36 Weeks! What-WHAT!

•How far along?: 36 weeks! We made it to my goal! 9 months pregnant, and boy do I feel the part!

•Current Weight: 143!!!

•Total weight gain: +20 from pre-pregnancy weight.

•How big is baby?: Large cantaloupe. 5 pounds 12 ounces on Wednesday.

•Movement: All.The.Time. He loves pushing his feet and butt out.

•Stretch marks?: Unfortunately, they've shown up late. I have some light ones on both hips, and just a few light ones on my lower back, off to the sides. Plus the one on top of my belly button.

•Sleep?: Getting worse again. I have to roll over all the time (about every hour) because my hips feel like they're splitting, with terrible achy pains.

•Symptoms?: Minimal heartburn (thank you Zantac!), TERRIBLE hip pain, lower pressure, and minimally swollen fingers, toes and ankles. No cankles though, fortunately.

•Food aversions?: Not currently.

•Food cravings?: Hamburgers, cheese, pizza, pasta..Nothing different.

•Labor signs?: I thought I dropped last week at 35 weeks, but it's obvious that this week I have definitely dropped. Some cramps, BH, and I had a few of what I think were real contractions. But nothing regular or consistent.

•Belly button in or out?: Some in and some out, depending on where he's laying and whether or not I'm contracting.

•What I miss: Bending over, moving easily, deep breaths in, and seeing the skin below my belly button line.

•What I'm looking forward to: Meeting Cael! His nursery is 99.9% done, and all ready for him!! As of now, we just have to hang his letters, and get curtain rods for the valances.

•Best Moment this week: Finishing the nursery. It's so surreal now!

•Milestone: Getting to 36 weeks! Which was the goal!

Bed Rest - Day 33

As of 6:30pm last night, construction was complete! It was a long day, since they wanted to stay late, and finish everything. But it was worth it! There is still a light film of dust on everything, so I had to vacuum off the couch and what-not, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We are so happy with the improvements, and everything looks fabulous.

I wanted to try to prime Cael's room today (I'm still on MBR, so I figured I would do it in short spurts), so I decided to get up early and get started on things. I needed to shower, which I did, and we desperately needed to do food shopping. So I was up at 6:45am, showered, and on my way to the food store by 7:45am. Needless to say, that was a VERY tiring task, and by the time I got home, slowly unloaded everything and put everything away, I was just plain exhausted. And it was only 10am. Not to mention that I was already starving for lunch since I was up so early.

So I made some Pizza Bagels for "brunch", and relaxed on the couch. I found out that Matt was going to be coming home early from work at around 2. I was happy about that, because I like when he's home with me, and he could help me prime the room. However, at around 11:20, I started getting these really painful pains with belly tightening. I thought for sure it was a contraction - my belly hardened, it was painful, and it was hard to breath. I started timing them, and in all, I had about 3 of them, and several painless BH's in between by 1:15.

They were definitely irregular and spaced far apart, so I didn't get too alarmed. They just hurt. But at the same time, I was nervous and anxious for if it was the real thing. I told Matt about them, and he wanted to make sure I was timing them, and to not move off the couch. He didn't want me to do anything else for the rest of the day, because he really doesn't want Cael to come yet. He tells me I'm not allowed to have him until the nursery is finished. So on the couch I laid. And Matt walked in at around 12:30 - earlier than I thought. I was happy.

So Matt ended up priming the entire nursery, and I relaxed. I'm so happy and lucky to have Matt. He did a good job, and the room is now white, compared to the bright blue it was before. Tomorrow, Matt has off because I have an office appointment and ultrasound (my last one! The u/s that is) in the afternoon, but we're hoping to do some of the painting tomorrow. The room will be two-toned with a border around the middle, so we have some work ahead of us. I'm just happy we're finally working on the nursery - it feels so surreal.

I'm thinking that the nursery will be painted and ready to be furnished by Friday the latest, and then Matt and I can build the furniture. Once he has the furniture built, I can put everything in the nursery. My friend Sadie is planning to come over on Friday to help organize everything, so I am excited about that. Hopefully we'll have all the furniture assembled! It's all so exciting!

:::Hold on just a little longer, baby Cael:::

Construction Update - Day 5

So today is the 5th day of construction (well, technically the 5.5th day because they worked half a day on Sunday), and the progress is amazing! My guess is they'll be done by the end of today! We'll be able to start paint the nursery tomorrow with Primer. This is really moving along!

