37w0d

How far along? 37w0d or 92.5% or 9.4 months pregnant. I'm also considered FULL TERM now.
Total weight gain/loss: +31 pounds

Size: Watermelon or Stalk of Swiss Chard. He's over 19 inches long and weighs about 6.33 pounds now.

Baby Development: He's gaining about an ounce a day and is practicing his outside world skills like sucking, blinking, inhaling, exhaling and gripping!

Movement: YES! Both movements and kicks happen regularly throughout the day and night. I also think he may have dropped...looking at pictures from previous weeks, he looks lower than before.

Food cravings: Nothing new lately.

Food aversions: None.

What I miss: Jimmy John's, alcohol, my jeans.

How I'm feeling: For the most part I'm feeling good, I have the normal pregnancy aches and pains...but I manage to waddle myself around :) 

Milestones/Best moment this week: I'm full term today, yay!! I had my weekly appointment today, I'm measuring right at 37 weeks and heartbeat is good at 140. I'm about 25% effaced and not much for dilation yet...so we still have a ways to go.

My blood pressure is still high, so my doctor has put me on some medication to help bring that down. I'm also doing another 24 hour collection tomorrow to make sure my protein levels haven't increased more. I go in for a BP measurement Monday morning and my test results should be in by Monday too...so stay tuned for updates then!

health update...

Just wanted to do a quick update, I heard back from my doctor on late Friday morning...my protein levels were a little high but I have no further actions for now. I just need to watch out for the typical symptoms of pre-e like severe headaches, upper abdominal pain and blurred vision...as long as I don't have them, I should be able to function as normal. I have my weekly checkup on Friday so hopefully BP is still under control...it hasn't been above 140 yet when I've been checking at home...so all good news so far. Please pray my health continues to at least maintain, so this baby boy can stay put until at least 9/30...I want to be at least 38 weeks for his development (and for completely selfish reasons, won't be forced to go back to work before Christmas)...I just take it one day at a time and thankful for each additional day we both get...

36w0d

How far along? 36w0d or 90% or 9.2 months pregnant.

Total weight gain/loss: +29 pounds...seriously, where is this weight going, it sure is not all pumpkin seed.

Size: Honeydew or Crenshaw Melon. He's over 18.5 inches long and weighs about 6 pounds now.

Baby Development: Pumpkin seed is shedding most of the downy hair that covered his body and the waxy substance (vernix caseosa) that has protected his skin during his 9 month bath in amniotic fluid. He will be considered FULL TERM at the end of this week, eeekkk!

Movement: YES! Both movements and kicks happen regularly throughout the day and night. I also think he may have dropped...looking at pictures from previous weeks, he looks lower than before.
Food cravings: Nothing new lately.

Food aversions: None.

What I miss: Jimmy John's, alcohol, my jeans.

How I'm feeling: For the most part I'm feeling good, I have the normal pregnancy aches and pains...but I manage to waddle myself around :) I also managed to pull a muscle in my butt yesterday...how in the world does one do that when their only mode of exercise is walking?!?  Somehow I managed to do that and it hurts like heck.

Milestones/Best moment this week: I had my 36 week checkup early this week (on Tuesday) since my doctor had a conference the 2nd half of the week and is out of town today. I'm measuring right on track, heart rate is 140 and baby is head down, with butt facing towards my belly button, yay! I now know what I poke everyday is his cute little behind, LOL :) But it's just how I want him, now stay put baby and listen to your mother! I also tested negative for GBS (Group B Strep), which isn't a huge deal health wise if you are positive (they just hook you up with antibiotics to avoid passing it along), but it's one less thing I'll have to worry about once I go into labor and should be able to labor at home longer (if I get that option, read on for further details...)

So this photo was from yesterday morning...I was SO incredibly desperate to wear sweaters and jeans again (plus it was 40 degrees outside when I woke up, brrr!), I pulled out my old jeans...I wore them to work, with a belly band of course...and talk about uncomfortable. I will need to invest in a cheap pair of maternity jeans to get me through the next few weeks and the weeks after he is born, since it will be a while before these fit normal again :( And I was reminded how much a loathe belly bands.

