Big Changes - Hannah is 3 months old

I originally wrote this post on 6/11/11.

I was confusing myself with my previous posts.  I was going by months, counting the month after her birth as her "1st month" but really she was 0 months old.  Now that she is getting older, it was too confusing to keep that up.  So this is an update about her as a 3 month old, starting from June 5th-July 5th.

So my last post ended with Marlene's baby shower on June 5th.  Well, she went into labor just a week later, and had baby Evan 5 weeks early!  They were not prepared for that, obviously!  But everyone was healthy and happy and just fine.  He was actually over 5 lbs!  So Hannah has a new cousin, and is no longer the "baby."

I went back to work right after Memorial Day weekend, and it wasn't all that bad.  I missed Hannah of course, but it was nice to get back to work and start getting caught up.  I have to pump twice a day at work, so that is boring and time consuming.  But so far so good!  Still able to exclusively breast feed, so that is great.

Hannah is really changing a lot these days. She is smiling and laughing all of the time which is super fun. We have some games we play with her that make her giggle, but sometimes she just sees me and laughs and smiles too.

Yesterday she started leaning forward in her swing. Her abs are getting much stronger! She would lean forward and grab her blanket, or a toy, or a burp rag and then shove them in her mouth. She is constantly reaching for something now! And if you put a toy in her hand, she can grasp it now, and immediately chews on it.

Also, last night she slept for 9 hours straight! She's never slept more than 7 hours, and that was only once. Lately she's been sleeping only about 3-4 hours at a time. Steve is in Laughlin on a boys trip and I fed Hannah and put her to bed around 8 last night. Then at about midnight she fussed and I left her alone and prayed she'd go back to sleep. Well next thing I knew it was 5 am and I couldn't believe it! I actually panicked because I couldn't see her chest rising on the monitor, so I was terrified that she wasn't breathing, and I went into her room and she startled awake. She was fine. I am curious to see what happens tonight!

This morning she also rolled over again. I was brushing my teeth and had her on her play mat on her belly in our bathroom. Well I leaned over the sink to spit out my toothpaste, and 2 seconds later looked down and she was on her back smiling up at me. I missed it! She is sneaky. She hasn't rolled over in about 2-3 weeks, so this was another big milestone!

Finally, she is outgrowing her 0-3 month clothes and moving into her 3-6 month ones. Tonight I put her in a brand new pair of PJs, and I really didn't think they'd fit yet, but they do! She is so long, she needs the extra room for her legs now!

Today we went to my cousin Brent's birthday party. Hannah has pretty much met the whole family now. She gets passed around from person to person and doesn't mind one bit. Hopefully she will stay that way.

The rest of this post I wrote after the fact.

We got to celebrate Steve's first Father's Day this month.  I got him a cool hiking carrier for Hannah.  We can't wait to use it.  She just needs to grow a bit first.

Also, Vanessa had her baby this month.  His name is Caleb, and he is a big boy!  Total opposite of their daughter Emma, who has been a skinny minnie her whole life.  So congrats to the Riggs'!

Hannah is also able to sit in her Bumbo chair now without slumping over!

Here she is in my favorite PJs, that my friend Craig's parents gave her.  They are so soft and snuggly.  She is sitting propped up by a pillow without me holding her!

And she can finally sit in her cool jungle safari jumper!  We have a pillow and towel under her because she can't reach the ground, but she LOVES this thing!

Hannah went swimming this month for the first time.  She seemed to like it.  We just waded around Steve's parents' pool.  We got her a float with a shade on it, but she is too little for it right now.  I even dunked her, and she didn't seem too upset about it!  Here she is in her swing after swimming.

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on June 28th.  We went to King's for some oysters and beers, and had a really nice time.  Here's a pic.

Last big thing from this month was celebrating the 4th of July at our usual party at the Aguirre house.  It is always a great time, with yummy food and great people.  Here is an adorable picture of Hannah, and one of the three of us.

Here's a few more pics from the month.

3 month update (Hannah is 2 months old)

Okay, I am catching up.  Lots happened during Hannah's 3rd month.  I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day.  We all went to Paradise Cove for brunch.  Here are a couple of pics from the morning.

Everyone but Mark, who was on vacation

Happy family

Hannah slept thru brunch

We also made it out to our favorite restaurant, Cafe 14, for a date night that month.  Also went back down to Hermosa to hang with the South Bay family and celebrate Candie's birthday.  Then I spent Memorial Day weekend loving on Hannah as much as possible, before I went back to work.  On Hannah's 3 month birthday, on June 5th, we went to my cousin Marlene's baby shower.  Tonya took some amazing photos of Hannah that day.

Here are some other pictures from Hannah's 3rd month.

And a video of her rolling over.

Our girl is growing up!

I wrote this post on May 28th, 2011.

Hannah is 12 weeks old today, and has been changing so much! I can't believe she is already 12 weeks. This weekend is bittersweet for me, because it is Memorial Day weekend, so I get to enjoy 3 weekend days with Steve, but it is my last weekend before I have to go back to work. I've been crying all day, every time I snuggle Hannah or look at her, I think about how I won't get to spend every day with her anymore. I am not happy about it. But I am trying to enjoy my weekend by doing lots of things to stay busy!

