Week 40

Well, here we are at week 40 and still no sign of Ethan...sigh. I guess starting tomorrow we are officially "overdue." I honestly thought he was going to be born early so I'm surprised that we're at this point (although this is not at all uncommon with first babies so perhaps I should have adjusted my expectations awhile ago!) I'm really scared about the whole induction process since it requires more medical interventions than I had initially been planning on (again, perhaps I shouldn't have had quite so many expectations of this process since I very clearly am not in control of this situation!) but I know that my doctors are doing everything they can to help me and take excellent care of Ethan. While I wait for him to arrive, I am walking miles a day and employing every recommendation I can get my hands on to bring on the labor process.

We had our doctor's appointment this afternoon, and should Ethan decide not to attempt to greet the world on his terms he will be induced on August 3. If we get to that point I will check into the hospital on August 2 and we will have him in our arms sometime the following day. They'll start the process that evening and then wake me up really early on the third to start the Pitocin, break my water, administer an epidural, etc. The doctor indicated this is usually a pretty long day but generally within 12 hours or so the baby is born. Hopefully we won't get to this point, but I am at peace with the fact that this may be the route we have to take to meet our stubborn little guy.

Ethan's heartbeat is still strong and my belly measurements and blood pressure are both still well within the normal ranges. I gained almost 2 pounds this week (I'm packing it in here at the end evidently!) so I am now up almost 24 pounds total. This is right where I am supposed to be so hopefully that means Ethan is growing and thriving as well. If I am still pregnant next week we will go in on Tuesday for an ultrasound to ensure that everything is still functioning well and that Ethan is doing okay in there and then again on Thursday for a non-stress test (again, to ensure that Ethan is still doing well) and then we'll check into the hospital the following Monday night. Hopefully we won't need all of these appointments, but it's good to know that there is an end in sight.

We celebrated Patrick's 35th birthday this past Tuesday. While overall it was a fairly low key day, I made sure to have an ice cream cake from Cold Stone (yummy - this may be why I continue to gain weight at warp speed here at the end!) and a few surprises for Patrick to help make it a special day. We finished the day with our Tuesday night trivia at the local pizza place with our neighbors and we all had a good time. We'll have to have a big birthday celebration for Patrick next year though since this year was fairly uneventful.

Patrick with his Oreo ice cream cake - it was sooooo good!!

Patrick's birthday present from me - new running shoes (we're an exciting couple, aren't we?!)

A common sight in our house these days - I've heard that bouncing on an exercise ball can help bring on labor so I've been sitting on this thing almost exclusively while watching TV to help jump start the labor process (which Patrick thinks is hilarious!)

Caddy is scared of the exercise ball and I caught her giving it her best "look of death"

Spot loves the upstairs baby swing - I'm not really even sure how she managed to get into this one but she settled in for a nice nap here

Spot & Holly usually take turns sleeping on the changing table (this is their FAVORITE new item!) but yesterday I found them cuddled together up there

I know I'm biased, but how cute are they?!

And not to be left out, here's Rocky who is just so tired...he can't take it anymore (and yes, I brushed him when I noticed how messy his fur was in this picture!)

Here's the official word on week 40: "It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little cone-headish after birth. Rest assured - it's normal and temporary."

Week 39

This week can be summed up in one word - frustrated. Everything went fairly well at our doctor's appointment this afternoon, but Ethan has once again given no indication that he is at all ready to come out and greet the world. His heartbeat was strong and my blood pressure was normal which are both good, and my belly measurements are right on target. I gained a whopping three pounds this week, so I'm right back on track with weight gain as well. (I'm up a total of 22 pounds which is right where I should be. However, if I continue this trend I'll be in trouble the other direction so I think I should curb some of the junk food this week!) Our doctor was able to tell that I've had no further dilation and Ethan hasn't really dropped at all (I almost feel like he was further down a week or two ago if that makes any sense) and he indicated that there's a pretty good chance we'll make it to our next appointment still pregnant. Ugh! I have gotten increasingly uncomfortable this week and have definitely reached the point where I am ready to go ahead and give birth and meet this little guy already.

