Baby Fever

You could say that I have been hit with baby fever....you see, a lot of people I know are pregnant or have just had a little one. Blame it on the hormones if you want, but I've been getting sad lately when I look at Dax and see how fast he has grown over the past 9 months! He's now 21lbs 2oz and 28" long - when he first was born he was only 8lbs 4oz and 21.5" long. His little foot no longer is the size of my palm. He now requires 2 arms for carrying and rocking instead of 1. Diaper changes now require a certain finesse for speed and the ability to keep him entertained long enough to snap the diaper back on BEFORE he flips over - he used to just lay there not wanting to squirm all around. I love seeing my son grow and develop, I do, but I miss the itty bitty newborn stage. This was the first time I saw my former itty bitty (it's a bit blurry - my mom was taking the pics and she was a little choked up from seeing her second grandson be born)





So, if you're pregnant, or have a newborn, and somewhat close, I may or may not be bugging you to come hold your baby :)

Sick

It seems that despite my avid hand-washing, opening of doors with paper towels, and avoidance of all of the sick people I was around, I have finally picked up something. It started yesterday at work, I wasn't feeling so hot, but I figured I was just tired and I had eaten something that didn't settle with me.

Here we are, several hours later with a runny nose, sore throat, and a sinus headache that is trying to turn into a migraine. Oh and my upper left teeth hurt for some odd reason. I know some of you may say "oh that's a sign of labor", at this point I'm not getting my hopes up. I've been having irregular contractions, but regularly having them, for the past week, and I have dropped, however no baby yet. He'll come when he's ready, and for now, Derek and I are enjoying these last few days of "us" time.

We have been very antisocial lately on purpose. Mainly because neither of us want to get sick (too late for me I guess!), and we don't have the desire or energy to have people over and entertain them.

For now I think I'll try to go back to bed - it's warmer there than the couch is! Hopefully this cold/sinus thing will pass quickly, before the baby arrives!

I can't be pregnant forever..

I'm maxed out, and am emotionally spent. I had a huge emotional breakdown today (one of several over the past few days) and I'm just done.

Let's backtrack to Saturday morning around 3AM. Derek and I were in Jackson at my parent's house, and I was wide awake with contractions. They weren't painful, nor did they have any pattern to them. I just ignored them and ended up going about my business that day. As the day progressed I started to track them and noticed they would come about every 8-10 minutes. I did get a little excited thinking "this is it, he'll be here within 24-48 hours". This would keep up for a few hours at a time and then they would stop for a couple of hours. Sunday night, we decided to once again head in to Labor and Delivery to see if anything was going on. Lo and behold absolutely no progress. They did tell us that he has moved from a -3 position in my pelvis to a -2. We went home thinking that we might end up back there later that night as the contractions were getting a little stronger, but still weren't increasing in frequency.

Well here we are, Tuesday evening, and we still don't have the baby. My whole body hurts, my ribs are out of place, my left hip is out of whack and each time I get a contraction I lose feeling in my left hand and get shooting pains down my left leg. I'm miserable, the way that I am the most comfortable is laying down with a variety of pillows shoved around me, or in a hot bubble bath. My contractions are still 8-10 minutes apart lasting for a few hours at a time and then stopping for a few hours. I feel like an emotional yo-yo, I get excited that "this could be it" and then they stop. I don't know how much longer I can go on like this. Derek and I are still pursuing a natural childbirth, and do not want to be induced. I am, however, considering starting my maternity leave before the baby arrives. I just feel really guilty taking that time just for my own personal comfort, I really want to use it all when he is here. But even now the thought of trying to make it through 3 more 9 hour days at work this week makes me feel like this is impossible.

The one thing I keep trying to tell myself is "I won't be pregnant forever". I just keep going back to God and praying that he would help me through this, but also that he would let the contractions pick up and continue. I would really love for Kelsey to have the chance to meet him!

38 Weeks

As of today I am 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant, woohoo! I saw my mid-wife yesterday and everything is looking good. Pee-wee's heartbeat has started to slow down a little (this is normal) and is in the 130's - 140's instead of the 150's. My blood pressure and heartrate were also great.

