It's Almost Go Time

Today is Brighton's Due Date
September 3, 2010

I had my 40 week appointment today and Dr. Nicholson finally checked my progress!! I was so relieved to hear her say "I can feel the baby's head!" My cervix was 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced this morning and the baby's head was down at -1 (this is good and means she is ready to come out!)

Dr. Nicholson also scraped/broke my membranes and now I am experience some very light bleeding just an hour later!

I've consistently been experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions all week. They started out pretty inconsistent last week. They have not been painful at all but have been pretty strong so my uterus is doing it's job!

I did schedule a 41 week appointment and ultra sound for a stress test next Thursday and I have an induction scheduled for Monday, September 13 at 11:00 just in case! It is highly doubtful that I will make it to next Thursday - keep your fingers crossed!

My bags are packed, minus the toiletries that will get thrown in a bag when we're ready to go, we've got the dogs taken care of and now I just need to clean the house so it's spic and span when we return from the hospital with Brighton! I'm praying for a weekend delivery:)

How far along? 40 weeks, today is our due date!
Total weight gain/loss: About 33 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Ready to throw them out the window.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: I have not slept much at all the last 2 nights. My hips, back, and groin area are really uncomfortable and it is a task to roll over - which I do every 5 minutes it seems like. I get up to use the bathroom non stop and getting out of bed takes quite a bit of arm strength - I can't wait to use my ab muscles again!
Best moment this week: Finding out that labor is probably just around the corner!
Movement: A lot the last two days - it feels like she is diving towards my pelvic area.
Food cravings: Not really - but I did attend a baby shower and ate about 10 lemon bars so I made some the other day - mine weren't quite as good though!
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: YES! Finally! 3 cm dilated, 70% effaced, head down at -1 in the pelvis and we've got some blood, too!
Belly Button in or out? Hasn't changed - flat.
What I miss: Using my ab muscles.
What I am looking forward to: Going into labor!
Weekly Wisdom: REST before labor comes!
Milestones: Finding out how far along we are in the labor process:)

We'll keep everyone updated via text and Facebook as much as we can! We are excited to introduce our new addition to the world, our family, and friends!

Waiting....

STILL WAITING.....

The nursery is almost done! We decided to redo the nursery closet (I will have custom closets professionally built in my next home in all rooms) and purchased a closet kit. It's real wood and very pretty, but there is one drawback. You have to put it together yourself! Shawn opened the box and the list of necessary materials included a a power saw! Yes, he's had to cut a few pieces. I just let him do his thing and shut the door so the dogs don't bother him and every other word out of his mouth - is "shit" or "holy fuck nuts". One of Shawn's least favorite things to do is to put things together and to pretend to be a carpenter even though he has redone our bathroom, started digging a pond, scraped and painted every ceiling in our house, remounted a kitchen cabinet, put together a changing table, and the list goes on. He has no idea what he is doing, but it all has turned out really well and has saved us tons of money!

Between gifts, gift cards, and purchasing a few items ourselves, I think we have all of the baby gear covered for a while. I still need to get an activity mat for baby to play on the floor with and Shawn is getting a baby bath tub from a client of his. I also need to figure out where to put baby books - the bookshelf I have will be too large I think! The nursery is covered in what WAS in the closest until Shawn finishes - hopefully tomorrow I can organize!

We are SO READY to meet baby Brighton we can hardly stand it! It is kind of strange preparing for a person that you have never met, but knowing how in love you will be when they arrive makes it all worth it!

I keep threatening Shawn that I will bring my laptop into labor and delivery to send Facebook updates - ha! I can't wait to show her off to everyone!

Keep us in your prayers!