The most frustrating part of the appointment was the discussion we had after the exam. If we make it to our next appointment (and Ethan has given every indication that we will) we will have to go ahead and schedule an induction. I am trying not to think about that and panic too much, but I REALLY do not want to have to go that route for several reasons. I won't get into everything involved with an induction right now since I'm still hoping we won't have to do that, but suffice it to say that it would involve a much longer, more painful labor with a much higher chance of ending up with a c-section anyway. My little sister is flying in from San Diego on July 31 to meet her new nephew and I would be heartbroken if he decides not to arrive until sometime during her visit. She's making a special trip just to meet him so I would so much rather be home from the hospital and not worrying about labor while she's here! I need everybody to think very positive thoughts that I will just go into labor naturally sometime in the next two weeks!!! In the interim, I am going to be enlisting the aid of every suggestion I can get my hands on to help bring on labor. I'm really terrified of a lot of the procedures involved with getting induced so for my peace of mind I really need this to happen on its own. I was almost in tears when Patrick and I had lunch after the appointment :(

My birthday was this past Tuesday and overall it was a pretty enjoyable day. I went and met a friend for lunch which was a lot of fun and then had a small adventure on my hands when I got home. Our house felt really warm, and over the course of the next 20 - 30 minutes I watched the thermostat climb three degrees (even though I could hear that the air was on.) I called Patrick who called one of the members he knows pretty well who just so happens to own a heating and air business. He had a service tech at our house looking at the problem within 20 minutes - it was incredible! Long story short, a bug had climbed into the unit outside and fried himself which shut down the outside unit. The guy was able to remove the electrocuted bug and everything came right back on. He checked everything else and determined that the system was in good working order so we were back in business. I hated having to pay for such a simple fix, but compared to the thousands of dollars a new air conditioning unit would have costed us I feel grateful that we escaped with only a $100 bill. Later that night we went out to our local pizza place for trivia with our neighbors (a Tuesday night tradition) and Patrick surprised me with a cake and necklace at home before we left.

Holly inspecting the cake

Me at 31 years old and very pregnant

Here's the official word on week 39: "Your baby is waiting to greet the world. He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath."

Catching Up

So as you've probably been able to figure out from my less than stellar recent blog posts, I have not been feeling quite like myself in the most recent weeks and therefore have become that stereotypical, hormonal pregnant woman that most people dread meeting. Most of my crabbiness can be attributed to my sleeping patterns (or should I say, lack of sleeping patterns?!) but last night was a true gift since I slept for almost 7 hours straight and so I am trying to take advantage of my newfound energy to catch up on the many things that I have been neglecting as of late. (You should see my email inbox - it is overflowing with messages and I have no excuse in being so behind in my responses!!) Overall I've been feeling pretty good, but I've been averaging somewhere between 4 - 5 hours of sleep at night which has left me feeling pretty depleted during the day. (Of course, I realize that this situation is not going to improve anytime soon and this is good practice for the day that Ethan arrives so I'm trying to stay positive and learn to function with a lot less energy...but since he's not here yet getting a few more hours of rest would be ideal!) His kicks have gotten progressively harder too, and even Patrick noticed that Ethan must have been growing a lot lately because now instead of fluttery movements he actually feels like a real baby in there. My legs still feel like I've been doing workouts with the Rockettes, but I haven't had much energy to do anything besides take an occasional walk so I think my body is just preparing itself for the whole birth process.

There hasn't been too much going on around here to catch you up on, but I'll try to think of something slightly more positive than the last couple of posts in an effort to get myself out of the funk that I've been living in for the past two weeks. My mom came to visit for the fourth of July and we had a good visit. She brought my sister's dog with her (since my sister and her husband were out of town spending the holiday with her in-laws and Abby has a standing reservation at Nana camp anytime Carolyn and Brian are away) and we determined that this was Abby's best holiday ever since she got to come out to our cul-de-sac party and receive tummy rubs from a ton of people. This past Thursday my in-laws came for the afternoon so that we could have one last visit before Ethan's arrival. It was nice getting to go out to lunch and relax since I'm sure our house will be in chaos here in the not too distant future. Last night I went with Patrick to his softball game and although Ethan decided to have a dance party throughout the game (seriously, my stomach was bumping all night!) I was determined to go and support Patrick. I try to make it to at least one game a session and since last night started their new session I have officially fulfilled my obligation for awhile.

