37 weeks - Cole

pardon my grammar/typing. one handed carpal tunnel typing. sorry, no pic; hands hurt too much for selfies.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along : 37 weeks

Size of Baby :  >19" long & >6 lb

Total Weight Gain : ~24 lbs

Maternity Clothes : just a few things to wear that are comfy and cover my whole belly. that's ok, the end is in sight

Best Moment This Week : hanging out w/ Mark & Melissa last weekend. getting in to the specialist Friday (7/25) for a same day appt to get a cortisone injection for my carpal tunnel.

Gender : It's a boy! 

Movement : he's strong. one night this week he (and my pregnant brain) kept me up almost 3 hrs (2-5am); every time i got tired enough to doze he'd start dancing again. stinker. also, he's settling into my pelvis; sometimes when he moves/stretches it hurts way down deep. and occasionally he's still getting into my lungs and making it hard to breathe.

Food Craving :  junk, and then as a reaction, anything light & healthy. cold watermelon. iced anything. what i really want is a java chip frap, but that would make my reflux miserable. i've also been craving japanese; we may go for sushi one saturday before my due date.

What I Miss Most : right now, this week, use of my hands. overall, my non-preg body

Sleep : i'm happy that josh has adjusted; he doesn't even know i'm getting up twice a night to pee and occasionally heaving myself over to the other side. nursing in the night shouldn't phase him either. tiffany (doula) suggested 2nd pillow between my knees to alleviate some hip pain. it helps!

What I Am Looking Forward To : the cortisone kicking in. favorite gym instructor's baby shower this weekend. having this baby.

Belly Button : you can see it on FB on my bare belly pic.

Symptoms : carpal tunnel got out of control this week. both hands tingly numb & painful; couldn't hardly function. got desperate; can't wait 3+ weeks and couldn't imagine trying to care for newborn with this kind of pain. had 3 dr appts fri - OB, GP, and hand specialist. injection in left hand, right scheduled for a week later. sometimes one shot helps both hands, so we'll see if i need the 2nd one. still in pain, waiting for the injection to kick in.

otherwise, reflux, exhaustion, aches, the usual. i'm trying NOT to count the days, but i have been pretty miserable this week and can't wait to be done.

Compared to last time : i think he's a little lower; breathing was a bigger issue last time. carpal tunnel worse this time, obviously. otherwise, pretty similar.

36 weeks - Cole

So I had this post written. Finished. Just had to add the picture. Then somehow, through the evil that blogger.com has been to me lately, I lost the whole thing. I'm on my third go AND my carpal tunnel is killing me, so forgive me if I'm brief. (Some of you are breathing a sigh of relief) :)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along : 36 weeks. It's getting real. Less than a month!

Size of Baby : ~6lbs & ~19"

Total Weight Gain : ~22.5 lbs. This is 2.5 lbs less than my goal, with four weeks left to gain it. I may end up a lb or two over, but I'm ok w/that.

Maternity Clothes : I've actually gone to my yoga capris and maxi-skirt most days b/c they've got the most comfy waistbands.

Best Moment This Week :  My baby shower was top! My shopping spree at Target to get the things I still wanted/needed off my registry was a close second.

Gender : Boy! I can't wait to meet this little kid and start getting to know him.

Movement : Things are getting cramped. His movements are smaller and stronger at the same time.

Food Craving : Watermelon. Iced tea. Iced anything. It's been so hot lately I've been sticking ice in my water just to keep it cool through the whole 24 oz of sipping.

What I Miss Most : Being able to move like a normal person. Walking, not waddling. At a normal pace, not a snail's pace. Rolling over in bed w/o so much effort. Getting up off the couch. Being able to exercise at full capacity; I have to modify even in the water!

Sleep :  Nope. HAHA. I'm waking up every few hours, on a newborn nursing schedule already :-þ I'm peeing 2-3 times a night, and my hips have been hurting so I sometimes I just have to roll over too. I had a particularly bad night sleep this week; hoping that's not the norm.

