38 Weeks

So we're back to reality from a long, much needed break. Our family thoroughly enjoyed the cabin and the stillness that it provides. Being at a place that isn't my house for a few days is a great way to make me relax (Evan always says I can't sit still so this gave me that opportunity). We also got to see all of Evan's family and Oakes got some play time in with his cousin. And to our surprise we also ended up stocking up on clothes for sweet Wren. Aunt Amy gave us a nice gift box with quite a few outfits and Uncle Dustin & family gave her a super-cute stuffed animal and some sleep outfits. We came back from the cabin on Friday afternoon so I was able to do the laundry and get all of her outfits in her drawers. I also went to K-Mart and picked up some roller shades which were super-cheap. I figure we'll try putting up one shade and see how it goes before we unwrap and tackle the rest. That will undoubtedly be Evan's job over the next few weeks. :) And to end our weekend, we took Oakes to the doctor on Sunday for another round of antibiotics as he has another ear infection.

We had our 38 weeks appointment today and it was quite the disappointing one. Not much change cervically and a five pound (!!!) weight gain -- must've been all that great food I was eating over Thanksgiving! I was really hoping for a little more dilation, even though I'm also hoping she waits until her due date to arrive, so I guess I can't be please either way, huh?

Blood Pressure: 104/62 [much better!]
Weight: +5 (total weight gain = +16 pounds)
Heartrate: 156bpm
The belly is measuring at 38 weeks (I'm 38 weeks)
Dilation = 2cm [still]
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 40% [still]
Station = -2 [still]

38-week belly shot

Oakes, kissing Baby Wren

Happy Thanksgiving!

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!  So much to be thankful for in our home...

Evan and I didn't have to work today, so we went ahead and sent Oakes to school and I enjoyed a much needed massage (Evan gave me 2 of them for my birthday and I'd already used the first one a while ago). I also stopped by my doctor's office to get my bloodwork done and it turns out they had made a mistake and I didn't need to do any bloodwork for my thyroid as my levels are fine. Not a bad mistake to make, if you ask me! After that, I headed to Hallmark to pick up a baby album for sweet Wren. I figured we should get that before she arrives so that we can get those cute foot prints done at the hospital.

We are at the cabin now and are enjoying the quietness out here (but also enjoying access to the internet!). Evan and I plan to do some of our National Board work while we are here so we each brought along a "bag of good intentions" and are hoping to actually open that bag at some point over the next few days. :)

Sonja had a wonderful surprise for us when we arrived - a basket full of goodies for Wren! I took some photos to share and to hold you all over until we have another belly shot next Monday (speaking of which, that's also when our next doctor's appointment is).

Again, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A beautiful blanket that Sonja knitted for Wren. She had her name embroidered on a patch and then knitted the patch to the corner, almost like a postage stamp. I absolutely love it!



Some crib sheets, and a bunch of sweet clothes.

Sonja had chosen the center outfit for Wren a while ago as she saw it at work.

A great basket for storage and it was full of diapers, lotions, a bottle brush, pacis, and soap.

37 weeks

Ooooooohhhh... Wren has been feeling like she's doing little corkscrew twists into my pelvic bone this week. Not too comfy. But - I have been sleeping much better and that's a huge plus. So I'll take the random twitches of pain for sleep. And heartburn? With Oakes it was only at night; with Wren it's in the mid afternoon each day. She'd better have a head full of hair. On a really really positive note, I've schedule my last prenatal massage (a 2-part birthday gift from Evan) for Wednesday morning and I am soooooo excited for this.

We got our confirmation from the hospital last week and are now good to go as far as not having to fill out paperwork between contractions. We also got news that since I'd been participating in nurse phone calls through my insurance company throughout this pregnancy, they are waiving our co-pay for the hospital! Whoo hoo! This makes me actually kind of like my insurance company right now (I won't hold my breath, my rates will probably go up again next year to pay for this, but for now I'm happy).

Appointment was today and I am negative for Group B Strep, which is good. I also have to go back in on Wednesday for another blood draw for a follow-up on my thyroid. I'm not sure if this is standard or not as I thought I was finished with all of my bloodwork, so I'll ask on Wednesday and will keep you all posted. Now for my stats:

Blood Pressure: 122/60 [we had them measure this before I stepped on the scale :)]
Weight: -1 (total weight gain = +11 pounds)
Heartrate: 168bpm
The belly is measuring at 37 weeks (I'm 37 weeks)
Dilation = 2cm :D
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 40% (still)
Station = -2 (Dr. C said it wasn't -1 yet, but it also still wasn't necessarily -2)

Here are the "37 Week" belly shots:

For kicks, I got this photo from Dan last night. It's a photo of toddler Evan holding infant Dustin (I think). Can you tell who our sweet Oakes resembles? And can you tell who Evan resembles? I'm pretty sure Oakes knows exactly how he'll look over his lifetime now ;)

And a last sweet family shot. We went to the Biltmore Estate on Sunday (gotta get some good use out of those yearly passes!) and decided to try to take a family photo in their kitchen garden. If you want to see the rest of the photos (Oakes even pet a goat!) go to our picasa site: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?tab=mq#photos/105260897615925465755/albums 

Nursery is f.i.n.i.s.h.e.d. (kinda)

We're about 98% done with the nursery.  WHOO HOO!!!!

We took the day trip down to Ikea last Friday and picked up our last things for the nursery, and after a few days of perfecting things, finding places for things to go, and doing some loads of laundry we can comfortably say that we're done.  All I have to do is sew on a few embroidered flowers onto the two red pillows and we need to look around for some light-blocking shades.  So that's the missing 2% and honestly if it doesn't get done before Wren arrives, I'm totally cool with it.

Here's a view from the double bed. This is the crib that Mom and Dad are loaning us until they'll need it in June when Tina moves out and takes their crib.

So this view seems a bit overwhelming with all of the color, but it's really a lot calmer in person.  We built a lot of the room around the rug and I absolutely LOVE the rug.  The bunting on the wall was added last minute but it totally works.  As for the duvet cover - it's way colorful and busy but will look great in here temporarily and will also look great in Oakes' room.  So while it's busy-looking in there now, it will be a LOT calmer in a few months when Oakes gets the bed and the futon moves in here (which is a dark frame and a cream cushion).

Another view but from in front of the closet door.  We ended up buying the door hanging thing like Oakes has because I love the one Oakes has SO much.  It's insanely handy when I'm cleaning up at night and need to remember to put something in Oakes' room in the morning.  So I just drop it in one of his pouches and it's right there when we go to wake him in the morning.

And a much calmer view from the double bed looking at the window seat and closet.

So here's a quick photo of me that we took yesterday.  I don't like that all of my belly shots on here are me in my yoga pants and dark tee, so I decided that I needed one of me in one of my cuter work outfits.

36 weeks

We both had the day off of school on Friday for Veteran's Day (happy Veteran's Day, Dan and Dad!) so we dropped Oakes off at school and then drove to Ikea, shopped, and returned in time to pick up Oakes from school. We wish we would have had time to visit some friends, but we were on a mission and on a time limit. So what did we buy? A rug, a door hanging thing, a few Christmas gifts for Oakes, and a duvet for the bed in Wren's room among some other smaller things. Oh, and we picked up a crib and mattress for Mom and Dad, but Wren will use it until they need it (Mom and Dad are going to have to buy a new one eventually as Tina will take the crib with her when she moves out in a few months, so until Oakes gives up his crib we will use this loaner for Wren).  We have a lot of it set-up but it's not photo-ready.  I'll post updated nursery photos by the end of the week though!

We also had our 36 week check-up today which began with Dr. C coming in and announcing that in his entire career, he'd never had a patient with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease!  So I'm a first for him and I guess it's a learning experience for all of us.  He hadn't received the paperwork from my ultrasound so hopefully we can all see that at next Monday's appointment, however since the ultrasound looked great, we don't think there will be any follow-ups to this ordeal.  Today's visit also included an internal exam and a Group B Strep test -- we're in the final stretch and these pelvic exams will be weekly from this point forward. 