So now onto some not so good news, my blood pressure was higher than normal and what my doctor was comfortable with. They rechecked it again after my exam and Group B test...it was down but not low enough. So she had me lay on my side on the table for 15-20 minutes with the lights off, hoping that would calm me down...but no such luck. It was down to 138 but that is still borderline hypertension. So I then had to do a 24 hour urine collection, so they can test the protein levels to determine if I've contracted preeclampsia since my last checkup. I have no other symptoms of pre-e, so I'm trying to stay positive. And I've been relatively high my entire pregnancy (I've been in the 120's for as far back as I can remember) so she wasn't overly concerned yet and wasn't ordering immediate bed rest or anything...but she wanted my urine tested as a precaution and no matter the results, I will need to be monitored a lot closer, just in case I take a quick turn for the worst. I know what symptoms to watch out for and if I start to have any of them, I'm to immediately report to L&D at my hospital. She also told me, if I do end up having/getting preeclampsia, she will be inducing me at 38 weeks (assuming my health stays stable enough to make it that far).


My blood work came back very normal on Wednesday, which was good news. She was happy with those results and based on what she saw so far, had a good feeling the urine results would come back good too...but she still wanted to see the results before any sighs of relief or taking any actions. I had dropped off my "collection" that morning at the lab and was to hear back from her sometime on Thursday with the verdict. Unfortunately, she was in a conference all day and I could see the results were in (I have an online "mychart" account with my clinic) I just couldn't see them yet. My doctor has to review them first and then releases them.


As of today, I'm still waiting to hear back from my doctor for the results. I took my blood pressure last night and it was down to 127...so considering that, I'm taking no news as good news until I hear different. Just going to take it easy from now on and pray this little boy gets a few more weeks to cook!

 

happy birthday...

...to my sweet puppy Shiloh! I can't believe she is 4 years old already...I wish time would just stop flying by so darn fast!!

Here is the first pic Joe ever took of her when he first brought her home, she was about 2 months old then...and those eyes have NOT changed and they still break my heart every time (this sad stare is what I get when I'm leaving, not paying attention to her, etc):

She was such a little squirt back then, it's hard to believe my 80 pounds of muscle used to be this small:

Here she is about 4 years ago with all her brothers and sisters, she is the one on the far right. I think it's so cool that half the litter was chocolate and the other half black. Her parents were full bred American Bulldog and Chocolate Lab...Shiloh has black hair but when she lays in the sun, you can see the brown undertones in her coat.

And here she is today...pretty as ever (but I know I'm biased :). She really is a phenomenal dog and we are so incredibly lucky to have her. Even though she has her occasional outbursts of chewing or eating random things that send me into a panic...I have to remember that she is a dog and most of the time, it is usually our fault since we've either left her for too long, not taken her on a walk, etc. We just love her so much and she's brought so much to our lives, I can't imagine our house without her. I know life is going to change with kids...but I will still love this dog like crazy!

See, those eyes have not changed since she was a puppy:

We celebrated her 4th birthday tonight. I have bought her a pig toy every year for her birthday...and this year is no different, although I know this particular pig's fate will be a very quick death. It has a squeaker and she will have chewed through it and have the stuffing all over the house by the end of the night, guaranteed. She also got a cupcake toy (which also won't last long, it has a squeaker) and her favorite, a raw hide bone!

And 20 minutes later...mission kill pig is complete. Le sigh. I really shouldn't expect anything less...at least they were relatively inexpensive...

I'm sad I'm not allowed to make her a "cake" anymore...for her 1st birthday, I found a recipe online and she LOVED it. However, around that time, she also started to figure out she could jump on the kitchen counters and grab things from it...Joe believes this "cake" was the culprit to this bad behavior and won't allow me to make anything for her that has people food in it (we don't ever feed her table scraps, she is on a strict dog food only diet so she NEVER begs, which we love). I think he's full of crap and the two incidents are mutually exclusive...but I don't fight it, it's not worth it...so we celebrate without fun cakes or treats.

Happy Birthday Shiloh, I love you baby girl!

where were you...

...when the world stopped turning on that September day?