Today, they:

• Did all the sanding of the mud and rock
• Vacuumed and cleaned up the dust
• Installed the base molding in Cael's room
• Installed the trim around the door in Cael's nursery
• Installed a gutter above our front door to prevent the rain from pouring down in front of the door outside
• Re-hung/aligned our bathroom door in the living room so it doesn't take all my strength to open (this was something we didn't expect!). The door bottom would drag along the carpet
• Installed our new faucet in the bathroom
• Installed the rest of the door knobs

Phew! All that is left is:

• Install the rest of the trim around the remaining doors in the apartment
• Install switch/outlet covers over all the outlets
• Install a wood plank on the bottom of the look-through hole opening
• Finish cleaning up/shop vacuuming

What a big change! I can't wait to post pictures of before and after :)

Bed Rest - Day 32

The contractors started early this morning, around 7:30. They're currently sanding the rock and mud, so I'm upstairs in the living room, away from all the flying dust. That means that the construction is coming to an end shortly, and I can't wait. I am, however, extremely anxious over the cost of everything. Like I've posted earlier, the initial estimate was $2500. But since it's taken them a couple of days longer than estimated, AND they ran into the electrical problems, I'm convinced it's going to be a lot more. We took out a loan for $5000, in which $1000 ended up getting spent on monthly bill (which I really didn't want to happen, but what's done is done), so that leaves $4000 for the renovations. Matt doesn't think it will be too much over what the initial estimate was, and I hope he's right.

I'm thinking that the contractors want to at least be finished with Cael's room by the end of today, so that we can start painting in there. They keep making jokes about how I have to wait to go into labor until they leave - they're really funny. They keep saying that's not "their specialty", and if anything, wait until Matt comes home..too funny! If they aren't done today, then they will be done by tomorrow. If they're done today, that totals 5.5 days of work; if they're done tomorrow, that's 6.5 days of work. A little longer than they estimated, but well worth it. I just hope that time spent doesn't equal money, in this case anyway.

I had the weirdest dream last night, and I'm not sure if I want it to be true or not. My midwife in my dream, which was Elaine in Katie's body (both my midwives - really weird), told me that I should expect my water to break soon. Like, really soon - days soon. Wouldn't it be nice if they could actually predict when these things would happen?

I have been crampy on and off all morning. They're like menstrual cramps, but without the hardening of my belly. So I'm guessing they're not contractions? I have no idea. Maybe I have to poop, but I don't feel like it. We did do a lot yesterday, with being out half the day.

It was funny, because Matt said at one point yesterday, "Are you sure you're ok to go to another store? I know they said to increase your activity slowly, but I don't want to increase it too much and have Cael come before the construction is done." And then last night, I was having those painful twinges really down low, which made me double over. Matt was like, "Don't YOU DARE!". Haha! He's terrified I'm going to go into labor before he can finish painting and building all the furniture. Then I leaned over to get my phone while in bed last night, to set my alarm, and he asked me what I was doing, like "What are you doing??". He thought I was going to use the contraction timer app I have because I was having a contraction. I assured him I was only setting my alarm, and to relax. He is downright TERRIFIED of Cael getting here within the next few days.

I do have some things I want to do today - like food shopping! We literally have nothing to eat in our apartment. And honestly, no means to cook anything, because there is clutter everywhere (especially on top of the stove) from the construction. So we have been eating out a lot. I clipped some coupons this morning from the P&G flyer in the Sunday paper, so I'm anxious to use them. Thing is - I can go out food shopping, but then I have no where to put anything once I get home because of the contractors working. I don't want to get in their way, so that won't work. I want them to get done with whatever they need to without impeding them. Maybe when Matt gets home from work, we can both go. That would make it easier on me as well.

Finally, this whole "dropping" thing is in my head. I'm trying to figure out if I did indeed drop a little. I feel less pressure up high, and more pressure down low. Plus, a lot of people commented on my 35 week Facebook picture about how much lower I'm carrying, that it looks like I've dropped. Maybe I did, even a little. I can definitely breathe a little better, that's for sure. Here's a collage of pictures from 33-35 weeks to see the comparison. And finally, here is a video of Cael hiccuping - something he's been doing quite frequently :)

:::I can't wait to meet and hold you, Cael:::

Bed Rest - Days 30 & 31

Saturday, 30th

I was able to sleep in today, fortunately. The contractors didn't come today to work, but are coming tomorrow instead (Sunday). So I slept in until 10am. I had plans to go out and get some things today, such as going to Walmart and doing some food shopping, but then I started feeling like sick. I was light-headed, nauseous, and had a lot of pressure down low. So I decided it would be best to stay home, and not risk passing out in public. So on the couch is where I stayed.

I eventually started feeling better, and made my way upstairs to make myself some lunch, since our stove is covered in stuff. I then relaxed a little bit more, and made my way down to the pool. I love being in the pool, because I feel weight-less, and don't feel pregnant. It's amazing what water can do. I spent about an hour in the pool, and it was lovely. Although I didn't go out and do some errands, I did want to do something. So I did a couple of loads of laundry, and washed some dishes.

Sunday, 31st

Today was a busy day! We got up at 8am, and the contractors came to put in half a days work at 9am. They wanted to put a second coat of mud on the walls, install the door knobs, and trim around the doors. Matt and I had plans to go out and get some things, so we left about 10am, and didn't get home until around 4! We went to Burlington Coat Factory (Baby Depot of course!), JC Penny, ate some lunch, and then went to Lowe's to get our paint.

We spent about $100 at BCP, but we got so much stuff! We were originally looking for a Newborn size take-home outfit, but weren't able to find one. But we got a bunch of cute outfits in 6 month sizes, and they were all much cheaper than the original price. We found out that we should have bought most of Cael's clothes there, instead of Babies 'R Us. The discounted prices were much cheaper, and they have all the same things. Oh well, you live and you learn.

