36 week appointment

Today was my 36 week appointment. My blood pressure was high. It was about 150/?.. Not sure what it was over. My midwife was a little worried because of the reading and also because of my swelling. She told me that usually they can do more testing there but since my appointment was later the lab was no longer open. She sent me over to the hospital (right next door) for more testing. I called Dwight and he came over. They monitored the baby's heart rate, my blood pressure, and took urine and blood samples. We sat and relaxed and the doctor came in to talk with me. My blood pressure had gone down to about 130/90 while I was sitting there relaxing for 3 hours (at least I got a comfy bed). There was no protein in my urine. He is a little worried about my blood pressure elevating. He put me on bedrest until the baby's arrival. This means no more work and he wrote me a note for work. I am happy to be able to rest but I know I will be getting restless with staying at home every day. I am supposed to send in a 24 hour urine sample tomorrow and then go back in Thursday for a non stress test on the baby. We will be 37 weeks on Saturday so we are getting really close which makes this easier. I know the baby is at a healthy weight already. I will have to get my crochet, magazines, books, ect. out to keep me busy. :o) I was hoping to know my last day of work so I could say goodbye to the children and my co-workers. This makes it hard because I can't have my 'last' day of work before baby to tell everyone goodbye... but maybe once the due date is closer I can sneak up there for lunch to see the children and my work friends. :o)

More 9 month photos

These photos are from week 36.

9 Month Photo

From left to right 5 months, 7 months, 9 months

My flowers are blooming :o)

36 Weeks.. 9 Months!!!

Our baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Our baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, our baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.)

Our baby weighs as much as a crenshaw melon.

What's New:

* Over April vacation I got so much done for our little pierogi's arrival. The car seat is installed, baby swings are put together, appointment with pediatrician is scheduled, more baby linens are washed, gift cards have been used, bottles and pacifiers are sterilized, home is cleaned. We are just about ready! The last things I want to do is finish packing my bag, buy some food and water at BJs and we should be good to go. :o) Dwight is making sure he has his cell phone on him at all times. In one week we will be full term! We are so excited to meet this little person who will forever change our lives.

* We are experiencing the best spring weather we have in years (in our opinion). This weekend will be in the 80s. Dwight is spending it golfing and I am spending it with my sister and my friend Becky who both are visiting.

* I am still sleeping well! (knock on wood).. I feel well and the worst is the swollen feet. Over vacation the swelling wasn't as bad.

* I am 9 months pregnant today!! 4 MORE WEEKS!

1 month from today :o)

1 month from today...

is the due date!!!!

We are finally getting so close... I am so excited to meet this little person and kiss him/her on the head and say hello! :o)

Baby Swing

I put the baby swing together and it looks great! This was one of the gifts from co-workers of mine. :o) I can't wait to put baby in it!

Baby's Fun Chair

Our friends Ski and Tiff gave us this wonderful chair and a bunch of books to go along with it! Tiffany is so talented! She painted it by hand :o) The baby can read and watch some tv while enjoying this special gift. We really do have some awesome friends.

35 Weeks

Our baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in the womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

The uterus now reaches up under the rib cage. If you could peek inside the womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. The ballooning uterus is crowding the other internal organs, too.

Our baby weighs much as a honeydew melon.

What's New:

* Our big birthing class is today!

* My feet are soooo swollen now.. ouch! It is honestly getting hard now...

* My work baby shower was great.

* We are finally getting some beautiful weather up in New Hampshire :o) Yay!

* I am on April vacation and plan on lots of rest and getting some baby things done too.

* 5 MORE WEEKS!!! I'M ALMOST READY NOW!!

Work Baby Shower

I had a baby shower at my work today! I got lots of nice baby things that were needed and also cute :o) Some gifts were our full size baby swing, travel swing, hand made baby blanket, spoons, bowls, sippy cups, bibs, clothes, gift cards, photo hanging blanket, babys first year book, toys, bath toys, rattles and board books. It was so nice of everyone to do this for me and I love looking at all the new things! The cake and chocolate covered strawberries were so very yumm! Here are a few photos from the shower.

34 Week Appointment

Everything went well at the 34 week appointment. The baby is head down still which is great. The heart rate was 143... we are getting close to the month of May!
I am getting very tired these days and my feet hurt and get a bit swollen...
I have April vacation coming up next week and I can't wait to relax relax relax.. and also get a few 'baby' things done.

Wonderful email from a wonderful friend :o)

The Price of Children

I have seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle-income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 amonth,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights : First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up.
You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
*retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof
* taking the training wheels off a bike
* removing a splinter
* filling a wading pool
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step
* First word
* First bra
* First date
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren! It's the best investment you'll ever make!

34 Weeks

Our baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Our baby weighs as much as a cantaloupe.

What's New:

* The midwife told me that my baby is head down at my last appointment. :o)

* If I watch my belly I can see movements happening from the outside.

* At night I have restless leg syndrome. Its common in pregnant women.

* We had our first baby class the other day and it went well. We have another next weekend.

* I'm getting slow, achy, and tired by the end of the work day.

* 6 MORE WEEKS!

Mothering

Baby Bjorn

These crocuses are in my parents yard. They are so pretty!

I went to a consignment shop today with my mom. It sold only baby items and clothing. I found a Baby Bjorn for $40 that is $130 in stores. I am so excited! It is a Baby Bjorn Sport.

Some new baby things

Here are some new pics of our baby things that we got at the shower. The first two are of the bassinet that was given by the baby's Nana. It is a cocoon bassinet that hangs. It sways when the baby moves which gives a womb-like atmosphere. Can't wait to see how it works. The mobile and waterfall soother are now in the crib. These were gifts from aunts and cousins :o) The mobile is a projection mobile that projects images up so the baby can watch. Once the baby grows you can project it on the ceiling instead. The toy shelf is filled with baby toys and rattles now.

33 Weeks - a pineapple?!

This week our baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Nowadays, it’s possible to observe a well-placed kick just by watching my belly. Although he's getting stronger, our bigger-by-the-day baby is losing space to move around, so the actual rate of movement will drop off in the last few weeks, despite that powerful drop-kick he has been working on. I will continue feeling his movements even during labor.

Our baby weighs as much as a pineapple!

What's Happenin'?

* The kicks are really getting stronger and I can see my belly 'jump' a bit sometimes.

* I have been getting sore sometimes which makes it hard to walk as fast.

* The weeks seem to be flying by right now!! I can't believe we are due next month!

* I took my rings off.. I was scared I would wake up one day and not be able to get them off.

* I am still sleeping pretty well although I get up to use the bathroom a lot on some nights.

* My feet are starting to swell a little bit at night. I had a pedicure the other day and it was heaven.

count down!

50 More Days Until the Due Date!!!

This Morning..

Whoa Belly.. almost 33 weeks.. It must be the shirt... right? haha

32 week appointment

I had my 32 week appointment this week. The baby is doing well with growing. He or she had a heartrate of 140 during the appointment. The baby has its head down already.. yay! Hopefully it will stay that way :o)
Things are looking good!