If you followed my blog for any amount of time, you probably know how desperately I struggled with breastfeeding with Bella. I had a laundry list of things that could have caused supply issues that I battled for months. I honestly have never worked for anything in my life as hard as I worked to breastfeed Bella. By the end I was taking over 30 pills a day to try and up my supply, pumping constantly, nursing once a day (in the middle of the night, since that was the only time she would latch) and I still hadn't fully met her need. After 5 months of killing myself to give her breastmilk, I finally gave up. I had done the best I could, she didn't seem to have any type of preference and it had started to interfere with my time and energy towards just being with Bella. I figured formula and a happy, present mama was better than breastmilk and a frustrated mama who was constantly busy pumping and taking pills.
It was two short months after I finished breastfeeding that I was diagnosed with cancer. In retrospect it could have been the cancer causing my supply issues. It might not have been. No one knew for sure. I am going to take the perspective today that my journey was what allowed me to be so attuned to my breasts and find the cancer as quickly as I did. I am going to believe that it was a necessary evil. Perhaps if breastfeeding had gone well, and there hadn't been any supply issues, I wouldn't have noticed a lump, or I would have let it go longer, potentially creating a much more dangerous situation for myself. I choose to see it at a blessing in disguise.
Going into baby number two, I simply didn't know any of this for sure. I might still have supply issues, and I only have one breast now. In theory, we have two breasts so that we can feed twins. Many women feed their babies with only one breast for a multitude of reasons. I had to trust that this was a possibility for me too.
After Giancarlo was born, I made sure that the lactation consultant visited us before we left the hospital. We were set up with a supplemental nursing system, just in case I did need to supplement. This would allow him to receive supplemental formula, while still "nursing"- telling my body to make more milk, and telling him that milk came from the breast (no bottles). He received a tiny bit just so we could practice in the hospital. Then it was time to go home. Day 3 (same day as Bella's first meltdown) he was unsatisfied with colostrum, and my milk simply hadn't come in. I gave him one small supplement with the SNS and we had a good night. The next morning my milk had started to come in, though still not fully. He seemed unsatisfied again, so I set up the SNS for another small supplement. He was not terribly interested.
After the first supplement and the third, he spit up quite a bit. My gut told me it just wasn't great for him. I didn't want to start searching for other formula's yet though. I just wanted to take it as it went and my milk had just started to come in. I wasn't supplementing automatically, only if it seemed like he needed more.
After that morning supplement, he hasn't had a drop more of formula. I had it ready to go by my bed, and even brought it out on a few outings with us, thinking he would need it. But here we are, a week and a half out from that last supplement (and my milk coming in) and he hasn't needed anything. In fact, I have an over abundance of milk it seems. I am ready to start pumping once I figure out how to get it into my day. Aside from the standard advice of making sure they have enough wet and dirty diapers (which he has), at his 2 week check up, he had surpassed his birthweight by 5 ounces!!! He had gone up a full 10 ounces in a week on my milk alone.
I am so happy, and proud I can't even begin to tell you. Not only is this a personal achievement for me, and a wonderful thing for my sweet baby boy, but it also feels as though it is setting me on a different course than I was on last time. I shared at the end of my pregnancy how some of my fears were coming from the fact that the end of pregnancy felt like the beginning of my cancer story. Now, this time, the story is going differently. It is logically illogical to allow my fears to dissipate. I am increasingly seeing hope and joy for my future. Now I just need to physically heal from giving birth and I believe I will really get to start enjoying being the mother of two. I see the light!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Giancarlo's Birth Story
Let's start our story on Friday at my last OB appointment. As you know, I had tried to have my membranes stripped earlier in the week to no avail. I went to an acupuncturist on Thursday for a "natural induction" which definitely had things moving a bit. On Friday they stripped my membranes and I was measured at not quite 3 cms dilated. I was feeling good and positive that things would get going after this. I decided to go have Indian food for lunch (eggplant and spice- it had to help right?), my mom Bella and I went for a walk around the block after nap, and then Nick, Bella and I went to the mall for dinner where we would walk some more. I was bound and determined to make this labor happen.
