Week 35: What's Happening

How Far Along:  35 weeks 1 day (though she seems to be in a hurry to come out!)

Baby's size: approx 18" around 5 lbs - the size of a large Coconut.

Total Weight Gain: 30 lbs 

Maternity Clothes? No other choice. 

Stretch Marks? YES. 

Best Moment this Week: This week held more bad than good. I guess the best moment was when the doctor was able to stop early labor and we were able to come home... twice. :)

Miss Anything? Right now I am missing my freedom. I've been on bed rest since Friday and Jeremy is taking the 'bed rest' term quite literally. Either I'm in bed, on the couch or in the bathroom. LOL. Gee thanks!

Movement: Still moving like a superstar! Doctor checked today and she still has quite a bit of amniotic fluid in her space so there is room to move around and she is all about swimming!

Food Cravings: I was craving chinese food after the hospital visit - and though we tried to drive thru Panda - Jeremy got lost and we ended up having to eat in at Sanam Thai by our house. At least the food was good - however they gave me chicken on my plate so I had to send it back. It was only then that they realized that I was pregnant. LOL. Sorry to the servers... I am sure that they weren't expecting that sort of reaction to chicken!

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. Empty stomach.  

Gender: It's a girl!

Labor signs? YES! Scary but true. On Wednesday night I started having pains and just went to bed. On Thursday morning they were still present. I called and left a message for Dr. Medrano saying if he thought it was urgent to give me a call back. At about 130 I called him again because they still hadn't subsided. At 4:30 (close to 24 hours after the pain started) he told me to go to the hospital. He had a few deliveries happening that evening so he would come and check on me as much as possible. So I cleaned up at the office and headed home to get Jeremy. 

When we got to the hospital, the nurses hooked me up to the monitors and could see contractions happening. They checked my cervix and she said I was dilated to 1cm and effaced. (Not words you want to hear before your 37th week!)  The doctor ordered the shot, Terbutaline which can stop labor early on because it relaxes the soft muscles (uterus) and stops contractions. They also were going to hook me up to an IV for fluids. 

The terbutaline has a side effect of adrenaline and anxiety feeling right after administered. The nurses warned me of that and I was fine... until the girl started poking me for an IV. After the 2nd try (in the places I told her didn't work in the past), I started to feel woozy - and instead of stopping and giving me a moment to recover - she continued to poke around for another spot. NOTE - I have had more than my share of needles and IVs in my lifetime, so they do not phase me in the slightest. It was the combination of the anxiety side effect and the needless over poking that caused me to feel this way. 

I passed out for a moment, causing the blood flow to help me (the host) and pulled away from the baby, which made her heart stop for a moment - and then all of a sudden there were 15 nurses in my room screaming about a gurney and the operating room for a 'crash c-section'. When I realized they were talking about me I started saying "NO I'm fine," over and over again until one of the nurses finally heard me - and saw that the baby was recovering - and told everyone to wait. Right at that second Dr. Medrano came in - it took him a second to realize what was happening and then he scolded the nurses and told them that mom and baby look fine and to get the gurney out of there. They had to do some bloodwork after that but this one nurse, I didn't get her name but she was really smart - she told the other nurses that they shouldn't poke me again, and she was able to take the blood out of the IV that had been set in place with an iddy biddy baby needle. 

Anyways, thankfully Dr. Medrano came in and saved the day. Seeing him calmed me down quite a bit and made both Jeremy and I feel more confident. It was our first time ever going into Labor & Delivery - and this happens right away! 

After a few hours and another shot of the terbutaline my contractions stopped and Dr Medrano said that my cervix had closed. He sent us home - I was to be on bedrest until Monday and come in if ANYTHING else happens. 

And on Saturday the contractions returned so off to the hospital we went.... AGAIN. Same thing, dilated with contractions and effacing. Dr Medrano ordered more of the shots and again after 2 of them we were able to go home. He also ordered some tests this time and found out that I have an infection that is causing me to go into early labor. I was able to have the antibiotics at the hospital via IV which last 48 hours - but am allergic to the pill forms of anything that they can give me to treat this late in pregnancy - so we were at a standstill. 

This morning we went in to see him and he put me on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy. We are trying one pill form antibiotic that he hopes will help with the infection, its risky this late as well, but it increases her odds of staying put for a few more weeks so the Doctor just wants us to go in at any sign of change. Hopefully they will work. 

Symptoms: Swollen feet, Aches, Pains, Labored Breathing, Lower Back Pain, lack of sleep and contractions. :(

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off.