What I Am Looking Forward To : Getting to hold my baby. Nursing him and snuggling him. Introducing him to Ash and seeing Ash become a big brother. Also looking forward to having Josh home with us for the first couple weeks.

Belly Button : Shallow and out on the right side, though my belly's lopsided from Cole hanging out constantly on the left, so it doesn't even look off center through my clothes, LOL.

Symptoms : Carpal tunnel has been atrocious. Reflux is about as bad as it can be, though I'm treating the acid with max doses of Zantac & Tums; a loose esophagus still lets food up :-þ My hips are extremely loose and hurt a lot, especially if I move too quickly. Some days my back hurts, especially if I do anything mildly strenuous. I'm about ready to be done, honestly.

Compared to last time : For all my complaining this time, I still think things are pretty much on par with last time.

Too lazy/comfy to get up and take a 36 wk pic for you ;)

Ash 2 1/2 years - picture post

Me & Superbear at 2.5 yrs old, watching a show with my trucks

Cow Appreciation Day 2014

Helping Mommy cook macaroni & cheese

In hog heaven!

 

 An ice cream date & a breakfast date

As OCD as my parents - I ate all the purple O's, now I'm working on the orange ones

A family shot from our morning at Garden of the Gods taken by Aunt Melissa

A posed shot at GotG

Handsome little toddler - but I'll argue and say I'm a big rig!

Ash - 2 1/2 years old!

Mom note: I've tried multiple times to add pictures to this post. It's almost a week later and it's still not working. I don't know why Blogger hates me lately. Sorry! :) I'll work on getting a picture update together as time and carpal tunnel and Blogger allow. In the meantime, here's the words.


Size: Mom finally hung my growth chart this week and marked my height. I am 2' 10.5" tall and weigh about 26 lbs (on the home scales it's just an estimate). I'm wearing 18-24mo & 2T shirts & (footless) pj's. I'm wearing anything from 12mo to 2T shorts (where length doesn't matter so much), and 24mo/2T pants (cinched as tight at they'll go). I'm wearing mostly size 6 shoes.

Physical development: I've gotten pretty competent at all the things at the playgrounds - climbing, sliding, etc. I still love to dig & dump. My newest physical interest has been building. I have lots of pieces from Wendy's kid's meals that I use to build vehicles of all sorts. Mom also got me a bunch of big legos to build with, and daddy & I have had a lot of fun building things (mainly "towers" and garages for my vehicles).

Verbal development: I am learning different inflections and voice my opinion about which "voice" mommy uses when she talks to me. Sometimes she uses a sweet high voice, and sometimes she uses a stern low voice; I like the high "mommy" voice better. I'm also practicing vocalizing my preferences in a polite way and without fussing. I'm pretty good at switching when I'm reminded. Mommy & daddy are extremely helpful and willing when I ask nicely, but I hardly get what I want if I fuss about it, so I'm getting the hang of it. I've also been working on my letter sounds, and love to sing the song : "The B says 'b', the B says 'b', every letter makes a sound, the B says 'b'." I sing it all the time about whatever letter something starts with. I'm able to identify almost all the letter sounds and am usually right about what letter starts a word.

Routines: This summer, Jack has only been with us till noon. We try to fit most of our fun and errands into the mornings with him. Mommy still puts me down for a nap every day, but lately I've only been sleeping about once or twice a week. Mommy & daddy have taken all the toys and books out of my room, and have tried lots of things to encourage me to sleep (or at least be quiet) during nap-time. This week I've been getting to watch a show when I'm quiet and sometimes that's enough motivation to keep me quiet. I also have some special stickers, so if I'm quiet and stay in my bed I can pick a sticker to put on a paper.

Special events:We've been working on getting the nursery ready for Cole, and I even got to help with some of the artwork! We've also spent time at the pool at our gym, gone on special dates for breakfast or lunch, and had a couple play dates. We have been getting together with Uncle Mark & Aunt Melissa & their kids once a month too. We had a special day where we went to Garden of the Gods and took pictures with them. That was fun. We also dressed up as cows to get free meals at Chick-fil-A for Cow Appreciation Day.

