Week 36

http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week36

Well we are officially 9 months pregnant now! Most people would misinterpret this as meaning that birth should occur any minute now but the truth is that gestation is not complete until after the full 4 weeks of month 9 and right now we are only 3 days into month 9. . . but who is counting right?

Our next prenatal visit is January 5th and along with this visit will be another ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid volume as well as Mia's estimated weight and length.

For those of you who think pregnancy is a great vacation from PMS symptoms--think again! I have been experiencing menstrual like cramping in my lower abdomen and back for quite some time now (increasing in frequency) and the braxton-hicks contractions seem relentless at times and then just dissappear.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with family. It was nice for Dave and I to get to see all of his family in New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Our kitties were glad for our return though and now my best friend (since we were 4 yrs old) Vicki is coming into town in just 2.5 hrs.

Only 2 more weeks (week 38) until Mia is officially considered "full term" but at this point the doctors wouldn't try to stop or intervene (via drugs) with a delivery and there aren't any known long-term complications with a delivery at/after week 36 to my knowledge.

Happy early New Year!!

Week 35

http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week35

We had a breastfeeding class scheduled for Monday but it was cancelled (instructor had laryngitis). . .I guess we just aren't having luck with these classes. It was rescheduled for this coming Monday. We did finally take the infant/child CPR & safety class, which was the most useful so far in my opinion. We learned about infant seat installation, babyproofing the house and CPR/choking interventions. Our final lamaze class wasn't much better than the other one. . . we feel it should've been called "getting ready for labor" instead of lamaze, which implies you would learn about relaxation and breathing techniques (this section took up only 5 minutes of each class).

Well Dave finished one of his big exams for school and has only 1 more before he can move onto his dissertation (yay!). :) I have been running myself ragged doing as many experiments as possible before Mia's arrival but am anxiously looking forward to our well deserved rest and relaxation in New Hampshire (only 1 more day after today!).

Oh yeah, I fell down our stairs Friday. I think it was because I was wearing socks and slipped. I fell on my back and it knocked the wind out of me, which made me scared (I knew Mia was fine). So I was bawling like a baby and Dave was sweet to offer me ice for my back but I really just think it unleashed all of my pent up stresses from work; I felt okay physically.

Only 1 more week until we are 9 months along in the pregnancy.

Edible comparison: "Your baby, now as hefty as a honeydew melon at 5 1/4 pounds, doesn't have much room to maneuver in your belly. (Length: more than 18 inches, headto heel.)"

Happy Holidays everyone!

Week 34

http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week34

Many of you may know what a champion sleeper I am. I can sleep through anything, sleep anywhere and even fall asleep if I don't actually feel tired. I give all the credit for this to my mom who, when it was nap time, simply pulled out my baby sleeping bag and put me down wherever we were. But this champion sleeper is slipping. An achiness in my hip kept me up for 2 nights in a row (waking every hour or so) and sporatically since then. Also, once awake, my body is keenly aware of its full tiny bladder and so I'm awakened even more by sleepily getting up to pee, oftentimes bumping into things on my way. Anywho, the midwife says this achiness in my hip is likely due to the back (read: bony part) of Mia's head pressing against nerves in my spine. This news actually makes me happier, afterall I can't be mad at Mia and so I've been using this pain to remind me to practice relaxation techniques (which will help me on the "big day") to get back to bed.

Prenatal appointment update (12/11/08): I weigh 147lbs now so that's 22lbs gained in total so far. My blood pressure was 116/82 a tiny bit raised as I had just come from my morning swim but still a great BP nonetheless. Mia's heartrate was 150 bpm and my uterus was measuring at a perfect 33cm.

We finally went on a tour of the labor/delivery unit at Lourdes and have decided to have Mia there. They know the midwives better and have a less medicalized feel about L&D.

The lamaze class was okay but not terribly useful.

