Doctor's appointment and stuff

I haven't posted much lately so I will back up a bit. I had the most relaxing weekend. I was very disappointed that I had to bail on the opera tickets we had for Friday night (Damnation of Faust) which was a Christmas present for Pete and I to take his parents. But I decided to cheer myself up and I got a pregnancy massage that night (something I knew would not be painful and uncomfortable) after work. I managed to stumble home after the massage feeling like a big pile of content jelly. I caught up on tv and went to bed early. Ahhhh.
On Saturday, I slept in and Pete didn't snore (yay!!) and I went to yoga, went grocery shopping, made my dish for the recipe party and took a nap. I woke up gave myself a mini spa day with a manicure and a facial and took my time getting ready. Then headed over to Georgia's for the recipe party where I had a great time. I had planned on leaving at 9:00 but I was enjoying hanging out with everyone so much I didn't actually leave until after 11:00. It was a great time. On Sunday I lounged around and I can't remember the last time I had such a relaxing and lazy weekend that I didn't feel guilty about it. Uncle Curt was also over painting the mural so I got to chat with him and check in on the progress every now and then.
Some of the reasons I was able to relax are because my mom was so recently in town and she got us all caught up on laundry and made food for us. We recently hired a cleaning lady to come every other week so I wasn't obsessing about cleaning at all. I was able to read, watch some tv, cross-stitch and decompress. It felt amazing! I tried to take a nap on Sunday too but was unsuccessful. :(

We had a bit of a scare on Monday night because I had contractions for about 5 hours. They weren't even regular enough to time them but I was getting about 3 an hour for 5 hours. We looked at each other a few times and thought "could this be it?" I did what I normally do when I get Braxton Hicks contractions (put my feet up and drink lots of water) but they continued even when I was sitting on the couch. I did the opposite and tried walking and they still happened. They felt different than what I was used to and I made Pete feel my belly as they were happening. It wasn't just the baby moving around. It was weird. But they stopped and we were relieved.

Since then I haven't had any contractions but I did get a cold. I managed to go the entire winter and not get sick and now that it's nicer weather out and I am almost ready to deliver (and am miserable) I get a cold on top of it. Yay. I asked the doctor what to take and she said Sudafed which I thought was weird because that usually makes me hyper but I took Benadryl yesterday and that didn't do much of anything. I thought it would make me super sleepy like it usually does but it actually made me more awake. Maybe pregnancy gives drugs the opposite effect. We'll see. I'm trying to wait and take the Sudafed when I get home.

The doctor's appointment went well today. Blood pressure is normal and I gained 1 pound in 2 weeks. Belly is measuring right on target and the baby's heartbeat is nice and strong. She did the internal exam and the baby has definitely dropped. It has been easier to breathe lately and the heartburn has gotten so much better so who knows when he dropped. She said it could have been gradual or maybe that's why I had contractions on Monday, because he was dropping even more. She couldn't feel the cervix to see if and how much I was dilated because the baby's big head was dropped so much she didn't want to hurt me by trying to feel the cervix. When I asked her "So, I'm not dilated at all, right?" she wouldn't answer me. But she seemed confident she'd see me next week so that's good news.

I gave Pete an update on the doctor's appointment and we both agree we should get that car seat in the car - just in case. We cleared off the memory card on the camera but I think we will make sure that battery is charged and throw that in the bag.

I am now editing my previous guess of delivering late on April 5 and my new guess is March 20. This way he can share his Auntie Marci's birthday and be a Pisces like his mama.

Getting too big for maternity clothes

I remember when I was trying on some of the borrowed maternity clothes from Georgia thinking I'd never be able to fit into them. Conversely I was so excited to wear maternity jeans that my mom bought me when I was about, oh, 12 weeks along that I wore them with a belly band even though they were too big. NOTHING is too big on me now. Both pairs of maternity jeans are too tight and uncomfortable. Most of my pants are uncomfortable. I have one pair of leggings and two pairs of lounge/sweat pants that are actually comfortable. Otherwise, I feel like a sausage. (Although surprisingly I did find a pair of maternity tights that were not painful so there is an alternative in wearing dresses again).

It's pretty hopeless to try to wear any pre-pregancy clothes any longer. Here is a visual at my last attempt. With the maternity sweater on top, it was fine. It's amazing how I'm willing to compromise comfort to feel semi-presentable in a work environment. These days of working from home have been HEAVEN!

The mural!

Here are some pictures of the fabulous work Uncle Curt did in the baby's room. We love it and can't thank him enough.

OMG - hiccups!

I was just telling Pete the other night that I haven't felt the baby have any hiccups yet. Well, I'm feeling them right now and it is the craziest feeling!! He's definitely head down still. I don't even know how to put it into words. I thought I was done with feeling new things from this little guy once I started feeling those strong kicks but this is crazy!! I can't really do anything to stop them either.

When will the baby arrive?

They threw me a baby shower at work today and I got even more goodies! I have been so lucky!

One of the things I was looking forward to (other than the yummy cake to eat and the cute diaper cake) is to get people’s guesses on the baby stats.

Here’s a breakdown:
The earliest date guessed is March 24 at 2:00 pm and the latest date is April 10 at 12:30 am. The largest weight is 9 pounds, 2 ounces and the smallest weight is 7 pounds 1 ounce. The smallest length is 16.5” and the longest length is 20.” My favorite combo is the 8 pound, 4 ounce baby that is only 16.5” long – what a short, fat baby!

I personally don’t think this baby will make it until April but we’ll see. Last night I had a bit of a scare. I had a new contraction experience. I’m used to the Braxton Hicks contractions by now and know that I need to drink some water, stop walking and put my feet up and then they stop. They always happen in the same place – the bottom of my uterus and it’s a combination between cramping and contractions. What I felt last night was my whole entire uterus contracting. It was every part of my belly and I had Pete feel my belly and he could feel it getting hard and then releasing. It didn’t hurt but it really freaked me out! It was only a few and the feet up and drinking water seemed to help but it was a bit of a reality check for me that this is probably what labor will begin to feel like. So I kind of know what to look for I guess.

On that note, feel free to take a guess on the size and date of Baby Banjo! I set up a page to track people’s guesses.

http://www.expectnet.com/games/Banjo

Still taking it all in

I had my baby shower yesterday and I am still trying to process it all. It was such a wonderful day – my mother-in-law hosted the shower and had it at a great restaurant and the food was amazing, the tables were great (cutest centerpieces and favors) and there were so many people there. I am so honored that so many people came to wish our baby well and help us get prepared to have everything we need to get started raising him. Georgia took tons of pictures and I will post some later. I am still exhausted (who knew opening presents could make you so tired??!) and I haven’t been sleeping well. I have a feeling I will crash tonight.

Banjo’s been moving around and kicking lots which is a relief since I took a little tumble on my way in yesterday. I can’t blame it on anything or anyone – I just lost my footing and my ankle twisted a little and down I went. I protected my belly with my left hand and used my right hand and knee to brace my fall. I was fine and the baby’s fine (I could feel him moving around when we got inside and all night long) but it scared me. My knee didn’t hurt at all yesterday and my hand hurt some but today they were throbbing. I feel silly. I usually always laugh at myself when I fall (which sadly, is a lot!) but this time I couldn’t laugh because I was so scared. After I got over the shock of what happened I cried and then I was fine. I need to be more careful. I am also going to work from home 2 days a week now so hopefully that will reduce the number of opportunities I can fall.