40 weeks ;)

Before (39 weeks) and After (40 weeks) 

10/27/2013 and 11/4/2013 

39 weeks

10/27/2013 - 39 weeks and 1 day

39 weeks and 1 day.  10/27/2013

Ready to meet baby sister

How I Look -  Baby got front and more front!  However my hubby says from the back you can't tell I'm pregnant at all.  :fistpump:  :)

Weight :  +30.5 lbs.  

How I Feel - Overall uncomfortable, same ol' same ol'.  

Symptoms - Belly pressure, swelling feet/hands and hand numbness.  Still no contractions.  Lots of potty breaks throughout the night.

Cravings - Popsicles. 

Exercise - None

What I'm Looking Forward To - Heading to the hospital Monday morning.  I'm super excited!!  We get to meet our baby girl tomorrow.  ;)  

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Recovery and getting back on my feet after surgery.

Odds & Ends - Everything is ready to go.  We even have Ry's gift from Carsyn ready when he meets her for the very first time.  Tomorrow everything changes, again.  Now we'll have two littles under 3 yrs old.  It'll be interesting adjusting to the new family dynamic.  Here's to new adventures and even more love than I could have imagined!

38 weeks

10/23/2013 - 38 weeks and 4 days

38 weeks and 3 days. 10/22/2013

How I Look -  I look like I have 40 weeks worth of belly going on here!  Clothes, mainly pants, are uncomfortable.  I prefer to be in sweat shorts or sweat pants and tank tops.  I can't wear any of my shoes except for flip flops.  I finally broke down and wore my husbands tennis shoes this past week, however my ankles swelled like crazy above my sock line.

Weight :  +28 lbs.  

How I Feel - Baby girl has been kicking like crazy at night.  At one point I really thought she was going to burst out of my belly with all her ninja kicks and punches.  The hand numbness has become worse, but at least I'm at the tail end of this pregnancy!  Feet and hands are still swollen and I feel like a pressure cooker about to go off.  At this point in my pregnancy with Ry I was still wearing my wedding ring, wow, I gave up wearing any jewelry really early this time around due to all the swelling (like week 20 or something!).  I'm also feeling anxious and excited and so so ready to meet our baby girl!

Symptoms - Pressure, swelling and hand numbness.  Where are the contractions!?!?!?

Cravings - Indoor smores, milk, Cheetos, popsicles. 

Exercise - Nonexistent.  Just chasing Ry around and taking him to the park.

What I'm Looking Forward To - I'm super antsy for Monday, this week can not go by fast enough!  Oh and Thursday is my last day of work, woohoo!  I'm taking a vacation day on Friday and then heading to the hospital early Monday morning to meet our baby girl!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - If my water breaks at work....but at this point I'm guessing that won't happen at all.  I think my body is gonna hold in this baby until D-day!

Odds & Ends - I keep dreaming that my water breaks and we head off to the hospital early.  Guess that's just wishful dreaming.  ;)  I also keep finding more and more things to do at the house before baby comes.  Last night I remembered that I still hadn't printed off any of my maternity pictures to hang up!  Bad mommy.  

My last doctors appointment went well.  Baby girl is measuring between 7.5-8 lbs and had a heartbeat of 141 bpm.  We went over the events of my c-section for Monday and then I was on my way.  Only 5 days left!

36 weeks

10/9/2013 - 36 weeks and 4 days 

36 weeks and 2 days. 10/7/2013

How I Look -  HUGE.  My belly really sticks out, I forget how big I am until I see my profile.

Weight :  +27 lbs.  

How I Feel - Feet and hands the same.  My finger tips are always numb and I'm very stiff when I get up after sitting for a while.  Plus now my feet tingle sometimes, strange new sensation.

Symptoms - Feeling tons of pressure and uncomfortable tightness.

Cravings - Fruits, sweets, milk & chocolate milk, and popsicles (don't tell Ry!).