We spent the afternoon at the pool yesterday afternoon which may have been just what the doctor ordered. I was so relaxed! I was hoping to be able to make it over to the pool again this afternoon, but the weather does not seem to be cooperating so it might just be a lazy day spent inside with my book. Speaking of books, does anybody have any recommendations for some good reads? I'm almost out of new books, and would love to swing by the library to pick up some more before this little guy arrives.

I don't have too much planned this week, so the waiting game has begun. Our doctor indicated that the last month can definitely feel like the longest month, and I think I see what he was talking about! I'll keep you posted if there is any news, but I think we still have several weeks before Ethan will be ready to greet the world. In the interim, cross your fingers that I can keep the negative feelings of being so ready for all of this to be over away - there will come a day in the not too distant future that I will miss all of this and wish that I had taken the time to enjoy it (or so I've been told anyway!)

38 weeks pregnant - the countdown is on!

Week 38

We've reached week 38 and Ethan has given no indication that he is ready to come out anytime soon. Our doctor's appointment this morning went well and the doctor indicated that I'm about 1 cm dialated and he feels fairly confident that Ethan is going to stay put for awhile. His heartbeat is strong and my blood pressure is still normal. I lost a pound since last week (what????) but the doctor did not seem concerned and indicated that this can happen towards the end when your weight can sometimes plateau. As long as he's not worried I'm going to try not to worry either, but it does seem a little backwards. I'm going to indulge in all things junk food this week (the joys of pregnancy!) and hopefully next week I'll at least be back to where I was. So the official weight gain currently is 19.6 pounds - I want to make it to at least the recommended 25 so I guess it's a good thing that Ethan seems content to stay put. I'll probably regret this line of thinking here in a few weeks when I am struggling to drop all the excess pounds, but I want to ensure that I'm doing everything possible to take the best care of Ethan right now.

Here's the official word on week 38: "Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek.) He has a firm grasp, which you'll be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time. His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel grey or dark blue eyes, they may stay grey or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old."

Week 37

Week 37...hard to believe! Ethan is officially a full term baby and all of his major development is essentially now complete. We had a doctor's appointment this morning and everything went well. Ethan's heartbeat is strong (which is a relief considering he decided to nap for the majority of the day yesterday and freak me out since he wasn't moving as much as usual) and he's measuring right on target. My blood pressure is normal and I gained another .6 pounds since last week (so the total gain is now 20.6 according to the doctor. I love their scale because it is quite a few more according to the home scale!) The doctor opted not to check my progress this week since I haven't had too many painful contractions (and even if I've begun dialating they aren't going to induce me this early.) They'll check at my appointment next Friday, and fingers crossed, there will be something to report then. My group b strep test came back negative so that is one less thing to worry about. All in all everything looks like it is going really well and we're right on schedule.

My mom is coming to visit for the weekend and I'm looking forward to celebrating the fourth with our neighbors and our annual cul-de-sac party. I have a few miscellaneous baby items to pick up but otherwise I don't have too many plans.

Here's the official word on week 37: "Your baby is now considered full term even though your due date is 3 weeks away. If you go into labor now his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time though.) Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard.) Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from a 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours."

Week 36

It's crazy to think how close we actually are to finally meeting Ethan. There's only a month to go (according to his due date!) I am so unbelievably nervous about everything. At first I was really only worried about getting through the birth process, but the more time goes by the more nervous I am getting about actually being a good parent too. Patrick and I have so much to learn and I'm so glad to have such a supportive spouse. I keep envisioning that first night that we're at home together as a family of 3 and it totally scares me because I don't feel ready for this at all.

We picked up the crib and changing table this week and so the nursery is finally almost ready. Check out the pictures of the assembly process and the almost completed nursery:

And Spot decided that the changing table was her new princess bed. Too cute!!

