life lately {4.29.14}

- Well, we bought a house and moved into it. It's been crazy... I was having lots of contractions, Judah got a terrible stomach bug while we were moving, and our washing machine wasn't working. And still isn't working, 2.5 weeks later. It's been quite the ordeal trying to get it fixed. I got put on bed rest last week until baby is full term (I am 32 weeks)... too many contractions and starting to dilate/efface. We found moisture/water and mold in our basement that the inspector somehow missed. Thomas has had to keep up with a busy work schedule and his ridiculously hard and time-consuming grad school class. Needless to say, we have felt rather overwhelmed. But we have had sweet friends help us with laundry, bring us meals, and even come to stay and unpack our house (thank you, Wright family! We feel so much more at home now). And Grandma (Thomas's mom) is coming in a couple of weeks to stay and help until baby boy is born.

- Despite everything it has entailed, I love our little house. It is just perfect for us right now. It is bright and airy and feels like a home. We don't need the basement living space at the moment, so we can fix the water/mold issue and then just take our time refinishing it (Thomas has already had to rip out most of the finished area of the basement because of the water/mold).

- I've been starting to think more about baby boy and the fact that he will be here oh so soon. Eight weeks or less... (hopefully not too much less). We've been so busy with the move and everything else, it has snuck up on me. I think about how little time I have left with just Judah, and I wonder how he will adapt to being a big brother. I hate that I'm on bedrest and can't do all the fun things I was planning to do with him before baby gets here - swim lessons, playing at the park, his gym class that we had to quit (he asks about it daily), planting a little garden. I think about baby boy and what he will look like and what his personality will be like. I wonder what his name will be (we still haven't figured that out). I worry a little about the labor and delivery. Will it go fast like last time? Will we make it to the birth center in time? Will I be able to handle the pain again? I wonder what our little family of four is going to be like.

- Back to the name thing... we are finding it ridiculously hard to name this little guy. Every name we come across that we like seems to have something about it that gives us second thoughts.

- The nice thing about a second baby is that I don't feel as much pressure to have everything perfect and ready like I did with Judah. Babies just need to be held, loved, nursed, and changed. We have most of what we need from Judah's baby days, and what we don't have... eh, it will all get sorted out!

- I'm behind in posting the 52 Project... I will get caught up eventually. There may be some phone pictures involved this time... I decided to take the pressure off myself and not worry if I don't manage to get a picture of Judah with my DSLR every week.

35 - 39 weeks

This post is written in retrospect... Judah William is one month old already! At the end of the pregnancy I finally got off bedrest and we moved to a new apartment and I was just focused on baby, so this little blog kind of fell by the wayside.


How far along: 35 weeks (Jan. 12th), 36 weeks (Jan. 19th), 37 weeks (Jan. 26th), 38 weeks (Feb. 2nd), 39 weeks (Feb. 9th), and then Feb. 13th, 2012 - Judah William was born!!!

Baby size: When he was born at 39 and 1/2 weeks he was 8lbs 4oz! I had lots of extra amniotic fluid, so that was the main reason I was measuring so far ahead. He was definitely a full-term baby, which makes me think his actual due date was more like Feb. 10th or 11th like we originally thought when we found out we were pregnant.

Total weight gain/loss: +30 lbs by the end!

Sleep: Got more difficult as the weeks went by... when I got off bedrest (gradually after 36 weeks) I was feeling great during the day but sleeping was hard. When I hit 38 weeks I was just uncomfortable all the time! I was so huge!

Movement: Slowed down the further along I got...  poor kid just had no room to budge! He got hiccups right until the very end though. (And still gets them now!)

