Wednesday, October 30, 2013

HE FLIPPED!!!!!

Just got back from my doctor appointment and the baby has flipped!!! He is now head down, but not engaged in my pelvis and I am not dilated at all.  I didn't dilate with the boys until I was closer to my due date so I'm not too concerned.  My main concern was that since he wasn't engaged that he could flip back again.  The doctor was very encouraging though and said since the head is the heaviest part of his body it is very unlikely that he will flip back.  They will do another ultrasound next week just to make sure before they cancel my c-section for the 14th. 

Super excited about this news!!!!

Happy Halloween!

37 weeks...getting closer!  This past week has been packed full of baby and holiday preparations.  I am doing everything I can to make the after-baby recovery period as stress free as possible.  I still have a list of stuff to get done, but I am confident we will be ready whenever the baby decides he is ready!  I would prefer that he decides to flip first though :)

Thursday we spent the evening cleaning up the yard and the garden for winter.  Boys were being silly in the back of the wagon!


On Friday Jacob had a field trip to Colonial Gardens.  He got to play in their play area, go on a hayride and through a corn maze.






Saturday Jim and I finished all our Christmas shopping for the boys and bought everything we still needed for the baby.  We also had a nice dinner out...probably the last dinner just the 2 of us for a little while!  The boys spent the night at Grammy and Grandpa's.  They were invited to the Mowrer's for a hayride and bonfire.  They had a blast!

Sunday we carved pumpkins and painted the green pumpkins to look like Ninja Turtles.








The boys are all ready for Halloween.  They got a treat in the mail from Aunt Caitlin this week....pumpkin sugar cookies from Cheryl and Co.  They said they were delicious!


Jacob made chocolate acorns at school the other week....hershey kisses with a nutter butter mini cookie glued (icing) to the top.  He decided to make them himself at home!


This morning is Jacob's Halloween parade at school, then Eric has his on Thursday.

I have a doctor appointment and non stress test this afternoon. Praying that the baby has flipped.  He seems to be in a different position than last week, but I'm not sure that he is head down.  My guess would be he is sideways (transverse).  Any movement in the right direction is progress though!



How far along? 37 weeks
Maternity clothes? No change, still wearing the last few things that fit and trying to be comfortable.
Sleep: Exhaustion has set in….I guess that means the end is near!
Best moment this week: Last date night out with Jim for a while! 
Miss Anything?  Energy and my shoes!  Sneakers and slippers are the only shoes I have that don’t make my feet hurt!                                                                                                 
Movement: I can feel more stretching than anything...anxious to see if he's moved at all.
Food cravings: Jim pointed out that he’s never seen me eat pop-tarts before while I was eating one for a snack this weekend.  I don’t usually but for some reason they have been one of my favorite snacks lately.  And I bought Chocolate peanut butter ice cream this week….my favorite!
Anything making you queasy or sick: brushing my teeth…again!
Gender:  BOY
Labor Signs: some stronger contractions…nothing else new
 Symptoms:  exhaustion, sore everywhere, getting impatient now that we are a few weeks away.
Belly Button in or out? It’s out a little bit but not noticeable through my shirts :)
Happy or Moody most of the time
still happy and getting impatient!
Looking forward to: Trick or Treating with the boys! (and sharing their candy!)

Thursday, October 24, 2013

TURN, BABY, TURN!!!

Yay!  9 months...we finally made it!  We are so ready to meet this new baby....but not for another 2 weeks at least!  This weekend Jim and I are going shopping to finish getting all the baby items we need and try to knock out most of our Christmas shopping.  Then next week is Halloween and Trick-or-Treating so after that we will definitely be ready!

Last Thursday I went for my second Non Stress Test.  The baby was not cooperating so I ended up on the monitor for over an hour.  First he was sleeping and they wanted him moving so they gave me juice and wiggled my belly to wake him up.  Then once he woke up he was moving all over the place and kept moving away from the monitor so they couldn't get a consistent reading....I guess he showed them!  Eventually they said they had enough of what they needed and let me go home!

