36 week Appointment

Well, besides the face that it took an hour for the Dr. to even get in the room, the appointment wasn't too bad. My blood pressure is back down to a normal level. Corey's on the other hand is not. It was really high today which was actually down from an even higher level yesterday. Needless to say, he is now on blood pressure medicine.

The Dr. said the baby has dropped. My belly measured 36 cm last week and this week it is measuring 34 cm. I didn't know that your belly gets smaller as the baby drops. Then he did the Group B Strep Test which actually wasn't that bad. It was nothing like I was expecting. I'm assuming he will give me the results of that at next week's appointment. This is where things got UGLY. I had my first internal exam which I was expecting to be like a pap. Well, it's not and it HURT BAD! I even yelled ouch at one point. Corey and I were joking as we left about how the Dr. and nurse were probably thinking that I have another thing coming if I thought that hurt. Anyway, I got through it and he said unless I start having regular or painful contractions he won't check me again until 38-39 weeks and maybe I will just have the baby by then. It was traumatizing to say the least and I'm thinking that they better go ahead and get an epidural ready with my name on it.

The last thing is that I'm no longer working. I'm not sure why he doesn't want me to work but I'm not going to complain!

I'm thinking about ordering one of these to wear after the delivery. Corey thinks it's a gimmick but I saw them do a little human lab on Rachael Ray and the lady said it did work and she had had her baby several months prior and it says for best results to start wearing it right after deliver. Anyone have any comments on this product? I would love to hear your feedback.

Growth Ultrasound and Baby Shower #2

We got to see the baby again today! This u/s was so much different than all the other ones we have had. She is so big now and takes up so much room that it just looks like a big blob on the screen. According to her head and abdomen measurements she weighs about 5.5 pounds give or take a pound. She is in the 33rd percentile. Now we will just wait until tomorrow to see what the Dr. has to say about it. Tomorrow I'm also having my test for Group B Strep and having my first internal exam to see if there is any action going on down there. Here are the pictures from this morning. They aren't the greatest since she was all curled up on one side with both hands and both feet in front of her face the whole time. It was neat though to see her move and feel her move at the same time.

This is a profile shot. You can kind of see her nose sticking up and she was sucking while this was taken.

This is her foot. Just not a great shot.

I also had another shower yesterday with Corey's family. It went really well and more people showed up than I thought would. We played two games made up by Corey's step-mom's sister(I know, confusing) she has a very off the wall sense of humor but the games cracked me up. The first one was a multiple choice quiz and some of the funny questions were..."What does Corey like to do for fun?" A. Hunt B. Fish C. Ashley D. All of the above! "When will Ashley go to the hospital?" A. When the contractions are 5 minutes apart B. When her water breaks C. I can't remember this one D. Two weeks early just to be safe! There were also two questions about when and where the baby was conceived. They had Corey come in and answer the questions for everyone and he got quite a kick out of that. The other game was a word scramble but didn't use the typical words like diaper, rattle, pacifier, but instead used words like, nursing bra, no sleep, no sex, returning period, poopy diapers, you know, all the joys of giving birth! They were fun and all the ladies got a kick out of it.

We were so lucky in the gifts we received also. We got a TON of clothes ranging from 3-12 months! She has quite the 1st year wardrobe at this point. She even got a jacket that she will be able to wear next Spring that is so CUTE. We also got a bunch of smaller things like blankets, bibs, burp cloths, and a really cute picture frame. The biggest surprise was that we got out TRAVEL SYSTEM! The hostesses put a note in the invitations that they wanted to purchase the travel system for us so if they wanted to just go in on that with the hostesses that would be great. I know it doesn't sound very kosher the way I'm describing it but it was really done in a classy manner and people loved the idea. So that should be delivered to our house on Thursday.

Here are some pictures from yesterday, but I must warn you that my mom takes horrible pictures, so they aren't great.

Quilt made my Corey's mom.

Corey grandma had a stroke this past summer and has been in the hospital/nursing home since. She has her good days and her bad days and it's been pretty tough for Corey, he hates seeing her like this. This is one of her rosary's and I think it meant a lot to Corey to have this for the baby. He explained to me last night what rosarys are used for and even told me about some of hers that he has seen.

Corey's cousin gave us this picture frame and I love it. It's sitting on the floor in the picture but you can either hang it like this or each frame unsnaps and you can use them seperately.

And here is her adorable little jacket. It has a hood that detaches too.

Good News!!!

Corey is working his last night shift tonight!! On Monday he will start working days. You have no idea how excited this makes me. I could just scream, I'm that happy. Our routine will get back to normal just in time to have it all out of whack again with the baby but at least he will be awake when he is at home and not sleeping while I walk around trying to stay quiet! I'm so HAPPY!

35 and 35

I can't believe it is finally here. 35 weeks and 35 days left!! :) I'm so ready to have this baby it's not even funny. I'm uncomfortable and out of breath more even more so, I'm just ready to meet this little girl! I went to the Dr. on Monday and everything seems to be going great. My blood pressure was high but the Dr. actually seemed less concerned than he has in the past. The baby's heartbeat was 147 and next Monday we are having a growth u/s to see how big she is. Depending on her size, we will discuss our options and what the Dr. thinks is best. On Tuesday I will have my 36 week appt and will be getting the Group B Strep Test and having my first internal. I'm sure this will be a SUPER FUN appt! ;) Sunday I have another shower and after that I need to go finish buying all the last minute things that I think we can't live without!

