34 week Baby Belly Picture

So I have posting a Baby Belly picture every 4 weeks. Here is the picture from this morning, taken at 34 weeks.


For comparison, here are links to 18 weeks, 22 weeks, 26 weeks, and 30 weeks. Hmm, I guess I didn't do a post about a 26 week picture. But I have do have one.

Since I only have 6 weeks to go, that means I will only have one more picture to share with you, the 38 week one. Since I have NO plans to go to 42 weeks!

I think if I have time, I wil try to take a picture right before when I know I am going into labor. That way, I can have a "final" belly picture, whatever week that may be.

Oh, and for those of you who have seen me recently, I know you will agree with me that what clothes I wear make a huge difference in how huge (or not so huge) I look. I try to stick with the slimmer looking clothes. :)

Lewis/34 week appt

Lewis went out of town for work today. He will be back tomorrow evening. It is so strange to be here in the house and not have him here. Granted, I am used to it during the day, but I dread going to bed tonight because he will not be in bed with me. I know it doesn't make sense, because I sleep by myself when I am working, but this just feels weird. I'm glad it's only one night. The other times he has traveled for work, I either work myself, or join him at his destination (especially if it's a fun one, like Las Vegas this past summer!).

I also had another baby appt today. It all went well. BB is growing right on track and everything is normal. BB has been a squirming champ lately. Imagine a fish that is flip-flopping out of the water. This is what BB looks like on occasion in my belly. BB also like to dig in heels, knees, elbows, and fists and grind them into my belly. Does. Not. Feel. Pleasant. :)

I also got to talk to my OB about a birth plan. Basically it is just some requests I have regarding labor and delivery. She was very open to listening to me and didn't think the requests were unreasonable at all. That makes me really happy because I don't want to be seen as a high maintenance patient who is trying to know more than the doctor. I know who the professionals are, and it's not me! And of course, I am willing to scrap my "birth plan" if BB or I are in any danger or distress. I go back in 2 weeks and will have a Group B Strep test. I will be 36 weeks at my next appt. I cannot believe how incredibly close we are getting to BB's arrival!

We attended our last childbirth class last night. What we learned was not Earth shattering, but it was nice to meet some other parents who are expecting and getting to ask questions. I learned some stuff I didn't know, and Lewis, well, he got better at solitaire on his phone. :) Granted, Lewis has a clinical degree, so a lot of it he already knows from his various schooling, but he apparently can multi-task because he did ask some questions that were useful. We will be attending one more class in mid-March that covers breastfeeding (me!) and a Daddy Boot Camp for him.

Oh, and there was a 15 year old high school girl in our childbirth class who is due in 2 weeks. I automatically don't like her for 2 reasons.

1) She has only gained 6 lbs the ENTIRE pregnancy. She announced this wonderful factiod last week. She is teeny tiny and ALL belly. When she said this outloud, all of us old, married mama's-to-be quietly seethed. Or at least I did. :)

2) She is still wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans. AND SHE'S TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM HER DUE DATE! Which does not make me feel any better about some of my MATERNITY jeans already feeling kinda tight.

I'll just stop right there before I get all Judgy McJudgerson. I will just be grateful I have a healthy baby and a wonderful and supportive husband to help me raise it. :)

Baby Brown's Baby Shower

Lewis and I are so blessed with wonderful friends and family who love us and already love BB.

I would like to give a big Thank You to my sisters, April and Karol, and my mom, for planning and executing such a wonderful shower! And thank you to all who attended/thought about us on this special day!

Posted are just a few pictures of items we have received to date. I don't think I have the patience to post every single thing. :) And I'm pretty sure you don't have the patience to see every single thing, either. :)

The cake! Isn't it cute? Karol chose the pattern.

It was one of 3 desserts. We also had chocolate cheesecake, raspberry/vanilla cheesecake, and fruit pizza. Karol makes a mean fruit pizza. :)

The frame my mom put together showing the future daddy and momma, and the only picture we have so far of BB.

