Week 39

We are at 39 weeks now!  Baby girl is due in 2 days.  She seems very cozy in there with no real signs of coming out anytime soon.  I am ready for her to come out now!!  Everything is ready and we are all ready to meet her!  I am becoming impatient, even though I know it won't do any good.  

I have had a few little contractions, but nothing serious.  I lost my mucus plug (gross, I know).  At my OB appointment this week my cervix was still about 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  The doctor stripped my membranes (separated them from the cervix) to try to stimulate labor.  That was over 24 hours ago and nothing has really changed.  I am really hoping she decides to come out this weekend. The doctor said if she hasn't come by my appointment next Thursday he wants to induce on Friday.  So we are hoping she comes before then!  

Here are the pictures of my latest projects.  A headband/bow holder and her name.   

 

How far along?: 39 weeks

Total weight gain?  21 pounds 

Baby is the size of a:  mini watermelon

Interesting facts about baby at this stage:  This week she is continuing to build a layer of fat to help regulate her body temperature after birth. 

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes.  

Stretch marks?: No! :)

Sleep:   I have adapted to only sleeping for an hour or two.  Then, I have to change positions and usually get up to go to the bathroom.  

Best moment of this week?: Listening to Adalyn's heartbeat.

Miss anything?:   Bending over easily. 

Baby Movement/kicks?: She is still a busy little girl!  

Food cravings?:  Nothing really.

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope.

Belly button in or out?:  It pokes out sometimes, depending on how she is laying.  

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy most of the time.

Looking forward to: Adalyn's arrival!

Symptoms I have:  Heartburn is much better with her turned head down and dropping lower.  I have occasional sciatic nerve pain.   

Next Appointment:  Friday, Feb 22 for an NST.  Thurs Feb 28 for an OB appointment.  

End of Week 38

I didn't get a chance to take a picture this week.  I have been too busy nesting.  The laundry is done.  The nursery is organized and everything is put together.  I painted and hung up her name.  I just finished my latest Pinterest project, a bow and headband holder.  

I went in for my NST and OB appointment on Thursday.  Everything looks great!  Baby girl is still head down and doing well!  Her head is engaged in my pelvis.  I was 75% effaced and almost 2 cm dilated.  I have had a few contractions here and there, nothing really painful yet.  I do get some pretty serious sciatic nerve pain occasionally though.  I also had my appointment with my Gestational Diabetes doctor.  She said that my glucose readings still look great and there is no need for insulin!!  I just have to continue to watch my diet.  I do not have to go in for any more appointments until 6 weeks after baby is born.  At that time, she will repeat my 3 hour glucose test.  

I have been busy making freezer meals this weekend for after baby girl is born.  We have also been cleaning up the house and working on last minute baby stuff.  I have been walking to try to get little girl to come out, but she seems pretty cozy.  

How far along?: 38 weeks

Total weight gain?  20 pounds 

Baby is the size of a:  pumpkin (let's hope a small one)

Interesting facts about baby at this stage:  This week she is losing her downy hair and has a firm grasp.  Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside of the womb. 

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes.  

Stretch marks?: No! :)

Sleep:   I have adapted to only sleeping for an hour or two.  Then, I have to change positions and usually get up to go to the bathroom.  

Best moment of this week?: Listening to Adalyn's heartbeat.

Miss anything?:   Bending over easily. 

Baby Movement/kicks?: She is still a busy little girl!  

Food cravings?:  I had diet A&W Root Beer yesterday. YUM! I still love Root Beer.  Other than that, no real cravings.

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope.

Belly button in or out?:  It pokes out sometimes, depending on how she is laying.  

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy most of the time.

Looking forward to: Adalyn's arrival.  Cupcakes, Milo's Sweet Tea, Thin Mints!

Symptoms I have:  Heartburn is much better with her turned head down and dropping lower.  I have occasional sciatic nerve pain.   

Next Appointment:  Tuesday, Feb 19 for an NST.  Wed Feb 20 for an OB appointment.  Thursday Feb 21 for an NST.

Week 38- beginning

Good news to start week 38!  Baby girl is still head down and has settled herself down in the pelvis a bit!  Yay!  She has grown and has a little less fluid to float around in, so hopefully she will stay this way.  She seems to be pretty content now.  Still no stress on her NST.  She is a star with a great heart rate!  She is sitting lower, which gives me a little room to breathe and a bit of relief from the heartburn.  So far so good in week 38.  Next appointment is Thursday.  I am hoping to go into labor soon :-)  We can't wait to meet Miss Adalyn.  

Week 36 & 37

Sorry about missing a week.  I have been a little stressed about getting baby girl turned around into the proper position.  At our 36 week appointment, she was still breech.  She was on the small side with plenty of fluid to move, so she could have turned on her own, but apparently was not ready to do so.  This appointment was with a Doctor, instead of my usual midwife.  He talked to us about doing the External Cephalic Version (ECV) to turn her into the proper position.  She was in a pike position (legs straight, with her feet by her head), which he said was the perfect position to turn her.  He was confident it would be an easy procedure.  He talked to us about the risks and benefits, mainly: worst case scenario the baby gets stressed and we go to an emergency c-section.  If successful, we have a chance at our natural vaginal birth.  We elected to do the procedure and scheduled it for the beginning of week 37 (Monday).  

Monday: I had to fast for the procedure, in case of a c-section. We went into labor and delivery around 8 am.  I had to be admitted and change into the glamorous hospital gown.  They started an 18 gauge IV catheter in my hand (this may not mean much to some of you, but that is what I use on a horse), gave me IV fluids, and drew blood.  Not fun, but I am getting used to all of the needles now.  The doctor came in around 10 am to check on us.  He usually does the procedure with an epidural, 1. so there is no pain from the pressure and 2. if we had to rush to c-section the epidural is already in place.  I elected not to have an epidural.  That is one large needle I want to avoid and I would have to stay longer with an epidural.  They gave me an IM injection of Terbutaline to relax my uterus to make manipulation easier.  Lovely side effect is I felt like I had about 30 cups of coffee with shaky hands and a racing heart.  The doctor used the ultrasound to determine her position, put a hand on her head and her butt and spun her around!  This took approximately 12 seconds and next to no pressure.  I thought he was showing me what he was going to do!  We stayed for an hour to have Adalyn's heart rate monitored to be sure she wasn't stressed.  We were home by lunch.  I was exhausted, but no major issues.  My hand and arm were sore from the catheter, but I survived.  We have to do twice weekly follow-up non-stress tests (NST) until delivery,  which is just fetal heart rate monitoring for 30 min to an hour.   

Now fast forward to our next appointment on Thursday.  I went in for the NST prior to my OB appointment only to find out that my darling daughter has turned herself back around!!  Ugh.  I thought I felt her head in my rib cage again Wednesday evening, but I was hoping I was wrong.  Her NST was perfectly normal, of course she wasn't stressed, she was doing whatever she wanted!  At my OB appointment, everything looked great still.  Adalyn is growing well and heart looks great.  The doctor said he wanted to turn her again.  He said since she had grown, they add about a half a pound a week now, maybe she would stay this time.  Since she wasn't stressed before and it wasn't painful for me, we decided to try it again on Friday.  Yes, it is possible she may have turned herself before delivery. However, if she didn't turn, it is not usually possible to turn them once labor has started or closer to term, because of the baby's size and that means a c-section.  I want to avoid a c-section if possible.  

So Friday morning we repeat the entire routine.  Another horse catheter, but in my arm near my wrist this time.  This hurt much less than my hand!  The doctor came in, found Adalyn's position, and flipped her right around!  It took about 15 seconds this time, but did actually take some pressure to move her.  I found this to be a positive indicator that maybe she wouldn't be able to turn back around as easily.  She did great again on monitoring.  No issues or contractions over the weekend.  

