37 Weeks!! well, 37.5 to be exact :)

So, we have officially hit the full term mark!! She is safe to come out (although I want her to wait till Dec. 1st of course!) But isn't that amazing?!?! EVERYTHING is fully developed and ready for the world :)

She is approximately between 19.5 and 20.5 inches now and weighs between 5.5 and 6.5 lbs! Holy canolies, seriously I couldn't be more excited! The only thing that is still happening other than weight/length is that her immune system is still growing stronger.

As for me, I'm still loving it believe it or not! I still adore her moving around and watching her play... it's funny I'm so excited to hold her, kiss her, smell her... but I am really going to miss having her inside me.

I thought it'd be fun to list all the not so fun and cool "symptoms" that a lot of preggo women go through and how much I've had them on a scale of 1-10. :)

so here we go:
not so fun stuff:

1. nausea maybe a 1? some sents made me loose my appetite. But yeah that's it. Never threw up, never got sick, ect ect..
2. tender breasts 2.5 at the very begining. As long as I didn't hit them they didn't hurt! and not even Billy messing with them hurt, just a touch tender. :)
3. copper taste in the mouth 1.5 for the first few weeks, then 0.
4. food aversions maybe a 1? actually I think not at all, but I might be forgetting a time or 2.
5. cravings 2.5 I have always been a craver, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for me, I mean I did crave things, but not anything new or strange except for the first few weeks I wanted hot sauce!
6. shortness of breath 0. that's right, I've not had issues with it!
7. kicks in the ribs .5 I mean twice ever she stuck a foot up there, and moved it right away when I asked her to.
8. blurred vision/spots 0.
9. swelling of the ankles 3.5-5 at one point for a week was REALLY bad, like a 5 and it didn't go away for a few days then it went away and didn't come back at ALL for 4 months. and just the last couple weeks I've had some swelling but nothing terrible. maybe a 2 overall.
10. itchy skin 0.
11. stretch marks 0. YUP NONE!! Whoo hoo!! I totally blame Celtrixa, this stuff I've been using since I found out I was preggo. It is amazing! None on my belly, hips, or breasts!
12. larger breasts. 7.5 seriously I went from a 34 B to a 34/36 D. I say doubling is a pretty significant increase.
13. leaking breasts. .5 I get the little "crusty" thing in the cracks but no actual leaking. Unless I try to get some out of course.
14. preggo brain, aka MASSIVE forgetfulness, loss of train of thought, ect. 6.5-7 Yeah, I forget halfway through a conversation sometimes what I'm talking about. And I can't multitask ANYWHERE like I used to. I also get distracted so so easily now. And it has been proggressive lol. I'm at a 7 or so now I think.
    
15. Heartburn between 4 and 8 depending on the point in pregnancy. I had none until 6 months, then for a month it was SOOOO bad, a solid 8 at least 4 hours a day.. and then nothing really for a couple months, and then now again it's a 4. Some days are worse than others but it hasn't been terrible in over a month.
    
16. back pain 0. actually less than pre pregnancy I think. Until maybe today, but that's cause everything is shifting majorly right now.
    
17. nesting 8. Once it finally hit, this last week, I got it bad.. it may actually be worse. It may be a 9.. I'm wanting to clean EVERYTHING and get EVERYTHING in order!
    
18. mood swings 1. I have had two and both were HORRID, but to only have 2 in 9.5 months isn't too bad I don't think! and I was aware I was out of line and irrational and I appologized immediatly following and during lol
19. sleep issues 3. Just the last few weeks really because I'm having to get up to pee so much and she wakes me up and I can't sleep through it.
20. peeing every 2 seconds 2. Not at all till 7 months, then it was only a couple times a night.. but the last few weeks! ACK! I'm getting up 4 times a night at least now!

so not too terrible I don't think!

cool stuff:

1. her moving around 10. she is seriously a future cirque du soliel member!
2. feeling her early 10. I felt her around 11 weeks consistantly. REALLY feeling her by 14 weeks
3. hubby being involved and playing/talking to her 10. I got really lucky in this! He has been amazing really and truly.
4. belly shape 8.5-9. I have hardly gained any mass anywhere but in my belly and it's been firm the whole time! I have had a great round shape the majority of the time and i have been so excited everytime it grows more!
5. appreciating my body more 8. I love my body now and am so amazed at what it can do!

