Thirty-Nine Weeks! The last pregnancy post

This is it, my last post as a pregnant lady, at least for this round.  But no worries, I will be posting our birth story and monthly updates.  Monday we become a family of 3 (4 if we are talking to Josie).  It is our last weekend together as just Steph and Travis. We are going out to eat, sleeping in, and just relaxing.  Travis has decided our anthem of the weekend is Mase's 24 hours to live, so we've listened to it several times already this weekend. LOL 

We had one false alarm on Thursday, but everyone deserves at least one.  Part of my disappointment in having a cesarean is missing the excitement of going into labor.  I had always dreamed of waking Travis up in the middle of the night or calling him from school and saying, "this is it!".  But, I guess having it planned has its perks too.  Like I've had to time to get all of our laundry done and the house spick and span so we come home to a tidy house.  

Friday was my last day of teaching until my new job starts on Monday.  The parents put on a surprise shower for me at lunch.  They brought in balloons, cupcakes, flowers, and a really nice gift basket with lots of great items from our registry.  It was so thoughtful.  I had my students draw pictures of what they think she will look like, make predictions about her name, height, weight, birthdate because she could come before Monday, and time of birth, and then write parenting advice for Travis and me.  Many of them included advice for Josie too.  We will be taking the pages with us to the hospital for entertainment. 

Other excitement this week, our friends Kevin and Katie had their twins yesterday!  Sydney and Dominic will be just 3 days older than her.  We can't wait for the many play dates and sleepovers in the coming years.  

Quick updates:

Weight gain: 34 pounds as of Thursday.  I went to the eye doctor about a week ago and he asked me when I was due.  I told him February 1 but we are having a c-section January 27.  His response, "I thought there was more than 1 in there".  Gee, thanks buddy.  

Wedding ring: still on

Signs of labor: Apparently I don't know the signs of labor because I've had contractions, cramps, back pain, and an increase in fluids for weeks now and she's still in there.    

How I'm feeling: Getting out of bed, off the couch, and bending down are becoming very challenging, but once I'm up I feel great.  

Names: It's strange, like all teachers, I consider myself someone who needs to have a plan.  I like to feel like I have control over the situation.  But when it comes to picking a name, I haven't been too worried about it.  We have narrowed it down to 2 first names.  They both start with the same letter.  We will decide on Monday after we see her.  Middle names are still up in the air, but I'm sure she will have one before she leaves the hospital.  

Thirty-Eight Weeks!

I wrote this last Sunday but forgot to post it...
It was an interesting week, but we've come to terms with our new plan to bring our baby girl into the world and are very excited to meet her next Monday (or sooner... fingers crossed!).  I had always had the idea in the back of my mind that it was possible to have a c-section, especially since most of the women on my dad's side of the family have had cesareans.  It must be the Siltanen family curse!  This will be my last week of work and it starts with a day off tomorrow! Hurray!  Tomorrow I will be going to meet her pediatrician who is conveniently located less than a mile from our house.  Tuesday is our next doctor appointment.  We will check to see how my labor has progressed since I had started dilating at my last appointment and we will see if she is still breach... spoiler alert... she is.  Her head is resting against my rib cage.

Quick updates:
Accomplishments this week:  Scheduled her birthday for January 27, 2014 (weird), finished our last day of our labor and delivery class which no longer really applies to us but it was interesting, cleaned the whole house, began prepping for her arrival by cleaning, shopping, and rearranging things in the house, and relaxed or at least tried to.

Sleep:  Wednesday and Thursday night seemed like trial runs for what our new sleep schedule will be like.  We had a lot on our minds and I had a lot of contractions and cramping the night after the external version which kept me up most of the night.

Wedding ring: still on!

Weight gain: about 30 pounds

Stretch marks: negative

How I'm feeling:  Still pretty good overall.  My stomach is a little bruised and tender from all the tugging, but nothing too terrible.  My lower back aches, but I'm still able to exercise and continue day to day activities.

Belly pictures

Blan B... or should we call it C

Things have gone so easy for me this pregnancy, that we knew there had to be a bump in the road at some point.  At our 37 week appointment last night, we got some great news that I started to dilate and had continued thinning, but we also got the bad news that she had flipped and is now breach.  We had to make a fast decision and chose to try a version this morning to manually attempt to turn her back around.  It was a painful experience, but I'm glad we attempted it.  Travis took me into the hospital at 8 am.  I was hooked up to an IV and they monitored our vital signs for a while.  For the procedure, I had a doctor, mid wife, med student, 2 nurses, an anesthesiologist (on stand by incase I needed a crash c-section if we made her mad), and maybe someone else in the room.  Travis held my hand while the doctor and midwife attempted to move her by pushing and pulling.  I burst into tears pretty quickly and was so thankful Travis was there with me holding my hand.  After 2 attempts, we soon realized that we wouldn't get anywhere; she's pretty happy in the spot she's chosen.  The doctor that performed the procedure said her booty is just so low in my pelvis that he doesn't think she has much of a chance to turn around at this point.  She handled it much better than her mom did; when it was all over all she had was a case of the hiccups.  So this all means that we have had to make a change of plans and scheduled a C-section on January 27.  It was an emotional day, as we hadn't planned on a C-section since she'd been head down until now, but Travis was very supportive and literally held my hand through the whole thing.  If I go into labor before the 27th, I will have the C-section earlier.  We are looking forward to bringing her into the world soon!