My dad bought me a balloon bouquet for the occasion. I loved it!

The dessert/favor table.

I didn't realize until after everyone left that we forgot to give the candy gift favors out!

Lewis and Me with my sister Karol.

She flew in Friday morning. We ran several errands that day and we probably had no less than 5 strangers ask if we were sisters. I guess we look alike. :)

Lewis and I cutting the cake.

Opening gifts.

A family friend has so generously offered to let us use this bassinet for the first few weeks of BB's life. Isn't it the cutest, most adorable thing?!?!?

Side view of adorable bassinet.

The used glider and ottoman we got a FABULOUS deal on!

If I get around to getting a slipcover, great. If not, then oh well.

A swing and bouncer that my friend Stephanie gave us back in January.

The carseat we will be using.

Another generous gift from my friend Stephanie.

I also used some BabiesRUs gift cards to get the stroller frame.

Lewis and I didn't want a huge travel system, so this will work for us until BB no longer uses the infant seat. We will choose a stroller later.

A playmat and other toy, courtesy of my friend Stephanie.

Isn't this the cutest?!?

Our friend Freddie made this and stuffed the can with 4 receiving blankets. The picture does not even do it justice! Freddie is a scrapbooking king so I hope to have him teach me how to scrapbook. I'm not exactly sure what I will put in the can. Someone suggested putting a slit in it and using it as a bank, but I'm open to suggestions if you have any!

And of course, no child of Lewis would be caught without a camoflauge blanket!

Be it boy or girl, camo is unisex in our house!

A few clothing items. They are so teeny and cute!

Duck Pajamas!

I've been told you can never have enough diapers.

My mom had a "diaper drive" at her school for BB.

Yay Grandma Franco!

My favorite bib for BB.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I loved seeing my family and friends and it is such a great feeling to know how much support Lewis and I have bringing Baby Brown into the world.

It is also surreal to think that in about 6 weeks, BB will be here! I can't wait!!!

An eventful week

I am feeling better this week than I was last week, but I'm still not 100%.


We had a small scare on Monday night that resulted in a visit to the OB triage in the Labor and Delivery unit at the hospital. I had done several chores that day and by the time Lewis got home from work, my left side was killing me. I chalked it up to soreness from excessive coughing, but it got to the point where any little touch or pressure on a certain part of my belly resulted in excruciating pain. I had been having Lewis squeeze the sides of my belly together when I coughed to help "keep it in", and it had been helping. But when I asked him to do it that night, I pushed his hand away and started crying because it hurt so bad.


So I called my doctor's office and talked to the answering service and the doctor on call called me back. She gave me the "most helpful advice" by telling me that she couldn't really tell me what it was without examining me. DUH. So she suggested I go to the hospital to get it checked out.


By this point, I did not have the strength to lift myself up off the couch. I had no core muscle strength to pull myself up. And when I finally did it get up, I had to hold the underside of my belly on the left side just so it wouldn't hurt as much.

When we arrived at the hospital they had me put on one of those hideous gown, pee in a cup, and lay on a bed. Then the took my blood pressure and attached 2 monitors to my belly. One was to measure contractions and the other was a fetal heart rate monitor. BB did not like either one squeezing it's already tight quarters. It was squirming like crazy.

We stayed there about 3 hours being monitored and all that came out of it was that the monitor picked up some contractions (which I didn't even feel!), BB was fine, and I had possibly torn an abdominal muscle from all the coughing I had done, which was aggravated by BB's position and my moving around a lot that day.

I was told to take some Tylenol, apply a heating pad if I wanted to, drink lots more water, and to "take it easy" and try not to cough. Trying not to cough is like trying not to breathe. It's hard. But my cough is doing much better, as is the painful spot on my belly. The pain has subsided, but not completely gone. BB has been very good to me lately and has stuck to hanging out on my right side.

