38 Weeks (14 Days left)

How far along? 38 weeks

Total weight gain: -35 lbs

Maternity clothes? I am wearing whatever is still semi cute. Some maternity some not

Sleep: I am exhausted!!!

Best moment this week: My mom arriving here last night.

Gender: GIRL!!!!

Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton Hicks

Belly Button in or out? In but tight

What I miss: sleep!

What I am looking forward to: My dr appointment next Tuesday when we should get a more final birth plan.

Weekly Wisdom: Eyeshadow cases can hide under your belly. I spent a good 3 minutes searching for my eyeshadow and it was on the counter hidden by the baby bump.

Milestones: 14 days left! Baby is ready to be born anytime and seems to be very healthy and active!

15 Days

No post yesterday, and very little to write today……….

I had what I am assuming must still be Braxton Hicks contractions all last night and this morning. They are not unbearable, and they do not seem to be progressing in length or intensity so it is not true labor. Although my book does indicate that it is a good sign that your body is getting ready.

We have our OB appointment today with a guy names Dr. Zimmer. I am not expecting a huge amount of answers from him regarding our birth plan but who knows. Maybe Dr. Anton (our regular OB) gave him some direction before she left for her vacation. I know I sound impatient, but since it is highly likely that I will be induced or go the c-section route I sort of just want to plan it and know what is going on!

I will keep you posted!

17 days

Not much to write today. Dan’s parents left this morning, and we are getting ready for the work week. I am hoping that we will get some sort of delivery plan when we see the OBGYN on Tuesday, although it is not my regular OB so we may still be in limbo.

My mom gets here Tuesday night, and I am so excited! I am really hoping the baby comes while she is here. She has been able to be present for all of her grandchildren arriving into the world so far and I really want her to be here for Feterson as well. If for some reason the baby does not arrive she will be back at the end of April for 2 more weeks so either way lots of time with my wonderful mom!

18 Days

We took Dan’s parents up to the Skagit County Tulip festival. It was a really pretty day, lots of sun and lots of beautiful views of the blooming tulips. Here are some photos from the day. Dan took a ton of scenery pictures and they turned out really well.

These were my favorite ones, the two tone color really stood out.

This was the view across the field

I also have been taking pictures every now and then of my growing belly. So here are the last three.

35 weeks

36 weeks, 5 days

37 weeks 4 days

19 Days

Last night Feterson was not doing her 10 movements in 2 hours after dinner so we made a trip to labor and delivery at 1030 last night. After being strapped to the monitor for 45 minutes the nurse said everything was perfect and the baby looked great. She was just not into moving. So, I am very tired today, but happy that all is well.

I have another NST test today and then we see the OBGYN (or one of them at the practice) next Tuesday. We see our regular OBGYN on April 6 and have another growth ultrasound to get an estimate of how large the baby is. At that point we will discuss our birth options. I am very nervous about it, as I have been hoping all along for a normal birth as opposed to a c-section. But, there is no point worrying, so I am just going to try to relax and have all of my questions ready for the doctor if she does suggest going that route.

On a positive note my mom gets here Tuesday night! I cannot wait to see her.

20 Days

Last night I received the pictures I ordered from Apple to hang on the babies wall. I decided that since we will be the ones looking at the wall art I would put up family pictures that I really love. So I have those up and now the only thing left to do is hang the curtains between her room and ours. If I did not mention it before, the babies room is actually an adjacent sitting area to our bedroom. It is quite large and perfect for a nursery. The only thing we are worried about is that any light or noise from our room will disturb her. So we purchased some think curtains to at least block out the light from our bedside lamps.

As soon as I get the curtains up I will post pictures of her completed room. I am so pleased with how it turned out!

37 Weeks (21 Days Left)

How far along? 37 weeks

Total weight gain: -36 lbs

Maternity clothes? Pretty much the same as before. Still wearing normal jeans and maternity jeans. I am so tired of the same 6 or 7 things though.

Sleep: I could use more

Best moment this week: Getting her room pretty much finished. I just have to hang some curtains and 2 more pictures.