Thirty-seven weeks! Full term!

We made it to full term!  Our due date is only 20 days away... but it is starting to feel like years.  I am having a very hard time just waiting.  It is a similar feeling to what I had in the weeks before our wedding; everything was done but I found little details to keep me occupied.  The only difference is that there wasn't a chance that our wedding day would come a little earlier. 

Quick updates:
How I'm feeling: Same as last week... can't wait to have her here!  My walk has become a full waddle, my feet are sore at the end of the day, and I am having a hard time being patient.  Still feeling lucky to have such an easy pregnancy.

Wearing my weddings ring: Yes, but they are feeling a little more snug these days.  A don't sleep with them on at night.

Signs of labor: My cervix has been thinning for the past month.  I did not have a doctor appointment this week, but as of last week I was 50% thinned.  I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a while now and they are more frequent, especially since I started working out again.  She has dropped lower in the last week or so.  I don't feel her foot in my ribs anymore, I can breath a little easier, and when I'm walking it feels like I have a bowling bowl sitting on my bladder. 

Stretch marks: Nope!  I hope it lasts!

Accomplishments this week: Newborn care class... check!  Day 1 of 2 for our labor and delivery class.... check!  Hospital bags packed... check!  We really enjoyed our classes this week.  Even though it wasn't exactly how Travis wanted to spend his Saturday while the Seahawks were playing, we both learned a lot and feel more confident.

Favorite moment of the week: After taking our newborn care class we came home and Travis practiced swaddling with our FOUR different types of swaddling blankets using Tickle Me Elmo.  It was so sweet!  But, I think Josie was concerned when it started shaking and laughing. 

Looking forward to:  I know this sounds crazy, and please don't tell me your horror stories about how miserable it is going to be because I know it isn't always a beautiful story, but I'm really excited to go into labor.  I'm not looking forward to the pain. I've had kidney stones 5 times and I'm not great with pain (which is why the first thing on my birth plan is I want an epidural), but I'm looking forward to that moment when I realize we are actually about to meet her and see her pretty little face.  

Thing's I didn't expect before: Getting out of bed is physically challenging.  Not only do I have my pillow fort to navigate through, but my stomach is so big, it is physically difficult to role to one side.  Dropping my pencil on the floor means I either get a new one or ask a student to pick it up for me because bending over takes so long and I need to lean on something to support me.  Even my maternity shirts are starting to to be a little too short.

Thirty-Six Weeks!

28 days until her due date!  Yikes!  So far I'm just feeling excited.  I'm surprised the nerves haven't set in yet, but having two weeks off work to prepare everything has been especially helpful.  Monday, I'm back to teaching until she arrives.  At this week's appointment with my midwife I was given the okay to start working out again.  So I've been going for walks and hitting the gym again.  One of my Christmas presents from Travis was a date day with my husband which we did today.  We started with breakfast at The Original Pancake House, had massages, facials, and pedicures, then went to happy hour and a movie.  It was the perfect relaxing day and I'm so glad we were able to do it before she joins us.

Quick updates:

How I'm feeling: still pretty good, but as expected, I'm less comfortable these days.  I've been so blessed to have an easy pregnancy and avoided all the crummy stuff.  I've actually loved being pregnant, but I'm ready to be done and finally meet her.

Symptoms: Acid reflex when I eat normal size meals and back aches if I sit for too long, which seems to happen most if we go to a movie.
  

Weight gain: 28 pounds; by some miracle the Christmas cookies didn't give me the same 6 pound weight gain that Thanksgiving did.

Wearing wedding ring: Yes!

Stretch marks: still none :) 

Belly button: it isn't really in or out, it is kind of flat

Movement: She's moving all the time, but her kicks and jabs have turned into more turns and rolls.  We like to watch my stomach pop up in different places with her bum, knees, and elbows sticking out.

Favorite moment of the week:  With my back aching more these days, Travis has tried many back massaging techniques.  The best one was using Josie's chew toys!  

Name: I think we will name her when we see her.  We have a list that ranges between 4 and 10 names depending on the day.

What I'm missing most this week: Wearing normal clothes!  The kind that don't pull up over my stomach and have elastic waste bands.  It was fun for a while, but I can't wait to fit into jeans that button again!

Most excited for: The 2 weeks that Travis will be home with us.  I know we will be exhausted, but I want to soak in every moment of our family bonding time.

Sleep: It hasn't been horrible, but my nights of sleeping for 8 hours straight ended a while back.  If I'm not getting up to pee every couple of hours, I'm moving positions.  As recommended, I slept on my left side with the help of 4 pillows for most of my pregnancy, but now, I can't ever seem to stay comfortable.  I start on my side but then move to a more propped up position at some point in the night.

Travis: I have the most wonderful husband! He has been so helpful and calm through all of this.  He loves feeling and watching her move.  I can't wait to see him with her; he's going to make an amazing dad.  

Josie: Having her mommy home all day for winter break has been fun for her.  She's had lots of attention and is soaking up her last few weeks as an only child.  She still enjoys being in the nursery, especially when I'm organizing things in there.  

Until next week!