35 (and a 1/2) Weeks

I am alive! I have made it through that crazy bug and am feeling great! Mallory is back to her normal self finally too! Man, that was horrid.
Anyway, I know that I forgot to take a 34 week picture, so here it is… at 34 weeks BB was exactly the size of the push broom (the bristle part). Now at 35 weeks BB is 18 ½ inches long (the size of one of the left over wooden dowels from our closet make-over) and 5 ½ to 6 pounds! Its liver and kidneys are now fully functional and doing just what a ‘real babies’ liver and kidneys do. Really, all that is going to be happening from here on out is that BB is going to be gaining and gaining and gaining weight… and taking up more and more room inside me. I can actually palpate me stomach because of how high and forward it is being pushed and it’s only about 1 ½ inches long. Poor tummy, all shrunken and pinched.
We had another baby dr. appointment today. All is well… maybe too well. BB’s heart rate was bouncing between 135-140 and its head is in Stage 1 (which just means that the head has entered into the inlet or the pelvic brim), I am 1 ½ cm dilated and I am 50% effaced (and very ‘spongy’). So pretty sure that BB is NOT going to make is to March… probably won’t make it past mid February…. YIKEES! Or YIPEE! I’m not sure which one I’m feeling more at the moment. My midwife and my mom would really like it if I could keep BB in there for another 10 days (making me 37 weeks)… I’m not sure if I have that much power over my body or this BB, but I’ll try!!!
Ok, NOT to freak anyone out (especially my mom), but I just went back to my Pregnant with Mallory postings… and on July 9th I was 1 cm dilated and %60 effaced… then 6… yes SIX days later Mallory was born. I’m not ready for 6 days… I think I’m going to sit here with my legs crossed doing to world’s longest/tightest kegel for the next 10 days. (How is it that 10 seem SO much further out then 6)?????

Nasty!

My little family has had a very… interesting 4 days. It all started Sunday morning. Matthew noticed that Mallory was more ‘snuggly’ then normal (she’s not really too much of a snuggle-bug, especially with her daddy). But that day all she wanted was to be carried and hugged. Then, as they were snuggling on the couch, she vomited all over!!!!! Covering her, Matthew and the couch.
Yuck. The rest of Sunday we took it easy and she (thankfully) only vomited a few more times. Matthew stayed home from work Monday with her and the sickness switched from vomiting to diarrhea (equally and nasty, but at least mostly contained in her diaper)! Monday afternoon I started to feel a little ‘off’ and by 8pm I was hugging the toilet! Vomiting is no fun any way you slice it, but add in a 8 ½ month pregnant belly and its hell… oh wait, not quite hell yet… once you add in leaking out BOTH ends simultaneously (which started at 11:30) no that’s hell!!!!!
Ahhhhhhhh! For 9 hours I couldn’t stop either. I seriously smelled like a scouring calf/lamb… the ones that you walk into the barn and think, ‘oh that’s the smell of death.’ It was THAT bad! The second I tried to re-hydrate with the world’s smallest sip of water it would come up and out! Since my G.I tract was in such a state of constant constrictions/contraction, so was my uterus! Poor little B.B. didn’t know what to do. My belly was a hard rock for about 7 of the 9 hours! At 4 am things mellowed out enough that I could leave the bathroom for a few minutes at a time, so I called my dad since I knew he would be up, for a little sympathy/support/distraction. After chatting for a while he woke my mom up who told me to get into the hospital. (She even called her department and told them I would be there). So at 4:45 I was up in the OB department getting all checked in. I was so dehydrated blood was coming out in my urine, so they got me hooked up to some IV fluids, gave me drugs for both the vomiting and diarrhea (which I had to take multiple times to finally get everything to settle down/feel better/stop). But it did all stop!!!! The next order of business was getting the contractions under control. I was having 6/7 an hour (which is the number that they say to come into the hospital when they are worried about pre-term labor). But they checked me, and I wasn’t dilated though BB’s head was/is really low and fully engaged! Once they ran 2 liters of fluids into me, the contractions maintained at 6/hr and I was sent home at 11:30 with strict instructions to rest, stay hydrated and if there is ANY increase in frequency/intensity of contractions that I was to come right back in. This morning things are looking up! Mallory slept 12 ½ hours while I slept 10!!!!!! I was out like a rock! We both are still having nasty liquid booty issues, but no vomiting and I can even eat a little without it all exiting. Oh the simple joys in life. Now let’s all keep our fingers crossed that Matthew doesn’t come down with it!!!!!

