Eviction Date?

Two posts in one day? Yep, that's what happens when you post your weekly update before going to your OB appointment.

We had our 38 week OB appointment today, but with Dr. G instead of our normal Dr. L because Dr. L is away on a mission trip in Haiti.

The appointment was perfectly normal until Dr. G asked if we had an induction plan yet. We told her we did not which surprised her. Apparently it's "normal" for patients to have an induction plan set by now, especially if the mother has gestational diabetes, which I do.

While we had a quick ultrasound to make sure Breadcrumb was doing ok, Dr. G consulted Dr. L's schedule for next week and landed on a possible induction date of next Monday, August 4.

I say possible because things could go one of three ways:

1. Dr. L comes back into town on Friday, reviews everything and decides an induction is not needed yet. Calls us to cancel the induction, but we have our normal appointment on Monday.

2. We go into our appointment Monday, Dr. L decides that my cervix needs some more "ripening," and we'll come back to Labor and Delivery that afternoon to have a balloon inserted. Induction will probably happen Tuesday morning.

3. We go into our appointment Monday, Dr. L decides that my cervix is favorable for labor and we'll go straight over to Labor and Delivery to (most likely) start Pitocin.

Keegan and I were very taken aback that induction was suddenly on the table. Dr. L has always been open to us letting Breadcrumb bake as long as he wanted and for things to go as naturally as possible (unless there was a medical emergency, of course.) Dr. L had mentioned in the past that we could induce whenever we wanted once we hit 37 weeks, but was always supportive in our decision not to.

We're not sure if an induction plan is one that all doctors do at this practice, and something we would have talked about during this appointment if it had been with Dr. L, or something Dr. G does with her patients. With Dr. L being in Haiti until Friday, we're unable to talk to her until (most likely) Monday at the earliest.

I think we're both excited and scared at the same time. Excited that we finally have a plan and a date that allows us to finalize things at work, around the house, and for scheduling family to come down. Scared because we were both interested in having as natural a labor as possible and we've both heard stories of how one medical intervention (such as the use of Pitocin,) causes another (like an epidural,) which stalls labor and ends in a c-section.

The entire pregnancy, I've told myself that Breadcrumb has to come out one way or another, and while I'd like to have a natural delivery, I won't be heartbroken if it turns out I need a c-section. However, I will be slightly disappointed if I end up having a c-section due to an induction that I'm not 100% convinced is necessary.

Dr. L knows of our wishes of a natural delivery so I'm eager to hear what she has to say on Monday. If she does decide to induce on Monday, I'm going to ask for the least amount of intervention as possible, such as her breaking my water. If Pitocin must be used, I'm going to ask for the smallest amount, and once things start, if my body seems to be continuing on its own, that I'm taken off of it. We've alerted both sets of our parents, and we'll tell our bosses tomorrow just so everyone is up to date on the news in case the induction happens on Monday.

All of this is contingent on Breadcrumb deciding not to make his entrance this week. I am 2.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced, so there's a chance he could decide to come on his own. I asked Dr. G what we could do at home to get things started and she suggested sex and lots of walking.

What's so funny about the whole situation is Keegan's cousin, who's pregnant with twins and due on my due date of August 10, is having her c-section on August 4 as well. We just can't seem to untangle our pregnancies! August 4 is also our anniversary, and I've had a nagging thought throughout the pregnancy that Breadcrumb would come on, or around our anniversary. We'll see what happens!

Breadcrumb Weeks 37 and 38

How far along: 38 weeks! 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 21 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight as of 7/22. I actually lost a pound since my 36 week update.  

Symptoms:

• exhaustion 
• loss of sex drive
• getting winded easier
• super vibrant dreams  
• heartburn / acid reflux - Every. Single. Night. I made the mistake of not taking a heartburn pill before I sleep a few nights this week and I woke up with a mouth full of stomach acid. Now, I take one every night, even if I don't have heartburn at the time. 
• I've officially had to go up a size in underwear. 
• Gestational Diabetes 
• General aches and pains. Hello third trimester! 
• Increased discharge
• Charlie Horse cramps
• Two weeks of contractions after a bout that sent us to the hospital. 
• This weekend, my fingers got so swollen that I had to take my rings off. I've been putting them back on when we go out in public, but they're off whenever we're at home. 

