the turkey is over 12 pounds and is almost too chunky for size 1 diapers.  how is he growing so fast???  i don’t even want to blink any more because i might miss something amazing.

9 Oct 2014

he has started to really play with the toys on his play mat by himself.  he’ll amuse himself with them for about ten minutes at a time without any interaction from momma or daddy.  he’s also started worrying his hands together.

playing on my own like a big boy

several days late but within the 5 week range, nonetheless…

29 Sept 2014

we’ve been tracking weight by weighing ourselves with and without baby. today, he hit 10 lbs. our little chunky monkey is growing like a weed!

12 Sept 2014

i have adorable feets

big hands to grow into

04 Sept 2014

we had our two week checkup today and another clean bill of health. he’s growing way too fast for momma’s liking but i guess that means i’m taking good care of him.

I'm two weeks old today. I've grown 1.5 inches and gained almost a full pound since birth! I am 21 inches long and 8 lbs 7.5 oz.

as for momma: by the end of the pregnancy, i had gained fifteen pounds (compared to weight at dr visit one week prior to conceiving). we stayed two nights in the hospital after birth so by the time i got home, two days after birth, i had lost ten pounds of baby and womb. i then lost a pound a day for most of the first week, getting back to pre-pregnancy weight by day 8. i’ve finally plateaued at five pounds below pre-pregnancy weight. no, i have not been trying to lose the weight… i haven’t been exercising (ouch – although everything seems to be healing well) and i haven’t been dieting. i have been eating everything in sight because nursing takes a lot out of me (obviously). apparently, all you need to do to slim down is have a baby and breastfeed it. i love the nursing because it’s such a special bonding time but it wears me out much more than i expected. most of the time, i have a hard time keeping my eyes open through it because it just makes me so sleepy and then i’m always parched and ravenous afterward.  i also seem to be finally experiencing some of the pregnancy symptoms that i had missed out on during the actual pregnancy – after birth, i developed that dark line down my abdomen, i’ve been crazy emotional and crying over everything, and i am now craving sweets non-stop.

okay, technically only six days since i got too excited and took the pic a day early.  it still counts.  i still can’t believe he fit in that belly!

27 Aug 2014

one of his favorite things is cuddle time with his daddy.

daddy waited 9 months for this bonding time

15 Aug 2014

today was the first time I’ve been displeased with my dr.  generally, I really like him.  he’s got a great bedside manner, is very patient with questions, and was just all around wonderful with all of the fertility drama.  today, however, he took it upon himself to strip my membranes without asking first.  i would have declined such an offer.  especially since we had just had the conversation about how i have no interest whatsoever in inducing labor (unless it becomes medically necessary, of course).  i just didn’t understand what was going through his head and there was no reason for it.  I’m not even due for another week.  he seems sure that i’ll go into labor this weekend now.  i have no such confidence and, frankly, if it’s because of artificial stimulation i really hope not.  i just don’t think that’s really healthy.  and next week i will definitely make sure to state ahead of time that i do not want my membranes stripped.

anyhow, petty venting aside… today’s visit was all good.  138 heart rate, 2cm, 95% effaced, -1 station.  so no real progress other than another cm of dilation but we’re still healthy and nothing else matters to me.

8 Aug 2014

nothing much new in today’s dr visit… still 1 cm, 95% effaced, -1 station.  heart rate 137.  the nurse seemed to be less experienced with the Doppler and the fundal measurements than the other nurse that’s been taking care of us.  she had a heck of a time finding the heartbeat, whereas the other nurse goes straight to it every time.  she was way short on the fundal measurement which caused the dr to come in congratulating us on dropping… uh, nope, no dropping here.  he re-measured and declared us right where we were.  I did tell him that I’ve been having an increase in Braxton hicks contractions which he seemed excited about.  the ones that I almost can’t feel that tighten my entire belly and leave me short of breath and lightheaded are almost constant now.  it doesn’t matter how much water I drink or if I’m laying on my side or doing the elliptical, they are always there.  within the last few days, I’ve started having more menstrual crampy contractions.  the first few days they were pretty light and the last couple of days, I could definitely feel them but they’re also very sporadic.  anyhow, more wait and see.  there’s nothing really to indicate that he’s not going to hang in there until the due date and, thankfully, I’m still feeling good enough that I’m perfectly happy with that.  I’m not waddling yet, you can clearly tell the difference between my ankles and my calves, I’m still able to do an hour at a time on the elliptical… I’m doing pretty darned good for an 8.5+ months pregnant woman 🙂  the acid reflux and carpal tunnel are not fun but I never expected it to all be sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns.