She continues to be a busy baby girl!  I love going for the NSTs and just listening to her heart.  It is very relaxing.  She has dropped down a little bit now, which is wonderful for my heartburn!  It is not completely gone, but much better.  I will trade some sciatic nerve pain for less heartburn any day!  I am ready for Miss Adalyn to come out now though.  We are ready to meet her and I feel huge.  It is just such an effort to do anything.  We are as prepared as I think we can be.  We have most of the baby stuff and we had to pack hospital bags to be ready in case we had to have a c-section.  The carseat is installed in Brandon's truck.  Now we just need the baby!

How far along?: 37 weeks

Total weight gain?  20 pounds 

Baby is the size of a:  winter melon (whatever that is)

Interesting facts about baby at this stage:   This week she is still mostly plumping up.  We saw her taking practice breaths on the ultrasound and sucking her thumb!  The doctor said these were great indicators of fetal maturity.    

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes.  

Stretch marks?: No! :)

Sleep:   I have adapted to only sleeping for an hour or two.  Then, I have to change positions and usually get up to go to the bathroom.  

Best moment of this week?: Listening to Adalyn's heartbeat.

Miss anything?:   Deep breaths, energy

Baby Movement/kicks?: She is still a busy little girl!  

Food cravings?:  Sushi!  Before I could at least eat cooked sushi, but now I can't eat it at all, because rice is not good for my blood sugar :( 

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope.

Belly button in or out?:  It pokes out sometimes, depending on how she is laying.  

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy most of the time and some stress.  

Looking forward to: Adalyn's arrival.  She got her two weeks notice this week!  She can come out anytime now!  

Symptoms I have:  Heartburn is much better with her turned head down and dropping lower.  I have occasional sciatic nerve pain.   

Next Appointment:  Monday, Feb 11 for an NST.  Wed Feb 13 for my gestational diabetes.  Thursday Feb 14 for an NST and an OB appointment.  

Week 35

Week 35 was rough!  I was exhausted all of the time and just wanted to sleep.  Of course, I couldn't sleep well, so that did not help.  I was stressed this week, because baby girl is still breech.  I am terrified of having a c-section, which means I have to have an epidural too.  I have a peaceful (needle-free) natural birth planned! We all know that babies don't read the plan, but a little help from her would be nice!  I am trying to come to peace with the idea of a c-section in case it is necessary, but sometimes it gets to me.  I know the important thing is a healthy baby no matter how she gets here.  

This week I saw a different midwife (mine was at a conference) and she scared me about baby girl being breech still, having to turn her, and the possibility of a c-section.  Adalyn has a a good heart beat and rate still.  We had another brief ultrasound, just to confirm that she is still head up.  They also checked and said I have an adequate amount of amniotic fluid.  At my appointment next week, I will see an OB instead of a midwife.  At this point, if she has not turned, they will discuss an external cephalic version to manually turn her from the outside.  Sounds scary to me, but we will talk to the doctor and get more information.  My blood glucose readings still look good, so no insulin still!  

I have been doing multiple exercises to help baby girl turn.  Most of these involve either hanging upside down from the couch or elevating my pelvis well above my shoulders so that she can get her legs out of my pelvis and turn.  Our midwife also recommended heat/music/light on my lower abdomen and cold on the top where her head is to encourage her to move toward the warmth/music/light.  I know it all sounds crazy, but if it works, who cares!  So far, she just curls up sideways to get away from the cold, but does not turn all the way.  Monday (Jan 28th) I go to the chiropractor for an adjustment called the Webster technique.  "The late Larry Webster, D.C., Founder of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association(ICPA), developed a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment which enables chiropractors to establish balance in the pregnant woman's pelvis and reduce undue stress to her uterus and supporting ligaments. This balanced state in the pelvis has been clinically shown to allow for optimal fetal positioning.  With a balanced pelvis, babies have a greater chance of moving into the correct position for birth, and the crisis and worry associated with breech and posterior presentations may be avoided altogether."  Again, may sound crazy to some, but I am willing to try it!  Less stress on me and baby girl.  

