37 weeks

Today I have officially made it to full term.  That means Baby Crum could decide to make his/her debut at anytime.  Unfortunately (for my swollen ankles and numb hands), most 1st babies go past their due date, not before. BUT my appointment went really well today - I've made more progress since last week - and Dr. D said that I am favorable for a selective induction if Pat and I decide that's the way we want to go.  She won't do it until late in my 39th week, but it's an option if Baby Crum has decided to make my body it's permanent home and I just can't take the discomfort anymore.
I've heard lots of horror stories about inductions, and only a few positive ones, so I'm really hoping that our little decides to come on his/her own before the official due date so that I'm not tempted by the induction. I have to admit, knowing a specific end date - knowing that the swelling, back aches, numbness, etc. will come to an end has me toying with the idea...but I want to make sure that baby is fully developed and ready to come.....it's a tough decision to make.
Anyway, only 4 more days of work and then I can relax and spend all day long over analyzing every twinge and pain and trying to decide if I'm in labor.  During spring break week I plan on trying to walk a lot to help move things along. The only problem is, I can only make it about 7 or 8 houses down the block before I have to turn around to make it home to use the bathroom! I don't know how much progress I can make with only walking a few houses down, but if I do it a few times a day, maybe it will help!

And no, I don't have a mammoth baby in there. I remembered to ask today, and she said baby is only 6ish pounds now and she's estimating that he/she will be around 7 1/2 to 7lb 12 oz. when born. We'll see how accurate she is! :-)

36 Weeks

I had my 36 week dr. apt. yesterday and everything went well. Dr. D. is pleased with how things are going and is predicting that Baby Crum will make his/her appearance the week of April 12th.  This was the start of my weekly dr. apt's, so I'll get to see her every Monday until the baby is born - nothing more that I love than spending at least an hour a week sitting in a waiting room! ;-) 

According to the baby book, our little one is weighing close to 6 1/2 lbs right now. I meant to ask Dr. D. what her estimate of our baby was, but I forgot to ask once I was in there. I'll have to remember to do it next week. I have instituted a new rule in our house in honor of my new size and difficulty moving - if something falls on the floor and can't be picked up by my toes, it stays on the floor until Pat gets it or a dog chews it up! It's just waaay to hard to bend down anymore!

I had my work baby shower today and it was soo nice! We had a great time unwinding after a crazy day and enjoyed visiting with people that we normally don't get to spend time with.

Anyway, here's my weekly picture....hopefully only a few more to take! :-)

 

35/35

Yep, that's right! Today I am 35 weeks pregnant with only 35 days to go. Not really too much to update - my stomach is starting to feel really heavy, but I've been expecting that. Baby is weighing around 5 1/2 pounds right now, so it's no wonder I feel heavy! I'll have more to update next week since I have a dr. apt. Until then...here's my weekly picture.

34 weeks!

I went yesterday to my 34 week appointment and my dr. said that everything looks "perfect". I go again in 2 weeks, and then I will start my weekly visits. This visit, Dr. D. said she is guessing that we are having a boy, because I look like a basketball is shoved up my shirt. (But last visit she said I looked like I was having a girl...so I think she's trying to throw me off!) Either way, according to the books, baby is now about the size of a cantelope and weighing around 5 pounds! No wonder I'm starting to have a hard time moving! One of my kiddos said to me today "Mrs. Crum, I bet you can't wait until that baby comes out so you can be skinny again!" I just had to laugh - if he only knew that my 1st goal is to just get up from a seated position without getting out of breath!

In some ways I can't believe how quickly the end of my pregnancy is coming, but in other ways I feel like I've been pregnant (and will be pregnant) forever! My ankle swelling is pretty much always there now, and my face is beginning to look fuller....I know this is to be expected, but it's still a little hard to get used to.

On a "not complaining about pregnancy" exciting news note - I had my baby shower this weekend and it was absolutely wonderful. My mother-in-law and 2 sister-in-laws hosted it for me and they did an awesome job.  The restaurant was great and the food was delicious. Patrick and I are completely blown away by the generosity of our family and friends. People came from all over, and even though I didn't have time to visit with everyone for as long as I would have liked, it seemed like everyone there had a great time. We received so many things for Baby Crum that we still haven't had a chance to go through everything. We're feeling WAY overwhelmed with where to put things away and how to organize all of the things that we're going to need.  Having a real, live baby in our arms is starting to become more of a reality - I hope we can be ready for it!