We also hit amazing clearance sales at JCP - we got onesies for $2.99 each! How could you resist that!? And we also found our NB take-home outfit...for $4.99! It isn't a 3 piece layette set like I originally wanted, but instead a romper. I ended up asking my friend Lindsay what she brought Liam home in (because I was originally thinking about a onesie set with either shorts or pants), and she said a snap-up onesie, because of his belly button stump. I didn't even think of the stump, so I figured we'd get a romper-type outfit as well.

We got our border in mail on Friday, so we were hoping to match a blue and brown from the border. Fortunately, for us, we were able to find an almost SPOT-ON matching brown and blue. We're just hoping it still matches when it's on the walls. We should be able to paint at least Cael's nursery on Tuesday - I'm so excited!

The contractors will be back tomorrow to apply the 3rd coat of mud, sand, install door knobs, install the trimming and molding around all the doors, and install the base molding in Cael's room. When we got home from our outing today, only the 2nd coat of mud was applied, and the exterior doors were sealed. I'm sure it took them longer to mud than they thought. So hopefully tomorrow, everything will be done! I can't wait!

35/35!!

•How far along?: 35 weeks, with 35 days to go!

•Current Weight: 145!!! :(

•Total weight gain: +22 from pre-pregnancy weight.

•How big is baby?: Large cantaloupe. 19-22 inches long; around 5.5 pounds.

•Movement: All.The.Time.

•Stretch marks?: On my belly button, on the skin that would be over my piercing. It's starting to turn red, and feel like it's tearing.

•Sleep?: Surprisingly, it's actually been getting better. I'm sleeping through most of the night now - with the exception of having to constantly switch what side I'm laying on because of hip pain.

•Symptoms?: Minimal heartburn (thank you Zantac!), hip pain, lower pressure, difficulty breathing, and minimally swollen fingers, toes and ankles. No cankles though, fortunately.

•Food aversions?: Not currently.

•Food cravings?: Hamburgers, cheese, pizza, pasta.

•Labor signs?: I may have possibly dropped a little? I'm not sure though. And I'm still getting occasional BH's and contractions.

•Belly button in or out?: Some in and some out, depending on where he's laying and whether or not I'm contracting.

•What I miss: Bending over, moving easily, deep breaths in, and seeing the skin below my belly button line.

•What I'm looking forward to: The construction being done early next week; and our final ultrasound on Wednesday.

•Best Moment this week: Making it to 35/35, and being told I can start to slowly increase my activities! But I'm still considered on bed rest.

•Milestone: Being 35/35!

Bed Rest - Days 28 & 29

Thursday, 28th

Four weeks of bed rest has been completed by the end of today! I can't believe it, and I'm actually quite surprised at how quickly the time has gone by. Thank you Facebook and The Bump!

Today was day 3 of construction. Although visually it didn't look like much got done by the end of the day, there truly was. All the rocking was finished, and some of the mudding was done. Also, the two closets took the longest to rock, so that took up some time. We had a weekly ob appointment, so we were gone most of the morning, and returned after lunch. When we got back, all of the above mentioned was done, as was rock repairs in Cael's nursery. There were some pretty bad areas of missing or lumpy sheet-rock on the walls, and I'm surprised they fixed them all. The walls now look like they have white chicken-pox, but I'm grateful it will all be repaired, smooth and ready to paint.

Initially, we were just going to keep the blue the same as it was on the upper part of the wall, and then just paint the lower part a shade of brown. However, Matt and I didn't think that through too well, because we forgot there was a new wall going up, as well as a door. Duh! That new wall has to be painted anyway, and that paint is from 5 years ago, and I doubt it will be any good. That is, if we still have it somewhere. I'm happy about it though, because recently I starting hinting to Matt that I wanted to repaint the whole room as opposed to only the bottom half, and choose a different color blue. Now we can, and we can pick a blue that will match the blue in the wallpaper border we ordered. Which, by the way, should be coming on Friday!

My appointment went well. It was actually the easiest, quickest and least times I've been poked in an appointment ever - type of appointment. Caels' heart rate was 130, I got my progesterone shot, and that's about all that was checked. She is happy with the progress I've made (or rather, lack of progress), and that I have so far made it to 34 weeks 5 days. Her original goal was to get me to 35 weeks, so she's happy now and more relaxed. The other midwife I see wants to get me to 36 weeks, so either or. The midwife I saw said I can slowly start to increase my activities over the next week! This is perfect, because we'll have a nursery to paint and work on by early next week.

She still doesn't want him born yet, but I think she'd be comfortable if he was, because he's not considered too early at this point. When asked about having sex/orgasms, she was a little hesitant to say yes, so I know she's still being cautious. She asked if we could wait until Sunday, in which I'll be 35 weeks 1 day, and we said of course. It's been longer than 4 weeks already (for me anyway), so what's a few more days?

Friday, 29th

Today started off with some anxiety over the construction. We figured they'd be sanding today, so that's what set me off. The idea of getting rock dust all over everything started me going. I even cried after Matt left for work. It just overwhelms me to think of how messy it's going to get, and I know rock dust stays around for a couple days, even after cleaning it up. However, it turns out that they will probably not be sanding today, but instead tomorrow. They still have to finish mudding, and let that dry completely before sanding.

So that's what they've been working on since this morning. First, they covered all the corners of rock with a metal covering that was nailed on. I always wondered how they got smooth corners. That took about an hour to do, because there were a lot of corners. Then they started on mudding. It's coming along very nicely, and finishes off the edges nicely, so you can get an idea of what it will really look like without the visible screws and raw edges. Once they are done with the mudding, it will probably be around lunch time, so they'll take a break.

Once back from lunch, the mud will probably still be wet, so I hope they'll start working on the exterior doors. They're both crooked and hung wrong, and one doesn't even latch closed, so it will be nice to have working outside doors for a change.

Other than that, that's all going on today. I want to go to Babies R' Us to get some diapers, because they're having a sale on Pampers, and some other stuff we still need for the nursery, but I'll probably stay home. I woke up sore and tired this morning, so I think I'll just stay put on the couch today. Matt's computer plays BluRay movies, so maybe I'll finally get around to watching the last Shrek movie. I think Matt got it for me for Christmas, and it's still in the plastic wrapper.

I also should really write my last Thank You note to my sister-in-law, who threw my shower. I know, I know. Talk about procrastination. I saved hers for last, because it's on a different card, and it's going to take me longer to write. I should really make myself write that card before I do anything else, so that I can mail it tomorrow morning. I don't know why I've waited so long - I have no reason. My other Thank You's went out about 3 weeks ago! I've got to get on top of it, and just finish it so it's done.

I'll leave you with a picture of a face that Matt had to draw on my belly. It's kind of cute, really. He used my semi-sticking out belly button for a nose. And here is a video of Cael moving around.

Bed Rest - Days 26 & 27

It has been quite an eventful couple of days. Yesterday was day 1 of construction. Yippeeee!!! I'm so happy and excited to see the progress right before my eyes. It's literally right in front of me, because our couch is out in the new living room, which is where I've plopped myself, and where most of the renovations are happening. It's noisy and a little dusty, but not too bad. I've been just occupying myself with Facebook and The Bump.

Yesterday, the contractors did a lot. Actually, a lot more than I think was in the original plan. As it turns out, the morons who built this house liked to cut corners..with everything. Therefore, what I originally thought was going to be "put a stud here, and hang all the drywall there", turned into "we have to take these electrical outlets and switches apart, and re-wire everything because it's not done properly". Great. All I could see were dollar signs flashing before my eyes.

Our original estimate was about $2500, which then turned into about $3000 when we turned around, and asked them to finish sheet-rocking the "particle board" wall. We figured Matt wouldn't be able to get around to it anytime soon, and the contractors might as well do it while they're here and doing everything else. HOWEVER, now that most of the time has been spent on electrical work and wiring, I'm terrified to know what the final cost is going to be. There really isn't expensive electrical parts to buy, but it's rather the labor. And trust me, from what I've seen, it's very frustrating and labor-intensive. Especially when the wiring is majorly fvcked up to begin with.

Just to give you an idea, some outlets/switches are double wired, neutral wires are live and giving shocks, and (my favorite) an outlet in the living room somehow was connected/circuited to an outlet across the room, by Matt's dad's computer, which ran the cable router for the internet. They were trying to figure out where the second circuit went to, so they un-wired it, and nothing in our apartment or living room went out. So we figured it went to God-knows-where upstairs. Well, as it turns out, we went to use our lap top, and the internet wasn't working. Matt checked over by the router, and everything was out. BINGO - at least we didn't have to go searching for where it was connected to. Now, I have no idea how this stuff works, or what should be normally done, but by listening to them talk among themselves, it doesn't sound good or done right.

Within the first few hours of being here, they had all the framing done - for both walls, and the two closets in the living room. It was when they got to the closets that they were spending the most time. Although it was already framed, most of the beams had to be replaced. And then there was the outlets and switches. I think once they got there, they realized that all the wiring was going to be a problem. Long story short, from about before lunch time to when they were ready to leave at 4:30pm, they spent all that time on electrical-related stuff. The wiring and electrical in this house, or at least in the extension (which is our apartment and new living room) is extremely done wrong, and it's kind of scary. I'm glad we are having a professional fix everything, because it will at least be a little safer, and done correctly. Even if it does cost more money.

That brings us to this morning. They got here right around 7 am, and have been working on...yup, you guessed it...electrical stuff. However, before they can start sheet-rocking what they've framed, they have to have all the wiring done properly in the wall. They are adding a new outlet and cable wire hook-up for us in the living room, as well as dropping all the outlets they can. For some reason, most of the outlets are up higher, like belly-high. So where ever they can, they're bringing them to the floor where they should be. I'm assuming when they're done with all the wiring (hopefully by lunch), that they'll start sheet-rocking, and everything will start to take shape.

