38 Weeks

I had another doctor's appointment today. Brandon took off from work to come with me, mostly because all of the ladies at work told him that he should. The doctor did another ultrasound to measure the baby. He weighs an estimated 8+ lbs. He wants to get him here before he gets any bigger, but he doesn't want to risk lung underdevelopment by starting me sooner than we have to. I have another appointment next week and if I don't go into labor by then, then he will induce me at that appointment. He didn't check to see if I'm dilated because I'm not having any real contractions, so I hope that I'm progressing on my own. The Scouts are doing highway cleanup tomorrow, so maybe that will help.
This baby is thoroughly searching my insides for a way out. Most of the time he tries to get out the side and it makes my stomach look like I ate an oblong watermelon. He also really likes to push down, which really hurts and it feels like he's about to break my water.
My Braxton Hicks are getting worse, but I still don't think they are real contractions. On Monday evening they were coming every three minutes and getting more uncomfortable, but they stopped before they turned into real contractions. He starts moving as soon as I lie down, which prevents me from getting any sleep at all. I think it goes without saying that I am super grumpy and irritable. Xander has been really good to watch cartoons while I sleep-in in the mornings.
I thought that I might get through this pregnancy without stretch marks because he has been using all of the ones that Xander made for me. Well, they have started to appear. They are not totally new, just little extentions to the old ones. Thankfully they are just little dots right now and they don't itch.
My feet are looking pretty sad because I can't bend over to reach them. I asked Brandon to paint them for me, but he refused. He would have done it if we were dating and not married for the last 6.5 years.
I have lost my appetite lately. Nothing sounds good to eat, except Texas Sheet Cake, of course.
I never go anywhere, and no one ever comes here, so I rarely do my hair and make-up. I have started to do it every day this week, just in case I go into labor. I've got my cameras charged and packed and my hospital bag is mostly packed and ready to go. I need to get Xander a bag packed, even though I have no idea where he will go when the baby comes. I'm sure he would love to be in the room with us, but that would stress me out too much.

Your baby is growing full-steam ahead, accumulating fat and gaining about an ounce every day, but she is about as long as she will get for now.

She is practicing breathing as her lungs continue to develop, as well as urinating and storing up meconium -- a dark substance composed of bile, mucus and epithelial cells -- that will become her first bowel movement. But even though her grip is getting firmer in utero, you still have years until she grasps the whole potty-training thing... At least you have time to prepare!

37 Weeks

I went and saw the family doctor today. He was really nice and made sure that all of my medical history was reviewed and that all of my questions were answered. He explained, in great detail, how a spinal epidural works. I'd rather just know that it does work, and not how. He didn't check my progress because I haven't felt any painful contractions. I finally gained a few pounds this week, which makes me fell a little better that he is actually growing. my blood pressure is good and there was no sugar in my urine, so that's good. I had him look at Xander's finger that is still infected while we were there. He wrote him an antibiotic prescription and asked if he was allergic to any antibiotics. I said I didn't know because he has never been on antibiotics. He couldn't believe that he is three and a half and never been on antibiotics. I guess being pro-germ and never going anywhere has made him pretty hardy when it comes to diseases.

I'm pretty grateful this week that I have a strict diet to follow. Last Thursday we had a busy day, so I didn't eat very well. By the end of the day I was really feeling horrible. I was nauseous, had a headache, and the worst heartburn of my life. I'm pretty thankful that the doctor put me on this diet because I can't imagine feeling like that for months, because I never would have thought to cut sugar out of my diet. I have been super hormonal latley, especially since they added a Pediatric Surgeon to "Grey's Anatomy". I hate how the littlest things make me burst into tears, and it's only going to get worse. I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions this week. I used to just get them when I walked a lot or went up and down stairs. I now get them pretty often all day long. They don't necessarily hurt, but they are uncomfortable and make it hard to relax and breath. Maybe this means that the real thing is going to start soon, I'm not ready!

We still haven't decided on a name, but I appreciate everyone voting on our poll. I read this article today on Yahoo. It talked about the most popular names for 2008. Here are a few of the stats:
Barack and Miley move up, but the classics still rule. Emma is the top baby name for girls, Jacob for boys. Emma's surge to the top in 2008 ended Emily's 12-year reign as the No. 1 baby name for girls, the Social Security Administration announced Friday.

Jacob held onto the boy's crown for the 10th straight year.