Gender: GIRL!!!!

Labor Signs: A few Braxton Hicks, but nothing major

Belly Button in or out? In, but starting to feel tighter

What I miss: being comfortable

What I am looking forward to: Seeing my mom next week and having the baby!!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Do things the way you want them not the way everyone tells you they should be done. Your baby, your decisions.

Milestones: Baby is full term today. Now if she would just come out early that would be great!

22 Days

Waiting, waiting I hate waiting. Probably the hardest part of the end of this pregnancy is all of the aspects that are out of my control. I am a HUGE planner, so not knowing when I will go into labor or if I will need to be induced stresses me out a little.

I am just trying to relax and fill my days with lots of rest and little tasks. My mom gets here next Tuesday and having her here will definitely make the time go more quickly!

23 Days

I know that most people do not have their baby on their due date and there is a possibility that I will have her earlier. But, we are getting so close that I think a countdown is in order. Also, I want to make sure to record what is going on in our lives these last few weeks.

This weekend was very productive. On Saturday we went to our breastfeeding class. Tons of really good information, we left feeling pretty prepared.

We also went and ordered our pregnancy pictures. Dan’s pushing present to me was the prints from the shoot and we had a great time looking through them all and choosing.

On Sunday I finally got the babies room in order. All that I have left to do is hang the curtains and wait for two more family photos to arrive and hang those up. Once I have it all done I will post some pictures.

I am getting so excited to meet this little girl!

This weeks doctor appointment adventure!

We had our 36 week check-up at the OBGYN on Tuesday afternoon. We were actually meeting another doctor in the practice just in case our doctor is not available when labor occurs. Before the appointment I had to have one of my two weekly non-stress tests. Usually the baby gets the appropriate amount of kicks and heart rate accelerations in about 20-3o minutes. Tuesday she was not very cooperative. So after being on the monitor for 45 minutes we went into our appointment and met Dr. Brown. She was awesome and said that although the heart rate looked pretty normal she wanted to do a quick in office ultrasound just to check fluids. She left to get the machine and when she came back she had changed her mind and said that we would all sleep better if I went over to Eastside Fetal Maternal Medicine for a more thorough check-up. Eastside is where they handle of my diabetes care, ultrasounds and most of the non-stress tests.

So, we head over and get into the ultrasound room and they do the scan. We were suppose to have this same procedure next Tuesday to determine growth, so it was a week early. To refresh your memory at our 32 week growth ultrasound they estimated her weight at 4 lbs 13 oz. Slightly larger than the average. They ultrasound tech who was doing all of the measurements said her current estimated weight is 7 lbs 7 oz!!!!!! We were a little surprised. The average at this point is about 6 lbs.

So, after the ultrasound tech left I had a small meltdown. I have been so worried that the diabetes was affecting her and so I instantly convinced myself that this was my fault and blah blah blah. The dr came in and asked if these were tears of joy and I said “NO, She is to big!”. He spent the next 1/2 hour going over the results and assured us that this is genetic growth not diabetes related growth. He said that if it were diabetes related they would see a large torso and small head and our baby is totally proportional. He also explained how my body is built for this size of child.

So, long story short our next step is:

1. My OBGYN reviewing the ultrasound and deciding if/when I should be induced. The peranatologist said that it is normally done on diabetic women 38-39.5 weeks. If the baby is simply looking to large then we will discuss surgical options. Although I would like to avoid a c-section I am open to whatever they think the safest option is. I am hoping that being induced will be answer so I can give regular birth a try. I also really want my mom to be with us and she will be here March 30-April 13, then she is back at work for two weeks and then she is back April 27-May 9. So one way or another she will get some good time with her granddaughter. I would just really like her there for extra support for Dan and I.

2. If they do not induce before April 6, that is when we have our next growth scan to check baby again.

On the plus side, between 32 and 36 weeks I have lost weight. Although she has gained 3 lbs I have only gained 1!

So that is it in a nutshell. We will keep you posted on the progress.