36 weeks, 5 days

Well, it looks like Thursday I will be 37 weeks along in this pregnancy. This is a nice milestone because supposedly Sophia will be considered full-term at this point. Excellent!

Today I had the first of my weekly doctor appointments. I am down 3 lbs from last visit. But last visit my appointment was at 3:30 pm. Today I weighed in at 10:00 am. This makes a big difference in my world. I have always weighed less in the morning than in the afternoon. I learned this from many days at weight watchers. If I knew I had a "bad" week, I would make sure that I weighed in at a morning appointment that next week. :) I thought everyone experienced this. But the nurse taking my weight seemed surprised at this. So, my total weight gain is at 14 lbs, for which I am very, very pleased. It's hard enough carrying this extra weight after taking off 80 lbs. I've been pretty careful not to put too much on. I've been very lucky to be able to maintain a good exercise schedule up until recently when my midwife suggested I not exercise in the pool in case my water breaks early. Risk of infection...blah, blah, blah. Doc later said I could be in the pool theoretically up until the water breaks, but I might not notice it and that I was probably safe at least until 36 weeks. Well, that was pretty much at 36 weeks when I got that info. So, I've just been walking lately, which is no easy task at this point!

So, back to the doctor's appointment, blood pressure is still doing great. Weight is good. I did show positive for GBS, which apparently is fairly common (15-40% of all women have it), and I will undergo antibiotics during labor/delivery. It's a bacteria that is common in our intestines, but usually doesn't manifest with symptoms. However, it can be dangerous for the baby if it's not treated during delivery. I'm so amazed at all the testing they can do now days to prevent complications. There is still a small risk, but we just keep on praying.

My doc measured my dilation which is still not dilated. Then he measured my uterus and remarked that she was a big girl. This was not news to me. We knew that there was a pretty good chance that she would be bigger than your average bear. She's coming from a family history with >10 lbs at birth. The big news was that doc said he might want her to go ahead at get here around 38 weeks. Whew. That's a little scary. And exciting! But still, that's only just over a week away. He did say that maybe we would shoot for around the 17th which would be around 39 weeks.

So, it looks like we may have our little girl sooner than expected. I always thought she might be late. Just another example where I make plans/predictions and God laughs at me :) He knows best and we are just so excited for her to get here!

4 weeks and counting

Well, here we are. Sophia's expected due date is 4 weeks from today. That's a bit exciting and overwhelming at the same time. It's getting closer and more real. I'm now beginning to wonder about how on earth I will figure out all those cries, what she needs, how to balance her wants. I wonder about labor. I'm sure it's hard as heck and many, many women have gone through this, which should be comforting; it's not however. The hardest fear for me is fear of the unknown. And now, the unknown has gotten a little more complicated. My childbirth class has been canceled. Only 3 people signed up for it. The reasoning behind cancelation is that the instructor wants at least 6 people to sign up. Well, darn. It's not like I've got another month. This is what I get for waiting until the last minute. I should have gone in January when it seemed way too early. February's date conflicted with my shower in Corpus. Now what? I don't know. I'm supposed to contact the instructor on Monday. Just seems frustrating to me. If the hospital is going to provide the service, they should provide the service. We'll see what happens when I talk with the lady on Monday. Otherwise, I'll have to drag hubby up to labor & delivery for my own private lesson with the nurses.

So, at 36 weeks, I'm feeling "girthy". I feel good and haven't had too much fatigue. A few cramping kind of feelings in my belly, but nothing consistent. She's still moving around, though now it's more like writhing rather than any kind of kick. I never get tired of feeling her move.

Otherwise, business is really picking up at work. Isn't that how it goes? Just before I get ready for maternity leave, things pick up :) Good for the hospital. I'll just truck along until Sophia makes her arrival!

Sophia's Nursery

Here is the completed nursery. I am so glad to have it done and so grateful that my parents came down to help! The walls were already pink and our landlady instructed us not to change any colors in any room (The other room is dark blue...would've worked out if she was a he!)

Dad put the crib together in record time. Mom and I took tags off everything from washcloths to shoes to onesies to blankets. Whew, there's a lot of stuff! We washed things so she would be ready to put anything on. Dad helped hang the wall decorations with my directions :) I love the dark wood color. The crib and changing table came from my sister. It's so pretty and the bed is convertible into a full size bed later on. It was a long day, but so worth it to get everything done!!!

Week 34 Sono Results

Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake. I have been patiently waiting for each sonogram result, going to my doctor and asking for him to share with me the results. I work in a hospital and know that my results are in the computer I have access to, but I also know that if I do access those results I can be fired. And I'm not one to take a chance like that, it's just not worth it. But today, I realized that I can do what non-hospital employees do and request my test results. So, I went over to radiology, signed a release/request and got a copy of my sono report. Why didn't I think of this sooner? Unfortunately, most of the results mean nothing for me, except terms like "Unremarkable" and "within normal limits". But, what I am interested in is the estimated weight of the baby. So, I got my results at she is "estimated" at 2,720 grams. (It is just an estimate)

Now, for my mathematically challenged friends, you can do what I did and go to an online conversion calculator that converts grams to pounds. Or you can just keep reading. This turns out to equate to 5 lbs, 15.94 oz. Basically, she is estimated at 6 lbs. last Wednesday when we were 34 weeks. It's nice to know where 6 of my 15 lb weight gain has come from! Average is around 5 lbs. So, we're not that far off. But, she's "above average". Hopefully she will be above average in the brain area too!!

Tomorrow is another doctor's appointment. Thursday my parents get here with the baby furniture! I cannot wait to get the nursery all set up! I will definitely post pics after we're done.

34 Week sonogram

The traditional 2D sonograms. Profile is on the left, frontal face view is on the right.
The little white patch at the top of her head is her hair! The tech commented that she's got a bit of hair already!



These are so beautiful! It was really hard to get a facial shot because she has her arm in front of her face all the time. She did some tongue sticking out again. Not sure if the one on the right is sticking out or not. The blob on the right side of the pic is the placenta. No growth or anything! :) It's so amazing to be able to see her face!




Her little heart beat. All 4 chambers going strong.



Head to the right. At the very beginning you can see her move her knees/legs on the left.

I have a few more, but they take a while to upload and it's dinner time! Hope you all have enjoyed it!

Posting Comments

So, when I originally set this up, it was because anyone can leave comments without having to have an account. Just now I reviewed the settings and I had it set wrong. NOW anyone can leave comments. You don't have to have an account. Under the comment menu that drops down, just put anonymous and sign your name in the blog (if you want to) Hope you enjoy the blog!

Baby Showers

I have had 3 baby showers! I say this with exclamation because I feel very blessed to have had 3 baby showers.













The first baby shower was January 24 in San Antonio on the Riverwalk. My best friend from college, Joanna, threw me a luncheon shower at Paesano's on the Riverwalk. My mom, sister, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law came down and several of my friends who live in San Antonio were able to come! Lots of fun!




The second shower was in Corpus Christi on February 28th and was thrown by some dear friends from my old church. I used to be the music director at Central Christian Church and 3 of these ladies were in my choir and praise team. The hostesses were: Lynn Cates, Debra Coleman, Sylvia Fobes, and Tonya Webber. My church was invited and some of my friends from my old job at Spohn Shoreline got to come too! There were so many people and it was nice to see everyone! And Sophia is going to be quite the dressed up young lady!
My hostesses (L-R) Debra, Sylvia, Tonya (Lynn was sick :( .)
My mom & me. That cake was sooo beautiful! (But the baby was NOT edible....my teeth told me so)


Me with the Diaper Cake; Dear friends, Mel & Martha; and my Spohn girls!


