2 1/2 wks to go

i am getting so bored!!! i have been crocheting, but can only take so much of that before my fingers start cramping & then i need a break. i am completely caught up on all of the general conference i missed between work & childbirth classes. we had 2 childbirth education classes at the birth center. i really liked it - i felt like it touched on a little bit of everything. they gave us ice cubes to hold in our hands & practice breathing techniques. then just the women held the ice cubes & our partners tried different ways to comfort us. well i definitely started to realize things i like & don't like when i'm extremely uncomfortable lol so it was some good practice. they gave us a picture of a pregnant woman/side profile/anatomy type pic with lines. it was like a pop quiz. morgan & i did the best...of course. in fact, morgan started sounding like the teacher when he pointed out that one arrow didn't just point to the pelvis, in fact it was the pubis symphysis - a ligament that holds the pelvis together & relaxes as the hormone relaxin (secreted in pregnancy) is released in preparation for childbirth. it was pretty funny he taught the childbirth instructor quite a few things in fact. my most favorite part of the childbirth class was day 2 - the instructor had all the partners/spouses sit on the floor with a baby doll & a blanket. they learned how to swaddle the baby. i was laughing so hard i was crying. morgan thought he knew what he was doing - he knows how to make burritos.... he kept covering the baby's face with the blanket & didn't realize it. i couldn't stop laughing. we might need to do some practicing before this baby comes...

i had another appointment at the birth center this week. they didn't check me again - they don't want to do anything to stimulate labor, so i don't think they'll check me again until my appointment in another 1 1/2 wks, unless something significant happens. well honestly, at the beginning of being on bedrest (days 2 & 3) i didn't even really notice any contractions. yeah of course i was still getting braxton hicks, but those are no big deal. since then, i still will have at least a couple hours a day of getting 2 min long contractions 7-10 apart, occasionally 4-6 min but not consistently. i've called my midwife a couple of times, but really when you keep hearing the same advice over & over (and you're already doing those things) it gets kinda old. so i'm just chilling & am only going to worry if i get down to 5 min apart.

i had an ultrasound this week. i guess everything looked good - haven't heard anything from my midwife so i guess it's pretty unremarkable. which is good. my last ultrasound they noticed some placental separation - and honestly i was kind of worried that was the reason for all the contractions & preterm labor. so i feel better now that we've had another ultrasound. they estimated her weight to be 5 lb 1 oz. she's getting pretty crammed in there!! but i need her to keep growing & getting that cute baby fat.

so i guess while on bed rest this is a great opportunity to put on the pounds. now i feel like the definition of a couch potato. but since i'm probably burning less calories than anything else i would be doing, maybe i'll actually start gaining some weight now that i'm at the end of my pregnancy & start looking like how far along i actually am.

bedrest...

Over the past few months I have had lots of braxton hicks contractions - these have picked up in frequency over the past few weeks. Especially on my days on at the hospital I would get contractions every 4 or 5 minutes, when I started feeling back pain & they would get really uncomfortable I started to get worried. However, after having midwifes tell me to go home, lay down, drink lots of water, etc. I was beginning to think that was all they would tell me to do. So I just kind of did those things on my own for a while, because the frequency of contractions were still there - I probably should have been calling almost every day though (since you should call if you get more than 4 contractions in an hour). This past weekend I called again because it was happening on Sunday & I hadn't done much that day besides go to church. I was told similar things once again - which I was already doing.

The next day (Monday) I went to work to see how it would go. The morning started off ok - I wasn't noticing too many contractions, but a couple hours into the shift I started feeling pressure - everytime I stood up or walked around (which is a lot as a nurse lol). The contractions started picking up & I thought I should probably go home & call my midwife. So I did. My midwife had me come in the following day so she could check me.

Tuesday I went into the birth center to discover that I am 1 1/2 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and baby's head is at station 0. Yikes. So this little baby's plan has been discovered - she has been trying to come early. Naughty naughty. So I am on bedrest now. Today has been good & I've stayed down all day & haven't really noticed too many contractions. Another appointment & an ultrasound tomorrow - we'll see how everything's going!

Baby Shower

Was this one really a baby gift? Seems to fit me better... maybe I'll have to try it out :)

This was my favorite game - everybody got a piece of chewing gum to mold into a baby. I was really impressed with a lot of the babies - some had pacifiers in their mouths, bows in their hair, bibs, etc. My favorite was actually a ninja baby made by my friend Jessica - she had a ninja headband on & a ninja sword :)

Ok so this game may look disgusting but it's actually pretty fun - candy bars melted in diapers & you guess which candy bar it is....

In August, my good friend Bethany threw me a baby shower. It was perfect! Great food & great friends! Thanks to everyone who came - it was so fun!!

Graduation

The baby bump is still there - just hiding!

This post is way past due but I just got the pics from my mom (lol my mom made my brother send all the pics to me actually :D thanks Sam!). So I finished nursing school in April & of course Nova didn't have us walk until August. So here I am finally walking. Yes, I had to request work off so I could graduate :)

contractions & morning sickness

I feel like I'm either on the home stretch or getting really close. In 3 1/2 wks I will officially be full term....but who's counting? It's hard not to count when I get contractions all the time. Most the time they're braxton hicks-like contractions, but sometimes I notice back pain/mild cramping with them & that makes me really nervous. Especially since I get them really frequently at least one or more times each week (like every five minutes). I thought it was a Saturday thing for this little baby, but this week it's been occurring more consistently. Am I dehydrated you might ask? Since that is the #1 cause of preterm labor. No I am not. I have been very mindful of my water intake since my first scare with contractions every 5 min, and I still seem to get these. Even tonight I went to a breastfeeding class & I looked at the clock every time I got a contractions & they were consistently every 10-12 minutes. What's the deal?

People say that the 2nd trimester is the honeymoon of the pregnancy & that you see a return of different symptoms in the 3rd trimester. So far I have found that to be true. Although, I can't say my 2nd trimester felt like a honeymoon since I have never had complete relief of my nausea & vomiting... or even heartburn for that matter. I had to keep myself from eating chips & salsa, spaghetti or anything with red sauce, nacho cheese dorrito chips, etc. to avoid how awful I would feel afterward with the heartburn (and that was even after eating some tums). Well it has gotten worse in the 3rd trimester. I was so excited to make it to the grocery store the other week & finally get my starburst I had been craving... just to find that it gave me terrible heartburn? That really surprised me. Who knew starburst could give you heartburn. In my 2nd tri the nausea & vomiting was less frequent, once a week at the most. That seems to be speeding up now :( And I'm wondering if zofran even works for me anymore. Not that it every worked amazing, but it's not preventing me from feeling nauseous or even throwing up. I've been feeling really crummy lately & haven't had a great appetite due to that but for some reason I am always in the mood for a bean burrito from taco bell come dinner time.

I'm noticing that it's hard to put socks & shoes on. Most the time I wear flip flops or my danskos that just slip on. The other week Morgan wanted to go for a run, so I rode the bike while he ran. In getting ready, Morgan actually put my shoes on for me - it's hard to reach that far down. Now I try to imagine if I was as big as a typical 8 month pregnant woman... I don't think I'd even be able to put my socks on...

Baby girl gets hiccups A LOT. Today she had the hiccups 3-4 different times. Morgan doesn't like it when she gets the hiccups & always tells me to jump up & down or do jumping jacks. Sometimes I wonder if I should be doing anything when she gets them...

Cravings/foods that I love... I already mentioned my bean burritos from taco bell, medium cheddar cheese, string cheese, cookies & cream ice cream, and I would almost say starburst except now I don't like them because of the heartburn.