Friday I went into Eric's classroom to help the teacher with sight word testing.  Thankfully Eric hasn't hit that stage where it's "not cool" to have your mom help in school.  I really liked getting to know his teacher and working with the kids.  He has a great class again this year!

This is Tyler's favorite spot lately...and it is driving me CRAZY!!!  We have a chipmunk that lives under the front step and has been gathering his food for winter so he makes quite a few trips across the front step daily.  Tyler HATES the chipmunks (he's already caught 2 in the backyard) and each time he sees it through the front door he starts howling, which of course scares Jacob and I right off the couch!  Crazy Beagle!!!


 Saturday Mom and I went shopping in Exton while Jim stayed home with the boys.  He finished the table I asked him to make for the baby's room.  I wanted a small table to sit next to the rocking chair to put a small lamp on to use for nighttime feedings.  It just needs to be painted (white) but it's just what I wanted!  I love that I can make a simple drawing of what I am looking for and Jim can make it happen!


Sunday we decided to go to Valley Forge Park to walk around. The boys like going through the old cabins.  We walked pretty far...the boys had a great time "rescuing caterpillars" from the trail.   There were hundreds of fuzzy brown caterpillars and the boys didn't like to see them get run over by joggers or bikers so whenever they found a live one they would pick them up and move them to the grass!  It was pretty comical!  Jacob would run up and be the "caterpillar spy" and tell Eric where the next one was so he could pick them up and move them.  This kept them busy almost the entire walk.  I am loving spending our last few weeks as a family of 4....












Monday night we went to Jacob's school for his Back to School night.  They basically go through a quick version of their day.  During circle time his teacher explained all the academic things they are doing to get the kids ready for kindergarten.  I was really impressed with how much they are doing that align with the kindergarten curriculum.  Jacob is learning so much about letters and letter sounds and he's doing a great job with his writing.

Wednesday I went in for another Non Stress Test....passed in an hour so it wasn't too bad. Then I had my 36 week check up.  Baby is still breech and the doctor said he looked pretty comfy in there.  There is still time for him to turn, but for now I have a c-section scheduled for Thursday, November 14th.  They will continue to do ultrasounds for the next 3 weeks to check his position and will do one the morning of my c-section, just in case.   I'm going to continue to try to get him to turn, although I have decided not to try to have the doctors turn him.  There are just too many risks that I'm not comfortable with.

Crazy to think that 3 weeks from today we could be holding our new baby  boy in our arms :)




How far along? 36 weeks
Maternity clothes? Starting to outgrow most of them :) Just trying to be comfy right now!
Sleep: Daily naps when I can, sleeping ok til about 3am then have a lot of trouble falling back to sleep.  Baby wants to party in my belly at that time!  Have to discourage that soon!
Best moment this week: Walking around Valley Forge with the boys and Jim this weekend.
Miss Anything?  Walking without waddling :)
Movement: Bigger but slower movements….hard to distinguish body parts though.
Food cravings: nothing new
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week!
Gender:  BOY
Labor Signs: still just some Braxton hicks contractions
 Symptoms:  nothing new….uncomfortable, sore, tiredness, heartburn (like crazy)
Belly Button in or out? Depends on the day…it’s popped out a few times, but doesn’t stay that way.
Happy or Moody most of the time
Happy and getting impatient!
Looking forward to: Shopping for the rest of the baby stuff this weekend!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Feeling so loved!

Only 5 more weeks until my due date!!!  We are definitely ready to meet our new baby!

Doctor appointments are getting more frequent. I had my first Non Stress Test last week.  Because of my high blood pressure I have to go for them weekly.  I go into the hospital and get hooked up to monitors to record my blood pressure, baby's heartbeat and movements and any contractions I may be having.  The test can take anywhere from 1/2 hour to many hours, depending on how cooperative the baby is.  Thankfully last week I was only there for a little less than an hour.  Baby was very active and my blood pressure was good.  The nurse told me I was having regular contractions but the doctor wasn't worried  since I wasn't feeling them.  Apparently that is normal for someone that has had other children.

