A Baby Out of My Belly

By the way...he's here!!!

Week 39 Belly Shot

As promised...

Week Thirty-Nine

Today I'm 39 weeks and one day pregnant. So far, week 39 has not been good. I have terrible acid reflux, I'm sleeping poorly, and my groin and lower-back pain have returned with a vengeance. My body generally feels like what I'd imagine it might feel like when I'm in my eighties. I've also had more bouts of contractions, but no real labor. Lame.

I actually did not sleep at all last night. I'm trying to think if that's ever happened before. Maybe once. It started with staying up late reading Breaking Dawn, then it turned into "Oh my gosh, my husband snores SO loudly—how am I ever going to fall asleep??", followed by "Maybe I'll be more comfortable on the couch...", and that took a turn in to "Oh! I'm having contractions again!?!", which subsequently got me up walking around, then eating, then my contractions subsided and it was back to the couch to watch some Beverly Hills 90210 on DVD in hopes of being lulled to sleep. After deciding to get back in bed around 5:45am and realizing fifteen minutes later that I had little chance of actually sleeping at this point, I got up and sat down at the computer. And here I am. So if I'm coming across very babble-y, now you know why.

The physical stuff sucks, but I'm also getting really worked up mentally, which is probably worse. Here's some background on why: Logan's due date based on my menstrual cycle & conception was November 14th. His due date was moved to November 5th at some point because he was measuring "older" early on. He was then born on the 9th. While he was four days late according to my changed due date, he was "technically" born at 39 weeks and two days when calculated from my last period and the actual date of conception. Jude has had one due date which does line up with conception, so here I am expecting him to follow Logan's "early" precedent. On top of that, I've been told that subsequent babies often come a little earlier than the first, so that has my expectations raised as well. And then there's the mere fact that getting through each day seems impossible given my physical state in combination with my daily responsibilities with Logan, so I feel like I deserve to have this baby early. Thankfully my mom will be arriving in town in a handful of hours, and I'll be getting the help I need to see me through to the end.

So that's week 39 so far...me being a huge baby while I'm waiting to have this baby. I haven't taken this week's picture yet, so I'll have to post that a little later {hopefully today}.

Hope everyone else had a lovely night's sleep! And hopefully the next time you hear from me, I'll be in a much happier, more coherent state... :)

Week Thirty-Eight

It decided to get hot this week. And I'm still pregnant. Noooo.....!

I found out this week that my doctor doesn't do internal exams until you've hit or passed your due date, unless you specifically request before then. This is very different from my last experience, where I had a different doctor up there every week from 37 weeks on! So I'm appreciating my doc letting things be for now.

Jude has dropped further, and based on his current positioning, my previous delivery, and the fact that this is the second baby, she *thinks* he'll be here next week. I'm SO hoping she's right!!!

I actually woke up last night {at 3am!} with some mild contractions. They seemed to be recurring pretty consistently, about once every eight to ten minutes. I finally went back to sleep {at about 5am}...only to find them completely gone upon waking. How disappointing is that?? I didn't really experience early labor the first time, so this makes everything all the more confusing for me.

Anyway. Wish me luck on staying distracted. I really need it right now...!

Week Thirty-Seven

Full-term, baby...YAY!!!

Now, please just don't keep me waiting for another three+ weeks because I'm impatient...
Sound good?

This will be a short but sweet post.

Short, because I'm tired and huge and don't want to linger on the fact that I'm still pregnant.


Sweet, primarily because my results came back from the GBS {Strep B} swab and I tested NEGATIVE!!! I'm so SO thankful for the negative test result; I feel like I've been given the chance to have a completely different labor experience. This time—God willing—*when* I check in to the hospital will be determined by how close I am to pushing a baby out, and not by how soon the doctors want to start me on antibiotics. I'm really excited at the prospect of laboring at home, and I'm so excited to work with a doula who can help us do that.

So that's week 37! At this point I'm almost 38 weeks, so I'll likely be back to update again soon.

Week Thirty-Six

Still here and still pregnant. I really should stay on top of these updates at this point...I'd hate to leave you wondering! I wrote a tiny update for 35 weeks here, but there's so much more to say about week 36—so let's get on with it.

Remember how my fundal height measurement was 34.5 cm at 34.5ish weeks? Actually, you probably don't...who really cares, right? :) Well, at my 36.5ish week appointment, the measurement was only up to 35.5 cm. That's actually not a big deal at all, but... turns out that the measurement didn't increase much because Jude is hanging out so stinking low! He is head-down and snuggled tightly at the bottom of my uterus. Perhaps he wants to come out a little early? We shall see... :)

I also got to share our "birth wishes" with our doctor, and she is totally on board with everything! I'm excited to be working with someone this time who will allow the process to happen in its own time and way. Here's what we came up with:

 We are very excited about birthing our second son, Jude, with Dr. [R] and the medical professionals at [Hospital]. Jess' first delivery was natural and uncomplicated, and we anticipate a similar experience. As long as Jess and Jude are doing well, we request that the following wishes be honored during this birth. We thank you in advance for your help and support in working toward this goal!

