39 Weeks
It's been quite the journey... And, now-- it continues. I'm rounding a corner.
In less than 3 hours, I will be officially 40 weeks pregnant, with nothing but an even bigger bump to show for it.
I blame my silly hubby for getting my hopes up and having all of these bogus theories about me going into labor at 38 weeks or some such nonsense. He has predicted numerous days to be the day our child greets the world. But, so far, baby Ezra hasn't liked any of those options.
My measurements have been the same for the past two weeks. 1 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and the baby's head at -1 station. The doctors seem to think that those numbers are magical and that I could go into labor at any moment. I usually leave their office feeling a bit less optimistic than all of that.
The weeks are getting increasingly hard. My energy is depleting more each day and so is my patience. I'm not, what most people would describe as, stressed-- just anxious. Anxious to see what my body can really do as far as labor and delivery, anxious to hold my baby and look at his face for the first time (a face that is, for now, a mystery to me), and have his little tiny fingers wrapped around just one of mine. Not to mention the look on Jon's face when he see's it all happen. Having gone through the whole emergency c-section, terrifying newborn health situation, and then having a 6.5 year old who is basically a grown up compared to changing a poopy, size 1 diaper... It's gonna be a completely new experience.
I'm getting tired of people calling me every day to ask if I'm "STILL pregnant" or say, "Haven't you had that baby yet?!" Especially when most of them are family members that would be informed the moment something happened. Most people are also convinced that because DH is so tall (6'2") and weighed 10 lbs, 6oz at birth, that our child is going to be a mammoth. I hear numerous times a week about how humongous our child is going to be. Or how late.
Even when I went shopping the other day, the lady checking my items at Victoria's Secret seemed to be an EXPERT in the fact that most 1st babies are late. While it's true that 70% of all babies are born after their due date, I don't need reminded of that every five seconds!
What's really funny is, after all of the talking THEY do they say, "Well, don't be too worried or stressed out. The baby will come when it's ready." REALLY? I didn't have a clue. -_-
If maybe, just maybe, I could get away from all that talking I would be completely fine with my baby boy waiting this thing out and letting me know whenever he is ready to make his grand entrance. And I'm sure with all the pain I'm in now, a grand entrance it will be!
Between all that and DH's mom & dad in town and wanting to come over all the time, and the awkward relationship (or lack thereof) that I already have with his sister-in-law heading into uncharted waters, I'm just a little sleep deprived, tense, and moody. Jon has literally been such a doll and told me to complain as much as I wanted. Poor thing-- I don't think he understood what that meant. Haha. He is basically my life coach right now and I don't know what I'd do without him.
So, with my due date tomorrow, I'm just sitting here drinking in the fact that hubs is cleaning the kitchen for me and my whole house smells like french vanilla creamer, and wondering- Where is Baby McConnell?
38 Weeks
I really don't know what to say...
I'm 38 weeks + 3 days (almost 4) and honestly, I won't lie, I was hoping- maybe even expecting- to be done being pregnant by now. It never occurred to me that I could take this thing to 39 or 40 weeks. It just seemed impossible!
#eisforezra
Very long overdue... Even more so than my last couple of library books. Good thing blog readers don't charge late fees, ey?
This new year has started out with a "BANG!" and I can't believe that January is nearly over. Only 3-6 more weeks until we meet out sweet baby boy and lord! I'm anxious!
 "Does your baby hang low? Do you wobble to and fro?" - Flipped out a little bit because one of my previous stretch marks from when I was a kid stretched a wee bit more... Looks more like a little bruise than a stretch. My mom's response? "I wish I only had one stretch mark!"
- Made the decision to go to Disney in 2 weeks. Over 8 months pregnant! But, we couldn't decide on a better "big brother" gift than that for Noah. Especially when he gets to go with his best friend :)
- Baby Ezra STILL hates moving for anyone but his daddy and me. Even Noah hasn't gotten to feel baby brother yet... stubborn thing!
- Jon has forbidden me to jog (30 minutes) anymore because I can't walk for about 3 days afterward. So, I've moved it up to a 45 minute speed walk and started making him go to the gym with me 3 times a week.
- Craving? Pizza. Pretty much just want pizza ALL the time this entire week. But, I've made myself cook healthy every day instead -_-
- Took our first tour of the hospital and loved it (minus our tour guide). Definitely requesting a water therapy room!! Baby's room is painted and now we get to work on the rest of the details. My little nervous energy project.
- Goal for this week: I accomplished it! I made my first freezer meals for post-baby ease with meals.
 29 WEEKS. (yesterday)
Almost to the 10 week countdown!
- No stretch marks.
- Swelling? Occasional & mild.
- Baby becoming more active at night than in the day... Oh no! (I want it back the other way!)
- Easier to jog (even though I feel like I'm peeing my pants the entire time!)
- Numb/tingling left butt cheek (STILL) due to sciatica.
