1st Time Parents: 37 week appointment

I made it to FULL TERM!! YAY! That means that if Brock was born today, his chances of having to go to NICU would be pretty low :-) 

I had my 37 week appt. today and got all sorts of crazy news! I had a growth ultra sound today since I've been measuring inconsistently over the last few weeks. The ultra sound showed that Brock is doing great... and he is estimated to weigh 8lbs 4oz! I almost had a heart attack, so the technologist gave me a range of 7lbs 13oz - 8lbs 4oz... LOL! Her way of making me feel better :-) 8lbs already!! WHOA! Brock is gonna be a big boy!! 

I also had an internal exam to check if my cervix has made any changes since last week. Last week my cervix was "long and slightly open." Today my cervix was 1cm dilated, 50% effaced (which means that my cervix is softening and thinning), and the baby was at -3 station (If you look at the picture, we're at the top line of decent. So the baby's head is just starting to enter the pelvis). I was pretty excited with this news! I told the Dr. that I hope I continue to make progress and don't get stuck at 1cm! She said she didn't think that would happen. She felt that I might not even make it to my due date. So we'll see... My next appt is next Thursday :-) 

I also got us all set up with a pediatrician today, thanks to a recommendation from a family friend. Its nice to have that part all set!

Oh! And my breast feeding class for Saturday got cancelled today because I was the only one that signed up! I was crying because I was so mad. I tried calling a few lactation consultants but neither one of them could meet with me before I have the baby. So... I guess I just have to trust myself that I can do this and hope that the delivery nurses can help me make sure Brock latches on correctly when I have him. 

Well, thats all for now! Spike & I will do our best to keep you all posted of my progress! 

1st Time Parents: 36 week appointment

I had an appointment today, at 36 weeks! I can't believe how fast this is going! Today's appointment was the typical get my weight (OMG - gained 5 lbs since my last appt!), pee in a cup, get my BP taken, hear the baby's heart beat (my favorite), measure the fundal height (basically measuring my uterus), and a special treat for today - the Group B Strep test. This test checks to see if you carry a certain type of bacteria. If you do, then you get put on antibiotics during delivery so the baby doesn't catch it. The unpleasant part of the test is that they do a (TMI WARNING) vaginal and rectal swab... no wonder Spike didn't want to go to this appt. with me!

Anyhow, the Dr. said that I was measuring a little small so he has me coming in next week for an ultra sound in addition to my 37 week appointment.

The last few days I've been waking up in the middle of the night with my right thumb locked in an over-extended "thumbs up." Then when I wake up in the morning, my thumb, index, and middle finger are numb for like 30 minutes. I asked the Dr. about it today and he said it sounds like carpal tunnel... lovely! There isn't much we can do about it, so thankfully my sister has a brace she's going to let me borrow.

House update: Spike's been working hard on getting our hardwood floors installed. Today he ripped up the carpet in the living room and found a pretty big hole in the concrete! He fixed it though! He's awesome :-) So now we just have to wait for it to dry and then he can finish the floors :-) I also painted some wood letters that spell the baby's name, and Spike hung them up over the baby's crib! I'll try to get some pictures up soon. It looks soooo cute! I love it!

Until next time!

1st Time Parents: Hospital Tour

I was officially 36 weeks yesterday (9/13). I can't believe our little man will be here so soon! Only 4 more weeks until my due date - October 11th!

We had our hospital tour this morning. We LOVE the hospital! We'll have our own HUGE private room! Every patient gets their own nurse, and the nurses all have their own private number that we call when we need them instead of pushing the "nurse" button from your bed. They really encourage you to have the baby in the room with you 24/7, unless of course you need to get some rest. They also really encourage breast feeding, which is really awesome! They have a lactation consultant available Monday thru Saturday and the consultant makes rounds daily in case you have additional questions or are having difficulty with breast feeding. When we walked past the little nursery, I got so teary-eyed! I just pictured seeing Brock in there! Spike wouldn't stop teasing me after that! LOL! It was funny. They also have a professional photagrapher there to do the hospital pictures, except instead of having the pictures taken in your room with the baby swaddled in a blanket, they had a little studio set up and do an actual photo shoot! Sooo awesome!

Oh yeah, the rooms are cool because you get admitted to a room, and that room is where you labor, deliver, recover, and stay for postpartum care! So convenient! The rooms are also hooked up wirelessly, so we'll be able to blog while we're there!! So if I have a long labor, Spike & I will be able to keep people posted of our progress... and it'll help to keep Spike's sanity ;-)

They also had a really nice NICU section too. But hopefully we won't need to be on that side of the floor!