Soo..... That's my pregnancy in a nutshell!

Quick 35.5 week update!

ok, so as you all know, we have a new due date! Dec. 4th (I still think she'll be here on the 1st of Dec. personally) and at my midwife appointment on Monday I was measuring 35.5 weeks and she is healthy as a horse! Getting big and WOW is she strong! people can see her move from across the room now, literally.
ok, so I'm off work early (going to finish the nursery now!! yay!) so here are some QUICK stats:

*she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds
*kidneys are fully developed now
*her liver can process some waste products.
* Most of her basic physical development is now complete!
*her sucking reflex is almost fully developed!
*lungs are between 85-95% developed and ready to be used.

basically, its JUST a weight game now! whoo hoo!

oh, and a taste of the Week 30 Pics I did with Henry

New Updates! New Due Date!

Friday: had our ultrasound and ROFLLOEONL my daughter can apparently tickle me from the inside! HAHAH, she was just rolling her foot across my side and it made me jump and laughout loud. My coworker just looked at me like I have two heads or something.ok sorry, ultrasound, here are the new stats:

I have a new due date! Dec 4th! She is measuring 4lbs 9oz and has hair! We got to see her face and WOW is it defined! we can already see that she has my upper lip shape and adorable cheeks and a cool combination of mine and Billys nose! :) It was amazing! She is head down AND facing the right way (towards my back) so we're a perfect go for the home birth! YAY!She still has LONG legs of course and wow can she stretch them out!

Friday we started to unpack the crib, which also meant Billy shifting a lot of furnichure around so we could see what worked best. Which he did without a word of complaint. THEN I said, well let's start putting it together, and he said "aren't we painting first?" now this from the man who HATES manual labor! I spun around "paint? you would paint with me?" "well yeah! I mean she should have pink and stuff, not this green and blue! of course I'll paint with you!" you should have seen the tears of joy lol. So we picked out how we wanted to paint her room, went to MICHAELS, THE CRAFT STORE!!!!, and picked out some stencils for the border and Billy picked the colors (it was soo cute). THEN went and got the paint, again Billy picked the wall color :)

Saturday (yesterday): I went and got the mac and when I got to the house my uncle was weed wacking (thank you!) and Billy helped me get everything out of the nursery so I could prep it. I took off the baseboards and then Nikkie came by and helped me tape everything and then even stayed to help Billy and I primer! Then Billy and I did the first coat of paint to the walls before bed last night.

now I'm sittin here at work, thinking about finishing the nursery and the baby shower and changing my maternity leave schedule since I am now due sooner! :) Just thought I'd share w'/everyone!

and everyone, please say prayers.. my mom is fighting to keep the house right now. There may be a couple of resources that she is looking into and this is something that is really stressful for her. She is carrying on like a trouper but the more positive thoughts and prayers we can send her way, the better!!!


ok, so baby facts: (let's recap)
*4lbs 9oz as of Friday so by now.. 4lbs 14oz or so
*has hair!!
*skin has gone from red to pink
*she is storing Iron in her liver now
*17.5" long now! WOW!


She has gotten SOOO strong! OMG! She can be seen across the room now when she rolls, punches, kicks, ect.. It startles me ALL the time now! I can't count how many times she's made me jump in the last week!

Week 30!!!

yay! only 6-10 weeks to go! AHHH!!!! :) I'm uber happy about it though! She has some cool growth things now to fill you in on:

*she weighs 3.4lbs or so
*over 15.75" long, with her previous measurments, I'd go with at least 16.5" right now!
*her bones are starting to harden a LOT, and calcium is building up nicely
*her eyes are getting more and more sensitive and the receptors to the memory sections of her brain are strengthening daily.
*she has a nice little layer of brown fat on her body now, which is helping her regulate her own temperature!
*all the Lanugo(ok i spelled it wrong) the fine hairs covering her body, are falling out now so it'll just be her soft skin when she comes out! (well mostly)
*Her hair (on her head) is getting longer and thicker!
*her eyelashes are fully in, as are her eyebrows of course
*her hearing gets better and better everyday and the links to the memory part of the brain there are fully developed.
*Oh! and she can produce tears now too.

