Last appointment

Four days to go, and we had our last appointment and ultrasound. Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Chuck are in town now, so they got to go with us. Unfortunately, Bear is so low into my pelvis, that we really didn't get to see a lot. But she has a strong heartbeat, plenty of fluid, and is nearing 8 pounds in weight, according to the ultrasound. Though since she was so low, we're not too sure on accuracy.

But here's what I thought would be a fun pic, but isn't as dramatic as I thought it would. It's a comparison of weeks 30, 34 and 38. To be honest, I don't see that much of a difference...

Here's a similar comparison I did with Evan (weeks 30, 33 and 36). The difference is far more dramatic, I think:


Do you know what to make of it? Because I don't.

So surgery is scheduled for next Friday at 8:30 am. I'll update here as soon as I feel like it (let's face it, with a baby, a toddler and after major abdominal surgery, it may not happen for a few days)

I gained another 3 pounds for a grand total of 40 pounds so far. I'm 171 pounds right now, which is exactly 10 pounds less than with Evan. But that's exactly how much lighter I started this pregnancy. It looks like even though Bear will be delivered 10 days earlier that Evan was, my weight gain will be about the same with both pregnancies.

And here's me at 38 weeks with Bug (in blue) and Bear (in red):


There's a difference in the angle of the picture, but I still think I look bigger with Evan (though again, I was 10 pounds heavier to begin with). I'd say chances are they'll be pretty similar in birth weight. We shall see.

But 4 more days and all we'll know if all this guessing is worth anything!

38 weeks

We'll call this week "contraction week". I'd had a few more episodes of tight BH contractions every 5 minutes. The most notable one yesterday, and it lasted about 4 hours. We went for a walk and during the walk contractions were every 2 minutes. Crazy stuff.

But alas, we're still here, didn't go into labor. So things continue right on schedule, which means we'll meet Belly Bear in 6 days.

Today we were busy cleaning and organizing the house. But now I'm very sore. I have more cleaning to do tomorrow, we'll see how I feel.

Oh, and I didn't gain 6 pounds between week 36 and 37 as I did with Evan, only 1.5 lbs. Not bad, uh?

37 weeks

And we're full term! Belly Bear could be born today, and she would be alright. However...

Our appointment last Monday went well. No dilation at all, which to me confirms Bear won't be in any rush to be early. I gained a bit more weight that usual: instead or my normal one pound per week thing, I gained 2.5 pounds, for a grand total of 166.5 so far. Darn, I knew having a chocolate cake and half a coffee cake would come back to haunt me!

As I was looking at old blog entries to find that false alarm episode, I ran into the 37 weeks post too. Turns out I gained a whooping 6 pounds from week 36 to week 37 with Evan. What?? Yes, 6 pounds in one week. I hope it doesn't happen again, I swear I've only had a couple of donuts this week! ;)

Ah, yes, the urgency for baked goods has arrived. I crave baked goods now like I did for months while pregnant with Evan. I don't really know what that means...

36 weeks

I'm still doing well with the weight gain: 35 pounds so far. We're going to the doctor every week now, since we're so close!

We actually got an ultrasound last Monday. Our doctor checked for the sex again, and yes, Bear is still a girl :) I know it's crazy to doubt, but a friend of mine was told she was having a girl and it was a boy, and this happened just last year! I like having confirmation.

Other than that, everything looks great. Bear is just over 5 pounds and measuring right on target. So now we wait.

35 weeks

Remember how I was saying my feet were swelling? Well, the whole body swelling has started. Just like last time, I get more swollen at night, and my fingers and hands are swollen every morning.

It was finally time to trade my wedding rings for my I'm-too-pregnant-to-wear-my-wedding-rings ring. it actually feels pretty big during the day, but at night it gets pretty tight. No need risking my rings or my fingers, I'll wear this one for the next 7-8 weeks, probably.

34 weeks

Week 35 is a special milestone in pregnancy: not only does it mean you’re 35 weeks in, but you only have 35 days left. In this case, though, that milestone happens this week for us because of the way the c-section is scheduled: we’re 34 weeks in, and have 34 days to go.

