Still pregnant. . .

So I am still pregnant. I am still a week away from my due date, but my midwife said to me several times in the last few weeks that I "wont make it to my due date." Because of that I have been waiting on pins and needles thinking that I would go into labor soon. But nothing. The other night, while trying to fall asleep I had three contractions that got me all excited thinking labor was coming, but then I fell asleep. Obviously it wasn't labor.

I do actually like, possibly love being pregnant, so I am not miserable. And with my husbands work schedule, it would be nice if girlfriend doesn't come until the weekend, but still, I am so excited and anxious to meet her!

In some ways it feels like I have been pregnant forever, since I got pregnant in January, it has literally been a whole year of baby making! It has been a great pregnancy over all, so I am thankful. I wont dare say it is my last pregnancy, I will truly be disappointed if we don't have more kids, but the only thing my husband and I have ever said for sure is that we will have at least two, we never wanted to have an only child since we are both one of five and know how important it was in our lives to have siblings.

38 Weeks

The above picture proves that my husband's photography skills are lacking. But whoa, look at that belly! Seriously, I can't believe how big it is and she isn't even here yet! If Danny points out one more time that I am "BIG" I might cry a little bit.

Please, little girl, come out and meet your mom, dad and brother soon. After having such a great pregnancy, with no diabetes, and testing negative for anything that would require I take an IV during labor, I would hate to have to be induced at 42 weeks simply because you are stubborn.

Baby girl--still growing

Baby girl is still prepping for her big arrival. Here is a pic from a few weeks ago when I was 31 weeks.

7/18/2012

This week marks 35 weeks of pregnancy. I am feeling pretty darn good. I have had a few moments of back issues this week, but nothing as bad as it was in the earlier days of summer. We had an ultrasound on Thursday, it was so cute, as soon as we walked in the room and Danny saw the screen (with an empty picture) he started shouting his sisters name. He cracks me up. She was hiding her face, so we're getting no inclination of what she'll look like, but all of her parts looked great. She is head down, and already in a great position for birth.

I am torn between wanting her to come a few weeks early and wanting her to come on or after her due date, after-all, as soon as she is here my pool days with Danny are over this summer, so it might be nice to keep her inside as long as possible. I'm certainly not going to take any measures to get her here sooner. After my last birth experience I want to do everything naturally and on her time.

The ultrasound measured her at 6lbs 4oz!! That freaked me out considering Danny measured 6lbs 13oz at his 37 week US! I am slightly worried that I am going to have a giant baby, but as my great mom friends keep reminding me, bigger babies are typically easier to birth. And wouldn't it be great if baby girl would fit in her cloth diapers from day one?

Here we are, at 35 weeks, just waiting around for the little girl to arrive:

8/17/2012

 

 

My friends say I am all belly, I'm not sure that that is entirely true, but pretty close. Here is to hoping that I don't gain 10 lbs of fluid and can look somewhat decent right after birth (unlike last time)!

Pedicure

These are the feet of a woman who is a few weeks away from her due date, and tried to give herself a pedicure:

8/12/2012

 

 

 I think my fingers and hands are slightly swollen, it could be the heat, but I am hoping it means the end of this pregnancy is near. Other than the first two months it has been a great pregnancy, but I am ready to meet my baby girl!

I am not in the best shape (to say the least!) to give myself a pedicure, but I had to try. I got the job done, but I have some paint to peel off my skin.

Notice my wonky big right toe, still jacked up from when Danny broke it last year. . . he will never live that down!

What a difference!!

What a difference NOT having undiagnosed Gestational Diabetes makes:

32 week comparison

The left picture is me 32 weeks pregnant with Danny (this was about two weeks before my doctor told me "oops, it looks like you DO have Gestational Diabetes), the picture on the right is me 32 weeks pregnant with baby girl. I am wearing the same shirt in both pictures (if you couldn't tell).

What a difference being healthy makes in my physical appearance!!

About a week ago I started to think "weren't my boobs sitting on my belly by this time in my last pregnancy?" I LOL at that questions, but I was really thinking it. And I noticed that my husband kept making comments about how much smaller my belly is now. At first I thought maybe we were both just remembering the very end of the pregnancy. I finally dug out this old picture from my cell phone at 32 weeks. I noticed that I looked pretty puffy, then I had my sister take a picture of me in the same shirt to compare. I certainly see a difference. I feel like I look much much more tired in the current picture, but the rest of me is smaller. I feel so much better during this pregnancy (other than the back issues I am having), it feels good to know I beat the diabetes this time. My midwives keep reminding me how rare it is to do that.