OB visit

Yesterdays Ob appointment went great. The weigh-in wasn't as bad as I was fearing... 30 pounds (I gained 36 with Mallory... so I'm right on track for that). I'm measuring perfectly at 33 1/2 cm and B.B's heart rate is 130. All is looking wonderful and I'll be back there in about 10 days for the strep B testing and a ultra sound to make sure head is staying down (since it 'feels' like its down now).

Week 33 (and a half)

Time keeps ticking away… though it feels like it’s dragging more now then fly by like it used to. I guess it’s because of how large I’m feeling. People/clients keeps saying how small I am and asking if this is my first because I’m 'tiny'… but geez I am feeling like a moose. Not really too many other places besides my belly (though my hips/thighs/bootie are finally starting to fill out), oh, and I’m pretty sure I’m getting a little ‘fluff’ under my chin. But really my belly is just stick straight out (even more then the picture that was taken last week). I have an OB appointment tomorrow, so I'mm get to 'weight-in' (oh joy). I think I still must be in the ‘thin’ mindset, because I keep trying to squeeze through things that I have not right trying to squeeze through. I can’t tell
you the number of times I have bumped into Matthew or co-workers… Sorry! My back it really taking a toll with this one, since I apparently try to overcompensate by leaning backwards so I don’t topple forwards. Wouldn’t that be a sight? Okay, enough with the woe-is-me…. Onto B.B. info. 33 Weeks! Our little one should be about 4 ½ pounds and is around 17 ½ inches long (wow, the size of one of our tool boxes. I have had to recruit Matthew into helping me find things that are the right size now... it's though). B.B is quenching his/her thirst (not really), and practicing swallowing by drinking around one pint of amniotic fluid every day. Yummy! B.B’s little pupils are now even fully capable of constricting/dilating in response to light. We only have about 2 ½ more weeks until B.B. will be considered gestationally term, which means everything should be working perfectly on it’s own by then. Amazing!

Blue

I’ve always heard about the Post-partum blues, but I’m pretty sure I have Pre-partum blues (if there is such a thing). For a week now I have just felt BLAH! So supper tired ALL the time, (probably due to the fact that between my 5 times a night pee trips, BB river-dancing inside me at all hours, Sonny wanting outside, then back in, Krush curling up near me and purring SOOOO loud and the occasional snoring husband), depressed over not getting to eat anything without the horrid side effect of heartburn that feels so bad that I may as well douse my esophagus in gasoline and light it on fire. I feel like Matthew and I aren’t close, I feel fat not pregnant, cooking takes too much effort, forget trying to clean (it’s just going to get dirty again), all I do is work and hang out with a toddler and I have had a head ach that won’t go away for almost 3 days now!!!! I feel like I need a break. (Like that’s going to happen with this little BB due in a matter of weeks. It’s a strange feeling, because I have SOOOOOOO much family around, but yet I feel very lonely. And then despite all their help/love/support I just kind of want to be on my own. I guess there are time (like now) that I miss my ME time. I am such an independent person that having to think about a husband, a toddler and an unborn (but ever present baby) is sometimes just too much. I’m sure that this feeling will probably go away in a matter of days… I just needed to complain about it… sometimes even just that seems to help. So thanks for listening.

32 weeks

8 months down!!! I figure I have about 6 more weeks to go (if I am early again) or 8 if I’m on time… I’m refusing to think that I’ll go over (wishful thinking I’m sure). Nothing really all that ‘new’ is happening inside right now. Little BB is just trying to pack on the pounds, so now weighs somewhere around 4 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long (that just so happens to be the size of our tomato-cage top-ring). Why do we just have the top ring of the tomato cage…. Well, because the rest broke and Matthew figures he would/could use it for something (and he was right, it was the perfect baby size comparison). My tummy is ever growing (obviously)… I’m pretty sure that I have surpassed how far ‘out’ I was with Mallory a few weeks ago. I feel like I am bumping into things with my belly now plus my balance is coo-coo… I didn’t really have any of that before… and I still have some weeks to go! Not sure how much more room this little one is going to get. I am carrying this one really high, which is making eating ANYTHING with ANY sort of yummy flavoring just about impossible (due to the horrific heartburn that follows). So I’ve been sticking to boring, bland food. Boohoo. All else is going well, getting loads of Braxton-hicks contractions… I think I secretly LOVE them, because I know all the prep work they are doing. The heating pad has taken care of most of the back pain… now if I could just figure out how NOT to pee 5 times a night I would be set!!!!

