38 Weeks

 

(Excuse the painter's tape, just the windows are left to be done!)

I am beyond tired today and don't think I went to bed until 5am for some reason.  What is going on?  I don't stay up thinking about anything, I listen to my hypnobirthing scripts, but I just can't seem to fall asleep lately, although last night was a rough one, I've never stayed up that late, tossing and turning, before.  I am very comfy in bed and have nothing really on my mind, it's weird.  So, all I feel like doing today is laying on the couch but our couches are getting cleaned so I may just have to lay in bed instead!

Baby news:  She has definitely moved down because I no longer feel her little feet tucked up into my ribs like I did a couple of weeks ago.  Now the movements I mostly feel are hiccups, way down low, and knees (could be feet) on the sides of my stomach just grazing by.  They poke out and you can see them and I think it's her knees because I think her feet are tucked up underneath them.  It's strange how her movements are slowing down, they say they do this towards the end and have sleeping patterns like newborns, and there are really no more kicks just kind of sweeping movements.  I have to stop sometimes and make sure she's moving still and whenever I think she isn't, I feel her, and then my mind is at ease again.  I wonder what she's doing in there, if it's cramped and if she is just out of room.  I wonder how big she is (there really is no way of knowing, although doctors can guess and she was small when they guessed) and exactly what she looks like, even though we have the 3D ultrasound pics.  I just can't wait to meet her, I wish she'd come out so we could kiss and cuddle her!

This week Ian prepped and painted the back of our house (see this post for when we started this project) while I stayed inside and cleaned and organized.  My mom came over on Friday to help, wearing a heart monitor (she's ok, just a 24 hour monitor check up) and she worked her butt off!  She was a cleaning machine and by the time I puttered out at around 2pm she was still in my bathroom on her hands and knees scrubbing away.  I have mentioned my mom multiple times on here but I just want to say again that we could not have gotten the house ready, the baby's room ready or my mind ready if it weren't for her.  She is the most amazing person, my favorite person, an incredible mother and my best friend.  She and Joe, my step-dad, have done so much for us, it's unbelievable.  I told her to go home and rest but there she was, still scrubbing my bathroom, while she made me lay down.  Who is this 60 year old woman?  She is amazing, and that word doesn't even do her justice.  If you know her, you know what I mean.

Our couches are getting cleaned today for the first time in 6 years or something and our house is getting professionally cleaned tomorrow for the first time ever.  On Friday my mom and I are going grocery shopping for freezer stuff for when baby comes and then we are done.  Ian should be done with touch-ups by then too and then we are just . . . waiting.  

Speaking of waiting, it's a funny thing.  You try to make a baby (for us it took 8 months the first time and 6 months the second time) and then you wait for that line to appear on your stick.  Then, you wait until you are 3 months pregnant to find out if baby is ok and is healthy and they you wait some more.  You wait until you feel better, you wait until you start to show, you wait to find out the sex, you wait to feel the kicks, you wait until work is over, you wait until you feel her slow down (they do this towards the end), you wait for contractions (surges, in hypnobirthing terms) and then you wait for her to come.  It sounds, and feels at the time, like a whole lot of waiting.  But, all of a sudden you are 38 weeks and 4 days and it's almost time.  Then you find yourself just waiting to meet her.  I am not nervous or stressed, I am just excited and anxious.  Anxious to find out what labor is all about, anxious on how it is going to happen and when and excited to meet our little girl.  The waiting seems like it takes forever, but it really doesn't.  It goes by slowly but really it doesn't, it's the strangest thing.  I can remember seeing that stick for the first time, not believing my eyes, and then fast forward to now - when she could come at any moment.  Time flies, it really does.

 (Some other friend of ours that seem to be waiting for Lemon too!  I swear they know something is up!)

We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and our doctor is out of town (I'm kind of hoping I go into labor while she's gone!) so we saw our incredible nurse practitioner, Nancy, and she checked my dilation again.  From half a centimeter last week to a full centimeter this week it's not much to write about because I know it all really doesn't matter.  There are people who go from 0 to 10 in a day so I'm really not worried, it's just funny how they check when it really doesn't matter at all.  My yoga teacher suggests that you can have them check but not have them tell you, because it could mess with your head (all that waiting again!) but I'm realistic and know how it works.  They can check and tell me and I know she will come when she's ready.  I just hope it's sooner than later because then Ian will get more time with Lemon before going back to work on July 31st.

We are practicing all of our natural induction techniques and I have been pretty consistent with my perineal massage.  I also have been walking twice a week for a half hour on the treadmill (I know, I need to up this!) and using 5 pound weights while doing it to keep up my arm strength for holding baby.  Sex, and sperm, are great labor starters but, as you pregnant ladies know, it is hard to get comfy (and sometimes feel sexy) but I am actually pretty into all of it (TMI!).  Ian, on the other hand, has been working his butt off for 5-7 hours a day, in 110 degree weather, so at night it's sometimes tough to practice this one.  But, we are on it and know that it's the best way to get things moving at this point!  Speaking of - my poor husband works so hard while I try to do things inside but am not much help at this point - have I mentioned before how lucky I am to have him?  Right now he is out front touching up paint at 12pm in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day while I sit here blogging in 75 degrees.  He is incredible.  

 

(We rented a paint sprayer from Home Depot last week to get the big stuff.)

