Saturday, July 4, 2015

Baby #2 {37 Weeks}

Date:
7/2/15

How far along?:
37 weeks 5 days

My baby is the size of a:
Baby!
While we were cleaning last weekend she re-discovered the bassinet

Symptoms:
All-in-all I don't feel awful for 37 weeks pregnant!
My pelvis is quite loose, in fact at the chiropractor today she said that my pelvis is clearly ready for delivery so from her standpoint it could be as early as this week(end). I was really loose for about 2 weeks if I remember correctly last time so I'm not putting all my hope in that, but it's good to know that things are lining up nicely! The down side to my loose pelvis is that rolling over in bed or laying on either side is very hard and can get to be painful which is complicating the little bit of sleep I'm getting between my hourly treks to the bathroom during the night!

I had 2-3 hours of contractions Wednesday that were very real ("real" in that Braxton Hicks are usually described as painless - just something that you're aware of, these were not painless or easy to deal with) but they never lined up into anything resembling a pattern and of course petered out into nothing so unfortunately it looks like I may have some prodromal labor like I did last time. Since then I've just experienced "normal" contractions for being 37 weeks preggo with coming and going sporadically but nothing worth timing or noting how many fell within a particular hour.

Between contractions on Wed - Cora just didn't understand why she couldn't touch my belly!
I attempted distracting her with Little Einsteins.
On Thursday at my Midwife appointment I gave in & let her check me. I saw my chiro first and when she mentioned how loose my pelvis was I was getting my hopes up that I was further along than I thought I am.
{Birthy Rant:}  I *know* that cervical checks are not an indicator for when you will begin labor, but what it does tell me is how long after labor begins I have to get myself to the birth center. If I'm a 3 or a 4 at my last check and I go through 2 or 3 hours of contractions at home, I'll likely show up at a 7 or 8 when I get to the birth center. It also tells me how far I can travel from home. Those first 4 cm aren't pleasant to labor through, but they're far easier than 4-10! So if I'm an hour from home, it takes me an hour to determine that I'm actually in labor so now I've got 2 hours of contractions under my belt before I'm home and one of those hours is in the car... well that could make for a seriously unpleasant car ride! {End Rant}
Anyway, really more for my recollection when I'm referring back in a future pregnancy - I was 1 cm, ripe but posterior. Translation, not very advanced. I would have theoretically been fine to go a little ways from home this weekend for the 4th of July but (since I'm actually finishing up this post at the beginning of the 38th week, a little bit of a 38 week update...) I'm far more easily fatigued than I was Thursday. Last week I could tell a huge difference from say 2 and 3 weeks ago, I just couldn't do what I could do then (duh.). The difference in 1-2 days is huge right now! I can't walk a mile without feeling like I need a nap afterwards. Even with naps, I'm just drained & exhausted from normal daily stuff. I'm glad I played it safe and decided to make plans to just stay home on the 4th because it's all we would have done anyway! 

Sleep:
Could be better...

Weight Gain:
I have not gained or lost any since last week so according to my Midwife that puts me at an overall increase of 8 lbs for the pregnancy.
My friend Kim wins the favorite award right now for always commenting on how small I look every time she sees me. It's nice to hear considering I feel like a walking blimp at times!

Maternity Clothes:
I got a few more nursing camis because I could never seem to have enough the first 3 or 4 months postpartum & I wore one every single day so having enough clean was a trick. They're helping my shirts meet the gap to my pants & I've selected the 3 t-shirts that are decently long and they are being rotated through a bunch right now!

Movement:
She's moving very well! I realized the other day that I get really nervous (plus it's uncomfortable) when she runs her feet under my ribs. I'm really currently betting that Ada will have a super mellow personality; Cora loved displacing ribs about this point in pregnancy, Ada just kind of likes to stick her feet there. We'll see though, because if I go all the way to my due date it could simply be a matter of lack of room!