Exercise - What exercise?  I did squeeze in a TON of walking this weekend when we went to San Antonio for a babymoon.  ;)

What I'm Looking Forward To - 3 more weeks and time away from work.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - All the last minute stuff I still need to do before baby arrives!

Odds & Ends - My Dr's appointment this week was fairly boring.  Baby is great, heartbeat is 142 bpm, my Group B strep culture was negative and there was no change in dilation or anything.  That's right, still holding steady from last week.  My guess is baby girl is gonna stick it out until D-day.  And yes, I still need to pack my hospital bag.  :P

This past weekend we went to San Antonio for a babymoon.  We mostly stuck to the river walk and places within driving distance as it was hard on me to walk long distances.  We hit up several eateries and bars on the river walk, checked out Pearl and the farmer's market and even ate dinner at the restaurant where my hubby proposed.  All in all a great weekend.

Remember the Alamo!

Pearl brew house and farmer's market

Dinner at Aldo's

Drinks on the river walk, mine's a virgin of course ;)

32 weeks

9/11/2013 - 32 weeks and 4 days 

32 weeks and 3 days. 9/10/2013

How I Look -  I think the same.  I've had a few more people tell me this week how great I look, that I don't look like I'm as far along as I really am.  Go me!  ;)

Weight :  +19.5 lbs.  I gained 31 lbs with Ryland...which means I will at least put on another 11 lbs if not more!  

How I Feel -  The same as last week.  My hands are numb ALL the time.  My belly feels super tight and pressurized, I really don't know how my belly can get any bigger without exploding!

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my hands and swelling in my feet.  My stomach is crowded by growing baby girl and I feel really uncomfortable after eating a large meal (I read I should now eat 6 small meals a day).  The pressure also causes way more bathroom breaks.  I've also noticed my hands and belly are itchy (apparently this is normal).

Cravings - Cheetos

Exercise - Hit the gym twice this week.  

What I'm Looking Forward To -   Week 39, only 7 more weeks to go!  Also my baby shower is only 11 days away!  I love Friday's now since I have them off, which gives me plenty of time to catch up on sleep with afternoon naps!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Stretch marks and hand pain.

Odds & Ends -  Baby girl now has toenails, fingernails and hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz)!  She also really likes to kick the right side of my body and she's constantly moving.  I have another Dr's appointment tomorrow as I'm now checking in every 2 weeks.  Apparently I might have another ultrasound too!  Perhaps I'll be able to see how much hair she has on her head.  :)

Now onto my unusual sleeping positions.  I've noticed my hands go numb when they are parallel with the ground or angled upward, so I have to try and sleep propped up.  There's been quite a few times I've had to switch to the couch so that I can sleep sitting up, with a pillow on either side of my body to rest my arms/hands on.  I really miss sleeping on my stomach and even my side.  

28 weeks

8/14/2013 - 28 weeks and 4 days 
Hello 3rd trimester!

8/13/2013

How I Look -  Pregnant.  Baby girl is really sticking herself out there!

Weight :  +14.5 lbs.  

How I Feel - Experiencing painful numbness in my right arm and hand.  I did some research and it sounds like I might have pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome.  It's worse at night, I'll wake up after midnight with pain in my hand and upper arm and all I can do to lessen it is walk around and try to shake it out until it subsides.  The symptoms occur every hour or so after midnight.  I haven't been able to find a sleeping position to avoid the affliction, therefore the past 2 weeks I haven't been sleeping very much.  :(  I read that wrist splints or braces can help so I guess I'll have to invest in one of those to get some sleep.  This is SO NOT FUN.  

Symptoms -  My hands swell when I go outside in this TX heat, occasional lower back aches, overall belly tightness and increased trips to the bathroom.  I'm definitely more uncomfortable this second time around.

Cravings - Ice cream, fruit and chocolate.

Exercise - I'm hoping to work out more this week.  I only made it to the gym once last week.  However after today's workout I'm losing motivation. 

