Tick tock...

Well hello ladies!  Sorry it's been a while since I've posted (I'm getting SO tired of saying that!) but at least I see that I'm not the only one who's had trouble keeping up.  =o)

Here's the update...

How far along: 32 weeks today!  I can't believe that I only have 8 weeks left!  Single digits now!

Total weight change: I gained 4 pounds at the last office visit last week (Tuesday it was, I think).  My OB told me that I was measuring right at 33 weeks and that they may do another ultrasound to measure fetal growth.  That made me feel bad because I don't like being reprimanded and I want and am trying to be as healthy as I can but can't seem to get a handle on the weight gain.

Maternity clothes: Duh...lol

Stretch Marks: No new ones...yay!

Movement: Even more so than last week/post.  I've noticed that he seems like it when I rub my stomach.  Not like a light caress but with slight pressure.  He just sticks out his butt / or leg / or whatever for me to rub and when I stop he begins to wiggle and kick.  It's become a little ritual at bedtime.

Sleep: Sleep has actually improved lately.  I seem to be sleeping hard and feeling more rested when I do wake up, though the fatigue throughout the day has definitely increased.

Best Moment This Past Week: No "bests" to speak of.  I have found myself being more enchanted this past week or so with his movement.  Just knowing that that movement and the visible movement in my tummy are MY SON.  There is a human in there and I helped create him and he is mine.  It's so surreal and hard to wrap my head around it.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Yesterday, one of my mom's coworkers (my mom works in the lab in the doctor's office I work in) told me that my face is getting fat.  Anyone who has had weight issues in the past knows that we don't need people telling you how "big" you are.  I see myself in the mirror every damn day and yes, I know my face is getting rounder.  Thanks!  =o/

Belly Button In or Out: Still an inny, but I wonder if that's going to change in the weeks to come because it is now trying to "pucker" a little bit.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing to speak of.

Symptoms: Still feet/ankles swelling, the fatigue that I mentioned earlier.  My acne has actually improved this past week.  The attitude has been a little drastic the last few days and I've had to apologize to the hubby a couple of times...he's been great about it though.


That's it for now!  Good luck to all you ladies and much love!

33 Weeks and Other Updates

So technically 33 weeks is tomorrrow, but we are close enough. As much as I don't want to wish my pregnancy away I am so uncomfortable that I am ready to be done. My ribs began hurting again this week along with my back. Usually if I sleep with a pillow underneath my ribs on the painful side it helps but now my ribs are bruised again so even that hurts! Other than that lovely symptom, I have been more fatigued lately.

In addition to the symptoms I have been nesting which Mr. BB loves! I have deep cleaned our bedroom, our bathroom, our closet, the pantry, put together our Arm's Reach Cosleeper and set up the car seat and stroller. Here is a picture of the cosleeper:



Ours is only natural not gingham like the one pictured. Imagine from

We really like the cosleeper because it attaches to our bed so our LO will be sleeping with us, but in the safety of a separate space. Since I will be breastfeeding it makes sense for the baby to be so close to me.

At my 32 week appointment baby sounded good and I measured right on track. I also did not gain any weight since my last appointment. I had the opportunity to ask the midwife all of my questions, which were a lot. I was pleased with all the answers she gave me. Since I will be giving birth in the Alternate Birthing Center (ABC) with midwives and nurses who are for natural birth the midwife agreed with everything in my birth plan. I live about an hour and ten minutes from the ABC and this is my second birth so my midwife suggested against laboring much at home. My last labor lasted 12 hours and the second labor is supposed to be quicker the midwives (and Mr. BB) don't want me delivering the baby on the highway. Luckily I will have the freedom to walk around, take a bath etc during labor which is great.

Mr. BB and I more than half way through our Bradley Birth classes. We really enjoy them and they are helping us communicate our wants/needs for L & D (mostly mine obviously) and to get prepared to any situation that could occur. We do a lot of relaxation in class and are supposed to practice it outside of class as well. Mr. BB and I try to practice as much as we can but we could be better.

I am very excited that my shower is this weekend! I can't wait to see some of my family and friends I haven't seen in awhile and to celebrate this LO. I will also be relieved that when the shower is over we can purchase the rest of the necessities and have everything ready for LO.

I half packed the hospital bag with all our clothes. I am printing out the list of what else to pack and putting it with the hospital bag so we can finish packing it as we get closer. We also made the who to call/text list. It feels good to be prepared!

I will definitely update after my shower, hopefully with some pictures. I can't wait!

Best,

Sweet Child of Mine (32 Week Update)

Before I get started, I wanted to take a moment to welcome our new bud, Curly Bud. Its always nice to see a new face, and I am thrilled that there is another lady here to document their TTC After a Loss journey. Having been down that road myself, and knowing just how common pregnancy loss is, its such an important perspective to bring to the blog. Welcome, Curly Bud!

How far along: 32 weeks and 6 days. Just over 7 weeks to go! About a month until I'm full term. Woot!

Total weight change: Going by the doctors scale at my 32 week appointment today, +24. I officially broke the 200 mark today at my appointment. Not happy about that...but at least its for a great reason. On the plus side, at least the rate of gain has slowed some.

Maternity clothes: Always. I've pretty much moved into dresses at this point. It kills my hips to get pants on and off.

Stretch Marks: I've noticed a few additions right near the tiny ones I found ages ago. In the scheme of things, they are still pretty small.

Movement: Today on the way back from the pharmacy (another UTI, boo)I had the radio on and Sweet Child of Mine came on. I swear the little guy was grooving to the guitar riff. Too funny, especially since his father loves that song. Otherwise he's mostly been a wriggler. He's been changing position some (doctor suspected he's head down at today's appt, woo hoo!) and has the hiccups 2+ times each day.

Sleep: Ha ha ha. If I'm not up to pee, I've been restless with my mind racing with thoughts of delivery, the recovery afterwards and concerns about holiday visits.

Best Moment This Past Week: His dancing today was pretty funny. It was also great to find out he's likely vertex after being anything but for most of the pregnancy.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Honestly, compared to the aches and pains I had a week or two ago...this week wasn't too bad.

Belly Button In or Out: Still an inny.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing major.

Symptoms: Tingly fingers, particularly on my right hand. Bloat, including the infamous cankles. Hip pain, occasional cervical pressure and 3rd Tri exhaustion. According to my doctor, I also have a mild UTI. Joy. How sad is it that I had no clue I even had symptoms...the usual peeing more or feeling pressure is pretty darn hard to distinguish from late pregnancy.

32 weeks

Wait, what?! How did I get here?!

I know everyone says pregnancy flies by, but it really does!

I haven't posted much because I haven't had much to report. I have no complications. Everything has gone so smoothly. I feel so fortunate that after the road we had to take to get here, we have not had any bumps during the pregnancy.


Of course I have the normal complaints: sore, can't sleep, emotional, cranky, etc. But feeling baby Brynn move around in there makes it all worth it.

We just got back from our babymoon trip to Dallas and Vegas. It was HOT but I took it easy and made it through in one piece!


This weekend is my baby shower! I have to admit I stalked my registry and I am so overwhelmed at the generosity we've experienced so far. Almost all my big items have been purchased already. We've also gotten a lot of gifts from people that can't make it to the shower, including a handmade quilt and another personalized smaller blanket. I will try to post pictures of them and some shower pictures after this weekend.

32 week update and baby shower pictures!

I'm sitting here trying to think of something eloquent to type - but I'm too tired and too sick to be creative this morning. Sorry readers! I have a killer sinus thing going on, and add that to Smudge waking me up at 3:30am, my creativity is quashed today.

So - i'll just stick to the facts, ma'am.

And the fact is, I'm 32 weeks pregnant? Um, what? When did that happen? That's just crazy. We had a very uneventful visit this morning with Dr Loh. I'm up a total of 16 pounds for 32 weeks, so that's not too terrible. I'm not happy that the last 2 of them are in the last 2 weeks... but i'm just going to keep eating healthy, like i have been and not sweat it. I'm too freakin' tired to really exercise, so cest la vie. Smudge is finally headed, well, head down! I'm not getting too excited about it though. It wouldn't be the first time Smudge has decided to hang out on a diagonal. So, only time will tell.

It was funny when she was trying to find the heartbeat again - she said "he really wants me to chase him, doesn't he?" I just laughed. S/he kept moving and she would ask me if I felt the movements. You better believe it, sister. This kid HATES the doppler. It cracks me up. Smudge just kept rolling over every time she would focus in on the heart beat. Silly baby.

serious amounts of loot

This past sunday, my mom and sister threw a baby shower for us! We got a ton of loot. We only had 3 major things left to get afterwards: our carseat, the pack and play and the video monitor. Well, the next day I found a 20% off coupon for ALL monitors at BRU, so we went through the stuff that we wanted to return from the shower, and found about $100 worth of things we hadn't registered for. Between that and the coupon, the Slim and Secure Video Monitor only cost us $60. That's not too bad. We also got enough in gift cards that with using a coupon, we'll be able to get the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat. So, really the only thing left is the Chicco Lullaby LX Discovery Pack and Play... and we're hoping we'll find it cheaper somewhere online.

