Big Day!

Tomorrow is a mini milestone...not only is tomorrow November 1st, a day that I can officially say (at least I hope so...LOL) that I will get to meet my baby girl this month, it is also the day that I move into the teens in terms of days left. Tomorrow I am 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant...which means I have 19 days until my due date. I know she may not come right on her due date but its still pretty cool to think I have less than three weeks!

I'm having a little dilemma when it comes to maternity leave. I fully intend to take 12 weeks of time off from when she is born. Originally my plan was to work right up until I went into labor, whenever that may be. Then I decided if she didn't come by my due date that I would start my maternity leave that week regardless. Its Thanksgiving week so I would already have a few days off anyways. Then a few weeks ago I started getting really sick again, like different sick than what I was feeling in the first trimester. I was dizzy and lightheaded all the time, throwing up and the Zofran wasn't helping. It was really wearing on my mentally to think I could potentially be sick like that for another 7 or 8 weeks so Eric and I decided that I would officially start my maternity leave the week before my due date. We figured having a specific day in mind when I get to quit working as apposed to some arbitrary day I go into labor would help me mentally get through those rough times. Well here we are about a month later and although I am really tired, my feet get swollen every time I'm on them for any extended period of time and my heartburn is raging but....I'm not sick. Don't get me wrong, I could do without the heartburn and lack of sleep but its livable and again...I'm not sick. Now I think maybe I should just bight the bullet and keep working. I have friends that have done it both ways. A good friend had to start her leave two weeks before her due date as it is her companie's policy, she said she really enjoyed the time to just relax and prepare for labor. However she works for a private company that offers paid and unpaid maternity leave so she had a lot more time to work with. Another friend worked until the day she went into to labor and said it was no big deal. I mean sure, she didn't want to be there those last couple weeks but it meant more time with baby (that would be paid!). I think I'm going to play it by ear and see how I feel in the next two weeks and if I'm fine maybe Ill at least work another half week.

What do you think? Go ahead and start my leave, even if it means another unpaid week on the end or suck it up and work until my due date????

36 Weeks

How the Baby is growing:

This week Baby Girl W weighs almost 6 pounds, like a crenshaw melon (whatever that is...) and measures more than 18 and 1/2 inches long!



I sort of think she may be even bigger than 6 pounds, especially due to my crazy weight gain at my last doc apt (nothing to worry about but more than I usually put on between appointments). I asked the doctor her prediction for birth weight and she said she thought right around 8 pounds. That may sound large to you people but considering I was 10 pounds 11 ounces( you read that right, almost 11 pounds...but I was 4 weeks and 1 day late) and Eric was 8 pounds 7 ounces ...an 8 pound baby sounds just fine to me!!!

How I am changing:

My belly is still growing! :) And by the looks of it I have dropped! When you compare pics from the last few weeks you can see where my belly used to be rounded starting right below the breasts but now it is more sloped like a teardrop.

I have been feeling much better than I was a few weeks ago! (Thank the lord) I am really starting to feel the exhaustion though. I find that on Tuesdays (when I have court and I am on my feet all day) I apparently use of my energy for the week. I come home ready to crash and I don't seem to recover until the weekend! Doesn't make for the most productive employee but I'm doing my best!

I am still feeling the dreaded heartburn and although I'm not really having "morning sickness" I did get sick in the middle of the night and I think heartburn is to blame. Last night I tried sleeping with an extra pillow so I would be more elevated, I think it helped with the heartburn but it wasn't too comfortable considering I am supposed to sleep on my side. Tonight I will have to try something different.

Fun Stuff:

This week we decided to hire a doula to assist during labor. If you don't know what a doula is she is essentially a labor coach. Someone with experience with labor that can help you achieve the labor experience you want. I'm really excited!

We also decided on our Pediatrician this week. We were able to meet with a doctor at Pediatric Associates and we really liked her!

We did a little more work on the last minute nursery touches this past weekend as well. No picture updates just yet but as soon as we are officially done I will post pics, I promise! It is looking so good and coming together just like a pictured it!

My friend Lindsay's due date is this Friday! Think good thoughts for her as this is her first child! Love you Lindsay Sue! You can do it!



35 Weeks and my absenteeism...

So I have been a little MIA the last few weeks...between two awful sickness weeks, THREE baby showers, a garage sale, out of town visitors and other crazy happenings I let the blogging slip...but I'm back with an update now! Better late than never!

How the baby is growing:

This week Baby Girl W tips the scales at 5 and 1/4 pounds and measures about 18 inches, about the feel of a honeydew melon!





