34 Weeks!!

How far along? 34 Weeks, 8 1/2 months!!

Baby's size and stats? Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. Info taken from pregnancy.com

Gain? 22 lbs as of Monday, thats not too bad, right?

Maternity clothes? Really depends still, I can fit in my jeans still with the Belly Band, and my longer shirts, though I do have a pair of maternity jeans and quite a few maternity tops.

Sleep? It's still all over the place. Though the last few nights I've taken benadryl to help with my cold and it's helped me sleep through the night.

Foods I am loving? Same as always chocolate! Sandwiches, pizza.

Foods I am hating? Same, greasy stuff, meat.

Best moment this week? Having the Doc say that we only need to keep her in for 3 more weeks! That's not much longer! Also my Grandma stopped by and gave me one of the cute blankets she has made for Abigail.

Movement? All the time. Little movements are definitely much larger feeling now. Even just a little shift of her leg or arm and it feels huge!

Symptoms? 1. Nausea, yes its back. .
2. Contractions every day, oh and braxton hicks in between.
3. Headaches, back aches, pretty much the whole body aches.

4. Cravings.

5. Stretch marks! ICK!!!!

Gender? A GIRL!!!

What I'm looking forward to? Baby Shower Feb 5th and one the 17th!

Milestones: Making it to 34 weeks! It's been a long 4 weeks of Bed Rest but making it this far really does keep me motivated to keeping her in as long as possible!

F

F

Failure. When you try and try without success it definitely makes you feel like a failure. After finding out that everything was fine with Skyler (which we knew deep down he was fine), it hit even harder that I was the reason we were failing. Which I know now was added stress and stress helped add to the failing. Through out the whole thing Skyler was always supportive and never made me feel like a failure. In fact he was always telling me the opposite, that we were one month closer to our goal.

Finding out. Finding out we were pregnant was amazing, unreal. I still remember the feeling, and even now I wake up with that same feeling. That feeling like, wow this has to be a dream. I still remember every detail of that day and I know I won't ever forget it.

Father. I know that Skyler will be the best father. Even now he talks to Abigail, and tells her everything we've done, everything we've gotten for her. I'm so glad that he strives to succeed at work, school and in church, to make sure that our life together as a family, and him as a father, are where they should be.

E

E

Eighteen Months. It took us 18 months of trying to finally get a positive. Eighteen, negatives. Eighteen months of wondering and heart break.

Early Eviction. I'll just let ya see this post...Early Eviction

Eight months. We were married on our 8 month dating anniversary. It was crazy to think that 8 months before we hadn't known each other at all. The last 8 months of this pregnancy have been very hectic, especially the two weeks prior to month 8. It's been wonderful to have such a supportive husband.

D

D

Depo shot. I'd also call this the devil's shot. This is where all our problems started. I would never recommend this to anyone. The side effects are weight gain, skin reactions, depression, nervousness, change in sex drive, hair loss... and blah blah blah. I wish I would have done some more research on it right away, just thought it was fine. I trusted my doctor.

Doctor/Davis Hospital. I absolutely love my OB, he is the OB that found cervical cancer in my sister, and he also did the surgery to remove it. He is so kind and I love that his office is within walking distance of the hospital. It's right across the street.

Dating. Skyler and I didn't date for very long before getting engaged (less than 4 months) and so our dating phase lasted up through the beginning of our marriage. We met the Friday after Thanksgiving 2007, became a couple Dec 16 2007. And right away talked marriage and life. It was amazing.

33 Week Dr Appointment

Just a quick update!! Had my 33 week appointment yesterday, everything looks great! I only have to take the pills to stop the contractions till 37 weeks! I can't wait! That's not too much longer only like 3 weeks left! She could be here anytime after that! I can't wait!

C

C

Confused. The whole time we were TTC we were so confused as to what was going on. We didn't know what we were supposed to ask, supposed to be looking for. We did try charting for a bit though, and that was fun, getting up to check temps and what not. Glad that phase didn't last too long.

Crib & Contractions. I was so happy we found the crib set we did. I'll have to take pictures and post them of the nursery soon. I just have a few more things to do before it's presentable. I realized today that I've had contractions before the whole L&D event. I can't exactly remember when they started though, maybe a month before? Just a few weeks? But anyway I know they were there before just never thought anything of them, they weren't bad like they are now. Speaking of contractions I only have to take the pills for 3 more weeks.

