Week 35

I'm down to 35 weeks and 35 days left to go, woohoo!!!! I can't believe I'm getting so close to meet my little guy.

Baby
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Sciatic Nerve - The PT has really helped me a lot. I went from so much pain that I could hardly walk to having no pain at all. I'm SO glad my OB sent me there. I still feel a little sore on the days that I go there but for the most part I feel almost 100% cured. When I'm home, I continue to do my exercises as the teach me there so I can speed up this process.

Heartburn - It has officially hit me and it's not fun! It doesn't seem like certain foods make it worse, it just happens to appear every so often.

Swelling - BIG TIME!! My feet look like Fred Flintstone. Not only are the feet swollen, but my ankles, my calves, and my fingers. I can no longer where my engagement or wedding band. I notice that on days that the humidity is really high is the worse. Sometimes just walking down the stairs is a little uncomfortable from the feet being so swollen. I've talked to my OB about this and he said it's very normal and of course there is nothing I can do. Thank God it's summer and I wear flip flops all the time.

So this Saturday, John and I are going to our all day child birth class. I'm so excited. I want to see what they say and take a tour of L&D, although I've been there a few times all ready. It will be different just getting a tour and an explanation of all the equipment and stuff. Plus I'm hoping we get some good information.

We are also leaving on Vacation Sunday morning!!! This will the last time that I go away until Baby D arrives. From here on, I'm going to stay around the area in case something happens. It will be nice to go away to the beach and just relax. We are going on vacation with his family so it will be nice to hang out with them. There are 14 of us getting together so it should be fun!!!

On Wednesday morning I'm going for a growth u/s. I can't wait to see my little guy and see how big he is getting. Since John took the whole week off, he will be coming with me. He has only gone once, when we found out it was a boy, so I'm glad he will get to see how much bigger the baby is. After that, I having my appointment with my OB. John has never gone to any of my appointments, he has never met my OB, so I'm so glad he's coming with me. First, he will finally meet my OB, and second he will see how the appointments are and how the office is.

Belly Shots
35 Weeks


34 Weeks



Weekly Survey

How far along? 35 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Gained 35 lbs

How much does baby weigh: 5 lbs (I'll know on Wed after the u/s)

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: I toss and turn a lot but overall sleep is still good

Best moment this week: Feeling better from my sciatic nerve

Movement: Oh yeah. Sometimes he's so active it looks like he's having a party

Food cravings: Nothing in particular

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: I've been getting the occasional BH but that's it

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Not having my feet, ankles, calves, and fingers swollen

What I am looking forward to: Childbirth Class and VACATION

Weekly Wisdom: Don't have one

Milestones: 35 weeks and 35 days to go!!!!

Week 34

Week 34

Baby
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

I had a very nice weekend. Saturday afternoon, John and I met up with his mom, sisters, aunt, and cousin and we all went to the beach. It was so nice to just sit and relax. Than we met up with them later that night for dinner. His aunt, cousin, and one sister had never been up our way since our wedding, so it was nice that they came and saw the house too. I'm glad that Baby D's room is getting somewhat ready because they were able to see the progress.

Sunday was my baby shower!!! It was so nice to see a lot of family and friends. I got so much stuff, especially clothes. This little boy is going to be dressed for a very long time. Now all I have to do is put away the clothes and separate them by size.

Last Thursday I had my first physical therapy session and boy did that help. That night was the first night I was able to toss and turn in bed without any pain. I'm going this evening for my second session and hopefully I'll feel even better. I'm hardly in pain anymore which is good. I guess my OB was right when he said that the therapy would definitely help me.


Weekly Survey

How far along? 34w5d

Total weight gain/loss: Gained 35 lbs

How much does baby weigh: Approx 4-5 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: I'm tossing and turning a lot lately

Best moment this week: My baby shower

Movement: Yes

Food cravings: Nothing in particular

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Not feeling so hot all the time

What I am looking forward to: Vacation next week

Weekly Wisdom: Don't have one

Milestones: My baby shower because it just makes it feel I am that closer to meeting him

Week 33

Week 33 and Baby D is the size of a honeydew melon!



Baby
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Lately I have had the worse sciatic nerve pain ever. It started about 2 weeks ago and each day the pain has just gotten worse. Last Wednesday it was so bad I finally decided to call my OB and see what his opinion was. He recommended a few exercises and to take Tylenol if needed. He also said if I don't feel better by Friday to give him a call. So Friday I was not feeling any better so I called him back and he wants me to start physical therapy. My first therapy session is on Thursday. It hurts when I walk, when I move, when I toss and turn in bed, going down the steps is the worse.