How far along? 39 weeks 3 days - far enough!
Total weight gain/loss: I don't even care anymore - I eat whatever I want - it'll all come off eventually and I'll never get to eat whatever I feel like eating again! I think I've gained close to 35 pounds and still try to fit in my XS and S bedroom shorts all day at home while I work.
Maternity clothes? Sick of them!
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Not too shabby these days! It's just interesting to roll over and get out of bed to pee 5 times a night. I sleep pretty well though!
Best moment this week: Dinner out with Shawn at 411. We haven't been out to a nice dinner in a while and it will probably be our last!
Movement: No longer moving all over the place like a gymnast - I'm sure she is starting to run out of room at this point.
Food cravings: No cravings - I eat when I'm hungry and eat whatever is in the fridge or whatever I feel like eating on the menu. Last week I did eat a the GSC three times and got creamy tomato soup and a BLT!
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Quite a bit of Braxton-Hicks contractions - at least that's what I think they are.
Belly Button in or out? Hasn't changed - flat.
What I miss: Being normal.
What I am looking forward to: Going into labor!
Weekly Wisdom: Hmmm.....drink lots of water.
Milestones: Getting the nursery closet installed - thanks Shawn and finally finishing with baby shopping!

Congratulations to Laura and Charlie on their new addition, Mason!

The Watermelon - Hooray!

August 13, 2010: 37 weeks

We've made it to full term at 37 weeks and baby is finally head down and has been there for a whole week now! At my 35 week ultrasound due to measuring "small to date" she was still sideways and had been since at least 19 weeks (my second ultrasound). Last week at my 36 week appointment it was confirmed that she was head down and again today at 37 weeks! The doctor, nurse and I were thrilled and shouted for joy and asked Brighton to stay there!

Today I saw Dr. Nicholson for the first time and I LOVED her! I also really liked her Nurse, too. She was like a mini doctor unlike the other nurses I've seen. Dr. Nicholson was very personable and soft spoken when she needed to be, she was excited to be seeing her patients and got to know me and my pregnancy very quickly. I actually get to see Dr. Nicholson next Friday and the following Friday if we make it that far. She said that the baby's head was really low and right in position to come on out! She said it seemed like baby was getting ready to greet the world.

When the nurse measured me I measured at about 35 weeks, so a small baby we will probably have - but they did say it would make delivery "easier" with a smaller baby. All is well and healthy which is all I care about. Dr. Nicholson really eased my fears about labor and delivery and pain - I kind of hope she is on call when I go into labor.

How far along? 37 weeks on the dot! The pictures above were taken about 5 days ago. You should be able to see that the shape of my belly is different from the pictures I posted last time. She went from head sideways to head down during that time - big change in how I feel and in how I look.
Total weight gain/loss: 30 lbs - haven't gained any weight in about 1.5 to 2 weeks.
Maternity clothes? I bought the white linen pants and blue top that I'm wearing in the pictures at Motherhood Maternity for pictures and my baby shower. I love the outfit! I also got a few tank tops, prego thongs and a nursing bra which is too big of course - maybe I'll grow into it in a couple of weeks.
Stretch marks? None to speak of except on my lower/outer back area.
Sleep: I've actually slept a little bit better the last few nights. I still get up to pee 4 or 5 times a night and roll over ALL THE TIME - not an easy task either! My hips and groin area hurt at night so it's hard to roll over.
Best moment this week: My baby shower and getting the nursery set up - I am in super nesting phase right now, too!
Movement: Still quite a bit of movement!
Food cravings: Not really. I ate a salad at The Loop yesterday - I am such a fan of salads, but have not been my entire pregnancy - it was just okay. But, I did top it off with a milkshake, but with the whole milk and heavy cream it made me have stomach problems the rest of the day and night. Probably the last one I'll have!
Gender: After the 5th ultrasound - a GIRL!
Labor Signs: I've been experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions on and off - usually during the evening hours. They basically feel like the baby is stretching all the way out across my belly and makes it really tight. There is no baby movement though so I know it's a practice contraction. My doctor said I'll experience contractions up until I go into real labor.
Belly Button in or out? As flat as can be!
What I miss: My butt and legs! Being able to get up without pushing myself up with my arms and hands.
What I am looking forward to: Meeting baby Brighton!
Weekly Wisdom: If you have a child, don't give a very pregnant woman your personal advice. We're not hormonally stable and don't want to hear your horrible birth story or that whatever you plan for will disappear once baby is here. If you know me, I plan everything and it never fails.
Milestones: Hitting the 37 week mark and baby is head down!