The next big thing on my list is to make it to September 27th! Thats the date of my breastfeeding class! Then Brock is welcome to come anytime after that! LOL!

Well that's all for now. I'll try to get a new picture & video up soon since its been 2 weeks since my last picture! Brock's movements are way more profound than the last video. Its pretty crazy!!

1st Time Parents: 34/35 week appt.

So I had another Dr. appointment today. I wasn't sure whether to call it my 34 or 35 week appointment because today I am 34 weeks and 6 days... Making tomorrow 35 weeks. So whatever!

Anyway, there have been MANY comments from family and friends that my belly is too big for one baby. Could there possibly be two in there? Well I asked the Dr. today and she said that there is only ONE baby in there! There's only one heartbeat :-)

I go to an office that has more than one OB and all pregnant patients are required to meet with all of them, since we won't know who will be on call when we go into labor. The Dr. I had today was kind of a biotch. I wasn't happy with her attitude! So I hope she's not the one delivering Brock, because she'll probably get on my nerves!

I asked her lots of questions and she just seemed annoyed with me. But I did find out that they only let women go one-week past their due date and then they induce. So that's cool. She also told me not to worry about providing them with a birth plan because labor and delivery are so unpredictable. She said that I could write my wishes down and let people know as they came in, but she said it wasn't really necessary.

I'm not too picky, I just want to be able to walk around and get into different laboring positions. Having an epidural would prevent me from that... because of my tachycardia and syncope, I'll have to have an epidural anyway, but hopefully I can get a "walking epidural" or maybe there are lower doses or other options I can choose from. I'll have to ask my regular OB next time I see her. I have one more Dr. to see and then I think I can choose to see whoever I want. The next Dr. I am going to see has answered some of my after-hours calls so it'll be nice to put a face to the name!

Anyway, the Dr. today said that the baby is doing great. She said my weight gain has been appropriate (LOL... I've gained A LOT)... They have a digital scale at the office, and when I stood up on the scale, my belly hit the bar in front of me! LOL! I was so embarrassed! It was pretty funny though.

So now I'll start seeing the Dr. weekly! Holy CRAP! I hope Brock doesn't come early. I'm not ready for his arrival yet! There's still LOTS to do around the house... oh my!

1st Time Parents: Keeping your gag reflex in check!

Am I going to be a good mother? Can I handle picking up my own child's puke? These are the questions I had to ask myself today numerous times!

WARNING: Puking story below:

I was watching our 5-year-old niece today. At lunch, we decided to have some pizza. I cut hers into small pieces. Well not even 5 minutes into lunch, she started coughing. I asked her if she was okay and she nodded back. So I continue to eat.... then a few seconds later I hear her making this weird sound, look over and her jaw drops and she is just sitting there throwing up with no effort. Mouth hung wide open and puke just pouring out - how's that for a visual? Well try being there in person! I immediately jumped up and ran to the kitchen to compose myself and keep myself from puking. I grab some paper towel and run it over to her. I tried to hard to help her, but started gagging! So I ran back to the kitchen and puked in a paper towel. I couldn't even go back out to help her. So from the kitchen I asked her to go to the bathroom. After a minute or so, I went to the bathroom to help her clean up. As soon as I got into the bathroom.. guess what? I puked AGAIN! She laughed at me! So I had her strip down so I could wash her clothes. We went back to the living room, and yup, there was more puke on her pillow! UGH! So I try to go get it, and totally puked for the 3rd time! So... I ask her to clean it because I just can't do it! So I go back to the bathroom to blow my nose and end up blowing some more chunks! Good God! It was disgusting. This was maybe the 2nd time I've puked during my entire pregnancy! So nasty!

So here I sit, feeling like a horrible aunt because I couldn't clean up her puke! I felt like I let her down! I really hope I can do this with Brock.

I posted this whole puke-fest fiasco on the nest.com (an online message board for women trying to conceive, women in each trimester of pregnancy, and for women after they have their children). Thankfully some of the girls on there told me that they've heard that this gets better when its your own children. God has a way of starting us off with little baby spit ups, so that by the time they are 5 years old, we have the stomach to clean up after them! God I hope this is true. I've always had a weak stomach, so I hope I can handle this when it happens with Brock!