Birth Attendants
In addition to Dr. [R], we plan to have present at this birth the father, Chris, and our doula, [R], for support. We ask that all other visitors, students, and unnecessary staff be turned away until we have delivered and had time alone with our new son.


Labor Environment
The birth environment is very important to us. We ask that the lights be kept dim, noise be kept to a minimum, and the door be kept closed for privacy. We will bring our own music, and Jess may like to wear her own clothes during the birth.


Medications/Procedures
Our primary goal is a natural birth, and we would like to try to avoid all medications during the birth. Please do not offer medication unless it is requested. We understand that some interventions may be necessary for the health of Mom and Baby, but we request the opportunity to accept or refuse any procedure except in the case of an extreme emergency. If there is evidence of fetal distress on the external fetal monitor, we would like this to be verified with an internal fetal monitor before any action is taken.


Delivery Goals
We would like for Jess to be allowed to begin & continue pushing as she feels the urge and at her own pace (Mother-Directed Pushing). To help prevent tearing, we would like to use warm compresses and oil on the perineum, and avoid any external moving or pulling of the tissues around the vagina as the baby is crowning.


After the Birth
Immediately after the birth, we wish for our son to be placed on Jess' abdomen/chest to bond and breastfeed. We also ask that the cord not be cut until it stops pulsing and until the placenta has been birthed.


Newborn Care
Please delay weighing, measuring, eye ointment, & non-urgent procedures to allow time with our baby. We wish for Chris to accompany our son once it's time for these procedures.


Birth Recovery
Mom, Dad and Baby would like to all stay in the same private room until discharge unless we request that the baby be brought to the nursery. We would also like to request an early discharge and return home as soon as possible.

My doctor also did a swab for GBS at this last appointment, which I'll find the out the results for this coming Wednesday. When I was pregnant with Logan I did test positive for it and had to receive antibiotics during labor. That was stressful because I wanted a natural childbirth and didn't know how needing the antibiotics and being on a "time-line" might lead to other, unwanted interventions. Everything worked out and I still largely had a birth experience like I had hoped for, but it's just one more thing that I don't want to have to think about again. So, here's what I did to hopefully help fight off the possible infection {these were recommendations from our doula}:

• Ten-day "fast" from refined sugars—I cut out sweets from my diet and tried to cut back on processed foods that tend to be high in sugar
• Grapefruit seed extract—fifteen drops 3x per day for ten days {none the day of the swab}
• Tea tree oil va-jay-jay "inserts"—once a day for four to five days {not the day of or day before the swab}
• A whole lotta prayer...!

TMI? I know... Sorry :)

So! Next time you hear from me I'll most likely still be pregnant, but at least full term!! It's getting SO close—I'm SO excited!!!!

Week Thirty-Four

I keep forgetting to publish my updates over here—agh!!! We were traveling during most of weeks 32 & 33, so this is the closest thing I have to a weekly update for those. Here's week 34...

Well, I already gave you a pretty hefty dose of some of the challenges I'm facing at 34 weeks this time around—probably more than you wanted to hear!—so rest assured I'll spare you any more of that right now. I am definitely feeling more sane today than I was Monday, and I just wanted to say thank you all again for your kind and supportive words!

Jude is doing really well and things are good as far as the pregnancy is concerned. At my appointment this morning my fundal height measurement was 34.5 centimeters and I'm just about 34.5 weeks pregnant...guess you can't get much more exact thaan that. :) But then there goes my theory that I'm somehow actually 39 weeks along and this baby surely must be arriving any day now...because, that's how big I feel. Apparently I've *only* gained 22 lbs at this point, so again, there goes that theory. Otherwise, blood pressure has been good and Jude's activity level is through the roof, so I'm happy about both of those!

I'm also happy about the amazing weather we've been having!! It's currently about 65 degrees with broken clouds...hard to ask for anything better while eight months pregnant in the middle of June! Summers here tend to be a little ugly with the "June Gloom" {gray skies and cool most of the day}, but this summer I definitely don't mind. In fact, when my water broke with Logan in November, I was walking on the beach in shorts and a tank top on a day hotter than today! So maybe in Santa Barbara a summer baby is the way to go...?

Anywho.

The belly this week and a growth update for month eight {from TheBump.com}:

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.