Saturday morning I woke up after a horrible nights sleep, still pregnant and not in labor. I was frustrated to say the least, and tired and grumpy to boot. I was awake at least every hour between contractions and needing to pee and needing to switch sides. Nick was not easy to wake when Bella decided it was time to get up so I grumpily got up and decided we would go to the grocery store. Gratefully my mom agreed to go with us. The three of us arrived at Trader Joes and I was collecting the big cart while my mom and Bella went inside to retrieve the little cart for Bella (she loves pushing her own shopping cart around the store). I was distracted for a minute outside first by a low flying helicopter, and then by the pumpkins I was considering buying. As I stood there looking at pumpkins, I felt a gush of fluid. I stood there for a minute trying to determine if my water had just broken or if I had just peed myself a little. Yes, I was one of those women. I couldn't tell! I walked inside where my mom and Bella stood and I explained that I was looking at pumpkins but needed to go to the bathroom. I beelined to the restroom where I thought for sure my question would be quickly resolved. It wasn't. I had a pad with me, so I put it in and decided that I wasn't going to say anything and just finish grocery shopping. I thought it would be clear by the time I finished grocery shopping at the very least, and didn't want to rush home just to determine I was wrong. I would have been very irritated to go back to the grocery store at that point! =) So I went ahead and finished grocery shopping!
After arriving at home I had determined it was in fact my water that had broken, but clearly little boys head was acting as a plug and so there wasn't a lot of fluid coming out. Yet. I called my OBs office to give them a head's up that my water had broken. They called back and said I should go ahead and head down to the hospital. We all thought for sure I would go quickly once things started moving. At that point nothing else had changed for me- no more contractions, nothing painful, just some fluid.
So we gathered some things up (I had changed pants three times by this point because the gushes you expect had actually occurred), and headed out. We took Isabella to my dad's house, packed for the night, but with the expectation that we would have the baby by the end of the day and she would go home with my mom. We stopped to pick up some food for Nick (and me since I realized I needed a little something extra). We really didn't rush.
We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 or 2pm and checked in. We settled into our room where they put me on the monitor to check me and baby out, and we hunkered down until the doctor came to check me out. I was having contractions, but still nothing painful. Nothing that would have sent me to the hospital if I had been following typical orders (intense contractions 5 minutes apart that last 1 minute for 1 hour). By the time the doctor arrived I knew they would be talking pitocin. I wanted to hold out, sure things would start to move, but when she checked me and I had made no progress at all, I gave in.
Sometime in the evening we went ahead and started Pitocin. I genuinely believed things would get going soon. I walked, and showered, and sat on the birthing ball. I was so uncomfortable sitting in the hospital bed I felt like I wasn't going to get any sleep at all. I finally asked for some help, and was given a drug around midnight that made me happy and relaxed and allowed me to rest- finally. I had a second dose of this a few hours later and managed to get a few hours of sleep through the night. They continued upping my Pitocin little by little through the night.
By the morning I was very uncomfortable and having regular, painful contractions. I thought we were surely on our way by this point- and close to hitting the standard max of Pitocin I knew we needed to be. I was finally uncomfortable enough that I decided I would get the epidural which meant moving to the delivery room. I told them I wanted to eat breakfast, digest a little, and then it would be epidural time. We actually moved quickly after I ate breakfast. I actually had to stop in the hallway on my walk to the delivery room because a contraction hit me so hard. I thought for sure they would check me and we would be cruising right along.
Once in the delivery room, epidural placed and much happier, the doctor came in to check me and much to our surprise, dismay, and disappointment, I had barely progressed. I was still at 3 cms. I couldn't believe after all the pitocin, the discomfort, everything, this baby was holding strong and just not coming. They placed an internal monitor for my contractions to get a better idea of what was going on. No one was worried about the baby- he looked great on the monitor and no one was talking about any further intervention at that point. My doctor essentially felt that I just hadn't really been in labor yet (clearly) and that was okay. I was just starting to hit active labor (which admittedly made me feel like a little bit of a wuss since I already had the epidural). I was crushed. My dad brought Bella down to visit and my sister KC was with them as well. She had driven down from Sacramento that day. I told her I was sorry but I didn't think she was going to get to meet her nephew that day.