Now the size of a :


cabbage!

haha, I swear this is ridiculous.. My vegan kitchen is almost complete!

Made the big decision!

So, this week has been a plethora of changes that will affect me in the very near future! Some are small, like telling my mother that very soon I will not be handling her finances, as it has gotten to be too much on my plate. :) Which she took beautifully! And telling my uncle that he had to get all his stuff out of our garage because I need to be able to use it, to be able to pull in when it's cold/snowy with an infant. He has till monday to get it all out before I go get a storage unit and move it myslef! lol. But the two BIG decisions were these:

1) I am going to part time as of Nov. 1st. I was originally going to work full time until Nov. 15th and then go to a day a week until Dec. 1st. I realized that the idea of that has been making me feel more and more nervous, like I won't get things done that I need to do before she's here! I've had such a strong nesting urge as it is, and I was going crazy trying to figure out how it was going to work. Especially if she comes at 36 or 37 weeks instead of 40! That would mean she'd be here around the 15th or 20th of nov at the earliest.. That's only 6 weeks from NOW! So I told my boss that I needed to go to 3 days a week starting on the 1st of Nov. And I am leaving all together on the 15th of Nov. That way I (hopefully) get at least a couple weeks to get ready and RELAX! Until then, I'm pretty much working 7 days a week. Either at the resort, or doing shoots, or on the house and teaching.

2) We fully decided on a homebirth! Yup! I get to have my water birth! It's funny, I thought that once we made the choice, I'd get more nervous about it. I'm actually LESS nervous about a home birth then I was about the hospital. I feel so much more "right" about it. It can truly be very calm, and fun, and about US not us and the other 8 couples delivering down the hall. No pushy nurses, no chaotic docs or settings, I get to do things at MY pace, my husband is not going to be asked to "get out of the way" or leave. My sisters will be welcomed not pushed to the side. I can walk around naked lol. We can video tape the birth. And yes, we are. And yes, I will be posting it for women who are considering home water births so that they can actually see what it is like and make informed decisions. I was only able to find 3 videos on youtube that were at all helpful and I respected those women for sharing! And as a doula I can add some great voice over stuff to the labor/pushing parts that might help other moms too. :)

The hard thing about this was my appointment with my DR. (obgyn) yesterday. Where I had to tell her that I had chosen a homebirth and midwife instead. I wanted to keep her as my Dr. I have been happy with her care, I just have a very slim chance of her delivering me to begin with, and that's not the type of birth I've wanted anyway. She told me that while she will maintain as my GYN, she will not see me until 6 weeks post pardum. And that includes if I were to develop anything that would keep me from being ABLE to do a home birth. She told me I could find a different practice, they will not take me back as an OB patient. That was kind of hard to hear. Especially as my midwife was so willing to work with my Dr. Oh well. I still feel great about my decision.

I really am looking forward to a HAPPY and FUN birth! Which it seems my old Dr did not think was possible and even Billy thinks that I'm reaching a bit with that idea. But I truly truly believe that I CAN have a great time during labor and birth. I have faith in my body being strong, capable, and willing to do the work involved. Now don't get me wrong, I KNOW that it will be hard work! But I don't believe it has to be screaming agony. My goal is to have her with no yelling, no screaming, and not once saying "I can't do this". I want to be laughing, singing, smiling, and yes I'm sure the occasional Groan will escape me. Heck it does when you're doing sit ups! I guess I'm just hoping that my support team agrees with me and gives me those focusers and encouragments during the journey.

Allyson (my doula and very close friend) started our childbirth classes two weeks ago. I really am getting some great new ideas and tips and feeling very empowered through them. It's nice to be reminded that your body is built for this and being given so many different ways to help it do the work!

It's amazing to think that in 6-10 weeks, I will be holding my DAUGHTER. I will have a daughter! I'm so amazed and also so ...curious? I mean I can imagine to an extent what that will be like... but I truly have NO idea what that change will be like in reality. I mean I'm going to go from being a "carrier" one minute to a MOTHER the next.. Yes I know that I am technically a mother now, but I'm not doing any "mothering". I'm simply growing her, enjoying her movement, talking to her. It's going to be SUCH a dramatic life change.. one I can't even fathom. Hope she likes me! :)

OMG you have GOT to be kidding me!