Our infant/child safety & CPR class was cancelled due to the snowstorm rescheduled for next week. Our breastfeeding class was cancelled and rescheduled for next week also because the instructor had laryngitis. That means that 3 out of 4 of our classes have been rescheduled--annoying to say the least.

The prenatal massage was amazing! She did my whole back and even my butt region (for the sciatica and hip pain). I felt like telling her (but didn't have the courage) to just stay in the butt region because that is where I needed it most but the rest was okay too. Mia and I were quite relaxed and, for Mia, this means she was moving a lot--a funny way of showing her relaxation!

Our next prenatal appointment is 1/5/08 after our return from New Hampshire. We will be getting an ultrasound at this appt too in order to check her weight/length and the amount of amniotic fluid that surrounds her. After this appointment, we will be meeting weekly until Mia's arrival.

Have a nice week everyone!

Week 33

http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week33

So my camera hasn't arrived yet but I will post my update and then upload the pictures as soon as it arrives.
It finally happened. . . I got a visit from the stretch mark fairy :( I really thought I would be one of those few lucky women who escaped the battle scars of pregnancy but oh well. They could be a lot worse and at least I had our photo shoot before they appeared. Dave says they will fade with time and I have already read about a cream that is supposedly great at treating stretch marks called StriVectin.

Our lamaze class was supposed to be last weekend (Sat and Sun) but Friday just before leaving work a woman called saying they couldn't get the instructor and so lamaze class was cancelled. Our alternative class started in January and met once a week for 3 weeks, which I thought would cut it too close to our estimated due date. So we opted to take classes #2 and 3 in December and then we'll take class #1 in January. Dave called the woman back and scheduled us this way.

Oh and after starting a new experiment today that lasted more than 5 hrs my back was killing me so I called the spa that Matt & Harold had gotten me a gift certifercate at and promptly made an appointment. This Thursday at 12:15pm I will be in blissful heaven.

Next prenatal appt: Thursday at 9am (we are also going to tour the labor & delivery unit of Lourde's hospital so we can once and for all make our decision on where to have Mia)

Have a happy week everyone!

Week 32

http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week32

Sorry for the belated update this week. I was in Orlando, FL for Thanksgiving visiting my cousins. We returned Monday at 11pm. Tuesday was a catch up day at work but I was so exhausted from my travels that I went home early and took at 2.5 hr nap. So I really did most of my catch up work yesterday. As you can see there are no belly pictures in this post. This will be the first time we miss a week. I accidentally left my camera in my mom's purse over the break and it is currently en route back to Binghamton so that week 33 will have belly pics. Regardless, I will post some of our professional shots from the maternity photo shoot we did November 22nd (31.5 wks). The photographer is a local artist, Steven Gorgos, a senior in college who only started photography in his freshman year.

So we finally found a pediatrician we like (thanks to Dave). His name is Dr. Russell Elliott Galatzan I believe. He kind of looks like uncle Fester a bit (large man, very bald) but he seems nice. There are 2 other pediatricians in the same building so we can eventually see who fits us best. For now, Dr. Galatzan seems to work.

Oh, I am now having the joyous experience of needing to get up to go pee in the middle of the night. From what I hear I am lucky (most women have already been experiencing this for some time). So long as I don't turn any lights on (and don't bump into any walls) I am able to go back to sleep pretty easily so that's good.

We have our lamaze classes this weekend (9-1pm Saturday & Sunday--ugh) and thanks to Matt's early holiday present to me I will be getting my first ever professional pregnancy massage whenever I want (he bought me a gift certifercate). I will probably book this soon :)

OK this makes no sense to me but here it is:

"Your baby is taking up more and more space in your uterus and weighs as much as a large jicama -- about 3 3/4 pounds. (Length: about 16 3/4 inches, head to heel.)" I don't think these things work for Mia anymore considering she was almost 4 lbs back at 30 weeks but they're still fun to look at.

