Baby Update: 38wks (Still Knocked Up!)

Since I didn't get my post done in time, I thought I'd update a bit here. Can't upload pictures with our internet connection... so I'll add the fruit/veggie of the week later. I think it's a LEEK that Elias is now as long as.

Thoughts/Happenings:
** This week, we had a procedure performed to see if Elias's lungs were mature enough to induce labor a bit earlier than normal. Have I mentioned that the closer we get to his due date, the more overwhelming the anxiety I have about actually bringing home a live baby? I think I've cried at least once every single day since hitting the 37wk mark because I'm so nervous that something horrible will happen. Yes, it's irrational & illogical & probably unjustified... but I can't help it. I'm worried & stressed like nothing else. So, after discussing this with my OB, he agreed to induce if Little One's lungs were developed. Since we know his exact gestational age... I didn't think there would be any problems at all. Well, his quick results (on Wednesday) showed immaturity. At that point, they wait for an (almost) 48hr return test that *could* reflect lung maturity. Got the call this morning, that that test also agreed with his lungs not being mature. I was shocked. Still am. Oh, and even more nervous. The Specialist did say that we can safely assume if my body goes into labor on it's own, that his lungs should be fine by then. And, every day he's still "in the oven", his lungs get more & more mature. So, my next appt with my OB is Wednesday... a day after they'd induce any other patient... but, I obviously have reservations about it. I'm very much looking forward to being able to discuss all this with my OB. Oh, and my Fall semester starts back up Monday. This will be fun... and probably not possible.

** As of Tuesday, I hadn't dilated any more. I was still at 3cm, but 80% effaced & the baby was in "0" station. Progress on that front, at least. Still "any day now" mentality. Ha.

** I've had this whole week off from work. It has been nice, but I sure haven't felt much like doing anything. I have worked a bit in the office (umm, MAJOR work needs to be done in there... been putting it off) here & there. Rested plenty. I think I'm sleeping 9-10hrs/night plus naps. Got the animals to the vet today... three dogs + one cat for a 2hr vet visit + a 9mth pregnant woman. Not as bad as I imagined it may have been!! Smooth, actually. I've cleaned & cleared dishes every day, some laundry, cooked several nights (except for the night I'd been craving Mexican), & other piddling around the house. I'm sure there's more I can do & since Nick will have to work yet again tomorrow, Saturday, I'll be working around the house then, too.

** Hmm, not sure there's anything else I can think of to add? Oh, we went to triage twice in the last week. Last Thursday was because I thought my water might have broken. It hadn't, but we found out I was losing my mucus plug already. Sunday (early morning) was because I had an extremely intense pain that would not stop from about 1am to 2am... which we called the doula & headed to the hospital. It eventually went away & they monitored us for a while, but he was okay.

Cravings/Symptoms:
** Some discomfort @ night, when I have to roll over or change positions... other than that, I get very nice restful sleep. A bit of heartburn every now & then if I have soda, but I've cut out almost all of that... so it's not as often as before.

** Still lots of movement. Elias has permanently planted his backside on my left side & kicks like crazy on my right side. Lots. Especially during the procedure w/ the Specialist Wednesday. What a stubborn boy... so much like his Daddy already.

Hope to not have a 39wk update... unless it's got pictures of this boy outside the womb, but as long as he needs to stay in... we're okay with. I'll just be an emotional wreck that much longer worrying!!

Maternity Portraits Done!

Check out Amick's website to see our maternity pictures! :)

MATERNITY PORTRAITS

Been having contractions all weekend long, so we've got out fingers crossed to meet this little guy face-to-face soon!

Baby Update: 36wks (60% effaced!)

Yay! We've almost made it to full term. Only 1wk until Elias would be considered full term! We're truly in the homestretch!

According to the websites, Elias is over 18.5inches long & weighs almost 6.0 pounds (or the weight of a CRENSHAW MELON)!


Thoughts/Happenings:

** We had our maternity portraits shot this weekend. I'm very interested to see how they turned out & hope that we got several "favorite" shots. Our photographer is on vacation this week, so I think we'll have the edited photos in our hot-little-hands within 2 or 3 wks. We'll have them on CD/DVD with print rights, so we can print them @ our leisure & post them online no problems! :) AND, we've already set up a tentative newborn session by the end of September! Yay! {You must know that I will post some of the shots as soon as we get them!}

** I am officially heading to the doctor every week. Every Tuesday to be exact! My group B strep status: (still waiting on the call back from the doctor) ; my dilation/effacement status: 2-3cm/60%. Who knows how much longer we'll have? ;)

** Had some either fake (okay, I know they're technically Braxton Hicks) or real contractions last Thursday evening/Friday morning. Woke me up I was hurting so much. But, they went away. We can only hope they were a couple of "real" ones that are preparing my body for labor & delivery in the next couple of weeks!

