Kidney Update

Way back on 12/3 we went to Children's Hospital for a follow up ultrasound on Sadie's kidney and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. Man, babies keep you busy!

We had an ultrasound while we were still in the hospital and they said that everything looked fine. Apparently they don't know anything about anything.

We started off in the ultrasound area at Children's - her ultrasound was completed but the tech didn't tell us anything about it - which is normal, just not for me since every ultrasound tech we had through pregnancy would at least give us a little information! She sent the pictures up to the doctor. After the ultrasound was completed we went upstairs to the urology department to meet with the doctor. This was one of the longest days ever. I am pretty sure our appointment was at 10 or so in the morning and we didn't get home until almost 3!

Side note: I successfully nursed in public for the first time in the waiting room at the hospital! Ok, so not technically a super public place, like a restaurant or something, but close enough. There were a lot of people there! We hadn't started Sadie on bottles yet and I was nervous when I realized that this was going to be an all day event because eventually she'd have to eat. Also - I am not very skilled at using my nursing cover yet, so I was also nervous about that but it was a success! I'm pretty proud of myself. I don't think I'll nurse in public often, especially since we've started the little lady on bottles. I guess it's nice to know that the option is there in case she finishes a bottle and is still hungry, or in case I forget to bring a bottle (it'll happen, I know it).

We waited in the waiting room for so long! It was annoying because we'd been there for about an hour an no one had even been called back within that hour! Later I found out that there was basically only one doctor in the office at the time so I can see why the wait was so long.

Finally we got called back and Little Miss was weighed (10.3 pounds, they let her keep her clothes on so I rounded down to 10 pounds). We hung out in a room for a few minutes and the doctor came in and said that her left kidney was still mildly to moderately dilated and that her right kidney was very mildly dilated. Apparently she has a disease called Hydronephrosis which literally means, "water inside the kidney." I was kind of taken aback when he said she has this "disease." It doesn't mean anything to me now because she's still my perfect baby, I just was shocked to hear someone diagnose her with a 'disease'.

The doctor said we don't really know if she has reflux right now (urine going back up into the kidney instead of coming out). We could put her on antibiotics to try to resolve the issue but she'd likely have to be on them for 1-1.5 years. That's a long time to be on antibiotics, everyday. He said that this disease has only been around for as long as ultrasounds have been able to detect it (20-25 years) but babies have been born with it unknowingly for much longer than that. Once the disease was discovered doctors began over treating patients with this disease and now they are trying to go back to only treating when absolutely necessary. Who knows how many babies were born with this prior to ultrasounds being able to detect it, and those kids were just fine. ;o)

The plan is to continue to monitor Sadie's kidneys through ultrasound every 3 months. If nothing changes by the time she's 1 we will continue to get ultrasounds after that once a year. If her kidneys get worse or leave the moderate range it's likely that she'll have a small surgery to correct the issue. Our main concern is that we don't want any permanent damage done to the kidneys. This would most likely come with an infection (kidney, or possibly bladder). We were told to contact our pediatrician and Children's if she gets a fever or just ever is not acting herself - she could still be sick without the fever. He basically told us to be the crazy parents who call each time their child isn't acting like they normally do. I'm glad he gave us permission (so far we haven't had to call but I do second guess myself all the time - she just blinked 4 times in 30 seconds, is she not acting herself today?!) to be the crazy parents.

Other updates:

Sadie was 10.5 pounds at her 1 month appointment on 12/6! She's my little chunk! Her 2 month goal is to be making eye contact with us and socially smiling. I think there may have been one more goal in there, but I forgot what it is. I think she's doing it already, whatever it is. She has started smiling more, and giggling, but it's only ever been at us (or someone) a few times. Normally it's still in her sleep or at the ghosties on the walls over my shoulders. Her next appointment is in a few weeks, more shots. Curious to see what her weight will be this time!

I have my postpartum appointment tomorrow. I'm really nervous for it - that's all I'll say about that.

Last update:

Cheeeeks!

... I got the call...

Yesterday the eligibility vendor from work called to inform me that my return to work date for my short term disability claim would be MONDAY. Yes, Monday, as in 4 days away. Luckily I still have 6 additional weeks of "bonding leave" available to me which I am happily taking which means I won't have to go back to work until the end of January. It just really started to sink in that being with my baby 24 hours a day 7 days a week isn't going to last forever.

I spent most of the evening snuggling my little girl and crying my eyes out because I don't see how it'll ever be possible to leave her for 8+ hours a day, 40+ hours a week, 5 out of 7 days a week. I just don't think I am strong enough to be able to leave her for that long. What if she needs me? What if her babysitter can't calm her? What if she gets scared or doesn't feel well and just wants her mama? What if she's not acting herself or gets a fever and the sitter doesn't call me so I can alert her pediatrician and Children's Hospital (this would be due to her Hydronephrosis - post coming soon). What if her mama cries all the time at work because she can't bear to be away from the best thing that ever happened to her?

It's a good thing Matthew wasn't home while this was happening because he wouldn't have been happy with these shenanigans. He says, "You can do it. Women do it all the time." Yes. They do. Lots of women go back to work and enjoy it and are wonderful mommies and have a great work/life/mommy balance. I just can't be one of those people. I cannot fathom someone else seeing my baby roll over for the first time, or sit up on her own, crawl... take her first steps. These are all "firsts" that I risk missing out on for someone else to see because I have to go to work. I don't think Matthew understands that.