Blood Pressure: 130/70

Weight: +4 (total weight gain = +12 pounds) -- It's a lot for 2 weeks, but Dr. C was happy.

Heartrate: 150bpm

The belly is measuring at 36 weeks (I'm 36 weeks)
Dilation = 1cm (I actually cheered "YAY" when I found this out!)
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 40% (another cheer from me!)
Station = -2 (baby is typically at -3 throughout, then -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, and 3 would be birthing time!)

For some good measure, here is where I was with Oakes at 36 weeks:
Blood Pressure: 118/78 [much better than I am with Wren]
Weight: -1 (total weight gain = +31 pounds) [much heavier than I was with Wren]
Heartrate: 168bpm [this was Oakes' usual bpm]
Belly Measurement = 39cm [maybe because of the weight gain?]
Dilation = closed [we didn't "open" until the day before Oakes was born!]
Effacement = 60% [we stayed at 60% until the day before Oakes was born]
Station = -2

Now for the belly shots:


Cheesing it up for the camera - except Oakes actually has a mouthful of cheese...

 

The "36 week belly shot"



Ultrasound

Today we got to do our ultrasound to check up on sweet Wren due to the hand, foot, and mouth stuff that went on last month with Oakes. We debated whether or not we should bring Oakes, but after the last few appointments where he acted like a 2 year-old (can you imagine? haha), we decided he'd be a lot happier to stay and play at school and we'd be a lot happier to be able to actually focus on the ultrasound and hear what the doctors had to say. This was a good decision as our appointment was at 3pm and we didn't leave until 5:15pm.

We ended up meeting with a genetic counselor prior to the ultrasound - a surprise to us - and it turns out our genetic make-up is pretty healthy. Thanks moms and dads! :)  She basically assured us that even if Wren did have HFM, she would most likely be healthy as it's a pretty mild virus for a baby in the early 3rd trimester.  Which is good because according to the doctor today it turns out that I did have HFM.  While I didn't have a fever, a rash, or any other symptoms, my bloodwork showed elevated levels so I guess it's a really good thing we took these precautions.

So with the ultrasound, her heart looked GREAT!  We could see all 4 chambers and the valves and it was such an incredible thing to see.  Her heartrate was 120bpm, but there was no inflamation around the heart and the ultrasound tech said that Wren looked beautiful as far as her organs and such.  She's also head-down so that's another great thing we got to see.  Oh, and it looks like her weight is 5lbs 10oz. which puts her in the 40th percentile.  She should gain about a half pound each week, so that should put her right around the upper end of 7lbs by her due date.  Her other measurements seemed to measure a little smaller than my 35 week mark so I'm happy to think that she won't be a 10-pounder like her mama was. Oy veh!
 
It's so amazing to see her so big compared to her 20 week ultrasound.  Which also made for a rather uncomfortable ultrasound since she's so big and they were pushing all over my belly  to get good angles of her organs. Evan managed to sneak in a video of it (apparently we aren't supposed to video or take pictures while in there?!?) so I'll see if I can upload that when he gets home from his soccer game.  We got 3 photos of Wren, but none are good.  Homegirl is still camera-shy, I guess; she kept her fists in front of her face the whole time - no joke.  We did go home with 3 pics and I tried to scan them, but the scanner wasn't working so I took photos with my phone which turned out a bit fuzzy.  So our not-so-good pics turned out worse, but they are something at least:

It's a girl (still)!  Much easier to recognize those parts now compared to 15 weeks ago!

Wren's profile - or what she'd let us see of it.

Her cute feet - she has her daddy's toes.

Family Visits and a Doula!

We had another great weekend, this time with a visit from Mimi and Popi and Baby Graham. We watched the baby all day Saturday and even though he's pretty much a perfect baby (happy, sleeps well, eats well, etc.), Evan and I were both pooped by the end of the day and wondered just how we were going to handle the toddler and newborn that will be in our house beginning in December. Should've thought about that 9 months ago, huh? Oh well.