After a chaotic visit (I had my dad, his partner Vicki, both my sisters, Nick, Bella, my niece, my mom and Nick's mom all in my room) I asked that everyone go to lunch for a little bit so I could rest. While they were gone my epidural went lopsided and I was in quite a bit of pain. My nurse also decided that she wanted the doctor to replace my internal monitor because she felt that it wasn't reading the intensity of my contractions accurately. At 1:30pm she checked me and I still hadn't progressed. I switched sides to try and redistribute the epidural while we waited for the doctor. At 2pm the doctor arrived to check the monitor. She checked me before doing this and found that I had gone from 3cms to 5 cms in that half an hour! Success! She also felt the monitor was fine which meant I could receive some more Pitocin (we had now crossed the standard cap). Meanwhile, the contractions became very painful on one side with the lopsided epidural.
Everyone came back to say goodbye and we called the anesthesiologist to give me a little more medicine to fix the epidural. I started feeling confident that we might just have our baby before the end of the day. I set a new goal of delivering before dinner (because by this point I was hungry!) and that would also mean that Bella could meet her baby brother.
I started feeling pressure and kept my nurse informed. I guess I was a little too calm about it or something. I told her when the pressure started and then when I could feel him moving into the birth canal more fully. I didn't feel the urgency to push, but knew that it meant he was close. She finally decided to check me and low and behold I was fully dilated and ready to go! She told me not to move and keep my legs closed because she needed to get my doctor down there! =) My doctor arrived shortly and we got to the business of pushing. After a couple of minutes of me complaining that I couldn't breathe (well I couldn't!) I started pushing. Altogether once the doctor arrived and I got down to business, it was less than 15 minutes of pushing. Giancarlo was born at 4:23pm.
So from 1:30 to 4pm I went from 3cms to fully dilated and ready to go. Talk about speedy! That was the labor I imagined I'd have- minus the 24 or so hours leading up to that! I suppose if I'd stayed home and followed the typical rules about when to go to the hospital, that is what I would have gotten. Who knows. Maybe if I have a third baby I'll give myself the opportunity to find out. I no longer feel like I missed out on an experience though. I'm pretty clear that I'm a fan of the epidural and see no reason to suffer through labor pains. It clearly didn't delay my labor at all! It would be nice to avoid the pitocin, but at least I got to experience the "it's time" water breaking moment! I also only had a first degree tear, which according to my doctor only happened because he corkscrewed himself out at the last moment.
There you go. Giancarlo's birth story. Not the story I'd imagined for myself, but as with any healthy baby- a happy ending. I'm still healing but in much better shape than the first time around. No narcotics needed, only ibuprofen. I was on my feet a few hours after birth without much trouble, and it only took that long due to the extra dose of epidural I had received so shortly before birth. Took awhile to regain full feeling of my legs!
We are all adjusting to our new life and recovering from the major event. Bella struggled quite a bit the first week, but that another story for another day. As of today things look good, and we are very happy. Our expanded little family of four.
Saturday morning I woke up after a horrible nights sleep, still pregnant and not in labor. I was frustrated to say the least, and tired and grumpy to boot. I was awake at least every hour between contractions and needing to pee and needing to switch sides. Nick was not easy to wake when Bella decided it was time to get up so I grumpily got up and decided we would go to the grocery store. Gratefully my mom agreed to go with us. The three of us arrived at Trader Joes and I was collecting the big cart while my mom and Bella went inside to retrieve the little cart for Bella (she loves pushing her own shopping cart around the store). I was distracted for a minute outside first by a low flying helicopter, and then by the pumpkins I was considering buying. As I stood there looking at pumpkins, I felt a gush of fluid. I stood there for a minute trying to determine if my water had just broken or if I had just peed myself a little. Yes, I was one of those women. I couldn't tell! I walked inside where my mom and Bella stood and I explained that I was looking at pumpkins but needed to go to the bathroom. I beelined to the restroom where I thought for sure my question would be quickly resolved. It wasn't. I had a pad with me, so I put it in and decided that I wasn't going to say anything and just finish grocery shopping. I thought it would be clear by the time I finished grocery shopping at the very least, and didn't want to rush home just to determine I was wrong. I would have been very irritated to go back to the grocery store at that point! =) So I went ahead and finished grocery shopping!
