Well, it has been a bit longer than I thought since I last updated this. Oops. I missed her 1 month and her 6 week mark on here. So, I am apparently a bit behind. Okay then, I guess I will just start with stats. At her 1 month mark Jessica weighed 10 pounds 11 ounces and was 24 inches long. (This is me weighing and measuring, so it may not be quite exact. She was almost able to lift her head, and she was able to focus on faces. She wasn't sleeping through the night, but she was sleeping for at least 4 hours at a time at night. She could smile, but she wasn't smiling in response yet. Here she is at 1 month old
It was only a few days after her 1 month mark (on Thanksgiving) that she finally raised her head off the floor. I didn't capture it on camera at the moment, but a few days later I was able to. If you look closely you can see the shadow directly under her chin, so her head is off the floor. Lifting her head
Thanksgiving was in that time as well, and that was rather entertaining. My favorite part was actually right after Rob and Sarah Emily showed up. I was sitting on the floor holding Jessica while she slept. Dad started playing with Lincoln and Avery, and so was "chasing" them as they ran back and forth in front of him. It was way cute watching them, but they were extremely loud. Someone finally told Dad that he maybe should be a little quieter because Jessica was sleeping, but it really didn't matter at all. She slept right through the whole thing. It was way cute.
The Saturday after that, I was finally able to catch Jessica's smile on camera. I was actually trying to capture a different face that she was making, because it was really cute too, but I missed that one. Instead I got this smile. What I love is that you can see her dimple!!
Then Jessica hit 6 weeks. She seems to have slowed down a bit on the growth at that point. When I measured her, she weighed 11 pounds exact, and was 24 1/4 inches long. The best part about her 6 week mark was that she smiled on purpose!!! I got her to respond. It was the best. Highlight of my week.
So yeah, I can't really think of anything else to write. I'm just having fun taking care of my daughter, and taking pictures of her cute faces. That was one of my favorite pictures even though its a bit blurry.
So, this past Sunday we were invited over to my parent's house for a "good old-fashioned Sunday dinner". The whole extended family was there, and it was fantastic. I may be a little over-enthusiastic about it because other than doctor appointments and grocery shopping, this was my fist time out of the house since Jessica was born. So Nathaniel and I bundled Jessica up against the cold and went visiting. It was lots of fun to see my siblings and all the nieces and nephews, and I got some way cute pictures too.
bundled up in the car seat
Avery Belle asked if she could hold Jessica. Definitely a Kodak moment.
Grandpa Hiatt holding Jessica, with a very rare large smile.
Wow, has it already been over 2 weeks since she was born? That's crazy. So, as far as things that have happened over the past couple of weeks. Well, the first day we were home, we took Jessica to the doctor, as we were told to, and he said that while she was having issues breathing, they were normal issues, and should resolve by 3 or 4 months. So, it is good to know that they will resolve, but I'm not a fan of the waiting 3 or 4 months. Most of the time she's fine, but every once in a while her breathing sounds really labored, and as though she is really struggling to get air in there. The first couple days we were home were really hard. I was trying to recover from the near-hemorrhage I had, so I was a little weaker to begin with (because of loss of blood) and then I almost got a breast infection. I was extremely lucky, and caught it early enough that I was able to fight it off when it was just clogged ducts, but it took me about a week, and buying new bras, to finally get it all taken care of. We were also extremely lucky with how much help we received, both with dinners from our ward, and with dinners from my family, and then my family helping when Nathaniel had to go back to work after only the first 2 days home. As far as Jessica goes, she was just eating and sleeping a lot. The only problem was that she didn't like to be set down while she slept. This made those first few nights really difficult for us. Nathaniel was a huge help, and let me sleep those first few nights while I was having a hard time recovering, but then I needed to step up and take her, because he needed sleep for work. We finally figured out that she would sleep if we put her in my boppy. I actually haven't used it that much for nursing, but it works wonders for her sleeping. So the next couple of nights we were able to sleep, though one of us would sleep in the living room, because we had the boppy on the floor, and that is where she would sleep. Then I was finally able to move the boppy into the crib, and now she'll sleep in there. It is fabulous. We also currently have a very good sleeper. It sometimes takes a while to get her to fall asleep at night, but once she does, (latest has been 10:30) she'll sleep for anywhere from 4 to 6 hours at a time. I know I am seriously the luckiest new mom in the world. I also know that it is possible for this to change at a moment's notice, so I am enjoying the sleep I'm getting while I can. So, at Jessica's 1-week mark, we hit Halloween. Seeing as she was only 1 week old, we decided not to go anywhere, or dress her up in a costume. However, I did want to dress her up for Halloween, so I did have a onsie that I had bought, and I made a skirt for her. So we dressed her up, and took pictures and that was about it for our Halloween. We didn't really want to give out candy either, because that would mean opening the door to all the little kids, and so exposing ourselves to all the sicknesses they had. Not what I wanted to do with a 1-week-old baby. At the 1-week mark I also noticed something else that was kind of cool. I had lost 10 pounds in that first week! I was way excited. So I had lost a total of 27 pounds, giving me 15 left to lose before I hit my pre-pregnancy weight. Yeah. Definitely excited about that. Her second week was rather uneventful, but I do have some pictures. Then I took her to her 2-week appointment at the doctor. She is doing extremely well again. She now weighs 9 pounds 11 ounces, which is 3 more than they needed her to be. She has also grown an inch, so she is now 23 inches long. Her head circumference and her weight are in the 90th percentile, but her length is in the 100th percentile. She’s a big baby, but that is perfectly fine. We like big babies. I also set up an alternate schedule for vaccines with our doctor, because I really don't like the one the CDC set up. I feel like vaccines are important, and the good far outweighs the risk, but I think their schedule gives a few too many shots at the same time for my taste. So yeah, that was the first 2 weeks. Rather uneventful toward the end, but I am loving being a mom, and I feel like I am getting the hang of things as they are. We'll see where things go from here though.
