37 Weeks!

From 37 Weeks to Birth!

At week 37, your pregnancy is considered full term, meaning baby is likely to thrive after birth. Baby spends these last weeks in preparation for the outside world… meaning careful refinement of the blink, suck, inhale and exhale. Meconium, which you’ll probably find in the first diaper, is accumulating in the intestines. If you worry about giving birth, consider what it’s like for the little one. During the journey out of your womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life.





This is it!  My last fruit picture!

33 Weeks!

From 33-36 Weeks....

Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.






Its getting closer, y'all!

29 Weeks!

29-32 Weeks.....

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments. 

25 Weeks!

For Weeks 25-28...

Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

Baby Sewing....

This is why Ian says I'm nesting.

 

I sewed those last weekend.  And this weekend: 

Four pairs of Little Comet Tails Crescent Moon Yoga Pants.  Size Small. 

I suppose he could be right.

Ian says I'm nesting

I'm not so sure about that...

I think of nesting as that crazed cleaning and purging spree in late pregnancy.  Maybe even early labor.

But I'll have to admit to spending quite some time planning and preparing... and then sewing and purchasing.

I sort of didn't expect to purchase much for this little guy.  I have a minimalist approach to babies - plus what I use/need I have to operate my daycare.

But that didn't stop me from buying this little set.  I've never been a wool diapering mama.  I'm not converting. But I could.not.resist the soft, sweet, warm and squishy-ness of this set.

I'm beyond excited for this new experience coming my way... having a winter born newbie.  

My Pregnancy.... In Review

Week 3 & 4 -- Found out I'm pregnant!  15 days past ovulation!  Those that have actively TTC -- know how late that is!  I had already given up for the month. See this post... lol 2 days before my first faint positive test.

 Week 5 -- Still testing.  I think I took upwards of 25-30 pregnancy tests. 

Yeah.

Week 6 -- Told my parents about the pregnancy.  Not exactly an uplifting experience.  I'm still holding back about 99% of my joy at this point. Also told my book club. :)

Week 7 -- Morning Sickness begins... 

my first real experience with daily vomiting and all day long nausea.

 

Week 8-- Probably about the time I resorted to round the clock Zofran to function.

Visited Grandma Candy & Grandpa Mike in San Diego. 

Bought my first pair of maternity pants.  (Because that's how I roll with #3)

Week 9 -- Still feeling awful.  

But hey-- I'm officially more pregnant than I was before my miscarriage in November.  

So its a winning week all the way.

Week 10 -- My 30th Birthday!

First Prenatal Appointment!  

Blood pressure good, urine awful looking (because I barely eat or drink)

Week 11 -- Heard baby's heartbeat for the first time.  

Right before my second Zumba class.

a.k.a. Why its amazing to be best friends with your midwife.

 Week 12 -- I'm feeling blah blah blah. 

 

Week 13 -- Morning Sickness finally subsides!

Week 14 -- Emma Turned 4!!!

Got a Horrible case of the stomach flu/food poisoning.  

(Who knows, at this point)

Another prenatal.  Good blood pressure.  Still awful looking urine.  Because I'm still not really eating regularly.

Week 15 -- Ethan Turned 6!!!

Finally told all my daycare parents!

Announced my pregnancy on FaceBook. 

Week 16 -- Movement is officially felt.

 Week 17 -- Not too much movement... 

I'm wondering if I was imagining things last week....

Week 18 -- And then BAM!  Movement all the time.  Good to know I'm not crazy.

Another prenatal. Finally healthy pee. I'm eating and drinking like I should be. 

Week 19 -- Blood pressure good although low for me.  I'm dizzy a lot.  What's new?

Week 20 -- The baby kicks Ethan's hand!  

Movement felt & seen from the outside! Magic!

Week 21 -- Found out that we are having a baby BOY!!!!

And now we move onto monthly/every few weeks fruit updates. :)

22 Weeks!

Yeah, I've neglected my blog.  Oh well.  More important things to do.  Who knows if I'll actually keep it up to date from here on out.  But I suppose there are a few things that I want to post.

Starting with...

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day.

So far, so good

Today I'm 7DPO (seven days past ovulation).  I almost missed ovulation entirely, because it was so early (compared to what I think is normal for me).

I'm actually doing OK.  Not spending a lot of time looking at pregnancy charts or other charts like mine.  Not obsessing over each and every detail of how I feel (pregnancy or period symptoms). 

I did have a bit of a freak out Monday.  I felt like I should have been ovulating, but my physical signs were saying infertile myrtle.

Thankfully, I have a good friend that can look at my chart and see things I don't see.  Like my ovulation & temp rise after CD 13. 

So, maybe it helped that I all of a sudden was 3-4 days after ovulation without realizing it.