Maternity clothes: My shirts are so short that they're showing the stretchy part of my pants. I don't even care anymore. 

Stretch marks: I don't think the number on the underside of my belly is increasing, but they're getting darker and longer. I've also noticed a few baby ones on my sides now that my belly has dropped. 

Sleep: I'm in love with my pregnancy pillow. I may not give it up after baby comes. 

Best moment last week(s): After a preterm labor scare, we officially made it to full term, and then to 38 weeks! While physically, I'd much rather him come sooner than later, I know that every day he continues to cook is better for him. 

Also, my dad had his knee replacement surgery and is now able to travel whenever Breadcrumb decides to make his debut. 

Movement: He gave me a scare this weekend when he decided not to move for about 36 hours. Finally after eating lunch, a bowl of grapes, and sucking on a Jolly Rancher, I got him to move. 

Still feeling lots of hiccups low down and sweeps across my stomach. 

Food cravings: Water, I can't get enough! I'm also loving fresh fruit, especially grilled pineapple and peaches. 

Gender: Our little man!

Labor signs: As of 7/22, I was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Breadcrumb has also dropped and I'm having contractions about ever 5-10 minutes. 

Belly button? It's almost completely flat!  

What I miss: I want a fountain Coke, alfredo, and a chocolate cupcake after delivery.    

What I am looking forward to: Our little man getting here! As everyone has been saying, it could be any day now! 

Baby Buys: Nothing these last two weeks. For my birthday, my coworkers gave me a $100 gift card to Babies R Us so we can pick up anything we need after his arrival. 

Milestones: We hit full term, and then 38 weeks!

He feels like he's dropped much lower than what this picture shows! 

Breadcrumb's Nursery

When we found out that we were expecting a little boy, I knew right away that we would be doing a car theme for the nursery. We wanted something that baby boy could grow into, so we did a mix of classic car decorations with some Corvette specific things thrown in. 

You can click on any of the pictures to make them larger.

Panorama of the nursery

To the right of the door is the closet, rocking chair and window. I have a mesh bag hanging on the closet for tiny baby socks and mittens so (hopefully) they don't get eaten by the laundry gnomes. 

Inside the closet, we have all of his onesies hanging as well as a hanging closet organizer that has his pants and pajamas folded by size. Before anyone gives me grief about there being so many clothes, those are all of his clothes that we have from newborn to 2 years. 

Up top, we have things stored that we won't need until he's bigger like the Bumbo, and a cart cover. 

In the corner next to the closet is a recliner that we picked up from a local furniture store that was going out of business. We got a huge deal on it, and it'll match the rest of our furniture in our living room once we're done with it in the nursery.

Over the recliner is a baby blanket that one of our good friends knitted (crocheted?) for us. As you all know, baby boy's nickname is Breadcrumb, so our friend made us a blanket to look like a piece of toasted bread with butter on it. 

The two Corvette signs above the chair are from Hobby Lobby.

To the right of the recliner is a nightstand and clock that we picked up from Hobby Lobby, both on super sale, and Breadcrumb's bookshelf. I had that bookshelf in college but it was an ugly olive green color that didn't go with the nursery, so Keegan spray painted it a deep rust red. On top of the nightstand is a lamp we got from a consignment event for $3 and a picture Keegan took at a car show. 

Inside the night stand is a bunch of burp cloths, and random toys. I figure with time, I'll keep my pump and other breastfeeding items in the drawers since I'm hoping to spend most of my breastfeeding time in the comfy recliner. 

The bookshelf is filled with books that our friends and families gave us. For our Missouri baby shower, we asked that everyone bring their favorite children's book, instead of a card. We got a lot of the "usual" children's books, like Dr. Seuss, but we also got many that I had never heard of before!

Next to the bookshelf is the changing area. The dresser is the Kalani Combo Dresser by DaVinci in espresso which we purchased from Diapers.com. 

We purchased the map from Hobby Lobby (and yes, we realize it doesn't have Alaska or Hawaii,) the shelves from Target and the wire hanging system from Ikea. 

