Question time!

How far along?  37.5 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: 18 pounds

How much does baby weigh? 4 pounds last time they measured, we should get an updated weight this Friday.

Stretch Marks? None really

Sleep?  Much better since we moved the dogs to the guest room, still waking to pee several times during the night.

Best moment this week: Ok, I have two. #1: Going to an Aveda salon and getting my hair cut, complete with head massage and a mini-facial. #2: Going to Taylorsville Metropark with Brian, seeing a huge woodpecker and relaxing in the park, finishing the day off with a nice meal at Brio.

Movement:  All the time. She likes to dance when music is playing and she really likes it when I eat!

Food Cravings? Nothing really

Labor signs? Some random contractions here and there, can also feel that she is getting much lower.

Belly button in or out?   My turkey timer has popped!

What I miss? Clothing that doesn't involve a huge piece of stretchy fabric over my stomach.

What I'm looking forward to? Holding my baby girl!

Milestone: We are so lucky that we get to go to the midwives office 2 times a week now! I'm really getting to know those folks!

Julia update...

Brian and I spent the entire day at the hospital yesterday, it was pretty exhausting. I had my regularly scheduled appointment with Dr.Guy (who I love!) I have gained 1 pound, my blood pressure is still low and Julia's heartbeat sounds great. He talked a little bit about possibly inducing me at 38 weeks, due to my belly not growing as much as they would like. Apparently there was no change in my belly measurements from my last appointment.

After that we were sent to Perinatal Partners to get another growth scan ultrasound. We found out that Julia has her head down near my right hip and is facing my back. The tech measured all of her little bones and listened to the blood flow through the umbilical cord. She was also able to show us that Julia has hair on her head! She left and went to show Dr.McKenna the results, he came back in and said that he would like me to immediately go next door to get a non-stress test. The NST measures Julia's activity and heart rate and how the correspond. It was fun watching her heart rate jump every time she moved. The tech said that I had a "wild child", which I have been saying all along. She must like to dance! During the NST Brian had to run home to take care of Bella and make sure that she had her medicine, since we weren't planning on being gone that long we hadn't arranged for anyone to stop by and take care of her. I ate at the hospital and waited for him to return for our birth class.

We had a fun time at the class this week. The focus was on relaxation and breathing. We got to sit on yoga balls, get massages, smell some wonderful essential oils and lay on bean bag chairs. Kim did some fun exercises with us and really got us in the mindset of working together with our husbands or coaches. Needless to say we were relaxed and ready for bed by the time we left.

The fun doesn't stop there...this morning one of my midwives called and said that they had all reviewed my ultrasound and NST. The results show that my amniotic fluid is low, so I'll have to get a test every week to measure that.

So this means every week I'll be going to my regular midwife appointment, visiting perinatal partners to  get a growth ultrasound, getting my amniotic fluid measured (called an "AFI") and going in twice a week for the non-stress test. I'm thinking that I might as well just pack my sleeping bag and spend the night there! 

This is going to be a long few weeks...and baby Julia may just want to arrive early. All of this on top of Bella's recovery and trying to work a few more days is making things quite chaotic. But I guess I better get used to chaos, life as we know it is about to change! Looking forward to my 2nd baby shower this weekend, then Brian and I will know what else we need to get to better prepare for our little Panda Bear. 

35 weeks and 2 days pregnant, 33 days to go. (could be even less, eek!)

31 weeks!

On Good Friday I had an appointment with one of my midwives, Lisa. We've seen her one other time, she is not our favorite. She is not as calm and soothing as Cat, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I go into labor on Cat's shift! They did the normal weight, blood pressure and measurements of my belly. Lisa realized that I hadn't grown at all since my last appointment three weeks ago. Brian and I were certain that I had gained weight, I feel and look much bigger! Well that sent Lisa into a tizzy-she told us that we needed to go downstairs to get a growth ultrasound to make sure that Julia was still making progress. Of course Brian and I were sent into a tailspin of worries. We had to wait nearly 4 hours to see Dr.McKenna and get the ultrasound. Unfortunately we didn't get lots of cute views of our little panda bear. They were busy measuring bones and listening to the blood flow of the umbilical cord. The Dr. told us what we all have been guessing this whole pregnancy-that I can expect a small baby! Everything looked great and Julia is growing well. She is estimated to be 2 pounds and 12 ounces, only in the 20th percentile for growth. She said not to worry unless she drops below the 10th percentile-whatever that means! (all this math confuses me) We were relieved but a bit annoyed that we went through so much worrying and waiting-such is life I suppose.

Today I am 31 weeks pregnant, 62 days to go.

P.S- I don't know why this entire post got hyper-linked...

Baby Girl!

Brian and I had an ultrasound today and got to see our little Panda Bear. It was a very exciting experience. The tech measured all of her organs, we got to see her heart beating away and all her little limbs wiggling around. Then we got the view, The Panda Bear is definitely a girl! I was pretty shocked, as I had been thinking that she was a boy. My Mom and Grandma guessed it right though. 

After the ultrasound we went out for breakfast to talk about our little girl. Then we headed over to Babies r Us, which has every baby necessity and then some. We had fun scanning things onto our registry. I'm sure that we will change and update it throughout the next few months, but it was fun to pick out cute things for our little girl.  

That's all I've got for tonight, I have to get up super early for work.

Panda Bear Fact- Did you know that baby panda's have to be cuddled or they will die?! When Brian and I started dating he starting calling me his panda bear since I loved to cuddle. We have now passed on the name our baby girl. 

Panda Bear update

Yesterday we had our monthly appointment with our Midwife. Brian was taking bets on how much weight I gained in the last month. He was off by 3 pounds! Although I feel like I've gained a ton, I only gained 3.5 pounds this month. That means that I've gained 7 pounds so far. I'm pretty happy with that. I basically eat all day long.
Cat showed me where my uterus is and how to feel it. It is right under my belly button and will continue to move up as the months pass. We also were able to hear The Panda Bear's heartbeat! It was beating away at 150 bpm. I love that sound!
After that excitement we discussed the glucose tolerance test and my thoughts on it. We decided that before next months appointment I'll check my blood sugar at home twice. One fasting and one after a big meal. If all is well I won't have to drink 50 grams of pure glucose, labeled "glucola." YUCK!

In other good news The Panda Bear has been kicking me non-stop. The most predictable time to be able to feel some swift kicks is after dinner. Usually around 6:30. Brian was even able to feel some kicks, I think he was surprised at how strong they were.

Last good thing to report: We scored an excellent deal on an Arm's Reach co-sleeper on craigslist. It is a bassinet that can be used up to 24 pounds. The cool thing about the co-sleeper is that one side comes down and attaches to your bed. I think that I'll like being able to reach over and touch/see the Panda Bear in those early months. I'm hoping that it will make night time nursing that much easier as well. Brian and I are pretty set about keeping the baby in our room as long as possible, I guess we'll find out once he/she gets here!

6 more days and we'll know if we have a boy panda or girl panda growing inside of me-we can't wait!!!