Monthly Archives: March 2011

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At 36 weeks

March 29, 2011 – 10:18 am

We had breakfast at Wailana Coffee House with my parents to celebrate my dad’s birthday… and I realized that going out for breakfast (so easily, at least) will soon be a thing of the past.

Eric’s co-workers threw him a baby shower and invited me too.  It was supposed to be a surprise, but he guessed it on the morning of!  Grrr!  Can never surprise him.

I paid a ridiculous amount for a nursing bra.

We had a final ultrasound and the baby was not cooperative, often hiding his face behind his hands. I was bummed. When he finally decided to peek out a little, boy did he look grumpy!  I sure hope he isn’t a grumpy little man… must pray for a healthy and HAPPY baby.  Oh he also looks like an alien, I know.  What can I say.. (he looks like Eric, hehe.. just kidding!).baby at 36 wks

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At 35 weeks

March 29, 2011 – 9:47 am

Students bid me farewell with cupcakes and presents and proclamations of “I love you”, “we’ll miss you”, “what if we fail next quarter!?”, “can we visit you in the hospital?!”… to which I replied “goodbye”, “no”, and “stop being so dramatic!  Gee whiz.”  Haha, it was a fun day… though I will miss them, just a little bit, I think.  I’m ecstatic to be done, but I also suprisingly found myself reluctant to hand them over to “the sub”… wanting to finish what I had started and see them through til the end of the year.  Which makes me realize, what a difference this year has been, compared to last year!  Dare I say I actually kind of enjoyed this year?  Praise God for changing my heart.  Well… here’s the part I definitely don’t like about teaching… grading lab books and writing comments.  A final push and exhausting weekend later (consumed by both dislikes), I am officially done! finito! on maternity leave!  How weird is this.. that I am no longer “teacher” but now a “stay-at-home-mom”!

Having closed one chapter, I find that I’m finally able to start looking ahead at the next chapter… and to be honest, it is pretty overwhelming at moments.  I wonder when THE DAY will come.. will it be today?  Tonight while I sleep?  Will I make it til the next doctor’s visit?  Or the car seat check appointment?  The due date is still 4 weeks away, but now that I’m done with school it’s like the baby has permission to come out anytime now.  Despite wanting to just veg for a while, I feel a sense of urgency to get things done before his arrival… mainly cleaning and organizing (the influx of baby stuff is ridiculous).  It also seems, though, that my body has given itself permission to slow down and make me super duper uncomfortable… meaning, the slightest task (getting off the couch. doing the dishes. filing mail away.) is such a chore now, as I’ve literally got a watermelon in my mid-section!

At 35 weeks, stretch marks are increasing & belly is often itchy, signaling that baby is growing and I am less and less in control..
For the first time, I did not gain weight this week.  Doctor also tested me for group B strep and checked my cervix to see if I was dilated (ouch!) — nope.
We finished our childbirth classes.

And a new segment called Eric says…

  • “When do we do the hand thing again?” in reference to a hand massage technique during childbirth class
  • “It’s weird for me, cause for as long as I’ve known you, we’ve both gone to work…” on my first day off
  • “I’m in a meeting right now, but I picked up because I’m wary of all your calls now…” also on my first day off
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Family photo

March 22, 2011 – 12:39 pm

Taken back in January, when Eric’s dad came to visit. IMG_8523

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At 34 weeks

March 15, 2011 – 11:11 pm

Was told twice in a single day, “you look ready to pop.”
Told by a student, “you look very pregnant today.”  Resorted to wearing all black…
Doctor thinks I may not make it to my due date.  27 pounds and counting, grrr.  And yet, still craving sweets.
Baby shower at work, interviewed second pediatrician, almost done with Childbirth class, and…
STRETCH MARKS?!???  Nooooooooooo!

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At 33 weeks

March 8, 2011 – 6:20 pm

The calendar turned to March which means our baby is due NEXT MONTH!

At 33 weeks, we graduated our Infant Care class and now know how to 1) calm a crying baby, 2) bathe a baby, and 3) perform infant CPR.  Supposedly.  We shall see!

Among other things, we learned the five *miraculous* steps to soothe a colicky baby: swaddle him, turn him to his side/stomach, shhhush him, swing him, and give him something to suck on.  Again, we shall see. : )

We also started another series of classes on Prepared Childbirth, aka the don’t-panic-when-you-start-to-feel-contractions class.  I don’t know which is worse.. going into labor not knowing anything, or going in knowing all the things which could go wrong?  I am tempted to think that ignorance is bliss.  And I wonder why God made the birthing process so painful?

At 33 weeks I started experiencing shortness of breath. Sleeping is getting more difficult. My clothes don’t fit and my bras really don’t fit.

Also at 33 weeks… I got really worried for the first time about whether baby was doing ok inside me.  A couple days ago, he didn’t move very much and I started going paranoid waiting for and counting his kicks.  Doctor says there should be 10 movements every 10 minutes, but I only seemed to feel a couple… definitely not ten…

Thankfully he seems back to normal now — kicking, punching, and hiccuping a storm.  Amazing, though, to realize how much I love this child already and would die if anything were to happen to him. I imagine this is what the Father’s love is like.

And in other fabulous news: SEVEN DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!

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