After arriving at home I had determined it was in fact my water that had broken, but clearly little boys head was acting as a plug and so there wasn't a lot of fluid coming out. Yet. I called my OBs office to give them a head's up that my water had broken. They called back and said I should go ahead and head down to the hospital. We all thought for sure I would go quickly once things started moving. At that point nothing else had changed for me- no more contractions, nothing painful, just some fluid.
So we gathered some things up (I had changed pants three times by this point because the gushes you expect had actually occurred), and headed out. We took Isabella to my dad's house, packed for the night, but with the expectation that we would have the baby by the end of the day and she would go home with my mom. We stopped to pick up some food for Nick (and me since I realized I needed a little something extra). We really didn't rush.
We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 or 2pm and checked in. We settled into our room where they put me on the monitor to check me and baby out, and we hunkered down until the doctor came to check me out. I was having contractions, but still nothing painful. Nothing that would have sent me to the hospital if I had been following typical orders (intense contractions 5 minutes apart that last 1 minute for 1 hour). By the time the doctor arrived I knew they would be talking pitocin. I wanted to hold out, sure things would start to move, but when she checked me and I had made no progress at all, I gave in.
Sometime in the evening we went ahead and started Pitocin. I genuinely believed things would get going soon. I walked, and showered, and sat on the birthing ball. I was so uncomfortable sitting in the hospital bed I felt like I wasn't going to get any sleep at all. I finally asked for some help, and was given a drug around midnight that made me happy and relaxed and allowed me to rest- finally. I had a second dose of this a few hours later and managed to get a few hours of sleep through the night. They continued upping my Pitocin little by little through the night.
By the morning I was very uncomfortable and having regular, painful contractions. I thought we were surely on our way by this point- and close to hitting the standard max of Pitocin I knew we needed to be. I was finally uncomfortable enough that I decided I would get the epidural which meant moving to the delivery room. I told them I wanted to eat breakfast, digest a little, and then it would be epidural time. We actually moved quickly after I ate breakfast. I actually had to stop in the hallway on my walk to the delivery room because a contraction hit me so hard. I thought for sure they would check me and we would be cruising right along.
Once in the delivery room, epidural placed and much happier, the doctor came in to check me and much to our surprise, dismay, and disappointment, I had barely progressed. I was still at 3 cms. I couldn't believe after all the pitocin, the discomfort, everything, this baby was holding strong and just not coming. They placed an internal monitor for my contractions to get a better idea of what was going on. No one was worried about the baby- he looked great on the monitor and no one was talking about any further intervention at that point. My doctor essentially felt that I just hadn't really been in labor yet (clearly) and that was okay. I was just starting to hit active labor (which admittedly made me feel like a little bit of a wuss since I already had the epidural). I was crushed. My dad brought Bella down to visit and my sister KC was with them as well. She had driven down from Sacramento that day. I told her I was sorry but I didn't think she was going to get to meet her nephew that day.
After a chaotic visit (I had my dad, his partner Vicki, both my sisters, Nick, Bella, my niece, my mom and Nick's mom all in my room) I asked that everyone go to lunch for a little bit so I could rest. While they were gone my epidural went lopsided and I was in quite a bit of pain. My nurse also decided that she wanted the doctor to replace my internal monitor because she felt that it wasn't reading the intensity of my contractions accurately. At 1:30pm she checked me and I still hadn't progressed. I switched sides to try and redistribute the epidural while we waited for the doctor. At 2pm the doctor arrived to check the monitor. She checked me before doing this and found that I had gone from 3cms to 5 cms in that half an hour! Success! She also felt the monitor was fine which meant I could receive some more Pitocin (we had now crossed the standard cap). Meanwhile, the contractions became very painful on one side with the lopsided epidural.
Everyone came back to say goodbye and we called the anesthesiologist to give me a little more medicine to fix the epidural. I started feeling confident that we might just have our baby before the end of the day. I set a new goal of delivering before dinner (because by this point I was hungry!) and that would also mean that Bella could meet her baby brother.
