Week 38

Hey friends and family,

I've finally reached 38 weeks! felt like I would never get here. At this point, she can come at any time and its within the "safe" zone! I've been feeling significantly more and more tired, but pretty upbeat overall. I keep waiting for my "nesting" mode to kick-in, but I just find myself way too tired after work and can hardly muster up the energy to walk around the lake. I get breathless just walking up the 5 steps to our front door! For a while there, I was having a lot of anxiety around the birthing process, but not so much anymore. I am more than ready to just get it over with and excited beyond words to finally meet her.

At our last doctor's appt, she measured me at 1/2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. She said she would guess that  I would be one of her "39 week mommies" but I know it's all still a guessing game.

Gallagher and I took our babymoon last weekend and we had such a nice time. It was great to get away for a couple of days and do absolutely nothing. We made a point to eat out each meal and to lounge around on the beach as much as possible.

Goldfish is still very active and she seems to really respond to music. Gallagher's been playing the guitar at night, and it always seems to get her moving:) In preparation, we've been working on finalizing the nursery (washing babies clothes, building shelves for the books, etc) and I even set up a diaper changing area for Gallagher to get some practice. See below:

Just kidding. This is one of the set ups at work. I'm sure Gallagher will be a natural when it comes time!

I also added some extra sea animals to the mermaid painting I've been working on!  I hope to get it done before she gets here.

How far along: 38 weeks

Weight gain: 22 pounds

Maternity clothes: not really, so close it seems pointless. But, I'm also finding some of the things I bought are getting too small. 

Stretch marks: slightly on my thighs 

Bellybutton- in or out? freakishly sticking out

Engagement ring- on or off? still wearing it!

Sleep: Pretty good, except that I have to get up and use the bathroom about 3-4 times a night

Best moment this week? finding out that my cervix is "ripening" 

Movement: She's been kicking and moving around alot. At this point, she is head down!

Food craving: fruit, cereal

Gender? GIRL!

Labor signs? some small pains (braxton hicks)

What I miss?  beer and wine

What I'm looking forward to? The birth!

Emotions:  Pretty stable and happy

Week 32

Two months left! As the time gets closer, I am getting more and more excited! Things finally feel like their coming together (nursery, stroller/car seat, etc) and so I am feeling much more prepared. 

Again, the women at work have been so wonderful and supportive through this whole process. Many of them have had children of their own, so they've been my constant go-to's with questions and concerns and they always have some great advice. They've helped me filter through the millions and millions of different options of baby carriers, bottles, nursing pillows, etc.  One example, the baby carrier! Who knew how much time and energy would need to be invested into finding that perfect carrier?! I started with one idea, and then ended up going with another based on some strong opinions from women at work. The point of the whole thing is, though, that everyone is going to have a different opinion and the reviews online will say completely opposite things about the exact same product. So, I've found that you just go with one, and then just remind yourself that you can always exchange it for another if needed. 

Two weeks ago, I attended my baby shower here in Tallahassee and it couldn't have been a more perfect day! I can't begin to express how showered I felt with love and support! And not to mention, goldfish is going to best-dressed baby around:) The shower took place at one of my co-worker's homes and it was an outdoor event. The weather was great, too.  I got so many cute things, and I thought I'd share this little outfit that Ashley and Chris gave us:) 

How far along: 32 weeks

Weight gain: 15 pounds

Maternity clothes: Got some cute stuff from Old Navy. Also, wearing tops I had from before that just happen to be empire-waisted anyways. 

Stretch marks: None so far, but I've been applying the cocoa butter stuff religiously.

Bellybutton- in or out? definitely an out tie. I've been told it'll go back to normal, I sure hope so. 

Engagement ring- on or off? still wearing it!

Sleep:  Sleep varies. Some nights I am restless, and others I sleep throughout the night. When I can't, its usually a combination of heartburn and racing thoughts about all the things I need to get done.

Best moment this week?  Baby Shower

Movement:  She's moving a lot. If its a foreshadowing to her personality, I would see she's going to super hyper.