33 Weeks

Well, 33 weeks down.....maybe 5-8 weeks to go. We'll see when Baby Crum decides to make his/her appearance.  My hope is definitely for closer to 5 weeks b/c I'm beginning to get uncomfortable. I'm tired ALL the time (and yes, I know that I will be even more tired once Baby is here),  but I would love to have at least a little bit of energy! On an exciting note, I only have 5 more weeks of work until my maternity leave starts. There's a lot of pressure to make sure that everything is in place and ready for me to leave, but it's also nice to have an end date that I'm working towards.
Here is my 33 week picture - you'll have to excuse the blurriness, but my photographer is NOT a morning person, and after 3 tries, this is the best we got. :-)

We bit the bullet and bought our new "babymobile" last night. We found a great deal on a 2008 Santa Fe down in Lynchburg, so we took a little road trip with the pups and came home with a new car.  We both really like it, and the puppies had a great time in the back too. As long as we put the headrests on the backseat up, the dogs don't attempt to make their way forward, which will be a good thing once we have a carseat in there! I can just see Lyla ending up on the baby's lap can't you?!

32 Weeks

Had my 32 week appointment today and everything is "perfect" according to my dr. Baby is head down; which is a good thing as long as s/he doesn't decide to flip.  As the weeks go by, the chances of this happening are less and less because baby is running out of room.  All I can say is that I think baby has already run out of room! All this week I have felt like s/he is pushing on me trying to create more space.  This may be why my belly grew 3cm this past week. Dr. D. says that "normal" is 1cm + or - 2 cm, so I am still in the normal range, but I'm pretty sure my linebacker of a child is going to continue to make space one way or another! I go back in another 2 weeks, so we'll see what s/he has accomplished then.

Okay, not the most flattering of pictures, but you get the point that baby is about to burst out of there and I still have 8 weeks to go! I'm feeling pretty good - still sleeping well, but I now have the joy of having pregnancy induced carpal tunnel.  A friend gave me a few exercises that are supposed to relieve symptoms, and so far, they have been working. I'm also lucky enough to be experiencing cankles and sausage toes thanks to the water retention by the end of the day. I'm drinking lots of water and trying to walk a lot, but it doesn't seem to be doing any good.....but the laying in bed with my feet elevated while I watch tv is helping TONS! :-)

31 Weeks!

I can't believe I only have 9 more weeks until I'm due! Only 7 more weeks until I'm considered "full term", but I also know that I could go longer than 9 more weeks (but I sure hope not!) I'm hoping Baby Crum is ready to enter the world before 40 weeks.  Let's do a little comparison....

 

11 weeks vs. 21 weeks vs. 31 weeks

Umm, I'm already feeling huge and there's a chance I could be taking another picture at 41 weeks?!! Can you even imagine what that will look like? 

The books I am reading say that Baby Crum is almost 4 pounds right now, but I'm willing to bet I have a mammoth 30 pounder in there with how "stuffed" I am feeling. I love feeling the baby move, but sometimes I swear s/he is trying to shove out of there through my stomach - and it's a little creepy and uncomfortable! 

I do have to say though, that Baby Crum seems to be a good sleeper just like it's mommy! I hear so many stories of women that get woken up by baby kicks, and I have yet to experience that. (And I'm not complaining! We can keep the kicking to the daytime thank you!) I'm only getting up about twice a night, which was normal pre-pregnancy for me, so I really can't complain about that either. I'm just waiting though...apparently from here on out I'm just going to get MUCH bigger and more uncomfortable. To quote one of the teachers I work with who saw me today... "Oh you poor thing, 2 more months?!" Now, I feel like I'm doing pretty well, but just knowing that I will be getting bigger and bigger as the baby puts on more weight makes me a little nervous. I may have to start having my students push me around in my chair! ;-)