Hello Insomnia

These days when I wake up to pee, it takes me forever to fall back asleep, if I can at all. Add a little back and hip pain in there, and I'm awake half the night just trying to be comfortable. Where's Dave Attell? It would be more fun if we could be insomniacs together. (Although I'd have to stick to water.)

Full Term! (37w0d)

We did it! Full term! Woohoo!

I've managed to relax a bit since Friday. My mom and her best friend got into town yesterday afternoon and threw me a mini impromptu shower. Her friends bought us all kinds of adorable baby stuff. Very fun! Today we went grocery shopping (where I got another ocular migraine so I was sent to sit in the car) so my mom can cook and freeze meals for us to be eaten after baby is here. I'm sure we'll really appreciate it when we get there! I had planned on packing a "go bag" today, but after my eye migraine I was kind of useless for the rest of the day. So much so that I almost forgot my weekly update!

37 week update:

Current cravings: Nada

Current mood: Is tired a mood?

Current appetite: Normal

Current energy level: I'm either a crazy nester or a lump on the couch.

Baby movement: He's still a little foot jabber. And hiccupper.

Contractions: Still same frequency, but growing a little in intensity.

Current weight: 138 (I forgot to post this last week after my dr. appt.) So I've gained 28 pounds in total.

Snow Days and Spring Break

I wish both of those things did not exist right now. So on Wednesday we had a snow day. I almost had an aneurysm I was so upset. I have way too much to get done before my maternity leave starts to take a day off. Since I couldn't get work done, I totally lost my mind "nesting" all day. I washed all baby clothes, blankets, burp cloths, towels, sheets, and mattress toppers. Brian stayed out of my way for the most part. He was a tremendous help when it came time to put contact paper in all of the dresser drawers and closet shelves though. (For some reason, our brand new and not cheap dresser had rusty red dust that wouldn't wash out of the drawers. Very annoying.) So I'm feeling much more prepared on the home front. But now it's Spring Break, and I am FREAKING OUT about how much I still have to get done at work. So many IEP reports to write. Not even funny. I actually might go in for a couple hours over break to try to get some stuff knocked off my list. If our little man decides to show up early (and technically he could arrive any day since he's considered full-term on Monday), I might just lose my mind entirely. I hate feeling this way!!!!

36 Week Belly

I almost forgot to do a biweekly baby belly photo!

36w0d

I had my baby shower with friends and mother-in-law this weekend. It was a lot of fun! We finally have clothing for our little guy, so I don't have to worry about a naked baby anymore. Here's some pictures from the shower.

Me in the middle, looking not very pregnant somehow.

The host Cindy made an awesome diaper cake! (It took her 3 hours!!)

I felt bad that Brian didn't get a shower, so I packed up all the gifts and had him reopen them. He, being a man, wanted to play with everything. So he figured out the Baby Bjorn and tested it out with a stuffed animal. This is him looking "manly."

In other news, I had my 36 week appointment today. Not much news there. We got a quickie ultrasound and confirmed that he is still head down, back to my left side, and feet jabbing into my right side. So comfortable...

36 week update:

Current cravings: Nothing

Current mood: A little stressed out. Not feeling prepared at work or home.

Current appetite: Normal

Current energy level: Declining. Ready for spring break next week.

Baby movement: He's a little foot jabber.

Contractions: It seems like they've eased up a bit. (I probably just jinxed myself.)

The Countdown Begins!

One more month until D-Day! It's slowly starting to hit me. Yesterday my favorite school threw me a baby shower after the faculty meeting. I scored some great baby gear, as well as two $50 gift cards to Babies R Us from the social committee. That was about double what I expected, and so appreciated. I love that school. They also collected money for a birthday raffle. Whoever guesses the closest time and date of birth will win the money. One of the teachers picked April 15th because we had an interesting little child at our school earlier this year with that birthday, and his parents' names were the same as Brian and I. Not a funny joke, but it would be weird.

My mother in law is visiting this weekend to attend my shower. (And I'm pretty sure she was more than happy to find a reason to visit one more time before the birth. Baby was very quiet when she last visited in December, so she missed getting to feel or see him really go nuts!) We're looking forward to her brief visit. Hopefully this snow will let up in time for her flight tomorrow morning! Brian had another snowday today, but since I'm in an urban district (and not at 8300ft) I had to make the sucky commute to and from school. I guess winter wanted to end with a bang.

31 days til Baby (give or take).

10 more days of work.

I am SO ready!!!!

35w0d

Time is seriously starting to fly. I have 14 days of work left and I cannot wait to be done! Every day people tell me how tired I look (gee, thanks). I don't feel that bad, but I definitely spend more time in my office than I used to. For anyone in special education or anyone who's familiar with it, I have somewhere around 25 IEP reports to write before my last day on the 9th. Sheer insanity! I'm really looking forward to Spring Break in 2 weeks. Speaking of work, my special education teammates threw me a surprise shower/lunch today. I definitely was surprised! It took me a second to even realize that they were serious. They brought in food, a cake, and a gift card to Babies R Us. I have some amazing coworkers!

