The 9th month

Can you believe it is here already? I'm almost 37 weeks now, well I will be on Tues the 11th. We've been attending Childbirth Preparation Class for the last 6 weeks with the last one being last night. I learned lots of relaxation techniques that I hope will be helpful when the big day comes. Man Meat was dragged to all of them against his will. The first hour and a half was usually class room type stuff. We got handouts and watched videos. We watched a wicked video of a C-section. Of course we watched a lot of birth ones too and I can't helped but think to myself that all the woman look like dog poop while they are in labor. Or they are making dog whimpering noises. Or they looke HUGE in their hospital gowns. I and hoping and praying I don't look or act like that when I'm in labor, but of course I probably won't give a crap at the time. And fortunately no one is going to be taping it and putting it in an instruction video to be viewed 20 years later. Yes, all the videos were from the late 80's early 90's. Terrible hair, terrible maternity clothes. Anyway, I do envision myself looking fresh and rosy during my labor and please no one tell me differently. Don't burst my bubble. I know deep down I will look wretched, tired, dazed, and probably make more dog noises then the Pet Nanny.

I also started Breastfeeding class which I all Boob class because I like the word boob. I have that for 3 Mondays. At the first class I learned how to swaddle a baby, the 5 S's, Swaddle, Sideways lay, Swing, Shoosh, Suck to soothe a baby, how often to feed then (at least 8 times a day), burping techniques, and more but since I have no brain that's all I can remember. I should have taken notes.

My tummy is 41 inches around at my waist. That's an inch bigger then last week which leads me to believe that he may be dropping a bit. I have an appointment today which starts my every week appointments until he's born. I don't know if this is because he's moved down a little bit, but I have been having terrible pain in my ribs in the back, right along the bra line. It feels like a joint that needs to be cracked really bad. Or like the material between my ribs is aflame. It does not really make it feel better to rub it. In fact, if rubbed to vigorously it sends the muscles in back into spasm. The pain is primarily on the right side but occasionally it will get pretty bad on the left too. It may be because he's moved or because he's just a heavy little dude and getting heavier. Man Meat puts IcyHot on it for me at night and that feels better and Tylenol helps a little bit. Overall Tylenol just really isn't a good pain killer for me. It never has been. When I was taking it for my headaches it never really did squat and now for this rib thing is lessens the pain, but that's it.

Man Meats birthday is next Wed. I think we are going to get a new camera for a joint present. We will have to go camera shopping this weekend. Our camera is about 5 years or more old and it just doesn't take a good picture! They've gotten so much nicer since then. We also want a camcorder, but since a lot of cameras do short videos too we can get away with just a camera for now. I hear the Samsung Powershot is good, so says RoRo and she's smart about that stuff. Everyone's been asking me for more pictures of the belly too. I guess we'll have to get a new camera and take some nice pictures of it before we run out of time!

That's all for now! If anything momentus happens at my appointment I'll write more about that. Otherwise...to be continued....

Dextrose tastes yummy!

Had a Dr appointment today. Officially I am 29 weeks 3 days. I had to do another glucose tolerance test and I really like the taste of the dextrose they give you. I chose lemon-lime again because I enjoyed it so much last time. My glucose blood sugar was good. It was 108 and only needed to be under 130. 130 or more would indicate gestational diabetes. Upon returning to the office Ro Ro asked how my glucose was and I told her it was good and she said "Of course it is, you're perfect!!" She knows me so well. She too is a Virgo.

Other updates...my BP is normal. I have no swelling or vision problems which would indicate preeclampsia. My pee pee is normal. I have a lump in my right armpit that was there even before I got pregnant. It has gotten a wee bit larger so she checked that out and it is just an accumulation of breast tissue, nothing to be alarmed about. We listened to Gummi's heart beat and it sounded strong and healthy.

I feel like I have definitely grow. I weighed in at 143.5lbs which is a 16lb gain from the starting point. That was approximately a pound a week since my last appointment. I weighted 139.5 last time. My fundal height is 29cm. I had to look up exactly what that is and basically it is the size of my uterus from the top to my pubic bone. Last appointment I was only 23cm so my uterus has grown 7cm in 4 weeks!! That is a lot! It is caught up with where it is supposed to be. Your fundal height should match the week you are in approximately. I knew I had grown and gotten heavy. 4 lbs and 7 cm change from last time wow!!