Creative. I'd like to say my husband and I are pretty creative, when it comes to our imaginations. We can sit down and talk for hours about random stuff, and describe it in full detail. It's nice having someone to be like that with.

B

B

Birth control. Scares the heck out of me now. My doctor told me the Depot Shot was perfect for me & Skyler, and that I could take it and just let her know when we wanted to get pregnant and it was a done deal. Here's another B word-- b!tch. I guess lying b!tch would be better. After 3 shots luckily we were ready to start trying. I'm now very uneasy about BC after we have this baby.

Birth. I have had my mind set since we started TTC how the birth of this little one would go. Skyler & I will make our way to the hospital, we may (still deciding on this) text just our moms and let them know, and when we have her we'll send out a text, and grandmas & grandpas only will be allowed to visit in the hospital when I'm ready for them to, and everyone else will get to see her when we are at home and rested and ready to see guests. Oh and Skyler will be the other non-medical person in the room with me the whole time.

Best friends. Skyler is my best friend. I don't have any girl friends I could just call up and chat with, so I call him. If we're upset with each other there isn't anyone to call, we just talk about it. We're buddies, and its wonderful.

ABC's

I've decided that I need more things to talk about on this blog. So I decided to use the ABC's, that should give me at least 26 posts, and who knows maybe I'll find a burst of creativity and get more out of it. Anyway I decided that with each letter I'll write something that has to do with our TTC history, Abigail (and this pregnancy) and Skyler & I as a couple. So hopefully 3 things, we'll see how this goes.

A

Adoption. I'm not sure if I ever posted anything about this but Skyler & I were starting to look into adoption. We knew who we'd go with and how much it would cost, we also knew what it was that we would have to do to get there. I know we were only TTC for 18 months but we weren't getting answers, we had no idea what was going on. We wanted to be open to all options even if that meant raising a child that wasn't biologically ours.

A. Her name just came to me. I had never thought of this name before, then one day while I was driving to my mom's it popped into my head and it just seemed right. Since then I've never questioned her name. I know that's who she is.

August. Skyler & I were married August 16, 2008. It was our 8 month dating anniversary. We were going to originally get married August 9th but his sister in law said she wouldn't go because she had her high school reunion that weekend, and had her husband call and tell Skyler that. What a b!tch, right? Who tells someone something like that?! Oh well it worked out better for us.

33 Weeks!

How far along? 33 Weeks!

Baby's size? Baby weighs about 4½ pounds, as much as a grownup duck, and is approximately 17.5 inches long, about the same as a collarbone-length pearl necklace.

Weight Gain? Still 18lbs, find out the change on Monday.

Stretch marks? Yes :( These bastard things decided to show up. They are multiplying. I give up.

Belly button in or out? Still half way like always.

Sleep? I really don't care for this question much. I usually sleep between 3 & 4 hours then I'm up for at least an hour if not for the whole entire day. I'm also up to pee 3 or 4 or 5 times a night.

Foods I am loving? Raisin Bran, chocolate as always.

Foods I am hating? Heavy foods, greasy foods, fast food.

Best moment this week? Realizing that little miss has been held in for almost 3 weeks thanks to bed rest!

Movement? Yup, she's quite the mover, any fruit drink gets her wiggling around!

Symptoms? Everything? Just about I feel. Contractions, B Hicks, stretch marks, nausea, headaches, bloody noses, peeing all the time (due to bladder punches-- Thanks Abigail), nesting, bed rest....leaking boobs sometimes, cravings...

Gender? Girl :)

What I miss? I love being pregnant and don't miss anything! Though being stretch mark free is working its way onto this part.

What I will miss? Feeling her move, feeling her respond to sounds and foods.

What I'm looking forward to? Dr's appointment Monday morning, we'll see how that goes :)

Weekly Wisdom: Don't take simple things such as walking to the kitchen for granted.

Milestone: Making it 3 more weeks since the hospital visit, (I was only 30 weeks then).

Emotions: Still every where. The contractions are back, I've had to take quite a few Terbutaline pills this week to stop them and sometimes I wonder if they are going to stop at all.