This week was the first time I thought to myself “you know, I’m pretty over this being pregnant business”. My hips have been in pain. Sleeping is such an uncomfortable ordeal. I try to sleep on my left side as I should, but my hip starts feeling like something crashed into it, so I turn to my right side. Then my right thigh goes all numb, and it’s just not as comfortable, so I have to move again. If I lie on my back, I can’t breathe too well, plus I snore (ah, yes, another wonderful thing about pregnancy). So there’s a lot of shifting around and potty trips, especially as Bear is so low already. Needless to say, this is definitely the uncomfortable stage.

Also, nesting instinct kicked in HARD. This morning I woke up at 5:20 am because I had to pee, but then I stayed up thinking about all the things we still need to do and set up and how little time we have left (because obviously 34 days is not enough, people!), to the point that if it weren’t because my sister in law was in the guest room, I would have walked in there and started sorting clothes and moving the bed around to figure out the configuration of her furniture. I finally just waited until my husband was awake so he could talk me down, because
I was really starting to get worked up about things not being ready.

So I’m a bit calmer, but I’ll definitely finish all the laundry I have left, and we’ll start thinking about buying Bear’s furniture soon, as opposed to the original plan of waiting until August.

33 weeks

Tired. That about sums it up. I’ve been tired to the point where I feel like I could take a nap by 8 am. That’s still at least 1.5 hours away from Evan’s first nap. Lucky for me, Evan has been very tired too. He has been taking really good 1.5-3 hour naps, which allowed me to nap a little, or at the very least rest a lot.

Of course, that ended today. Evan is back to his 40 minute naps. I’m hoping it’s just for the weekend, because daddy is home, but I’m not holding my breath.

A couple of things you may or may not want to know about: my belly button has officially popped. I think it should be called an outie once it can be seen through clothing, regardless of if that’s the case all the time. So by that definition, I have an outie. When I lay down it sort of hides again, but for the most part it’s out. Also, the linea negra is finally showing up. It was there from very early on with Evan, but with Bear it has taken its sweet time. I’m not complaining; I would’ve been fine not seeing it again. But it’s here, and that’s fine. It’s still not as dark as it was with Evan.

32 weeks

This week has been a bit strange. First, and much to my dismay, my varicose veins have reached my ankle and foot. I just can’t get over the fact that they won’t stop, they just keep spreading. Sigh, only a few more weeks left.

Also, it has been a week of weird dreams. Anything under the rainbow, from dreaming with people I haven’t seen or thought about in a long time, to dreams of persecution and murder plots. I actually think I could write a few short stories if not books out of those dreams, if I had the discipline to write the plot down.

But I digress. I don’t think I’d had so many crazy dreams so close together in a while. Even with potty breaks, I would go back to dreaming the same thing.

Other than that, it’s been alright. Nights are getting more uncomfortable but that’s to be expected. One more week down, seven weeks to go.

30 weeks

Thirty weeks, 28 pounds. Not too bad. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and things are right on track. My belly measures exactly what it should for 30 weeks, and Belly Bear kicks every time they try to listen to her heartbeat. She's a little feisty girl!

At this point last time, I was 26 pounds over and Evan was measuring a whole week ahead. Perhaps Bear is a bit smaller so far, but still right on track.

I'm still in the same level of uncomfortableness. I've been having a few rough nights when I just can't get comfortable, and no naps. When people tell you upon looking at you that you look tired, that's bad, and I've been getting that this week.

And next week will be exhausting since Josh won't be here. So it'll be me, Evan and the dogs for a whole week. Fun times in the big city!

29 weeks

Ten weeks to go. Probably ten pounds too.

I had a realization today. I’ve gained probably 27 pounds by now. Add the 24 pounds Evan weighs, and that’s 51 extra pounds I carry around a significant part of the day. No wonder my legs feel the way they do!

I was reading back on how I felt at this point in the pregnancy with Evan, and I realized that I was not as uncomfortable as I thought. I thought I was swollen and uncomfortable already at this point last time, and that considering I’m not too uncomfortable, I was doing quite well this time around. Turns out, the best is yet to come. I now know this time around has been a little more difficult, if only because for my leg. It throbs and feels hot, and it’s starting to be painful more often than not. So, obviously I’m looking forward to the next 10 pounds.

