36 Weeks Pregnant

1-3 Weeks Until We Meet Our Little Girl!!!!

What's going on Baby B: I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I was 2 cm dilated, 60% effaced and she was at -1 station. At last week's appointment my uterus was measuring 37 weeks. This week it is measuring 35. I was told not to worry though that, that tends to happen at the end of pregnancy when the baby drops. Dr. Hirata believes that the baby will come on her own before we are able to induce but she said the same thing about Breckin, so who knows. She says I am in a good place and as we get closer I will likely only need a touch of the membranes to get things rolling. I had quite a bit of cramping from my last internal exam. I swear I thought I was going to go into labor last night given the pains I was having. I took a bath then laid down to get the contractions to stop. As much of a hurry as I am in to get this child out before induction or c-section talk I want her to AT LEAST be full term... so she needs to stay in there one more week. After that all bets are off and I will be ready for her to make her appearance.

I have an appointment next Wednesday. I will get an ultrasound to check the baby's size. I will also get another cervical check. I am hoping for some progress... maybe 3 cm and 75% effaced? The last few days have been so painful that I think it might be extremely discouraging to hear that it was all for nothing.

Symptoms: I swear I never felt like this with Breckin... or at least I don't remember. I don't remember feeling like I was walking around in early labor. I remember in my head thinking it could happen any minute because I started dilating so early but with this pregnancy I physically feel like I am walking around in early labor all the time. The BH contraction are getting more painful, backaches, terrible painful swelling, horrible pains and pressure, the list can go on and on. I have nothing really to compare it to except that period when I was in labor with Breckin right after I started the pitocin and I started to actual feel the contractions and labor starting. I went from that phase to the HOLY CRAP this hurts phase extremely quickly and then before I knew it I was pushing. Maybe that's why my brain keeps telling me that I am in labor.

I really feel that if I hadn't left work when I did that my girl might actually be here already. I have contractions all day long and that is with me resting a good portion of the day. I feel so lucky to have this time off with Breckin and to make sure that I can take this baby to full term.

Cravings: I found quite a few new avocado recipes that we will be trying out this weekend and next week. So exciting! I really wonder if I will like avocados the same after the pregnancy. I really could take them or leave them before.

Birthday Predictions: Here is what I want... April 12th or 14th... those seem like nice birthdays right? I can only hope.... Knowing how this pregnancy has gone though I will continue to walk around feeling like I am in early labor for 3 weeks until I am induced. Oh well I guess... whatever it takes

Baby Preparations: I am almost done with my to do list. I just need to finish making the frozen meals. Which is my goal for this week. We are doing a big shopping trip tomorrow to get all the stuff and I am trying to make sure that we have close to 2 months worth of food in the house... which is hard to imagine. It might not happen but I can at least get close to a month and a half. I guess we will see. I would like to make it so that all we need to run out to get for the next two month is milk and fresh fruits and veggies. Wish me luck!

Kevin's to do list is still quite long but I think we should be able to knock a lot off of it this weekend. He is working on the chicken coup (which isn't part of the list) so I might need to help him finish some of the things myself... what I can physically do.. they are on HIS list for a reason. We are all ready to go at a moments notice though. The last thing on the list that HAS to be done is getting Baby B's car seat in the car.

35 Weeks and 2 Days Pregnant!!

2-4 Weeks Until We Meet Our Little Girl!!!

What's going on with Baby B: I had my first cervical check this week and I am "a good 1 cm and 50% effaced". This is the same place I was with Breckin at this point. It was a little discouraging considering all the pain and contractions I have been dealing with recently. I was hoping for 2 cm. With Breckin I sat at 1 cm and 50% effaced for weeks. I have another cervical check Wednesday and I am hoping to see some progress. I also learned that the "little" girl is now measuring bigger than Breckin was at this point. The doctor seemed a little worried. She scheduled an ultrasound for the 4th to get a more accurate reading on her size and we will make a plan from there. I am hoping that they will just induce me earlier than 39 weeks. I don't even want to talk c-section. Don't get me wrong, if it comes down that that is the safest option for the baby and me then that is what we will do but I want that to be the last option.

Symptoms: Almost constant BH contractions and a few painful ones. She is low and is causing pain because of that. I'm tired and sore. The charley horses are killer at this point. I have been chugging water and OJ but nothing helps. I've been dealing with headaches off and on but I think it had to do with the huge amount of stress that I have had this week.

Craving: Sweets

Birthday Prediction: I don't even want to do this anymore. I WANT mid-April... what I will get, who knows.

