Pregnancy Update - Week 37

PROGRESS! I had a doctor's appointment today and to my shock I am 3 cm dilated (the doctor called it a "tight 3") and 60% effaced! Wahoo! I think the most I ever got with Tate on my own was maybe 2.5 cm dilated. I am still on the schedule to be induced on August 5th.

MILESTONE!

I thought about putting this on my public blog, but decided that I didn't want to cause any future embarassment. But . . . TATE WENT POOP ON THE POTTY! It was totally unexpected! Saturday morning I was changing his diaper like I usually do and asked him if he wanted to pee on the potty. Recently he has been so great about peeing on the potty whenever we change his diaper. He said yes so I followed him in there. He sat down and started pushing a little harder than usual. So I told him that if he didn't have to go it was alright and he could get down. He kept pushing and then all of a sudden I heard it! (I know, this post is a little graphic). I freaked out and called Rob in and we yelled and high-fived and made a huge deal and he just sat there and smiled. I had read and heard so many times that most kids are freaked out about pooping on the potty and that it is one of the hardest parts of potty training. He hasn't done it again, but he acted like it was no big deal, so I don't expect many problems in the future. I bought him some pull-ups later that day and am going to have him wear them today and see what happens. I had put off any more potty training until after the baby gets here, but if he is ready I don't want to miss the opportunity!

I tried to get him to stand by his potty for a picture, but he was not interested.

Pregnancy Update - Week 36

Today I went to the doctor's office and had my 36 week check up. I am dilated 1+ and am 50% effaced according to my doctor. Which doesn't mean a whole lote for me. With Tate I was dilated 2+ and 80% efface for two or three weeks and they still had to induce me three days after my due date. I am on the schedule for an induction on August 5th. But in reality, I could be bumped from that list for any reason since I am not being induced for a medical reason. I am ready to be done. I have not slept well the past few nights. My hips ache at night and in the morning, and Baby Girl (still not officially named) moves around like she's doing laps in an Olympic-sized pool. Sometimes she will stretch and stay in the stretch until I feel like I can't take it anymore. Some great news from my checkup today though was that she is head down, WHICH IS GREAT!

Rob is allowed two weeks of PAID paternity leave after the baby is born, but right now we are not sure how that is going to pan out. He is short-staffed at work and has a staff member going on vacation the week of August 10th. That means he has to work that week. So, best case scenario - if I have the baby on August 5th, he can stay home the rest of the week but will have to go back to work on Monday. He can stay home the week after that, but still won't be able to finish his two weeks before he has to leave for Boston on a business trip. ARGH! I am just hoping it all works out. I am lucky enough to have my mom stay with me during the days while Rob is in Boston, which will be a lifesaver. At least I am not alone in this pregnancy . . .

Pregnancy Update - Week 33, 34, and almost 35

All is well with Baby Girl. STILL NO NAME! That part is frustrating. Rob and I talk about it and have a few names on our list (Annistyn, Elise, Abigail) but nothing that we have committed to yet. I went to the doctor's office last Wednesday and everything still looks great. I have gained a total of 25.5 pounds so far. And just when I feel like I can't get any bigger, I look down at my belly and am surprised at the size of it. The heat of summer has been getting to me lately, but I expected nothing else. I have been dealing with heartburn (in my throat mostly) a lot lately at night, so maybe Baby Girl is growing some hair! I am excited for my next doctor's appointment (a week from Tuesday) becuase I will be able to get my name on the induction list for August 5th and my doctor will see if my body has made any progress towards labor.

Pregnancy Update - Week 32 (and a whole lot of hormones)

I feel like having a little pity party for myself today. I didn't fall asleep until after 2am last night, so I am sure this is all due to being extremely tired and those darn pregnancy hormones. Being pregnant is hard. Your body doesn't feel good, you can't move the way you are used to moving, and people get tired of hearing you complain and stop listening. And I don't blame them. I even took my own belly picture today because I have asked several times for Rob to take one but it never gets done. So all you get in this belly picture is a belly - the most important part anyway. Tate is downstairs right now with Rob, the way he prefers it. If Rob isn't around, I am a good buddy. If Rob is around, Tate doesn't want to have much to do with me. This has been going on for a couple months now. At the beginning it bothered me but I got over it, mostly. Today it bugs me, only because the feeling of not wanting me around is only contributing to my pitiful mood. Tate should have been getting ready for bed by now. But I am not going to go downstairs and be the bad guy by ruining all the fun and making him get ready for bed.

I went to the doctor's today. All is well with Baby Girl (still no name yet). Her heart rate is great and she moves constantly. I only gained a 1/2 pound (yipee!) the last two weeks, so that was some great news. I still have the vericose vein issue and it looks like I may be getting some more. Pregnancy does the weirdest things. In an effort to preserve details that my otherwise foggy memory would forget, I am going to list the differences between this pregnancy and my pregnancy with Tate . . .

~Pregnancy with Tate: bleeding gums, stretch marks on my breasts, almost constant heartburn from the beginning (up near my throat), morning sickness through week 12 or 13 (and usually only once or twice a day for a short amount of time).

~Pregnancy with Baby Girl: vericose veins, stretch marks on my stomach, morning sickness through week 21 (usually sick all day long), several cold sores, heartburn (up near my throat) starting around week 30.

Well, here's hoping that I get a decent night's sleep tonight so I can stop feeling so sorry for myself and stop feeling sad.

Pregnancy Update - Week 31

It's getting closer. I have had some good nights of sleep and some not-so-good nights of sleep. My vericose veins are starting to bug me and I have worn my new support stocking two full days this week. Luckily, the weather has been mild and rainy so I haven't overheated. Baby Girl moves like a champ though. I swear sometimes she is trying to bust out of there. I don't remember Tate moving so much and so hard. I think I am a little smaller, so maybe she has less room to move around. We have been getting out the baby stuff (car seat, swing, etc.) and that has been fun. I just have a few more touches for the nursery and we should be all set. Thanks to Nana, we are good to go in the clothing department! She has spoiled us rotten, just as she did when we had Tate. I have been meaning to get a new picture to post, so that will be the goal for this next week.

Pregnancy Update - Week 30

Yay! I love numbers that end in "0." I had an appointment today with the doctor. She told me that I was measuring (my stomach) at 29 weeks. I looked at her and silently dared her to change my due date. That would have been awful. But she didn't, so maybe it just means that Baby Girl is squished in there and maybe that is why it often feels like she is kickboxing the heck out of my insides. Everything else checked out great . . . good weight gain (22 pounds so far), good blood pressure, glucose test came back normal. My friend Britt is 35 weeks but will be getting induced at 38 weeks. So she only has 3 weeks to go! Somehow that makes my remaining 10 weeks seem extremely loooooong. I bought a pair of support stockings, hoping they would help with the achiness that has started thanks to a great pair of ugly vericose veins. Unfortunately, the stockings are not very comfortable (think VERY tight nylons) and make me more hot than I already am. So now it is a question of what makes me more uncomfortable, the stockings or the veins. I'll keep you updated.