Week 37 -- I'M FULL TERM!!!

My due date is still three weeks from today, but today I am "full term." That means if Bagel comes today, his lungs should be fully mature and he'll be able to adjust to being an outside baby with no issues. So, I'd better be ready for this kid.

I usually would wait to post until Wednesday, since I have doctor's appointment then, so I could update you. But I really just want to brag about all the stuff I've gotten done this weekend in anticipation of Bagel making his grand entrance. I might update later in the week with the doctor stuff.

All the stuff we need immediately for baby? Check! I went out this weekend and used my completion coupons and other coupons and went a little bit nuts. We've got sheets. We've got diapers and wipes. We've got burb cloths. We've got the changing pad and covers. We've got the pack 'n play. Wanna see?

I put it together myself! I figure Bagel and I will be kickin' it in the living room a lot when I'm on my maternity leave, since that's where I like to hang when I'm home. So I set it up there so I could use the changing table and maybe the bassinet if he'll just nap there. We now officially have no room for more baby stuff in the living room.

Nursery? Check. I put up the wall decals that we ordered. See?

HOW CUTE ARE THOSE? I also put together the bookshelf and loaded it up. We now officially also have no room for more baby stuff in his nursery. This could prove to be a problem. It's a little cramped in there. Let's just call it "cozy," shall we?

I've organized all his clothes and put them away. I've started packing the hospital bag (I really need to finish that). I'm working on finishing the border of his baby blanket. As I type, I'm making sure both cameras (reg and video) are charged up and ready to go. I've weeded the patio and cleaned up stray fall leaves. I've put things in the attic. I'm a prepping machine. So, kid? If you decide to come early, don't even think that you've got the drop on me. You don't. I. Am. Ready. For. You.

Well. I've got all the stuff for you, anyway. Whether I'm ready to go through labor and then bring a child home and be expected to actually care for it as its parent is another question entirely. Let's talk about that later, shall we?

How am I this week? I'm great. I just went for a long walk with a friend, so I'm still moving around with no problems. Aside from feeling like my belly skin is stretched to max capacity, I'm really feeling pretty good. Bagel is kicking around in there like a champ, and I'm really going to miss that once I serve him with his eviction papers. Plus, I love the hands-free carrying system that pregnancy entails.

Bagel's doing really well too, so far as I can tell. This week he is...drum roll please...a watermelon! His final fruit comparison! I'm so proud. And I love watermelon. I'll sprinkle a little salt on him when he comes out, since that's how Rob likes his watermelon. I also found a site that says he's about the length of a stalk of Swiss chard. Yum! I'm guessing that he's really packing on some poundage (on average, about half a pound a week), because I have finally started feeling really hungry. A lot. I wish it was manifesting itself in healthier meals, but I'm doing my best. Also, this week, he can now grasp with his fingers as his dexterity improves. N'awww!

I've been pretty stingy with the pictures lately, so you want one? Ok, here:

That was actually last week -- 36 weeks exactly -- on my birthday. Rob snapped a pic right before we went out for a lovely dinner.

Not enough for you? Fine, how about some video? That's right. VIDEO. We've been trying to get Bagel on camera doing his dance in my belly. He seems to be pretty camera shy, but we finally caught a bit of the action the other night. You can see his foot move down and to the left.

WARNING: this video contains the image of my huge, bare belly (don't worry, nothing else is bare). If you think this might cause you to want to gouge your eyes out, do not press play:

Week 36 -- Trying to Cram Everything In

While I would love it if Bagel was like his Mama and very punctual, even, say, a couple days early, I'm starting to worry that he'll come way too early for me to get everything done! There's still so much to do to ready the house for this little guy. I now have a ton of clothes (thanks Kate!), but I still need to put them away. We've ordered wall decorations for the nursery, but have yet to put them up (how cute is this and this?). And I just bought a little bookshelf at Target, but have yet to put it together. So everything is a mess and very in transition.

But I'm trying to just take it one step at a time and get things squared away. A few days ago, I spent a few hours cleaning and organizing the linen closet between our bedroom and the nursery. It looks awesome. And it fit the baby bath stuff too. And Grandpa will be happy to hear that the toxic stuff is all on high up shelves now (even though it will be months before this kid can even roll over, let alone get into the closet). I may have to snap a picture for you guys later.

I know what you're thinking. Why is she whining about putting away clothes when we were promised amazing stories about her first internal exam at the doctor's this week? Oh, fine. It wasn't really all that exciting. They took swabs of things and tested for whatnot like they did at the beginning of the pregnancy. They also took more blood to check out my platelets, so we'll see how I'm doing on that front when I go back next week (I'm doing weekly appointments now!). I'm not dilated at all and the doc says Bagel has already started to descend into my pelvis, which is great. Looks like he's in a good position. His back is on my left side now, with his little hip jutting out to the left of my belly button and his little feet pedaling away on my right side (as several of you have now felt). Rob even felt his head last night, which was cool. I believe the doc described the situation as "perfectly normal" or something to that effect. Good job, Bagel!

