Week 36

Wow! as of tomorrow I'll officially be considered "full term", so if the baby was born tomorrow, she wouldn't be considered a preemie!! only 3 weeks left to my due date and I still can't believe it! I know every week I start my posts saying the same thing but now time is really starting to speed up! I'm both excited and nervous and sometimes even in denial of the fact that we will be a family of 4 in less than a month!

This week was a little better than last week, however, I'm still very uncomfortable and have a few things that bother me, like horrible heartburn, an intense urge to pee, excessive hunger and fatigue and of course the never ending inability to sleep well at night.

Baby Gaby is still very active and she has dropped a bit. I can feel her pressing down my bladder and twisting and turning like crazy. I know she's head down already so that explains everything I fell.

I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow and an ultrasound this Thursday. Will update more then...

Pregnancy Massage

What a wonderful day today! I got an awesome pregnancy massage and I feel so great! I think I could stay pregnant for another 9 months if I'm able to get a massage like this every week... ok, maybe not that long..ha ha.. but it was wonderful.
Leslie, my massage therapist, came to my house at around noon and she did wonders with my back, legs, arms, hands, etc. It was such a great hour and I'm looking forward to doing it again in a week or so...

36-week appointment

So the fun has begun! My weekly appointments and cervical exams started as of today and I feel very discouraged.... given that I was induced with Olivia and things were exactly the same when I was this far along! ;(
I had my GBS test done, which was no big deal and then my doctor checked my cervix for progress. While he said that my cervix is soft and about 50% effaced, he also told me that it's totally closed (no dilation), which only means that my body has no idea what it's doing and the light at the end of the tunnel is not as close as I had hoped for!
On a good note, he said that baby Gaby is well positioned, already head down and he said that although the head was still "pretty high", he could feel it, which is good news...
My blood pressure was 110/70 and Gaby's heartbeat was around the high 140's, not bad at all!
Overall, the doctor is still very optimistic about me going to labor on my own and he said that it might still be too early for my cervix to start to dilate....he said that even if I end up being induced, labor should be easier than the first time around...which wasn't bad at all!
I am really hoping I don't go past my due date and baby Gaby decides to make her appearance sooner than later!
My next appointment was scheduled for 07/01 and then I have an ultrasound on 07/02 to check the baby's weight and fluid levels.
Please pray for me!

Week 35

For those of you who don't like to hear me whine, this might not be the post for you... because this week was BAD!!! I can honestly say it has been my worst week so far....

First off, the weather has been H O T, temperatures have been as high as 105 degrees with lots of humidity, which doesn't mix well with pregnancy... the swelling gets much worse when it's hot and it is also much harder to breathe right with all the humidity....

Contractions have been bad, some more painful than others, but overall horrible. Also, my belly feels super heavy and I've had lots of heartburn this week...

Sleeping has become the hardest task ever; if I get to sleep 5 hours a night, I'm very lucky! Also.. I can never find a comfortable position and always have to settle for sleeping on my left side..not fun!

My boobs hurt like hell and I feel horribly fat... Other than that... yay for only 30 days left! I'm exactly a month away from my due date.

My next doctor's appointment is tomorrow... we'll see what that brings!

Beach pictures (round 2)

I was able to spend some wonderful time at the beach this weekend and took some photos. Although I know it's crazy to bare the belly at this point, I was brave enough to do it... and here is a picture! No laughing allowed, please! ;)

A couple of bad days...

These past two days have been bad.. I haven't felt like myself and my uterus has been contracting like crazy!
Yesterday, as I was driving home from work, I felt an intense urge to pee... I just couldn't hold it in... then, right after that, my belly got so hard and I was in pain. I exited the highway right away and started looking for a restroom... When I got to it.. it didn't pee and the pain went away... it was really scary.. I thought the baby was going to come out....
Then at night, I had a similar incident and started hyperventilating... I couldn't go to sleep as I felt so hot and nauseous as well...
Today I have been feeling so exhausted and have had contractions all day long... I really hope these things don't mean anything because as much as I want to see my baby, I don't feel quite ready yet!!!!
On a good note, there's only 34 days left to my due date! Isn't that crazy??