Brian and I finished our childbirth class this weekend. It started with a tour of The Baby Place. The labor and delivery rooms at our hospital look like nice mini-hotel suites. The jacuzzi tub looked amazing. I hope I'll be able to use it! We also learned about the pain management options the hospital offers. I'm fairly certain I'll want the epidural (I know a lot of women who were determined to use nothing and ended up getting one, so if I'm feeling doubtful ahead of time I'll be shocked if I don't ask for it!). But I'm also determined to try to get as far as I can without it. I really don't want to give up early and prolong the labor process. We also went through a practice run of labor. I was not very into it. I'm kind of a cynical person, and pretending to be in various stages of labor and practice a bunch of positions to relax felt really stupid to me. The day I go into labor, I don't expect to be in a big conference room sitting on the floor with 20 strangers around me. So excuse me if I can't take this seriously. I'm sure I'll be on my couch, or in the tub, or trying to take a walk on the actual day. The one thing I did get out of it though was the knowledge that I wanted a birthing ball, so we picked one up the other night. We'll see if I actually want to use it. I just don't think you can know for sure what you will like or what will work best until you're actually in labor.

In other news, I've gotten 4 ocular migraines in the last month (it's a type of migraine that doesn't involve much of a headache, but produces weird auras in your vision and creates a growing blind spot which lasts about 20-30 minutes... lots of fun). I usually only get one or two a year. I'll be sure to bring it up at my appointment next week. I'm sure it's hormone or sleep related.

35 week update:

Current cravings: Soda (but I refuse to indulge)

Current mood: Getting excited and seriously impatient!

Current appetite: Normal

Current energy level: My sleep sucks. I wake up to change positions all the time because my hips are killing me, and I have to pee. So yeah, I'm tired.

Baby movement: He's still very active despite how tight it must be getting in there.

Contractions: I really wish they would go away. Some stop me in my tracks or slow me down. 5 more weeks...

34w0d

Brian and I attended our first childbirth class this Saturday. Brian didn't seem as impressed with it as me, but that's probably because he won't be the one giving birth to this baby! I found it really comforting to have clear expectations of what to expect, and I enjoyed the insight into how to deal with the whole labor process. It made me feel more confident about the whole upcoming event. This weekend we'll finish up the class with a tour of the birthing center of the hospital, and information on pain management. I don't doubt for one second that I will want an epidural, but I'm very curious to learn about other methods and options.

My shower is coming up in two weeks, and I'm really looking forward to it so that I can figure out what else we should buy before the big day. I feel really unprepared as far as baby supplies go, but I don't want to go stock up on anything beforehand. One of the three schools I work in is also going to throw me a small shower. They're planning on giving a gift card and getting a cake. It's very thoughtful considering how part-time I am there.

34 week update:

Current cravings: Reese's peanut butter cups and chocolate ice cream

Current mood: Content

Current appetite: Normal

Current energy level: I've been getting really tired a lot earlier over the last few days

Baby movement: Lots of hiccups and rib-kicking.

Contractions: They're definitely picking up in frequency and intensity, but still irregular enough to not freak me out too much.

Good News and A Good Deal!

The ultrasound today was awesome! The doctor was having a rough time seeing my cervix using the abdominal probe, so he told me I would have to endure a vaginal probe. Whatever, not my first time to the rodeo. He was able to determine that my placenta is far enough away from the cervix to go for a vaginal delivery. Yay! We also saw that his kidneys are still outside the normal range, so he'll have to have his own ultrasound at 6 weeks. He weighed in at an estimated 4 pounds 8 ounces, which is at the 55th percentile. I'm really hoping for not much over 7, so slow down baby!

At the end the doctor offered to get us some pictures of our little guy. Then came the quote of the day, "You get the vag probe, you get 3D." So he gave us a free 3D ultrasound! It was so cool! I think he looks like Brian. He was hiccuping too, so we got to see him spasming away in there. The next time we see him, it will be in person!!!

33w0d

Tomorrow we have our final ultrasound. I'm looking forward to seeing our little guy one more time before we see him for real. My biggest hope for tomorrow is that my placenta has moved a safe distance away from my cervix. I really want at least part of the process of having a baby to go naturally, and if conception couldn't be it, then labor and delivery better be. Although, that doesn't mean I want to go unmedicated. I know a lot of women want to try to deliver with as little medication as possible. I have never been one of those women. Picture Amy Poehler in "Baby Mama" sitting on her exercise ball during her childbirth classes. That's me. I really have no interest in being in any more pain than necessary.

I also hope tomorrow that we find that our little one's kidneys are looking normal. The doctor said his condition was mild back in December. I've read that mild pyelectasis usually resolves before or shortly after birth. Fingers crossed!!

33 week update:

Current cravings: Nothing

Current mood: Happy

Current appetite: Fine

Current energy level: Slowing down

Baby movement: Watching him move is simply amazing. I love seeing his limbs move all across my tummy. It could never get old.

Contractions: When I have contractions, my tummy contorts into the CRAZIEST shapes. We've taken some pictures and video, but I think those will stay away from the blog. A little too weird for the internet I think. :)