31 Weeks and a Placenta Update

How preggo I am: 31 weeks! Although here's the official baby countdown standings. I've been tracking all the "due dates" I've been given to see when I think he's actually likely to get here and because I want to see how close I actually guess his arrival time.

Sept 26: my last period due date
Sept 22: first dating ultrasound (the earlier ultrasounds are generally more accurate than the later ones) as well as the anatomy scan.
Sept 23: my 31 week placenta checking exam (spoiler, it's moved!!!)
Sept 19: late dating scan around 14 or so weeks with the OB I'm seeing.
Sept 16: 12 week ultrasound when I had spotting and the placenta previa was found.

My conclusion is the 22nd is the most accurate due date. It's lines up with ovulating a bit early which is what I tend to do and it makes the early positive pregnancy test make sense. Plus, my cycles are real regular and I'm sure of that period date so I don't think it's too far off that one. And finally that's the date he's measured at most consistently soooo that's my guess. I'm too far in to change my apps and this blog count right now though, I'll stick with my easy to remember Wednesday week change dates.

Baby size: I have a personalized ultrasound estimate for this week.  He's around 3 lbs 7 oz right now, give or take, ultrasounds aren't exact. Right now that puts him on track to be about 7.5 lbs on the due date of the 19th. Lyra was 7lb 4oz on her due date. He is positioned exactly like Lyra almost always was, and exactly how I thought he was laying in there. His head is down by my left hip and his butt is up by my right ribs. His feet are alternating between kicking me up on the right and down low by his face.

Here's his little face profile.  He's got his hand up under his chin. 

Food cravings/aversions: Reese's dipped pretzels. And chicken salad on croissants. Not all together though.

Other symptom: The usual. Braxton Hicks a good bit, heartburn, I waddle and can't pick up things off the floor. I've also been getting these lovely moments where I get suddenly hungry and I think my blood sugar drops because I have to eat immediately since I start feeling so shaky.

Sleep: Awful. I cannot wait for fall with a newborn. I'm uncomfortable laying down in pretty much any position, still peeing like 5 times a night and my allergies are so bad I have to wake up to sneeze and blow my nose all night long. Also sometimes I get hot flash/night sweat type episodes.  Not cool. Literally. Lyra is also pretty frequently waking up at night, probably at least 30% of the time.

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Mood: I'm having a wonderful week. Someone called me huge again ("You look like you're about to pop, when are you due? September?!? Oh wowwww!") and it didn't even bring me down. I didn't get to use any of my snappy replies though because she was cutting Lyra's hair at the time of commenting. I decided I didn't want to risk Lyra's hair or her face by being rude back to her. And then she gave me a discount so I still won.

Anyway, I'm happy because I went to the OB on Monday for my ultrasound to check the placenta previa situation and it moved so much more than I hoped! It is 3 whole centimeters away, well past the "at least I can try to have a vaginal hospital birth" and even well past the "I can have a homebirth" point. No scheduled c-section for this reason at least. Plus, now I don't have to worry constantly about bleeding or spotting or going into labor and bleeding out and dying before I got to the hospital. I mean yes, it's still life and shit can happen, but it's a huge weight off my mind and a big risk factor gone. I have a to do list a mile long now since I procrastinated any prepping for anything but a c-section. The rest of the year is going to be insanely busy. I have appointments every 2 weeks with the OB and midwife until 36 weeks and then I have weekly appointments. I am keeping up with the back up care in case I have to transfer for any reason. On the plus side I think the time will fly until the baby is here. I have 10 weeks to get everything set up. My mind is going 100 miles an hour the last couple days.

Names: I told Travis I'm calling the baby Oswin Finley this week to just test it out. He said, "I know what you're trying to do here."

Lyra stats: Well I gave up on potty training again. It is intensely frustrating to go from 95% of the way there to total trainwreck but it is what it is I guess.

Lyra has learned how to bargain and count apparently. Today she looked at me while we were watching a show she likes and said, "I need to watch two more movies." I said, "Nope." She gave me this huge grin as and a giggle and said, "Okaaaaaay, I need to watch one more movie." Still a no, but it was a valiant effort.

She also made up her own phrase this week, which was priceless.  She's heard me say "holy cow," and "holy mackerel," a ton.  She added her own twist mid conversation when she yelled, "holy mac and cheese!" It was one of the funnier things I've ever seen her do to be honest.

Best moment this week: Definitely the ultrasound.

Other stuff: So funny story time, I peed on myself this week. Normally the OB's office sends a plastic urine sample cup home with me and I just  bring it with. Plastic is great, you can clean/dry off the outside of a plastic sample cup in the privacy of your own home. However, since it was an ultrasound and  not a regular appointment, I misunderstood and didn't bring one. So I had to go with the paper cup in office. Now at this point I can't see around my belly which makes it difficult. And everyone can tell if you're messy when it's a paper cup. Further complicating things is my 2 year old. You have to watch them constantly in public bathrooms. Kids are gross, you look away and they're eating something they found on the floor or peaking in the used sanitary supply bin. Did I mention this was an OBs office bathroom? They have a display IUD. I didn't want to be the mom who's kid ate the IUD. So I'm basically trying to get this sample blind, just hoping for the best while I keep an eye on Lyra. Before I know exactly how it all went wrong, pee is suddenly going everywhere, I'm trying to get my shorts and shoes off before it makes it to those, trying to keep Lyra at a distance before she slips in it, and trying not to spill my sample. Surprisingly, the cup was pristine, not a clue how I pulled that off. I manage to clean everything else up and put my clothes back on and only had to stop to yell once. "Lyra no! STOP! Don't you dare open that door right now!" As she stares me down, hand on the door and decides how angry I actually would be if I had to chase her down the hallway with my pants down. I'm absolutely a mom, I looked at my shorts and felt such relief that it was only a little bit of pee that spilled on them. Not even close to the worst that's ever been on me in public without spare clothes. Plus having the toddler with me was handy, if anyone called me on smelling a little like pee, I was fully prepared to blame her diapers. Despite that, it was still an excellent day.

Looking forward to: The homestretch! Getting my head wrapped around going with my original birth plan after all. And getting all the planning and prep done for that.  

Made It To The 3rd Timester

How preggo I am: 29 weeks/7 months, officially in the 3rd trimester now.

I have been working on this post for so long that this picture is more like 30 weeks (tomorrow). Oops. 

Baby size: Baby boy is almost 16 inches long and weighs around 2.5 lbs.

Food cravings/aversions: Cheesecake. I've been experimenting with making it. My favorite so far was either lemon or chocolate. I went all out and made lemon curd, chocolate ganache and whipped cream for those.

Other symptom: Ok, so there's one I haven't mentioned much as it's personal but I feel like I should because it's getting hilarious. My boobs have grown, significantly. Lyra has noticed. Now she stopped nursing almost a full year ago, last August when she turned 2 and I had the second miscarriage. I was just done and sore from pregnancy and I cut her off. I think she would have happily continued, my original plan was to let her self wean but again, life said otherwise.  Anyway though, point is she asked to nurse maybe 4 or 5 times over a month or two after we weaned but then dropped it entirely. I assumed she'd forgot. But the past few weeks she's been asking to nurse again. And then questioning if I can do chocolate milk too. Sorry, kid. She's also been asking me to nurse her baby dolls for her. I'm finding it hard not to laugh when she comments on them too. "You have big boobies, mama. I like them." At least she's complimentary.

Also I feel huge right now. I measured and when I have to carry Lyra and a full diaper bag and I factor in pregnancy weight gain, I'm literally carrying around 50% of my prepregnancy bodyweight. Good thing Lyra is actually tiny for her age. No wonder I'm tired and my feet hurt. I felt bad when I had to rest on the way to the mailbox (it's down the street and around the corner) when I was carrying Lyra yesterday. But I feel better about that now.

