8 Months or 32 Weeks

So much has happened in the past 3 weeks! JJ and I attended our first and second Child Birthing classes out at Winter Park Hospital. On Saturday, November 13th we went to an all day seminar learning all about the child birth process (natural, medicated and c-sections), some breathing and relaxation techniques and other general baby knowledge. On the 22nd of November we attended the Child Care class offered by the hospital. This was a much shorter class consisting of bathing, diapering and comforting techniques. I know it sounds so simple and a lot of people wonder why we decided to take these classes, but they are fun and JJ and I really have learned some helpful things so far. Since we are so new to all of this, we want to know everything going into it. We have two more classes in December, and we are really looking forward to those.

Working on preparing for babies arrival we went to Babies R Us with Anthony’s Mom-Mom (my Mom) and picked out his nursery furniture. We chose the crib and changing table from the Palisades collection in a Cherry Wood color. We will be using a dresser that his Mom-Mom had when she was growing up, and was then passed down to me in bedroom as a little girl too. We will have fun in the next few weeks painting and decorating it to match his fire nursery theme.

We cannot wait to set up his room, which we spent two whole days cleaning and organizing! For the time being he will share his nursery with our home office, but we really condensed it. There’s only the desk with the computer in there, leaving plenty of room for all of Anthony’s furniture. Shortly after he arrives we will be searching for a bigger house to live in. But we figure he’ll be such a little guy for a while, he won’t know the difference anyways.

I had my 31 week appointment on Tuesday, November 23rd. Although it wasn’t my best experience at the office, we were happy to hear Anthony’s heartbeat, as always. We were really rushed through the appointment from start to finish and left kind of upset and with our questions unanswered. The medical assistant who took my weight didn’t even bother to adjust the scale, making me heavier than I actually was at the appointment. However, according to her assessment, I have gained 2lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. (Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be unhappy if that was the case, it’s just the principal.) 

We also briefly discussed my working options. It appears as though December 15th will be my last day on the job before going out for Maternity Leave. It’s getting far too difficult to be on 24 hour shifts, running all sorts of crazy calls at all hours of the day and night, and I feel bad having to rely so heavily on my partner and the fire department for assistant. The lifting requirements for my job are 150lbs at any given time. Just the stretcher with our equipment makes up that weight, so throw a patient into the mix and the number sky rockets. Luckily, I’ve had a great partner for the second half of this pregnancy and other colleagues who have really helped me out, but I feel like they shouldn’t have to do extra work because I’m just not able to do it anymore. Also, my limbs are swelling so bad after a shift that I’m stuck resting the whole next day. Not to mention, the lack of sleep is really starting to get to my brain. Overall, the stress and physical requirements just aren’t worth the risk to Anthony or me. He could come really early if I continue any longer than that, and we want him to bake as long as possible. It puts me out at 35 weeks, which is around the norm for my field.

The other night JJ (and Jenny) put the stroller together and we tested the car seat in both our vehicles. We were a little concerned the seat wouldn’t fit in my Ion being that it was a larger model carrier, but to our surprise it fits just fine. I test drove it around for a few days. :)

We celebrated Thanksgiving surrounded by lots of family. JJ worked until 2:30pm, so I went and watched the Macy’s parade with Mom and Pierson, and then went to my Dad’s house for lunch, and then back to Mom’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. JJ’s family joined us this year, which was a nice treat. The food was amazing, and Anthony really seemed to enjoy the desserts, especially his Mom-Mom’s White Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake.

How Mom is doing: Anthony is still a really active little guy! He moves around constantly and kicks/punches all day and night. I’m surprised he still has room to flip around in there, but he manages just fine. I’m convinced I have a few bruised ribs already. The heartburn has really been well managed with the Zantac, thank goodness. I can really tell when I miss a dose. Still no odd ball cravings. Sleep is still a major ordeal, and I suspect it won’t be getting any better anytime soon. I’m pretty uncomfortable these days, lots of back and hip pains. And it’s awfully hard to get up from a sitting or laying down position. I’ve also been having a ton of Braxton Hick’s contractions each day. Luckily they aren’t painful, just a little uncomfortable squeezing of my abdominal muscles.

29 Weeks

So I had my 7 month check up this past week, and also took the 1 hour glucose test at the same appointment. Anthony's heartbeat was very strong, and the doctor said my is belly growing right on track. We were concerned about my weight gain, or lack thereof, and the doctor said he was comfortable with my numbers. I am still down 1lb pre-pregnancy. He did say that I may start to gain some weight in the next 12 weeks as this is when the baby does the most growing. We shall see what the next few weeks bring. Sadly, we were told we wouldn't have any more ultrasounds unless there were any questions or concerns. We could have a 3d/4d ultrasound, but it's not covered by insurance and costs $100. It's supposed to give the parents a pretty good indication of what the baby will look like at birth, but we chose to forgo it and put the money towards newborn pictures when Anthony is about 2 weeks old.  But, I thought I'd get to see him at least one more time before he was born. :(

Baby Bump 28w4d

I was informed a few days after my appointment that I didn't pass my 1hr glucose test. I got a 142, passing for regular patients is 140, but with my history of Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome (something that can cause insulin resistance all by itself) and my families extensive history of diabetes, they'd prefer to see it below 130. So I went back in for the 3hr glucose test. I was instructed to fast for 12 hours prior to the test. I showed up, they drew my blood, I drank the 10oz of disgusting lemon-lime sugar water, and then had my blood drawn once every hour for three hours. My poor arm looked like a pin cushion when all was said and done. They sent the blood off to the lab over the weekend, and called today with the awesome results. No gestational diabetes for me, thank goodness. What a relief!

JJ and I have started to move things around and organize our apartment for Anthony coming home. I made room next to my bed for the Pack N' Play with the bassinet and changing table combo we're hoping to get and use in the first few months. We will start organizing our spare bedroom to make room for Anthony's nursery next. We have a TON of work to do in there, as we use it as a storage room/office right now and there is only so much room in this tiny apartment. Looks like it might be time to have a garage sale and get rid of some of the junk we have but never use. 

He's still moving around a ton. The doctor told me at our appointment that I can take 3 Zantac a day for the heartburn and see if that helps any, and it has been a Godsend! My heartburn, which has plagued me since the very beginning, is virtually gone. I don't want to jinx it, but it's amazing what a relief it has been. Sleeping has become a bit of an ordeal, I can only sleep on my left side, as I can't seem to breathe when on my right side and my back is a big no no (cuts off oxygen supply to the baby). The bed is getting smaller and smaller with the pillows I'm using. JJ says it's time for a King size bed, and sometime down the line, he may be right.

We've also started crate training our dog Jenny in preparation for Anthony's arrival. We haven't left her in it unsupervised (that didn't go well in the past) but she goes in it at bed time to create some boundaries. I figured we could use it when people come over to visit, or when the baby is laying on the floor for Tummy Time, or just when we need a break. She seems to like it now, as she will randomly go in there when we are watching TV in our bedroom. She laid in there all day today when I was cleaning, watching me, probably wondering what I was doing since she hasn't really seen me clean in the past 5 months, haha. :)

Jenny snuggling in her cage