35/35

The Belly! Oy, is it getting bigger! We had a doctor appointment this past Tuesday. everything is going well. I'm growing right on track. Little man is healthy and all is good. We talked about many things. Contraceptives while this little man is still an infant, how big he was at the last ultrasound, what to expect for delivery, swelling, hand tingling...ya know, all the fun stuff.

Here are a couple pictures, then we'll get back to the chatty stuff.




Since I want to exclusively breast feed, it sort of limits my options on birth control. The only 2 choices I'd really consider would be the mini pill (progesterone only) or an IUD. Well, after a good amount of reading the other night. I don't really feel comfortable with an IUD until we're fairly confident that we're done expanding our family. It seems convenient to not have to remember a pill everyday and it can stay in place for up to 5 years but the risks are a little scary. Infection, uterine perforation/implantation, ectopic pregnancy, decreased fertility...not all that comforting considering we'd like to have more children (or a child). Not to mention that it could also eliminate menstrual cycles and take up to 8 months to regulate to the point of being able to conceive. When we're ready to start trying again, I wouldn't want to wait another 8 months and possibly then some to get pregnant again. The mini pill has it's own down falls but they aren't nearly as severe. The biggest one I would see is the timing and effectiveness. It needs to be taken everyday within a 3 hour period of the previous day. Even then, it's only 87-95% effective. Since we would like our kids to be close in age, I would rather a pleasant surprise of being a little closer than planned than having issues conceiving and having them further apart. Nic seems to agree. I realize that these choices aren't uniform for every family but we feel that it'll work for us.

This past doctor appointment was the first since we had the sizing ultrasound. I was finally able to chat with the doctor about his size and what to expect. It turns out that he's measuring in the 82nd percentile for growth. At our 18 week ultrasound he was in the 60th percentile. We can see this little guy is on a steep curve. The doc doesn't seem to be worried though. He says that we don't need to worry about complications until he hits the 95th percentile. He's also guessing that we'll have a baby that weighs mid to high 8's. Definitely do-able.

Even though this dude seems to be growing well the doc seems to think that he'll still be fashionably late. I haven't had any internal exams and wont unless we suspect any issues. The tardiness is just the docs guess based on the fact that I'm a first time mom. By all means, I would like his birthday to be as far from Christmas as possible, I really like his due date and I really don't want him getting any bigger than he needs to be! I'd love to avoid a c-section at all costs. :-) Doc told me that we will talk about induction at my January 12th appointment if I make it that long. I'd officially be 40 weeks 2 days then.

All else is just normal late term pregnancy stuff. I have minor swelling if I'm on my feet for long periods of time. It goes away after a short time sitting or elevating my feet. I have hand tingling that can be pretty uncomfortable. I guess it's a form of carpal tunnel or something. Mainly it's just nerve pressure. It's mostly in my hands but at times I can feel it in my armpits and it effects my arms as well. It's such a strange sensation to have the palms of my hands numb for most of the day. It gets a little frustrating when it wakes me up but that's not often. Only a little longer. I'm trying to enjoy as much of this experience as possible. I know I'm only going to be pregnant so many times and I would like to say that it was a wonderful experience.

Today is a big milestone. It's one of the biggies leading up to labor. It's officially my 35/35! Hmm....do some of you not know what that is? It means I am finally 35 weeks along with only 35 days to go! Whew! It makes me excited and nervous all at the same time. So many things are going to change. So many things are going to be surprises. So many things to think about. So many things still yet to do. He's running out of room and his movements have changed yet again. He doesn't kick me anymore. There aren't sudden pops and pokes. He stretches, rolls and moves. I can tell the difference between a butt and a foot. Knees and feet still feel pretty much the same. It's very obvious when he rolls over but I think that's because he mostly stays head down with his feet on my right. It's rare and short lived that he kicks his feet over to my left. I don't want to wish away this pregnancy because I really have enjoyed it but I'm getting to the point where I want an outside baby. :-) I know he needs to be in longer to be fully developed but I'm eager to cuddle and love on him. Just a little longer!

