35-39 Weeks

**Bad mom alert. This post took months in the making. Things at the time were so hectic and stressful that this blog fell by the wayside! So I'm finally catching up!**



The last four weeks of my pregnancy took me from this.....

to this...

The final weeks were psychologically brutal. I tried everything I could to get my stubborn Henry to flip into the proper position. But by 36 weeks, he was NOT budging from his breech position that he seemingly had been in since conception. So after my 36 week appointment and ultrasound, it was decided that Henry would be a c-section baby. It wasn't what I wanted, but I adjusted to the idea and started making arrangements. There was something to be said for having a date and time for baby's arrival. Henry would be here on Monday, February 16th at 39 weeks and 2 days at 4pm! I told my work. I told my long term sub. I started nesting like a madwoman to get things done. I re-packed my go-bag with more c-section friendly things. 

And then at my 37 week appointment, my doctor said, "he may have flipped. This could be his head."

WHAT?

I sobbed in her office. I had wanted him to flip for so long, and he DIDN'T, and I had made peace with the c-section. Adding this now unknown element was just too much. She scheduled another ultrasound for me the next week, but I was left in limbo. WAS Henry in position to come on his own? Or was he instead just freaking out his mother who was already getting anxious waiting for him to show up?

The ultrasound at 38 weeks took forever to come. Of course in that time my c-section date (which was not cancelled in case I still needed it) moved from Monday afternoon to Thursday morning. And then Thursday afternoon. Because why make things simple? 

Finally on Thursday February 12th I had my final ultrasound. 

My boy was there, chubby cheeked and button nosed, and still frank breech with his feet snuggled up by his face. I walked into my doctor's office and she said, "well . . . do you want to have a baby on Monday?" An opening in her schedule had freed up, and so we were rescheduled YET AGAIN for President's Day, at 9:30am. We were just three short days away from meeting our little man.

It was a roller coaster, those few weeks. I cried more during that time than I think I cried any other time in my pregnancy. But knowing, finally, when it would come to an end really made me savor those last days. Yes, I was in horrible hip pain, was sleeping poorly, and was nervous. But I paid extra special attention to the kicking that you could see if you watched my belly. I rested in his nursery more, thinking about holding him in there soon. I wore my favorite maternity clothes one last time.

And I waited for the scariest, most exciting day of my whole life. 

Alien!

As I lay in bed last night reading Wuthering Heights - after all, I need to finish up those long term substitute plans - Henry started kicking away.

Except it felt really STRONG.

So I put my hand over the spot he was kicking, and HE MOVED MY HAND from the outside! You couldn't see it just to look at my tummy, but when I had my hand there it was very clear that he was being felt from the outside. I called A in and had him place his hand where mine was . . .  and of course that stinker stopped moving!

It's still exciting, though, and I know A will get to feel his kicks soon!

He's my little alien in there!

22 Weeks!

How far along: 22 Weeks
Maternity Clothes: All the time
Stretch marks: Yes
Sleep: Pretty good. I fall asleep so much more quickly now than before.
Best moment of the Week: HENRY MOVING! It's been so cool. All of a sudden he must have gotten big enough to feel, because now I feel him all the time. He's most active around 10am and 9pm. It is the best, even if he DOES seem to love kicking when my bladder is full and I'm in the middle of a class and can't leave.
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my back. Side sleeping all the time is messing with my shoulders.
Movement: Finally yes!!
Food Cravings: Still macaroni and cheese. It's like my life's blood. I actually CRIED over not getting my mac and cheese order correct the other day. It was hilarious in hindsight.
Queasy or Sick? Nope. Still feel good!
Have you started to show?  Yes!

22 Weeks - Getting BIG!

Gender: Henry George!
Labor signs: No, thankfully. Two more weeks until V-Day (viability). Obviously I don't want to have him ANYTIME soon, but it will be nice to know he's at a point where he'd probably be okay.
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? Off.  
Happy or moody? Pretty happy. A bit overwhelmed with school and grading and thinking about long term sub plans. So much to do in so little time. 