I had my breastfeeding class last night. It was ok. I took Laureen with me, because Matt had to stay back while the contractors were finishing up for the day. I felt like I knew most of the stuff already. It turned out to be a 3 hour class (was supposed to be 2.5 hours), and we only got one break the entire time. It was extremely uncomfortable, as we had hard, plastic chairs to sit in. So basically, I felt like it was a waste of time. It started at 6pm, and we didn't get out until 9pm, and then I had to drive all the way home - the hour and fifteen minutes. By the end of the class, I was tired, cranky, and in a rotten mood. We didn't get home until about 10:30pm, and Matt was already in bed. It was a long night.

I plan on updating with pictures of the renovation progress as soon as it's all done. I'm just really looking forward to having everything finished so we can move all our furniture back to normal, and set up Cael's nursery. Just a couple more days.

:::I love you Baby Cael:::

Bed Rest - Days 24 & 25

Bed rest? What bed rest. ::::shhhh..don't tell my midwife:::: I hardly feel rested after these last few days. Yesterday, we (well, Matt) spent the entire day moving furniture out of the new living room (which consisted of all the baby stuff we got, as well as some things that belonged to his parents), and moving all our living room furniture out of our old living room and into the "new" one. The contractor is starting tomorrow at 7:00am with the construction, so we needed the living room empty - he's starting on Cael's room first by building the wall. Once he's done with that, he'll probably start working on the wall between the kitchen and new living room, making an archway where the apartment door is. Then he'll probably finish by building the wall to close off the living room from the rest of the house, and sheet-rocking the two closets.

Matt did so much work yesterday, and moved and cleaned so much - I'm so thankful. We currently don't have a functioning living room, but that's ok - it will only be for a few days. We have our bedroom, lap top and Netflix, so we are set :). Today, my job was to clean the bathroom because the contractor is also replacing our bathroom faucet for us - something we didn't think he would do. I'll be brutally and disgustingly honest - I have not given our bathroom a full cleaning...well, ever I think. Right now, it's probably cleaner than it was when we first moved in. :::cowers in embarrassment:::

I also have to do the dishes, which I will start in a little bit, because cleaning the bathroom took me 2 hours, and I was on my hands and knees (so much for bed rest, huh?). Luckily, I didn't start having contractions or anything, so that is good. We also have to kind of clean up and organize the remaining "junk" we have in Cael's soon-to-be-nursery, because it's not entirely empty. It's amazing how much crap 2 people can accumulate! Needless to say, it was quite dusty, and I'm paying for it now with my allergies. They're absolutely horrendous!

Tomorrow I have my breastfeeding class, so I'm excited about that. I believe Laureen will be coming with me, so it should be a good time. I'm looking forward to it, because I really want to be successful at breastfeeding.

Well, it's getting later in the day (currently 4:20), and I have some more things I want to get done before Matt gets home, related to cleaning. I will update tomorrow.

:::I can't wait to organize your nursery!:::

Bed Rest - Day 23

:::Hee-hee-hee-huuu::: Yup, that's right! We had our all-day birthing class today, and it was much more informative than I thought it would be. I was afraid it would focus on medicated birth and c-sections. But instead, there was a lot on natural relaxation techniques and breathing, geared towards a medication-free labor and delivery. It made for a long day, but I think it was totally worth it. We were there from 9-5pm! Needless to say, today wasn't really a "bed rest" type of day.

After the class, we had to run to Lowe's. We needed to get a new faucet for the bathroom, because the contractor said he'd replace it for us. We've been without a bathroom faucet for about 2 years now, so it will be amazing to have running water in the bathroom sink! We were surprised when the contractor said that he would replace it for us, because we didn't expect it. Hey, less for us to do! I ended up taking a Brethine right after the class, because we knew we'd be walking around a lot, and I was already feeling uncomfortable from being out all day.

We also picked out a bunch of paint ideas for the kitchen and new living room wall. Now we just have to narrow them down. We're going to wait to pick the shade of brown for Cael's nursery (bottom part of the wall will be brown, upper will remain blue) until we have the border picked out. I'm just so happy things are moving along. We'll have so much more room by next weekend!

We have a lot to do tomorrow too. We're going to wake up early to get an early start, and we'll probably be moving and organizing things all day so that the contractor has room to work. For starters, we have to move everything that's in the new living room out. That includes all of the baby stuff, and even all the stuff we got for our wedding 2 years ago. Yes, that's right. We haven't used any of our wedding gifts yet. But now we will :). Everything needs to be moved from the new living room to either Matt's parents' living room next door, or upstairs and out of the way.

Then we need to move everything from the old living room out (which will be Cael's room), and into the new living room. The contractor will be putting up the wall for the nursery first, so we have to make sure that all of the big stuff (couch, tv, tv stand) is out so we don't have to worry about fitting it through a narrow door. Come next week, when that wall is done between the nursery and kitchen, we will move all of the nursery stuff into the nursery to get that out of the way. Then when the wall is done for the new living room, we will move everything back into there. It's confusing, but all should take only about 3 days. I'm so excited!

:::Keep growing strong, Cael!:::

34 Weeks!

•How far along?: 34 weeks, and still pregnant!

•Current Weight: 139.

•Total weight gain: +16 from pre-pregnancy weight.

•How big is baby?: Honeydew; 5 pounds 3 ounces, as of yesterday; and the 63rd percentile.

