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I heard from the midwife this evening. According to them, I have NOTHING to worry about as far as position and fluid go. I guess in 90%+ of the time that babies are pointed at a hip instead of the back, baby naturally changes to face mom’s back as labor progresses (this is the optimal position for normal birth). So, very good news, my friends, very good news! They aren’t the least bit worried that my fluid volume will affect my labor and delivery at all – and they see this a fair bit, so they’d know! Yay! Let the contractions commence! Okay, maybe not this instant, but sometime in the next week would be cool.
So now I’m conflicted: how much do I want to wait to have this baby? I’d love to get my annual recertification done at work before I go into labor (should only take a day or two out of early next week), or do I want to start getting used to the idea that I want to have this baby now? I know I don’t really have any choice in the matter, but it still causes tension in my poor under-rested psyche.
Still, I saw this adorable baby boy on the screen at my ultrasound today: the tech even pointed out where the part of his head that wasn’t jammed into my cervix had some of the tons of hair on his head whisping around in the amniotic fluid (I knew he’d have lots of hair!*), and those little toes! Aw, man, I can hardly wait to meet this little guy!
:)
*I discovered a study that came out early in my pregnancy that showed a direct correlation between the amount of hair a baby is born with and the amount of heartburn the mother endured during her pregnancy. It appears to hold true in my case too!
Hello everyone. In my last blog, I mentioned that the midwife was sending me for an ultrasound. Well, today I had that ultrasound. I have some information, but I’ll need to wait to hear from the midwife before I know if any further action needs to happen. So, tentatively, here’s the news:
1. Our baby is absolutely, 100% for sure, a boy. Yeah, it was pretty hard to miss this time (no room to hide anymore!!)
2. Our baby is head down, not breech. This is a very good thing. He is, however, not face up or face down (toward my back), he’s facing my right hip, which is odd. I’m looking forward to hearing what this means for my impending delivery from the midwife - I hope to hear from her this evening.
3. We know why I’m so huge now: not because baby is huge, but because I’m in the 90th percentile as far as amniotic fluid volume. This explains not only how big I am, but also why the midwives have had a tough time feeling baby’s position from palpating my belly. It may also mean though, that baby might have a little *too* much room to move around right before delivery – meaning he could end up trying to move through the birth canal with a hand stuck to his face thereby guaranteeing a good tear (or the need for an episiotomy), which would suck -though still better than a cesarean delivery.
Well, I’ll update this post when I hear from the midwife. Talk to you all soon!
Hello. So, I know I just blogged last night, but I thought I would share some quick news from my appointment with my midwife this afternoon:
1. Christine (one of the midwives), isn’t completely, 100% sure that baby is head down. He probably is, but she can’t feel the fontanelles of the forehead or apex of his skull for whatever reason (he could be on his side instead of front-to-back, there could be too much fluid ahead of his head to feel very easily, lots of possibilities). Either way, to be 100% sure, I’m having another ultrasound on Thursday afternoon.
2. This was a big surprise… I’m super excited, seriously, super excited… you ready? Ok, here ‘goes: according to the exam, I’m already dilated 2cm!!! (for those of you who don’t know what that means: 10cm is when you’re ready to actually push the baby out!) That means I already have 2cm that I don’t have to worry about when I go into active labor! Woohoo! (I might be excited)
In short, I may well be delivering this baby sooner than I expected. Of course, I could also be dilated this much for 2 more weeks (though that’s much less likely).
Also, prayers that my baby is indeed head down would be so incredibly great. I really would prefer to avoid a cesaerean delivery (which is required for breech birth in this county) if I can, and the only way to avoid it is if baby is indeed head down. 
Love ya!!!
Hello everyone. I know, I know, it should be criminal to go this long without blogging so late in my pregnancy. I’ve just had so much fun cruisin’ around town in my sexy new minivan… 
It’s actually awesome.
The last you heard from me, I was nearing the end of Week #37. Horrifying as the thought is, as of tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, I’ll be sitting happily (though maybe a little awkwardly) at the start of my 39th week. That’s right. I’m due a week from tomorrow. Holy Freakin’ Cow! I’m due next week!