Mover and Shaker

Last night, around 9pm, A and I were watching The Knick sitting on the couch. And all of a sudden, THERE IT WAS!

Henry is officially moving around, and I can FEEL it! It felt like someone was flicking the inside of my stomach just below my belly button. It happened on and off for the next 15 minutes or so. There was no denying it was him making his presence known!

This morning he was doing it again while I was sitting at my desk at school!

It was a crazy, weird feeling. I'm so so so excited to finally feel him in there, safe and sound!

Keep wiggling, Henry! I love it!

Farewell, Feet!

We have officially reached the moment where the baby belly now sticks out far enough that when I look down, my feet are hiding!

Mama's Eye View - 21 weeks 2 days

Personally, I'm more impressed that the belly sticks out further than my pre-pregnancy DDDs (though who knows what they measure now)! I sure am glad I got my Ravens maternity shirt, because my jersey isn't an option anymore.

20 Weeks - HALF BAKED!

How far along: 20 Weeks!!! Half way finished! How did this happen?
Maternity Clothes: Yup! And I love them. I especially love that they show off my bump :)
Stretch marks: Yes. No worse than before though.
Sleep: Not good. Either my hip or back hurts, I'm up to pee constantly, and I'm actually waking up A with my restlessness.
Best moment of the Week: This has been a pretty boring week on the Henry front, really. I mean that in the best possible way - we have such a smooth pregnancy and I'm incredibly grateful for that! So the best moment of the week was seeing the Orioles go up 2-0 on Detriot in the ALDS series! One more win and we're another step closer to the WORLD SERIES! I assume Henry's been bouncing around in there like crazy with Mama getting all excited.
Miss Anything? Scalding hot baths. I think they'd make my achey body feel better.
Movement: No. Still no. I'm hoping that now that we're half way through I'm not too far away from feeling him. The bigger he gets, the more likely I'll feel him poking around. Hard not to be jealous of people who feel their babies, though. 
Food Cravings: Not really. Pretty normal food week.
Queasy or Sick? No. Henry has been so easy on me.
Have you started to show?  Yes! Check out the 20 week bump!

Gender: Our boy! I really love being able to think about Henry as a real person now and the things we'll do and enjoy together.
Labor signs: No!
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? Still off. I could POSSIBLY wear them, but I have a replacement band and am wearing my rings on a chain. I think I'll just stick with it and not take the risk of them being "tight" to an extreme and cutting them off. 
Happy or moody? Super tired and wiped out, but happy. I'm not feeling too moody at all.

Hump Day BUMP Day!

Just a few more days to go until I'm officially "half baked" at twenty weeks! How on earth has half of this pregnancy flown by me already?

Henry is making his presence more known every day. Just yesterday I felt a lot of pressure and stretching, and I think it's because baby boy is going through a growth spurt - I was also a LOT hungrier yesterday than normal.

Here's the bump status for today . . .

19 Weeks, 5 days

At this point, my belly is actually sticking out a little bit farther than my chest, which means he has DEFINITELY been growing. I feel like at this point I'm looking more pregnant than piggy, and I've noticed (particularly if I'm wearing maternity shirts) that people are glancing at the belly and then smiling at me when I'm out running errands.

I've definitely started to get the nesting bug as well, talking with A about our Henry-To-Do list - things like painting the nursery, buying his crib, finishing the registry process, etc. It's exciting, and also scary, to know that I've got under five months to go to make all this stuff HAPPEN. On one hand it seems like ages, but on the other . . . if the FIRST twenty weeks flew by like this, how fast will the second twenty? I'm sure it will start seeming like an eternity come January, but in the meantime, I'm trying to soak up how much I enjoy this. I've been so fortunate to feel well and happy throughout my pregnancy so far, so it's been such a lovely experience.

The most daunting thing lying ahead of me? Three months worth of maternity leave lesson plans for the three different courses I teach. Oh my!

Registering - The Most Intimidating Thing Ever

Seriously, babies need so much stuff.

Rather . . . babies need very little, but we need a whole lot of stuff to not freak out about having babies.

Anyway, I've started poking around with an online registry. We'll go in person to the baby store at some point to pick things out, but you can't beat online selection and information! It's nice because the registry serves as a shopping list for us, plus we'll get a completion discount before the baby is born. But putting it together is kind of intimidating. How do you know what you actually need?

So moms who read this . . . registry must haves? Registry idiotic things to ignore? I'd love experienced feedback.

You're So Fancy!

This is a post all about baby clothes!

So, before we found out what this baby was, we still had some shopping on the brain. While we were in Orlando, we got two sweet outfits for our little guy.

Aunt Sherri and Aunt Jess got us this adorable onesie from Universal Studios . . . I'm sure our boy will certainly be a fiesty minion, so it's fitting!

We also went shopping at the outlets, and got these fuzzy pajamas. This is the first outfit A and I picked out together for the baby! I love the fox feet!

Then today I hit up Khols. They were having a big sale, so I grabbed some maternity wear for me, and of course a few outfits for baby boy :)

It's so nice to know we have a boy on our hands, because now I can really get excited about some of this adorable stuff!

The Name Game

We haven't yet come down to final name choices by any means, because really we've tabled things until we know what the baby is, but we've still had some fun conversations about things we like. The one thing we will likely do is have an honorary middle name for our parents or grandparents, but it will all depend on what first name we pick that goes with it.

So, here are some names/combinations I like the sound of. For now. They're in no particular order. Who knows what I'll think when we actually try to commit to one!

Boys:

• Nathan James (Nate), James for my grandfather
• William John (Will), John for my father
• Samuel George (Sam), George for A's grandfather
• Gavin Alexander, Alexander for A, of course. 
• Thomas Kent, Kent for A's father

Girls:

• Evelyn Lettie (Evie), Lettie for my grandmother
• Clara Christine, Christine for my other grandmother
• Audrey Joy, Joy for my mother
• Emelia Mary (Emmy), Mary for A's grandmother
• Eleanor Rose (Ellie), Rose for A's mother.

Ellie and Emelia may be too close to some other names in our family (Ella and Amelia), which is why we nixed Isla (way too similar to Lilah), so I don't know for sure if we'd go for those, but I like them anyway. 

So basically we like old/classic names with sweet nicknames, for the most part. If I were a betting woman, I think our name will come from this list, though middle names could mix and match!

15 Weeks!

How far along: 15 Weeks, 1 day - Again, missed my actual week mark. Whoops. School is rough, man!
Maternity Clothes: Yup, except for my normal dresses which are all still comfy.
Stretch marks: Yes but some days they are dark and other days light. Who knows?
Sleep: I sleep pretty well (for me) but I am getting up to pee like 4 times a night. Ick.
Best moment of the Week: Telling all my students about the baby. Every time I revealed it to them, they actually clapped and cheered, which was so sweet. They are all super interested in baby stuff now.
Miss Anything? Not being totally wiped out after a school day.
Movement: No, and I doubt I will until like 20ish weeks, which is actually not that far from now, really!
Food Cravings: Yesterday I was desperate for tuna salad. 
Queasy or Sick? Nope. I've been so lucky, and I know it.
Have you started to show?  Some. I can see it. Not sure if others can, though.
Gender: Just SEVEN MORE DAYS and we will know! I'm excited because then we can actually narrow down the name for real. A and I thankfully have a very similar style, so we like a lot of the same stuff. The hard part, I think, will be picking just one we like more than others.
Labor signs: No!
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or moody? Happy, but still emotional. I cry over everything. Everything.

Back to School

Baby, I love you. I just want to say that first.

But MAN have you made the first week of school a difficult one! Swollen feet, sore hips, painful lower back. Yeesh. Normally it takes me a day or two to re-adjust to all the standing time of teaching, but holy cow is it worse this year. I'll forgive you, though, because you are pretty cute in the ultrasound pics.

My students were all so excited to hear about the baby. They are filled with questions (Are you finding out boy or girl? What names do you like? Will you bring the baby to school stuff so we can meet it?) and it's really sweet. I've had numerous requests to be a babysitter - this is one great thing about working with honors high school kids. They're bummed I'll be out for so long, but they are more excited than anything, which is nice. They're also terrified of me a little bit - after all, I don't take any crap NOW, so how's it going to be when I'm like 14 months pregnant? Ha!

Personally, it's so bizarre to think "I'm only here until March." Yes, I'll go back for the very last few weeks in June, which I am actually glad about because I want to see my seniors graduate, but really there won't be a whole lot going on in those final weeks. So the real "teaching" ends when this baby comes. You get into the routine of school, the August to June, and it's weird to cut that so short in the winter/spring. I'm teaching a six month school year, basically. Thinking about maternity leave lesson plans is almost terrifying . . . as obsessive and organized as I am, how am I going to get it all together? I mean, I WILL, of course, but it's a daunting task for sure.

Though I've been wiped out all week (daily naps have resumed) and sore, I am ultimately glad to be back at school. Summer is great, and work is hard, but these kids are awesome and a joy to be around. I think it will be a fun (short) year with them.

Public!

Our bloodwork came back this morning 100% normal, which meant it was time to tell the whole world about Baby C!

I just posted an announcement to facebook around 1pm, and the outpouring of excitement is amazing. It makes this whole thing feel more real than before!

13 Weeks!

How far along: 13 Weeks, 0 Days* . . . SECOND TRIMESTER WOO WOO!
Maternity Clothes: Indeed, at least in the pants department.
Stretch marks: Yes. I knew I'd get them because I already had some from earlier in my life, and they say you're either genetically prone to them or you aren't . . . and I am. 
Sleep: Sleeping well, actually. Not quite as exhausted as recently.
Best moment of the Week: Our NT scan was Tuesday, and we got to spend a good amount of time with Baby C wriggling around! Also great that baby looked awesome and was measuring right on track. Now we just need the bloodwork to come back (hurry UP, lab!!!) telling us everything looks good and we can tell the whole world about this kiddo!
Miss Anything? Wine. I want wine.
Movement: Nothing I can feel, but we watched the kid bounce around and wave his/her arms like crazy on Tuesday.
Food Cravings: Last night I wanted gummy bears. I don't even LOVE gummy bears, so that was weird.
Queasy or Sick? Not particularly, but I've had a really minimal appetite all week. 
Have you started to show?  I think I'm actually starting to show a bit at this point, and I can actually FEEL my uterus. It's kind of crazy. 
Gender: Nope. Three weeks to go!
Labor signs: No!
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or moody? I'm in good spirits, but still cry all the freaking time over little stuff. A apparently thinks it's cute. I think it means I'm crazy. Maybe it's both.

*Apparently this didn't post on Friday when I wrote it and it saved as a draft? Silly blog.

Hi, Mom and Dad!

Yesterday we had our Nuchal Translucency scan which is used to check on baby's progress and look for early markers of genetic issues. While we are low risk for these things, we wanted the scan anyway since it's totally non-invasive (an ultrasound and a blood test for me), informative, AND gave us an extra look at baby as we head into second trimester this FRIDAY!

Baby is right on track, if not ahead a few days. And s/he is NOT cooperative. First baby was napping upside down, which wouldn't let the tech get the measurements she needed. So I had to use the bathroom, walk around, and cough a bunch to wake that kid up. Then when s/he DID wake up, they were less than pleased at being disturbed! S/he wiggled around and looked pretty agitated, and still was a little bugger avoiding the right measurement positions. It was so funny to watch, and it was hard not to laugh. Our kid is already stubborn. Uh oh! It did give us about a half hour to watch and enjoy the ultrasound, though, so I can't complain.

Finally, baby cooperated and they saw what they needed to see. All measurements were perfect and show no genetic issues. Baby has two arms, two legs, a nasal bone, a stomach, a bladder, a BRAIN and a million other things the tech pointed out to us during our appointment. We still have to wait until Friday or Monday for the bloodwork results, but I am pretty confident that those should come back with no issue. Of course you never know, but I'm not as nervous about the bloodwork as I was about seeing the baby had grown and had a good heartbeat (177). As long as our bloodwork comes back okay, we'll be going fully public about the pregnancy since I'll be in second trimester with an awesome report! I am so excited to not hide this from people anymore.

And without further ado . . .

12w4d - Look at that actual BABY profile!

12 Weeks!

Do you know why today is awesome? It's my LAST WEEKLY CHECK IN for the first trimester!!!

How far along: 12 Weeks, 0 Days
Maternity Clothes: Yup. Not exclusively, but I love them. Why be uncomfortable.
Stretch marks: Yes. I can't tell if they are new ones, or just old ones darkening. Still sucks.
Sleep: Sleepy all the time, but waking up in the night more often. Boo.
Best moment of the Week: Our Orlando vacation! We got to go to see A's aunts and tell them the big news in person, and then we got to celebrate the wedding of some close friends! Even though preggy couldn't go on the big rides at Magic Kingdom, A and I had a ton of fun together doing the safe stuff.
Miss Anything? A well fitting bra. Mine aren't bad enough to upgrade yet, because they FIT but they are NOT comfortable. But I don't think it's worth getting new yet since I have no idea how much they'll be growing.
Movement: Nothing I can feel, but the baby is able to flip and move and even wiggle its toes now!
Food Cravings: Not so much. I've just been hungry in general.
Queasy or Sick? Not much. I did feel HORRIBLE the morning we left Orlando, but I suspect that was a dehydration thing. Even though I was constantly drinking water, in that heat and sun I think it's hard to keep up.
Have you started to show? Maybe? Hard to say. I think a little bit, actually! 
Gender: Nope. See below post!
Labor signs: No!
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or moody? Still emotional. While I'm happy most of the time, I cry so easily. I mean, I cried easily BEFORE pregnancy, but now it's worse. We saw Guardians of the Galaxy and I cried at least five times. Yup. Oh, and I teared up hearing the NFL music on the radio yesterday for the Ravens pre-season game.

Let's Talk About Sex

I am so excited because I now have LESS THAN ONE MONTH TO GO before we find out if Baby C is a boy or a girl!

I just got off the phone scheduling an elective ultrasound for 16 weeks. It's only $80, and it is SO WORTH IT to me to know. September 6th can't get here fast enough. Plus it will be a nice little belated birthday gift for A :)

Guesses? What do you think? I am hoping for a boy (slightly) but I don't have a strong feeling on what it actually IS.

I thought it would be fun to gather some SUPER SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (aka old wives tales and things) to see what they say. Looks like they favor boy, but not by much. After all, they have a 50-50 chance of being right. I'm not showing enough for the carrying high/low thing yet, so that one isn't included.

Chinese gender chart says: BOY
I have some gnarly pregnancy acne which says: GIRL
I have horribly dry feet which says: BOY
Craving sweets which says: GIRL
"Swing of the Ring" is a circular motion which says: BOY
Baby's heartrate was over 140 bpm (9w2d) which says: GIRL
Mayan gender prediction says: BOY
Minimal morning sickness says: BOY
A gaining no sympathy weight says: BOY

11 Weeks!

How far along: 11 Weeks, 0 Days
Maternity Clothes: Pretty much just yes at this point. My pre-pregnancy pants all fit, but by the end of the day are so uncomfortable. Another mom told me to go for comfort over pride, so I have. These maternity shorts have room to grow, and are CRAZY comfy now.
Stretch marks: Yes. Ugh. Already. I think it's from the horrible bloat. I swear I gain a full size by the end of the day, then wake up normal again. I knew I'd get them because I already had some and was thus predisposed, but ugh. Sucks.
Sleep: Still really tired, but napping less.
Best moment of the Week: Visiting A's grandfather to tell him the good news! He was excited and it was great to see him. We also told my grandmother over the phone and she was thrilled (she almost cried)!
Miss Anything? Not burping like a college linebacker?
Movement: Nothing I can feel
Food Cravings: No, not really. I have had issues eating chicken the past few days, though. So unappetizing. 
Queasy or Sick? On and off, usually if I waited too long between feedings. FEED THE BABY ALL THE TIME, apparently.
Have you started to show? I don't think so. Maybe a teeeeeeeeeeeeeeny bit. I still think bloat, but then I am almost in second tri, so who knows.
Gender: Nope. Chinese gender chart says: Boy. I guess it has a 50/50 shot of accuracy.
Labor signs: No!
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or moody? Happy but emotional. I actually cried watching the Adam Sandler movie The Longest Yard last night. Who am I?

What's In a Name?

A and I have been talking baby names, though not incredibly seriously before we find out the sex in September/October.

Anyway, as I wait around for the fun things to come - 12 week ultrasound and THE BIG REVEAL - I thought I'd put some of the names we like (now) here in writing. These are in order of my preferences at the moment. THANK GOODNESS A and I agree on names pretty easily. It's so much easier to have a similar style. What is our style? Old school cool, I think!

Girls

• Evelyn (nicknamed Evie)
• English
• Means "Beautiful Bird"
• Clara 
• Latin
• Means "Illustrious"
• Claire
• French
• Means "Illustrious"

For a baby girl's middle name, we are probably going with Lettie, which was my grandmother's middle name. She never liked it much, but I think it's sweet. Lettie is English, and means "joy" which is nice since my mother's name is Joyce. Double meaning! I don't think Clara Lettie sounds great, though, so we probably will be skipping Clara if we stick with the honorary middle name.

Boys

• Nathan (nicknamed Nate)
• Hebrew
• Means "He Gave"
• Gavin 
• English
• Means "White Hawk"
• Thomas
• Greek
• Means "A Twin"

For a boy, the middle name will probably be either James, for my grandfather, or George for A's grandfather. Both are amazing guys, so it will probably just come down to which sounds better with our name choice. My personal favorite right now is Nathan James!

10 Weeks!

How far along: 10 Weeks, 0 Days (DOUBLE DIGITS!)
Maternity Clothes: Enjoying my dresses. They are so comfy, and they don't look like maternity since they just have some room to grow. I'm also living in yoga pants.
Stretch marks: Nothing new, but some old ones by my boobs are darker.
Sleep: All the sleep, all the time. 
Best moment of the Week: HANDS DOWN seeing our little parasite moving around and hearing the strong heartbeat on the ultrasound Monday. BEST EARLY BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER. Seriously, the relief that has washed over me since that ultrasound is amazing. At this point, I know it would be a really rare/odd thing to lead to a miscarriage. I'm so happy baby is okay.
Miss Anything? Wine and sushi. So I had a california roll (cooked) and bought some alcohol free wine. It will probably be gross, but I'll try it.
Movement: Though I can't feel it, we got to see Baby C roll over - s/he did a complete flip while we watched. It's incredible.
Food Cravings: No intense cravings this week. I have been really enjoying s'mores pop tarts, though!
Queasy or Sick? Carsick. Long car rides aren't my friends right now.
Have you started to show? Bloat is killing me. Last night before bed I caught myself in the mirror and thought I looked 6 months pregnant. Woke up this morning and was much smaller. Bloat is a bitch.
Gender: Nope! But I'm so excited that it's getting closer and closer. 18 weeks, I think, is when my doc said she likes to schedule the anatomy scan, which is when we get to find out.
Labor signs: No!
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or moody? So happy. This baby is healthy and wonderful :)