{30 weeks}

After today I will officially be in single digits in wait time until baby D is here! 7 weeks until full-term! I'm looking at 8-9 weeks if this stubborn kid decides to stay breech, but here's hoping I have 8-9 weeks left with a head-down baby. ;)


Weight gain: Eh, maybe close to a pound? Not really sure. I've decided that since I'm now going to the doctor every two weeks, I'll just wait for my official weight at those, instead of messing with the Wii and then trying to compare the two scales. The scale in the bathroom has me up 20-21lbs since the beginning, which isn't too bad for (hopefully) less than 10 weeks left. I've had the munchies like nobodies business over the weekend, so here's hoping it's just the baby having a growth spurt and not my butt! I did manage to fit into a pair or pre-pregnancy jeans this morning (with the hair tie trick) but they are the stretchy kind and not the most flattering pants I have. I'm really starting to get low on clothes that look halfway decent on me, but no way am I going to spend money on clothes that I could only wear for a few more months. 


Movements: Still all the time. He seems to be putting his feet down more often here lately, since I'm getting some nice crotch shots. I can tell just by his regular movements, though, that he's still breech. I know I still have some time to try to convince him to move, but I'd by lying if I said I wasn't worried about it. I'm a planner, so to not know how Declan will enter this world has been getting to me.


Irrational fears this week: Besides his position, I guess maybe his cord? It's been all up in his business the last few weeks. I'm not that worried about it, but to see his cord actually _looped_ right in front of his face/neck makes me want him to turn even more. Other than that, I've been good this week. Isn't it funny how some weeks I'm all chill about all things baby and then other weeks I'm convinced I have some genetic markers that are going to suddenly pop up? I'd blame it on pregnancy hormones, but I'm a worrier by nature. DH and I compliment each other pretty well because dude doesn't worry about anything! He calms me down and I make him actually take notice if somethings up. :)


Mood wise I'm doing ok. With two other rugrats running around, I can't spend my entire day thinking about baby or counting down the weeks as much (like I would, and did, with my first). Just this week alone we have two preschool days, gymnastics, 2 T-Ball games, and the kids are seeing both my MIL and my parents. It's no wonder these last 7.5mo have just flown by! I'm really trying to slow things down a bit and just enjoy all his rolls/kicks and punches because that is the part I'm really going to miss about being pregnant. The never-ending morning sickness I've had, the breakouts like a teenage boy, and the mood swings I could do without! LOL. I also had another pee-when-you-sneeze accident today. All I can do is laugh about it. ;)


30 weeks!

I also want to take a moment and ask that everyone please send either a prayer or some well wishes out to my young cousin (about to be 18 here soon) who got into a bad car accident late Friday night. Outcome right now is paralyzed from the waist down, which is devastating to anyone, but especially to a high school kid with his whole life in front of him.  He's been a trooper and is already about to start therapy on his arms to build his strength back up. His mom (who is my first cousin and the sweetest person ever) got the call this weekend that every parent fears, so hold your babies close today and give them an extra kiss.  <3

Kindergarten registration/ob appointment/ultrasound!

As you can tell by the title, we've had a busy day! Of COURSE, I woke up throwing up because that always happens if we have something coming that day that makes me the slightest bit nervous. Weird?


DH took the morning off so that he could watch his baby girl get registered for school. We are lucky that he's the boss of the lab he works at so he doesn't have to miss a lot of things that normal working dads have to. We started the morning filling out a ton of paper work. The same questions over and over again. I'm proud to say that out of all the "things"a child should know before entering school, Em could do all of them! Proud mommy moment for sure. Even some of the homework we're supposed to work with her on over the summer is stuff that she's been doing for over a year! Things like writing her name, drawing big/small circles, knowing her ABC's, etc. DH and I kind of shared a "yeah, our kid has got this" look. LOL! Funny, but there ended up 3 of Em's T-ball team-mates in there at the same time. I really hope at least one of them is in Emma's class, that way she'll know someone in her new class. I have no doubts she'll make friends fast (this girl makes them in like .2 seconds) but it will give ME peace of mind knowing there's a familiar face there.