Last night we had my coworker, Christina, and her fiance, Mike, over for dinner. We barbecued and had some drinks. Hannah hung out with us, being such a good girl. She sat in her bouncer on the dining room table with us, as we cooked and ate. At one point, Mike, who does MMA fighting, was talking to Hannah, and fake sparring with her. He had his hands up by his face, and was punching the air, and telling Hannah to do it too. Next thing you know, she IS doing it. He got our attention and told us to watch, and she did it again. It was nuts. It was not a coincidence. She really was mimicking him. She had such control over her hands, it was crazy! Earlier in the week she had discovered her hands, and she has been doing more and more with them. But this was crazy.

Then, today, my parents came over to watch her while Steve and I went on a motorcycle ride. When we got home, we were all hanging out, and Mark came over too. Hannah was in her swing, and Steve started playing peekaboo with her, for the first time, just to see if she was into it. Well, she ended up laughing for the first time! I had just read that by the end of her third month, she should be laughing. So again, she is early! It was so fun to hear her laugh, I can't wait to try again tomorrow. Here is a video of it...

Finally, the last big change is that Hannah is no longer sleeping swaddled.  It is working!  She isn't really sleeping any longer than usual, but at least she isn't getting stuck like in the picture that I posted a few days ago!   Here is a picture of her tonight, all sprawled out.  I think she will be just fine!

Hanging out at 2am

Here is a cute video of Hannah that I took at 2am in mid May, about a week before we stopped swaddling her. It's pretty cute. I had just finished feeding her and had put her back to bed. She was so cute and smily and awake that I had to take a video.

No swaddle

I wrote this post on May 26th, when Hannah was just shy of 12 weeks old.

Lately Hannah has been breaking out of her swaddle. She loves it and sleeps really well when swaddled, but now she breaks out all the time and I think it is waking her up. She gets her hands out and gnaws on them and decides that she is hungry. Here is a pic of her today, after breaking out...

Obviously, not too happy. So tonight I decided to try putting her to sleep without a swaddle. I have her in a light sleep sack, with her arms free. I put her down, and at first she just played with her hands, and was really quiet. Then she screamed and flailed around for about 10 min, and passed out. So far so good. Now, as I sit her writing this, she is awake again, and playing with her hands, but not crying. Hopefully she will go back to sleep soon.

She was going to bed around 6pm, which was nice because Steve and I could actually have a baby-free dinner together. A month ago, Hannah would scream at our dinner time, and we were constantly eating cold food, eating separately, etc. So once she started going to sleep at 6, it was kind of nice. But then she'd wake up for her first night feeding around 11 or 12, after I'd only been asleep for an hour or so. Not good. So we pushed her bedtime back, and she is now going down about 8pm, give or take a half hour. And she is much calmer in the evenings, so dinner is still nice. This is also better because I am going back to work next week, and I'd like to see her once I get home, instead of having to put her right to bed. The only problem is, since we started putting her down at 8, she has started only sleeping 4 hours or so at a time, so she is still up at midnight. Oy vey. So now, without the swaddle, let's hope she sleeps longer!

Wish us luck! I'd like to get some decent sleep once I go back to work!

2 month update

Well I am posting this way after the fact again, so I will try not to forget anything!

The day Hannah turned 4 weeks old, we took her down to Hermosa to hang out with our cousins the Bertino's. It was a pretty successful outing. It was so nice to get out of the house and be out doing something! Hannah got to meet her cousins Finn and Sawyer which she loved. We watched Finn's baseball game, and had a yummy dinner.

The following week I had to have a tooth pulled, which was just lovely. I had a molar that i had already had two root canals on, and it cracked or something and got infected again, so I had it pulled. I thought it was going to be a bigger deal than it was. I wasn't in too much pain, and didn't have a problem still taking care of Hannah.

On April 11th we took her to the doctor again for her one month checkup. Really, she was 5 weeks old. She weighed 9lbs exactly and measured 21.5 inches. That means she grew 1 whole inch and over 1.5 lbs since her last doctor visit at 2 weeks. Our doctor is always amazed at how mellow Hannah is!

That same week we went to a infant massage class with Sarah and Kami. It was interesting, and I learned how to massage her belly for gas pains, and her legs/feet/arms/hands for relaxation.

The Burgwalds came to visit us and Hannah got to meet Shawn, Morgan, and her future boyfriend Oliver. I don't know why we didn't get any pictures! We had a nice morning hanging out with them.

The last week of April and first week of May, I had to go to Moorpark College quite a bit. I had to get a physical and 2 TB tests, so I had to go there 4 days. I spent a lot of April getting my other requirements done too. A drug test, CPR certification, buying my uniform, etc. So the first week of May I turned everything in and I officially start school in August!

Steve went back east for business from May 1-6, which meant I was alone with Hannah. Tina was over to help a lot, which was great. We missed Steve, but we survived!