What I'm Looking Forward To -  I can't wait to see our maternity photos!!  A friend of ours, who's a photographer, offered to take them for us for free.  Our session was this past Sunday and he showed me a couple pictures from his camera and they looked great!  Also praying these next 12 weeks go by fast.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - This hand/arm numbness every night, it's so painful!  Generally feeling more and more uncomfortable.

Odds & Ends -  I passed the glucose test, woohoo!  However my blood work showed that I'm anemic and need to take iron supplements (the exact same situation as when I was pregnant with Ry).  Unfortunately my thyroid came back abnormal again as well, so I'll have another blood workup in a month.  I also booked melissa q for our newborn photos in Nov, we used her for Ry's session as well.

My dad was deeply concerned over my well being after hearing about my arm numbness so he went out of his way to buy me this new pillow!  I also bought a wrist brace and tried them out last night.  So far it's working!  Instead of waking up at midnight and every hour after that, I made it until 3 am and only woke up twice with slight tingling/numbness.  I'm hoping it only gets better and soon I'll be able to sleep through the night again (barring any bathroom breaks of course).

***Update 8/16***

Dr confirmed I do have carpal tunnel syndrome.  Not much I can really do about it, she did recommend physical therapy to help so I'll need to set that up.  My iron count is so low I need to take supplements 2x's a day!  On the test I scored a 9.5 and they don't want you to drop below 11.  Yikes!  And it looks like baby girl will debut 10/28 (via c-section)!  Her vitals are great, moving all the time and heart beat was 143 bpm.

24 weeks

7/17/2013 - 24 weeks and 4 days 

7/16/2013

How I Look -  I saw my profile in the gym mirror...wowza, I'm huge and barely halfway through this pregnancy!  

Weight :  +9.5 lbs. 

How I Feel - Great.  I've even been sleeping better this week (no numb limbs).

Symptoms -  I was reading some symptoms of preterm labor, hmmmm, I have a couple of them.  However I'm not having any contractions so I think it's just normal pregnancy symptoms.  

Cravings - Baked goods, chocolate and fruit.  Bacon is still a no go and recently sausage doesn't sound very appealing.

Exercise -  I normally work out during lunch but this week has been very busy.  So far I've made it to the gym once.  When I miss the gym I usually walk in the evenings, but it's been raining all week!  So I guess I get to take it easy.  :)

What I'm Looking Forward To -  Painting the nursery in 2 weeks!  We have found 2-3 paint colors that work perfectly for the nursery and coordinate with the bedding.  Now to figure out how to paint it; should we do all 4 walls the same, put in a chair rail with a darker color below and a lighter one above, 3 walls the same and 1 accent wall, paint the inside of the closet???  

light: valspar Iris Blossom 

medium: valspar Purple Hills 

dark: valspar Purple Valley

nojo beautiful butterfly

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Not being able to bend over and pick things up.  It's getting harder and harder and more uncomfortable every time I try.

Odds & Ends -  I had my 24 week Dr's appointment today, just a normal checkup.  Baby is measuring slightly bigger than normal and her heartbeat was around 130 bpm.  They did give me the glucose drink for next time (28 weeks) and a lab sheet for more blood work to check my thyroid.  I loved the orange drink with Ry, so hopefully my taste buds haven't changed.  I'll also be able to register for the hospital at week 28.  Baby girl is super active and squirmy.  I feel her moving all the time.

20 weeks - half way there!

6/19/2013 - 20 weeks and 4 days 

6/18/2013

How I Look - I had to move our scale back from the bathroom wall because I couldn't stand on it, that's how much my belly is protruding.

Weight :  +2.5 lbs.   

How I Feel - Pretty good.  My upper back has been sore lately, probably because of the way I'm sleeping at night.  I really should break out some extra pillows to snuggle and for support.

Symptoms -  No swelling, no leg cramps, no heartburn.  I did have a headache one night this past week but that's about it, Tylenol is a life saver!

Cravings - Nothing in particular.  Really liking soup.

Exercise - We went on a family vacation to South Padre Island so I didn't work out at all from Wed-Sun.  I did fit in some cycling and elliptical on Mon & Tues this week.

