37 weeks

I hit that marker yesterday. I have an appointment Thursday and then the following week I get to see my baby again! I cannot wait to see her again! :)

In the meantime, I think my driving days are over for now. I have been feeling just too large and vulnerable so I have been arranging for rides most places. I think I may still drive here or there for a few things, but mostly I opt to avoid driving. Don't want to push my luck.

We are almost ready! I still need a few things but most are things you don't need on day one, so we can acquire a few things here and there as we go. I also received some gifts from friends who are out of town. I am opening them later this week in a little virtual shower we are having. Cannot wait to see what the little one got! :)

Nothing else huge going on here. I am just adjusting to the idea of the end and hoping for the best when we go to a family of three to four! As it approaches, it seems that one is getting harder and harder to deal with so the idea of two seems more and more daunting. :( I know its doable. I mean I don't have a choice at this point. LOL However, it is still a scary prospect!

36.5 Weeks :) THE END IS Near!!!!

So I had my appointment today and it went well. I asked a ton of questions and I finally feel like the end is near!! Because of the pain I have been experiencing and sleeplessness, I found out I can take Tylenol pm which I didn't know. I am happy to hear it and HOPING it helps because not sleeping before getting an infant is the worst! :(

The midwife also said that she wants me to start evening primrose oil to help prep the cervix and get it softened and ready to go. This stimulates labor to some degree....so I'm starting that tomorrow when I am able to go buy some.

I am measuring full term now. I figured this because I knew my belly had grown. It has felt bigger and I have felt less mobile and more uncomfortable (putting it lightly). For the past few weeks I've been measuring 38 weeks and holding there for a while. So growth was bound to happen!

I also gained one pound, but all in all I cant complain because it has been over two months of NO weight gain so I can live with one pound! Especially at this point in the pregnancy when weight gain is usually rampant!

Yesterday I met with a girlfriend who took some pregnancy pictures for me since I cannot afford to go pay for maternity shots right now. She did a good job and now I have some keep sakes of my belly...which is huge. Don't freak, but it is a large round tummy!

Here are some of the shots:













I'm hoping to hold steady where I am for a while because I'm not sure how much more girth I can stand!

Keep me in your thoughts and thanks for looking! :)

** Almost MARCH!!! **

And what does that mean? It is almost FOUR WEEKS until this baby is due! :)

UPDATES:

My newest favorite thing: Any beverage from Sonic. Why? Because the ice is so delish there. It isn't really hard like regular ice so its easy to crunch and suck on and enjoy! Not sure why but that is REALLY hitting the spot these days! The ice from home just pales in comparison!

Elena had a corn dog from there the other day and I had a bite and LIKED IT! I have never liked corn dog in my LIFE. *That* is a very weird turn of events!


Another tid bit: I wasn't planning on it, but I ended up registering at Babies R Us for this upcoming baby's arrival. I am not having a baby shower, but people kept asking me if I was registered somewhere so I thought it wouldn't hurt to create a small registry. It is under my name and Josue's so it shouldn't be too hard to find (San Antonio, TX).

If you feel the desire to, feel free to purchase something off of it, if not, then just send money! ;) LOL Just kidding. Look out for a birth announcement to come in just ONE MONTH!!!

Since I didn't do a baby shower, I may have a get together if I feel up to it sometime after the baby arrives. That really depends on how the baby arrives, how I feel, how our place looks, etc. :) LOTS OF things up in the air at this point.

ALSO: I have been looking into pre-kindergarten schools for Elena. I am just frustrated because apparently I am way way behind schedule with this! Most had their registrations back in JANUARY! :( So I'm the slacker mom. I am on two waiting lists in town and I'm still looking. Trying to find something that works and that is affordable and that seems stimulating for her. I just think it will be important for her to have her space and time away from me and the baby, especially early on.

We will try to do one or two days a week at the Spanish Immersion program as well for summer. She has been going there over a year now and doing quite well! She has learned so much! If all else fails, we'll keep here there for her PreK year.

And if you read my other blog, you know about Elena's dental situation. :( It is a whole other kink I wasn't expecting that will hopefully be resolved soon.

There is actually more to tell but this is getting long, so I will be back soon with more!

Have a happy and safe Wednesday! :)

Thirty Five weeks Minus two days! :)

Only five more weeks to go! This is happening quickly!!!!

We had the 34 week appointment earlier this week and it was pretty uneventful. Pee in a cup, get measured, weighed, poked at a bit, groped and listen to the heartbeat. The baby sounds good and is not as huge as they were expecting.

The midwife can feel around my belly and tell where different body parts are. The baby is head down and apparently low down ready to rock n roll!:) We have five weeks yet to go, so she can still change her mind about her position, but i hope she doesn't!