I started feeling pressure and kept my nurse informed. I guess I was a little too calm about it or something. I told her when the pressure started and then when I could feel him moving into the birth canal more fully. I didn't feel the urgency to push, but knew that it meant he was close. She finally decided to check me and low and behold I was fully dilated and ready to go! She told me not to move and keep my legs closed because she needed to get my doctor down there! =) My doctor arrived shortly and we got to the business of pushing. After a couple of minutes of me complaining that I couldn't breathe (well I couldn't!) I started pushing. Altogether once the doctor arrived and I got down to business, it was less than 15 minutes of pushing. Giancarlo was born at 4:23pm.
So from 1:30 to 4pm I went from 3cms to fully dilated and ready to go. Talk about speedy! That was the labor I imagined I'd have- minus the 24 or so hours leading up to that! I suppose if I'd stayed home and followed the typical rules about when to go to the hospital, that is what I would have gotten. Who knows. Maybe if I have a third baby I'll give myself the opportunity to find out. I no longer feel like I missed out on an experience though. I'm pretty clear that I'm a fan of the epidural and see no reason to suffer through labor pains. It clearly didn't delay my labor at all! It would be nice to avoid the pitocin, but at least I got to experience the "it's time" water breaking moment! I also only had a first degree tear, which according to my doctor only happened because he corkscrewed himself out at the last moment.
There you go. Giancarlo's birth story. Not the story I'd imagined for myself, but as with any healthy baby- a happy ending. I'm still healing but in much better shape than the first time around. No narcotics needed, only ibuprofen. I was on my feet a few hours after birth without much trouble, and it only took that long due to the extra dose of epidural I had received so shortly before birth. Took awhile to regain full feeling of my legs!
We are all adjusting to our new life and recovering from the major event. Bella struggled quite a bit the first week, but that another story for another day. As of today things look good, and we are very happy. Our expanded little family of four.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
He's Here!
Welcome to the world Giancarlo Luca! Our little man arrived on Sunday October 14th at 4:23 pm. He weighed 9 lbs 3 oz and was 21.75 inches long. I always said I was going to have a 9-9.5 lb baby! As you may know, we struggled immensely with names and this was honestly not even a semi front runner until one week before he was born, but once I researched it, I discovered it was in fact the perfect name. One of the issues that I struggled with regarding his name was my desire to have a nod to my family included somewhere. The only name consistently found on both sides of my family are variations of John/Jack. I had considered Jack as a middle name, but Nick didn't love it. Well, Gian is the Italian spelling of John (and Jack is in fact a nickname for John). So there is my family tie. Meanwhile Nick wanted to pass down his middle name since it is a family name too. I didn't love it just like he didn't love Jack. Well that name is Charles, and Carlo is in fact the Italian version of Charles. So go figure, we both got what we wanted! The middle name just flowed with it, and I particularly liked the meaning- light. I still held out commitment until we saw him, just in case we gave birth to a blond baby (theoretically possible, though unlikely). Once our handsome dark haired, brown eyed boy was born, we knew it was perfect. We also have a sweet nickname that I love- Gio. I will post the full birth story separately.
We love you already!
We love you already!
Friday, October 12, 2012
39 weeks pregnancy questionnaire
How far along? 39 weeks
How big is baby? 19-22 in, 7.5 lbs- by my app on my phone, but probably more like 8.5 lbs!
Total weight gain/loss: I have gained one pound. =)
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: Very difficult. Waking regularly between needing to pee, contracting, switching sides... I'm lucky to get a solid hour these days.
Best moment this week: After yet another meltdown due to the universe telling me it is not yet time to have this baby, my sister showed up for me and called her acupuncturist to get me an appointment asap. It definitely had me contracting, so we will see if it works!
Movement: Very active though running out of room
Food cravings: None
Food Aversions: none
Gender: All boy
Labor Signs: Tons of contractions, some real, some "practice, dilated to nearly 3 cms!
Pregnancy Symptoms: All of the old standards still apply.
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: my sanity.
What I am looking forward to: meeting our little man one way or another sometime this week.
Upcoming appointments/events: I go back to the OB on Monday if I haven't gone into labor by then. We will schedule the induction at that time.
Weekly Wisdom: You have no control. Accept that now.
Milestones: no real milestones this week...