On May 5th, her 2 month birthday, I decided to put her to sleep in her crib, instead of the pack n play in our room. I figured since Steve was gone, if we had a rough night, at least it was just us and we wouldn't keep him up. Well it was successful! I put her in her crib, swaddled up, and she scream for a few minutes, but then went to sleep. I got up to feed her a couple of times, and each time she went right back to sleep! I thought I would be up listening to the monitor all night, but I actually slept, and just woke up when I heard her.

The next day, on May 6th I took Hannah to the doctor again for her 2 month check up. She weighed in at 10lbs 3oz and was 22 inches long. That means she gained 1lb 3oz and grew a 1/2 inch! She was in the 75% for height, and 33% for weight. Also, I had to fill out a developmental survey, of things that she can and can't do. She scored at a 4.5 month old level! So I said that she is a tall skinny genius! She also had her 2 month shots, which I forgot she was getting until we arrived. They gave here 3 shots - one in one leg, two in the other. She turned bright red and screeched and looked furious for about 2 minutes, and then was fine. It made me laugh because I have never seen her like that. Later that afternoon we went to lunch with mom, Tonya, Leslie and another friend of theirs. She slept all thru lunch from the trauma, so I actually got to enjoy a peaceful lunch with everyone!

Here are some pictures from Hannah's second month...

Hannah's first month

I am very late in posting this, so unfortunately I have probably forgotten a lot of things, but I will try to post all that I remember.

After coming home from the hospital, Steve took the first week off of work to help me out.  And my mom and his mom were here quite a bit to help out.  That whole first month was pretty much a blur.  Not from lack of sleep, just from being so busy with Hannah.  I was going really stir crazy by the end!  I basically fed her, changed her, and put her to sleep, over and over again.  And cried because I was just so in love with her.  I didn't have any post-partum depression, but I was very emotional in a happy sappy way.

We went to her first doctor's appt on March 10th, when she was actually due.  She was 5 days old.  She measured in at 20.25 inches long, and was down to 7lbs, 4 oz.  But we weren't surprised, since it took 4-5 days for my milk to come in, so she had only been getting real milk for about a day.  Other than her weight, she was the picture of health and our doctor kept saying how great we were all doing.

Next visit to the doctor was at 12 days old, and she was up to 20.5 inches long, and 7 lbs, 9 oz.  I had to wake her up every 2-3 hours to feed her, since she had been born, in order to make sure she was eating enough.  I asked the doctor at this visit if I could stop that, and she said that I should keep going, since she wasn't back up to her birth weight yet.  I think I did that for another couple of nights, and then I stopped, because I just knew that she was going to be just fine, and I didn't think she needed to be woken up, since she didn't sleep much longer than 2-3 hours anyway.

At 2 weeks old, we gave her her first bottle of pumped breast milk.  She took it no problem.  We had been told that she may not want it, and that I may have to leave the room or even the house.  But she didn't care, and hasn't since, as long as she is getting fed.  I even gave her a bottle myself, early on, and she didn't seem to mind.  So that gave me some freedom to run errands and leave the house for awhile, which was great.

We didn't do too much else that month, since we couldn't take her in public places.  We went on lots of walks around the neighborhood and had lots of family and friends visit.

Finally, when she was one day shy of 4 weeks old, I met my friend Pam at the mall with her little girl who is a few months older than Hannah.  We had lunch, and Hannah slept, and then we walked around the mall a bit.  Of course Hannah woke up after lunch and I basically spent the rest of the time in the public nursing rooms that the mall has.  But at least we got out!

Here are some pictures from Hannah's first month...

It's a Girl!! Hannah's Birth Story

Well, if you read my last post, and notice the date, I was in labor while I was posting, I just didn't know it yet!

After I posted that blog, my back continued to hurt really bad, so I alternated a heating pad and an ice pack. But nothing really seemed to help. It was coming in waves, but it was only in my back. Finally around 9:30 or 10pm, Steve and I just decided to get into bed, since I was so miserable. We watched some TV, and since our alarm clock is under the TV, I was watching the clock too. 10:13pm - back pain. 10:20pm - back pain. 10:33pm - back pain. We figured I was probably in early labor, so Steve went to sleep, and I tried to do the same. Of course I couldn't, so I got up and took a shower. By the time I was finishing my shower, by "back pains" were every 3-5 minutes. So I went out into the living room and called the hospital, and the nurse said that I should come in. So I blow dried my hair, pausing for my "back pains" and then woke up Steve. It was only about 11:30pm, and he was like, "Are you sure?!" Needless to say he was groggy after only an hour of sleep, and I was praying that I wasn't having a false alarm. I definitely didn't feel like I was having contractions, but the waves of back pain weren't letting up, so I wasn't sure. So we packed up the rest of our stuff, and off we went.

We got to the hospital, and had to go in thru the ER. Steve dropped me off, then went to park. I went in to the ER and said that I thought I was in labor. I was still calm and not in a ton of pain, but they were still about 3-4 minutes apart. It's amazing how everyone in the ER drops everything to help the pregnant lady. The security guard looked panicked, all the the other patients stared, and the woman checking me in asked me if I was still ok about every 20 seconds. They got me checked in, called up to labor and delivery, and brought out the wheelchair. Then off Steve and I went.

When I got to L&D, I think I was the only one there. The nurses had me get into a gown, and then got me in bed and hooked me up to a monitor. I was definitely having contractions, and was glad that I didn't cry wolf and drag Steve out of bed for nothing. My contractions were every 3-4 minutes, so I am glad we left the house when we did. And I had been 3cm dilated at my appt that morning, and was now about 4cm. I had wanted to labor at home, but the contractions went from 10 minutes apart to 4 minutes apart so quickly, I thought I better get going! The next hour or so was filled with lots of questions and people coming in and out. I had to give my medical history, answer questions about how I wanted my labor to go, and had blood drawn. I told them I didn't want an epidural, because I was going to try to wait it out. That lasted until abut 3am, when I called the nurses and said I wanted an epidural. Lol. I tried, but it just got to be too much. So about 3:30am, the anesthesiologist came in and got that started. It wasn't as bad as I thought. And about 15 minutes later, I was a happy camper. I think at that point I was about 4-5 cm.

After that, the nurses left us alone and told us to get some sleep. Steve passed out for a couple of hours, and I just laid in the dark, listening to Sarah McLachlan on my iPhone. I used to fall asleep to her music in college when the dorm was loud, so it has always relaxed me. I didn't sleep, but I rested. With the epidural, I didn't feel any pain. I did feel my water break, but I wasn't positive that that was what it was until the nurses checked me later on. It was just like a "pop", and no fliud leaked out or anything. When the nurse came to check me at 6am, I think I was about 6cm dilated, which was slower than they had expected. But they said they'd let me wait it out a couple more hours before they gave me Pitocin. Oh, and they had called my OB when we got to the hospital, and she hadn't called back yet. But the nurses said that she would probably come in even though it was the weekend and she wasn't the on call doctor.

At this point, we called our parents and I sent a text out to some of my good friends/family and let everyone know what was going on. We figured that there wasn't much point in calling our families at midnight, but we didn't want to let too much more time go by without letting them all know. So they all got up and started getting ready to join us at the hospital. I think they showed up about 8am? I can't remember, which is why I should have written this blog 2 months ago! Anyway, the next time the nurses checked me was about 8 or 9am, and by this time, I had progressed to 9cm, so I was almost good to go! The nurse also said that my water had definitely broken, and the baby was moving down, and she could feel it's head. At this point she told us that the baby had a ton of hair, which was so cool, and made it so real!

So my parents, and Steve's parents, and Mark and my cousin Lin all visited for awhile, until the nurse kicked them out so I could rest. I think it was about this time that I found out that my doctor couldn't make it in to deliver Hannah. So it would be the on call doctor, who came in to introduce himself. He was nice enough, but I was bummed my doctor couldn't be there, because I just love her. I think Steve thought I was going to lose it, but at that point, there wasn't much I could do about it, and I was progressing so well that I wasn't really worried about anything.

So at about noon, our nurse came in and said that I was fully dilated and ready to push. The crazy thing is, it was just Steve, her, and me. I guess I envisioned a whole room of people! Steve definitely didn't know that he would end up so involved. He and I both thought he would just be standing up by my head, encouraging me. Turns out, he had one leg, the nurse had the other, and he totally helped me by counting and talking me thru it. I gave him an out when we first began, but he said he was ok and was really great the entire time. I had no idea that pushing would be so hard. I figured it out pretty quickly, so they were able to keep my epidural going, so I didn't really have any pain. But I never imagined it would take so much effort. It was truly exhausting. The nurse offered to have a mirror up, which I loved. Some people don't want to see what is going on, but I found it encouraging. I think it helped me to push longer because sometimes I could tell I was making progress. So anyway, this went on for about an hour or so, and then the on call doctor came in and checked on me. My nurse told him we were ready for him, and he gowned up and came in for the rest of the birth. First thing he told me was that I needed an episiotomy because the baby was stuck behind some ligament that wasn't stretching enough. I really had wanted to avoid this, but gave in because he seemed to think that was the only thing holding me up. Sure enough, 2-3 pushes later, Hannah was born!  She was officially born at 1:37pm, and she was 20 inches long, and 7 lbs, 15 oz.

I remember they immediately put her on my chest and I kept asking "what is it?" as I tried to check out her nether region. Finally the doctor said "it's a girl!" and then I was crying and Steve was crying, and Hannah started crying. It was the best feeling to know that I was able to give birth to her and that she was healthy and finally here!

Next the doctor stitched me up, and Steve went with Hannah and the nurses to get her weighed and cleaned up a bit. About 20 minutes after she was born, I had her back and was able to begin nursing, which was awesome. She latched right on, and was a champ from the start. After a little while, the nurses took her, with Steve, down to the nursery for a real bath. I am kinda bummed I missed all that, but Steve got lots of pictures and videos. They put her under a heat lamp, and she was all sprawled out, enjoying the heat. It was really cute. By the time they were done, I was being moved to my post-partum room. I got to finally eat some food (Steve's dad brought be pad thai yum yum!) and digest the day. It was so surreal to be in that room, just me, Steve, and Hannah.

