Looking Back & Looking Ahead

What I'll Miss Most About Being Pregnant

1. The anticipation. When will he be here? What will he look like? How will I know what to do? Will I kiss him so much his skin will be raw??
2. Feeling the little guy kicking around. It's "our thing". I get to know when he's sleeping, when he's awake, if he liked what I had for dinner. I'll miss that a lot.
3. Hogging the baby all to myself. I'm going to have to share him with everyone, right? A few days ago his daddy said "I can't wait to meet him, too. I feel like you know him already, ya know?", and I guess he's right.
4. Listening to the hubby read bedtime stories. We have two favorites, meant for an inside baby only.
5. People being especially nice to me. Nuff said.
6. Reprieve from lactose intolerance. I've been one of the lucky 50% who no longer needs meds while pregnant. I'm told I'll need to start up again after the baby is born, which is probably good given my 9 month orgy of ice cream, cheese, and pizza.

What I'm Most Looking Forward To

1. Pilates and Running. I miss both desperately and can't wait to work up a good sweat and also be able to feel my abs again.
2. Wine. Oh, and beer, champagne, sangria.....
3. Sleeping on my stomach. Can't freaking.wait.
4. Peeing less than 20 times a day. What I save in bulk toilet paper I'll spend on wine.
5. Reclaiming sole ownership of my ribcage.
6. Wearing underwear designed for the under 50 crowd again. I made it to 34 weeks before caving.
7. Walking without my thighs rubbing together. At least I hope I can get back to that sooner than later. See #1.

Eviction Notice

Well, folks, I've got a squatter on my hands.

I've tried to be patient, but after careful consideration and the overriding fact that I manage the property, it's time to take action.

Dear Baby S.,

I’m so pleased you’ve enjoyed your accommodations these past 38 weeks (particularly that they continued to be to your liking the last 8 weeks), but I’m afraid this living situation isn’t going to work any longer. While I’d like to say you haven’t overstayed your welcome, this isn’t exactly the truth, and quite frankly there have been some questionable practices in your quarters of late. Advanced footwork that results in rib fracture-like feelings, ongoing bladder compressions, and the brewing of substances that burn my digestive tract has made your residency less endearing. I’m afraid you will need to vacate the premises by the morning of July 29, 2010, or you will be forcibly removed.

I’m sorry that it has come to this, and I’d hoped we’d have been able to reach a mutually beneficial agreement some time ago. To ease your transition, I’ve spent a great deal of time crafting a new living space for you. Though you may find the lack of climate control and your own swimming pool a bit disappointing, I think you’ll find the conditions to be more than suitable.

One last note, if you could please take extra care in exiting the premises it would be much appreciated. While I expect and accept that there is to be some necessary repair work to tidy up the living space, I’d ask that you leave calmly, peaceably, and quickly.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Your Mommy

Baby Loves His Music

One of my favorite pregnancy purchases has been my BellyBuds. While I've read that babies can hear music in utero, from a distance, I was looking for something that would give more direct stimulation after looking more closely at the benefits of having our baby hear music while in the womb. That, and I love music and needed to start shaping baby's likes to be similar to ours. After several jokes about sticking ear buds in my belly button to pipe the tunes in, we found Belly Buds.

Belly Buds consist of dual, two-inch modular “belly-phones” that plug right into your iPod and can be placed anywhere on the belly (it's actually a split cord so that mom can listen with her own headphones, too). The disks gently stick right to your belly with a medical-grade, reusable and skin-safe hydrogel. They pump out the tunes with a fixed, maximum sound level strong enough to penetrate to the womb while not competing with the sound of the my heartbeat. Pretty cool, right?

For the last few months Baby S has been listening to Mommy and Daddy's favorites: lots of Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, U2, The Doors, Bob Marley, and more recently the playlists I created for Labor & Delivery. It has been so interesting to see what songs he reacts to and if there is any consistency in those he seems to "like" (as determined by his dancing and kicking in there)! So far, the two he seems like enjoy most are "Lie In Our Graves" by Dave Matthews Band (good choice, young man) and anything by Otis Redding (an odd choice, but I can get on board with it). Rock on, little guy!

Weekly Status: Week 37

How far along? 37 weeks, 4 days
How big is baby? Large enough to be simultaneously pushing on every one of my organs and my ribs.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: No gain since last week
Next Appointment: Our last appointment was on Wednesday. We started with a non-stress test which showed his heartbeat is great and I'd only had a couple of small contractions in 25 minutes. An internal exam showed that I'm not dilated at all. So, my doctor continues to be shocked that he's still hanging out in there, believes it could be any day, and we see her again on Tuesday. Sigh. At least on Tuesday we'll get to see him :) They will do an ultrasound to check on where my placenta is located now, how big the baby is, and fluid levels to make sure they are not any new concerns or risks at this point. I'm worried about all these possibilities, but hopefully he'll be here before Tuesday!
Maternity Clothes: Now that I'm on high alert for impending labor, I'm actually getting dressed properly most days. I can't show up at the hospital looking ridiculous in pajamas.
Sleep: Hahahahah
Best Moment This Week: Date night with husby. We went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner last night (where we also had our first date and where we found out we were having a boy after our 20wk appt).
Movement: He's all over the place, so maybe he's getting antsy for more room to stretch out?
Planning/Preparation: I spent some time making meals to keep in the freezer, created a spreadsheet with addresses for birth announcements, rewashed some bedding that I'd convinced myself had collected dust in the last few weeks that it has been on the crib....I'm about as prepared as you can be. ::tapping foot::
Belly Button In/Out: My belly button HURTS. It's like it wants to pop out, but there isn't any skin there to pop.
Gender: Yep, still a boy.
What I Miss: Lately I miss working out a lot. I feel like I have no core strength at all anymore and I'm worried I have diatasis recti (where your abdominal muscles completely split), which will make recovery really difficult and likely worsen my lower back issues. We shall see.
What I'm Looking Forward To: Finally meeting him!
Contractions: All day and night on Tuesday, but nothing consistent enough to call the Dr.
Milestones? My stomach in 43". I think that rivals most Biggest Loser contestants, and my regular size bath towels don't close over my belly anymore.

Weekly Status: Week 36

36 weeks, 1 day -- From the front and the side:

How far along? 36 weeks, 4 days
How big is baby? Definitely over 6lbs now, probably closer to 6.5lbs
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Enough already!
Next Appointment: We had an appointment this past Wednesday and had a non-stress test, as well as a visit with our OB. The NST came back just fine, and according to the Dr. I'm not dilated at all and am just in a holding pattern for labor to start sometime. Our next appointment is this coming Wednesday....I never thought we'd get this far!
Maternity Clothes: I currently alternate between two t-shirts (a U of I Homecoming tee and one from my sorority bid night, since they are the largest in the house) and a few pairs of shorts I can till fit in. I do actually get dressed for Dr. visits and when guests come over, but I'm sure our cleaning lady and dog walker think I look like I'm one step away from living in a box on lower Wacker.
Sleep: So they say you can only sleep for a couple hours at a time when the baby arrives, and I'd actually welcome that right now. Sounds heavenly. Between numb shoulders and hips, my aching neck, getting up to use the bathroom, nighttime acid reflux, and feeling like it's 5000 degrees in our bedroom, I'm not sleeping at all. The good news is that since the baby dropped I don't have numb ribs anymore and it's easier to breathe- if I can sort out a couple of the other issues, I think I'll sleep again.
Best Moment This Week: When I ate Corn Fritters from Brown's Chicken. Oh, or when I got my nails done last night. Sorry, it can't all be baby related.
Planning/Preparation: I wanted to do a little painting in the baby's room today, but trying to get close enough to the wall with my stomach is quite impossible right now. So I got mad, cried, stopped, and then had some Cocoa Pebbles. At least it ended well!
Belly Button In/Out: In, but it feels like it's about to burst.
Gender: Bouncing Baby Boy
What I Miss: Being able to eat a meal without heartburn
What I'm Looking Forward To: Seeing my little boy's face!
Contractions: Nope
Milestones? My Dr. thought there was no way I'd get through 36 weeks, and I only have 3 days left!

Weekly Survey: Week 35

How far along? 35 weeks, 5 days
How big is baby? just under 6 lbs, according to our ultrasound on Thursday
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still gaining, and if I can cap out 3lbs from now, I'll be happy
Next Appointment: We were just there on Thursday and had an ultrasound and checkup. This was ultrasound #14!! He just loves attention. This time we got a really clear shot of his face and huge cheeks, which look so cute. In other good news, he's still head down, measuring ahead, and all of the cervical and placenta measurements were an improvement over the last ultrasound. We'll be back on Wednesday, if the little guy doesn't make an appearance before then.
Maternity Clothes: I'm now in the mindset of getting out of maternity and figuring out what I need to buy in the way of nursing tanks and tops.
Sleep:I'm having a much harder time breathing this past week, so sleep is getting hard, too.
Best Moment This Week: Getting his baby book in the mail and getting another peek at his face :)
Movement: Still frequent and more painful with each passing day, but it's great that I can still feel him squirming around.
Planning/Preparation: Lots of random little things to do, but for the most part we're ready!
Belly Button In/Out: Flat, not popped out.
Gender: Yep, still a boy.
What I Miss: Being able to take a deep breath.
What I'm Looking Forward To: Meeting our son and hoping he looks like one of the 2 names we've chosen.
Contractions: Nada.
Milestones? I'm 2 days away from 36 weeks!