30 days left!

Arthur and I have a  little countdown clock that tells us how many days are remaining in our countdown to our "guess date" of July 11.  Today, it says 30 days left!

 

Mostly I'm feeling really good, and trying to stay as positive as I can.  There are some moments where I feel overwhelmed, or sad, or tired... but for the most part, I try to remember how badly I wanted this and how ready I am to be a mom. 

I'm really excited for my baby shower this coming Friday, it's the last one before Baby Finn arrives.  Arthur and I are hosting it at our house, mainly because we want people to see our nursery since we've worked so hard to get it ready. 

Arthur was working on a baby shower game yesterday called The Price is Right.  He wants people to guess the prices for some of the items on our baby registry.  I thought it was cute that he was getting a game ready to go for the shower.  :)

I requested sugar cookies for one of the treat options at the shower because Arthur's mom makes the most delicious sugar cookies and frosting.  I can't wait to eat one!  Yum!

Arthur and I have continued to make sure we're practicing our Hypnobirthing techniques every night before bed.  Sometimes it's really difficult to get myself into a state of relaxation, but Arthur is really good at reminding me what to focus on and what to relax with.  I am really going to rely on him to keep me focused when I feel like I'm not able to stay relaxed.  I am so lucky to have someone who is as dedicated to the type of birth I want to have for my first baby. 

My next Midwife appointment is on Friday, I will be having them weekly now.  I will be tested for GBS (Group B Strep), and that will determine whether or not I need an IV antibiotic before I push my baby out.  I have been drinking a ton of water, and eating yogurt every day.  I'm not sure if that will help, but I know that I've been feeling good, with no problems so far... so I hope that I get a negative result. 

How far along:  35 Weeks, 5 Days
How much time left:  4 Weeks, 2 Days

Top two symptoms:  When I'm at work, it's a backache from sitting in my work chair.  When I'm at home, it's usually exhaustion or backache.  Today I've been pretty tired, but that might just be because I haven't had my nap today.  :)

Favorite thing I ate today:  An ice cream bar from Skinny Cow.  It's chocolate with salted caramel and pretzel chunks with vanilla ice cream.  So good!

Mood:  I felt a bit down last night, and tonight I'm feeling much more balanced.  Every day is different.  As I get past the last few milestones at work before I move to my new role/prepare for maternity leave, it takes stress away. 

Worried about:  I'm starting to worry about whether or not I will be ready when he gets here.  There are still a few things I want to do before he arrives, such as making some playlists for my Hypnobirthing, and packing my bag for the hospital.  I know I can't do a lot of packing this far in advance, because I need most of the stuff I'll be packing... I just need to be patient and attack the things that are most important right now. 

Excited for:  Friday's baby shower.  I'm excited for everyone to see Finn's nursery and I'm looking forward to seeing all of Arthur's family.  We made some cute invitations and paper mailed them to a few people who didn't respond on Facebook.  I really hope everyone who we invited can come.  :)  If you weren't invited, and you'd like to come, let me know by sending me a Facebook message and I'll add you to the baby shower group.  :)

70th Post and Pregnancy Update

Can you believe there are only 38 days left until my "guess date" of July 11?!  I am so surprised that the time has really flown by since my 20 week ultrasound.  I think the first half of pregnancy is definitely the most  challenging. 

Last time I updated about my pregnancy, I was just over 30 weeks along.  I am now 34 weeks, and will be 35 this upcoming Thursday.  The physical changes have definitely been more drastic over the past few weeks, and I've really started noticing how different my body is getting as I get further along.

The biggest changes are how I'm moving around, and how I balance my body.  I am carrying Finn really far back, and so I often get comments about how much I'm not showing, or that people are really amazed that I have just over a month left.  I know that when you have your first baby, you may not show as much as a second time mom does who has already been stretched and her body is able to accommodate a growing baby.

I had a tummy tuck back in 2005 and so my lower stomach is very tight where the plastic surgeon tightened my stomach muscles and removed skin from the weight I lost from gastric bypass.  Finn has been hanging out mostly sideways, and I can usually feel his feet and legs towards the top-right side of my body.  I think he is positioned upside down with his head at my pelvis.  This is a good thing, and I think my positioning techniques are working. 

