Officially Due!

...the countdown is finished.

Today's the big day, but still no baby.  :(

We're just SOOOO excited to meet her and bring her home, but maybe she's not ready yet.

That's okay too.  ;)

See you soon, baby girl!

38 weeks and 4 days

KABOOM!

I don't know how it's possible, but my tummy and the baby just keep on growing!

You'd think she would have run out of room by now, 

but she's still in there kicking and stretching all the time.

Doctor says it could be any time now....

37 Weeks!

Still growing! 

My belly button is still an "innie"

...me and Michael are pretty interested to see if it'll pop out and become an "outie."

Third Trimester Ultrasound

We had our third trimester ultrasound, which is the last routine ultrasound done to make sure that she's still growing and developing well.

It was incredible to see how much she's grown!  Sooo big, that it was difficult to get a view of her on the screen...we could only see individual parts a few at a time.  The tech also kept mentioning how hard it was to measure her since she wouldn't sit still long enough to measure her, which is why it took so long.  

Although she wiggled the whole time, she did settle down long enough for one picture of her sucking her thumb.  :)

...this is probably the last time we'll "see" her before the her birthday.

36 Weeks

4 weeks to go until my due date!

(feeling large and I can't imagine being able to get any bigger)

Spring Break and Maternity Leave!

Yesterday was my last day of work for the year, can you believe it?!  Today was my official first day of spring break, and really, of my maternity leave too!  I'd been soooo busy at work preparing for my long-term sub to take over.  I was finishing up IEPs and lesson plans for the last 10 weeks of school that I won't be there for.  It was so stressful, and I'm so glad it's over so now I can finally relax and focus on getting ready for the baby to come.  Actually, that's a lie.  I still have 2 classes that I'm taking at CSUF to clear my credential, but at least I can do all the course work from home and just attend the classes online.  Still a lot of work, but at least I don't have to go to work too.

Anyways, yesterday was a great day because after work, my friend Piyada treated me to a pregnancy massage at Bellagio Spa in Irvine!   She had asked me earlier on in the week if I had any plans after school on Friday.  Since I didn't, she made reservations at the spa for both of us to get massages.  I was SOOO surprised!  She kept telling me that she wanted to make up for not being able to make it to my baby shower at work.  Oh my goodness!  This definitely more than made up for that!  I haven't been to a spa in forever...and I know my body definitely needed it.  After our massages, we went to Zov's (a nearby restaurant) to get a bite to eat.  What a great way to get spring break started!



Today, Michael did not have work, so we did some nesting.  :)

We cleaned out both of our cars, put together the stroller, installed the car seat bases, and even washed, folded and put away some of the baby's clothes and blankets.  Tomorrow, we've got more cleaning to do, but it's exciting because the baby's room looks just about ready!  Clothes are washed and put away and all the furniture is set up.  All that's left is to finish organizing her closet, and washing her sheets and putting them on the crib.  It all looks so cute!  I'll make sure to post pictures soon.

Doctor's Appointment

It feels like I'm always at the doctor's office.  I guess it makes sense, considering I go every other week now, and in a couple weeks, I'll be going in every week just to make sure things are moving along at the right pace.  Michael and I really like the doctor we go to.  Dr. Cortez 1 of 6 in a medical group of OB/GYNs, so we may or may not have her actually deliver the baby when it comes time.  This makes Michael more nervous than me, because he really wants her to deliver the baby.  So far, we've met 3 out of the 6, and in the next couple weeks, I know we have appointments with 2 more different doctors, so at least we will have met most of the doctors.  I've liked the ones we've met so far...and I've heard very good things about the others, so I'm not too worried which doctor delivers the baby, because I know that my doctor will follow up with us regardless.  Besides, I've heard from other women that when it comes time to deliver, the labor and delivery nurses are most helpful and at there for much longer than any doctor is.  So at this point, I'll just pray that we get a good nurse.  :)

Anyways, at my latest doctor's appointment, the doctor says things are looking great.  The baby is growing well, her heartbeat sounds good and there's lots of movement, which indicates that she's healthy.  As for me, my aches and pains are very normal, but I should drink more water and take it easy. She said that I can go on maternity leave from work starting at 36 weeks, which means only 3 more weeks of work to go!  YAY!  However, she was concerned that I may have a UTI, so I had to get some labwork done.  She also said that although she knows that as a teacher, it's difficult for me to be able to go to the bathroom as frequently as I need to, but I need to find a way.  Ugh.  Easier said than done.  Oh well.  I hope to hear back from the doctor's office on Monday.

