Baby News! (a long overdue baby update - 30 weeks)

Every time I sit down and attempt to write a pregnancy update, I get as far as, "I'm still pregnant and all is well" and I get stuck. What else is there to say? So, I haven't really said much.

Then my Mom said this morning, "I love your blog, but you sure haven't written much about the baby." I thought the same thing again though, "what is there to write?" I'm pregnant, yes. However, that's not news... and everything is fine at our appointments.

So... I looked back in my blog to when we were expecting Gavin to see what I was writing about then.

I had to actually open my calendar and count to see how many weeks along I am right now (30), because I have lost track! That's amazing to me. I remember counting the days during my first pregnancy and knowing every detail about the baby's anticipated size and weight, which fruit or vegetable it's compared to, and developmental milestones along the way. I think that with this pregnancy, my mind is just so focused on parenting that it doesn't have space or time to think too much about pregnancy milestones, as long as I know that everything is going well and our doctor gives us the thumbs up each time I'm there.

As of today, I am at 30 weeks and 3 days. If this baby were to actually arrive on the due date, this means we have less than 10 weeks of pregancy left.

My next Dr. appointment is in a week and a half, so I don't have current stats on baby's size, heart rate, or anything like that, but I can share what I do know. When I was in a month ago (August 17th) the baby's estimated weight was 1 lb, 11 oz, which is in the 43rd percentile for this gestational age. According to ultrasound measurements, the baby has long legs, which isn't all that surprising given that Cliff and I are both tall... although I don't have very long legs. Cliff does, so maybe this is another boy, taking after his daddy with the long legs. Baby's heart rate was 129 beats per minute, which is just about right.

I was in to the doctor again on 9/10 and I THINK baby's heart rate at that appointment was 150 beats per minute.  No real other stats this time, as there was no ultrasound or anything. Our doctor thinks baby is head down already, but we know that can change at any time since baby still has quite a bit of room to move around in there. I had my gestational diabetes test during this visit and just got my results back - completely normal, thankfully!

Here are some pictures of baby at 25 weeks. This was most likely our last ultrasound. We had one at 19 weeks, but there were a few things that our Dr. wanted to check at a later gestational age because they weren't clear yet at 19 weeks. She didn't say too much at our 19 week ultrasound and at the 25 week ultrasound she shared much, much more of what she was looking for / looking at. It was reassuring to have her pointing out all of the checks... kidneys, four chambers of the heart, the brain segments, the three strands in the umbilical cord, etc.

Here, baby is waving hello to Gavin. It was pretty cute! Gavin liked that picture!

Overall, this pregnancy seems very similar to my first pregnancy. Baby is very active all of the time, but mostly at night of course! It seems that around the time I start getting Gavin ready for bed, baby really starts moving and doesn't slow down until after I'm asleep! I feel like I am not as tired this time around, but that may not be true. I think my schedule is so different that it's hard to say. I no longer work 5 days a week and have 2 hours each day of commuting time, and that in itself used to tire me out! Now, although I feel like I'm staying up later at night (usually 11:00 or Midnight), I sleep until almost 7:00 every morning and I even occasionally squeeze a nap in (maybe once a week) when Gavin naps. I certainly think I'm less stressed about work and time management and all that, but there is definite parenting stress, which we work through daily. Gavin and I spend a lot of time together these days and he can sure wear me out!

I don't necessarily have any weird cravings, but have noticed a few diet changes that I'm chalking up to the pregnancy. I've wanted a pop nearly every day, and I'm not a pop drinker. This is just in the last couple of months, but I really just want a cold Coke. Some days I drink a blackberry Fresca and that seems to do the trick and occasionally I'll have half of a Coke or Root Beer, but it isn't very often. I have also wanted coffee a lot more lately, and in the first 5-6 months of the pregnancy I couldn't stand to drink coffee. It would smell really good, but one sip and I knew I didn't want it. Now, I want it all day, any way - iced, sweet, black, over ice cream, in a shake or a frappe... any way I can get it. So, I've been having about a cup a day, some days I skip it, but most days I allow myself a cup. I don't notice that it affects the baby's activity level or mine. I know that I've been eating a lot more junk food (chips and chocolate mainly) than normal, but I also feel I've continued to take in the nutrients that I need. I'm eating healthy foods... I'm just also eating not-so-healthy foods. I'm not sure if it's because my body is needing something or if it's just that I think I can get away with it so I do. I remember thinking when I was expecting Gavin, that everything I put in my mouth was going straight to the baby and so I was so conscious of packing in all the nutrients I could, in everything that entered my body. I was also conscious about gaining weight that I'd have to work to lose after he was born. I didn't worry about it and I certainly didn't compromise his health in any way... I ate. Believe me, I ate, but I ate healthy foods. However, I didn't really gain much "extra" weight at all and I had no trouble getting back in shape after Gavin was born. I kept eating healthy, since I was breastfeeding, and I actually ended up weighing less than I had in years within a couple of months after he was born. I wonder if I think the same thing will happen after this baby is born. Part of me thinks that it's different this time. Different because I'm eating more fatty foods and also because I'm "OLDER". By older I mean, I am over 35. Yes, I actually got "the talk" when I went in for my first OB appointment. There is a flag if you're 35 or older that reminds your provider to talk to you about all of the risks of late-in-life pregnancy. I thought, "late in life? I'm 36 though, not 60!" Sheesh. I do "feel" older this time around - I feel less flexible, my body gets tired and sore more easily, and I think I am less active than I was 4 years ago.

So... baby is coming in about 10 weeks. Do I feel prepared? On one hand, I feel like I have almost everything I need and realize that although sometimes the convenience of all the baby gadgets and gear is really a life-saver, I also know that all that stuff can be overwhelming in itself and I almost wish for the days you could put your baby to bed in a dresser drawer and all baby clothes were white and gender-neutral. The days when no one had heard of a bottle warmer, diaper wipe warmer, pee-pee tee-pee, or even a Boppy pillow. I know those things don't determine how easy or 'good' your baby is or how well baby latches on in breastfeeding or how they sleep at night or any of that, but some of those things ARE really nice to have. I have a basement full of baby gear! I have most of the stuff we had for Gavin and a few things we've picked up at garage sales since then because we had given ours away. We have a swing, two car seats, a high chair, a moses basket, two pack'n'plays, a play mat, a stroller, a front carrier, a wipe warmer, a bottle warmer, several newborn onesies and sleepers, sleep sacks, blankets, and all kinds of other gadgets and gear. I know that all a baby really needs is a warm bed and Momma's milk... but we've definitely got all the "extras" covered. The only two things I could really think of that we would like and don't have already are a video monitor (since we don't have our monitor at all anymore and baby will likely eventually share a room with Gavin so I want to make sure I can see in there), and a Moby wrap, since my hands are usually busy playing with (or cleaning up after) Gavin. Of course we will need diapers - LOTS of diapers, wipes, and things like Aquaphor diaper ointment, baby bath, Mylicon gas drops, Infant Tylenol, and those sorts of things, but I'm waiting on buying any of that stuff until we need it.

I also know I'll need to do some things to prep around the house. I need to get my freezers cleaned out, some meals prepared and frozen, bedroom closet cleaned out and organized since I can barely get into it right now with the maternity clothes AND my regular clothes in there. I've been doing a few things though. I finally moved the changing table from Gavin's closet, where we've been using it for a toy shelf, to our bedroom where it will remain for the next several months. I've sorted the baby clothes that we've had stored in our basement into girl and boy bins so that once the baby is born I can just donate the boxes we don't need without having to sort through everything again. Of course, we have a TON of boy clothes and I already felt like Gavin had way too many clothes and there are even more now since my sister gave us back what we had given her, plus the stuff she got new for her son, so there is like twice what we had for Gavin. I went through the boy clothes with a pretty selective eye and only kept the things I really liked and boxed up the boy clothes that we never really liked, didn't work well, or were single pieces that didn't make an outfit. I still have enough clothes to outfit at least THREE baby boys. And if we have a girl, I'll at least get through the first few months since we have lots of gender-neutral stuff plus we have friends with little girls and I've picked up a couple of little pink onesies and sleepers at Goodwill or garage sales for peanuts, just so we're prepared either way.

One of the biggest challenges we'll face, I think, will be living space. We have plenty of space, but we have a LOT of stuff. Our closets are full, our surfaces are full, our mudroom is full of coats, hats, shoes, etc. and I'm not sure how to rearrange to make room for another person's stuff. I know we'll figure it out and it may just be a good excuse to really purge! I think I've finally REALLY started nesting, just this week. I boxed up and donated 8 boxes of things this morning to the Vietnam Veterans of America and I have a box of toddler clothes ready to pass on to my sister for her son and a bag of home decor items ready to go to my Mom's church for their annual fall rummage sale. I still need to do a thorough cleaning of my bedroom closet and a little more rearranging and organizing in Gavin's bedroom, but I think we're probably on track. I went through a few kitchen cupboards and reorganized, got rid of a few coffee cups, plates, and glasses that we didn't need and I still have more cupboards to go. Need to make room for bottles and bibs again!

I definitely have lots more to do, but at least feel like I've gotten a start! Hope I have the energy to keep it up!