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years already since 9/11. I remember that morning, clear as day. It was a Tuesday morning, which was my "sleep-in" day that semester. I almost always had 8:00 classes but mine didn't start until 9:30 that day. My alarm went off and I headed into shower. As I was getting dressed and ready, I turned the bathroom radio on and heard the DJs talking about how a SECOND plane had crashed into the World Trade Center that morning. I very quickly finished getting ready and went to my bedroom and watched the news from my tiny 13 inch television...I started watching in horror as both buildings burned...I couldn't pull away but knew I had to leave soon or I'd be late for class. My first class was my intro finance class and thankfully our teacher let us watch the news...that is where I learned about the Pentagon and Pennsylvania site. We all sat in silence for most of those 75 minutes. My next class was my 11:00 geology class...where I had expected to be able to continue watching the coverage...yet our instructor was a complete asshat and made us go on with our lectures like nothing was going on in the world worth watching...I remembering being so mad, I almost walked out. I had to work that afternoon but we had a TV in our office, my boss Roxie and I got very little work done that afternoon...we watched and talked with everyone in the office about everything we had heard and seen so far that day.

I think it took me a few days to really comprehend what had happened and what it meant to our country...I remember the days and weeks following 9/11, how much compassion there was in the world and how Americans united together to help each other grieve and mourn the losses from that day. I saw red, white and blue every where I looked...there were colored ribbons plastered everywhere to honor those who had died...it was something I had never experienced before and was so proud to be a part of. That following March, I remember being out on Water Street at Brother's to celebrate St Patrick's Day. Suddenly, all the TV's in the bar went to the President and Bush declared that night that the war on Iraq had started...and everyone in the bar cheered and screamed...we were finally going after those responsible for 9/11.

As I watched all the memorial ceremonies and flashbacks today of what our country went through 10 years ago, it wasn't long before I was back at 1019 1/2 Barstow, where I first heard the news...it feels just like yesterday. I'm so incredibly proud to be an American and how we overcame the adversity these attacks brought our way...yet, I see the shenanigans our government is currently participating in and wish our country could be as united and strong as we were in the weeks and months that followed that tragic day...because if the politicians could pull their heads out of their asses long enough to really see what they are doing, they would see how seriously broken we've become and how we are worlds away from where we stood 10 years ago. My hope is this anniversary reminds them of what really matters and they can finally put their differences aside to move this country in the right direction. That might be a pipe dream...but I have to believe that things will get better and we can only go up from here.

35w0d

How far along? 35w0d or 87.5% or 9 months pregnant.

Total weight gain/loss: +26 pounds...seriously, where is this weight going, it sure is not all pumpkin seed, UGH! I'll just continue tell myself that my scale is broken and pray a good chunk of it will be gone shortly after he's born :o/

Size: Honeydew. He's over 18 inches long and weighs about 5.25 pounds now.

Baby Development: His kidneys are fully developed now and his liver can process some waste. Most of his basic physical development is now complete, he will spend the next few weeks just putting on weight. His hearing is also fully developed.

Movement: YES! Both movements and kicks happen regularly throughout the day and night. I think he is starting to run out of room too, I can feel him pushing out against my belly and it's starting to hurt a bit now.

Food cravings: Nothing new lately.

Food aversions: None.

What I miss: Jimmy John's, alcohol, my jeans.

How I'm feeling: For the most part I'm feeling good, I have the normal pregnancy aches and pains...but I manage to waddle myself around :)

Milestones/Best moment this week: I'm officially 9 months today! Where does the time go?!?

And just a reminder, get your vote in the baby pool, see right side of page for the link...there will be a prize for the winner!

dear...

Dear Pumpkin Seed,

Here is the first of many letters I plan to write to you...I hope you come across these someday when you are older and will know how much we love you and how you’ve changed our lives for the better...and that it started well before you even were born...

It’s hard to believe you will be here in just a few weeks...it feels like yesterday, we were finding out you existed and would be blessing our lives with your arrival this fall. This year sure has gone by way too fast!

You have been quite kind to Mommy, she really didn’t have horrible morning sickness like most mommies have. Although she did have a few rough weeks, it could have been so much worse. Your mommy has also craved pizza just about every day...but it just told us that you are definitely your mommy and daddy’s child. She also hasn’t had the heartburn and other typical symptoms other moms have and while she has felt you kick and move for weeks now, you’ve managed to stay away from her organs most of the time...and she thanks you for taking it easy on her so far!