I saw him this morning for my appointment and he said that the therapy will help me a lot. I sure hope so!!! Today has been a good day but tomorrow could be another bad day. I was not pleased at all with the scale. I have put on 35 lbs, yikes!!! 6 lbs in just 2 weeks.

I had a good NST this Monday, Baby D passed!!! I also talked to my OB about this and he said it's normal that they fail once in awhile. Lately he has been moving so much, I love it. I love feeling him kicking, poking my ribs, and doing his little moves.

His furniture came in and I'm slowly getting things ready. His bed is done, the curtains are up, and a few small things are in place. I'll post pictures soon!

Weekly Survey

How far along? 33 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Gained 35 lbs

How much does baby weigh: Approx 4-5 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: I'm tossing and turning a lot lately but overall I sleep pretty good. The sciatic nerve has been bothering me at night. I can still go all night without a bathroom break

Best moment this week: Feeling Baby D's movements stronger

Movement: Yes

Food cravings: Nothing in particular

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Alcohol

What I am looking forward to: Relief from my sciatic nerve

Weekly Wisdom: Don't have one

Milestones: Getting the furniture and starting to get his room ready!!!

Weeks 31 & 32 & Updates

Lately I have been really bad keeping up with my blog. I've been really busy with work and my whole family has arrived so I spend as much time as I can with them.

I had my 3rd growth u/s at the beginning of the month and Baby D looks great. The best news of that ultrasound, HE'S HEAD DOWN!!! YAY!!! While the u/s tech was doing the u/s, I asked her if the baby was still breech, and she said, no why was he? That was the best thing I heard. I'm SO excited that he's head down and ready to be born. He weighed 3 lbs 11 oz and looks so cute. My next growth u/s is on August 5 and I can't wait to see how much he weighs by than.

The swollen feet and ankles has begun but thank God it only lasted a few days. I kept my feet elevated the whole time and that seem to work. I showed my OB and he said that there is nothing I can really do. It's very common in pregnancy and he said, wait until August arrives. But it's been over a week now and the feet look much better. I've put on a total of 28 lbs in 32 weeks which I think is not to bad. They say at the end is when you put on the most so let's see what happens.

About a week ago I started getting a pain on my right butt cheek which expands out to my right hip. I'm not sure if this is a sciatic nerve pain but it hurts pretty badly. It hurts when I walk, it hurts when I turn in bed, it basically hurts any time I move. This will definitely be on my list of questions when I see my OB next week.

This is my last 2 week appointment. After next week, I start seeing him every week, yikes!!! I feel like I'm getting so close to the end. I think we begin internal at 35-36 weeks so even that is getting pretty close.

As you all know I go for my weekly NSTs and yesterday he failed his NST. He's been pretty quiet in the mornings lately and of course is more active at night like most babies. He moved about 4 times in the first 5 minutes of the test, but after that he didn't move at all. The nurse gave me a cup of apple juice to see if that would wake him up and nothing. She than started pressing my belly and moving it in different positions to see if that would do the trick, and again the baby would not wake up for anything. She even kept me on the machine for 40 minutes and still Baby D would not move. So she called my OB and off to an ultrasound I went. I'm not going to complain about the u/s because I love seeing him, so I get a little excited when they send me for an u/s. I had a BPP (Bio-Physical Profile) u/s yesterday. This is an u/s where they check his breathing, his movements, the amniotic fluid, and fetal tone. Well as soon as she began the u/s, he started moving right away. I had my favorite u/s tech and she said he passed with flying colors. What a relief!!! I got a few cute pictures of him. It's amazing to see how much he has grown. She confirmed again that he is still head down!!!

Tomorrow they are delivering his furniture and the work will begin!!! John and I did not paint his room because our house is all one color and I didn't want his room to be the only different one in the house. I'm picking up his bedding tomorrow morning and hopefully start putting things away. I'm going to start washing his clothes and put them in the draws and separate them by size. I have receive so many gifts that you can no longer walk in my dining room. Once everything is pretty much ready I'll take some pictures for you to see his room.

Week 30 (Updates)

30 weeks done and 10 more left to go, woohoo!!! WOW, 30 just seems unbelievable that I have made it this far.

Baby
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Updates
I had an appointment with my OB last Thursday. 9 out of 10 times I always bring a list of questions to his appts. I always have so many questions that run through my mind and if I don't write them down, I know when I see him I would forget mostly everything. So the list is very important to me. I asked him if he still plans on inducing me and he said at this point no!! I was very excited because I would like to go on my own and wonder when will the baby be here. He said he could change his mind and he will see how I'm doing as I get closer but as of now there will be no induction scheduled for me. I also talked to him about the baby being breech. He said not to worry about it because until 36 weeks he can definitely flip head down. He said that if at 36 weeks the baby doesn't flip that we will be doing some things. It just seems that a lot of people that I talk to their babies flipped pretty early. Lately, a lot of people that have seen me seem to think that my belly is pretty small for how far along I am. So of course I talked to him about that and it turns out that my fundal height was 1 cm ahead. So I guess the outside size doesn't matter at all.

I also discussed with him about fetal movement. I have an anterior placenta and I feel like I still don't feel him all that much. He said that with an anterior placenta you normally don't feel strong kicks or movements until you get closer to the end. John has felt some kicks but overall I don't think you can really feel them from the outside. In just the past few days I have noticed that he's kicks are becoming stronger and I think I'm beginning to feel his arms as well. I feel kicks below my belly button but I have also begun to feel movements near my ribs.

I'm going for another growth u/s on Wednesday so let's see how he's doing. I'm very excited for my u/s on Wednesday. I just love to see him and see what he's doing inside. Hopefully we can get some good 3D/4D pictures this time. I would like to see his whole face instead of half.

I'm very excited for this weekend. My mom, grandmother, sister, BIL, and nephews are all arriving!!!! I can't wait to see them. I'm literally counting down the days.

Weekly Survey...

How far along? 30 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Gained 26 lbs

How much does baby weigh: Approx 3 lbs but I'll know for sure on Wed

Maternity clothes? Yes and the shirts are so comfy

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: I'm tossing and turning a lot lately but overall I sleep pretty good. I don't wake up to go to the bathroom but I have noticed that when I toss and turn the belly is starting to feel pretty heavy

Best moment this week: Finding out that Baby D's heart is going up 15 beats everytime he moves instead of 10 beats

Movement: Yes

Food cravings: Vanilla ice cream, I need to get one soon

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In but it's getting pretty stretched that it looks like it's going to close

What I miss: My family

What I am looking forward to: Seeing my family Sunday!!!!

Weekly Wisdom: I try not to drink to much fluids at night so I can sleep all night

Milestones: 30 weeks done and 10 more weeks to go!!!

I'm going to take some belly pics today and I'll post them this afternoon.

Here are my 30 Week Belly Shots!

Week 28 & 29

I've been slacking off big time with my posts. I totally missed weeks 28 & 29 and I'm almost 30 weeks all ready.

Baby D is the size of a squash this month.



Baby
Week 28
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Week 29
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

I have to say I can't believe how fast the last few weeks have gone by. I can't believe I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So at week 28 I went to the hospital to get my Rhogam shot. This was the first time that afterwards I had a little bleeding. I think it's probably because I take baby aspirin everyday.

I'm still feeling great. There are days I feel a little tired but overall pretty good.

Weekly Survey

How far along? Today I'm 29w6d

Total weight gain/loss: Gained 23 lbs

How much does baby weigh: I'll find out next week at my growth u/s

Maternity clothes? Yes. I finally out grew from my pre-pregnancy shirts. The belly is just getting to big.

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Great

Best moment this week: Baby D is becoming more active now.

Movement: Yes. There are days that he is more active than others.

Food cravings: Vanilla ice cream

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: My cute summer clothes

What I am looking forward to: Weekend

Weekly Wisdom: I'm not too good with this category, I seem to never have one.

Milestones: He has passed his last two NSTs, yay!!!

Week 27 & 3rd Trimester!

Wow, 3rd trimester is here, unbelievable!!! What a milestone to accomplish knowing I'm at that home stretch of this pregnancy.

This week will be very quick since I'll be 28 weeks tomorrow. I at least wanted to throw in my 27th week baby & weekly survey.

Baby
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Weekly Survey
How far along? 27w6d

Total weight gain/loss: Gained 20 lbs

How much does baby weigh: A week ago he weighed 2 lbs 7 oz, I'm sure today he's put on a few more ounces

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Great

Best moment this week: Sending out all my baby shower invitations!!!

Movement: Yes. There are days that he is more active than others.

Food cravings: Vanilla ice cream

Gender: boy

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: My cute summer clothes

What I am looking forward to: The weekend

Weekly Wisdom: I'm not too good with this category, I seem to never have one.

Milestones: Making it to the 3rd trimester, yay!!!!