So at 3am this morning I was woken up.
not by a dog.
not by a phone call.
not by my hubby.
not by a car alarm...

no. my 26 week old child KICKED me awake! and has procceeded to play and wiggle and stretch and roll and kick to such an extend the last three hours that not only is my stomach looking like there are a pack of aliens in there trying to get out... but I actually CAN"T sleep through it!!! AHHHH NOOO!!!!!

I'm gonna do my time of sleepless nights when she's here! This is MY time to sleep on command! *snif* it's not fair *snif*

It seems like she is finally slowing down a bit. I cannot belive she is actually strong enough to keep me awake. I am seriously mind-blown at this. And if this is happening now.. what is going to be happening at 35 weeks?!?!

sigh. ok going to try and go back to sleep. it's been three minutes without crazy movement. Maybe she's going back to sleep. Please Lord. oh please.

Week 26

ok so I'm back to weekly updates, I swear! alot happened during week 25..
I got a new niece! Delilah Elizabeth Marie Mackey was born on the 3rd at 10:07am. And she is beautiful! I miss the "belly bond" that I had with my sister.. but in just three short months I'll have the "mommy bond" with her. So I can wait for that I'm sure. :)

Watching Delilah being born was like watching Jasmine being born all over again, an overwhelming sense of love and devotion that is topped only by my feelings for my husband. Amazingly I know that that is absolutely nothing in comparison to what I will feel for Aurora. It's funny, I can't wait for her to be here and yet I also love the connection I have with her inside me. Sometimes it's a little bit of a tug of war for me, I want her here now but I also want to be pregnant with her forever. Well you know what I mean. Have that constant connection with her.

I'm starting to make some changes in my life too. I'm starting to get very nesty of course, but I'm also starting to get more organized about maintaining the house. Picking a day a week to fully clean and trying to do "pick up" in two rooms a day. That way it's only a little bit of work that I can easily do. Also starting to try and manage my time better. Friends, work, and training all has it's place but I think that I have often bitten off far more than I can chew. I am looking at dropping my second job so I have a little more time for my training. Also going to try and have one day a week for a "friends" day and maybe host a tea and cake thing at my house weekly to catch up and then have poker nights ect. as they come up. That way I still get my time with friends but dont' feel overwhelmed by it. Hope it works!

SO enough of the boring stuff about me and my life!

What is the baby doing right now you ask?

aside from kicking and wiggling all the time, here are the weekly stats:

*she is over 2 pounds!! AHHH!!!! milestone!
*15" long too! (at least) which is longer than an english cucumer. (I ask you, who measures according to an english cucumber? really? we couldn't find a more common item folks? really? what about a loaf of bread? something? no? oh well)
*ears are still getting more and more sensitive, she responds to all kinds of noises now!
*lungs and brain are continuing to strengthen and the brain is storing new info and sounds in the memory banks! Pretty cool huh?
*her sense of balance is well developed and she is heavy enough to be affected by my movements (laying on a side ect.. will move her now)
*IF she were to be born now her survival chances would be over 80%.. which is 40% more than it was when my mom was pregnant with me. Amazing what advances in medicine have come along! But don't worry she'll be cooking for a long time still. 3 more months!

I'm officially mostly done with the dreaded 2 month 6th month. lol.. at 24 weeks you "should" be going into the third trimester but instead you stay in the second for ANOTHER 4 weeks. Hence the 9 month pregnancy that is really a 10 month ordeal. Sigh... oh well.

Pic catch up lol...

ok so I know I haven't updated for a bit and I'm sorry! I'm now 25 weeks (26 tomorrow!) and loving it! I think I'm one of the few women who truly loves being pregnant. Every part of it, even the heartburn! (yes folks I finally have SOMETHING to complain about lol) Other than heartburn and an ever dissapearing bellybutton... I've been changing in other ways too.
My boobs have of course grown again! GEEZ guys seriously, you'd think they're expecting to feed an army! My tummy is getting rounder and rounder which I love. So far.....No stretch marks! Not a one! I've had little ones on my hips for years, and those don't seem to be getting any worse either thank God.