Complaints: I am massively uncomfortable these days. The best position that hurts the least is laying down. My ribs are sore and keep popping out of place thanks to my ever expanding uterus and baby boy, and I just plain ache. Derek has been great at giving me some wonderful foot and leg massages. I think both of us are really anxious to meet our son and are getting a little tired of waiting!! We're trying to stay positive, and Derek has been good at reminding me check my 'tude when I get frustrated or upset.

My sister, Kelsey, is going to be in the states again for some training and a visit to her home church in Bloomington, IN. She will be in town the weekend before my due date and leaving on October 19th (I think that's right).



She doesn't get to come back very often, and Derek and I probably won't be heading back to Romania any time soon. The next time she'll come back will probably be in 2 years, maybe a little earlier, but there's no guarantee! She would love to be able to meet our son, even if he is only a few hours or days old, but that means he needs to come just a little early. I know that the usual gestation period is about 41 weeks and not 40 weeks like everyone says, so we've joined Kelsey and my parents in praying that this little guy will arrive in time to meet Aunt Kelsey! So really he would need to arrive next weekend, so she could make it up here to see him. I know everything will work out and that God's timing is perfect, I'm just trusting and praying that Kelsey will be able to meet, in person, our son.

This weekend we will be completing our list of "things to get before the baby arrives". This includes, picking up 12 more bum genius diapers, so we have enough of the reusable diapers on hand to get started out, a breast pump, and bottles to use for the pumped milk. This way Derek can help feed the baby too! Now it's just a matter of being patient and waiting for the baby to have his birthday.

October Update - 37 Weeks

It's been a few days since I've updated and I can explain. Between birthing classes, work, getting last minute things for baby, an unexpected hospital trip, and trying to spend a lot of quality time together while it's still just "the 2 of us", Derek and I have been extremely busy!

I am happy to report that our car seat, as of this past week, is now installed in the Jeep. Since this is the car I drive around in the most, and the one we will be taking to/from the hospital, it just made sense to put it there first.
The Saturn will be getting her (yes our cars are females) car seat base installed at some point, but neither of us has felt that it is crucial, despite the fact that installing the base is a piece of cake. Derek also put together the stroller, and we finally figured out all of the features, as well as how to collapse the whole unit. Derek even cleaned out our front closet and made a great space to store the stroller! Way to go Derek!!

The baby's coming home outfit has also been decided upon! Call us dorks, but we (and I really mean me) decided to bring this little one home in a sports themed outfit. Since we don't agree upon Michigan State being far superior to the University of Michigan, we went with something neutral, the NHL. There is no debate in our household over which hockey team to support, Derek is a die hard Detroit Red Wings fan, and it's rubbed off on me (I like the fights - can you blame me?). I found a great website that allowed me to customize the onesie, so on the back is the baby's name (sorry no one can see this till he's born, end of discussion) as well as the number 10, since that was the number Derek always wore in sports.
Paired with that outfit will be a pair of white socks, the cutest little itty bitty jeans you have ever seen (seriously baby jeans are the most adorable thing ever)

And of course a little white baby beanie hat with Detroit Red Wings logos on it. Now I realize it will probably be chilly when this guy has his birthday, but we fully plan on having him wrapped in a blanket and then some for the short trip from the hospital to the apartment.

Everything else is going well! We did have a brief excursion to labor and delivery, not because I was having labor signs, but because my doctor's office thought I had a kidney stone! I was sure relieved to hear that I did not have a kidney stone. Although, I was not thrilled that we had to spend 4 hours in the triage unit to hear that response. We did get to listen to the baby's heartbeat the whole time (I am not a big fan of fetal monitors, they just get plain uncomfortable after 10 minutes!), and everyone who came into the room kept remarking how well his highs and lows were and one of the doctors/residents/nurses even remarked that he was just phenomenal and commented on how impressed she was with his highs and lows. She told us that he was the best on the monitors that they've seen in a while. Way to go baby, he's already off to a great start!