Here is to hoping I continue to feel good (and can keep wearing my wedding rings!).

Rock out, baby.

When I was pregnant with Danny, I loved feeling him move around, it is something that I REALLY missed after he was born. He moved a lot, but not constantly, but man he was a big kicker! Especially during hockey playoffs, he would go nuts, probably because my heart rate would speed up, but man, that kid was routing for the Caps right along with me.

(It is worth noting that Danny was born during a Detroit Redwings playoff game. I would update my husband on the score between pushing, and they ended up coming back to win the game 7-4 or something).

Anyway, baby girl is not nearly as strong of a kicker as Danny was, but she is constantly moving! I love it. She even has certain times of day where she is always super active, the same time every day. She is my little rock and roller, I think. Although I am secretly hoping that she is a little more calm when she is on the outside than Danny (he hasn't fallen asleep in my arms since he was two months old, kid is always on the move), at least I know if she is as hyper as her brother they will keep each other in line.

Baby belly

She sure is growing!

27 Weeks

A few weeks ago I started to really feel pregnant, but I wasn't feeling like a super wide load.

28 Weeks--please forgive the PJs.

Then I started to feel like a wide load, everything is suddenly hard to do, even bending over to pick up something is difficult. Welcome to the 3rd trimester!! I will tell you, anyone in their first pregnancy, enjoy it!! There is nothing harder than being big, pregnant and uncomfortable, while also chasing around a two-year-old!! I can't really complain much, I am feeling good, but some days are definitely a challenge!!

29 Weeks.

Now I am definitely a super wide load! This isn't the most flattering picture taken of me today, but it certainly gives a good, real version of my belly. Every time we get out the camera Danny comes running. He stand there to take the picture, then goes about his own business. It is so funny to see. We went to a wedding about a month ago, when we were leaving we had my dad, baby sitter extraordinaire, to take a picture of just Stephen and I. Danny flipped, he was so sad to not be asked to be in the picture. We haven't excluded him since :).

While I am hoping to go into labor a bit early, we still have many weeks to go before we meet our baby girl. I love being pregnant, after the first trimester I started feeling great, so I am in no hurry to "get this baby out," like many women are, but I am very excited to meet her!

Glucose Test

I passed!!!!

I don't think I have ever been so happy as I was yesterday when one of my midwives told me that I do NOT have Gestational Diabetes. I was in tears as she went over the results, explaining that not only do I not GD, but my numbers were nowhere close to the magical diabetes number. I am thrilled. Not only does this mean that I am healthy, baby girl is healthy, and I don't have to prick my fingers every day and get on a super controlled diet, but it also means that as long as things continue to go well in this pregnancy I can deliver this baby in the birthing center like I have been hoping to do.

I have been so worried about going through another induction that I have actually had nightmares about it. I am on cloud nine.

I know inductions aren't always bad, but my experience was bad. My hospital experience was terrible with Danny, I try to be positive when I look back at it, but at the end of the day there is no denying that poor choices were made in order to accommodate the hospital staff, not what was best for my baby and me. We are in a different area now, the hospital here is very good, especially the labor and delivery staff, but I am still very happy that I might actually get the experience I am looking for.

I have been on cloud nine since yesterday morning over my news. My husband even brought home a piece of birthday cake for me to enjoy later today in celebration :)

I had psyched myself up at the beginning of this pregnancy to not get GD, but as I progressed the midwives kept trying to convince me that I might just be prone to it, and to not beat myself up if I get it again, even after following a pretty strict diet. Well the last few weeks I have been pretty sure I was going to fail the test, I even went as far as to look up the high risk doctor the midwives would have sent me to, do find out what hours they are open.

I am doing  happy dance, please join me :)

Chiropractor

Thank God for the Chiropractor!!

I just have to say it. I wouldn't be walking right now if I hadn't finally decided to see a Chiropractor around ten weeks ago. I am in much less pain (back pain) than I was while pregnant with Danny, and I am so thankful for that.

