Bump Brief #29

Bump Brief #29: 37 weeks

How far along? 37 weeks, baby is the size of a birthing ball. Feels like it sometimes, but ultrasound tech says she is approximately 6 1/2lbs. Good size to me! 

Total weight gain/loss: 168 today. Up 2lbs from last week. Total weight gain is 21lbs so far. 
Stretch marks? No
Sleep:  Still not great. Mostly because I have to pee 3-4 times a night and my stomach is so heavy. I actually counted how long it takes to roll over from one side to the other. 5 Mississippi. Count to 5 Mississippi and that's how long it takes. A long time. Especially in the middle of the night. 
Best moment this week: Had my last ultrasound and made the final 3 appointments, the third being after my due date. Exciting! I usually book one appointment at a time, so booking the final 3 seems surreal. I also got a stork pass for closer parking at the hospital. The spots are always full, but still cool to have. 

Preggo Problems: 1. Braxton hicks contractions are extremely uncomfortable when I get them while driving. I have to lean in this weird position until it stops. She is still pretty high, so it hurts my ribs. 2. I feel hungry all day long. I will eat a meal, feel full, then feel hungry 30 minutes later. 

Movement: Yep. Movements feel less like karate chops and more like rolling, smoother movements. They are not as shocking, but still hurt since she is getting bigger. 
Food cravings: Anything I don't have to make myself? and...Subway. and...cereal.

Interesting facts about baby (according to pregnancy app): 

1. She is practicing inhaling, exhaling, sucking, and gripping.

2. She is now considered "full term".

3. 21 days until EDD! 3 more weeks!! 

Gender: Girl!! And her name is.....

Labor Signs: Just braxton hicks. Ultrasound tech says she is head down and the cyst has shifted more to the left, meaning, vaginal delivery is even more likely!! I have started trying a few "natural induction" methods. Will they work? Who knows. But I am trying them. Not because I am trying to rush her, but because we can't book our flights for our PCS without her here and without a birth certificate. Because I want as much healing time before a 13 hour trip on a plane. Because I want her to be as old as possible on a flight. Because I'm excited. It's kinda frustrating when people are telling me not to rush her out. If we weren't in this situation, I wouldn't really give it a second thought. I know that even doing these methods are not going to work if she isn't ready. But I want to try. So if you think I am trying to rush her just because I am done with being pregnant, that is really not the case. Yes, I am uncomfortable, but the reasons behind me trying natural inductions are for other reasons. 

Anyways...here are a few natural induction methods I am trying:

1. Birthing ball

2. Raspberry leaf tea

3. Sex

4. Essential oils, specifically Clary Calm from DoTerra.

5. Nipple stimulation

I looked up castor oil and evening primrose oil. EPO is a no-go for me after some research Jason found. Castor oil is up in the air, but not likely going to use it. 

Belly Button in or out? Out. Way out. 

Wedding rings on or off? Off. Just a fake one.
Mood: Right this second? Fantastic. Nate is napping, I just ate lunch, Jason is home and off work until we move, and went to a pool with some friends today. 

Besides my awesome morning and afternoon, tired and overwhelmed with PCS stuff. Movers come in 2 days, so trying to get last minute things organized and ready. Once they leave on Friday, I think I lot of weight will be lifted. Literally and figuratively. 

Bump Brief #25

Bump Brief #25: 33 weeks

 These are phone pictures. Honestly, I was too lazy to get out my good camera. Nate just fought me for an hour to nap so all I wanted to do was drink my Dr. Pepper, eat my BBQ chips, write this blog post, and sit on my ass. Sorry not sorry.

How far along? 33 weeks, baby is the size of a...durain!? What the flip is that!? 

Total weight gain/loss: 159 today. Up 12lbs from pre-pregnancy weight. 7 more weeks to go!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: For me, not really. For Nate, not really. For Morgan, not really. For Jason, sleeps like a husband. Jealous. So. jealous. 
Best moment this week: MRI and blood work! HA! Just kidding, both of those sucked. I did get a pedicure last week which was amazeballs. I also got my first edible arrangement from a friend! 

Preggo Problems: 1. MRI during pregnancy. Holy uncomfortable. 2. Peeing every hour, sometimes more. 3. Being huge. 

Movement: Yes. Kicking me in the ribs and hip bones mostly. And, the girl has hiccups a lot. Nate likes to feel the hiccups and giggles. It's super cute. 
Food cravings: BBQ chips. Cold drinks. Fruit.  And anything someone else wants to make for me because that is just awesome. 
Interesting facts about baby (according to pregnancy app): 

1. Eyes are open if she is awake.

2. Bones are hardening. 

3.49 days until EDD! 

Gender: Girl!! And her name is.....

This was her ultrasound picture at 32 weeks. Weighing about 4lbs. She is looking to be around an 8-9lber at birth. Yikes! Trying to mentally prepare for that.

Labor Signs: Nope. 

Belly Button in or out? Depends on her position, mostly out though.
Wedding rings on or off? Off. They need to be re-dipped, but that will have to wait until after our move. 
Mood: Still up and down. Nate has been acting up, I can't sleep well, nervous about MRI results, excited that next month Morgan will be here. Next month. Wow. Next month I will be a mother of 2...holy moly. 

I didn't write last weeks blog post because I was not feeling great after having some blood work done and a MRI very suddenly. It freaked me out. I have an appointment on Thursday with hopefully the results and good news. Morgan is FINE! She is doing well. The MRI and blood work is to check on the cyst they found at 20 weeks in more detail. It is growing(size of a cantaloupe). Send your positive vibes my way for good results! I will update next week with the outcome and any information I get from the doctor. 

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Bump Brief #19

Bump Brief #19: 26 weeks

How far along? 26 weeks, baby is the size of a cucumber. According to the ultrasound today, baby is weighing in at 2lbs!

Total weight gain/loss: 153 today, +6lbs!
Stretch marks? Nothing new. 
Sleep: Not horrible, not great. Found out Morgan is transverse(sideways) so that might explain why even sleeping on my sides aren't comfortable. Laying on my back gives me heartburn and I can't lay on my stomach. The struggle is real. 
Best moment this week: Prenatal massage! My mom got me a gift certificate for my birthday and it was SO relaxing!

Miss Anything? Eh, the usual. Painting toes, shaving, sleeping well. Nothing crazy. 
Movement: Yes. She has a dance party between 9:30-10 almost every night. Starting to move a lot during car rides...guess she doesn't like being squished while I sit or she hates my singing. It's a toss up.
Food cravings: Can't think of anything specific this week really. Tomorrow we are going to a breakfast place for my birthday and I'm pretty stoked to try their blueberry cream cheese stuffed french toast. Get in my belly!
Interesting facts about baby (according to pregnancy app): 

1. She's taking breaths of amniotic fluid. 

2. Baby is borrowing antibodies from mom to help fight infection and kick start its immune system.

3.Under 100 days until due date!!

Gender: Girl!! And her name is.....

Labor Signs: No. Braxton Hicks, yes. 

Belly Button in or out? In. It looks funky. Getting flatter. 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Good. had an ultrasound this morning so we got to see Morgan wiggling around in my belly. They checked the cyst and I need an MRI in 2-3 weeks to get some more details about it. Doctor said it is still grapefruit size, hasn't gotten bigger or smaller. I will still need to get it removed, whether it be if I need a C-section or 6 weeks after Morgan is born. Doctor said cyst shouldn't affect labor or delivery. So...that's the news. 

Here are a few ultrasound pictures from this morning. Morgan apparently smuggled in a foam finger in my belly. 

Bump Brief #14

Bump Brief #14: 21 weeks

How far along? 21 weeks, baby is the size of a carrot! 

Total weight gain/loss: Up 1 more pound this week. -2 and I seem to be gaining a pound a week. 
Maternity clothes? I should just delete this question. There is no going back to regular clothes for a long time. I've said my good-byes.  
Stretch marks? Still just my under the boob ones. Are stretch marks genetic?
Sleep: Good, but not great. Been up more this week going pee. I've been trying to drink more water so I blame that. Damn, H2O. 
Best moment this week: Baby is still a girl and healthy! Had an ultrasound today that confirmed gender. Super exciting. Read more in my "mood" section for the other ultrasound findings... 

Miss Anything?  The ability to wear regular clothes? I feel like I have a lot of maternity clothes, but still not a ton of options. It's as if i wear the same outfit everyday, not much variety.
Movement: Yep. Mostly active at night around 9:30-10.
Food cravings: Still have a sweet tooth. Made some Valentine's day donuts for the hubster's work potluck and it is taking all of my being not to eat the entire platter. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Ripe bananas. They need to be firm for me to eat them or else I gag. 
Have you started to show yet: Also another question I should delete. Yes and yes. I doubt I will shrink. 
Gender: Girl!! The little girl didn't grow a penis! Here are a couple ultrasound pictures we got today.

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Excited and worried. The ultrasound today was sort of unexpected. We went in thinking we were just going to confirm gender. If it ended up being a boy, yes, I would have been a little disappointed, but it would have been fine. Healthy baby is all that matters. And baby is healthy. All body parts are there and accounted for, heart rate was good. This was the scary part...

 Within 30 seconds, the ultrasound tech says, "Um, have you ever had an abnormal ultrasound or pain during this pregnancy?"

Excuse me, what!? Abnormal!? No, no I have not. I have always had normal pap smears and ultrasounds. This is not how I expected the beginning of this appointment to go. She said I had a large mass on my ovary. 

Excuse me, what!? Large mass!? What does this mean?

So she is measuring baby and saying baby is perfect, terrific, cute nose. I have almost completely tuned her out and not even enjoying this moment because she has me thinking the worse possible scenario. She said the doctor would have to see me today to figure out the issue. 

Issue: I have a grapefruit-sized dermoid cyst on my left ovary. Right side is fine, but left needs to be monitored. When the doctor came in, he seemed very nonchalant about the situation. He said to come back in 6 weeks and then 6 weeks postpartum I should have it removed. Even though he says it isn't a huge deal, I was crying. How can a CYST not be a big deal. I asked a lot of questions. Would it hurt baby? Would it do anything with labor and delivery? Baby and delivery would/should be fine he said. I don't know what to think. Google is not your friend when you look up this kind of thing. 

Second issue: My placenta is "low-laying". Ultrasound tech made it seem like a C-section was going to happen or I was going to bleed to death giving birth. This lady did not have good bedside manners. Holy hell. I DO NOT want a C-section. Doctor said as I go further along, placenta should move up. We will monitor as well, but the chances of placenta staying low are about 1%.

 So basically, I hate that ultrasound tech. She completely freaked me out. I am still worried, no doubt. Doctor helped a little. 

My mood is all over the place. Happy baby is healthy and a girl. Trying to keep that in my head and all the positives. 

Since we found out girl for sure, I wanted to re-create a picture we took when we found out Nate was a boy. My friend, photographer for Sweet Peony, who is amazing, took Nate's boy pictures then I took the recreation. She is obviously a professional, but I tried to do the best i could in the little collage.

Bump Brief Series #8

Bump Brief Series #8: Weeks 11-15

I'm back from vacation! I stopped doing my weekly posts for the past month because I was in California visiting family and I didn't have my computer. So this post will be an update on my pregnancy for the past 4 weeks. I'll resume my weekly posts tomorrow. 

The first week and a half I was good to go! No nausea, felt well rested, and had an appetite. Then it started slowly going down hill. Nausea came back, felt like I needed a nap everyday, and drank a lot of red Powerade. That lasted for the next 1 week or so. 

Since we flew Space A(military flights), we had to be flexible with our departure. The first day of trying to leave Sacramento I threw up at our friends house. Disgusting. What sent me off the edge? Nate's breath. Yep, you read that right. My 2 year old son's morning breath. My son seems to be the culprit of all my vomiting. Funny and sad at the same time. Poor little guy, doesn't even know it's his fault. Anyways, we ended up not getting on that flight. I was able to get a good night's rest then we started the adventure of getting on another flight. Another flight missed, back to our friend's house, more puking. 

Seriously. Again? You know what is worse than puking? Puking in the toilet, then in a sink, then having to clean the sink after you puked. So gross. 

On a positive note...baby is growing and is a GIRL!! While we were in Southern California we went to an early look ultrasound place so our friends and family could experience seeing the baby on the big screen. Before we went in, we had each person hold up a sign, Team Blue or Team Pink. They chose which gender they thought baby was. We all went in, the ultrasound tech showed us baby and asked if we were ready to know the gender. She said, "It's a GIRL!" Everyone screamed which made me almost jump off the table/bed I was laying on. The ultrasound tech said she was 99% positive it was a girl, but when I go at 20 weeks to my OB we will confirm. For now, baby is a GIRL! 

                     

The whole group after we found out. GIRL! Team PINK!!

I like my weekly updates better than monthly. It's amazing how many little details you forget. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to hear the little June Bug's heartbeat and meet with the midwives team. I'll update you tomorrow! 

And no...we don't have a name yet. ;)