My favorites: I still love anything with wheels, all kinds of vehicles. There's been a lot of construction in town this spring & summer, and I love checking out all the vehicles. And everything I do, I take a couple trucks with me - sitting on the couch, eating at the table, riding in the car, and even park a couple on my shelf at bedtime.

Daddy's favorites: Daddy loves that I'm into building lately b/c it's something he can do together with me. We've had a lot of fun playing in the evenings and on weekends.

Mommy's favorites: Mommy is enjoying the time we get together this summer. She's savoring the last few weeks with just me before Cole comes.

Upcoming: The next couple months are going to be a little bit crazy around here. My little brother Cole is coming sometime in August. We're not sure exactly when, but we've been working at getting ready for him. Jack will stop coming to our house after the first week of August so we can rest and prepare. I can't wait to meet him and see him and hold him. Daddy will get to stay home with us for a couple weeks after Cole is born. Then for the beginning of September we'll have Nanoo & PopPop visiting. It's going to be a lot of change and busyness, but I'm excited to finally meet this kid. So far he's just been a big belly on mommy and a couple ultrasound pictures, so it'll be nice to finally have a face to put with the name.

35 weeks - Cole

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along : 35 weeks. Tuesday will be one month till D-day. We'll see if this one comes by then or decides to hang in there a little longer like Ash did.

Size of Baby :  >18+ long & >5+ lb. Almost too big for the space he's got :)

Total Weight Gain : ~ 22-23 lbs. My weight jumped a pound overnight; don't know if it's real weight or just a fluke.

Maternity Clothes :  100%. Though I am loving my (non-maternity) maxi skirt. I don't like the dresses as much as I thought I would b/c as a pear with a basketball for a belly, I feel ENORMOUS from my bra band down in loose flowing clothes. I figure that my clothes making me feel unattractive is unforgivable at this point. The waddle, the dark circles under my sleepy eyes, the other changes pregnancy has wreaked on my body - these are unavoidable. The clothes I have a choice about :) In a skirt, there's definition above and below my bump so I don't feel like one huge lump. So skirts and shorts it is in this heat.

Best Moment This Week : Having Josh home for a long 4 day weekend was awesome. He did so much around the house! We never did tackle the nursery, but he cleaned the whole house except the nursery and basement. And he helped fold the laundry too. And let me take a nap one afternoon. Yeah, I love my hubs :)

It was also an extremely special week b/c it was my birthday. Stephanie & Jack showed up at my door three mornings in a row with gifts for me. It was so much fun! I'm IN LOVE with my little mini-rose bush. I set it outside the door, so when I'm pulling in the driveway or opening my front door to greet someone or get the milk, it makes me SMILE! I love flowers :) It was also fun to get a slew of Facebook greetings on my birthday.

And of course the random compliments from strangers always make my day. Twice in the locker room on Monday, as I stood in my bra and underwear fixing my hair, ladies walking past on the other side of the locker room exclaimed how cute/beautiful I looked. How can you help but feel good when someone compliments you in nothing but your underthings!! :-D Too bad it's not the norm after the baby is born and everything is saggy and squishy! Hah.

Gender : It's a boy! I can't wait to meet him, to hold him in my arms, to nurse him, to get to know him!

Movement : This past week while I was trying to sleep, Cole decided he wanted to see how far he could stretch out, and he wedged himself from my pelvis to my lungs. I woke up with pain in my side/lungs, and I could hardly breathe. Unfortunately his feet were behind my ribs, so I couldn't just push them away from the area. I ended up getting up and walking around to get him to settle back to his usual position just so I could breathe "fully" again.