I then went into the doctor's office and he went into mini lecture about what all to expect in terms of when to call, when to come in to the hospital, how long they let things progress before talking c-section, etc. Two good things stuck in my mind. One is that they don't do routine episiotomies. I do not want one of those. The second is that this doctor (who isn't my regular doctor, she was on vacation this week) is so supremely boring that I may not need an epidural because he can just talk to me and I might fall asleep.

I told the doc that I had started the Evening Primrose Oil as directed by the midwife. I also started drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, which is supposed to strengthen my uterus, and which the midwife said was not discouraged by the practice. The doctor said he didn't necessarily believe that either actually was beneficial, but that they wouldn't hurt and to go ahead and take them if I wanted. So I'm going to keep taking them and see what that gets me. I also told the doc that my acid reflux was getting really unbearable, so he said to go ahead and take some Zantac. So far, I am loving it.

Before I left, the doctor gave me a handout titled "Procedure Education Literature," which was sort of a summary of the spiel he had given. At the top it says "Vaginal Delivery" and under that it says, "Definition -- Vaginal = pertaining to the vagina; Delivery = to send." o_O

Clearly this is a handout for beginners who didn't take the super special intensive childbirth class.

This is Bagel's last week as a Honeydew and his last week before we're full term! He weighs about 6 pounds now (this is a very rough estimate), and he's growing rounder every day. About 15% of his total weight is now made up of fat. All his organs are developed and ready, though his lungs are still going through some fine-tuning. His bones are still quite soft so that he can fit through that doorway out into the world. They'll harden over the first few years of his life. His growth will now slow down so that he can store up his energy for the craziness that is being born.

Update: Here's a picture of the linen closet all organized. Jealous? I know you are.

Week 35 -- Happy 35/35!!!

Today I am 35 weeks pregnant and I have only 35 days until our due date! It seems to be both an interminable period and like it will just fly by. We still have so much to do.

Well, we got one thing out of the way this weekend, and that was our childbirth class. Yes, the instructor actually showed up this time. Though not without informing us that she was actually the director of the program and our usual instructor was now no longer with the program. Hmm....I wonder why? The class is a one day intensive class that's 9 hours long with some breaks. For the most part, Rob and I found it pretty informative, if unnecessarily long. The regular classes are about six weeks long for three hours each. We never would have made it through that. Of course, most of the information, I was already aware of, due to my reading up on all this stuff. And neither of us process information well by having someone just talk at us. We both like to read. So Rob read through all the hand outs and booklets that we were given at the class, and he felt pretty set from those. The most helpful part was probably the hospital tour. We found out where we come in and when and got a look at the rooms (though I had already seen one of the labor and delivery rooms). Of course, the best part of the class is that it was free, because of the debacle two weeks ago.

I have to give a shout out to the woman sitting next to me during the class, who wins the award for the stupidest question asked in 9 hours. She asked whether, when you have a c-section, they remove your organs and your intestines and then put them back in after they remove the baby. That was quite entertaining. I now have a visual of the doc pulling your intestines out hand over hand like a clown pulling handkerchiefs out of his mouth.

After all the shower excitement, I felt like Bagel and I were getting so spoiled, but we were even more spoiled this past week. My coworkers surprised me with a mini shower when we were down in Richmond for our hearing! Bagel got his tummy time mat (Monkey Island!) and a gift card and a really cute and snuggly outfit. It was so nice of them to do that. Despite the fact that there isn't a whole lot going on in Richmond, Bagel and I had a nice time down there. We ate lots of fried green tomatoes and even had some fried okra to almost rival Mimi's. While Bagel isn't keen on vegetables, he seems to enjoy the fried part quite a bit. :)

This week, Bagel is continuing to fatten up like Hansel and Gretel. His body has gone from 2% fat at about mid-pregnancy to more like 15% fat. Can't wait to cuddle that chub. We learned at the childbirth class that one reason I am continuing to fatten up as well is to grow some fat stores to get me through labor, since the lame doctors won't let me eat. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not do well with not eating. So I'll try to pack on some poundage to get me and Bagel through the horrific time when I can't eat anything. Bagel is still rocking the honeydew size. He's about 5.5 pounds this week (allegedly). He is still quite active, and I can feel his little feet pushing out quite a bit on my right side.

Next week will be quite exciting. I'll have my first internal exam at the doctor's, and then I start weekly appointments.