** My last day of work before maternity leave (unless Elias comes earlier) will be August 14th. Our plans are for me to return to this current position at the beginning of January. That gives me about 4mths @ home with Elias, so we're very excited about that! :)

** Elias's hospital bag is packed... only thing to add later is when we get the "unborn child John" insurance card in the next week or so. Our hospital bag is pretty much packed. I'm sure I'll add more later, but we have the little toiletries, the Flip video camera, extra batteries, one change of clothes each... probably will add a robe & the computers on the way out. We can stay up to 48hrs following the delivery, but as little as 24-36 hrs be discharged. I think we're leaning towards the 24hr mark as long as the pediatrician clears Little One to head home with us!

** The carseat bases have yet to be installed, but the carseat + base are located in Nick's car. That's the one we'll plan to take to the hospital. Hopefully, we can have the carseat base installed & checked in the next week. Doesn't hurt to be as prepared as possible!

** Elias's room still has some work to be done, but not too much. I hope to make some room in his closet for his swing + bouncer, so that will be outta the way. His bassinet is already beside the bed & a changing table we were given is in our bathroom. A tight squeeze for sure, but we're hoping it'll help get us through the first couple of months as it has shelves for (lots of) extra diapers, wipes, outfits, & sheets. Once he outgrows the bassinet, I think we will move his playpen beside our bed until it's time to move him into this own room. Weird to think about even now.

Symptoms/Cravings:

** More heartburn every now & then, aching back during sleeping/rolling over, & lots of fetal movement! It's great!

** Still craving proteins... steaks/burgers, dairy... ice cream/milk/shakes.

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Baby Update: 34wks

Umm, seriously? This is cah-razy! Lots of stuff happened in the last week & I'm sure it will just continue until Little One is born!

We are only 3wks away from official full-term, 5wks away from possible medical induction, & 6wks away from "technical" due date.

This week, the websites estimate Elias' weight as 4.75lbs (a CANTALOUPE) & almost 18inches long. You can tell the length has slowed considerably as he was growing 0.5-1.0 inch each week... now, he's in the fattening up stage! :)


Thoughts/Happenings:
** We have another week until our doctor's appt. He will do a check to see if my body is progressing at all towards labor & also complete a beta test. If I'm positive, I'll need some prophylactic antibiotics during labor. If not, I get to labor @ home as long as possible!!

** We met with our doula Sunday. Very good meeting. We still feel very comfortable with our plans & are excited about the additional support our doula will provide!!

** We had two baby showers this week! One @ work on Wednesday & one @ church on Saturday. They were so much fun & we pretty much have all we will need (umm, we THINK we will need?) for the baby's arrival! There are several items I'll still need, but most definitely was not comfortable w/ other purchasing them! :) I don't have pictures of all the stuff, but I will try to take the rest of them tonight & post them tomorrow!

** Nick & I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on Friday. G'Ma was so sweet & prepared a meal for us... more to come on that later!! I have a post ready w/ pictures for that! :) It's hard for me to NOT reflect when I reach milestones, so I think of what I expected when we got married. I would have thought we'd have several little ones running around & maybe done with the child-making "thing". But, God has different plans than we do. We are so thrilled to be expecting this sweet little boy he created just for us to love & raise for Him.

** We are rescheduled for maternity portraits on August 1st. After cancelling our first session & several emails back & forth, we will be using the same photographer ( Amick Cutler), but here in the "greater Tallahassee area" instead of Pensacola. He & his wife will be in town that weekend, so we're hoping to head to the Coast to take pictures near the lighthouse. I'm so thankful this will work out & will share pictures here as soon as we get them!

