How far along? 39 weeks.
Total weight gain? 26-27 lbs.
Stretch marks? Same.
Best moment this week? Being surprised at work with a card, cake, drawing, and Graco Pack 'n Play from my coworkers! Also, crafting up a wall decoration with baby's name to hang above her crib. I'll be finishing it tomorrow, it's so cute and I can't wait to show everyone!

38 week update.

How far along? 38 weeks.
Total weight gain? 26 lbs, I gained 1lb back from the 2lbs I lost last week!
Stretch marks? No new ones. Still lotioning up my itchy belly.
Best moment this week? Setting up most of Roo's nursery with my mom and washing baby's tiny clothes! I also finally ordered my breast pump!

A few goodies from roo's nursery!

Okay so I admit, my blog has been pretty boring lately, since my last three posts have only been my weekly updates. We have been so busy with the move and I have added a few extra hours to my work week.... still! But alas, we are all moved in to our new home (although we are still unpacking). I love it here so much, so far. We have neat little ledges that go along the entire wall in the living room and both bedrooms. I would love to have lots of pictures and decorations (maybe candles too!) on the one in the living room. And I hope to have Roo's books on the one in her room, among other things. Currently baby's room is set up as storage area because we don't have a lot of her things yet (baby shower is March 29th!) and we're still setting up the rest of the rooms, so in the meantime everything left over is in there. I'll be sure to make another post soon about the updates to our new place along with some pictures when we are done unpacking. But for now, here's my.....

35 week update!

How far along? 35 weeks.
Total weight gain? 26 lbs.
Stretch marks? Same as last week.
Best moment this week? Moving!!! Of course I wouldn't have been able to help so I was actually relieved that I spent the day at work and didn't have to stand around looking like a helpless kitten. Although, I would have liked to hang out with my Mom again. I can't wait to get everything set up the way we want it and just enjoy being in our new home, and preparing for the arrival of our little one.

I will hopefully be posting more this week as there are plenty of things I am dying to update about! I hope to see you soon!

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

How far along? 32 weeks.
Total weight gain? 22+ lbs.
Stretch marks? None on my belly.
Best moment this week? Making it through a six day work week!!! Registering my prenatal care in Dorchester and setting up an appointment to meet my new midwife. Checking out an apartment with Ashton and filling out an application! (Just waiting to hear back now!) Seeing my family this past weekend for Deasha's birthday. (Happy Birthday!) I love getting to sleep over at my Mom's, I just feel so comfortable and relaxed while I'm there. I feel like it's my once-a-month mini-vacation. Too bad I only get one more before baby arrives!
I went to Whole Foods in Dedham and treated myself to the brown rice cucumber and avocado rolls, with wasabi and ginger of course! Even though the sushi is expensive I've only had it one other time since being pregnant so I thought I'd treat myself today!
Late night snacking tonight.... It's like these treats were made for me!! I let Ashton have one too, even though he's not a Mom, lol.

How far along? 31 weeks.
Total weight gain? 20-21 lbs.
Stretch marks? None on my belly.
Best moment this week? Feeling up to working a few extra hours last Thursday to count inventory after already working a regular 8 hour shift. I'm also working six days this week and feel pretty good about it, so far!

It all started on Monday morning when I FINALLY got in touch with my Maternity Support nurse after two weeks of missing each other's calls. I'm so glad we finally spoke, as we had quite a long and involved chat! We reaffirmed my decision to deliver at Brigham and Women's Hospital and went over what that entailed. She said I must transfer my prenatal care over to a practice that is affiliated with B&W, and to do so as soon as possible because sometimes it is difficult to transfer prenatal care at this point and certain practices don't accept new patients who are already in their third trimester. And so the search began.

I googled around for what must have been hours, until I found the perfect practice to continue my prenatal care with- Dorchester House Multi-Service Center. They literally have everything I want: a midwife that will see me for every appointment from now until birth (instead of the doctor hopping I was doing with Dedham Medical- I saw 3 OB docs and a midwife there) and will be able to accompany me to B&W to deliver my baby, a pediatrics doctor who will also come to the hospital before I am discharged to establish a relationship with me and my baby and set up our first appointments together, optional group prenatal appointments (like a mini support group of mum's that are all due around the same date), a facility that is actually slightly closer to travel to, complete coverage by my insurance, AND they regularly work with patients who are looking to transfer their prenatal care! So I called Dorchester yesterday morning and have a prenatal registration appointment next week with a nurse for initial interview questions and then will set up my next set of appointments with my new midwife so my prenatal care won't be interrupted! :)

Unfortunately all of this means I somehow have to "break-up" with Dedham Medical. I actually feel bad about having to tell them I won't be continuing my prenatal care with them and asking to transfer my patient file over to Dorchester. It literally feels like a terrible break-up. I hope they don't take it too terribly!