Week 31

http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week31

Well today is the first day you are all reading this from the blog (vs an email). It took a lot of time to post all the other weeks but thanks to the fact that I never empty my "sent" mailbox (along with the help of Matt for some I couldn't find) we now have the full pregnancy record online for Mia to see in the future.

Our 30.5 week appointment went very well. I am now up to 144 lbs (almost at the 20 lb mark!) and my blood pressure is still good (110/80), Mia's heart rate is 148 and my uterus is measuring exactly 30.5 cm. We had an ultrasound first to confirm that the Braxton Hicks contractions were just those (vs premature labor) and sure enough they were (ultrasound showed no thinning of my cervix). The ultrasound technician reconfirmed that Mia is a girl and estimated her weight at 3lbs, 15oz so she is in the 72nd percentile right now with regard to weight. If you haven't already perhaps you can use this information to make a good guess on Mia's details (day of birth, weight, length etc) on her birth pool thingy online at www.expectnet.com/games/MiaLibbie. As for the test results, my glucose levels look normal (I had 106, higher than 140 is bad) but I was a little low on iron (I had 11 and she'd prefer not to see results below a 12). We decided to add a Slow Fe iron supplement. Mia will be fine (she takes my iron) but the supplement wil help with my fatigue, shortness of breath, etc. Other than that things are looking great. I will upload the ultrasound pictures now and the belly pics later (we forgot to take the pics this morning, thought we lost the camera).

Ultrasound pictures:

profile (head/body)


profile (she's looking at you)


This one is hard to see, most of her head is in the dark towards the right (see if you can make out her nose, lips and chin)


DON'T BE AFRAID! She has a full head in reality but this was a neat 3D technique that the ultrasound technician was trying to show us. It is apparently really hard to get a good image but you can get the gist nonetheless right?

Week 30

Hello everyone!
So we are finally in the "30's" in terms of weeks pregnant. Without being premature we have anywhere from 7-10 weeks left. Mia is moving like a maniac recently. Sometimes she kicks, sometimes she wriggles and sometimes it just feels like there is an earthquake going on in my belly. It is very easy to catch her moving either with your eyes or your hand since she is moving so often. Still though the movements aren't hurting me like some women say; perhaps they will later though. They startle me occasionally but no jabs to my ribs or bladder really.

Updates: we have another appt Thursday (with an ultrasound) where we should hear about our glucose results. Then, on Saturday we are having a maternity photo shoot, which I'm a bit nervous about. A week from tomorrow we have another appt/interview with a pediatrician. And of course there is Thanksgiving right around the corner, which means Mary has a birthday coming up too :) Nothing much to report with me except minor fatigue, more backaches and general inability to get comfy on a couch I used to consider quite comfortable. Hey, remember how I used to tell you how big Mia was with regard to an edible? Well I just went back to that website today and found this:
Your baby rivals a good-size cabbage in weight, tipping the scales this week at 3 pounds. (Length: about 15 3/4 inches, head to heel.)So it seems that Mia is almost halfway to an average term baby weight :)

Mojo and I lounging on the couch:

Week 29

I recently took my glucose test (to test for gestational diabetes). The stuff you have to drink wasn't bad at all and I had no wooziness or anything afterwards. I assume we'll get the results at our next appt (Nov 20th). I am leaving today for a conference in Washington DC and will return Saturday evening. We have our maternity photo shoot Nov 22nd, which should be fun. Then, Thanksgiving in Orlando! After that, I don't travel again until Christmas (in NH), which will be nice because after Thanksgiving we will only have 2 months left! With every snow forecast and every frosty morning we know we are closer to meeting Mia and thus, we have never embraced the oncoming winter as much as we are now.
Hope this message finds you happy and healthy; enjoy the article and photos!
StaciePS- I picked up a baby record book for Mia the other day and have already started filling it out by putting her sonogram pictures and all. It is a lovely book.