The shelf on the left has a a stop sign made by my sister from our baby shower, a bunny that Keegan and I made at Build A Bear when we found out we were expecting, an alligator stuffed toy that we got from Keegan's boss, an orange plastic car toy that Keegan had when he was a baby, four red Matchbox cars from the baby shower, and a canvas that my sister made. Each little blue circle has words of wisdom for Breadcrum from our friends and families. 

The shelf on the right has a bunch of Matchbox cars from the movie Cars. Keegan loves Pixar movies and Cars is one of his favorites, so we've been slowly collecting the figurines. There's also a trophy Keegan won at a car show. 

Below the shelves are cards from friends and family, but we'll eventually switch those out for pictures of Breadcrumb and his artwork later on down the line. 

Next to the dresser is our diaper pail for our cloth diapers. 

The top drawer of the dresser has his newborn diapers, both all in ones, as well as covers and prefolds. 

The second drawer has larger diapers and extra inserts. 

The bottom drawer has blankets, sleep sacks and swaddles. 

The little drawer at the top holds an organizer with his socks and shoes, pacifiers, hats and random other bits. 

The last thing in the nursery is the crib. We purchased the Parker 4-in-1 Convertible Crib by DaVinci in coffee also from Diapers.com. Currently there's nothing in the trundle part under the crib, but I am envisioning putting toys there when Breadcrumb gets older. 

Above the crib is a banner my sister made for our baby shower that says "It's A Boy." I'm contemplating putting his name above his crib eventually, but we haven't decided on a name yet. 

On the edges of the crib is a plane puppet that Keegan had as a child (why a plane needs hands, we're not sure,) and a stuffed Mater from Cars. Inside is a teddy bear my mom made for Breadcrumb at Build A Bear when she was down during the 4th of July weekend. The bear is currently dressed in a hoodie and pants that has my college mascot. 

The last, and maybe the most special thing, in the nursery is the blanket that Keegan's mom surprised us with at the shower. My mom doesn't sew or knit, so I was secretly hoping that Keegan's mom would make something for Breadcrumb, even though she hasn't made anything in years. It has squares of fabric from all of Keegan's favorite Pixar and Disney movies, and is really soft and plush. Technically it is supposed to be a play mat, not a quilt, but I love having it in the nursery until Breadcrumb is ready to play on it. 

That's pretty much it! If you have any questions about where we found any of the items in the nursery, feel free to ask. 

Unexpected Trip to Labor and Delivery

I was thisclose to not having to make an emergency trip to Labor and Delivery during this pregnancy, but apparently Breadcrumb had other ideas.

Monday afternoon, around 2, I started having noticeable contractions. They weren't exceptionally painful, I could walk and talk through them, but they were annoying enough that they had a definite stop and start and I could time them. They were coming anywhere from 3-5 minutes and lasted around 45 seconds. I chalked them up to third trimester irritation, but decided to text Keegan anyways to let him know. He suggested that I continue to time them to see if they would increase.

We eventually made it home after work where I parked myself on the couch for the evening. The contractions were still coming every 3-5 minutes, but were lasting between 1 and 1.5 minutes. I tweeted about what was going on, and everyone suggested that I call my OB/the ER. Keegan and I discussed it, but ultimately decided not to because it just didn't feel like it was time. The contractions weren't getting closer together or more intense like I expected them to when I was in full labor, so we decided to try and get some sleep. I was also scared to be that pregnant lady who came in thinking she was in labor when she wasn't.

I continued having contractions throughout the night, but I was able to sleep through the some of them. When Keegan woke up for work Tuesday morning, he asked if he should get ready for work or get ready to go to the hospital. I still didn't feel like I was in full blown labor, but everyone says that you should go to the hospital when you're having contractions that follow the 5-1-1 pattern (5 minutes apart, last for more than 1 minute for more than 1 hour.) Since they had been following that pattern for over 12 hours, I figured it was safe to go in to get checked just in case.

We loaded everything in the car and made our way to the hospital. It was early, around 7 am, and the ER was completely empty. I'm pretty sure the two ER nurses who took down my information didn't think I was in labor because of how easy I was able to talk and walk, but they took me back anyways. It was strange being wheeled to Labor and Delivery in a wheelchair when I felt like I could walk by myself, but I figured it was protocol, so I let them wheel me around.