•Movement: All.The.Time.

•Stretch marks?: I swear I see a small one right above my belly button, between my belly button and piercing hole. But Matt says I'm crazy, that there is nothing there.

•Sleep?: The last 2 nights, I actually slept through the night! I took a Zantac 150 before going to bed both nights, so I'm thinking that's helping.

•Symptoms?: Same as last week - uncomfortable belly, BH's, contractions, peeing all the time, and massive heartburn.

•Food aversions?: Not currently.

•Food cravings?: Hamburgers, cheese, pizza.

•Labor signs?: Eh. I've had a few contractions here and there. I had to take my Brethine today though.

•Belly button in or out?: Remaining even with my belly. I don't think it will pop out.

•What I miss: Bending over and moving easily.

•What I'm looking forward to: Construction starting on Tuesday!! We'll have a nursery by next weekend!!

•Best Moment this week: Finding out my cervix is still stable at 2 cm.

•Milestone: Being 34 weeks!

Bed Rest - Day 22

So today was a good day. This is probably because I slept through the entire night last night - something that hasn't happened in a long time. I decided to give in, and take a Zantac 150 before I went to bed, hoping it would work. I stopped it a few months ago because it wasn't helping anymore, so I figured why keep taking it. Well, I did not wake up once uncomfortable, or with heartburn. I slept right until 9:30 this morning, and only woke up for a minute when Matt was getting dressed for work. Definitely amazing!

I also had an appointment and ultrasound today, so I was anxious about that. I'm surprised I slept at all, actually. And everything looks PERFECT! My cervix is stable at 2 cm, and it's still closed. I am so relieved. I was fearing the worst, and was having images in my head of it being funneled and only 1 cm long. I am so happy that wasn't the case.

Cael also looked perfect..as I expected. My fluid measured 16 cm, which is great; his heart rate was 132 bpm, also great; and Cael is an estimated 5 pounds 3 ounces, and in the 63rd percentile still. Absolutely beautiful. He's also still on my right side, which is probably why I'm so uncomfortable. With him being on my right side completely, it pushes up on my liver - squishing that - which then pushes up into my lungs. Definitely a reason to be uncomfortable.

Because of my progesterone shot being due on Tuesday, they made my next appointment on Tuesday. However, I think it's dumb for me to go in on Tuesday, because then only 4 days have gone by since my last appointment. Plus, I liked my Thursday/Friday appointments, because Matt could go to the ones on Thursday at least. So I plan on calling the office on Monday and asking if the shot has to be given every 7 days, or if it can be 9 days for just this one time. If it can, then I'm going to reschedule my appointment to Thursday, and do everything then. If not, I'll have to figure out what to do.

We have our breastfeeding class at 6pm on Tuesday, and my appointment is at 2:45. That's a long time to wait between the two. Plus, Matt can't get off work that early for my appointment. So at this point, I have no idea what to do. ALSO, we have to have someone home on Tuesday evening because :::drum roll please::: construction starts on Tuesday!!!

I'm so excited. I thought it would never start! So we'll have a nursery to start setting up next weekend!! So I'm thinking of having Matt's mom come with me to the breastfeeding class (Matt would love that, since he doesn't want to go), and Matt can still leave early and come home for the construction. In the end, a 2:45 appointment just won't work on Tuesday.

We have our all day birthing class tomorrow, from 9-5:30. It's going to be a long day day, but well worth it. We're then going to go to Lowe's after, and buy paint for the new living room and kitchen. We have to pick out a border for the Cael's nursery before we pick out a shade of brown to paint the bottom part of the wall, so that can wait until Monday. I'm just so excited! It's going to be a busy next week couple of weeks. Hopefully Cael decides to stay put until at least the nursery is done.

:::You're looking perfect, baby:::

Bed Rest - Day 20 & 21

I'm miserable. Let me start there. I'm still not sleeping well at night; I'm uncomfortable; I have heart-burn all the time; I'm emotional and can't seem to put a finger on why; I feel like a hippo; I feel completely useless; etc.

Let's talk about yesterday, shall we?

It was an ok day. I mostly lounged on the couch, and was on Facebook and The Bump most of the time. Matt came home from work early, around 1:45, so I was thrilled and really happy about that. We relaxed on the couch, and I decided to whip out "Heading Home With Your Newborn", a book that my OB office gave me at my first OB visit. The first chapter was about breastfeeding, and quite honestly, it overwhelmed me. So I put the book down, and tried to relax on the couch.

I was growing increasing uncomfortable. No matter how I laid or moved, it hurt. Cael is sticking his butt up higher in my chest, and it just hurts at this point. So I just broke down and started crying. Actually, thinking about my crying bout yesterday makes me want to cry right now. Matt said something along the lines of "I'm just going to let you cry it out." And he did for a few minutes, until he realized how miserable I was, and I wasn't stopping. He put the computer down, and wedged himself closer to me on the couch. He started rubbing my legs and feet, and rested his head on my thigh, and just looked at me helplessly. I could tell he didn't know what to do or say to make me feel better.

