Baby hiccups, lingering anemia and.... a DOULA?! (34 week update.)

Little Roo is the size of a canteloupe!!

How far along? 34 weeks.
Total weight gain? 25 lbs.

Belly size? Honestly. I really need to dig out that measuring tape lol.

Stretch marks? They are making their way to the tops of my boobs as well. Sound so attractive right?! Still none on the belly or anywhere else though.

Baby's sex? Girl!

Size of baby? She should be averaging 4 3/4 lbs, but I'm guessing she is just a bit smaller since she measured 33 weeks at our appointment yesterday.

Movement? I feel like she does flips throughout the day. Yesterday my midwife said she was head down. I was super pumped by this news, however, I know my little girl likes to tumble and she goes through lots of positions throughout the day and might not remain head down. I'm hopeful though!

What is your baby doing? She is still putting on layers of fat so that her body temperature can regulate once she is born. Also, her lungs are fully developed now and she would most likely have no problem surviving in the outside world if she were to be born prematurely.

What is your body doing? Continuing to have trouble absorbing iron. Since taking my supplement once and then twice a day hasn't had much effect, I switched my supplement source to a much higher dosage of iron and my midwife is confident that my red blood cell count will be at a considerably better place in 4 weeks. This is important since anemia can be a cause for preterm labor as well as cause a need for a blood transfusion at delivery, denial of a cord blood donation, or a slightly increased risk for an emergency cesarean section.... eeek!

Belly button in or out? It is flat. Ashton thinks he can see it poking out, but he is wrong.

Happy or moody most of the time? Getting too frickin excited! She has hiccups every few days that are just the cutest thing ever. How can I be anything but happy?!

Symptoms? Not too much to note in terms of Braxton Hicks this week. I did have a surprise contraction yesterday during my prenatal appointment and my midwife even felt it when she was checking baby's heartbeat! Still some mild acne, but not bothering me as much anymore. I felt some lower back pain for the first time today. I can't tell if it's due to the fact that I have also been developing a cold since last night and have generally been feeling crappy, or not. :(

Maternity clothes? A friend snuck a few maternity shirts into the bags of baby clothes that she passed on to me from her little one. So thoughtful of her! :)

Sleep? Still not bad at all. I'm worried about tonight though since I've been developing this crappy cold.

Food cravings? Fresh fruit. I think my body somehow knew I was about to get sick and has made me crave fresh berries, bananas, yogurt and orange juice this past week. Today I also bought some raspberry apple juice, grapes, apples, bananas, and an orange. Dinner tonight consisted of whole wheat couscous, tempeh, a pineapple/spinach/walnut dish, and a veggie mix of carrots, corn, peas, green beans, and lima beans.

Anything make you feel queasy or sick? No.

Miss anything? Down time to myself. I am either working six days or extra hours, running errands, making prenatal related phone calls, packing/moving, going to doc appointments, going to prenatal tours/classes, reading baby books, researching EVERYTHING prenatal and postnatal... the list goes on. I'm so sad to admit that I am missing "ME time" because I know I won't be getting much of that after baby comes either. At that point though, I'm pretty sure that I will want everything to be all about my Little Roo anyway. I love her so much and can't wait to cuddle her!

Looking forward to? Moving on Saturday, receiving my tax return, decorating baby's nursery, my baby shower, and giving birth!!! Lol I am working on Saturday and my family will actually be moving everything without me. But I can help unpack when I get home! I also hope to save everything I get from my tax return to help out when I am on maternity leave after my PTO runs out. I am super psyched for my baby shower and also decorating Roo's nursery. There are so many diy projects I want to undergo, but fear I will not have enough time. Well, it will remain a work in progress, I suppose! Obviously I can't wait until she arrives either. I really want to snuggle with her, so badly! I also really want to unpack all of her clothes and things and wash everything to prepare for her arrival. Oh, and also get my hospital bag together! I will probably have this together just after I am 37 weeks, (the week following my shower).

Best moment this week? Meeting my new midwife (she's actually really great!) and being able to discuss lots of options for my labor and delivery (including cord blood banking, a birthing tub, and a doula!). It turns out she is able to get to the hospital three days out of the week so she will only be present at my delivery if it occurs on one of those three days. Otherwise I will be accompanied by another midwife in the Brigham group, which I don't think I'll mind too much. But sadly, cord blood donations only occur Monday-Friday 7am-7pm, so if I deliver outside of that time frame I probably won't be able to donate. I guess having the possibility is better than not having the option at all. Also, I'm going to think about it some more, but I think I want to request the option of a birthing tub even if I don't end up using it. I am actually super excited about that possibility and want to look into it further. I didn't think using a birthing tub was even an option, but apparently they just got two new ones! Another option is having a doula, which is basically a support person during birthing time that is only there for advice/support and to make things easier by making suggestions or will step back if everything is already running smoothly. I am not sure about this option but am willing to do a little research and see how having a doula changed the birthing experience for other mums (especially since I will get a practicing doula so it will be at no additional cost to me). Although I discussed with my midwife that I want as few people as necessary in the l&d room (mostly because I don't want doctors/nurses/assistants/medical students coming and going as they please and making my birthing time stressful), I am actually willing to entertain the idea of letting a practicing doula witness a natural unmedicated child birth (if all goes well!) and add that to their experiences for when they get their license.

So many possibilities! I'm so excited for the future and to see how everything unfolds.