1 Month Old!

Wow, I can't believe my sweet baby boy is 1 month old already! It seems like we were at the hospital yesterday. I guess that shows how fast life goes. This month has been stressful and emotional for me, and I have had to accept a lot of help especially from my mom. Each day I continue to try and learn what Jacob needs and wants and how to keep him happy instead of sad and fussy. I am also learning to adjust to my new life as a mommy which includes getting a little (actually, make that a LOT) less sleep, doing lots of things one-handed, and fitting in sleep and cleaning when Jacob is napping. As hard as it is, I try to cherish every moment and enjoy his cute habits, faces, and sounds. I know that he'll never need me this much or be this little ever again. But enough about me. Let me update you on our little man!
Jacob has been going back and forth with taking naps and sleeping at night. On good days he usually "wakes up" around 7:00 AM and then settles into a cycle of getting his diaper changed, eating, and going back down for a nap (although sometimes part of that nap is on Mommy's chest). Jacob's naps usually last around 1.5-2 hours on average, and he has one long stretch of sleep at night. Each day he also has one long stretch where he will fight sleep and cry non-stop. This is very frustrating for me, and I usually end up feeding him again to calm him or get him to sleep. He was sleeping about 5 hours at night (from 10:00-3:00AM), but lately he has only been sleeping from midnight 'til 3:30 and then 4:30-7:00. I am hoping that he will go back to his 5 hours stretch (or longer) soon, though. The good news is that Josh usually gives him a bottle while I go to sleep at 10:00, so I usually get a good 5 hours whether or not Jacob does. I did notice that on the 2 nights that Josh gave him formula he slept for a long time, so we may start doing a bottle of formula at bedtime to see if that helps him sleep longer.
Jacob also feeds on a pretty predictable pattern, unless he misses a nap and stays awake too long. Then he will eat every 2 hours, as it seems this is the only way to comfort him. Otherwise we are able to go about 3-4 hours between feedings when he takes a nap, plus that one long stretch between feedings at night. He has started spitting up more, though, so I am working on burping him and holding him upright as he falls asleep to try and minimize this.
Jacob has also started being more active and curious and will lift his head up when he's on my shoulder to look around at things. Even though I know he still can't focus that well (I love when he goes cross-eyed!) or see things very far away, it seems like he is so into the things around the apartment. Josh says he loves looking at the lights on the Christmas tree at night too! This week he was also able to roll himself over when I put him down for tummy time. Looks like we have a little over-achiever on our hands! Jacob also makes some really cute faces both when he's awake and when he's asleep. Oftentimes when he's sleeping he will smile or make a laughing noise, and these are so cute. He also likes to stick his tongue out as he is falling asleep. Jacob also makes cute little noises, especially when he is yawning. All of these developments are what get me through when he is having a rough day and being very fussy. I am really eager for him to be more active and alert during the day so I can do more with him. I have also started giving him more baths at night (not every day, though), but he is not a fan of these either. He starts out okay but then ends up hysterical crying and freezing cold. I think he has my poor circulation, because sometimes his fingers will be almost purple by the time we're done and I'm getting him dressed. The good part is that the bath usually wears him out and gets him ready for bedtime. Now I know why a lot of people include that in their bedtime "routine."
Overall he seems to be developing well, and I am eager to see how he changes and grows over this next month. I continue to cherish all the good days we have together and try to stay calm and relaxed when things get tough. I can definitely say that being a mom is way harder than you ever imagine it would be, but it is worth it and will be even better when he can sit up, crawl, and start to say his first words.

2 Weeks

Okay I know I said I would stick to monthly updates, but things are going so well that I had to do a post just to show how much has changed in 1 week. It's literally like a lightbulb went on and things are clicking now.

First there are Jacob's sleeping habits. Jacob now sleeps in his crib thanks to a space heater that we placed at the foot of it. He loves the warm air blowing on him and is able to stay asleep when we lay him down. He typically sleeps 2-3 hours at a time and only wakes/fusses when he needs to eat/be changed. He also started sleeping for about 5 hours from 10:00PM-3:00AM. This has allowed me to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep in between his night feedings- yay! Unfortunately I'm still catching up on sleep from Week 1, but I know it will get better. Right now he has about 2 alert times during the day where we can hold him and let him look around. The only bad part is that he tends to have a hard time falling asleep after he has been awake. We are still getting used to soothing him and letting him cry a bit until he realizes he is just tired. Josh is much better at this than I am, so he gets some good Daddy snuggles when getting Jacob to sleep. During Jacob's alert periods, he is getting really good at holding his head up when we prop him up on our chests! I am excited for him to start to be more alert, so we can interact with him more.

Jacob is also feeding really well. At his 2 week check-up today he was up to 7 lbs 10 oz, which is almost a pound over his birth weight. The doctor was really impressed and said he's doing great! He usually feeds for about 30-40 minutes, which is kind of long but needed due to the length of his naps. I don't have him "on a schedule" for feeding, but he probably goes about 3 hours on average from the start of one feeding to the start of the next. He will also usually have 1-2 feedings that are only an hour or two apart before his long stretch of sleep at night, but the doctor said he's probably just storing up for all that sleep ahead of him. I have also started pumping once a day either at night or during one of his longer naps, and Josh will feed him with a bottle if I get tired and fall asleep before a night feeding. This will also allow me to give Jacob bottles if we're away from him or in a public place. I know that I can feed him in public if I really want to, but I just don't feel that comfortable feeding in a store or restaurant. This will also keep us from using formula unless it's an emergency. Jacob has done really well taking the few bottles we've given him, which is also good.


So that's the update on our little man for this week. As I said, I really wanted to give another update, since he has been doing so well. Here's hoping he will continue to thrive and adjust to life outside the womb over these next few weeks!

The Amazing Shrinking Belly

Okay I had to do a post just to show off the difference in my belly now that Jacob has been born. Below is the first belly shot I took at 12 weeks along when I was just beginning to get a tiny bump, then a picture of my belly at 38 weeks (the last time I took a belly picture), and finally a picture I took today at 9 days postpartum. My belly still has some jiggle to it (like a bowl full of jelly, perhaps?), but it looks as though I was never pregnant at all! I am also only 5 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. So I'm pretty confident that once I am cleared to work out I can tone back up and be back to my pre-pregnancy figure except for a few changes (I definitely fill out my shirts a little more than I used to, if you know what I'm saying...). Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. It's amazing how the female body can heal after labor and delivery.

