Busy Week

This week Angela started laughing for real and starting to reach and grab for objects. This was also her first meltdown from over-stimulation (not fun) and I'm becoming an expert on infant nasal irrigation to combat her stuffy nose from the (I'm assuming) winter-related dry air. Angela has also officially moved into her crib for sleeping at night. I was worried about her adjusting to sleeping on her own instead of next to me, but it was an easy transition. She has also done very well falling asleep when it's bed time and falling back to sleep in the middle of the night when she wakes for a feeding. It also seems she may be developing some separation anxiety, or atleast preference for her parents over other people. Oh and before I forget she also rolled over for the first time! The past month seemed a bit boring in terms of hitting milestones and she certainly caught up to speed very quickly.

As for myself I have been dealing with a major loss of hair the past two weeks, soon I will have to say goodbye to my thick head of hair that I developed during the pregnancy.

Laughing Girl!

It must take sleep to make giggles

Saturday night into Sunday morning Angela slept from 10:30-5:30 ( a new record) and then until 9:00 am. Wonderful. Then unexpectedly she fell asleep around 3:30pm for a "nap" or so I thought, only hours passed and she never fully woke up, only a few times to eat and then she'd doze back off. 10:00pm approached and I was fearful she was going to wake up and not go to bed. So I rushed off to bed and she ended up staying asleep only waking up to feed, but then finally waking up at 5:30am when her nose was stuffy and she couldn't breathe (a frequent occurence lately that is rather frustrating for all parties involved).

Well, today she was gurgling A LOT and squealing and letting out little "ha's" here and there which was somewhat new, until I had her on her swing talking to her and all of a sudden she let out a nice long chuckily giggle. Then after we got back from grocery shopping I was tickling her under her chin and got to show John a few more chuckles - so exciting!

She's also been batting at her toys more often and starting to make the connection between her brain and her limbs: "hey, I can actually use these things to touch stuff."

You must do the mini push up before you can crawl....

Or else you end up doing a faceplant ... into the floor.

Grabby Girl

Angela has begun grabbing things in her reach - not so much reaching & grabbing, just randomly moving her hands out and grasping onto whatever is near her - our lips, our glasses, our hair, our clothes, her other hand etc.

In turn whatever is near her mouth is also going into her mouth usually her hands (especially if she's sleepy) but occasionally if we have her on our shoulder she'll start chewing on our neck.

She has also decided that over-the-shoulder is not always her favorite position. Now she also wants us to carry her so that she can look in the same direction that we're walking. Also if she is happy sitting in her chair - you best leave her in the chair or else she'll get ticked off that you decided to change her situation without her approval. She is the boss and we are her unpaid somewhat appreciated minions.

Tummy time is good but kind of boring at this point, she doesn't hate it enough to try to get off her belly - infact she doesn't even use her arms all the time but sometimes just leaves them to the side and shimmies her legs. She loves to stare at patterns and faces - on people or even teddy bears. She's let out a few single mini-laughs but nothing substantial at this point.

I am tired

I was tired yesterday and after (for what reason I do not know) Angela being up every 2 hours last night I am again, tired today. Right now Angela is sleeping in her boppy chair and I have to admit I'm a bit jealous.

During tummy time the past two days Angela has really been pushing off with her legs and if she could only figure out to use her arms she'd probably be getting somewhere, but as it stands now she is ignoring her arms and really using her legs which has caused her to do a faceplant into the floor a couple of times.

We ordered her a jumperoo which she sits in a few times a day. Although her legs are too short and she still doesn't have the ability to reach (on purpose atleast) and play with the toys, she likes the lights and the music and to be able to sit up instead of lying on her back to play. She can be entertained for up to 20 minutes which is great when you need to do something or just need a break.

2 Month Check Up

Little Miss Angela is 12lbs 11oz and 23.5 inches long! She has gained another 3 lbs and 1.5 inches in the course of a month! She has grown out of nearly all her 3 month clothes and transitioned into the 6 month size which is scary!

Alleluia .. well, sort of.

Saturday night Angela slept from 11pm-5:30am. I actually woke up at 4:30am on my own and couldn't believe she was still sleeping... she made up for it by being up every 2 hours last night.

Mommy's new Haircut

So after months of letting my hair grow out - not on purpose but out of sheer laziness (no pun intended), I made an appointment and got a ton of my hair chopped off. I had left John at home with Angela, but without a bottle because we hadn't given her a bottle in a while and the night before when we tried she wouldn't take it. So I fed her just before leaving and rushed home to feed her when I got back. She was fussy as expected and I put her in the position to nurse and she latched on, but then looked back up at me real quick, pulled off, and just STARED at me for a solid two minutes to say " WHO IS THIS PERSON?" I couldn't help but laugh the whole time (in between talking to her to make her realize it was still me) and it just goes to show that Angela knows her mom very well.

Hello Hand

Angela has discovered her right hand (the left is still out there somewhere) and is starting to spend time during the day checking it out fingers and all. The next photo I'm waiting to snap - the mini push up, she's working on it and we'll report back when it all comes together.

Eight Week Angela

We seem to be in the midst of yet another growth spurt. Constant feeding one day and then a day of almost all sleeping. Last night she only slept in chunks of 2 hours at a time, which was a bit exhausting for me. She is also growing out of a lot of her 3 month clothes and actually fitting perfectly into some of her 6 month outfits which is scary. Aside from lots of smiles we also have little gurgling conversations which are very exciting for both of us. She loves being able to vocalize and interact with us...and so do we!

I've started doing some exercises at home (with Angela's permission aka - sitting in her boppy chair watching me), however I have some sort of cut (maybe from a slightly ingrown toenail) that got infected and in combination with the thought that my feet may have gotten a bit wider, I find it very uncomfortable to wear sneakers and do exercises that put pressure on my toes. I made an appointment with a doctor but it's not until December, and am hoping it might heal on it's own through soaking & air drying. Until then I've plan on doing some barefoot kickboxing to a DVD. Right now my back, stomach & leg muscles feel so weak and on the verge of being twisted/pulled- I look forward to getting into some better shape - not just to look better but also feel better, as things are now I feel about 20 years older.

Gotcha!

Angela's smiles have been a bit of a phantom, however, last Thursday during a 6am diaper change she shot a big smile at me, and although I appreciated this, I was more concerned with getting her back to sleep. Later that morning we took a trip down to Bruegger's in Hingham so she could meet grandma's friends who get together for coffee every morning. Angela was super happy to see her grandma and couldn't take her eyes off of her and she entertained everyone with a bunch of smiles. Since then she has been smiling a whole bunch every day which is very rewarding.

She has also become quite vocal, no more infant "wah, wah, wah waahwaaah" now we've graduated into the full "waaaaa" baby cries complete with sad frowning face. If she's frustrated she'll put out a "hey" or an "aye" depending on how you interpret it - basically it means, "whatever you're doing is not entertaining me, change your methods or I'll break out into full ear-piercing cries." If she's happy she'll shoot an "ooh" at you and do a little bit of gurgling-talk, which is nice - but more often than not, we get the "hey!"

Most of the time she requires that someone holds her... which usually is me, which also makes doing anything impossible. Occasionally she'll sit in her boppy chair and watch her penguin mobile that we have hanging at the kitchen table... but for the rest of the time she generally wants to be carried around, even if she's sleeping. Evening can be a bit tough, unless I have time to just sit on the couch and nurse her and hold her - otherwise she's a bit cranky - wants to sleep, but has a hard time doing so on her own. In the last week (not sure if this is the new trend or not) she's been going to bed by 10:00 or 11:00 which means I go to bed early, but she's still waking up at 3-4 hour intervals.

six weeks going on seven

We've been working on training Angela to fall asleep on her own during the daytime (rather than us cradle her) sometimes shes wrestles so much she gets upset and starts crying...other times she manages. At night she still sleeps in bed with me. Although I would prefer for her to sleep in her bassinet, she squirms and groans a lot in her sleep, but when she's next to me, she does it a lot less and when she does I can feed her pretty quickly and quietly without waking her up all the way, and if she's just squirming to fall back to sleep I can cuddle her and calm her down and go back to sleep faster. Overall this method has enabled me to get much better sleep at night but I'm hoping in the next few months, once she grows a bit more and can hold more in her stomach, that I can transition her back to the bassinet.

She also occasionally sucks her tongue (usually after I've fed her) which is a bit weird and a bit funny.. Here is video of that and the difficult process of falling asleep. Lastly is a video of Angela chewing on daddy - this is actually pretty much just what she does sometimes when I'm nursing her which is hilarious, it's like I am feeding a little monster! I also like how she punches herself in the cheek in the first video.

Infant Pattern Baldness

This week marks
1. Angela losing her hair in a receding hairline-esque fashion.

2. Sleeping for 4 hours during the night for the first time.
3. Bearing her own weight on her legs (sometimes with very little assistance - even just holding her hands a few times for balance)

One Month Check Up

Angela weighed a total of 9lbs 13 oz, which means she's gained a total of 3 lbs since she was born! Needless to say, this little nugget is packing on the pounds like a champ. She also is now 22 inches (20.25 at birth) and the doctor noted that she has very good neck strength, holding it up while the doctor held her by her belly.

She also had a shot today (insert sad mommy face), and cried pretty bad for about a minute but recovered quicker than I thought she would. They need to create a better way to give babies their immunizations. Next month she has to have 2 shots, no! So depressing.

Angela also took her first trip to work today and got to meet everyone in person.

Last night she was totally awake up till 11pm without any sign of being tired in the near future. However, by lucky chance, I put her in her cradle swing & turned on the light function & within 5 minutes she was out like a light. Learning ways to keep her occupied & ways to put her to sleep are on the front burner in my journey as a new parent.

Yay for the Smiles

Our little nugget definitely hit her smile milestone yesterday. Last night I was holding her and sticking my tongue out at her, after about 5-10 seconds she would eventually respond and stick her tongue back out at me and occasionally let out a little squeal of excitement. I also would point at my facial features and then touch her facial feature "my nose... your nose" and after doing this she would also let out a smile. Then, as if this wasn't enough fun I had her on the bed and was tickling her face with a blanket, she was kicking her legs in excitement and would occasionally smile and let out a little happy laugh. How quickly this all came about!

She also does an excellent job holding her head up when we have her over our shoulder or when I recline on the couch and lay her on my chest, even using her arms to push her body up.

First Smile?

After a respectable night of sleep:
11:30pm-2:15am
3am-5am
6am-8:30am

I had Angela propped up in the bed after a feeding letting her tummy time to digest so that she would hopefully not spit up - alas she did and as I hurried to clean up all the spit up on her chin & neck so that it wouldnt require a change of clothes I noticed Angela get this look of delight on her face complete with a big open mouthed smile. Did she find this amusing? Usually when I see her smile she is always sleeping and it is ofcourse unintentional - just her exercising her facial muscles. Few minutes later - she spits up again and I rush to clean it up and again she gets this happy look on her face and puts on a big smile. (also as a side note - because her neck is so chubby with multiple rolls of chubbiness we really have to wash her well because spitup/milk gets stuck in those chubby rolls) This was quite exciting for me and am yet to get her to do it again.... but I believe my little creature is turning into a baby.

She is also starting to become a bit more vocal letting out a happy baby "ahhhAhhhh" once in a while... granted this is not directed at me - but usually at the various lights throughout our house that occupy her in her free time... we're looking forward to the Christmas season to see how she reacts to all the lights & ornaments.

Jekyll and Hyde Baby

I'm guessing this growth spurt is continuing. For the past days she's been flip flopping her days: one day she's totally awake, hungry, and cranky for a lot of the time and barely sleeps, and then the next day she's totally sleepy, eats just enough to get through the day and is barely awake. This has been going on and off for, I believe, the past 4 days (my days mush together at this point).

She is definitely packing on the pounds and her feet are now big enough for her baby socks to stay on - I swear this changed just occurred in the past 3 days.

The crankiness is exhausting though, the other night (after being up nearly ALL day - and me with very little sleep) she was cranky past midnight and I was so tired I was near the end of my energy and was praying for her to fall asleep -I was so near just passing out and she did finally lay down and sleep.

The days when she does sleep (and I sleep too) my breasts get so full from her not eating frequently enough and I dont really get anything done around the house because I'm trying to catch up on my sleep. Today is a sleepy day so we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Must have been a growth spurt

Angela barely slept for the past two days and was extremely cranky and constantly wanting to feed. When I wasn't feeding her (and I swear she got every last drop of milk at each feeding), I had her in the sleepy wrap and was jogging around the house - this seemed to be the only thing that entertained her. Happily John was home early (5:15) and he got a taste of her mood and jogged around the house while I made dinner. She didn't fall asleep until 11:30 which was the longest period of being awake she's ever had. After all that I believe John has gained a stronger understanding of what it is like to be with her all day and why I'm sometimes incapable of accomplishing anything until he gets home. Luckily this morning she slept from 4:00am-7:00am which allowed me atleast some sleep and now she's asleep again... lets hope this growth spurt is over.

Moving on up...

Angela has officially moved into her size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes. This is a good thing because I had very few newborn outfits and it was necessary to do a full load of her laundry each day to combat the messes she makes that require frequent changes of clothing. The top picture I like just because she has a funny look on her face. Middle picture - finally I have allowed myself to be photographed despite the fact that I'd rather not until I lose about 20 lbs. The last picture is Angela sitting right now in
front of me while I write. Note the hand-knit booties that Kenzie's(my brother Andrew's girlfriend) grandmother made for her.

Today is a less than stellar day, Angela has been sleeping for less than an hour at a time has been rather fussy & feeding a lot and I'm dying to take a nap. Although I am generally not exhausted I am starting to get irritable from not being able to sleep in stretches more than 3 hours. Five hours would be wonderful but I

know it's not in the cards right now or most likely any time too soon.

Overall though she does not cry much, when she wakes up and is hungry she squirms and groans/grunts for up to a half hour which give me time to muster up the energy to wake up. I have also been able to 'catch up' on all the late night infomercials, which I pretty much use the tv for a source of light so I dont have to turn on my lamp and give her the impression that this is 'awake time.'

Last night I took her into our tub with me which was fun. Her baby tub is still a bit too big for her and she doesn't enjoy bath time too much, but in the tub with me I could keep most of her body submerged and she was very comfortable... although I know if I keep doing that I will eventually be dealing with baby poop in the tub and I don't really want to experience that.

Revelations of New Parents

1. 3 straight hours of sleep is a blessing. Last night Angela slept from 11:30pm-2:45am got a diaper change & a feeding, woke up after 6:00am- diaper/feeding, then woke up at 8:30 - what a good girl. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the possibility that this good luck streak could end & I'm appreciating every night when she sleeps like this. On a positive note because I am so tired by the end of the day (and no longer dealing with the insomnia associated with my pregnancy) I sleep better now than I did before she was born.

2. 7pm-11pm is cranky baby time. I get through this by reminding myself that eventually she will fall asleep.

3. Baby bowel movements amuse us. Nothing like John coming home from work & greeting Angela - only to be returned the favor with a big wet gassy poop noise. Atleast we know when it's time to change a dirty diaper. And despite our supposed maturity we laugh pretty much every time she does this.

4. Angela is mystified & in love with the mobile attached to her pack n play. I don't know if its the music or the rotating bears but she instantly calms down when it's on - the only shame is that it functions by a winding mechanism so we have to keep winding it. I am yet to find anything else remotely capable of amusing her.

Two Week Update

Angela had her second doctor's appointment today - she weighed a whopping 7lbs 8oz! And she also peed on the doctor when he put her on the scale... that'll teach him. We used the stroller for the first time to walk to the dr's office, but I think that will also be the last time, the road is super busy & loud and I did not feel comfortable even though it was only about a 15 minute walk.

She also had her first tub bath today which was a bit intimidating for her at first, but tolerable. The baby bump belly continues to shrink, my stitches don't hurt too much at all and I'm beginning to consider some basic exercise - hooray! Breastfeeding also makes me super thirsty and I'm drinking more water than ever before.

Day 10

I have continued to drop a lot of that water weight that I was carrying around for the third trimester - yay, no more sausage feet. However last week and again last night I had a fever of 103 which has been disturbing especially to not know what is causing it. I felt so awful I stayed in bed and only got up to feed Angela; John & mom shared the other baby duties. We are also dealing with a bee problem at home, we can't exactly figure out how they're getting into the house & we are constantly killing bees - luckily it's near the end of their season and they are slow & easy to get, but still very frustrating.

Angela is a feeding/pooping/peeing master, and assuming she is not hungry, she is a very quiet happy baby. She likes to take the occasional trip outside to get some fresh air, and although (unless she's dead asleep) she doesn't like getting strapped into her car seat, after about 5 minutes of driving in the car she is very relaxed or asleep - which is great.

day 6

So here is my 6 day post-partum belly, I weighed myself today and so far I have lost 22 lbs, from the whopping 60 incredible pounds that I gained during pregnancy. So much of it was water weight and I felt like a balloon.

Monday night my breasts turned into softballs, but Angela was kind enough to demand nursing on and off from midnight to 2:30am which relieved much of the swelling. However she gave me a lovely abbrasion on the right side and it was impossibly painful to nurse her on that side for a couple days. We took a trip out to CVS and then Market Basket - to get a pump and get food. However, my pain medication wore off and I was dying while we shopped at the grocery store.

Right now she doesnt roll around when she sleeps so if I'm alone in bed I bring her into the bed with me and sleep next to her. It can take a while for her to really fall asleep so this allows me to feed her on and off and let her fall asleep without me having to move her and risk waking her again.

Angela had her first checkup at the dr's office today, when we were discharged from the hospital she weighed 6lbs 6oz and today she weighed 6lbs 9oz. Our next appt is Oct 2nd to see how much more weight she had regained. She is an eating machine so I am hoping that she will be atleast back to her birth weight by then.

More of the story

John was definitely more involved in the pushing process than I had previously expected. When we took the birthing class they told the husbands that they would be up near the wife holding her hand... not the case. The nurse took one leg and John took the other and pushed my knees into my chest while I grabbed my thighs, put my chin to my chest and pushed for a count of ten, three times during each contraction. John got to see the whole thing and said it was one of the most awesome things he's ever witnessed so I was really glad that he did see everything so that he could have a special memory of her birth.

Although she scored an 8 on the apgar test, she was a bit grey and she had some mucus or something stuck in her chest so they took her to special care. It was a bit sad because neither of us got to hold her in the delivery room, although I was a bit distracted by delivering the placenta, and having my stitches put in. I only had a small tear which was good. I was also extremely exhausted, all the pushing was making me really thirsty and I'm glad it didn't take too long because I was definitely getting worn out.

After about 45 minutes the epidural wore off and I was in a state of partial consciousness from my exhaustion. A nurse helped me up & go to the bathroom, I felt like such a mess and I was so tired & sore. When they put me in the wheel chair I was pretty much ready to ball my eyes out because I was just so tired.

I was finally wheeled in to see Angela, about 2 hours after she was born, and she was doing much better, they were just waiting for a few test results to come back. She was definitely ready for me though and began breastfeeding like a little machine and didn't stop for nearly 40 minutes.

It wasn't until about 11:30pm that she finally came to our room. I put John on diaper & picking up baby duty because moving just was not comfortable. Between Friday night and then again on Saturday night I think I got a total of 4 hours of sleep. Just getting used to Angela's needs, working on the breastfeeding (she had trouble latching on despite how successful she was the first time), and then just dealing with all the nurses, doctors etc coming into the room. Nothing like having a shot in the butt at 3am or blood being drawn at 6:30am after just falling asleep for the first time all night.

Being at home is much more comfortable, the swaddleme blankets with the velcro tabs really have helped her sleep much better, at the hospital she would keep being woken up by her startle reflex but last night I think I actually got about 4 hours of sleep in between feeding/comforting etc and she hasn't cried as much either... however we'll see how today goes. The sleepy wrap is also great, I have her wrapped up with me right now and can eat breakfast and type!

She's Heeeeere!

Labor Story:

Started feeling contractions about every 15 minutes while out to dinner with mom & John at... Angelo's restaurant around 6:00-6:30. Said to them "I could be wrong, but I think this time it's the real thing" Contractions kept up through the rest of the evening some stronger and longer than others - somewhere in the range of 5-10 minutes apart and I started losing more of the mucus plug.

Called the dr on call at midnight - he told me to rest - I tried ... didn't work. So I found myself pacing around the house (I told John to get to bed & get as much sleep as possible) - quarter to 3 I decided I couldn't wait any longer and wanted to get to the hospital, contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and getting stronger.

Got to the hospital around 4:30 and I was only 3 centimeters dialated. After an hour I was still only 3 centimeters and they told me if I didn't progress in the next hour they would send me home...and that I was still in early labor. Yah, well these contractions were pretty close together and painful and not the 5-20 minutes apart that the books say is "early labor". I definitely DID NOT want to go home and face this pain and then have to eventually go back to the hospital.

Spent about 45 minutes in the whirlpool tub, came out and I was 4 centimeters ... hooray! I was allowed to stay... However at this point I was rather exhausted and the contractions were still 3-5 minutes apart and I wasnt getting much rest.

10 am I was at 5 centimeters and decided that this labor was going to take a while and that I did not have the energy to deal with the pain for the whole labor. I requested the epidural even though I wished I could have dealt with a natural birth but I knew it wasn't going to work for me.

Epidural was fantastic. I could feel & move my legs although they did feel quite heavy and a bit numb, but it allowed John to sleep and me to get as much rest as possible. However it did slow the labor so I did start receiving low doses of petocin to stimulate the contraction. From then until about 5:00pm I received 2 mili-units per minute, then 3, 5,6, and 9.

2:30 my water broke and continued to leak as the contractions progressed. About 5:30 I was 10 centimeters dialated. At this point I could definitely feel the pressure of the baby moving into the birth canal with each contraction. The nurse said if I wanted to start pushing I could. So we went for it. At first it was like nothing was happening but as we continued I became more focused & pushed a lot harder. Even with the epidural I could feel my pushing and the descent of the baby. By 6:15 they were calling for the doctor to come in and I could definitely tell she was close... 6:23 rolled around and before they could even offer to have me look at her head crowning they told me to look down, and out she came!

We are certainly smitten with her and are enjoying every second of her.

Dr's Appt 2 days past due date

Well a mix of news. I'll present it in chronological order.

1. My blood pressure was high 140/80 and they immediately hooked me up for a non stress test and also preeclampsia labs. So I had the belt hooked up to my belly to keep track of the baby's heartbeat while I pushed a button every time I felt the baby move. At the same time I was also having blood drawn for the lab... however 2 tries in one arm produced no blood... she asked if I was dehydrated, I was thirsty so she gave me a cup of water and then drew blood out of the other arm... the non stress test turned out fine... baby was asleep at first but then they put a buzzer to my belly and she perked right up.

2. Dr was concerned about the BP but glad to hear about the loss of the mucous plus. Did a cervical exam (which is SO uncomfortable for me... though I've heard not the case for all women) and we have had some progression! Last week I was 50% effaced, this week I am 80%. Last week baby's head was at minus 2 position in the pelvis and this week she is positioned at zero - so she's dropped so more. And finally... last week I was at zero dialation and this week I am 1-2 centimeters which was super to hear.

3. Based on the high BP I have an appt at the hospital on Saturday (11:00am) to have my BP checked and do a non-stress and then .... assuming I don't go into labor over the weekend on Monday I am at the dr's again to do BP, ultrasound and non-stress. IF my BP is still high on Monday she said she'll induce me... however at the end of my appt today they checked my BP again and it was at 130/80 - still a bit high but obviously better than the 140.

I am hoping/assuming that my BP will be OK and I will allowed to wait for labor to happen on its own. I'm not a huge fan of the idea of being induced but will obviously accept it if that is what the doctor recommends.

Gross, but a positive sign.

I noticed I lost what looks like some of the mucous plug this morning...for those of us who may not be blessed with being aware of this labor sign, the mucous plug is created in early pregnancy to block bacteria from entering the uterus. As the cervix ripens and (hopefully has begun to open - I'll find out later today at my dr's appt) the mucus loosens and is released. It doesn't mean labor is immediately going to start, but atleast it seems my body is getting ready. Yesterday I had my legs waxed and today I had my pedicure so I'm ready for a sexy-smooth labor...yah right.

40 weeks - tick tock

So, it's a bit boring here at home at the moment. (Not that I couldn't clean the bathrooms - that definitely needs to get done.)

But so here are some pictures to share. One... my big belly - complete with a barrage of stretch marks that I'm not sharing at this moment...note the new velour pants complete with matching jacket that I cannot zip up yet (very comfortable though). Then we have my monster feet... perhaps when this is over (and my feet return to normal) I'll take a new picture so you can really see how swollen they are. After months of not wearing my rings I decided to see how far on my finger they would go... yea not very far - holy cow my fingers are so swollen. And lastly we have a shot of the pile of clothes that my mother bought in size 3-6 months. We also got some receiving blankets and 1 regular blanket. These were all taken with my new camera, which I programmed to the correct settings & the lens I bought does not have any zoom functions so it should be very easy for John to take pictures of the baby.

I also cannot call my mother without her thinking I'm calling to tell her I'm in labor. She is coming over shortly to spend some time with me - yay.

The Eve of Angela's Due Date

Well, right now it looks like Angela is not going to be as punctual as mommy was when she was born (10:38pm, 1 hour 22 minutes before my due date). I actually do enjoy the anticipation of her arrival, I'm not desperate to get this process over with, although I do want to finally meet her.

It is a bit frustrating to keep having these occasional contractions & lots of pelvic pressure that I know at some point soon will develop into real labor. I have a feeling I may be in labor for a while before I actually believe I am experiencing true labor.

39 week appointment

Well, after waiting an hour and a half to see the doctor for less than 5 minutes.... I am still at zero dialation... no biggie but atleast my cervix has become very softened and she said the baby has dropped! So, in good news - these contractions I keep having are getting me ready. Grandma-to-be spent the afternoon with me - we picked up my mini from the auto body, got some mulch and fall-decor for the house, went baby clothes shopping at carters (grandma bought a lot of outfits for 6 months... this girl has better clothes options than I do), did more shopping for baby stuff at Marshalls (love Marshalls for baby stuff), had lunch at Panera, and then my dr's appt. Very good productive day.

39 weeks

Damn I look sexy wearing John's shorts - I barely have anything left I can wear, even some of my maternity shirts do not cover my belly fully... that's convenient!

John & I are in a game of baby-roulette. John was hoping she would have arrived this past Friday, one because of the long weekend (even though he still works on Labor Day) and two because they were redoing the floors of the gym where he plays basketball and he was going to miss his weekly Sunday basketball routine anyway.

Alas, she did not coordinate with his schedule.

38 week dr's appt

No dialation yet - not that I was really expecting that, but it is nice to think that I only have maybe 1 or a few more dr's appointments left! I brought cookies in to the dr's office also, mainly because a lot of the women that work there are grouchy, however it figures the day I bring cookies the grouchy women weren't there... alas, their grouchiness will have to continue.

I'm not sure if I am going to use this same practice for my next pregnancy they've tested my patience over these past 9 months to the point where I may consider other offices. Long waits, grumpy receptionists & medical technicians (e.g. when I came in for my 16 week appointment the tech was like "ok so you're 20 weeks" and I said "um, actually I'm 16 weeks" and she came back at me with "NO, you're 20 weeks..." and I was like "um... I'm pretty sure I'm only 16 weeks" and then she double checked her chart and realized she was wrong... but gee... be nice about it!)

My doctor has not been very good with communication. One week she told me "next week we'll talk about pediatricians" and then the next week came and she never brought it up... they still haven't told me when I should call the office if I think I'm in labor. A lot of my questions have been answered by the books I've read and online articles so I don't feel uninformed but I would expect the doctor to be more proactive about making sure we're on the same page.

Baby Stuff

So here is a listing of what I've purchased for baby-gear. (Let me know if any of the links don't work... the copying and pasting was getting exhausting)


Car Seat/Carrier Stuff:
Graco SnugRide 32 Infant Car Seat
Graco SnugRider Infant Car Seat Stroller Frame
Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat Base
Kiddopotamus Snuzzler Complete Head and Body Support

Baby Entertainment
Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swing
Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies & Lights Deluxe Gym
Boppy Cradle In Comfort Bouncer

Baby Prison/Nap Station
Graco Pack 'n Play Playard with Bassinet & Changer
Graco Quilted Pack'N Play Sheet

Other
Sleepy Wrap Baby Carrier -Black
PRIMO EuroBath
Baby Trend Diaper Champ
BabySmart Cooshee Changer
Sealy Baby Ultra Rest Mattress
Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Microfleece
Kiddopotamus Dreamsie Sleeper with Sleeves Microfleece Small
Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Organic Print

Nursery ...I decided we are just going to paint the room rather than wallpaper because I was running out of time and don't feel like staying home to have the guy come and hang wallpaper, I have not purchased sheets/bedding for the crib yet - she'll be in the bassinet in our room for a while and the furniture has not come in yet and we have not painted her room either so I don't know exactly what colors we are going to go with.

Stick-on Wall Art Sweet Pea Sweet Safari
Crib, Double Dresser & Hutch in Cherry Finish

Munchkinwear

So I was a bit excited to receive some of Angelas new clothes in the mail today and figured I'd share it with you.

All this stuff was on sale at bloomingdales.com so I felt alright about wasting some money on stylish clothes for our little one. Each dress is a different size, the pink stripe is 0-3m, the solid pink is 6-9m, and the blue stripe is 3-6m. They all have little diaper covers also which is cute. I figure when it's chilly out I'll throw some tights on her & use the sweater. The sweater by the way had an SRP of $60.00 - Good Lord that is crazy... I paid $18.00 which was bordering on too much for me.

38 weeks

Well we can officially say that Angela will be born this month!

The contractions I was feeling on Sunday have subsided considerably, just once in a while and not as strong.


Expected temperatures for this week are consistently low 70s, which I prefer in general (yay I'm wearing jeans again)but this is also helping my swelling to go down a bit which is also appreciated.


I finally ordered some more clothes for Angela, I only had a few outfits and decided it would probably be a good idea to get some more.

Taking yesterday off from work was a bit boring but definitely allowed me to keep my energy up with a nap in the middle of the day. I'm going to work today though, still have things to do but will hopefully only be there for a few hours.

mild contractions still going on..

It's 4:00 am, still having mild contractions but I was able to sleep pretty well throughout the night, I'm only awake now because I was thirsty & John was up to go to work.

He on the other hand did not sleep well because he was thinking about the fact that I could be going into labor.

The only bummer if I did go into labor today or tomorrow, is that my parents are actually in Missouri - I called my father's cell phone last night just to give them a heads up but they didn't pick up and didn't return my phone call. It would be kind of funny if I gave birth and they were the last ones to know.

huh, that feels different

So today while John & I were eating lunch I started feeling a cramping sensation in my lower abdomen which hung around for a little bit & I could feel my uterus contracting. For the past 5 hours I've been feeling contractions sometimes stronger than others but still noticeable. Sometimes I don't even notice the contraction until I put my hands on my abdomen and can feel the muscles tightening. So far though it has not been painful, just much more frequent that ever before...it is kind of exciting to think this might be it, and viceversa I'm trying not to think about it too much incase it's not yet time.

37 Weeks ....

So, based on the fact that Angela has now turned in a ticking time bomb, John & I figured it was time to figure out how to work the car seat... it was a bit confusing but I think we understand it now.

I had a dr's appt this morning, which I was glad to have actually lost 2lbs since my last visit... a lot of my weight gain has been excess fluid and today was the first time in the past 3 visits that I have not had to have my blood drawn - yay! Also in good news, I am negative for group B strep which just means I don't need to get a dose of antibiotics when I am in labor... but based on my history of things that did raise red flags and more drs visits - abnormal AFP, RH negative, high blood pressure readings & sudden weight gain... I am feeling happy to not need extra attention for once.

Aside from a little bit of heart burn, swollen ankles, frequent trips to the bathroom & some sleeplessness I feel very good & rather comfortable considering the load I am now carrying.

36 weeks and... 2 days

So summer finally arrived this week and we actually had a heat wave of 90 degree weather. Aside from the A/C at work not cooperating and our offices maintaining a sweatastic temperature of 88 degrees, I've been doing pretty well! The car's A/C works super and having central air at home I can almost pretend that there isn't a heat wave... except for when I need an excuse to go out for ice cream.

Between me and the little miss who is renting space from within, we are beginning to run out of room. She'll shift her feet or legs and kick my arm or push my tummy away from the table if I happen to be sitting too close. However at the same time, she is playing a game of cat n' mouse with daddy and likes to lay still whenever he tries to get a feel for what she's up to.

Mummy finally noticed a few wonderful stretch marks on her tummy this week - damn lil trouble maker better be wicked cute & happy all the time, so when I finally can see anything below my belly button without the help of a mirror, I can atleast be reminded that my vanity took a back seat for a wonderful addition to my life (which I'm sure she will be).

Other than that and still being hungry a lot I feel very good & sometimes when I walk around I don't even feel like I'm 8.5 months pregnant... however other times - especially after sitting awhile I will get up and feel like I'm carrying a cannon ball. Time is ticking away though and it won't be much longer until we see what all the fuss is about.