Pregnancy progress

Seriously ready to meet this baby, but he seems to be even more serious about staying in! He is still so active! I was sure earlier on in my pregnancy that he would be early because of his size. Well, the doctor did an estimate of how big he was at about 37 weeks and said that he was between 5 1/2 and 6 pounds. WHAT? I'm HUGE! So that's when I decided that he wasn't going to be early. He's never coming out. He's too comfy. He doesn't have to do anything but have fun rolling around, kicking, punching, spinning and tickling me!

Here I am, at 39 weeks, 3 days pregnant and I just had my 40 week check up. I've been dilated at about 1 cm for almost 4 weeks now and apparently my cervix is super soft. The softness is a good thing. The doc said she could hardly tell it was there. This softening is incredibly helpful for when the contractions start up. She says that once Conner's head starts to descend that it will help with the dilation. That was definitely reassuring!

Right now, all I can say is, "Come out, come out, come OUT!"

What's going on 'round here?

Visiting with Grace and Daniel was such a relaxing trip and a great wind-down for what was going on at the time and what was about to happen.



The night before we left (Wednesday), we found out that the house we were purchasing in just over a week didn't get a high enough appraisal and that scared us because we thought the sellers wouldn't sell for less. What were we going to do? Where were we going to live? How were we going to work things out since we were going to be out of state for the next 5 days? What about the baby?? How were we going to come up with all this extra money that we would now have to apply to the house that we weren't planning for? We worked on answering these questions for the next 4 hours on empty stomachs and with tear filled eyes. Our new home was suddenly out of our grasp unless we figured something out quickly. We finally decided to head home so we could eat and finish packing for the trip. It would work out, we were sure of it.



The next morning, we woke up at 6am, about 30 minutes AFTER we were supposed to be at the airport, finding a parking spot. We were up and out the door in 15 minutes and at the airport by 6:45. We barely missed the check-in time for our flight so we had to book another one. It ended up working out for us though. I called Grace to let her know about our flight "situation" and it meant that she was able to meet us at the airport with Daniel! Hooray! It was seriously good to see them! If you haven't been to visit those guys, DO IT!



Friday morning I missed a call from my mom. This is a huge deal to me because she rarely calls for any reason. At first I was upset that I missed her call, then upon hearing her message tell me that she was in Austin, I was even more upset. She also rarely comes to visit since she doesn't like to travel outside of her comfort zone. When I called her back, I apologized that I was out of town and that she should give me notice that she's coming so I can plan to be there. Unfortunately, she didn't have good news with this call. She informed my that my step-dad's dad passed away the previous morning. All kinds of guilt swelled up in me because I hadn't called him or stopped by to visit even though he and Grammie live just off Mopac and Bee Caves. She said there wasn't going to be a funeral or anything just yet, so I wasn't missing anything "important". I still wish that I had been there, though.

Grace, if you're reading this, sorry we didn't tell you about this while we were there. We didn't want to make the trip about all the crap that just unloaded on us! I hope you understand ;)

Ok, so we get back on Tuesday and all goes well the next day with the closing of our house on Castle View. I'm gonna miss that place but luckily it's only 4 minutes away and we'll get to easily show it to Conner! The purchase of our new house didn't happen when it was scheduled so Cody was called out of town and I got the priviledge of packing a ton of the remaining stuff and begin moving it to the new house that we are renting until we close. Fortunately, a family friend was able to help out some until the guys of Chi Phi and other heavy lifters were able to come out on Sunday when Cody got back. We are so thankful for their time and energy. We also owe them beer! It took until that Wednesday to get completely moved out of the old house (which we rented from the new owner so we could move) and now we get to focus on unpacking while Cody is in town! He has been called out several times, but that is the nature of his job in the spring and fall. Pregnant or not, it's not easy or fun when he's away.

Now, fun baby news! I just had my 34 week check up with the doc and my uterus is measuring at 34 cm. He's staying on track for his estimated due date of Dec. 5th. The other night, I was experiencing a strong Braxton Hicks contraction (a practice contraction) and I could see Conner's outline on my belly! I could practically hold him! That was so freakin' cool. He's still so little! This is my favorite part of the pregnancy!

Right now, that's news that is fit to print and all that I can remember at this point. ;)

10 weeks and 10 days

10 weeks until my due date! No, time has not flown by. I have been too busy to even think about prepping for his arrival, but after next week...

10 days until we officially sell our house and 2 days after that, we officially purchase our next one! But first, we get to visit Grace and Daniel in Virginia!! I've been looking forward to this trip for MONTHS and I can't believe it's actually happening this week.

We are crazy, yes, but we had to get this trip in while we could because I've never traveled on an airplane with a baby before and I thought it would be a nice getaway to see those guys.

To sum up: we're going on a trip, selling our house, buying a new house, moving and then thinking about setting up for Conner within the next 14 days!

I hope these stupid allergies don't get the best of me.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

So I had my 28 week check up with my OB on Friday. I drank the "fruit punch" glucose drink which was pretty gross but not unbearable (thank goodness). It has warnings on the bottle that says it may cause nausea, fainting and diarrhea. PERFECT! Just what a prego lady needs! I talked to the doc about the pelvis pains and she thinks that's just something I'm gonna have to deal with. Some women get kicked in the ribs, I get a baby sitting on my pelvis! Maybe this means when it's time for him to come, it will help me dilate faster? We'll see...

Also, included in this appointment was another doppler check to listen to Conner's heartbeat. He's sounds great! I haven't been worried about that at all because of all of his movements. I received my first Rhogam injection because I am Rh negative. I saw the tube of liquid that the nurse was going to inject into me and decided this was a shot that I didn't want to watch. Cody said the needle was quite big. It didn't hurt, but it did feel like I was being pinched and that the pincher wouldn't let go! Apparently the needle was big because after it was removed, some of the liquid dripped down my arm! It must have left a sizeable hole! When Conner is born, they'll check him for the Rh factor as well. If he's negative, then I won't have to have another shot. I'm hoping he won't be since I found out last weekend that being Rh neg runs in my family.

An hour after I finished my tasty drink, I had a CBC (blood draw) so they could check my glucose levels to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. They also just wanted to make sure that my other levels were fine (like iron). If I don't here from them on Monday, all will be well!

I started with the ugly with this post. The good news is with my weight. Since my last appointment, 3 weeks ago, I gained only 5 pounds! This is a big deal because I've gained a lot of weight each month for each weigh in. The bad news is that I gained 5 pounds. I'm only supposed to gain a pound per week from my last check up until I deliver. Hopefully I'll get on track, though I'm not exactly sure how.

Now I'm going to mention the cute! When I started this post, Conner was positioned on my right side, upper part of my belly. He then wiggled his way to the middle of my left side at about the point when I mentioned the blood draw. Then I mentioned the bad news and he moved over to the right side and now he's spread across my belly because it's moving on either side! This is such a trip!

Good morning, Conner!

Swelling

My feet HURT! The season opener for the Horns was alot of fun and a ton of walking. At the end of the night, I felt like I couldn't walk anymore and struggled to do so. The swelling was so intense. I have a feeling that I'll have to continue to icing them everyday and perhaps buy some shoes that are a larger size. I've gotten away with wearing my Crocs that are flip flops all throughout the pregnancy, but I think it's time to move on up. My toes look like mini sausages!! My feet feel like I'm carrying saddlebags! I'm looking forward to the cooler weather and am hopeful that will help.

87 more days!

Baby news

Conner is all over the place! I am looking/feeling huge at 26 weeks, 5 days. A perfect stranger actually said to me today, "you look like you're ready." I know he didn't mean anything by it and I can see where he comes from. I guess I'm just disappointed by this because it proves that I am in fact BIG! At least Conner has plenty of space to move around in there so he can stretch his legs. He seems to be doing that alot more these days! I love it! It is still the weirdest/coolest feeling ever. He's such a good boy, too. When I feel very upset about whatever, he moves around in my belly and it makes me smile and wonder what he's doing in there and also wonder where I'm going to feel him next. I'll get to continue being curious for the next 3 months!

I did have a dream over the weekend that I went into labor at 26 weeks and Cody took me to a delivery clinic to have the baby. They showed me my bed and I noticed there were 3 others in the same room and they all looked like cots and the room had wood paneling. I grabbed Cody and we left. I was curious in my dream why we didn't go to our hospital (we hadn't seen the rooms yet) because that is where our doctor works. In the end, I wasn't in labor so all worked out.

We went to Ray's lakehouse on Sunday to hang out and enjoy everything. The funniest thing that happened immediately upon our arrival was when I was chatting with Nicole in the kitchen and Brian comes down the stairs and turns the corner to get to the kitchen. He stopped suddenly upon noticing me and said, "Whoa! There's a baby in there!" We all just died laughing! I guess it has been a little while since I've seen him, but I didn't think it was that long!

I think Conner enjoyed his boat ride because I know I did! I was so jealous of everyone wakeboarding/battle tubing/skiing. I'll get to do that again next summer so that's good.

OH! Conner has legs and he likes to show them off! Most babies are in a fetal position where their legs are bent in close to their bodies, but not him. He extended both his legs for the student techinicians a couple weeks ago and it was a sight to see. So far the ultrasound of his legs is my favorite picture. I can't wait to see how long they really are. I'm sure he is making his daddy proud!

Just for fun

I just decided to find out what the names Conner and Aiden mean!

Conner: strong willed

Aiden: little fire

Since we came up with these names immediately after we found out that I was pregnant, I think it's appropriate that he already seems to be acting this way. He is already so much like his dad!

And then he kicked me...

... or punched me last night. Not a big deal except that we SAW it happen a couple times while we were laying in bed! I was reading Austin Monthly - particularly the articles about the best schools in Austin and the Austin Area, when I began to feel a little bit more pressure in my abdomen than usual that wasn't related to gas.

For some reason, I decided to look to see what was going on and that's when my abdomen quickly stretched outward and then went right back into place.

"OMIGOSH, Cody! Look at this!" Cody had already rolled over to go to sleep but he managed to quickly sit up and give his full attention to the bare spot of my belly that I was pointing to.

"He kicked and I could see it right here." Cody waited for a few seconds and nothing happened. (This seems to be a regular trend when I want Cody to feel Conner moving.) A couple more seconds went by and the same spot moved!

Cody's eyes just lit up and he got to see it once again! That was so neat!

Conner did settle down shortly after showing off for his daddy. I'm glad that he wasn't shy and that Cody got to share that moment with me!

Ugh, pregnancy brain.

Last week I had two appointments in the morning scheduled. One for my chiropractor and the other for my ob/gyn. I typically have my chiro adjustments at 9am M-W-F except for this particular day because my doctor appt. was at that time. Like clockwork I went to my chiro and didn't realize that my other one wasn't at 11am like I thought it was. I was so freaked out about missing this appointment. It was the one where the doc gives me the results from all the measurements taken from the ultrasound. Also, I wanted to discuss with her this weird pain I was having that affected being able to walk/drive/climb steps/stand up.

Luckily, they were able to fit me in on Wednesday. I was happy to find out that Conner is average in growth! His heart was beating a solid 150 bpm! Cody still gets confused by whether or not it's his heart or mine that the doctor is listening to. We told him that if my heart was racing, it should only get up to 100 bmp! The pain I was having is normal for a woman further along in her pregnancy. Basically the bones in my pelvis are softening and adjusting for birth. The doc did a pap just to make sure nothing else is going on around there.

I had my first solo babysitting experience in quite some time on Friday. I got to watch Kari's two kids. They were pretty good for me. Boy do they love being read to! I'm still hoping that Jonah's diaper stayed on after I changed him once he got up from his nap! I haven't heard otherwise, so I think I'm good!

In other news, we went to Dallas this past weekend and met up with Cody's frat brothers for dinner and drinks. They are a crazy bunch! More importantly from this weekend, I went to the Aerosmith/ZZ Top concert with Candace, Christina and Suzanne. We had fabulous lawn seats. It could only have been a more perfect evening if it were a tad cooler even though the temp was completely tolerable. It was so much fun and I'm so glad that Geoff couldn't come with Candace so that I could ;)

Oh, BOY!

At approximately 8:37 this morning, Cody and I witnessed a bold gesture by our baby and that was of HIM not being shy for the "camera"! We've chosen to name this little guy, Conner Aiden McGuire. It's a good Irish name, and it means he will share his dad's initials. We are so happy! What do we do now?

Okay, Okay. I get it.

Regarding the little baby that fits in the palms of my cupped hands - I'll have to admit that it's had me worried.  I've been feeling it all along, mistaking it for GAS!  I think the kiddo's movements have been getting stronger the past couple days so that I can no longer deny what I've been feeling is actually not because of my diet!  Hooray!

Kari was really helpful with this realization when I talked to her yesterday.  I was still kind of skeptical until I realized where the feeling was coming from.  Yes, some of it was food related, but this is definitely (I'm pretty sure of it) not.  I don't feel the sensation of bubbles or butterflies though and that's what I kept waiting for to feel.  For me it's more like... have you ever tried to catch a small fish with your bare hands, and once you caught it, you could feel it moving around in the water that's in your hands and "bumping" into your hands trying to find a way out?  That's basically what this feels like to me.  Another way of thinking about it is like an irregular throb (not a pulsating one) in my lower abdomen that doesn't hurt and kinda moves from one spot to another at any given moment.

I'm hungry, so I'm gonna get some breakfast and see what this kid does when I give it some food!

Grr

I don't want to be at work today. Or tomorrow at that. It's hard to go to work and not be motivated to do anything. Typically I am a self starter, but recently I find it hard to do anything other than what is absolutely necessary. I'm really disliking that about myself right now.

I'm also unhappy with the news media. I'm sad that Michael Jackson died, but there are more important things to discuss than his death/funeral/custody, etc. 24/7. I haven't watched live television in a while so I've been getting my news from the internet or more recently, NPR. Luckily, I can choose NOT to click on anything related to him. I will, however, continue to enjoy his music.

One other thing is that I still haven't felt any recognizable movement from the kiddo. It's frustrating me and that frustration is frustrating Cody and his frustration is frustrating me! Vicious cycle! It will happen soon enough, I'm sure.

Gah.

Superstition

Last night I had my first dream where I was pregnant! In my dream we still didn't know the sex of the baby, but knew that appointment was coming up. Then suddenly I had the baby. It was a healthy baby girl even though she came quite early! I don't remember going to the hospital or anything like that occuring in my dream. We suddenly just had the baby! In my dream I remembered that I wanted to breastfeed and that I hadn't fed her yet. I thought to myself, "how do I do this? I need a lactation consultant!" Then the baby just began to nurse as if it was something she knew how to do all along! While she was nursing, I remembered that we were going to tell everyone what we were having, but instead we got to tell them what we just had! I wonder if this is my first intuition?

While typing this up, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder came on! I love that funky song and I thought it was kind of fitting.

Also, this song came on, too: "More Today Than Yesterday"
"I love you more today than yesterday, but darlin' not as much as tomorrow!" -Spiral Starecase

I need to listen to Yahoo! Radio more often and tune into the Dallas station K-Luv Classic Hits. It keeps me singing throughout the day!

Fun, fun!

My mom and step-dad came into town for my grandparent's 70th wedding anniversary this week. They married on June 23, 1939. She was 19 and he was 22! They say at that time, Grandpa was considered "old" when he got married! They've done so much in their lifetime. Grandpa retired when he turned 60 and they have enjoyed and lived their retirement life to their fullest! Now, they're in Austin at a senior living apartment. They have new friends and are close to family. They are still so in love with each other, it's amazing!

It was great to hang out with my mom and step-dad. We haven't seen each other since I found out that I am pregnant. Mom enjoyed rubbing my belly and feeling it. I was very happy to let her do that. I don't think she got the opportunity to do so when my sister was pregnant with her kids. She's planning on making some maternity shirts for me to wear! I can tell that she is trying to be as involved as she can since she is 250 miles away.

Stupid me! I forgot to take pictures while they were here. I considered it, but Mom doesn't like to have her picture taken at all. I'm sure she would have since this is a special occasion. I also wish that I had taken pictures of the grandparents. They're so cute!

This weekend is another special weekend for us. Erin and Ryan are getting married on my dad and step-mom's wedding date! I am so happy for them and wish them both the best! This will be a fun, yet busy weekend for us. We'll be seeing many band kids we haven't seen in a while as well as some Chi Phi's. We are certainly going to try to make the most out of this trip to Houston 'cause who knows how often we'll get to head down there!

Baby orange update!

We had another ob/gyn appointment on Friday. Another ultrasound was done, this time on my abdomen! The baby is big enough (roughly the size of an apple or orange) to be seen from the outside! Cody got to hear the heartbeat for the first time and was slightly confused as he thought it was my heartbeat. I'm glad it wasn't because it was going about 140 bpm! Ultimately, he thought that was pretty cool!

I scheduled the quad blood test for this week. All I remember about this test is that it will check to see if I'm at increased risk for a baby with abnormalities. They'll call me within a week with those results. I scheduled my next appointment with the doctor for 5 weeks after this one. I also scheduled the uber fun appointment with the radiologist! July 13th we'll find out if we're having a boy or a girl and to see if we're on schedule for the Dec. 5th due date! I can hardly contain my excitement!