So, after submitting/scheduling my 35 week post last week, I had a bit of a scare. It suddenly struck me (because I can be unobservant at times) that baby J hadn’t moved in quite some time – a few hours that morning, and hardly at all the night before. I remember my OB saying to call if the movement was dramatically different from one day to the next, and since he was using my internal organs as a trampoline the day before, the decreased movement was a bit unnerving. I still felt him moving, so I knew he was still OK, but my mama instinct kicked into overdrive and told me that something wasn’t on the up and up.
After hearing back from my OB’s office, I went on over to L&D for a NST (non-stress test). It’s a test where they hook you up to two monitors – one tests the baby’s heartbeat, the other tests for contractions.
While I was hooked up, they saw I was having timeable contractions every 4 – 6 minutes. While I didn’t feel the contrax, necessarily, it was pretty obvious when looking at the ticker paper. Given my history with PTL (pre-term labor) with Anna at 35 weeks, it seems that my body gets ready to evict babies pretty early.
I was given a script for Procardia and released. Let’s just say that when I do actually go in to deliver that I hope I don’t get the nurse who helped me that day. She apparently hated her job and was the type of nurse who didn’t explain anything at all. Every time she came in to talk to me, I felt more confused than ever. My mom and Joe were there with me, and even they were confused at what she was saying. She was probably just having an off day.
Oh, and I’m 80% effaced. No dilation at this point, but the confusing nurse said she didn’t really want to mess around in there too much to see if I was dilated at all. Uh, OK.
The Procardia never really stopped my contractions. In fact, every time I’d take them, I’d have even more. So, I decided to stop them and just drink tons of fluids (one thing the nurse did say – that I actually understood – was that dehydration can cause contractions, so I’ve been loading up on non-caffeinated beverages as much as possible although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have caffeine every now and then).
Since I stopped the Procardia, I haven’t been contracting hardly at all, and the past few days have been pretty calm with my pregnancy, thankfully. I’ll be glad when next Tuesday comes. At that point I’ll be 37 weeks, and Baby J can come any time he wants!
Here’s where we are this week:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.
At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.
How far along: 36 weeks
Total weight gain: +30 total. This is -1 from last week. Yeah, no weight gain and a 1 lb. loss from last week was concerning, so I called my OB’s office. They told me it’s very normal to not gain any weight at all in the last trimester. The only time I should be concerned is if I lose or gain a lot at once. I guess it’s just weird because I consistently gained with Anna my entire pregnancy, but I also wasn’t 30 lbs. at this point with her. I guess it all piled on in the 2nd trimester and is evening out this time.
Here’s a picture of my 36 week bump:
Side-by-side comparison for 34 – 36 weeks (sorry I didn’t do any silhouette pictures before 34 weeks).
The pictures don’t necessarily reflect it, but it seems like he’s dropped a bit. I not only feel more pressure, but my stomach seems lower, and I’m able to walk w/o getting out of breath.
Sleep habits: Sleep has actually been pretty great. When I do sleep, it’s very restful. When I wake 2,000 times/night to pee, I can fall back asleep quickly. My witching hour (3 a.m.) moments are becoming less and less. The only issue I have right now is that the weight of my bump makes my hips hurt when I side sleep (which is my only option). If I sleep on my left side, I can hear my heart-beat in my ears. Sleeping on my back is impossible. I literally feel like an elephant is sitting on me and drowning me with his ass. I can’t wait to back sleep again!
Maternity clothes: We’re in full-fledged spring/summer wear now. I got a pedicure this past week, so flip flops are back in full force. I have some longer shirts that still fit my bump, so I wear those now. Granted, my clothes suck and are boring, but I’m not spending any money on maternity shirts that will only be worn a few more weeks. Besides, I’m really digging my bump this go round – it’s basketball like vs. the wide spread I had with Anna, so I like tighter shirts.
Best moment of the week: Getting lots accomplished in the nursery…finally!
Food cravings: I’m not craving too much lately. In fact, most days I have to force myself to eat dinner. I’m usually OK for lunch. There’s just no room for my stomach at this point.
Symptoms: HA! I was reading my symptoms from last week, and it appears I jinxed myself about not having to go to L&D with this baby. Just a few hours after I typed that blog, I was in L&D.
Let’s see, this week there’s lots of pressure, I’m fatigued most days, swollen legs at the end of the day (they look like tree trunks), I got a zit – haven’t had a zit since before I got married. My BH contractions have slowed down quite a bit although sometimes I can’t tell if my ute is contracting or if J is moving and pushing his body against me. At this point, it’s hard to tell the difference.
Last night I had some lower back pain that I was convinced was labor, but I woke up this morning feeling fine, so I guess it was a false alarm. I get sharp jabs of pain in my lower abdomen (similar to ovulation cramping), but they come and go and aren’t anything to write home about.
Movement:
Some days J makes very painful kicks that hit in not so wonderful places. He has moved down a bit, so that gives me relief with the heartburn and constant rib jabs (although the jabs to other areas aren’t much more fun). There have been a few days where he’s hardly moved at all which of course worries me and sends me to L&D or makes me call my OB’s office. After reading some things online, it seems that once the baby has locked and engaged in the pelvis, most movement ceases. I guess that’s where he is.
The nursery: I’d say I’m about 80% of the way done with the nursery. The biggest obstacle, the dresser, is finally complete, so I feel like I can relax a little bit more and just put up the rest of the stuff when time (and motivation) permits.
Joe did an AMAZING job painting the dresser. Like seriously blows me away amazing. He took this:
To this:
I decided to keep the original hardware because 1) they have an awesome patina to them that really goes with the theme of the nursery and 2) I’m cheap. Plus, who wants to fill and re-drill new holes? I love the handles and am so glad we decided to keep them. I just couldn’t be happier with the way this turned out. I love re-purposing old, unwanted items into something fresh and fun.
With the alphabet letters and the bird mobile. I promise the letters aren’t crooked in person. It’s very hard to photograph anything in this small room.
The bird mobile finally moved from the kitchen to his room.
Orbs are finally hung. I decided to order one more star of the show to hang with the bunch. It should be here any day now. By the way, it’s nearly impossible to photograph how cute these orbs are with a ceiling fan hanging in the way.
My friend Kent made these amazing pillows for J. She’s seriously so talented. (She also made the curtains for the nursery. I love her.)
I could seriously eat this pillow. 
And look at this minky owl changing pad cover she made J:
My wonderful friend Aly made this hand-made blanket for J. It’s so soft and wonderful – I love it! I’m going to use it for his newborn photos.
This isn’t nursery related, but here’s baby Joseph’s going home outfit. I ordered it from MaddieBug’s Boutique on Etsy, and she certainly didn’t disappoint. I think I ordered it on a Tuesday and got it that Friday. The embroidery is beautiful, and the onesie is a good quality Carter’s onesie. She has tons of beautiful items in her store, so please check her out if you’re looking for something similar!
And because this is too cute to not post about, here’s a Darren Sproles (Saints) onesie that my friend Liz sent me:
I’m not usually a big fan of imposing your fanatical sports desires on your child (I hate the baseball, football, your son must play sports to be a real man crap that seems to be forced on you when your have a son), but I do make exceptions for the Saints.
Ahem…
Ahem, ahem…
What I’m looking forward to: Meeting Joseph. It’s almost go time!
What I miss: Nothing at the moment.
Last appointment details: I guess my last appointment would be my visit to L&D. I was 80% effaced and having mild contractions every 4 – 6 minutes. J’s h/b varied from 140s to 150s, and it would often dip into the 70s which freaked me out, but the nurse said that was normal.
Next appointment:
My next appointment is Thursday, March 15. Since my OB is on maternity leave, I will meet with the NP (whom I love). I wish she had her midwifery license because I’d love for her to deliver Joseph. Hopefully she will be able to check and tell me if I’ve made any progress since last week.
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