Pregnancy Updates: 36 Weeks

How far along? 36

Total weight gain/loss: Over 25 lbs

Maternity Clothes:  I wore the stretchiest pants I own to Thanksgiving yesterday, and today I wore sweats (but fancy sweats) out in public.  

Sleep: Lots of insomnia this week.  I got a good chunk of Christmas shopping done between the hours of 2 am and 4:30 am this morning.  

Best Moments this Week: Thanksgiving with my family.  Seeing baby's face in 3D during today's ultrasound.  I debated whether or not I should put the picture up here cause 3D baby images are pretty much the stuff nightmares are born from, but it's my blog, and I'll do what I want.  

I showed Madeline the pictures.  She studied them with raised eyebrows for a few minutes before tossing them on the floor.  "I'm all done," she stated before walking away.  Hmmm.  

Movement: On my way to my non stress this morning, baby was kicking up a storm.  When they hooked me up to the monitors, her heart rate was really high.  Too high.  At my test on Tuesday, her heart was around 130 BPM.  Today, it came in at over 200 BPM.  I was told that everything between 120 to 180 is considered normal.  It started to fall as baby calmed down, but was still high, so they did an ultrasound.  Everything looked great, and when they performed a second non stress test, her heart rate was back to the normal 140s.  I did have some leftover pie for breakfast this morning....so I 'm wondering if she was having a sugar high.  I guess that means more leftover pie for Eric!  

Food Cravings:  I finally got my gravy fix!  About to do leftovers in a few minutes too.  Yum! 

Food Aversions: As if you have to ask...

Gender: Baby girl!

Labor Signs:  As I mentioned the other day, I'm having contractions.  I was really crampy the past few days, but today I felt normal again.  

Pregnancy Symptoms: Heartburn like whoa.  

Belly Button In or Out? Out

What I Miss: Nothing really.  I'm trying to enjoy these last few weeks.  

What I am Looking Forward to: Having a baby!

Upcoming Appointments/ Events: I have my next non stress test on Tuesday.  I'm looking forward to it after today's little hiccup.  Let's keep an eye on this somersault-performing little lady.  

Current Food Comparison? A crenshaw melon.  Whatever that means... 

Meanwhile, I'm the size of...

And here's what I looked like at 36 weeks last time! 

Pregnancy Updates: 35 Weeks

How far along? 35

Total weight gain/loss: 25

Maternity Clothes:  My wardrobe is becoming seriously limited again as my girth steadily increases.  

Sleep: Yes, please?

Best Moments this Week: I had an ultrasound this morning!  Eric took the day off to tag along, which was awesome since he missed the earlier ones.  We got some clear views of little baby's face.  Cheeks for miles! I think she looks just like Madeline did in her last ultrasound picture, but Eric says all babies look the same.  She's breathing, rolling around, head down, and about 5 lbs.  Hooray for healthy babies!  

If you're curious to see what Madeline looked like, click HERE.  

Movement: She's getting snug in there, so the movements aren't as strong.  I can feel little elbows, fingers, and toes poking me though.   I can feel her bum pushing up against my ribs now and again as well.  

Food Cravings:  Not particularly, but I've been ravenous.  

Food Aversions: I laugh in the face of food aversions.  

Gender: She's still a girl!  We made sure to check at the ultrasound just in case...

Labor Signs: Major cramps every night around bedtime.  Braxton Hicks, I guess.  

Pregnancy Symptoms: I'm epically large.  Cartoonish even.  And I work with teenagers who don't let me forget it.  I've seen stars a few times over the past week too, but I checked in with the doctor, and he said it's normal.  All the blood is going to my belly instead of my brain...That explains so much.  

Belly Button In or Out? Out

What I Miss: Walking like a normal person.  

What I am Looking Forward to: The holidays!  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Upcoming Appointments/ Events: Next week I'm starting up non stress tests twice a week, and a check-ins with the doctor once a week.  I've got more appointments than brain cells.  

Current Food Comparison? A honeydew melon!   

Meanwhile, I'm the size of...

For a comparison of what I looked like last time I was with child, click HERE! 

New Pictures!

We had an ultrasound today....perhaps our last one? It was very cool. We could see baby's face really clearly on the screen. The pictures below don't even do it justice. We could almost see what she looks like. We also got to see her practice her breathing. Her little lungs were working furiously in preparation for the big event. She moved her little arms and hands around a lot while we were there too. AND, she's head down! Hoo-Ray!

She's such a smart, talented, well-behaved and beautiful baby!

She's all puckered up in this one. Eric thinks she's doing raspberries against the side of my stomach.
Face One

Face Two

New Baby Pics!

We had an ultrasound today to check on baby's growth and fluid levels. We got one good profile shot, and it's still a girl!

Baby does not appreciate being poked or having her picture taken as she spent the entire ultrasound squirming around like crazy. She made it difficult for the ultrasound technician to get the measurements needed. Baby is definitely a stubborn baby. I guess nobody really likes being poked and prodded when they're trying to sleep though...

Baby's also doing cartwheels in there because her head is also no longer down. In fact, it was right up under my ribs on my right side. Her feet were a little bit lower than my ribs on my left side, so she's almost lying horizontally across my stomach today.