We have done some more nesting this week.  Brandon put up the tree sticker in the nursery! It is adorable!  I organized some more and washed all of the newborn cloth diapers.  

How far along?: 35 weeks

Total weight gain?  19.5 pounds (I didn't gain anything this week)

Baby is the size of a:  coconut

Interesting facts about baby at this stage:   This week her growth is mostly plumping up.  Her kidneys are now fully developed, and her liver can process some waste products.  

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes.  

Stretch marks?: No! :)

Sleep:   I have adapted to only sleeping for an hour or two.  Then, I have to change positions and usually get up to go to the bathroom.  

Best moment of this week?: Getting the nursery ready.

Miss anything?:   Deep breaths 

Baby Movement/kicks?: She is still a busy little girl!  

Food cravings?:  Mexican food, cheese, and milk.  

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope.

Belly button in or out?:  Pretty much flush with my belly.  It pokes out sometimes, depending on how she is laying.  

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy most of the time and some stress.  

Looking forward to: Katie visiting next weekend!!

Symptoms I have:  Heartburn is mild with the Zantac, but is starting to occur again.   

Next Appointment:  January 30th with OB and Jan 31st for the Diabetes clinic.

Week 34

Week 34 is done!  We are still chugging along!  This post is a couple of days late, because I had food poisoning yesterday.  Yuck!  Being really pregnant and really sick is not fun.  Probably wouldn't be fun if I wasn't pregnant either.  Luckily, I still had some of my anti-nausea/morning sickness pills left.  They were life savers.  After about 16 hours of misery, I woke up this morning feeling much better and able to eat again.  

This week I have done a lot of nesting.  I washed baby clothes and hung them in the closet.  Washed blankets and other goodies which went in to the dressers.  I also put together the swing and Lamb bouncy chair.  We got a closet organizer and small toy box.  Brandon had to build the shelving/organizer for me :)  Then I got to organize my closet a little bit, which makes me extremely happy.  I love keeping busy by preparing!  I still have to wash our cloth diapers to get them ready and I need to start packing our hospital bags to be prepared.  I have a list for our hospital bags ready though! 

My glucose levels are still looking pretty good.  I have an OB and diabetes clinic appointment next week.  I am hoping Adalyn has decided to turn and be head down now, but I guess we will see.  I am still doing my workouts on the treadmill and my pregnancy cardio video.  

We also did some indoor maternity pictures with Bella Posa this week.  Kristy is amazing and I can't wait to see them!  We are still hoping for some snow (unlikely) to do outdoor pictures.  They will still be incredible without snow, but I just think for a winter pregnancy there should be snowy pictures!  

How far along?: 34 weeks

Total weight gain?  ?

Baby is the size of a:  butternut squash

Interesting facts about baby at this stage:   Baby girl is approximately 18 inches long (according to the book).  Her hearing is fully developed now.  She can recognize and react to familiar songs.  Adalyn and I listen to a lot of Carrie Underwood (Blown Away), The Band Perry (Better Dig Two), and Luke Bryan.  She is a country girl already.  She does seem to move a little more when we are jamming and singing :)

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes.  

Stretch marks?: No! :)

Sleep:   Sleep has still been in short bursts this week, only about 1.5 to 2 hours at a time.  I have had a little better luck this week.  I am practicing my deep relaxation techniques from Lamaze class.  They are great for putting me to sleep. I am still having to get up to go to the bathroom every hour or two.  

Best moment of this week?: Getting the nursery ready! 

Miss anything?:   Deep breaths 

Baby Movement/kicks?: She is still a busy little girl!  I love to watch my belly and see her moving around.  

Food cravings?:  Mexican food as always!  

Anything making you queasy or sick?: No, aside from my Red Lobster food poisoning.  

Belly button in or out?:  Pretty much flush with my belly.  It pokes out sometimes, depending on how she is laying.  

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy most of the time.  And tired.  

Looking forward to: The weekend. 

