34 Weeks

I just read my 34 Week post from when I was pregnant with Logan and had to smile... that week was when I received my job offer for the company I'm still working for.  I still can't believe how that all happened but am so thankful that God blessed me with a great job, even when I was 8.5 months pregnant :).  Some interesting things have been happening at work this week, some that I won't go into detail about but I will talk about my benefits briefly.  When we completed our open enrollment for insurance last year, I could swear I elected to receive short term disability coverage, just on the small chance that I would get pregnant ;).  This week I started getting my paperwork together to file for it and was told that I'm not currently covered.  Oh, the thoughts that ran through my head ;).  And what makes it even more difficult is that the HR Manager resigned his position and moved out of state a couple weeks ago.  The interim HR Manager has been trying to help me but can't find my original signed copy of benefit elections anywhere (what are the chances?).  So, I've been trying not to stress about what's going to happen when the baby gets here.  I'm just praying that something will work out so that we don't have to rely solely on Jason's salary.  Everything will be fine, though...

I had my 34 week checkup this afternoon and it went fairly well.  I told the doctor about my slip last weekend, which is still causing me a LOT of pain and he sympathized but said it's going to hurt because of where the muscle/ligament strain is and where the baby is positioned.  I imagine it will take a while to heal so I'm just trying to manage as best I can.  The doctor seemed completely unaware that I was sent to Labor & Delivery on Monday so I had to explain things to him, including the part about the nurse saying the baby was either breech or transverse (sideways).  He decided to do an impromptu ultrasound (with the same prehistoric u/s machine he used to confirm my pregnancy).  He said the baby is head-down but slightly transverse, so kinda diagonal, I guess?  He's not concerned about it at this point but wants to check again at my next appointment too.

The doctor read over my birth plan and said everything looks fine, yay!  I've read a few articles/blogs this week that have touched on birth plans and they seem to be very anti-BP, which is fine but I just want to comment quickly on that.  I know that labor and delivery can be a very unpredictable experience and many different things can happen, however.... that's why I titled mine "birth preferences".  It's a plan but as I experienced with Logan, it can change very quickly.  There are some things that I'm pretty adamant about (skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, delayed cord clamping, etc.) and I have good reason to want those things.  For example, when Logan was born, I got to see him briefly but then he was whisked away to the NICU and I was taken to my room.  I wasn't able to get out of bed for 12 hours, which meant I couldn't see him, hold him, feed him, talk to him for 12 hours.  It was a very difficult day for me filled with a lot of longing, guilt, anger, etc.  If I can avoid that from happening again, I will make every effort to, including drafting up an 'annoying' birth plan ;).  I'm not knocking anyone who chooses not to have one... that's fine and dandy, but I want to have one in place.  If anything, it will be something that Jason and I can look at throughout the labor & delivery process to help keep me focused.  That's my little spiel ;).

My blood pressure is still 120/80 (normal) but I have gained a total of 27 lbs, ack!  I'm guessing the fact that I haven't been able to walk this week has played a part in that gain but the doctor didn't seem concerned about it. 

I started getting a sore throat last night and it has been even worse today along with some ear pain and pressure.  I had the doctor check it for an ear infection but he said it isn't infected at this point.  I'm taking some Sudafed to clear up the small amount of fluid that was in my ear and hoping the pain will go away quickly.

Ok, here is the weekly summary:

Contractions: Haven't really noticed any this week.
Cravings: Nothing this week.
Weight:  My total is up to 27 lbs
Swelling:  The swelling is back with a vengeance.  I'll blame it on the 70+ degree weather that returned this week ;).
Things to do: Still need to buy furniture and other items from my registry (Target), pre-make meals, pack the hospital bag, pack a small bag for Logan, reinstall the infant car seat, etc....
Heartburn:  It is under control but only because of my friend Zantac.
Stretching: Stretching and more stretching.  I take it as a sign that she's growing :).

Baby's current size is about 18" long and 5.5 lbs, whew!  Only 6-ish weeks to go :).

34 Weeks

Once again, I'm posting late, so I apologize but a lot has happened in the past week!  First of all, I got a job offer!  Jason and I were both pretty surprised that they called me.  I had an interview with this company a couple of weeks ago and I never expected to hear back from them just from the fact that I'm 8.5 months pregnant :P.  The HR manager called me on Tuesday morning with a verbal offer and I accepted :).  I went in on Friday morning to fill out some employment paperwork and assuming everything goes through ok, I should be starting either this Friday or next Monday.  I had to take a drug test and physical this Tuesday and those were the last steps of my pre-employment screening.  I'm hoping I will get the "ok" from the company soon so that I can formally announce the company and position :).

Jason and I went on a little "babymoon" trip to Savannah over the weekend.  We left around lunchtime on Friday and got there just in time for dinner.  We didn't have any set plans for the weekend, which was nice :).  We basically did whatever we wanted to.  This mostly involved walking within about a half mile radius of our hotel, visiting a lot of little shops, and eating a lot of good food :).  I got tired pretty fast most of the time, but Jason was great about walking suuuper slooooow for me.  I think we both had a really good time.  My favorite part was just spending time with Jason, since when we're at home we're usually busy with work or doing stuff around the house and rarely just sit down together.  We drove back on Sunday afternoon and have been playing catch-up ever since.

Our main priority is getting the nursery set up right now.  I ordered some replacement parts for our crib and they should be here in a day or two.  Once we get those, we (ha... I say "we", but I know it will be Jason) will put it together.  I bought a crib mattress on Monday, so now Logan will have a place to sleep, yay!  We just need a dresser and glider/rocker and the nursery should be set :).

I packed Logan's hospital bag last week for our trip, so if you'd like I can do a post on the items that are in it.  I might switch a few things out after my baby shower this weekend, but everything should be pretty much the same.

I got my teeth cleaned on Monday morning and the hygenist said that I have a mild case of "pregnant gingivitis", which is pretty common at this stage in pregnancy.  My gums have been bleeding a little and are more sensitive than usual, but she said it should go away soon after Logan is born.  I had my 34 week prenatal checkup on Monday afternoon with a midwife that I hadn't met yet and it went pretty well.  She tried listening to Logan's heartbeat, but as usual, he was difficult and was moving around the whole time.  He even kicked the doppler, which she laughed about.  She said it's a great thing that he's so active.  The only not-so-good thing about that appointment is that my blood pressure was a little high.  I don't think it's necessarily preeclampsia, because there are a few symptoms that I don't have, but she was a little concerned.  I have an ultrasound tomorrow (Thursday) and she said if my blood pressure is still elevated then I need to come back and see her again next week.  I'm praying that it will go back to normal, because I don't want any complications!  I definitely don't want something to happen that will require a c-section.

I keep telling people that Logan has been all knees and elbows lately.  He's definitely getting bigger and it feels like there's a big baby inside of me, imagine that :).  Whenever he moves, I have a pretty good idea of which body part I'm feeling... usually it's a foot, knee, or his butt, but every once in a while I'll feel his hands and elbows.  I think I felt his head last night too.  I think he might be starting to "drop" a little bit, which I'm looking forward to.  I assume that's why my pelvis has been hurting more lately.  I do seem to have a tiny bit more breathing room, though, which is nice.

I've been getting a lot of looks from strangers lately.  Yesterday, a woman at the post office saw my belly and said "ooh, you're almost there!"  I smiled and said, "yeah, only 5 weeks left".  She asked if I've had any problems and I said no and then she said "well you're glowing!"  Ha... it was interesting, but she was sweet :).  At least she didn't come up and start grabbing at my belly.  That would've been a bit too much :).

Anyway, here are the development details for this week:

• Your baby continues to grow and develop inside of you. Measuring about 17.5 inches long, he now weighs over 5lbs! And from this week, until 2 weeks before birth, he will continue to gain about a half pound of weight every week. Unlike the first trimester, the weight between all babies in the third trimester is much more variable. Some babies weigh more and are taller; some babies weigh less and are shorter.
• Also unlike the first trimester, by week 34 not much is changing. Your baby continues gaining weight through the development of subcutaneous fat and with that weight, is probably gaining strength in his movements. You may even be startled by a sudden jab to the ribs or be able to see a punch to your belly from the outside!

I will post a combined update for my ultrasound and 35 weeks this weekend.  I'll let you know how big my little snugglebug is... I'm so excited to see him again! :)  Thank you for your continued prayers.  If you could, please put in an extra request for my blood pressure.  I want labor and delivery to go as smooth as possible and I also don't want to be put on bedrest, especially after just accepting a job offer.  Also, keep posting your guesses in our baby pool... just click on the banner in the upper right part of the blog and it will take you there :).  Hurry, because he could be here anytime!!!