34 week naked belly!

Yes, I do have stretch marks. If he continues to grow like they say, I am sure I am going to get more.

U/S Pic

When I first saw his face I was a little worried. I thought OMG is he okay! I then found out that he all squished in there so his little face is all squished up too.

If you look at his nose you can see both little nostrels!

34 weeks 4 days

I can't stop thinking about this big baby situation. I have decided that I am going to proceed with a vaginal birth as long as he isn’t in any danger. I am not going to take the chance of breaking his clavicle, dislocating his shoulder or damaging his cervical plexus. If he hasn’t dropped by the time I am in labor I am going to get the epi right away so I don’t get exhausted early.
One thing I forgot to mention is, the ultra sound showed that I have a matured placenta. It looks okay for now but he said that it would be very unsafe to let my pregnancy go longer than 40 weeks. We are going to have to keep an eye on the placenta because once it reaches a certain point it will start to break down and Declan wont get the nourishment he needs. This is definitely a situation where I would get the c-section.
Oh yeah, to top it off, my amniotic fluid is on the low side.
Poor little guy, my uterus is turning into a harsh environment.
This is all so scary!

34 weeks 3 days He's a big one!

We just had our growth ultrasound this afternoon to discover that we are, in fact, having a huge baby boy. At 34w & 3 days he is already 6.5 pounds, it’s what they expect a 37-38 week baby to weigh. Declan will be an estimated 9.5-10+ pounds at full term
I am not at risk for pre-term labor or anything like that, because developmentally he is 34 weeks. My doctors main concern is how we are going to deliver him. Doc said that we would get a better idea as the weeks go by based on what my cervix is doing and on what the baby is doing. Dr. Stemple, however, wants me to keep an open mind about having a c-section. He said that 15+ years of experience makes him believe that I am not going to be able to deliver him vaginally. This is based on my body type and how Declan is positioned. Worse case and most likely scenario according to him is I will have a long intensive labor including a few hours of pushing only to have a c-section in the end. I am depressed and scared. This sucks, I wanted to have a natural birth so bad and here I am pretty much facing an inevitable c-section. I just need to keep reminding myself that in the end I will have my baby. I have to remember all that matters is that I have a beautiful healthy baby boy.

34 weeks 2 days

With our due date right around the corner I have spent a lot of time sitting and thinking about what this means. I had such high hopes for using the Bradley Method. That kinda fell through after I chose a bad instructor. I am hoping to use some of the skills taught with Bradley and other breathing techniques. I am going to have Shane learn some meditation type breathing instructions to walk me through.
Since I found out I was pregnant I have been going back and forth on whether or not I want to hire a doula. I absolutely love the idea of having someone there who is familiar with the hospital, procedures and is there just to help me. They are so expensive! Who can afford the fees I ask? Who can afford $600 for a birth coach?
I have come to terms with the fact that I might get an epidural. I accept that if I do get one it’s going to be fine. My baby will be okay and I will be so proud to have done it, to have given birth. I am super happy that I came to this realization because I don’t want to feel like a failure if I don’t go all natural. Birth is different for everyone and a lot of first time moms are in labor for 24-48+ hours. I think at some point one would probably become so exhausted that a break from the pain will sound magical. I know Shane hates to see me in pain and I think he would rather I get the epi then struggle through it.
I cant believe I am 34 weeks, that this sat I will be 35 weeks.
It’s all becoming so scary and so real.

34 weeks Elevated BP and trip to L&D

Yesterday, while at the grocery store I started to feel awful. I was hot, faint, dizzy and anxious my heart was racing and pumping hard. It was terrible but I finished my shopping anyways. I looked over while I was paying and saw a blood pressure machine and decided to see what it what it says. I was shocked to see that my bp was 155/83 with a pulse of 101. I took it 2 more times over the next few minutes and it remained equally as high. I called my mom who told me to call my doctor.
The on call doctor returned my call with in a few minutes and gave me the grim news that I should go to L&D and get tested to make sure I wasn’t preeclampsic. Shane had just left for Adelaide, AU, and it was 7:30pm so going to the hospital was the last thing I wanted to do. I thought the numbers would fix themselves but my mom was persistent that I go the hospital and that she would take me.
Once I got there they got me all strapped into the fetal heart rate and contraction monitors and got my arm in an automatic bp cuff. My blood pressure was still high for a little while but Declan’s hr was perfect. He was being such a wiggly worm it was hard to keep track of his heart rate for more than 15 minutes at a time. He is such a silly little guy. My mom was just amazed by how active he was and she was just plain giddy about getting to feel and see so many movements and to hear his little heart beating away.
After two hours all of my lab work came back normal and my bp was 122/80 so I got to go home. They think that a combination of salty food, I had Indian food for dinner the night before, sun shine and not enough water caused my bp to go up. I had drank about 64 ounces of water but I guess I just need more than that. I have had those same symptoms through out this pregnancy but I never had a cuff to check my bp. A couple years before I was pregnant I had lost 50 pounds because I had borderline high bp and my lipid bipanel was a little concerning. I have gained 40 pounds so far and I think it is a little more than my body can comfortably handle. I think it will be best if I remove most of the sodium from my diet. I don’t eat much processed foods but I am going to remove what little I was eating. No more tofu dogs!

33 weeks 2 days

Well, I’m still measuring ahead, he is coming in at a whopping 40 weeks. My OB was in surgery so I saw a lady today she asked me if I had scheduled an appointment for an ultra sound to get a better picture of his size. When I told her I hadn’t she wanted to know what Dr Stemple and I had talked about doing. Well, honestly he hasn’t said anything. She feels an ultra sound is necessary so I am scheduled for next Friday. I am so frickin excited to see my little boy! I hope he is okay. I honestly have no idea what they are going to do if he is already the size of a fully gestated baby.
I am down 5 pounds from my last appointment that was only 4 days ago. Since my weight has been steady over the last month, the nurse thought it was so strange she weighed me on 3 different scales to make sure it wasn’t a mistake. I have gained about 40 pounds since my first appointment.
This is really hard on me because I feel like I am 40 weeks. I dread going to work tomorrow and standing for 4 hours straight. I actually takes me about a day and half to recuperate after each shift. My hormones are a little crazy these days. I get rather proud of myself when I am able to keep them in check and not say what wants to escape my lips. That is another reason work is super hard these days. When people are rude I have a hard time biting my tongue, I just want to tell them to not be rude. Declan spends a lot of time awake. He moves his little arms and legs around a lot. Space is tight so any and all curious spectators can enjoy watching his movements.

32 weeks 4 days *Sewing*

I completed my first sewing project this morning! This little guy took me about 6 hours to complete. The first two hours consisted completely of marking and cutting, followed by pinning and sewing of the darts. He is a first birthday gift for my niece Melissa. He is by no means perfect, but he is, if I do say so myself, the cutest hippo on the block.

32 weeks Braxton Hicks

Starting this afternoon, whenever I am on my feet I have been having contractions. I will admit I am a bit nervous but everything I have read says that if the contractions stop after you sit down and relax then it is false labor. Maybe I am not feeling contractions at all. Maybe it’s something else? I don’t know. I am nauseous and crampy, maybe I am just sick. I had an appointment this morning (before any of this started) and things look good. He is still measuring ahead, he is low in my belly and facing head down. He is all ready for the big day. He just needs to stay in there for a while longer.
OMG! He has hiccups for the first time as I write this! How funny!! He has been awake and sliding his legs around for the last 90 minutes straight. He has never been awake for so long.

Crib

Here is the crib and crib set (thank you Pam!) all ready to go, well, minus the matress that is. We are going to get the chemical free Naturepedic matress these matresses are free of vinyl/PVC, phthalates and phthalate substitutes, PBDEs, brominated or chlorinated fire retardants, antimony, modacrylic, polyacrylonitrile, respirable crystaline silica or boric acid all harmful chemicals that can cause asthma and endocrine damage.
I am not going to use the bumper until he is older but it looks so darn cute Iam going to keep it in there until he actually uses the crib and who knows when that will be. Lord knows I am not going to get up, go to his room and get him out of crib, waking us both up evertime I feed. He is going to spend a while in our bed until sleep becomes a little more regular.

Lead

I bought a lead testing kit today containing two lead indicator sticks. It was quite expensive at $8.00 per kit but I had to find out for sure whether or not my old claw foot tub was covered in lead enamel. For about 30 seconds I was super happy, the test was negative! I decided to test the bottom of the tub where there is quite a bit of wear I pulled the stick up and it was bright red. Darn. I think the tub was re-finished some time ago and in the bottom it has worn through to the old lead based covering. I need to find out how I can avoid any more lead exposure than I have already had. I figure if I get one of those thick rubber bath mats I will have a good barrier between me and the lead.
I checked the dust in the living room and it cam up negative. Thank god! If we had lead dust in the house I would have to mop and wet dust every single day to keep Deco safe.
The other place that tested positive is the door to Declan’s room. I need to have Shane pull it off, cover it in an oil-based primer and then paint it with a fresh coat of latex. I guess I know now why a few of the doors were pulled off and in the garage when Shane moved in. Damn, keeping you kids safe is hard. I can’t believe how much in everyday life is so bad for them.

31 weeks, Baby Shower!

Wow, all I can say is this child will not need any more outfits until after 12 months. The shower was a lot of fun, full of great people and good food. We received so many adorable little peices of clothes! I have to admit I was really suprised that we only received 1 item from our registry. I didn't beleive my sister when she told me that no one really looks at those. I guess I know the truth now :) I am glad we got the shower out of the way a little early, it gives us more time to buy all the necessaties we still need.

A big "Thank You!!" to everyone who attended!!

Me, Melissa, Shane and Grandma Virginia

Never sneek up on a pregnant lady cutting chocolate cake!

30 week pictures