Week 34

Here I am, 5 weeks away from my due date and getting as anxious as can be... I'm starting to go into "freak out" mode since this is more real by the second. All along I have felt like I am so ready for this and now I'm not so sure...but I guess it's too late to go back! ha ha!

This week was a bit rough on me because it is extremely hot outside and I've been having hot flashes throughout the day for the past few days. Also, due to the extreme heat, my hands and feet continue to get really swollen and I can barely fit any shoes anymore.

My heartburn is a little better and my hunger is under control. Sleeping at night is not so pleasant but I guess it could be worse. I have a doctor's appointment next week, where they will do the Strep B test and will also check for effacement and dilation. I'm officially two weeks away from being "full term", which will put my mind at ease, although I highly doubt this baby will come before 40 weeks based on my previous history (Olivia was 4 days late!). I am arming myself with patience and tolerance to cope with the next 5 weeks accordingly.

Braxton Hicks!

It's official... I'm feeling tons of Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) on a daily basis. This is driving me insane! I'm about 6 weeks away from my due date and my uterus will not stop contracting. I know it's false labor contractions because I've been through this before and this is exactly what happened when I was about this far along in my first pregnancy.
Also... I feel a lot of pressure in my pelvis, which could indicate that the baby has started to drop..yay for that, although it doesn't really mean anything....
This week I lost my mucus plug and that felt weird, although I know it's just my body getting ready to give birth within a month or so....
This is when pregnancy gets exciting and the end seems a lot closer... it's crazy how fast time has been passing and how excited I'm getting!
I can't wait until next appointment, when the doctor will check for dilation and progress!! wow! baby Gaby will be here in no time!! ;)

Week 33

Wow! Only 6 weeks left to my due date... that is very amazing and exciting! I can't believe that only a few months ago I was announcing that I was pregnant and complaining for "all the time" I had to wait.. Now that day is just right around the corner and now I'm getting scared! ha ha!

This week was "ok", not as great as last week but still fine... I felt a bit of heartburn here and there but nothing unbearable. Also, some nights I was able to sleep for more than 5 hours straight, now...that's an accomplishment....

On the not so good side, I have to say that I'm still having trouble digesting my food and often have difficulty breathing. Baby Gaby's position is making me very uncomfortable because she's still pretty high and stuck in my ribs. I hope she's starts to drop within the next two weeks or so and I start to feel a bit more comfortable. I have experienced a lot of swelling lately; my hands are feet are huge and I can no longer wear my wedding band... oh well... I guess I made it far enough...hopefully my fingers and toes will go back to normal...;)

I had my 34 week appointment today and it went well. Gaby's heart rate was around the 160's and my blood pressure was 120/60. I have gained a total of 17lbs and everything seems to be on target. My belly is measuring about a week ahead, which the doctor said it's normal at this stage. My next appointment is scheduled for June 24th and then I have an ultrasound on July 2nd to see the baby's size and position... I can't wait!

Week 32

This week was amazing!!! I felt great the whole time and had no symptoms whatsoever, aside from being exhausted and sleepy, of course....
I felt so good I even got a hair cut and all and I feel pretty for a change! haha!~
Baby Gaby remains very active and I still think she has a party inside my belly... a very fun one too...
My nights have gotten a bit better; I'm able to sleep about 6 hours straight and only get up about twice a night... not too bad compared to 5 or 6 times...
I've started to prepare for the arrival of our little one.. at least mentally.. the scene of having two kids is getting more and more real and very exciting...
Olivia has gotten better with my belly, she doesn't punch it as much and instead she kisses it and talks to baby Gaby through my belly button...it's really cute; hopefully she won't go through the sibling rivalry, which I dread....
There's only 7 weeks left to my due date and very soon the exciting doctors appointments will begin... I'm definitely looking forward to some physical progress as well!!!