October 25, 2009: Week 38

We have 2 weeks to go (ack!). Hard to imagine... I'm still feeling okay and we still have a lot to do to get ready for her. The nursery is getting close to finished -- at least as finished as it is going to be before she arrives. We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow and then 3 appointments this week to meet pediatricians. We also need to tie up some loose ends like trying to get the car serviced before she gets here and possibly hunting down a flu shot. We are getting excited about finally meeting her and seeing whose features she ended up with (e.g., attached or unattached earlobes?).

October 18, 2009: Week 37

Only 3 weeks to go! We had our sonogram on Friday and they said that she is estimated at 6 lbs 12 oz (plus or minus a pound). That puts her in the 59th percentile, which isn't nearly as bad as I'd feared! The top picture is of her feet (in my ribs) and the bottom picture is her face, although it is pretty smushed.

Today (October 20th) was our 2 year anniversary! Paul made lobster and had roses waiting for me when I got home. Jacy, Joel, & Liam sent georgetown cupcakes (oh so good - thanks guys!) and I had already picked up gelato from Boccato, so we had a feast! Paul also scheduled another massage for me for tomorrow. It is much appreciated because my back is starting to bother me a lot these days. He tries to rub my back for me, but there is nothing like going into a professional with a massage table! All-in-all, it was a lovely anniversary and I'm very happy that we made that decision two years ago! The other thing was that I had 1/4 glass of wine! It was enough to feel like an anniversary but I couldn't do a whole glass with her still getting some of it. Besides, after not drinking for that long I probably would have been drunk!

We had our 37 week check up this week, but there really wasn't much to report. Her heart beat sounds good, my weight didn't change since last week (we'll see what happens next week after all of the gelato and cupcakes!), and my strep culture came back negative. I dropped off my FMLA paperwork and short-term disability forms, but it was a very short appointment in general. We meet with Dr. Born on Monday for our 38 week check up. Next week we also interview pediatricians on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I only have a few more weeks of work (last day in the office on Nov 6th) so it definitely feels like the end is near!

October 11, 2009: 36 Weeks

Only 4 weeks to go! We had a lot going on this week! As you can see from the pictures, Jacy and Joel spent about 5 days with us and we had the baby party to celebrate the upcoming births. We had a great turnout (about 70 people) and it was a lot of fun to see everyone! We had the party at Paul's cousin's restaurant, Crush in Belvedere Square. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was great. Our friends and family came up from all over the east coast -- North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Boston... The babies will definitely be surrounded by love and support!

The rest of the time Jacy was here we basically did a lot of eating and napping! We did finally check out the National Harbor and see some friends from high school. Crazy to think that the next time the four of us see each other, it will actually be six of us!

On Tuesday night we had our birthing class and had to practice diapering and bathing the "baby." Paul tried to hog the baby, but other than that, it went pretty well :) This week we have our last birthing class (woo hoo!), a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and the sonogram is on Friday morning. We'll also be trying to get the house ready and writing lots of thank you notes!

35 Weeks: Still Limpin' Along!

Today marks the beginning of our 35th week. Overall, things are still going well but I am starting to feel very, very pregnant. I started having a lot of pain in my left lower back, especially when I walk, which causes me to limp a bit. I went to the doctor on Friday for my normal check up (with Dr. Rossi) who said that it appears she is head down with her head pushing on the nerves in my back. Basically, he said I'd feel much better once I deliver! He did suggest moist heat, a prenatal cradle, and some stretches. He also said I could try massage (but wasn't optimistic about it) and tylenol (which I'm not optimistic about). I did have a massage on Friday at the massage clinic at the hospital, but although it felt nice, it definitely didn't have a long term impact on my limping. The pain is constant but the severity ebbs and flows. The worst is if I try to stand on my left leg by itself (think putting pants on or getting in/out of the shower). I'm going to try the stretching portion of my prenatal exercise video today to see if that helps; hopefully my prenatal cradle will arrive early this week.

Other than the advice on the back problem, Dr. Rossi checked her position and heart beat on Friday. She is head down and seems to be descending (that would explain all of the kicking in my ribs!). Her heart rate was great and Dr. Rossi said it sounded like "she was having fun in there." We seem to get that a lot, so I think she may take after Paul and be pretty high energy! My weight and blood pressure are also well within normal. I've gained 30 pounds to date (about .5 since my last appointment -- luckily it seems to be slowing down a bit), which sounds like A LOT but I guess I'm safely within the recommendations. We really like Dr. Rossi. He is very funny - definitely a charmer. We made two more appointments - one for our next checkup on the 12th with the midwife, Karen, and one for our sonogram on the 16th. We are very excited about the sonogram. We will be close to 37 weeks at that point so it will likely be the last time we see her while she's still on the inside!

We also had another childbirth class this week. This one was about postpartum care and we had our hospital tour. Postpartum sounds like almost as much fun as the birth itself. Basically, the video talked about asking for help and using ice packs and other substances to help with the pain afterwards. They say it takes 6-8 weeks for your uterus to return to normal size and so on. I think it may take me longer to recover than I was hoping. The tour was pretty good. It was good to see where we will need to go and get a feel for the layout. The labor and delivery wing of the hospital is under construction (unfortunately). The parts that are finished are really nice. The delivery rooms are really large and have a pull out couch for Paul. The postpartum recovery rooms are pretty small though. They are first come, first serve and some are a good size (with pull out couches and gliders) while the others are pretty tiny with only a pull out chair that doesn't even recline all of the way. We're hoping there aren't too many other women when I'm there so that we can get one of the larger rooms for Paul's sake!

We also found out during class that the massage clinic in the hospital will go up to your room during labor and delivery to massage the laboring mom! I don't know if I will really want someone touching me while I have contractions, but it sounds like a good option right now!

Next week is a big week! Jacy & Joel (and Liam) get here on Tuesday and the baby party is on Saturday. Jacy and I are going to get prenatal massages on Wednesday and we were planning to do a lot of walking, but between her sciatica and my limp, I'm not sure how much we'll do. Hopefully Joel and Paul won't get too bored watching us nap!