Sunday, June 29, 2008

32w3d

It's hard to believe I'm here at 32 weeks already; only 8 more weeks to go! I just entered my eighth month, and the pregnancy symptoms abound: back pain, shortness of breath, heartburn, swelling. The fun never stops. :) And this emotional roller coaster I've been on for the past week? Somebody stop the ride, I want to get off! One minute I'm feeling pretty good, then the next I'm crying at the drop of a hat, I'm irritated, angry, hopeless, and frustrated. It's like PMS times 300.

I am quickly finding my limits, especially with regard to how long I can spend outside in the heat. On Friday afternoon around lunchtime, I started feeling really dizzy and lightheaded. Thankfully, I was already sitting down by that point and had had a bit of my lunch. I felt like if I were to get up though, I'd pass out. Then I started seeing spots and knew that wasn't good. So I called my doctor's office, and after nicely but firmly explaining to the receptionist that I needed to talk to somebody ASAP about what was going on with me, talked to the prenatal nurse on duty. She asked me what my symptoms were and what I had to eat that day, then suggested I come in as soon I could to get checked out.

Gregg came and picked me up from work, and we were at the doctor's in 15 minutes. The nurse checked my blood pressure, which was normal. She also checked my hands & feet for swelling. Nothing out of the ordinary. A doppler scan revealed that everything with the baby was just fine, also. His heartbeat was slightly higher than normal, near the 150s. She said there were some white blood cells found in my urine, which might be indicative of a urinary tract infection. So she had me give another sample to be sent to the lab for a urinalysis.

The final verdict? I'm not totally sure. I think it was the combination of sitting outside for an hour and leaving four between breakfast and lunch that got to me. Plus, I hadn't really slept that well the night before. So this was my body's (and baby's!) way of telling me to take it easy.

When I got home from the doctor's office, all I wanted to do was sleep. I'm not quite as tired as I was during my first trimester, but I'm definitely slowing down. It's hard to find a comfy position to sleep or sit in these days with my big ol' belly sticking out there. I feel like I need a crane to get me out of bed, or out of the car. I must be a sight to see, waddling around, carrying my 50 oz. pink jug of water (that I never leave home without).

In other news, the nursery is quickly filling up with odds and ends for Baby B! My sister and her fiance came up from Maryland last Sunday with a carload full of goodies. I couldn't believe how much stuff they brought. Valerie got us the car seat, mobile, and boppy pillow we registered for, plus a couple of fitted crib sheets and lots of adorable little outfits. The next day a package arrived from UPS with some more stuff off of our registry, from my mother's cousin. I go into the baby's room at least once a day to look at everything and smile every time.

It's been hitting me recently that, in just a short time, Gregg and I will no longer just be husband and wife. We'll be "mommy" and "daddy", too. We'll be responsible for a life. It won't ever just be the two of us again- well, I guess until our kids move out on their own in the next 20 some years. It's a bit scary and overwhelming to think about. While I am very much looking forward to our little boy's arrival, our lives will never be the same.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the impact this baby will have on us. I know that it will be challenging to be first-time parents, but wonderful. I just imagine seeing our features in his tiny face, knowing that we created him together. That will make all the late night feedings and sleep deprivation so worth it. :)

32 Weeks:

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A Break From Your Regularly Scheduled Reading

I feel the need to break from the norm of shiny happy posts about the pregnancy and baby, and be real about what's going on underneath the surface of what seems like a blissfully perfect life. Life is still good, just complicated. I don't know why I didn't post about it before. I guess I was trying to sugarcoat a bad situation, so I just glossed over it as if it never happened. And then things went back to normal, so I just didn't feel the need to dredge it up and put it out there in the blogisphere.

But- Right after the new year, Gregg was basically forced out of his position as Technical Director at King Street Church. It's a long story that doesn't necessitate all the details being rehashed at this point, but suffice it to say that we both felt pretty betrayed by what happened. We stopped attending church there, and Gregg quickly found another job elsewhere with a small marketing company. We've been looking for a church to go to since the middle of January. With Chambersburg located in, essentially, the Bible belt of the Mid-Atlantic, we thought we'd have very little trouble finding a new church home. We were wrong.

Every Sunday, we ventured out to try almost every different type of congregation imaginable. But something wasn't clicking. It was either too liberal, or too conservative, or too... something. I thought maybe at one point we were just being too picky! With a baby coming, we know we want to be connected to a church family and find spiritual encouragement. It seems like the more we look, the more discouraged we become. I feel lost, like we had been a part of something and then were kicked out. We had after all, moved from Florida just for Gregg's job at King Street. We don't even really like the town of Chambersburg, nor the surrounding area.

But it's our home, sort of. The whole church search and everything makes me wonder sometimes why we came here. And if we could have avoided uprooting the life we had down in FL. So many questions that are unanswered. We seemed to be heading in one direction, then got thrown off the track. I really want to get back on track again, and create some sort of stability for the family we're growing. If it at all felt like home to us once, it certainly doesn't anymore.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

31w2d

Yesterday morning, we had another routine check up at the doctor's. Everything is going well, and I've gained another three pounds. That makes a total of 25 pounds gained since the start of my pregnancy, which isn't bad. Baby Boy's heartbeat was fluctuating between 137 and 140 BPM. The nurse midwife who saw us went over delivery procedures and had me fill out a registration form for my hospital stay. After the appointment, I was scheduled for the rest of my visits through the end of August.

Two more months left! I am getting really excited. Thank you to those who prayed for me this past week when I was feeling down. God rejuvenated my spirit and gave me the most wonderful dream last night about our sweet little boy arriving. He was perfect, and I got to hold him close and kiss his soft, pudgy cheeks. I already love him so much, and he's not even here yet!

I've been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions on and off for the last couple of days. They're uncomfortable, but not painful. My belly will tighten, and then I'll have pressure in my back with some very mild cramping. It's getting harder to get out of bed and manuever myself out of chairs. My tummy gets in the way as I'm on the couch typing on the laptop. And when I sit down now, my chest rests on my tummy, and my tummy rests on my thighs!

I'm so amazed that there's a little human being inside me. He's active much of the day, making my stomach appear to dance. After my dream last night, I am so ready for him to come.

31 weeks:

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

30w5d

Last night we toured the maternity floor of the hospital with our childbirth class. All of the labor and delivery rooms are private, with their own bathroom and shower. The baby stays in the room at all times, too, unless there's a problem where they would then go to the nursery. We saw the whirlpool room last, which I will definitely be taking full advantage of! It's hard to believe I'll be checking in there in about two months. Scary, but exciting.

Baby brain is wreaking havoc something fierce lately. I'm barely able to concentrate on anything at work, and I've honestly been feeling overwhelmed trying to keep everything straight with the eight cases I manage. My workload really didn't seem that demanding before. Some days I just want to cry at my desk when the paperwork is stacking up, the phone's ringing off the hook, and the emails are flooding in.

Maybe it's my pregnancy hormones in overdrive, but I feel so stressed and emotional about life in general. I prayed during the long drive to my afternoon home visit today, and admitted that I've been trying to carry a burden that I'm not meant to handle by myself. I was reminded that God's grace and strength is sufficient for me at times like this. It's really hard when I can't see the forest from the trees. God always gives me comfort and rest when I need it, though. I want to be the best I can be at my job, I really do, but my mind is elsewhere. Sometimes I feel like saying "Forget this! I have bigger fish to fry." I've never really been that career oriented, though I plugged away in my early twenties towards graduating in four years and getting my Masters degree early. Six years later, my goal now is to be a wife and mother. That's where my heart is.

I keep telling myself that I only have to get through these next two months, and then I can go on leave. Then... then I prepare for the most life altering experience ever and step into my new role as a mom.

I was having one of those days today where I feel swamped and sad and frustrated, and Gregg offered to make dinner so that was one less thing on my to-do list. I was very grateful for that. He's good at helping me feel better. Right now, the last thing I need is to be stressed. I know it's not good for Baby Boy. So if I forget things at work and fall behind with paperwork, oh well. I'm just going to do what I can and let the rest go.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

30 Weeks!!!

I can't believe I'm here already. Only ten more weeks to go! I look and feel huge, and my belly seems to be getting in the way of everything. I've outgrown the first pair of maternity jeans I bought. They were starting to get pretty uncomfortable, so I retired them. Today I tried on several other pairs of pants I got from a friend, which were too big for me before, and now they don't fit! Oddly enough, my favorite pair of non-maternity "apartment pants"/pj bottoms fit me great. They're really stretchy and were always loose on me pre-preggo.
Monday night was our second and final childbirth class. Next week we meet at the hospital for a tour of the maternity ward. We learned more relaxation techniques, including breathing, and about different kinds of pain medications, as well as C-section, episiotomy, and induction. The class then finished with newborn care and safety. I definitely feel more prepared for labor after taking the classes. More apprehensive, too. I needed to get a dose of reality though, so I know what to expect when it's time.

I've been drinking, like, a gallon of water each day since it's so stinkin' hot outside. More trips to the bathroom, but it reduces the risk of pre-term labor. My ankles are starting to disappear, and my sandals suddenly feel snug. Baby Boy is about 17 inches and weighs three pounds! He'll double, or even triple, in weight during the next two and a half months. I feel him moving around all over the place; a kick here in my bladder, an elbow jab there in my ribs. Sometimes he'll go absolutely crazy when I eat certain foods, or when my adrenaline is really going.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. This week has been very busy at work. It feels like just as I get caught up on everything, I have twenty more tasks added to my to-do list. I do get home earlier, though, since the kids are out of school and I can visit them during the day now. I like my job, but I am so ready to be a full-time mommy. Only two months before I go on maternity leave!

Here is my 30th week shot:

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Making Room for Baby

We spent the majority of this weekend preparing the nursery. Gregg's parents came into town, armed with tools and supplies, to help us work on the room. Saturday morning my mother-in-law painted the bottom half of each wall with the blue color we picked out. After taping down the baseboards and doing the trim, the job went pretty quickly. After lunch, Gregg and his dad assembled the crib that my in-laws bought for us. Then his mom and I put up the wallpaper border, which really tied everything together.

I love the way it turned out. It's absolutely perfect! After we were done, I stood back to admire the room and could picture our baby in it. Words can't even describe how wonderful I felt. Now I am even more excited than ever for him to arrive! My MIL also brought the cradle Gregg slept in as a baby, and was up early this morning sewing new bumpers for it. It's really all starting to come together now.

Here are some pictures:
The first stage



Is there enough blue in this room?



A close-up of the Winnie the Pooh border, with baby's first toys in the crib


The finished project, and the tired but happy soon-to-be parents!

Saturday, June 07, 2008

29w2d

Yesterday we had another doctor's appointment, and surprise! It was raining out, as usual. I found out I've gained three pounds since our last visit. After seeing the number, I said to Gregg, "Yikes!" So far my weight gain is right on target, but the number still freaked me out a little. The results of the blood sugar test came back normal, and everything else looked good. Heartbeat is in the 140s and I could hear it much louder & clearer than before.

The only downside to our appointment is that we found out the doctor we've been seeing for the past several visits, who we really like, is moving to Las Vegas at the end of June. The practice still has three other OBGYN's and three midwives on staff who rotate seeing patients, so I wouldn't necessarily have had this particular doctor deliver me, but now she won't be there at all. We go back for another checkup on the 20th.

We are seriously having a heatwave here. Temperatures have been in the high 80s during the last couple of days, and it's going to be in the mid-90s from today until Tuesday. Yay. With the need to stay cool and hydrated over the next few months, I got one of those 52 oz. water bottles with a sippy straw that I can carry along with me. It has a removable ice pack thing to keep the liquid cold throughout the day. Last night we ran some errands after dinner, and it was starting to get difficult keeping up the pace with Gregg. I kind of just waddled around the store. While he went into Target, I just stayed in the car with the A/C on full blast and waited for him to come out.

Baby Boy is really starting to pack a punch now. Sometimes it feels like he's trying to come out of my stomach! I can't believe I'm only 11 weeks away from my due date. Gregg and I were discussing last night how it's been almost six months since we found out we were expecting, and time has just flown by. Our son will be here before we know it!!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Adventures in Childbearing

Last night Gregg and I attended our first childbirth class at the medical center. There were at least ten other couples who joined us. Sad to say, but the married women were definitely in the minority. There were two ladies who were at least engaged, but the rest were young women who brought their moms with them. Nearly all of us said in our introductions that we're having boys! After class, Gregg chuckled that "Bubba" is going to have a lot of competition for girls. The class was pretty much split between those due in July and those due in August. Mine was the latest due date out of everybody by one day.

We learned about the different phases of labor, birthing positions, and relaxation techniques. We were given a visual of how much your cervix actually dilates before you can begin pushing. If I had any questions before about just how big 10cm is, I certainly don't now! Yikes. The instructor showed the men and moms how to massage their partners, and Gregg was really good at it.

We concluded the class with a video about labor and delivery. It wasn't the stereotypical, cheesy film I'd remembered from junior high health class, thankfully. It was like a slightly more graphic Baby Story, which featured three vignettes of women giving birth. I can say that after watching it, I feel less excited now about going into labor. I do however, have a greater understanding of how difficult and intense it is, but I feel confident I can get through it with the help of my husband, my doctor, and the epidural if need be. Call me crazy, but I think I actually want to have a natural childbirth. I'm not ruling out pain medications if things get really unbearable, but I at least want to give it a shot.

I'm starting to realize that I just can't do certain things anymore without feeling uncomfortable. Being in my seventh month, standing for more than an hour gives me back pain and climbing the stairs to our second floor leaves me winded. I have to remember that I'm strapping on about twenty extra pounds around my middle these days, and need to take it easy. I look at pictures of myself pre-preggo, and I'm amazed that I ever had such a tiny waist and tummy. Now I can barely see my feet! Speaking of feet, I noticed them starting to get a little puffy. Oh the joys of pregnancy.