When we got to L&D, I was told to put on a gown and lie on the bed so they could monitor me. I told my nurse, Chelsea, that I wasn't sure if I was in labor because the contractions hadn't increased in frequency or pain, and she agreed that many ladies get periods of contractions in the third trimester that don't really do anything. She manually checked me and I was still 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced like I was at my appointment on the 9th.

I got two monitors strapped to my belly, one to monitor Breadcrumb's heartbeat, and the other to monitor my contractions. Right away, we could see that I was having contractions which made me feel better (I was seriously worried that I was a crazy pregnant lady who didn't know what a true contraction felt like!) Breadcrumb's heart would increase like it should whenever I would have a contraction, and the monitor was saying they were coming approximately every 5 minutes. Chelsea called my OB, Dr. L, to come and check me, and I hung out on the monitors until she came.

Dr. L came in and right away scolded me for not calling into the OB's office first. Apparently she would have rather me come in to get checked at the office instead of heading straight to the ER, but since she had never told us that before, we didn't know. Dr. L checked me again and said that I was the same, and she didn't think I was in labor, but she would let me hang out for a few hours to see if anything changed.

We hung out until around 11ish when Chelsea came in to check me again. I hadn't progressed any, so it was decided that I would be discharged. Things then got busy around L&D, and we heard a mother next door give birth. Hearing the baby's first cry was an amazing experience and I can't wait until we get to hear our son's! Anyways, during this time, my contractions started increasing in frequency and pain. I started not wanting to talk through them and had to close my eyes to focus on my breathing. Keegan was very interested in the graph that was tracking my contractions and he noticed that the peak of each contraction was "over the half way mark" when they were barely hitting the quarter mark when we first walked in. A few even hit the top of the graph. My stomach would tighten so much with each contraction that the monitors would become loose and you could see my hospital gown move.

Around 1, Dr. L came in and said that they had noticed my contractions were increasing, so they were worried I was actually going into full blown labor. I was only 36 weeks, 1 day at the time, so if they could, they wanted to stop labor since we hadn't hit full term yet. I was told that if Breadcrumb was born that day, he would be considered a preemie, and while 90% of babies that are born at this time have no problems at all, there is the 10% that have trouble breathing and keeping their sugars up. Dr. L suggested giving me fluids through an IV just in case the contractions were being brought on by dehydration as well as a shot of a pain medication with the thought that if we could get my body to relax through the contractions, they would slow down and hopefully stop.

We agreed to this plan and I got my IV. I had never had one before, and apparently my veins on my hands aren't as easy to access as the ones on my arms, so Chelsea had to do a bit of digging around which wasn't fun when I was having a contraction. Eventually the IV went in, we started the fluids, and I got the pain medications. Chelsea warned me that they would make me loopy and sleepy, but I didn't expect to feel like I did.

I would focus on one spot on the ceiling, but everything else around me would continue moving. I also logically knew that my motions and thoughts were delayed, and tried to overcome that, but I could tell when I would speak to Keegan that my words were slurred and slow. I would involuntarily fall asleep, and then startle myself awake every few seconds. Let's just say that I hope I never have to have that drug again!

The pain medications did help mask the pain of the contractions, but it didn't help with my back pain (which I think was caused by lying in the hard hospital bed all day.) I could still feel my stomach tighten with each contraction, but they seemed to be less frequent which Keegan confirmed through the monitor.

Eventually, around 5:30, Dr. L came back and checked me. I still hadn't progressed any, so she agreed to let me go home and rest. She requested that I take the next day off work (Wednesday,) and that I decrease my hours at work if possible.

The contractions died down for about 12 hours until they came back yesterday morning. They're still 5-10 minutes apart and are small enough that I can talk and walk through them again. I've noticed that getting up and doing things make them come on more frequently, so I spent yesterday on the couch or in bed. I'm at work today (and probably tomorrow) so that I can finish up some last minute things, but starting next week, I'm going to be doing half days, or coming in every other day, whichever works best for my body. Thankfully my boss is super flexible and said I can do whatever I need to so that Breadcrumb can continue cooking.

I also think that I lost part of my mucous plug yesterday. Keegan wondered if it was just discharge from all of the lube that was used when I got checked so many times on Tuesday, but I've never seen lube look so much like what I blow out of my nose during a cold (sexy, right?)