Mood: I was worried on Thursday. I felt really unprepared too! We hadn't packed our hospital bag or put the carseat in yet. Jeremy and I did that on Friday (mostly him doing the hard stuff, me just telling him what I needed). Now we are all set and the car is packed. When we went back on Saturday we felt much more prepared. We had had a test run - we failed it, lol - but our second test run was much better!

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? I was so proud of him in the hospital. He is the one who is scared of needles and doctors and hospitals but he kept his game face the whole time and was the alert, strong one when it was needed. While we were waiting for the contractions to stop on Thursday, he started asking what stuff we had left to do before she came, so we opened up my Todoist app and started going through the list. It's only been 3 days but we have already finished most of it! He even emailed his office to let them know I was on bedrest and that he would not be able to do a lot of the onsite visits that he has been doing, but he will continue to monitor everything remotely. 

Notes to the Little One: Okay kiddo, so I know that I said that we COULDN'T WAIT to meet you, but please don't misunderstand! We CAN wait until you are 100% ready to meet us ;) Which won't be for at least 2 more weeks. So stay put! We all want you to be ready - your daddy was early and he has had terrible asthma and allergies as a result. We need you to stay put until your lungs are fully formed - so no earlier than week 37! We promise to give you the same amount of love as you would get now :) so there is no reason you can't wait a little bit longer!

Besides its Elizabeth Claire and Baby Irwin's week to come. Stop trying to steal their birthdays! 

Sorry no pics this week - with all the commotion we didn't have time to take a picture, and when we saw the doctor this morning we were so distracted with what the plan was that he didn't push the button for the print outs. Next week we should have a photo. :)

WEEK 34: What's Happening!

How Far Along:  34 weeks 1 day (33 Days till we meet our little angel!)

Baby's size: approx 17.6" around 4.6 lbs - the size of a large Butternut Squash.
In case your curious - we have a little meter at the bottom of the blog that shows the photos of the vegetables that we are referring to in her sizes. :)

Total Weight Gain: 27 lbs 

Maternity Clothes? Is there anything else? 

Stretch Marks? YES. :( but only a few

Best Moment this Week: When we were at Dr. Medrano's office for our checkup, he started the ultrasound and we all watched her scrunch her face really tight and then shoot all of her limbs out at the same time! I hollered "I TOLD YOU GUYS that she was hitting me maliciously..." Seriously, I was laying down at the time so she had nothing constricting her! The doctor and Jeremy laughed and of course I wasn't laughing because I could feel the punch/kick combo. All I could say was that my daughter was being just plain MEAN.

Ultrasound Week 34

Yesterday we completed our Infant First Aid/CPR class at A Mother's Haven. We both feel much better that we could take on an emergency situation if it should arise... a good investment and we are glad our doctor recommended it in lieu of labor classes.

Miss Anything? Jeremy and I sat in the Starbucks drive thru line the other day and HE WAS NOT NICE. He read the sign on the back of one of my favorite sushi places saying HAPPY HOUR SUSHI! and said he was going to leave me in the line while he goes and gets some sushi.. of course instantly Sushi is all that I wanted. I was so mad at him! 

Another thing I miss is sleeping next to my husband in bed! I have had to start sleeping on the couch because my breathing is so impaired when I lay in bed. Seems the baby is enjoying sleeping on my lungs and diaphragm, essentially suffocating me. On the couch I am able to sleep sitting up, and we noticed that my breathing isn't labored or noisy, and I don't toss and turn as much.

Movement: Always! I was told the other day that it's actually NOT normal to feel your baby this much, I don't know if that makes me lucky or unlucky - but at least I know everything is going okay in there. Maybe that's why I am able to feel her, because if I didn't I would be one of those crazy worried moms that went to the doctor every week because I was scared something was wrong! (Yea, I know, I could see it happening, too.)

Doctor said she is doing REALLY well - but she is quite a long/large baby - due to our size as parent's he was expecting as such! But the baby and I are both more uncomfortable because of it. I am guessing that even a week early she will be close to 8lbs and REALLY LONG just like I was! 

Food Cravings: I craved Claim Jumper's mashed potatoes and their Eclair the other day :) I was SO excited when we were able to go and get it. We ordered the MINI I DECLAIR - which wasn't so mini at all! We still split it 4 ways and everyone got a little slice of dessert. :) It was fabulous! Best $4.50 I may have ever spent!

Oh - and I got my yummy soft pretzel that I have been craving for weeks - we were driving down Ventura Blvd and I remembered the Triple D review (Diners, Drive Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri) about Brats Brothers... INSTANT CRAVING for sausage! BONUS was that it was a bavarian place, and they served pretzels too! :)

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. Thankfully there isn't much else aside from lack of eating that makes me queasy this week.

Gender: It's a girl!

Labor signs? None

Symptoms: Swollen feet (this just started to be a steady symptom this weekend), Aches, Pains, Labored Breathing, Lower Back Pain (REALLY bad this week - even with a chiro and massage appt!), lack of sleep (though the couch seems to be solving this one), S - L - O - W - M - O - V - I - N - G - O - B - J - E - C - T. (Pregnancy really does slow you down - especially in the last month!)

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off, but still wearing Lia Sophia ring :)

Mood: I feel as though I am readying myself for the little one's eviction. She hurts more than ever, and we both are totally uncomfortable most of the time, so I think it's safe to say that we both hope this month flies by! LOL. 

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? He has been working hard to get all caught up on everything for work. He has all of his time sheets up-to-date and updates them daily so he doesn't get behind anymore. He realized that there are only 4 weekends before the baby comes, so he wants to figure out a chore schedule, too. That way the big stuff is done right beforehand and won't need to be done again for a month or so. I guess he is nesting a bit, trying to get some order in place before the unknown begins.

Notes to the Little One: What a week this was! Mommy is not comfortable at all this week. Lower back pains and swollen feet are not fun - but the doctor said that it's normal for the 8th month (and a lot of women feel these things A LOT sooner than I did.) I personally don't believe it should EVER be considered normal to be in pain, but alas I too will survive. 

This weekend we learned how to take care of you if you should ever choke or stop breathing, or get electrocuted or any other horrible thing that we will do our best to never allow happen. But it's calming to know that we now know the right thing to do if it should ever occur.  It was funny how the instructor kept using your dad and I as examples. He also taught us how to help a 3rd trimester pregnant woman (me) who is choking and a larger male (like your dad) when you are quite a bit smaller than them. I feel like he called us out because of our size, we were definitely the tallest people in the group. 

One of the couples had their baby 4 weeks ago and looked like they hadn't slept since they brought him home! SO SLEEPY! Their eyes were bloodshot and sunken in, and their skin was all pasty. Poor babies should have been napping, but instead they were learning how to save their baby's life. That's dedication!  I am certainly glad that we scheduled our class before you arrived! I don't know that we would remember much if we were in their stage of insomnia!

Well kiddo - we can't wait to meet you, ONLY 33 DAYS LEFT! One more work deadline to go! We will make it there, I am sure of it! And then Mommy will get some much needed rest before you come! (Let's hope!)

Week 33: What's Happening!

How Far Along:  33 weeks 1 day (40 Days till we meet our little angel!)

Baby's size: approx 17.2" around 4.2 lbs - the size of a large Durian Fruit.
In case your curious - we have a little meter at the bottom of the blog that shows the photos of the vegetables that we are referring to in her sizes. :) I wouldn't know what a DURIAN fruit is without it.

Total Weight Gain: 24 lbs 

I'm kind of showing these days, right? LOL

Maternity Clothes? There are a few pieces of pre-pregnancy clothes that I can still wear - but most of my clothes are maternity these days...

Stretch Marks? YES. :( but only a few

Best Moment this Week: When the little one was moving about in my belly I could tell which body part was where. Of course I didn't see imprints of little feet or hands - but i would tap on my stomach where I knew she was and she would wriggle out of place - it was like playing a game of hide and seek - and she was losing ;) hehehe.

Miss Anything? Mostly the ability to eat! LOL. I've always been good at manners and not making a mess - but this whole leaning forward business is getting REALLY difficult - which means that I cannot eat over my plate and make a mess all the time! I really am turning into my husband because of this pregnancy! LOL.

Movement: Always! I can still feel her about every 30 minutes to an hour. She must be getting pretty cramped in there. The strangest sensation is when she rolls over. It puts my motion sickness into a whirlwind - like my mind can't decide if she is moving or if I am. It's the way I feel on roller coasters (THANK YOU MOTHER for ruining me with the Scrambler!)

Food Cravings: Nothing really strange this week - except maybe all of the Mexican food. I wonder if when the pregnancy is over I will still like it - we all know I didn't like it before hand. LOL. 

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. I wonder if I will ever be able to eat it again. Without it my options are quite limited... you go to a restaurant and everything that sounds appetizing has chicken in it.. lol. And when you say "hold the chicken" or "can I substitute XX for the chicken" they all look at you like you're crazy. We are definitely a pollo loco country!

Gender: It's a girl!