Another really cool thing happened this past week. Nic was able to hear his heartbeat. We've been able to hear it at every baby appointment and every ultrasound but this was different. On Tuesday the 1st, after our doctor appointment, Nic and I were snuggling on the couch. When I asked him if he could hear the heartbeat he got on his knees next to me and put his ear to my belly. At first he was listening a little high and couldn't hear it. When I told him to position himself over his back (my lower left side) he said he was able to hear it clear as a bell! He then put his head on my chest just to make sure he was hearing the baby and not my heartbeat. He said that it was very different and that mine was much slower. Then he went back to listening to his boy for a while. It's exciting to see Nic experience something in this pregnancy that I can't. For so much of it, it's been me experiencing things that he can't. As much as I would have loved to be apart of that listening experience, I'm glad he got that one all to himself. ;-)

The official updates:
How far along? 35 Weeks! 35 Days to go!
Total weight gain: 26 pounds!!! I'm doing great! I hear it's pretty common to lose a few pounds in the last week too but even if I don't and I keep gaining until the end, I'm happy. I think I've managed myself well and shouldn't have too many troubles getting the weight back off.
Maternity clothes? Yes, for some time now. I was nervous having so few at first but mix it up enough and a little goes a long way.
Sleep: Going pretty well. I still wake myself up when I need to roll over but I think it's just because it's not too easy to get this giant belly to move. Not too many potty breaks either. If I do get up before it's time to get up, it's right before Nic's alarm goes off. Figures. At least I get a little snuggle time in the AM and can groggily keep him company as he gets ready.
Best moment this week: Nic hearing the heartbeat with his ear on my belly. That was really neat!
Movement: Yup and it's changed yet again. The little guy is running out of space in there.
Gender: Boy! Without a doubt!
Labor Signs: None that I'm sure of. We're going to be skipping internal exams so I wont know if I'm dialating and effacing before the actual labor. I have been having a little bit of a crampy feeling in my lower belly (practically in my hip) but it's a constant discomfort not something that comes and goes. It doesn't usually last long. Maybe an hour or two. So far so good and little guy is staying put.
Belly Button in or out? Still pretty flat but out if anything.
What I miss: Belly sleeping, walking without getting tired, going up stairs without getting winded, emptying my bladder completely (the constant urge to pee is quite annoying!), being able to function as a normal person and sitting on the couch without rib and back pain. As soon as I get comfy, this little man desides to play footsies with my ribs which then radiates to my back. Ahh...soon I will miss being pregnant and these little nuances will feel like just that...little nuances.
What I am looking forward to: Having a cute and cuddly little man to hug and kiss!
Weekly Wisdom: I don't think it'll change. Patience, take it easy and everything will come together at the right time.
Milestones: 35/35!
Fundle height: 35cm
Mama's waist size: Going to fill this out as soon as I get my tape!

I'm looking forward to doing a belly cast. I would like to have a reminder of where this little guy came from and what mama went through during the process.

Yea for progress!!!!

I love progress. Especially when it's on a project that's been the only thought on my mind! Nic has been a working fool. He's so good to me. We've procrastinated and hesitated and dragged our feet on getting this nursery done. I know he wants to do it and get it done but it's hard to find the motivation to work on your day off. He does this stuff 5 days a week and thinks about it 24/7. I can't blame him for not wanting to put in full days on Saturday and Sunday but this Mama has been chomping at the bit to get something completed. He made me a very happy camper this weekend.

All day Saturday he worked on electrical. He was in the attic for about 90% of the day, pawing through insulation, discovering hidden junction boxes and scratching his head at the mess of wiring this house has. It was no small task to get new wiring to the nursery but he prevailed. My honey bunny did it! He had a big helping hand from my dad, Grandpa O'Brien. I would have done my best but I probably wouldn't have been as big a help as he was. They made a good team.

On Sunday, I was the assistant. With the majority of the electrical in place, it was time to put up new drywall. It sounds like the electrical part would have been easy considering there wasn't drywall up but we were putting the drywall over the plaster. It would have been a mess and very costly to tear all of the plaster out. It was much easier just to go over it. We covered the ceiling with 3/8 inch drywall and the walls with 1/4 inch. It was a little more costly to do the 1/4 inch but we had to. The original idea was to take off the baseboard, refinish it and put it back on after the drywall. When we tried to remove it, we discovered that the baseboard ran behind the floor (another 3/4 of an inch below floor level) and the wood floor was toe nailed to the base. Needless to say, it wasn't coming out without cutting it or damaging the floor in the process. It's a good thing we like it and planned on keeping it. We just refinished it in place. The 1/4 inch drywall allowed us to still have a reveal and a lip to put the decorative trim piece back on. When everything is said and done, you shouldn't even be able to notice the difference. It makes my head spin just thinking about it. We're not completely done yet. We have completed the ceiling and 2 walls. We still have 3 walls to go. Huh? A room with 5 walls. Yeah. The way the closet is bumped out, it's technically 3 with a small door wall...but I didn't count that one. It's only going to take a few scrap pieces to cover that anyway. I was hoping to have the wall board finished today but I'm still pleased with how much we accomplished. It was tough work and I'm glad Nic let me help. We'll probably finish the wall board tomorrow and he can work on taping the joints. As soon as that's done, I can get going on sketching the mural. :-D

It was a beautiful day here today too. Believe it or not, we had the windows open the entire day. It was in the 50's which is unseasonably warm for Vermont in the end of November. I'm thinking it might just stay warm enough for me to have the windows open while I paint too. :-) That would make for a happy Daddy. It's cute the way he's become so protective. Sometimes I snap back at the things that he wont let me do but he has a good rebuttal. He says, 'Do I ever tell you that you can't do something when you're not pregnant? Then just listen to me when you are. You can do anything you want after you have our son.' I guess I really can't argue with that kind of logic. He's just looking out for our best interest.

So, as predicted, here are a few shots that show what we were working on today. I didn't manage any of the electrical day since I was out running errands for a lot of it and neither Nic nor Dad were in the mood for photos. I doubt I would have been able to get a good one of him in the attic anyway. As usual, I'm not in ANY of these photos. I have to remind Nic to take a few pictures of me all the time. It's like I wasn't even there. Vacations too! Today I couldn't really blame him. He was busy. I managed to snap a few as he was doing things I couldn't help with.

Here Nic is assessing the situation over morning coffee. Notice he's still in his pj's and not quite fully awake yet. Up and at'um!

Now we're in work mode. We've been working for a little while now and we're still working on the ceiling. Notice my pencil drawings getting covered? I knew they would. That was my trail run. I'm looking forward to doing the mural. :-D I only have to wait until the mud is done!

Still working on the ceiling. He started to yell at me at this point. He just doesn't appreciate my documenting process.

Ok. Well, I still managed to get a smile out of him.

Here we're ready to move onto hanging the walls but we need to mark where the electrical boxes will be. Wouldn't you know, the very first one we try to do, we hit a stud. Duh. Great start huh?! Thankfully the rest were relatively pain free. It's not very easy going through plaster and cement board.

Another angle of the same hole. Sometimes I just can't help taking pictures of my handsome man.

Yea! Progress! Notice the headlamp. Since this room doesn't have electric at the moment, Nic needed some sort of supplemental lighting. It starts to get dark at 4 around here. Sheesh! Since this room has East and North windows, he needed some light help before 3! How's anyone supposed to get some work done?

Look at that posture! hmm...there goes more of the doodles.

This is the last wall that we got done today. We had a few more pieces to put up after this long sheet but they were smaller pieces around the door. Once we finished that, we could barely see in front of us let alone the tools we were using and spare pieces of drywall. The headlamps could only work for so long and Nics shop lights are at the job. Oh well, work with what ya got....right?

So that was our day. I'm pooped and Nic is already passed out in bed. I guess I forfeited the belly rub when I let him climb into bed without me. I need to blog earlier next time!