38 Weeks

Baby Beck:

[according to my app]

>> 38 weeks old
>>the size of a watermelon!
>>19-22 inches long
>>around 7 pounds

>> doctor estimates she is around 6.5 pounds

>>ready to come out!

How far along? 38 weeks

This was at 37 weeks.. I am soo not motivated enough to get up and take one today!

Contractions? Just more frequent Braxton Hicks. I have had them since 20 weeks, and they have just gotten more and more frequent and stronger as I get further along. But they do seem to be helping things progress:

Labor Signs? I am 3.5 centimeters dilated and almost 80% effaced already:) Because I have been progressing like this for a few weeks already, my doctor says she thinks that I will have a very fast labor when it does start. That's good at least:)

I LOVE MY DOCTOR. I had an appointment with her today and after she checked my progress, she asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes and I of course said YES PLEASE! I am really lucky because a lot of OB's wont do it until you are 40-41 weeks/overdue. She is one who says it is WAY healthier for mom and baby to have a baby a week and a half early than a week and a half late. 

 I completely agree and I am praying that the membrane sweep works and jump starts something over the next couple days!

She said it will either work within 48 hours or not at all. Everyone can go ahead and start praying for us that she will come now... especially since Mitch gets home from his AZ business trip in 2 hours!! Hurrah!!

As of now I am just feeling slightly more intense/frequent cramping but we will see what turns out.

I legitimately went out a few weeks ago and bought an exercise ball for the sole purpose of bouncing on it:

bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce

Weight Gain? Ohh you betcha! It is scary seeing the scale climb up and up every week even though you know it is from the little bean inside! Ha ha! Baby should gain 1/2 pound every week now. I should end up around 25 pounds or so by 40 weeks. Whatever makes baby healthy is good with me:)

ps, I don't know if any of you have ever wondered, but I certainly have! WHERE does all of that 25 pounds go to? Here is a sweet breakdown that I found a few weeks ago, for a 30 pound pregnancy:

Holy shiz! Isn't that crazy to see? I have always wondered where the extra 20-25 pounds goes besides the baby. Now we know:)

Stretch Marks? Somehow still no! Lots of lotion around here. But I hear it is mostly genetics.

Sleep? It was bad for a while- I could never get comfortable. However now I have found the perfect arrangement of about 6 pillows I surround myself with every night so now I am good:) don't worry, Mitch still has a small corner of the bed for himself:)

Name? We have 3 that we love, mostly 2, that we will decide between when we see her. We just can't name a human being without even meeting her first! This is like honestly the hardest thing of my life!

Belly Button In or Out? Really just beyond out. Beyond.

Mood: Really happy! Starting to get really tired but very content and happy. I feel like everything is set and ready so now I am just waiting for little miss.

Labor Plans: I plan on having an epidural, just as late as possible in labor so that it doesn't stall it and make it last forever (that is one drawback of epidurals). But I want to enjoy the whole process so I do plan on an epidural for sure. I have read a lot about how IV/pain meds can make babies really, really drowsy (some reports of that with epidurals too, but it is actually mostly from pain meds), and they also can effect their breathing when they are born. So I am going to try and avoid pain meds (fentanyl, or whatever they use there) if possible and just stick with the epidural.

The thing I have learned by working in the hospital/surgery/healthcare industry for almost 5 years is that really.. doctors know what they are doing. And there is NOTHING more annoying and frustrating to me at my work than when a patient thinks they know more than those who are taking care of them and won't let us help them or do what is really best. So I am going to try and be a very nice and easy to work with patient.. since I know how it can be otherwise!

It is my opinion that it is best to be informed, be educated and aware, but trust those who are taking care of you and understand that things like epidurals, vaccines, newborn procedures, etc have come about for a reason!  So I trust my OB and those who will take care of us 100%. As my OB said, there is a reason why people don't walk across the plains anymore. We take planes and cars and trains. Same principle.

So, while I have a plan of what I would like and wouldn't like, honestly I am flexible and open to whatever needs to happen:)

Besides the fact that IMC (the hospital we are delivering at and the hospital that my doctor's office is actually in) has just received multiple awards. It is such a great hospital and has an extremely low intervention/cesarean rate. 

I feel like we have been way fortunate to have such great care already from them, which is something that is really important to me.

Baby Prep: We are SET officially! All is purchased, washed, sorted, packed, etc:)  

Speaking of prep, here is little miss' going home outfit:) eeeeeeeeeeek

WE ARE READY!

And I am ready for this man to come home in the next 2 hours!! I have sooo missed my best buddy:)

Any of you have any success stories on jumpstarting labor? You can comment or private message me on FB, whatever, I am super interested to hear if anybody has any experiences:)

35 1/2 Weeks

I cannot believe that in a week and a half she will be considered technically full term (37 weeks). 


...where
has
time
gone???


It is kind of freaky. I'm like in a huge, dreamish time warp. 

Baby Beck:

[according to my app]

>> 35.5 weeks old

>> 18 inches long

>> about 4.75 pounds

>> the size of a large cantaloupe

>> 4.5 weeks left (maybe)

How far along? 35.5 weeks

Contractions? I am currently laying on my couch after coming home from doing surgeries early this morning because I had such bad Braxton-Hicks. I have more surgeries to go to this afternoon and can't even stand up without having the contractions so strong that they take my breath away and don't go away! They are crazy. So I am taking it easy for the afternoon.

>> I've had Braxton-Hicks since about 20 weeks so that is nothing new, but this new intensity and frequency sure is. It's like my stomach is constantly hard, like one solid contraction that doesn't go away, accompanied by period-like cramps. My doctor told me to try to not overdo it and to just lay down and drink a lot. Sooo, since I get really bored just sitting.. I decided to do a blog update while I was at it.

Labor Signs? I don't think so. Just those Braxtons and cramping. My body is definitely slowly getting ready for it, and my OB thinks it is likely I might go a bit early, and I agree, but that probably won't be for a few weeks from now. 

Weight Gain? Yes! I will have around a 25 pound pregnancy by the time I am 40 weeks if I continue gaining the way I have been. I measured a bit under last week but my doctor wasn't too concerned considering how we eat and baby is measuring well! 

Stretch Marks? Somehow still no! I make sure to keep my skin really moist but I hear stretch marks are mostly genetic.

Sleep? Hmmm… this area has changed for sure since last post! It is so hard to get comfortable- and stay comfortable! Poor Mitch. I make him switch me sides of the bed multiple times, pillows over and over, prop a pillow here, do this and that- ha it is a real struggle! My back is constantly hurting but yoga helps a bit when I do it before I sleep.

Routine: get home from work, change out of scrubs into husband's old tshirts and basketball shorts. This is the reality of the 3rd trimester… 100% about comfort and I don't even care. Ha ha

Gender? Still a little miss

Name? We had one pretty much decided on, until someone pronounced it wrong… like way wrong (it's a pretty simple name) and the way they pronounced it sounded so awful that we almost didn't even like the name anymore. It made it like a different name entirely. Bleh! Like it was so off from the name we chose that we don't know if we can handle people calling her that and mixing it up! Name is still a secret for now, but let me just say it is something only Utahns would mispronounce. So that is sad! Ha we don't know for sure. We will decide when we see her for the first time. 

Belly Button In or Out? OH my gosh. I used to have a definite innie - and since the last trimester, it has become a complete and total outie. Ha ha it is so weird to me. I'm like… is this even my body?!?  Ha it is so different. It makes me almost laugh every time I take a bath or see it poking out. It's hilarious.

Mood: Happy! Really happy. But I have noticed my emotions are on the rise for sure! Note - do not watch birth videos when you are emotional - you will bawl like a baby and your husband will come in and ask what happened.

>> My mood also varies with how I feel about school and how I am doing with it.. ha ha.. says Mitch. And I just got an A on my neurology exam so that must be partially why I am so happy:) I am just taking 2 classes this semester since she will be coming in the middle of it. I LOVE BYU online… have I said that before? :) Online school totally rocks my socks.

Labor Plans: I have been reading a lot about natural birth, hypnobirthing, etc… I have found it way interesting. I have learned a lot more than I thought. Before I got pregnant, I used to think girls/women who did natural birth were just out to get some sort of award and put themselves through misery for no reason but vanity - turns out there is a lot I didn't know about it. There are genuine benefits to natural birth that I disregarded earlier.  Anyways, I still want to enjoy the experience, per say, so I plan on getting just a spinal block epidural (you can still walk around, etc, you're just numb there) and only late in labor, and also to avoid pain medications, etc. So somewhat of a hybrid/mix of natural/traditional birth. That is my plan for now. I'd love to hear your birth stories and experiences!!

>> Also, if you have seen my Facebook recently you'll notice I've been posting a lot of vaccine articles (namely TDaP - Pertussis) because they are things I have been researching a lot and find super important. It is going to be really important to Mitch and me for visitors to be up to date on their pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine in order to hold little miss before she is 8 weeks old. Just a forewarning! :) 

Baby Prep: My mom helped me make a cute car seat canopy, and a blanket that I love! They match and also match her carseat/stroller set. Matching things make me so happy :) 

the carseat cover is a salmon color with white swirly things, and the inside of the carseat cover is grey, and so is the little blanket we made.
also yes, those white frames in the background are empty still:) ha ha I wonder if they will ever be filled?

The only things left to really get that are necessities are a dresser and a baby swing. There are other small odds and ends but those are the last big things we need, so we have made great progress overall with all my parents help with setting our nursery up and all of their hard work and generosity! It has been sooo fun working on it all with them. 

Little monkey's crib is all done thanks to all the help to mitch and my dad for building it, and my mom for helping me make the decor:)

>> Also I have an app that tells me little things to prepare {totally love it}, and last week it told me to install the car seat base in the car. Can I even tell you how much joy that brought me?? Ha ha. I like sit there and just stare at it. And it makes me so happy.

>> Oh and I am definitely 'nesting' Mitch says- I am a cleaning mad-woman. 

>> I have also been making lots of freezer meals. It has been so hard to find some that are organic, gluten-free, and healthy! A lot of the ones on pinterest are unhealthy and have a lot of processed stuff that we don't really like. So I've had to get a bit creative and make up some of my own! It has been kind of fun!

>> As for Mitch, he put in an 85 hour work week last week and worked 40 hours by Wednesday morning this week. His work upped some deadlines for projects for clients and he just dug in and got it done, no matter how long it took. He is the hardest worker I know. That man doesn't stop - project after project for work and he is a total champ beyond the point to where I would have just given up. He is such a good example to me and provider for our family. L O V E  him.

>> This weekend we have our second to last shower and I am so excited. I already loved baby showers… make it a baby shower for my own baby and it makes it way fun!!

>> I have started packing the hospital bag… any good suggestions of what you wished you had in yours/what you were glad you brought? I would love to hear!