33 Weeks . . . the end is in sight!

I'm thankful to be approaching the 33 week mark in a couple days . . . it makes the time seem really close when I think that I had Sam at 37 weeks! However, I'm kind of hoping for this one to come a little later than that--38-39 weeks sounds good to me. :) Here's a picture of my continually growing belly--taken last week. It's not the best view of my belly, actually, but we'll try to get a better one soon.


I had a checkup today, and all is well with me and baby. My b/p was 110/80, still looking good, as it has been along. Baby's heartrate ranged from 150s down to 130s and then back up to 150s again. And baby's position is still fine, same as last time. We talked a bit about doing the Group B Strep test at 36 weeks--I had the option to decline, but I decided to go ahead and do it. If it happens to be positive (which is possible, but not all that likely) then I have to decide whether or not to do anything with the info. Just because a woman may have the Group B bacteria, doesn't necessarily mean that she will still have it at the time of delivery, or that the baby will be affected by it. There are options such as herbal remedies or getting antibiotics from a doctor to hopefully get rid of the bacteria. Anyway, I just would like to know if I test positive or not and then take it from there. At a regular dr., they automatically test for it at 36 weeks, and I guess it is common to give the mom IV antibiotics during labor if she is positive. I have no idea what my status was with Sam, since the test hadn't even come back yet, since he was born at 37 weeks. They may have given me IV antibiotics and I just didn't know it! We also talked about emergency procedures, such as what to do if the baby arrives before the midwife, etc. We also have a paper that tells all about that, and I'm sure Jim would do a fine job if need be--but I hope he won't have to!

We have started collecting some of the birth supplies, and I plan to have those all ready by 36 weeks at least. A lot of it is stuff I already have on hand. I'm really getting excited about our plans for a homebirth. It's so awesome to have Jim supporting me 100% in this, and I can tell he is looking forward to it, as well. I haven't really written much here yet about homebirthing, since I'm certainly no expert on the subject, and I feel that I after I actually do it, I will be able to write about it with a much more informed perspective. However, I have read up on it some and have talked exensively with several other homebirthers, and everything I've heard has been very positive. Some people don't think homebirthing is safe, but there have been plenty of studies done which show that it is just as safe as giving birth in a hospital, and sometimes more so--as long as a woman is not at high risk for any complications. Of course, things can still go wrong, but they can go wrong just as easily in a hospital. I appreciate Sherry because she is very dedicated to providing great care for mother and baby, and doing everything possible to ensure a safe birth. If any problems arise, she will immediately transfer mother and/or baby to a hospital. So I feel very comfortable, knowing that I most likely will be able to have a good birth experience in my own home, but should the need arise, that there is also a good hospital just 10 minutes away.

In other news . . . both Zan and Joey have had their babies within the past week and a half! Both ladies had baby boys that were 8+ lbs! Congratulations to both of you! I hope you and your families are all doing great.

QUESTION(s) OF THE WEEK: I would love to have any homebirthers share your experiences. I know that I have talked to some of you personally, but please feel free to share any thoughts and memories here for others to enjoy. Most people aren't very familiar with birth experiences outside of a hospital, so I'm sure it would be interesting for others to read!

Secondly, please share anything that helped you get through labor--I know for many women it is the epidural, but I won't have that option!--so I'm looking for relaxation techniques, massage, heat, concentrating on Scripture, etc. I know with my first, I was helped most by Jim breathing right on my face so I could follow along with him . . . I'm counting on that again, but I'm also hoping to try different positions, etc. for comfort. I would love to hear what worked for others!

Almost 31 Weeks

I'm at nearly 31 one weeks now and had another appointment today. I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by! Everything is going great. My b/p was 118/80, my weight was down a pound from last time (amazingly!), for a total of 22 lbs. gained so far, and I'm measuring around 29 weeks--again, I'm not really surprised, since I always measured small with Sam, too. I asked Sherry if she could tell the baby's position yet, so she felt around a bit and determined that she's quite sure the head is down (yay!). She could feel something big and round down there, anyway, and felt another lump higher up, above my belly button on the left side, which she thinks is baby's bottom. She also felt something high on the right side which moved away at her touch, which was likely a foot. So the baby's back is along my left side, as far as we can tell. It all makes sense because I feel movements both hight and low, but the lowest ones feel like hands/fingers (more of a crawly feeling), while the higher movements feel like kicks and rolls. I'm very happy to know that baby is headed the right directions and praying that he or she stays that way! There was a high school student observing Sherry for the day (she's doing a project on midwifery--pretty cool!), so she got to feel the baby's position as well. Baby's heartbeat was in the high 130s/low 140s this time.

I'm still having occasional sciatic twinges and heartburn, although the latter is nowhere near as bad as I had it with Sam. I've also had a bit of pain in my upper back, which is something I also experienced with Sam--same exact spot. None of these things are a big deal, though--just a part of late pregnancy and getting bigger and bigger. :)

Sam hung out with my parents during my appt. and then we ate supper with them afterwards, and Jim gave my dad a haircut. Now it's time to head for bed!

Let's all keep blog readers Zan and Joey in our prayers--they are both due to have babies any day now; hopefully all will go well for both of them when the time comes!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Share your 3rd trimester memories--what was the best part of late pregnancy? What was the worst part? Physically, mentally, emotionally, whatever . . . I find myself getting more and more emotional these days (not a good thing!). Poor Jim . . . Also, if anyone else has a good idea for topics for these weekly questions, please let me know! I find myself running short on ideas these days. :)

A quick update

I had Jim take a couple belly pics for me yesterday--I wasn't thrilled with how I look in this one (I think I may have been blinking!), but it gives you an idea how much I've grown in 5-6 weeks.


Things seem to be going fine still--I have the occasional slight swelling in my fingers or ankles, but nothing major so far. I was feeling achy and a little crampy on Saturday, but I'm thinking it may have just been tiredness combined with indigestion. Over the past week, I've noticed that the baby gets the hiccups quite frequently. Sam used to get them all the time in utero, from 6 months on, so this one is a little later getting started. It's fun to feel, though it can get annoying when it keeps me from getting to sleep at night! Baby is very obliging at moving all over the place for Jim. We like to lie in bed with his hand on my belly for a little while before we go to sleep, and just enjoy feeling the rolls and kicks of the little one. This is also a special time when Jim gets to talk to the baby and "connect" with him or her for a little while.

Well, I better skedaddle for now and work on starting supper. Hope everyone is having a great week! I'll work on coming up with another question of the week for when I post about my next checkup (which will be a week from today).

The Nesting Urge Kicks In

28+ weeks . . . I'm figuring I have anywhere between 9-12 weeks left (and hopefully no more than 12!). A few weeks ago, I noticed that I was getting more energetic and one day all I wanted to do was clean and organize. That evening I mentioned to Jim that I must be "nesting," and he answered, "Yup, that's what I was thinking earlier." I've found that the nesting urge continues, though it's not a daily occurence. :) Some days I just want to clean everything, and other days I just want to lie around and do nothing. I think Jim's caught the urge, too. Yesterday he got home from work early, so we decided to bring Sam's bunkbed upstairs and set it up. That led to moving his room all around, to make room for everything. Then we decided we needed to go buy a mattress for the bed, just in case he was interested in sleeping in it last night . . . then we had to get twin sheets, etc. He already had a comforter that his Grandma and Papa got him for Christmas, so we were all set with that. We finally got his room put back together and it looks really nice! Now if we could only get the walls and flooring finished pre-baby . . . :)

I had my 28 week appt. on Monday, which went well. Sherry did the finger prick blood test (I'm happy she doesn't make her clients drink the icky glucose drink except in rare cases!). My glucose and hemoglobin numbers were both very good--my iron level is actually at the high end for a pregnant woman, which is encouraging. After giving birth to Sam, I was a little bit anemic, but hopefully this time I can keep the iron right up there and not have any problem. My weight was up about 5 lbs. since last time (ackkk--5 lbs. in 2 weeks!), but she said it was fine and that my weight gain is on track. That means I've gained 23 lbs. total so far. I'm thankful to remember that I'll drop about 20 lbs. or so in the weeks immediately following the birth! I'm also not sure if my weight was totally accurate, seeing as we had a lot of salty food over the weekend, so I could be retaining water because of that. It'll be interesting to see what I weigh in 2 more weeks. My b/p is still doing fine--it was up a bit from last time, but still in the normal range--118/82. Baby's heart rate was in the high 120s/low 130s this time, which was a switch from the usual, but still fine. We also talked about whether or not I wanted to do the Rhogam shot now, or just wait till after the birth, which is what I decided to do. In most cases, it seems that there is not likely to be any problem that results from not having it in mid-pregnancy, so I would rather avoid it till afterwards, just in case the baby has a negative blood type as well, in which case he/she wouldn't need the shot. We also discussed birth preferences, such as when to cut the cord (she normally waits till it stops beating, which is fine with me--but she will of course take a cord blood sample as soon as possible in case the baby does have a positive blood type, so they can get the Rhogam going); whether we wanted to do the eyedrops and Vit. K for baby, etc. I don't see the eyedrops as a need unless baby has some kind of discharge from the eyes, or something, but I'm OK with the Vit. K. All in all it was helpful and informative, and I'm getting excited to be thinking so much about the birth already!!

It's funny to think back to what was happening exactly 2 years ago today. I had the first of my weekly midwife appts. during my pregnancy with Sam. (My due date was March 25 and I was excited to be at the point of going in once a week!) At that appt. I saw a midwife I hadn't met before, and she was a bit concerned because I was measuring small for my due date, so she ordered an ultrasound to check that my dates were on track. I had had a morning appt. and the ultrasound wasn't scheduled till afternoon, so we had a little time to kill, and went shopping, and probably out for lunch, though I don't remember for sure. I do know that after much deliberation, we bit the bullet and went to Best Buy, where we splurged on a digital camera! Anyway, I went back for the ultrasound, everything was fine, and we got a nice profile picture of the baby. We went home, where we ate a quick supper, and then I picked up my mom and headed over to my sister-in-law's house, where I THOUGHT we were going for a Tupperware party. Turned out that I was the only one who got a Tupperware invitation (yes, my SIL was VERY sneaky!!), and everyone else got invited to a surprise baby shower for me! The house was filled with friends from church, as well as relatives. It was such a fun and exciting evening and a very special time. We were blessed with so many lovely gifts, I was overwhelmed. Late that week, Weds. and Thurs. to be exact, the nesting urge kicked in big-time. I washed little sleepers and onesies, we set up the crib, and I cleaned the kitchen like a madwoman and cooked a chicken dinner on Thurs. night. Woke up Friday morning at 6, when my water broke. :) And of course you know the rest of the story! Were we ever glad that we had bought the dig. camera on Monday, since we had a very good reason to use it on Friday!!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Do you have any "nesting" stories? When did the nesting urge hit you (or did it)?