Week 28

What is this world coming to with an update about week 28 occurring almost at week 29? I guess we were very busy playing catch up after our 5-year reunion at Knox College and then the batteries of our camera ran out and so on. Well there is much to update on:

Reunion: the college reunion was great! It was nice seeing so many friends and being in the great relaxing, serene midwest where we first met. We planted a tree for Mia right near our engagement tree at lake Storey. The 15 hr (one way) road trip was a lot better than I had imagined. Dave was a trooper insisting on driving most of the way and we always took our time walking around the rest stops ensuring no fluid build-up in my ankles etc. I think it worked or at least I don't seem swollen yet. It was tough to sleep in the car but with the help of my pregnancy pillow I managed to on several occasions.

Prenatal appt: I have gained a total of 18 lbs (143 lbs now) and my blood pressure still looks great (120/70). No protein/sugars in my urine. Mia's heart rate (130) is as pleasant to listen to and as strong as ever. The doctor was able to tell me that her head was down in my pelvis already but there is no telling that she will stay there. Although they say that she should be going head down to stay sometime soon so maybe she'll stay put, who knows. Her kicks are increasing in frequency and intensity, which still never ceases to amaze me. To watch my belly wiggle and squirm puts a smile on my face every time. Due to the number of B-H contractions that I felt in the past our midwife scheduled us for another appt in 2 weeks (vs 3) with an ultrasound to check my cervix length. That'll put our minds at ease. Just yesterday I had my blood taken to make sure I'm not a gestational diabetic so stay tuned for those results.

Upcoming events: In early-mid December we have the rest of our prenatal classes including Lamaze, breastfeeding and infant CPR.

New symptoms: I think the 3rd trimester fatigue set in a bit yesterday but perhaps it was just a one day thing. . . we'll see. I have also gotten heartburn a couple of times but not too often. Overall, I feel great both physically and emotionally.

Dave and I are really getting excited to meet Mia but she still has about 80 days to incubate :)

Trees:

our engagement tree

our engagement tree plaque (in Galesburg's city hall). . . who is Joe Anderson anyway?

Mia's tree

Week 27

It has been such a hectic week already and it is only Monday :) The only thing new to report anyhow is that I have been getting occasional Braxton-Hicks contractions and some dizziness. I will tell my midwife about both of these when we see her on Monday (a week from today). I did actually call the doctors office about the B-H contractions and they assured me it was normal. They are pretty irregular and well spaced out so I'm sure it is just my uterus exercising in order to grow and prepare for its big job in a couple of months. The dizziness is new and I think it just might be related to some stress but don't worry. . . I am going to yoga tonight so that should help. I have never craved my yoga class as much as I do today; it will be great to unwind after a long day.

Week 26

Well, this was quite a weekend I must say! I missed seeing a couple of you but you were definitely in our thoughts this weekend. The baby shower was one of the most amazing experiences I have had in quite some time (since about March 30th I'd have to say). The level of generosity shown to our little family was emotionally overwhelming. A huge thanks goes out to Matt and Harold for throwing me such a wonderful party. The decorations were adorable, the food scrumptious and the goodie bags/Mia CD were mouth watering and heart warming. I could not have designed a better pair of uncles for our little Mia.

Attached are our week 26 photos. It is funny how some people claim that I look small for 6 months and others say I am huge :) I guess all pregnancies are unique. I feel great though but have definitely noticed that it is a wee bit harder to bend over. Mia's simple kicks are getting more complex with the addition of wriggled, wiggles and squirms. I heard that week 32 (right around thanksgiving) will be the peak of her activity before she begins to run out of room in there.

Dave and I are now going to our prenatal appt's every 3 weeks and our next one is 11/3 when we will have to do our glucose test for gestational diabetes. This Thursday we will be attending our very last "Getting to know Baby" class and the others (breastfeeding, Lamaze, and infant CPR) aren't until December or so.

Well, Mia is now opening her eyes for the first time and peaking around at her womb. Her brain, body fat and lungs continue to be big developers.

A couple baby shower pictures:

Thank you everyone for the amazing generosity!