I turn 37 weeks on Sunday which would make me full term and it safe (well, safer,) for Breadcrumb to come. I have an appointment and ultrasound on Tuesday to see if I've progressed any and to check Breadcrumb's size. It's really all a wait and see game now, but I'm pretty sure we'll be having a July baby.

Even though I felt stupid for coming into Labor and Delivery at the beginning of the day, I'm ultimately happy that I did. If I hadn't, there is the chance that I would have gone into full labor and delivered early. It also gave us a chance to have a run through of how the big day will work and what we should/shouldn't bring with us. Let's just say that we're planning on stocking up on snacks because hospital food is horrible, especially when your doctor puts you on the diabetic's diet.

Breadcrumb Week 36

How far along: 36 weeks! 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 22 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight as of 7/9 

Symptoms:

• food aversions, but those have gotten less severe as the pregnancy has progressed. Still not the biggest fan of meat, but I'll eat chicken and beef pretty regularly. 
• tiredness exhaustion 
• loss of sex drive
• getting winded easier
• super vibrant dreams  
• heartburn / acid reflux - This used to occur only at night, but it's been bothering me throughout the day as well now. 
• I've officially had to go up a size in underwear. 
• Gestational Diabetes 
• General aches and pains. Hello third trimester! 
• Increased discharge
• Charlie Horse cramps

Maternity clothes: I have two shirts that don't show the stretchy part of my pants. I'm honestly past the point of caring and don't want to buy larger shirts for the few weeks (or days!) I have left.  

Stretch marks: Still only have a handful on the underside of my belly. Interested to see if I get anymore after delivery.  

Sleep: I have to have my pregnancy pillow. We tried another night without it so we could cuddle and I slept horribly. Most nights I'm up anywhere between 2 and 8 times to pee and reposition myself. 

Best moment last week: We found out at our OB appointment that I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. We realize this could mean things are happening, or it could mean things won't happen for weeks, so we're trying not to be too excited about it. To be honest, I was just happy to hear that we made it 1/5 through the dilation process with little pain! 

We also had our last baby shower that was put on by my coworkers. It was small, but a lot of fun! 

Movement: Feeling hiccups in my pubic bone every day and large sweeps across my stomach. Also can feel hard lumps with are a back or bum. 

Food cravings: Water. I can't get enough! 

Gender: Our little man!

Labor signs: So much pressure! I feel like my pelvis is going to split in half and I can't bend over anymore due to how low Breadcrumb's head is. Also, 2 cm dilated 50% effaced as of 7/9. 

Belly button? The top half of my belly button is totally flat, but the bottom half still has a bit to go. I can see my belly button totally flattening out by the end of pregnancy, not sure if I'll have an outie. 

What I miss: I want a fountain Coke, alfredo, and a chocolate cupcake after delivery.    

What I am looking forward to: Our appointment on 7/15. I'm hoping to hear that I've progressed some more!

Baby Buys: Purchased our last big item, our pack 'n play, as well as an extra car seat base for Keegan's car. We also purchased a few nursing bras and tanks for our hospital bag. 

Milestones: We hit 36 weeks which means only a few more days until we're full term! 

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I spent a lot of this weekend trying to get things finished up. Our hospital bags are mostly packed and the car seat is installed. I've given up on trying to complete the nursery, I figure that'll be a fluid thing that'll change as baby's needs change, so it's not going to be perfect. The only thing that I feel needs to be finished is cleaning the house. It's not "messy" exactly, but my mother, at the very least, will be staying with us for up to a week after baby is born, so I'd like things to be a bit cleaner (you know, vacuum up the fur balls and such.) I know she won't judge me for having a messy house, it's just a pride thing, I guess. 

Breadcrumb Week 35

How far along: 35 weeks! 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 21 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight as of 7/3 

Symptoms:

• food aversions, but those have gotten less severe as the pregnancy has progressed. Still not the biggest fan of meat, but I'll eat chicken and beef pretty regularly. 
• tiredness exhaustion 
• loss of sex drive
• constipation
• getting winded easier
• super vibrant dreams  
• heartburn / acid reflux - This used to occur only at night, but it's been bothering me throughout the day as well now. 
• I've officially had to go up a size in underwear. 
• Gravity is my enemy - getting up from sitting to standing is painful and trying to roll over / get out of bed is an Olympic event.
• I'm starting to realize what my limits are. I can run one or two errands, but I tire out pretty fast. 
• Gestational Diabetes 
• General aches and pains. Hello third trimester! 
• Increased discharge
• Charlie Horse cramps

Maternity clothes: All day, every day. I keep saying I need to find bigger shirts since most of mine are too short now, but I feel silly buying more clothes with only a few weeks left. 