My (I mean Smudge's) PBK Lambie - plays a heartbeat, nature, rain and whale ssounds. And it's SO soft. And, check out the belly - there's no doubt where the 2 pounds came from now, is there?

Gratuitous picture of me with Smudge's Papagayo Monkey. {{{LOVE}}}

Our awesome Papagayo bedding set (click on the link to see a better picture)

The baby's room is coming along really nicely. Mr DB finished laying the laminate floor, the walls are painted and the wainscoting and chair rail are up. We have to paint the molding and get that on, and then paint the wainscoting and chair rail, and then we'll be pretty much ready for furniture. Awesome. Here's a sneak peek at how hard my wonderful husband has been working:

That's it for now. Hope you're all doing well. Smudge and I are going to sit here, drink our tea and try to get some rest.

31-32 weeks - our little squash!

OMG, as usual I can't believe how quickly time is flying & how close we are to meeting our little miracle in person! We have been hard at work knocking out some of the major things on the Baby Worry Bud to do list I made up, which is quite extensive, lol. I am super DUPER excited about everything coming up over the next couple of weeks - this week we have our maternity hospital tour on Thursday & our Baby WB shower #1 is this Saturday in Mr. WB's hometown (being hosted by my MIL)! I am so excited! We spoke to his mom the other day & she told us about 20 people should be there - probably some we (or at least I) don't even know, but it'll be so much fun opening all her cute gifts & seeing everyone! We are leaving on Saturday since I have to work on Friday (& can't really use leave right now until the babe arrives or closer to my due date), and we'll come back early Sunday!

Speaking of MR. WB's fam - we had a talk about how visiting would go when the baby arrives & he is going to ask his mom what her plans are this weekend. The problem is - we only have two bedrooms in our little townhouse - ours & the baby's. Our dog other child sleeps in our room on the floor (he has comfy bed on the floor), on Mr. WB's side of the bed. We have a futon that can convert to a full size bed in the basement, but besides that, we don't have any room for many people to stay. I also don't really want a lot of people staying over - his mom is a definite since I'm sure she'll wanna be around her only grandchild when she arrives for a few days before she has to go back home for work, but besides that...I really want us to have our family time to adjust to our new life with the baby. It'll be an adjustment for all of us - me, Mr. WB & the dog & I guess I just don't want the added stress of feeling like I have to host guests - do you know what I mean? At the same time, his family lives hours away & mine is right around the corner, so they can just come over & visit whenever. And my parents & sisters & brother will all be able to see the little one MUCH more often than his family. I can see how he  feels about that, but we live where we live & work where we work, so there's not much I can do about it. He understands, but I think he just wants me to understand as well. And I do, but that doesn't change the way I feel about a lot of people staying over our house literally RIGHT after we come home with the baby. Did/do any of you have to deal with a similar situation? How did you handle that? I want to be fair - I love him & his family & want him this to be a very happy time for us, not a stressful one. Le sigh.

In other news, my baby buying obsession has picked up again over the past couple of weeks. :o/ I couldn't help it! I just happened across lots of cute stuff @ great prices recently, so I got:

This cute little personalized pumpkin beanie (since she'll be a fall be beh) from Etsy Seller cherylengelstad.

And these...

 

A cute & very functional diaper caddy & Boppy cover from Target.They were both on my Target registry & I know it's bad to buy stuff of the registry before your shower(s), but they were both on sale for a great price (more than the discount will be for the completion of the registry) & both were online only items (thus less likely to be purchased as gifts), so I went for it!

And finally:

This cute baby sling, leg warmers & bracelet gift set from Seven Everyday Slings (the makers of Udder Covers). IDK if I'll actually use the bracelet {probably not}, but the sling & leg warmers are adorable! You can use the sling from infant to 6+ months & I got a one-time use coupon code for a FREE sling (a $39.99 value), so all I had to pay for was the difference between the sling alone & the gift set + shipping. You know I can't resist free stuff, so I went for it too!

That should be it for my buying stuff for awhile. I think her showers over the next couple of weeks will satisfy my fix for a bit, so I should be good until she arrives, minus the stuff we may still have to purchase that we need if we do not receive them as gifts.

According to The Bump, baby girl is the size of a squash & is about 3.75 lbs. & 16.7 inches. My ute is pushing up near my diaphragm & crowding my stomach, which can lead to shortness of breath & heartburn. All of that is definitely happening to me - it's not extremely unbearable, but not fun either. Baby Center says that I can help myself out with these symptoms by sleeping with pillows propped up & eating smaller meals more often, both of which I have been doing. I'm also normally pretty sore in my feet, legs, hips, sides & lower back by the end of most days & exhausted. Mr. WB is pretty good about helping me out if I need it in the evenings & gives me frequent massages whenever I need them too. Love him. At my 32 week appointment this week, we met the newest Dr. at my OB practice & I actually really like her! I'm so happy I feel comfortable with all four of them, so whoever delivers her, I'll be happy with. I surprisingly have no preference at all. The appointment was pretty routine - peed in a cup, did a weight & blood pressure check & the Dr. met with us briefly & checked the baby's heartbeat with the doppler - a healthy 144 bpm & everything else was normal too. Baby WB is in the head down position & getting plump & prepared for birth, which is just 5-8 weeks away now! She's moving away a lot still - more shifting than kicking, but she still kicks a lot too. Can't believe how close we are...and we can't wait to meet her!

And now on to my 31 & 32 week bump pics. We were originally gonna do some maternity shots this past weekend, but re-scheduled due to semi-crappy weather, so now we are waiting for two weeks since we'll be out of town this weekend. I'm actually kinda happy we are waiting two more weeks for the maternity shots - perhaps the belleh will be a little larger? It's pretty big now, but I figure a bit of a bigger belly couldn't hurt for the pics, right?!

31 weeks:

32 weeks:

I am CRAZY busy at work until late next week, but hopefully I'll have time to pop in & give some updates on our maternity tour & shower this weekend! 

32 weeks, a visit to L&D and a surprise work shower

Well things are getting pretty hectic and busy in the life of Mr and Mrs. Obsessive Bud. First off we had a wonderful shower in my hometown when I was 30 weeks. We got such great gifts from a pack and play to a little activity mat. We are so blessed. Here are some photos from that shower.I still have about a million thank you letters to write and hopefully by the end of this weekend they will be finished!

Yum Yum! Best cake ever!

My Mom and Me

This passed Friday we had some excitement.. to say the least.

On Friday around lunch time I felt like someone was punching me in the bladder/uterus/ I didn't know what was going on. I didn't feel like they were contractions but I couldn't really walk without hurting REALLY bad. I thought I just had to pee super super bad went to pee and it still hurt. So I'm walking at work an one of my coworkers said oh it might be round ligament pain and I said yeah probably so. Call my doctor they said the same thing. Well I went to sit down because thats when it felt better and the pain just got worse so I called my doctor and said I'm heading into L&D. Well this entire time I'm trying to contact my husband at work and he is MIA.

Little did I know he was IN my office for my 'SURPRISE' shower that my coworkers planned. Hence the reason why she didn't want me to leave =) They came and told me and said, guess its time to tell you its today. Nice!

Then I feel horrible but know something isn't right so I decided just to go with Mr OB.

We get there and I'm really thinking they are going to say, you are a first time mom, its braxton hicks weirdo. Or get out of here its nothing. Well yeah thats not what happened. The nurse was pretty sure I was having a pain from a really bad UTI from my description and the fact that it was constant pain. They take my sample hook me up and low and behold Im having contractions but I dont feel anything because I'm in pain from the UTI so I really didn't know what was going on.

Anyways they gave me meds for the contractions and the UTI and sent me on my way. I will say my poor bladder was so irratiated and sore but besides that we are all fine and I'm so happy I went in. I really thought I was going to feel stupid and they were going to say its RLP.

Lesson learned: If you think something is wrong, something is probably wrong.

Here are some photos from that shower that I didn't get to attend but I'm so happy they were able to 'party it up' without me. Not only that but they gave us such wonderful gifts! A much needed swing and snap and go! Hopefully later this week, Pepper and I can bake them some goodies to tell them thank you for all they have done for us!

The organizers

The whole gang!

Yum Cake!

Awesome gifts!

After I got discharged from the hospital we had to go back to my office to get some cake, I mean, Mr. OB's car. Can you tell I have my priorities in line? We then had to pack up to take the trip to Baton Rouge where Mr OBis from for a shower there. I'm not going to lie that drive was miserable. We didn't even make it out of Houston and I was bawling. It hurt so bad to walk, to pee, to move, to do anything. I wanted to stay home and really should have to rest up but sucked it up and went. 6 1/2 hours later we finally made it. And its only a 4 hour trip. Its good we went to see family and friends, I just wish I wasn't so miserable. Needless to say I feel wonderful now! Some pictures from that shower.

Yum Cake!