And I've only had one episode of it but... mood swing.

Oh lord poor Billy last week! (thursday to be exact) I had been cleaning and building web pages on my day off, felt really accomplished. He woke up and when I asked him to help with stuff he did. Then I went to the kitchen and saw that the dog food bag was still sitting on the floor. Now why in Heavens name this of all things set me off I'll never know. So I get all huffy, pick up the bag and start pouring it into the container. Billy starts to exclaim " what are you doing?!? that's over 30lbs!! stop! put it down!"

my rational responce? "If I don't do it it'll never get done, no one does anything around here, ect ect ect" and BOY did I blow up. Slamming things, yelling like mad for the next 15 minutes...and then lol.. the coup de gras...

"I'M SO UNAPPRECIATED AROUND HERE!!!!!!!!!"

which is hysterical because Billy is always telling me how much he loves me how much he appreciates what I do ect ect. He gives me foot rubs every night if I want them, brings me milk for heartburn, takes care of the dogs, ect. He just doesn't clean like I do, big whoop! He is amazing so I think it's so funny that the insult I could think of was TOTALLY invalid. lol.

Now for this half hour I rant, rave, cry, ect. Mind you about 5 mins into this I realize that none of this is valid and that I have no idea why I feel the way I do at ALL. So in between my bitching and yelling, I'm crying and saying "I hate feeling like this, I know none of this is real, I just can't help it I'm so mad and upset and I know I have no reason to be ... but I can't stop it. " and then bitching some more. Seriously, a three year old would be put to shame by the temper tantrum I was having!

this whole time Billy is laying on the bed silent.. just riding it out. I stand there finally, my fists at my sides, tears on my face, lips stuck out, and in a quiet little voice say " I don't like this".

well that did it, he cracks a big smile tell ms to come here and holds me while I curl up on his chest like a 4 year old all quiet crying about how I hate not being in control of my emotions. And we both end up laughing about how ridiculous I was being. And I knew it the whole time too! That's part of what made it so funny! In between ranting sentences I'm appologizing and recanting everything I had just said. lol.

THANK GOD I"VE ONLY HAD ONE!!!!! and please Lord, I ask you, NEVER AGAIN!!!!
It was HORRIBLE!! and some women do that daily?!! God bless their friends and family!


Other than that, I just continue to work full time and started playing World of Warcraft again.. which I REALLY missed!!!

My sister has been starting and stopping labor the last few days so that's been the big excitement lately. Can't wait to meet little Delilah! :) C'mon kiddo!!

Aurora is getting really big, as of today she is about 1.7 to 1.8lbs and 14" long!
all of her systems are developed and in place, a perfect little mini person!
She's moving LOTS and boy can you see and feel it! She responds to all kinds of sounds now and amazes me daily with her responces. It's just little reminders that she is already her own person! with her own tastes and desires.

My favorite thing is laying on the couch and watching/feeling her kick and roll and wiggle. She stretches a LOT! I can feel her down by my pubic bone at the same time that I feel her a few inches above my belly button now! So big!! WOW!
OH, and guess how big my uterus is now?
just guess..
here's a hint.. it was smaller than a baseball pre pregnancy.


Give up?

a volleyball. I have a volleyball inside my stomach.

I'm officially a walking sports center.



in addition to being a coruncoipia of fruit/vegetables, seeing as how she is now the size of a rutebega.
Heck at this point I'm almost more of a vegan kitchen!

ok so pics of what the baby looks like right now:



SLIDESHOWS!!!!!!


and what I look like now! ack! lol,jk.. I loves it!

and week 24:

and at 23 weeks:

and here's what I looked like at 21 weeks:

growin quite a bit!

Week 22

So this week we're workin on a few things and a few things have finished developing! (yes things more important than eyebrows lol)

*weighing in at somewhere between 15 and 16 oz... it's ... Aurora!
*now OVER a foot long! YIEEE!!!
*we now look like a miniature newborn. starting to get some fat on the cheeks and the eyes, ears, nose, lips, are much more distinct.
*Her eyeballs are fully formed BUT the Iris has no pigment yet!! I had no idea that they started out blank!
*pancreas is really moving along in development
*she has started making and regulating her own hormones!
*inner ear is now developed to the point that she has her own sense of balance
-promotes physical dexterity, which has her actively feeling out her
surroundings, skin, and body parts.


cool huh?