To add to the excitement, Ashton and I went on a maternity tour of Brigham and Women's Hospital on Monday night. It was quite a rush actually being in the hospital and seeing all of the different rooms and floors that we would be traveling to in just 10 weeks. I watched the online tour video and almost decided on not going in for an in-person tour since it isn't necessarily recommended, but I am so glad that we did. It gave me peace of mind knowing exactly where to pull the car up (we drop the keys off for valet parking!) and actually see the front desk to check-in at and know where I will be wheeled off to next. Our tour guide told us about the triage room (where we might have to wait if we arrive too soon and I'm not far enough along to deliver yet), and showed us a labor and delivery room where we remain for 2 hours after delivery, a postpartum care room where we stay for the next two days, the nursery where the baby will only go if she can't be with me for medical reasons, and the waiting area for visitors that aren't one of my three support people (three support people are allowed to enter and exit the labor and delivery room and postpartum care room at any time, everyone else is considered a visitor and can only come to the postpartum care room between 1-8pm). She expressed the importance that the hospital places on immediate skin-to-skin contact between mother and child and also recommends breastfeeding as soon as possible (we will be visited by a lactation consultant soon after birth too). I will admit, I actually got really scared when we finally entered the labor and delivery room. Just looking at the hospital bed terrified me. I tried imagining myself laying in it and I felt my body get stiff and my eyes fill with tears. I'm so glad we left to continue the tour soon after that because I didn't want to have a meltdown in front of all the other couples there. How embarrassing! Overall, I loved the facility and agree with the practices that they recommend, I'm happy that my new midwife will be there throughout my birthing time, and am confident that everything will go smoothly.

ONLY TEN WEEKS!!!!! :)

How far along? 29 weeks.
Total weight gain? 19 lbs.
Stretch marks? Well. The thing is.... I have yet to figure out what these dark shapes and lines are that are under my boobs. They are getting too big so that I can't see them for myself but I noticed these lines for the first time in the mirror this afternoon before my shower. So devastating! I still have to show Ashton later. But anyway, they could be stretch marks?! :( As soon as I got out of the shower I ferociously slathered myself in my body butter because I felt guilty about skipping out on it recently.
Best moment this week? I had another appointment with my midwife (our appointments have switched from every 4 weeks to every 2 weeks now!). Everything checked out great as always and she was super surprised that I am still wearing regular jeans and can button them up normally! She finally mentioned the Tdap vaccine, which I have to get back to her about at our appointment next week but I haven't gotten around to really researching that yet, oops!

My most recent to-do list:

1. Signing up for a labor and delivery class and a breastfeeding class
2. Finally having that conversation with my doctor about delivering at Brigham and Women's
3. Calling my Maternity Support nurse for my 2nd appointment
4. Finishing up Roo's block set since I've been putting it off for a bit now
5. Continuing my failed attempts to get a hold of my landlord so I can get out of my stinking lease!

What I ate this week:

I completely missed taking pictures of our Indian inspired dish with multi-grain rice and grilled asparagus! But as you can see, my little squash actually got to have some butternut squash this week! :) I hope she loves veggies!!!

First, I'm going to show you the other side of my belly with my little (but growing) turtle. This picture was taken 3 weeks ago (@ 25 weeks). Does this side make me look fat? Hahha. :)


Now I'd really like to revisit a topic that many people tried drilling terrible thoughts and fears into my head about (and then I ranted about profusely on here). And that is: the flu shot. This will be much shorter than my past discussion, I promise.

So basically I was told back in October that my immune system was compromised significantly due to my pregnancy and that If I did not get a flu shot, I would almost definitely get the flu. And, if I get the flu, that it would be the worst flu in the world and could potentially be fatal to my baby, and even myself. I read this on multiple websites, and both my doctor and midwife warned me of the risks. I did additional research (click here to read my previous post) and decided it wasn't for me so I politely declined every time I was asked. (At least twice by my midwife, the one and only time I decided to see my actual OB doc, three times by the nurses that took my vitals at each appointment, and by my maternity nurse during our telephone appointment.) The funny and ironic thing is what happened (and didn't happen) over the course of the next three and a half months:

1. I did NOT receive a flu shot, while many other people I know did.
2. Several of my coworkers (both in my dept and others around the store) got the flu and were out of work for days. Even ones that got the flu shot.
3. I've noticed when several friends on my Facebook feed contracted the flu. Again, even some who got the shot.
4. A few ladies in my birth group mentioned having to see other doctors or midwives temporarily because their OB doc contracted the flu. (I'll bet you a million bucks that they got vaccinated, too!)
5. Articles have been circulating the web that I have stumbled upon or that have come across my FB and Twitter feeds about how wrong doctors were this year as to what strains of the flu they included in the vaccine. They were apparently wrong about one particular strand that has been pretty sneaky and making it's way around pretty much terrorizing people's immune systems.
6. Seeing how many other people were getting the flu and reading those articles got kind of scary and only for a second did I doubt my decision. Then I realized that while this was all happening, there was one thing that didn't happen: I HAVE YET TO GET THE FLU.

Now I am not saying that flu season is over and that I will definitely not get it, I'm just putting this into perspective for anyone else who thought I was nuts for not getting vaccinated. The flu shot isn't even helping a ton of people who are getting it anyway because a particular strain was not included in the vaccine. Also, I haven't felt even for a second that my immune system has been compromised. I'm sure it's not in tip-top pre-pregnancy shape, but I eat healthier than most people I know and, although I am no expert, I'm pretty sure what you put into your body has a lot to do with how it responds to outside threats. My body has treated me well thus far, and even if I somehow do get the flu I will know that getting that shot would not have prevented it.

Now, on to my 28 week update!

How far along? 28 weeks.
Total weight gain? Over 17 pounds.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Best moment this week? Baby's first hiccups! My gosh, she is adorable. Also, I am halfway through her block set. :)

How far along? 27 weeks.
Total weight gain? 16-17 pounds.
Stretch marks? None.

How far along? 25 weeks.
Total weight gain? Almost 15 pounds. This baby is getting massive, and quick!
Stretch marks? None.