I also realized I was going through a similar thing at this point last time: bad hydration. Last Tuesday I woke up and I had a lot of BH contractions. I feel them very often, but this time it was more often than usual. I wrote a post referring to the same thing back then, and it was that I wasn’t drinking enough water. So I need to stay on top of that, it’s really uncomfortable to get so many contractions while caring for Evan.

I’ve enjoyed this week of pregnancy a lot. I’ve been paying more attention to Bear’s movements, and I’m amazed by how strong our little girl is already. Sometimes it’s like she’s dancing samba in there! And sometimes her movements are sweet and gentle, and I can tell she’s just shifting to make herself comfortable. It’s starting to feel more real for me: we’re having a little girl, and she’ll be here in 10 weeks.

28 weeks

28 weeks, 11 weeks to go. This week has been of uncomfortable sleep. I had my OBGYN appointment yesterday and lo and behold, I have gained 26 pounds so far. I think I'm gaining 40 pounds again... Oh well, might as well enjoy it. All looks well, I had my 1 hour glucose test and should know it I need further testing in a couple of days. I'm crossing my fingers for a no. We won't be able to officially schedule the c-section until about a month before because there's no way to schedule the OR so far in advance, but so far we're in agreement that May 20th is the preferred date and quite likely the one. So we'll plan accordingly.

I've been a bit more tired, with a bit more shortness of breath, very emotional.

Ah! Almost forgot, big development. My belly button is half way out. This is a major because my lovely husband was expecting it to pop with Evan's pregnancy, but it didn't. So he has high hopes for Bear to make it happen. Considering we still have 11 weeks to go, I think he's going to get his wish. It's very shallow, and the top of it is pretty much out. Half way there, Bear, to make daddy happy! She's going to be such a daddy's girl... :)

27 weeks

Wow. We're only 12 weeks away. For some reason, that sounds a lot closer than 13, or any other number up until now. I know it's still pretty much 3 months, and that sounds like a long time from now, but 12 weeks... that sounds really close.

So I got my new compression hose in the mail last Wednesday, and I couldn't wait to try them on. I was right, they are not a sexy garment. When I was looking for maternity jeans I resisted buying anything that had a belly panel, and only looked at jeans that had elastic below the belly. But today I sit here with a full belly panel covering my belly, from my pantyhose. Lovely. However, I guess it does the job. My legs don't feel as tired, though once the hose is off I can see that there really is no improvement in the veins themselves. But I'll take the extra comfort of not feeling so much pain for now. Hopefully they'll also prevent the development of new veins.

As I mentioned last week, I'm getting back to the tired stage. Evan's middle of the night wake ups don't help, and he's been getting them more often lately.

I'm also at the stage when sleeping on my back is uncomfortable because I feel a little out of breath. However, sleeping on my side all the time is hard, I do wake up on my back often. I'm not waking up as often as I used to, but I am waking up earlier (around 5-6 am) and finding it very hard to go back to sleep. Of course, now that Evan is waking up earlier as well, it makes no difference because within 20 minutes of me waking up, he's awake. Perhaps it's a good thing I can't go back to sleep after all.

Another interesting thing of the last couple of days is that I haven't been that hungry. I've been skipping lunch because I'm not hungry at all. I'm sure that won't last long, though.

I know I haven't been doing comparisons between weeks this time around, basically because time is limited when I'm online on the computer. But today I decided to do a comparison with a twist. Here's me at 27 weeks when pregnant with Evan, and now with Bear:

I can see they look different, but I can't quite pin down different how. The belly is a little more out, and higher, maybe a little pointy, and perhaps a little smaller in the N-S axis? Did that make any sense at all? You can decide for yourself if they are different at all.

26 weeks

My legs have been really throbbing and bothering me, so I finally decided to get myself a compression pantyhose. Boy, those things sure look sexy! (not) We’ll see if they’re actually helpful.

The exhaustion that I had on the first trimester is making a comeback. I can’t really say I had a lot of energy in between those stages, more like barely enough that I could make it through the day, but now it’s winding down again. I think it’s a little too early for that, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

At the same time, we’re going to bed later, so I sleep a little less at night. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Other than that, still growing, Bear is still kicking up a storm, and things are well.