Baby Preparations: We are knocking things off our to do list. I just ordered Breckin a big brother shirt with a matching little sister shirt. This week I wrote my birth plan, which consists of maybe 5 items all having to do with the baby and not the actual labor, and my sushi order that some lucky person gets to run out and get me AS SOON AS the baby is born. I have gathered up everything I need for the hospital and I will put it in the suitcase today. Since it is raining and Kevin can't work on the chicken coup today we will spend the day getting some of the deep cleaning things done. All that is left on my list is finishing my freezer meals. We are doing a big shopping trip next weekend, so hopefully I will be able to scratch that off my list in the next 2 weeks. Kevin still has quite a bit but most wont take him long.

34 Weeks Pregnant!

I'm Officially on Maternity Leave!!!!!!!!!

3-5 Weeks until me meet our little girl!

What's going with Baby B: I had a doctor's appointment today. Elizabeth, my nurse practitioner, said based on how my bump is shaped and how much space I seem to have at the top of my abdomen that she thinks the baby has dropped. She also said that when my cervical checks start next week that she would expect that I will see some progress has been made. I am hoping to be 2cm dilated and at least 50% effaced. I really want her to come before I have to be induced at 39 weeks. It would be perfect if she would come around 38 weeks... although I know baby's have their own plan. I just feel that at 38 weeks she would be fully developed, since it is considered full term, and she would "hopefully" be smaller than Breckin was at 39 weeks. I want to avoid complications all around. Complications with me, like I had last time and complications with the baby, which we were lucky enough to avoid with Breckin. I wasn't aware when Breckin was born all of the things that can go wrong with a large baby (because we didn't know he was so large so I never looked into it) and I am glad I didn't because that knowledge would have made me a nervous wreck. Now that I know and it scares me to death. I just want my little girl to come out safely.

Tomorrow my mom, Sara and Lauren are throwing me a small pot luck for the baby. I didn't want a shower since this is our second and we really don't need anything... My friends and family are so generous with us on a daily bases and we didn't want to seem greedy or like we where asking for stuff. So when mom approached me about the shower I asked for this instead. We thought it would be nice to just have a small gathering of family and very close friends to celebrate the life that is about to come into the world. Every baby deserves a celebration... it just don't need to include presents.

Symptoms: Lots of pain in my lower region... further proof that she is low. I look and feel huge and this is not my imagination.... I have had people gasping at the sight of me for weeks. It is very difficult to walk and get around. I am glad that I am finally done at work because I was having a very hard time getting around the room. Also, stress right now really effects me physically. Any amount of stress causes hard Braxton Hick Contractions and in some cases real contractions. I have started to experience painful contractions. A few that have stopped me in my tracks but nothing that was time-able or consistent. My allergies are kicking my butt this week.. but who's aren't. My shin splits are still bothering me but I am hoping that being home now will help get rid of those.

Craving: Chocolate and Avocados.. not necessarily together but I did find what looks like an amazing pudding recipe on pinterest that is Chocolate Banana Avocado Pudding. I might have to try it.

Birthday Prediction: April 23rd... at the latest. I really really really hope it is earlier.

Baby Preparations: I haven't done a whole lot this week. I was mostly preparing to leave work... which I guess could count. Last weekend (can't remember if I talked about this in the last pregnancy update.. pregnancy brain) we cleaned the infant car seat, the swing, and excersauser. Breckin has been pushing his baby in the swing and reading to her. He is going to be such a good big brother. The lumber for the construction projects around the farm was delivered this week and Kevin is starting on the compost bin this weekend. I have a box of clothes that need to be washed and organized but I will wait until this week to tackle that. The nesting is kicking in... hopefully that will continue so I can get stuff done.

What will become of the blog when Baby B is born?

After Breckin was born we kept up with his blog for about 3 months, with maybe an entry a month, then stopped posted all together. This time around we are in a very different place in our lives... We have finally started working towards our dream of building a farm on our property.

When Kevin and I were dating we talked about one day, most likely once the kids had gone off to college, buying a farm where we would one day retire. We felt we needed to sow our "big city oats" first. After I graduated college we moved to Philadelphia, bought a serious fixer-upper, and renovated it. Most of you have heard the many horror stories that came out of that experience. It was terrible but brought Kevin and I even closer than before. After only about 8 months we decided that we weren't cut out for the big city and maybe wanted to try moving up our farm plans and live in the country. We sold our house in Philadelphia, and moved back to Virginia. We started by renting a house in Powhatan for a while to see if we actually liked living out in the country, since at one point we actually thought we would like living in the big city. We loved it and decided after about 6 months to start looking for a farm. It took a few months but we ended up finding a sweet little property (3 acres) out in Western Goochland. The house was amazing. It had everything on our list. The property was smaller than we wanted but after walking through the wooded area we felt that 3 acres was more than we thought it was. Some of people we have run across who are doing the same thing that we want to do are doing it on the same amount of land. We also had hopes that we could expand our land at some point. The property was also not set up as a farm yet. Which we were fine with, since it allowed us to make it fit our needs. Our goal with the farm was to have dairy goats, and to become as self-sustaining as possible. With the goats we would fulfill our family's dairy needs, and make soap to sell.

So now, almost 4 years later we have gotten a lot done around the house and property but nothing really for the actual farm. We finally feel like we are in a place to really start focusing on the farm. We have a long list of ideas and jobs that we hope to implement within the next 5 years. This summer we are building a compost bin, chicken coop and start working on putting together our garden area (although we don't plan on planting until next year). The lumber for all of these projects was delivered this week. I don't think I have ever been so excited to see a pile of wood. We ordered 8 chicks of 8 different breeds that will be here the first week in June. We are so excited to finally see some progress happening! We hope for the barn to go up in the next year. We have put it off so many times and finally decided to wait until we could write a check for the barn rather than trying to worry about payments. So, what will become of the blog when Baby B is born? I want to document the growth of our children, and our path to our goat farm and our self-sustaining lifestyle. I hope you will still enjoy reading...

33 Weeks and 1 Day Pregnant

1 week until the start of my maternity leave!!

7 weeks (but most likely less) until we meet our little girl!

What's going on with Baby B: I think she has been staying quite low the last few days. I have also had a few painful contractions. I think it has more to do with stress than the start of anything. This week was my last week without a doctors appointment. I have an appointment next friday and then I have an appointment every week after that. Cervical checks start at my 35 week appointment. I am excited about getting to that point of my pregnancy, when the labor is near and there is anticipation each week to see if you made any progress.

Symptoms: I've been battling allergies and headaches this week. I swear my eyes are going to pop right out of my head. I did the neti pot a few days ago and more water came out of my eyes than my nose... not comfortable. My body aches all the time at this point and I have several Braxton Hick Contractions an hour. Sleeping hasn't been easy but part of that is the allergies. I can't breath on top of being uncomfortable.

Cravings: Avocados

Birthday Predictions: April 23rd

Baby Preparations: I built the bouncy seat this week. I also made a huge batch of tomato sauce that will be used for spaghetti and lasagna over the next few months. I also made several loaves of banana bread, a batch of banana muffins, and a batch of sour cream muffins this week. Either today or tomorrow I plan to make a huge batch of pizza sauce. The freezer is starting to get a work out!

32 Weeks and 2 days Pregnant!

2 weeks until the start of my maternity leave!

8 (at the absolute most, but very likely less) weeks until we meet our girl!

What's going with Baby B: Well... She is now measuring ahead and will likely be big like her brother. Now comes the serious talks of induction. The dr. said we will do an ultrasound between 36-38 weeks to check her size. The dr. wants to wait as long as possible to get the most accurate reading of how big she will be come delivery day. My next appointment is at 34 weeks and then I am on weekly appointments! I am hoping that she will just decide to come on her own around 38 weeks.

Symptoms: All the same. I have some energy and have been getting things done!

Cravings: The same

Birthday Prediction: April 23rd

Baby Preparations: We have been working on getting stuff around the farm ready for spring. Last weekend we trimmed the tress. Kevin is actually finishing off the last few trees now. We have three construction jobs taking places over the next few months. We are starting with building an actual compost bin rather than just having a compost pile. Next, Kevin is building a chicken coup. I ordered 8 chicks who will be here the first week in June. Lastly, Kevin will be building a fenced in garden with raised beds. We don't plan on planting a garden until next year though. These are all steps to move us towards a self-sustaining life style. We also figure it will be easier to get these jobs done before we have a baby in the house. On days that are cold we have been working on organizing and de-cluttering the house. I am also cooking like a mad woman and freezing the food for after the baby is born. This way my family gets healthy made from scratch meals even though I am going to be busy with a newborn. I would like to make enough food to get us through at least the baby's first two months. I can't imagine shopping with a toddler and a newborn. I want to avoid that chore as long as possible. I have meals that last anywhere between 3-6 months in the freezer. I started with the longer lasting recipes this weekend and will work my way forward. This weekend I cut up steaks for nice steak dinners, cut meat for burritos and stir fry, put together a pot roast dinner, Italian beef sammies, chicken mozzarella roll-ups, two mac and cheese dinners, chicken crescent rolls, and three apple and cheddar side dishes. This week through next weekend I plan on making a huge batches of tomato sauce, and pizza sauce, several banana breads, snickerdoodle muffins, and sour cream muffins. I am so excited to fill the freezer!