What I'm Looking Forward To -  Vacationing in South Padre Island with friends and family was great.  We had an awesome condo on the beach, they even had a pool.  While in SPI we explored Gladys Porter Zoo and saw tons of baby animals, went on a Sunset Fireworks Cruise that included dolphin sightings and the opportunity to hold sea stars, sea slugs and a butterfly ray (Ry loved the sea star), and on our last day we visited the Sea Turtle Rescue Center which was really interesting and Ry went gaga over the turtles.  You can find pictures and more info on our trip on my TypicalTina blog.

I finally felt my baby girl move while we were on vacation!  We were on the fireworks cruise when I felt a soft kick.  I almost missed it.  Luckily she did it again to let me know I wasn't imagining anything.

Odds & Ends -  Today was another important doctors appointment and the anatomy ultrasound!!!  The ultrasound double confirmed my MaterniT21 results, definitely a girl.  :)   Baby girl looks great, she has all her fingers and toes, her heartbeat was 150 bpm and she weighs about 14 oz.  The Dr said she's right on track, but everything I've looked up online says the baby should be around 10 oz.  Of course she was active and not cooperative when trying to take pictures, she liked to give us her back (nice spine!).  However the tech managed to snag a nice 4D profile shot.  Next appointment will be in 4 weeks.

For the 2nd time I've had to give blood to check my thyroid.  For some reason it raises a flag on the first screening, then they deep dive it and the results are in range.  They said it's nothing to be concerned about but they'll keep on monitoring it.  I'll have another test in my 3rd tri just to be safe.

4D picture of our little girl - 6/19/2013

profile, sorta

16 weeks

5/22/2013 - 16 weeks and 4 days

5/22/2013

How I Look - The same.  Check out the cute bump shot with Ry!

Weight:  -1.5 lbs. 

How I Feel - Great!

Symptoms - Haven't noticed anything this week.  Feeling normal.

Cravings - I don't think I had any cravings this week...cookie dough?  Although I can't have that, sigh.

Exercise - Ran the Deutschen Pfest 5K on Sunday and came in under 30 mins (which was my goal).  Yay!  I'm still going to the gym when I can and I did run on Wed.  It is getting harder for me to run.  I'm having to stop & stretch and catch my breath every mile.

What I'm Looking Forward To - Feeling my baby move!  It should be happening soon, the Dr said I should feel it earlier as it's my 2nd time around.

Odds & Ends -  Baby girl is doing well.  I had my 16 week checkup and her heartbeat is a strong 152 bpm.  The Dr did note that I seemed to have lost weight, and wanted to make sure I was eating.  Oh yeah I'm eating...sometimes I even have 2 dinners at night!  The Dr also gave me a copy of my MaterniT21 report.  It was only a page so there wasn't much info on it (I'm guessing because everything was negative), but it did say the test results have a 99.4% accuracy and 99.0-99.6% confidence interval.  I found it interesting that for gender it tested for a Y chromosome, which after I thought about it made sense.  Here's hoping that test really is accurate or I'll feel silly telling people the wrong thing.  Guess I'll find out for sure at my next visit, which will be the anatomy ultrasound at 20 weeks!  I also started looking at nursery themes and bedding.  I'm really loving purple & grey with pops of teal.  

13 weeks

5/1/2013 - 13 weeks and 4 days

How I Look - The same as last week.  My running friend J told me I'm showing now.  Running clothes show everything!  :P  I have noticed that I've started affectionately rubbing my growing belly.

4/27/2013 - 13 weeks exactly

Weight:  -4 lbs.  Go fig, eating two dinners at night I thought would have had a different result.

How I Feel - Still nauseous from time to time, usually in the evenings.  

Symptoms - Tired, some headaches and dizziness, nausea, super hungry in the evenings.

Cravings - Fruit, veggies, mac n cheese and Cheetos.  I do want candy and chocolate, but my body won't let me eat much of it, makes me feel sick.

Exercise - Running 2x's a week and then cycling on the off days, occasional weights.  This week was a good week.