He's been doing a lot of pushing this week. He will be really active and moving for a couple days, then he'll take a couple days off. My theory is that these are growth-spurt days when he's just resting and growing. He moves enough not to worry me, but most of his movements on those days (besides hiccups, which occur at least once a day) are pushes. He'll wedge his feet up into the right side of my belly and shove. I had Josh feel the squishy left side of my womb (amniotic fluid provides little resistance) and then the rock-solid right side. It's crazy how hard he can push sometimes! I think he feels like he's running out of room in there :)

Food Craving :  Still iced tea. I also satisfied a long-standing craving for Waffle House waffles yesterday. I've craved it since Ash was born, but I was off dairy while I was nursing him, and I was never in that area during mealtime, and it just wasn't a priority. Then today we were a minute away at lunchtime, so I told Ash we were going to have a special lunch and we went. YUM :)

What I Miss Most : My body. Being able to move, breathe, eat.

Sleep : same. Waking every couple hours to pee and/or roll over. My poor little bladder is SO squished that I'm peeing every 1-2 hrs during the day (if I'm keeping up on my fluid intake) and at least 2-3 times a night. Getting in the sleep schedule of nursing a newborn, I guess.  Also, my poor joints are so loose and my carpal tunnel is so bad that I can't go more than a few hours on one side without the pain waking me. I took Tylenol twice last night - before bed and in the wee hours.

What I Am Looking Forward To :  Tonight we're having (free) dinner at Chick-fil-A for Cow Appreciation Day. I will post pictures on FB sometime soon. I'm in the process of getting a shirt ready for Josh and for me. He's come up with another hilarious idea this year; I wonder how many years he can come up with original ideas to be a cow without having to wear a single spot! And the shirt I painted years ago has no room for Cole in it, so I'm painting a new one that's bigger to fit over the bump.

My baby shower is tomorrow (Saturday), and I can't wait! From the rsvp's it looks to be a random combination of friends from all different parts of my life, but I love baby showers and we already know from Corrina's shower that Noemi can throw a killer party with a to-die-for spread. And this time I'm not in the middle of my Lent treats fast, so I can have whatever my heart desires that my tiny stomach will allow :)

Also, Tiffany is coming over for our doula home-visit Monday, which makes things start to seem even more real and imminent. It's one step closer to having all the ducks ready and waiting. Also I have my next OB on Friday morning. Then we move to weekly OB's. Yikes :)

Belly Button : Still extremely shallow and an outie. The scar at the inside of my belly looks like an upside-down F (right-side-up to me when I'm looking down at it) with all the poking out being done by the skin at the prongs of the F. So it's the right side that's sticking out, and the left side is mostly flat and purplish wrinkly scar.

Symptoms : I've been having carpal tunnel worse in the past couple weeks. Now my symptoms extend into the day. I hadn't started wearing my brace during the day till this week. I pulled it out a couple evenings, and yesterday during the afternoon. I had a few moments during the first half of the day where the angle I was doing something mundane like cutting my waffle sent shots of pain through my hand, so by naptime I was ready to brace it up and stop hurting at least. I randomly met someone who said that carpal tunnel exercises actually helped their problem, so I'm trying to do some of those every evening while we're watching TV too; we'll see if it helps at all.

My hips/pelvis have also been starting to REALLY loosen up. They hurt when I sleep. But more painful is when I move. If I've been sitting or lying in one position for a while and I try to adjust or get up, I have to move very slowly and carefully to avoid tweaking them. And of course I haven't gotten used to remembering to move slowly, so I tweak them multiple times a day. But, I am so glad I switched to the aqua classes! I still get a good workout (if I put the effort into it), and feel sore in new places using muscles in different ways, but the buoyancy takes all the pressure off my hips and back, and I'm surviving a lot better b/c of the switch.

I've also had a couple days this week where I felt EXTREMELY "pregnant". Lightheaded, nauseous, extra-acidic, weak & tired. I'm wondering if these are growth-spurt days, b/c they also seem to coincide with the days that Cole is quieter. But either way, I'm thinking I need to get serious about the iron again, b/c I've been so weak and tired.