He asked me what was bothering me, and I honestly couldn't tell him. I don't know what's bothering me. Hormones maybe? Being overwhelmed, being uncomfortable, or maybe just feeling done. He asked if I wanted to go lay down in the bedroom, and I figured it couldn't hurt to move and change positions. We cuddled, he consoled me, and I ended up falling asleep. I woke up about 2.5 hours later. I got up, and made my way to the couch again. We then ordered pizza, and spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Around 9:45 or so, I started having contractions, and they were really uncomfortable. I used my contraction timer app on my phone, and they ended up being 4-5 minutes apart. Wonderful. I had only experienced a handful of contractions each day over the last few days, so I guess I couldn't really complain. I took a Brethine, and waited for it to take effect. Around 10 or 10:15 we got into bed, and and that point, I was feeling the side effects of the Brethine. And I felt like crap. But my contractions stopped, so I guess I could deal with it.

I was having heart palpitations, felt anxious (great, just what I needed), and felt like I was shaking uncontrollably, even though I wasn't. Matt encouraged me to "breathe it out", so I focused on my breathing. I think I finally fell asleep around 11 or so, which was well after Matt had fallen asleep.

I woke up at 4:30am this morning, used the bathroom, got back into bed, and couldn't get comfortable. I guess I shouldn't really complain, because I don't remember waking up between when I initially fell asleep and 4:30am. No matter how I laid, I couldn't get comfortable. And then there was Matt's snoring. Which, by the way, needs to stop before this baby gets here. At about that same time, the horrible heartburn started, and wasn't letting up.

I got back up, took 2 Tums 1000, and climbed back into bed. It helped for a little while - maybe 3o minutes - and then the heartburn returned. I propped my pillows and Snoogle up so that I was pretty much sitting up. Being like that felt 'ok', and I tried to fall asleep. The heartburn hurt so bad, and I was so thirsty, but I knew if I drank water, it would make it worse. So I got back up, and drank some Coke. I figured it was the only thing that wouldn't give me heartburn, and if anything, would maybe help me burp some of it up.

So I got back into bed - in my sitting-up position - and actually dozed off for maybe a half hour. But I was woken up by Matt's snoring. Once I was awake then, I didn't fall back to sleep until about 7:15. I played on my phone for that whole time. One good thing is that I figured out how to get rid of the "Application Data Space Is Low..." message that has been on my phone for the last few weeks. Yay. Before I knew it, it was 6:45 and Matt's alarm was going off. At this point, I still had heartburn. And oddly enough, I was having hunger pains for about an hour. I was trying to figure out if I should get up and eat something, but I decided not to.

So Matt was up and dressed, and I asked him to bring me bread on a plate. I was hoping that it wouldn't make my heartburn worse. I helped my hunger pains, and since I was already sitting up, I figured it would be ok if I fell asleep. I finally nodded off, and didn't wake up until 9:30 this morning.

I refused to get out of bed until after 10, and I didn't.

I was excited for today, because I had an appointment to get a manicure and pedicure at 1:30. I showered, and then laid around until it was time to leave. I got my mani/pedi, and then came home, which is where I'm at right now. But my gosh, is it hot out!! The thermometer said 97 degrees. I felt miserable while I was out, but it was worth the mani/pedi. Matt should be getting home within the next 45 minutes or so. Maybe I can convince him to go into the pool with me. As hot as it is out, floating in the pool will make all the pressure and discomfort go away. We'll see.

I have an ultrasound and appointment tomorrow at 1:30. I'm getting anxious for the ultrasound, as my cervix hasn't been checked in 2 weeks, so I have no idea what to expect. I just hope it's not a lot shorter. I have to go by myself to this appointment, as Matt can't get off work. His mom can't go either. I don't mind going by myself, but I'd rather have someone there with me. But oh well.

I'm going to leave it off here, as I think I want to lay down for a little while before Matt gets home. I'm just not feeling well, between the pressure and horrible taste in my mouth.

:::I can't wait for you to be an outside baby. I want to hold you so bad:::

Bed Rest - Day 19

Let me start off by saying that I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night. And it was a very long day. I woke up at 2:30am to pee, which is no biggie. But when I laid down to fall back to sleep, Cael had the hiccups. This must have irritated him, because then he moved non-stop for about an hour to an hour and a half. That brought us to about 4am. Finally, when he calmed down, I wasn't tired anymore. How wonderful. So to try and pass the time, and make myself tired again, I Bumped from my phone for a while. That took me until about 5:30am, when I put the phone down and tried to fall asleep. I think I finally fell asleep when Matt woke up at 6am to go to the bathroom himself. Luckily, at that point, I was tired enough to fall back to sleep.

I was hoping that I wouldn't have trouble sleeping, because I had to get up early to go to my MW's office for my first Progesterone shot. My progesterone was delivered yesterday afternoon, so I didn't have enough time to get to the office. So I woke up at 9:10, and was out the door at 9:30, feeling "eh". I got to the office, waited only 10 minutes, and was given my first shot in my right butt cheek.

I really thought that it was going to hurt, because it's a thicker, oily consistency. However, the only thing I felt was the sting of the needle. I didn't feel the medicine at all, which I was happy about, considering I have to have these every week.