We met the 4 kindergarten teachers and the nurse. Everything is ready to go, except for one small problem. Even though we have the address/phone number of the school district we are putting her in, we are technically in the school district of the neighboring town. Sort of bull to me, but whatever. I don't like the other school. It's not a major problem, we just have to sign a few school choice forms on June 1st. You have the entire month of June to fill it out and as long as you do it before July, you are fine. If you forget, then the school you want your child to go to pretty much has to deny you. I've told my husband that he's stopping ON June 1st because I don't want to have to worry about it. I'm already going to be paranoid about it the entire month of May...lol. She has testing (not sure what they are testing her on?) on August 1st and then on the 9th/16th is open house. And then school! Oh Lordy! I think everyone commented on my pregnancy, which was nice, but always sort of awkward. One lady said "you've got some stair step kids, huh?" which is true, I guess..lol


Here is her hilarious face that she sported the entire way home. My girl likes school and she did NOT want to leave today. I love that she loves school so much, it will just make for a long summer with her asking every day "is it school yet?". I guess it could be worse. ;-)

Next up: OB appointment (I should really break this post into two posts, but I'm not. Deal with my novel. ;) )


I gained 4.8lbs this month. So a total of 19.8lbs at 29.5 weeks pregnant. Not too shabby. My belly is measuring perfect and the doctor made a joke about how I always look so small, yet I'm never measuring behind. Heartbeat was 140 and then we heard some movement and the heartbeat shot up to 150. He had been pretty quiet all day, but went crazy during my appointment. I asked about the red dots and my doctor barely even glanced at them. Said they were normal and that was that. I officially start going to see him every 2 weeks now. Getting so close!


The kids were being insane so I was happy when my DH showed up for the ultrasound. Baby is doing perfect, but the little stinker is STILL breech! Same exact position with his feet way above his head. Gah! At 29w 3d he's measuring 29w exactly, so the normal 3 days behind he was two weeks ago. Big boy weighs in at 3lbs 1oz. It's crazy to think that some full-term babies are only a couple pounds heavier and we still have 10 weeks left! He wasn't quite as shy this time, so we did get some cute pictures of his sweet face. We even caught a smile! There was a student observing the UT, so she talked to her a lot about what she was seeing/looking for. While measuring his belly, she described his stomach and how most DS babies have an extra "circle" beside the stomach. The student asked how come, so I got to listen to a really detailed explanation of how some babies organs are formed. It was really interesting and I'm glad the student was there. She then talked a bit about the amniotic fluid and how how some disorders can alter the amount of fluid. She then said "this baby is perfect" and it was seriously music to my ears. I've had a hard time controlling my weird anal worrying, so that definitely helped. Here's a few of my fav Declan pics from today.

I'm sure I am completely biased, but I think he is just the cutest! I love his big yawn in the bottom picture. 

{29 weeks}

I've tried sitting down and writing a post a million times this week, and every time I'd end up deleting it because I've been in such a craptastic mood that it was filled with nothing but "I'm miserable!" and "I miss not being pregnant" or "I'm so irritated!". It's a brand new week and I'm hoping whatever crazy hormones had a hold of me are gone! 


I did get some baby stuff done this weekend between my grumpiness. I went through and organized my daughter's closet, which was evidently where we had stored all of our baby items. Declan is now the proud owner of a new diaper bag with tags (no idea when or where I got this!) a bouncy seat, a boppy pillow (which comes in so handy those first few days of nursing) a bumbo chair (it's purple, but real men can pull that color off, right? heh), some baby blankets, and a baby bathtub. I can't believe I'd forgotten about saving all of that! Being pregnant with 2 kids under 5 is hard work on the mood/body, but NOT hard on the wallet. The only things we've really had to put money on this time around is new car seats and some random things like bibs and socks. Connor was over 11lbs by 5 weeks so I have a ton of newborn clothes that still had tags! It's definitely made the transition from 2 to 3 easier, that's for sure!


Weight gain - I pulled the Wii out last Wednesday, which is the start of week 3 for this month. It had me gaining 3.5lbs during that time. So, just slightly over the 1lb a week. If the Wii is right (and it's probably the most accurate since I do it before eating/drinking and don't have to deal with clothes weight) then I had gained 18lbs at 28.5 weeks. I'll weigh myself gain Wednesday and then see how is compares to the doctors office on Thursday. Funny, but the scale in my bathroom hasn't moved in almost 2 weeks! I am seriously all over the place..lol. Fundal height is measuring right at 29cm. I was told multiple times over the weekend that I was carrying really low and that they didn't see how I had 10-11 weeks left. Thanks? 


Movements - Still lots and lots of movement. Ready for some truth-telling? I don't do kick counts. I mean, if I notice that he's been a bit more quiet in there than usual then I do. But as long as he's having a normal day moving around and such, I don't even worry about it. This guy is a mover and a shaker and I'm definitely aware of him almost constantly, so there's been no point. I'm pretty sure he's still breech, but not as confident as I was last week. I've been feeling some weird flutters low in my pelvis, which were non-existent before now. Yesterday I could have swore he was transverse, just by how he was pushing out against my belly. I'm so anxious to see him again on Thursday, mostly to see how sort of crazy positions he's gotten himself into. :) I HAVE decided not to do a version if he stays breech until full-term. It just scares me too much. If I have to have a c-section, I'd want to go in there prepared and it to be as calm and routine as it can be.....not some emergency surgery because his heartbeat slowed or my placenta was torn while trying a version. I'd freak.


Irrational fear this week: Not a lot, besides worrying about his position. I did have some little "what if me and DH have some sort of genetic markers, like SMA, and we've just been lucky and it not show up until this baby?!" People really need to stop posting sad stories about babies  with rare conditions on facebook right now! I've just come across so many sad and emotional stories about babies this time around and it's gotten to me. Especially the ones where they didn't know until after the baby was born. :( But other than my anal worrying about things like that, I've been pretty calm. I DID get all of Declan's clothes put away/hung in the closet yesterday, which is a big step. :)


Things I'm looking forward to: THURSDAY! Oh boy, it's such a big day in our house. It's Em's kindergarten registration that day! I am a mixture of emotions, mostly fear! lol. She's excited and I just know she's going to do great, but she's my baby! I never imagined I'd have a child old enough to be starting school. After that is my 29 week appointment and then attempt #2 at a 4d ultrasound. So, busy busy day.

I do need to remember to ask my doc a few questions at my appointment. I've started getting these weird, red dots on my thighs. They are under the skin and look like I've poked myself with a pin. Not a lot, but I notice stuff like that. Mr. Google says it's not a big deal. They are called petechiae (and yes, these dots can also be a symptom of leukemia! My brain is full of weird information like this..haha) and are basically broken capillaries under the skin, usually because of the excessive blood volume during pregnancy. It CAN be caused by a low platelet count so it's something I definitely want to bring up with him. I don't think that's what it is, because I've had them for a while (and there's not many, maybe 10 or so?) and I just had my blood drawn and tested during my glucose/antibodies screen 3.5 weeks ago. I'd think someone would notice if my platelet count was low enough to start causing symptoms? Yahoo Answers is filled with pregnant women asking about it, so it must not be that uncommon during pregnancy.

Anywho, no picture as of right now. I might get one up later, although I'll probably just wait until week 30! Can't believe I'll be in single digits in a few weeks. :)


ETA: I have no idea what's with the color change in those last few sentences, but I'm way too lazy to try to fix it. ;)

28 weeks !

It seems now is really the time when you start counting down the weeks. 9 weeks until full-term, 10-11 weeks if this baby doesn't turn head-down, 12 weeks until due date. Crazy to think that just over 2 months or so I might have another baby in the house. I have one child who will be absolutely thrilled and another child who is absolutely oblivious to it all..lol. To C, mommy just has a "fat belly" no matter how many times I try to explain. :)

Weight gain  ~ I _think_ around 3lbs or so since 25 weeks. Actual scale from the Wii will be this week, so I've just been watching my weight on my crappy bathroom scale. In the mornings, it has me up around 3lbs or so, but by the end of the night is has me 5lbs over what I started at during this latest 4 week period! I really hope I haven't gained 5lbs in almost 3 weeks, but knowing me, it's possible. I'd like to stay at the 4lb weight gain this month, but I'd be ok at 5...lol. That would put me at gaining 20lbs at almost 30 weeks. I think I can handle that. ;) How crazy and anal does me it make me that at my appointment next week, it will be warm enough for shorts and my first thought was "less clothes equals less pounds on the scale!" Gah, I need help. :) My at-home fundal height measurements are right at 28cm. My uterus is seriously up over my ribs, so I have no idea how it's supposed to grow any higher. My belly is starting to make a nice shelf for my plate/cup/book, so it's good for something. ;-)

Movements~ I don't think this child quits moving! I'm almost positive he hasn't changed from frank breech yet, since I'm still having almost ALL of my movements right at the top. It can even hurt sometime when he gets both hands and feet going. I did feel a few lighter kicking toward my cervix last night, so he's at least occasionally putting his feet down. The fact he was breech at every ultrasound I've had makes me a bit worried he just really likes that position and won't change. I've been doing all kinds of research on positions to make him change, but I haven't tried many of them yet. I DO know that I am not going to do any sort of medical procedures to make him turn. The risks seem pretty real with those, plus if I end up having to have a c-section, I'd rather it be a nice, relaxing one that I planned for. Not one that has to be done suddenly if his heart rate drops during the procedure or something. He still has time to move, though. So I'm not losing hope just yet!

Irrational fear this week ~ besides the c-section scares, I've been doing good in this department. I even went through C's old newborn/ 0-3 month clothes last night. One tub ended up equaling 4 hats, 3 bibs, 23 long-sleeved sleepers, 17 pairs of pants, 15 long-sleeved onesies/shirts, 49 short sleeve onesies/1 piece outfits, and 14 outfits - some with tags still on them.  I'm afraid that's a bit too many long sleeved stuff for a summer baby, but it's a good start! Besides some more bibs, some socks, some shorts, some swimming trunks, and maybe a few more summer outfits, his first 3 months are covered (clothes-wise, anyway).

Nothing baby coming up this week, but next week is a big week here. Em's 1st T-Ball game, 29 week appointment and ultrasound!

A quick belly shot. It's going to be massive by the end of June! Check out that non-existant belly button..lol

 

Attempt #1 at the 4d ultrasound

This morning was my 3d/4d ultrasound and I was so nervous heading into it. I was afraid he wouldn't be a he anymore, that he'd fallen off his growth curve, that she'd notice something wrong, etc.  Mrs. Pessimistic, like always. 


Declan is breech! I totally didn't see that coming! I was thinking transverse or head-down considering all the movements at the top of my uterus. But nope, he's all curled up at the top of my uterus, with his arms and legs up over his head. So I was right about feeling both arms and legs up there, just not right about his position. The tech said that for most women, they like the babies to turn by 34 weeks, but with me being small and my babies being larger, she hopes that he turns between 30-32 weeks or so. So that gives him a month to get his act together and turn. I will be honest, a c-section scares me to death. I DON'T want one and will try everything I can to help him turn. Luckily I'm getting another ultrasound in two weeks since this baby didn't cooperate and give us some good face time, so hopefully he'll be turned by then. The tech even had me turned onto my side trying to make him move a bit, but it was a no-go. He's like his sister and stubborn!


At 12 weeks Dec was measuring about a week later. I was right on the verge of getting my due date changed, but since my doctor said I was still within a week, he'd keep it the same. At 19w 4d he was measuring in at 19w even. Now at 27w 3d he is measuring 27 weeks even. So he's gained another day and is now only 3 days behind. :) He's also weighing in at 2lbs 7oz! So a nice size weight. I looked online and 2.5lbs is more on par with a 29 weeker and if he follows the half a pound a week gain that most babies do during the 3rd trimester, I'm looking at another 8.5-9lb baby! Wow!


He is still DEFINITELY a he! We have a couple 4d pics of the "goods" and it's hilarious to look at! The tech said that if someone says "well, sometimes they are wrong" to pull those pictures out because it is OBVIOUS! Lol! That makes me feel confident in going ahead with selling the rest of Emma's clothes, even though it's so bitter sweet and makes me miss my sweet, cuddly baby girl. Last night she was in the bathroom and I stopped to see what she was doing and she said "why are you looking at me?" Oooh, boy. I am in for it when she's 16!


Here's one of the few pics I got from today. Isn't that pouty upper lip just the sweetest?

you can see his umbilical cord going across his face. She assured me that was fine, even though I didn't give it a second thought. She said some mom's have a little freak-out when the cord is anywhere near the face/neck, but it's almost impossible for it NOT to be.


In non-baby related news, Em has her first T-Ball game in about 1.5 weeks! It's going to be the funniest/cutest thing ever to watch. Then a few days after that she has kindergarten registration! Someone hold me! That's going to be a busy day all around, since she has registration that morning, my ob appointment at 2 and then attempt #2 at the 4d scan right after that. Whew! April is flying by! 

27 weeks - Hello 3rd Trimester! - now with pic

I'm definitely in the home stretch now! Only 10 weeks before I'd be considered full-term (although I really have no interest in giving birth at 37 weeks. I'm more comfortable between 38-40 for some reason). There's no hiding this belly, that's for sure. While out to eat on Saturday an obviously pregnant lady came in. Like all pregnant mama's we immediately noticed each other and she asked when I was due. I told her "early July" and she said "oh wow, you pop out big and fast! I thought you were closer to my due date, in May"... YIKES! So, I guess I can assume I like closer to 8mo pregnant rather than just starting my 7th? LOL.  I was fine with it, since I DO pop out big and fast. ;) I also had a moment that same day at Walmart where I really thought I was going to either puke or pass out in the milk aisle. Just another joy of pregnancy, I suppose. :)


Weight gain - No idea. Bathroom scale, which is notoriously off for some reason, has me gaining about 1 pound or so since my 25.5 week appointment. I usually don't pull out the wii until week 3 of the month. I'm still pretty far behind that I was with C (and I gained 31lbs altogether with him) and WAY behind what I was with Emma. So, I can't be too upset with that! Fundal height is right at 27cm. I'm pretty sure I always measured right where I was supposed to with Em and occasionally a week or so ahead with C, so he seems right on par with his older sister and brother. I'm going to use the "I make big babies!" excuse heading into my 9th month in the hopes I can get a late ultrasound just so I'll know what I'm dealing with when labor comes. I was told about a week before Connor was born that he was probably around 6.5 pounds. Um, no. He came a week early weighing in at a whopping 9lbs 1oz. Em was 8.4lbs. I don't mind having larger babies, but I'd like to be prepared! Haha. My belly button is so far out right now that I actually used a band-aide across it a few days ago!


Movements - ALL THE TIME. He still has some quiet periods - like last night. Dude was a little too calm for a couple of hours last night which made me take notice, but he perked up before bed and has been pretty active this morning. A few nights ago he kicked/stretched so hard that I actually let out a little gasp. Getting a punch in the cervix AND under the ribs at the exact same time isn't the most pleasant thing in the world. Most of his movements are under my ribs or right across my belly button, so I think he's probably head down already.


Irrational Fear this week - Nothing, really. I've been pretty content with life and this pregnancy here recently. I don't think the "what if's" ever truly go away.  I mean, I have those all the time with my kids right now. It's just a part of being a parent. I do sometimes think I might not make it to my due date this time around. More braxton hicks (although that could be because it's my 3rd baby), more pressure (again, maybe because he's number 3) and just an overall feeling of "this pregnancy won't last much longer". I definitely don't think I'm going to have a premature baby or anything, just a feeling that his appearance might take us by surprise. Which means I better get on that large to-do list I've got taped to the fridge. :) 


Coming up - 3d/4d ultrasound on Thursday! Can't wait to see his sweet face again.


Belly pic later this afternoon. My 5yr old photographer is at preschool right now..lol.

I'm scared to see what this belly is going to look like in a few months!

Happy Easter!

Our day has been pretty low-key, which has been perfect since I had an insanely busy week this past week. Just a breakdown

Monday - Em had preschool and then we went to try to find the kids some summer shoes.
Tuesday - C's well child-child check up at 1:00, Em's kindergarten physical at 1:30, gymnastics at 3:30, and then T-ball practice at 5:30. With the kids needing shots, had to get their blood drawn (which I was NOT expecting) and then two different 1-hr practices, we were all beat.
Wednesday- the ONLY day this week where I didn't go anyway
Thursday - Em had preschool and then we tried again for some new shoes for the kids.
Friday - my parents took the day off of work, so we took the kids to a local State Park, had a picnic, walked on the trails, and then rushed Em to T-ball practice at 7. The kids went with my parents that night, which was the  best Easter gift they could give us (LOL) so yesterday I went into town and finished the kids' Easter baskets.

So needless to say, a relaxing day at home before starting our week was sorely needed. We bought bunk beds yesterday in the hopes that we can start transitioning C to his own bed - this really deserves it's own post, so I won't get into that - but between Emma sleeping in a different bed and excited about the Easter bunny, she was up about 3hrs earlier than she normally is. She had about 20 minutes of alone time before her brother woke up and dug through his. DH cooked us a yummy breakfast which meant no one touched it except for me and him. Sigh. :) Easter egg hunts when the sun decided to come out and then some play time in the new sandbox that was ALSO bought yesterday. My kids aren't spoiled or anything, are they? ;-)

We let Em choose what our Easter dinner would be, so while everyone else seems to be enjoying nice, fancy dinners, we are having burgers on the grill. Haha! No complaints here since belly baby seems to enjoy some juicy burgers.

Next up - start of 3rd trimester according to most sites starting tomorrow and 3d/4d ultrasound on Thursday!

A few pics of our week.

26 weeks!

Less than a 100 days until my due date (98 days to be exact). I'm hoping he takes after his older brother and comes a week early. 91 days sounds so much better. :)


This past week went by so fast, but I think that's just life right now and really has nothing to do with the pregnancy. Based on the fact I have something _everyday_ to do this week (except for Wednesday) I'm thinking week 26 will go by just as fast.


Weight gain: I haven't weighed myself since I was weighed last Thursday. I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at weight wise, so I'm trying not to worry about it too much. I did check out some pregnancy work-out/yoga dvd from the library, so I'm hoping to find some time to try that out. It's for women in the 3rd trimester (which I will be in next week! Gulp!) so it's either going to be super easy since I'm not gigantic yet, or it's going to be super hard since it's the 3rd in a group of workout dvd's for pregnant women - and I definitely haven't been exercising much up until this point..lol. My own fundal height measurements looked to be somewhere between 25-26cm, so regardless if baby has been measuring a few days behind, my uterus is right on track.


Movement: Yep, all the time. I now feel him when I'm up and moving around, which is definitely an odd sensation. It makes you want to stop what you're doing, just so you can pay attention to all of the little kicks and punches. :) He still snoozes from about 1-3 or so and then movement kicks back up around 5ish.  We were at a State Park all day yesterday (more on that in a min) so he was relatively quiet all day. Then around 10 last night he started having a party. Definitely my favorite part of pregnancy.


Irrational Fear this week: I still have occasional worries about his health or about maybe the UT missing something, but other than that, I've been very content. It never fails that I'll find myself lulled into a sense of security about this pregnancy and then I'll come across some sad story about a baby who seemed healthy and then suddenly wasn't. It's a tough thing to wrap your head around, but I'm trying to just trust the doctor when he says that I have a completely healthy boy in there. I think I've let worry take away a lot of my enjoyment out of this pregnancy. I keep saying 'this is definitely our last child" (and it is!) but I think it's more because I just don't want to have to deal with the unknown of a pregnancy anymore after this!


What I'm looking forward too - Definitely the ultrasound coming up on the 12th. Non-preggo excitement is Easter this weekend. Em is beyond excited about the Easter bunny making a visit and I finally got her to tell me what she hopes he brings her (a car for her doll house).


Yesterday we went to a state park that's right over the state line heading into MO. DH's family was having a cook-out and there are about 100 little kids all my kids' ages on his side of the family, so we couldn't pass that up. Let me tell you, it was HOT. Almost 90 on April 1st! My poor pregnant feet were so swollen  by the end of the day, but the kids had a blast, I got to eat yummy food, and I even got a nice little start to my tan. 

Just a few pics from yesterday. As you can see from the pic below, another boy is definitely needed on this side of the family. I love that my kids have SO many cousins to grow up with, although it does make me sad that they are one of the only kids on my side of the family. My brother needs to find a nice girl, settle down, and make me an aunt! :)

h