39 Weeks

I've hit 39 weeks pregnant!  This is also the week that Shaun and I don't necessarily want Neven to be born.  Shaun has school finals tomorrow and Thursday, we have a wedding rehearsal and dinner on Friday, and Josh and Christen's wedding on Saturday (where Shaun is the best man!).  Of course we will be ready whenever Neven decides it is time, but it would be best to hold out until his due date!

I had a doctor's appointment earlier today, and nothing changed in the last week.  My blood pressure is excellent, I have zero swelling, I'm 2 cm dilated with no effacement, and Neven is at a -3 station (this means he is fairly high still and hasn't "dropped").

One thing that has changed is the onset of Braxton Hicks contractions.  I started getting them yesterday evening, with 4 contractions in 1.5 hours.  They stopped until I went to bed, and then I had a bunch throughout the night.  This morning they stopped again, and I haven't had a single one today.  It is a very strange feeling to have my entire belly turn rock hard with no pain.  I didn't have a single Braxton Hicks contraction with Aria, so this is a new sensation.

And now a belly shot, taken yesterday:

38 Weeks and my Thoughts on Being *Ready*

Today is August 1st, which means I am in my 38th week AND Neven will be born THIS MONTH!  Many, many thoughts are going through my head about being *ready*, but more on that in a bit.

First, I want to give an update from my latest doctor appointment.  My appointment was yesterday, at 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant.  My blood pressure was higher than normal (118/70), but this is still completely acceptable and nowhere near alarming for preeclampsia.  I'm almost glad my blood pressure went up, because I no longer have dizzy spells when standing for too long.  My lowest blood pressure this pregnancy was 88/56, which is crazy low for me!  Sometimes I wonder how I got through nursing clinicals, standing on my feet for 10 hours without passing out.  Now I'm off topic...  My doctor also checked my internal progress.  I am 2 cm dilated with no effacement.  As a comparison, I was 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced with Aria at this point.  What does this mean you ask?  Absolutely nothing.  I could be 2 cm for another day or another 3 weeks.  Every baby is different.  I also haven't had a single Braxton Hicks nor a real contraction, so I personally think Neven isn't ready yet.  Being that Shaun isn't done with classes for another 8 days, the lack of both contractions and significant progress is good news.  Stay in there Neven!  We really hope you decide to come EXACTLY on your due date.

Now about my thoughts on being *ready*:

• Am I ready to be done with pregnancy?  Yes!  I am tired (I know this will only get worse when Neven gets here, but it's a different kind of tired), I am achy, I am sick of not being able to physically do things that my non-pregnant body can do, and I feel bad for not being able to run around and play with Aria like I used to.  
• Am I ready for Neven to be here?  Yes!  Simply said, I can't wait to meet my son.  
• Is my house ready for Neven?  Mostly yes.  Sure, there will always be a to-do list of things to clean, chores to do, etc., but I've gotten the major items checked off my list.  As you may know, our home always has clutter, and could be deep cleaned more often, but I'm okay with the state it is in right now.  I've spent the past few weeks trying to keep up with daily chores, so that Neven can come home to a mostly clean home.  
• Am I ready for labor?  Hell no.  I will never be ready for labor.  In all honesty, labor scares the shit out of me.  I wish I had "new mommy brain", as many of my friends told me they have.  Apparently this means that women forget the pain they had during the birth of their first child, which makes them agreeable to birth more children.  Umm, I remember every single second of Aria's labor, and it was beyond the most excruciating pain I ever thought a person could feel.  Yes, there are epidurals, and yes, there is Fentanyl, but I really don't want pain relief using medicinal methods for many, many reasons.  Without going into all those reasons, I do want to say that being a nurse, I know, and have seen, all the things that can go wrong with epidurals.  Yes, on a large scale, epidurals are relatively safe.  However, I've seen complications to both mom and baby solely due to the effects of the epidural.  One of these complications was to myself!  Remember I had a hard time breathing during my own labor?  That was the epidural numbing my lungs.  In the end, all I want is a healthy baby boy, but the epidural can be detrimental to him too.  These are the reasons labor scares the hell out of me.  I will never be ready to go into actual labor.  Oh, and I didn't even mention the possibility of a c-section.  I am not prepared for major surgery.  For anyone reading this who thinks a c-section isn't major surgery, think again.  How would you like your abdominal cavity ripped open without the choice of doing the procedure in a safer, laparoscopic manner?  Not me.
• Overall, am I just ready?  Absolutely yes!  Neven is all I think about lately.  I cannot wait to meet him, snuggle with him, and see him interact with his dad and his sister.  I've always dreamed of having 2 children, especially having a girl and a boy.  My dream is about to come true.      