I talked to the Dr about not being able to breath and she basically told me that is just the way it is. That because I'm tiny and there isn't a lot of room for him in there. What is worse is that I still have 2 months of growth to go and he's only going to get bigger and bigger. Let's cross our fingers that he isn't overdue! He better come out on time otherwise I will be suffocating! Small ladies, this is the one time in your life that you will wish that you were a bigger person.

That's all for the Gummi update. We chatted a little about birth control after he's born and whether we want him circumsized. I'm now going to have appointments every 2 weeks instead of 4. The next one is July 1st and I get to see Rachel again. She did my very first appointment. It will be neat to see her again. Then one more on July 15th before Twinkies wedding to make sure everything is good to go for that. I need to make sure I'm still exercising and doing my Kegels. I signed up for Childbirth Preparation classes that start on July 6th and go for 6 weeks every Thursday. When I start breaking up the weeks it seems like it will go by so fast! I mean, we are already half way through June!! Then it is July and the wedding, then it is the last month already, 9 MONTHS!

6.5 months aka 11 weeks left

Gummi get down outta my lungs! He's really high up! I measured 39 inches around at the waist this weekend. I also discovered this weekend that from the back, I don't look pregnant. Maybe my love handles are a little bigger, but really, here's a sample. Kind of far away, but you get the picture.



This picture is from Mr Robot's going away bar crawl. 25 bars in Juneau and they made it to 15, which I think is pretty impressive. Trish hand drawed all out shirts, she is so talented! We got so many compliments on them. The front of mine had a big red gummi bear on it. I'm sad that the Robot is leaving. I think he is pretty upset too. I mean, we are his best friends, Man-Meat is going to be very torn up. I know I will cry, and I will miss Violet sooo much!!

I have an appointment on Thrusday the 18th so I'll have more info them, but here's some more belly pictures from this month, the 6th month! Already!!

My coworker BV got back from a month long trip visited her daughter who just had a baby. She said it didn't look like I've grown hardly at all. I don't think my tummy is much bigger, but it feels super duper heavy. Like I have to heave-ho it around everywhere. More later, after my appointment!

Over the last month....

Sorry it has been awhile! While I've been gone a few events have unfolded. The bestest thing was my Mommie can to visit! It seems so long ago now, but she was here from April 28 to May 5th. We had a wonderful visit. We gardened and walked Sisterpoo and relaxed. It was gorgeous weather for most of the time she was here. The only hiccup was on Thursday when she was here, that would be 4/30 I guess we were gardening and it was warm and sunny. I bent down to dig some dirt and when I stood back up I got a really poudning sudden headache. I thought maybe I was just dehydrated and kept on going until we were done. When we came back inside I downed a whole gatorade and we ate lunch, but my head was getting worse. We kind of relaxed a little after lunch and I started to get really nauseous and proceeded to upchuck all my lunch and gatoradge. Fortunately that morning I had called the doctor because I was having some persistant pain in my lower abdoment, particularly when I was walking about. They wanted to make sure it was contractions or something else. The appointment was about 45 minutes away. At the doctors they weighed me, I was still at 134, so in the last 2 weeks since my last appt I hadn't gained any weight. They hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor that they put you on when you are in labor. It monitors your uterus and the baby's heart rate to make sure he's not in distress. I was attached to that for about 20 minutes and Mommie got to hear the baby's heart beat a whole lot. You could also hear when he was moving around, which is more then what I could feel. Everything was fine with my uterus, no contractions and my cervix was still long and closed. We got a ultrasound pic that I let Mommie keep for a momento. It turns out that I had vaginosis of some kind which was contributing to the pain in my abdomen. It is also all the uterine ligaments stretching and pulling. Since I'm "slight" as she put it that will happen. I also need to make sure that I'm peeing as soon as I feel the need because that is where my infection came from. She also said I had a yeast infection. So I got some antibiotics and yeast medicine and got to feeling better. As far as puking and the headache, they attributed that to "a bug" that was going around. I felt better after a while and had tiny bouts of nauseau over the next couple days. I discovered that RoRo got really sick that weekend with probably the same thing. I did linger for awhile before going away.

It was so wonderful to see my Mommie. I miss her so much, and all my family and friends that aren't here with me now.

I celebrated my first Mother's Day! Man-Meat got me white and blue roses because the baby is a boy. So clever. He got me a really nice card too. He's so great!!

May12th was our 4 year anniversary. I got more flowers at work! A huge bouqet of lilies. All my flowers are still alive too. The lilies are starting to go, but some of them still look good and my roses at home are doing ok. For dinner Man-Meat cooked me filet mignon and lobster on the grill. I whipped up some garlic rolls and steamer clams. We had artichoke too. We were so stuffed!! I didn't even eat any of my steak! The steamers were probably the best part. The lobster was very tasty, but we both realized if we are going to spend moolah on seafood we are going to get king crab. The texture is nicer and the meat is more flavorful then lobster. I've been craving streamers every since!

On May 10th we went to watch our friends J&J baptize their baby girl. It was very special because Man-Meat and I are the godparents. She was adorable. The day before I babysat her all day. She was such a good little girl. She got a little fussy with gas but nothing I couldn't handle. She was very scheduled, eat, sleep, change, play. Very happy and content. I can only hope Gummi will be that good!

On Sat May 16th Man-Meat, John Boy, and Mr. Robot went brown bear hunting up in St. James Bay/Boat Harbor. They went out at about noon. The weather was clear and sunny, but there was a breeze and they had to go across Lynn Canal to get there. I was a tad worried about them coming back across with the wind kicking up. At about 6:00 Mr. Robot called from the mouth of the bay and said they had shot a bear, about a 7 footer. John Boy and Man-Meat skinned it out in about an hour, but by now the wind is really going and the sun is going down. It gets dark at about 9 now. They called when they were headed out and I figured they'd be home in about an hour and a half. About half and hour goes by and Man-Meat calls, and they've bearly made it anywhere the weather is so bad. He didn't say it at the time, but the seas were about 6-8 feet, huge rollers. They kept having to stop and take breaks because there were taking such a beating. At this time they were just coming up on Lincoln Island. A half hour goes by again and they are now coming up on North Shelter, even less progress was made then the first hour! Another half hour and now it is getting to be 8:30 and dark is definitely upon them. They've decided to pull into Amalga Harbor instead of trying to get to Auke Bay (a virtual impossiblity at this point) and I have to go pick them up in John Boy's truck leaving right away. Meanwhile, all this day and evening I was "babysitting" T-Rex because she just had some endometriosis spots burned off of her uterus the day before. She was completely unable to sit up on her own. Fortunately, Ashton had arrived so I was able to leave to go get the boys. I had just made myself a taco for dinner, and threw a wistful side glance at it as I walked out the door. It took about half and hour to get to Amagla. It was a beautful evening on land, the sunset was amazing. I saw a deer on the side of the road too and prayed for it to stay there because I didn't want to wreck John Boy's truck! The boys were already there when I got to Amalga and I bounded down to the boat to check out the bear. I jumped in and stood on the deck looking around and didn't see it anywhere. When I turned around there it was at my feet, I had jumped over it! The head was enormous!! I took pictures as John Boy proudly heaved it out of the boat and carried it up the dock. He was covered in blood and the carcass really stunk, but it was amazing. Man-Meat has bear fever now! It is going to cost around $1500 to get the hide made into a rug and get the skull prepped and sealed. The hide itself is brown with a blonde ruff.

I had a Dr appt yesterday 5/20 for my 25 weeks. My tummy measures about 23cm from my belly button to somewhere down below. I now weigh 139!! I gained 5 lbs in the last two and half weeks! But I'm still right on schedule and average. That puts the total at 12 lbs gained to far. I have to post some tummy pics asap! There is a huge difference between when Mommie was visiting and now. I can tell Gummi's been having a growth spurt because I am hungry all the time. I'm still reaching for healthy snacks though, fruit, yogurt, wheat thins. I don't go crazy. When the doctor had the doppler on my tummy to hear his heart beat he kept kicking right where the sensor want was. You could see my tummy jump up when he did it. He's getting stronger, I can really feel him thrashing about in there now. Sometimes it feels like he's trying to kick his way out. It reminds me of Family Guy when Stewie is born and he has a map and compass to escape from Lois's womb. The doc also gave me the go ahead to go out of the boat if I want to which is awesome because now I can go fishing!!! The best part about my appointment is.......she also gave me the go ahead to go to Colorado for THE FISH AND CHIPS UNION!!! She's going to have me come in right before just to make sure, but she saw no reason I couldn't go! YEA!!!!!! Next appointment I have to do the gluocose test again for diabetes (rabies ha ha) on June 18th. Time is suddenly moving fast again!!! He'll be here in no time!!

I'll try to get some tummy pics posted really soon I promise.

Major appointments last week

I forgot to weigh in on my ultrasound stuff! Here's pictures. By the way IT IS A BOY!!

He's was about 140z when these were done on 4/16/09. The ultrasound showed a strong heart, 2 working kidneys because there was pee in his bladder, and a tummy full of amniotic fluid so he's swallowing. For the first 45 minutes of the appointment he had his hands over his face and legs crossed tightly at the knee so we couldn't see anything! She kept going back to check and still, her was tightly clamped and wouldn't give up the goods. We did see that his lip is fully formed so no hair-lip. He was positioned with his head up and feet down which is why my belly is so high up right now. I knew he was like that because I was feeling a lot of movement down at my waist band and everytime I bent over his head was knocking the air out of me. He has lots of room to move around in there right now and I feel him all the time. I have an anterior placenta and our umbilical cord looks good.

He ended up falling over to the right side and the tech was having a hard time getting a good view of his kidneys so she had me roll to my left a little. She panned back over to the crossed legs and while hovering there he shift and opened them right up to reveal his penis! Yay!! The tech was like "there is it" and Man-Meat says "there what is?" So she circled it to make no mistake that he is definitely a boy. We were also then able to get the good profile shots after he moved. He was sucking his thumb then he moved his hand up to his forehead. He had his little thumb out the whole time, like thumbs-up! It was all amazing to see. I can't believe that that is inside my right now.

He moves around all the time. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and he's moving around. Most of the movement is still really far down at my waist band. Speaking of that, I was able to button my pants completely on Sunday. Weird! I haven't been able to do that for two weeks, then all of a sudden I could. He must have been way up there. It is weird how that can change daily.

I had a follow up appointment on Friday after the ultrasound. I weigh 134 now, so I've gained 7 lbs. That is about a pound a week since my last appointment so I'm right on schedule. My belly is measured from my belly button is the correct size. I didn't have to do any blood work this time so it was a quick trip. We listened to the heart beat again. All very standard and normal. I hope things keep going as smoothly as this!

I ordered a crib today. We ended up getting a mini crib because we are tight on space with the nursery in the bedroom. I would love to have T move out and use that second room. It is the perfect size to be a nursery. I could paint it and get a full size crib and toy bin and everything. Even a changing table! For now though I can't have any of that. As it is my good buds bought us a glider and ottoman so we had to find a spot in our room for that too. If I got a full sized crib it would come all the way up against our bed and I wouldn't be able to get around it. The mini is about half the width. T is going to be great to have in the house after he's born and she's said multiple times that she can be out by the time he's born, but I'm so at odds with that. I want her to be there, but I want some space too. I'm glad I finally just bought the crib, that is one load off. Now I'm still stressing about a stroller. Do I or don't I? I could just wait until spring. I don't really see myself pushing a stroller around in the snow. I'd rather carry him so he stays warm if I go out at all. Then there is the question of what to carry him around in. There are a ton of different kinds of slings, wraps, snugglies, and carriers. Times like this I wish I lived somewhere will more resources. I only have two places to shop, Fred Meyers and Walmart. Everything else has to be gotten online. I really wanted to have a dinosaur theme, but I can't find squat for dinosaurs! I think I'm going to bypass a themed nursery and get basic blue stuff since I have to get mini-crib sheets and all. They don't make themed mini-crib bedding. I'm going to have at least one quilt that I know of. So if I really want dinosaurs I can make a dinosaur quilt and use it with the regular blue bedding. FYI porta-crib bedding should fit my crib.

That's all for now!

Walking and running

It has been nice after work so I've been able to take Sister-pie for walks after work. The first time I actually did some running! It felt to good! I didn't get too winded and I could run for quite awhile. The only thing that slowed me down was my poor old chubby dog. She was practically begging me to stop. I was like, come on Sister if I can do it and I'm 5 months pregnant you can do it too! She's 10 and overweight so I don't want to push her too far. Besides, it kept me from over doing it too. I wasn't wearing my heart rate monitor. I hope it stays nice! It felt so good to get outside and get the stink blowed off.

I have a Dr. appt tomorrow for the big ultrasound! I'm excited and nervous. I'm so ready to have a boy now if it isn't a boy I will be dissappointed. I also found out that when Pop Pop found out it was a boy he cried. He wants a boy so badly.