Barack may have been the man of the year in 2008 as Obama won the White House, but the president still trails the king. Barack moved up a record 10,126 places to No. 2,409. Elvis is still in the building, though he slipped from 673 to 713.
Emma debuted in the top 10 in 2002, the same year that Jennifer Aniston's character on "Friends" gave the name to her TV show baby. In the latest lineup, Emma was followed by Isabella, Emily, Madison and Ava.
Miley, as in popular teen singer Miley Cyrus, moved up 152 spots to No. 127. But her stage name, Hannah — as in Hannah Montana — fell from No. 9 to No. 17.
The top five boys names remained unchanged from 2007. Jacob was followed by Michael, Ethan, Joshua and Daniel. Alexander joined the top 10 at No. 6 while Andrew dropped out.
New girl names in the national top 1,000 included Isla (623), Mareli (718), Milagros (731), Dayami (750) and Nylah (821).
Debuting among the boys were Aaden (343), Chace (655), Marley (764), Kash (779) and Kymani (836). Beckham debuted at 893, perhaps a nod to the British soccer star, David Beckham, who now plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Thank goodness we are not Democrats, because I'm sure Brandon would be pushing for Barack, and it just does not go with Buck.

Your little athlete is full term -- he has opted to stay and mature instead of bolting for the big leagues. He’s still tiny though; at only 6.5 lbs, he's no linebacker. But he’ll bulk up quickly! Expect him to gain about a half an ounce each day until he is born. Even though he’s still growing, he has probably already settled into the position he’ll be in at birth. And he’s also producing the cortisone that will help him to breathe once he enters our world; even though he’s full term, he’s still doing some every important work!

36 Weeks

On Monday I went and got my glucose tested. I had to wait two hours in between the draws, which my doctor failed to tell me. Luckily Xander was really good. I had an appointment today with my doctor. They were doing an ultrasound today, so Brandon took half a day off and came with us. We got there and waited half an hour. Finally the nurse came out and said that they have a new system and she didn't know I was there and they weren't quite ready for me yet. So we waited another 20 minutes and then were taken back. We waited another 20 minutes in the room for the doctor and were finally able to be seen. Both Brandon and I were pretty annoyed. He now sees why they frustrate me so much. He made sure he was still head down and measured me. I didn't gain any weight this time, which doesn't make sense because I am definitely getting bigger. My test results came back good, so my sugars are under control. We did the ultrasound and all his measurements said that he was in the 6 lb. range, which is normal for my gestation. So, he is not going to start me in two weeks. I'm a little disappointed, but I think it will be good to just go on my own when the baby is ready instead of smoking him out. Next week I am going to see the Family Practitioner that my doctor recommended in case he's not there when I go into labor. He will check me next week and I can get to know him. There are no Pediatricians in the area, so he would do that as well. The week after that I will meet with my doctor again and he will check to see if I'm ready to be induced or not.

Xander thought that he needed to pose in this picture with me, and yes it is snowing outside!


We got the crib set up last night and started painting Xander's bed tonight. We just have to finish Xander's bed and then we will be able to put the crib mattress in the crib and we will be all set, except for the absence of a baby.

I have not been sleeping at all lately. As soon as I lie down, he goes crazy and I can't fall asleep. When I finally do fall asleep, I keep waking up to roll over, which is no easy task. My hips are so stiff and sore in the morning that I can barely get out of bed. So, I am pretty miserable to try and live with these days.

It’s week 36 and it seems as though Baby has developed in the merest blink of an eye -- and this week, that’s what he’s doing: blinking! He’s practicing, just as he has been practicing swallowing and breathing.

Your little genius is also well on his way to achieving that telethon-worthy goal of 100 billion neurons as his brain continues its rapid development.

And proving he's more than just all brains, he's quite the looker. He’s finally plump enough to be officially out of raisin stage -- he even has little dimples on his elbows!

35 Weeks

Please take some time to participate in the new poll on the side. We still can't agree on a name and we need your help. I just want to see what everyone thinks, but I won't necessarily follow your opinions. Maybe this will help us to realize that we do have a favorite. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any other suggestions, but be serious.
I've been thinking a lot about what this unborn child of ours will look like. You have your first child and you think that he/she are the most beautiful child ever created (until their hair falls out and they develop big open eczema wounds all over their face). You then get pregnant with your second child and you can't imagine them looking any different than your first. There is just no other option, they will be the clone of your first born child. However much sense this makes to my hormonal brain, I know that it will not be like this. Siblings never look alike when they are babies. Take my family for instance: there are six of us and none of us looked anything alike when we were born. I was the only one out of six who was born with black hair. Brandon's family is the same, they each had their own look as babies. So, it's been hard for me to imagine what baby Frank will look like, and I'm dieing to know! I'm training myself right now not to compare this baby to Xander. He will have his own look and personality and that's just the way it is. The interesting thing is, my sisters and I didn't look alike as babies, but people still get us mixed up as adults.
Baby Frank's movement patterns have changed over the last few days. He used to go crazy whenever I ate, sat, or lied down. But lately he has been kind of lazy. I called the doctor to see what I should do and she told me to count the movements per hour. I did that and called the nurse back and she said that my numbers sounded fine. They might do a stress test at my next appointment to make sure, but I shouldn't worry.
This week I washed all of our baby bedding and it's ready to be put in the crib. The only problem is, our crib hardware is in Shelley, we hope, because we can't find it. So, the crib parts are just sitting in Xander's room ready to be put together. We got Xander some new cute bedding for his twin bed, which unfortunately is in Shelley as well. It's a good thing we had planned on going this Saturday, because we need to pick up quite a few things. I also got the car seat washed and adjusted the straps to fit a newborn. I can't believe that babies are that small when they are born!

The little chickie in your belly is a little more than 5 lbs now, and closer to hatching everyday.

Her lungs are developed (the better to crow with, my dear) but if she is born now, she will need the help of an incubator to keep her little 20" beach-hat sized body going.

Over the next few weeks, your tiny chirper is going to be increasing her baby fat -- because what songbird wants to spend her first few days confined to a cramped incubator? So, settle down in your nest, preen a little and take it easy.

34 Weeks

I'm a little freaked out because Melissa had her baby yesterday. I bet you are wondering why that would freak me out. It's because I am now at the top of my Baby Bump list, yikes! I guess I'm next in line.
I went to my check-up today, and I was surprised that my doctor was actually there! The only thing that happened that kind of annoyed me is when the nurse took me back to the room, she hadn't cleaned it up yet, so I had to wait while she did that. The Easter weekend kind of screwed me over, so I ended up gaining 3 lbs. in 2 weeks. I just need the snow to melt so that I can get outside and be more active. My doctor looked over my glucose test and said that everything was okay. My levels were still borderline, so he drilled into me that I needed to follow my ADA diet religiously. From here on out is when I can't let my sugar get out of control. I guess it's time for Brandon to hide the Easter candy so that I can't indulge. At my next appointment in two weeks he will do an ultrasound to make sure that the baby is not getting too big. If he is getting too big then he will induce me at 38 weeks. The reason for this is it reduces the risk of having problems getting the baby out with no complications and makes it less likely that I will need a C-Section. He is head down, so that's a big relief. I asked him about what he would recommend about where to deliver. He said that he would rather that I deliver in Afton, especially if I'm going to be induced. He said that they have a brand new awesome OR if I need a C-Section and he lives at the hospital from Wednesday morning until Thursday night, so he would for sure be there if I was induced. I still don't know what to do!
Brandon has now decided that he better think about getting the crib set up. We didn't want to buy a new mattress for the crib, so we are moving Xander from the toddler bed to a lower bunk bed. We got some bunk beds from our old neighbors, they just need to be sanded and either painted or refinished. I'm excited to get some new bedding for him. I think I found one that I'm going to get, and it matches the quilt that my mom is making for baby Frank.
I've had to quit wearing my wedding ring, but I can still wear my bands. It's not that big of a deal because I only wear my ring when I go somewhere, but when I'm out and about my hands have started swell. My feet have started to swell as well and my shoes feel tight. I guess I'll just have to spend some more time on the couch with my feet elevated, darn it!
I've really been into this show lately. It's called "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant". I don't understand the women in this show at all. I can understand how you cannot know for a few months, but to go full term and have no idea that there is life growing inside of you is crazy. I really don't understand the women in this series who have had previous babies, or the ones who didn't know that they were pregnant with twins. These women have a serious case of denial which I think is brought on by not wanting to quit drinking or smoking, not wanting to pay for prenatal care, and expecting to get free stuff for their stupidity.

Pregnancy, labor and delivery are a maternal marathon, to say the least. But don’t think you’re the only one doing the work. This week the tiny athlete inside you is gearing up for “go” and settling into position for labor.

His little organs are fully developed, but he hasn’t reached Carl Lewis condition -- his lungs aren’t ready for the real world yet. He’ll have to cool his heels in the starting blocks for a little longer, which is a good thing if the nursery still isn’t ready!

