38weeks 6 days

12/2/08

The baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

I had another appointment with Beth, our midwife, yesterday. I forgot to ask last week if my Group B Strep test came back negative or positive, so I asked for sure this week, and thankfully it was negative. That means no antibiotics for me during labor!! My blood pressure was good 110/58, urine fine, and I gained 2 pounds. That is 34 pounds total. I am so ready to shed 15 pounds all in one day! Once again, I did not have an internal exam. The heartbeat sounded great, and my uterus was measuring right on target. We discussed the course of action should I not be in labor by next week. I was really all prepared to go 42 weeks again this time, but with my friend having a full term still born baby recently, it has made me really scared and nervous. I told Beth that I wanted to have an ultrasound of the baby, and a nonstress test. During the ultrasound, they will check the fluid level, check the baby's breathing, movement, and heartbeat. During the nonstress test, they will hook me up to a monitor that measures the baby's heartbeat, and my contractions. It monitors the baby's heartbeat over the course of 20 minutes. If the baby's heartbeat is fluctuating all around, this shows that the placenta is still functioning well, and giving the baby plenty of oxygen. This may all be overkill since I will just be 40 weeks, but I just want to make sure everything is still okay in there. My ultrasound is next Monday, followed by another appointment with Beth.


Owen has been running a temperature for the past couple of days. He also has a slight rash on his belly, arms, and legs, which he had at his 18 month check up last week, and his doctor asked if he had been sick recently. At the time he was not acting sick, but now he has just been whiny. He is also getting all four canine teeth in, so I am sure that is part of it. Yesterday his temperature only got to 100.3, but this morning it was 101.5. I am not so sure I should be taking care of him at this point. I don't want to be getting sick right before delivery. I gave him some Tylenol, and he really just wants to lay all over me, spreading his germs for sure.

I had my last lia sophia meeting last night, and I have no more hours at the hospital, so I am now officially on rest mode waiting for this baby to come. : )

I wonder, will these be my last big belly photos? I am going to miss my big pregnant belly once it is gone. Do you think it can really get any bigger????

38 weeks

11/26/08

The baby has really plumped up. She should now weigh about 6.8 pounds and be over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

We saw our midwife, Beth, on Monday, and we have a great uneventful visit. My uterus was measuring right on track. My urine was fine, my blood pressure was 105/52, and I gained 1 pound. The heartbeat sounded great as well. I asked Beth how big she thought the baby was, and she guessed about 6.5lbs. She said she is guessing about 7-7.5lbs at my due date. I guess I just make 7 pounders! Owen was 7lbs 5oz, and that was a great weight, not too big, and not too small. We went over all the aspects of our birth plan, and she signed off on everything. She gave us the signed copy back so that we will have it when we arrive at the hospital. We go back to see her every Monday until we have the baby.

I have finally packed my labor bag, and will be working on my hospital bag tomorrow or Friday. In the labor bag we have two rice socks, some tennis balls (used for pressure and massage), chapstick, hair ties, massage oil and lotion, a couple of massage tools, calming sounds CD, small CD player, notepad (for George to take notes on), a pen, mints, birth plan, some snacks, and some other misc. items that I can't remember right now.

I am starting to get very uncomfortable. George was home today, so I was going to be able to sleep in, but I couldn't get comfortable, so I just got up. Only a couple more weeks, and I will be able to sleep on my belly. I remember after I had Owen, being able to sleep on my belly again was like heaven! I feel like I am now doing the pregnancy waddle. I feel like this baby is just about to fall out, and I have so much pressure that it makes it difficult to walk normal. The nerve pain in back in my left hip/butt, and it travels down my left leg. Beth suggested doing some pelvic rock exercises, which I have already been doing.

Owen had his 18 month check up today. I can't believe how fast the past year and a half has flown by. It seems like he was just a baby, and he is now a full grown toddler. Where has the time gone? He was in the 78% percentile for height, 65% for weight, and 45% for head circumference. He has had a slight rash all over his legs, upper arms, and belly for about a week. I was not concerned about it because it looks more like an allergy reaction or a sensitivity to something. This was confirmed by Dr. Wampler. He said we need to make sure we are using dye/fragrance free soap, detergent, and lotions. We already use dye/fragrance free detergent for everything we wash, but we need to get he some new skin cream. Dr. Wampler suggested cream instead of lotion to help his skin hold in the moisture better. I guess he is just going to have sensitive skin like his momma. He was meeting all of his developmental milestones, and most of the 2 year ones as well. I guess we have an over achiever! I can't wait to see how he is going to respond to a new little brother or sister. He loves all little kids and babies, but I just wonder how he will respond to loosing a little attention. We will find out soon! Only 2 weeks to go!!!!

New Polls

11/24/08

I have added a couple new polls just for fun. Maybe I should have also added a poll for how long you think my labor is going to last this time. I am sure many of you are hoping for a shorter time period this time, as am I! I see Beth, our midwife, this afternoon, and I will let you know how things go.

37 weeks

11/19/08

The baby is now considered full term! This means that if the baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. I forgot to ask Beth, our midwife, about how big she thought the baby was at our last appointment. I guess I will have to ask her on Monday. We are now going every week, so I feel like we are in there all the time. Practitioners are better and guessing how big the baby is at this point than ultrasounds. Many of you may remember they told us that Owen was growth restricted, and was only going to weight 6lbs even. Well, turns out he was born 4 days later, and weighed in at 7lbs 5oz. I guess he really hit a growth spurt! : ) I am being sarcastic in case you couldn't tell! Everything is pretty much the same, still having the pelvic pressure, swelling, and difficultly sleeping. I worked my last day at the hospital today, and I have the last of my lia sophia shows on Sunday, and then I am officially on maternity leave!!! WHOOHOO! I am so ready!

We took a tour of Clark Memorial Hospital this week. Since we delivered Owen at Baptist East, we just wanted to check things out at Clark so we knew where things were located. I also wanted to find out about a few of their policies, and how lenient they really were on some of them. The nurse that gave the tour, told us that after the baby has been on the mom's chest for awhile, then the nursery nurse take the baby over to the warmer to put on a hat, and arm bands. I asked why that couldn't also be done on my chest, and she said as long as the baby is doing okay then that would also be fine. We just need to add that onto our birth plan. By the sounds of it, Clark is going to be much more up our "natural friendly" road than Baptist East. I am so excited about them having the labor tubs, and think they will help out a lot with the contraction pain.

I see that no one is voting on Emory. George hates that name too, so I guess that one is out as well. I put the poll on here before I even discussed the name with him. It looks like if this little one is a boy, his name will be Preston Grant Shultz. I know I say this every week, but the anticipation is really getting to me. Have I been carrying around a sweet little boy, or a precious little girl? We will all find out soon!

Name Poll

11/14/08

We are still trying to decide on a boy name. Boy names are so tough. We have had Adyline picked out for what seems like forever. I have added a new poll on the left hand side of the screen. Check it out, and vote for your favorite. We are getting down to the wire, with only 3 weeks left.

36 weeks, I am getting close!

11/12/08

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. She has been head down for several weeks now, and it ready to go!!

George, Owen, and I went back to see the midwife, Beth, on Monday. This was our regularly scheduled appointment. My blood pressure, urine, and weight gain were all fine. I have now gained a total of 30 pounds. I think a lot of that is fluid. I am holding onto way more fluid this time around. The baby's heartbeat was strong, and around 150 beats per minute. Beth checked the position of the baby, which was head down.

We have completed our birth plan, and will give it to Beth at our next appointment for her to look over. For the most part, it is the same plan we had with Owen, with just a couple of additions. We added that we wanted George to catch the baby, and announce the gender. I am getting so excited for this part!!!! We also added that I wanted to have a labor tub available, since that is an option at Clark Memorial that we didn't have at Baptist East. We want to delay the baby's bath so that he/she can stay with us longer in the room. When they give the baby a bath, the baby's temperature almost always drops, and then they won't let the baby leave the nursery until the temperature has gone back up. George and I were discussing when they did the bath last time, and neither of us can even remember. George said he remembers following Owen to the nursery, and showing him of to all our family members that were in the waiting area, and then he can't remember what happened next. After being in that labor and delivery room for 4 days and 3 nights we were both so exhausted a lot of the delivery and right after is a blur. I hope to get lots more pictures this time, and feel like I am actually present, and not just in a daze. Is this baby a boy or a girl? The suspense is really getting intense!

Well, Owen has finally done it! George and I were wondering when this day would come, and it happened yesterday. I put Owen down for a nap, and as soon as he fell asleep, I was planning on taking a nap myself. I was listening to the monitor, and had the video part turned off, when I heard his door open. At first I thought, I didn't get the door latched all the way, and one of the dogs pushed the door open. I was thinking, "I am going to kill that dog because they are going to wake him up!" Well Owen was already fully awake, and came walking around the corner saying "mama, mama". Yes, that's right he climbed out of his crib, opened up his door and came out to get me. Once George got home, I put Owen down for a nap (since he still had not had one all day), and we watched him on the monitor, hike his leg up over the top of the side rail (about 15 seconds after we shut the door to his room). He had his hands on the top of the front rail, and with his leg over the side rail, he pulled up the rest of his body. He was then sitting on the top of the rail with one leg in the crib, and the other leg out. George then went running in the catch him. Well, he didn't need to be caught, he just lowered himself into the glider rocker beside the crib, and then climbed down to the floor. This whole process took less than one minute. Now that he knows he can do this, he is going to do it every time we put him in there. The mattress is already on the lowest setting. His crib does convert into a toddler bed, but I know that he is not going to stay in there to sleep. He will just continue to climb out of it over and over. What are we going to do with our little monkey?!?!

35 weeks and unexpected midwife visit

11/5/08

The baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in the womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. I am sure our baby is now weighing more than 5.25lbs since a couple of weeks ago the baby was already 5lbs 1oz. I guess George and I just don't make average size babies, but instead make large ones.

Last night and this morning, the baby seemed to be moving around less than normal so I called my midwife. She wanted to see me in the office. Once I arrived, she hooked me up to the contraction monitor and the fetal heart rate monitor. She wanted me to push a button every time I felt movement. Well, on the way to the office I had eaten a piece of Halloween candy, and I think it was getting to the baby, because he/she decided it was party time. The baby moved almost constantly the entire 20 minutes I was connected to the monitor. She said that she was making sure the baby's heart rate was reactive and went up and down during the test. The heart rate averaged 150-160 throughout most of the test. She said the heart rate was very reactive, I was not having contractions, and the baby looked very good. I was also concerned that I may have leaked some amniotic fluid. She did a test of the fluid on some ph paper, and she said it was either normal discharge or urine. Great, I now may be peeing on myself! I guess this is common, and another problem with having babies so close together. While she was collecting the sample for the ph paper, she checked my cervix, and I was 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I really did not want to get checked, but she wanted to make sure that my bag of water was still intact. I did not get cervical checks my entire pregnancy with Owen. The doctors usually start doing them at your 36 week appointment, and then weekly until you deliver, but they serve absolutely no purpose, and could actually cause problems. Studies have shown that the checks can actually cause the water to break prematurely. Then you are basically on a stop watch with only a certain amount of time to deliver before they want to do a c-section. The doctor/midwife can check the baby's position externally, so their is no need for the exam. You can be 1 cm at an appointment, and deliver that same day, or you can be 4 cm at the appointment, and not deliver for several weeks. I think these checks could also start to play mind games with you. If you are not dilating you might start to wonder why, what is wrong, will I have to be induced, etc... Since they serve no purpose, I will not be getting anymore until I go to the hospital to push the baby out. I think so many people go to the office and get them done not knowing that their is actually a risk associated with them. I also don't think people ask, "why does this need to be done, or what purpose does this serve?" Okay, I will get off my soap box now. Sorry to bore you all. I go back to my midwife on Monday for my normal check up, and will then start going weekly. I am so glad everything turned out okay at my visit today. : )
I know Halloween is over, but this picture is just so cute I had to put it on here. What a precious little monkey!