Excited that we're getting so much closer to having her here and that she is getting closer to the full-term 37 week mark. The closer we get the better I feel about her showing up when she wants.

I'm curious to see what the Doc has to say on Monday, I wonder how long I'll have to keep taking these pills to keep the contractions away.

The big news this week is lung development—baby's respiratory system is almost completely mature. That means if your baby was born this week, odds are he'd be a healthy bouncing baby with a just a little help from his friends (aka, the NICU). Some of the specifics are:

Your baby can now detect light and tell the difference between night and day (of course that ability will miraculously disappear once he's born and up all night screaming). His pupils will constrict and dilate in response to light. If you shine a flashlight on your belly, your baby may shy away from the light as if to say, "Cut it out, Ma. You're soooo annoying."

The bones in your baby's skull are soft and are not yet fused together. In other words, now is not the time to teach him how to do a headspin while breakdancing. This pliability allows the bones to overlap; making that trip down the tight birth canal possible (and resulting in that surprising cone head look your baby will sport for the first few days post-birth. Don't worry, it's totally normal and that's what hats are for.)

Your baby will continue to pack on the pounds gaining around ½ pound a week from here on out.

Early Eviction?

I'm pretty sure Abigail is ready to join the family. I think she has made arrangements with her "home" my uterus for her to get an early eviction. Darned thing, I didn't think it would agree, but I feel as though it has. The contractions are back, today was unreal. I finally took a pill because I'd get 4 in an hour then it'd stop for a while then they'd come back a couple or just one here and there, finally after taking a pill -even though I'd rather not have to take pills like that, I hate knowing it makes her little heart race like it does mine-- her "home" has relaxed. Skyler has drill this weekend. Friday, Saturday & Sunday, meaning he works Monday, Wednesday & Thursday, I'm afraid that something might happen while he is gone -- though I will be able to call him and he will be able to get home w/in an hour at the most if needed--but I don't trust Abigail or her home lately, they are against me.

I also feel like I can't keep my bladder empty. I swear I pee all the time, but every time I swear it is bursting at the seams. I only have like 4 days and 12 hours till my next appointment, I wish I could say he'll take me off bed rest but with these things -meaning contractions-- still going on I don't see that happening. How long is this going to last?!

32 Week Update

How far along? 32 Weeks!! 8 months! Holy heck! Time is moving faster and faster.

Baby's size? Over 16 inches long and weighing in at over 3 pounds!

Weight Gain? Still 18lbs. Not too bad considering I've only gained ounces for 2 weeks worth of bed rest.

Stretch marks? Yes :( These bastard things decided to show up this last week after everything else that has been going on. I'm not sure why they even have. I hope they won't get too bad and hopefully they'll at least be not very noticeable after she is born.

Belly button in or out? Still half way like always.

Sleep? I really don't care for this question much. I usually sleep between 3 & 4 hours then I'm up for at least an hour if not for the whole entire day.

Foods I am loving? Raisin Bran, chocolate as always.

Foods I am hating? Heavy foods, greasy foods, fast food.

Best moment this week? Getting out of the house today and hubby letting me walk a bit in Target, I'm losing my mind being at home, the contractions come if I'm moving or not, hydrated or not, and empty bladder or not. I figure I deserve a chance to walk once in a while.

Movement? Yup, she's quite the mover. Last night at dinner I was drinking a strawberry lemonade, and it was tart, and every time I'd take a sip she'd jump!

Symptoms? Everything? Just about I feel. Contractions, B Hicks, stretch marks, nausea, headaches, bloody noses, peeing all the time (due to bladder punches-- Thanks Abigail), nesting, bed rest, bruises from shots (still!) that will help keep baby in....leaking boobs sometimes, cravings...

Gender? Girl :)

What I miss? I love being pregnant, but the last 11 days I've missed being able to do stuff.

What I will miss? Feeling her move, feeling her respond to sounds and foods.

What I'm looking forward to? Hopefully getting her name done, that's my goal for today... getting off bed rest? Making it another week.

Weekly Wisdom: Don't take simple things such as walking to the kitchen for granted.

Milestone: Making it 2 more weeks since the hospital visit, (I was only 30 weeks then), and making it to 8 months!