I then headed home, to finish folding and storing all the baby clothes we got. Matt came home with a box and garbage bag filled with baby clothes from a co-worker. We sorted through them last night, and I washed what we were keeping - twice. We needed larger space bags, because there just wasn't enough room in the medium sized ones we go, so I stopped at Walmart on my way home from the doctor.

By the time I got home, I really didn't feel like doing anything. So I relaxed on the couch, and Matt came home from work early. I was really uncomfortable all day with a lot of pressure, so I figured a dip in the pool would help. And it did! I didn't feel pregnant at all while in the pool, and it completely relieved my pressure and discomfort. We floated around for a while, and as soon as I stepped foot on the ladder to get out, and my belly was above water, the discomfort came back. The pool is absolutely amazing!

We came back in, and I finally finished storing the baby clothes by size in the Space Saver bags. I feel accomplished, yet exhausted. I may have done too much today, although I didn't have many contractions. So that is why I'm relaxing ALL DAY tomorrow, and not doing anything.

Bed Rest - Days 16, 17 & 18

Saturday was a pretty good day. However, I didn't get much sleep at all the night before. I was up every hour pretty much, just uncomfortable. And Matt's snoring didn't help either. It was also a very emotional day for some reason - I just couldn't stop crying for whatever reason. I was in bed at about 10pm Friday night, but pretty much cried myself to sleep. And poor Matt couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.

Saturday was also a very exciting day. At about 5am Saturday morning, I get a text from my best friend Lindsay that she was on her way to the hospital. Her water broke at about 4:30am. I was so excited, and then couldn't sleep much after that. I finally fell back asleep at about 7am, when Matt was on his way to work, and was up at 9 am.

At the same time, Matt's sister-in-law, also Lindsey, was also at the hospital at 6am for her induction. So we had two people we know and are close with in labor at the same time. It was pretty crazy and exciting. Matt was at work, so I was in charge of updating him. Long story short, Lindsay was ready to push at around 6pm, and Liam was born at 7:19pm, weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces. The other Lindsey, however, wasn't as lucky with a quick labor. She ended up in labor for about 22 hours or so, and needed a C-Section. Briley was born at 5:14am, weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces. They are both so adorable, and I cried when I saw pictures (darn hormones).

Sunday was pretty much just as exciting, but not nearly as relaxing for me. We were supposed to have our Birthing Center Tour at 4pm, but Matt and I just didn't feel like driving the hour and 15 minutes one way. We just didn't. So I called and rescheduled it to August 11th. Let's hope Cael isn't here by then!

So we spent the day together, pretty much out of the house. We went to the hospital to visit Lindsey, Brian and Briley. She is just so adorable, and so tiny! Surprisingly though, I was so nervous to hold and handle her. I didn't want to drop or hurt her. But holding and seeing her made me so excited and anxious to have Cael in my arms.

When we left the hospital, we made a plan to go to Babies 'R' Us. I think some of my anxiety came from not having everything we needed for Cael (despite not having a nursery to set everything up in). We got a lot of great and awesome stuff at my shower, but surprisingly, we didn't get a lot of the "little" stuff we needed in the nursery. We didn't get crib sheets, a changing pad, changing pad cover, plain white onesies, socks, mittens, hamper, Dreft detergent etc. So I had a slew of coupons, and a bunch of gift cards from our shower, and we headed to BRU to get what we needed. After coupons, we spent about $250 - $50 of which was out of pocket. Not bad for the cart full of stuff we bought. We then headed to Target (which I also had gift cards for) so that I could get my breast pump. After getting white onesies, socks, mittens and my breast pump, we only spent $1.76 after gift cards. Not too bad. And I felt a lot better after getting everything.

Monday (today) is going to be a much more relaxing day. Meaning, I'm not going to go out anywhere. I need to relax after yesterday. However, since we now have Dreft, I plan on going through all of the clothes we have for Cael (while on the couch), and sorting them. I'm also going to wash some of the newborn and 0-3m clothes we got. We got Space Saver bags yesterday so I could do just that. Matt knows I'm going crazy not being able nest because we don't have a nursery yet. So it was his idea to get the SS bags, so that I could do something. Plus, how can you not have fun sorting through baby clothes!?

Speaking of construction, the contractor said that he would start the last week of July. That's quickly approaching, and we haven't heard anything from the contractor. Matt figures that he would show up, and just tell Matt when he would start - probably within a week. So if Matt doesn't hear anything by the 25th - next Monday - then he'll contact him. He doesn't want to contact him ahead of that, because the contractor is actually doing us a favor. He has a waiting list about a year long, and the only reason he's doing this for us "so soon" is because he's friends with Jeff, who Matt works with.

I'm growing increasingly uncomfortable. It's getting harder and harder to move, roll over in bed, get off the couch, get in and out of vehicles..should I go on? And I'm only 33 weeks. I still have several weeks to go, and a lot more to grow. I can't imagine. I'll just have to take it day by day. I'm still having contractions, but not nearly as many or as frequently, as I was having in weeks past. So that's a good thing. We'll have to see on Friday how my cervix looks.

:::I love you much already:::