Symptoms/Cravings:
** Pretty predictable here... milk, steak, cheerios, sweet stuff. Heartburn is coming pretty consistently, but not horrible. I have more aches & pains moving around at night... sleeping is harder cuz my back & hip get to hurting, but it sure doesn't stop me from sleeping! (Last night, I got approximately 10-11hrs!) Clinicals are a bit more difficult, but still not unbearable. Standing up is harder since it requires more than a quick thought & leaning over to pick up trash (or anything) takes much more effort & time. LOL It's funny. I still haven't had horrible swelling, but my ankles & hands will get swollen at night.

Heading to the grocery store tonight after work, then home for a bit of resting & organizing in the baby room. Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Baby Update: 31wks

Today marks 31wks of pregnancy! Can you believe it!? It sure is getting more & more real, but still unbelievable! :)

Little One is over 16inches long (WOW!) & weighs approximately 3.3lbs... or the weight of...


(four naval oranges)

Thoughts/Happenings:
** We got the stroller + carseat set this week! It was magically assembled by Daddy Nick & I love it. I pushed it around a bit to see if I could work it right, but it worked MUCH better after Nick unlocked the front wheels. I still ran into stuff, but I'm hoping most places will be a bit more spread out than our little house is! :)

** We saw Elias via 3D/4D ultrasound on Friday. It was wonderful. His little head was buried deep in my right side & his legs & curled up knees where tucked under my right ribs... poor guy doesn't know he's got a whole other half of the uterus to get comfy in! We went home w/ two DVDs, a CD of photos, & 10 or so pictures. I love them. :) My parents, g'parents, Nick's mom + nieces, & my sister-in-law made it!




** We had a doctor's appt today. This was the one where they scheduled another 2D ultrasound to review Elias' growth as I was measuring a teeny bit small two weeks ago at our 29wk appt. Our little guy is measuring 31w5d, so even a bit ahead of schedule! Which is awesome! They estimated his weight as 3lb15oz instead of the "average" 3lb5oz (like the oranges above), so a bit bigger. We'll take that! :) He is also head down & the doctor said that he will more than likely stay head down. He was very active during the u/s & for the appointment that followed! OH, he also has hair! We have a picture, so I will plan to scan it tonight to share tomorrow on the blog! :)

** Birthing class went well again. We watched a video about different coping techniques during labor & practiced more positions. Weird to think we only have 1 more class left!

** Since we have a couple of baby showers coming up soon, I am pretty sure I finalized up our registry & will not be peeking in the next couple of weeks! :) Got some super cute things in there that I'd love to have for the baby... cute AND functional. Or so I hear (functionality), like the swing & bumbo seat & baby wrap! :)

** We're hoping to head to the store & get the 25% discount on the dresser/changing table to complete the furniture in Elias' room. Then, we can finalize plans for the mural in his room, & really get his room ready. I'm SOOOOO ready for his room to be set!!

Cravings/Symptoms:
** Same ole, same ole cravings!

** I have an achy lower back during the night... I can still sleep, but it seems the only time my back hurts is when I'm laying down. I'm considering moving to the recliner in the future if it gets worse, but for now... it's fine!

Baby Update: 28wks

Well, I have to say that I have some of the BEST friends in the world. Seriously.

Nick's birthday & my birthday are very close together. So, we usually celebrate w/ a dinner or date out. Weeks ago, Nick emailed me an invitation for that date. It was supposed to be Friday night.

I say SUPPOSED because it was all a hoax. For a surprise baby shower. Nick & the girls worked it out perfectly... Saturday while working on the baby room, I kept remembering all of these little things that I could have picked up on or what-not, but it was so sweet.

First, onto how big Elias is getting!! He's 2.25lbs (WHOA!) & 14.8inches long! His weight compares to the weight of a chinese cabbage...



Thoughts/Happenings...

** Well, the baby shower of course! I feel silly for being so surprised, but they did a wonderful job of orchestrating it! I was in class w/ these girls literally every day in the past week & no one dropped a hint or anything! I don't have pictures from the night yet, but did snap some pictures of some of the gifts. They were so special to me!! I cried when I realized what they were doing (the surprise shower) & even more after I got home from the shower. It takes me back to never knowing if we'd ever have an opportunity to have a child... we are so blessed to be pregnant & doubly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Here's a cute puppy-dog sleeper w/ a frog romper (I think that's what they are officially called?)


Here's a gorgeous handmade crocheted blanket in some of my favorite colors!


From the hostesses (hmm, plural for hostess?), Elias' baby book!


Along with a hooded towel, coordinating bibs, & a gift card that I used to buy this play quilt & crib skirt!


