31 Weeks 2 Days

Yesterday morning, we had another routine check up at the doctor's. Everything is going well, and I've gained another three pounds. That makes a total of 25 pounds gained since the start of my pregnancy, which isn't bad. Baby Boy's heartbeat was fluctuating between 137 and 140 BPM. The nurse midwife who saw us went over delivery procedures and had me fill out a registration form for my hospital stay. After the appointment, I was scheduled for the rest of my visits through the end of August.

I had the most wonderful dream last night about our sweet little boy arriving. He was perfect, and I got to hold him close and kiss his soft, pudgy cheeks. I already love him so much, and he's not even here yet!

I've been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions on and off for the last couple of days. They're uncomfortable, but not painful. My belly will tighten, and then I'll have pressure in my back with some very mild cramping. It's getting harder to get out of bed and manuever myself out of chairs. My tummy gets in the way as I'm on the couch typing on the laptop. When I sit down now, my chest rests on my tummy, and my tummy rests on my thighs!

I am so amazed that there's a little human being inside me. He's active much of the day, making my stomach appear to dance. After my dream last night, I'm so ready for him to come.

31 weeks:

Almost 31 Weeks - 9 to Go

I can't believe I'm here already. Only nine more weeks to go! I look and feel huge, and my belly seems to be getting in the way of everything. I've outgrown the first pair of maternity jeans I bought. They were starting to get pretty uncomfortable, so I retired them. Today I tried on several other pairs of pants I got from a friend, which were too big for me before, and now they don't fit! Oddly enough, my favorite pair of non-maternity "apartment pants"/pj bottoms fit me great. They're really stretchy and were always loose on me pre-preggo.

Monday night we toured the maternity floor of the hospital with our childbirth class. All of the labor and delivery rooms are private, with their own bathroom and shower. The baby stays in the room at all times, too, unless there's a problem where they would then go to the nursery. We saw the whirlpool room last, which I will definitely be taking full advantage of! It's hard to believe I'll be checking in there in about two months. Scary, but exciting.

ps. We are still looking for the perfect baby name. Email your suggestions to Gregg, if we use your suggestion you win a prize.

Getting Baby's Room Ready

This weekend, Gregg's parents came to town to help get ready for baby. Boy did they work hard. Saturday started out with Grandma painting baby's room while Gregg and Grandpa moved what was in baby's room to storage and fixing some things around the apartment.

Next Gregg and Grandpa assembled the crib (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the wonderful crib) then Grandma and I put up a Winnie the Pooh boarder which really helped to tie the whole room together. It came out perfect! The room looks great!

Grandma also brought the cradle that Gregg slept in when he was a baby. She was up early on Sunday morning sewing away making new bumpers for it.

The weekend wrapped up with lunch at Cracker Barrel and then Grandma and Grandpa headed back to New Jersey. Thank you so much for all of your help and all the wonderful gifts!

29 weeks 2 days

This past Monday night Gregg and I attended our first childbirth class at the medical center. There were at least ten other couples who joined us. Sad to say, but the married women were definitely in the minority. There were two ladies who were at least engaged, but the rest were young women who brought their moms with them. Nearly all of us said in our introductions that we're having boys! After class, Gregg chuckled that "Bubba" is going to have a lot of competition for girls. The class was pretty much split between those due in July and those due in August. Mine was the latest due date out of everybody by one day.

We learned about the different phases of labor, birthing positions, and relaxation techniques. We were given a visual of how much your cervix actually dilates before you can begin pushing. If I had any questions before about just how big 10cm is, I certainly don't now! Yikes. The instructor showed the men and moms how to massage their partners, and Gregg was really good at it.

We concluded the class with a video about labor and delivery. It wasn't the stereotypical, cheesy film I'd remembered from junior high health class, thankfully. It was like a slightly more graphic Baby Story, which featured three vignettes of women giving birth. I can say that after watching it, I feel less excited now about going into labor. I do however, have a greater understanding of how difficult and intense it is, but I feel confident I can get through it with the help of my husband, my doctor, and the epidural if need be. Call me crazy, but I think I actually want to have a natural childbirth. I'm not ruling out pain medications if things get really unbearable, but I at least want to give it a shot.

I'm starting to realize that I just can't do certain things anymore without feeling uncomfortable. Being in my seventh month, standing for more than an hour gives me back pain and climbing the stairs to our second floor leaves me winded. I have to remember that I'm strapping on about twenty extra pounds around my middle these days, and need to take it easy. I look at pictures of myself pre-preggo, and I'm amazed that I ever had such a tiny waist and tummy. Now I can barely see my feet! Speaking of feet, I noticed them starting to get a little puffy. Oh the joys of pregnancy.

Yesterday we had another doctor's appointment, and surprise! It was raining out, as usual. I found out I've gained three pounds since our last visit. After seeing the number, I said to Gregg, "Yikes!" So far my weight gain is right on target, but the number still freaked me out a little. The results of the blood sugar test came back normal, and everything else looked good. Heartbeat is in the 140s and I could hear it much louder & clearer than before.

The only downside to our appointment is that we found out the doctor we've been seeing for the past several visits, who we really like, is moving to Las Vegas at the end of June. The practice still has three other OBGYN's and three midwives on staff who rotate seeing patients, so I wouldn't necessarily have had this particular doctor deliver me, but now she won't be there at all. We go back for another checkup on the 20th.

We are seriously having a heatwave here. Temperatures have been in the high 80s during the last couple of days, and it's going to be in the mid-90s from today until Tuesday. Yay. With the need to stay cool and hydrated over the next few months, I got one of those 52 oz. water bottles with a sippy straw that I can carry along with me. It has a removable ice pack thing to keep the liquid cold throughout the day. Last night we ran some errands after dinner, and it was starting to get difficult keeping up the pace with Gregg. I kind of just waddled around the store. While he went into Target, I just stayed in the car with the A/C on full blast and waited for him to come out.

Baby Boy is really starting to pack a punch now. Sometimes it feels like he's trying to come out of my stomach! I can't believe I'm only 11 weeks away from my due date. Gregg and I were discussing last night how it's been almost six months since we found out we were expecting, and time has just flown by. Our son will be here before we know it!!

28 Weeks: