36 Weeks and Counting

Tuesday was 36 weeks. Today is Friday, and next week is my last week of work! This baby is certainly preparing for birth. Shes been extremely active (more than normal, if I would have believed that to be possible), moving a little lower too, and Ive been getting some back laborish type pains and some cramping. I have also been exhausted and have been trying to get naps in every day. My heartburn and reflux has been TERRIBLE. Im already taking max dose of my Zantac, and on top of that have to take up to 10 tums a day. That's just the meds. The usual food triggers are off, and I have to be especially diligent in the afternoons and evenings. No spicy food, no fatty food, (pretty much stick to complex carbs and veggies) have to eat small amounts, make sure to chew thoroughly and slowly, and I can't eat too late in the afternoon. Also no large amounts of fluids with eating. Then of course Im sleeping with my wedge pillow too. So ALL that stuff has to be perfect and spot on and then I have an ok night... if I mess up ONE of those things, then suddenly I have a night from hell with super bad heartburn all night, my stomach contents coming up on me, I choke on them or a few times its been so bad I throw up even.

Its a great way to diet though! lol. I havent gained any weight for the last 4 weeks or so. I'm holding steady at 170 lbs, which is 25 lbs in this pregnancy. I did start this pregnancy 5 lbs heavier than last time though. But I also ended up at 175 with the last pregnancy. So all in all I have gained less and am topping out at a lower weight.

I have been trying to take it easy since I can tell I need to (dont want to push things here - Abby still isnt full term until Tuesday) and its really hard for me to just sit back and let things go or ask Ryan to do them instead. And its hard not to do as much with Rory - she doesn't quite understand that I cant pick her up and play with her as much because I'm physically limited.

Things are in pretty good order - the house is clean, we've cleaned all the newborn clothes, mostly packed the hospital bag (except for the last min items that we use every day around the house anyway) and we have put the carseat in the car.

On Tuesday I also started using my vag-stretcher (the Epi-No). I started at about 7 cm and have gotten to 8 cm in these 3 days. Goal is to get to a little more than 10 by the time I go into labor.

Rory is just adorable these days. She has such a beautiful personality! She fills our days with laughter and joy. She is ecstatic to have a baby sister, and Abby isnt even here yet! When she does get here Rory is just going to be overcome I'm sure. She has such a maternal instinct and LOVES babies so much. I'm really looking forward to seeing her with her sister.

Her speech is also moving along so rapidly its mind boggling. Every time she communicates a 3 word sentence to you its like "really? did you just say that to me???" I keep wanting to get it on video and get more pictures of her but shes in this stage right now where she doesnt want you to take any pics/video of her. Maybe after Abby is here she'll be ok with it again.

Anyway, thats about it for us. Im SUPER stoked - tomorrow I have my maternity shoot with my friend Becky Hill. I first met her when we went to the same baby prep class last time around and she does photography now. Stay posted!

Stick a Fork in Me... I'm Done.

However, the baby is not, so I must endure for another 3-6 weeks (or longer if Abby has a sick sense of humor.)

So this last week I finally got to THAT point. You know, the one were you get so uncomfortable that no position doesn't hurt or strain something. The one where if you get a 3 hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep (due to the baby on the bladder or the cheeseburger you ate at 3pm that still has not digested yet) each night you thank your lucky stars. The one where you know that the baby still needs some baking time in the oven, but you really just don't care and would give your right arm to get that kid out. It came on pretty suddenly. I was feeling "pretty good" until last week. I guess Abby went through a little growth spurt because I can't breathe, am getting rib aches, and don't even get me started on my reflux. Suffice to say that besides my two times a day Zantac, I'm supplementing with up to 10 tums a day, and after a few really bad nights of reflux, will from here on out need to be done eating dinner by ~5pm, and stick to low-fat, non-spicy, basic foods that dont take a long time to digest. At least its just for the next month or two... TILL I GET THIS KID OUTTA ME!!!! lol

I've also hit the upper end of my weight. Im up to ~170 now and I would like to stay there, but for sure not go any higher than the ~175 between now and when I deliver. No reason for me to go over what I gained in my last pregnancy, especially since I didn't make my goal of gaining less than the first time.

Tomorrow I'll be 34 weeks pregnant, and I really don't think that I'll go late. In fact I think there is a chance Abby might come earlier than Aurora did, but we will see what she decides. (Based on my body and the last time, Im guessing she'll come 2-3 weeks early). My temp at work started today and she's really sweet. I think the office will be in good hands while I am gone.

Memorial Day weekend was really great. We did a good job of planning and packing, and had a great time. Sat night it rained on us and didn't clear up so well, so we decided to head back into Fresno and spend that last night with the Schott's which was the best thing ever! As Ryan said when Laura and I proposed it to him and Marshall, "what's the downside here?" We got out of the rain and weather, got showers, the kids got to run around and play, we already had our food ready to go from camping, and Ryan got to see Marshall's home brew set up. With the car already packed up we were able to get on the road early and get a great head start and got home to SD by 1:30pm on Monday. Then Cheryl picked Aurora up to go up to the Cross's leaving Ryan and I some free time alone to unpack and get everything cleaned up!

Lucky too, because on Tuesday we had a stroke of really bad luck - Some old lady thought she had a green and turned RIGHT IN FRONT of Ryan who was going straight down Clairemont Mesa Blvd at Ruffin on his way home. He didn't even have time to react and T-boned her at ~40mph. Both cars un-drivable and she was taken away in an ambulance for minor injures. Ryan was ok but I made him go in to get checked out that night (xrays came back fine) and he's just really sore now. So we are down to one car until we get this whole thing figured out. We are pretty sure they will find she was totally at fault, as he had the green light, and it was still green when he got out of the car at the scene, and he has a few witnesses who saw the whole thing, and the police came out and did a report, but you never know! So NOT what we need right now with everything else going on!

Aurora has been a pain in the ass lately too. Sooo opinionated and stubborn. Im hoping it has to do with her schedule - we have had so much going on (Memorial Day Weekend, the accident, events for Blake & Alyssa's wedding) that her schedule has been thrown off, so hopefully its just related to that and once we get back on track it will be better. Im also hoping that she will enjoy the time off with mom and the new baby and not be upset and have jealousy issues. But we will have to see how that goes too...