12 Weeks into my pregnancy- just a tiny bump starting to grow!

38 Weeks- 11 days before Jacob was born

9 days after Jacob's birth

Jacob's First Week

It has already been one week since Jacob entered our lives, and there have been many ups and downs along the way. This is kind of a long, detailed post, but I am going stir crazy here and needed something to keep myself busy in the middle of the night when I'm holding or feeding him. After this I will mostly do monthly updates that are more general. Here is an update on his first week:

The beginning of the week was probably the hardest for Jacob. He was fussy constantly and always wanted to be fed. He also would not stay asleep very long, especially when put into a crib or bassinet. Although I had moments of frustration throughout the week, these first few days were very emotional and made me feel like I wasn't doing a good job even though I knew that wasn't true.

Sunday night things started to turn around a little bit. Instead of constantly feeding at irregular intervals Jacob started feeding about every 2 hours. When he got done he was actually satisfied, so he could be held without fussing until the next feeding. On Monday Josh and I took him for his first doctor's visit, and he had gained an ounce. The doctor said that Jacob looked great and that there was nothing we needed to be concerned about health-wise. That night he was also able to sleep in the bassinet for about 30 minutes before he got fussy. This allowed me to get a little sleep, so I counted it as a success.

Tuesday was kind of an up and down day. Jacob was still going about 2 hours between feedings except for one cluster of small feedings around 10 AM. He also started spitting up during some of his feedings, so Josh and I kept having to suction his mouth out and wipe off his face.At night I tried swaddling him and putting him in the bassinet, but he only slept in there long enough for me to go to the bathroom. The one good outcome was that I was able to soothe him back to sleep by rocking or patting his back instead of feeding him. I knew he wasn't hungry based on when he had last eaten, and he only cried for a few minutes before falling back asleep in my arms.

Wednesday was Josh's last day at home with us. Jacob did a great job feeding, and he even lasted 4 hours between some of his afternoon/evening feedings. We did decide to purchase some formula so that Josh could feed him a bottle while I got a longer nap that night. We will only use the formula until I can pump enough to have a supply of bottles handy for when we're away from the baby or so Josh can feed him while I get extra sleep. Josh said he took the bottle right away. That night I once again tried to get Jacob into the bassinet or crib for some of the night, but it was still not working. After a few minutes he would start fussing and need to be rocked back to sleep. I did well with soothing him, though, and only feeding him at normal feeding times.

We finished Jacob's first week at home with me being on my own for the first time with him. In the morning Jacob had his newborn pictures taken. The photographer got some super cute pictures, and he cooperated for most of them after I fed him and got him to fall asleep. She also brought a space heater to keep him warm during the photo shoot and suggested I try using one to heat up his crib at night. She said this worked for her son, so I had my mom pick up one up at Walmart to try that night. I also put one of his soft, fuzzy blankets on the bottom of the crib to see if that texture was more appealing to him. Jacob slept for two 30 minutes stretches in the crib before fussing and needing to be held or fed. Jacob also lost his umbilical cord stump in the middle of the night. I went to change his diaper and noticed it had fallen off into the side of the diaper. So now he has his cute little bare belly button!

As you can see it's been a rough week for me with trying to get him to sleep on his own instead of in someone's arms, but he is definitely worth it. The times when he is alert and calm are so special, and I love when he's cuddled up and sleeping in my arms (althought not so much in the middle of the night). I am really thankful for all the help I've had, especially when I've been running on little sleep and needed a nap while someone else fed or held him. I guess right now I am glad that he sleeps at all at night, and I will just keep working on getting him to be more independent with this. Hopefully by the end of the month I will be able to get him to sleep for an hour or more at a time on his own. Until then I will just have to adapt to this night owl lifestyle.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

1 Week Old!

Jacob's Birth

Well, the day we had been waiting for finally arrived, so here's the play-by-play of how things went down after my last update. As I mentioned in my last post, I woke up Wednesday morning still having some contractions after the doctor's appointment. By about 2:00 the contractions were coming about 5 minutes apart on average and starting to get more uncomfortable, so I calles the dr's office and was told to head to the hospital. When we got there I was put in a triage room so they could monitor me and see if I was in true labor before putting me in a labor & delivery room. I was still 2 cm when I got there so they had me lie on my side first to see if that did anything. Then Josh and I were told to walk around the floor for an hour. I had to stop walking with each contraction to breathe through it, but I was scared there wouldn't be any progress and we'd be sent home. When we got back to our room I was at 3-4 cm, so they had us walk for 30 more minutes while they got us admitted & moved to a labor room. The contractions felt like really bad menstrual cramps just like I had been told, but the worst part was the pressure in my outer hips. Basically it felt like really bad, cramping pressure that wrapped all the way around my hips & pelvis. Josh was great and massaged my lower back to help with the pain.

After our walking we moved to our labor room. Now I knew we would be having a baby! They gave me a birthing ball (just an exercise ball) to sit on to help open my pelvis more and help with some of the pressure. The baby was facing the wrong way, so I kept getting back labor which didn't help with all the pressure. The ball helped, because I could lean forward on the bed to help the baby turn and help some with the contractions. When they checked me later (about 8:30/9:00) I was still only at 4 cm, but the pain was getting much stronger. I knew labor would be long, but the lack of progress really frustrated me. I had a bit of a breakdown at that point, because I was in so much pain and knew we had so much farther to go. Some doctors came in then to tell me about the epidural, and I decided it was time to get it. I just couldn't keep going through all this pain. And let me tell you, those things are amazing! I felt so much better. I was also able to get some sleep before it was time to push.

At 2:40 AM I was finally ready to start pushing. It took almost 2.5 hours-ugh! The first hour made no progress, because I couldn't feel where to push. The epidural was too effective. Then they turned it down so I could start to feel a little. I was not happy about this, but it wasn't as bad as I thnought. The worst part was that Jacob's put was pushing against my left rib for half the pushing, so every time I leaned back to take a breath I hadto push up through that pain. Finally these two new nurses came in to hold my legs back, and they were much more aggressive in getting me to push hard. This did the trick, and Dr. Lee was called to deliver the baby. I started to get emotional again, because I was excited to see him and overwhelmed by all the hard work. The nurses thought something was wrong, but I told them they were good tears.