EYEBROWS!!! (aka, week 21)

ok so I think this is awesome...
Her eyebrows are fully formed and filled out!! How freaking cool is that?!?! Oh yeah and so are her eyelids!

and I was thinking yesterday (cause she wasn't nearly as active as normal) that she must be gearing up for another growth spurt..
well, I just found out that that is right!

*She wieghs about 3/4 of a lb now, maybe a touch more and is over 11" long now.
*And she'll gain an ounce and half within this week!! Which means in four days or so, she'll weigh over a pound!! 16.5 ounces or so!
WOW! To put that growth spurt into perspective: a week ago she only
weighed 10.5 ounces or so. She weighs at the moment about 14.8... so OVER
four ounces in a WEEK!! oh geez...

*another REALLY cool thing that happens a LOT now.. R.E.M. which means that she is consistantly dreaming on a daily basis! How cool is that!! wonder what she's dreaming while I"m dreaming.. wonder if she gets any of my dreams somehow? what a cool thought.

*the "brown fat" which is what helps you maintain and retain body heat is starting to grow which is a REALLY good thing as this is what helps her regualate her body heat too once she's out.

it's a .......GIRL!!!!!!!

we had our big ultrasound at 19weeks 5 days and we got the amazing news! It is officially Aurora Eve, our little girl!


and we got some amazing shots of her face too!!

of course she doesn't really have any body fat so it still looks a little skeletal but isn't that awesome?!?!?!

and we got the traditional shots too:



and look at this one with her eye looking all crazy!!



and this is one of my favs lol, she was pointing and laughing at the ultrasound tech trying to get her to move haha!!!



her Auntie Amber and Auntie Tiffany and her cousin Jasmine were with us for this ultrasound and it was awesome! She was kicking and "talking" (moving her mouth open and closed ect) sooo much! And we found out that the circumference of her head is now over 4"... oh geez! That makes me a little nervous but I think I can do it! She is going to be so amazing and I just can't wait!

Billy and I are so excited to have a girl, we have both been hoping so hard for one and low and behold, here she is!!

I started doing the nursery a bit this week, just the bare bones of clearing out my office stuff and organizing the furniture a bit, we still have to paint ect.. but it feels good making progress!

oh another fun thing, I have a little bit of bruising around my bellybutton from the stretching lol. She kicks there all the time too!

20 weeks

she is now as long as a banana and weighs about 12 ounces and is over 10 1/2" long!! WOW!


she, yes SHE!!! is swallowing a lot and "talking" a lot (moving and opening her mouth as we saw constantly on the ultrasound) and getting all of her muscles working.
I swear she has turned into the hulk over the last few days. In LITERALLY the span of one day she went from a point where you could feel her move to where you could just sit there and watch my belly move!! SO STRONG! it's amazing!
We went to the TOOL concert last week and she dug it. Lots of kicking and rolling :)

I am also loosing my bellybutton, ME the one with the cavernous belly button.. it may possibly become an outie ACK!!!


I know, three pics is a bit extreme, but I'm kinda traumatized!!!!

and as I was sitting here doing this I took a pic for fun, I'll add a better one later today:

isn't it getting all round? :) I LOVE IT!!!

19 & 18 & 17 weeks photos

So I was aweful the last couple weeks in photo taking because I was working a lot and had other stuff going on.

for week 17 this is what I got:

a basketball lol

and at that point I could still kinda suck it in like this:


But I did go to Harry Potter (sigh.. they did such a good job maiming the story!) and now the baby has a pic wearing potter gear lol.
week 18

and ok, I look like poop, but hey it was a LOOONNGGG day!


and look how amazingly developed her ears are at this point!!!


and this is what they say she should be bundled up like by now, but I think she has more room than this:



week 19
ok officially my belly does not get smaller when I lay down now lol



She is of course pretty much just getting bigger and getting body fat now. All her senses are working and of course getting stronger but nothing "new" is developing these last couple weeks.