Matt & I

Long distance travel awards: mom, Mary and Aunt Judy

Week 25

Details from 24.5 week prenatal visit: my weight = 139, my bp = 112/70, Mia's heartrate = 154

Nothing much to report (no news is good news). I visited family in Baltimore this weekend and luckily my ankles didn't swell up on the drive there and back (totaling 10 hrs). We had a great time together and I got some very nice presents for Mia. I think I am getting a slight linea negra however (midline pigment down my belly)--you can see it a bit on the front view picture. This is probably because I have an olive skin tone. Pale people don't tend to get it.

Week 24

Wow, 6 months! We are 3/5 of the way now and getting very excited. This week is the pediatrician interview, another prenatal appt and our first baby class. . . very busy. Nothing much else here. Enjoy the pictures :)

Week 23

Dear family and friends,
News to report this week is that we have signed up for our prenatal classes. We saved a bunch by signing up for 3 in a bundle so there are a lot of classes:
Getting ready for baby (starts Oct. 9), Lamaze (in Dec.), and Breastfeeding (also in Dec.). Dave and I also thought it was important to take a baby/child CPR/airway obstruction class so we will be taking that as well. Additionally, we have just begun our search for pediatricians. We have a free "meet the doctor" appointment this Tuesday, so wish us luck. If we like this guy we don't have to continue searching, which would be great! According to that website I used to tell you about, Mia weighs about the same as a large mango (almost a pound I think) and she is just about a foot long (head to feet).
Have a great week! I can't believe we are just about 6 months along-- time if flying!

Week 22

Hello everyone! No news is good news right? There hasn't been much different going on with me this past week. Although, Dave and I went to our nephew's 4th birthday party and got a bunch of hand-me-downs from my former sister in law. My favorite was a blanket that makes a heartbeat sound. Allegedly, babies are comforted by this familiar tune. Additionally, Mary bought me some much needed maternity clothes (2 pairs of pants and 3 sweaters). I am currently wearing one of the pants. As you can see in my front view picture, my belly button still hasn't popped out yet but I think it is getting there. Next week I hope to get Dave and I signed up for some prenatal classes covering: basic care, breastfeeding, infant CPR, infant nutrition etc. It will be a time commitment but we think it is important. That's about it for now.

Week 21

It's a girl!!!!




Details from the 20 week appt: my weight is now 134 lbs, bp 110/72, baby's heartrate 156 and my uterus is measuring at a nice 20 cm.

Since SHE can now hear us, Dave and I have been reading to her a bit. Dave's favorite was The Lorax by Dr. Seuss so we're reading that. I will attach some of our nursery pictures along with the belly pictures and a picture of my new pregnancy pillow (courtesy of a b-day present from Mary). Your baby -- currently the length of a carrot -- weighs about 3/4 of a pound. (Length: 10 1/2 inches, head to heel.)







Ultrasound picture descriptions:



Fetal feet, Female parts ;), profile




nursery (crib on left, dresser and changing table on right)



Pregnancy pillow (a Snoogle)

Week 20

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY TO MOMMY, DADDY, MARY AND MORTON!!!! The card is late because we wanted to include ultrasound pictures in it :)

Well, we've finally reached the halfway point of pregnancy though I feel the second half may go by slower than the first half considering we didn't even know we were pregnant for that first month or so. We finally have all 3 pieces of baby furniture just barely squeezed into our little nursery and I will try to remember to take pictures of that for next week's update. Matt and Harold came up this weekend to celebrate our (Matt and my) birthday. We went to the Corning Museum of Glass as an alternative to kayaking since it was so rainy and then had a birthday party that night. We sang karaoke, ate cake, played board games and had a really nice time. Only 3 more days until we get our 20 week ultrasound! I'll try to attach a picture of that to next week's update as well. Nothing else new. I hope you all are happy and healthy.
Love,
StaciePS- don't forget to look at this week's belly pics! The one with my head in it is a picture of my new dress (Dave got this for me for my birthday).