Labor signs? None

Symptoms: Morning sickness. Baby bump. Alien movements. Insomnia. Dehydration even though I drink 10 gallons of water a day. The list goes on and on and on. (this was last weeks entry - but it says it all so I am going to leave it for yet another week.) One of the new 'side effects of pregnancy' that I am experiencing is vision problems. It seems that you are the culprit behind my inability to read far away and seeing all the words sway a bit and blur. The books say that water retention (though I see little of it with my own eyes) is causing change in the curvature of my eye, making my sight waver. I also have noticed my Meniere's symptoms starting. I lose hearing for bouts of time, followed by insane ringing noises and dizzy spells. Oh goodie! We knew that it was a possibility, but I just expected that it would come with lots of swelling - but the swelling hasn't really come yet. I guess I should be thankful for that.

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off, but still wearing Lia Sophia ring :)

Mood: Tired. Yesterday Jeremy and I went for a walk before the sun went down at the park - and I didn't think I could make it when there was about a half mile left. I did make it - but I had to rest for about 30 minutes afterwards. I am quite winded all the time. I am guessing its because she likes to push on my lungs - grumble grumble. 

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? We decided that we needed a 'day of rest' in our household - one that doesn't include technology, LOL! But you guys know us so that doesn't happen. Our day of rest instead is a 'day at home' and we have designated Sundays for it. 

Yesterday I worked on beautifying photographs on the computer while Jeremy did the vacuuming and steaming of the floors. I sat down to start my work and the house was a disaster - and when I was all done a few hours later I came out to a sparkling clean house. He really is a good husband. ;) We have been playing catchup for the last few weeks - it was nice to have a day that wasn't spent catching up, but instead it was spent on what needed to be done now. We even had time to catch up on our baby book that we read together every week and take the dogs for a walk.

Our goal is to have at least one weekend without work or chores before the baby comes :) A real DAY OF REST. Please pray for us - we're going to need all the help we can get to make that one a reality. LOL.

Notes to the Little One: Oh Violette, you little squirmer, you. The doctor said I need to stop asking you to sit still because the more you move the healthier we know you are... but golly you never stop! Just when I settle down to rest you start again and steal what few moments that I have to rest. The dizziness is overwhelming when you roll over - so if you could just minimize that motion that would be wonderful and I promise that I won't complain as much. 

The nursery is coming along slowly - honestly I didn't get to go in there at all this weekend. I did wash a few more loads of laundry for you - Miss Jeanna went to another consignment sale and got you lots of GORGEOUS doodadds - like a lavender sweater dress from Baby Gap... :) Mama loves that one! You are definitely going to be stylish all the way to 18 months! I finally found the special scissors that I needed for your mobile's bunting this weekend so that will be a project I hope to tackle next weekend. Your dad and I are still confused about how we are going to hang it - but it will come to  us! 

I was amazed when I looked around the house yesterday. There are little signs of you in every room - bottles in the kitchen cupboards, a high chair in the dining room, a cradle in the workout space, a car seat in the living room, baby books and little shoes in the master bedroom, your bunting project in my office - little I'M THE DADDY magnets in daddy's office and of course your nursery is covered with baby goodness.  You have already taken over our world and you aren't here yet! 

We can't wait to meet you - just 40 more days! It's a good thing your Mama is such a good planner - we're almost done with all the goodies that we wanted to complete before you got here! Just a short list remains - and all that's left are mainly phone calls - to agencies that don't like to answer the phone so you're on hold ALL DAY LONG. Mama is going to wait for maternity leave to start before she tackles those ones. My "ToDoIst" app is filled with stuff to keep me busy while I am not working.. lol.. but stuff that I can do sitting down and resting if I need to. (which is more than likely since Dr. Medrano wants me to do ALMOST NOTHING for the 3 weeks before you arrive.) I need to make sure that I am not bored senseless though... that's why I am planning ahead... haha.

WEEK 32: What's Happening

How Far Along:  32 weeks 1 day (Ready to start a countdown! Read on for details!)

Baby's size: approx 16.7" around 3.5 lbs - the size of a large squash. 
In case your curious - we have a little meter at the bottom of the blog that shows the photos of the vegetables that we are referring to in her sizes. :)

Total Weight Gain: 23 lbs 

Maternity Clothes? Is there anything else?

Stretch Marks? YES! there are little red marks appearing on my abdomen. :( I keep applying the cocoa butter in hopes that they dissipate, but I am not sure there is much hope. 

Sleep? Not much. Thursday I slept a whole 5 hours... (with breaks in between of course.) Friday I got 3 hours, Saturday I got 2. Sunday I took a nap for 2 more hours after we finished working. Last night I must have been exhausted because I think I slept 7 hours straight with no interruptions. (Yes, when I woke up I was totally dehydrated and had to run to the restroom but it was AMAZING.)

32 week ultrasound!

Best Moment this Week: We went to Doctor Medrano's office and ONCE AGAIN she showed us her little face! she was moving around so the photos aren't too good, (nothing like the last one!) but I was able to see it again! Doctor said everything looks GREAT! AND... we scheduled a date for my c-section! He is double checking with the hospital, but it looks like her birthday will be Saturday, December 21st! 

I am really excited about knowing the date - because I am a planner and planning is what I do best!  
So the countdown begins! 47 more days until we meet our little girl!

He also said that he didn't want me to work after December 3rd. He said that I needed to rest before hand so that I didn't inadvertently put myself into early labor when we are trying SO HARD to cut out the laboring process altogether. Originally he said December 1st and I protested because it was just one day before our deadline and I thought it poor taste to leave the day before a deadline! So we compromised with December 3rd. I guess I can't complain too much, its only 18 days of disability, some women have to be off a lot more than that!

Another great moment was getting to see Auntie Christina on Saturday. It had been MONTHS since we had been able to get together, and she is SO excited to meet Violette! =D

Miss Anything? Being free of pain, discomfort and insomnia. And wine. For some reason I really would like a glass of wine. I have forbidden Jeremy from drinking it until after the baby is born so that I won't want to kill him in his sleep.

Movement: All hours of the day - I would guess about every half hour or so. I read that she has taken over the majority of her space so the amniotic fluid has gotten less to make room for her growing body, which makes it easier for me to feel her every move. And I mean EVERY move. I feel when she bends her little leg against my lung, or pushes her little foot into my rib, or elbows me in the hip, or wiggles her head around in the birth canal. (Did I mention that I have like ZERO pain tolerance? I couldn't even get acrylic nails growing up because I would cry when they would clip away the loose nails during a fill. I feel EVERYTHING that happens in my body. Which is probably why my doctors like me so much, lol!) 

Food Cravings: I had a strange one the other day - I wanted a soft pretzel from the mall... Of course I wouldn't be caught dead walking into the mall - so I didn't get one, but the craving was REAL. 

What Makes you Queasy: Chicken. An empty stomach. And the thought of cooking a Turkey Dinner. LOL. {I am not making one this year, thankfully we have been invited to two other houses for the holiday celebrations this year... :) }

Gender: It's a girl!

Labor signs? None

Symptoms: Morning sickness. Baby bump. Alien movements. Insomnia. Dehydration even though I drink 10 gallons of water a day. The list goes on and on and on.

Wedding Rings On or Off?  Off, but still able to sport my Lia Sophia ring :)

Mood: Tired. 

What's the Daddy-to-be Doing? Having nightmares. Saturday night at around 1am he had a nightmare that 3 people were breaking into our house to steal the baby from my belly! And right as they had broke in - in the dream - Chance started barking at the door in real life (maybe they were dreaming of the same thing!?) I tried to calm Chance down with words and in that split second Jeremy popped out of bed was in the closet and had grabbed the bat and was heading to the living room. 

Of course I was not privy of this dream - so I was like, JEREMY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! And then he realized he wasn't dreaming anymore. Of course his heart was racing and he felt like he was having a heart attack after that - and couldn't go back to sleep until around 6am. 

Notes to the Little One: Well kiddo, It's now November - usually one of mommy's favorite months because its Autumn and everything gets so festive around this time. Sadly, I am not feeling very festive because I haven't slept much and am realizing that I won't be able to decorate very much this year or entertain guests which are a few of my favorite things. It's okay though, just another set of sacrifices that I am making for your arrival. Next year I will decorate really well to make up for the year that we are taking off. I am a little excited to have the year off though, it's a lot of work to cook and clean and bake and decorate. Honestly I don't know how I would do it this year! 

But I am loving the wintery goodness that is happening all around. The pumpkin and peppermint beverages and treats that are being sold everywhere, the holiday music and decor that has started to appear. It's beginning to look a lot like the holidays! :) I wish that you could see all of the sparkle and twinkling that is happening. It makes mommy's heart happy! There are holiday events and boutiques every weekend, and people seem to just be nicer this time of year. (Of course there are a select few that get overwhelmed and grouchy, but mostly people are kind.) 

I can't believe its only 47 days to go! I am sure you will continue to get bigger (and less comfortable) in that time, but when you come out and get to stretch your legs and wiggle your arms you will know that it was all worth it! We are still slowly ticking away at your nursery... this weekend we put up the purple corduroy curtains and the crib skirt and bumpers. We still need to get your rocking chair and make your mobile before we are finished but it is coming along really nicely! I hope to get more of the bunting done next weekend so we can hang your mobile soon! 

Well - I am off to work on another deadline! We send files tomorrow! Then we have one more deadline before you arrive! WOOHOO!