31 Weeks

The weeks really have flown by!  The baby will be here before we know it, so we're starting to feel like we need to get "ready."  Michael constantly walks into the baby's room and looks for things to do, clean, fix, etc.  I told him that we still have time, and that we don't have to feel bad if the room isn't 100% ready for her, because we plan on having her in our room for the first few months anyways.  He's just really determined and wants things to be set for her.  It's so cute to see how excited he is to be a dad.  He tells me how nervous he is about holding her and changing her....but I have a feeling he'll be just fine.  :)

As for me...I'm feeling really tired these days.  My skin feels like it couldn't possibly stretch more than it already is-- I feel so huge.  :(  My back aches and feels so stiff.  My feet and ankles get so swollen by the end of the day too.  Also, my ribs feel like they're getting bruised from all the kicking the baby is doing.   Since my torso is not very tall and because the baby's getting bigger, there isn't too much space for her to move around anymore.  I constantly feel and see her kick and scoot her bottom up into my ribs.  It's so weird that I can feel distinct parts of her now through my stomach.  Before, I just felt a firm round ball...but now, I can feel specific little parts of her stretching and moving around.  It's amazing how our bodies work, isn't it?!  Although I'm constantly aching, I'm just amazed at this little miracle growing inside me.  And even after my worst day, just feeling her move around cheers me up and reminds me how much Michael and I have to look forward to.

3D/4D Ultrasound

Although it certainly isn't necessary, Michael and I wanted to get a 3D/4D ultrasound of the baby.  My regular doctor's office doesn't offer them, so I had asked around and our friend, Kiley, recommended a place in Huntington Beach called Prenatal Ultrasound of California that she went to when she was pregnant with her daughter.  

Our appointment there was for this morning at 11am.  When we first saw her, it looked like she was sleeping and nuzzled up against me, so it was hard to see her face.  After trying to get a good view of her, the technician recommended that I get up and move around a bit to hopefully wake her up.  Sure enough, she's just like me and being moved around only puts her to sleep even more.  When we took a look at her again, she was still asleep.  The tech poked at her a bit, and it looked like she got mad and turned around and buried her face into the placenta.  :(  We were so sad because our session was timed and if she wasn't cooperating, it'd basically be a waste of money if we couldn't get some good pictures of her.  

We were so surprised because the technician told us that she would reschedule us for free for a different time!   She recommended that before we do the next ultrasound, I should drink some cold orange juice. Since today was our only real day off together, she said we could come back later on in the afternoon at 4:30.  So we left and ran some errands and did some shopping. 

When we came back with my orange juice in hand, she took us right in and got started right away.  I guess the orange juice worked because the baby woke up and we caught her moving around and stretching....but most importantly, she was more cooperative and showed her face!  It was amazing to see her in such great detail!  Here are just a few of the pictures we got of her:

Michael and I both think she looks a lot like me.  She's got my cheeks, the shape of my face, and my lips.  We're a little undecided on the nose....my sister in convinced it looks more like Michael's.  She's also got long fingers-- definitely a Neal family quality.  The technician showed us in the one of the pictures that she's already got a good amount of hair growing too.... :)

Again, getting a 3D/4D ultrasound is certainly unnecessary.  There is no direct medical benefit of getting it done, which is why doctors don't routinely do them, and why insurance companies don't cover it.  It does nothing except let parents get a detailed look of the baby.  However, we're so glad we did.  :)  We got to see what our little lady looks like, so we can have a better idea who we're talking to, and who's been kicking and poking at us.  Also, maybe letting us see her face can help us with picking a name for her.  Plus...when she grows up, we've got all these great mementos to show her of when she was in her mommy's tummy!

A quick review of our experience with Prenatal Ultrasound of California:  The package we paid for included 20 pictures on a CD, 9- 2x3 prints and 8 - 3x4 prints,  and a DVD of the entire session, up to 20 minutes.  We got over 80 pictures on a CD, a DVD of both sessions (the morning and later in the afternoon), and about 3 times as many pictures as we were supposed to receive.  We were VERY pleased with the Ultrasound company and I am going to write a letter to thank them for their patience and flexibility with us!  Excellent customer service, and the quality of the experience and product we received was well worth our time and money!  I'd definitely recommend them!

Third Trimester Update

I'm a couple weeks into my third trimester, and just a couple things to report...

-I'm definitely getting bigger and more tired now.  Before, my stomach was poking out mainly from the middle, where my belly button is, but I can tell it's spreading out at the sides now.  Thank goodness, no stretch marks, yet! (knock on wood!)  With getting bigger, my balance is thrown off, and I sometimes feel like I'll topple over when bending down to pick stuff up.  I also sometimes get short of breath because my lungs are getting squished.  I feel the baby growing and stretching up into my rib cage now, and it sometimes hurts when she kicks in there.

-She's also much more active now!  Not only do I feel little kicks, I feel swirls, sloshes, and feel her when she completely turns her body or moves from one side of my stomach to the other.  She must be getting pretty strong too, since her kicks and movements are very visible to people just watching my stomach.   I've gotten used to her sleeping patterns and know that at this point, she wakes up around 630am when I get out of bed for work and does some big stretching.  Around 9, she starts poking around again, probably to ask when lunch will be.  Right after I eat lunch around noon, she dances for a bit, probably to thank me for eating.  After school, around the time I get home from work and get a chance to lay down, she starts moving again.  This is usually when I'll just sit and talk to her and play some music for her while we wait for Michael to get home.  She probably naps while I make dinner and eat, but after we eat and I sit down, she's very much awake and stays awake until I go to sleep.  Right before going to sleep, Michael likes to talk to her about his day and ask her about her day.  It's cute because she seems to kick in response to his voice.  :)

-Sleep is very hard to come by nowadays.  My back and legs are so achy....and it's hard to find a comfortable position where I feel like my back and stomach are supported.  Also, it seems that just as soon as I've found a good position to lay in, I have to get up to go to the bathroom again.  So my sleep comes in waves and I seem to wake up every 2 hours or so.  Maybe this is my body's way of preparing me for what's to come when the baby is born?

-My doctors appointments have all been good.  She continues to confirm that everything is going well, and that the baby is growing.  Currently, the baby is a little over 3 pounds and about 17 inches long.  My blood pressure is good and my weight gain is right on track, and if anything, is a little bit under due to the weight I lost during the first trimester.  My appointments are now every other week, which is crazy!  Our schedules are always so busy anyways due to work and with me still taking 6 units of classes at CSUF, but now we've got doctor's appointments every other week too...and starting next week we've got some sort of parenting, childbirth, or breastfeeding class to go to.  This week we took the tour of the hospital I'll be giving birth at, and WOW.  St. Jude's so nice and I'm so glad that we chose to go there. High-tech top of the line equipment, SUPER friendly and helpful staff, and plus it's so close to our apartment!

That's pretty much it.  Haven't done much else to the baby's room because I've been sick with another bad cold and have been trying to take it easy.  We're completely done registering at stores (thank goodness!).  It was a long, overwhelming and tiring process...but Michael really enjoyed clicking the scanning gun at things. Haha.  I don't know about showers or anything yet, though.  All I know for certain is that work is going to have a baby shower for me on March 3rd.  I'm pretty excited for that.  :)