A shirt (it says I love danger!), onesie, elephant toy...


And these wonderful monogrammed receiving blankets! I love seeing his name on them!


From another nursing friend, three of the sweetest, bestest books!


And the extra carseat base, so that Nick & I can have bases in each car to switch the carseat in & out of! :) (PS: this was from the friend that also works in the neurological ICU & definitely has safety in mind!!)


The next couple of pictures are the gifts from Mom... some shorts, shirts, & the cutest toof-brush!


The toothbrush holder + ribbiting soap dispenser...


And the matching rug for Elias' bathroom!


** Head back to the doctor's in a week! We'll be visiting each two weeks from now on until mid-August. We have lots of questions to ask about labor & delivery...

** We cleared out the baby room on Saturday! There's still transitional items in the living room, but as soon as the crib is assembled & then the rocker is moved into the room... we'll be able to move the other stuff in as well. It's hard to know if something will look or feel right until it's in there, but we don't want to have to move everything out of the dresser or shelf if we need to rearrange stuff! I pulled all the packing stuff out of the crib box, so hopefully Nick can get the crib put together by the end of the week! You know there will be pictures!

Here's a quick shot of how the living room looked @ one point! Remember, we switched the bed from room to room & cleared out space to assemble to crin IN the baby room!


A peek into the baby room & the beautiful antique dresser for his room. There are drawers that slide into this opening & I still need to clean & polish it more. But, exciting none-the-less!


** This weekend, we ran into the sweet friend who has offered to paint Elias' room! She's amazing & we have yet to decide what we'd like painted, but it's exciting to have ideas! Hopefully we can figure out something in the next couple of weeks!

** We got a couple of bags of clothes to go through for Elias' wardrobe. I haven't tackled this project yet, but hope to this weekend in between studying & school projects due next week. (Only 8 more days until this current summer semester is over!)

Cravings/Symptoms...

** Started getting these back aches in the morning. I can sleep just fine, but when I wake up it's painful moving around. I think I figured out the sleeping position that helps, so I am going to be trying that from now on to see if it helps w/ the lower back aches!

** Same food cravings! :)

Baby Update: 27wks

Elias is now 14.5 inches long from head to toe. It may not sound very big, but here's snapshot of 14.5inches w/ my belly...


He also weighs approximately 2.0 lbs or the size of a head of cauliflower!


Weird, huh!? And, since we recently had an infant/pregnancy loss bereavement lecture which was pretty upseting (thankfully, Elias was moving literally the WHOLE time... an answer to prayer...), he has a 90% chance of survival outside of the womb if something were to happen this week. Please don't think me morbid, but thankful. I actually met a girl this weekend in the post-partum floor that was 1 day ahead of me & had her little girl a week ago. It's a miracle both her AND the baby made it alive. Mmm, we are so very blessed.

Thoughts/Happenings...
** We got Elias some great Little Tykes outdoor pieces from a friend's yard sale. They will need to be cleaned, but we got a great deal on them!


** We had another doctor's appointment yesterday @ the 27wk mark. We had a different doctor, but she was nice enough. I am measuring at 28cm, have gained 22lbs so far this pregnancy, & Little One's heartbeat was "between 145-150". Didn't get an exact number, but oh, well. We are now heading to the doctor every 2wks! Crazy, huh!?

** Nick went to our first birthing class Monday. Again, I will miss two of the classes, but he is recording them for me & I have listened to a good part of Monday night's class. We also have various things to practice for this class, which is kinda funny. I'm sure it'll help some, but I'm very glad we've already locked in our doula for the labor & delivery! :)

** I think we will work in the baby room some this weekend. I actually have three weekends w/out clinicals!! So, we're hoping to move the twin bed out of the baby room & into the office; at least review the crib (still in box) to make sure it's not scratched or bummed up or something; move little clothes from the original dresser to the beautiful antique dresser we will be using now; maybe something more? Although, this sure sounds like more than enough to keep us busy this Saturday!

Cravings/Symptoms...
** Just love watching my stomach... we can now SEE him wiggling from the outside. It's so cool. I'm hoping to catch it on video to save for later on. I still can't get over how blessed we are. One year ago, it was rough. Personally, relationally, hormonally, emotionally, financially, spiritually... it is amazing the difference a year will make & this miracle has so much to do with these changes.

** Same ole, same ole! Milk, ice cream, steak. Still chips, too! ;)