Then at 5:03 Jacob came into this world. I was sobbing and could not believe this baby was ours and that I delivered him! Josh cut the cord and took pictures while they examined Jacob. Then I finally got to hold him in my arms. It was all over, and our sweet baby boy was here. Life will never be the same!

Could today be the day?

Yesterday after work I went to my weekly doctor's appointment and left with some unexpected news. The doctor was going to schedule me to be induced on Saturday, Dec. 10th. When he checked me I was in between a 1 and a 2, and I was 70% effaced. He stripped my membranes and made me contract and dilate to 2 centimeters- not comfortable at all! Then he said to come back in Thursday, so he could check me again. If it seemed like maybe some progress was made he would induce on Saturday. He felt like the baby and I were ready.

When I got home I was having contractions the rest of the night. Some were 10 minutes apart, others were farther apart. I didn't really time them that much, but I knew the doctor had gotten something started. They seemed to slow down before bedtime, since I was sitting on the couch relaxing. I figured they would probably be gone in the morning, and I would be at work as usual. Throughout the night I got some more contractions- basically one every 1-2 hours, although I can't be sure since I was sleeping. (Warning: TMI coming up) At about 5:00 I went to the bathroom and noticed some blood. I called the doctor, but he said not to worry since my contractions were far apart and there wasn't much blood. I decided then to just get up and get myself ready for work. I kept having contractions about 5-10 minutes apart and noticed I was probably losing the mucous plug or having some bloody show when I went to the bathroom. After calling my mom I decided I needed to call in to work. Since then the contractions have still been kind of irregular but have been getting closer together and some have been more painful. Josh was supposed to go to a meeting in East Peoria, but I called him after he left and told him to just come home to be with me. He's now trying to get some extra sleep while I keep myself busy and try to stay relaxed. That's about all that's been happening so far. Hopefully this is the real thing and not a false alarm!

38 Weeks

Well, I am officially miserable and ready for this baby to come out. Pretty much everything I do is either uncomfortable or tiring. Getting up in the middle of the night is one of the worst things ever. I sleep well, but when I have to get up to go to the bathroom it takes a lot of effort to get up. Then my bones crack, because the baby has thrown my spine & pelvis out of alignment. Plus, on top of that the baby is like a dead weight inside of me, so my belly and pelvis feel super heavy. Being at work is also miserable. I can't stand very long because I get hot or dizzy (I've even turned on the air-conditioning in my room a few times!), and then once I sit down the baby sits really low in my pelvis. This means that when I get up I feel uncomfortable and can't walk. I also am so tired and sore by the end of the day that I just want to lie on the sofa and not get up. I just can't win.

The good news is that my doctor's visits have been going well, and I am making good progress towards the baby's arrival. At my last appointment I was dilated to 1 cm, so hopefully at my appointment on Tuesday there will be more progress after all the walking and activity from this weekend. I just really want this baby to come soon, because I am so uncomfortable and also so there is more time between the baby's birth and Christmas. Whenever it happens I am ready. The baby's room is ready, clothes have been washed, my bag is packed. I even have meals in the freezer and bought paper plates & plastic silverware to make things a little easier in the kitchen. So, seriously, this baby is welcome to come out anytime. My next post will either be a miserable, 40 week update or a birth announcement. Let's hope it's the latter!

36 Weeks

Last month (or so) of pregnancy! How crazy is that? Since I finished my grad class, I have been using my weekends to clean and prepare for the baby's arrival (pretty sure that nesting is kicking in). Here are some of the things I have been doing to get ready other than cleaning the apartment:

-arranging, organizing, and setting up the baby's room (don't worry, I just watched while Josh moved the furniture around)

-washing baby clothes, blankets, etc.

-packing a bag for myself and the baby to take to the hospital

-buying cheap pajama bottoms, a nursing bra, and "granny panties" for the hospital

-putting the car seat bases in both of our cars

-filling out the registration form for daycare

-buying a few things here and there for the baby (not too many though, since I have one more baby shower at work this week)

As you can see, I've been pretty busy. I'm starting to feel like we're pretty much ready for this baby to arrive other than a few things here and there that still need to be done. Next weekend I plan on doing one last trip to Babies R Us to pick up any necessities (like a bathtub and changing pad) that we still don't have.

Other than cleaning and preparing, I also attended a breastfeeding class with Josh this week. I don't think he was thrilled about going, but I asked him to since he had the night off. Next week I will go by myself to the second part of the class. Josh and I will also be taking an infant cpr class the week of Thanksgiving, and then we'll be done with our baby prep classes. I definitely recommend taking these classes before having a baby, because I feel so much more prepared and informed now. I think I would be a lot more nervous and stressed out without them.

This week I also had another doctor's appointment, and I had my first internal examination. I am up to 19 pounds gained, and my blood pressure and baby's heartbeat also checked out well. The doctor said I am measuring a little small, but he is not worried about it since the baby has a strong heartbeat and is moving a lot. He also said he prefers his patients to be a little small rather than a little big, which I totally agreed with. When he did my exam, he said the baby's head was down (yay!) and my cervix was softening. This just means that it's getting ready to start dilating and making room for the baby to come out. He said that at my next appointment (the week of Thanksgiving) he will dilate me himself if I'm not dilated on my own. I hope he doesn't need to do that, but it made me feel like he isn't going to let this pregnancy go way past my due date. I'll be seeing him weekly after that next appointment.

After my doctor's appointment I started to notice a few new symptoms that make me feel like I'm getting closer to the baby's arrival. I actually started to feel the baby pressing down more into my pelvis, so he must be dropping lower. This also causes some pain and soreness in my butt and legs, which is not very fun when I'm walking around. I also noticed some intestinal issues, but that's all I will say about that. Then of course, there has been all the nesting and preparing. Hopefully these are all signs that the baby will be here on or before his due date. And with work and Thanksgiving, the excitement and activity may move things along even faster.

When I do my next update I will officially be full term and could safely go into labor. Here's hoping Baby O gets the message and decides to either make an appearance or at least move things along more!

34 Weeks

Thank goodness October is at an end. There has been so much going on this past month that I am surprised I didn't lose my mind. I did end up coming down with a cold this weekend, but otherwise I survived the wedding, birth classes, grad school work, baby shower, and normal work weeks that all happened this month. Now that we are heading into November I feel like I can breathe a little easier and really start preparing for Baby O's arrival.