1 Aug 2014

today’s dr visit was more of the same.  heart rate around 140.  fundal measurement on track.  1cm dilated; 95% effaced; -1 station.  our dr was much more non-committal about making guesses than the dr last week.  he said that he’s seen women who get to 100% and immediately start dilating and he’s seen women who walk around at 100% for weeks without further progress.  he said a lot of it depends on if the baby drops more.  if he drops down below the pelvic bone, the weight on the thinned out cervix would start dilation.  it’s all just wait and see.  his only comment on the matter was on his way out of the office when he said he’ll see us next Friday, if not sooner 🙂

pregnancy is still good.  the belly button would probably be a total outie if if weren’t for the laparoscopy scar holding the bottom half in.  still have achy thumbs but I’ve gotten used to it.  I’ve been needing more back-rubs the last few days.  the acid reflux is back with a fiery vengeance after finishing the 14 day course of Prilosec – i guess it’s only a miracle cure while you’re actually taking it.  if that’s all i have to complain about, i figure I’ve got it made.  but still, as far as the minor annoyances of pregnancy, I’d call that the biggie.  i would definitely rank it way worse than the nausea at the beginning (if i had actually been vomiting, I’m sure it would be a different story).

taken at the dr office today... calm is my mantra

25 Jul 2014

still loving being pregnant… haven’t reached that “when is this going to be over?!!” point.  i was having some wicked heartburn that wasn’t all that fun but the Prilosec stuff seems to have licked that so woohoo for that!  a couple weeks ago, my knuckles started hurting.  a little in my fingers but mostly my thumbs… owie, owie  thumbs.  it started right after our marathon of furniture building so i figured at first that it must have been from the screwdriver i was using.  since it has continued and gotten worse, I’m pretty sure it’s a late pregnancy symptom.  it’s like an arthritic feeling.  i looked online and a lot of people talked about it being a sign of swelling.  i find it odd that it’s mostly confined to my thumb knuckles.  my toes are perfectly fine (also should be noted that my ankles are still ankle-shaped, thankyouverymuch).  so anyhow, that’s been interesting and achy.  my hands have been going numb while laying down too, so that probably doesn’t help the joints.  i also decided to measure my belly tonight, just out of curiosity… i have a 38 inch waist!  good golly that’s a lot of belly!

in other news, some of our closest friends announced this week that they’re going to be grandparents.  their daughter is about 8 weeks along and just moved back home with them.  I’ve been bummed that we’re going to lose all of our friends because they won’t want to hang around with us and our crying baby but if they’re pulling grand-duty, it’ll be great.  and this is hubby’s primary training partner so I’m sure they’re going to wear these kids out.  good times on the horizon!

18 Jul 2014

last week, i mentioned to the dr how horrible the heartburn has been lately.  he advised me to go to sams and get the generic Prilosec otc and take that.  oh!  my!  goodness!  that stuff is made of pure magic!  i haven’t had a lick of heartburn all week.  it’s been fantastic.  granted, heartburn is a very small price to pay for all of the joy I’ve derived from this pregnancy but it is so nice to be able to lay day at night without feeling like puking up fire.  they don’t really tell you that the third trimester is like the first trimester on steroids… double the fatigue, double the heartburn, okay maybe not as much nausea but it’s still back.  but, i also have this absolutely amazing alien moving around like crazy in my belly.  i watch his elbows and feet jutting out at odd angles all over the place.  i laugh at him when he gets a bit ouchy trying to pull my ribs loose.  i am so awed by this itty bitty person!

11 Jul 2014

today was our last ultrasound, to find out the baby’s size. they measured him up and estimated his weight to be 4 lbs 15 oz, which is right about on target according to the books I’ve been reading. the dr guesses he’ll be right around 7 lbs at birth. as for the ultrasound, our little turkey was quite the entertainer. he had his head pressed against the wall, facing us most of the time so we never got a good still pic. the creepy alien below is the best we got today (sadly our camera that we were trying to take video with failed us). what we did learn, however, was that our boy is a licker. we watched as he kept putting his hand up to his mouth but instead of sucking his thumb/fingers, he would stick his tongue out and lick them. and then, the part that really had us laughing like crazy, he stuck his long giraffe-like tongue way out and licked the wall of the womb! it was so cute and hilarious. the tech said she’d never seen a baby do that before. I kept thinking of my younger nephew when he went through his “I’m a doggie” phase as a little one and went around licking everyone and everything he came across. yep, our boy’s going to be one of those 🙂 I could’ve sat and watched him all day. other good news was that there’s plenty of amniotic fluid, the kidneys look good, and he’s exercising his lungs really well. all signs point to healthy!

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