Emotions: All over the place as usual. I'm starting to lose it I'm sure.

This whole no sex thing is ridiculous, it's hard to remember it's dr's orders, it's bad enough feeling unattractive because of the stretch marks and such, but to get turned down is beating me up.

Also, I feel unprepared, so much was supposed to be done in her room by now, but I've been stuck in bed, so it feels like nothing is done. Though it's just decorations and extras now.

Excited, I'm so excited to meet her, we're hoping to hold her in till 37 weeks so only 5 more weeks and she'll be here. (I'm sure she'll be early, if contractions come just sitting here blogging they will most definitely come if I'm up walking the mall religiously, for hours.)

Nervous, I'm wondering if we'll even make it to 37 weeks, I don't know how long I can fight off these contractions. I also wonder how it's going to happen.

Thankful, I have so many wonderful people in my life to help me out, or who are willing to help.I'm also so thankful for this little girl.

Sad, I feel so lonely lately. I feel like i'm just there and everyone is together and happy. It's strange and hard to explain.

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Today.

I'm starting to post just to post. Just to kill time in my day, so my posts are most likely boring and uneventful. Hopefully they'll start to pick up after bed rest if that ever happens. Yesterday I had probably 20 contractions total. In 1 hour I had probably close to 6, took a pill, had 3 more then they disappeared. Had a few randoms here and there, then had quite a few again and had to take another pill later that night. I wasn't even doing anything. Same thing happened today, haven't had as many but I'll just be laying down relaxing, totally hydrated, not stressed, empty bladder and BAM! They start up. I don't get it anymore. They come if I do anything, but come if the situation is perfect (relaxed, hydrated, empty bladder). I don't know what to think anymore.

I am part of a wonderful ward, my Relief Society President stopped by Tuesday, with a counselor I think, and the Secretary calls me all the time, and people I don't remember ever meeting have brought me stuff. It's amazing. I feel so blessed. Any ideas on how to pass the time?

Mon & Tues

What a whirl wind this past week has been. Life has been thrown in every direction. My brother & nephew moving out, the contractions and other baby stuff, I got my hair cut into an a-line again, and my sister is pregnant again. Wait what?! My little 16 year old sister is pregnant? And again even?!

Yup that's the newest gossip amongst the family. You might remember this from this post or even this one briefly mentioned it. But last year we found my sister --then 15-- was pregnant, and she ended up having a miscarriage. Monday she texted my dad while my mom and I were at the hair place and said she was pregnant again. Seriously? All I wanted to do was laugh. I mean really? She'll be 17 in April, and her boyfriend will be 17 in September, after they think the baby is due.

I just can't believe any of this. I of course support her and want the best for her but my heck.

Anyway that's just one thing going on around here.

I had another Dr's appt yesterday, thankfully I didn't gain the zillion pounds I thought I would have because of all the treats people have been bringing me... hmmm...a person on bed rest needs healthy stuff like carrots, so they don't just lay around eating chocolate all day :) He said bed rest for 2 more weeks (till my next appt) and no sex for at least 3.... ummm excuse me doc? That's not fair. I'll lay in bed for months if I have to but no sex?! Whatever. He wants me to keep her in there till 37 weeks, which is only 5 1/2 weeks not too bad. I just wish the contractions would stop completely. I also wish we could get more internal exams just to see if they're doing anything at all. Guess I'll just get to wait it out :)

Hope everyone is doing well!

Specks...

I feel like I post too much now :) lol. Well at least i'm posting. Yesterday was pretty good, same as always, up at 3am didn't go back to bed till 11pm, had the usual hour of pretty bad contractions then they stop out of no where. Again, I wasn't stressed, dehydrated and my bladder wasn't full. Then later around 5:15 or so I felt a little crampy. Then about 5:20 I went pee and I saw a little speck. Hmmm maybe it was just from my pink underwear... so I check and this time more speck, and a 3rd and 4th time and even more specks, so I showed my mom, and called Skyler and I called L&D and the lady said it was normal. A couple more bathroom breaks and it was the same then stopped completely. But still felt crampy most of last night, and only a little this morning. So far only 1 contraction today that I was awake for, I know I was out cold last night so if any little ones came I didn't notice.