Symptoms I have:  Heartburn has been conquered by Zantac!  I have had some pelvic and lower back discomfort.  

Next Appointment:  January 22nd with OB and Jan 24th for the Diabetes clinic.

Week 33

Week 33 is over now!  We are cruising right along.  Let's hope that continues.  I have been feeling pretty good this week, other than not sleeping well.  I have just gotten used to only sleeping 1.5 to 2 hours at a time.  I figure it is baby training.  At least this week my small stretches of sleep are more solid.  The horrible heartburn has continued this week.  Adalyn has had the hiccups a lot this week.  Poor baby has had them at least once a day.  It is such an odd sensation.  She continues to be very active!  Our daily movement counts are not an issue!  

This week we had our OB appointment.  Adalyn's heartbeat sounded great and was around 130 bpm.  She was being difficult while trying to find her heartbeat.  Whenever our midwife would find it, Adalyn would move.  She does not like to pushed on!  I know this because I poke her when I want to her move.  My belly (uterine) measurement was the same this week as it was 2 weeks ago, so we went to ultrasound to do measurements and an approximate weight.  Again, Adalyn was a bit difficult.  She would not get in the right positions for her measurements.  We found that she is in the breech position now, which they said is why the uterine measurement was small (she had moved since the last visit).  The ultrasound estimated weight was 4 pounds 14 oz.  They said her measurements were about a week behind, but were not concerned.  They also said there is plenty of time for her to turn back to the appropriate position with her head down.  I also got a prescription for Zantac to help with my heartburn!!

We had our Labor and Delivery tour this week.  The nurses seemed very nice.  They are open to accommodating your personal birth plan, as long as there are no complications with mom or baby.  We are hoping for a natural medication free birth.  I pre-registered for admission today and had my meeting with anesthesia to go over options.  So we are all ready to go, at least at the hospital!  Not quite ready at home yet.  

I also had an appointment with my gestational diabetes nurse.  She said that my blood glucose levels still look good.  I just continue my  testing 6 times a day and carb counting.  I am still hoping that I will not need insulin, but she said it is still possible in the final month because of the major hormonal changes then.  

Our birth class continues to be great!  The midwife is a great teacher.  And we found out she actually delivered one of our close friends' sweet daughter.  We have learned some relaxation techniques, coping/calming methods, and all about labor.  She also gave me some techniques to use to try to get Adalyn to turn into the proper position.  

How far along?: 33 weeks

Total weight gain?  19.5 pounds total (0.5 pounds in 2 weeks)

Baby is the size of a:  honeydew melon

Interesting facts about baby at this stage:   Baby girl is approximately 4 pounds 14 oz (according to the ultrasound) with a total length of 17.25 inches (according to the book).  She keeps her eyes open while awake.  She is also starting to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing.  Her bones are now hardening and she is going through some major brain development.    

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes.  

Stretch marks?: No! :)

Sleep:   Sleep has been in short bursts this week, only about 1.5 to 2 hours at a time.  I have had a hard time getting comfortable and staying that way.  I am still having to get up to go to the bathroom every hour or two.  

Best moment of this week?: Getting to see Adalyn on ultrasound.  And finding sugar free Milo's sweet tea made with Splenda!!  

Miss anything?:  Cheesy yummy indulgent Mexican food. 

Baby Movement/kicks?: She is still a busy little girl!  I love to watch my belly and see her moving around.  

Food cravings?:  Mexican food.  

Anything making you queasy or sick?: No

Belly button in or out?:  Pretty much flush with my belly.  It pokes out sometimes, depending on how she is laying.  

Happy or moody most of the time?: Happy most of the time.  And tired.  

Looking forward to: The weekend. 

Symptoms I have: HEARTBURN!  Heartburn all of the time!  Tums aren't getting the job done anymore.  Hoping the Zantac will help.  Some lower back/pelvis discomfort.  

Next Appointment:  January 22nd with OB and Jan 24th for the Diabetes clinic.