Stretch marks: Yep, I've got 'em. Thankfully the few that I have are all on the underside of my belly and so far haven't gotten darker or multiplied yet.  

Sleep: I have my good nights and my bad nights. I realized this weekend that I've been relying on my pregnancy pillow more than I thought. K wanted to take it away for a night so we could cuddle and I slept horribly. I still get my best sleep between 5-8 am when I have the entire bed to myself. 

Best moment last week: My family came down for the 4th of July weekend. Living so far away from my family, I haven't had the opportunity to really sit down and show them what we've accomplished with getting ready for baby. I finally got to show off the nursery (which they loved,) and everyone oo'd and ahh'd over the tiny baby things. My mom expressed interest in washing all of the tiny baby clothes, so I saved them all for her. We washed, sorted and hung them all while talking about pregnancy and raising a child, something I haven't been able to do yet! I miss living near my mom all the time, but especially during big events like our wedding and this pregnancy. My parents are going to be wonderful grandparents and my sister is going to be an amazing aunt. Breadcrumb is so lucky! 

My mom, sister and I also went to pick up some last minute baby items. We finally settled on a crib mattress and picked up things like a breastfeeding pillow and washcloths. We're pretty much ready for Breadcrumb to come whenever he wants to! 

Movement: Movements are still big sweeps of a leg or arm across my stomach. I can also feel the hardness of his butt or back on my right side. I can feel hiccups in my pubic bone or right hip every day.

Food cravings: Water. I can't get enough! 

Gender: Our little man!

Labor signs: I've been feeling a lot of pressure "down low" as well as a general soreness in the belly region. Contractions are occurring more often, but no real pattern to them. 

Belly button? The top half of my belly button is totally flat, but the bottom half still has a bit to go. I can see my belly button totally flattening out by the end of pregnancy, not sure if I'll have an outie. 

What I miss: I want a fountain Coke, alfredo, and a chocolate cupcake after delivery.    

What I am looking forward to: I've started weekly appointments, and my next one is on Wednesday, 7/9. We also have a baby shower thrown by my coworkers on 7/12. 

Baby Buys: My mom, sister and I went shopping for some last minute things. We picked up a crib mattress, breastfeeding pillow, baby bath tub, and little things like breast pads, washcloths, breast milk storage bags, and more. Just the small things that no one has gifted us yet that we needed. 

Milestones: We hit 35 weeks which means just 35 (well technically 34 at point of publishing) days until the due date! Of course, he could come any day now, but it's strange to think we have just over a month until the due date! 

We also installed the car seat in my car. I told my mom it feels like a bigger milestone than getting the crib because it's an outwards sign that we're having a baby. People will see the car seat and expect to see a baby soon. We've had the crib for months, but it hasn't felt like such a big deal because only K and I have seen it. 

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We had an ultrasound and appointment on 7/3 to check on Breadcrumb's size and how he's doing. We found out he's already 5 pounds, 9 ounces! (the pregnancy websites estimate babies around 4 3/4 pounds by week 34, and about 5 1/4 by week 35.) My doctor was surprised by his weight, but didn't say anything about it being a complication or due to the gestational diabetes. She wants me to start coming in weekly (which I believe my clinic does by week 36 anyways,) to monitor Breadcrumb's weight. K and I know that ultrasounds are used just to guesstimate the size of a baby, so we're not too worried about things right now, but I am happy for the close monitoring, just in case. 

Things are getting super squished in there, so we didn't get any good pictures, but the ultrasound tech did point out that he already has hair! We also got to see his little chest rise and fall while he practiced breathing. 