One landmark though: Last Saturday evening and into Sunday (at the end of week 37), I started getting achy below the navel – feeling quite stretched. My suspicion was that “dropping” was taking place. If you don’t know what that is, in general, it just means that the baby, after months of being jammed up under my ribs, has decided to move down into “launch position”, engaged with his head down in my pelvis. Monday, upon my return to work, it was mentioned by more than one of my coworkers that it appeared that I had “dropped” since my flipping huge belly was now aiming down rather than up as it has been. Granted, the change is subtle, and if you don’t see me every day, it’s not likely you’d necessarily notice. Still, it’s exciting: in first pregnancies, “dropping” generally means you’re within 2-4 weeks of delivery. Plus, for me it means only having the dreaded Burninator heartburn once a day instead of 3-4 times a day. Yeah, I’d been eating Tums like skittles. I’ll admit, I find it a cruel twist of God’s sense of humor that a woman in her most womanly time of life is subject to quintessentially “old man” problems such as heartburn, constipation with hemmorroids, senility, and hearing loss from stuffy ears.
So, a week later, as things sit (or squirm), I’m healthy, doing well, and still working – albeit a little more slowly and with the gracious help of my coworkers. I’m working 25 hours a week, days (when it’s generally a little less busy) now rather than afternoons/evenings (busiest time of the day) as I have been. I plan to work until I go into labor or I’m tearing my hair out (tentatively scheduled for around March 10), whichever comes first. I haven’t decided yet when I’ll start my leave, though I’m thinking that labor or March 10 (which is 6 days after my due date) is probably a pretty good compromise, since we’ll likely be desperately trying whatever we can to get labor started by that point.
While things are going well, below you’ll find a short list of a few things I’m looking forward to (while I realize that I’m really just trading one set of discomforts for another, though ultimately more joyous, set of discomforts):
5. Rolling over in bed without waking my poor sleeping husband with the amount of effort it takes; plus the grunting, and having to catch my breath each time.
4. Being able to sleep on my stomach.
3. Getting up for something other than to awkwardly stumble to the bathroom to pee 6 times a night.
2. Being able to take medicine for my stuffy nose (which has been even more pronounced during my pregnancy). Or, really, not having to think quite so darn hard about what I can and can’t take (I’ll still have to stay away from some things, but the restrictions are quite a bit less – ie. I’m looking forward to an occasional glass of wine).
1. Meeting and holding my baby, also known as seeing the point of the last 9 months of drama/trauma/discomfort.
In conclusion, I’m thankful for the support I have. I’m looking forward to being done with this phase of childbearing and getting on with the next. I feel ready (other than the apartment that could use a little cleanup and a good zip-through with the vacuum), and I’m looking forward to labor (call me crazy, but I know it will be hard and painful, but it will be an adventure with a great prize at the end). As for prayer requests, I’d really appreciate prayers that the labor starts quickly (not being dilated 1-2cm for days and days and just miserable, for example), goes smoothly without complications, and that my baby is 7-8 pounds at birth instead of like, 10-15.
Oh! and, yes, there will be a baby shower thrown by my mom in Seattle at some point in the month after the baby is born. Also, just so y’all know (I’ve been asked by a very random assortment of folks this past week) we’re registered at Target, Along Comes A Baby, and Babies R Us. We’d also really love pretty much anything from gDiapers (which is the type of diaper we’d prefer to use). So that’s that business.
Hello everyone!
It’s been an exciting weekend (other than working, of course). I do have news though: we bought a car that the carseat fits in! YAY!!! No, it’s not the one pictured above, though I could use that one! We bought it on Friday morning from another family at Church. I think it will work awesome! As you can see from these pictures, the car seat fits and we’ve got plenty of room to actually help out when carpooling is called for! Yup, as one of my friends put it, I’m a “Minivan Momma” now!
I still can’t help but laugh at the fact that we sold our sports car and got a minivan… there’s just something that strikes me funny about it. But I guess that’s just one more piece to the “pregnancy brain” puzzle. Yes, friends. I’m dumb as rocks right now. Fortunately, I can blame hormones. It’s a good pairing with the nightly arrival of puffy feet and ankles!
Thanks for all your support! 2 weeks to go!!! (Ok, probably closer to 3, but I can hope!)
Love ya!
So, I woke up obscenely early this morning (heartburn, hotflash, peeing 3 times in the 4 o’clock hour – pick your reason), and figured, “Eh, I’ll get up for a bit, write that thank you note, pay a bill or two online…”.
A friend of mine sent me a baby gift that arrived this evening: an awesome, super-deluxe, inescapable “Fortress Maximus” of swaddling blankets. It doesn’t look like Houdini could escape this thing – and it’s cute too! So, as I’m writing the last line of the note, a song pops into my head. Think “Baby Balooga” where the words have been changed to “Baby Burrito”, since that’s pretty much what a good swaddling blanket is supposed to do.
Yeah, so that’s my random thought: “Baby Burrito in the deep blue sea, swims so wild and swims so free -Ba-by Burr-i-to, Ba-by Burr-i-to…”
Now that I have shared my thought by getting an annoying song with a freaky twist in your heads, I’ll rest well - or at least have the satisfaction that I’m not the only one suffering from my overly-active 5am brain. Just sharing the love, my friends; just sharing the love.
Oh my goodness!!! I’m halfway through my 37th week. Yes, that’s out of 40. Talk about mixed emotions: 2 parts excited, 2 parts deer-caught-in-the-headlights, 1 part sheer terror, 1 part “come again?”/”you’re kidding, right?”, and 1 part calm-and-collected. Yup, that thar’s the gamut of emotions running through me at any given moment.
Yes, I’m huge. Funny how big “exactly on target for my due date” really is. Here are my current numbers:
37: I’m measuring at 37cm from pubic bone to top of fundus (top of uterus). At this point in pregnancy, “perfect” is measuring at the same fundal height as the number of weeks along you are. 37 weeks = 37cm.
12: While I won’t disclose here my actual weight, I will say that I have gained a whopping 12 pounds for my entire pregnancy. Average/healthy for this time is between 25-45 pounds of gain. So, I’m well under even that lower limit (generally designated for women who had a little more to love to begin with – my category). But, having been a little extra-fluffy to begin with, and the fact that baby is growing just like he’s supposed to, no one is worried about it. It does make me feel better though when I choose whatever the heck sounds good when we go out.
5′3″: I’m still short. Just shy of 5′3″. But that’s nothing new. 
6.5/21″: Our little baby weighs about 6.5lbs, and is about 21″ long, if he’s in the average for this stage. Hard to believe something that big is in my short-statured body.
3: Yup, just less than 3 weeks to go until my due date of March 4th.
25: The number of hours per week I’m working and will continue to work until I go into labor or as long as I can stand it. Though I’m holding up VERY well at work, so I’m hoping to work right up until I’m in labor. I’m extremely grateful that my work is so flexible with my needs, though. Generally the accomodations that I need are whatever it takes for me not to get too warm (so allowing me to do jobs that don’t require me to wear my lab coat), and making sure I get the opportunity to go to the bathroom the bazillion times a day I have to go.
2-3: The number of times strangers ask me when I’m due when I’m out running errands (ie Target, Fred Meyer, etc).
7-10: The number of times donors ask me when I’m due at work every day.
3-5: The number of times I get up at night to go potty, then try to get back to sleep.
So that’s it for now!
Hi everyone. I’ve been putting together our “It’s Time! Bag”, and I’m still excited about the “going home” outfit I picked out for our baby. So I thought I’d post it so you could see it too. And yes, that’s my giant belly poking into the lower left-hand corner…
All this outfit needs is: newborn!
:)
Love you guys!
Amber
Well, maybe not “Flippin’” exactly – I’ll explain later.
So, it may have been awhile since I’ve blogged… is that a crime? Ok, maybe not, but to my conscience it is. So here ya go:
The last month has been, shall we say, “different”. Things have been both nuts and boring at the same time - which I guess is sort of nuts, but in a different way. The ups have been pretty satisfying, the downs equally dramatic, but less enjoyable.
And now presenting, the Top 8 of My Eighth Month of Pregnancy:
1. As of today, I am 35 weeks and 4 days into my pregnancy (for those of you who don’t know, 40 weeks is where they mark your due date). This means that baby is up around 6 pounds, and is between 17-19 inches long from head to toe. It’s hard to believe I’m carrying something that big inside my short-statured round belly.
2. Baby is running out of room for acrobatics and is therefore moving with fewer broad sweeping motions, and more “pushing” movements instead. No more flipping around. His current favorite move is pushing both his legs toward my back thereby pushing his little butt out. This is particularly comedic when it causes my lab coat to appear to gap at the buttons on its own, then return to its previous non-gapping place.
3. I’m positively jubilant that I’m holding up as well as I am at work. For the most part, I’m able to be as productive as my teammates – which, considering that I can barely button the aforementioned lab coat, is an accomplishment. Granted, some small changes to the way I work have changed. My greatest discomfort is that I get WAY overheated – like, pee-is-brown-at-the-end-of-the-day overheated. So, they’ve allowed me to spend more time as “pit boss” (the pit boss manages the flow of incoming donors, signing them in, getting their chart, getting them weighed in). It can be a more stressful job when it’s busy, and it keeps you constantly in motion, but I don’t have to wear a lab coat and I’m right where I get a breeze from the door every time it opens. The only downside is that it’s harder to get the space to go potty as frequently as I sometimes need (though standing only – rather than alternating between sitting and standing – makes this less of a problem). That along with continuing to drink 2-3 20oz glasses of water on my 10-minute break helps.
4. Speaking of work, it looks like only 6 weeks of my leave will be paid. 
Very sad, my friends, very sad. It’s still better than none of it being paid, but I was really looking forward to not having to go back to work so early. We could have swung it if we expected our tax return to be decent, but it looks like King George has decided to keep all but $300 of the $2000 we paid in on taxes this year despite the fact that we’ve made little enough to be on some form of public assistance all year. Yes, my friends, I can see how tax cuts for the rich and corporations are helping the less well-off… <<sarcasm>> And unfortunately, in our case, the little “stimulus package” rebate we would get is looking like it’s going to be too late to do much good in this regard (they’re saying it’s going to be June now). Grumble. “Count your blessings, Amber, count your blessings!” Matt says. “Grumble!”, I say.
5. Our car still hasn’t sold. As you may or may not have heard, our car seat doesn’t fit in the back seat of our little car with both of us – if only the little tyke could drive himself… So, if you know someone who wants a great little 2-door car for getting around town in, let me know. It wouldn’t be good for frequent freeway trips without a $200 EGR valve, but otherwise it gets around great and has lots of power despite it’s 200,000 miles. Oh, and pretty much everything expensive has been replaced on it in the last year and a half. There seem to be a few cars around that would suit our needs for what we should be able to sell this car for, and we can add some of our savings on to that to do a little better if we need to. This car just needs to sell, like last month.
6. Enough whining, now. I was thrown a kick-ass baby shower at work last weekend. I went to one baby shower at work last summer, and only a few people came (granted, it was summer and there were a lot of folks out of town). But we packed out the break-room this time. I felt VERY loved and appreciated. Gifts from this shower made a substantial dent in our baby supply needs. Now we pretty much need feeding supplies (breast pump, bottles for Matt to be able to feed baby with, etc) and receiving blankets (preferably big enough for swaddling), etc. The big toughie on that list is the breast pump, which, if I have to go back to work sooner than later will be a necessity for which my freebie manual hand pump won’t really be that useful unless I want carpal tunnel. Even a used one on Ebay is at least $100. But, then again, it’s not like we can’t rent one if need be. There are, of course, other things we need, but we’ll get there.
7. I had a downright awesome spat with my 84-year-old neighbor who lives just below us last week. We’re really, pretty quiet neighbors, and we’re seldom home. We take out her trash from time to time, and check in on her on a regular basis to make sure she’s okay. I’ve even driven her on errands downtown (since she hates driving downtown), and picked her up from doctor visits. Well, in December I got a rocking-recliner for Christmas – for rocking the baby. Apparently, in the spot we had it, when we’d rock in it, the sub-flooring would squeak (we can’t hear it at all, just her). I have told her several times that we’d try moving the chair first, and then if that didn’t help, we’d get another piece of sub-flooring from Home Depot and put it under the chair to help equalize the pressure. So, last week, when we were moving things around to get ready for our house blessing, we moved the chair back about 3 feet and tried it out. She immediately called to tell us that it was a little bit better, but… Next came a host of “suggestions” to make the sound go away: move it to such and such spot (which would block entry to our dining room), put a rug under it (yeah, that’ll make a difference in the floor-boards), and despite my attempts to reassure her that we’d do everything in our power to minimize or eliminate the sound (but that I can’t guarantee that the sound will be completely gone) I got my favorite, “Well you’re just going to have to get rid of it!” Call me crazy, call me inconsiderate, call me what you want, but I have no intention of getting rid of my brand new rocking chair that I got specifically for rocking the baby that’s due next month. I will, despite my sinful desire to do nothing and rock the heck out of that chair just as is, continue with my plan to try the piece of sub-flooring and a piece of carpet pad idea. All of my recommendations are more than the apartment managers would consider reasonable, by the way. I mentioned the squeaky floor/chair problem and its issue for my neighbor with them a few weeks ago (before moving the chair to begin with), to which their response was, “You don’t have to do all that! It’s an apartment! Part of apartment living is learning to ignore squeaks and sounds from the units around you!” Well, at least they’re on my side. Still, I can’t help feeling a little bad about duking it out with a very elderly (though thoroughly Dutch) woman.
8. Quilting. I started a quilt shortly after I discovered that I was pregnant, and naturally I got all the stuff, did like one block and then haven’t looked at it for a few months. I’m proud to say that I’m finally making progress on this quilt. In fact, it’s more than 1/3rd done. You can see pictures here.
Well, that ended with a bang… in all lower case… I may need to reorganize my count. Love you all, I hope you’re doing well.
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