36 Week Appointment Was A Success!

Today was my 36 week appointment, and all is looking great! Emma's heart rate was 145 bpm, nice and strong. She is head down and the doctor estimates her current weight at around 5.5 lbs. Dr. Rush said she doesn't anticipate "that I'll have a huge baby." So that was good news!

As far as progress goes, we're looking good there, too! This may be TMI (too much information) for some of you, so if you don't want to know the details about dilation/effacement, etc, then NOW is the time to stop reading!

At today's appointment, Dr. Rush said that I'm about 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Yay! Go Emma! I'm thinking that all of this walking around at work is paying off-- maybe she'll make an earlier than expected appearance! It'd be nice if she'd wait until after her Daddy's week off between jobs (to give the poor guy a break for once), so we'd be fine with it if she shows up anytime after the 11th of July (38 weeks of gestation).

I asked Dr. Rush about the knuckle pain that I've been getting (to the point where I can barely move my hands for about the first 15 minutes after waking up in the morning, and my fingers tend to want to "snap" up straight from a claw-like position---attractive, eh?), and she said that it's some water retention combined with mild carpal tunnel that pregnant women can get. She said it should subside 4-6 weeks after birth (yay, I get to wait that long). She also said that the water retention combined with the 5 days of 100 degree heat is the reason that my hands, face, and feet are starting to get a little puffy. Seriously, I'm soooo hot right now (note the sarcasm).

As soon as we can get one, we'll put a picture up to show you the 36 week belly. Brian has been extremely busy at work lately (poor guy didn't get home til 2:30 am last night due to multiple surgeries he was stuck in), so we've been slacking off on getting pictures.

Onto the weekly check in...

How far along am I? 36 weeks, 2 days.
Total weight gain: Total of 24 lbs.
Sleep: Not so hot last night, but otherwise ok.
Movement: All the time. Kicks to my right ribs are her favorite!
Labor Signs: 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced. We'll see how long I walk around like this!
Belly Button in or out? Definitely out.
What I miss: After a conversation at lunch today about a co-workers trip to Spain, I'm missing sangria!
What I am looking forward to: Ongoing progression to labor!
Weekly Wisdom: Nothing new-- any advice?
Other news? Brian finishes up his fellowship year at NC State on Wednesday! His brother, Evan, is coming to visit from Wednesday night to Sunday and they'll get to spend some guy time out in Charlotte on Friday at a whitewater paddling (kayak) center. My friend Laurie plans on "babysitting" me on Friday-- just in case! :)
To Do List: Pack Labor bag, continue weekly appointments, continue reading my books.

Emma's New Artwork

I'm so excited! The artist who is painting a name canvas for Emma just sent me a picture of the finished piece. We had her match the birdie to her bedding... so cute! Here are a few pictures:

35/35!

35 weeks down....and only 35 DAYS to go! Wow, time is really starting to fly now!

Here's a pic of the growing belly:



Brian and I installed the car seat base in my car this weekend. It was much easier than we were expecting. The second base will be installed in Brian's car after Evan comes to visit at the beginning of July.

All clothes (up to age 6 months) have been washed and put away, so that's all taken care of. I've just got to pack my hospital bag-- which I'll probably do tonight or sometime this week. The reality is, I could go at any day now, so I'd rather be prepared and not be freaking out and packing at the same time.

New fun pregnancy issue this week: Sore joints in my hands. Combine that with some mild swelling and it makes for a *fabulous* puffy look (a.k.a. sausage fingers)! Yucko! My engagement ring is getting tighter and tighter-- I can't get it off unless I use soapy water, and I can't get it on unless my hands are cold. My wedding band still fits, though, so I'm rocking that solo these days. :)

Nothing much else is going on in our world. Brian is still learning all of the bells and whistles in his new car, so he's having fun tinkering around. He also took the Infant/Child CPR class this past week, so that can also be checked off the list.

Onto the weekly check in:

How far along am I? 35 weeks exactly.
Total weight gain: Total of 23 lbs...not bad!
Sleep: Great!
Movement: She's getting stronger and stronger everyday. Sometimes it feels like she's going to kick right through me.
Labor Signs: No, thanks! Let's keep her cooking for awhile.
Belly Button in or out? Officially OUT!
What I miss: Feeling like I have any sense of grace. Mama's not so graceful these days!
What I am looking forward to: Getting Emma's custom artwork in the mail (hopefully this week).
Weekly Wisdom: Increase my calcium intake to help with sore joints.
Milestones: Emma can be estimated to weigh about 5.5 lbs right now!
Other news? Not that I can think of.
To Do List: Finish Emma's room (just waiting on the canvas we ordered), pack Labor bag, weekly appointments start next week, continue reading my books. I'm sure there's more!

