Grayson is here!!!!

Baby Grayson was born via c-section on July 28th at 7:04pm. The c-section wasn't as horrible and scary as I thought it was. More details and the whirlwind birth story to follow. I never knew how much I could love a tiny human. Here he is :)

39w4d Appointment

I was about 1/2 cm dilated and Dr. L manipulated my cervix to 1 cm. Ummm - ouch. That hurt a lot! Yay for some progress though. Nick and I went to Disneyland with friends last night and all that walking seems to be helping. It sure felt like it did. I am having lots of contractions and sharp pains down low. His head is so low now that she can't feel it externally anymore. Doctors orders: Keep up the walking and have sex :) We are off to Disneyland again tonight.

Due date is Monday. OB appointment scheduled for Friday the 3rd. Induction scheduled for August 6th or 41 weeks exactly. Obviously he could come before that and I'm really hoping he does, but that is the plan.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,
Megan

39 weeks

How far along: 39w.
How big is Baby: Baby weighs around 7 or 8 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yep. I only have a few things left that still fit.
Sleep: Sleep sucks. Period.

Movement: All the time. I now have two feet permanently sticking out of my belly at all times :)

Food cravings: Sweets and milk. 
Food aversions: Nothing specific.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: I'm always hot - the A/C and fan are my best friends these days. Painful contractions. Sore/cracking pelvis. Swollen ankles, feet, hands and wrists - I feel like the Michelin Man. Peeing every two seconds. 
Nursery Progress: The bedding is scheduled to arrive Tuesday! I am going to finish the photos of his room this week.
Best moment this week: The house is spotless! We hired a professional team to do a deep cleaning on Saturday. Spending the weekend in the pool.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting our baby boy!!!

38w4d Appointment

No dilation at all today. Dr. L said she would love to give me some news, but there is no progress yet. She tried to be a bit vigorous with the exam to help things along, but she said she couldn't do much. She could, however, feel his head way down low where it needs to be. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed. Not that I wanted him here now, but that I was hoping for some progress with all of the contractions and pains I have been having. She said that what I am feeling is his head engaging. Okay, I'll take it. My biggest fear is having a c-section. I am so afraid of everything that goes along with one. She will do another cervical check at next Friday's appointment. She doesn't let her patients go more than a week past their due date, so I will be induced by (I believe) August 6th if necessary.

Tomorrow our house will be professionally deep cleaned while I sit in the pool all day with my family. I can't wait. If I could spend the next two weeks in a pool, I would be thrilled :)

xoxo,
Megan

Belly Comparison

Same shirt!

16 weeks

vs.

38 weeks

Sniff, sniff. I am going to miss this big ole belly.

xoxo,
Megan

38 weeks

How far along: 38w.
How big is Baby: Baby weighs between 7lbs and 8 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes. I only have a few shirts left that still cover the bump.
Sleep: Sleep hurts.

Movement: All the time. He is still way down in my pelvis, so I am feeling his head and hands down low and lots of kicks about mid-belly. I still love watching my belly move :) I am definitely going to miss that.

Food cravings: Sweets and milk. Oh my gosh - I had the Salted Caramel Pecan frozen yogurt at Yogurtland on Friday. Soooooo good!!!! It's a limited time flavor, so I am going back for more as often as possible!
Food aversions: Nothing specific, but the nausea is back. It usually hits mid-day. Dr. L says it's common in late pregnancy. Awesome.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Nausea. Headaches. I'm always hot - the A/C and fan are my best friends these days. Contractions. Sore/cracking pelvis. Swollen ankles and feet. Peeing every minute. 
Nursery Progress: Remaining items: finishing the crib mobile, filling some of the frames and waiting on the arrival of his custom bedding. 
Best moment this week: I love to see how excited Nick is about his arrival. It makes me so happy. Oh, and the PUPPS itch is gone! YAY!

What I am looking forward to: My cervical check on Friday - I know it's not always a reliable indication of when he's coming, but Nick and I are eager to see if I'm making any progress. And of course, meeting our baby boy!!!

I cannot believe we are nearing the end of this pregnancy. Two weeks until his due date. Seriously?!?! Is this really happening?! :) I don't think it will hit me until I am holding him in my arms. It still feels surreal. I know I am pregnant, I can feel my baby moving, I know he has to come out, I know all of this. But it still feels strange, almost like a dream, like I am just going through the motions. It's difficult to describe. A huge reason it's so exciting and nerve-wracking is that we have never done this before. We don't do many things these days that we have never, ever done. It's a life-changing event filled with so many emotions and unknowns. We are SO excited!

Post-pregnancy Life

Before we found out I was pregnant in November, we both had lost weight with Nutrisystem and mountain biking. I even blogged a comparison photo of us here.  Most husbands tell us that they gained a bunch of weight when their wives got pregnant, but mine did the opposite. He signed up for a CrossFit gym in February and has been obsessed since. In fact, over the last few months, he has turned half of our garage into his own CrossFit gym. You can see a significant gain in his muscle tone, with a loss of 17 lbs. since he started. He also eats incredibly healthy and appropriate for his goals. Even though it wasn't fun to watch him shrink while I was becoming a whale, I am so proud of him! And I know his enthusiasm will carry over into training me when the time comes.

In preparation for my return to fitness, I bought some new shoes last night. I think they are pretty snazzy :)

Plus I can wear them now with my compression socks because they are so comfortable. I am anxious to jump into the CrossFit world once I am cleared for exercise. I am also excited to ride my mountain bike again - it's been so long! I have lost weight before, but I want to take it to a different level and see muscle tone develop in my arms, legs and core.

Just a few things to look forward to when I'm not pregnant because honestly, I know I am going to miss it. :(

Silly Husband

Someone thinks my swollen feet are funny :)

This is what they look like at the end of most days because I can't get them up high enough sitting at work all day. Plus it's hot outside. Plus I have a big baby restricting the blood flow to my extremities.  Nick was pushing on them and making patterns LOL. Compression socks help the most, so I wear them most evenings. Dr. L always looks at them and says "yep, that's normal." She also blames this swelling on my weight gain lately - she knows how to make a pregnant woman feel better :)

xoxo,

Megan

37 weeks - full term!

How far along: 37w. He is officially full term! YAY!
How big is Baby: Baby weighs approximately 7lbs 7oz.

Maternity Clothes: Definitely.
Sleep: Sleep hurts. And now sleep itches too.

Movement: All the time. I always have at least one of his feet pushing on my belly and several times a day my belly is lopsided from his position. Silly baby :) He head butted my bladder the other day and I peed myself a little. That was a first. He is definitely running out of room in there.

Food cravings: Anything sweet. Milk! Thank goodness for milk.
Food aversions: Meat seems to be making me nauseous again.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: PUPPS - oh, how I hate you. I'm always hot. Contractions. Sore pelvis. Swollen ankles and feet. Exhaustion. Peeing every minute. 
Nursery Progress: It's pretty much done! Definitely done enough for his arrival. Remaining items: finishing the crib mobile, filling some of the frames and waiting on the arrival of his custom bedding. 
Best moment this week: Spending the weekend in the pool. Seeing Grayson's sweet, chubby face at the growth scan.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting our baby boy!!!
 

36w4d Growth Ultrasound

Check out those stats! All of his measurements are in the 92nd to 97th percentile.

We have a little porker :) Baby Grayson is already measuring around 7lb 7oz and is in the 88th percentile for overall size. It is still just a guesstimate because there is no way to know for certain, but I think he is going to be a big boy. We can see his chubby cheeks already too. I love pudgy, healthy babies. I just hope he's not too big for a vaginal delivery. His head was WAY down in my pelvis where it needs to be, so that was encouraging.

We saw Dr. L after the ultrasound. I begged for anything to help the awful PUPPS itch and she told me there's nothing else she can do. His delivery is the only definite cure. I obviously don't want that just yet, so I am hoping with everything I have that it starts to subside on it's own soon. She also said she would start doing internal checks next week. For the first time, she gave me a reminder about calling in if my water breaks, I experience any bleeding or I have strong contractions that are 5 minutes apart. Her departing words: "You're going to have a baby soon!" Yes we are. CRAZY!

xoxo,
Megan

PUPPS

Warning: This is a whiny pregnant lady rant.

My OB confirmed the PUPPS "diagnosis" on Friday. OH. MY. GOSH. This shit is itchy! It's waking me up at night, it's so bad. I fit the descriptions so well; first baby, having a boy, onset around 35 weeks, started on my belly stretch marks and is now spreading to my hands, feet and, the best one, my butt cheeks. Lovely. Dr. L said to use hydrocortisone cream, so I am carrying a giant tube around with me everywhere I go. There isn't much else to do since there is no cure except delivering your baby. The good news is that it doesn't affect baby or Mom, so I am thankful for that. But let's just say, after we hit 37 weeks, that I am ready to have this baby!!!!

36 weeks

How far along: 36w. 4 weeks until his due date!!!!!
How big is Baby: Baby weighs approximately 6 - 6 1/2 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Definitely.
Sleep: Sleep hurts. It hurts when I first lay down and it hurts when I get up in the morning. It feels like knives are stabbing me in my pelvic floor. I wake up at least three times every night to turn and/or use the bathroom. I did get one fabulous night of sleep on Saturday. We had the air turned way down and I didn't get up to go to the bathroom until 6 am!

Movement: All the time. He did fall asleep at my NST on Friday because they were running 30 minutes behind - very unusual for him. The nurse had to use the zapper to wake him up.

Food cravings: Anything sweet.
Food aversions: Everything except sweets.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Nausea returned today :( Lots of contractions. PUPPS. Sore pelvis. Swollen ankles and feet. Backaches. Exhaustion. Peeing every minute. 
Nursery Progress: We have been putting off hanging the gallery wall, but we finally did it last night. YAY! I still need to fill four of the frames - a giraffe photo we took, an elephant photo we took, Grayson's hospital bracelet and/or footprint on pretty paper, and a newborn photo. As for the others: the giraffe print I won in a giveaway from my favorite children's artist, I purchased the "good morning sunshine" print on Etsy, my Mom framed the dragon fabric {2012 is the Chinese year of the Dragon}, the dog photo is our Apollo and the G is for Grayson.  HUGE thanks to Nick for doing all of the hard work - love my husband :)

Best moment this week: Seeing his chubby cheeks at my fluid check on Friday. I can't wait to kiss them :) Sitting in the pool was a close second - so refreshing in this heat.

What I am looking forward to: We have a growth ultrasound on Friday because of my "high blood pressure." I am excited to see him again and find out a guesstimate on his size. 

I have been reading lots of birth stories to try and prepare myself. However, I am not sure if it's helping or scaring the crap out of me! Each story is different so I guess the main thing I am learning is to be ready for anything :)

Handmade gifts from Nana

My Mom gave me Grayson's quilt at my birthday dinner on Thursday {ugh - one more year to 30!}

Isn't it gorgeous?! I absolutely love the colors! I can't wait to take his picture with it.

She also made us a safari bag. It's huge and perfect for toting baby things around.

 

Ok, back to the pool I go! Seriously - best way to spend a summer pregnant is in the pool. Even if it's a blow up kiddie pool, it's amazing.

xoxo,

Megan