Me and a friend. She made us some awesome burp cloths. All sewed by hand

32 Weeks

We had our 32 week checkup appointment on Tuesday. Everything went well. Good news is I'm only up 13 lbs. For being this far into the game and having weight issues all my life this is amazing to me! What a great feeling. My little Pepper is measuring a wee bit ahead. Wee bit is an understatement. 5 weeks to be exact. Right now that means nothing. Seriously nothing. Anything can happen and measurements are just estimates. We are having an ultrasound this Thursday to verify she really is that big and if she is we will just go with the flow. Right now I'm not worrying about it or stressing about it. Not much we can do. My blood pressure for some reason every single time I go to the doctors office is elevated however when I take it at home AND even at the pharmacies its low. So I have a feeling I just get worried and freaked out when I'm there and they are taking it. My doctor said right now I don't have any of the signs of pre-eclampsia (head aches, seeing dots, swelling, protein in my urine) so it might just be stress when I walk into the office.

I can't believe how far I am now. I swear just the other day I was peeing on a stick and before you know it she will be here! While Im excited to meet her she can stay in there as long as needed. I want her to. I'm not ready. And if one more person asks me if I'm ready.. I'm going to lose it =) Are you ever ready?

We really don't have that much more to do in her nursery. Its all pretty much finished. We just need to hang some stuff up from the ceiling and we are finished! All what is left on my to do list is packing my bag (finishing packing it), making some frozen dinners from dream dinners, get a freezer for the frozen dinners, take a CPR infant class, finish thank you notes, and organize her closet. Oh and get a carseat. We REALLY need to get that.

32 Weeks and an OVERLOAD of info...

I had my 32 week appointment with Dr. C yesterday. It went pretty well - minus the fact that my back has still been killing me and she keeps giving me all these "suggestions" when all I really want is a referral to a massage therapist who specializes in pre-natal massages. Don't get me wrong... Mr GB does a good job... but I can only imagine the real thing.

Anyway, I got to do the usual... pee in a cup - check... blood pressure - normal... Baby GB's heart beat - 150 and he kicked the doppler yet again... tape measure to the belly - right on track (wohoo - not big!!!)... then she started in on the Gestational Diabetes talk. First of all she apologized to me because as I distinctly remember she said I was one of her patients that she believed would "have nothing to worry about." Yeah right... it was nice she remembered saying that though. Apparently, as noted before my number for the 1 hour test was only slightly elevated and come to find out technically I didn't even fail the 3 hour!!! She showed me my numbers and if you recall from this post to really fail the 3 hour you are to fail 2 or more of the 4 blood draws... I failed one... but another of my numbers was 1 point (1 POINT!!!!) below the cut-off so she decided to cautiously diagnose me with gestational diabetes.

Honestly, I'm fine with it - if any of you have talked to me in the last few weeks since dealing with the GD Dx you know that I feel better than ever. I have a ton more energy, I've actually lost a few pounds, and I'm really considering continuing this diet plan (although a not so strict version) after Baby GB is born. Who woulda thunk??? :)

She did give me some more information as far as being induced early. The nutritionist had mentioned that a lot of doctors don't let patients with GD go past 38 weeks so I definitely wanted to ask her about this. Dr. C says that the EARLIEST she'd induce me is 39 weeks and that's ONLY if Baby GB starts to grow out of control. With my body frame, height and weight... she said there's probably no way a baby larger than about 9 lbs is coming out of... well... there. So there'd be a higher chance of C-section if she let me go. Also, she said that she won't let me go past my due date. So... March 29th it is :) If he's not here on his own by the time I hit my 40 week appointment, I'll be going sometime that week for induction. EEK!!! Scary! But oh so exciting!!! :)

Also (I swear I'm almost done!), starting at week 34 I have to go in for two (count them... two) weekly appointments at the hospital for non-stress tests. This is ALONG with my regular appointments - which are now every 2 weeks and at 36 weeks every week - with Dr. C. I'm not 100% sure exactly what these NST's entail but she said one is some kind of test to measure his movement (while simulating a contraction?!) and another test will be an ultrasound to measure the fluid levels. Apparently another side effect of GD is that the fluid around little Baby GB could get low if my blood sugars are not controlled which could either mean: 1. bedrest or 2. early induction. So while it's kind of cool I get to see him on the big screen on a weekly basis - what a pain!!! I've asked my work if I can switch my schedule from 8am-5pm to 7am-4pm so at least I won't have to take time off, I'll just head over to the hospital and hope that they can fit me in before 5. Fingers crossed...


Here's what Baby GP is up to this week:
Baby's now the size of a squash! Ready or not, baby's getting ready to emerge. She's probably in the head-down position by now, with her bottom facing up. This is the comfiest way for her body to fit in your increasingly cramped womb and will make her eventual exit (only a few months away now!) much easier. (If she's still head-up, don't panic -- there's still time for a flip before birth.)