I know you guys feel so spoiled as well with all the pictures I posted from the shower, but I'm feeling just so generous. Here are some belly shots that Aunt Julie took at the shower. So these are 33 (almost 34 week) shots.

Here is Bagel with a few bites of his namesake:



And here, I'm showing Bagel how much I love him:

Week 34.2 -- Shower Time!

As promised, here are some pics from the shower last weekend:


Mmmmm....cake love. It was delicious! We had a fantastic spread:


There was lots of family in attendance:






And good friends:




We played the toilet paper game, where they tried to guess how rotund I've gotten:


Lynn won!


We also played a game where everyone brought a children's book and I had to guess who brought which book. It was so hard!


We also decorated some adorable onesies for the Bagel. Well, other people decorated adorable onesies. Mine were terrible. Thankfully, there are no pictures of those.






And everyone brought wonderful gifts for Bagel.






I know that last pic was blurry. But it's a good belly shot. I'd love to say that Bagel loved all the attention, but he slept through most of it. Stinker.

Week 34 -- Bagel is Showered With Love

At our baby shower! We had such an exciting and exhausting week/weekend. Grandma and Grandpa were here for a visit, which was all kinds of fun, and now they're off jaunting around Italy. Such a rough life.

Saturday was the baby shower, and it was fantastic. Thanks to Grandma and Aunt Julie for a fun and delicious shower. We had great food, fun games, and lots of time spent with family and friends. Everyone got to guess how fat I am now, and everyone brought a book for Bagel and I had to guess who brought which book. I was terrible at that game. But now we have some great books. We also decorated onsies. You can tell which ones I made, because they're awful. You can tell which ones Julie and Kate made, because they're awesome. Bagel got some wonderful gifts, including several adorable outfits, a car seat, snuggly blankets, and a hand knitted hat, kimono, and blanket from Auntie Laura, which are beautiful.

I know you're all scrolling down, looking for the pictures. They're coming! I'll update with pics later when I get them from Jules. She chronicled the day with her fancy camera and even took some cool belly shots of me. I'll put them in a separate post, even. :)

I also had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Well, it was supposed to be a doctor's appointment, but my doc was stuck in the OR, and my appointment was with the nurse/midwife in the practice instead. I had never met with her before. She. Is. AWESOME. She just spent way more time with me than a doctor ever would. We took a listen to Bagel's heartbeat, and she stayed on it for a good long while, because she could tell I was enjoying it. He was thump thumping along at 141 bpm. She also took the time to point out where all his little parts were in there. She showed me where his head was (still down!), and his little tush, and his kicky feet. Then we went in her office to discuss my questions and whatnot.

Apparently, in August, my platelets were 138K. The midwife said that's ok, and they'll test again next appointment, since they'll be taking blood then anyway. My next appointment is in two weeks, and it's going to be a biggie. That's when they start doing internal exams to check how things are progressing and when he might come out (even though it doesn't really tell you when he's ready to come out -- he'll get here when he gets here). They'll test me for a bunch of stuff too. The midwife suggested that, at 36 weeks, I start taking Evening Primrose Oil. It's supposed to soften things up for the baby to come out. She said it shortens labor. Bring it on! After that appointment, I'll be seeing the doctor weekly. I've already set up all my appointments through November 4th (in case Bagel decides to show up late to the party). I can't believe it's all flying by this quickly!

This week, Bagel is still rocking the honeydew, which we enjoyed at the shower. He's also about the size of a 5 lb bag of flour. So we could make bagels out of Bagel. But please don't.

He might be so big now that he's taking up all the available space in there and can't just float around. He might even be all tucked up. I don't think he is though, because I can feel his little feet all stretching out into my ribs (fun!). This week, his adrenal glands are producing hormones and his skin is becoming less red and wrinkly as he fattens up. Also, his testicles are probably descending this week. What a milestone! I'm still waiting on mine.

Week 33 -- Silbley FAIL...and WIN!

I was looking forward to logging on yesterday and blogging about our super special one day intensive labor and childbirth class at the hospital where Bagel will come into the world. On Sunday, Rob and I got up super early for our 9 am class because the national triathalon was that day and totally blocking all the roads to the hospital (AWESOME). We got there at about 10 minutes before class started and were the only ones there. Couples started to trickle in. And trickle in. And wait around. And get restless. And wonder where the hell the instructor was. And complain to hospital personnel.

About half the men felt they needed to "do something." So they all went and moved their cars to find street parking so they wouldn't have to pay so much for Sibley's expensive lot.

After an hour, a woman finally came in, apologized profusely, and told us that the class was canceled. They just could not get a hold of our instructor. No one had any idea where she was or why she wasn't in contact. She said we could take any other class and they would schedule us in whether the class was full or not (they offer this class every weekend). So we left feeling not so confident in the hospital where our precious Bagel is entering this world. But Rob was happy that he got to watch Week 1 of football.