Lately I've also been realizing just how excited I am to meet him. I have never been this excited to meet someone before. The only thing that is somewhat close, and then again not even, is the excitement and anticipation that built up before I finally met my first host family in Belgium in 2003. This is similar, but my excitement and anticipation levels are about 5 millions times more than what they were for that event! I also am realizing just how much I love this little stinker and he's not even here yet! I find myself crying when I see pictures of friends who are having babies with their newborns, or when I hear of other people announcing their pregnancies. I know "A Baby Story" is pretty much the worst show ever, but for some reason, the parts of the birth they do show make me lose it these days I think it's because I realize that very soon (and don't tell me any day now, because he still has a couple of weeks to cook and I fully intend on him staying put until then) that will be me, and Derek and I will finally get to see what our son looks like and we'll be able to hold, kiss, and cuddle him all we want. For the time being we are limited to rubbing my belly and seeing if he kicks back - usually he does and it ends up getting me in the ribs (hence the reason why I call him a little stinker).

Last, but not least, I now know of 7 or maybe it's up to 8, people who are due in the March through May time frame! I don't know if I just pay more attention to these things now that I am pregnant, or if I just know more people these days, but there has to be something in the water. I fully take responsibility for starting the baby bug in my building at work, there are now 2 other ladies there who are expecting, and our birth instructor just told us that she is also expecting and is due during that 3 month time frame!

Oh and one last thought for anyone still reading, I really hope our kitties take a liking to the baby. This evening, I caught Butters, Derek's cat, sitting in the baby's crib. Here's a picture of Butters
Needless to say I flipped out on him, that's the first time he's done that and it is not ok!! The 2 cats enjoy sleeping under the crib and exploring the nursery/office (we only allow them in there when one of us is in there, otherwise the doors stay shut), and so far neither one of them has tried to jump into the crib. My biggest fear is that we'll get up to change and feed the baby and not realize that one of the cats has snuck into the room, and they will jump into the crib with him. Derek and I have had to start a "cat check" before we leave the apartment. It goes something like this:
Arwen: I can see bebe, but I can't find butters
Derek: I don't know where he is either, he's not in the living room or our bedroom
(insert frantic meowing and little white paws appearing from underneath the nursery door)
Arwen: Nevermind, he's locked in the baby's room
Derek: How did he get in there, he wasn't in there when I checked?
(insert eerie creepy music here - this little kitty seriously walks through walls)

Free Nursing Cover - Just pay shipping!

One of my friends just shared this with me so I figured I would spread the word!! I have been looking for a nursing cover, but did not want to pay $30+ for something I could make. However, Udder Covers has a promotion running right now where all you do is pay $8.95 for shipping and handling, and you get one of their nursing covers for free!

Go to Udder Covers , click on "shop now" , once you've picked out your style and you add it to your cart, enter in "backorder" for the promotional code. Voila, your cost immediately goes down to $8.95! Everything is literally on back order until 9/25, but for an awesome deal like this I can wait.

Enjoy!

6 - 8 Weeks To Go!

I hit the 34 week mark this past week, and that means I have 6 to 8 weeks left before our sweet little son arrives. The baby has continued to remain very active, it feels as if the energizer bunny is living in my belly! He still likes to practice his soccer kicking skills inside my right ribs. Usually some bio-freeze mixed with a hot pack help alleviate some of that discomfort.

After this next week's appointment, we will start seeing our mid-wife every week until the baby decides it is time to be born. 6 more weeks will put me at 40 weeks, but our mid-wife will let us go to 42 weeks before any action is taken to push this little one out! Derek and I have been going to our birthing classes, and this next week we will be doing a "practice" labor session to go over the relaxation techniques and all of that fun stuff. Our instructor has already given us some tips on how to speed up your labor process. I have told Derek that I do not care how uncomfortable I am, that he needs to make me do those things so that we can be in and out! Yes, we are doing an all natural birth, and are looking forward to it. Mostly we're looking forward to meeting our son, regardless of how long it takes him to say hello :)

33 Week Belly Shot

I finally have a new belly picture! Now I have to explain this picture first...several of my co-workers are participating in the DALMAC . One of my co-workers thought it would be nice to take a bunch of different pictures of us with funny sayings/signs to help encourage them in their long bike trip. Me being funny suggested she do a picture of someone holding a sign saying "don't pee your pants" while standing in front of the bathroom. Since I'm the only pregnant one around here I was given the wonderful job of doing that!

We have a crib!