In our Hypnobirth class, Arthur and I learned about positioning techniques that will help Finn be in the best position for birthing quickly and easily.  This position is him facing backwards (towards my bottom), with his head down and his feet straight up in the air.  If he faces forward, looking the same direction I look, it can be a really painful back labor.  I am trying really hard to keep my body in positions that encourage Finn to be turned the right direction.  One of these techniques are to "make a hammock", which means lean forward as often as possible and make my stomach like a hammock that encourages him to relax into my stomach with his back facing the front.  I think I've done a pretty good job so far, but I know he can turn as time comes closer to when he arrives.

My only complaints these days are a sore back and the occasional headache.  I really do feel good most days, and I surprise myself when I remind myself that I am almost done.  I think I assumed that pregnancy would be so much more miserable at this time.  Part of it might be the stories I've heard and part of it could be from what I've seen on TV/movies.  I think my attitude has a lot to do with it, and the fact that Arthur doesn't have much tolerance for negativity...  He is really great at reminding me of the positive things like "At least you're pregnant!"  Anytime that Baby Finn is rolling around on my bladder, or hiccupping for the millionth time in a day, I verbally say how grateful I am that he is moving.  I really appreciate how active he is.  :)

I haven't felt any "practice surges" or Braxton Hicks contractions.  I sometimes feel my stomach get hard, but then I wonder if it's just my imagination.  I occasionally get minor cramping in my lower abdomen and so that could be it.  I really am looking forward to the real feeling of a legit contraction, because to me it will mean progress.  I hope I maintain this positive outlook and excited mentality.  I do see many people in my life who get to the end (39, 40, 41 weeks) and start to say that they want the baby out now.  I think since I still have 5 weeks left until this point, I am not yet feeling that stir crazy emotion.  I am not sure it will happen for me, but I know that I am prepared for when I start to stress out about his arrival.

I have our next doctor's appointment this coming Friday with our new Certified Nurse Midwife.  She met with us 2 weeks ago, and I loved everything about her.  She works with a group of Nurse Midwives who back each other up and deliver babies at American Fork Hospital.  I was so grateful to have her say some of the things I have been hoping for in the person who would deliver my baby.  I made the right choice to "fire" my OBGYN.  I will tell more about this in a future post.

I didn't want to publicize it, but I have decided to post every day this month in anticipation of Finn's arrival.  This will give me something to focus on every day, and it will help me to document the progress I make as I get closer.  If I miss a day, I won't beat myself up, but I am definitely going to make a very conscious effort to try.  :)

How far along:  34 Weeks, 4 Days
How much time left:  5 Weeks, 3 Days

Top two symptoms:  Backache and headache.  I've got Tylenol and a blanket I use at work to keep my back supported.  I am now sleeping with 5 (yes 5) pillows at night to help myself feel supported.  I sleep really well most nights, which I appreciate.

Favorite thing I ate today:  Fresh green beans from Costco.  SO GOOD!

Mood:  Excited now that time is getting closer to his arrival.  I am more excited for the birth process than anything.... is that weird?!

Worried about:  I'm not worried about too many things at this point.  I think my main concerns is that he will decide to come early and he will mess up my last few weeks of plans before he gets here... but if he gets here early, then it must mean he's ready.  I know he's pretty much done cooking, he just needs to fill out a little before he comes out.  I want a healthy fat baby boy!  :)

Excited for:  Time off of work!  I will be taking 4 months off starting when Finn arrives.  I get 6 weeks maternity leave, 6 weeks bonding time and 4 weeks paid with my eBay 5 year sabbatical.  That equals out to be 16 whole weeks!  I won't have to go back to work until November.  How nice is that!?  I am excited to have a brief taste of being a stay-at-home mom.  Arthur likes to bet that I will go stir crazy, but I think I will do just great.  I am looking forward to a break and to focusing on something that isn't an email or a PowerPoint.  ;)

Less than 10 weeks left!