Sunday: 25 weeks (and 1 day)

I decided to make this week’s post about Sunday for two reasons. First, we moved into our new house this weekend. Yay! We love it, but it was a busy couple of days trying to unpack as much as possible with Evan around.

But today is also the day I got to go to our old rental house and clean it up. Maybe you think my husband should have done this instead of my 25 week pregnant self, but I’m sure y’all understand he does not comprehend the level of cleanness required to avoid cleaning fees. It only took 4 hours, so it wasn’t too bad. I felt fine during the whole ordeal; I was obviously tired but not as much as I expected to be. I expected not being able to walk once I settled down (hips get really sore at times), but I was fine, if only a bit sore.

But then I came home and looked at myself in the mirror. Today is the first day I actually felt like a big pregnant lady. My belly is definitely there, and it’s big. I guess pregnancy amnesia has kicked in, because I don’t remember feeling or looking so big at this point last time. My dear husband respectfully disagrees and says I looked just as big, but I just don’t remember it.

Anyways, I’m big and pregnant, and this is just getting started, really. We’ll see how big I get in the end.

20 weeks

Half way there! Actually, a bit more than halfway, since we’re having a scheduled c-section a week before the due date. Things are well, there’s really nothing new to report. Still craving chocolate (I eat a chocolate fudge cake in 3 days, by myself), still feeling tons of movement, still having tons of BH contractions.

I checked online and it turns out it’s not uncommon for second time mamas to feel more contractions, mainly because you can tell what they are much sooner. Lucky me! I will ask the doctor about it, just in case.

Bear is a 24/7 act. Sometimes s/he keeps me up after a midnight potty break, and s/he’s not that big yet! I enjoy feeling Bear move, though, so it’s all good.

I have had some weird food combinations. Something sweet immediately followed by something salty, and back. I had cheerios with bananas the other day, followed by a spicy turkey sandwich with pickles. It was all good, but belching after that was disgusting!

18 weeks

I have one word for you: constipation. Hey, I didn’t say it would be a pretty one.

But that’s definitely the thing of the week, and quite possibly of the past couple of weeks, I forget. It might have something to do with the changes in diet from the move, but it could also be that it is what it is, period. Our kitchen is not properly stocked yet, it takes a while to get everything you usually have there. Definitely no healthy snacks yet, so it might take a while to get back to normal. I guess coffee cake doesn’t help either…

Another thing I’d forgotten to add, pregnancy brain. Sometimes words, and complete thoughts, escape me. They are there, and then they’re gone. And balance is starting to be an issue too, especially when you add a 23 lb. baby to the mix. (Wait, is Evan even considered a baby anymore? Am I supposed to refer to him as a toddler now?)

Also, I think it’s possible to feel Belly Bear move from the outside now. We haven’t tried to see if Josh can feel movement, but we’ll see if we can try tonight. I’m sure I can feel it, but there’s always the possibility that it’s because I know exactly when and where s/he hits. So we’ll see.

Update: we tried, Josh couldn’t feel Bear yet. Oh well, shouldn’t be too long now.

17 weeks

Ok, so it’s more like 17.5 weeks, but since I haven’t blogged for a while, we’ll go back a little.

We had our first appointment with our new doctor yesterday. It went well, he actually reminds me of our previous doctor back in Anacortes, WA, and we liked him as well. I’ll be honest, I don’t think any doctor can match the appreciation we have for Dr. Johansen, but we feel comfortable with our new doctor and that’s important. Of course, circumstances are different in that we know I’m having a scheduled C-section, so we’re a little more relaxed and expect no surprise drama.

Anyways, our appointment was good, I’m 140 lbs (gained 9 lbs total so far), and Belly Bear’s heartbeat is strong and fluttering away. It seems that most women start feeling baby move around this time, but still don’t feel it very often, so doctors tell you not to worry if you don’t feel movement for a couple of days at this point, and you’ll feel it a lot more often soon enough. I guess I’m the exception, because with both Bug and Bear, since the day I felt them move first, I feel them all the time, several times a day. Hey, no complains here, I love feeling movement!