Full Term

I am 37 weeks pregnant, which means I am FULL TERM!  Basically this means that if Neven is born any time from here on out, his lungs and other organs will be fully developed, and he will be a healthy boy!  This is the milestone that all mothers wait and wait for, since we just want a healthy baby.

I still have no braxton hicks contractions, no real contractions, no cramping, and no other signs of impending labor.  But who knows... Neven could make his arrival tomorrow or he could make his arrival in 4 weeks.  I am mentally ready for him to be here, but I know Shaun isn't.  I don't blame him.  After all, he is still in school for 2.5 more weeks and has a wedding to get through on August 11th (best man duties).

Here is a picture of my 37 week belly.  I feel like I'm growing a basketball.  

However, I'm not growing as big of a basketball as I did just over 2 years ago...

The Start of the End

I had my 36 week appointment yesterday, and everything looked good with Neven :)  We had an ultrasound done to get some of his measurements and make sure he is still perfectly healthy.  He measured 5 lbs 15 oz, which would put him at a 7 lbs 15 oz birth weight if I had him exactly on my due date and the world was a perfect place... we'll see how close he matches up to the estimates!  In any case, he is on track to be slightly smaller than his sister.

My doctor also measured my cervix to check on my progression toward labor.  I am 1 cm dilated.  This may be due to some of Neven's progress toward labor, or it may be due to being pregnant for a second time.  Either way, it's crazy to think that I'm already dilating.  As a comparison, I was only a "fingertip" dilated with Aria at this point.

36 Weeks, AKA 9 Months Pregnant!

How Far Along?  36 weeks (Only one week away from being full-term, eeeek!)

How Big is Baby?  At 36 weeks he weighs about 5 pounds and is 18 inches long, which is the size of a honeydew melon.  Yep, I do believe I'm packing a honeydew in there, hehe.

Neven doesn't move as often as he did before, but when he does move, his movements are strong and sometimes painful.  He also never really found my ribs, hence I seem to be carrying him lower than I did with Aria.  Neven also gets the hiccups at least twice a day... we keep telling Neven to stop drinking so much, hehe.

Our next doctor's appointment is tomorrow.  My doctor will be doing another ultrasound to check Neven's position (verifying he is head down) and his size.  I will definitely do an update after the appointment, since we should get some good information out of it.  After this appointment, I will be visiting my doctor every week from here on out.

Physical Changes in Me:  I've gained one pound in the past two weeks, putting me at a total weight gain of 31 pounds.  Here is my 35 week belly:

  
A few days ago, I decided to take off my wedding rings until after Neven is born.  It was a warm day, and I noticed  slight swelling in my fingers.  My rings were only a little harder to get off than normal, but I don't want to be stuck in a situation where I have to pry them off my fingers.  I always feel naked when I'm not wearing my rings, since I've worn a ring on that finger since I was 16 years old (when Shaun gave me a promise ring).

How I'm Feeling:  In the past 2 weeks I've actually been feeling fairly good.  This is probably due to the fact that I've finally "accepted" being 8-9 months pregnant by telling myself that I don't need to be doing things at my normal non-pregnant pace.  I've definitely slowed down in my day-to-day activities, but this has made my aches and pains much more manageable.  I've been taking a nap every other day and I get 8 hours of sleep each night, which also seriously helps me feel better.  

Shaun is also being very helpful by helping me when I need it...  Especially by playing with Aria, since she needs time to literally run around with one of us to burn off energy.  I will play with her all day by doing activities such as coloring, reading books, playing with Play-Doh, etc., but nothing beats having running races with Dad around the house :)      

This week I finished my aerobic swim class.  I am sad to be done, since it gave me some exercise and made me feel weightless, but I am also happy to be done, since we did the same exact routine every class.  I need variety in my fitness routines, and I was getting very bored.  I might go to the public pool for open swim a couple times in the next few weeks to get some exercise... we'll see.

