Total weight gain/loss: + 23.5 lbs
Maternity clothes: i'm actually going to really miss some of these clothes! it will be nice though when i can comfortably zip up my jackets again without looking like gus gus. it's cold outside!
Sleep: it's not bad. when i have dreams they're typically pretty weird. and i think i normally wake up once during the night. sometimes i fall back asleep within seconds, sometimes it takes five minutes, sometimes i get up to go to the bathroom and then fall back asleep as soon as i get in bed, and one time i couldn't go back to sleep for a full TWO HOURS. also, i still almost always wake up in the morning when christopher is getting ready. and it's always with a bad headache. and sometimes even when i wake up on my own, i still get that terrible headache. tuesday morning i woke up when he was getting ready and then fell back asleep for a while and woke up again in time to kiss him goodbye. i should mention though that he was out of town tuesday to wednesday and even though he was gone, there i was, awake at 7:30. so maybe i can't really blame my christopher because it's most likely just a coincidence with my internal clock. and i almost never take naps. that's a sure fire way to wake up depressed, with a headache, and guarantee a two or three hour attempt to fall asleep that night.
Best moment this week: getting stuff done! we (mostly i) got the nursery and abigail's room set up. i've been doing tons of shopping for all the odds and ends things like sheets and mattress covers and lots of blue and green baby boy laundry and really just anything necessary to get those two rooms in working order. right down to organizing all the books we have. moving library books to abigail's new room, keeping board books tucked by the glider in baby boy's room, putting away all the new diapers i ordered for the both of them... you name it. few things make me feel happier than organizing (i sometimes wonder if this is what people talk about when they say that exercising makes them feel good... it's the organizing endorphins). we got the video monitor, ordered abigail's new bedding, bought abigail's bedroom furniture and got it set up, and set up both cribs with their proper height and bedding. and abigail started sleeping in her new big sister bedroom. so it's been eventful and we've accomplished a lot and it's been very fulfilling and anxiety reducing. i am infinitely more excited now about bringing a new baby into our home.
Movement: i can not stress enough how much more frequently it's getting uncomfortable. when i am semi reclined in bed, sometimes he'll just slide under my ribs or bunch up all on my right side (he's alllllways on my right side. the np last appointment even commented on it) or sometimes just kick under my ribs to where i feel them snap back. like a tupperware lid snapping on and off... but my ribs... and it hurts. when i was pregnant with abigail i heard stories about rib kicking and such but only experienced it a handful of times and it sure wasn't like this. now i know what they were talking about! still does that thing where he sticks out something pokey and i have to push it back in before he slides it from one side of my belly to the other. i don't mind the constant squirms (he seriously never ever stops moving!) but holy cow can he be vigorous! abigail was always sweet and gentle in the womb and i remember how feeling her move was always so calming to me. when this guy gets moving i'm tensing up, bracing myself and trying to manually hold my belly in place so he can't slide up in my ribs! contractions are definitely getting more noticeable and more frequent. and as has been the case for weeks... the most sure fire way to get a contraction is to bend over or pick something up.
Food cravings: ugh... please don't make me eat. you know it's bad when even my usual cheese eggs on toasted french bread breakfast isn't appealing. i skipped it twice this week and just had a large cup of egg nog instead. and when i do make it, it's just not delicious like it was before. it's doable at the beginning and then i'm just forcing myself to eat the last half of it. i drink a lot of milk these days. also, i know it started weeks ago but more than ever, i'm getting full so quickly and then hungry so quickly. i'm excited to like food again. but in the mean time, i'm just trying to make it through day by day, inputting enough food to grow this little boy. i talked to my oldest sister one morning this week (actually we facetimed! first time for both of us!) and she informed me that we couldn't be friends if i didn't gain more weight. so while i was grocery shopping at walmart a few hours later and got hungry, i had no problem asking a worker where i could find some pringles (those sounded soooo good right then) and made my way over to them. i opened that can before i even left the aisle and by the time baby girl and i got to the front of the store, we'd already polished off half of them, just stopping long enough to periodically brush the crumbs from my belly. totally didn't even care that i was that super pregnant lady shoving pringles in her mouth as she shopped at walmart. let it be known that we also opened a pack of sliced provolone that we were snacking on but we actually do that pretty frequently anyways...
Gender: BOY! i'm genuinely excited about getting to know this kid. i'm still worried about him crying or not sleeping well or who knows what, but i'm trying to prepare myself for it. i've been doing tons of reading up on the newborn stage so i can be educated like i was with abigail. hopefully that will help me to have a sense of control and be able to provide support and stability to the situation.
What I miss: umm i think right now it's just all the random odds and ends type of stuff. nothing super huge that i miss but it'll be nice to like eating again and to not have fierce headaches and stuff. things like that.
Milestones: we're actually ready for a baby now! i know it was this same week last pregnancy that we did all our preparations and shopping and bought a crib and bedding and diaper pail and everything so it's kinda funny to me that even though we're living in a house this time (last time we couldn't do any of that stuff because we moved when i was 37 weeks), we still didn't do anything until now. and as of tuesday, abigail will tell you that the brown room is now "baby brother's" and when i ask where he is she'll gently rub my belly.
Theme: the week of super crazy nesting
Extra: i'm getting really nostalgic about not being pregnant anymore (i really really like my big belly), but now that the nursery is all set up, i'm also really excited about having a new baby join us.
it's not like me to get upset by the things people ignorantly say, but i'm getting more and more frustrated that everyone i talk to gives me their sympathies about how i still have two weeks left until i have a baby and implies that pregnancy sucks or is something to just be endured until it can finally end. stop telling me my life sucks! many people aren't so blessed!
i talked to my visiting teachers about my baby shower and i'm glad we're all on the same page. we'd all prefer to have the shower in late january. they want it then because it's so hectic right now with christmas coming up. i want it then because this pregnancy has me very emotionally fragile and quite honestly, i would dread having a shower rather than looking forward to it. especially with people having to take time out of their busy schedules to come to it and having to add one more gift to their already too long "to buy" list of presents. i felt like a giant weight was lifted when i talked to my visiting teacher and she happily agreed to late january. tender mercies.
i had another fun doctors appointment wednesday. it's still insanely amusing me to me how the lady's attitude towards me changed 100% after i told her that i really like being pregnant. she came in today all bubbly and asked how i was doing. i told her great and she immediately started gushing about how she wishes she could clone me and so many pregnant women just want to be done with it, even if their baby isn't ready to come out yet. i was laughing on the inside and smiling on the outside while this was going on. hilarious. she measured me at 32 weeks and said the baby was growing but that she still anticipated him being small. he's definitely head down and pretty much definitely going to stay that way but apparently there's no way to check and see if he's posterior or not. but i'm pretty sure he is... just judging my what i feel. hopefully he'll turn during labor, if not before, but my doctor said they'll definitely check when i'm in the hospital. i'm at a 2 cm and 70% and hopefully will continue to progress! when my doctor was leaving, she checked my future appointments and realized that she won't see me again until my postpartum appointment. she told me that she's excited to see me then and that i need to bring my baby with me when i come because she wants to see how cute he is and she wished me merry christmas and happy holidays and gave me an enthusiastic hug (sliiiiightly awkward when you're wearing no pants) and headed out the door. and there i was sitting bewildered like "how did we suddenly go from the most awkward interactions ever to bff?!"
i'm sure it's gotta be wishful thinking but i keep feeling like this kid will come on his due date. i can only hope... because that would sure be optimal.
also, i think i have a faint faint faint linea nigra that i've only ever noticed one time when i really really looked for it. i remember it being really obvious with abigail but i guess i still have a few weeks left for it to develop.
i love abigail's random comments about mommy's got a big stomach or a big belly or whatever her latest phrase of choice is. more and more often she's snuggling up to my belly and using it as a pillow. goodness knows it's too in the way if you're just trying to sit on my lap like normal. now that she's in her new bedroom with the little loveseat, we lay down and snuggle to read books. much better than our previous attempts sitting in the glider.
sometimes i have bad headaches or migraines in the evening that just come out of the blue. so ready for these to get better. not to mention the headaches that hit me within a millisecond of waking up... and taking hours to subside.
i've been really sucking at practicing my relaxation techniques so i'm getting just sliiiightly worried about my attempt at a possible natural birth. i'm really banking on my labor going fast and my baby being small.
last pregnancy i had no nesting and i was just so excited to quit working and be a mom already that i really didn't care about anything else. i didn't care about setting up a nursery or having everything in place before she was born. my mom came in to town on my due date and we spend the next five days doing stuff like shopping for a changing table pad cover and laundry hamper and buying/reading babywise (i'd given pretty much no thought to studying up on parenting a newborn). this time around we're so much more prepared than last time (although with much less of a wardrobe) but i catch myself freaking out and worrying about how i don't have one of those special carseat cover things that keeps your baby warm or how i don't have newborn appropriate pacifiers or bottles (which we never had or used at all with abigail). i'm freaking out about getting stuff that i never even ever used with abigail! like obviously it wasn't that necessary because i never even bought it last time. and now i just have visions that i'm going to be needing to run to the store in a blizzard with my out of control toddler and screaming newborn because.... i need a newborn bottle with a slow flow nipple? i know it's not rational but it's not helping. it comes down to what i've mentioned before. when your first time through is as easy and optimal as you could hope for, it sets your wants and expectations for the second time to be unattainably high. the only thing that was terrible last time was my body's recovery and adjustment to nursing.
which speaking of... that reminds me about my favorite part of my appointment. in california they had this thing called the "newborn club" which was basically just a group appointment you had to take your baby to two days after you left the hospital. wouldn't have been a terrible thing except that i was in the worst pain of my life and the car ride there, walking the hospital to try to find the right place, a room full of gliders that i was in too much pain to sit in, and being surrounded by a million people i didn't know... it was miserable. we ended up being given a private room so that i could nurse standing up without worrying about flashing all of the dads in the group appointment and even though everything was perfect with abigail... it was a horrific experience and i still remember clearly when several of the nurses crowded around me and told me they see every single new mom that leaves the hospital and the pain i was experiencing was not normal and they urged me to go straight to the ER (i went home to lay in bed instead). ANYWAYS, all that background information is to say that i was thrilled beyond belief when my bff nurse practitioner told me that two days after we left the hospital, a nurse would COME TO MY HOME to check on me and my baby. we'll get a call that day to set up a convenient time and then a nurse will walk in my door with a baby scale and other things so that she can weigh my baby, tell me how much he's eating in a feeding, check his latch, check for jaundice, answer any questions i have about him or nursing or my body's recovery or really just anything. last time i was making long trips to santa clara (where the hospital was) within the first week of abigail being born 1) for the newborn club appointment 2) to get checked out my a doctor because i was experiencing such severe pain and 3) for yet another group newborn appointment.when baby girl was a week or so old. misery. so this whole "a fairy godmother nurse will show up at your home (so you don't have to take your newborn, toldder, and beatup body out in the colorado winter elements) and help you out with anything you could possibly imagine" thing is kind of a dream come true. hallelujah.
i had another fun doctors appointment wednesday. it's still insanely amusing me to me how the lady's attitude towards me changed 100% after i told her that i really like being pregnant. she came in today all bubbly and asked how i was doing. i told her great and she immediately started gushing about how she wishes she could clone me and so many pregnant women just want to be done with it, even if their baby isn't ready to come out yet. i was laughing on the inside and smiling on the outside while this was going on. hilarious. she measured me at 32 weeks and said the baby was growing but that she still anticipated him being small. he's definitely head down and pretty much definitely going to stay that way but apparently there's no way to check and see if he's posterior or not. but i'm pretty sure he is... just judging my what i feel. hopefully he'll turn during labor, if not before, but my doctor said they'll definitely check when i'm in the hospital. i'm at a 2 cm and 70% and hopefully will continue to progress! when my doctor was leaving, she checked my future appointments and realized that she won't see me again until my postpartum appointment. she told me that she's excited to see me then and that i need to bring my baby with me when i come because she wants to see how cute he is and she wished me merry christmas and happy holidays and gave me an enthusiastic hug (sliiiiightly awkward when you're wearing no pants) and headed out the door. and there i was sitting bewildered like "how did we suddenly go from the most awkward interactions ever to bff?!"