Derek put together the entire crib and changing table last night. It looks great, we still need to bump the mattress up, but the important part is that it is finished! We don't have bedding yet, but we're just taking it one step at a time. Here are some pictures.

Baby Shower #2 and 33 week update

On Tuesday the ladies at work graciously threw me a shower over lunch! There was lots of yummy food and of course a cake, one of my co-workers even made genuine chocolate mousse it was delish. Here are a few pictures:

this is the delicious cake,

and this is the crown they made me wear that said "new mom to be"

With their generous gifts Derek and I went out last night to purchase a crib! We also picked up a mattress for the crib - those baby mattresses do not seem very comfortable at all, but since they all felt like that I know it's not just the one we picked out. We still need to put the crib together and this is not the bedding we are going to use but here's the stock photo of it.

I will also have an updated belly shot soon! Today I officially hit 33 weeks, which means I have 7-9 weeks to go, wooo hooo! I saw my mid-wife today and I am measuring right on schedule, and she has no concerns at this point in time. I think Derek said it best when he described her today, "she is what whoopie goldberg would be like if she was cool". Our Mid-Wife is great, she has a great sense of humor, personality, and she's a believer. The only day she won't be able to deliver me is on Tuesdays because of her seminary classes, so I'm crossing my fingers that the baby will cooperate and show up on any day but Tuesday. If it's up to Derek, the baby will also avoid a Saturday, so that he will still be able to watch college football :)

Shaving

I may have mentioned that I pulled my groin muscle in my left leg about 2ish weeks ago. While I can still move around there are certain things that cause me extreme pain and the top 3 are:
1. Shaving my legs
2. Lifting up my legs to step into pants
3. Rolling over at night

While I have found a minimal pain solution to #2, and there isn't anything I can do about #3, I have found a great solution for not being able to shave my legs. I may get in trouble for this post... Derek has graciously volunteered to assist me with this task. The honest truth? He does as good of a job as I do if not better. Now if only I could find a solution to painting my toes : ) Have I mentioned how awesome my husband is??

Nursery

A few weekends ago, my dad came up and helped Derek paint the baby's room. Derek and I picked out a nice sage green to go on the walls and they did a great job! Here are a few pictures of their handy work





















The door in this one on the left goes into the closet, and the rocking chair in on loan to us from my parents. That's my diaper bag on top, and there are 3 homemade blankets as well! The top picture is the view when you first walk into the room...we still use the room to store some things, we'll find a place for those later :) Of course my cat, Bebe loves being in this room (it's usually off limits to the cats) and she took advantage of the photo shoot as a chance to poke around in here! We still need to put up some things on the walls and put up a curtain to help block out sunlight, but we are getting closer to having a completed nursery one of these days!

Thankful

In light of my recent posts which have been full of complaints, frustrations, and me just being whiny, I was thinking today about things that I am thankful for. Here are the main ones:

My husband, Derek. He is racking up MAJOR brownie points these days for dealing with me while pregnant! Derek is my best friend, my rock, my consoler, my everything. If I didn't have him supporting me through all of this right now I don't think I could make it. He always makes me laugh when I'm sad, and when he knows I just need to cry he willing sacrafices his white undershirts to my mascara while holding me. It's crazy to think of how much more I love him today than yesterday.

My Family! This one doesn't include Kelsey and Caleb because they couldn't make it to our wedding, but this group of people means the world to me. We were constantly moving as little kids, and we had to depend on each other for support. It's taken us several years to get to the closeness we're at right now, and it's been amazing to develop better relationships with my siblings. My parents went through a lot of tears, stress, anxiety, etc to get all us of to the point where we're at today. My parents are amazing, and I wish I had been willing to see that in high school. I cannot wait for them to get to know their grandson, he is going to have wonderful grandparents not only from my side, but from Derek's side as well!

Yesterday, at my doctor's appointment, I only gained 1.5 lbs!!! She weighed me before they made me pee in a cup so I probably didn't gain 1.5lbs in 2 weeks, it was probably closer to 1 lb. I am still under the number on the scale that would send me into an emotional breakdown. 9 weeks to go, hopefully I will only gain 3 more pounds in the upcoming 9 weeks to stay under those dreaded 3 numbers that would make me lose it. But enough on that, I'm just happy that my weight hasn't continued to sky rocket and seems to have slown down quite a bit.