I just think its weird that I would spot and cramp 4 days after my exam. I already had a fair amount of stuff Wednesday early morning and a little brown that day once, so shouldn't it have stopped? I know it stopped now and that's all that matters, and I'll of course talk to the Doc about it but, its just so strange to me that it would wait 4 days! I've been up moving around the same amount every day, I stayed in bed more yesterday than any other day this week. I guess every little thing I'm starting to notice now. I know I'm worrying too much and noticing too much, but it's hard. It's hard just to let things go and say oh whatever. It's always like hmmm... wonder about that? and about that? and that?! Anyway, hope everyone is doing well.

31 weeks!!

How far along? 31 Weeks!!

Baby's size? Over 16 inches long and weighing in at over 3 pounds! As of Monday though she was weighing in at 2lbs 15 oz.

Weight Gain? 18 as of Monday :)

Stretch marks? Nope, thank goodness for that too.

Belly button in or out? It's still really all over the place :)

Sleep? sleep has absolutely sucked this week for the most part. After Tuesday night I've been waking up at about 2:30 every morning with contractions. Except for this morning, though I think my body was waiting for them to start.

Foods I am loving? Breakfast foods :)

Foods I am hating? Anything spicy, or greasy.

Best moment this week? Keeping Abigail in. Seeing her on Monday. It's been a crazy week.

Movement? Yes!

Symptoms? Less nausea, heart burn at the moment. Contractions, real ones, not the Braxton Hicks, lots of trips to the bathroom, heavy tummy. Sometimes leaking boobs.

Gender? A beautiful little girl!

What I miss? Nothing at all. Though I do miss not having to worry about contractions all the time. Anything I do, or don't do right brings them on.

What I will miss? Feeling her moving around. :)

What I'm looking forward to? Hopefully getting off bed rest this Tuesday, but thats only if the contractions go away completely. Hopefully Skyler let's me work on her name sign today.

Weekly Wisdom: Sleep when you're able, empty your bladder tons, drink tons of water.

Milestone: Having 9 weeks left!

Emotions: I'm all over the place, but whats new right? This week was very very hectic to say the least. I'm worried that my body wants little miss Abigail out a lot sooner then would be best for her. At each dr's appt this week I've heard a new excuse for the contractions, it seems like I said in my earlier post that he is just saying things to make me feel better.

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Yesterday's Appointment

So I had my 3rd OB appointment this week, yesterday. It was a quick one, it was his day off but he stopped in for me. I got my second steroid shot, so her lungs should be developing quite faster now, which I'm glad to know. I want to make sure if my body doesn't relax like it should and she is forced to be here sooner that we've given her a chance to get stronger. After the shot, good ol' Dr M came in.

He asked about the contractions, of course I was still having them at least every 2 hours, told him about waking up in the middle of the night with really bad ones, and his reason was a full bladder. Um really? I can't hold that much in there anymore, I pee ALL the time. I'm obviously relaxed, because they wake me out of a deep sleep! I'm not stressed over anything anymore, as soon as we had to go to L&D I stopped stressing immediately. I don't let anything bother me.

It feels like he is trying to make me feel better. Trying not to stress me out. He wants to keep her in for at least a few more weeks. If he thought so strongly that they would go away and she'd stay in till the end,why did I get the steroid shots? Why am I going in every 3 days for check ups? Why did I get such a large prescription of Terbutaline? 60 pills? I can only take them every 4 hours as needed. They'll last me forever! I'm not worried about any of this, I know Abigail will arrive when she is supposed to, and she will be healthy no matter when that is. I just noticed how he was acting and it was strange. It was different then he usually is. Maybe I'm just being weird because I have more time on my hands? I don't know.

Posting again?!

Yup, I'm at it again. I think this is the most I've posted ever. Though now that I'm stuck on bed rest, which from the looks of it might be the rest of this pregnancy (I'll get to that in a min) I have not much else to do but lay in bed and write. I loved to write when I was younger. Loved the feeling you get from writing it all out, no matter how mean and nasty it was or how useless and senseless it would seem to others. I still love to write, just sometimes don't know how to put things in a different perspective then the negative way I start to post it and let it spiral out of control.