This past weekend we bought a propane fireplace for our living room and moved our entertainment  center downstairs with the boys movies and Wii games.  We are planning on hanging the tv on the wall and finding some shelving to go next to the fireplace.  It makes the living room look so much bigger!  Can't wait to have the fire going on chilly nights!  We really miss the fireplace that we had in the living room at the old house.


Sunday we worked on some house projects...organizing the basement, getting the heater ready for winter and cleaning out some clutter.  Jim and Eric spent the afternoon at the firehouse working on the new firetruck while Jacob and I had a fun visit with Uncle Zach and Aunt Caitlin!

Sunday night we went to Mommom's for dessert to celebrate Caitlin and Aunt Karen's birthdays.


Wednesday morning Jacob's class went to the firehouse for a field trip for fire prevention week.  Jacob was a little shy while he was there but loved that Daddy and Grandpa were there to help out!




In the afternoon I had an appointment to get my tdap vaccine (for whooping cough).  This was no big deal but my arm is SOOOOO SORE!!!  Hoping it doesn't last too long.  After that I had my 35 week OB appointment.  This baby is extremely  stubborn!  The doctor was having a hard time getting a consistent heart beat because of his position.  I mentioned that he was head up at 32 weeks so she turned on the ultrasound machine to check.  Well, turns out his head is way up at the right side of my rib cage with his back along my left side and his feet at the bottom...ugh!  So much for this being an easy third delivery!

There is still time for him to turn but the doctor didn't seem very hopeful.  I will be getting an ultrasound every week now to check and I have the option to try an External Cephalic Version (EVC) at 39 weeks to try to turn him.  This would involve going into the hospital, getting an IV and meds to relax my uterus and 2-3 doctors manually try to move the baby from the outside.  It is painful and only has a 60% success rate.  There are risks that could lead to an immediate emergency c-section (which is why they do them in the hospital).  I will talk to the doctor more about it next week but for right now it doesn't seem like something I am willing to try.  If I decide not to do the EVC I will be scheduled for a c-section at 39 weeks, unless of course he would turn himself between now and then.

There are some websites I have found that give information on ways to get the baby to move on his own...putting a  bag of frozen veggies on my belly where the baby's head is and heat at the bottom to get him to move toward the warmth and away from the cold, kneeling on the couch and putting my hands on the floor (so almost standing on my head), playing music near my cervix and I found an article about a chiropractor technique that seems to have good outcomes.  I will talk more to the doctor about that one next week.  For now I'm going to be standing on my head and giving the baby brain freeze with frozen peas to get him to cooperate.  I really don't want to have a c-section, but at the end of the day, all that is important is a safe delivery for me and the baby!  We still have 4 more weeks to pray that he flips on his own!

Wednesday night I went to dinner at Brickside Grille with all the Kolb girls to celebrate our new addition.  I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful supportive family!  I got so many adorable things for the new baby.

Aunt Karen planned some baby games for us to play while we were waiting for our dinner.  The first was to guess what kind of baby food was in the jar.  Some people were brave enough to actually taste the baby food :) 
 We also played a nursery rhyme game where you had to figure out the nursery rhyme by the clues: For example- "Clumsy couple on an errand to the well" (Jack and Jill)











I had such a great night..thank you everyone for making baby #3 and I feel so special!




How far along? 35 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yep!
Sleep: Still trying to take daily naps….sleep is random each night.  Some nights I can sleep great, other nights I have trouble falling and staying asleep
Best moment this week: Getting stuff done around the house and spending time with family on Sunday AND dinner with the Kolb girls to celebrate our new baby!!!
Miss Anything?  Nothing new this week
Movement: Eric and Jacob finally felt the baby move this week.  His movements are so random it’s hard to catch them to have someone else feel them.  He’s more awake in the morning and at night.  Finally felt him hiccup for the first time this week!
Food cravings: nothing new
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week!
Gender:  BOY
Labor Signs: more and more contractions each day, nothing significant though.  Hoping they are working to help make labor quicker and easier!
 Symptoms:  same as last week….sore, tired, uncomfortable and now acid reflux, ugh!
Belly Button in or out? It’s still mostly flat
Happy or Moody most of the time
Happy!
Looking forward to: Finishing getting everything ready for baby….wondering when the nesting will come???