Food craving: None really.

Gender? GIRL!

Labor signs? thankfully, no

What I miss? walking 10 feet without getting winded. 

What I'm looking forward to? her arrival!

Emotions:  happy, rested, calm (surprisingly!)

Week 29

Hey all,

Geez it's been a crazy last couple of weeks with getting things ready for baby. Preparing the baby room took us longer than expected, but it's almost done! Gallagher finished the painting and it looks wonderful!  The two tone green/bluish color turned out better than I even imagined it would.

While visiting Chris and Ashley in Jacksonville, I went looking for a crib and ended up deciding on one Gallagher and I had looked at online. It's this amazingly beautiful wrought iron crib we had initially liked, however, had decided to hold off on. We had ordered about three weeks and it finally came in this week, we just haven't had an opportunity to put it together and man, is it heavy! 

It's hard to see in the pic, but its a golden, bronze color and I think it's going to great with the dresser we refinished.

As far as goldfish, she's been moving around a lot and occasionally jabs me in the ribs and bladder lol.  I've also been having some issues with my lower back. It gets really sore if I sit or stand for too long, so I ocassionally need lay on my back for a little while to give it a break. I was also having some issues with sleep, but I finally crumbled and bought a "snoogle," which is this long, skinny pillow that wraps around my body like a boa constrictor. It's made a world of difference and I believe everyone should have one! just ask Gallagher- who  I swear takes naps with it when I'm not home:)  See below:

One positive thing I can definitely say about being pregnant is that it's really helped me slow my roll and practice a little more "mindfulness" in my life. I have to put so much more thought into everything I do (i.e. getting dressed in the morn) that it's forced me to do only one thing at a time. I'm hoping to keep this going even after goldfish arrives, even though I know things are going to be hectic!

Week 27

Week 28

Week 29

How far along: 29 days

Weight gain: 13 pounds or so

Maternity clothes: Bought a new dress from Old NNavy

Stretch marks: none yet. I've been pretty good about using coconut butter, and none so far.

Bellybutton- in or out? my belly button is protruding out but I've been promised it'll go back to normal

Engagement ring- on or off? still wearing it!

Sleep: Sleeping greaaaaaat!  Thanks to my "snoogle"!

Best moment this week? finding out that everything okay after we had a little scare where I thought I didn't feel her movement like I usually do.

Movement: Lots of movement. She's been moving around like crazy and we're starting to see her feet and hands stick out!

Food craving: fruit and frozen yogurt. Nuberri has become an obsession of mine.

Gender? girl

Labor signs? thankfully, no

What I miss? having my energy back completely

What I'm looking forward to?  not the actual birthing process, but her arrival!

Emotions:  Pretty stable and happy

25 Weeks

Hi all,

It's been about three weeks since my last post, which I guess is because 1.) I've been pretty busy and 2.) not much news in regards to goldfish. But, It's been so nice to just be able to write this as a way of keeping in touch, so please excuse if there really isn't anything too exciting included in this entry:)

One exciting thing though is that I can definitely feel her moving and can also see it from the outside! The first time I saw the little bump pop out totally freaked me out, and I think its the craziest thing that's happened so far. It reminded me of the movie, "Alien" in the way that my skin lifted and rolled. Gallagher wasn't the least bit fazed or weirded out, so I'm guessing most of that feeling came from it being that I was looking at my own stomach and the deep-sinking the realization that something was alive and growing in my belly.

We've also made some progress on the room.  We ended up actually painting the room twice because we decided on a two different colors versus just one color and so we ended up painting the room a really light "sea-pearl" on the top half and lighter sea-foam green on the bottom. I also refinished one of my IKEA dressers by painting it white and Gallagher took a sander to it to give it that aged, weathered look. Came out looking very shabby chic and I was very happy with it.

Oh, and I started a "mermaid" painting, to go along with the underwater theme. It's not the greatest, but I thought it would be a nice thing for her to hang on to.

Last Sunday, Goldfish also got to attend her first official concert and I couldn't think of a more fitting choice, the acoustic tour for "Iron and Wine." It was great and super mellow. We went with some of friends of ours, and I managed to score a stool that I could sit on throughout the event.

Last Saturday, we also attended a cloth diaper class and came away a lot more confused just because of the crazy amount of options. We're not sure if it's a route we're going to take yet. I had read somewhere that it's really only worth it if you can sign up for a "diaper service," which is an agency that picks up your dirty cloths and replaces them with new ones once a week. The cost was still lower than purchasing disposable diapers. But now I'm learning that the agency I found online is no longer in business, so....  the jury is still out on that one. I'm sure he'll get used to it fast, but for Gallagher (who's never changed a diaper), it might not be the best to start with. In a half-joking way, he asked the lady if she knew of a shop vac-type thing that he can use to get rid of the solids.

Week 21

Yay for being halfway through! These past two weeks have been nice and smooth. Gallagher and I went up to DC for his company dinner and a chance to see friends. I loved getting a chance to see everyone and to get some of my favorite bbq. The downside was that our flight was cancelled suddenly right before we were to take off and so we spent most of the day on standby in Charlotte:(

I also have to take a moment to give a shout-out to Gallagher. He's been so great and I couldnt ask for a better partner right now. He's really made a point to be super attentive and has made sure that I constantly comfortable. Example: last night, he surprised me by running me a nice, warm bath. He's also made a point of making sure that my fruit cravings are continuously being met:)

Overall, I feeling pretty good and energized and ready to take on some projects. We're hoping to paint Goldfish's room this weekend and get some random things done around the house. I think we're going to go with a beach/ sea theme for the room and thinking of painting it a sea-foam green color. Gallagher is adamant about not wanting to use any colors that are "too girly," so this was a nice compromise.

I'm starting to have some serious indigestion. Never really knew what indigestion was until now. Thankfully, the Pepcid Complete (doctor approved:) has helped a lot. Working out has also become more difficult. I've found some helpful videos online and I've continued my yoga, but it's definitely getting  harder to do the moves. I also can't seem to catch my breath as easily, which I learned is pretty normal from the baby placing pressure on my lungs and that I am breathing for two now.

We had a doctors appt this week (again didn't get to see our original doctor, but one of the others on her team) and he reported that all was on track. Like I mentioned in a prior post, there won't be any more sonograms unless we pay out-of pocket and there is a medical need.  So, in order to monitor the baby's growth, the doctor measures my belly from the top of my pelvic bone to the bottom of my rib cage and the number of centimeters should match the number of weeks (give and take 3 centimeters). He reported that it measured at 21 centimeters- exactly what it should be.

How far along: 21 weeks

Weight gain: 7 pounds

Maternity clothes: Bought a cute dress from Old Navy. They have a very small maternity section in the store (I'm talking like 3 pieces), but its the only one I've found in Tallahassee besides Target.

Stretch marks: none

Bellybutton- in or out? I think it's starting to protrude a little.

Engagement ring- on or off? still wearing it!

Sleep:  Lots better once I got the Pepcid 

Best moment this week? Seeing friends in DC

Movement: definitely feeling some kicking. I read that she is already on  a wake and sleep cycle, which I thought was interesting. I haven't noticed any pattern to the movement yet.

Food craving: None really... eating seems normal. I do find that I can't go longer than like two hours without wanting something to eat.

Gender? GIRL!

Labor signs? thankfully, no

What I miss? my agility

What I'm looking forward to? her arrival!

Emotions:  happy, rested, calm (surprisingly!)

Week 19

We found out this week that the baby is a little girl! Yay for finally being able to narrow down a bit what we will buy for the baby. Andrea came for a visit and really helped me  start the process of looking at furniture, plus different fabrics for curtains.  I am really grateful to have such great friends.