The best part, I was just reading on a facebook group that many women have gone to their Chiropractor around their due date and it has helped induce labor, naturally! I don't know what the likeliness of that is, but since I'm pretty sure I failed my glucose test yesterday, I will do anything to avoid an induction and labor naturally.

Here is to hope :)

2nd baby

I wouldn't have done this for a million dollars while I was pregnant with Danny, but it goes to show how much your life and priorities change with having kids.

Danny did a number on my skin, my entire belly was covered with bright red stretch marks, like of looks like a tiger attacked me, they are now much faded, and now that I have a big belly they actually look better, less saggy. I was so self conscious about them while I was pregnant with Danny that I would ever show my tummy again, but here we are. I may never see them as a badge of honor, like many mothers do, but I see my "ruined body" as a very small price to pay for the gift of motherhood. My body was never perfect before kids, and it certainly is not the most important thing in my world, so here you go, pictures of my and Danny's photo shoot this morning.

Belly shot-6/22/2012

It all started with me realizing that I am probably a week or two away from having an outie, which I HATE! I wanted to take a picture to see what it looked like from the front (hubby is asleep in our room with the good mirror). I considered putting a piece of duct tape over it when it popped during my last pregnancy, hopefully this time around I can get over it.

*Notice the "hole" as Danny calls it, not a terrible remembrance of my adorable belly piercing from when I was 17.

Danny's perfect tummy.

 Danny, of course, wanted me to take the same picture of him that I took of myself. I'm happy to say he has my skin. As dead sexy as his dad is, I wouldn't know how to take care of a "white" kid, like my husband.

Hello, feet.

I don't get the cute basket ball belly that some women get, it comes from around :). It took forever to get this picture because Danny kept hugging my belly and saying his sisters name.

Block feet?

I wish I knew what my husband's feet looked like as a kid. He was stocky, like Danny, so I'm assuming Danny gets his feet from him. We both have pretty boney feet now. Danny's feet are really hard to fit in shoes because they are so chubby. Adorable, but chubby.

My little love.

Ever since I graduated I really feel like I am living the dream. I LOVE being home with Danny, I love teaching him things, and spending enough time with him every day where it doesn't seem like I am missing anything. The only thing that could make things better would be to win the lottery, but I will be perfectly happy if that never happens :).

Pregnancy Update

Now that what will be forever known as the "Most Wretched Bedtime Ever" is over I will post a pregnancy update.

24 Weeks

I am now well into being six-months pregnant. I really went from zero to pregnant in one week. The picture above, taken a couple weeks ago, was the last super cute belly picture I'm going to have, I think. I am starting to feel big, rather than cute with a baby belly. The belly is in my way all the time now. I am feeling tired and short of breath a lot, too. I should have my Gestational Diabetes test in a few weeks, and I can't pray enough to pass it with flying colors. I will be devastated if I have to deliver after another hospital inductions, and if I have GD that is the most likely scenario. Please say a prayer that I can go into labor naturally!!

This pregnancy, minus the first trimester, has been much easier than my pregnancy with Danny. My baby girl is sitting lower than Danny did, so I have much less heartburn. With Danny, I couldn't drink water without being in terrible pain from the heartburn. I am so thankful not to be experiencing that, yet. I am much more active too, so I have gained less weight, but I have stopped getting on the scale other than at the midwife appointments. I was noticing that every time I went up a pound I would be extra careful of what I ate the next day--stupid!! I need to eat to grow this baby. So I haven't weighed myself in a two weeks, hopefully I don't burst into tears at my appointment on Friday!

We are moving in a month, and I can't wait! I need to get it over with so I can move on to nesting/really preparing for baby girl to arrive. I am so excited to have a nursery ready BEFORE the baby is here. Danny didn't have his own room till he was nine-months-old, so this is exciting for me. I can't wait to prep diapers, and give Danny his space back, his closet is full of pink, and he has the crib and changing table in his room. It will be nice to be settled.

I can't wait for the next three months to go by! I have a lot to do, but I can't wait to meet my baby girl!

Pregnancy=Acne

For me pregnancy = acne. It sucks. I am about to turn 25, I'm like a "real" adult. Yet somehow I have the worst skin issues right now. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with Danny, but we were off living on the west coast and I didn't have to see family and friends all the time. Not that it didn't totally bum me out, because it did, but it didn't seem as bad.