Okay, I did promise a “gory details” account of Jessica’s birth. Now, 2 weeks after her birth I’m finally getting around to writing it.
First of all, here are the details on Jessica. Her full name is Jessica Mykelle McBride. She was born on Friday October 23rd at 6:11pm. She weighed 9lbs 8oz, and was 22 inches long.
So here we go. “Gory” details. My labor went great. It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I didn’t know really know what that was, so…yeah. I started thinking "I think I'm in labor" around 11:30, and called to let my doula know so that she could find a babysitter and such. At that point I tried to take a nap, but my contractions were strong enough that I needed to concentrate through them. So I put in my headphones with some relaxing music and set about relaxing. I used the HypnoBirthing program, which states that since your muscles were made to do this, as long as you are relaxed, and everything works the way it should, there doesn’t have to be any pain. Whether or not there is depends on a variety of things though, one of which is how much you practice and so how relaxed you are able to get. I probably didn’t practice as much as I should have; however, I would still say that my surges (contractions) didn't hurt. I wouldn't say they were quite comfortable, but pain is definitely not the word I would use to describe them, nor were they ever unmanageable, as long as I had Nathaniel there with me. I would describe it as a tightening sensation. It was really cool, I could put my hands on my belly, and feel it rise and tighten, and then I would get the “contraction” part down really low in my abdomen. That was the part that I had to concentrate through.
I called my doula again around 1, and said that I would actually like her and Nathaniel to come over, so she picked up Nathaniel from work and they got here around 2. So they helped me concentrate, and we watched the length and time between the surges. They were coming anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes apart, and they were about a minute long. I was just sitting there at my computer with my feet up on Nathaniel’s lap and they were just fine. However, Megan (my doula) thought that Jessica might be posterior, so she had me get onto my birthing ball (exercise ball) and do a hula motion with my hips. I was still writing down the time every contraction, and she asked me to stop doing that. At that point (4:00pm), the surges started coming steadily 2 minutes apart, and 1 minute long. They were also more intense. I was like “Oh!, maybe we should head to the hospital (4:30pm). So we got all ready to go, and Megan called Claudia (my midwife), and told her we’d probably be there in about an hour, and we finally left for the hospital.
We got there around 5:30, and checked in. The one bad nurse I had was the very first one. She asked me to change into a gown, and I said I didn’t want to. She was a bit snippy after that, but she wasn’t there very long. I had not wanted to be in a gown, because I was not sick. I was a woman going through a completely normal, natural process, and I wanted to wear my own clothes. The other nurses were great though. They did have me on the bed for the 20 minute strip, and they checked to see how far I was. I was dilated to 8 cm! I really didn’t expect that. They didn't say how effaced, but it was really close. I kept surging about every 2 minutes all through that, and then once the 20 minutes was up, I got up and they got their birthing ball for me to sit on. It was a fair amount smaller than mine, but I think that actually helped. I was only on the ball for about 5 minutes before my water broke and she started crowning. It went everywhere! All over the floor. That was kind of a surprise. That is something I don’t think you ever really get used to… how much water comes out. I really didn’t expect it, but at that point my surges got really intense. I couldn’t do anything else during them like I had been able to do before, but still, it was just that my abdomen was extremely tight. I’d been feeling kind of like I wanted to push since about when we left for the hospital, but I’d been able to hold it back, (seeing as I didn’t want her born in the car) until I sat on the hospital’s ball. After the water sac broke, I started really bearing down. Now, I did not push the way they show in movies "hold your breath, count to ten, tuck your chin, and PUUSH!!!" (but I definitely bore down), nor did I lie flat on my back. I actually went through a couple positions. I stood up from being on the ball, and then couldn’t move any further. However, I really wanted to be on the bed, but I was shaking because of the adrenaline. So after 1 or 2 surges I got up onto the bed, but stayed in a hands and knees position. Claudia thought I was going to give birth right there in that position. Nope. My arms were about to give out. So we laid me over on my side. Maybe not the best position to be in, but better than flat on my back. At this point is where I think I needed to have more practice from HypnoBirthing. During this stage there was some pain. It was a very intense burning sensation. If I had to endure that for the duration of labor, then I very well may have gotten an epidural. Luckily I didn't; and luckily, that's one of those things where you know the end is right there, so it makes it not quite as bad. So, from the time my water broke until Jessica came was about 15 minutes. (She arrive at 6:11 pm) It was really cool! I could feel me stretching as her head came out. Now, I did tear a smidgen, but for those of you who know HypnoBirthing, it was not because of pushing at all. She came out sideways. Not posterior, but sideways. My tear was so small that they didn't even need to stitch. We had asked that they not cut the cord until it had stopped pulsing, so that Jessica could get the 2/3rds of her blood that was still in the placenta, and so she could have the help switching to breathing air. Normally that takes about 15 minutes. Nope. 3. After 3 minutes the placenta came out on its own. So we had Nathaniel cut the cord.