The past two weeks have been pretty uncomfortable for me. I am still sleeping okay, but when I get up to go to the bathroom it is hard to propel myself out of my bed and my bones creak and crack like an old woman. I am also still having pretty consistent back pain at the end of the workday, but I did buy a Boppy pregnancy wedge which has helped a little with that. I have also had a lot of bloating lately, so it feels like my belly is huge and in the way all the time. Not to mention that fact that it is getting harder to reach down and pick things up when I'm sitting down. If I'm standing I can at least squat down and get things, but when I'm sitting I feel like I'm smashing the baby when I try to bend over. I do have one new symptom to report this week: swelling. On Wednesday my ankles were swollen, and then on Thursday and Friday when I took my socks off my feet were normal and my legs were huge and swollen from my sock line.

I did have another doctor's appointment this week (I now start going every other week), and everything is still looking good. No weight gain (woohoo!), so I'm still at about 18 pounds gained. I'm hoping I can do some exercises at home these next few weeks to keep that number from going up too much more. Everything else checked out good also. Next time I go in they start checking to see if I'm dilated or if the baby has dropped into my pelvis. That is kind of exciting,because I'll start to see how close I am to this baby really arriving. I'm not expecting much at the next appointment, but I can always hope can't I?

Finally, I am happy to say that Baby O's room is starting to come along pretty well. It started out as an empty room filled with boxes and some random baby stuff, and now the crib and dresser are set up. The closet is also filled with lots of baby things after last week's baby shower. I also started putting some clothes and diapers into the dresser and put together the carseat and stroller. Over the next few weeks I hope to get the sheets on the crib, start putting things up on the walls, and wash the rest of the baby clothes that we've gotten. Be on the lookout for some updated pictures of that soon.

32 Weeks!

Well, I'm a little late in updating, but it's been a busy 2 weeks. Josh and I went to Michigan last week for my sister Kristy's wedding and had a great time. Baby O was very cooperative considering the long drive there and back and all the excitement. I got tons of comments from family and total strangers that weekend. I also realized how hard it is to sit for hours when you're pregnant, because we had to make a lot of stops on the long drive for me to get out and stretch. I survived, though! A few days before the wedding I also had another doctor's appointment. This time I did gain some weight, so I'm up to 18 pounds gained so far. This is still pretty good, but I really need to be careful and not let myself go these last few weeks. The nurse said a lot of women put on weight really easily at the end, and that is the last thing I need. Everything else looked really good at the appointment, which was a relief as always.

We also started our childbirth class, and we only have one more week left. It's been really informative and helpful, and I think Josh has even enjoyed it. Yesterday we got to tour labor and delivery, and we saw one little baby in the nursery. It was so cute, and it was exciting to think of our little guy laying there in just a matter of weeks! One thing I really liked about the class was all the relaxation techniques and labor positions we've learned. I'm hoping I can remember them and move as much as possible while we're still at home so that things will move along and keep progressing.

The past two weeks have also left me feeling more and more uncomfortable. I'm starting to feel a lot bigger, and my belly is making it harder for me to reach down for things and get up from the bed or sofa as easily. I've also been having consistent back pain, especially at the end of the work day. Now that my belly is bigger, my back has a more defined arch in it which makes my back hurt. The other symptom I've noticed more is some major indigestion. I've been having it at night, but over the weekend I would have bad indigestion after almost every meal. I'll feel fine for awhile, and then I suddenly feel like I'm going to get sick. Not fun. Even though I haven't been as comfortable, I keep reminding myself that it could be worse. I still don't have any noticeable swelling or stretch marks (woohoo!), and somehow my belly button is still an innie. I swear it's gonna pop out eventually, though.

This weekend is my first of two baby showers. This one is with all my friends and family, and the next one will be at work in a few weeks. I have already starting getting some presents from people who can't come to the shower, and I feel like a kid at Christmas. I'm so blessed by all the generosity of our loved ones, and I am excited to have a fun weekend and celebrate with everyone.

To finish off this week, I thought I would leave you with a comparison of where I started and where I'm at now. The first picture is from 12 weeks into the pregnancy, when I was just starting to see a little bitty bump. The second one is from last night. It's crazy to compare those two pictures, and it helps motivate me to get back into that great shape after the baby comes. Enjoy!

30 Weeks and a busy October

Welcome to October and the last 10 weeks of Baby O's growth and development in utero! This month brings lots of baby preparation and exciting events, but first let's talk about how things are going with me and the baby.

This past week I started developing a few new symptoms. First, I have started to have more aches and pains, especially in my lower back and butt/legs. I'm pretty sure this is mostly due to being on my feet all day, but of course the growing belly doesn't help either. The next symptom is increasing hunger in the afternoon. All last week I was starving once 3:00 hit, and I had to dig into the snacks I have in my classroom. I've also noticed an increase in body temperature. The weather was kind of cold out last week, but I would be sweltering and overheated by lunchtime almost every day. It was not fun. I'm also still having some nausea/indigestion at night, so I have been trying to eat dinner earlier and get in more snacks throughout the day. Otherwise I end up eating hardly anything or resorting to a bowl of cereal for dinner. The final thing I've noticed is that I'm getting more emotional about the pregnancy coming to an end. One day I was driving to work and started crying, because I wanted the baby to be here so badly. I know he'll be here soon, but it seems like there is still so long to go. Still no stretch marks or swelling, and I've had a little more energy at work which has been nice. Overall, I'm pretty lucky that I haven't had more symptoms and that the ones I've had haven't been too bad.

Baby O has been consistently moving, and I've started to notice where he is lying a little bit more. He often seems to be lying on my left side, and I can usually feel a big bulge in that area from his back/butt/head (still not quite sure which one it is). One day I was lying on the sofa next to Josh, and we noticed one part of my stomach sticking up where the baby was. It was kind of funny. Josh has gotten to feel the baby move a lot more also, and I love his reactions. He'll put his hand on my stomach and say, "Woah, I felt that," over and over each time the baby moves. It cracks me up.

Finally, as I mentioned before this month is going to be a busy one for me. This weekend Josh and I make the eight hour drive to Michigan for my sister Kristy's wedding. We are leaving Thursday, so we will be able to take our time driving up and have time to recover from the trip on Friday. I also have Monday off for Columbus Day, so that will help me rest up afterwards. I'll probably have a whole separate post just about the wedding weekend and how Baby O and I did with all the traveling and excitment. Tomorrow I also start my childbirth education class at OSF. This is a 3-hour class every Tuesday in October. That means I'll be exhausted on Wednesdays, but I know the class will be really helpful. Josh can't come tomorrow, so my mom agreed to go with me for the first class. The final event this month is my baby shower! I am so excited about this. It is on the 22nd, and my mom, Josh's mom, and Hannah (my sister-in-law) are all helping put it together. I cannot wait to get lots of things for the baby and start getting everything organized and put away. Last night Josh and I went to Babies R Us to add a few baby clothes to our registry and pick out the crib and dresser before the shower. It made me really excited, and I'm eager to decorate and set up the nursery.

As you can see, I have a lot to keep me busy this month. I guess that's good, because it means the time will go quickly and get me closer to the baby's arrival. I just can't wait to have this precious little one in my arms!

28 Weeks

Woohoo! Third trimester here we come! I'm so close but still so far away. This week I am happy to say that I have been feeling pretty good, but I definitely understand what people have said about just wanting the baby out at the end of the pregnancy.

First off, this week I had another doctor's visit (I now go every 3 weeks instead of every 4), and I had to take my glucose tolerance test. I was a little worried about what it would be like and how it would turn out, but I am happy to say that it wasn't bad at all. My blood results came back normal, so I am not at risk for gestational diabetes. The baby had a good heartbeat (140), I had good blood pressure again, and I still have not gained any weight. I was a little surprised by this, but the doctor said he loves it when his patients don't gain weight. He said then when they have the baby they are pretty much right back at their starting weight. I'm good with that! So far I have gained about 13 pounds, and I only have 12 weeks left. Even if I somehow gain a pound a week I'll be able to lose a lot of that just from the birth, so I'm pretty stoked that I've been doing so well.

There aren't many new symptoms to report this week. I have noticed my lower back starting to get pretty sore when I leave work, and I am having a tough time eating much after 6 pm. Some days for dinner I either eat a tiny portion of what I've made or end up eating cereal, because I just can't stomach whatever I cooked. This may be part of why I'm not packing on the pounds. I am happy to say that my auras are going away, and the few that I've had were due to not eating enough. I basically brought them on myself. Otherwise I've been working hard to chug water all day and make sure I get a few snacks while I'm at work. The past two weeks I've also felt a little more rested, but I did get Labor Day and the day of my doctor's visit to sleep in. This week I don't have that luxury, so we'll see how I feel by Friday. Honestly, I'm pretty lucky that I've only had a few bothersome symptoms, especially when I'm reading "What to expect..." and the list of symptoms gets longer with each month. It feels good to look at that list and only see a few that I've actually experienced. So I guess I can handle some nighttime nausea, backaches, and constant trips to the bathroom.

Finally, I wanted to leave you with some bonus pictures for this week. First, I included a picture of two drawings that some girls in my class made. I thought you would like a kindergarten perspective of what the baby looks like. The other two are from when I tried on my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding, which is in 3 weeks. I almost panicked, because at this point the dress is getting dangerously close to not zipping all the way up. The problem is the band that runs right under my chest. Since I'm so short, that's where my belly starts to expand. So when the zipper gets up near the top, there isn't a whole lot of extra room. You can see in the picture how the band doesn't lay flat but starts to pucker and bend from the shape of my stomach. Luckily, the baby is very low, so if I grow a lot in the next few weeks it probably won't cause a problem in that area. Let's hope anyways! Enjoy!

26 Weeks- Part Two

Sorry it took awhile to post this, but it's been a busy week! If you read my last post you know all about all the medical drama I had over the past few weeks, so now I'll fill you in on my symptoms. Obviously, I have been exhausted. Being back at work has been really tough. When I get home I am totally run down, so I have been making up for it by sleeping 10+ hours a night on the weekends and sometimes even taking a nap after that! This is the first time in my life when I actually like taking naps. I also started another online class for my Master's, so this will wear me out even more. Luckily, the class doesn't look too bad, and once it's done I will be taking a break until the end of February to focus on getting ready for the baby, having the baby (of course!), and then getting used to being a mommy. I'm looking forward to that, for sure.

Other than being tired, I haven't been feeling too bad. I'm sleeping okay, but I have started having to get up more to go to the bathroom. I usually make it until 3:00 AM and then get up every 1-2 hours between then and when my alarm goes off. I was also having several charlie horses in my legs, but now that I've been doing more leg stretches and drinking more water that has gotten better. The baby doesn't really keep me up at night, but when I get back into bed he usually moves around a lot. Speaking of movement, he continues to move more and more each day. I can now feel him even when I'm standing up, although he moves the most when I'm sitting or lying down. His movements have gotten bigger and stronger, and I see my belly moving a lot. Sometimes I can even see my belly moving back and forth, which is pretty cool.

That's pretty much it as far as symptoms right now. I don't have any swelling or stretch marks as of right now, and my belly button is still an innie. I just keep watching as my body and belly change and grow and wondering what is ahead for me. When I write my next post I will officially be in the third trimester, so I'm ready for the home stretch!

26 Weeks- Part One

Well, the past two weeks have been so eventful that I thought I should break my post into two parts. I also still need to take one of my regular belly pictures so that will be in my next post. For this post I'll fill you in on the two doctor's appointments I had since my last post. That's right- two appointments! The first one was my typical check-up. There were several interesting things that happened at this one. First off, I didn't gain any weight in the 4 weeks since my previous appointment. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but I could not believe that! Then they found that I had a possible bladder infection (sorry if that's a little gross), and they gave me antibiotics to take. Finally, when they listened for the baby's heart she had to try 4 times, because he kept moving. He is an active little guy! At my next appointment I have to take the glucose tolerance test, which won't be fun. I have to fast after midnight and then come in at 9 AM to drink this sugary drink. Then I have to sit around for an hour before they can take my blood and check my blood sugar. I'm going to be cranky and starving, and then I get to go back to work and face 16 kindergarteners. What a wonderful day that will be :/

Anyways, onto the other appointment I had. This one was not a planned appointment at all. I decided to call the doctor after work on Monday, because I had been getting a lot of auras after my regular check-up. An aura is something you get in your line of vision, usually before a migraine. It's basically a semi-circle of lightning bolt-like light that appears in front of me and slowly moves across my field of vision for 20 minutes or so before the migraine hits. Not everyone gets them, but I have been getting them for the past 5 years or so. When I first got them the doctor thought they were from hormones in my birth control, which made sense since I never got them before. They were coming about once a month at that point. Then I got an iud, which has less hormones, and I got them less often and had more of a regular headache afterwards instead of a migraine. Then when the iud was removed so we could get pregnant I rarely got them and sometimes didn't even get a headache afterwards. So, it does seem like the hormones had something to do with it. Anyways, for the past week or two I was getting an aura almost daily but with no headache. I was starting to get a little worried, so I called the nurse and was asked to come in after work. They originally thought I was developing preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), because that can cause visual disturbances. When I got there, though, my blood pressure was low (90/60). They went ahead and did a regular check-up just to cover all the bases. When the doctor came in he said I definitely wasn't getting preeclampsia. He said I probably was getting the auras from either dehydration or fluctuations in my blood sugar (probably going too long in between meals or having to much sugar in between regular meals). This made total sense, because since I've started back at work I've had a hard time getting enough water and snacking regularly. It's hard to sit down, rest, and have a drink of water and a snack when you've got 16 5-year-olds constantly requiring your attention. So I left with a clean bill of health and a reminder to just get enough to eat and drink. That was a relief. Ever since then I've only had one aura, and I'm pretty sure it was because I was starving to death by the time I made dinner. Whoops.

As I said, there is a lot that's happened in two weeks. I'll post more soon, but in the meantime here is a different belly pic for those who don't mind seeing a big, bare belly. If you don't want to see my bare belly then stop reading right now. I wanted to show this view so you can see that my belly is starting to stick out from my hips more, because you can't tell much of a difference when I have a shirt on. You also get a nice shot of my sad looking belly button. It's pretty shallow, so we'll see how long it survives before I pop out.

*Warning- last chance to stop reading and avoid the bare belly!!!*

24 Weeks!

Well I know most of you are thinking my belly doesn't look much bigger, but I can tell a difference. This week was pretty rough, since I started back at work. I am now teaching kindergarten, but I think I would still be exhausted no matter what grade I was teaching. On Tuesday I was at school for about 12 hours (regular work hours for everyone, plus Back to School Night for kindergarteners from 4:30-6:00) and slept horribly that night. I think I was just anxious/nervous for the first day. Needless to say, I never quite caught up on my sleep, so all week I was exhausted and sore when I left school. I am trying to rest this weekend, but I'll probably still be tired no matter what.

Other than being super tired, I have been feeling pretty good. I haven't had too much trouble sleeping, and I still only get up about once to go to the bathroom. I've been eating fairly well, although being at work all day kind of messes me up a bit. By the time Josh gets home for dinner I am not really hungry, so I haven't been eating as much for dinner the past few nights. I'm kind of just relying on the food I eat throughout the day to give me enough nourishment. It'll be interesting to see where I'm at weight-wise when I go to the doctor on Monday. I also continue to feel the baby move a lot, mostly when sitting or lying down. And I love seeing him bump and jolt my belly a little when he gets some really good kicks going. Sometimes I can even tell what part of his body is moving, which is pretty neat. There was one day where either his knee or elbow was pressed against the front of my belly, and I told Josh to try and feel for it. Josh barely pressed his hand against my belly, and I felt the baby's whole leg (or arm?) move and hit me in the back. I kind of freaked out for a second, but it was cool to feel. Now when Josh puts his hand on my belly he'll try to get the baby move again by just pushing gently and seeing if the baby reacts.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Stay tuned for more updates!

22 weeks

Well, I'm a few days late, but we're now at 22 weeks on the pregnancy timeline! I thought I'd mix it up a little by giving you some lovely bathing suit shots- haha. That is not a maternity suit, by the way, but an old tankini that has gotten me through the last few weeks without having to spend money on a swim suit that I'd only use a few times.

Not many updates this week. My symptoms are pretty much the same as the past few weeks, so nothing new to report there. We'll see what happens when I go back to work next week, though. I may have some updates after that! On a positive note, I have been feeling the baby moving every day now, and Josh has felt him a few times too. I also saw my belly move yesterday and today when he had one of his more powerful kicks/movements. It was pretty cool! His movement hasn't disrupted my sleep yet either, which is good. It'll be interesting to see if that changes as I get further along. I guess that's it for now. We're getting closer every day, yet still so far from the finish line. I can't wait to meet this little guy!

Another Baby Registry

Yesterday Josh and I created our Babies R Us registry. I added a link to it on the side of the blog, and you can search for it under my name or Josh's name. We have pretty much everything on there, but we still need to either go back or look online to add some things. Josh even picked out a few things himself :)

20 Weeks

This week we hit some great milestones in the Osterman household. First off, I have officially felt baby movement! There were a couple times in the past few weeks where I felt tickles, rumbles, etc. and wasn't sure if it was the baby or something else. On Monday I noticed that several times when I was sitting down I would get this bubbly/rippling feeling way down at the bottom of my belly. I knew this was something totally different and not a normal, everyday feeling. Later that night I put my hand down where the feeling was, and it was like a wave or ripple right underneath my skin. The baby was literally kicking or bumping against my hand. I know for some people (Kristy, I'm talking to you) this probably sounds creepy and weird, and I always thought it would feel weird too. But it totally doesn't. It is the coolest and craziest feeling ever, and I am officially obsessed with trying to feel the baby everytime he moves.

The second milestone was when we went to our official ultrasound appointment on Friday to determine the gender and check that everything was okay with the baby. I've gained about 5 pounds since my last appointment, so I'm up to 12 pounds gained total. That's right on track. My blood pressure was good too, and the baby's heartbeat clocked in about about 153 bpm. The doctor said everything looked great with the baby, and it is officially a boy! No doubt about it. I think we've pretty much got a name picked out, but it'll be a secret until he's born. Sorry to spoil the fun for you all!

Now that I've noted the milestones, it's time to move on to how I've been feeling over the past two weeks. I have noticed more moments of discomfort lately, but I'm dealing with it okay. Sleeping is really becoming a challenge. I still have to get up once or more to visit the bathroom. Then when I get back into bed my mind is running like crazy, and I can't shut it off to go back to sleep. I also toss and turn a lot in the morning before I wake up. It's getting a little annoying.

Other than sleep I constantly need to snack throughout the day to get enough calories and avoid low blood sugar. Since I'm so little I don't think my stomach has enough room to just pig out at lunch and dinner, so the snacks are what sustain me. Then at the end of the day I get really bloated (again, probably due to not having stomach room) and uncomfortable. I just am glad that I'm not still dealing with nausea anymore, because that was the worst.

So, halfway there! We'll see what the next 20 weeks or so bring my way. I'm just looking forward to holding this little baby and glad he's doing okay so far.

Baby Registry

I forgot to mention that last night I created the first of our baby registries. It is through Jillian's Drawers, which is a cloth diaper website. I know some of you are probably like, "Cloth diapers? Is she crazy?" Well, I'm not. I have been thinking about this for awhile and doing a lot of research on cloth diapers, and they are not as bad as most people think. They are better for the baby, the environment, and our budget. Anyways, Josh and I have been discussing cloth diapers even before I got pregnant. Although he is not totally convinced, Josh has agreed to let me get a few cloth diapers to try out along with disposables. If he likes them, then we might buy more and completely switch over to cloth. If not, then he can use disposables, and I will use cloth when I can. It will still save us some money in the end. I do know that we need disposables for daycare, so I have started buying some whenever I have a coupon and see a good deal just to get that out of the way. So, the registry above is for cloth diapers, and we will be creating a "traditional" registry at Babies 'R Us in a few weeks (after we confirm that it's a boy). I'll keep you posted once we have that one up and running as well.

18 Weeks

18 week belly

Baby Osterman (skeletor in this picture!) looking right at the camera.


A profile shot of the baby. You can see his(?) leg bent and I think part of his hand in the back. You can also see his spinal bones all lit up.

Almost halfway already! It seems like this is flying by, but the end is still so far away. This week Josh and I got a surprise, and we got to get a sneak peek at Baby Osterman. Josh's mom works at the Methodist Family Medical Center downtown, and they have residents and interns that are still training to become doctors. On Thursday she called me and said that the OB residents were going to be doing practice ultrasounds on Friday and asked if we were interested in helping them out! We even got paid $20 for every half hour, but I would have done it for free. I was so excited to see what the baby looked like, since our first ultrasound just looked like a jelly bean. Now it would actually look like a baby! So, the next day we went to her office and about 6 residents got to take turns using the machine on me and checking out the baby. We could see the heart beating, the spine, and several times the baby was wiggling all over the place. It even looked like it was sucking its thumb at one point! It was really cool, and we learned a lot about the ultrasound machine by listening to the attending doctor as he taught. When all the residents were done we asked if the doctor could tell if it was a boy or a girl yet. We didn't have our regular appointment until the 22nd, so we were excited to hear if we could find out early. He moved the wand around my belly and got a shot right in between the baby's legs, from the bottom up. It definitely looked like a boy! He said there was still a chance that it was the umbilical cord, but he felt pretty sure that we were looking at a boy. And from what I saw, I'm pretty sure it was too. The pictures above are the ones they printed off for us. We don't have a scanner, so sorry if they are a little blurry from my camera.

Right now my symptoms are pretty much the same. I feel like some days I do get worn out easily and need a little nap, so it will be interesting to see how I do once work starts up again. Otherwise energy levels are good and still very little nausea. My belly doesn't seem to have grown too much in the past two weeks, so sorry if my belly picture isn't too exciting. Finally, I think I am starting to feel little movements from the baby, especially after seeing it wiggling around on the ultrasound. I have felt some tickly feelings recently, and then today at the end of church I think maybe the baby was kicking or head-butting me. It's hard to describe, but it sort of felt like a bubble. We'll see if I feel that again or if it was just my breakfast moving around :)

16 weeks!

Today I am officially 16 weeks pregnant. My belly is, in my opinion, sticking out a lot more, and I have started getting comments from people when I am out and about. I have also had more people starting to touch my belly, which so far hasn't bothered me. I am feeling really good most days. The worst symptoms are when I get bloated and when I get cramps/soreness in my legs at night or when I'm sitting for really long periods of time. I also notice that sometimes I get low blood sugar and have had to be consistent about eating snacks or not getting too many carbs all at once. People are also starting to ask if I have felt the baby move yet. I can't feel anything typically, but if I put my hand near the bottom of my belly sometimes I can feel some movement going on. It kind of feels like a vibration against my belly, so it's pretty cool.

15 week check-up

Just got back from another doctor's appointment today. Since I'm not quite 16 weeks yet, I will wait until Sunday to post new belly pics. I think those of you (Kristy) who were disappointed by the last pictures will be happy to see the progress of my belly this time around. Anyways, the doctor's appointment went very well, even though I had some concerns going into it. I gained about 3-4 pounds since my last appointment, which is right where I expected to be. I also had to have some blood taken to do my triple screen test, which tests for risk of down's syndrome and some other birth defects. My blood pressure was very good- 100/72! The baby's heartbeat was also good- 160. At first she had trouble finding the heartbeat, which made me nervous. Then when she found it it was very faint, because the baby was hiding in the back of my uterus. As she counted the beats, the baby swam right up to the front and the heartbeat got loud and clear! She said, "Baby has lots of room to swim around in there." Haha, I guess that shows that my belly is getting big! I did have a few concerns this time, because I've been getting what I call "heart flutters" several times this week. I've had them for several years now, but this week they kept happening almost once a day. The doctor listened to my heart and said he didn't hear anything abnormal and that he didn't think I needed to worry about it. I was also a little nervous, because this morning after breakfast I got really dizzy and almost felt like I was going to pass out. I had to sit down for a while and drink lots of water and eat a banana. The nurse told me that I probably had a blood sugar spike due to too many carbs with breakfast. I guess I need more protein in the morning and need to get plenty of water when I first wake up. So, even though I was a little worried, everything turned out okay.

Belly pictures coming soon, and in 4 weeks we learn if Baby Osterman is a girl or a boy! Yay!

Second Trimester & Garage Sale Finds

Now that I'm officially into the second trimester I'm feeling really good. I have almost no nausea (except for the nasty Subway guacamole or chicken salad commercials), and I seem to have my (almost) normal energy back. I have even made a few trips to the gym and done some workout dvds that I got at the library. That has been really nice, especially since this is the trimester when the baby is really growing. I want to make sure I don't put on unneccessary weight by just slacking off and pigging out on the sofa every day. My belly is continuing to grow and changing a little each day. Below are some pictures from yesterday. It's hard to give you a good image of my belly, because it changes day to day and hour to hour. I might not look pregnant one day, but the next day I have a good sized tummy popping out. I am also continuing to struggle with sleeping well. I did invest in a body pillow (not a pregnancy one, but a regular full sized pillow), so that I can wrap my arms and legs around it. That has helped me stay on my side as I sleep. I still wake up often though to go to the bathroom and sometimes get leg cramps/soreness in the morning. This makes it really hard to stay asleep, because I have to move back and forth from one side to another.

Those are some symptom updates for now. I'll leave you with some pictures of my belly and some garage sale finds I bought a few weeks ago.

travel bottle warmer and onesie

baby swing that can also be a bouncy seat


My belly at 14 weeks!

Belly Pictures!

I finally took some pictures of the baby belly today. Tomorrow I'll be 12 weeks, so I figured it was time to get some pictures on here. Josh had already left for work, so I had to improvise and take the pictures myself. I think the belly looks like it's sticking out even more, because I'm wearing my BeBand over my pants today. That seems to make the belly a little more obvious. From now on I will try to take pictures every other week, so that everyone can see how my belly is changing and growing.

11 1/2 week check-up

Today I had my second doctor's appointment. I was really anxious and excited, because I wanted to make sure the baby is still growing and healthy inside of me. I was a little disappointed, though, because they didn't do an ultrasound. Apparently I don't get another one until 18 weeks when we find out the sex of the baby. Bummer! Good news is that everything looked good at my check-up. I have gained 2 pounds in the last four weeks, which is good (average for the first trimester is 2-4 pounds). I also had a good, low blood pressure. Then I got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was 180. That was higher than last time, but they said that is normal. The doctor said I looked great, and he gave me a fist bump (haha!) for all my good results. I go back in 4 weeks for a blood test and probably the same stuff as today, and then in 7 weeks is the ultrasound. So even though I didn't get to see how the baby looks now I am glad that everything checked out okay and that baby is still going strong inside me!

And now for a change in symptoms

Now that I am in Week 11 of my pregnancy, I am noticing several changes in my symptoms. First off, the nausea seems to be pretty much gone, and I am starting to get back more energy. I still feel a little nauseated every now and then or when seeing certain foods on tv or something, but mostly I have been able to eat pretty normally again. I am also starting to get back into my cooking routine a little at a time. This week and last week I cooked 2 meals and the rest were pre-made things. I want to work back up to all homemade foods again so the baby gets healthy food instead of tons of sodium, preservatives, etc.

Now for the new symptoms. I am still getting really bloated by the afternoon, but I have noticed that my belly isn't disappearing as much by the morning. Now it's pretty much the same size throughout the day, and it's easier to notice a bump under my clothing. I also am noticing my pants getting snugger, so I am planning on shopping for some maternity pants this weekend. Another new symptom is that I am having more aches and pains in my pelvis and lower back. I think it's from my belly growing and from being on my feet all day at work. It's also getting harder for me to sleep at night. I can usually make it until about 3 AM and then I have to get up to go to the bathroom. Then it gets harder for me to stay asleep until my alarm goes off. I usually have to get up at least once more to go to the bathroom and I just keep tossing and turning in between. I guess I should get used to that, since I may never have a full night's rest again. I am hoping that having the summer off will help make it easier to deal with some of these symptoms, but I guess we'll see.

We're Having a Baby

As many of you know now, Josh and I are having a baby in December. In order to keep everyone updated on how things are going and share my pregnancy journey, I decided to start a blog dedicated to Baby Osterman. I will be sharing photos of the pregnancy and update everyone on how things are progressing. As I get close to the end of the first trimester, here is an update on how things are going so far:

I first found out I was pregnant on April 1st. I kind of had a suspicion a few days earlier, because I had been charting my fertility (taking my temperature and all that good stuff) and had noticed my temperature drop and then go back up again. Normally this doesn't happen, and I knew it could be a sign that I was pregnant. Sure enough, when I took the test that day it was positive! Very faint, but positive. I also took the test at about 4 AM, because I was so anxious and just couldn't stay asleep. Poor Josh woke up to me with crazy eyes telling him I was pregnant. He was still half asleep, so of course he was kind of surprised. Plus it was only our second month of trying, and I think he assumed he would have more time to get used to the idea that we could have a baby someday soon. Anyways, the normal excitement and disbelief followed.

The first two weeks of knowing I was pregnant were pretty uneventful. I started to get hungrier, drink more water, and visit the bathroom more often. Otherwise I felt great. Then week 5 of the pregnancy hit, and I felt like dying. This was the week before Spring Break at work. I felt nauseous constantly and one day had to leave the room in the middle of a lesson, because I thought I was going to get sick. Luckily that never happened, but there were some days where I thought that might have given me some relief. Since then each week has gotten a little bit better. For awhile I was living off of pizza, mac & cheese, and sprite. But now my eating habits are pretty much normal. I have also been more tired. I have started going to bed at 9:00 and as soon as I get home from work I am in pajamas and lying on the sofa. I also have not quite gotten back to my normal cleaning routine around the apartment. Normally I clean every weekend and do the dishes every night. Lately there have been dishes piled up and the floors and bathroom are starting to look like a bachelor pad instead of a clean, married couple's living space. Every day I try to do something to clean, but the work is never done. It is so overwhelming.

I am also finally starting to get a noticeable baby bump. I can still fit in all my clothes, but I bought a BeBand at Target that can go over unbuttoned pants. That has been a lifesaver some days. In the morning I can button my pants and barely have a belly, but I get so bloated in the afternoon that my belly sticks out a ton and my pants are too tight. That's when the band comes in handy. I keep procrastinating on taking belly pictures, but I promise I will put some up soon.

The best thing about these first 11 weeks has been Josh's helpfulness and understanding. He is really the best husband ever. Josh rarely has to do much cleaning, but since I've gotten pregnant he has started to do more to help out. I feel bad, because I am constantly complaining about not feeling good or being too tired. I am probably driving him crazy. Actually, I know I'm driving him crazy, but he puts up with it. I have been trying to tell him each day how helpful he has been and how much his efforts mean to me, because I don't want him to feel like his work goes unnoticed. I am just looking forward to summer when I will have more time to rest and hopefully more energy. Then I will be able to get this place back in order.

That's it for the first trimester. I am counting the days until the second trimester starts and hopefully I start to feel like myself again.