Bump Picture: 39 weeks This will be the last picture no matter what since my induction will be scheduled on or before my due date. As big as I'm gonna get!
How big is baby? 19-22 in, 7.5 lbs- by my app on my phone, but probably more like 8.5 lbs!
Total weight gain/loss: I have gained one pound. =)
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: Very difficult. Waking regularly between needing to pee, contracting, switching sides... I'm lucky to get a solid hour these days.
Best moment this week: After yet another meltdown due to the universe telling me it is not yet time to have this baby, my sister showed up for me and called her acupuncturist to get me an appointment asap. It definitely had me contracting, so we will see if it works!
Movement: Very active though running out of room
Food cravings: None
Food Aversions: none
Gender: All boy
Labor Signs: Tons of contractions, some real, some "practice, dilated to nearly 3 cms!
Pregnancy Symptoms: All of the old standards still apply.
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: my sanity.
What I am looking forward to: meeting our little man one way or another sometime this week.
Upcoming appointments/events: I go back to the OB on Monday if I haven't gone into labor by then. We will schedule the induction at that time.
Weekly Wisdom: You have no control. Accept that now.
Milestones: no real milestones this week...
Bump Picture: 39 weeks This will be the last picture no matter what since my induction will be scheduled on or before my due date. As big as I'm gonna get!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Sometimes the universe has other plans...
I woke up this morning feeling rather frustrated as I get closer and closer to having to schedule my induction. So to take charge I decided to call my doctors office and head down to have my membranes stripped between my weekly appointments. I thought if it didn't get things going on its own, that coupled with doing it again on Friday, surely I'd been in labor by the end of the weekend.
I got to my doctors office, checked in and settled in to wait for my appointment. As I sat there I started to smell gas. Natural gas, the type you'd smell from your gas stovetop if it didn't light properly. I stood up to ask the ladies at the front if they smelled it too and heard them talking about it. All of us smelled it and it had come on quite suddenly. We all started to go outside (maybe it would be better?) while the office manager called the fire department. She came out and indicated we all needed to evacuate fully. And so, I was not seen. No taking charge, no forging ahead. Just more sitting and waiting.
I am still scheduled for Friday but will also be scheduling my induction date on Friday. I was really really hoping to avoid even scheduling induction, let alone having one. I'm not sure at what point during the week we will schedule the induction, and clearly we still have some time but I'm feeling the pressure and a bit disappointed that I'm even at this point. Today was just one more blow.
So send me baby having juju! If he was born any time tomorrow his birthday would be 10-11-12. How cute would that be?!?! Come on baby boy- it is time!!!
I got to my doctors office, checked in and settled in to wait for my appointment. As I sat there I started to smell gas. Natural gas, the type you'd smell from your gas stovetop if it didn't light properly. I stood up to ask the ladies at the front if they smelled it too and heard them talking about it. All of us smelled it and it had come on quite suddenly. We all started to go outside (maybe it would be better?) while the office manager called the fire department. She came out and indicated we all needed to evacuate fully. And so, I was not seen. No taking charge, no forging ahead. Just more sitting and waiting.
I am still scheduled for Friday but will also be scheduling my induction date on Friday. I was really really hoping to avoid even scheduling induction, let alone having one. I'm not sure at what point during the week we will schedule the induction, and clearly we still have some time but I'm feeling the pressure and a bit disappointed that I'm even at this point. Today was just one more blow.
So send me baby having juju! If he was born any time tomorrow his birthday would be 10-11-12. How cute would that be?!?! Come on baby boy- it is time!!!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The waiting game
I'm trying very hard these days to not "just wait" for our little man to make his appearance. Admittedly however, I am getting grumpier and grumpier each day that he doesn't decide to join us. I've decided it is primarily due to the fact that I am yet again facing down the barrel of the induction gun. If he doesn't come on his own first, I will be scheduled for induction some time next week. I really really want to avoid that. I just believe whole heartedly that if my body gets to do it the old fashioned way, that it will be a quick process. I've been contracting like crazy for two weeks now. And I'm not just talking about the contractions that I've been having for months. These ones are different. I've decided I'm in prodromal labor, which is a fancy word for "your body is laboring and getting things going, but not kicking into active labor and just means you get to be uncomfortable on and off until this baby decides its time to come." Yeah, awesome. Maybe there is something to be said for induction. True I had a 45 hour induction and that felt like forever, but it might be better than contracting on and off for weeks. At least I didn't feel desperate to get Bella out of me like I feel this time. Other than just wanting to avoid induction, I was okay. I could rest when I wanted, do what I wanted, and wasn't horribly horribly uncomfortable. Well I was in more constant pain ironically.