(Same wall as above, up until last week and since last summer.  That's lead paint that has been chipped away and sealed it.  Ah the joys of living in a house built in 1959!)

(We painted the front of our house last summer but didn't get to the back, so here it is finally gray like the front!  Wahoooo!)

(I made a yummy chicken salad that Ian's mom, Patty, gave me the recipe for while Ian painted one day.  It was a pain to cut everything up but we ended up having it for lunch for about 5 days - it was awesome!  Just pineapples, mandarin oranges black and green olives, grapes, onions, celery, grilled organic chicken, miracle whip, dry mustard, regular mustard, almond slices and raisins.  So good!)

 

(A very blurry me on the treadmill.  9.5 months pregnant, pretty good!)

Christine has been also hanging with us a few nights this week and I went swimming with her and Espen this past weekend too.  Her boyfriend is out of town, and has been for over 3 weeks, so I'm happy we get to entertain her while he's away, I always love spending time with her.  I also love that everyone comes over to hang out because I really don't feel like putting on real clothes, or makeup for that matter, to go anywhere lately - mostly because I'm so tired all the time.  Ian and I have started to take 2 hour naps (we call them snappys - fast naps) during the day so that helps us stay up at night to watch House (a series we started this summer) and then I try to get in bed by 12am and fall asleep - and sometimes it works.

Oh and guess what?!  My yoga friend Amy had her daughter, Mabel, last night so guess who is now the most pregnant person at prenatal yoga?  This girl!!!  How crazy is that?  I remember when I first went to that class on a Wednesday night (March 7th, when I was 22 weeks pregnant), and I was one of the least pregnant people there, and looked across at the really pregnant ladies and thought - will that be me one day?  And tonight, it is me!  On Saturday morning, after yoga, I went to breakfast with 3 of my yoga friends and hope that we can go to dinner again tonight together.  I am really going to miss them after I have the baby, I hope we can all keep in touch!  Prenatal yoga has been one of the most amazing things I've done pregnant, I suggest it to all moms out there, it is a bonding experience like no other and has kept me healthy, flexible and not swollen (along with leg rubs from my husband)!  Go, meet other pregnant women when you are pregnant, there is seriously nothing else like it.

Not much else to add.  Our checklist is dwindling away and after Friday we are done with everything and are just getting excited to meet our little friend.  I did visit with a pediatrician this week (my mom came along because I had no idea what to ask!) and thought I'd post our questions here (we ended up loving her) as well as the questions I had for my hospital visit, but never got to ask because our tour guide knew nothing (see this post).  Hopefully I can go back there some day soon but if not, I'm not worried and have gotten most of them answered by our doctor.  Just thought some would like to see what we asked (or would have asked) so that when you go you can make your own list by just adding to ours!

COME ON, LEMON!!!!

Questions we asked our pediatrician:

• What is your philosophy on child rearing?
• Do you accept our insurance?
• How much are your hospital charges/fees for office visits with our insurance? 
• Does a nurse practitioner work in your office?  Who will I see on visits?
• Do you return phone calls in a timely manner?  
• Can I call just to ask questions instead of bringing our baby in?
• What is the length of appointments usually?
• Do you have a "sick" and "well" waiting room?
• How often will you want to see our newborn the first year?  What are those visits usually like?
• If you share a practice, will I always see you?
• Do you have evening or Saturday hours in case of after hour appointments?
• Do you have "same day sick" appointments?
• Do you have email?
• Which vaccines do you give infants and when?
• When do we call?  What constitutes a visit?
• Do you believe in natural healing with babies or is medication always the best?
• How many years have you been in practice?  What are your specialities?
• As a pediatrician, what are your biggest concerns with infants?
• Are there resources available to me?
• Do you come to the hospital for the initial meeting?  

Questions I wanted to ask during our hospital tour:

• What are your c-section and episiotomy rates?
• Do you have an iPod hookup with speakers?
  Do you have a DVD player?
• Can we dim the lights and bring in LED candles?
• Can I labor in the tub?  What about after my water breaks?
• What are the extra costs associated with labor/delivery?
• Will I be able to move around?  Can I walk, do you have a labor bar/stool?
• Are there classes we will need to take before we are released?
• How do we check in?  Where?  Parking?  ER?  Pre-registration?
• Can we bring our cloth diapers?
• Where is the snack machine?
• What is the temperature like in the rooms?  
• Is there a lactation consultant?  Will I need my breast pump?
• Do you do car seat checks before we leave?
• Do you have a pediatrician or should we notify you of our own?
• Do your nurses know what hypnobirthing is?  Are they familiar with the practice?
• Do you have a freezer for popsicles?
• Can I eat/drink on my own?  Do I need to be hooked up to an IV for fluids?
• Do you have a birthing ball?
• How much activity am I allowed during labor?
• Is our baby in our room with us after birth or will she be moved to a nursery?
• Is there newborn care on site in case there is an issue?  Will she have to be taken anywhere?
• Do you have any forms of drug free pain relief you can offer?
• What are your views on pacifiers, formula, and sugar water?  Policies for giving these to baby?
• I have a wheat allergy, can you accomodate?
• What is your fetal monitoring policy?
• What is your cell phone policy?  Do they work in the rooms?
• Where is visitor parking?  How many visitors can we have?  Can we request no visitors for the first two hours after birth?
• What are your checkout procedures?
• IV procedures?