6 Weeks To Go, Success at Subaru, Weekly Check In

We are officially 6 weeks (42 days) until Emma's due date-- I can't believe she'll be here in just a few weeks! There's so much to do in such a short time.

The nesting has started, and I kicked it off by starting to do some of the laundry. Here's a picture of me holding the first load of laundry--- keep in mind this is only ONE wash, and... it was only the stuff that was in two drawers in her dresser.



I've done a few loads of blankets (yes, she has THAT many blankets), some sheets/towels/washcloths, and have an entire closet full of clothes to wash. Spoiled kiddo! :)

This weekend was a bit hectic for us, but the best part of it was when we FINALLY had some success at Subaru! Brian's new 2011 Outback came in 5 weeks ahead of schedule, so we headed over to the Cary dealership on Saturday morning to pick up his new toy. It's a beautiful car-- leather interior, media hub, heated seats, sunroof...the works! We're loving it so far. Here are a few pics:







For those of you who don't know, we finally decided on a name... Emma Grace Trumpatori. We ordered some customized artwork for her room this week, and it should be here by the end of June. After that, the room is complete! Yeah!

Ok, onto the weekly check in:

How far along am I? 34 weeks exactly.
Total weight gain: Still at 22 lbs! Go me!
Sleep: Pretty good overall. Strange dreams, though.
Movement: She's very consistent with her movements, and I can count on her moving like crazy from 9:00-10:00 pm every night.
Labor Signs: Nope!
Belly Button in or out? Still halfway out--weird, I know.
What I miss: This week it's sangria and beer. ;)
What I am looking forward to: Breastfeeding class, finishing Emma's room.
Weekly Wisdom: Didn't get any this week... anyone have any advice?
Milestones: Emma can recognize and react to simple songs--guess Daddy better pick up that guitar and learn some songs like he's been saying he'll do!
Other news? New car, yeah!
To Do List: Finish Emma's room, pack Labor bag, bi-weekly appointments will finish in a week (then onto weekly appointments), finish reading my breastfeeding and pregnancy books, install the carseat and get it checked, etc, etc, ETC!!!

Finished (almost) Nursery!

Brian and I spent some of the weekend putting up the tree decal in Emma's room. It took us about an hour and a half, and we absolutely LOVE how the room turned out. We just need to get a piece of personalized artwork to hang above her bookshelf-- we should be ordering that this week. After that, it's done! Here are a few pictures...enjoy!

33 weeks... and "The Name"!!!

Hi all! Sorry for slacking off the past week or so-- it totally slipped my mind that I hadn't blogged in awhile.

We've been pretty busy lately-- we had the shower two weekends ago with lots of family and friends, we've been running errands like crazy (even went out to Charlotte to Ikea and the outlets last weekend), and we've been trying to get the baby's room as complete as possible.

We're at 33 weeks exactly today, which means 49 days to go! Under 50, woo hoo! I'm slowing down a little bit and am finding that I need to sit more throughout the day (especially to prevent ugly CANKLES from showing up in the afternoons). I'm going to take a few "mental health" days to myself in the coming weeks-- I'm not gonna do a thing on those days...well, maybe I'll go to the pool or something...but the house stuff is just going to have to wait. Mama needs to rest while she can!!!

Here's a pic of the 33 week belly...



As of the shower, we were 75% sure that Baby Girl Trump's name would be Camden. It's a little different than the norm, but we liked it. Well, over the past few weeks we've decided that we like another, more traditional, name better. Problem is: we can't decide on a middle name. Of course, it doesn't help that Brian and I are in charge of naming this child... we can barely make a decision regarding where to go to dinner! Drumroll, please.....



Onto the weekly Check In:

How far along am I? 33 weeks exactly.
Total weight gain: 22.0 lbs at last MD appt.
Maternity clothes? It's the only way to go, baby!
Sleep: Sleeping like a LOG lately-- guess I'm gearing up for Emma's arrival!
Movement: All the time. I'm starting to keep my "Kick Count" for the doctors.
Labor Signs: No, thankyouverymuch.
Belly Button in or out? Halfway out--weird, I know.
What I miss: Having energy last throughout the day, my ankles (cankles are a bad, bad thing).
What I am looking forward to: Breastfeeding class, a WakeMed shower this Thursday and a group baby shower next weekend, finishing Emma's room.
Weekly Wisdom: To take time for myself and give myself the rest I need.
Milestones: Baby girl is measuring at about 4.0-4.5 lbs now. She's about the size of a honeydew melon!
Other news? Brian and I had the tour of the labor/delivery unit and the recovery rooms at the hospital I'll be delivering. It was good to see where we'd be spending our time.
To Do List: Finish Emma's room, pack Labor bag, start washing her clothes, bi-weekly appointments will finish in two weeks (then onto weekly appointments), finish reading my breastfeeding and pregnancy books, install the carseat and get it checked... I'm sure there's lots, LOTS more!