The head of the program called me yesterday, rescheduled me to the date I wanted (the 26th), and said they were refunding the entire class price! Confidence restored! Now we get a free class and it won't interfere with football. So it all works out in the end.

My stress level seems to be ratcheting up with each day closer to my due date. I just feel like there's so much left to do before he gets here. I'm starting to resent having to go to work every day because I just want to be home cleaning, organizing, and putting together furniture. It's making me realize that our daycare option in my building at work was a good call. I certainly wouldn't want to be feeling resentful like this for the next few years, wishing I were home with the baby instead of working. This way, Bagel will be just down the hall. At least until preschool.

Despite the stress, I've got so much to look forward to, in addition to our childbirth class. Grandma and Grandpa are currently winging their way across our great nation and will be here this evening for a visit. Hopefully, they will get to see some belly dancing from Bagel while they're here. We've also got my shower this Saturday! I can't wait to celebrate Bagel with friends and family and feed him some cake. He'll love that!

Bagel's no longer a squash! I am now officially in Month 8 and he is a honeydew. Yum! He's between 17 and 19 inches and more than four and a half pounds. If he's been a shortie until now, he could actually grow a full inch or more this week alone. Gadzooks! My amniotic fluid has reached its max amount this week, so I now have more baby than fluid now. That means that it's a lot easier to feel all his moving about (which he's doing right now). He now opens his eyes when he's awake and closes them when he's sleeping, and he can tell night and day. This is because my belly is stretched like crazy, so he can see all the light shining in through the skin. He definitely has his sleepy and awake times. He's generally up and kicking when I'm on the metro on my way to work. And sometime between 2 and 4 am, he likes to spaz out and practice field goal kicks. I think he's already worked his way up to a 50 yarder. The best thing this week is that he's developed his own immune system to protect him from mild infections.

Week 32 -- The Best Nest

I am in serious nesting mode. I know it's something that's supposed to set in just prior to when you give birth, but I think I'm a prodigy. I've been going nuts with the house cleaning and organizing. It's not big things like mopping floors and scrubbing toilets. I keep noticing these tiny little things around the house that bug me and I just have to fix. NOW. Like scrubbing the walls for fingerprints. And getting down the paint from the attic and touching up corners and baseboards with it. It got to the point that I saw a woman walking a snow white dog the other day and I got very anxious wondering how she kept him clean. Stop the madness!

We've put up curtains in Bagel's room now. They're navy, which butches up the purple walls rather nicely. See?

Ok, that's a terrible picture. It's too sunny in there and no flash on the iPhone. Here's a linky.

I had a breastfeeding class at the hospital last night. I learned a lot and, most importantly, learned about the breastfeeding resources at Sibley like the lactation consultants and the cart that comes around and they can fit you for nursing bras. Now, if they can work a dessert cart into the rotation along with that, then I'm all set. Sadly, Rob couldn't make it as he's in La La land doing a deposition. But he'll be back in time for our intensive full day childbirth and childcare class this Sunday. Let's hope the cafeteria is actually open this time. That's right. I was in a 7 pm class full of pregnant chicks and the cafeteria was closed. Nice planning, Sibley.

Bagel is (air quotes) definitely head down! I had a doctor's appointment today with the other doctor who might deliver Bagel, and he said the little guy has made his way into a good position there. Much more helpful than his mother in that respect. I've thought for a few weeks now that he was head down, because when he gets the hiccups, I can feel it very low down. He has, however, flipped over from my left to my right side. So maybe what I thought was a knee the other day was actually his little hip. Of course, it's possible that all of this is wrong and despite the doctor saying he's head down, he's not head down, as certain people can attest to from past experience. Shout out to Jeremy, who surprised the L&D medical staff by attempting to come out tush first.

The appointment today was relatively boring. The doc muttered something about my platelets being fine and I think I heard him say 136, so I guess they haven't changed since last time really. He didn't take more blood this time. He said it would be normal if I was having 6-8 Braxton Hicks contractions a day at this point, though when I said I hadn't felt any, he said that was normal too. Though I have felt some intense pressure a few times, I thought that was just Bagel pressing somewhere uncomfy. Who knows.

What else is normal this week? Bagel should be about 4 pounds and about 19 inches long. Though at least one of you thinks he'll be shorter than that. He's just kinda doing more of the same at this point. Putting on some blubber and practicing his kicking, sucking and swallowing. This is our last week as a squash. Next week, we get to move up to honeydew. Much better!

Phew, this has been a long post. To reward you all for your patience, here's a belly shot: