Full Term

How Far Along: 37 weeks 2 days! 

How Big Is Baby: Winter squash! I had a growth scan a few weeks ago and the doctor told me baby was growing right on track. I was so happy to hear she was healthy I forgot to ask the weight estimate and now I am sure she has grown by then.

Total Weight Gain: 20lbs. I think this may be all I will gain or a few more pounds. My weight has tapered off which I guess is normal in late pregnancy. I get full so fast due to my stomach being squished. I am trying to eat several small meals a day, but it still isn't nearly as much as the monstrous proportions I was eating in second tri.

Sleep: So I finally joined the no sleep club!! I wake up to pee about 5 times a night which I don't really mind. But I also wake up to heartburn often which sucks. I also randomly get itchy all over only when I am trying to sleep which drives me nuts!

Movement: I miss my baby! Her movements are SO different and I desperately miss her crazy antics. She is facing my back which makes movement much harder to feel AND she is so squished that I feel her pushing and rolling a little, but nothing like the wild kicks I used to get. :( 

What I Miss: See above.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Finishing her nursery 100%. I am doing all her wash as we speak since we finally got her dresser yesterday. Her room is almost done, but still needs some finishing touches. I know I should have been more prepared as she could show up any day now, but I should be done by Monday. So Peanut, stay put until Monday at the very earliest!!

Milestones: She is just about finished being cooked. She is still practicing the skills she will need outside the womb and is getting bigger. Her brain is still developing, but she is already considered full term. Yay!

Symptoms: heartburn, peeing a lot, and bad skin, and random sporadic itchiness.

Other: Loving maternity leave. I love sleeping in and resting when i want to. I realized though that when I worked full time the house was always clean, but not perfect. Now that I am home all day looking at the house I notice things like a smudge on the mirror or some lint on the carpet that i never noticed when i was so busy. So now I crazily clean all the time. My husband loves me being home because I now do 100% of the chores (except he does his own laundry and he does cook sometimes since he enjoys it as is an amazing cook) instead of 50% of the chores. Unfortunately, it will be short lived because I am sure our house will be less than tidy when the baby arrives until we get in a routine.

Hippie Or Whatever You Want To Call It

So that is kinda what I am. I like to think I can be a little hippieish, but when people hear hippie they think of a pot head who doesn't shower. I like to think I am all the "good" parts of being a hippy, but I guess that is subjective. So basically, I like things to be natural and pure (foods void of preservatives and artificial colors) and I recycle, never litter,I loath SUVs with a passion, would never wear fur (gag!), buy local grown when I can and think that people who drive Hummers really hate our world! I know, it is weird that someone who takes a bazillion medications a day doesn't like artificial things, but hey I never said I didn't contradict myself sometimes.

Anyways, this has a point. Now that baby is coming I have thought a lot about what I want and don't want to do as a mother. Unlike some stubborn women who insist they will ONLY do such and such and would NEVER do such and such, I know life doesn't work that way. I know I have all these GREAT ideas and may only follow through on 3 of the 50 so mothers feel free to roll your eyes at this mother to be, but I want to *try* cloth diapering, I will breastfeed for as long as I can (despite the fact that the CF community is super discouraging about breastfeeding. *tear* Although my doctor is all for it.), and I want to baby wear (GASP!), and then it gets even weirder.

After doing research I have decided only to use California Baby products on my baby in the beginning of life. If she is allergic or something then Bert's Bees, but I won't be buying all those "typical" baby brands. I don't want to use lotion since babies are sponges and they absorb everything you put on their skin. I don't want her skin to absorb all those chemicals in the first weeks of life.

I figured I was a product of my environment and that other mothers would think I was crazy. (Maybe I am, when I found out I was pregnant I replaced all our products with natural organic products such as soap and shampoo, toothpaste, etc. I refuse to wear nail polish till baby is born and I threw away makeup that was made in China, sorry China!). Last night I took a newborn care class at my hospital. Now keep in mind this is a hospital not a birthing center and guess what they said!!

• Don't use lotion on your newborn- they don't need it and they absorb everything you put on them.
• Baby wear- babies love it!
• Use California Baby or go to ewg to find other safe products.
• Make your own wipes or rinse store bought wipes since they are full of preservatives and you don't want that on your baby!

Basically, my hospital is so kinda  hippieish too and it made me so happy to know that we are on the same page. It may be a result of where in the country I live (but I will never tell!) or it may be the world is turning a little hippieish, but this mama to be was thoroughly impressed!!

Chubby Fingers...Pretty Hot!

About 3 weeks to go, give or take, and I am finally feeling...well...pregnant! Heart burn is my new bff even though the feelings aren't mutual and I can't get it to realize that I want it to leave me alone especially at night. My least favorite new symptom is that my fingers and toes have gotten a little chunky! Chubby fingers really aren't that serious of an issue in most people's book, but my wedding rings don't fit anymore. :( I love my wedding rings and feel quiet naked without them. I told my husband to worry now that I am frolicking around without my wedding band, but for some strange reason he isn't too concerned that a tall, dark, and handsome young man will whisk me away from him...or any man for that matter. Hmph!

It is crazy how quickly things are going now. I am almost done with my classes..only 1 left! I also had my *maybe* last high risk appointment. He scheduled me for June 13th which is the day before my due date. He then told me I am more than welcome to have the baby anytime before my due date and if I don't see him again to send a pic. Even if I do go late I will probably only see him one more time.

I am so excited to see her, but I have a lot to do so I am hoping she will stay in and cook a little longer!

Stay At Home Wife

It is about 3:00 on my second day of maternity leave. I cannot believe how much you can get done when you are home all day!! In the 2 days I have been off these are the things I have accomplished:

1. With the help of my husband we finished our vegetable garden. Yay! He finished prepping the soil while I was weeding, watering, and planting. I am sure I was a sight to see crawling around in the dirt with my almost 9 month belly. When i say crawling around in dirt I mean I was literally crawling around!! It is much easier to crawl to the next weed patch than stand, walk, and bend so crawl I did. My husband was busy sweating and chopping soil so only the neighbors dog who was peeking through the fence saw me.
   I have always wanted a garden, but living in apartments it proved to be difficult. Since we now live in a home I am beyond excited to have started a garden. We now have 7 jalapenos plants (my husband LOVES them, but sheesh I think he went overboard!), 6 tomato plants, 3 bell pepper plants, peas, radishes, onions, squash, and some herbs. We are already finding little tomatoes and I can't wait for the upcoming months!
2. Did several loads of laundry for baby and now most of her stuff is ready for her arrival.
3. Organized the closet and the kitchen to make room for baby stuff.
4. Put together her bed with newly washed mattress liner, sheets, breathable bumper, etc.
5. Did a nice clean down of the house.
6. Went to 2 doctor appointments (no surprise there!)
7. Yoga
8. Picked out a dresser for the babies room
9. Watched hulu, read a book and slept in everyday.

At this rate I will be done with my huge laundry list of things to do before baby way too soon! I guess I should enjoy it now since once baby gets here nothing will get done I suppose!

Why I Love You

Little Peanut,
I already love so much about you and you have yet to make your appearance into this world. Here are just a few of my favorite things about you so far:

• You and daddy have a special bond that I am not a part of. At night while I am asleep you and daddy play through my belly. He loves to wrap his arms around my belly and you instantly kick him. Whenever he wakes in the night he plays with you through my belly and then tells me about it in the morning. I am not sure any daddy in the world ever loved his little girl so much!
• You have a favorite position in my belly (head down, back against my left side, feet kicking on the right). Every once in a while you will venture out of your comfort zone and try a new position, but within a day I feel you back to your favorite spot. 
• You have started to find my rib cage and I love feeling your little toes exploring my ribs. I sometimes hope you will kick my lungs a little to shake things up in there :)
• You're my little wiggle worm. I love feeling you roll and wiggle. Now that you are squished in there I feel the rolls so much more and I just love them.
• You love music and already have your parents love for dancing. You love to dance in the car on my commute to almost any type of music.
• You love stretching your legs as much as you possibly can and multiple times a day I can feel your little feet bulging out from my side. I love feeling those little feet and can't wait to kiss them.
• You sometimes make me feel like you are trying to crawl out of my body though my sides. I can't believe how strong you are already and even though those hard working legs can make me jump with their intensity I love that you are growing stronger everyday.
• I love waking up from a nap and find you sleeping too. I love to think we are taking little naps together.

I can't wait to meet you in 5 (+/- 2 weeks) my sweet little Peanut!!

Fluid Levels and Goodbyes

So Thursday I went for another NST (every Monday/Thursday I get them) and here is how it went.

• Baby decided she hated the monitor and kicked the crap out of it for the full 20 minutes. I couldn't help, but laugh at the crazy morphing my stomach was doing from her crazy kicks. Geez, I love this kid!!!
• They checked my fluid levels and...they are back up!!! My fluid levels were 10.7cm (they measure fluid pockets which is why fluid is measured in centimeters rather than fluid ounces) up from 8.8cm. Normal is anywhere between 10-12 during my stage of pregnancy. Biggest relief ever!!! All that drinking/peeing is paying off!

In other news I am DONE with work. I have a lot of mixed emotions about this. I miss my kiddos already and it was hard to say goodbye before the end of the school year, but it is for the best for baby and she is my main priority. My job requires playground supervision (our district is too cheap/broke to hire playground staff so we get to stand in direct sun (it is a new campus and our trees are as thin as toothpicks) several times a day to monitor playground activity. I was standing in direct sun in 90 degree weather multiple times a day and found it exhausting. I am also all over campus so I walk at least a mile and 1/2 a day going back and forth between rooms which I think kept me healthy, but at the same time was getting to be a lot. I still want to walk everyday, but at my own pace on my own time. And peeing when you work with kids and legally can't leave them is virtually impossible. Considering I needed to be drinking 64 fl oz during the work day in order to raise my fluid levels I decided it was time to stop. So here I am a housewife and still getting used to the idea that I won't be at work on Monday.

For now I am focusing on my health, sleep, and the tons of projects I want to finish before baby gets here! I am hoping to make a playmat, dust ruffle for the crib, a baby carrier (knock off of the moby) and a new cover for a (used) bouncer my friend gave me. I am also going to try to see my friends as I know things will not be the same for a while after baby arrives. Please go quickly, next 5 weeks!

Work and Such

So I have been debating greatly about whether to stop work or not. My husband would like me to because he feels I should rest and get ready for baby. I see his point and know he is probably right, but I can't help feel like I am not ready to leave yet. I don't feel bad just tired and I still feel like I get enjoyment out of my work. I also like routine and keeping busy as it actually gives me energy. I find I get lethargic when I stay home all day which makes me feel lazy and tired which leads to feeling more lethargic and it is a whole nasty cycle. I have always worked and it feels weird being unemployed by choice.

On the other hand I am approaching my ninth month of pregnancy and have a serious chronic illness. I have been so lucky with such a healthy pregnancy and I don't want to push my luck. I am slowing down and my days are crazy and hectic now that I have an obscene amount of doctor appointments.

So this debate has been running through my head everyday and driving me nuts. I logged on to Facebook to find a quote a friend posted from the Dalai Lama:

"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then, he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future, that he does not enjoy the present moment. As a result, he does not live in the present or the future, he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never truly lived" - the Dalai Lama, when asked what surprises him the most.

Touche, Dalia Lama, touche!

 This week or next week will be my last week of work.

How Long have I Been Shooting Blanks

Because I have a lovely asthma component to my CF I get the joy of taking Advair. I like the stuff, I really do. I just have one little complaint. The makers of this medication had a great idea of having a medication countdown. So each time you take a puff of the medicine there is a little number countdown to let you know how many puffs you have left. As you approach the end of the diskus the little black countdown turns red, real nifty Advair people.

The problem lies in unobservant people who do a million of meds/treatments and really don't bother to look at this stupid countdown. Maybe if Advair was the only med in my routine I would religiously check my countdown, but alas I do a bazillion treatments/meds, plus take my prenatal vitamin and my ADEK and, and, and...so this leads us to last night. As I was throwing the Advair diskus in my bathroom drawer about to brush my teeth and go to bed I realized that my countdown showed a big fat red 0. My first though was, "Uhhh, how long has that been there? It could have just happened or it could have been like that for 2 weeks. We will never know. I think I need an Adviar diskus with an alarm or something. Anyone else have this issue or am I just really irresponsible?

We Have Surpassed The Honeydew

How huge is that? We are currently a durian fruit which in all honesty I am not sure how big those are, but lets just say they are big!

How Far Along: 34 weeks 1 day! 
How Big Is Baby: Durian Fruit. Apparently between 17-19 inches and 4-6lbs. I am thinking this baby better not be 6 pounds already!
Total Weight Gain: I think around 19lbs. Hoping to make it to 25 by the time she arrives! 

Sleep: My crazy nesting mind has calmed down allowing for more restful nights. I get heartburn at night if I eat to close to bed that keeps me awake, but for the most part still loving sleep...I am so gonna miss sleep once baby gets here!

Movement: All the time! We even can identify body parts. My hubby was able to play with her little feet yesterday, but we have found knees, a little bottom, and other body parts we aren't exactly sure what they are. "Is this a knee? Could this be her back?"

What I Miss: Being able to put on socks like a normal person...for real!
What I'm Looking Forward To: Getting to full term...only 3 weeks left!
Milestones: I saw her on the ultrasound practicing breathing which I know is not a milestone for this week in particular, but it was pretty darn cool to see my baby trying to breath <3
Symptoms: Nothing too new: heartburn, peeing a lot, and bad skin.

Other: Lots of new things!

• Both my friends due in April had their babies. Both baby boys were late. One was 7lbs the other was over 10lbs!!! The 10 pounder was almost 24 inches long! That poor woman!
• My other really good friend that is 3 months behind me found out she was having a BOY! I am the only person in my group of friends having a girl. Kinda wish my Peanut would have a female friend, but I guess they won't know the difference for a while.
• I had 2 showers this week and will spend Saturday with my mom and sister putting her nursery away!
• My sister is recovering beautifully by the way and we could not be more proud of her for being so strong!!

Another Full Time Job!?

Okay not really, but it sure feels like it!
I would do anything for this little munchkin, but the amount of appointments I have due to being high risk is pretty unbelievable! This week I had 4 appointments! I basically spent all week going to work (25 minutes from my house) to the hospital after work (35 minutes from work) back to my house (30 minutes with traffic). After working, driving, sitting in the waiting room and seeing the doctors I was exhausted by the time I got home everyday and the husband has been picking up extra shifts so now the house is a mess, the laundry isn't done, and we desperately need to go grocery shopping.

Here are the good and not so good reports from all the doctor appointments!

The good:


CF clinic: My lung function is back up to 58% which is 4% above my pre- pregnancy FEV1 which is pretty amazing considering this baby is taking up my entire torso. Never in a million years did I think my FEV1 would remain ABOVE baseline at 34 weeks pregnant. I actually thought the pulmonologist was lying or he made a mistake, but he was being truthful.
OBGYN: At my regular appointment my fundal length was right on, heart rate was great, and movement was good as well. The doc was pleased.
NST (non stress test for baby): Baby was active and heart rate was good. I saw baby practicing her breathing which was the coolest thing ever and the tech said was a great sign of health and development. Also saw her full bladder which I guess only a mother could find cute, but it really was adorable!

The not-so good:


Ultrasound: I went in for my ultrasound and baby is head down (good), but was so low they couldn't measure my cervix. Even though my bladder felt full it apparently wasn't full enough so she made me drink and drink and wait 30 minutes since a full bladder will push baby's head out of the way. For the first time in my adult life I was terrified of peeing my pants! I ended up telling the receptionist to please call my tech because I didn't think I could hold it anymore and I was terribly uncomfortable. Turns out my bladder was SUPER full and in fact, on the ultrasound my bladder was BIGGER than baby's head! Peeing after the measurement was taken was the best moments in my life - sad, but true.
NST (non stress test): Turns out my amniotic fluid is a little low. I was 8.8 (not sure the units) and I should be between 10-12. Yikes! They really worry if it gets below 5 so I am not at a huge risk, but I still would like it to be closer to the normal range. Baby's bladder was full which the tech said would contribute a little to the lower number, but not enough to make a significant difference. I was told to drink a LOT and lay as often as I can this weekend. If my numbers are still low on Monday they may take me off work which would be fine by me.
I am hoping that my numbers are better after a weekend of rest. I will let you know after Monday!

Baby Shower

So here is a quick picture walk of my baby shower. My sister and mom did and amazing job and it really was perfect! They are so creative and had so many details in place. I was sad to see the guests go as I had a blast and didn't want the day to end

The entryway! This is the onsie I put in a gift bag to tell my parents I was pregnant.

One of the rooms for guests to eat in. I love the color scheme pink, green,and yellow <3

The line of onsies going up the stairs.

 The party favors my sister made!

More party favors...

The headband and hair bow making station. The guests seemed to love this and I love that I can accessorize my little Peanut once she gets here!

An example of a completed headband.

The shower was a blast and i was so happy so many friends came out to celebrate my sweet little baby. She has a wardrobe 10 times bigger than mine now! I may have just a little bit of fun dressing her up :)