Week 38

My goodness. Week 38. Since Koobie was turned I am really feeling differently. Having her head wedged down in my pelvis has made it harder to walk and stay comfortable. There is just so much more pressure on my pelvic floor than before, which is great mind you because it will help my body get ready for birth but it also makes me feel like a 9.5 month pregnant lady! I have to say it is really nice having her little fit kicking me at the top of my belly now so I can feel them with my hands as she stretches. That is really cool. My belly is so big now many of my maternity shirts and sweaters can't make it all the way around the curve so my wardrobe is down to 3 pair of pants with the big stretchy covering and a handful of tops. That's OK since I hope to only need them a little longer but you may be seeing clothing repeats going forward.

Last weekend my friends Suzan and Jennie threw me a lovely baby shower for about 20 ladies. It was lots of fun. I will have pictures of that soon. I of course didn't think to snap any photos so I am waiting on Jennie to send some my way. We received some very nice gifts that will make welcoming baby even easier. We are also pretty much done outfitting the nursery so I will have photos of that soon too. Plus some craft projects I manage to complete! So many posts to come. I will try to do them this weekend. I am really swamped trying to get my job completed so I can go on maternity leave and feel okay about it but we are in a little bit of a grant season and I don't have a grants person until next month so I am stuck doing it all myself. This week I am working working working just to stay caught up. Hopefully the baby will hang out until her due date so I can get some more stuff done next week! We'll see.

Week 37

Week 37! This week I am full term so Koobie can decide to come at any time. I was commenting to one of the professors at work who asked how I was doing that I have never had to function under this level of uncertainty before. Never knowing which day of work will be my last. Totally nerve racking.

On the turning front Koobie did not respond to any of our torture techniques to get her to move. Ice packs, clothes pins, pelvic tilts and inversions, soothing music, annoying music and combos of everything above. We even got our hands on some Moxi although we didn't get a chance to try it. Koobie refused to budge. So yesterday Greg came to my OB/GYN appointment for the "big talk" where we went over our birth plan, got our questions answered and got instructions for the big day. They also confirmed that Koobie was still breech and went over with us what would happen during our scheduled version TODAY. It was actually very reassuring to discuss it with them and hear that the potential risks were very remote.

So today we spent pretty much the entire day at the hospital on the Labor and Delivery unit. We had to arrive an hour early for IV fluids, blood work, and fetal monitoring. Then we had to wait around for the doctor who was going to perform the procedure to show up. He has a reputation for being very good at versions and having a high success rate. Well, I believe it. We were his 6th version of the day (all the previous ones had been successful) fHe spent a little time scanning Koobie by ultrasound and then it was time for the muscle relaxer before he went to work. It was very uncomfortable and at times a little painful as he started to push Koobie around from the outside. Luckily after about 4 minutes he stopped and informed me that she had turned! Way to go Koobie! After that it was a couple more hours of monitoring to make sure she was OK, another Rhogam shot and we were cleared to go home. I can already feel the difference in her position. New pressure points and adorable little feet kicking me in the top of my tummy instead of the bottom. We are so thankful that she turned fairly easily and we have so far had no complications. We were also told that there is a very low likelihood that she will flip back at this point which is good. It feels nice to be back on track with our birth plans. Thanks to everyone for your prayers!

Week 36

Hey, I actually posted my picture on time this week! Yippie for me. Greg and I had a pretty productive weekend which was great. We were successful in finding a car seat that would fit safely and easily in our little car which is a big relief actually. I had nightmares that we wouldn't be able to find anything that would work and would have to buy a new car at the last minute. Not that I wouldn't love a new car! It is funny that we have an entire room of baby furniture filled with baby clothes yet buying the car seat for some reason made the whole thing so much more real. I guess that has happened at each step and this was just the latest.

This weekend I also ran some errands and did a big craft project which I will post about later when the finished product is in place. It was really nice to do something creative with my hands. It has been a long time since I made anything and I miss it. I have so many projects floating around in my brain but so little time and energy to execute them. I just have to pick and choose which ones will get done.

On the baby turning front, we have been doing our daily exercises as instructed by our OB group. They are a little crazy but worth it if they end up working. For 20 min a day I have to put clothes pins on my pinky toes while holding an ice pack on the top of my belly and playing music at the bottom of my belly. Supposidly the pinky toes are an accupressure point that should help while the ice packs make the baby's head cold which they don't like and instead they are supposed to move away from the cold and toward the music. Sometimes I just have Greg talk to her. The toes are hard because I have such big feet. Greg had to make me special clothes pins using the ones I got from the OB group mixed with springs from smaller ones we had at home to make some they didn't pinch too much. They are supposed to apply pressure but not hurt. For the ice we have been using 1 pound bags of frozen peas and frozen corn. The cold is not so hard on me as long as I am warm everywhere else. This is the full package. Very comical really. You can't see the headphones but they are under the blanket playing music. Greg is so sweet setting me up each night and doing online research on other techniques to try. He jokes about getting to torture me a little but I think he feels bad any time I am uncomfortable. Such a sweet guy. So far no movement. At least not yet. She has been very quiet this morning so I can't can't confirm her position yet but I don't think she has moved. I am trusting that she will move when she is good and ready!

Week 35 Update

I just got back from a very discouraging visit to the doctor. Turns out baby Koobie got tired of being head down and has flipped back into a breech position. Bad baby! I have some voodoo like exercises to practice this week to see if we can coax her back into position. I would appreciate any prayers for her cooperation. I really don't want to have a c-section if it can be avoided. Thank you!!

Week 35

Well this photo is so late it is probably week 36 by now. I am losing track of the count these days. I am ginormous to say the least and this is the first week I have really been feeling "pregnant". A little sore back, sore tendons, stiff when I sit too long, hard to roll over in bed, all that stuff which comes with the last month of pregnancy. I can't imagine that this can go on for another 4-5 weeks which makes me all the more anxious to get everything ready for the baby in case she comes early. We found a possible daycare to send her to in May that is near Greg's office and we have an appointment to see a pediatric group next week to ask questions about her future care. This weekend we may try to find a car seat that will fit in our little VW Beetle (not an easy task it turns out). We are pre-registered at the hospital and I have started putting together my hospital bag. Things are definitely underway which is great. I even have a baby shower in the works and I think all my local blog readers have been invited but if not drop me a line and I will have the hostesses add you to the evite!

So much to do and so very little time but I am trying to tackle one small thing each day and we are making progress which is great. Well, I have my now weekly Doctor's appointment today so I had better get some work done before I have to go. Happy Thursday!

Week 34

I know I am very delinquent with my posts! With the holidays we pretty much got completely out of our routines. We had a really nice Christmas and New Year. Spent lots of time relaxing, a fair amount of time playing, a little time cleaning, and a little time prepping for Koobie. Coming back to work this week has been hard but there is so much to accomplish before I go out on maternity leave. I did not manage to take a profile shot during my entire vacation, nor did I manage to take our yearly photo (no New Year's cards I guess!). A couple people who don't read my blog contacted me recently and I am sure it is because they wondered if I was OK since I didn't send out a card.

Here are a few shots I did manage to get during the holiday: Greg opening some of Koobies gifts. For a kid who isn't yet born she sure got lots of Christmas love from the family! This is a little book my mom sent where there are furry ears and tail for the child to wear while reading it. Totally cute! I tried to get a shot of Greg when he decided to put them on! but he was too quick to pull them off to prevent his own embarrassment.

I decided at the last minute to cook a Christmas feast which turned out amazingly well. We of course took pictures of it. The Tofurkey roast, probably our best one ever cooked in a dutch oven with some veggies. I think the dutch oven made all the difference keeping the roast moist and flavorful. We bought another one for the freezer so we can make it again this weekend.

Potato gratin from Everyday Foods. Very rich made with real cream and cheese! It also was a huge mess that boiled over and started smoking up the kitchen. What's a big meal without a little drama right!

And some green beans lightly sauted in pear vinegar. So yummy.

Here is a photo of our annual Christmas tradition which is to do a puzzle. We really only do this once a year. This puzzle is of the Seattle skyline and was a gift we recieved last year. This year my parents sent us a puzzle so we are set for 2010!

A shot of the snow we got during our vacation taken from our kitchen window. And here is a photo I managed to capture of myself documenting what I see when I look down, NOTHING! If I lean over I can see my feet but that is all. I have to trust Greg when he tells me the rest of my body is still there in tact! HA!