If you really get down to it, I'll have about 15 hours of awake time with my Sadie girl during the week. She'll likely still be sleeping when I leave for work in the morning and once I get off work, get her picked up from the sitter and back home we'll have probably only 3 hours before it's time for bed. Yes, I'll have two weekend days to spend with her, but that's just not enough.

The one and only thing I've ever wanted to be in my life is a mom and I feel like once I go back to work I won't fully get to be the mom I want to be.

To add to my sad, poor me night, someone posted THIS BLOG POST on Facebook. It was beautiful and well written, but I shouldn't have read it last night of all nights. I feel this exact same way. I miss my little girl when she's just inches away from me. I look at her pictures when she's sleeping and just want to run to her and hold her and smell her sweetness and give her one hundred more kisses.

I'm thinking of some get-rich-quick schemes so that I can get rich quick and not have to go back to work in 6 weeks. Suggestions are welcome.



In all honesty, I secretly want my husband to sell his business so he can get a more stable job/career so I can stay home with my girl. This is incredibly selfish of me because he loves what he does, he loves owning a business and being his own boss, but I want to love what I do too and what I'd love to do is be a stay-at-home-mom. We've discussed possible options for the future but I feel like that's all it is. Discussions. Nothing would ever actually come of these discussions because for me they're just dreams, and for him it's just "something to think about." Not seriously though. 

Truth be told, I can't do it. I just can't.

Plain and simple, leaving my daughter is going to be the absolute hardest thing I've ever had to do and I don't know how to prepare myself for it.

For now, I am enjoying every second with her but it's hard not to think about this special time ending, having our lives disrupted by that little thing called work.

Leaving you with this so I can go watch my beautiful little girl sleep so sweetly.

Say It Ain't So...

Someone please tell me my baby isn't already ONE month old! Weren't we just on our way home from the hospital yesterday?

This has been a crazy whirlwind of a month. Yesterday I was thinking about what my life was like before Sadie was here. I can't even remember what we did in our free time. I don't have any free time now it seems, and that's ok with me!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from today:

I love the faces this little girl makes. I think she thinks her dad is crazy when he blows raspberries on her belly!

She's still loving getting her hair washed and really likes bath time now that we can actually put her in the water instead of just giving her a sponge bath. Her cord is completely gone as of 11/27.

If she's fussy all she needs is for dad to hold her straight up and down and she's happy (and usually asleep) again in seconds.

She loves white noise and so long as she actually lets me shower long enough to wash my hair she'll fall asleep to the sound of the hair dryer. I'm so thankful my SIL recommended (and got us as a shower gift) as awesome white noise machine! Although she's not sleeping in her own room yet it does come in handy after night time feedings trying to get her back to sleep.

She had her first Thanksgiving at grandma and grandpa Dickson's and at her uncle and aunt's house as well. She got tons of attention from her 4 year old cousin, Ethan, which really surprised everyone since he has never been into babies. She was pretty fussy by the time we got to my brother's house and Ethan thought he'd have the magic touch. He kept saying, "Just put it in my lap. C'mon, just put it in my lap!" He also thought playing "Teek-a-boo" would get her to calm down. It was so sweet.

Here is E playing peek-a-boo with Sadie :o)

 

At Sadie's last doctor's appointment she was 8 pounds on the dot. Exactly one week later I took her for a free weigh check at the women's center and she had gained 15 ounces! After that I decided that breastfeeding was going well and that I'd keep it up. I haven't had any serious freak outs since then about whether or not my supply was good enough because it seems to be doing the job. We had Sadie's follow up ultrasound and met with the urologist at Children's Hospital yesterday and they weighed her (with clothes and diaper on) at 10.3 pounds. I rounded down to 10 pounds since she had clothes and a wet diaper. My baby likes to eat. 

 

Sadie has been nicknamed Cheeks. We love her cheeks and kiss and squeeze them {gently} thousands of times a day. 

 

She is currently sleeping 3.5-4 hours at night with random surprises of 5 hour stretches. Love those! She normally gets up around 3 and I definitely don't mind that feeding. It's very easy for me to get up and change her and feed her. She generally falls right back to sleep after. The issue I have is the next feeding. Usually between 6-8. I, for the life of me, cannot get out of bed at the feeding and usually ask Matt to change her diaper and bring her back to bed to eat. He usually takes her after this session and I go back to sleep. I love that man. There have been times when I've gone back to sleep at 7-7:30 and he let's me sleep until 10! Are you serious? How wonderful! 

 

We have lots of fun events coming up. We're meeting Santa on Saturday - we'll meet him two other times before the season is over! And on Sunday we have Sadie's cousins first birthday party! Wahoo! We're waiting on the arrival of a new baby girl cousin in January and a baby boy cousin in February! We can't wait to meet these babies! 

 

Leaving you with these: 

 

 

Sadie Marie - 3 Weeks

Today I spent the majority of my day cuddling my sweet Sadie-Bug. I didn't get the laundry done, I didn't do the dishes in the sink. I didn't shower until my husband came home from work. I just held my sweet 3 week old baby - mostly because I can't get enough of her, but also because she was being a fussy buns today :)

I love her squishy lips in this picture

*Sadie enjoys baths in her bathtub - so much better than the sponge-type baths we had to do before.
*She loves to be held up right, if cradling her has her fussing holding her completely vertical will almost always get her to quiet down.
*She loves napping and being rocked in her glider.
*She loves to cluster feed in the evenings - I'm thankful she doesn't do it in the middle of the night!
*She LOVES car rides!

Although the weather is becoming unbearably cold (yes, I said it's unbearably cold and it's not even December), we're going to try to venture out a couple of times a week. I think I'll walk around the mall with her, we need to go to the grocery store, and I have some gift cards that need to be used for no particular reason other than shopping is fun, I also have some crafty projects I want to complete as well - 1 in particular for Sadie's room! 

One of my favorite things to do these days is to watch her sleep. Even though it's just a reflex right now, my heart just melts when I see her smile or giggle in her sleep. It gives me a glimpse of what her smile will be like in a couple of months when she's doing it for real!

I can't believe next week I'll be doing a 1 month post! Sadie has her first holiday this week - Thanksgiving! We have lots of family who still haven't met her and will finally get to meet her on Thursday! We also have her kidney ultrasound next Tuesday. I'm anxious to find out what the outcome is, although with as much as this baby pees, I can't imagine it'll be anything other than a passing grade :)

Must Have Monday

Today I'm linking up with Lindsey over at the Crafty Practitioner blog for Must Have Monday:

 

Here are my current must haves: 

I must have these burgundy shoes. Sadly I cannot locate them on the H&M website! 

This 55-300mm zoom lens is on my Amazon Wish List. We'll see if my husband notices :) 

A girl at work turned me on to this Blistex Revive & Restore balm. I just purchased my own from Amazon! 

I want this Northface Crescent Sunset Hoodie because it looks so comfy! This is also on my Amazon wish list ;) 

This cute watch it from VintageLovers2012 Etsy shop and could very well be my Christmas gift to myself! 

 

Silly First Time Mom Stuff

Sadie got her first 2 pieces of mail today :o) one was for her ultrasound appointment confirmation, and one was her social security card. I have been sitting here for the last 20 minutes practicing writing her name in cursive so it looks good when I sign it! She's going to have this thing until she gets married and changes her name, it needs to look good!

Matthew took Sadie out to dinner with his family (I stayed home - not feeling great). I may have teared up a bit after they left. I miss my girl (and my husband).

I'm watching Say Yes To The Dress because Friday is Bride Day. I'm totally excited for when Sadie wants to watch these shows with me!

While breastfeeding was incredibly difficult (this deserves a post of its own) after we got home from the hospital, I'm so glad I didn't give up on it. I love nursing that sweet little girl - even at 3am.

Sadie sometimes giggles in her sleep. It's the cutest thing ever. 

I leave you with this. I love that little face!!! 

Time flies

How is my sweet girl already 2 weeks old?! I don't understand how time could possibly be going so fast! Although we don't do much during the day, the hours fly by and now the days and weeks are too. :o(

Sadie is 2 weeks old today and I fall more in love every minute I spend with her. I love her sweet little face and I can't stop kissing those soft little cheeks!!

Little Miss likes sleeping on daddy's chest in the recliner and listening to him play the piano (we can't wait for him to learn more kid songs)! She loves sleeping with her hands over her face and going for car rides. She's never phased by loud noises like someone knocking on the door, Teddy's bark, or the hair dryer- but sometimes startles when she makes noises while sucking on her hands :) She likes being rocked in the glider. Although she's not a fan of her sponge baths she absolutely loves having her hair washed (just like mommy)! She very rarely cries and we can pretty easily figure out what's wrong if she is crying.

Sadie's 1 Week Picture!

I technically should have posted this on Monday, but since I hadn't posted her birth story yet I figured I should probably wait!

We may have to change some things around for her weekly/monthly pictures because I'm not sure I love this. I mean she obviously makes the picture but I don't know about the chalkboard. I had originally thought I would do this upstairs in her glider but I was in a hurry so I thought this will have to do for Monday's picture!

Here's another picture I just can't resist sharing right now.

I love how she's sleeping with her arms above her head.

And of course, I can't stop sharing pics of the poodle.

After a much needed hair cut! <3

So, there's this...

My sweet Sadie Marie arrived on Monday November 4th, 2013 at 11:38 am. She weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces of pure perfection. I can't even tell you how in love I am with this girl. How could something I created ever be so perfect?!

Sadie's Birth Story:

On Sunday 11/3 we went to my sister-in-law's house for a birthday dinner honoring my brother-in-law. I felt kind of weird all day. Similar to how I was feeling the previous Sunday when I was nauseous and dizzy off and on all day. By dinner time I was feeling fine though and we had a great time with our family! We got home and rolled into bed (literally). I, being 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant, was up and down many times to use the bathroom as always. I got up probably just a few minutes before 2am Monday morning to use the bathroom, came back to bed, laid down feeling very slight cramps. A few minutes later I felt like I was having stomach cramps that would indicate another trip to the bathroom was coming. I got up, grabbed my phone and headed back to the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom I immediately started bleeding. Panicking, I called for my husband who was snoring away in the bedroom, not hearing me yell for him!! I obviously had to take matters into my own hands so I called the doctor's office, left a message and waited for my call back. In the mean time I was debating who I could call/text about this issue because although I wasn't having contractions, I was pretty sure that red blood that late in pregnancy just wasn't good.

I finally was able to yell loud enough to my husband that I was thinking it was baby time. He said, "What? Now?" Yes! Now!! I got a call  back from the on call doctor and explained to her that I was bleeding red blood and that I wasn't sure why. She basically told me that she didn't really care what color it was (haha) and that we needed to come into L&D, now! I got dressed, made sure Matthew was fully awake, he got dressed, and then asked, "Should I put my contacts in?" Umm. I don't really care, just hurry and make a decision so we can leave! I texted my mom because we were supposed to take Teddy over to her house when the time came. She didn't want us to bring him over so late so we had to leave him at home. That broke my heart. He's never been home alone during the night before.

We grabbed our bags, grabbed the car seat and headed out the door. I feel like it took forever to get to the hospital. From the time I got the call back from the on call at 2:14 until the time we got to triage in L&D 45 minutes had passed! When we got into a triage room our nurse informed us that this was probably nothing, it was probably just my "bloody show" and that some women bleed more than others during that time frame. I was thinking she was crazy because she didn't actually see how much blood there was. We were kind of bummed that she was saying this probably wasn't it.

We waited for the doctor who came in rather quickly and performed her exam. She said I was at a 2cm and she wanted to check to make sure my water didn't break. She also mentioned that some women can have several bags of water and that one of them may have been broken just based on what she was seeing. I had no idea you could have more than one bag of fluid. She said that even if one of the bags broke we'd be staying because the risk for infection still goes up, even if the bag that broke isn't the one containing the baby (or something like that). She left and came back about 2 minutes later and said we're staying!! Oh my gosh, we're really having a baby!?!

They got us into a L&D room and said that there's a chance we'd have a baby by dinner time, but because I was only at 2cm, not to be surprised if she didn't arrive until 11/5. At this point I was feeling contractions but they weren't anything I couldn't handle. Once settled into our room I was hooked up to an IV of fluids and they wanted to start me on Pitocin after breaking my water (the other bag?!)! Matthew was trying to get some sleep but I definitely could not sleep! The contractions definitely picked up after the broke my water and started me on the lowest dose of Pitocin. Around 7 I was starting to wonder why I was in so much pain being only 2 cm. I hadn't been checked in a while but I gave myself a (very) small goal of trying to make it until 7:30 without an epidural. I felt like I was being a baby about the pain since I thought I was still at only 2 cm.

7:30 came around and Matthew convinced me to stop being brave and get the epi. Best advice ever! The anesthesiologist came in at 8:00 - the nurse said that I chose a good time to get the epi because they were about to get very very busy. The administered the medication, I was really nervous for this and my hands were shaking. Luckily my husband was there to hold them! The epi was NOTHING!! I can't believe how nervous I was for it and it didn't hurt a bit. There was a point where I felt a "zap" and jumped a bit. The doctor then said "Oh, you might feel a zing." Felt it. Thanks for the warning ahead of time. That was the most painful part because I wasn't expecting it. They told me that I should be feeling good within 30 minutes but I was feeling really good before they even left the room at 8:10!! It's such a weird feeling trying to swing your legs back up onto the bed and not being able to move them!

At 9 I was checked again and was at 5 cm so we just continued to hang out. Matthew may have slept a bit more, I can't remember. I was texting/emailing friends and family to let them know this is really it! My future sister-in-law Kelsey was working the night before so it was nice to be able to text someone at 4am and have them respond, because I was kind of bored! :o)

A little after 10 I was checked again and they said I was at a 10 and it was time to push! Holy cow, what?!?! Right now? It's time? I began panicking and clicking the button to administer more epidural pain medication. I was still pretty numb, but wanted to push it a few times, just in case!

At about 10:30 I started pushing and I would just like to say that pushing is no joke! I could feel when I needed to push but I wasn't sure if I was doing it right. And it was exhausting. I think I thought that I'd push a few times and baby would pop out, but that's not the case for everyone! My nurse was encouraging though and let me know when I was doing it exactly like she wanted me to. The doctor came in to finish the job and I remember they kept saying that the baby just needed to get under (over, maybe?) the pelvic bone. They said it a lot and I kept thinking, she's still not passed that part? How much longer is this going to take? I was getting sweaty (During labor? That's unheard of!) and light headed and kind of felt like I was going to pass out! I kept thinking if it was too late to go back and get a c-section. I finally asked, if they could give me an estimate of how many more pushes until she was out. They said 4. That was crushing.

I gave 3 really good pushes and the doctor and nurse kept telling me to look down! Look down! I looked down and there was my little girl! She pooped all over me as she was being placed on my stomach but I think I love her more for it. They cleaned her up and put her on my chest and I just remember looking into those beautiful eyes in disbelief that this little girl is what I've been waiting on for 10 months! I kept telling her how pretty she was and how much I loved her and how long I'd been waiting to meet her. Matt and I just kept looking at each other and laughing with tears in our eyes, in shock that we created something so amazing. We are absolutely in love with her and couldn't be happier that she's finally here!

We joked that we thought we might have a baby by dinner time but ended up getting her before breakfast was really over! After about a few hours we were moved into our postpartum room where we stayed until Wednesday around noon.

We've been home for a week now, and while it hasn't been smooth sailing the whole time (I'm having a hard time getting Sadie to latch for feedings) she is well worth every single second. I love snuggling her and kissing her and loving on her all the time!

39 Weeks

39 weeks! 6 days left until my due date, 13 days left until 41 weeks which is when my doctor would schedule an induction! I am thinking there is NO way I'll make it to 41 weeks. Not at this point. I was concerned last week that I'd end up having to be induced at 41+ weeks but I feel like she will be here this week. Fingers and toes are crossed that I'm not wrong about this!

I feel like crap again today. I felt very similar to this last Sunday. Light headed, dizzy, headachy, nauseous. I think that's it. 

How far along? 39w1d
How big is baby? Baby is the size of a watermelon. Again, too big.
Total weight gain? Not sure. 30+ pounds.  
Maternity clothes? Yes!
Stretch marks? I'm noticing a few more on my lower belly. Ugh.
Sleep? Meh, not great. I can't get comfortable anymore. No belly sleeping, no back sleeping, if I sleep on my right side my hip goes numb and it hurts, if I sleep on my left side my back hurts. My husband snores, yet continues to deny it :) 
Best moment this week? I got a lot of cleaning done yesterday! Every Saturday I clean, clean, clean thinking that it might be my last chance to make sure everything is picked up. Then the next Saturday comes and I have to do it all over again!
Miss anything? I miss feeling the way I felt yesterday. I hate feeling "sick."
Movement? Yes, lots of movement at night right before bed. Sometimes throughout the day if I'm paying attention. Sometimes I have small freak outs if I don't feel her moving for a long time, and then I'll immediately feel her just as I'm thinking I should call the doctor. I think she's trying to show me who's boss. I didn't feel her moving ALL morning on Friday at work. It was a super busy/stressful day. I decided that I needed to actually leave the building for lunch which I don't normally do. The moment I sat in my car she started wiggling around. Silly little lady.
Food cravings? Bleh. Nothing sounds good.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Something is making me nauseous. Not sure what it is.
Gender? Baby girl!
Labor signs? Yes! Some things that I won't mention here because no one wants to hear about it. But getting random contractions, nothing that ever stays.
Symptoms? Peeing, back aches, exhaustion!!!
Belly button in, or out? It's flat or out all the time.
Wedding rings on or off? I still have my wedding band on, I really really miss my engagement ring. I can't wait to put it back on without having to risk not being able to get it off again!
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, still very ready to get this show on the road.
Looking forward to? Meeting our baby! Seeing Matt hold her for the first time. Me getting to hold her for the first time!!! Come on baby girl, we want to meet you!!!! Also super looking forward to maternity leave. I might actually cry over having to go back to work tomorrow.

38 Weeks!

Well my appointments the last 2 weeks weren't anything special. Obviously I was hoping to go in to more progress, but I'm still at what my doctor would call a "1+" and very soft. No updates to effacement the last 2 weeks. My doctor seems to think I'll end up going on my own which is a good thing considering she won't induce until 41 weeks. I will probably have a mental breakdown if I'm pregnant until 41 weeks! It just sounds painful and miserable! :o/ This little girl seems to have her own schedule and although I hoped she'd be here 2 days ago I can't start forcing her to do things she doesn't want to do... yet :) 

I did ask about stripping of the membranes and she said they only do it "depending." She didn't elaborate on the depending thing. She did say she didn't think it would do anything for me right now other than cause me to have false labor contractions!

Matt and I did end up going to L&D last Wednesday (maybe Thursday, I can't remember!!) after I decided that I didn't know if I was leaking fluid or pee. It wasn't either. I'm glad we took the trip though because #1, they say anytime you think you're leaking fluid to get checked out because apparently it's no joke. And also, It was good to have that trial run so I will know what to expect next time when it's really real. Unfortunately Matt was pretty annoying the whole time because he wanted to leave/eat/watch tv. Luckily he has promised to NOT be this way when it's really real. After we saw the doctor they decided that they actually didn't like my BP (too high) so we had to hang around and have my BP monitored some more and had blood drawn for lab work. The labs came back after about an hour and everything was fine so I got up, got dressed and then they immediately came back and decided they wanted to do an ultrasound to check on her fluid levels, which took only about another 5 minutes and were fine.

How far along? 38w2d
How big is baby? Baby is the size of a pumpkin. That's too big if you ask me. 
Total weigh gain? I don't know but if I remember correctly It ended in a 2 last week and ended in a 7 this week. That would equal a 5 pound weight gain in a week and that's something I refuse to believe, especially since food doesn't sound appealing anymore and I basically have to force myself to eat. 
Maternity clothes? Yep, we can be done with them at any time now! :)
Stretch marks? Still slathering on the cocoa butter and bio oil. If she doesn't come soon I'm going to need to buy stock!
Sleep? Meh, it's been ok due to the snoring husband and waking up 6 times to pee!
Best moment this week? Umm... It's pretty early in the week. I can't say anything amazing has happened yet! I stayed up until midnight on Saturday, that's kind of a miracle!
Miss anything? Everything!! I would love a glass or two of wine. I'd love for my hips not to hurt when I'm sleeping! I'd love to not have to pee 8 times a night!!!
Movement? Still getting movement though not a ton. Doctor B says it's fine as long as I've noticed it gradually slowing down, and not slowing down all at once.
Food cravings? Fruit punch. I had some today. It wasn't as delicious as I made it out to be in my pregnant mind.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Yesterday I had a random day of nausea and dizziness. I'm not sure what it was due to, but I feel better today so that's a good thing.
Gender? Baby girl!
Labor signs? BH/not real contractions but ones that are occasionally painful. That seems to be about it!
Symptoms? Peeing 10 times a night, and 20 times during the day! Hip pain, exhaustion with random bursts of energy!
Belly button in, or out? It's flat or out all the time.
Wedding rings on or off? I still have my wedding band on!
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy and anxious. Ready to get this show on the road.
Looking forward to? In no particular order: Watching the Black List tonight! Meeting my daughter some time in the next few weeks!!

38w2d and looking & feeling huge!

37 Weeks!

37 weeks and full term! Wahoo! It's crazy to think that this baby could be here any day! Hopefully sooner rather than later! :)

How far along? 37w1d
How big is baby? Baby is the size of a winter melon according to the bump. This looks similar to a watermelon... but longer. Hmm.
Total weigh gain? I am guessing probably 30-31 pounds. Not counting, don't really care. Is that bad?
Maternity clothes? Always, pretty excited to be able to wear normal clothes again! Who knows how long it'll be before that happens though !
Stretch marks? Still the one above my belly button. I've been slathering on the cocoa butter and that other stuff...Bio Oil. Let's hope it's helping with something? Luckily the What To Expect book says I probably won't get much bigger from here on out.
Sleep? Aside from last night... fine. Have I have told you that I have a husband that snores? Well, I do.
Best moment this week? Even though I had to wait forever at my appointment, I was really excited for it. It was my first internal exam and I found out that I am 1cm dilated and 70% effaced!! I know this doesn't mean much, but it was exciting to find out that my body is on it's way to doing what it's supposed to! Let's hope for more progress at my Tuesday appointment!
Miss anything? I miss being able to move freely pre-pregnancy. Getting out of bed, getting up off the floor... everything was so much easier!
Movement? Yep, not quite as much as before but she's still moving around. Sometimes it feels like she's trying to break out.
Food cravings? Not so far this week. My SIL is amazing and brought some chili over for us after reading my post from last week!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope
Gender? Baby girl!
Labor signs? Ok, so the contractions I thought I had last week turned out not to be contractions. Maybe braxton hicks, but I have no idea. I definitely felt some BH on Thursday night right before bed, they didn't hurt but I could feel my stomach getting tense. Around 3am Friday morning I woke up to what i think were actual contractions. The WTEWYE book said early labor pains can feel like gastrointestinal pains and that's exactly what these felt like. I thought that maybe I needed to use the bathroom but they would come and go every 10-15 minutes. They never got more intense or closer together and I was able to fall back asleep after about an hour.
Symptoms? Peeing a lot (still), low energy, braxton hicks/contractions, heartburn or indigestion most of the time.
Belly button in, or out? It's flat.
Wedding rings on or off? I still have my wedding band on!
Happy or moody most of the time? Really happy/excited/anxious
Looking forward to? Meeting this baby! Come on Sadie!!!! It is amazing how one minute I can be really excited and feel like I can get through labor and delivery to meet her and then other times I immediately begin panicking about labor. I already plan to get the epidural and I am assuming things will be fine after that, it's just getting to the point where I can get an epidural that kind of scares me. Right now I'm feeling ready to go. I sorta kinda left work on Friday as if I wasn't coming back. Ok so not really, but that was my hope. Tomorrow is going to be hard! I'm excited for my appointment on Tuesday to see if I've made any more progress! This time I need to remember to ask the doc if she has any "guesses" for labor. Everyone asked me about that after my last appointment and I didn't know that was something I should ask her!

3 or less bump pics left! 

I just had to share this picture of my cutie pie

36 Weeks

Wahoo! 36 weeks and 4 left to go! I'd really appreciate having only 2 weeks to go, so hopefully Sadie is just as ready to meet us as we are to meet her. I am exhausted. All the time. We were in Home Depot for about 30 minutes today and I really thought about getting one of those power scooter things so I didn't have to walk. That's how much I loathe doing anything these days. Yesterday I got my hair trimmed, went to Hobby Lobby and came home and slept for about 3 hours. That was nice. Maybe I'll do that again today.

We have no more ultrasounds! Our last was on 10/7 and went as expected. Sadie's left kidney is still dilated - more so than it has been before. It went from 13 down to 11 and this time it was back up to 15mm so no major changes and the doctor's think I'm far enough along and her fluid levels are still great that I don't need to be seen again. They estimated her at 6 pounds (I was 35w2d at the u/s) which apparently I am still coming to terms with. I know they can be off by a pound or two, and their measurements truly can't be that accurate (I keep telling myself this). I am so scared that this little one isn't going to be so little! The u/s tech guessed that she would probably gain 2 more pounds before birth so we're looking at about 8 pounds (hopefully)! I'd hoped that I would birth a 6 pound baby -- still crossing my fingers for somewhere between 6-7.5!!

How far along? 36w1d
How big is baby? Baby is the size of a honeydew melon.
Total weigh gain? I weighed myself yesterday, I am up 30 pounds from where I started.
Maternity clothes? Always.
Stretch marks? The one above my belly button is definitely one. So Sad.
Sleep?  Pretty decent. I'm excited to be able to sleep on my back/belly again. Side sleeping is getting old.
Best moment this week? It was fun to see Sadie via ultrasound this week. Even if we really didn't get to see much of her b/c she's so far down/always hiding her face! The u/s tech giggled over the amount of hair it looks like she has already! I can't wait to meet her and see what she looks like!!
Miss anything? Yep, lots of stuff. I miss having energy, I want to cry when I see a delicious looking alcoholic beverage that I cant have... check this one out...
Movement? Yep, she still finds a way to wiggle around in there!
Food cravings? Chili. But I can't find the recipe we had for a really good chili so until I find something that looks pleasing and I can convince the hubs to go to the store to pick up the ingredients, I won't be eating any chili!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope
Gender? Baby girl!
Labor signs? I'm thinking I've had a few contractions. Nothing time-able/regular.
Symptoms? Peeing too much, very low energy, contractions, did I say peeing a lot yet? :)
Belly button in, or out? It's still either out or flat most of the time.
Wedding rings on or off? I still have my band on. I did take my engagement ring off, for no particular reason other than I don't want it to get stuck. I don't like to wear it when I shower because I feel like it gets dirty/grimy faster.
Happy or moody most of the time? Really happy!!
Looking forward to? Meeting this girl! I'm ready for her and hope she's ready for us! C'mon baby girl! Let's plan a labor and delivery for next weekend when I'll officially be full term! I'm excited for my appointment on Wednesday. I'll have my first internal exam and am curious to know if I'm dilated at all. My friend Emily did crush my dreams though. I knew a person could be 1-2 cm dilated for weeks but totally thought that if you were 3cm it meant that baby could come SOON. Not the case. You can definitely be 3cm for weeks as well. Boo.

And now for some nursery updates - It's almost complete. We have some shelves we need to put up and some frames that will need to go on the walls. My MIL is making a crib skirt, and the crib needs to be lowered just slightly. We also need to put her closet door back on, and will eventually purchase a new bedroom door, or paint hers white. I think we'll try to paint hers first and see how it turns out!

 Excuse the carpet samples, we were making some carpet decisions

 Love this owl my FSIL made! This will go on one of the shelves

 Love this 'S' my SIL made, this will go above her dresser with frames on either side

 Dresser/Diaper changing area

Crib and glider. Notice she already has her first Hello Kitty doll :) 

I almost forgot, we also need to get blinds and curtains, and my friend Kelli made a name banner for my baby shower that we'll likely hang above her crib!

35 Weeks!

Holy moly! We have 5 weeks left! I'm at my 35/35 mark, 35 weeks along... 35 days to go! It's so weird to think we will have a baby in 5 weeks or less!!

I go through random thoughts of, "Ok, let's do this!" to, "Oh man, I don't want to go through labor. I'll just stay pregnant forever." But I think I'm more ready to meet Sadie than to be pregnant forever. I wish it could be one of those things that could just happen when I'm really psyched up about it. It should just happen when I'm having one of those, "Ok, let's do this!" moments. Poof. Baby!

I also think it would be nice if I could plan it a little better so I can go get my hair washed and blown out before I head to the hospital. I only wish this because getting my hair done is like the most relaxing thing ever and I just think it would help with labor. :) Hmm.. Maybe I should have Chelsea on standby. Maybe I can squeeze in a quick blow out before we head to the hospital (says the girl who's always said she would camp out in front of the hospital for days before her due date)!

How far along? 35 weeks
How big is baby? This baby is the size of a coconut this week. I feel a lot bigger than a coconut.
Total weigh gain? I have been forgetting to weigh myself, and I think it's because I just don't really care how much I weigh, or how much I've gained.
Maternity clothes? Always.
Stretch marks? I can't tell if the one above my belly button is really one, or if it's just a scar that I've had for a long time...
Sleep?  It's been pretty decent. Last night Matthew went to watch the game with his friends and I was home alone - not for the first time, but for the first time not doing something productive. Teddy and I were laying in bed and he just randomly starts growling... at nothing. Teddy never growls. Ever. So you can imagine I was freaking myself out. I slept with Matt's knife on my night stand and took it with me each time I had to get up to pee!!!
Best moment this week? My surprise shower at work was definitely fun! Also making it through another week at work. It's getting harder and harder to do :)
Miss anything? Not that I can think of at the moment.
Movement? Yes! I started to get worried yesterday because I hadn't felt her a ton throughout the day but as soon as I went up to bed she started moving around.
Food cravings? Nothing today. Nothing ever really sounds good anymore!!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope
Gender? Baby girl!
Labor signs? Not that I know of. Just a random hurty pain but I think it might be her pushing out on my belly.
Symptoms? Peeing all the time, my feet, hands, and back hurt a ton, especially first thing in the morning!
Belly button in, or out? It's either flat or out most of the time!
Wedding rings on or off? They are on and getting tighter. Luckily I am still able to get them off for my showers.
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy! Nervous, excited!!!
Looking forward to? Our ultrasound tomorrow! Hoping for more good news! Hilary's wedding on Friday, and finally getting to meet this baby! I can't believe how fast it's coming up!

34 Weeks

Oops. Late again. Oh well.

This have been busy so it's not my fault. Settling into a house is hard! The good news is that we're making good progress on the nursery and hopefully we can get our room primed and painted in the next week! I'm really looking forward to that! We have someone coming over tomorrow to talk to Matthew about hardwood/laminate in our office area and after that we'll order new carpet for the upstairs. Matthew's uncle came over yesterday to help him put new white baseboards in Sadie's room and it looks awesome! Hubs is currently at the Home Depot buying whatever you're supposed to by to cover nail holes in the trim. He is excited that his uncle was able to teach him how to cut/install said trim and now he can do it himself in the rest of the house...eventually :)

We need to get a closet organizer for this little ladies closet and her closet door put back up. I need to get some frames for her walls and then her room will be good to go! I'll post pics on Saturday when I do my 35 week update. It will be done on Saturday!

I'm sitting here staring at a pile of baby books wondering when the heck I'm going to read them! I'm also washing my first load of baby clothes/blankets/towels. It's more fun than washing grown up stuff. :) We installed the car seat base this evening, and the car seat is by the door ready to go. I got some stuff for my hospital bag and am in the process of packing it. We're getting ready!!

I had a dream that the babes was born and she was the cutest thing ever (obviously this dream will be coming true)!!

ALSO - SIL found out she's having her 2nd boy!! I'm way excited. Sadie's going to have a best friend who will be in the same grade as her!! It's fun to think that they could have the same teachers/be in the same classes growing up. I am dying to know what this little guy is going to look like. Will he look just like his big brother Ben? I'm also sooo excited for them to pick out a name, although I'm not sure if that'll be chosen until they're at the hospital.

My other SIL who is due 2 months after me still hasn't chosen a name for her baby girl either. I commend those who have better things to do with their time than think about baby names all day. Though I love that we've been able to call Sadie by her name for the last 20 or so weeks.

Ok, on to the bumpdate:

How far along? 34w5d
How big is baby? This week baby is the size of a butternut squash. 
Total weigh gain? Um. I'm just going to say maybe 25 pounds? I'll try to remember to weigh myself tomorrow.
Maternity clothes? Yep. Seriously trying to get away with not buying anything else. That might be hard.  
Stretch marks? There might be 1 right above my belly button. I might be in denial about it.
Sleep?  Last week I said that pregnant people who claimed not to sleep were crazy - Or something along those lines. And then that very night I had the worst time sleeping. Yep, I jinxed myself.
Best moment this week? My coworkers through my a surprise shower at work today! It was amazing and totally unexpected! They are the best ever! I think I might still be in shock. I must be more out of the loop than I thought if they were able to plan that without me finding out! I can't wait to return the favor one day!
Miss anything? I miss not having to pee every 10 minutes :)
Movement? Yep! Matt and I think it's so funny when we're laying in bed and you can see that she's clearly just on one side of my belly. Also I've noticed some very pointy body parts pushing out that I can only assume are elbows or knees!
Food cravings? Nothing today!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope - Not unless you count when I got my flu shot yesterday and the nurse injecting it said (as she was injecting it), "if you have any fever or vomiting you need to call us right away!" I wanted to ask if she could suck the vaccine back into the shot because I wanted to opt out at that point. Y'all know my fear of barf. I think it was in my head that I was queasy for a while after that. She said if I were going to have adverse reactions it'd be within 24-48 hours. So far so good.
Gender? Baby girl!
Labor signs? Nope - I was a bit crampy after I had my stomach squeezed by the doctor yesterday, but seems to be gone today.
Symptoms? My bladder. The poor thing. I can't drink any water before going to bed otherwise I'll be up and down all night. I have heartburn and my belly button area hurts... Oh, my hands hurt too. Especially in the morning when I wake up. My mom says I've dropped, but I don't notice it. I'm not sure if I would notice it or not.
Belly button in, or out? Weird, but it's been pretty flat lately. I haven't noticed it poking out too much.
Wedding rings on or off? Oh they're on. They might not come off.
Happy or moody most of the time? So happy and getting anxious and nervous too!
Looking forward to? We have a kidney ultrasound on Monday. I am looking forward to seeing my girl again and checking to see if her kidney dilation went down any more! We are meeting with the pediatrician office on Friday morning, and Hilary's wedding is on Friday evening!! After that we're just waiting for this baby to be born! Hopefully finishing up on some organizational things here at the house and relaxing (a girl can dream right) with the hubs for a couple of weeks!

Don't make fun of the bump pic this week. I realize I look like I got hit by a train!

33 Weeks

Although this week has been busy I definitely haven't slacked on the blog. Only 1 day late!!

We have lots of house stuff coming together this week - sort of, we're getting things organized (finally) and getting the nursery put together! Wahoo!

How far along? 33w1d
How big is baby? This week baby is the size of a Durian. I have no idea what that is. It appears to be a pointy item.
Total weigh gain? Oh I think about 23 pounds now, if I'm remembering correctly from my doctor's visit last week.
Maternity clothes? Yep, but not today. I went for the sweatshirt look. 
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep? I'm still sleeping well. I'm starting to wonder if losing sleep while pregnant is really a thing or if I'm just going to be lucky enough to miss that part?
Best moment this week? We finally got the nursery painted. Matt says he thinks it needs another coat though, I'm not a painter so we'll just go with what he says.
Miss anything? I miss being able to lean forward without a belly in the way.
Movement? She is definitely letting me know she's in there. I read last night that when your stomach takes on that weird shape it's a braxton hicks contraction. I don't know if that's every time it takes on the funny shape... if so I have a lot of BH. I thought it was just her pushing out or moving at a weird angle.
Food cravings? No cravings to speak of, although today seems like a good day for chili so I wish I had thought of that before now and had it working so it'd be done in time for dinner!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.
Gender? Baby girl!
Labor signs? Nope - My doctor asks me every time I see her if I'm having contractions. I don't know what they feel like. So I say no. This leads me to believe I'm going to be that girl who doesn't know she's in labor and then is all in a rush to get to the hospital for that epidural! :)
Symptoms? Just peeing. All. The. Time. Heartburn on occasion too.
Belly button in, or out? It's rare for the belly button to be in anymore.
Wedding rings on or off? On though I can feel my hands swellings sometimes during the day now. Who knew it would hurt?
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!
Looking forward to? SIL is finding out what she's having tomorrow! I hope she doesn't make me wait too long before she decides to start telling people! The suspense is killing me! Is Sadie going to have a best friend to play dress up with, or will she have a best bud to play in the dirt and mud with?!? I'm looking forward to my ultrasound in 15 days. It's so insane to think that we have 48 days left to go and by the time that ultrasound rolls around we'll have like 33 days left!! I also chose a pedi (office) and we're going to a "Get to Know You" at the office on 10/11 and I'm glad I can finally cross that off my list as well!

Nursery - Before.. Hello Yellow!

 Matthew in the process of priming.

 Priming done!

 In the process of painting!

 The finished product (or at least the first coat)

It looks so much better!