Best Moment this Past Month:  All the times Aria hugs and kisses Neven and tells him "I love you".  She doesn't know what she is really in for!   

Baby Purchases/Planning:  I finally got Neven's space completely set up.  I owe half the credit to Shaun, since I needed his assistance to move all the furniture in our room to make it happen.  After the furniture rearrangement, we came to this set-up:

I love how his bed will be right next to ours.  Also, if he has problems sleeping in the pack-n-play, we can simply move it out of the room and unfold the inclined rock-n-play sleeper stored right beside it.  This weekend we started potty training Aria, cold-turkey style by saying good-bye to diapers, so I was able to transfer her changing pad and diaper pail to Neven's room.  Now we are just waiting for the little guy to make an appearance :)  By the way, did you notice his name on the wall?  I made those letters from chipboard and scrapbook paper.  I love how they turned out.  Here is a close-up:

  

From the Rafters

I recently had Shaun pull down some of Aria's old baby items from the garage rafters.  I washed and cleaned the baby bath, the newborn car seat, and the portable swing.  Aria helped me the entire time.  She is enthralled with the "new" baby gear showing up around the house.  I've staged these three items in her playroom, next to the front door, and I frequently find Aria taking care of her own baby using these items :)

Aria rocking her baby

  

33 Weeks Pregnant

How Far Along?  33 weeks 4 days

How Big is Baby?  At 33 weeks he weighs a little more than 4 pounds and is 17 inches long.  At our 32 week appointment, Neven was measuring one week ahead.  Remember I've been saying that this whole time that Neven has been on the smaller side?  Well, he must have had a growth spurt or something. Now, he may actually turn out to be an 8 pound baby just like his big sister.

Neven still likes to kick a ton.  His kicks are really strong, too.  They are pretty uncomfortable, and fairly painful at times, so I'm often finding myself pushing back on his appendages, and telling him to "get back inside!"

Physical Changes in Me:  Between my 30 week and 32 week appointments, I gained 10 pounds (holy cow!).  I have no idea where that came from!  There were no signs of this weight gain, as I still have no swelling and my blood pressure hasn't changed (it is still 100/60).  This puts me at an overall weight gain of about 30 pounds.  I hope I've plateaued and will only gain a couple more pounds at the most...*crossing fingers*

My pregnant belly at 30 weeks

How I'm Feeling:  At 30 weeks pregnant, I definitely started to feel the constant aches and pains of third trimester pregnancy.  I slowed down in pretty much everything: walking, the speed at which I did house chores, and the energy I had to play with Aria.  

Then came week 32, oh dear.  My groin has been aching for awhile now (a lingering pain from when I was pregnant with Aria), but in week 32 I actually pulled my groin muscle.  This makes standing, walking, rolling over in bed, getting up from the floor, and pretty much any activity that requires moving, very painful.  Simply said, I feel disabled.   I can't even go on a walk to the playground near our house without limping, walking at sloth speed, and coming home in pain.  Sigh.  Unfortunately this won't go away until after Neven is born.  On the plus side, I've been taking my fitness swim class twice a week for exercise, and I can barely feel the pain in my groin.  I love being in the water!  I feel so amazing when gravity isn't torturing my muscles and joints.   

Best Moment this Past Month:  Seeing Neven on an ultrasound at our 32 week appointment.  My doctor wasn't going to do an ultrasound for another 2-4 weeks, but I convinced her to do a quick one just so we could take a peek at Neven.  Luckily she wasn't busy and agreed to take a look :)  First we saw his face... adorable!  He had his toes near his mouth and it looked like he was about to suck on his toes, haha!  Our baby boy was totally bent in half.  The flexibility of babies astounds me sometimes.  Then, we verified he was still a boy, and yep, there is still no doubt!    

Baby Purchases:  I've bought some small things here and there, but one bigger purchase I made was the Fisher Price Rock-n-Play sleeper.  I plan on using this as a napper and as a place to set Neven down.  If he has reflux issues, it would also be great for him to sleep in, since it is inclined.

Not purchase related, but I washed all of Neven's newborn and 0-3 month clothes, and put them away in his dresser.  I also prepped, washed, and put away his newborn diapers (a separate post to come on that topic).