My 3rd shower was March 4th and it was a surprise! We had a scheduled rehab luncheon at work, that turned out to be scheduled for my baby shower! :) It was so nice to be surprised and they kept the secret very well. I did become a little suspicious the morning of the shower because everyone hushed when I walked into the office. And more cute stuff for Sophia!

Me as the princess...until Sophia gets here,
then I become the QUEEN!
My wonderful coworkers in the rehab department
This cupcake cake was sooooo pretty and even better tasting!

This was a game....who could suck the most water in 2 minutes. It was harder than they thought!

Sonograms!

This is our first 3D (or is it 4D?) picture of our little girl. This was 19 weeks, 5 days. We first learned she was gonna be a "she" during this visit.


This is the 2nd sono I had and I was 29 weeks, 4 days. We were able to reconfirm her "she" status.

Tomorrow we will have our 3rd sonogram. I feel so lucky to work at a hospital who provides the 3D/4D service. Apparently the reputation of Uvalde Memorial Hospital used to be questionable. I have tell people that there is better technology here than at Christus Spohn Shoreline. This hospital is really dedicated to have the latest technology for providing the best patient care possible. I must say, it's nice to work at a place like that. My radiology suite for swallowing x-rays is better equipped than anything we had at Spohn. Of course, until little Sophia comes, I can't take advantage of that, but I'm looking forward to it when I return from maternity leave!

Week 34 OB Visit

So, today I had another OB visit. I say 34 weeks because I'm 2 days from 34 weeks and that means I'm closer to 34 than 33. And it makes me feel like it's closer :)

Well, it looks like little Sophia won't be so little. My fundal height is "above average" as Doc says. We discussed the fact that my mom and I were both over 10 lbs at birth (not just by an ounce or two either). I expressed my concern to him that I was trying to avoid forceps/suction if at all possible. He told me that if she was going to be over 10 lbs, we would do a c-section. Not sure that is much better as it is a longer recovery time and I'll have to do some special qualification to return to work. I told him that I had hoped that my husband's Italian side would help find a compromise in the birthweight. I don't think it's going to happen! Haha. By the end of the conversation, we decided that we would plan for a regular delivery but be preparted for a c-section.

For now, he's got me scheduled for my 3rd (!) sonogram. It will be this Thursday at 1:30. Yeah for more pics of Sophia!

The nursery is coming along. I cannot wait to get the furniture in the room and fix it up for good. I can't wait to put the wall decorations up and set everything out. I keep having this nightmare that Sophie will come out a Steve and I will have all this girlie stuff. There's very little probability of that after 2 sonogram predictions....but you never know :)


In other news, our little puppy (at nearly 12 years old) has had some "accidents" in the house lately. Thank goodness for non-carpeted floors. We went to San Antonio on Saturday and came home to a large, soft pile. This was an improvement from last week when we came home to 4 runny piles. Then early Sunday morning I was awakened by a horrible smell and there was another runny pile. There may not be a worse smell than that! Since I'm hypersensitive to smells right now and was dry heaving, my sweet hubby cleaned them up. Needless to say, Maggie has been spending all day outside. Tomorrow's supposed to rain, so we'll see how that works.

On the frustration front, I got a corrected W-2 from Christus Spohn. They forgot to check retirement (even though I did not contribute) and now I am instructed to "consult a tax professional" to determine my next step. Golly. Thanks Christus. How long have you been providing W-2s???? Ugh. So, I'm going to see if Turbo Tax will let me do an amended return and hopefully it won't change much.

I got summoned for jury duty in Nueces county. My first ever summons. Will just send it back in stating I'm not qualified because I no longer live in Nueces county.

Ok, this is all new, so I'm going to practice adding some photos.

A new attempt...

So, I'm trying something new. I've done the MySpace thing and the Facebook thing, but people have to join those things to keep updated. So, for my family and friends, I'm starting a blog. Let's see how long it takes me to neglect it! :)

I am currently 33 weeks and 5 days pregnant. We are just about 6 weeks until our baby girl Sophia Isabella arrives.