How I am changing:

Where to begin. Lets just say it has been a long few weeks. As you know if you have kept up with my pregnancy I was pretty sick from about 7 weeks until at least 18 weeks. It seemed to taper off and be an "every once in awhile" thing at that point. Well...about two or three weeks ago I started getting sick again, only this time it was different. When I was really sick in the first trimester the doctor prescribed me Zofran. Its essentially an anti-nausea medicine, it didn't make me feel perfect but if I set my alarm for 30 minutes before I had to get up and took the pill I did not throw up when I actually got out of bed. When I started feeling better I stopped taking the pill everyday and moved to an "as needed" basis. Eventually as needed became never, something I was very happy with! When I started getting sick a few weeks ago I tried taking the pill...but it didn't help. Several times I would take the pill and get sick not 30 minutes later. Plus I was feeling weak and light headed and even dizzy at times. The doc even sent me in for a non stress test, just in case. Everything was fine, baby is great. They did all the regular tests at my appointment, blood pressure, blood draw, etc....nothing is wrong. The answer...probably just pregnancy hormones raging. Awesome. Do not get me wrong, I would NEVER want anything to be wrong but its a little hard to hear that its just pregnancy and I might be sick for 7 more weeks! Luckily in the last week things seem to have gotten better. Again, not perfect, but better and I will take what I can get!

The heartburn is still raging and getting worse at night before bed. I am LIVING off of Tums Smoothies! On the bright side I do not seem to have heartburn on days when I have nausea. Just one of god's little blessings! 

I have been feel a whole lot more fatigue these days. I think it is a combination of the extra activities I ahve had going on and the fact that I am 35 weeks pregnant! Its gets hard to carry around a little person all day! LOL! I have only almost fell asleep at work once or twice...no big deal! 

The belly is growing and growing! Although many people tell me I am quite small for how far along I am it is still quite a change in my body that feels huge to me! Sometimes it still catches me off guard! Here is the belly at 33 weeks and at 35 weeks since I missed a few posts:

33 Weeks

35 Weeks

I am still feeling Baby Girl move and kick like crazy! She also seems to get the hiccups about once a day! I honestly don't mind it one bit...unless I am trying to go to sleep! Babycenter tells me that she will be changing positions less due to her size in the uterus. She is hopefully head down (I'm going to see if the doc can tell at my appointment on Thursday) and getting ready to drop! If you look at the last two weeks it kind of appears that I may have begun to drop but its hard to tell because the pics are exactly to scale! We try but its hard! 

The fun stuff:

We have been blessed with THREE Baby Showers over the last month and each was amazing. I plan to do a separate post recapping then but a BIG thank you to my co-workers, my incredible Greenville friends and Spartanburg friends.

This past weekend my bestie Chrisoula and her husband came up to visit from Florida for our baby shower. We had an amazing (and EXHAUSTING!) weekend. We celebrated Baby Girl W ( in costume) on Saturday and went to Fall for Greenville on Sunday, my FAVORITE fall festival. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with them before the Baby comes. Hopefully the next time they visit we will have a little one. (They are hoping to stop by on their way home from Thanksgiving in North Carolina!)

Some great news! Another wonderful friend Lauren had her baby girl Nora FOUR WEEKS EARLY! Nora Mary Elizabeth Mersberger is here and doing great! Congrats Lauren and Freddy! 

Nursery News!

We have made so many updates to the nursery! All furniture has been purchased...although we don't actually have the Glider yet and it technically could get here after the baby but fingers crossed. We have window treatments and bedding and many baby needs thanks to three (one more to go) wonderful Baby Showers! Little by little I am working on wall decorations and personalizing the room! Here is what we have done so far!

Eric's Grandma Ruth Beck came to visit over Labor Day weekend and was kind enough to make beautiful curtains for the nursery and the baby bathroom. (although I forgot to take a pic of the bathroom so you will have to see that later!)

Eric spray painted our chandelier to match the nursery colors!

After much searching we decided to have our bedding made. We picked out the fabrics and the wonderful Nancy Cleland made them into something incredible! They look perfect! I am still tweaking the ties as our crib is a little differently shaped than most but we will figure it out!

I'm currently working on the layout for a picture frame wall collage...no pics added yet, just deciding where each frame will go! What do you think?

Lastly, as I mentioned above we finally purchased a Glider after much frustration! First we couldn't decide on a Glider or Glider/Recliner, then we couldn't decide if we needed the ottoman, then we couldn't find the right color, then when we finally resolved all of these issues the lady tells us it will take 8-12 weeks for delivery....um...I only had 10 weeks to go at that point so needless to say this stressed me out a bit. The same brand of chair at a different store said 4-6 weeks so I was NOT expecting this at all! Needless to say we are VERY hopeful it will come in earlier but we wont know until it does. We actually got a call on Friday from Buy Buy Baby telling us it was in...and we were shocked...and we should have been because when we called Sunday to tell them we were coming to get it they let us know it was a mistake and our chair was not in. Of course...thanks for getting my hopes up! Here is a pic of the store model of the chair we picked. I have also included a pic of the fabric swatches, our chair will be the oatmeal color with a the purple piping!

(second color from the left is the main fabric and the purple is the piping!)

32 Weeks

How the baby is growing:

This week Baby Girl W weighs about 3.75 pounds, the weight of a large jicama, and measures about 16.7 inches long! Apparently half of every pound I gain goes right to Baby Girl so she should gain about half a pound a week from now on!



How I am changing:

Unfortunately the morning sickness has returned. I have had several morning visits to worship at the porcelain gods...for lack of a better word. I had heard rumors that it could return in the third trimester and it looks like I am just one of the lucky ones! Heartburn and indigestion are still raging! My belly is growing more and more, some days I feel huge and other days I feel small for how far along we are. I can't believe I have been pregnant for 32 weeks. That's most of this year! I am really excited for this Saturday because it is October 1st, the day I will be able to say that my daughter will be born next month! (hopefully!)

We have so many nursery updates to share and had two WONDERFUL baby showers this past weekend so stay tuned for posts on those to come! I'm also working on a post about what I'm reading to prepare for Baby Girl W!



31 Weeks

How the baby is growing: 

This week Baby Girl W weighs about 3.3 pounds, about the size of 4 naval oranges, and measures over 16 inches long! Babycenter tells me that she is headed for a growth spurt which is just crazy to me because I already feel so big! I guess these last 9(ish) weeks will be a marathon, not a sprint!

How I am changing: 

My belly is bigger than ever! (duh!) People tell me I am not that big but I sure do feel big! I am thankful for my long torso as baby girl has plenty of room to grow and move without smashing my lungs and ribs! She has seemed to discover my ribs with a few swift kicks but nothing too bad! It is incredible how often I am feeling her move! She has hiccups now and then and just does acrobatics all over my belly. Eric and I like to lay in bed and watch my belly move. Elle likes to lay on my belly and feel it. Hopefully she will still like it when Baby Girl is outside the belly...

I am still dealing with heartburn...If I never eat another Tums after this pregnancy it will be too soon! I had a random sick day this week...not very fun. I lost breakfast...then lunch...no idea where that came from but hopefully it wont be reoccurring often during these last weeks. Other than that I'm just tired...my many commitments are starting to catch up with me and I have had to bail on a few meetings. I feel bad but its just too much at this stage! I will have to really cut back on my future commitments, its not like I'm going to have more time or energy when she gets here! 

We started Prepared Childbirth classes this week! Between my books and research I feel like I already know some of the stuff they cover but I have for sure learned some new things as well. Plus I figure you can never be too prepared! I'm sure birth will not exactly go as I expect (My Birth Hopes post to come soon...) but at least I can have an idea of what will happen! I know Baby Girl will be in charge that day! 

We also had another checkup this week. Baby Girl's heartbeat is going strong at 148! We FINALLY met the last doctor in the practice so now I will officially not be totally surprised at the birth, LOL! We really like everyone in the practice so I feel pretty comfortable with the whole 1 out of 5 chance for D (delivery) Day. 

I am really just ready for her to get here...9(ish) weeks to go! 

Sleep and Pregnancy

Sleep is not usually a problem for me. I sleep 8+ hours a night because my husband gets up really early for work so we go to bed at a decent time even though I don't have to get up until 7 now that we live 5 minutes from my office. I used to have sleep issues but when we moved into our new house we got an INCREDIBLE Stearns and Foster mattress and I slept like a baby (interesting saying...that I will undoubtedly soon learn is false). Then I got pregnant. At first it didn't really disturb my sleep. I learned that apparently I LOVE to sleep on my back, which is not ideal for pregnancy, even in the beginning. Apparently when you sleep on your back, or right side for that matter, it can cause problems with backaches, breathing, digestive system, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and decrease in circulation to your heart and your baby as a result of your abdomen resting on your intestines and major blood vessels. (Awesome) This news of course lead me to freak out a bit because every night I would try to go to sleep on my left side and I would wake up on my back. I told me doctor and she said it was no big deal and my body wouldn't do something that would hurt the baby and just to roll back over when I woke up. OK. Then the lovely Kelly Harvey lent me her pregnancy pillow, The Boppy Prenatal Cuddle Pillow. 

The large part of this pillow wedges under your belly while the small part goes between your legs to make (left)side sleeping a little more comfortable. It pretty much did the trick but as I started to get bigger sleep got more and more uncomfortable and even the beloved Boppy wasn't helping. Then another lovely friend Sara Theisen lent me her pregnancy pillow, The Snoogle. 

The Snoogle is a total body pillow. The hook end goes under your head and the other end goes between your legs. You can either face the long edge or let it line your back. I find it more useful to face the long edge. 

So my nightly routine to get the best sleep I can...which still isn't all that great. I start out on my left side, body facing the long edge of the Snoogle in "running" position (thank you Bradley book...at least you were good for something...this means with your upper leg bent) and I typically fall asleep. After waking up two or three times and willing myself back to sleep instead of going to the bathroom (I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to do this as I get larger I will probably have to potty more than once a night) I get up, go to the bathroom and return to bed. I switch the Snoogle to face the other way, lay on my right side (I know left is better but my neck KILLS in the morning if I lay on one side all night) facing the long edge of the Snoogle. Its the best system I've got for now! I still wake up on my back from time to time but I just force myself to move back to my side. The things I do for this Baby Girl! ;)