The first time I felt Belly Bear move was on the flight over to the East Coast. We were somewhere between San Diego and Dallas and Evan was taking his nap of the flight, so I was relaxed and resting. I assume Bear wasn’t too comfortable having his/her brother’s weight on top of my belly, so s/he started kicking right in the center of it. Of course, Evan didn’t feel it and couldn’t care less, but I felt it, as certain as day follows night, and I’ve been feeling Bear move since.

I thought I felt *something* before, that maybe could’ve been Bear moving, but it still felt very far away, so I can’t be sure. But that day, December 14^th, 2010, was the day I definitely felt movement.

I’m also having Braxton-Hicks contractions already. Nothing dramatic, obviously, just a few times every now and then.

So all is well and we have our next appointment on Jan. 11^th, when we’ll have an ultrasound. One thing about this ultrasound I’m not excited about though: full bladder. It must be an older machine, since this is the first time I’ve been asked to go with a full bladder. That’s just torture for pregnant women.

13 weeks

And we have a belly! Or at least I think so...

This week has been weird. I've had a couple of weird moments, just feeling really shaky and needing to lay down, as when your sugar is low. But it was after eating, so definitely not related to sugar levels.

I've also been quite constipated (yes, I know you wanted to know), and my very low (ok, fine, nonexistent) veggie and fruit intake doesn't help. But I can't help that, I've tried but it just doesn't feel right to eat healthy food. I'll try sushi, sushi is healthy, right? (please spare me the "you can't eat sushi" speech, I only eat good quality stuff)

Nausea is almost gone, but every now and then it makes an unpleasant comeback, so I won't claim to be out of the woods yet. But it's definitely not as bad as it was.

Insomnia is always there. Every night I wake up to go potty, and every night it takes me a good 1.5 hours to go back to sleep. And every night, either Evan (because he's wet or hungry) or Fiona (because she feels the need to paw our door) wake me up soon after I manage to go back to sleep. That's why I try to nap as much as I can, but sometimes that just doesn't happen. Hopefully insomnia will leave me soon.

12 weeks

Last week my nausea was pretty much gone, but that was because I had a cold. A cold which lasted far longer for me than it did for DH and Evan, but it's finally gone. The bad part of that is that my nausea is back. It's not as bad, mostly in the afternoons now. However, it has been replaced with sudden OMG-I-must-eat-right-now hunger during the day.

I'm thirsty a lot, but I still have trouble finding something I actually want to drink. This is very odd for me, because my drink choices are already limited: water, OJ, limeade, milk, occasionally tea. That's pretty much all I drink (and alcohol, which I obviously don't now)

My nose is still very sensitive to the dog smell of the carpet. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I vacuum with baking soda, it still stinks. Which really sucks. I guess the fact that the dogs still stink because they haven't been groomed in months doesn't help, but with the impending move we're leaving that until a few days before the big trip.

Cravings: pepperoni pizza, had to have it yesterday. Corn tortillas again, can't get enough. And mexican in general again, tacos and quesadillas, bring it on. No true desire to bake yet.

10 weeks

We started taking belly pictures last week, but as you know, I haven't been a good blogger, and I haven't downloaded the pics to my computer either. I'll try to post them soon.

This week has been a bit tough. My nose is very sensitive to the dog smell in the living room, it almost makes me sick and I can only take so much (and it was very strong when we came back from our vacation). Though I've vacuumed with baking soda a couple of times, I can still smell it. And this smell gets stuck in the back of my throat, and I taste it every time I swallow (please tell me that makes sense). I can't wait for that to be over.

Also, I have my first food aversion: soups. I haven't so much as seen soup in a couple of weeks, so I don't really know how it started, but just hearing about soup (as in a random FB status) makes me want to gag. It's very bizarre...

Also, I can't fathom eating fruit, or many vegetables, and I'm having trouble drinking as much water as I should. These things just don't sound appetizing. And if you add that horrible taste in the back of my throat, well, nothing tastes really good for long.

I still manage to eat often, mainly because the nausea and indigestion forces me to, but I'm definitely not eating as healthy as I could. But honestly, I'm doing the best I can.