Mimi and Popi also brought along a few super-cute outfits for Wren and I'm so excited about dressing her up in them. And Tina sent a huge ziplock bag full of girlie socks for her so while that was a pain to wash and repair, Wren truly has enough socks so that she could wear a new pair every day of her newborn existence. So a big thanks to Mimi, Popi, and Tina!

I also got in a bit of nesting on Sunday night once things calmed down. We bought a cheap-o bookshelf (Oakes helped me put it together) for Wren's closet which gives me a spot to put diapers, etc. So I spent time putting things like that away then I began packing my "just had a baby" hospital bag and cleaning up the master bedroom so we'd have a clear spot for the bassinet to join us in a few weeks.

On Tuesday night, my friend - and sorority sister from college - came over to discuss possibly being our doula for our birth. She is just completing her doula certification and needs to attend a few births so when I found that out, I told her we'd LOVE to have her as a doula if she wanted the practice.  And since she has to attend 3 live births for her certification, she has agreed to attend ours!  Rachel stayed over and chatted with us for about 2 hours and after she left I felt so much calmer about our upcoming labor.  Just having an extra person in the room who is knowledgeable and compassionate about what we want is a huge relief.  The plan is for us to try doing it all natural - I really truly want to have a natural childbirth and Rachel's done it 3 times herself so I feel like we're in very good hands.

Tomorrow is our ultrasound - I'll try to post pics tomorrow evening! :)

34 Weeks

Happy Halloween!


This past Monday marked our 34 week "birth" date and the belly is a big ole basketball.  Luckily, I haven't had hardly any feet swelling since my last appointment and I think this is due largely to the fact that I haven't had to be in a sitting position for very long (like car trips, etc.).  Yippee! 


So to update you on our lives:

• I finished out my target registry,
• Oma, Opa, and Aunt Amy stopped by for a nice visit and dinner on Saturday night,
• we did Halloween with a son who is no longer afraid of his doggy costume and quickly realized that by saying "trick or treat" he'd get candy :)  Also, Oakes has moved into the "big boy" class at school so the potty training has officially begun (rewarded with Halloween candy, of course!),
• Oakes had a doctor's appointment to follow-up on his ear infection and hand, foot, and mouth (all is good!),
• and we had our 34 week check-up today.  

We've also worked a bit more on Wren's nursery and with an unexpected package from Oma that arrived last week, we were able to add some diapers, wipes, a crib bumper, mattress pads, changing table cover, and a cute pillow to her room!  Oakes and I went through all of the "baby" toys this past weekend and filled a basket full of rattles and toys for Wren to play with when she arrives.  He also helped me begin to fill her nightstand with socks, burp cloths, and bibs.  I've got to say, Oakes has been quite the helper in preparing for Wren and he's super-cute about talking to her in my belly and giving her kisses each night!  His friend, Eli's, mom had her baby girl this past week and Oakes knows all about baby Abbie.  We got to have a sneak peek at her on Halloween and hopefully we'll spend some time over there over the next week or so to show Oakes that Eli is a big brother also.

So here are two belly shots from Monday and our appointment update from today!
Blood Pressure: 114/70

Weight: +1 (total weight gain = +8 pounds)

Heartrate: 150bpm

The belly is measuring at 33.5 weeks (I'm 34w 2d) so that's good. Wren is also not breech and Dr. R said she could even wiggle Wren's head back and forth through my stomach in the lower abdominal region so Wren was definitely in the "ready to launch" position. They also took my 2nd sample for my bloodwork, though the doctor said my numbers from the first one were great so there shouldn't be any need to worry.  Oakes went with us to the appt and got to hear both Wren's heartbeat and his own with the doppler!

Our ultrasound is scheduled for next Thursday, November 10th at 3pm.  And our next doctor's appointment is on Monday, November 14th at 4pm (we have a pelvic exam and our Group B Strep test). After that, we'll begin going weekly to the appointments - yikes! ;) We'll keep you all posted on any progress!