This ultrasound was not as exciting to watch as others have been. For one thing, the ultrasound technician was standing pretty much right in front of the screen the whole time making it difficult for me to see. (Excuse me M'am, I know you're trying to do your job, but would you mind taking two steps to the left? A little bit more? Right there! Perfect!) Secondly, baby is now so big that you can't really tell what it is you're looking at. I remember when she was just a tiny little peanut floating in space, and you could see everything very clearly. Now, she's all smooched in and you can't really tell if you're looking at an arm or a leg or her bladder.

The most exciting thing was the the ultrasound tech. said she could see baby practicing her breathing. Baby's getting ready for her big debut. She's only got three more months to practice!

21 Weeks

We've passed the half-way point, and things are looking better and better every day!

We had another ultrasound with the specialist today. She said everything looked just perfect, and that she won't have to see us again. Hooray! As Eric said, although we are amused by and like this extremely nerdy doctor, we'll be happy to not ever see her again in our lives!

We also got a better picture of baby this time.



Isn't her little face adorable?? I think she looks like Linus from Charlie Brown.

She wiggled her arm around a lot during the ultrasound which was cool because I could feel her moving while I was watching her move on the screen.

So, now I'm on a baby high and have spent my entire day looking at baby clothes and cribs online. I even settled on the crib from Babies R Us and ordered it online today. I hope it looks as great in person as it does online....fingers crossed!

P.S. I'm also glad to get a new photo of baby because Eric says the one from 13 weeks (see sidebar) looks like she's giving us the finger. I don't think our baby would do such a thing, but ever since he said it, that's all I think of when I see it.

18 Weeks

It's a girl! Obviously the old wives' tales are not a trusted source.

I basically had two ultrasound scans today. I had one with the ultrasound technician, and then one with the doctor. They saw everything they needed to see, and they said everything looks good. The doctor paid close attention to the hands and toes since Ellis had some problems with her fingers and toes when she was born, but they seemed to be normal. The baby was on her stomach with her hands and arms over her face the entire time. They kept nudging me to get her to roll over, but baby was not having any of it. Lots of wiggling, but no flipping. Therefore, the pictures we got aren't very interesting. You could see the curve of her head and spine a lot, but we only saw her face briefly, and in an ultrasound, it just looks like a skull of an alien anyhow.

So, we have a picture of a foot...



And, baby giving a peace sign!



Baby's face is somewhere behind her hand, but you can't really see it in the photo. I'm glad she's a peace-loving baby though.

The blood clot is also gone! Hooray! She saw a tiny bit of fluid where the blood clot had been, but otherwise, nothing.

We're going to meet with this doctor again at the end of the month. She said she saw everything she needed to see, and that everything looks good so far, but that if it makes me feel better she'd see me again. Peace of mind is good. Plus, maybe we'll get a better photo shoot next time.

We've already started to narrow down the names. Our original list is basically scrapped. We keep changing our minds. Nothing has really grabbed us yet. Esme is out...Eric won. In the meantime, we'll continue to keep baby safe, and start buying a whole load of pink stuff!

Fourteen Weeks

The second trimester has officially begun!

Baby is healthy, and besides a few minor complications, I'm feeling pretty positive.

I'm also on modified bed rest for the rest of the week.

To recap the events of the last few weeks:
I've been having spotting and cramping on and off since I found out I was pregnant. Luckily, the doctors have been great about getting me plenty of reassuring ultrasounds. The bleeding got worse about a week and half ago. It was very scary until we got an image of our baby dancing around on the ultrasound screen like it was hosting it's own personal ABDC.

The bleeding is the result of a small blood clot on my uterus. It doesn't seem to be affecting the baby at all; it's just a pain in the neck for Eric and I. And hopefully it stays that way!

I was on modified bed rest the majority of last week although I did get into school one day. We spent Easter weekend mostly in bed or on the couch...although Eric did take me on a scenic driving tour of the beaches of New Hampshire since I was going a bit stir crazy after my week at home.

I thought things were back to normal, but I woke up this morning with pretty nasty cramps again. Baby is still doing well. The size and heart rate are right where they should be. But...I'm on bed rest for the remainder of the week. I have to go back a week from now to see if I can return to work. The doctor said we're just going to take it week by week at this point.


It's nice to be able to relax and focus on keeping me and the baby healthy, but it's also stressful being out of work for long periods of time. We control-freak teacher types like to make sure our classes are running smoothly, and the students are not spending their days watching The Wizard of Oz instead. (Actually happened while I was out once.) I also don't want to use too many sick days because I'd like to save them for when baby is here in the fall. At this time, my plan is to work through September and then take off October through Christmas break. I just need to get through the last two plus months of work, and then I'll be able to sit back all summer long. It's great being a teacher!

So what does modified bed rest mean? Well, it means I can move around the apartment, do light housework like cooking (no laundry though right??) and generally just chill out at home. I can't go to work or exercise or go to the mall for the afternoon or anything like that though. (Darn, guess that marathon will have to wait. I do so love exercising too...)

The good news is that with all this baby mama drama, I've been getting lots of glimpses of my future offspring. Here "it" is at...
Thirteen Weeks


Eleven Weeks


Seven Weeks