This bed rest thing is hard and its only the start of day #2. I went until 8:27 without having a contraction last night, that was a whole 5 hours! But at the 5 hour mark my body decided it wanted to cause drama. The first contraction came then several small ones, crappy. But it started to slow, but whenever I sit up or stand up straight I get a nice crampy like feeling in the lower abdomen, (not contraction like but crampy more so--maybe it was contractions but they weren't like they were at the hospital so I was fine) well quarter to 10 I decided that it would be best to take the Terbutaline and relax my uterus. I know it started to work because my heart started to race and I'm sure my stomach started to relax a bit. Then I fell asleep. I woke up a bunch to move because down there still felt so sore, and right now as I'm reclined back in bed it doesn't hurt but if I stand up or sit up more than a reclining position it starts to hurt again.

I don't know what to think about any of this. My Dr. says he's sure she'll stay in, and that after a few days rest he'll be letting me do more, but I just don't know. If every time I stand up it gets really sore, not just baby is heavy pressure type sore it's different. And if contractions can come after me drinking so much water and staying in bed unless a pee break is needed and me not feeling stress at all the last couple days... can't they come if he slowly lets me do stuff again? If my body is sensitive now and me doing nearly anything causes at least one, won't being able to do more stuff bring them on? I kinda joked with Skyler that once the 37 week mark hits all I have to do is go take a walk around real fast and we'd have a baby! I'm not sure what to think. I've always thought she would come early, and with the dream from my grandma found under the emotion part of that post, I'm just not sure what to think anymore.

I'll lay in bed all day if that helps her stay in just a day longer, but it's definitely a hard one. Hope everyone is doing well :)

L&D Visit Part 2

I guess you could technically call this the "later that night and the follow up" but I figured if I post things before you'll probably want to be reminded of where this came from. I finally fell asleep Tuesday night after what seemed like forever of just laying there. Then 3:15 ish comes and I wake up to a horrible contraction... great. I get up and go to the bathroom and I'm hit with a bunch of brown discharge and the contractions continue, so I slowly make my way to bed and just sit there for 2 hours. Contractions off and on, slightly slowing so no L&D visit again for me, though Skyler was ready to leave at any time. Chatted with my cousin for an hour and finally fell back asleep. My mom called and made my follow up for me since she would be up and driving my sister to school right when the Dr.'s office would be back to answering their phones. Only had to wait till 1:30. Boy was it hard to stay in bed that time. The contractions were the same pain wise as last night, just further and further apart and a little shorter each time. I started needing help getting to the bathroom again. Poor Skyler. He surely was a trooper though. All I have to say is standing up takes it out of me. I can't do it without feeling a ton of pressure and feeling like I've been standing for days.

At my appointment, they said my blood pressure was good and that they found not even a trace of protein in my urine, so there wasn't enough to worry them or anything but it was there. The Dr. came in and said that the good news was that the medicine worked last night in L&D and that they didn't have to do very much to get them to stop. Bad news was they happened, so I have to be on bedrest till I see him on Friday morning. I also got that steroid shot to help her lungs and I'll get my next one Friday morning those burn too. I got a prescription for the Terbutaline so now I have 60 pills in case they start up again, I take one and wait an hour if they don't stop I get to head back to L&D. My Dr. also said they said I was just a little dehydrated when I went in, which was funny, because they told me the urine test came back perfectly fine. My mom says they're looking for anything to blame the contractions on. Who knows? As of right now I haven't had a contraction for 4 1/2 hours! YAY me! Though I still feel really crappy. Hopefully I wake up feeling better in the morning. As of now I'm sure this is all, but I know I'll be editing these over the next few days as I lay in bed...

Take care!

L & D visit Part 1

What an eventful night last night was. The last couple days have been pretty stressful to say the least, with my brother moving out and such. I don't know if a post will ever be made on that topic and there probably shouldn't be one. Anyway moving past that. At about 3 pm I started noticing braxton hicks, and they were coming quite often and hurt quite a bit but I kept wandering around Hobby Lobby, then Home Depot and even Wal-Mart with Skyler collecting stuff for Abigail's name sign thing (post hopefully soon about how that turns out!). Well Skyler was worried, but every time I say even the slightest thing is uncomfortable or I just don't feel way energetic he wants to take me to the hospital. So to comfort him and ease his mind I had him stop by my parent's on our way back from Wal-Mart. I asked my mom about them and she never had Braxton Hicks, well just then my dad and Skyler walk in and my dad says to go Insta-Care and get checked out, and that Matt's wife (his car pool buddy... she's 2 weeks ahead of me exactly) is there getting checked out now.

So my mom, sister Lori (16) Skyler and I make our way to Insta-Care, Skyler gave the guy my info as I made a quick bathroom trip and the wait started. First half an hour in the waiting room, to be met by the meanest most inconsiderate nurse, asking if I called my Dr.'s office first.. uh hello its 6 he's not in. That's why I'm there!! Then waited for Dr. Butt face for another 15 to have him rudely come in and tell me he can't hook me up to anything here, and to go across the street to L&D. Thank goodness it's seriously across the street. We made our way to L&D just to be told that Skyler had to go back downstairs to register me, which took half an hour! In that time I peed in a cup and had to have help from Lori to strip down. (TMI? I think so but it'll come back later into play and there will be all the more TMI spots later in this post but I want to write it all out) Finally a very sweet lady came in and hooked Abigail and I up to the monitors just as Skyler was walking in to the room.

I met my first nurse Julie, who was an absolute sweet heart, but who also had to do the FFN Test (Fetal Fibronectin) which consisted of TMI WARNING one of the ginormous q-tips being inserted dryly and left down there for 30 secs. If you get a negative test it can be ruled out that you'll go into labor within the next 2 weeks (of course this isn't always accurate, but what ever is?) A positive test is less predictive, it doesn't mean you'll go into labor, but it doesn't mean you won't. You don't exactly want a positive test at 30 weeks.

Next came the checking of the cervix. This was the first internal exam I've had since being pregnant. It wasn't too unpleasant during it but my cervix was definitely pissed this morning and things are still a little sore down there now. It was still high and closed, thank goodness.

At 7:05 I got the Terbutaline shot, which BURNS! The side effect of racing heart is definitely accurate. Abigail and I were both dealing with that. She also decided it was time to play and kick the monitors which makes a real loud noise. The urine test came back perfectly fine, thank goodness. It was nearly clear so I know I wasn't dehydrated. The contractions started to slow down for about 15 mins but kicked right back up again, (time for the nurses to change shifts so now we have nurse Carolyn.) so at 8:10 I got another, same thing happens. I also find out the FFN test comes back negative!! YAY! Though I have to start drinking as much water as I can or I'm threatened with an IV so I drank till my stomach was tired of water. I felt like I might barf from all of it, thankfully I didn't. I don't think the water helped slow them down much. They seemed to only slow right when I got the shots. Then at 9:15 I got my 3rd and final Terbutaline shot. After half an hour I was able to leave! Though the trip to the car in the wheel chair was fun. I had to have Skyler dress me because I was shaking so bad that I couldn't even stand and the nurse was a power walker! We were down to the other side of the hospital in no time!

I'll have to finish the story tomorrow. I'll go over my follow up appointment and such. Hope everyone is doing well!

Pumps...

I wish the pumps I were getting ready to talk about were pumps as in high heels

But this is actually about breast pumps. I'm so confused already on which pump to get. I want to go cheap because well cheap is what I can afford. I want to go the Medella route but let's be honest... Medella's are freakin' expensive. I'm so lost as to what ones to even consider. The reviews are all over the place. Anyone have any advice? I'll need one for occasional use at first (just whenever baby is sleeping and I need to pump) and then eventually it'll be more often to all the time, till we put her on to regular milk. Should I just get a cheaper one, maybe not the cheapest out there, but fairly cheap? Or should I go all out and get a Medella? Help!

30 Week Appt

Today was my 30 week appointment and I got an ultrasound! It was amazing to see her! I'm too lazy to upload pictures right now but I'm sure I'll get around to it tomorrow. (At least I hope so) Dr. said she has dropped, which explains a lot when it comes to all the pressure I feel down there and she has her hand right by her face down there, I'm sure she's using it to beat the heck out of my bladder. She is measuring right on for being 30 weeks and she's 2 lbs 15 oz, he's guessing she'll be a 7lb baby. You never really know though but I trust him. He also reminded me that I'm seeing him every 2 weeks for my next 3 appointments then it's every week till she's here! Time has gone by so fast! Hmm... I think that's about all for tonight :) Take care!

New Years

So I'm going to start working on posting more often. I'm at least proud of myself for getting my weekly posts done. I was just going to do a brief 2010-2011 post, so let's hope I can do this without getting too boring... well hopefully I don't bore myself. 2010 was a great trying year for Skyler & I as it was for everyone else. We finally saw an Endocrinologist in March, and got our BFP in July. In October we found out we were having a little girl. Yesterday (the 1st) I hit the 30 week mark, 70 days left. 10 Weeks. It's amazing to think that in such a short time we'll have our little girl here. This year I've also found some really great blogs to read and have found myself being more about other's. I keep each blogger in my heart hoping for the best for them on their journey, wherever that might take them.

As for 2011, I want to only better myself. I'm not going to be too hard on myself, things take time and my list will change as the days pass but for now, this is my list.

I want to be better at keeping in touch with people.

I want to be better at keeping my home a happy place.

I want to be better at family relations.

Those are just the 3 main ones I know I really need to work on, and the 3 I want to better myself at most. The 3rd is definitely going to be the hardest for me, in-law wise. Miss Tiffany left me a comment saying to invite them to my baby shower... I have no idea what to think about that. It does make sense to invite them and let them be stupid, but I don't want them to show up. It's going to be a hard decision to make.

Hope everyone's New Years was great :)

30 Weeks!!!

How far along? 30 Weeks!! 7 1/2 months! Holy heck!! Where has time gone?!

Baby's size? Abigail is the size of a butternut squash! She is between 15-17 inches and weighs between 2.5-4 pounds! We'll get a measurement on Monday!

Weight Gain? Will find out Monday. Don't think it'll be too bad though for this last month. I may delete this question... it's starting to bug me.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Belly button in or out? Out mostly... but sometimes its half in... and sometimes it's all the way in....

Sleep? Well, it's been much better this week, I've finally found a way to get comfortable without tossing and turning all night, though my side of the bed is starting to look like a pillow fort.

Foods I am loving? Anything healthy...

Foods I am hating? It depends on the day, but mostly everything.

Best moment this week? Getting miss Abigail's stroller/carseat and a rug for her room. Oh we also registered at Babies-R-Us. Also on Thursday Skyler said "While we were registering, I just realized how much fun it will be to have a little girl, to buy her everything, and see her in cute little dresses with bows and such." It was great to see him getting more and more excited about the little miss coming.

Movement? Yes! I swear she doesn't stop moving! I love it. Though it's starting to get more uncomfortable, she isn't under my ribs anymore, just more like pushing what we guess to be her butt or back against one side of my stomach making it hurt and very very hard.

Symptoms? Same as always! Though I've been getting a lot of braxton hicks lately.

Gender? GIRL!!!

What I miss? Nothing!

What I will miss? Feeling her move :)

What I'm looking forward to? Baby shower next month! And finishing her room!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't drink too much water before sitting down to watch a really funny movie... you won't want to leave but it'll definitely have to happen... bladder always wins.

Milestone: Being 3/4 of the way there! Also this is the last 2 digit "week left" countdown... next Saturday will mean only 9 weeks!

Emotions: Getting better yet worse with the nesting "not going to have everything finished" feeling. Skyler has been really good this week and even more on top of it then I have at getting stuff for her room. We bought the stroller/carseat Thursday, then we went grocery shopping, and he found a rug he wanted so he bought it! That's so unlike him. He also got the paint for her name and ribbons and such.

Not sure if I can include this with the list of emotions but like I've said before (I'm sure) I've always had this feeling that little miss is going to come early. How early? I'm not sure but it's just this strange feeling I've had. I don't like it, but I'm glad we're at 30 weeks, it's not the best time to have her, but if she were to come anytime after now she has that 90% chance of survival. But anyway, my mom told me my grandma called and said I needed to get my hospital bag ready, that I was going to have her a lot earlier then we think. Now my grandma has been right about everything so far. She said that I needed to relax because there was a little girl waiting for me, but I was too stressed to get pregnant and the month that I didn't feel stressed at all we got pregnant, and its a little girl. Now I know people say stuff all the time but, it's just strange to me...

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)