Bump Pictures

Thanks to my lovely sister-in-law and now Photographer Extraordinaire on the fabulous photos of the baby bump! We're doing another round soon once my hair is blonde (no roots) again and Shawn can join in on the fun!

All of the pictures were taken on the NC STATE campus where Michaela goes to school. So many beautiful spots!

I didn't post my "list" of all things pregnancy last time so here it goes:

How far along? 35 weeks and 4 days (the pictures were taken yesterday)
Total weight gain/loss: 30 lbs - holy shit! and I still have a few more weeks to go! And, shy is my child only in the 24th percentile in weight and length - oh yeah, because all of that weight went straight to the hips, butt, and thighs!
Maternity clothes? Still wearing the same clothes I bought at 3 and 4 months. I'm getting really tired of them. I bought a pair of Old Navy jeans at about 10 weeks pregnant and am still wearing those! I went to Old Navy yesterday and got a tank top and another shirt - NOT MATERNITY!!! The tank top I'm wearing in the pictures is a MEDIUM - for a regular person! Probably the first Medium shirt I've every purchased - but at least it fits the belly!
Stretch marks? Not on the belly or near the belly - some on my love handles though!
Sleep: NOT WELL!! I am not tired at night so I just lay there and I'm so hot - even without the covers - I'm sweating on the couch as we speak! I am not uncomfortable as far as laying on my side or with the baby's weight - it's just hot and I have a lot on my mind understandably!
Best moment this week: Taking pictures with Michaela of the baby bump! And, just spending time with Shawn! Oh, and my parents came back from Texas after being gone for 2 weeks - I missed them even though my Mom and I e-mailed everyday!
Movement: LOTS of movement. I can feel her head and butt stretching and poking me. She is moving ALL THE TIME which is a little unusual for a baby at this stage. Usually they don't have as much room, but she is moving more than ever - hopefully she'll move enough to figure out how to get that head down - she certainly still feels sideways.
Food cravings: Not really any. I eat when I'm hungry!
Gender: After the 5th ultrasound - a GIRL!
Labor Signs: None yet!
Belly Button in or out? Still Flat and kind of sunken in around the belly button which is due to the fact that the baby is in a C shape below and around my belly button. I can press my entire belly button area in and there is no body part there - very strange!
What I miss: Sushi, Jersey Mikes turkey sandwiches, Blue Moon, being able to maintain a normal body temperature, my flat abs, working out really hard at the gym, tennis, just feeling like you can do anything without restriction.
What I am looking forward to: My shower on Saturday!! But, most of all becoming a Mommy!
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy time with friends, family, and your other half because it will never be the same again!
Milestones: Successfully completing our prepared childbirth class! We came away with more knowledge than we every expected to gain, a certificate, a baby calendar, and 12 new friends!

xoxo
Megan

The Honeydew

I don't have much time - we've got to get ready to go to our last Prepared Childbirth class at UNC in a few minutes! I've learned more than I ever imagined I would taking this course and I am so thankful that we did! I had not idea what labor and delivery was like and from what I've learned, most women don't realize what their rights are nor do they realize how much of a say so they have in the delivery room. Most doctors do what is easy for them and do not tell women what their options are - epidural and birth on your back. How natural is that? Cananda and the United States are the only two countries in the entire world who birth on their backs and predominately use medical interventions. The most popular way to birth in all other countries is through squatting. Thankfully, all the beds at UNC do have squatting bars - but they don't tell you that when your in labor. You have to request different positions and be sure to make a birth plan. We made ours last week!

But, birth plan or no birth plan, she'll come out when she wants to! And, she'll position herself where she is comfortable! She won't be coming out naturally if she stays - yes, we have a transverse baby. That means that her head is on one side of my uterus and her but is on the other. This is not the same as being breached - which is actually worse because it's harder to move a baby in that position. I've done hand stands in the pool, leaned off of the couch with my knees on it and my head and hands on the ground, I've hoolahooped in the shower, and done pelvic tilts on the exercise ball - she ain't movin!!! Still five weeks to go so she could still make the plunge to my pelvis!

I had a doctors appointment over a week ago and measured small to date. This means that my uterus had not gotten any bigger - according to the measuring tape - since the last time I had an appointment two weeks prior. My doctor is pregnant with her third child so I think part of the fact that she ordered an ultra sound was out of being overcautious. The baby measured find - her femur was a bit small, but she was in about the 24th percentile in length and weight. They estimated that she weighs 5 pounds, but I think she's a bit smaller than that - I don't feel like I have a 5 pound baby in my stomach. All was fine at the ultra sound, but it was definitely confirmed that she is sideways. When I spoke withe doctor that always comes in after the sonographer is done, he said I had two options - take the easy way out and schedule a c-section at 39 weeks or have an aversion at 38 weeks. An aversion means that a doctor who performs aversions manually moves the baby from the outside of your belly. He was very proud to give us his success rate stats and I asked if I could request him in the event that I need an aversion. He said Yes! So, if baby doesn't move, then an aversion it will be in three weeks. The doc mentioned that I was actually a good candidate because the baby's head is so close to where it needs to be, my torso is long, and she is not taking up quite a bit of space where there is plenty of amniotic fluid floating around above my belly button.

I have another appointment this coming Friday with Dr. Rahangdale - this will be the 8th time I've seen her and it will be the last. I see a different doctor the last three visits - then it's go time!!

We are so excited to meet baby Brighton and honestly I'm just ready to get her out and not be pregnant. I've about hit a wall and have little energy and just want to lay around and sleep all day long. I woke up at about 6:30 this morning because I had not slept well, cooked and ate breakfast, then went back to bed until almost noon, woke up and cooked and ate lunch! What a day. Lazy lazy lazy - I'm over it!

The nursery is well on its way! The crib and bedding have been put together, we moved a big comfy chair from our sun room to the nursery - great free decision, there is a chest of drawers with a mirror full of clothes already - just a few more necessities to get!

More pictures coming soon!

New Pediatrician!!

It takes a village to raise a child...

I don't know why, but for some reason I have been so hesitant about finding a pediatrician and have been putting it off all summer. How silly can you be?! So I called Village Pediatrics Monday and set up an appointment to meet with Dr. Bernosky today at 1:00 so that Shawn could make it during his lunch break. We actually had an impromptu lunch date in Southern Village prior to our visit. Being the crazy researcher that I am, I made a list of 11 questions I wanted to ask the receptionist about operations and the doctor about child birth, epidurals, breastfeeding, sleep schedules and immunizations. I pretty much got the answers I was looking for and it really calmed some of the fears I have created - or rather - all of my research has created about these issues. I am still a firm believer in a sleep schedule after 2 months of age, and the doctor agreed, but I am not so stuck on the belief that an epidural or not being able to breast feed right way is going to scare and traumatize my little bundle of happiness for life! Whatever decision I make as a parent will be what is best for my child since we are all different and babies are well...not alike.

Side note: At our childbirth classes the instructor gave us a list of books to read by various authors, a few by the name of Dr. Sears. Today, our new pediatrician said that she thinks his medical license should be taken away from him! According to her, there is no scientific evidence that proves much of what he says - especially when it comes to child immunizations - yes, your child has 19 within the first 2 years of life. That was one of my new hangups after reading about all of the controversy over them, but you know what - my child will live and will be happy because we will be loving parents no matter what!

So Cheers to Village Pediatrics - I highly recommend them, and will hopefully feel the same way after our first visit at our baby's 2 day old birthday!

xoxo
Megan

47 days to go!

Picture taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia near Wintergreen.

It's been a while since my last post and many events have taken place! I celebrated my 28th birthday on June 24, Shawn and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on June 27, and we embarked on our babymoon to Wintergreen in Virginia from the 24th through the 27th. Our friends Caroline and Andrew came along -she is due 6 weeks after me! We had a very relaxing time, but did go on a few hikes which ended up being a little too strenuous. Probably the most difficult hike I've been on since Peru when Kate and I hiked up a mountain on our hands and knees at altitudes high enough to take your breath away.

This past weekend I had my 32 week appointment which went well, as expected. I have been told I am one of the most boring pregnant patients they have every seen -not me, my pregnancy! But that is what I want to hear! On Saturday, Shawn and I went to a breastfeeding class where we got to practice with dolls and watch informative videos. My boobs did not look like any of the boobs on the video, so I'm wondering if my body even realizes it better produce some milk??!!?? It doesn't look too hard, and I wish everyone would stop telling me their horror stories about breastfeeding and birth! Is having your child really that much of a pain in your ass? Why did you have kids then?? Please shut up and allow those of us that are first time mothers to have the best experience possible and the kind of experience we want to have - a NATURAL one! Yes, I'm not an idiot, I know it will be painful, but I also know what I want and what my body is capable of going through and no two pregnancies are the same so how can you compare mine to yours? Childbirth is the one experience in a woman's life that she will never forget - even if she is plagued by alzhiemer's disease. So, why harp on that being such a negative experience? I certainly will do whatever I need to do so that I have a positive experience and can share that with other women instead of "don't try to be brave"!

I am really looking forward to not only bonding with our new baby but bonding on a completely new level with Shawn. His training and life coaching skills will come into play majorly!! We've already started practicing and I can't thank him enough for putting me through the physical training necessary to prepare my body for childbirth. He is the most motivational, supportive husband I could ask for and I am so lucky to have him in my life.

On Saturday, we went to our first 3 hour Prepared Childbirth class. We have three more sessions to go. The women in my class are great and it's nice to share stories and experiences with other first time mothers. I love the instructor, Kara, who has had two children of her own. We watched a couple of DVD's of natural childbirth and it is absolutely NOTHING like what other people say or what you see on tv. Both births did without any drugs - lots of movement and walking around, moving into different positions, no screaming, crying, yelling, or punching, cussing. They were both very quiet pregnancies - painful, but quiet. It was definitely a confidence builder and empowering - however, I'm a bit concerned at my ability to "stretch" down there for a freaking baby head to push through! Hopefully my pelvic area is wide enough - geez louise!

How far along? 32 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: 25 lbs
Maternity clothes? Nothing new to report - getting really bored with what I do have.
Stretch marks? No new ones to report - none on the belly!
Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well. I wake up about 2 times a night right now to use the bathroom - I'm still super hot when I sleep and don't use covers much until Shawn leaves in the morning for work. I am fairly comfortable - but if I do too much exercise and get sore it's hard to roll over.
Best moment this week: Childbirth class with Shawn!
Movement: Brighton is moving ALL THE TIME!! It is not painful at all unless she bounces around super low - kind of a shooting pain. She moves a lot at night and in the early morning hours, and consistently throughout the day. I can see more body parts "poking" out of my stomach. She is still pretty low - nowhere near the ribs yet - not sure that she'll A: get that big or B: move up that far with only 7 weeks to go.
Food cravings: None - once again - such an excuse for women to eat while they're pregnant. I usually don't have much of an appetite and there is nothing that I truly desire or even want to eat.
Gender: Everyone I see asks if I'm having a boy because I am carrying so low. It's my long torso people! The baby better hope she's a girl or he's going to be in lots of girlie colors for a year!
Labor Signs: Nope - thank goodness - early labor is not such a good thing! Don't want to have the baby prior to 37 weeks. If I do go into early labor it can be stopped if caught soon enough.
Belly Button in or out? Flat
What I miss: Just being able to move around freely.
What I am looking forward to: Meeting our new baby!
Weekly Wisdom: YOGA is amazing for a pregnant woman! I felt so much better after an hour of yoga two days in a row. According to my childbirth teacher - "preparing for childbirth is like preparing for a marathon!"
Milestones: Taking our breastfeeding class and first of four childbirth classes! They were both very informative and I learned a lot!! And...my butt just keeps getting bigger...