- Craving? Sushi with tempura shrimp
- Goal for this week? Paint the baby's room!! :) And hospital tour!
- Weight gained thus far: 26-27 lbs
....far away from the cold night air. With one enormous chair! Oh, wouldn't it be lovely?
Okay, so it's not cold. It's actually like 75 degrees here. In December. Yes, I know... But, that doesn't make my plea to get a room with a nice comfy chair and a half, some cocoa, and a book any less legitimate or sincere.
Ladies and Gentlemen...
Here we are... This week marks the END of my 2nd trimester! I have been counting down for this for the past month! I'm so excited. When I hit the 30 week mark, it will signify that the end is near. AND, that the bonding with my baby can begin!
Today the baby is sitting very low in my uterus and isn't very active. I'm sure it's because I feel crappy and have been quite the slug today myself. I didn't intend to be, for what it's worth. I woke up with motivation to clean my entire house from top to bottom, since it has needed desperately done for over a week now. However, halfway through my "to do" list, I became very clammy feeling and 'heavy'. Hubby took my temperature at 100 degrees and ordered me to lie down for the rest of the day. (He wasn't too happy when he found me scrubbing toilets about 30 minutes later.) I'm terrible at relaxing, with a capital T.
Noah has been coughing, sniffling, and blowing his nose on and off since last Thursday. Today, his mom dropped him off here (missing school) and he also has a fever of 100. I'm pretty sure that something is just going around. Unfortunately, it may be the flu. Many of our friends have had or currently have it. It's like the germs are saying, "Welcome! We've been waiting for you..."
Noah and I both got our flu shots early last month. He has been sick once since then, only for a few days, and I haven't been at all. I was literally terrified by one of the doctors I saw [in the practice where I am treated] into getting the flu shot. I was completely against the entire idea, especially since I never ever get sick. But, apparently, after listening to doctors, friends, and doing my own research, fatalities are higher among pregnant women who get influenza than among non-pregnant. I didn't want to even risk losing my baby mid-pregnancy. I am still waiting for Jon to get his flu & t-dap shots in the near future but, until then, I at least know the the internal safety of my little one is greatly improved by my taking precautions.
I do hope that my fever doesn't go above 100, though, because then I'll have to go to the emergency room and be hooked up to an IV of fluids so that I don't get dehydrated. I think that when it comes to babies, doctors are more concerned with you being dehydrated than they are about you doing things that might seem even more drastic, like not eating.
I am making myself drink water because I don't feel thirsty in the least. I think that between forcing liquid down my throat and being confined to the couch... I probably feel a bit like Noah did about 15 minutes ago when I told him I wanted him to take a half hour nap. He instead, pretended to fall out of his bed and somehow managed to have his bath stool on top of his head by the time I walked in there. *sigh* Boys will be boys.
Hopefully, this groggy gross feeling goes away quickly and doesn't complicate anything... We are supposed to be going to Charlotte (Carolina Panthers) this weekend for a football game; in the cold and the rain, which is exactly what I don't want to be out in if I'm sick.
P.S. I passed my glucose test and don't have gestational diabetes! WHOOP WHOOP!
 Well, Pinterest has done it again.
I am counting down the days until I can enjoy a full on workout at the gym again. These prenatal pilates are great for conditioning pre-labor and delivery, but I'm ready to go back to my kick-butt boot camp pilates teacher, Amy. If anyone is an inspiring mom, it's her. She has 3 children and looks absolutely ripped!Unfortunately, in my condition, I have another 4 months until it's okay for me to play at one of my old sessions. :( My muscles are killer right now and my bones, especially in my ribs and lower back. I feel like I'm growing a cancer, not a baby-- I'm completely exhausted. Not to mention I am FINALLY starving (been waiting for that feeling) all the time, as I mentioned last week. But, I am having a hard time deciding what to eat still. If any of you have been following this blog regularly you are probably SO sick of hearing about that by now! And in that case, you can imagine how I feel living it on a daily basis.
 Jon has been such a HUGE helper. He plays Mr. Mom so well (although he has had practice...) that he never hesitates to step up and make dinner (which he has done SO many nights while I've been pregnant), or let me nap. He has gotten up so many times to change peed on sheets, take the dogs for a walk... He even got on his hands and knees to mop the floor for me because, according to him, I'm "too pregnant". Such a great hubby!
Today I went for my one hour glucose test... Drank a bottle of what tasted like carbonated Gatorade and waiting in a tiny room full of multiple other pregnant woman, who looked like they wanted to rip their hair out and many of which had other small children with them, to get my blood drawn. I dread getting a phone call telling me that I need to come back for a more extensive three hour test, which points to the probability that I have gestational diabetes; the last thing I need to deal with. Though, I haven't had any excessive swelling or weight gain; major symptoms to look for = avoided thus far.