Here's the pregnancy update you've all been waiting for.  :)  I still have a few more posts that I'd love to make this week, if time allows.  Sometimes it's difficult to take a few minutes and just think through what I'd like to blog about.  I know all of the topics I'd like to talk for hours about... but getting them down is the difficult part.

I figured I should start with how my pregnancy is going.  :)

The last time I updated was just before I was 28 weeks.  I am now just short of 31 weeks.  Less than 10 weeks to go!  I hear that these last 10 weeks fly by.  I can tell why they will for me, for sure.  I have a bunch of fun things planned from now until my "guess date" of July 11.  Baby showers and short getaways are going to fill my weekends from now until I'm 36ish weeks.

Because of my ovarian cyst on my right ovary, I have had monthly appointments with my OB to make sure it's not growing larger.  At my 28 week appointment, Arthur and I went in looking forward to seeing Baby Finn again.  It was also going to be the appointment where I had my initial glucose test.

We showed up at 8:50 AM (my appointment was at 9:50 AM) just before they opened so I could get my glucose drink.  I went in and they gave it to me.  They told me I needed to come back in exactly an hour so they could draw my blood to test to see if I am at risk for gestational diabetes.  They also told me I had to get it down within 5 minutes.

Most people complain that it makes them feel gross, or sick, or dizzy.  I was anticipating all of these things, so Arthur and I just drove around in my car checking out the city of American Fork and Pleasant Grove.  I chugged it and sat back waiting for the worst.  It was really sweet, and it tasted like cherry Kool-Aid.  To me, it was simply delicious.  I waited and waited and I never felt gross, or sick.  At the very least, I felt like I had a slight headache.

After the hour was up, Arthur and I went back into the doctor's office and they took my blood.  They told me that they would have the results by Monday.  They called me on Monday to let me know that everything was normal, and I'm not diabetic.  :)

We waited in the waiting room for nearly an hour until they were able to get us into the ultrasound room to check out my cyst.  The tech measured it and we were happy to see that it had shrunk a little.  That was a bit of a relief, although it's not gone all together.  After the ultrasound, we went back to the waiting room.  We waited for another hour or so to get back to see our OB.

We went in and I talked through some of the questions I have had on my mind about a few different things.  He was good about answering them and making me feel better.  One of the things I was concerned about was Finn's movement sometimes being jerky or repetitive... kind of like a seizure.  He said that it was just the uterus contracting rapidly, and it was nothing to worry about.  That made me feel better too.  :)

At the end of the appointment, I pulled out my birth plan.  Now, I have a fairly specific birth plan, and I knew that I couldn't go over all of the details - or else I'd overwhelm the OB.  So, I picked out my top 5 most important things that I wouldn't be willing to compromise.  I will probably go over these in my Birth Plan blog entry... that will be later this week.  :)

The short of it is that we ended up realizing that my OB wasn't going to be able to (at the least) honor the 5 most important things of my upcoming birth.  I was a little sad that something as simple as a top 5 list request from his patient was too much for him to agree to.  I'll talk more about this later...

Since that appointment, I've been feeling really good, generally speaking.  Finn is moving all of the time now, and I am really enjoying his kicks.  It's nice that they're not so deliberately planted in my bladder, and that they're more like rolling movements rather than kicking.  I'm pretty sure the rib kicks will come soon, so I just need to enjoy these times.

I have had some backaches start and some mild headaches come back.  I think this is probably normal as I get closer to the end.  I haven't felt any contractions (practice surges) yet, and I am looking forward to those for sure.

That's pretty much it, pregnancy update-wise.  My next few entries will be about my birth plan and my Trying to Conceive story.  I'm excited to write them!  :)

How far along:  30 Weeks, 4 Days
How much time left:  9 Weeks, 3 Days

Top two symptoms:  Backache and headache, most of the day.  My back generally hurts on the way to work and at work in my chair.  My head starts to hurt about halfway through the day.  Annoying, but bearable.  :)

Favorite thing I ate today:  I had a salad for lunch.  It was great!