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Lately, I've been feeling somewhat stressed about the fact that Breadcrumb could really come any day now. While I know *logically* that all a baby needs is food, something to keep him warm, somewhere to sleep, and his parent's love, and I know *logically* that we have everything we really "need" for when he comes home, I'm still worried that we don't have everything. We have diapers (both cloth and a small pack of disposables for when he first comes home,) we have tiny clothes that might actually be too small for him! We have a car seat, and hopefully I'll be able to breastfeed, but we also have a small thing of formula that was randomly sent to us, just in case. We have all the necessities, but I'm still worried. I think it's a mix of first time mom worries and a bit of allowing myself to buy into the idea that babies need so much. 

It also doesn't help that the nursery is still not 100% put together. Again, we have all the big items, but it's not organized well. I also haven't fully packed our bags which makes me nervous. I know that if I just sit down and do these things, I'll feel so much better, but part of me is also afraid of packing the "wrong" things. Again, I know logically that once I'm pushing the baby out, what I brought / didn't bring won't matter, but it's that new mom worry! 

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Our friends had their twin baby girls on the 4th of July! The mom had to be admitted to the hospital after the babies' growth had slowed down and she had protein in her urine. She was almost 36 weeks which is amazing for twins and the twins came out at 6 and 5 pounds (I don't remember how many ounces.) They went through IVF and I told her that I couldn't imagine a more perfect birthday for the girls as the 4th of July. Your birthday doesn't get much more special than fireworks!  

It really solidified the idea that Breadcrumb could come at any moment. I know that twins (usually) come weeks before their due dates, but if forced me to see how close to our due date we really are!

Keegan and I also had some fun with sparklers this weekend

I wanted to write Breadcrumb's name, but we haven't decided on it yet... He may be nameless coming home from the hospital!

Breadcrumb Week 34

This post is a few days late, but better late than never, right? 

How far along: 34 weeks!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 19 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight as of 6/23 

Symptoms:

• food aversions, specifically protein - I can eat beef and chicken if Keegan throws it on the BBQ
• tiredness exhaustion 
• loss of sex drive
• constipation
• getting winded easier
• super vibrant dreams  
• heartburn / acid reflux  
• round ligament pains
• fast heart rate
• Swelling - I have my good and bad days with this
• Braxton Hicks
• I've officially had to go up a size in underwear. 
• Gravity is my enemy - getting up from sitting to standing is painful and trying to roll over / get out of bed is an Olympic event.
• I'm starting to realize what my limits are. I can run one or two errands, but I tire out pretty fast. 
• Gestational Diabetes 
• General aches and pains. Hello third trimester! 
• Increased discharge
• Charlie Horse cramps
• I've noticed lately that my fingers are really stiff. They don't seem to be too swollen, so I'm afraid it's the start of pregnancy caused carpel tunnel. If so, I may have to talk to my boss about taking work off since most of the day I'm sitting and typing! 

Maternity clothes: All day, every day. 

Stretch marks: Yep, I've got 'em. 

Sleep: I have my good nights and my bad nights. Lately Mika, one of our cats, has been determined to scale the curtains on my side of the room, so that's waking me up. I'm also up every hour to pee (or at least it seems that way.) I still get my best sleep between 5-8 am when I have the entire bed to myself. 

Best moment last week: We had a baby shower thrown by Keegan's coworker. It was small, only about 8 people showed up, but it was wonderful. Lots of good food, good friends and just some time to sit and relax with people I don't get to see very often. 

Movement: Movements have started to hurt! My stomach is already so stretched out that whenever he rolls, or sweeps an elbow/knee across it, it can become painful. 

Food cravings: Water. I can't get enough! 

Gender: Our little man!

Labor signs: I've been feeling a lot of pressure "down low" as well as a general soreness in the belly region. Contractions are occurring more often, but no real pattern to them. 

Belly button? The top half of my belly button is totally flat, but the bottom half still has a bit to go before it's an outie.    

What I miss: I want a fountain Coke, alfredo, and a chocolate cupcake after delivery.    

What I am looking forward to: My family is coming down this weekend! My mom, sister and I are going to go through everything we have purchased so far, and then go shopping for anything else we need. We also have a baby shower thrown by my coworkers on 7/12. 

Baby Buys: None this week. Waiting until my family gets here to make the last minute purchases. 

Milestones: We had our last childbirth class. The class was wonderful and I'm so happy we decided to take it. We'll be keeping in touch with the lady who taught the class, she's become one of our biggest supporters throughout this pregnancy.