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!