Baby #2: Week 37

First of all, we got our photos from our family/maternity mini session with my roommate from college (C. Orkin Photography) and they came out great (especially considering Vienna wasn't having it at all).  I'm definitely going to put together some kind of photo collage to hang in the house. These photos aren't even really my favorites... going to post them on Facebook later in the week haha.

Vienna legit took this picture!

I had my 37 week appointment on Wednesday and it was very positive.  My BP was normal, baby's heart rate was 150 bmp, and my Group B Strep test came back negative, so I do not need antibiotics during labor yay!  The nurse practitioner said she thinks baby girl is about 7 lbs right now and will be in the low to mid 8s when she is born.  Vienna was 8 lbs 2 oz, so that sounds about right.  I was supposed to get my flu shot, which I deferred the week before since I was still feeling kind of rundown, but the NP didn't mention it and I totally forgot.  So I'll be writing FLU SHOT on my forehead before I head in for my appointment this week.

I know, I'm such a dork.

I'm feeling very laid back and confident about birth.  The birth center wanted me to put together my "birthing hopes and dreams" and I was having some trouble getting started because my "birth preferences" from last time were basically a list of things I didn't want the OB to do (break my water without my consent, force me to push on my back, etc.)  I feel a lot more at ease this time, fully trusting my provider and knowing that most of my "preferences" are just standard care.

Some of the things I did include:

• I will be using self-hypnosis to manage my birthing time (speaking of which, Vienna's birth was just featured on the Hypnobabies website and when I shared it on FB, I tricked a few people into thinking I had given birth to baby #2... not yet!)
• I would like minimal vaginal exams and do not want to be informed of my number of dilation (this is something that saved me last time because I think I would've had a breakdown if they told me I was only at 4 cms after being in labor for 24 hours)
• I included some affirmations I enjoy (you are strong, you are making progress, you are doing it!)
• I listed some fears I have based on last time (a long labor, high blood pressure, having the urge to push before I am fully dilated)
• And some things I am visualizing and hoping for (being more mobile to speed up labor, enjoying relief in the tub, normal blood pressure, and being able to push whenever and however it feels natural to me)
• I also mentioned that I'm hoping for a lot of breastfeeding support, since getting a good latch was a huge struggle with Vienna when we first started

After a 3 week hiatus, I finally made it back to the gym on Friday!  CrossFit moved the worldwide Open competition to the fall this year (it's usually held in March and April) and this week's workout was a repeat from 2018, so I was feeling a little sad not to be busting out some handstand push ups and trying to beat my score.  I did a 9 minute workout of 85# deadlifts and L sit overhead presses with 15# dumbbells.  I also did a mile on the assault bike just for fun.  I was happy just to be there, get moving, and cheer everyone else on.

Saturday night I randomly felt super crappy and nauseous.  I did eat wings and pizza at a bar for lunch, so maybe that had something to do with it, but this seemed different.  Looking back, I had a night of nausea and some cramping at 38 weeks last time, so maybe this is just something my body does to prep for labor.  I'm definitely at the point where every odd feeling in my body has me pondering if it could be time, but I also still feel like baby girl is super high and comfy, so I'm not counting on anything actually happening yet.

Our to do list is dwindling... I think pretty much all of the baby laundry is done, the last few things were the car seat covers, nursing pillow covers, some blankets, and random odds and ends like that.  Dave rearranged our furniture into last year's Christmas configuration and set up the pack and play in the living room to utilize as our changing station.  We also finally got out all the pump bottles and nipple shields and sanitized them, just in case I end up pumping immediately like last time.

I'm still dragging my feet on actually packing my birth center bag.  I have almost everything laid out on the spare bed, I just need to jam it all in a bag!  I'm really trying not to over pack, but that's not exactly my strong suit.  I also need to pack a little overnight bag for V since my in-laws will be watching her whenever things go down.

Random thoughts:

• I had a great week of sleep!  I've been getting up once to pee, but otherwise sleeping through the night.
• Turns out my MIL did not have the flu, hallelujah.  I have been randomly stuffy, but I don't think it could still be my cold, so it may just be a pregnancy side effect at this point.
• I ordered a personalized hat for baby girl and it came in the mail today!  I also finally ordered a big wooden letter to match the one we made for Vienna.  Guess our name choice is really set in stone now!
• This is my last full week in the office.  I was debating coming in on Monday and possibly Tuesday, but I may just call Friday my last day.  I am so grateful to be able to work from home.  This mama is done putting on real clothing and looking presentable.

Almost there...

My Pregnancy: Week 37

On Thursday I had an OB appointment with the doctor that really rubbed me the wrong way when I met her at my 30 week check up.  I tried to keep an open mind for our second encounter and everything was fine.  Maybe she was just having a bad day last time (it was the very end of the day on a Monday), but she was a lot more easy going in general.  The nurse said my blood pressure was slightly high, but nothing concerning.  I got my Group B strep swab done, which if positive would just mean I'd need antibiotics a few hours before delivery.  It wouldn't be ideal because I want to labor at home as long as possible and avoid sitting around getting an IV, but it won't ruin my birth plan if it has to happen.  We'll see.