Compared to last time : SO similar! Reading back through the post from 35 wks w/Ash, my complaints about feet in the ribs & lungs, hips loosening and hurting, etc sounds EXTREMELY familiar :)

35 wks with Ash

almost 35 wks with Cole

34 weeks - Cole

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along : 34 weeks! I can't believe how fast this week has flown. I'm starting to feel the pressure of how little time is left compared to how much I still want to get done before he comes. I move so slow; it takes me double the normal amt of time to do most things. 

Size of Baby :  ~18+ long & ~5+ lb

Total Weight Gain : ~ 21 lbs, still about 6 lbs less than last time.

Maternity Clothes :  100%.

Best Moment This Week : Josh & I celebrated our 10th anniversary over the weekend. We exchanged gifts, and then we went out on a rare non-movie date to the Melting Pot. It was delicious and fun.

I also had some good fellowship time this week - pictures & lunch with M&M, a play date at the park with Corrina, a drive to Denver with Mindy, and a phone call with Jeanna. I needed a little adult conversation :)

Gender : It's a boy! Unfortunately, this week Ash was acting up at nap time, so I had to clear off the shelves in his room of all the bins and books. The easiest solution was to dump them in the next room, which happens to be Cole's room. Then later Ash went in and knocked over all my neat stacks, so now Cole's nursery is a MESS. You can hardly walk in the door. So I'm slowly working on cleaning up and organizing the mess so we can put the furniture where it belongs and set up the crib. Hopefully we can get it settled this weekend; one less thing on my to-do list for the month. I still haven't made the time to finish up the roman shade either.

Movement : He's so long and strong. He's starting to get really cramped in there, so some days he doesn't move very much. But then there were two days where he almost didn't stop moving. I think it all correlates with whether he's having a growth spurt too. Growth spurts require energy and he sleeps all day. Also, hiccups have been driving me crazy lately. But today I made Josh feel the hiccups, and he made Ash feel it, and Ash's face lit up. Not with a smile, but with the tangible realization that Cole is alive & active inside my belly.

Food Craving : Still sweet tea and chicken. I've also eaten so much junk this week. The best was Melting Pot (and the complimentary chocolate covered strawberries we got). The funniest was when Stephanie mentioned Cheetos and then I had to get some next time I bought groceries. But the truth is I've lost all my self control this week. Every kind of junk you can imagine. I've indulged way too much. My body is feeling it; I'm breaking out and I don't feel healthy. I really need to reign it in, and read a good article about entitlement that spoke to what I believe is the issue at the root, so I'm going to try to work on that attitude this week.

What I Miss Most : I can't wait till I don't feel huge anymore! Everything takes me so long b/c I'm so slow. I just can't wait to be limber enough to reach my toes, quick enough to function, etc. 

Sleep : same. Up a couple times a night to pee and a couple more to roll over. Ash has been having nightmares in the wee hours or just a little before the alarm, so that's not helping my exhaustion. 

What I Am Looking Forward To : I can't wait to meet this kiddo!! Also, next week is my birthday and next weekend is my shower. So fun!!

Belly Button : same, getting shallower all the time. Still annoyed at the lack of symmetry. :)

Symptoms : Going to the aqua class Wednesday helped my joints, but b/c it was a new activity I was still just as sore and tired. I've been busy and active, so even though I said I was going to cut back and start "acting pregnant", I haven't. I'm feeling it. I've been tired, exhausted. Each evening my back and my stretched belly hurt. But each morning I awake feeling mostly rejuvenated and without pain, so I overdo it again and feel the same by evening. There's so much to do, my nesting instinct has kicked in, and my to-do list just won't stop. Every day I add something else to the list! :-O

So, it's the usual, exhaustion, aches, reflux, and generally feeling extremely big and squished.

Compared to last time : almost exactly the same.

Sorry, I didn't get around to taking a picture yet, so you'll have to wait for that one. Just look at last week's picture and imaging me a little bigger and with dark circles under my eyes ;-D