So anyhow, there's my (sadly disgruntled) update. No news. I go to bed every night hoping my water will break, only to wake up in the morning disappointed that I have another day in front of me that I have to figure out what to do with. Poor Bella deserves a mommy who can do more than put on another cartoon. I'm trying, but it is exhausting. Mommies deserve maternity leave too you know. =) Here's hoping I'll have some different news soon!
So anyhow, there's my (sadly disgruntled) update. No news. I go to bed every night hoping my water will break, only to wake up in the morning disappointed that I have another day in front of me that I have to figure out what to do with. Poor Bella deserves a mommy who can do more than put on another cartoon. I'm trying, but it is exhausting. Mommies deserve maternity leave too you know. =) Here's hoping I'll have some different news soon!
Friday, October 5, 2012
38 weeks Pregnancy Questionnaire
How far along? 38 weeks
How big is baby? 19-22 in, not quite 7 lbs- by my app on my phone, but probably more like 7 lbs 10 oz!
Total weight gain/loss: Still about prepregnancy weight
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: It is getting harder for sure. I'm hurting more again and it is really hard to flip from side to side to alleviate the pressure. I'm also waking around 5:30am each morning and struggling to go back to sleep for 1-2 hours. Brutal!
Best moment this week: Had a solid conversation with Nick about names (just tonight!) and think we have some strong contenders going in to game time. I think we both feel much more comfortable than we did before.
Movement: Still pretty active. It was tough to keep him on the monitor at this week's NST.
Food cravings: None
Food Aversions: none
Gender: All boy
Labor Signs: Tons of contractions, some even felt "real". A little more progress made but wavering between hopeful that labor is imminent and thinking I'm still facing induction in about a week and a half...
Pregnancy Symptoms: All of the old standards still apply.
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Not spending each night contracting to distraction and wondering if maybe, just maybe, my water will break in the middle of the night only to wake up semi disappointed that it has not.
What I am looking forward to: meeting our little boy (hopefully soon!) and maybe getting a little bit of "me" back.
Upcoming appointments/events: NST on Tuesday and OB on Friday. Fingers crossed that I do not make either of these appointments.
Weekly Wisdom: Expectations often lead to disappointment. Try to let go.
Milestones: no real milestones this week...
Bump Picture: 38 weeks
How big is baby? 19-22 in, not quite 7 lbs- by my app on my phone, but probably more like 7 lbs 10 oz!
Total weight gain/loss: Still about prepregnancy weight
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: It is getting harder for sure. I'm hurting more again and it is really hard to flip from side to side to alleviate the pressure. I'm also waking around 5:30am each morning and struggling to go back to sleep for 1-2 hours. Brutal!
Best moment this week: Had a solid conversation with Nick about names (just tonight!) and think we have some strong contenders going in to game time. I think we both feel much more comfortable than we did before.
Movement: Still pretty active. It was tough to keep him on the monitor at this week's NST.
Food cravings: None
Food Aversions: none
Gender: All boy
Labor Signs: Tons of contractions, some even felt "real". A little more progress made but wavering between hopeful that labor is imminent and thinking I'm still facing induction in about a week and a half...
Pregnancy Symptoms: All of the old standards still apply.
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Not spending each night contracting to distraction and wondering if maybe, just maybe, my water will break in the middle of the night only to wake up semi disappointed that it has not.
What I am looking forward to: meeting our little boy (hopefully soon!) and maybe getting a little bit of "me" back.
Upcoming appointments/events: NST on Tuesday and OB on Friday. Fingers crossed that I do not make either of these appointments.
Weekly Wisdom: Expectations often lead to disappointment. Try to let go.
Milestones: no real milestones this week...
Bump Picture: 38 weeks
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