Doctor Drama Again

I had my 31 week appointment today, and when I showed up for my scheduled appointment at 8:45 they commented how I was super early. 2 seconds later I come to find out they had informed me of the wrong time and my appointment was actually at 9:45. They assured me that it wasn't a problem and I would be able to get in right away. Which I was thankful for, I was starting to have flashbacks of Alliance and how they treated me when they screwed up my appointment!

I get taken back to a different part of the office, assuming that I'm going to see Sameerah, my nurse mid-wife. I am then informed that I will be seeing one of the doctors, and when I asked if I would still be seeing Sameerah, they looked confused. I quickly explained that I'm only supposed to see her and if she's not available I'd be more than happy to see a doctor. The nurse comes back in and says that my chart has been switched from mid-wife only to doctor-only, but is unable to give me a decent explanation or reason, she says nothing on my chart would indicate why that has been changed.

After a disappointing appointment for reasons I will not delve into here, I go to schedule my next appointment. The receptionist tries to schedule me with a doctor and when I push back that I'm supossed to see Sameerah she tells me that I must have been switched because of medical conditions. I let her know that I do not have any medical conditions and would like to see Sameerah. She then tries to get ahold of my chart, which I am not ok with - she's not a nurse or doctor and has no business looking at my records!! The nurse behind her doesn't give her the chart, but they let me know they will call me to tell me why I've been switched. Apparently it was a big mistake and I'm back over to mid-wife only.

The next surprise arrived when I called to cancel my set of labs with the oncology center to see if I carry the gene for hemochromotosis. They wanted to do more labs and said they couldn't use the labs my doctor had just done to test for that. We decided that it's in my best interest to not get any more bloodwork done during this pregnancy and that we will get the baby tested when he arrives. The oncology center informs me that not only is my appointment for the hemochromotosis but it is also because I'm anemic. Come again? Me, anemic? You have got to be kidding me, I have NEVER been diagnosed with anemia and none of my labwork has ever come back indicating that I am even borderline anemic.

Why does it seem that there is not one single competent doctor's office in the Lansing area?! I sure hope we have moved out of Michigan by the time we're ready for our next child. I also am strongly considering the possibility of an at-home birth next time around. I can avoid all doctors and unnecessary bloodwork, needles, shots, etc. Oh and one last thing, apparently being pregnant does not legally entitle you to any special treatment or coverage. It's not considered an illness or disability, I'd like to blame this on the stupid women's rights movement that want equal treatment no matter what. As a pregnant woman I think we should have increased legal rights and am very upset with the women's rights activists who created those stupid laws preventing us from receiving different treatment.

And yes, it is only 10:43 am and I still have to work 9 hours today, Lord have mercy.

Bitter

I'm in a bitter mood today. I don't remember the last time I was this bitter about something, but it takes a lot to get me to this spot. My normal pregnant response would be crying, but surprisingly that's the last thing I want to do. 3 things that I want to do - don't worry I will not be doing the first two so you don't need to call or comment to talk me out of it-
1. Have a big fat cigarette (this is one of the things I will NOT do again no judging people)
2. Have a big fat alcoholic beverage or several (please see parentheses above)
3. Go outside and shout obscenities for 2 hours

Now I probably will not do the last one just because we live in a very family-friendly apartment complex and even though I have heard the f bomb dropped from a 3 year old's mouth here I will not be the reason why they learn that word.

In lighter news, I ordered a onesie for the baby as a part of his possible coming home outfit. I'm not 100% decided on which outfit he will come home in, but this is a distinct possibility. I can't show the back because it has his name on it, and to show you all ahead of time would be cheating, you'll just have to wait until he decides it's time to enter the world :)

Here are the 2 outfit choices so far:

Option 1 (this will need some pants, socks and probably a jacket or something):


Option #2 (because I'm secretly hoping for him to arrive on Halloween):

30 Weeks 4 Days - nothing new to report

I haven't posted a picture in awhile, partly because I am not using the computer that I can put my SD card into, and I do not know where the cable is to hook my camera up to the other computer. I can tell you this much, take my last belly picture and add about 500 inches to it and you will have my belly now. It seems to grow daily and I'm not so sure I like the idea of taking weekly pictures. It doesn't really help the self-esteem factor these days!