Mood:  Anxious!  I hate how I feel like I want everything to be planned right now.  My nursery, my baby showers, everything.  I want to chill and let things happen like I normally do... but I think that I'm starting to get some form of weird nesting feelings like I need to get things planned, set up, etc.  I apologize in advance to my family and Arthur for how weird I may be over the next couple of months.  :)

Worried about:  I worry a bit about having time off before the birth so I can be in a safe place for my labor.  I can't even imagine going into practice labor or even real labor while I'm at work.  I also know I can't put my life on hold while I'm waiting for Finn to decide that it's time to get here.  Patience!

Excited for:  Now that the nursery is almost done, I'm super super SUPER excited to finish the details.  The painting is all done, and tomorrow is the carpet cleaning appointment.  My older brother Leo is coming over on Wednesday night to have dinner with us and help Arthur move the dresser upstairs.  I just want to get Finn's room ready to go!!!!!  I'm definitely nesting, or something.  :)

60th Post!

As promised last weekend, here is the update blog!  :)  Better late than never, I say! This is my 60th post!  How great is that?!  I'll try to make it amazing for you...

Things are going well, I'm feeling really good and I'm getting very excited about how close I am to Finn's arrival.  The time really does start to fly by after hitting the 20 week mark.  I think having that ultrasound when you're halfway really makes worrying about milestones a thing of the past. 

Pregnancy (and Trying to Conceive) is really just a very complicated and annoying waiting game.  Every month that Arthur and I were trying, I was constantly frustrated with how many things I had to wait for.  Waiting for my period to come, waiting for my ovulation date, waiting for my period to come again... so many things!  Then, when I was finally pregnant, I had more things to wait for.  Waiting for the day we would tell our family, waiting for our first doctor's appointment and hearing the heartbeat.  Waiting to find out the sex of the baby, and then waiting to confirm it at the first official ultrasound.  Waiting to hear if my baby was generally healthy enough at the 20 week ultrasound, and then waiting for the final countdown to labor and delivery.

Overall, I will say that the hardest part of pregnancy is definitely the first half.  Now that I'm almost halfway through the second half, I will say that the second half is so much better. 

I think my next entry will probably be more information about my Trying to Conceive story and the things I did to help myself be physically ready to get pregnant.  It's not so easy, the way that some people think.  Even though I had an easier time than most, I still have a story to tell.  Whether or not it can help someone is the question.  I will write it regardless, because I feel like having it documented will really help me if I ever want to share it with someone who is also struggling with the same things I did.  That will definitely be the next entry.

I also will need to do an entry about my birth plan and the classes Arthur and I have been taking.  I remember when I posted a previous entry here about me not knowing what path I was going to take with my pregnancy.  I am such a different person now, after going through these classes.  I would like to (selectively) share some of the information I've learned in hopes that I can help someone else the way that it has helped me.  All I will say for now is that my perspective and perception of the way I want my birth to go is totally different than what I ever expected.  I'm looking forward to sharing some of the neat things I've learned.

Pregnancy-wise, things are moving forward well.  I've had monthly doctor's appointments since my 20 week ultrasound.  I haven't told many people, but I figured it's ok to blog about it now that I'm not as concerned with it.  In my 20 week ultrasound, the tech found a cyst sitting behind my cervix.  The tech wasn't sure if it is on my ovary or not, but because she couldn't find my right ovary, she assumed that it is there.  It's a simple cyst, which means that it's a harmless fluid-filled cyst that can sometimes come with pregnancy.  It's supposed to shrink and be gone by the time you get to 20 weeks.  It hadn't shrunk enough to assure the tech that it wasn't a concern, because it was 8 centimeters, or the size of a baseball.  When I heard her say that, it scared me a bit.  But when we talked to the doctor, he reassured me it was ok, and normal. 

We got to go back at 24 weeks and will go back again this Friday for 28 weeks to check it again.  I say it's a blessing that I've had this simple cyst because I've been able to have more ultrasounds than normal, and getting to see Finn more is always a good thing.

Here are some pictures of Finn at our 24 week ultrasound.  You'll see a picture of his profile, his arm and his face.  I love the one of his face! 