What I'm Looking Forward To - No word yet from the Dr about my test.  I'm hoping to hear something by Friday.

40 weeks - official end of pregnancy...

40 weeks!  I honestly didn't think I'd make it all the way, I really thought baby would come earlier. Guess he didn't get the memo and prefers to be fashionably late.  I read about half of all pregnancies go past the 40 week mark.  Ugh!

I head off to my last weekly Dr appointment this morning.  Finger's crossed for some progress!

How I Look - 40 weeks worth of belly!  Sometimes I see a body part (most likely a foot) sticking out on the right side, it really freaked Malek out last night.  My belly is all kinds of distorted when baby moves around, like its doing the wave or in an earthquake.

How I Feel -  Belly is super tender/sore.  There's no more room in there for you little guy!  You need to exit the premises. 

Weight -   +31.5 lbs  

Symptoms -  Where are the contractions?  I haven't felt anything besides the baby moving and some slight discomfort/pressure in the pelvic region.  

Cravings -  Ice cream and crawfish!  I'm trying to fit in as much crawfish as possible before I'm house bound.

Exercise -  I'm up to 2 walks a day and still no labor activity!  Wed night I tried jumping around and squatting on the ground (knees to chest/ears).  That didn't last very long as it was super uncomfortable. 

What I'm Looking Forward To -  When I can actually go to the hospital (any day now right!?!?!), get an epidural and meet my little guy!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  It was labor but now I just want this pregnancy done, bring it on!

Odds and Ends - My parents arrive this Saturday to help out around the house and meet their grandson.  I bet baby forces me (us) to wait all weekend before making his grand appearance.  No matter what, this kid will be here by Monday!

Birthing Mantras I ran across this week: 

• Courage, faith and patience.  (Yeah right, I'm sooooo impatient!  :P)
• I am ready and prepared for this.  (Is anyone truly prepared?)
• Believing makes it happen.  (I really like this one, but here I am at 40 weeks and no baby yet, this also leads into the next one...)
• I am in complete control of what is going on around me (seriously? even my friends and family would roll their eyes at me on this ones)
• I see myself handling everything beautifully (ha! I'm a spaz)
• I deserve this birth!  (Hellz yeah!)
• Relax  (me? high strung? nah)

Yup, this is what you get at 40 weeks, me dressed to the nines!  :Þ

Comfy clothes, no makeup, barefoot. 



40 weeks - 4/15/2011



 

39 weeks

How I Look - The same as last week, I'm all belly. 
How I Feel -  Anxious, nervous, excited, tired...READY!! 

Weight -   +30.5 lbs  

Symptoms -  My lower back has not bothered me this week.  Yay!  Still waking up every 2 hours at night to pee.  Boo!  Belly feels tight all the time.  I have not noticed any contractions.  ** sigh **.  The bottoms of my feet hurt when I stand or walk around too much.

Cravings -  Ice cream
Exercise -  Walks and a few other extra curricular activities to try and get the baby moving.  ;)

What I'm Looking Forward To - Only 1 week to go and then it's HELLO BABY!!!  I wonder what you will look like?  Super excited to finally see your face.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  Labor, it sounds kinda scary.  I think it's the pushing part I'm wary of.

Odds and Ends - Dr appointment went well this morning, almost 3 cm dilated, BP good, baby's heartbeat is 156.  I will be working remote next week in anticipation of our little one.  No reason for me to be driving if I could go into labor at any moment.  Wed night I made these labor-inducing lemon cupcakes that were in the news...so far nothing.  :(  Maybe I used the wrong recipe?  I did make them with real lemon juice and lemon zest, which the article hints to as being the reason they work.  Oh well, baby will come when he's ready.

Let's get this show on the road!  :)  It could be any day now...any day...

39 weeks - 4/8/2011



38 weeks

How I Look - Belly is all I see (and feel)!  I'm starting not to care about what I'm wearing.  It's mainly jeans and a short sleeved shirt and tennis shoes at work.  Then at home I lounge around in sweat shorts and my hubby's shirts.