It was another visit without a weight gain too! THIS IS AMAZING! In my first pregnancy I gained ALL MY WEIGHT in the last three months or so. This time, I haven't gained anything yet in this time period! Funny how different things can be! I haven't gained in two months thus far and with one to go, I am hopeful that the weight gain will be minimized. So far its 30lbs and that is less than last go round and while not ideal, DEFINITELY good! :)

I am going to the hospital website in a few to preregister since apparently I was supposed to do that by now. I didn't think of it for some reason and so I need to get that done ASAP. Packing a bag might be a good thing to do soon too. I should make a list of things to do so that i stop forgetting them!

Pregnancy really does suck out your brain. I was a forgetful person before my pregnancies, but it seems to worsen during pregnancies.

I'll post another picture soon!

Hospital Tour

We finally were able to make it for a hospital tour night before last. It was interesting and really made me realize how CLOSE this is becoming. VERY SOON we'll have our family expanded by one.

The tour included a look at Labor & Delivery rooms and the rooms you stay in after the work is done. The L&D rooms were awesome. Really big and nice. The rooms you spend MOST of your time in were tiny though! I guess it doesn't matter really since I won't be there long.

However, for a measly $300 dollars extra, per night, I could stay in a VIP room. These rooms are much nicer. They are roomier, include fridges and a living area separate from the rest area. Both areas have flat-screen televisions as well. However, this extra money is not covered by insurance, so it has to come out of OUR pockets. I cannot imagine paying that extra money. If I had a fairy god mother, I'd request the upgrade! :)

Our favorite stop was the nursery! ADORABLE little children were in there. They were very small and just looked so sweet. Elena was oohing and ahhing over them too and says she's ready for her sister to come. I know her heart is in the right place, but we'll see how she really reacts once it all sets in and she's stuck with a sibling that is loud and time consuming.

All in all the tour was informative and helped me realize how close we are to this new reality. TIME TO PANIC! :)

I am very excited to meet my little one, but I'm going to miss carrying her around, even though it is tiring and painful at times. I will also remember fondly the time before the baby joined the mix--our times as a threesome.

I feel quite unready and I am trying to get ready in the next two or so weeks. I am still taking inventory of what we have and what we need and when we have to acquire the things we need in order to spread out the costs involved.

Slowly but surely, things will come together though, I am sure!

;)

TWO MONTHS TO GO AND COUNTING!!!!

Holy moly! It is already February and I am due in less than eight weeks! :)

I had an appointment yesterday--my 32 week appointment. It went well. The midwife measured me and we talked some and heard the heartbeat. These are mostly routine visits where not a lot happens. The biggest issue is seeing scale and what it has to say. ALWAYS so much stress in that part of the visit! :)

It has been good news for me thus far, however. I have been holding steady for over a month now, with no weight gain. This is harder to do toward the end, because the babies gain 1/3 of their entire weight in the last trimester and the blood supply grows as well. All of this equals WEIGHT gain for mama. I am hoping the last few visits aren't too bad, however. I want to be able to keep this trend going of no weight gain, but its not very likely!

I have had a little relief from my SPD with the chiro visits and by following all the "rules" for keeping your legs together and sitting correctly, etc. It isn't easy to do it and remember it all the time, but I do see that its making a difference and making my last few weeks more tolerable. ANY bit of relief is huge!

Given that most babies weigh 3.75 pounds during this week and are about 16.7 inches long, my guess is that my "little" pumpkin is a big bigger. I've consistently been running big and she was estimated at 28 weeks to weigh a pound more than average, so I'm guessing she's closer to five pounds by now.

This makes sense since they say that they gain about a third of their weight in the last 8 weeks. Given that my daughter was over nine pounds at birth, I fully expect this child to be around the same weight. They say that second babies run larger, so this child may outweigh my last by an ounce or two. That is my guess anyway! :)

Elena was 9lbs 6oz at birth and 21 1/2 inches long. Want to take a guess as to the weight and height on this second child?

This could be interesting! :)

31 weeks and one day! :)

Time is flying!

I had to post again because today I am wearing a tight shirt. I was desperate and there was so little available at target that was NOT winter! HELLO! It is Texas and we have had some WARM weather off and on with the "chillier" temperatures. I only have winter maternity clothes!

Here I am today:



I went to the chiropractor this weekend and it seems to have helped ever so slightly. I notice that the pain isn't as bad early in the morning. I left feeling fine but in about 30 minutes I was back to where I was before the appointment. So its taken the edge off, but this is really still difficult to deal with. I am doing okay otherwise!

This week my big girl has her birthday festivities! I'm excited that she's bigger and stronger and happy and almost FOUR YEARS OLD! It should be an exciting week if I can manage to keep my house clean! :) That is a serious struggle since I'm moving much slower and NOT bending over anymore! ;) LOL

Thank God for my little helper! She's closer to the ground and really has been a big help during the pregnancy, especially now as I'm getting slower and bigger. Thank goodness for my munchkin!