Things coming up this week:

-last week of this session of pre-natal yoga
-birthing classes start up
-bi-weekly visits to the doctor have begun and i have another appointment this week

Recent cravings:

-for it to be October

Aches/Pains:

-everything hurts these days

I will post pictures one of these days :)

Tired

I have 10 weeks until I hit my due date, and I feel exhausted. I've been reading that this is normal, but it sure has been difficult, I don't remember being this tired in my first trimester. Everything seems to take more effort to do, and I get tired a lot faster when doing normal things!

Today, I went on a 30ish minute walk during my lunch break, when I returned to my office I was ready for a full blown nap. I still haven't recovered and would take a nap right now if I could. I'm praying for a second wind to hit sometime over these next 10 weeks. I'm trying to enjoy these last few weeks of being pregnant, and yes I am being serious. There are a lot of great aspects to being pregnant, right now one of the best parts is being able to feel the baby move. He sure is active!! There have been multiple times where I could even feel his heartbeat through the belly. Derek enjoys giving him kisses through the belly, and has also been very good at reminding me to watch what I say because the baby can hear us. It's been fun to go into the baby's room and look at all of his clothes and the cloth diapers that we have so far, I can't believe he'll be here so soon.

Time has been flying by, it seems like yesterday was the 4th of July and now it's August 11! Before I know it, we will be posting pictures of the baby to introduce him to all of you.

Victory!

Yesterday was my 3 hour gestational diabetes test, which included fasting as well as 4 blood draws all an hour apart. Sounds like fun, right?

As many of you know, needles and I do not get along, I tend to faint. I was terrified for my appointment yesterday, and I would like to announce that although I went through the motions of passing out I DID NOT FAINT ONE TIME!!!! This is a HUGE deal for me! Derek was a trooper and a great supporter with each draw yesterday. I know I had a lot of friends and family praying for me, thank you! The ladies at the lab were very nice and understanding and even agreed to drawing my blood with me laying down on the floor since there wasn't a reclineable chair or table for me to lay down on. My arms are pretty sore and bruised today, and yesterday I was exhausted, but I survived.

Doom Day Approaches

Tomorrow = my funeral, have I mentioned how much I hate doctors, more specifically labs?

Meet Glucola, my best/worst friend:

This stuff tastes about as toxic as it looks and tomorrow I get to chug this whole bottle with glucose content of 100mg in a 5 minute period of time without throwing up. Last time this little friend gave me the worst heartburn I've experienced in awhile? Whose genius idea was it to make pregnant women take a diabetes test drinking something that is citrus? Whoever it was deserves to be punched.

I haven't slept very well in the past 2 nights, and last night all I could think about was pasta, which I am adamently avoiding until after the test. I fully plan on walking around in between the test and doing whatever it takes to pass, even if that means sneaking some caffeine in when the lab tech isn't looking to boost my metabolism - not sure how to do that yet without drinking some sort of sugary drink...possibly tea, but I'll need to brainstorm that one out. I'm already working on a checklist of stuff to take with me for tomorrow. So far I have:

-Derek
-washcloth (their chintzy paper towels don't do anything)
-laptop and DVDs to watch
-cheese to chow down on once the tests are over
-change of clothes (don't ask)
-cell phone so I can talk to my mom since she won't come home from Romania to go with me to this appointment (life's not fair)
-water, lots of water to help flush that crap out of my system
-possible green tea or something w/o sugar but with caffeine to pass the test

I'll update tomorrow after I'm done, but maybe Derek will have to as I don't think I'll be in any state to do anything.

Baby Shower Pictures

My sister in law sent me some of the baby shower pictures today so I figured I would share some of them!

This is a onesie that Derek made:

Here is a onesie that my oldest brother Benj made, and yes it really does say Pimp on it:

A picture of my sister, Kelsey, and I. I'm just now realizing how tired we both look in this picture, but still a good one of us!!

Here's one of my mom and I, we were playing the toilet paper belly measuring game, apparently she took a little bit too much!!

Some of the delicious food and presents: