37 Week Appointment

(Photo taken 11-2-14, at 37w2d)

My 37 week appointment was on Monday, November 3 (37w3d). Everything checked out just fine, as usual. :)
(I did test positive for Group B Strep, so I guess I might have to go in a little earlier during labor to start IV antibiotics for that.)

The appointment stats were:
weight - 192
blood pressure - 102/68
fundal height - 37 cm
fetal heart tones - 140's/150's


After the appointment, Mom and I did our grocery shopping and ran into Genevieve at HyVee. :) She had just come from her appointment - she was due on 10/31.

Last night, John and I packed our hospital bags as much as we could (last minute toiletry items and snacks will be grabbed at the last minute). Today, I'll be working on the baptismal gown. Hoping to get that done within the next few days, if possible! Tomorrow, I will be 38 weeks and my baby shower is scheduled for 7 pm. Feeling a little more ready all the time! (Would like Baby to wait until at least 39 weeks though, so that Mom and I can clean the house next week, as planned; and Katie and I can go to lunch before Baby comes. Rose will also get home from Europe the day before I am 39 weeks. So anytime after 39 weeks [November 14] is fair game, haha!)

36 Week Appointment

I had my 36 week appointment this morning (at 36w3d) with Eileen. Mom came along. :) The stats were:
(my) weight - 193 lbs
(baby's weight is still unknown ;-))
blood pressure - 118/80
fundal height - 36.5 cm
fetal heart tones - 140's

I did the Group B Strep swab this morning... hoping that comes back negative, but we'll see! The UA dip was negative.

I go back in one week - Monday, November 3 at 9:40 am...

36 Week Update

Just a quick update to say that things have been going very smoothly, considering I'm now in the home stretch. :) My appointments have been uneventful...

The stats from my 28-week visit (September 3) were as follows:
Hgb - 11.9
Glucose - 92
Weight - 187 lbs
BP - 108/80
FHT's - 148 bpm
Fundal Height - 30 cm

Most visits, the baby's heart-rate is 130's or 140's. I was gaining weight pretty steadily at a pound/week, then lost a pound over a 2-week period (which didn't concern the midwife at all, because my fundal height had increased and baby was moving).

At my last visit (October 15; 34+ weeks), my fundal height was only 33 cm (after being at or slightly above my gestational week all along), but it might have been because I was seeing Victoria for the first time, and she may just measure slightly differently than the others? We'll see what it is at this next appointment (scheduled for Monday, October 27). After this one, I'll be going weekly! (Weight at my last appointment was 191, up 25 pounds since my first OB visit.)

I started taking Dr. Christopher Birth Prep Formula pills at 34 weeks and had my first cup of "Third Trimester Tea" (red raspberry leaf and some other things) yesterday at 35 weeks, 5 days. I'll be adding Evening Primrose Oil (orally) starting tomorrow/36 weeks.

Symptoms-wise, I've been tired and not sleeping well (sleeping lightly/waking often, sometimes hard to get comfortable). I don't have to get up and use the bathroom every single night, although one trip during the night is getting more common than it used to be.
Heartburn has only happened a few times and is easily and effectively treated with generic Tums. I had a lot of diarrhea the other night, which Mom and Dad thought might be due to the Dr. Christopher pills, but I think it was more related to some questionable cantaloupe I had eaten earlier that day. I'll keep an eye on that though, as I increase the dosage of Dr. Christopher pills each week.
Throwing up has also made a come-back in the 3rd trimester... It doesn't happen often (maybe an average of 1-2 times every two weeks), but it almost always happens first thing in the morning and there seems to be a correlation with my being extra tired (after shorter-than-usual nights or worse-than-usual sleep).
I have some short stretch marks on my upper thighs and, just this morning, noticed that I might have some small ones starting on the underside of my belly. I also do seem to be having increased discharge, compared to normal.
I've been watching/feeling for braxton-hicks contractions - especially after taking the Dr. Christopher birth prep pills and after the red raspberry leaf tea - but I can't tell for sure if/when I'm having them. I will notice tightening/hard belly sometimes, but I can't tell if it's baby's position stretching me taut or a BH contraction. Certainly nothing with any kind of pattern or distinct start-climax-end to it.

Baby had a crazy-busy activity day (SO much kicking and movement!!) the day we took Rose to the airport for her trip to France (October 20 - I was 35w2d). Since then, movement has been back to its normal frequency or maybe a little less frequent, which is not surprising since the baby's probably running out of room in there. :)

I'll be 36 weeks tomorrow! That's pretty hard to believe! (On the other hand, I can't imagine getting even bigger for the next 4-6 weeks. :-O) We still have some getting-ready to do before I'll feel completely ready for Baby... We have our "last before baby" date night this Saturday (reservations at 715 in Lawrence :)). John is going to clean our cars this weekend and probably install the carseat bases. I need to cut out and sew the baptismal gown! My baby shower is scheduled for Friday, November 7 (38 weeks)... Once that has come and gone, I'll know what's left to get (nursing pads? baby thermometer?) before baby comes. I'll get those things, wash anything from the shower that we know we'll keep (might hold off on washing gender-specific, tags-still-on clothes in case I need to return them), finish setting up the baby's dresser, pack the hospital bag and hopefully be ready at that point! I really hope the baby comes on his/her due date (Friday, November 21), partly because of the feast day (the Presentation of Our Lady) and partly because that would give John that weekend to spend with us - without missing work - and then he'd only have to work 3 days before having a 4-day weekend for Thanksgiving. We'll see what happens though!

"Bump" Updates

I haven't been updating the blog consistently the last 10+ weeks, so here is a quick update of the Bump Progression:

26 weeks (August 15, 2014)

Mary was 2 days from her due date. :) (We didn't know it at the time, but she was 14 days from actually delivering.)

Working out at 26 weeks and 5 days

Mary's last "bump" picture (on my camera anyway :)) - August 25, 2014, 8 days overdue

It's a GIRL!!! Molly Philomena Jean's Birth Day ~ August 29, 2014

Molly PJ's Baptism ~ September 1, 2014 (Baby Glasgow was 28w3d along)

29 weeks, 1 day ~ September 6, 2014

29 weeks, 3 days ~ September 8, 2014

Celebrating our first anniversary!! 30 weeks, 2 days ~ September 14, 2014

31 weeks, 1 day ~ September 20, 2014

32 weeks, 5 days ~ October 1, 2014

Hahaha! 33 Weeks!! Getting closer!

33 weeks, 2 days ~ October 5, 2014

Getting ready for Baby... Daddy set up the bassinet! (Photo taken October 14, 2014 ~ 34w4d)

We had the privilege of enthroning the Sacred Heart in our home October 16, 2014 (34w6d).

35 weeks, 1 day ~ October 18, 2014

 Taking Aunt Rosie to the airport for her trip to France ~ October 20, 2014 (35w3d)

25 Weeks - and Hiccups

Brief update this morning. I am 25 weeks today (according to a November 21 due date); and this morning at 4:15 as I was lying in bed unable to fall back asleep, I think I felt Baby hiccuping for the first time! :) I was lying on my right side and my left arm was across the lower part of my belly and I felt a faint, rhythmic bumping - not as hard as some kicks and too slow to be my own pulse. It quit soon after I felt it (maybe 45 seconds of rhythmic "bumps"?), but I had gotten excited and that is probably why I couldn't fall asleep again until almost 6! ;-)

(One other update: current weight on our home scale as of this morning/25 weeks was 179.0 lbs; so I'm up 14.5 pounds in 25 weeks so far. If I continue at the "textbook" one-pound-per-week average from now on, I'm in for a total weight gain of about 30 pounds. Hoping it won't be more than that! I really don't want to see 200-anything on the scale.)

15 weeks to go!

Bump Buddies - Cousins in the Making

Mary was 38 weeks along and I was 24 weeks (and a couple of days :)) along when we all got together on Sunday, August 3 to celebrate my 28th birthday. Won't be too much longer and she'll be holding a baby and my bump will be closer to the size hers is now! ;-) And then a little while after that and we'll both be holding our babies! Can't wait to meet them, find out their genders, see what they look like, and get to know these precious little ones!

Weeks 23 and 24

About Week 23, I noticed for the first time that I could see Baby's movements/kicks on the outside - not just feel them! Since then (I am now 24w4d), they have become visible more frequently.

Baby's movements also seem to be getting stronger... I'm not sure if my placenta (which was anterior) has shifted or if I can now feel the baby through the placenta better. It used to be that I only felt movements down low or off to the left. Last night, I felt and saw them over on the right; and I have felt them up high (a few centimeters above my belly button) a few times.

A new symptom that kicked in last week is constipation - possibly because of being on retreat from July 28 through August 2 and the diet changes that happened in conjunction with that; possibly just because of pregnancy. I almost never have trouble with that basic function, so I have a newfound compassion for those that do - it can be so uncomfortable! :-/

This was my pre-retreat belly picture. ;-) I was 23w3d.

My next appointment is 2 weeks from yesterday (on Monday, August 18) - and after that, appointments will be every 2 weeks until I'm 36 weeks along! :)