33 Weeks

There's not much to talk about this week, except that I am still pregnant. I think that the reason this pregnancy has seemed so long is because I'm cooped up here is Wyoming with nothing to take my mind off of being uncomfortable. My diet is going pretty good. I have my moments of weakness, especially when there are Muddy Buddies in the house. I know if I have overdone it because I usually feel like crap afterward. I still have no energy and I have to take lots of breaks and rests during the day. I hung Xander's shirts in his closet and rearranged the rest of his clothes in the dresser to make room for baby Frank's stuff. I got all of his newborn and 0-3 month size clothes put in the dresser and I love to go in and just look at them, especially the new stuff. We are going to Logan this weekend and we have to pick up a lot of stuff. So, I'm making my list, one of my favorite things to do. I haven't decided if I'm going to buy baby lotion or Eucerine. Xander's skin started to get bad when he was about 3 months old, and every time I'd put baby lotion on him he would scream, but he smelled good.

Over the next few weeks, your little one seems more like a mini sumo-in-training, as he’s going to gain more than half of his total birth weight in that short time. Even though the level of your amniotic fluid is at its maximum, at 18" long, your little guy is seriously running out of room -- especially considering that when he's in the fetal position, he's roughly the size of a soccer ball!.

Due to the cramped space, he’s still in that familiar fetal position, and you are definitely going to feel it every time he decides to stretch those long limbs! His bones are steadily hardening -- except for the skull, which has to remain soft for the journey down the birth canal.

Daily fetal kick counts are still important, and you should be experiencing the same amount of movement, so be sure to track the action and call your doctor if there are any significant changes.

32 Weeks

I had a doctor's appointment today. I had to go get some blood work done before my appointment so that they could check my glucose levels again. My appointment was at 9:00 in the morning, so I had to go to the lab pretty early so that they could have my results at my appointment. We only have one running vehicle, so I had to drop Brandon off at work at 7:00. I got up at 5:20 because my phone kept beeping. We got ready and armed with plenty of snacks, and headed to Afton. I got to the lab at about 7:40 and they didn't take me back until 8:10. I then had to eat breakfast and then wait an hour and get my blood drawn again. While I was waiting, I walked over the doctor's office to tell them I would be late for my appointment. The nurse that scheduled my appointment came out and told me that my doctor was on vacation for Spring Break. Are you freakin' kidding me? What is wrong with these people? I was pretty upset, but what could I do? She said that she would see if one of the family doctors could see me real quick, which meant that I wouldn't be able to hear my test results. The doctor couldn't see me, so I saw an intern that was doing her rounds. She was really nice, but I had a lot of questions that only my doctor could have answered. The only good thing about my appointment was that I only gained 1 lb. again, go me! She kind of felt around my belly to see what position he was in. Her best guess was that he is head down with his butt in my ribs and his back on my right side. I figured this was where he was because I am so lopsided. I didn't have much time at my "appointment" because I had to be back to the lab. I ended up waiting about 20 minutes past the time I was supposed to be seen for them to draw my blood. If we are still living here when we have another baby, I am not going anywhere near SVMC!!

I thought that I was off the hook with melasma, but then I noticed this lovely brown patch below my eye. It's kind of hard to see, but trust me, it's there and noticeable to me. While we were in Arizona my feet actually started to swell. It must have been due to the heat, being on my feet a lot, and the change in elevation. It's gone now and hopefully won't return.

This diet is kicking my butt! I've never been a huge meat eater and I rarely eat eggs, so I feel like I don't have very many choices. I never have any energy and I am very short tempered. I'm trying really hard to be a good mom for Xander, especially because we still can't go outside because of the huge amounts of snow. I have to have rests after everything I do and I can't function without a nap every day. I enjoy being pregnant because I realize what a great blessing it is, but I'm about ready to be done being pregnant.
My heartburn has changed and now it is more like acid reflux. I finally got some liquid medicine and it helps quite a bit. I just half to remember to take it every night or I'm miserable. Xander loves giving baby Frank hugs and kisses. He tries to feel him kick, but he can't hold still long enough to actually feel anything.

At this point, your little spud is about 18.5” and still growing. But there’s no couch potato here! Your basketball-sized baby is extremely active and all five senses are fully developed -- she is keeping very busy.

Her toenails and fingernails are fully formed, as are her eyelashes and the hair on her head, which can range from Sinead O'Connor peach fuzz to a full-on Diana Ross 'do. If you deliver now, your sweet potato faces excellent odds of survival, but the longer she bakes the sweeter she gets!