We had a doctor's appointment this morning and we'll be going in every week from here until the end now. The doctor did the group b strep test (not as bad as I thought it would be) and we should have the results in a day or two. If I test positive I'll just need to receive antibiotics when I go into labor to prevent infection for Ethan, but hopefully the test will be negative and I won't even have to worry about it. I'll keep you posted. Following the GBS test, the doctor did a manual exam to check to see if I was dialating yet and to check the position of the baby. This involved a LOT of pressure and gave me a preview of just how much this whole process is going to hurt...not fun! I haven't started dialating at all yet, but the doctor was able to feel Ethan's head and it's pretty low. (That's evidently a good thing!) I gained another pound since my last appointment so I am up a grand total of 20 pounds even right now. Ethan's heartbeat and my blood pressure were normal, and when the doctor measured my belly he said that everything looked good with that too. He also indicated that I've been measuring a little small up until now (but still well within the normal ranges) but Ethan caught up this week and now I'm right in the middle with the measurements too.

Here's the official word on week 36: "Your baby is still packing on the pounds - at a rate of an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like the weight of a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his 9 month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting a blackish mixture, called meconium, which will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week your baby will be considered full term. (Full term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head down position."

Week 35

First of all, let me wish a very happy Father's Day to Patrick. Even though Ethan isn't officially here yet, he is already a fantastic father-to-be and he worries so much about both of us. Ethan is a very lucky little boy to have a daddy who already loves him so very much. Not having much of a relationship with my own dad, it is truly a beautiful thing to watch Patrick get so excited about all of the little things that go along with being a parent. I cannot wait to watch the relationship that he and Ethan are going to have develop over time.

I went to Raleigh this past weekend for a quick trip for one last visit with my mom and sister and to visit my good friend Lindsay and her absolutely adorable baby, Graham. It was really nice to be "home" and now that I'm back in Charlotte I'm kind of sad to think that I won't be going anywhere again for awhile. (I'm not supposed to travel past the 36 week mark, which I am now rapidly approaching.) I'm really glad that I was able to make the trip and meet Graham, who will surely be one of Ethan's first friends. He's super tiny and Lindsay is estimating he might have reached 7 pounds by now. He is such a well behaved little guy and slept during most of my visit. Ethan kicked him as well (he kicked Mary Grace when he met her!) and I'm not sure if it was a coincidence of if Graham actually felt it, but at that exact moment his face got all red and scrunched up for a second. I sure hope Ethan doesn't turn out to be a bully!

Our "bump pic" has changed just a bit :)

In pregnancy symptoms, I've noticed that my feet are starting to swell a bit. I can still wear all of my shoes (and yes, that includes the heels!) but it is a change from how I've been feeling up until this point. I also have some pains in my legs (that kind of feel like I've been doing splits or high kicks or something but I haven't been doing any exercise that would cause this so I figure my body is getting itself ready to be ripped open.) Sleep is still elusive in the middle of the night, and I've been going since around 4:30 this morning. Hopefully I'll be able to nap later this afternoon!

The shelves that we ordered for Ethan's room arrived this week and I thought that I was going to be very handy and put them together while he was at work. Ha! First I had to call him and ask where I could find a screwdriver. He nervously answered my question and asked why in the world I needed to know that. Wanting to surprise him with the completed shelves I just told him I was working on a project. He was scared, I could tell :) I did okay through the first couple of steps, but then got stuck as the pictures got slightly more complicated. I was only midway through when Patrick got home from work, but he was very complimentary of my work and picked up where I had left off. Everything was going fine until he went to put the final piece together and realized that the middle piece (upon which everything was fastened) was in backwards. And yes, I had put that piece in backwards. So we had to take everything apart, switch around the middle piece, and then complete the shelf assembly. What a project!

I'm continuing to work on my never ending to do list this week, and we are making some progress. We finally have a camcorder so now we'll be able to take some videos when Ethan arrives (but no birth videos, promise!) I'm planning to run out and pick up some essentials tomorrow so that I can cross a few more items off of the list. Every time we're making progress on the list though, I think of 10 more things to add. Hopefully this will be the last week of my frantic efforts to complete everything and next week I can start relaxing and preparing for baby. We'll have another doctor's appointment on Friday, and then I'll start seeing the doctor every week from here until the end. I cannot believe that it's almost time...it seems surreal!

Here's the official word on week 35: "Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete - he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight."