Friday, February 27, 2009

Thirty Six Weeks

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Frizell Baby Shower

I had my third official baby shower on Feb 7. This one was hosted by my mom and my new sister-in-law, Chrisi.

I’ve had so many showers because we all felt with such a large family; we’d much prefer smaller, intimate showers. I had one large bridal shower with almost 100 people. We learned our lesson.

This shower was just wonderful! Chrisi and my mom did an amazing job. We invited all of the South Jersey and Virginia Frizells and my long time friend Yogita to a very nice Italian restaurant in Deptford. Frank took the day off from work and we took the 1 ½ hour drive down. Frank went off to a special guy’s lunch with a few uncles and cousins while the ladies got down to business of eating and opening presents. Chrisi and mom decorated the “mom to be’s” chair with a blue frilly umbrella. I think Frank liked it too!


I was lucky enough to receive many home made afghans, knitted blankets and sweaters. It really was a great event. We are very fortunate to have such a talented family! Now the girl cousins of my generation need to step it up a notch.

Thank you so much to Chrisi and Mom for all your hard work. I truly felt special and it was so much fun celebrating with all of our family.

Expectant Couple at 33 weeks

I'm Still Alive!

I'm still here - waiting for this baby to come. I've been busy wrapping up things at work - I have one more week then I'm off for maternity leave. I can't wait! Sorry for being so delinquent on posting, so here's a recap of the past two weeks.

I've been feeling the third trimester exhaustion. I come home from work and literally crash on the couch and am in bed by 8/8:30. The baby's huge, everyone says I look like I'm ready to go "any day now" but I know I have about a month left before he's really ready. I have a definite waddle and lots of pain in my hips and groin area. If I sit for too long, I can hardly walk. So I get up every 30 minutes or so at work. Other than that, the BP is good, weight gain is on track. I have been very swollen lately - all I can wear are my crocks, and they help keep the swelling to a minimum while still being comfy.

We have the nursery pretty much done. My mom came over on president's day and we hammered through the piles of gifts, did laundry and put everything away. Frank's mom also helped by doing several loads of laundry. Nothing smells better than baby clothes washed in dreft!

We're now putting the finishing touches on the nursery and Frank's been busy putting baby things together. We've done the stroller, co-sleeper, baby seat and have the pack and play left to go.


In prepping our first baby - Ozzie - for the new addition, we have borrowed a baby doll from my friend Leeanne's daughter, Amanda. We have been holding the baby doll, and placing it in the various baby items we have. The first night we did this, Ozzie was intrigued by the little creature. So much so, he was standing next to the baby's seat and crying for us to pick up the baby and show it to him. He doesn't seem to want to play with it, just give it a few good sniffs and the occasional kiss. So cute! He still goes over and looks at the baby every once in a while. We'll say - "Where's the baby?" and he'll shoot right over to check it out. He's brilliant, we know. We hope this training will help him adjust and not feel so bad sharing his mommy and daddy with his new little brother.


We have another doc apt today with Dr. Purdue. I'm 36 weeks and 1 day. As of 34 weeks the baby was measuring 6 pounds already! I couldn't believe it! I kept saying to myself, 6 pounds... 6 pounds... if the baby makes it to term, he'll be 9 lbs! Frank was excited, but I was in shock - I was the one carrying the 9 pounder and I don't want to even think about pushing out a 9 pound baby!

We're going to have another ultrasound in a few weeks to see how he's grown and the results from that will help determine our action plan for delivery - induction early at about 38/39 weeks or a possible c-section. I'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thirty Three Weeks

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

We have a lot to update so here’s my attempt at an abbreviated version of my usual posting:

Thirty two week check up w/ Dr. Crane went well. I didn’t gain any weight between 30 and 32 weeks, but I’m sure I made up for it this week. The baby seems to have gone through a growth spurt. Dr. Crane measured my “fundal height” and I’m supposed to measure one centimeter for each week that I’m pregnant. Well, I’m measuring three weeks ahead of schedule. This prompted him to schedule an ultrasound to check on the baby’s size. Of course I had tons of questions about “what if the baby’s too big, or what are my chances for a c-section” and he said we’ll cross that bridge after the ultrasound. Which is fine with me. Why worry or plan ahead now until we know for sure. Blood pressure was fine and Dr. Crane found the baby’s heartbeat right away. Everything looks good! I go back on Feb 13 to have an ultrasound and see Dr. Purdue.

I still have awful swelling in my feet and horrible carpal tunnel/tendonitis pain. I wear splints on my wrists 24/7 and try to keep my feet propped up most of the day. I have been assured that all of this most likely will end once the baby comes… I’m counting down the days. I feel like my hands are useless clubs sometimes! They’re so numb, I can’t even feel the keys right now. I saw my orthopedist who has restricted my typing to 4 hours a day… yeah, like that will happen!

It seems like I’ve had every pregnancy related symptom in the book, 24/7 nausea & vomiting, swelling, sciatic nerve pain, carpal tunnel pain, dizziness, hysterical laughing at in opportune moments, constipation, gall stones – so why not add blurred vision to the list! Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy to be one of those women who hardly get an upset tummy in the seafood section, or who get light headed when they stand up. Not me – let’s just say this pregnancy has been very challenging. Blurred vision is a result of water retention… So I can’t feel my fingers and can hardly see the screen… I feel like a big pregnant mess.

Pregnant women often say that all the lack of sleep during pregnancy is getting us ready for taking care of a new born. I think it’s a bunch of crap and people say that just to make us feel better about getting up multiple times a night to pee, or turn over or just wide awake for no reason at all. On the weekends, if I’m feeling really sleep deprived, I’ll take two Benadryl. Doc approved of course. And they put me right out until about 10 a.m. the next morning. I think it would help if I could nap during the day, but right now, that’s not an option. I’ve thought about it, but don’t think my work would think highly of me for snoozing the afternoon away.

I’m so happy to report the nursery is painted and the furniture is up – thanks to Frank, his dad, and our neighbor Scott for the extra muscle need to get the dresser upstairs at a moment’s notice. I’ll post pics once I decorate. I’m really happy with the paint color and we still need to find a rug and order shades.

I’m also happy to report I have officially made March 6 my last day of work before I go out on maternity leave. I am looking forward to not having to get up and get showered before the crack of dawn everyday and to spending some time really getting ready for the baby.

My mom and sister-in-law Chrisi are hosting a baby shower for me on Saturday. This will be my third… I have a huge family and we all thought it would be better to have several smaller showers so I can actually spend time with everyone. Chrisi has done an enormous amount of work for the shower on Saturday, despite herself being 31 weeks pregnant and having some early contractions. Thank you so much Chrisi for stepping in and helping my mom throw what I’m sure will be a great shower. I’m looking forward to seeing all of my National Park relatives and my good friend from high school.

My mother-in-law – Mom Mazz, has been really great by washing a few loads of baby cloths for me and last night went with me to ShopRite. Last time I went food shopping I ended up with horrible Braxton hicks contractions – the loading and unloading proved too much. When I asked if she would go with me, she eagerly said of course and it was nice to spend time together.

Sad news – we had to find a new home for our cat Charlie. We have exhausted our efforts in getting him to use the litter box. We surrendered him to the rescue where I adopted him. They willingly took him back with open arms. He really was a great member of our family – the family jokester, always making us laugh! We’ll miss you Charlie!

The to-do list is long, but I’m feeling like I have more energy to get things done around the house. Last Saturday I found myself cleaning the bathroom and kitchen well before Frank was up. Has nesting started? I hope so! I’m still wiped out after work, so maybe I can use this new found energy this weekend.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

I did what?!

Ok - after a long day at work I had to stop in at Costco to pick up a few things and of course as soon as I get in the check out line I have to pee. I hurry up and get checked out and make a b-line for the bathroom.

I headed into the bathroom (which I've visited many times before) and wondered why they didn't have any little trash cans in the stalls. Once I came out I saw a line of urinals! Still it didn't click, and I thought, "isn't that funny, they have urinals in the lady's room!)

Once I got outside it hit me - I just used the men's room!

Thank god no one was in there, but could you imagine if I walked out of the stall to see a line of guys standing up at the urinals?!?

I have felt so absent minded lately - this one just tops the cake!

Anyone else have any funny stories about being pregnant and doing things you normally wouldn’t be caught dead doing?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Thirty Two Weeks

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.



Since this is so late, I’ll save my personal ‘update’ for Thursday. I leave you with a list of my current cravings...

Hawaiian Punch, I think we've gone through four gallon jugs in the past two weeks. Frank's been helping too.

Pizza, pizza and more pizza. Plain, pepperoni, sausage, veggie - I like it all and could eat it everyday.

Mashed potatoes - I think I get this from my mom who is the queen of mashed potatoes.

Salad, guess this is a good craving to have.

Rainbow sherbet. I love the citrus lime, orange, raspberry combo.

Have you have any cravings during your pregnancies?