Sleep: So terrible. The other night I woke up around 3 because I had to pee. Travis gets up at 3:30 so that can make it hard to really fall asleep again in time. And then the cat decided to chase a pebble around the house. So I had to get out of bed, turn on the lights, and scour the floors for a pebble the size of a pea so she would shut up. Seriously, a freaking pebble. Then Roxi decided she had to go outside to pee. So I had to take her out as the alternative would be cleaning the floor at 6 am. At that point I was angry and couldn't fall asleep. Didn't matter though because the second I heard Travis leave at 4:30, I heard Lyra's door open. I am not exaggerating when I say that to stay awake, she will refuse to stop moving for even 10 seconds. She laid in my bed for an hour and a half before she would hold still for a few seconds. As soon as I got her to hold still for a minute, she was out. But only for 40 minutes so I only got an extra 30 minute cat nap. That's about how well I sleep anymore.

And I fell out of bed this morning. In my defense I was trying to escape Lyra and there was a pillow in my way but my pride is a little bruised. I'm starting to have trouble maneuvering, clearly.

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Mood: I'm stressed and sad about the state of the country lately but I don't think that's hormone/pregnancy related.

Names: I don't knowwwww.

Lyra stats: I'm feeling quite defeated with potty training. I've spent literally 6 months between the 2 attempts. However, her doctor is of the opinion that constipation is causing her to struggle with it. So it's probably not that I'm wrong about her being ready or I'm doing something wrong. I swear 70% of parenting is dealing with other people's bodily functions. Hopefully we get it straightened out in the next few weeks. For now I'm just resigning myself to the double whammy of the mess of diapers and the hassle of potty training at the sane time. Not that that's much different than what I've been doing already.

Also she says "apple" like "asshole." I can't unhear it now.

Best moment this week: Funny story time.  The other night Lyra woke up around 3 and came into our room complaining about how she was scared of the monsters in her room. She started describing, in a very scared tone of voice, how they roar and have sharp teeth. Midway through her narrative she suddenly started to switch from scared to excited. Then it was all about the chupacabra and how she needed to get her chupacabra book to read. I was a little thrown by her sudden change of heart. But it seems deep down she likes her monsters too.

Also, Lyra's birth story was published in a book and I got a copy this week! So that was a highlight too.

Other stuff: There was a day this week where baby boy wasn't moving as much as normal. So that stressed me out enough that we went in to go get checked out. He was perfectly fine. Hopefully there's no more of that the next few weeks.

Also the nursery is coming along. We'll be decorating Lyra's room more in the next couple weeks too. And our room will have a crib sidecarred to the bed and a changing station and potentially the glider. The nursery is mainly for show and storage for at least a year.

We aren't doing anything too hardcore, leaving the walls white and going with a rainbow theme. 

I'm also adding in sky themed touches, potentially something with hot air balloons, I haven't quite decided.

Wall hangings I made. And this one gets my old Jenny Lind bed. Lyra got my old bunk bed so we're 2 for 2 on hand me down beds. 

Fabric and embroidery hoops.

And I tie dyed a muslin swaddle blanket too. I think I love it. 

Also I am getting back into sewing so I'm working on some new baby projects. Like this bonnet. 

Looking forward to: I get my next ultrasound in about a week and a half to see if my placenta finally moved off my cervix fully. Fingers crossed. I'm already convinced it's going to be marginal I'll have to wait until 36 weeks or later before I know for sure. Best case scenario, I will have no idea when this baby is arriving! Worst case scenario I will probably get a c section scheduled just in case and I still won't actually know for a few more weeks. It is driving type A me a little batty. I have several guess dates written in my calendar with notes about their likelihood and the frequency with which that dates been predicted. Lyra at least was cooperative and measured exactly on time always and arrived on her due date. This one, not so much. I blame Travis for this.