I'll keep everyone updated after this appointment on whether or not the cyst has grown or shrunk.  At my last appointment, it was approximately the same size.  I'm not worried about it at all, because it causes me no pain or discomfort.  :)

Finn-wise, Arthur got me a present for Valentine's Day to get a 4D ultrasound in my 28th week.  He and I are going to go sometime this week so we can see Finn's face.  I'm really excited for that.  In addition to the doctor's ultrasound, I'm pretty sure that it's going to be an amazing week. 

I'm feeling movement all of the time now.  From the second I wake up to the second I'm falling asleep, Finn is moving around, kicking and getting the hiccups.  At first, the kicks were really deliberate, and usually right in my bladder.  Don't get me wrong, they have never been annoying... now that they're less rough, I'm appreciating them a lot more.  I can usually feel him turning or rolling from the top of my stomach to the bottom.  It's pretty cool.

Size-wise, I get a lot of comments from people that I'm not as big as they would expect.  Seeing that I'll be 7 months this coming Thursday, most people can't believe that I'm not "popping" yet.  I think it's because it's my first pregnancy, I'm a bit taller, and my sister says that it's because we carry boys higher.  Regardless, I refuse to worry about how big he is because every ultrasound has proven that he is growing fine and that he looks healthy.  My favorite comment yet from the ultrasound tech is that he is one of the most symmetrical babies she's ever seen.  Wow!  What a compliment!  :)

Arthur and I have registered at a couple of different places for our baby shower, at Target and Babies R Us.  We have a lot of clothes already and we also have everything we need for the nursery including his crib, his dresser, and my rocker.  We want to paint the walls and get some cute decals to decorate with.  We are waiting for Mike to move out of his room so we can start getting it ready.  Mike moves out the first week in May so it will give us a couple of months to get everything ready.  I can't wait!  (I will be sad that Mike's leaving, though...)  :(

Work is going really well for me, for the most part.  Feeling better has helped me feel more productive at work.  I have applied for another position, and I'm waiting to hear back about getting a second interview.  I do have good days and bad days, like everyone does, but the fact that we got a new building has been a fun mix up of every day.  Having to drive back and forth between the new building and the old building has been tough, but I know that it's not for much longer.  This will be the 3rd (and final) week that I will have to commute back and forth.  Once I can settle in, I think I'll feel a lot more normal.

Every day, I look forward to when I am going to get my time off for Finn's birth.  I have my sabbatical that my company gives me, that I've saved up after working for 5 years.  I didn't take it in the year I was eligible for it because I wanted to tack it onto the end of my maternity leave.  This should give me 16 weeks off, which equals out to be 4 months.  This makes me very happy.  I am sure I won't want to return to work, but giving myself 4 months to connect with Finn will be good.  I would love to be a stay at home mom, but I understand that I have a balance in life that I've chosen.  I believe that Arthur is the amazing person he is so I can feel ok with being a working mom.  Arthur does so much around the house and works hard at his full time job, so I can't feel like staying home is really the right thing to do for now.  Maybe someday, but not today.  :)

How far along:  27 Weeks, 3 Days
How much time left:  12 Weeks, 4 Days

Top two symptoms:  I had a bit of a foggy headache today, and I get that sometimes.  Other than that I guess I can say movement from Finn is a symptom, right?  :)

Favorite thing I ate today:  I craved chocolate today for the first time in awhile, which was kind of weird.  I did make myself some delicious mushroom risotto, which took me almost an hour to make.  I got the mix at Trader Joe's, it was absolutely delicious. 

Mood:  My mood most days is really good lately.  Occasionally I have a bad day, but today was a good day.  I was really productive and got a lot done.  Including this blog... :)

Worried about:  Since I started taking my birthing classes, I haven't worried too much about getting ready for Finn's arrival.  I'm actually really excited about the process! 

Excited for:  I'm excited for my baby showers coming up.  My team is throwing me one on May 2nd, and then I have one planned with my family in mid-May and then another one at the end of May in Boise with my mom's side.  Baby showers!  Yay!