Food cravings/aversions: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate... one night when I was feeling particularly discouraged that he was STILL inside me, I ate a whole bar of chocolate... one of those big block ones... yah. We tried all sorts of food to get him out...  spicy Indian & Thai food, Italian (eggplant parmigian!), pineapples. The night before he was born I made a spicy Thai noodle soup... I think it worked :)

Pregnancy symptoms: The famous pregnancy waddle was definitely happening those last weeks, especially once I was off bedrest and trying to walk him out! I felt all right until about 38 weeks, and then I was just DONE with pregnancy and wanted him out and in my arms. I was huge... carrying around an 8 pound baby and extra amniotic fluid. After my water broke and all came out on the day he was born, my belly was so much smaller!
In general, I was achy and unable to move very far or very fast. The usual for late 3rd trimester! But I was SO HAPPY to be off bedrest that I went walking every chance I got. It felt so wonderful to go grocery shopping again.
At 35 weeks, on Jan. 12th, I ended up in hospital again with contractions that wouldn't slow down. At that point I could have had the baby reasonably safely, but they decided to try and stop it so that I could have the baby at the birth center (they only allow you to have babies at 36+ weeks there). I was given an IV and two shots of Terbutaline... they couldn't give me the third dose because my heart rate had sky-rocketed. The contractions had slowed down a bit, so they sent me home with a prescription for Nifedipine, which is actually a blood pressure medicine, but it also relaxes smooth muscle... ie. the uterus. I took that until I was 36 weeks.
Ironically, once I hit 37 weeks the contractions that I'd been having since 30 weeks seemed to slow down... right when I was finally ready to have the baby, my body decided to take a rest. Haha.

What I miss: Hmmm... well, from the other side... with a one-month old... I actually miss being pregnant! I loved having him inside me and feeling him move. I still get "phantom baby" kicks sometimes that startle me and make me wonder if there's another one in there... haha.

What I'm looking forward to: I was so ready to meet the little guy by the end... so I was just looking forward to him being born! I remember feeling like he was NEVER going to come out.

Milestones: We made it to full term! And 2 and 1/2 weeks beyond!

Best moment of this week month: Getting off bedrest! And then meeting Judah William!!!

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: Thomas was so good to me those last few weeks. When I was still on bedrest he was my "warden" and didn't let me get up, and made sure I had everything I needed. We moved apartments when I was still on bedrest (36 weeks) and he basically organized it all. We had lots of help from friends to pack, move, and unpack... and Thomas didn't let me do a thing. When I finally got off bedrest, he still made sure I was resting enough. He had to help me get up basically every time I sat down because I was so huge, haha. He took me on a "last" date night before baby... we went to Red Lobster and just had the most wonderful evening talking and laughing and dreaming. And when it was finally time to have the baby, he was amazing throughout the whole labor and delivery.

31 - 34 weeks

Bedrest, bedrest, and more bedrest...


How far along: 31 weeks (Dec. 15th), 32 weeks (Dec. 22nd), 33 weeks (Dec. 29th), 34 weeks (Jan. 5th)

Baby size: According to various baby websites, he is around 5 pounds now, and could be 18-20 inches long. According to my midwives, baby is almost 7 pounds already (at 34.5 weeks), which is another indicator that my due date is off! They all think I'm closer to 36-37 weeks, but we're still being careful just in case.

Total weight gain/loss: +20lbs

Sleep: Getting more difficult... this kid is getting too big! I often find myself wide awake for a couple hours between 2am and 5am. Maybe my body is getting ready for a newborn? Haha.

Movement: It's slowed down a bit now that he's so big, but he still moves a lot. It's fun to guess which body parts ares sticking out of my belly... elbow, knee, foot, hand...

Food cravings/aversions: Anything chocolate. We've been watching "Cake Boss" on Netflix recently and it's almost too much for me... everything they make looks SO GOOD and I just want it NOW. Haha. My cravings have been pretty unhealthy recently... burgers & fries, pizza, soft baked pretzels... so I haven't really given into them much. I'm still eating lots of fruit... can't get enough of it. Oh! And banana pudding. I found an amazing recipe on Pinterest for it, and I've had Thomas make it twice already :)

Pregnancy symptoms: Lots of contractions still. And general crampiness and achiness. My back and hips are sore from being stuck lying down all the time. I'm seeing a chiropractor once a week which helps... she is also getting my body ready for delivery by properly aligning my hips and pelvis so that baby has lots of space to get through.

What I miss: Being able to get up and move around freely. Cooking, using my sewing machine, even just picking up around the house!

What I'm looking forward to: Not being on bedrest :) Hopefully only a week or so left. I've been on bedrest for over a month now and I'm very ready to be done.

Milestones: At 34 weeks, if I go into labor they won't stop it. I'm actually 35 weeks tomorrow. We're hoping to make it to 36 or 37 weeks though. It looks like baby boy will be here sooner rather than later with all the contractions I am having. I've been into the birth center twice this week for the midwives to check on me because of all the contractions and basically we're just trying to make it 36 weeks for lung maturity, because my body keeps trying to go into labor. I have to drink lots of water, and take lots of warm baths to get the contractions to slow down, and stay lying down completely horizontally so that the baby isn't pushing down.

Best moment of this week month: Hmmm... well it's just been nice in general to have Thomas around more during his month off from grad school. He also got two long weekends off work for Christmas and New Years. I'm not looking forward to him starting classes again next week :(

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: We've had a couple of nights where we thought we might have to go to the hospital again, but fortunately it hasn't happened yet. But we did pack our hospital bags... and when I say "we" I mean Thomas was frantically running around trying to gather the stuff from the list I made him while I laid on the couch trying to get the contractions to slow down. It was pretty comical :) But at least we're now prepared for when we actually do need to go in... Thomas knows where to find everything now. If we make it to 36 weeks, we can deliver at the birth center... but if baby decides to come before then we have to go to the hospital.

Also, it looks like we will be moving THIS weekend instead of on the 28th... which is good because Thomas won't have started his next graduate school semester yet, AND we have a bigger chance of getting moved before the baby gets here! I LOVE our new apartment and can't wait to be settled in it.

ultrasound & more bedrest

We went for an ultrasound yesterday just to check on everything. The baby looks great... he was super cute, waving his hands around and opening and closing his mouth until he found his thumb and started sucking on it :) His heart rate was fine, and he has been as active as ever.

Unfortunately, the ultrasound showed that my cervix (the thing that keeps the baby inside, basically) was too short compared to what it's supposed to be - it's 19mm and it's supposed to be closer to 30mm. This means that the contractions I've been having have shortened it, and caused me to dilate 1/2cm and efface 50%. Because of all that I have to definitely stay on strict bedrest to prevent any more shortening/dilating/effacing. I'll find out what the next step of the pregnancy is going to look like at my appointment on the 22nd.

So bedrest is kind of a bummer, but I'll do anything for baby boy... and I'm finding things to keep me busy!

30 weeks, and bedrest {sigh}

Well we had a little hiccup yesterday... I was out shopping and started having contractions. Try as we might, they would not go away so at 10:00pm my midwife sent us to Baylor hospital to be monitored. They ended up giving me a shot of Terbutaline to slow the contractions, and we got to come home at 6:00am this morning. Poor Thomas has an engineering grad class exam tonight (he's actually taking it as I write) and didn't have much time to prepare... not to mention the fact that we were awake basically all night with contractions and nurses and doctors in and out of the room.
We had a follow-up appointment at the Birth Center today and they put me on strict bedrest because I'm still having contractions (although not as bad as last night) and I'm 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced already, which they are not happy about at 30 weeks. The baby is fine, which we are so thankful for, his heart rate is strong and he's very active. But we don't want him to make his debut just yet! I'm hoping we make it to at least 37 weeks, which is considered "full term".
The plan for now is bedrest until my next appointment on the 22nd of December when they'll re-evaluate. I'm hoping the contractions stop and they'll allow me to move around a little more before then, because right now all I'm allowed to do is get up to go to the bathroom, and take a very short shower once a day!


How far along: 30 weeks (Dec. 8th)

Baby size: 3 pounds, and about 17 inches long... one of my pregnancy websites say he's about the size of a head of cabbage? Haha.

Total weight gain/loss: +15 lbs

Sleep: Not so great anymore... can't get comfortable. I guess I'll have to get used to the lying-down position, though!

Movement: All the time.

Food cravings/aversions: Soups have been my best friend this week... they are so nice in the cold weather, and especially since Thomas and I seem to have come down with some minor sniffly cold-ness.

Pregnancy symptoms: Lots of contractions, unfortunately! And general crampiness and achiness.

What I miss: Not being on bedrest :) It's only been a day and already I hardly know what to do with myself. I can now see the dust on every surface in the house and I'm itching to get up and dust everything! Haha.

What I'm looking forward to: Having Thomas home for the weekend to hang out with! And also, we're both looking forward to him being done with his classes for the semester. He has two more exams next Tuesday and Wednesday and then he's done!

Milestones: Three-fourths of the way through pregnancy! 30 weeks down, [hopefully] around 10 more to go!

Best moment of this week: Ironically, it was really cool to be able to constantly hear the baby's heartbeat while I was hooked up to the monitors at the hospital! Very reassuring.

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: He has just been wonderful since all this started yesterday. He's taken good care of me. The contractions last night were often very painful and he helped me relax through them. He scolds me if I'm not lying down flat enough :) And he brings me everything I need.

26 - 29 weeks

I'm behind, as usual.


How far along: 26 weeks (Nov. 10th), 27 weeks (Nov. 17th), 28 weeks (Nov. 24th), 29 weeks (Dec. 1st)

Baby size: Currently a butternut squash :) He's about 3 pounds, and up to 17 inches long from head to foot.

Total weight gain/loss: +15 lbs at 29 weeks (sigh)

Sleep: Not so great anymore... can't get comfortable.

Movement: All the time.

Food cravings/aversions: I'm still really liking spicy stuff... Thai food especially at the moment... I make this Thai red curry veggie/noodle soup, and it's been on the menu pretty much every week. We also like to go to (or get take-out from) Royal Thai, our favorite restaurant. Anything chocolate is really good... Twix bars, Starbucks hot chocolate, chocolate gelato & frozen yogurt, chocolate gummy bears (yes, really)... and the list goes on. And lots & lots of fresh fruit... can't get enough of it... I went through an entire 5-pound bag of Cuties (tangerines) in about 3 days. Haha.

Pregnancy symptoms: Bruised ribs! This little boy can really kick. Recently he's been lodging himself up in my ribs whenever I'm lying down. Sometimes I have to get up and walk around for him to move down a bit so I can breathe. Do I really have 10 more weeks of this? Yikes! At my 29-week appointment, I was measuring ahead again - at 33-34 weeks. At this point no one can give me a reason as to why except that some people just measure differently... like my uterus is positioned differently so it measures further "ahead" (higher up on my torso) or something. My glucose screening was fine, so I don't have gestational diabetes, which is good. Apparently if you have gestational diabetes, the baby tends to be bigger. In all of our ultrasounds the baby has been pretty normal-sized... they just moved my due date up 5 days. So I guess I'm just weird and measure ahead :)

What I miss: Being able to move around freely. It gets a little harder with a basketball in your abdomen.

What I'm looking forward to: More of all the Christmas-y stuff :) We've already put up our tree and I've been making presents. I love it! Also, I'm REALLY looking forward to moving to a bigger apartment in early January. I can't get this apartment clean & tidy enough because there's just too much stuff to fit!

Milestones: We are in the third trimester (starting week 28)!

Best moment of this week month: The long weekend that Thomas got off for Thanksgiving! It was so nice to have a break with him.

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: We like to "play" with baby boy... we'll give my belly little pokes and watch him wriggle and kick back. Thomas also likes to talk to him through my belly... baby boy likes the vibrations of his voice and usually calms right down if he's been wriggling (or kicking me in the ribs).
The past couple of weeks at our birthing class we've done "labor practice"... the instructor rings a little bell when the "contraction" starts and again when it ends. During the "contraction" we have to practice different laboring positions... like rocking on a birth ball, or kneeling and leaning on a ball/chair... and the labor coach (ie. Thomas) has to do massage or counter-pressure on my back etc. It's all really good practice, and I'm sure we'll be grateful for it when the real contractions start and we know what to do to manage the pain... but it's pretty comical at the time. Especially when, as usual, all the other couples are taking it very seriously and the women actually look like they're in pain... and Thomas and I are trying not to laugh at them. This past week we practiced positions for pushing the baby out... and that was just plain funny.