Either way, I'm just trying to stay a little bit more sane this month/cycle.  So far, so good.

Conversations with Ethan & Emma

Wednesday night while we were driving to get something to eat, Ian decided to tell our kids that we were going to have another kid.  He asked them what they thought of that and Ethan said "That would be preeeetty cool."

Then Ian went inside to get our dinner (Cafe Rio, um, of course) and Ethan and Emma started asking me all kinds of questions.  Here is how it went down.


Ethan:  Is the baby in your tummy yet? 

Me: No, not yet.  Hopefully soon.

Ethan:  Is it going to get in there today?

Me:  No, probably not today, but hopefully soon. 

Ethan:  When?

Me:  Soon!   I promise I'll tell you when it in there.  But it will be a while, but I promise I'll tell you. And I'm thinking:  please don't ask how it gets in there, I'm so not ready for this.

Ethan: I want it to be a brother.


Emma:  I want it to be a sister.


Me: Well we don't get to choose. Please hear that.  We don't get to choose. It might be a boy, it might be a girl.  We don't get to choose.   And we won't know until it comes out and we can see the baby.


Ethan:  Are you going to go to the doctor to help get it out?

Me:  Probably not.  Miss Laura is going to help get the baby out at our house. 

Emma:  When we go to Grandma Candy's house when its summer, is it going to be ready?

Me:  You mean ready to come out? 

Emma nods.

Me: No, honey it won't be ready in the summer.  And I don't want the baby to come out at Grandma Candy's house.  I want the baby to come out at our house.

Ethan:  Why?

Me: Because I want to be comfortable, I'm not that comfortable at Grandma Candy's house.  Why do you want the baby to come out at Grandma Candy's house?

Emma:  So she can see the baby.

Me:  Oh!  Well she can come to our house. 

There was a pause here, I thought maybe the conversation was over.  Until.....

Ethan:  Are you going to wear clothes when the baby comes out?

Me:  I don't know, I guess I haven't really thought about it.

Another pause.

Ethan:  Are you going to be NAKED?!?!?!   Begin the 5 year old boy giggles here

Me:  Um, well yes, most likely, I suppose. 

Ethan... more giggles and more giggles and never ending giggles. 


Leave it to my son to be completely unfazed by the entire conversation, except the part about me being naked.  Love that kid.

The waiting...

We've never tried to conceive before.

Yes, we have two kids.  Essentially, they were both spur of the moment, I'm not on birth control, but maybe we should have a baby/or another baby, so let's get busy anyway, babies.

Even my last pregnancy, that ended in miscarriage, was this way in some sense. 

I've never looked for signs of ovulation with any real interest.  I've never taken my basal body temperature for more than about 3 days in a row.  I've never ever waited on pins and needles to take a pregnancy test.  All three positive pregnancy tests in my short adult life have typically been.  Hmm... aunt flow isn't here, maybe I'm pregnant. I suppose I should test.  Bam.

So, as you might imagine, after only two short months of actually TRYING to make another beautiful child... I'm ready to run for the hills.

The constant cervical checks.  The temping.  Yes, I've been temping.  Yes, every.single.morning my alarm goes off and I reach for the snooze, and pick up the thermometer on the way.  Then what happens?  I log into Fertility Friend and put in my temp. Which leads me to spending at least about 30 minutes browsing through "charts like mine".  Hoping to find some evidence in my temps that I'm pregnant.

I'm going insane.  I've been waiting on pins and needles to test for days.  Knowing that 6 days past ovulation was too early.  Seriously though, it was all I could think of. Now at 12 days - I'm just waiting for my period as my pregnancy test was stark-white-negative.

Add that to the near constant thought of every symptom under the sun of early pregnancy and whether they apply to me at that given moment.  Its exhausting.  My breasts hurt, am I peeing a lot??.... Hmm I'm really tired and on and on and on.

The roller coaster of TTC is absolutely and completely effin' ridiculous. I just can't help thinking --- its not supposed to BE like this.

Its not supposed to be a stressful journey.  In fact, I don't want to look back on conception and remember that it was more of a I'm-ovulating-so-jump-on than a I-love-my-husband kind of night.

A month ago, I was convinced that I would just let things happen.  Then Aunt Flow showed up and was awfully mean. And I was sad and let down..... and I started thinking that whatever I did - the ends would justify the means.

And after temping and charting and checking my cervical mucus - I'm not convinced that the ends will justify the means. I'm not convinced at all.  Yet, I went through all that trouble and heartache and insanity.  All that obsession. For nothing.

I don't know what my plan is for next cycle/month.  I'm pretty sure that it won't include fertilityfriend.com  I'm pretty sure it won't include temping.  I just don't know.  More to come, I'm sure.  There is more to think about.