After that, I had to scurry across the street to my OB appointment for a "tummy check". [A little background, the practice at which I am being treated has about 13 doctors housed there. It is the goal of that office for all of their pregnant patients to see as many of those doctors as possible, seeing as how any of them could be the one that delivers your child. Had I thought about that before becoming an established patient there, I might have chosen to go somewhere with only one doctor following me so that the visits might be a little more personal and maybe more than five minutes, after you've waited for 30-40. Hindsight is 20/20... But, since I've been going there for 26 weeks and 3 days, I should bring out that they are taking good care of me.]
So far, I have gained 24/25 pounds; still under what one of the doctors predicted! I am hearing from them that the average weight gain now is 20 lbs in the first twenty weeks and additional 20 in the duration of your pregnancy. Fortunately, I have not gained that fast! Nor do I want to.
I was told I look perfect, Ezra's heartbeat is "beautiful", and that I don't have another appointment until the first week of January! (Thank goodness for a healthy baby!) They also started measuring my tummy today. It's exactly where it should be; 27... inches? Centimeters? I don't remember... But, now I can rest easy until the next time.
My mom is getting on my nerves now... She has no filter it seems. (Must be where I get it from!)
She calls or texts me at least once a week giving me alternative baby names for Ezra! Now, I don't know about you but, I'm not really fond of someone trying to change my child's name just because THEY don't care for it. It's MY kid. I told her, in the early 1990's when she was walking around telling everyone that her daughter's name was Quintana, they probably looked at her like she was nuts! She confirmed my speculation.
It's my reasoning, too, that a child grows into their name. I, almost 21 yrs later, couldn't go around telling people my name is Ashley and make it believable. Ha!
 Ezra's room is coming together slowly, but surely. We have yet to paint and such, but getting the details together is the fun part! We got a beautiful Eames 1960's/70's style dresser which was a major stress now lifted; and it cost a fraction of the price. (Pictures and vendors will be supplied as soon as the room is finished!)
I had to share this cute little guy (to the left) though! One of my best friends, Jade, pinned a photo of this on pinterest last week and I couldn't resist clicking on it. For the love of owls!
It is a ceramic speaker that works with any mp3 player. I am so excited!!
Hubby and I have been compromising left and right with each other to make this room what the other one wants. I think it's gonna turn out great!
Well, I'm off to finish dinner for the fam before we all perish from hunger! I'll be sharing recipes soon!
Decided I would start doing weekly photos after I realized how quickly Baby Ezra is changing my belly when I took my 6 month picture last week. There is a major difference in just 7 days! He kicks me ALL the time now and I am starving 24/7. And, I don't know if you can see it or not, but my belly button is starting to pop out too!
 BrittanyG Photography of Highlands, Utah first grabbed my attention when it came to photos of giving birth. If you'd have asked me a few years ago if I would even attempt to give birth I would've said no, let alone the idea of someone photographing me doing it. And even now that I'm pregnant, sometimes when I think about it makes me a little jumpy; I might end up punching the poor photographer in the face. Plus, being a photographer myself, I know just how much the pressure would be on. When I first started thinking about having a baby, I was always looking at maternity, newborn, and quirky post-natal items I thought where cool. (Click here to see my 'bump starter' pinterest board) In the process, I came across these amazing pictures of baby Wil's birth story. None of the photos were invasive, graphic, or offensive and it made me look at the delivery process in an entirely new light.
Now that the birth of our little booger is getting nearer I keep thinking more and more about how much I would like documentation of that day. Nothing distasteful or gross...
I think the entire idea is becoming a bit more trendy and accepted, as I've seen a number of photographers in my area and all over the country offering sessions like this. I would love to offer a session like this!! Especially after I give birth to my own child and know the ins and outs of the progression.
Hubby is a bit weirded out by the entire thought of having someone in the room and would rather just set up a camcorder in the corner. I don't like that idea because at least when you review your photos it's SILENT and you don't have to hear all of the pain you went through to get your little miracle. There are so many tender moments that a family shares in welcoming their new addition into the world; how sentimental it would be to look back on those prized possessions years later!
A friend of mine told me to remember it on the little camcorder in my head, haha. But, I'm such a sucker and driven by emotion... I can't imagine how tear-jerking and nostalgic those pictures would be... Still-frames will always be my favorite way to capture a moment. No black & white memory could ever do the moment you meet your new son/daughter justice. Or the small instant when your first child realizes they are a brother/sister and hold their new sibling for the first time.
Ahhh! I don't really think you guys understand the crazy adrenaline running through me as I write this! Regardless, of whether I can talk Jon into doing it or not, or how much it costs... I will ALWAYS think this is a good idea.
I've watched quite a number of birth videos, and read experiences, and heard true life stories from family/friends; I feel like this is a personal choice like everything is. Just like having a midwife or a doula, or having your baby at home vs a birthing center vs a hospital. But, it's definitely a once in a lifetime adventure. <3
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