36 Weeks!

Yay for 36 weeks and officially being nine months pregnant!

We have hit another week that they were sure I wouldn't make it too! It's good to be stubborn and have your baby be just as stubborn as you are when it comes to this department!

So let's see what Mr. Stubborn will be doing this week!

* Little Bean is working hard packing on the pounds and should be measuring in around 6-6 1/2 pounds and between 18-20 inches long! But after this week his weekly weight gain will slow down a bit as he gets ready to great the world!

* His fully developed ears are becoming more sharp in the hearing department. He can already hear his mommy's voice, heartbeat, blood flowing, and other sounds the body makes but he can also hear a lot of the sounds and voice even clearer now from all his family and friends waiting for him to join us!

* And lastly this was a fact that I never even knew! Almost all of Little Bean's body symptoms are mature, developed, and ready to go! Except for the digestive system! While it's fully formed and storing that first messy diaper that he'll have the first 24 hours after birth it doesn't fully stop developing and becoming mature until after birth when he has been able to eat and get the system going. But don't worry it's okay and perfectly normal for all babies!

So right now Little Bean is just hanging out and waiting for when it's time for his big debut! Which could happen at anytime since the uterus that he is in cased in has moved beyond Braxton Hicks contractions to full on contractions! But he will come when the time is right but I won't lie I'm hoping to have a 37 week update for you all next week!

Now that we've seen what Little Bean is up to let's find out how this past week has been for this ready to pop mommy!

Yes once again I'm taking a weekly photo in the hospital bathroom complete with hospital gown! I will explain once again at the end of the post I promise! But isn't my baby bump adorable! I think I'm going to do a Rondalynn baby bump and Little Bean baby bump side by side photo for you all!

Anyway on to my weekly recap!

* Bleeding gums - Alert the news ladies and gentlemen! I only had this three times this week! Can I get a woot woot! Hahaha!

* Sleeping - I have no issue falling asleep at all which is awesome but getting comfortable is a whole different story! As soon as I lay down and get to sleep Little Bean will move and cause the most unbelievably back, hip, or pelvic pain! I know he doesn't have much of a choice because he has no room to roll or turn but it still sucks!

* Hip pain - If I was to compare my hip pain this pregnancy to my hip pain with Rondalynn's pregnancy it is a lot different. The hip pain I had with Squeaky was unbelievable but again it was my first time getting to that stage of pregnancy so it was a whole new ball game for them! But this time around they are handling it a lot better even though Little Bean has his shoulder right in my right hip joint and it digs into the socket and causes a ton of pain! 

* Pressure - Holy crow I can't even describe the amount of pressure I feel against my c-section scar and down below area. The reason for this is because Little Bean is very low and ready to go! Hahaha! When my OB checked me his eyes got huge and he said wow this baby is really, really low. Trust me I know! Not only do I have the pressure of a low baby but I also feel like I have a watermelon in between my legs that could fall out at any moment!

* Energy - Surprisingly for being this close to the end of pregnancy, taking care of a one year old, doing house chores and errands, and everything like that I have a good amount of energy! I wake up with a good amount of energy and it stays most of the day. I still lay down and rest or try to take a nap when Rondalynn is napping and then I have energy until after dinner. But once it hits after dinner I am completely worn out and ready for bed!

* Waddle - I have pregnancy waddle to the EXTREME! I know my normal awesome waddle on top of it doesn't help but for real people see me walking somewhere and you can read the comments running through their heads! "She is going to pop any second!" "She looks so uncomfortable!" "I hope that baby comes soon!" Some of these comments plus some other ones have been said out loud as well which makes me laugh and some I have to agree with!

* Hunger - Since Little Bean is squishing my stomach I get hunger a couple more times in a day then I would when I'm not pregnant but I can't eat that much because of my squished tummy so I get huger more often and have to eat smaller meals.

* Potty time - I have to pee every hour on the hour! No joke that is how I know another hour has gone by! I can still hold off every two hours when I'm trying to sleep but sometimes I can't and have to go visit the bathroom every hour. And once again my body is still cleaning itself out so I have that funniness going on as well.

* Heartburn - Unlike Rondalynn's pregnancy I've only had a couple bad cases of heartburn and nothing as bad as what I got with Rondalynn. I can't even tell you how thankful I am for that! 

* Movements - Little Bean's movements have slowed down as his space has gotten smaller but he can still pack a punch and a kick! He is even more active and stronger than any of Rondalynn's movements this late in pregnancy!

* Contractions - Okay so this is the reason my 36 week baby bump picture is in the hospital. Earlier this week I kept having really bad contractions and once we had to go up to L&D where I got a shot to stop them and was sent home on mild to moderate bed rest. Well when you have an active one year old, preparing for a new baby, have a house to keep in order, family to feed and take care of, and errands to run it's hard to get all the bed rest you should. I was still very cautious and I'm also on an oral med every four hours to help keep the contractions at bay or a lot less as strong or often. Well in the middle of the week I work up to some strong contractions but I started to guzzle my first of nine mugs of my liter Scottsdale mug and took my med and they slowed down. Rondalynn was having a shocking sleep in day so I took that opportunity to start my three loads of laundry and clean both of the bathrooms. Since I've kept up on the bathrooms it was more of a a touch up clean. I was feeling pretty good so I made breakfast for when Rondalynn woke up, cleaned up the mess, loaded the dishwasher, and washed Rondalynn's two bottles from the night before. Shortly after Squeaky woke up, ate breakfast, and got dressed for the day the contractions came back on really strong again. So I drank more water and Rondalynn and I sat on the couch and watched a movie and then played on the floor for a little bit and they slowed down and were only slightly uncomfortable. But they didn't fully go away just got lighter and a little bit more further apart. Since Rondalynn is getting some molars right now she was a little clingy so I cuddled with her in the bean bag as we watched a movie and she fell back to sleep so I decided to go with my gut and after putting the last load of laundry into the dryer, made the bed, got myself some lunch, and laid down myself. Rondalynn took a rare and shocking two to two and a half hour nap which was nice because that means mommy got at least an hour of sleep if not a little more. When she woke up I made her lunch and as I was sitting at the table with her in her highchair a huge wave of contractions started! They were catch your breath and grit your teeth type of contractions and they were coming every three to five minutes. Rondalynn was so good with me as I had them and would breath with me as I would take deep breaths and giggle at some of the funny moaning/humming noises I was making through the worse parts of them which was super cute and helped keep my mind off of them. When she got done with lunch and after I changed her I listened to my gut and got more water, some snacks for both Rondalynn and I, some toys and books, put them and Rondalynn on our bed, started Wreak it Ralph, and laid down with Rondalynn happily playing next to me. She thought it was awesome to be on the bed with mommy playing with toy, reading, having some snacks, and watching one of her currant favorite movies. I had texted Ron earlier to keep him updated but luckily by the time the movie was over the contractions had spaced out pretty far but were still crazy strong when I got them and Rondalynn was done with being on the bed. So we went into the living room and she played on the floor while I folded and put clothes away. It was at this point that I had the most overwhelming feeling that I need to finally get my butt in gear and pack a hospital bag and I decided to put together a bag of outfits, socks, pajamas, hair pretties, and a couple Sunday dresses for Rondalynn so it would be easier for whoever had her to get her ready for the day or bed because everything was right there. Now with Rondalynn we packed like we were going to be hiking to the peak of Mount Everest to deliver the baby! And most of the stuff after 24 hours I realized we didn't need so Ron took it home. This time we have a bag a little larger than a grocery cloth bag that I packed both Ron and I into, a small diaper bag for Little Bean, my laptop, and my Phoenix Suns drawstring bag that I've always used as my just in case hospital or overnight bag. So it didn't take me long to get it all together especially since I was already folding clothes so most just went into the Rondalynn bag or the hospital bag. I also made sure the spare diapers were out, the wipes were full with another refill out if needed, got out towels and wash cloths for her, and made sure she had enough of her baby bath, lotion, baby goop, tooth paste, and all that stuff. When I got done my contractions had gotten a little closer together and still strong but not close enough to be alarmed. At this point it was time to start dinner. So I started dinner as Rondalynn sat on the floor in the kitchen eating some Cheerios and helping mommy breath or get her mind off the contractions when they would could. Honestly she would make a great labor coach! Hahaha! Once I had dinner made, the mess cleaned up, a plate cooling for Rondalynn and I loaded her up in the stroller, gathered up the trash, and we took a fast walk to the trash can by the shed. Then we came back in and I fed Rondalynn dinner, got her bath ready, and it was when she was in the bathtub after I cleaned her up and she was playing with her bath toys that the contractions started coming every 2-4 minutes, were more intense, and I had the worse pressure against my c-section incision, down in the girl area, and in my bottom. Ron and Echo were on their way home and according to the time we got off the phone and the current time I knew he should be home in the next five to ten minutes. But with how bad the contractions had gotten and how close they were I didn't want to sit in the bathroom with Rondalynn in a tub of water while I labored in case something happened. After my contraction ended I quickly got her out, pull the drain plug, dried her off, and had a diaper on her before the next one started. I continued this pattern of doing Rondalynn's night