How I Feel -  Pelvic pressure, uncomfortable, stretched....so ready for this to be over. 
Weight -   +29 lbs  

Symptoms -  Slight swelling in my fingers, usually when I'm outside.  I like to think it's because it's getting warmer now (we are in TX and it is HOT here), but more likely its due to pregnancy.  :Þ  I can still wear my wedding ring, however it has become more noticeably snug.  I probably should stop wearing rings all together.  The past couple of days I've had a pinched nerve in my lower back, it gets me when I turn funny or bend over too fast.  I'm also waking up every 2 hours at night to pee....how annoying.  Guess that's my body's way to prepare me for nursing and checking on the baby at night.

Cravings -  Ice cream and Haribo gummy bears. 

Exercise -  Evening walks with the doggies and hubby.

What I'm Looking Forward To - Being done with this pregnancy and moving onto the next stage - meeting my baby! 
What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  Labor and if my water breaks at work or in bed or anywhere for that matter.  I'm sleeping on a towel at night because I'm worried that my water will break while in bed and ruin the mattress. 

Odds and Ends - I'm still 2 cm dilated.  My Dr told me on Thursday that 'it could be any day now.  Based on that and the fact that I only have 2 weeks left, I will start working from home more often.  Heck I just had a co-worker tell me to just stay at home the last 1.5 weeks, that it's not worth the risk of something happening while I'm driving to work.  I keep hitting things with my belly because I'm not allowing myself enough room.  :/  Apparently from week 38 and on my belly size should remain pretty constant.  Whew!  I really hope I don't stretch anymore...I can't imagine getting any bigger!  I also wonder what color my baby's eyes will be...I'm very curious if he'll get/keep my blue eyes or have my hubby's chocolate brown eyes.

Hurry up baby!  All your organs are ready for life outside the womb, don't force me to evict you.  ;)  We're ready to meet you!



38 weeks - 4/1/2011

 



37 weeks - Full Term!

How I Look - Belly is large and in charge!

How I Feel -  I've been fairly uncomfortable the past 2 weeks, everyone has told me the last month is the toughest.  I don't like bending over and it's extremely hard to get up off the couch.  Also the occasional lower back aches have returned.  :(  Other than that I'm just peachy. 

Weight -   +28.5 lbs overall. 

Symptoms -  Lots of pressure in my pelvic area and overall belly.  Surprisingly this kid is kicking a lot despite running out of room.  Heck my belly overall is sore and uncomfortable.

Cravings -  Ice cream!  The past week and a half I've eaten ice cream almost every day.  And I'm still loving pears.

Exercise -  Walking and the energy I exert trying to get up off that darn couch.

What I'm Looking Forward To -  Having this whole pregnancy done and over with!  This kid is cooked and so am I.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  Dreading a long labor.....fingers crossed for a short one.

Odds and Ends - This weekend we were supposed to go on our babymoon/anniversary trip to San Antonio, however a little thing called March Madness got in the way.  All the hotels were booked for the entire weekend due to the Fri and Sun games at the Alamodome, plus there was no way we wanted to be in the middle of all that mayhem.  So alas we will stay home this weekend and enjoy a nice dinner out for our 1 year anniversary.  I also ordered us a 1 year anniversary cake from the same lady who made our wedding cake.  :)  On Thursday I went to a Mamacents VIP (very important preggers) sale with Amanda.  I scored tons of sleepers and a cool exersaucer/walker, even picked up a swim suit for the little tike.  ;)  I had my third ultrasound this morning followed by my Dr's appointment.  Baby is healthy and in the 50th percentile.  Right now he weighs 6lbs 11 oz and is on track to be a 7.5-8lb baby (or so the Dr says).  Amanda says I won't make it 3 weeks and if I did the baby would be 10 lbs!  All his vitals were great, he's head down and right on track.  I'm still 2 cm and 50% effaced, no change there.  My Group B strep culture was negative, so no antibiotics needed.  :)  I'm so ready for the weekend!



37 weeks!!  3/25/2011