Yes, those stretchmarks have graced my belly in the last week and you're lucky I don't take pictures of my legs because some lovely stretchmarks have taken them over as well.

We bought this wall art at Kohl's yesterday f0r $14.99. What a steal!

Close up

Light at the end of the tunnel?

As I've mentioned before, I HATE Corey's job. I hat that he works every other weekend, I hate that he works such long shifts, I hate that he puts himself in danger everyday, but most of all I hate that he works nights! Well, here is the good news, the guy that works the day shift on the days that Corey works nights, got a new job! Now, I hate to see him leave because Corey actually gets along with him really well, but this is good news for us. There are two people on the other shift that want to work days so one of them could take this open day shift but luckily they both dislike the supervisor that works on Corey's shift so more than likely they won't take it! I know this is all way too confusing but just know that this may be the best news I have heard in the last few days! It would make things so much easier around our house especially after the baby comes. If you don't work nights or live with someone that works nights it's hard to understand, but it ends up being more than a 12 hour shift because then he comes home and sleeps. For example, he worked 3 days this week but I only saw him for 1 because he was sleeping when he wasn't at work. I really hope this works out and he gets to move to days! You have no idea how EXCITED I will be. :)

34 Weeks

Well, it's here! I was born at 34 weeks so I have been looking forward to making it to this point. My Dr assures me that I won't go into labor this early just because my mom did. However, he did say that my labor could mimic my mom's in terms of length. This is the kicker, my mom was in labor with me for 2 hours, my brother for 4 hours, and my other brother for 5 hours. That's pretty short!! My appt. was supposed to be today but since my Dr. is Spring Breaking it somewhere I'm waiting until Monday, which is fine, since I feel okay. The other good news is that he told me at the last appointment that if I make it to the next appointment that our baby wouldn't have to spend anytime in the NICU. Now I know there is no way for him to know what could possibly happen and she could still end up in the NICU at full term, I still think it's good news to know that if I went into to labor now he wouldn't send her straight to the NICU.

As much as I hate to say this because I wanted more than anything to be pregnant, I'm ready to be DONE! Mostly because I would love to meet this little girl but also because the swelling, the belly, the lack of air, the constant thirst, the bottomless pit that is my stomach, it's all getting to be too much. I can't breath and I feel huge. Corey and I went out to run some errands yesterday and I'm so slow. He of course doesn't say anything, but man, I feel like an old lady. I'm just ready to feel back to normal AND have a little girl here on the outside!! :)

Here are this weeks pictures and an added BONUS!

Now, just for fun I thought I would put up a picture from last St. Patrick's Day. This was the very first belly picture taken for my first pregnancy, kind of the "before" picture if you will. I'm sure at the time I thought I was fat but it's makes me sad now, because besides my boobs there is nothing there, no belly, no butt! It cracks me up. Corey thought it was pretty funny when I showed him! :)

33 weeks

I'm a little late with this weeks post. I was out of town on Thursday and Friday and then Saturday was my shower. There isn't much to report for the week. I feel like I'm starting to get very puffy and hate all the pictures from the shower because I look like I have 3-4 chins in every singe one. I went out with friends on Saturday night and was given way more information on labor than I really wanted. I've been trying not to think too much about it and they reminded me why! :)

I told you that my face was getting rounder! UGH! I hate that part of pregnancy!

Me with the food. Do you think this good be the reason for the round face?!?!

Ruffles on her rear!

This is my friend's daughter and she wanted the sunglasses that the baby got and the bouncer and the playmat! She also didn't understand why her mom was buying pink clothes because her
"baby brother doesn't wear pink"!

Childbirth Class

The class went pretty well and I did learn some things. It was supposed to last until 4 but we got out at 11! The TV was broken so we couldn't watch the two videos she had which I think would have been pretty informative to watch, but oh well. We learned some breathing techniques which I'm sure when the time comes I will forget. We did a thing where the husbands were supposed to squeeze above our knee and gradually squeeze harder(to simulate a contraction) until the instructor said the contraction was at it's peak and then gradually let up. While they were doing this we were supposed to focus on one of the breathing techniques. Needless to say, I couldn't focus on the breathing when he was squeezing the hardest! Oh boy, this is going to be a lllooonnngggg labor!

Next weekend is my shower. Corey's stepmom and sisters won't be able to be there since one of his sister's basketball team will be playing in the state tournament, which also means Corey won't be there, since he will be at the game to support his sister. :( I'm a pretty sad about it but I hope they win the championship since it is her senior year.

32 Weeks

I had another appointment today. Weight gain=1 pound! Not bad for 2 weeks. My blood pressure was a little high so I have to go in Monday to have it checked again. My belly measured 34 weeks and he said he was okay with me going into labor anytime at this point. I have felt 2 contractions this week. They aren't very strong but they do make me stop and wait for it to pass. The Dr. wasn't real thrilled that I'm going shopping tomorrow but he said I could go if I promise to take several breaks and drink plenty of water. I think he considered taking me out of work but I told him that I try to sit as much as possible so he said I can continue to work if I keep sitting. We have childbirth class on Saturday so I will let you know how that goes. Our shower is next weekend and I can't wait!

Her closet...

Corey has been working on building custom shelves for this little girl and I must say...I'm a bit jealous. Her closet rocks! Of course my closet is way too small to do something like this though.

This has nothing to do with the closet but I made it and feel the need to show it off. I have it hanging in our front window but I'm thinking it may be a little early for Easter decorations, especially since it snowed this weekend. It better be the last snow of the winter.