i'm sure it's gotta be wishful thinking but i keep feeling like this kid will come on his due date. i can only hope... because that would sure be optimal.
also, i think i have a faint faint faint linea nigra that i've only ever noticed one time when i really really looked for it. i remember it being really obvious with abigail but i guess i still have a few weeks left for it to develop.
i love abigail's random comments about mommy's got a big stomach or a big belly or whatever her latest phrase of choice is. more and more often she's snuggling up to my belly and using it as a pillow. goodness knows it's too in the way if you're just trying to sit on my lap like normal. now that she's in her new bedroom with the little loveseat, we lay down and snuggle to read books. much better than our previous attempts sitting in the glider.
sometimes i have bad headaches or migraines in the evening that just come out of the blue. so ready for these to get better. not to mention the headaches that hit me within a millisecond of waking up... and taking hours to subside.
i've been really sucking at practicing my relaxation techniques so i'm getting just sliiiightly worried about my attempt at a possible natural birth. i'm really banking on my labor going fast and my baby being small.
last pregnancy i had no nesting and i was just so excited to quit working and be a mom already that i really didn't care about anything else. i didn't care about setting up a nursery or having everything in place before she was born. my mom came in to town on my due date and we spend the next five days doing stuff like shopping for a changing table pad cover and laundry hamper and buying/reading babywise (i'd given pretty much no thought to studying up on parenting a newborn). this time around we're so much more prepared than last time (although with much less of a wardrobe) but i catch myself freaking out and worrying about how i don't have one of those special carseat cover things that keeps your baby warm or how i don't have newborn appropriate pacifiers or bottles (which we never had or used at all with abigail). i'm freaking out about getting stuff that i never even ever used with abigail! like obviously it wasn't that necessary because i never even bought it last time. and now i just have visions that i'm going to be needing to run to the store in a blizzard with my out of control toddler and screaming newborn because.... i need a newborn bottle with a slow flow nipple? i know it's not rational but it's not helping. it comes down to what i've mentioned before. when your first time through is as easy and optimal as you could hope for, it sets your wants and expectations for the second time to be unattainably high. the only thing that was terrible last time was my body's recovery and adjustment to nursing.
which speaking of... that reminds me about my favorite part of my appointment. in california they had this thing called the "newborn club" which was basically just a group appointment you had to take your baby to two days after you left the hospital. wouldn't have been a terrible thing except that i was in the worst pain of my life and the car ride there, walking the hospital to try to find the right place, a room full of gliders that i was in too much pain to sit in, and being surrounded by a million people i didn't know... it was miserable. we ended up being given a private room so that i could nurse standing up without worrying about flashing all of the dads in the group appointment and even though everything was perfect with abigail... it was a horrific experience and i still remember clearly when several of the nurses crowded around me and told me they see every single new mom that leaves the hospital and the pain i was experiencing was not normal and they urged me to go straight to the ER (i went home to lay in bed instead). ANYWAYS, all that background information is to say that i was thrilled beyond belief when my bff nurse practitioner told me that two days after we left the hospital, a nurse would COME TO MY HOME to check on me and my baby. we'll get a call that day to set up a convenient time and then a nurse will walk in my door with a baby scale and other things so that she can weigh my baby, tell me how much he's eating in a feeding, check his latch, check for jaundice, answer any questions i have about him or nursing or my body's recovery or really just anything. last time i was making long trips to santa clara (where the hospital was) within the first week of abigail being born 1) for the newborn club appointment 2) to get checked out my a doctor because i was experiencing such severe pain and 3) for yet another group newborn appointment.when baby girl was a week or so old. misery. so this whole "a fairy godmother nurse will show up at your home (so you don't have to take your newborn, toldder, and beatup body out in the colorado winter elements) and help you out with anything you could possibly imagine" thing is kind of a dream come true. hallelujah.
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| taken 12.14.12 at 38 weeks, 1 day |
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| taken 12.14.12 at 38 weeks, 1 day |
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