You love to move and kick whenever Daddy talks to you...she knows you two are going to have so much fun once you get here. Your Daddy already has golf clubs ready for you and has been itching to buy you a baseball mitt and fishing pole. Mommy keeps reminding him you are a still few years away from that yet...but he can’t wait to introduce you to all these things. We hope you can enjoy them as much as Daddy does, he has big plans for you buddy! But if you don’t, that’s okay too...Daddy likes many different things and you’ll find something you both love to do together.

We think you might be a football player someday...Daddy has asked you a few times now what sport you want to play when you get older...you react some to baseball, nothing for basketball but you go nuts whenever he says football. You’ll soon find out that football is a big deal in our house...Mommy is a diehard Packer fan, while your Daddy loves their biggest rival, the Vikings. We will try not to make you pick sides...but she's really hoping you bleed green and gold like your Mom! We need more Packer Backers in MN!

You also have a puppy dog that is anxious to meet you. She likes to sniff around your nursery and pull your clothes off the dresser...although she hasn’t quite figured out what all the new stuff is for yet. We know she is going to love you to pieces and protect you. She loves to give kisses and cuddle, so please be gentle with her and try not to pull her tail too much...she will be so patient and loving with you...and we know you two will be the best of friends.

Mommy is sorry she's indulged in diet cokes or made Daddy give raspberries on her tummy while you were fast asleep...Mommy just needed reassurance everything was okay in there. And it never took long after hearing Daddy to get you moving. And she apologizes for not eating as well as she should have while you were growing in her tummy. Mommy did try to eat more vegetables but she just plain despises them and hopes somehow you will still love them when you start eating solid food, they are so good for you!

We have such big hopes and dreams for you buddy. We may not always be able to provide you with everything you want...but we can promise you that you’ll never go without...you will always have a roof over your head, food on the table, and more hugs and kisses than you’ll know what to do with...please know your Mommy and Daddy will move heaven and earth to make sure you have everything you need.

We are very busy now, getting all the last minute things ready for you and we can’t wait to meet you in just a few short weeks! We love you Punkin!

Love, Mommy

 

34w0d

How far along? 34w0d or 85% or 8.75 months pregnant.

Total weight gain/loss: +24 pounds...and I'm guessing I gained 10 more pounds at the state fair yesterday, LOL.

Size: Cantaloupe or Honeydew. He's nearly 18 inches long and weighs about 4.75 pounds now.

Baby Development: His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. He continues to gain fat layers and filling out his tiny little body.

Movement: YES! Both movements and kicks happen regularly throughout the day and night. I think he is starting to run out of room too, I can feel him pushing out against my belly and it's starting to hurt a bit now.

Food cravings: Nothing new lately.

Food aversions: None.

What I miss: Jimmy John's, alcohol, my jeans.

How I'm feeling: For the most part I'm feeling good, I have the normal pregnancy aches and pains...but I manage to waddle myself around :) Swelling is back under control but my feet/ankles are puffy by the end of the day (which my doctor says is completely normal) and my fingers look puffy too...hopefully they go down a bit once it cools down next month.

Milestones/Best moment this week: Hearing his heartbeat and knowing I'm still measuring on track. Although I kinda dread the bi-weekly appointments because of the stepping on the scale...hearing his little heart and knowing everything is still progressing makes it worth it :)

We had a VERY long Friday and the reason this post is a day late. We got up early and headed to the state fair...we had a lot of fun and hit all our usual food and vendor stands. We had cheese curds, pronto pups, caramel corn (that was gross and ended up throwing away), sweet martha's cookies and french fries. We shared most of these and Joe tried a breakfast lollipop, which was sausage deep fried in pancake batter and dipped in syrup. It was really good, we will definitely add this to our usual routine next year. We also stopped by the Star Tribune stand and they were handing out ketchup and mustard chap sticks...I guess they really taste like it too, YUCK! I will take their word for it...I won't be trying it!