Last night Man-Meat got to feel Gumgum moving a whole bunch. He put some lotion on my gummi tummi first then we were laying there watching Deadliest Catch and he put his hand on my tummi low underneath my belly button and pushed in a little...and Gum pushed back! He kicked about three times pretty hard. It was really cool for him. I've been feeling him for weeks so it was exciting for Man-Meat to finally get to feel him. Here's a couple pics of me at 19 weeks. I'm 20 weeks now and a bit bigger.

My mom is coming to visit from the 18th to the 5th. I'm so excited because I just saw her and now I get to see her again! Then again in July! I miss her and my family so much. We are going to have a baby shower while she's here. I think I've found all the big stuff that I need, like the car seat, crib, and stroller. I read that I can't jog with my baby until he's at least 6 months old because it is too jarring so I started looking at non-jog strollers and found some good ones. I still really want a jog stroller though because they are more maneuverable in snow and mud then regular strollers. We have a lot of that, especially also because it will be winter shortly after the baby's born. But I guess I could always walk with a snuggly instead of a stroller, that way baby stays warmer too. I guess they don't fold up as small either so it might not fit in the beamer while regular strollers would. But really I'd only take the jog stroller if Sister was with me and then I'd need the truck anyway. There are so many decisions to make it is overwhelming! Weigh in on any thoughts about strollers after you read this.

CO visit

I have just returned from visiting my wonder family in CO. Once again while I was gone all my clothes shrank! What is it about vacation that makes Gummi grow bigger? I've been really good about exercising in some way every day. I've been eating really healthy, except the yummy desserts my mom makes when I'm there. She has lost something like 30 lbs since the last time I saw her. She's weighs less then me!! Last time I stepped on the scale I was 130.5. I actually lost a couple pounds while I was down there. I think it has to do with my prenatal pilates DVD that I've been doing. I've been working the buns and thighs workout everyday so my butt has gotten smaller and tighter. I love that DVD! I think I've mentioned that before. It is perfect for me right now. When I do cardio it takes me like 20 minutes to warm up and be comfortable enough to actually get my heart rate up. So half my cardio work out is warming up! I haven't attempted to run in awhile. I have to get back to the actual gym and try that out. I feel bad paying for a memership then going home and doing the DVD because I love it so much. It is low impact, low stress for Gum and works all the muscles for labor. I love to walk too, but I can't make dinner and work out at the same time if I'm at the gym like I can at home. I have to make time for the cardio though. I have to maintain my heart health and endurance for labor.

I miss my lovely family so much! I was only with them for 4.5 days which is hardly long enough. I wish they didn't live so far away! I'm trying to get my mom to come visit at the end of the month and I will see them all again in July then a bunch in Sept and Aug. I think Wad is wanting to come in Aug sometime too. I feel like an addict! I got home and all I wanted to do was surround myself with my friends. I crave talking to Mank. After leaving my family is makes me miss her all the more. At least before I could come home and she'd be here. Thank God I have Man-Meat. I can't imagine going through pregnancy with out him. How do these women do it? I hope I never have to. I hope he's with me forever. After seeing the fam I always have anxiety that something is going to happen to them before I can see them again. I know it is completely irrational to worry about things that haven't and probably won't happen but still! They are all so important to me. Wow, I'm depressing myself right now ha ha!

I had some more tummy pics taken that I'll put up when I get them. I have a dr appt next Thurs to get an ultrasound then a consultation and regular appt with my doctor on Friday. I also have a dentist appt on Monday. I don't know how I managed to schedule all these appointments at the same time! I think I'll probably get in trouble for not gaining enough weight.

Also! Crazy stupid thing I did when I was in CO. I was walking in the pasture with the horse and cow and Twinkie was on the other side of the fence with her doggie. She yelled "Look out!" and I turned around to see the crazy cow running pel-mel at me swinging her head because she wanted to play. Not wanted to be smooshed by the cow I ran towards the fence and dove underneath of it executing a tuck-and-roll maneuver and coming back on my feet. It was fine, I didn't hit the grown hardly at all, it was very fluid and smooth, but when I stood up I thought, that was an idiotic thing to do! I'm pregnant for God's sakes! What the hell is wrong with me!? I can't be jumping and throwing myself around! Stupid. So I was scared for a little while that I had done something to Gummi, but he obviously didn't notice or care that I had done that. He was prefectly content and protected floating around in there. It was actually quite gracefully and non-jarring of a roll and probably looked pretty cool, but I need to remember that I'm pregnant. If I hadn't been I would have turned around and played with her. She's huge though!!