My only hope for this jacked up face of mine is that the chlorine in pools and sunshine helps a sister out. I just want to feel pretty :)!!

Oh Baby!

So I have been a little busy with the less-important things in life to really focus on my pregnancy and get excited.

I am excited now. I am more than half way through my pregnancy, feeling lots of little kicks and rolls, and looking like I'm carrying a watermelon.

19 weeks.

There I was a few weeks ago, after a particularly long day of school I might add. The belly has grown considerably, but I don't have a blog-worthy picture to share. Maybe this week.

I do have some exciting news to share with the blog world. We found out the gender of our sweet baby. After being on the green team with Danny we decided it would be fun to find out this time. This way mom can prepare more and big brother can understand more. I am happy to announce that we are expecting a baby girl! Danny is so excited, he is already lifting my shirt, hugging my belly and saying her name as best as he can. I am excited to have a little girl to pass all my womanly wisdom to (lol), and Stephen is excited to buy an AK-47.

One of the things I am really excited about for our new baby is to cloth diaper!

Gro-Via AIO's, Thirsties AIO's and Gro-Via Hybrid Shells.

I will, of course, write up a blog all about cloth diapering (not that I am an expert at all), but for right now I will leave it at HOW STINKING CUTE ARE THEY??? Seriously, my little girl is going to have one fancy hiney.

In case you are wondering what the inside of my uterus looks like, here ya go:

Baby Girl X at my 20 week ultrasound.

We can't wait to meet her!

HOLY HEARTBURN

I experienced HOLY HEARTBURN while I was pregnant with Danny, beginning around month six. Well I am in month four right now and ohmygosh I want to cry. I finally gave in and bought some Zantac today, but it has not kicked in yet. Ok, maybe I only took it 20 minutes ago, but I need instant gratification. I seriously feel like my whole throat is on fire.

I might be turning into a fire breathing dragon or something. How is it possible for it to hurt this bad??

And isn't there a rumor that dairy should help calm heartburn because of the calcium? Well I just ate a yogurt and it TRIGGERED the damn heartburn. WAAAAHHHH. I can't help but feel sorry for myself. It is going to be a very long five months if I can't control this (I couldn't last time). I have already cut out most bread like food (causes heartburn for me while not pregnant), because of my desperate attempt to avoid gestational diabetes, so I'm not sure what else to do.

So far this baby has caused me to have terrible morning sickness, high school like skin issues, and now heartburn. Did I mention I am only in my fourth month? SMH. This child HAS to be a girl, a boy would never cause so much trouble. . .

Baby X

I love my midwife practice. I feel so comfortable there, it seems like the midwives actually care about the patients. Today, during my appointment I was able to spend 30 minutes talking to the midwife, asking questions, and talking about how to attempt to prevent Gestational Diabetes. I also love that this particular midwife reassured me that there is no shame in transferring to the hospital if while at the birthing center I would trade my husband for an epidural.

Baby X sounded wonderful on the doppler. I could hear him/her moving around behind the heartbeat. What a sweet sweet thing.

It is such a relief, after all the troubles I had in Yuma, AZ with my healthcare providers, to know that I am in good hands, and that I can rest assured that I am getting great care.

Bay Area Midwifery

Hello, nausea.

Hello, nausea, you ugly, ugly thing. While you never visited me while I was pregnant with my son, you sure are making up for lost time with this baby. If I were not a full-time student and the mother of an almost two-year-old I would be laying in bed, sleeping all day, because the only time I am not miserable is when I sleep right now. But no, instead I will force myself to get up every morning, get my son ready, take him to the sitter and drag my pathetic self to German class and several Literature classes.

*Don't worry fellow students, I'm not contagious, you can't catch pregnancy*

While I am laying on the couch, every chance I get, I will think of all the different ways that I will guilt this child in his/her teenage years for making me so sick.

I am NOT pregnant

. . . Nor am I trying to be, but this is a great site for anyone who WANTS to be pregnant.

http://www.firstresponse.com/index.asp

Not only does first response have tons of info on all of their products, but they have a ton of resources for family planning, ovulation calculating and tons of Q&A's.

The site is great if you want to get pregnant, and even has some good information in the family planning section if you DON'T want to get pregnant. The ovulation tracker is great for anyone who is doing natural family planning, it is so easy to use.

Happy baby making

*Or not :)