Happy Birthday!

Born: 8/14/14 (a week past her due date) @ 18:18.

9lbs 2oz

20.5 inches long

Week 40

How far along? 40 weeks 5 days....

How big is baby? The size of a jackfruit (whatever that is!)

Sorry for the questionable quality - thebump.com has been down for a while so I'm forced to
resort to Google images for my weekly fruit comparison. 

Total weight gain/loss: I haven't gained anything at my last 2 appointments! HOLLA!

Maternity clothes? Meh. I'm living in the same three work outfits (one of which probably shouldn't be worn to work...) My work pants don't fit (because of how low she's dropped) and my maternity shorts are also questionable. 

Sleep: Sleeping well, but in a fair amount of pain when I wake up (in my hands).  Sometimes it's so bad that I can't bend my fingers (or even wiggle them) since they're so stiff. 

Best moment this week: I finally (!) found the Leap Frog Learn and Groove play toy I've wanted for Em! I am SO excited! They stopped making them for quite some time, and they were selling on ebay for over $100. No. As much as I wanted it, I'm not about to shell out that kind of money for a toy for my 6 month old. Sorry. No. I found one a few weeks ago at a consignment sale and it was in terrible shape (and was $20 bucks!) so we passed. It was sad. So I was browsing the Liberty Swap Shop on Facebook and saw it! For $7! I was so excited!! I contacted the seller and we met up in Liberty. It's kind of dirty, but I'm so thankful I didn't have to purchase it brand new, or pay a million dollars for it on ebay. 

I also got a prenatal massage and a mani/pedi. Parts of the massage were REALLY rough and made me super nauseous. I think I was just hot - once I asked her to uncover my feet I was fine again. That's what I get for having an August baby. 

Movement: SUPER active again. :)

Food cravings: Nothing in particular. Milk is always a winner in my book. 

Food aversions: Still loving pretty much everything. 

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: Irregular contractions. Last night they were roughly every 15 minutes and lasted a minute for a few hours. Then they stopped. Again. Oh life. :) 

Pregnancy symptoms: Too many to list at this point! Pretty much everything I've listed in every post before!!

Belly button in or out? IN! 

What I miss: Being skinny. Not gonna lie. 

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully my daughters birthday this week!!

Upcoming appointments/events: 5 appointments this week! Yep, 5. Now that we're officially past my due date, I'm going to be monitored like crazy. I can't complain though since it's for Em's best interest. Anything to keep her safe. 

Milestones: So much has happened in the past week. Not only have I surpassed my due date, but I have a fun new diagnosis - gestational thrombocytopenia. Essentially this means that I have low blood platelets. I am SO thankful that Kyle and I attended the Bradley Method classes to help us prepare for a natural birth, because it looks like that's what I'm in for - no matter what. I feel like without those classes, Kyle and I would be on two completely different pages, which would be absolutely horrible while in labor. So with an epidural off the table and induction being discussed (I'm not really interested in that at this point, but I may not have an option depending on how low my platelets get) I'm starting to get really nervous. In the case of a c-section we're looking at being completely put under as opposed to just a spinal block, and possibly a transfusion. Scary? Absolutely. I realize that nothing will ever go 100% completely by what we have 'planned,' but I certainly wasn't expecting this big of a bump in the road. I have complete faith in my support system and in my midwife. I also feel like Kyle and I have prepared ourselves with knowledge of our legal options and my rights as a patient. We won't be announcing when I go into labor on Facebook (I don't want that kind of pressure!) but send a little prayer our way for a safe delivery of Emerson Kate if you notice that we've gone radio silent ;) we will certainly need all of the love and support we can get!

Week 39

How far along? 39 weeks and 6 days

How big is baby? The size of a watermelon (which actually sounds delicious right now!!)

Total weight gain/loss: I'm almost positive I'm nearing the 50lb gain total mark! That sounds like a LOT! It feels like a lot, but I guess for my original size, I'm right on track. Scary to think about losing all of that though! I'm sure I'll get there :)

Maternity clothes? Even those are getting super snug these days. Only three (of my 9 million) dresses fit right now and my work pants are super snug. Lame. BUT my tanks and non-maternity work shirts still fit like a charm. Riddle me that! Kyle and I went out to lunch on Sunday and it was rainy and a little chilly. I didn't want to wear my normal lounge wear (you know, because sometimes I like to feel human too!) so I tugged on my one pair of maternity jeans that I hadn't touched since week 18 (and they looked AMAZING at that point.) They fit great everywhere except right where the stretchy band meets the jean material - the exact same spot where my work pants are snug. Sheesh! But they worked! And I wasn't miserable! And I felt like a person. Win, win, win! Hopefully that will be the last time I wear those (unless we decide to have another baby) - and I say that not thinking "oh I'll be able to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans right away! but more of a 'I don't plan on wearing anything other than dresses and sweats until I'm forced to go back to work! 

Sleep: I feel like this is non existent these days - and even when I do sleep enough and I feel rested, it doesn't matter because I'm so exhausted an hour later that I don't even remember that feeling. I know, just wait. I don't even know what TRUE exhaustion is yet ;) 

Best moment this week: Definitely at my doctors appointment when my nurse asked if I was getting checked today and I said "no thank you." and she responded with "good for you! We do so many unnecessary checks and they're for no good reason." :) It made me feel good, like I'm totally justified in my decision to hold off on those as long as possible. I mean, not that I need any sort of validation, but it still felt nice to be supported and not looked at like I was crazy (like I get from some of my friends :) )  

Movement: Still not as much! Well, I say that and the past two days she's been a little wiggle worm in there! I was thinking that maybe she was getting into position for labor, but remembered she's been in position for like, ever. And Google says babies are typically LESS active right before labor, which pretty much sets in the theory that I'm confident I'm not going to have her on time. I'm okay with that!

Food cravings: Not really craving anything anymore. But I certainly am still enjoying food!

Food aversions: Nada!

Gender: Female

Labor Signs: NOPE! NADA! ZILCH! NOTHING! And I'm okay with that. Even the Braxton Hicks have pretty much stopped. During dinner last night I was getting them fairly regularly, to the point Kyle mentioned that we should probably start timing them, but as soon we he said it, they stopped. Oh well. I'm okay with her baking in there a while longer!

Pregnancy symptoms: My hands hurt. Oh goodness they hurt. I mean, not like the worst pain ever, but as soon as I try to move them - ouchies! I'm fine with normal things like typing or texting, but washing my hands and opening doors - I remember very quickly that I have carpal tunnel. Oh, I suppose I should mention my last appointment! I officially have carpal tunnel (fun!) and my midwife has NO idea what my rash is. She said it looked like shingles, but I told her that it couldn't be because it wasn't painful enough. Trust me, you don't forget that pain!! So it's just kind of hanging out. 

Belly button in or out? In!

What I miss: Being able to comfortably roll out of bed and my hands not being all hurty. 

What I am looking forward to: Her due date (which is on THURSDAY!) I'm excited to see that I was right and she was going to go past her due date! Although, I must say I've felt kind of funny, or off, for the past several days - so who really knows what's going on in there :)

Upcoming appointments/events: I scheduled a prenatal massage, mani, and pedi (thanks baby daddy!) for Thursday, so I'm excited to enjoy that little treat! And then we have our 40 week appointment on Friday! I'm not sure if I want to be checked or not to see if I'm dilated at all - we know she's in the right position and she's definitely been dropping - sooooo we'll see. I'm sure I'll be updating this at 40 weeks still!

Milestones: I'm alive! :)