Thursday we also had an appointment with a local officer to check our car seat base installations.  At one of our baby education classes we had learned that a large amount of car seats are installed improperly and that you can easily get yours checked at a local police or fire station, so Dave called to make us an appointment and they offered to come to us.  The officer told us the car seat safety certification class was 40 hours long, so she was a pro!  She was super nice and very thorough, giving us lots of additional tips and information.  She said Dave had installed both bases perfectly.  One more thing to check off the list!

On Friday I hit CrossFit:

With lots of modifications of course: I did 5 calories on the bike instead of running, used 55# for the clean and jerks and snatches, used 10# dumbbells for the thrusters, my bar facing burpees were squat thrusts, I did 3 pull ups instead of 5, stepped up to a slightly shorter box (16 or 18"?) and skipped the toes to bar without any sub.  It sounds lame when I type it all out, but it still felt like a pretty legit workout.  I finished in 15:47.

I make the cutest faces, I know.

At the end of last week my car didn't seem to be starting properly, so I drove the truck and Dave replaced my battery.  He took my car to work on Friday just to make sure everything was good and took it to the car wash and vacuumed it out!  I had wiped it down on Thursday before our car seat check, so now it's really sparkling!  I don't know the last time I actually got it washed, so that was a treat.  Then on Saturday we finally cashed in our extremely thoughtful shower gift from Leah, Kimber, and Shayna: a professional house cleaning!  I had never had my house professionally cleaned and it was really great.  We are now considering splurging on it twice a year or so.  The house looked and smelled absolutely amazing when they left!

While the cleaning company was finishing up, I headed out to lunch with Leah, Christine, Jen, and Declan!  We went to Collegeville Italian Bakery and had some super yummy Italian food and some nice girl time.

Afterwards Leah and I hit the thrift store next door and scored some great baby stuff.  The onesies looked brand new.  Baby didn't have any cloth books yet.  The pumpkin socks were 49 cents and will go great with the little Halloween outfit I recently picked up.  I couldn't resist the blanket with little purple hearts on it.  And we could definitely use some pack & play sheets since we now have 3 of them (thanks Paul & Jen)!  I got all this for $20! 

Sunday we went to my parents house for a nice little family get together with tons of delicious food and football on the deck.  The beginning of the week was pretty quiet otherwise.  I spent some time getting my hospital bag together and just relaxing.

This morning I peeled myself out of bed for CrossFit.  The strength was squats so I subbed the jerks from the day before and did 5 sets of 3 at 65#.  The WOD was 60-45-30-15 double unders and 12-9-6-3 snatches.  I subbed 8-6-4-2 calories on the assault bike and did my snatches at 55#.  I really didn't think olympic lifting would still be possible this far along, but my belly isn't a factor and I can somehow still bend low enough to pick up the bar.  I was cycling them in sets of 3 and finished in 8 minutes on the dot.

I also had another OB appointment this afternoon.  My blood pressure was good, my belly measured perfectly, and I am GBS negative, yay!  I went over my birth preferences with my doctor and she was super supportive and said a lot of my preferences were standard practice for my OBs and the hospital.

Other happenings this week:

• We got so many nice gifts!  My aunt Gina gave us an adorable purple flower bath mat to bathe baby in the sink, my aunt Patty sent us a bunch of really nice clothes she picked up at a consignment sale, my father's aunt sent a beautiful handmade quilt, and Dave's coworker gave us the cutest pittie puppy pants!  On top of all that, both Dave's and my coworkers each gave us cards with cash in them!  We are so grateful.
• I just noticed that my feet haven't been aching like they were before.  I suppose it's possible that I'm just on them a lot less these days, but they would start hurting first thing in the morning and I think that's gone.  My back has been pretty achy but nothing too bad.  I can only imagine how I'd be feeling if I wasn't bffs with my awesome chiropractor.
• My boss told me I can work from home starting the week of my due date!  People keep asking me when my last day of work is and my response has been "when my water breaks in my office chair!" lol!  My official maternity leave doesn't begin until I give birth and I don't want to waste any of my vacation time sitting at home without a baby, so I'm planning on working until I go into labor.  I brought up to my boss that I'm limited working from home (CADD doesn't work great with a remote connection) and I could end up being a week late and he just said "you really don't need to be here when your water breaks, priorities!"  I feel super lucky that I work in such a man dominated field but have the most understanding bosses.

I am such a planner and it's quite a weird concept that this crazy life changing event could happen tomorrow or in almost a month from now.  I feel like the baby is still really high and I haven't had any Braxton Hicks contractions, so I'm thinking she's still pretty comfortable in there for now.  We shall see...