2 little milestones

Last night during his evening (sponge) bath, Mr. Rhody and I noticed that Baby Rhody's umbilical cord stump looked like it was barely hanging on. Before the night was over, the stump was gone. Yay! I'm excited to be able to give him a real bath, I'm excited to not have to fold over diapers any more, and I'm excited just that Baby Rhody is now sporting the cutest belly button in the world.

Also, we went for another pediatrician weigh in this morning. Our little guy is now back up to his birth weight! The pediatrician apologized for making us come in that often; he said they just like to be super-cautious with breastfed babies. He did say since we're doing so well and since Baby Rhody is looking so good, that we can skip the one-month appointment if we want. Mr. Rhody and I decided to keep it, since we figure we'll have questions by then, but we're happy that things are looking good!

Today

Today is my due date, the day I was certain would never come. And not only is it here, but I have a wonderful little man to share the day with.

I am so blessed.

1 week old today!

My little man is 1 week old today! I can't believe it!

I have to say, our weigh in on Friday didn't go as well as I'd have liked (he was down 2 oz from Tuesday), but we're going for a re-weigh tomorrow, and I have confidence that will be better. My boobs have to be proof of that, because they've gone from as hard as rocks to normal and softer again (and then hard 2 hours later, then soft, then hard, etc.).

My parents came up today to meet their grandson, which was nice. We mostly just sat around and my mother cooed at him. As a nice bonus, my little guy decided to have one of his rare (but increasingly more frequent!) quiet awake moments this morning. My mother loved it.

My doula also came over yesterday to do her postpartum check and ask my feelings on the birth. I have to say, I am very happy with the way things went, and I think my doula was instrumental in the process. Hopefully, I'll get around to posting the whole birth story soon. Also, she just had a little boy 8 months ago, so she brought us over tons of clothes!

And now for everyone's favorite part: pictures!

My doula took this one on the way to the hospital. I can realy say I look awful, lol.

And taken today. I am down 23 of the 34 pounds that I'd gained already!

And, of course, the star of the show with his 4-foot elephant.

First pediatriciam appointment!

Nathaniel had his first pediatrician appointment yesterday. They like to do them 2 days after discharge just to make sure things are going well at home.

Everything is looking good. Nathaniel's weight is down to 8 lbs 5 oz from 8 lbs 14 oz, which is pretty normal. He is doing well producing plenty of wet and dirty diapers, so the doctor is certain we are headed in the right direction. We talked about how I had heard conflicting things about introducing pacfiers early and strategies to get Nathaniel to sleep not in our arms. The pediatrician also ordered us a biliruben test, as Nathaniel was looking a little yellow, and wants us to start vitamin D daily.

On pacifiers, the pediatrician said since nursing is going so well and since Nathaniel is already happily sucking on our fingers and his when he can find them, he doesn't think it's a big deal. We did try when we got home, and it seems to work sometimes and not others. The jury is still out.

On bedtime, I actually realized before the appointment that Nathaniel really just hates the bassinet in the pack and play. I had put him down for naps in the crib and he was ok with that. The pediatrician also suggested trying to keep him awake for a few hours before bedtime, which is still pretty hard at this age. We did try last night, and things are better, but we are working on it. We did get a couple 2-hour stretches which was great. I also think it helps that my milk has come in which seems to be filling him up better.

The doctor himself called last night to let us know the biliruben levels were normal (15.7). I was impressed that he called and didn't have a nurse do it. We go back on Friday for a quick weight check and then for our normal visit in a month!

My baby BOY is here

He arrived yesterday morning at 6:30 am after 26 hours of laboring, including 2.5 hours of pushing. It was challenging but amazing. I've posted a short birth story on the Bump, but I'm sure I'll have more to say here later. We're just all happy that he's arrived happy and healthy at 8 lbs 14 oz. I was able to achieve my goal of going natural for the birth, and I'm feeling pretty good on day 2. He is breastfeeding like a champ.

I still don't believe it.

38w appointment

I had my 38 week appointment today. My blood pressure was slightly elevated compared to what it's been (130/80), but apparently this is normal as you reach the end of your pregnancy, so they weren't worried.

I gained another 2 pounds this week, for a total of 34 pounds. Baby Rhody had better come soon! My fundal height is now 40 cm, so still about 2 cm ahead.

This morning, I had a sneaking suspicion that Baby Rhody had switched from my right to my left side, and the midwife confirmed that when she Dopplered today. I have been spending a lot of time on my hands and knees, so here's to hoping Baby Rhody is posterior. I didn't ask this time.

The midwife was surprised I'd been having contractions on and off recently. I did find out from her that the office will let me go to 42 1/2 weeks before inducing me. That's good that they are so relaxed, but I told Mr. Rhody I can't imagine adding 3 more days to my countdown! My midwife did say if I'm already having contractions, that shouldn't matter. Let's keep our fingers crossed that I don't get to that point!

And ... we're ready!

It's done! The nursery is finally done! Tons of pictures below. I really love how it all came out!


The mobile and the Gentle Giraffe.

The artwork came today! I'm loving it! In the corner is a pillow that my mom got that as a spot for a picture. I can't wait for Baby Rhody to be here and put our FAMILY picture in there!

The giant elephant! Our first baby purchase, lol.

Changing table / hutch.

All ofthese stuffed animals were the centerpieces at my shower, with balloons tied to them. What a great idea!!

We are totally going to have the most well-read infant on the block.

I love this lamp. I think it's the cutest!

Early labor or I'm crazy

So it's been an interesting past 18 hours. Sometime yesterday afternoon, I started getting really sore in my lower back, so much so that I had to stand up and sway my hips to feel comfortable. That was interesting to do at work.

About an hour later, I went to the bathroom to pee. I stood up and an extra squirt came out. Now was that time for that classic late third trimester question: amniotic fluid or pee? I knew that aminiotic fluid would continue to leak, but pee would not, so I went back to my desk and sat for a bit.

I felt no more gushes, so I decided to go for my afternoon walk. I had some real, strong contractions during my walk. It felt like I had a stitch in my side from running too hard, except it went across instead of up and down. It was weird, but it was nothing I couldn't walk through.

When I came in from my walk, there was another, distinct wet spot in my underwear and some bright spotting when I wiped. I went back to my desk, grabbed my things, and headed home, thinking this might be it. I called Mr. Rhody from the car, and told him what was up. I told him he could come home, but nothing was probably going to happen soon. He decided to meet me at home.

I got home, changed my underwear, laid down for 30 minutes, stood up, and ... nothing. So I was not leaking fluid. I called my doula just to get her input (thank God for her), and she said it was probably excess discharge, but the spotting was a good sign the contractions I had were causing dilation.

Mr. Rhody and I went out shopping then, so that I could stay up and around, which made me the most comfortable. I again had several contractions, which Mr. Rhody timed to be 5-7 minutes apart. Some were stronger than others, but then they stopped.

Last night, sleep was difficult. My mind was racing and the cramps and contractions continued irregularly. I have to say, I do feel slightly like I've just cried wolf. It's so odd to have all of these contractions and then have them just die off. Oh well, I just have to remind myself that my body is revving up for labor.

I am working from home today. My plan is to get much of my work done this morning and take a good walk over lunch. Mr. Rhody will be coming home to join me at lunch as well. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Baby Rhody comes soon!