The grandparents all came back to see her, and then we were alone. We basically nursed, slept, chatted and repeated. Steve stayed overnight with me, but we did send Hannah to the nursery at night. I kind of didn't want to, but everyone encouraged me to, so I could rest, which I did. The nurses just brought her back to me to feed her every 3 hours.

I had a pretty easy recovery, even in the hospital. I was up an about pretty quickly, and I was sore of course, but not as bad as I had imagined. Nursing was difficult and I was pretty sore from that, but we got thru it.

The day after she was born, we had a steady stream of visitors from about noon to 8pm. I was exhausted, but it was nice to see everyone. We got lots of lovely gifts - all girly stuff! Clothes, toys, etc. So fun.

I was able to go home on Monday, which was surreal. My doctor came by to check me, and got to meet Hannah. She made her a cute little bow for her hat, and seemed genuinely sad that she had missed her birth. She better be there for the next one! Once we got home, I think we just sat and stared at her for awhile. I was soooo happy to be home, and to be able to take a real shower.

I have to say, I don't remember our first night, or the first month really. I know I slept a decent amount, surprisingly, but I basically fed her, changed her, and put her back to bed, around the clock. No surprise. It's funny how quickly you forget!

So that is Hannah's birth story! Now I have to catch up on the rest of her first 3 months!!

39 Weeks

***Disclaimer***
Stop reading if you don't want gory pregnancy details.

Today I am 39 weeks, 1 day pregnant. Went to the doc this morning, and even she can't believe that I am still pregnant. She really thought I'd have this baby by now! She checked me again today and I am now a "good" 3cm and 80% effaced. We made an appt for next Friday, and again, she says no way will I be there. But just in case. She asked if I wanted to be induced, but I opted against it. The baby's heartbeat is great, I am hanging in there, and there is just no reason to mess with mother nature. But if by some miracle I make it to my appt next Friday, then we will be scheduling an induction for the following Monday or Tuesday (around the 14th). But I can't imagine that being the case.

So here's the gory pregnancy part. This entire week I've been losing my mucus plug, so that is progress. Then yesterday I thought my water broke in the morning, but then nothing else happened. Now tonight I am sitting here wondering the same thing. And my back is absolutely killing me. (Although I did do a bit of housework today that might have hurt my back.) So I am sitting on the heating pad and waiting it out. It's just so hard not knowing what your body is doing! Everyone says that I will just know, so I guess I am not? Ugh. We'll see!

38 week update - Last one?!

How pregnant am I?:  38 weeks, 4 days

Weight gain so far:  43 pounds.  Wish it weren't so many, but nothing I can do now!  I have been eating pretty healthy, although I could have exercised more.  But I am sure I will lose it all.  It is what it is!

Belly Button:  Sort of an outtie.  Not very attractive, with my scars from my laparoscopy and my piercing. 

Clothing options:  Yoga pants and a nursing tank.  Or a long sleeve shirt.  That's about all I wear.  If I leave the house, I manage to put on jeans sometimes.  But I can't wear bras anymore, because my belly pushes my boobs up to my chin, lol.  So I have been living in a nursing tank.  And I can only wear flip flops or Uggs, and even those are getting tight.  Thank goodness I am almost done!

Boobs:  Huge.  Although they seem bigger because my belly pushes them up.  Lol.

Now about the real star of the show:  This kid is officially a watermelon, the last fruit of my pregnancy!  And boy, does my belly look like it has a watermelon in it.  It could be as big as 7 lbs at this point (or 8 or 9 according to my doc!) and about 19 to 22 inches in length.  That's a big thing to carry in your belly!  It's a wonder I have no stretch marks yet!  The baby is pretty much ready to go.  Lungs should be developed, it's losing the vernix that was protecting its skin, and it should be a "normal" color now, since it should have plenty of fat and chub!  Basically, it can come out and play now!  Hear that baby?!?  Come out!

Pregnancy "symptoms":  Swelling of my feet, which is pretty bad.  I still waddle.  I feel like someone's head is slamming into my cervix, which is probably exactly what is happening.  I have heartburn a lot now, and I feel really sorry for people who have this on a regular basis.  It's awful!  And my back hurts quite often.  But I am hanging in there.  The biggest new symptom, is that for the past 24 hours, I have finally been having contractions, and I am losing my mucous plug (TMI sorry!).  But it's great, because it means I am getting close!

Cravings:  Water, pineapple, fruit, sweets.  Exercise.  I want to run, hike, bike, ANYTHING!

What I've bought so far:  What haven't I bought?  How about what I want to buy....clothes that are pink or blue!  I want gender specific clothes like you wouldn't believe!

Best moment this week:  Seeing Shawn and Morgan and Oliver, and knowing that Steve and I will have what they have soon.  Oliver is so amazing and so cute and sweet.  And they are such great parents, and a true team.  I can't wait to have what they have.  :)

What I miss:   Snuggling with Steve, sleeping thru the night, not feeling like it is such a chore just to move!  Exercise!

What I am excited for this week:  Could this be the week?  I am hoping so, that's why I finally caught up on blogging.  Baby come out and play!

38 weeks

Wow, I wasn't sure I'd make it this far.  I really thought this baby might come really early, since I have been measuring so big all along.  This week I am 38 weeks pregnant, which is one week past what is considered full term.  So if this baby decides to come, they won't stop my labor, and we will be having a baby!  Our bags are packed, the car seat is in the car, and we are ready for baby!

Last week at my 37 week appt, I was measuring 40 weeks!  Wholy cow!  Again, people are still telling me that I look really small, but I don't think so.  My doctor was like, "no way, you are ready to deliver this kid now!"  Baby's heartbeat is great, it is still kicking and rolling and punching me all over.  She says that she thinks/hopes that I will go into labor before my due date.  I really don't want to get to a point where the baby is too big for me to deliver.  I'd like to avoid a C-section!  But you never know.  Doctors measurements can always be off, so let's hope!

We went to a really nice dinner at Cafe 14 last week, thinking maybe it would be our last date night before baby.  As usual, we had great food, great service, and a great night.  They even brought us a yummy free dessert with a candle to celebrate.  Hopefully we will get out on a date there again soon after baby is born.

We also had the house cleaned for the last time before baby, and we took the cats to the vet for their annual  checkup.  Glad to have that marked off the list!  They are healthy and great and have no problems.  Last thing on the list is to get our tax papers together and get them done.  I really need this done because I need to file for financial aid for nursing school, and I can't until our taxes are done.

The day before I was 38 weeks, I decided to go get a massage since my back is still the most annoying part of this pregnancy.  I am soooo happy that I did.  I went to my chiropractors office, and there is a new masseuse there, and she is an expert at prenatal massage.  She teaches it, along with infant massage. Which I will take a class in after the baby arrives.  Anyway, it was an awesome deep tissue (as much as she could) massage, and she worked on trigger points too, trying to stimulate labor to start.  We'll see if it works.  I scheduled another one with her next week, but I am praying the baby is here by then!

Last thing is, at my 38 week appt last Friday, she checked me again for progress.  I am now 2-3 cm and 50% effaced.  I think I had some contractions earlier in the week, but I am not positive.  But I guess I must have if I am more dilated.  So yay for that!  She told me that she doesn't think I will make it to my appt next week.  But if I do, we are going to talk about inducing me on March 4th.  I am pretty against inducing and messing with mother nature, but I am somewhat worried that if I don't, I won't have a chance to deliver this baby naturally.  We'll see what kind of mood I am in if I am still pregnant next week.

Here's my 38 week pics.  I don't realize just how big I am until I look at these.  I am huge!  Maybe these pics will be my last ones?!

Maternity pics

My cousin Tonya took some maternity photos of us this past weekend.  They came out really cute!  I can't wait to print out a few and frame them.  I particularly love the one of our hands in the shape of a heart on my belly.  Thanks Tonya, you are the bestest cousin and friend ever!

36 weeks and baby class

Last week we started our 3 part class at the hospital where I am delivering.  It's a three hour class, three Wednesdays in a row.  There were about 10 other couples there, and I was the second furthest along.  So far we have learned breathing techniques, pain management, stages of labor, and just a general what to expect from labor, delivery, and the hospital.  It's somewhat redundant to what we have read/heard, but was a good review, and made things seem more real!

Also had my 35 week appt last week, and now I go every Friday.  I am getting pretty big and uncomfortable.  I know I've said that before, but now I am seriously uncomfortable.  Haha.  I still haven't had any contractions.  But I am now dilated 1 cm and 30% effaced.  And I am measuring one week ahead.  So things are moving along!

We also got our chair for the nursery delivered this week.  I will post pictures soon.  We have all the furniture now, just need to put a few things up on the wall, buy a few more last minute things, and put up the curtains and valance.  It's a really cute peaceful nursery, and I can't wait to have a baby to put in it!

Best of all, March 9th was my last day of working in the office.  Tomorrow I get to wake up when I work, and just work from home.  I will still have to go in to get mail and go over things with the doctors, but I am officially done with the office for awhile!  I couldn't be more excited!

Here's my 36 week pictures.  Wow, I am big!  The funny thing is, people keep telling me how small I look.  They are crazy!

34 weeks

Here I am at 34 weeks, 4 days.  

In other news, I've started seeing a chiropractor regularly, so hopefully that will help with my back.  And I only have 2 more weeks of working in the office, then I work from home.  Yippee!!

Also, I saw my doctor again for my 33 week appt.  Steve was in Utah, so I took my mom with me.  She did an ultrasound to check on the size of the baby.  It's measuring right on track, except...drumroll please...it's head is measuring 35 weeks.  Eeek!  She also said that the baby is probably about 4-5 lbs, and she says that if I go full term, I may be looking at a 9-10 lb baby.  Wish me luck!  Otherwise, everything is great, baby's heartbeat is strong, and my BP is still good!

Baby Showers

Last weekend Vanessa came to visit and I had my "friends" baby shower.  On Friday night Steve, Vanessa and I went to Blue Stove and had the best cheese platter appetizer.  I want to go back and eat it every week.  

Then on Saturday we had my baby shower.  It was about 25 people, and I had a lot of fun.  It was really warm, like 80 degrees, which I would normally love.  But it was so hot in our house!  We had champagne punch, sandwiches, orzo salad, a cheese platter and a yummy cake from the woman who made our wedding cake.  My parents and Steve's parents helped a ton.  Even so, I was still exhausted after it.  We got all kinds of lovely gifts, some things from the registry, some cute outfits, blankets, etc.  We got a few really neat homemade items, like blankets and burp cloths.  It was so great to have all of my girlfriends in one place!  Wish I saw all of them more often.

Sunday morning we went to the Side Street Cafe, which I had never been to.  It was really good, and I plan on going back soon!  Then I took Vanessa to the airport and we stopped at BRU on the way.  I returned a couple of duplicate items I got, and bought some clothes for the baby.  After I got home, I did 3 loads of laundry, and hung everything up and folded it all.  And Steve built the changing table.  The baby's room is really coming along!

Then yesterday we had my "family" shower.  Basically a duplicate of the week before, but with family and a few friends.  The running joke is that I am just gonna have a party every weekend.  I had a really great time, and the weather was beautiful again.  We got some big items on the registry, like the car seat, the stroller, and the pack and play.  And a breast pump is on it's way.  So now we have all of the big items.  All of our family and friends were so generous.  We got soooo much stuff for baby!  There is still some stuff I want to get, but I feel like if the baby came tonight, we are almost set. 

Steve and his friend Clint went to Utah from Wednesday until Saturday.  They went snowboarding and stayed with Steve's cousins.  Sounds like they had a really great time.  And the baby stayed put while he was gone, so that was great.  Here's my cute happy husband.

32 Weeks and crib pics

Here's our crib all set up.

And here I am at 32 weeks, 4 days.  I am getting seriously big.  And uncomfortable.  And slow.

32 Weeks

I am now officially the age I will be when I have my first baby.  31!  Sounds old.   Not just 30, but in my thirties.  Yikes.  It's all in your mind though right?  And I still think I am 20, so there.  Steve was sick on my birthday, which was a bummer.  I felt bad even dragging him out to dinner but he was a good sport.  We went to Giovanni's in the valley.  It was really yummy, and there were about 10 of us.  I have the best family.  :)

The next day, I went out with mom and Tina and went shopping for baby stuff and baby shower stuff.  Thank god they helped me, because after only a few hours of traipsing around town, I could barely move.  It is amazing how tired and achy being pregnant can make you!  But I got almost everything we need for my showers, and also some things for me for after the baby arrives.  My fave is the cozy soft $10 robe that I found at Target for the hospital.  I am wearing it right now, and I wish I could just live in it!

How pregnant am I?:  32 weeks, 2 days - will post a picture later on

Weight gain so far:  Well I didn't gain any weight as of last week either, but I guess the baby and I made up for it this week.  I am now up 31 lbs.  I am half a lb away from 170.  Yikes.  Never thought I'd see that number!  Oh well.

Belly Button:  Flat, but still not an outtie

Clothing options:  Boring boring boring.  I am so sick of my maternity clothes, and can't wait to wear normal clothes again!

Boobs:  Same.  Huge.

Now about the real star of the show:  The baby now weighs as much as a honeydew.  That's about 4 lbs.  And it might be as long as 18-19 inches!  I definitely can tell it has grown.  I am getting kicked and punched so much, and when it rolls around, my stomach stretches in the craziest ways!  Baby is also really looking like a baby now, depositing fat under it's skin and chubbying up.  Also, the baby can apparently tell the difference between day and night now, because the wall of my uterus is thinning and letting more light in.  Which makes sense, because it sleeps at night while I sleep, but the second I wake up in the morning and take my medicine, it is awake and wiggling around so I don't get to roll over and go back to sleep!  Finally, the baby has it's own immune system in place now.

Pregnancy "symptoms":  Same as last post.  Backaches, I waddle, I am tired, slow, and uncomfortable a lot of the time!  Oh, the new thing is, my right foot is totally swollen, but I left is normal.  I am one sexy lady.

Cravings:  Sweets still, lots of water.  Can't seem to get enough these days.

What I've bought so far:  Nothing new this week, but my baby shower is today, so this baby should be getting some new things!

Best moment this week:  Knowing that Steve is completely done painting the nursery!  Now I can begin decorating, washing, etc.

What I miss:  Energy.  Being able to walk more than 5 feet without needing a bathroom.

What I am excited for this week:  My shower!

Ultrasound from 12/14/10

Here is a link to our ultrasound from 12/14/10. It's sorta boring, but around the minute mark, you can see the baby open its mouth and swallow.  And you can see that it had it's arm up almost the entire time.  It DID NOT want to be bothered!  :)  The ultrasound tech kept going back to 2d and jabbing my belly with the probe, trying to get it to move.  She got a clearer shot towards the end....