Unfortunately we had to stay in the delivery room for 3 hours. I was bleeding an awful lot. They gave me some Cytotec to try to get the uterus to contract more and get all the clots out, and stop bleeding. It didn’t work. Then they gave me a shot of Pitocin to do the same thing. It eventually worked, but not before they started getting worried. Claudia even said that if that shot didn’t work, and one more didn’t, they might have to take me in for surgery. *EEP* Luckily that didn’t happen. They also came in about every 10 minutes for a while to give me a fundal massage. That sounds kind of fun (“ooh a massage”). It’s not. Honestly, I seriously wished I could get the epidural for that. Definitely the most painful part of the whole thing. Sadly, I’m not the only one who had problems. Jessica had gotten a lot of the amniotic fluid in her lungs, so they suctioned her in the delivery room. I think this is why my placenta came so quickly. I think God (or Nature, whichever you believe) and Jessica, and my body knew that she would be having some of these problems, and so would need all the help she could get. So they worked together to get the placenta empty as quickly as possible. So, after about 3 hours, they decided it was safe to move us down to the maternity ward. At this point they finally weighed Jessica. It was just the one nurse, Nathaniel, Jessica, and I in the room, and so we were all able to see the scale. She weighed in at 10 pounds 12 ounces. (I know I said her stats were 9lbs 8oz earlier, just wait) So we went downstairs and got me all settled in our room, and then Nathaniel went with Jessica to the nursery.
It took them a lot longer than I thought it would to get everything done. That was because they had to suction her lungs out again, and they had to re-weigh her. They had noticed a discrepancy in the size of her head, it had been listed as 2 different things, so they decided to check all of the stats again. It was at that point that we learned that no, I did not have a 10 1/2 pound baby. She was only 9lbs 8oz. We had been planning on having Jessica with us in our room all night, and then leaving the next day. Neither of those happened. That night, as Nathaniel was holding her, so I could get some sleep, she stopped breathing. Obviously that was something scary. So they came rushing in, and got her breathing again, and then took her to the nursery for a little bit to watch her. There were just problems all night long. We did end up having her in the nursery, because they would be more alert for problems like that than we would. Some of the problems were that she was having trouble latching on, and figuring out how to suck. So we did give her a pacifier so she could learn how to suck, and we used a nipple shield to get her to latch on correctly. (I just later had to deal with the problem of weaning from those) She also continued to have respiratory issues, for which they had to come in almost every hour to get my permission for something. They finally called the pediatrician, who ordered a chest x-ray, and a infection screening. Both came back negative, so they didn’t know what was wrong. They finally suctioned her lungs yet again, and at that point she finally started breathing better. They had her on an oxygen saturation monitor all night, and then they left the wires on, in case they needed to check the levels again later.
The next day went a lot more smoothly. We mainly just rested. Jessica was doing lots better, but she still was making some funny noises when she was breathing. The nurses were worried about it as well, but the pediatrician said it was nothing to worry about. However, he’d never seen or heard any of it. We definitely were not going home on Saturday though. I would have much preferred that, but with how weak I was because of loss of blood, and with Jessica’s respiratory problems, it wasn’t happening. Saturday night we had Jessica stay in the Nursery again because we didn’t want anything (like her not breathing) happening while we were asleep. The next morning, the nurse said that the pediatrician might want to recommend an ENT doctor, because Jessica was still having the problems. The pediatrician said no. But again, he didn’t ever see or hear any of her problems. The nurses did advise us to set up an appointment with our pediatrician the next day (Monday).I know that technically the pediatrician was the expert, but this one wasn’t even the one they talked to all Friday night. So I tended to believe the nurses a little more.
Anyway. Sunday we came home, and it was great being at home, though it took us a few days to get settled at all. And here are some pictures of her.