We had our normal childbirth class on Tuesday night and we learned some "pain diffusion" techniques. My "pain diffusion" technique will probably be in the form of an epidural. :)

Our baby shower is this Saturday and I am so stoked to see everyone! It is a couple's shower and I am so looking forward to sharing our baby excitement with everyone.

It's the principle of the matter.

The grocery store that I shop at has two spaces available for new moms/expectant moms. I had been avoiding using these spaces because I don't mind walking and figured there was some poor woman who needed them more than I did.

In the last few weeks, if they are available, I use them. More often than not, they are taken when I arrive at the store. Oh well, such is my luck.

Today, as I drove in, both spaces were taken.

"No biggie, I'm thinking, I can park about 3 spaces down. And really, it's not like it's going to kill me to walk 20 extra feet."

But that all changed as I was walking by the parking space and see an obese man get into the car parked in the "mom" parking space. He was alone, so it's not like he was toting small children. And here I am waddling with the BB doing the salsa inside me.

I couldn't help myself and just HAD to say something to him.

Me: Wow, you do realize you are taking away a parking space from someone who may really need it.

Man: Umm, yeah, I guess.

Me: You guess? You're not even pregnant or hauling small kids with you. What about the mom who really needs this parking space?

Man: Oh well.

And he got in his car and left. Granted, he did look a tiny bit sheepish, but seriously, what a lazy mooch.

Toyota vs Honda

Lewis and I spent a lot of this past Saturday at the local Toyota and Honda dealerships. Since it will primarily be my car, I was the one who got to do the test drives. I'm not a car snob AT ALL. So to me, a car is a car is a car. But after driving several cars in the span of a few hours, I could begin to tell a difference in what I was driving.



We know we want a sedan so we didn't look at any SUV's.



We test drove the Toyota line first. We started with the Corolla, which was too small for my taste as soon as I got in it. The Camry was my favorite, because it seemed like it "fit" me. And as soon as stepped into the Avalon, I immediately thought "Granny" car, and nixed it as a possibility. The picture below is the car we would like if we decide to go with a Toyota.









At the Honda dealership, we test drove 2 types of the Accord and one Civic. If we decide to go with Honda, it will be the Accord EX, similar to the one below.

The decision probably won't be made for a few weeks. We still have about 8 weeks until BB arrives and I want to test drive both cars again.

Any comments, suggestions, opinions, etc welcome!

My BB is so strong

If you have any plans to read the Twilight series, don't read any further. And if you go ahead and read, don't say I didn't warn you. Spoiler follows.







Ready?











So in the 4th book of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, Bella and Edward conceive a child. It is half human and half vampire. Bella's pregnancy is fast forwarded due to the aging process genes that the baby is carrying. So the baby grows big really fast and is really strong. Strong enough to break her ribs and leave bruises and cause her lots of pain.

I reference this because even though I know I have a 100% human baby inside me, it feels like the baby is beating me up from the inside out. I know it sounds ludicrious, but there are what look like bruises on my belly, near my belly button, where BB apparently likes to push out its hands, feet, elbows, knees, etc. It is quite incredible to see.

When Lewis got home from work today, I didn't mention a word about it to him. I just lifted my shirt up and asked if he thought my belly looked bruised. And he said yes. I about fainted from having it confirmed by someone else.

I don't know what happened between yesterday and today, but BB seems to have either moved into a position that makes it more cramped, or it has had a sudden growth spurt. It honestly hurts when he/she moves. I can vouch that this kid has sharp BONY joints.

My abs (or what's left of them) are extremely sore as well, from all my coughing. So combined with BB's movement, it feels like my skin is stretched to the point where it will tear.

8 more weeks to go. I'm either going to have mega stretch marks or more bruising, because I know BB is only going to get bigger.

BB loves food

So I haven't been feeling well. And with that, I really don't have much of an appetite.

Last night for dinner I had an apple and a Fiber One Bar with a bottle of water. BB was moving around like a ninja afterwards while we were at our childbirth class. By the time we went to bed, BB had slowed down and I really didn't feel the insane amount of movement that I normally do when I lay down.

I slept so good last night. Thank you Robutussin and Tylenol PM. I only woke up twice, I think. Both times, BB moved, so I knew he/she was okay.

Fast forward to this morning. I didn't get up until almost 10. I was so so so tired from not really getting any rest the last few days. Of course, my first thoughts are about BB and I can only feel a little squirm here and there.

I decide to make pancakes. And of course I eat the first one off the griddle before the others are even done.

Oh My Goodness! The food could not have been in my bloodstream for 2 minutes before BB was having a roller coaster ride in my uterus. I ate two more pancakes and had some OJ and this kid has not stopped!

As I write this, all is back to normal. I have something jabbing me repeatedly in my right rib, probably a foot, and something gnawing at my lower left hip.

Sickness

I very rarely get sick. I may feel a little achy or fatigued once in a while, but it is extremely rare that I get so sick I have to take medicine or visit the doctor or just want to curl up in the fetal postion and stay in bed all day.

I am officially the latter. And it sucks big time.

I came home from work on early Saturday evening. By the time I went to bed on Saturday night, I could feel something coming on. Sunday morning, it had arrived.

Coughing, sore throat, achiness, stuffed sinuses, and oh so tired. I wonder what the BB thinks about all the coughing and sneezing. Everytime I cough, I imagine it being bounced all around.

We still made it to church, and even had lunch with some friends afterwards, but all I could think about was coming home and getting into comfy clothes and sleeping in bed.

Which is exactly what I did. I sent Lewis to Walgreen's, armed with a "safe OTC medicine" list my OB had given me at our initial appointment. Thank goodness for organizational skills because I knew exactly where to find that sheet of paper.

I swallowed like 4 pills and drank some cough medicine and slept. Fitfull sleep, but sleep nonetheless. By the time Lewis came to bed, I felt a little better. I took more meds and prayed I wouldn't be "too fidgety and loud" while he slept beside me.

Needless to say, my sleeping habits haven't been all that great with BB acting like it's trying out for the soccer team. Put my coughing and only two sleeping postions to choose from with that, and it was not a fun night.

I had an OB appt this morning, and it took less than 10 minutes. BB's fundal height is measuring right on track, heartbeat was 145, and it is still headdown. My weight gain was normal. I asked the OB about the meds I was taking for my cold, and she approved, as I knew she would, since they came from her list. She did tell me that it takes longer to recover from a cold while pregnant. Great.

I was supposed to have jury duty tomorrow, but I checked the status tonight and I was excused. Thank goodness, because I have no desire to sit in a courthouse for who knows how long feeling the way I do. We have another childbirth class tomorrow night, and I hope I feel decent enough to sit through it.

We have a few baby related activites planned for this weekend and the next and I really really really hope I feel better sooner than later. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be sick AND have the baby already here.

Most awesome comment

I don't know how I forgot to post about the most awesome comment I got yesterday. I apologize in advance for my French thoughts.

It came from a man who began his morning with us in Providence, RI and drank Jack and Cokes on every leg. He spent almost all our duty day with us (me and my crew) as we flew to Baltimore, Cleveland, and Chicago before finally reaching his destination of St. Louis. To be honest, he looked homeless. And besides his one little comment, he was pretty much harmless.

::imagine me walking down the aisle of the plane::

Man: "Oh, you're having a baby."

Me: "Yep!"

Man: "Do you know who the father is?"

Me: ::::blank stare::::

seconds pass by

Me: :::finally picking my jaw up off the floor:::

what I thought: "You asshole.""

What I said: "My husband."

And I walked off before I could throat punch him.

I can't think of anything else someone could say to me this pregnancy that would shock or anger me more.

:::I so promise and cross my heart that this really really happened:::