Ringing In The New Year

Our good friends Joel and Melissa Boothe, along with their adorable 10 month old son Brayden were also down for a visit over this holiday season. They were making their rounds through California and we were lucky enough to ring in the New Year with them. Being the party animals that we are, we allowed our kiddos to have their first co-gender bath. Crazy, I know! It was quite the sight… Matthew, the ever worried Daddy stood protectively in the background making sure Brayden didn’t pull any ‘funny-stuff.’ After that the kids went to bed (in separate rooms) we party animals tried to stay up until midnight. Since we hadn’t seen each other in 2 years we had LOTS of things to catch up on and easily were able to stay awake to ring in the New Year. It was a low key but wonderful night (my kind of party… a quiet home, a few great friends and a heating pad… do I know how to live it up or what?!?!?!)

Brie's visit

Another HIGHLIGHT of this holiday season was all the friends that came back into town to visit! It was wonderful. Brie and her stunning family came for 5 days (we got to see them twice)!!!!! And you can bet, if you see Brie, you get to see a ton of other people too. This time we saw Jeff, Kate, her baby Kyla, Claudia, Bries Aunt, Michelle and Xavier (along with all of Bries family). Here a little video… to make Janie and my dad jealous. Ok, not sure why the video wouldn’t load… so here are some pictures! The last collage was from a day that we got Brie and her family all to ourselves (waahaaahahhahhaahhaa… that was my evil laugh). It was wonderful. Sweet Brie had gifts for BB and Mallory… the doll that she got for Mallory is called The “Brianna” doll. No, really, that’s the name on the box! She gave it to her because she didn’t want Mallory to forget who she is. How sweet/cute/sad is that?!?!?! I can’t believe how much all her kiddos have grown! Jacob is a full-fledged tall man, Addison is a beautiful spitting image of her mom and Preston is a perfect combination of both. It was wonderful to see them, but horrible to say good-bye. I only take solace in the fact that they seem truly happy in Indiana… because goodness know if they didn’t, I would try and wrangle them back here. Love you guys!

Week 31

31 weeks is getting darn close to being over… so before I miss another week (sorry for those of you who were looking forward to the week 30 update) let me fill you in on what B.B is doing now. Our little bundle is weighting in at around 3 ½ pounds and has stretched out to about 16 (+) inches long (just about the size of a hack saw). He/she is really starting to plump up (its momma too), and its skin is now smooth (no more wrinkles) and has finally taken on a nice pink shade. B.B is able to track light and all 5 senses are fully intact! At this point its lungs are the only system that is NOT fully mature. This is the typical month that most Mommas start in on the pregnancy waddle…this is due to the pelvis ligaments that are softening allowing for the spreading of our wonderful birthing hips. I have just noticed that I am starting to sway a titch… spread baby spread!

Dancing Queen

Mallory really got into Christmas this year and loved all the people and the excitement in the air! As far as the gifts though I still think she liked the paper and boxes more then the actual gifts!

Christmas 2011

Wow! Did I ever underestimate the craziness of Christmas! Let us all breath in a sigh of relief that we all made it through it with our minds intact. Don’t get me wrong it was WONDERFUL, just crazy. We had so many people to see, so many places to go, so many gifts to cart back and forth, so much food to eat… AND through in a giant baby belly and everyone being/getting sick… just thinking of it all makes me want to nap (again). I thought that since I had a few extra days off work, I would get a chance to really catch up on things (blog, B.B’s room, photo album, and sewing) and instead I found myself more behind than ever. This is no pity party that I’m going for though; it was all self-induced wonderful torture. Here are a ‘few’ pictures just to give you an idea of the who and the what of Christmas day.