3D Ultrasound

30 weeks!

Well, I finally found some time to blog in the current week, instead of playing catch up!

How pregnant am I?:  3o weeks, 4 days

Weight gain so far:  As of week 30 exactly, I had gained 27.5.  Which was exactly what I weighed the week before.  It's the first time I didn't gain weight, and I don't know how I managed to do that over Christmas!  But I did spend the previous two weeks going to the gym 4 times per week.  I slacked over the holiday, but I plan on getting back in there this week again.  I have to if I want to continue eating all the sweets that I am craving!

Belly Button:  Flat, but still not an outtie

Clothing options:  Few and far between.  I outgrew some of my maternity clothes.  I basically live in jeans, leggings and sweaters now.  I am not even that huge, but I think some of the styles I bought were only good for the first and second trimester.  Oh well, live and learn.

Boobs:  Ginormous.  See pictures from Christmas morning in previous post.  I can't imagine what they are gonna look like once this baby arrives!

Now about the real star of the show:  This baby is a mover and a shaker.  I keep wondering if there is such thing as TOO MUCH movement.  It jabs me all over, but mostly on the right side.  I swear it thinks that there is an escape route over there.  And of course, whenever I want to relax, it wants to play.  I kinda poke it back in when it jabs me now, and then it jabs me some where else.  At this point, the baby is approx. a whopping 3 lbs!  It's huge!  No wonder I feel so big.  It's brain is developing grooves now, instead of being smooth.  It's putting on more fat, and so it's skin is changing from red to pink.  It's also losing its lanugo.  Baby has eyelashes, and it's eyes are open now.  It might suck its thumb, and it swallows and hiccups all the time.  The food that it is now compared to is a head of cabbage (based on weight).

Pregnancy "symptoms":   I feel the baby moving all the time now.  I am also hungrier.  My back aches, my hips ache, and I am much slower than I used to be.  I also waddle.  Oy.  But overall, I still don't have too much to complain about.  My back is the worst part, but I've always had back problems, so I'll survive.

Cravings:  Sweets still

What I've bought so far:  Well nothing recently, but we did get a ton of gifts for Christmas.  We got our baby monitor, the changing table, books, toys, stuffed animals, baby converse from my brother, a photo album, and some clothes.

Best moment this week:  Seeing the room painted, and the crib all set up.

What I miss:  Wine, walking normally, my energy

What I am excited for this week:  My birthday!

Holidays

Wow, I can't believe that Christmas and New Years came and went already!  I remember during the summer, thinking that once I got thru the holidays, this baby would almost be here!  And time flew!

The week before Christmas, we had quite a few events.  I was so tired by the day after Christmas that I didn't move all day Sunday.  I think I even stayed in my PJs all day.  We had a work party for Steve on the Sunday before Christmas, and another one the Thursday before Christmas.  It was also Kevin's birthday, so we went out to celebrate at the Ladyface Alehouse.  I had some amazing bread pudding that I can't wait to go have again.  I think we even went to trivia night that Tuesday too.  I don't know how I did it!  

For Christmas Eve we went to my parents house as usual.  The whole Anschultz clan and extended family were there, plus Steve's parents, and Aunt Sue.  It was loud and fun and all the kids had a blast.  I didn't overeat, which was a miracle.  But I managed to sample just about everything.  Christmas morning, Steve and I exchanged gifts, then Steve and Tina came over to our place for our gift exchange. Then we packed up and went to my parents house to exchange with them.  We really got soiled this year.  We got tons of gift cards, a changing table, a bookshelf for the living room, an entry way mirror/shelf, baby stuff, and all sorts of other little things.  We are lucky to have so many people who love us!

Next we headed to The Odyssey in Granada Hills for brunch.  This was our first time here, as we have gone to the 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys for at least the last 12 years, maybe longer.  I thought that the food was much better, and the view was really nice.  Here's a couple of pictures from after brunch.  I didn't realize how huge I am beginning to look until I saw these!

The next week, Steve started to paint the nursery.  He did a little each day, and it's almost done.  Because of our high ceiling (wooden beams that are painted), it is a real pain.  So he had to edge with a paint brush, and you can't really tape off the ceiling because it won't stick.  I felt bad that I couldn't help, but he refused.  So we painted the top 2/3 yellow, and the bottom 1/3 sage green.  It came out really nice.  We put up a wallpaper border in the middle to separate the two.  Now he just needs to paint the baseboards, the window, and the trim around the door.  

This past weekend was New Years, and we went to Kevin and Sarah's to hang out with friends.  She made homemade lasagna, a few friends made some appetizers, we took over garlic bread and lemon meringue pie (special of the month at Marie Callendars, fyi!) and we just hung out, played games, and caught up on life.  Watched the ball drop, wished each other a happy new year, and then went home.  Definitely a fun mellow night. 

I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, but also put the crib together and got all the bedding on it, with the help of my mom.  It looks fantastic, and I am super excited.  I will try to take a picture and post it soon!