Yes she. For those of you who hadn't heard yet, I had a baby girl, Jessica Mykelle, on Friday October 23rd at 6:11pm. She weighed 9lbs 8oz, and was 22 inches long. My labor was great. I started thinking "I think I'm in labor" around 11:30, and called my doula so she could find a babysitter and such. I tried to take a nap, but my contractions were strong enough that I needed to concentrate through them. I used the HypnoBirthing program, and I would say that they didn't hurt. I wouldn't say they were quite comfortable either, but pain is definitely not the word I would use to describe them. I called my doula again around 1, and said that I would actually like her and Nathaniel to come, so she picked up Nathaniel from work and they got here around 2. So they helped me concentrate, and then around 4ish (I think) Megan (my doula) had me get onto my exercise ball. Suddenly the contractions were a lot closer together and a lot more intense. So we got ready and went to the hospital. We got there around 5:30, and I was dilated to 8 cm. They didn't say how effaced, but it was really close. I was on the monitors for the 20 minutes I needed to be, and then I got up, and sat on their birthing ball, which was a lot smaller than my exercise ball. I was only on it for about 5 minutes before my water broke and she started crowning. So I started bearing down. I did not push the way they show in movies "hold your breath, count to ten, tuck your chin, and PUUSH!!!", nor did I lie flat on my back. I definitely bore down though. During this stage there was some pain. A very intense burning sensation. If I had to endure that for the duration of labor, then yes, I would have gotten an epidural, luckily I didn't; and luckily, that's one of those things where you know the end is right there, so it makes it not quite as bad. 15 minutes of bearing down, and our little one popped out. She came out sideways, not posterior, but sideways, so I did tear a smidgen, but only a smidgen. It was so small that they didn't even need to stitch. We stayed in the delivery room for 3 hours, cause I was bleeding a bit too much, and we stayed in the hospital for the full 2 days because Jessica was having some respiratory issues. But then we came home, and all is well. ("Gory" details in the next post) So now, here are some of the cutest pictures. The rest of them are on facebook.
I mean... Labor? Well, it'd be nice at least. But no, even though I have reached my due date, which was officially today, there are still no contractions or anything. I woke up this morning feeling like my water might be leaking, and have continued to have that feeling all day long. However, nothing more has happened, except a lot of pressure on my pubic bone, so I'm wondering if I was just imagining it. Ya know, I want it so badly that my mind decides its happening, whether or not it actually is. I've just mainly been relaxing all day, which has been nice. I did have my midwife appointment today though. That was good. No real changes to report. I gained 1 pound, so no big deal there. I found out that my blood pressure is actually on the lower end. Not too low or anything, but low enough that their old machine apparently had a hard time picking up the bottom number today. I asked, and I'm still about 20 above the danger point, so no worries. But apparently I don't need to worry about high blood pressure or anything. I opted not to get my cervix checked this week, with the possible leakage, I didn't want to chance breaking it fully before my baby is ready, so I was really hoping that I could get by without. I could. The midwife said it doesn't really mean anything until you actually start into labor anyway, so I was quite happy with that. She did check how big my uterus was, but didn't tell me what I measured, so I don't know on that one. Then we listened to the baby's heartbeat, and I went home. So yeah, that is how my due date went. I'm really hoping that I go into labor before midnight, but we shall see what happens. My baby knows when is the right time to come, and I'm not too keen on forcing an early arrival, especially seeing as the last few weeks they are in the womb, they are working on their brain development. I must be making a genius here. ;)
Well, the countdown has ended it looks like. Tomorrow is my due date, and there is still no sign of Baby J. I'm doing everything I can, but the baby just doesn't seem to be ready yet. Nathaniel and I did accompany a friend to a HypnoBirthing class tonight. We wanted her to see what some of the options are, but we will see where things go. While we were there, I did have a few people confirm that I have dropped since last Wednesday, so I guess that is good. One step closer at least. I also had a couple contractions while we were there, but nothing consistent. We'll see where things go. Hopefully I'll have some baby pictures to post up here soon.
Yup, that's right. 2 days left until my due date. Unfortunately, seeing as the "normal" gestational period for humans is anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks, the "due date" doesn't mean a whole lot, and therefore, I could still have a while. Thinking positive though. "This baby is coming now, this baby is coming now" So yeah. Not much as far as Baby J is concerned for today. I've just been going around my house cleaning, and I've been quilting and drawing as well. I had a great idea for another blog, but it will take me a bit to get it up, so just know that is coming, and that's part of what I was doing today. Other than that though, just waiting on the baby, who will come whenever they're supposed to.
Oops, I missed writing for a while again, but don't worry, you haven't missed much. Here are the pictures for today though. (even though today's happenings won't be until a little closer to the end.)
I couldn't decide which picture I liked better, so I'll let you decide.
...8... Well, we had our last HypnoBirthing class on day 8, (Wednesday). Everything went well. I think both of us feel very prepared and able to go into this and have the birth that we want, barring any special circumstances.
...7... One week left!!!! This day was also my midwife appointment. Baby J has been moving much slower the past few days. Not to the point where I would worry, but more as though there is less room. (go figure huh?) As I said, I went to the midwife appointment. I weighed in at 167 pounds, so I gained 3 pounds over last week, and am at a total of 42 for the pregnancy. I measured at the 39-40 cm mark again, so no change there. I'm thinking probably that means the baby is slowly dropping, not that the baby isn't growing. The heartbeat sounded good, but I didn't get my cervix checked this week. They may make me this week (when I hit 40 weeks) but as long as they'll let me not check, I won't. Blood pressure is staying low. I'm not sure exactly where I was last week, but currently I am measuring at 47 inches around the midsection.
...6... One more week gone, and still nothing. I'm really wishing something would happen soon. So much so in fact, that I decided to take Nathaniel and I on a walk after he got off work. Well, I figured I would combine it with taking some autumn pictures, so we went up to Bridal Veil Falls. I did want a somewhat longer walk, so I kept us walking past the falls. I actually had us walk all the way up to Vivian Park, which was 3 miles away. In my defense, we got a ways past Bridal Veil, and I needed to use the restroom. Well, I thought we were closer to Vivian than to the car, so I had us keep going. By the time we realized our mistake, we were definitely closer to the top. So we ended up taking a 6 mile (2 1/2 hour) walk, (but to no avail, still no labor) and then we went out to dinner, because there was no way I could spend more time on my feet to cook.
...5... Saturday was quite a fun day actually. We spent a good portion of the day with my family. My dad had received tickets to the Scarecrow Festival out at Thanksgiving point, so we all went. I love watching my little nieces and nephew having so much fun. However, it was another 3 hours of walking, so we weren't able to stay quite as long as everyone. I was just far too exhausted. Again, it was to no avail though. Still nothing with Baby J. The movement even picked back up, so not even the slowing down of movement before labor.
...4... Unfortunately I did not feel well on Sunday. So while I went to Sacrament meeting, (where there was the Primary program... so cute!!!) I wasn't able to stay the whole time. So Nathaniel brought me home, and then he went back so he could teach his class. No major changes yet. My mom decided to take pity on a pregnant lady, and so we went over there for dinner. As we were leaving, I realized just how swollen my feet were, when even my flip-flops were too tight. It was pretty bad. So I stayed off my feet as much as I could while there. When we came home, Nathaniel gave me a foot massage as part of our nightly routine, so that helped. There was 1 change that happened right before I went to bed. At least I think so. I was walking past our full length mirror, and noticed that I seemed at more of a slant from the top of my belly, and more rounded underneath. We're pretty sure that means that Baby J has finally made that final drop, so hope keeps blooming. Maybe I'll have a baby before this week is out. (I sure hope so).
...3... Well, today has been rather slow for me. Nothing major happening with Baby J. To the point where I'm even wondering if we imagined the drop last night. I didn't think babies went back up once they drop, but with how obvious it seemed last night, and the fact that I don't notice a difference at all today, I wonder if maybe they do go back up. As I said nothing much with the baby, but I did get my kitchen cleaned, and I folded my laundry, and put up Halloween decorations, so I'm completely ready. Baby J can come right this minute and I'd be okay with it. We'll see how things go as I keep getting closer and closer.
WOOT!!!! I'm into single digits now!!! Holy cow, it really won't be that much longer and then I'll be a mommy. That's really kinda cool. I'm excited. The baby is moving more today than yesterday, but still slower than it has the rest of the pregnancy. Other than that, I sadly must report that nothing is going on. I just end up overly warm, and under slept. That's all I can think of though. Trust me, I'm hoping for excitement just as much as you are.
That's right! Only 10 days left to D-day! And I'm feeling fantastic! No major changes today really, though Baby J does seem to be moving a bit slower. Still moving, so I'm not worried, but a little more slowly. I'm also going a bit more slowly, and randomly falling asleep. I don't know if those are actually signs of labor coming, but I'm going to say yes, just cause I want to be optimistic. So yeah. As I said, I would have pictures to post today, but unfortunately, I don't think I held the camera quite still enough on the side view. I'll let you be the judge though.
I must say though, when your maternity shirts get too small for you (yes that would be my belly hanging out, if not for the panel on the pants. I don't know how well you can see it, but if you get the picture larger, you can see the difference on the colors.
And here is the view from the front, and I'm not sure I like this picture, but its up for you discretion. My reason for not liking it is because I can tell that I've gained weight in my face, but its not really too bad. So yeah, there are my pictures, and my update. All's well, and hopefully we'll have a little one soon.
11 days left!! Sorry, I was wrong about having a picture to post today. It was a hormonal (and therefore emotional) rollercoaster today, so I didn't get much of anything done. I would say that there are still no changes, except that I think I noticed that my belly has dropped some. So if there was a noticeable difference, then hopefully that means that its getting closer. My feet are swelling more as well, so I'm looking on the bright side and hoping that it means that I'm almost done. That is what my emotional rollercoaster seems to be about. I seem to be just ready to be done. The funny thing is, most of the time it isn't that I'm so uncomfortable, or so sick of being big and unable to do as much. I just want to be able to see my baby. So yeah. I'm hoping that my blog will get more exciting tomorrow, but there should at least be a picture. :D
Well now, apparently this week has not been good for my countdown. So now I have multiple days to write about.
17... Nothing much happened, Baby J is still moving just fine.
16... No changes in the baby, but we did have an appointment with our doula, so that was cool. Everything there was fine. Basically just went over our birthing plan, and figured out what was most important to us.
15... Again, no changes in the baby. Baby J is just being very active, and liking it inside still. Probably just hearing the complaints about the cold, and deciding not to come out yet. We had our 4th HypnoBirthing class on this day. That went very well. I love the HypnoBirthing stuff, it just makes so much sense to me.
14... Still a very active baby, but Baby J seems to have dropped some. I hit 38 weeks this day, and also had my midwife appointment. I still stayed at 40 cm, so the baby, while growing, just keeps dropping at the same rate. My blood pressure is still good, so no worries there. I weighed 164, so it seems that I actually lost a pound there. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I think that at this point it doesn't really matter. The baby's heartbeat still sounded great, so nothing wrong there. I did NOT have my cervix checked. I figured I have a starting point to go from because of last week, I didn't need to know again, and I didn't need to increase my chance of infection or of going into labor earlier than God, nature, and Baby J intended.
13... Very slow day again. I did have a few contractions towards the end of the day, but nothing really to talk about.
12... Hey, that's today! Again, its been slow. Baby J keeps moving lots, and I've been extra tired the past few days, other than that, nothing of note. Hopefully we'll have a baby this weekend. I would really love that, but no guarantees . The only real problem that I've been having is that my feet get swollen, and hurt. But really, since that is it, it's no big deal. I should have a picture to post tomorrow, so hopefully I'll actually keep up with the countdown. ;)
Yup, 18 days left. Nothing major to report here. Very active baby, so that's good. I did get all sorts of goodies from family that didn't make it to the baby shower, so thats cool. But thats about it. Sorry, maybe tomorrow there will be something to report.
We just keep pluggin' along. Again, no major changes today, except that I had to change my mental attitude. For some reason, that I don't know, I had this picture in my head of going into labor yesterday, so I would have had the baby already. Well, obviously that didn't happen, and I was having some real struggles yesterday. Well, I realized today that I needed to refocus on the fact that my little one will come when the time is right, and when they have "cooked" for as long as they need to. I needed to focus more on what is best for my baby, and that is for the baby to come naturally in their own time. So I've been working on changing my mindset today. Other than that, I had gotten a little bit worried earlier because I couldn't feel the baby move. However, I wasn't sure if it was just the time of day, because I'm usually not sitting still right in the middle of the afternoon, so that is what it could have been. Baby J would respond to pokes and prods, so I decided to wait until the time when they are normally most active. Well, Baby J is quite fine, and quite active now, so no worries. It just hurts when the "kicks" (or punches, or headbutts, etc.) go directly downwards towards my cervix. That wasn't fun. But at least I know my baby is alright. But that is it for today. 2 1/2 weeks left until my due date, and I'll keep you posted on if anything happens.
Yup, 20 days left. As I said, counting down. *wink* At this point I weigh 165, having gained 40 pounds since the beginning of my pregnancy. I don't think I'm doing too badly, since I am doing everything I can to stay healthy. Things have not changed much from yesterday. No contractions, no water breaking, nothing major like that. I do believe that I am beginning to lose my mucous plug, but I'm not sure on that one. The only real change today from yesterday is my mental state. I didn't get enough sleep last night, and so have had a harder time staying positive today. I've been in the state where I just want to be done. I want to be a mommy, and my arms are aching to hold my little one. It even brought me to tears a couple times today. I have done some things to prepare for the baby though. Last night, we installed our car seat, but we couldn't get it to stop moving from side to side. We had done everything we could though, so we left it, and decided to get one of the car seat professionals to take a look at it and help us get it installed correctly. I had that appointment this morning, and the only thing we had done wrong was that we didn't lock the seatbelt, using the belt's own locking mechanism. So we got that fixed, and now it works properly. I also packed my hospital bag, since its getting to that point where the baby could come anytime, and while I don't think we'll be in a huge rush"oh my gosh the baby is coming now" rush out the door, and get there with moments to spare, I don't know what it will be like, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry, and have a bag packed. Then, today, I made a receiving blanket, since currently I only had 1 in my possesion. I figured that it would be good to have at least 2 when we first had our baby, and even with us in the hospital, just in case. So I needed to make the 2nd one. I love it!! One side is a whole bunch of musical staves!! It was perfect, at least for me. We'll see how musically inclined this child is in a few years. The other side is a piece of flannel that just has a bunch of baby stuff on it in browns and blues and pinks. Its way cute. I was quite happy with it. But yeah, thats about it for this day of the countdown. I didn't get the nesting urge really today, so I didn't do much in regards to the baby. We'll see how things go tomorrow.
Yes, I am officially counting down now. Today I hit 37 weeks into my pregnancy, so really, my baby can come any time between now and the 4th of November. But I'm just going to count down to my due date, so that is 21 days. YAY!!!
So, I had my midwife appointment today, and I am still measuring 40 cm.
I measured that a week ago, so it isn't much of a surprise, except in that I didn't grow any. Last week it was more of a surprise because at that point I was measuring 4 cm ahead of schedule. I did also have my cervix checked (yay for actually being asked if I wanted the exam, not just having it forced on me). I am dilated to 2.5 cm, and 50% effaced. The dilation isn't exactly indicative of anything, but its nice to know where I'm starting from. I have not really had any contractions, well... I have a few in my back, but only one or 2 a day, so its probably more Braxton-Hicks contractions. The thing that was the most exciting to me was that I tested negative for the Group B strep!! Yay!!! That means that an IV really isn't necessary, so I don't have to be hooked up to that while I am trying to relax and go through labor. (For those of you interested by that statement, I am using Hypnobirthing, and I will be glad to talk to you about it after my baby is born, but I have been ridiculed too many times to do so before.)
So, other than that, we have most everything that I know of that we need before the baby is born. I'm sure we'll find out some things once the baby is actually here, but for now, we're doing good. Our crib came about 3 weeks ago,
and we put it together.
It is not the prettiest crib on the market, but we thought it was the safest, so it's the one we bought. It does transform into a toddler bed, and it also has an 11 year warranty, so I'm pretty good with it.
So, the countdown. I will (try to) post every day, and tell of any changes taking place, so if you're wanting to follow along with where we are, then you can. If you don't want to, then you don't have to. :D
So that is that, and until tomorrow, keep making your life what you want it to be.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Wow, okay, I apparently have become really lazy while I've been pregnant, because things have happened in the last 3 months that deserve to be written about, but I haven't written. First of all... We moved!!! YAY!!! We have a fabulous new apartment that is about the same size as our old one, except all on one floor, but its way less expensive, so that's nice. It also has a much nicer neighborhood, and neighbors. Here are a few pictures of the new place.
Here is our kitchen...
And our living room...
The baby's room (or sewing room for now)...
And my favorite part of the baby's room...
the fan is painted cool colors!!!
And our bedroom...
We then had our 1st anniversary! Crazy! We've been married for over 1 whole year now. It has gone by so fast, and has been full of all sorts of stuff. Anyway... for our anniversary, I took Nathaniel down to St. George for the weekend, so to that was great fun, and then about a week and a half later, we drove up to Seattle to see his family. Unfortunately, I didn't really take any pictures from either trip, so I don't have any of those to post.
Let's see, I'm trying to make sure that I don't forget anything, but I think the next thing that happened was me going piano shopping with Mom, and both of us ended up getting new pianos. Mine is a beautiful shiny black Young Chang U-107. It has a beautiful sound, and it plays nicely too. Of course, with the budget Mom and Dad gave me, I didn't even try the one Mom got, because I knew it would sound better than mine, and I couldn't come away from shopping with a piano that wasn't the best one I had played. So I decided to stick with my Young Chang.
Along with the blessing of being able to really play the piano again, (as much as the small amount of music I have will permit) I am also excited because it gives me something that I can do from home for very few hours a day to help bring in some extra income for my family. I have decided that I am going to try to start teaching piano lessons in January! So we'll see how that goes.
Aside from those major things... I got a haircut on Wednesday, and I'm still trying to decide if I like it. It is cute, but I still wish it were longer.
And Nathaniel and I (finally) started taking our HypnoBirthing classes for our baby. I don't even know if we'll make it through the whole session though, because it is a 5 week course, and that is how long we have left. I am loving this class, and this style of birthing. I very much want to have a completely natural birth, with no pain medications, and no artificial labor enhancers either, and this program seems to me, to be the best way I can acheive that. I'll tell everyone later what HypnoBirthing is all about, after I have my baby, so I have not only theory, but also experience to write about.
So I guess that is about all. Maybe I'll start writing more often. I know I'll have more pictures at least with the little one coming. :D
Well, we have 2 things to be way super excited about. First of all, we finally got the apartment we wanted! So yes, we will be moving. We have been on a waiting list for these apartments for about a year now, so we are way excited that there was finally an opening for us. It is in a much better neighborhood for raising a family, it is about the same square footage as the apartment we're in now, but it is much more usable, and all on one floor. And, here's the kicker, it costs 150 less than what we're paying now! Talk about perfect timing with the "podling" on the way. (Podling is what Nathaniel keeps telling people)
So, yeah, I've been way excited about that for a while. We're moving in the middle of July. But I'm just not as excited about that anymore, because we had something way more fun happen yesterday. :D We had the ultrasound to see our Podling!!!! Its a surprise though, sorry, don't get to find out yet. :D I know, I'm mean. But here are the pictures that I do have. Here's the little face. And the really long fingers, piano here we come. Here's the left arm. Yup, looks normal. And here's the profile. Such a cute baby. :D Look at those toes!! They're not Hiatt, thats for sure. Gotta be Newbold or McBride. And now the baby waves goodbye. See you in another 20(ish) weeks.
Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Nathaniel and I are going onto a new diet. NO, we don't feel like we need to lose weight, especially since I'm pregnant. About 2 weeks ago, we found out that I probably have a dairy allergy, and that is what is causing my headaches. Yup, you heard that right. The milk-aholic is allergic. (cries) That was not a fun thing to find out. However, we still had over a gallon of milk in the fridge, as well as cheese and such. So we waited until what we had was gone. That was yesterday. So today, we are starting a no dairy at all diet. So that means no butter, no cheese, no ice cream, no chocolate, no yogurt, no sour cream, etc. I know that seems a bit extreme, but we are trying to clear out my system. So for a month, we are going to have absolutely no dairy, and we are going to try to avoid the substitutes as well, just to clean out. Then, if my headaches have cleared up, or even gone down a significant amount, we will add in substitutes and various different things to see what I can stand, like chocolate and cheese. Hopefully those things I'll still be able to handle in small doses, on a not every day basis. Now, we know that for me to have this diet does not mean that Nathaniel has to be on it as well, but he already has a small bit of milk intolerance. So its a better diet for him as well, that's why we're both going on the diet. We'll probably end up eating healthier anyway, because of adding green veggies for calcium. So I'm going to keep track of days I have headaches, and if I had dairy that day, or if there were outside factors that could have caused a headache. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep y'all posted.
Okay, well, I know its been a while, but its hard to update without pictures. I must say though, the past month has been interesting. As I said, I had finished school and I took the final. Unfortunately, while I got 97% on the knowledge portion of the final, the section that was more important (where I actually transcribe) left me with a 77%. While averaging those together would have given me a passing score of 85%, I needed to get at least 85% on BOTH sections to graduate. So I needed to retake the exam. Unfortunately, my course expires on April 10th, and they would not let me take the final until April 15th. That was quite a worry for a while there. But I called them, and there is a grace period, so I will be taking the final on the 16th and 17th. In the meanwhile, I guess I get to practice lots on the especially hard reports so that I can hopefully pass this time. So we'll see how that all goes. In the meanwhile, I guess I can now write it on here, since everyone who reads this should already know, ;) I'm Pregnant!! YAY!!!!! I am way excited. The funny thing is, that I didn't expect, is that even though I only waited until I was 3 months along to tell everyone, I seem to be showing enough that I have had people ask me. Okay, now that I look at that picture it doesn't look as big as it did at that time, but there are some of my clothes that really make me show. That was also about 2 or 3 weeks ago. So yeah. Anyway. I did get to go to the doctor last week, and I was able to hear my baby's heart beat, which is always a magical and special thing.
So we are way excited about this, but I am also extremely nervous about... can you guess?... money. Its me, c'mon, what else would I worry about huh? We do have a couple hundred saved up, and we had a couple hundred in an FSA, so we do have some of the actual doctor bills paid for. But I'm just hoping that my Mary Kay picks up enough that I am able to put a significant amount into that savings account. If anyone knows anyone who wants to buy some Mary Kay, I would love to service them. ;) Sorry, a little shameless plug for my business for a bit there. But thats about all thats going on in our lives right now. Maybe with the baby on its way, I'll at least write every month, with the doctor appointments, or if I take more pictures, or something amazing happens. Whatever.
My heavens, I just have so much to be thankful for. We've had an interesting past 2 weeks. When negotiating the contract that Nathaniel works on, his company didn't factor in any overtime pay, and obviously people worked some overtime, so they ended up having to cut hours. Everyone has to cut about 2-4 hours a week. Either that, or 2 people would have to get fired. So they opted for the hours cut. That was frightening, but luckily, we had just received our federal tax returns, and so had paid for the things we needed to that there would have been no possible way at this point. That includes getting my enhancer wedding band for Valentine's day!! I was so happy. Its so pretty!
Sorry, I had to brag about it for a bit. Anyway, as I was saying, I know that Nathaniel's hours being cut does not really sound like a blessing, but I feel that it was a blessing in disguise. It gave me the kick in the rear to get me really working hard on my school, and I finally got the coursework done! So I am now scheduled to take the final on Monday, and depending on when I get my score, and based on the assumption that I pass, I should be able to have a job sometime in early April. Another blessing that has come right around this time is that Nathaniel just got a raise! It is only 40 cents, but still, it helps. Somehow, I don't know how, this paycheck ended up more than the last, even with a few less hours on it. We should also be getting our state tax returns back soon, and with those we will definitely make it through until the end of the fiscal year, when his hours will go back up. The Lord has just been taking such good care of us. We have had so many times where we weren't sure how we were going to pay all of our bills, but somehow we have made it through every time. Another thing I am excited about with all of this, is that with me being done with school, I will be able to start my Mary Kay business up again, which is really fun for me, so I count that as another blessing from all of this. Anyway, thats it for me for now. Maybe my life will get a bit more exciting soon, so that I will write more. Then again, I don't know that I want to wish for that, because generally, if you wish for exciting, it becomes not fun exciting. ;) Hopefully I'll just get better at writing.