Exercise:
We're going for nightly walks and part of my plans for the weekend include walking, walking and more walking!

Cravings/Aversions:
Food is a general aversion of mine. Fruit, smoothies, juice, and tomato mozzarella salads are about all that's appealing to me right now. Even desserts don't sound all that great. It's nice right now but I remember how quickly my appetite woke up after Cora was born & it was hard to reign in how much I ate without having HCG running through my system to counteract it!


I'm looking Forward to: 
Going into labor!
We're having a family get-together tomorrow for the 4th of July. Everyone was kind enough to come to us because I was a little weary of driving an hour + not just because I'd be away from our birth center and midwife but I also want to avoid going into labor tired like I would be from a day being out of the house all day.
(With Cora labor started almost exactly at midnight after we had been awake since about 8 am in the morning {about 16 hours awake at that point} and she wasn't born until almost noon the next day {roughly 28 hours awake}. I was exhausted! Then with everything going on I didn't go to sleep until 1 or 2 am the night/morning after she was born {42 hours awake}! I'd like to avoid this situation being repeated!)
Me & my big belly at the family gathering! 37+6 weeks pregnant!
 
 I miss:
Productive sleep. A regular pattern to our lives, right now everything is a giant waiting game.

Emotions 
I'm a little anxious about how Cora will handle being a Big Sister. We keep discussing what developmental regression she will have but can't pinpoint something we suspect will happen. I'm not particularly anxious about delivery any more, I'm just ready for it to get here!

Goals for the upcoming week:
Last week was really productive! We still have things that need to be done but nothing is pressing or urgent. I had a friend recently asking if there was anything she could do to help or watch Cora so I could get some stuff done and honestly I couldn't think of a single thing for her to help with! Really about the only thing we need to do this next week is to mow the "yard" which is about 2.5 acres (the rest is left to grow to bail into hay) and weed-eat. I can't help with this at all but I believe my brother Robert and Uncle are going to come out and help John with this task tomorrow after church!
 
OLD LIST: Tidy House ~ Finish putting new elastic in cloth diapers (worked on it some this week, can only do it while Cora is sleeping because she tries to help too much) ~ talk to birth center re. estimated payment ~ Get Cora's pool aired up & a temp fence installed around it (worked on it, but filling this sucker with a hand pump is proving to be a chore!)~ Pre-registration forms for hospital (just in case of transfer emergency or not)Make Essential oil bug spray ~ Finish packing birth center and  back up hospital bags ~ Wash van & vacuum ~ Re-install Ada's carseat ~ Swap out some of Cora's toysMove everything from one shipping container to the other ~ Clean Master Bathroom out & organize ~ Repair Shower drip ~ Finish up Thank you cards & mail ~ Update Ada's baby book with gifts ~ Plan out Freezer meals/crock pot meals for postpartum ~ pack new diaper bag for 2 kids (almost finished).Finish Cora's baby book & put all her keepsakes in a box to store away ~ Make a couple of freezer meals so I have my postpartum meal for birth center ready ~ Finish Ada's name art ~ Order final couple of Essential Oils I need for birth/postpartum ~ Finish Birth Affirmations/Bible Verses ~ Make a Birth Playlist ~ Finalize birth plan with Doula ~ Meet with birth photographer ~ Start removing bad trim on front of house ~ Mow yard~ Clear out Ada's Crib (it's full of her stuff/baby gear, I just need to find real homes for the stuff - almost finished!). ~ Buy curtains for master bedroom & bathroom ~ make my rice sock for labor ~ Get master bedroom "guest ready" ~ Child proof the kitchen cabinets and drawers
NEW LIST:  mow yard & weed-eat (no small task...)

Belly Pictures:
This is actually a 38+0 picture on the 4th - Eating Watermelon (only one slice so I wouldn't have an allergic reaction!) with a baby the size of a "watermelon" inside. Dumb comparison generally but I thought it was fun for this!

Past Pregnancy:
37 Weeks with Cora