”, and they have a ton of great looking clothes at great prices.  We got some super cute summer outfits.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a jogging stroller, which is the one item that I am still wanting.  Luckily, we can just take our time on that one since we won’t need it for a few months.  Speaking of jogging, I have decided on a fitness goal for after Aubrey gets here.  As some of you know, I had actually picked up a slight running habit before I got pregnant, and it’s something that I would like to continue once I have Aubrey.  Joey is also quite the athlete, so it would be nice to have something that we can continue to do as as a family.  That being said, I have decided to make it a goal to complete the FCA 5k in September.  I know I might not be able to run the entire thing, but I think a goal of completing it would be a good way to get back into shape and also get back into a running routine.  I will definitely keep you all posted this summer with my progress, hopefully blogging about it will also give me some additional motivation.  

My last order of business this week is to tell you about the 3rd and final baby shower that I attended on Sunday.  It was hosted by some fabulous girls at work and it was so great!  It was great to see some co-workers outside of work and I was absolutely floored by the generosity of the people in my office!  We received the last of the large items we needed as well as some super cute outfits.  

Here’s the 34 week update:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.