38 weeks

38 weeks, and I am so ready to meet Baby Rhody. As you can see from the picture, even Mr. Rhody's shirts are not fitting well. I think (I hope!) this is because I've dropped, and there is too much belly too low.

As I posted on Saturday, I had a lot of cramps and contractions this weekend. Yesterday, they were good enough to time; for about an hour, the contractions were coming frequently, though they were still pretty short in length. They only hurt occasionally though. I chatted with my doula yesterday, and she suggested using these to practice breathing, which was a great idea because it gave me something to do. The cramps and contractions also kept me up most of last night. They are not as bad today, but still there.

I have heard from several people at this week--week 38--is the worst week because it feels like the baby's arrival is imminent, but the baby seldom comes. I can say that I am totally feeling this already.

4 weeks or less. 4 weeks isn't really that long, right? I'm off to do my exercises that will hopefully encourage Baby Rhody to get into the best position and make labor go quickly whenever we do get to that point.

The waiting game

I've been having cramps and irregular contractions since yesterday morning. The whole day at work yesterday, I started to worry I wasn't going to make it in next Monday, so I was trying to make sure everything was documented.

The cramps get more intense and then less. I woke up this morning and they were still there. The contractions are sometimes painful but mostly painless.

I just have to remind myself that, no matter what, baby will be here "soon". Whether that's tomorrow or in 4 weeks, it won't really matter. I've waited 1.5 years for this baby already. What's a few more weeks in the general scheme of things.

My plan today is to spend most of the day running errands to keep busy and try not to think about what could be. And it feels better to keep moving anyway.

Finishing the nursery

Yeah, I know, I'm at 37.5 weeks. I probably should have done this already, but I finally TODAY found wall art that I like at a reasonable price.

Here's the art that I just ordered from babysupermall.com. It's part of the Jungle 123 collection.

As a refresher, here is the bedding we have.

We have mixed in a bunch of other things, so it looks much less theme-y. Also, my friend used stuffed animals for centerpieces at the shower, so I have a bunch of animals already that totally go with the theme.

I can't wait for the art to come so I can finally take pictures of everything finished. Now it will just be a race: will Baby Rhody come first or will we finish the nursery first??

37 week appointment

I had my 37 week appointment today. The good news is that I am Group B Strep negative! Woohoo! This means I don't need to head to the hospital early, don't need to get antibiotics, and we are cleared for early discharge from the hospital (assuming the birth goes well, of course). Yay! I am very happy about this.

My midwife doesn't do cervical checks unless you request them, so I have no idea if I'm making progress. I did gain quite a bit of weight since last week (4 pounds!), but I'm sure that's because of the swelling I've been having. Gah, I hate this hot and humid weather. My belly is now measuring 40 cm, which is still 2.5 weeks ahead. I'm starting to get a little worried about this big baby. I had always thought I'd be fine going to 41 weeks, but this big baby thing is starting to get me worried!

I did refuse another growth ultrasound. I've been consistent in measuring 2-3 cm ahead, so I'm not concerned. I feel like another ultrasound would just tell us the baby was big, and, well, DUH.

37 weeks - full term!

37 weeks! Today Baby is officially fully cooked, as per the medical professionals. Feel free to come out any time now, Baby Rhody!

I've been feeling pretty ok. Ever since the other night after I posted, I haven't had any more contractions that have bothered me that much. I do still have them, but nothing that wakes me up at night.

I have been making sure to walk most days and make sure to do all of my stretching and other exercises. I've also started drinking some raspberry leaf tea, which is supposed to help tone your uterus to better "focus" your contractations. Hey, it doesn't taste too bad, and it can't hurt, right?

Everything is one day at a time right now. I am totally ready to meet Baby Rhody, but I want him/her to come when ready. I'm just keeping busy with work and doing things around the house until then. I know life won't be this calm again for a little while, so I'm trying to enjoy this time.

5 weeks or less!

Quick update

Irregular contractions all night. My pelvis killed every time I got up to use the bathroom, which was every time I woke up because peeing helped to take the pressure off. I slept poorly because I kept waking up pained.

I finally got out of bed at 5 am, and most of the contractions have stopped.

Belly seems to be looking visibily lower, but it has fooled me before. I think it drops and then comes back up when I'm not looking.

Best case scenario: This means things are progressing and baby will be here soon, maybe even this week.
Worst case scenario: This means nothing, and I'll keep having contractions and cramps for the next 5 weeks.
Which will it be?

36w appointment

So I had my first of my now-weekly midwife appointments today. This is odd, but on the way to the appointment, it actually occured to me that I'm going to miss seeing my midwife and everyone else at the office so often!

I had my GBS swab at my appointment today. I can't say it was the most comfortable experience, but I'm glad it's over. I won't know until my next appointment whether I've passed or not. Here's to hoping I passed!

My midwife also asked if I wanted an internal exam today. I know internals don't mean much and I know I'm super early, but I had been having cramps and irregular contractions for the past 2 weeks, so I was curious if there was any progress to be had! So she checked, and I am happy to report that she estimated I am already 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated! I have to keep reminding myself that this doesn't mean anything, but I'm still so happy that things are at least starting! It makes all of those uncomfortable nights a little easier to take when I know it's doing something.

Also, I asked my midwife if she could tell baby's position. I knew baby was head down and on the left side, but i haven't been able to tell if baby is anterior, posterior, or transverse. My midwife felt around and said, based on how the baby's back is, she thinks the baby is somewhere between transverse and anterior. (See this article for some discussion of positions. Basically, you want your baby to be anterior for the easiest, quickest labor; posterior babies are also known as "Sunny side up".) Good job baby!

36 weeks!

36 weeks! OK, Baby Rhody. You can come at any time now. Whenever you are ready of course, but the hospital will not mind a 36 week baby. Just letting you know.

So people at work today started telling me that I had dropped. I don't know. I felt like Baby Rhody was out of my ribs 2 weeks ago, but I don't feel any differently between last week and this week. What do you think?

This weekend was great. As I posted yesterday, I had my shower on Saturday. I then spent all day yesterday sorting through and washing baby clothes. It's great. I need to get everything else put away so I can take pictures.

I did tell Mr. Rhody that the scary part now is that the shower is over, I feel like we're close to meeting Baby Rhody. That alternately freaks me out and excites me. I also packed my hospital bag this weekend, so we are good to go!

I've been more and more sleepy recently, and my back has been sore. I was cramping most of last week, but it seems to have stopped again today. I hope all of this cramping means some sort of progress!

6 weeks or less until we meet Baby Rhody!

My shower was yesterday!

I don't have any pictures because my friend's mom took them all, and I haven't seen any yet, but it was a great time. The decorations were totally cute. My friend used stuffed animals with green and yellow balloons tied to them for centerpieces, so Baby Rhody has tons of stuffed animals now. I am also very impressed that she managed to plan the whole thing basically by herself from NYC. I can't say enough how much I appreciated it.

The shower was relatively small: my family, our neighbors, some people from work, and a few other people here and there. I thought it was perfect though because I got to spend lots of time with everyone. It was co-ed as well, which was great because Mr. Rhody got to stick around, which is important because it's his kid too.

Even though it was a small shower, we did get pretty much everything we needed and some more! My favorite gifts were 3 we didn't register for, but were purchased by people who knew enough to know what we liked. One was the Soothing Sounds Giraffe, kind of like the Sleep Sheep, but fitting in with our theme; that was from my coworker. The second was a "Monkey Bank", you know, like a piggy bank, but shaped like a monkey! That was from my mother. The third was not in our theme at all, but perfect for us and the perfect in the person it was from. It is a book called, "Tails are not for pulling", which teaches little kids how to interact with dogs. I've read it already, and it's so cute!

My friend that threw the shower ended up staying the night, which meant we got to hang out with her extra, which was great. After she left this morning, I have been spending the whole day sorting through things and doing laundry. We only got one duplicate item (a shopping cart cover). The only thing I'm a little worried about is that I think I told too many people that Baby Rhody is going to be huge--we have tons of 3-6 clothes and barely any 0-3. Better too big than too small I guess!

Pictures of everything in the nursery will come soon, as soon as I finish putting them away!

Waiting for baby

This is actually my last week without an appointment, so I thought I'd do an update on how waiting for Baby Rhody is going.

At 35.5 weeks, I keep trying to remind myself that I could be pregnant for another 6.5 weeks. In reality though. I am seeing signs that labor is getting closer, and I am starting to get excited. Of course, I don't stay excited long, when I remind myself that none of these signs mean that I'll go into labor SOON; they just mean that labor is coming ... eventually.

And so I'm on this rollercoaster, oscillating between feeling like Baby Rhody could fall out at any minute and thinking that Baby Rhody is never going to come. Clearly, the truth is probably somewhere in between.

I felt Baby Rhody start to drop 1.5 weeks ago, around 34 weeks. It hit me after I'd taken my belly picture for that week that I could bend over again without having the wind knocked out of me. No one could really tell though, and my coworker, who was feeling my belly yesterday (with permission!), was surprised at how low the baby was kicking. Today someone actually noted that I do look lower, so maybe it's starting to be noticable from the outside.

I have been having a lot more pelvic pains recently as well and cramping on and off. I remind myself that these are all good signs that my body is doing what it's supposed to do to get ready for labor.

Now that the weather is nice, I have been trying to walk around the parking lot at work. I don't expect these short walks to put me into labor, but I want to keep in shape to give myself the best chance at an unmedicated birth. If it makes Baby Rhody snuggle in deeper into my pelvis, that's a bonus.

So the signs are clearly pointing to my having a baby eventually, which is good. Preferably, I'd like Baby Rhody to hold up another week or so, but we'll see. I truly believe that babies come when they are ready.

I probably should get started on packing that hospital bag.

35 weeks!!

There's something about this dress where my camera doesn't want to focus. Oh well, lol. Nothing else was clean. Well, nothing else out of the 3 outfits that still fit.

I had an awesome day yesterday. I had wanted to make sure the car seat we got fit in our cars (it does!), and now I have it installed in my car, which is really hammering home the idea that Baby Rhody will be here soon. My doula also came over yesterday to watch a video with us and practice a bunch of laboring positions.

After she left, it all started to sink in. Mr. Rhody admitted that he's getting a little nervous about all of the changes coming our way, and all that we have left to do! For my part, I'm just sort of in awe of the whole thing. It's just hitting me that we're not going to just have a baby--but a person that we are entirely responsible for. A person that Mr. Rhody and I created together and who will grow up to be independent of us one day. It's pretty amazing.

I'm still feeling ok, but feeling more and more tired. I have been trying to stay active. My doula did stress the importance of keeping up with my exercises and doing a few more--pelvic tilts, circles and eights on the ball, squats, lunges, and, of course, walking.

My shower is this Saturday, and, in 7 weeks or less, Baby Rhody will be here!!

34w check-up

We had a midwife appointment today. It went pretty quickly. I had gained 4 pounds since 2 weeks ago; I blame Easter for that! Total weight gain is now 26 pounds, which isn't too bad.

Obviously, my uterus is still measuring ahead. I didn't even ask how much this time. My blood pressure is still fine. Overall, a pretty boring visit!

I did ask about preterm labor a bit, since I've been feeling pretty crampy for the past few days. As I expected, my midwife was pretty unconcerned, especially since the cramps weren't anything timeable, but she did tell me that, if I went into labor today, they probably wouldn't try to stop it! Hopefully Baby Rhody cooks for at least 3 more weeks, but it's good to know that things would be okay even if baby came early! My midwife did point out that Baby Rhody is already the size of many full-term babies. Eep!

Baby Rhody has definitely grown!

So we went for our growth ultrasound today. It was the sweetest thing when Mr. Rhody confided in me in the middle of the day that he was nervous. I reassured him that Baby Rhody was definitely still kicking, and, by all rights, that meant things were still going well.

To recap, the reason the ultrasound was ordered is that I have been measuring 2-3 weeks ahead since they started measuring my fundal height. I know Mr. Rhody and I were both larger babies (he was 9 lbs 15 oz and I was 8 lbs 1 oz), so I was not surprised by this, but my midwife wanted the ultrasound anyway, just to make sure things were going well.

And things are great! Baby Rhody has just the right amount of fluid--not too much and not too little. As we've sort of known for a while, Baby Rhody is head down with head right on my cervix, so in position for birth. I did forget to ask which way he/she is facing, but that can change anyway at this point. Heartbeat is a perfect 144 bpm.

As for the measurements, Baby Rhody is currently estimated to weigh 6.2 lbs, which puts him/her the size of a 36w2d baby at 34w1d. Not too bad. The ultrasound technician (we got the head technician this time, which is awesome) estimated that, if I get to 20 weeks, Baby Rhody will be around 9.5 lbs, which does not surprise me, based on Mr. Rhody and my weights. I do have to say that Baby Rhody does take after his/her big-headed father, as the head was measuring the largest at 37w, the abdomen at 36w, and the limbs right around 34w.

Baby Rhody is definitely getting cramped in there, and there was no danger of finding out the gender by mistake! We did get a few pictures, the first is Baby Rhody's hand and the second is a profile shot of Baby Rhody's face.

It was so awesome to see how much Baby Rhody has grown, and I'm so happy that things are looking great! We are seeing the midwife tomorrow for our regular appointment, so I'll update after that!

34 weeks!

These self portraits are getting more and more difficult. Can you believe my size "large" tank top doesn't even cover my belly any more? I feel like such a slob!

Someone at work asked today when I was due, and I said, "3 - 8 weeks." I think I confused her, lol. But that's how I have been thinking about it. Baby Rhody could be here in as little as 3 or as many as 8 weeks. Eep!

The weather was nice today, so I walked the parking lot to get some exercise. Afterwards, I had a bunch of cramping. It was nothing timeable and it went away a bit after, but it's just another reminder how close Baby Rhody's arrival is! And a reassuring bit that my body just might know what to do when the time comes.

As for how I've been feeling, I am really okay most of the time. If I sit on the couch too long, my back will start to hurt. If I stand for too long, my pelvis will start to hurt. And if I lay down too close to eating, I get to taste my dinner again. Overall, it isn't the worst though. I am conscious of these things but, most days, they don't bother me that much.

I was at a college alumni party yesterday where I got a lot of attention and unsolicited advice. Pretty much every person told me that I am "so small" for only having 6 weeks left. That was nice of them, but I don't believe it one bit!

I have a growth ultrasound tomorrow. I am excited to see Baby Rhody again!

33 weeks!

OK, the pic is not the best lighting-wise, but you get the point, and I'm too lazy and tired to retake it.

So I had a midwife appointment last Thursday. My fundal height is still measuring 3 weeks ahead. My midwife didn't seem too concerned, but she does really want me to get an ultrasound, so I have one scheduled for next week. Everything else is still looking great. As of last Thursday, I am up 22 lbs.

This weekend, my in-laws were here for Easter. I cooked and cooked a 4-course meal pretty much from scratch. Mr. Rhody did help quite a bit, but, still, I was on my feet for hours. This morning, I woke up and, for the first time ever, my shoes did not fit. So I wore a dress and flip flops to work today. I can get away with it, since I'm pregnant! Thank goodness the weather is finally warm enough to pull this off!

I am getting my prenatal massage this Thursday. I cannot wait, especially after the beating my body has taken this weekend. Hopefully, the swelling has gone away by then.

Otherwise, I am doing my best to keep moving, even though my body is starting to be more and more sore--and, as you can see above, my belly keeps growing. I really haven't gained much weight other than in my belly, so I'm happy about that. Hopefully, I don't ruin that now with all of these tasty Easter leftovers we have!

32 weeks!

32 weeks and I've officially gotten to the uncomfortable part of this pregnancy. I thought I'd have another month or so before this point, but, well, Baby Rhody's going to do what Baby Rhody wants to do.

People at work have been telling me that I've popped. Again. How many times can a woman pop? I honestly think they are crazy, but, hey, that's just me.

As for the how I'm feeling? Well, sleep is pretty awful, but I can handle that. The worst is the pain that's developed in my pelvis over the past week. If I stand or walk too much these days, I get shooting pains through my pelvic bone. And then I feel swollen down there on and off. Yeah, I'll be sure to mention this to my midwife this week, but I'm not sure she can do much about it. I was afraid for a moment that the pain was because Baby Rhody had dropped, but I can tell from this picture this is definitely not the case!

I have been meaning to do a few more updates, but I've just been too tired. How's that for a lame excuse? I don't know if this week will be much better. The in-laws are coming for Easter, and we have tons of preparations to be done!

31 weeks!

31 weeks! Look at Baby Rhody go! And look at how awesome my new camera is, lol. You can tell my walls are olive and not gray.

I am really starting to feel like a whale, and I'm worried what the next 9 (or 11!) weeks will bring! I do love it. People are stopping me to ask me all the time when I'm due!

Sleep is starting to get harder and harder. I have started to take showers at night just to get my body relaxed for bed. I do find that it helps somewhat, but I'm getting tired enough where I don't even realize how often I'm waking up at night--just that I'm still tired in the mornings.

I did buy a new bra this week, but it doesn't fit exactly, so I might return it. I got 2 nursing bras from target (XXL!) and I think I might just rely on those until my milk comes in. My belly is coming up so high that I can't even figure out what my band size will be, so there's no sense in spending a lot of money for bras that won't fit in 2-3 months.

2 days, 2 appointments

Yesterday after work, I had my 30-week check-up with my midwife. Things are still going well. I've gained 4 pounds since 2 weeks ago, for a total of 20 pounds on their scale.

Our doula came with us, just be involved a little more, and our midwife was so happy to see her. My doula actually goes to my practice as well, so she knows all of the doctors and midwives there, which is great. Funny thing: for some reason there was a mix-up and I was scheduled to see one of the OBs, even though I'd made the appointment with my midwife. My midwife saw us walking by and was like, "I'll take you! Don't worry about it!"

Baby Rhody was again measuring 3 cm ahead by fundal height, and my midwife, while not concerned, said that if I'm still measuring ahead after the next 2 appointments, she might want to do an ultrasound just to see what's going on. I did tell her I was concerned that I didn't want to be pushed into an induction or C-section for a "large" baby, since Mr. Rhody and I were both on the larger side and born vaginally. She assured me that the current studies show that inductions for large size usually fail anyway, and they would only suggest that I have a Cesarean if Baby Rhody is looking to be 11 pounds or more. Phew! That made me feel so much better!

The midwife did say that the doctors in the practice really want me to go off of the Lovenox or they might start to consider me high risk. Apparently, the doctors are starting to get a little anxious about me doing something outside of the norm. After talking to Mr. Rhody and thinking about it, I am okay going off at this point.

Which brings me to my appointment this morning with the high-risk doctor. I told her that the doctors wanted me off the Lovenox. She asked if I was comfortable with that, and I said that I was. We had previously discussed that no one knew how the Lovenox worked, but the fact that I took it up to this point means the baby was able to develop the best placenta and the best attachment to my uterus. One of the big concerns with this mutation is that, if baby's not getting enough nutrition, he/she may end up small. I definitely am not having that problem!

I do plan to continue to take the baby aspirin up until 35 weeks (here's to hoping the doctor's don't freak out about that) and restart after delivery, but I think the Lovenox has done its job.

Now here's to hoping the doctors know more about this mutation by the time we starting thinking about Baby Rhody 2.0!

30 weeks!!!

30 weeks! This is another one of those milestones I never thought I'd make it to. I can't believe this pregnancy is 75% over, and that we'll get to meet Baby Rhody in 10 weeks (give or take)!

As yesterday's post demonstrated, Mr. Rhody and I were busy this weekend. We're starting to get really into the baby prep now, though I'm trying to not get too ahead of ourselves. I still haven't put anything away in the nursery. Maybe next weekend I'll start, but I want to wait a few more weeks to start washing everything. I think I'll do that right before Easter, so that when Mr. Rhody's parents come and visit, I can show off what we've got so far!

In other exciting news, I finally gave in and ordered us a new camera. We ended up getting a Panasonic Lumix, which will double as a video camera. That's very important for when Baby Rhody gets here!

In how I'm feeling, sleep is a struggle, though I am tired. I just toss and turn a lot. I also get up to pee several times per night. My back pain is continuing. I have promised myself that I can finally start ordering new bras in 2 more weeks, at 32 weeks. I am very much looking forward to that, and I hope it will help with the back pain.

I am mostly just excited that the end is in sight!

Nursery furniture!

So we had a busy weekend! We spent all day yesterday ironing and hanging curtains and rolling out the new rug that we bought at Target. Today, the furniture was delivered, and we put the crib together. The room on the small side, so I had some worries about how everything was going to fit, but I think it fits perfectly! I am still debating if we have room to fit a glider in the room, but we'll see!

I do still want to make tie-backs for the brown curtains, but that's a project for another week! No decorating yet, but that's to come as well!

Also, we spent a lot of this weekend putting together our cloth wipes. They are double-sided with one side (the print) flannel and plain white terrycloth on the other side. It took a little while to measure and stitch them all, but we ended up with 32! I think it's a great start to our stash!

29 weeks!

29 weeks! I realized this morning when I was getting dressed that I was wearing the same outfit as I wore last Monday. Oh, well, it makes for better comparison pics, right? I think this might be the last day for the black shirt, as it's not really doing much for me anymore. I am planning to hit Kohl's this weekend to buy another shirt or two to carry me to the end.

So, 29 weeks. Some days I feel like I'm so far along and we really need to hurry to get the rest of the baby things. Other days, I feel like we are never going to get to meet Baby Rhody!

As of this weekend, the "construction phase" of the nursery is finally done! Mr. Rhody called today and scheduled delivery of the furniture for Sunday! I'm so excited! We also went shopping this weekend and picked out a rug and curtains for the nursery. I can't wait to see how it all looks together--and part of me is a little afraid it's not going to match!

On the "how I'm feeling" front, Baby Rhody seems to have moved so that my back pain is not as bad as it was before, thank goodness. Instead, I have little feet that are in my ribs that make bending over near impossible. I'll take the feet in ribs over the back pain though. Other than that, my appetite seems to be waning. All I have wanted to eat over the past few days is ice cream, fruit, and juice. Sometimes cereal is appealing

Other items of note: my belly button has not completely popped, though it seems to be getting shallower and shallower. It was really deep to start with, so even being able to see the bottom is weird. Sleep is becoming more and more difficult. I did manage to bathe both of the dogs yesterday, but I think it may have led to my sore tailbone and gluteals all day today. Still trying to stay active, but it's becoming harder and harder.

I love Craigslist!

Soon after I last updated on Baby Rhody's gear, I found a post on Craigslist for 14 barely-used BumGenius one-sized diapers (with regular and newborn liners) and a diaper sprayer at what I considered to be a reasonable price. This woman lives an hour away from us, but, luckily, we were headed out of town that weekend and passing right by her house! We stopped by and picked up the diapers, that were in excellent condition, getting my stash up to 18 diapers, which make a rather colorful picture!

She was missing about 3 regular inserts (the longer ones in the picture), but had some extra newborn inserts. Everything was in such great condition, and I had been wanting the diaper sprayer (it hooks up to the toilet to rinse off the poop), so it was still a great deal. Also, she threw in the carrying bag (dark blue, left, in the picture) and a roll of Kushies diaper liners, which you can use inside the diaper as a flushable insert when the child is older.

The same weekend, I told Mr. Rhody I was interested in making some wipes ourselves as well. When cloth diapering, it doesn't make a lot of sense to use disposable wipes because then you have extra to throw away. I haven't found much in the way of wipes, so I thought we'd check out JoAnne Fabrics to see what we could find there. After a lot of indecision, we decided to go with flannel on one side (the cute pattern on the right) with terrycloth on the opposite side. They are washed now and need to be ironed before I can begin stitching.

I had been looking all over the place for an appropriately-sized plastic container to hold the wipes, and I found one on one of my weekly trips to Aldi! That place seems to always know exactly what I need, when I need it, like the 4-foot stuffed elephant we got for the nursery!

Today, I ordered a bag of Charlie's Soap to go with all of my diapers. I wanted a powdered soap that didn't have any additives that would work in our front-loader, and we settled on Charlie's Soap after reading tons of reviews. I hope it comes soon so that I can try it out on our clothes!

It feels so good to get a lot of the "necessities" out of the way! At least I know Baby Rhody's bum will be taken care of!

Pediatrician, check!

I am a bit behind on posting, but I wanted to record our pediatrician visits, and share how we chose the one we are going with.

I did have 2 litmus questions I asked each pediatrician: what they thought about a delayed vaccination schedule (not a no-vaccination, just spacing the vaccinations) and when / how they preferred to introduce baby's first foods. Other than that, we were just trying to get a feeling for the offices.

Pediatrician #1's office is literally around the block from our house. They are in a converted home that seems very nice. He is a solo practicioner. We were able to get in and get an appointment right away, which we later found out is pretty standard. He and his staff are very accomodating, and if you call and say you want to come in, they will make time for you. He talked to us for a very long time, and, by the time we left, his waiting room was more than packed. As for my litmus question, he didn't seem to like the delayed vaccination schedule and started lecturing me on the importance of vaccinations; when I corrected him that I was just talked about spacing, he basically told me I could do whatever I wanted, but there was no reason for it. I don't remember his response to baby's first foods.

Pediatrician #2 was an office of 2 doctors and one nurse practicitioner. This office is physically not too far, but, unfortunately, not as easy to get to as I'd hoped. I'd say it's 10-15 minutes away, with traffic. It was in an old Victorian home. We only got to meet with one of the doctors, even though we were supposed to meet with both because of snow. The doctor seemed very laid back. He was not concerned with delaying vaccinations, as long as we got them all, and said we could do whatever we wanted for baby's first foods, as rice cereal is apparently a US thing. He pointed out that in other cultures they have other traditional first foods. I really liked that the nurse practicitioner would be there all the time and she would also help with a lot of breastfeeding issues, though she wasn't a LC.

Pediatrician #3 was the furthest from us and an office of 8-9 doctors all working together. 3 of the doctors in this practice had been suggested to us, and I just picked one at random when asked who I wanted to meet with, since we only got to meet with one. The office, while furthest, took about the same amount of time as #2 to get to because it was mostly highway. It's in a newer medical complex, the same which I had been to previously when I met with the neurologist. I pretty much fell for the doctor that we met with, who answered all of my questions with, "Well the current literature says ...." We had a great talk about how starting children on rice cereal is just starting to be linked to the high rates of diabetes in this country, and how some are proposing to start babies on lean meats instead. We also talked about how medicine has changed through time, and we can't assume we have all of the answers today any more than we did a few years ago. As for vaccination, he recommends the current schedule, but he also has patients that don't vaccinate; his position is he'd rather offer them some healthcare rather than push them outside the system. My main concern with this office was the size and the fact that most of the calls are handled by nurses; I pointed out to Mr. Rhody that, except for the solo-practioner first practice, this is the case most places.

So after some conversation, we decided to go with practice #3. I really liked the researched approach to medicine and the fact that he is open to new ideas and willing to discuss things. It sounds like he works closely with the 2 other doctors in the practice who were also recommended to us, so we'll have some good backups if he is not available.

We told our midwife we're going with him at our appointment this week, so we are official now! I was surprised we don't need to do more than that, but someone from the office will come visit us on rounds and then we'll have our first appointment within 2 days of that!

28w check-up and no more dancing

I had a midwife appointment today. I'm now on the every-2-week schedule, though the appointments themselves haven't really changed. I'm up 3 lbs from 2 weeks ago, for a total of 16 lbs so far. My midwife seems to think this is at the low end of the range, but she's not concerned. She measured my fundal height to be 30 cm, which is +2 cm. She was unconcered with that as well, and unconcerned that I was +3 cm 2 weeks ago. She just said, "It's just an estimate. It doesn't really mean anything."

I love my midwife. I really hope she's on call when I go into labor. She's just so laid back.

In other news, Mr. Rhody and I attended our last dance lesson for a while yesterday. We have been taking lessons for nearly two years, having started in preparation for our wedding and continuing because we enjoyed it. It was a great time for us to connect, and a great way to just have fun together. We had to stop because our schedules are getting too hectic, I'm getting too tired, and my belly was getting in the way. It's bittersweet, since I know we are stopping for a good reason, and we are commited to going back once we are settled in with Baby Rhody!

28 weeks!

Look at me! 28 weeks! And look at that belly! Thank goodness for all of my Old Navy tank tops, which are allowing me to stretch the life of my shirts.

So this past week was very busy at work, which is great because it meant the week went very quickly. Unfortunately, it also has me very tired, and now I'm starting to wonder if this fatigue is going to stick around as that third trimester fatigue or if I just need more sleep. I suppose only time will tell!

Otherwise, my back has been killing me by the end of most days. I think this means I need to get on buying new bras, though I was hoping to wait another month until I was closer and could buy just one more set of bras. Really, the only thing that seems to help is my going to bed. I love our Tempurpedic mattress.

In wonderful news, things are moving forward on the other people front. I have written shortly before about how unenthusiastic my family and Mr. Rhody's family seem to be, though I've tried not to dwell on it. Well, Mr. Rhody and I debated long and hard and finally decided to ask our neighbors to be Baby Rhody's Godparents over my brother and sister. We asked this weekend and they were so honored! They told us they had never been Godparents before, and they are very excited. So my mother and brother and SIL might be upset, but I'm glad we've chosen people that will be great role models and will really take an active interest in our child's life.

Also, in similar news, my best friend emailed me today to ask if I'd mind if she threw a little shower for me in RI. She knows about my drama with my mother over this and she was the MOH in my wedding, so she knows how crazy my mother can get. I'm so excited and so honored. Even if it's just 5 local people, I will know that they are there because they are excited for Baby Rhody's arrival, not because they feel obligated to be there (like the extended family my mother would have invited). I'm so excited!

Childbirth class today!

Mr. Rhody and I hit what I consider to be a huge milestone today--we did our childbirth class!

We attended the natural childbirth class at our hospital. We had decided to do the one-day class instead of the evening series of classes because we are often tired after work. One Saturday just seemed much more optimal for learning.

The class materials did confirm my desire to go for as natural a birth as is possible. We saw a few videos of women delivering naturally, and seeing them go through all the stages really encouraged me that I could do it as well. We practiced positions for laboring as well as breathing exercises. I had read about a bunch of these, but it was good to have someone there to make me actually do it and give me feedback. We even practiced pushing a bit!

Our class was the first class since the H1N1 outbreak to be able to have a tour of the facilities. I do have to admit, the "alternative birthing center" is not as posh as I thought it would be, and I won't be heartbroken if we are bumped to a regular room.

I have to say, the whole day was tiring, but it was very much worth it! Now I just need to be patient until I can put what I've learned into practice!

27 weeks! Officially third trimester!

OK, I'll say it. WOW, I'm getting big! I was comparing this picture to my other circles!shirt picture from only 3 weeks ago, and I've grown so much! Really, sometimes I feel normal and other times I feel huge.

In the how I'm feeling department, after my anxiety-induced sickness that I talked about in my last post, it did take my stomach a few days to recover. Luckily, after a weekend of great sleep, I am eating normally again. And, in related news, I found out today that I passed the 1-hour glucose test! Yay for not having to take the 3-hour!

Also, I didn't get to mention it in my last post, but recently I've been able to feel Baby Rhody's parts more and more. The midwife that I saw last week confirmed that Baby Rhody is head down with his/her back to my left, as I thought. I know he/she still has some time to turn, but I was just so happy that I could tell!

This weekend, DH and I took a mini vacation to NYC, where we walked a few miles from place to place. I have to say, I'm not in the shape I used to be, but walking all that way with this big bump gave me quite the sore tailbone and hips! It was great to get out and get some exercise though, and I know walking is great for pregnancy!

Also, my friend had a party while we were down in NYC, and everyone kept telling me how much I "glowed" and how great I looked! I loved it! It's the first I've really been out with the bump, and I loved the attention.

Glucose test and an overachieving Baby Rhody

I didn't get to update after my midwife appointment last Thursday. The reason for that will become apparant as I tell you how that day went.

This starts with my Wednesday, where I got some "interesting" feedback at work, had a dentist appointment where they told me I have mild gingivitus and a small cavity, and then my car decided to act up (again) on my way home. This series of events led me to completely freak out over the glucose test the next day. I slept horribly the whole night, had two nightmares about Baby Rhody being stillborn, and woke up sick to my stomach. I ended up throwing up for the first time in any of my 3 pregnancies, as I could not get my body to calm down.

I did go into work, only to get sent home because I apparently looked as bad as I felt. I felt like I spent the whole day dreading this test, which meant I could not eat at all. I am the type of person that finds most sodas too sweet to drink, so the idea of an extra sweet drink really turned my stomach.

So my appointment was at 4 pm. They had me drink the glucola drink first and then have my regular appointment while I was waiting the hour to have my blood drawn. It turns out the drink wasn't bad at all! Especially because I only had to drink like 8 ounces of it!

I met with a different midwife this week because mine was out. I walked into that exam room finally feeling better, only to have the midwife tell me I was measuring 3 weeks ahead. Now, I've been measuring 1/2 - 1 week ahead this entire pregnancy, which I told her, and Mr. Rhody and I were big babies, which I also told her, but she still recommended I get an ultrasound to check things out.

Now I start getting worried--not about a big baby but about being pushed around into an induction or a C-section for a projected big baby--but I'm too tired to really get into it. So I scheduled the ultrasound, figuring I could always cancel it later.

Then I went home and slept for 13 hours. I woke up even more sure I was going to cancel that ultrasound, and I'll be doing that tomorrow as soon as the office opens. The midwife also told me I should "probably" find out this weekend if I failed the glucose test, and I didn't hear anything, so I suppose no news is good news! I'll confirm that tomorrow as well when I call.

Phew!

Baby's got bed and bedding!

I haven't updated on baby's room much recently because Mr. Rhody is still working on painting it. "In progress" painting pictures are not all that exciting, especially when they all look about the same. Plus, we are out for the next few weekends, so I'm not sure when he will be able to finish. Baby Rhody is starting to get more and more things though, and I'm starting to get anxious to put them away!

This weekend, I did get to go to Babies R Us with my mother. She had found my 17-year-old sister's high chair in the back of the garage, so we took it to the Babies R Us trade-in sale and got our playard! You'll notice that it matches our travel system.

Babies R Us was also having 20% off of bedding sets, and my mother insisted on buying that as well. I love love love it so much that I want to sleep with the quilt myself. It's got all sorts of fuzzy textures, including different widths of corduroy on it. I was debating before this weekend if we needed a bedding SET, but I am so glad we decided to get it. Have I mentioned that I love it? You should also note that Mrs. EmmaLouise already got us the mobile. Now I just need the lamp (SO CUTE) to complete the set.

Knowing that Mr. Rhody's mother tends to be ... eclectic ... in her gift giving and knowing that we probably won't be having any sort of shower, I then went to our list to prioritize what we really need to get before Baby Rhody gets here. Here's my list:

• More clothes
• More diapers (we're doing cloth; I have 4)
• Baby wipes (cloth again; I might make these)
• Baby monitor
• Curtains for nursery
• 2-3 fitted sheets
• 2 mattress pads
• Milk storage bags
• Bottles
• Diaper bag
• Playpen sheets
• Diaper pails (2, one for home, one for daycare)
• Diaper pail liners (2)

I'd also like to get a rug for Baby Rhody's room and for a few of the other rooms upstairs to make it a little quieter up there, as everything is hardwood and sometimes it just seems SO LOUD. Oh, and we are looking at getting a new camera because we're about due, so if you have any suggestions, let me know!

26 weeks!

26 weeks, and Baby Rhody has definitely been doing a lot of growing! The most exciting thing is that I'm now under 100 days to go (98 days today)! That makes it seem a whole lot sooner, and which also makes me feel like we have SO MUCH more to do!

This weekend, I made my last planned visit to NJ until the baby comes, as I don't want to do any long car rides in the third trimester. The last I'd seen my family was right after Christmas, so my belly has definitely grown since then!

The coolest part of the visit was when I was showing my belly off to my little sister. I even got her to feel a few of the baby's kicks, which she described as "weird". Then the baby decided to show off and stick his/her butt up on my left side! I've heard of this happening before, but this is the first time I've noticed Baby Rhody do it! It was so cool.

In other news, I know I'm totally early to be worrying about baby positioning, but I've been reading a little more on the Spinning Babies website. It's been interesting because I hadn't before noticed the differences between kicks and punches. It's interesting getting to know Baby Rhody's parts more and more as he/she grows.

Doula visit and dog training

So our Doula came for a visit last Wednesday. It was our first real visit after the interview!

She brought over a whole packet with things that would be useful as we get close to birth. We started with the easy part--we signed the contract and paid her fee. I thought it was very interesting that she had a provision if I needed a scheduled C-section, I would get half of the money back. However, for an unscheduled C-section (if I had labored and tried to push), I would not. That made sense to me.

The packet also had a list of things to pack for the hospital, a list of recommended books and videos, when to call her, and similar things. My favorite thing by far, though, was the "Wish List for Birth". This was sort of like a Birth Plan Lite. It had all of the options for birth in a checklist. We went though and discussed each one and my feelings about it. I really like the layout because it made me feel like we hadn't forgotten anything, but it was still really clear and concise.

Towards the end of the visit, we talked to her about getting the dogs ready for baby. She offered to bring over a doll so we could practice with the dogs! So I came home Monday afternoon to the cutest doll left on my doorstep! It's totally baby-sized and even baby weight. She told me the outfit was from her youngest! I love it! It's even got a monkey face on the butt, therefore, I've named him, "Monkey Butt". Creative, eh? I have to say, the dogs are doing wonderfully so far with their training.

She also brought us over a birthing ball, which Mr. Rhody inflated for me today. Between that and the 20 minutes I spent doing yoga poses, I feel great! I'm really looking forward to getting a lot of use out of this ball for our evening TV and computer time.

I think my favorite part of the interview is when our doula said, "Since you are so far along ...." I don't even remember what came after that! Let's go baby!

25 weeks!

Regarding the above picture:

1. Wow, I'm really starting to look "big"!
2. I swear I am not grabbing my crotch
3. This is what I wore today! It's a non-maternity shirt, and it's getting a bit short already

25 weeks! I feel like time has been creeping by this past month, but I'm expecting it to pick up again since we have a few busy weeks ahead of us! Of course, that means more blog updates, too!

I'm starting to really get the third trimester soreness. The one area that's been sore for about a week now was just under my breasts. I thought this was because my bras are becoming too tight (which they are), but after picking up some bra extenders, I realized this wasn't the only factor. In fact, I think the soreness is coming from my ribs spreading and everything shifting. How odd. I can't wait--2 more months until I will let myself invest in new bras!

My other big complaint recently is that I can't sleep. We have a Tempurpedic mattress, which has been a help until now, but I'm starting to find it hard to get comfortable. I have a body pillow, which helps my hips to feel better, but then I feel like the bed is too crowded between Mr. Rhody, the pillow, and me! Mr. Rhody has offered to sleep in the spare room, but I feel bad kicking him out of bed already. Sheesh!

For the most part, though, I am still really enjoying pregnancy. Everytime baby kicks or, even more so, does a cartwheel, I smile. I also LOVE the attention. It's great when someone from church or at the supermarket notices. After hiding my first 2 pregnancies and the first half of this one, pretty much, it just feels good to have it out there!

I won an award!

The instructions that go along with this award are as follows:

• Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
• Copy the award and place it in your blog.
• Link the person who nominated you for this award.
• Tell us 7 interesting things about you.
• Nominate 7 bloggers.
• Post the links to the 7 bloggers you nominate.

Well, today is nursery update day, but I'm tired, so, instead, I'm going to stop procrastinating posting my award! Thank you to both Ibis and Kate for nominating me! I am honored! :)

So here are 7 things about me (I won't guarantee that they are interesting):

1. We compost in this household. All vegetable clippings go in a bucket by the sink and then into a compost bin out in the yard. What do we do with the compost? Mostly just throw it around the bushes. Which brings me to ...

2. I have a black thumb. I can't grow anything. I have tried over the past few years to grow all sorts of herbs and tomatoes and cucumbers and things. This is embarassing because I come from a farming people. My grandmother is 90 years old and can grow 3-foot zucchini. I can't grow a pickling pepper. Adding to this indignity ...

3. Mr. Rhody is an excellent farmer. He was in charge of all of the herbs this summer and we had quite the bounty! I couldn't even remember to water the plants. However,

4. I am great at using the plants! I love to cook. I love most to throw things together and make a tasty meal. I always try to cook from scratch. My goal is to not buy any prepared foods at all. I still haven't managed to get away from cereals and canned tomatoes, but, other than that, we are doing pretty well.

5. My path in life was set pretty early. Rumor has it from my mother that, as a baby, I refused to eat jarred baby food. This was pretty crazy for the early 80s. My mother had to take whatever everyone else was eating and put it through the blender for me.

6. Taking points 1-5 into account, it should be no surprise that Mr. Rhody and I plan to make our child's food on our own. I'm not even sure what to do about baby's first food. Rice cereal? Refined grains? Ack!

7. In complete turnabout from my normal habits, every time I've been pregnant, all I've wanted was junk food. Like McDonalds and Taco Bell and Johnny Rockets. Thankfully, once I got out of the first trimester this time around, those cravings subsided. It's bad when you're grossing yourself out!

So now I tag the following: Mrs.EmmaLouis, cour10e, PeetiePie, Cara, BabyRN, and whoever else is interested. This reminds me, I know there are a few people that have added me that I have not added back. It turns out I can't seem to figure out how to link them! You know you're getting old when technology befuddles you.

24 weeks - Viability!

24 weeks! I usually change into something more "plain" when I get home so that you can see the bump better, but I didn't feel like it today, so you get my circles!shirt, lol.

So 24 weeks is the big "viability" milestone, meaning that if Baby Rhody were born today, he/she would have a 50% chance of survival. I hadn't given much thought to this milestone. First of all, because of my miscarriages and subsequent clotting diagnosis, I feel like it's more possible for my LO to pass away without any signs than to be born early. Secondly, 50% of babies born at this stage survive ... but I would rather my baby do more than survive, so I want Baby Rhody to wait until he/she is fully cooked.

However, yesterday, I was watching the Duggars TV show on the birth of their 19th child, who was born at 25 weeks. Looking at that tiny baby in the incubator, it finally hit me. A baby of that size is inside ME. There's an actual baby in there. Sometimes, I feel like my mind still hasn't fully made that connection.

As to how I'm feeling these days, I still say I'm feeling pretty good. Heartburn is my constant companion these days. (The newest culprit? CARROTS. Yes, I didn't believe it either.) I had some pretty severe back pain over the past week until it got bad enough to get me off of my duff and do my yoga exercises yesterday morning. Since then, my back has felt great. I still need to get bra extenders, as my ribcage has started to expand, which is contributing to the back pain.

Baby Rhody's movements these days seem to have slowed down somewhat. I think he/she may have had a growth spurt last week--I was ravenously hungry for days--and now is feeling a bit crowded. Baby Rhody is usually good enough to give me a kick every time I start to seriously worry, or at least poke back if I give him/her a good poke!

My child has internet friends!

Baby Rhody got 2 new additions to his/her pile of things this week, both tied to Bumpie friends of mine! It was great timing when I started to feel like people in my life had forgotten about Baby Rhody that I had some great new friends to fall back on.

First, on my shopping trip last weekend with AmysMelody, we went through baby clothes at every store we could in the mall. I have been trying to hold back from buying too much, knowing that people might get those as gifts and knowing that I could always fall back on the Salvation Army for a large selection, especially of small sizes. Then I saw this cute onesie at Old Navy for $2.50, and, with Amy's urging, I decided to get it! Baby's got an outfit for next Christmas!

Also, my awesome friend Mrs.EmmaLouise, who has been a great person to lean on, bought Baby Rhody his/her first registry item, the mobile that goes with our crib bedding set! Mr. Rhody and I were so excited when the box came in the mail, and now I'm even more excited to get the nursery together. A mobile! And it plays music! I am ridiculously excited!

Now we just have to get Baby Rhody's nursery finished so we can start putting things away!

I love boring appointments!

I had another midwife appointment today, and it was boring again! I love boring appointments!

I did gain a few more pounds since last week (oops!) and my blood pressure was still great (100/70). I had my fundal height measured for the first time today, and it was right on at 24 cm, so Baby Rhody is still a tiny bit ahead. We told the midwife that we had decided on a doula, and she made sure to add that to my file.

Because of a work commitment, I won't be able to come to my appointment in 4 weeks, so we scheduled my 1-hour glucose test for 3 weeks from now. Unfortunately, my midwife won't be in that week, so I'll be meeting with another midwife. In the end, I should probably meet more of the midwives, just in case, so this will probably be good.

Also, my midwife is going to bring me up to the high risk group again next week, and we'll see if I can't get back into the birthing center!

Waiting for paint - the nursery update

So I have no updated pictures since my last nursery post since the room looks about the same from far away. If you look closely, though, you can see that a lot of work took place this weekend!

As I mentioned on the previous post, the walls had been painted with a super-textured paint at some point. Well, the people who did this weren't careful and painted that texture right up on the crown moldings as well! Also, the previous owners had wired the phone lines on the baseboards and then painted over it. The meant when we pulled the phone lines off, there was a rough paint ridge going around the room!

Well, thanks to Mr. Rhody, those issues have been resolved now. The wood has all been smoothed down, the cracks in the ceiling have been patched, and the skim coat the plasterers put on has been sanded. We're ready for paint!

This weekend, we also picked out new light fixtures for the nursery and our other room. While the nursery light fixture had that cool retro thing going, I really do prefer fixtures that are flush to the ceiling to limit the detritus that gets caught in the glass. We went pretty cheap and got a 2-pack from Home Depot for something that we figured would blend into the room easily.

Next weekend, we'll start priming and hopefully painting the ceiling! There still feels like there's so much to do, but I know we'll get there!

23 weeks!

23 weeks! I was just downloading this picture off of my camera, and, when I went to name it, "16 weeks" popped into my head. Um, no. We are way past that now!

OK, so it's not the best picture. This is under what I wore to work today. I looked cute, I swear. And there was no bra showing at work.

I am definitely getting bigger! And Baby Rhody is kicking up a storm! After lunch today, while Baby Rhody was just going wild, I started to wonder what he/she was doing in there. I have decided that mixed martial arts is the only reasonable answer.

I had a great weekend. Saturday, I went swimming, which felt GREAT. Remind me not to skip any more Saturday morning swimming sessions, please! And then on Sunday, I met up with a girl, Amy, from the bump, and we went to the mall. It was really fun to hang out with another expectant mom and go clothes shopping and having someone else to "squee" with me!

Anyway, Mr. Rhody and I are off to dinner at some alumni event. He begged me to come with him, and I don't really feel like cooking ... so away we go! Also, expect another ton of updates this week. I've got lots to say!

The Great Lovenox Debate continues

So I had my high-risk doctor appointment this morning. This is the doctor that prescribes the Lovenox and the only doctor who seemed to do a thorough physical on me ... pretty much ever. I love her. She actually listens and pays attention to Mr. Rhody and myself.

Anyway, the appointment today was just a normal check-up to see how my shots are going. I was very proud that my appointment showed my weight was good (up 7 pounds so far), blood pressure was great (100/60), and no swelling anywhere.

But the real part of the appointment was the discussion about the Lovenox and what to do about birth. I told the doctor I had been risked out of the birthing center, which surprised her, since she felt I was on such a low dose that I was a very low risk. We talked about all of our options; my preference would be to continue doing the Lovenox until I started having some progress, as it clears your system in 12-24 hours, but that won't get me back into the birthing center.

The more we talked, the more I realized that this mutation causes problems with placental adhesion and placental blood flow. From the research I've been reading, it's not so much a risk of clots as a risk of the placenta not getting enough blood--which is why the Lovenox is so important early on in pregnancy, when vascularization is taking place.

So when the doctor suggested we just stop the Lovenox at 36w, I was okay with that idea. I am pretty low risk anyway. The probability of something happening at that late stage is very low. Blood flow should be well established. And it would only be a month or so until giving birth.

The doctor said she would discuss this with the midwife, and I'll be following up with the midwife next week to see if we can't get me back into the birth center. I think this is a good plan.

Baby Gear update!

Phew! What a marathon posting week!

Today's post will focus on what Baby Rhody now has to his/her name, to see where we are on baby preparation. We are still trying not to buy too much; even though I don't think there will be a shower, I do still think some people will want to buy us small gifts. However, I did have 2 20% off coupons for Babies R Us, and I didn't want them to go to waste! Also, we picked out our nursery furniture this weekend, which I am very excited about!

First, the furniture. We got all 3 pieces, and I think they will fit perfectly in that room.

This piece shows the detail nicely.

For the 20% off of anything coupon, I spent a lot of time thinking, and decided to get the breast pump--Medela Pump in Style. It's rather expensive, and not really something that people would go crazy to shop for. I got the one with the shoulder bag, since I thought that would be best for going back and forth to work.

Finally, there was a 20% one "gear" item at Babies R Us for Martin Luther King weekend. I thought about this and decided to go for the travel system, since it was one of the most expensive things left on our list and was not cheaper on Amazon. Plus, at least the infant seat is a necessary item for before baby can come home.

Here's the full list of what we have so far. New items are in bold!

• 4 cloth diapers (BumGenius, one-size)
• 4 washclothes
• 2 receiving blankets
• 1 large crocheted blanket
• one 4-foot elephant
• 2 small stuffed animals
• 1 outfit
• breast pump
• travel system
• crib, hutch, and dresser (on order)
• crib mattress (on order)
• changing pad (on order)

I feel much more on top of things than I did just a week ago! I think we made good progress getting things we need this week, though I was joking with Mr. Rhody we're going to have to stop buying things until we get more 20% coupons--maybe for President's Day?