After we got home, I noticed some unusual changes with me and thought I might be leaking amniotic fluid. After a few hours of stewing and using Dr Google (always a blessing and a curse!)...I finally freaked myself out enough that I called the hospital and talked to a L&D nurse. She told me the only way to know for sure was to come in and they would test to find out....so at 8:30 on a Friday night, we headed to our hospital. I think that was the longest 20 minutes of my life...we both didn't know what to expect and both kept thinking "we aren't ready to be parents yet"...and "this can't be happening yet." I wasn't having contractions but I also didn't know what they would do if I was indeed leaking amniotic fluid.

They hooked me up to the ultrasound machine, where they measured for contractions and the baby's heartbeat. We had to wait a while for the nurse to come in, she was busy with another patient but once she came in, she administered the test. After about 10 minutes, the results were in and I was NOT leaking amniotic fluid, thank goodness! However, before I could be released, I needed to be on the ultrasound machine for 20 more minutes and I had to have my doctor's approval. Well, my doctor is out of town this weekend but the nurse didn't read far enough in the notes to see that...so after trying to page her twice, she then went to paging her backup doctor. Finally, they got ahold of that doctor and he wanted me to give a urine sample to check for a UTI (another issue I had yesterday was I was in the bathroom every 10-15 minutes and never felt empty). So we waited again for those results to come back from the lab...once they were in, they had to get ahold of the doctor again before they would release me. The results were negative for a UTI as well and finally at 11:30, we were walking out the front door. It was a long 2.5 hours but I'm glad I went in...it's better to be safe than sorry...and with Joe out of town this weekend, I didn't want risk something bad happening while I was by myself. At least there was a positive of the night, we listened to our sweet baby boy's heart for almost the entire time we were there...and it was all over the place, ranging from 125-173...it was crazy to feel him move or kick and then see his heartbeat rise.

We also realized how unprepared we are and how fast time is going...so the car seat will be installed and the hospital bags will be finished this weekend, except for the last minute items we'll need to pack like changes of clothes, computer, my glasses or contacts, etc. It was an awful feeling...having nothing that we needed with us, especially since we didn't know if we'd be rushed into delivery or not. I guess it was a good practice round and hopefully the next trip we make will be the real deal! At least we'll be more prepared next time.

Then as we were driving home on 610, all of a sudden, we had a cop car chasing us with his lights and sirens on...seriously?!? After the last 2.5 hours in a hospital, this was the last thing we wanted to deal with...what else could go wrong. I was already stressing about what this hospital visit was going to cost us...and then to top it of with a ticket?!? UGH! And to make it worse, Joe's old speeding ticket is finally dropping off in January too, so I was hoping for a drop in our rates. So the officer came to the window, took Joe's license and insurance card, then told us he was pulling us over for not using a turn signal. WTF, are you kidding me?!? He went and checked Joe's record, then came back and luckily just gave us a warning. After we pulled away, I told Joe I bet we got pulled over because he was looking for DWI's. It is a holiday weekend and they always bump up patrols...so when he didn't use his blinker one time, it gave him enough reason to pull us over. 

So we walked in the front door well after midnight....to find Shiloh had eaten the zucchini bread wrapped in foil that was on the counter. I was concerned about the amount of tin foil she had consumed, so we called the ER vet, thinking we would be making another hospital visit in the same night. The vet Joe talked to wasn't concerned enough to bring her in, due to her size and amount she ate (had it been a entire roll, it would have been a different story) and thought it should pass through ok...but I need to watch her carefully this weekend and make sure it passes (can't wait to inspect that, ugh!), otherwise we will need to go in.

And then Joe was out the door this morning by 7am...it was a very LONG night but thankfully everyone is healthy and no major problems to be concerned with as of yet (assuming Shiloh passes everything)...just a stressful evening and not the way I wanted to start my 4 day holiday weekend.

This morning I had some serious cuddle time on the couch with my sweet girl...something I know I won't get much of anymore once pumpkin seed arrives but every 15-20 minutes or so, she would sit up and look out the window for her Dad...it was pretty darn cute!

baby pool...

Well friends, it's getting to be about that time...I'm entering the home stretch now, just 6 short weeks away! So why not have some fun and get a baby pool going...I'll come up with some sort of prize for the winner too (personalized to whoever wins), so make sure to include your name/email with your guess :) One entry per person!

To enter, click here:

Baby Peterson Pool

Good luck everyone!