For our 19 week visit, we were told the gender, but they also checked on the baby overall (length, weight, spinal cord, head circumference, etc). Initially, we were seen by a nurse and she took tons of pictures of the baby from all kinds of different angles. It seemed like she didn't even have to move the thingy around that much, since the baby was basically doing front/back flips the whole time. The nurse was doing a lot of typing and not saying a whole lot, which initially made me worried. I finally asked her to explain, and she reassured us that the doctor would go over everything in more detail but that it all looked great. Then, after about what seemed like forever, she finally magnified the screen to make out the genitalia. She immediately said "girl" and then drew a large arrow with the words "It's a girl!" written across.  See below (bottom picture):

FYI: Doing a lot better with sleeping, however, I need to purchase one of those big body pillows to help me start sleeping on my side. My whole life I've been more of a side sleeper, but I guess the added pressure on my back has made me want to revert to my back now. Which is not good, since it's not recommended to sleep on your back after 19-20 weeks, since the pressure of the baby will weight on arteries and slow the blood flow to you and the baby's heart.

Also, can I say, I really miss being able to have wine or beer. It's gotten easier, but I am really looking forward to a nice big glass of red wine.

How far along: 19 weeks

Weight gain: not sure, I would guess 3 pounds

Maternity clothes: No new purchases this week. Think I'm good for now.

Stretch marks: none

Bellybutton- in or out? it's still laying flat and normal

Engagement ring- on or off? still wearing it!

Sleep:  better

Best moment this week? finding out the gender

Movement: I 've been feeling little air bubbles, which I think is the movement.

Food craving: fruit, cereal, and yogurt

Gender? GIRL!

Labor signs? thankfully, no

What I miss?  beer and wine this week

What I'm looking forward to? Finding out the gender soon

Emotions:  Pretty stable and happy

Week 18

Officially into week 18 and that much closer to figuring out the gender of that baby. Along with that benchmark, have come a lot of changes. For one, I can say I am officially showing a "bump." I'm still  within that range though were I think people who don't know are afraid to ask me about it. Upon finding out, one of the ladies at work told me that she actually thought I was finally putting on some "much needed pounds" and someone said, "oh, I thought I just happened to keep seeing you immediately after you'd eaten a nice-sized lunch." But, yes, it felt so gooood to finally announce the news at work.  I work with all women and I couldn't imagine a more warm and supportive environment. With that being said, one of the ladies recommended I rent one of those heart monitor things. At first I thought it would be a little weird and excessive, but we've actually had a really good time using it. I've attached one our recordings of the heart beat below if you choose to listen. If so, fast forward to second 42 to actually hear the heartbeat.

Baby Heartbeat-4.m4a

I finally purchased some pregnancy pants and it has made the world of difference. I was surprised to see that Goodwill actually had a nice little section, in which I found one pair, and then I bought the other three from Old Navy, Gap, and Target. I was surprised by how many chain stores actually offered a maternity clothes online. On the downside, I have started struggling with sleep. In my whole life, I've never had any issues with sleeping through the night and even have trouble watching a movie after 8 because I usually fall asleep. But recently, I've been unable to get to bed any earlier than 2am and once I do, its a very slight sleep in which I wake up at least every hour or so. I've read online and in my books that its pretty typical at this stage and its usually due to hormones and stress. I would agree with the stress for sure. Hence, I made my way to first prenatal yoga class last Tuesday and found it to be AMAZING. The instructor was great and it the class was super relaxing and just awesome. I thought it would be similar to regular yoga just with come accommodations, but instead the instructor set the room up like a spa retreat with blankets, candles and a elevated pillow/backrest on each mat that I can only best describe as a yoga recliner. I cannot wait to go back!

How far along: 18 weeks

Weight gain: not sure, I would guess 3 pounds

Maternity clothes: Yes! Three pairs of pants and man, does it feel good.

Stretch marks: none

Bellybutton- in or out? it's still laying flat and normal

Engagement ring- on or off? still wearing it!

Sleep:  poor
Best moment this week? yoga class

Movement: I felt what I think was a kick

Food craving: my fruit obsession continues, nothing new.

Gender? Not yet

Labor signs? thankfully, no

What I miss? being able to get a good night's sleep

What I'm looking forward to? Finding out the gender soon

Emotions:  Pretty stable and happy