routine/getting her ready for bed in between contractions which isn't easy to do when she wants to play, sit up, toss, turn, and stand up as I tried to get her ready for the night. But she must have sensed that something wasn't right and mommy was hurting so she didn't give me as much of a fight and she giggled and laughed as I would try to sing and do the movements for Itsty Bitzy Spider, Patty Cake, Popcorn Popping, and Baby Bubble Bee while contracting so she would be entertained and not move so much. But we were able to get her ready and then she wanted to drink a bottle and sit/lay on me for cuddles which was perfect! As soon as Ron came home Rondalynn wanted nothing to do with me and climbed off my lap and right to him! They played for a little bit, then we had dinner, followed by Rondalynn cuddling with Daddy to go to sleep. All this time I was still contracting hard but they had spaced out more but I still went and laid down with more water to drink. By the time Ron came to bed a couple hours later the contractions had spaced out pretty good but were still strong. I asked him what he thought we should do and we agreed to wait through the night since Little Bean was moving, his heart rate was great when I checked it on my fetal Doppler, and the contractions were further apart and by an hour later when I we were going to sleep the contractions were every 12-18 minutes apart and we getting less intense. But within a couple of hours that had changed and I contracted hard all night at all different intervals. But by six in the morning they were pretty much nonstop! I woke Ron up, he went and asked his mom if she could watch Rondalynn who was still asleep, we quickly got ready, loaded up, and headed to Scottsdale. I called my OB on the way there and he was very concerned. So concerned in fact he said he was pretty sure he was going to do the c-section that day but no matter what I was going to be admitted. Of course because I would be having constant and intense contractions and pressure we would run into an accident three or four miles for the hospital and were at a stand still on the freeway for 20 minutes! Ron felt horrible and tried to get into any lane that was moving in hopes he could get around the accident traffic and get to the hospital. I was just praying that they would hurry up and hoping that my water didn't break or anything like that! Finally we got around the accident and traffic went back to normal and soon we were at the hospital, in L&D triage, hooked up and being monitored, and was waiting for my OB to give my admit orders. We were in triage for a couple of hours while I was monitored and waiting for a bed to be ready for me and I was given my oral contraction meds and two shots to stop or slow down the contractions which luckily it helped. After I got to my room my OB came in on his lunch break and checked me. I was between a 2cm - 3cm dilated, fully thinned out, and the baby was unbelievably low, much lower than Rondalynn every got! He then told me he was going to consult with a high risk OB doctor to see what he thought about doing the c-section that night but had already booked the OR just in case for 5:30 that night. He also said that no matter what I was staying until it was baby time. So my nurse came in and started some fluids since I had only some ice chips all day and was now NPO, gave me a steroid shot, and went over and had me sign all the consents so once we knew if the c-section was on that step would be done and all I would need would be the prep meds. About an hour later the high risk OB came in and honestly he was horrible and very rude. He hardly listened to what my regular OB had said about my history and didn't bother to read my chart or history before come in to talk to us and then when he did come in he was rude and tried to make us feel like this was all in our heads and that he wouldn't take this baby until I was 39 weeks unless my water broke. When Ron mentioned some of my history in our conversation and how yes he was worried about the baby coming to early but he was also worried at the stress this was putting on me and how he wanted both of us to be safe and maybe taking the baby would allow that to happen. The high risk OB was shocked at my history and stumbled for answers but still stuck with not recommending the c-section that night. Then he left and talked to my regular OB who came in and was just as grumpy with him as we were, but he decided to not do the c-section that night but I was not going home until after the baby was born and if I went into labor like that again, my water broke, or the baby was in distress at any point he would do the c-section then no matter what anyone said but until then he moved my c-section date up and sat that as our new goal so Little Bean could bake longer. I won't lie I was bummed to not be having it that night since I didn't want to be in the hospital that long or before he was born on hospital bed rest and I didn't want something else to happen if I went into hard labor again and Little Bean couldn't tolerate it. But I was happy at the same time because every extra day Little Bean stays in the healthier and stronger he will be which will decrease his chances of having to go to the NICU or have respiratory issues at birth which is something I worry about if he was to come early.

There you have it folks my long 36 week post from my hospital bed while on bed rest letting my son cook longer until it's time for his debut! Not the way I wanted to spend the end of my pregnancy but I would do this and so much more to keep him or any of my kids safe and healthy! I'm hoping to make it to my newly rescheduled c-section date, which we still aren't telling anyone about, but if not he will come when it's time and we have faith in Heavenly Father that thing will work out just fine!

So keep checking in to see if Little Bean has made his debut and how his mommy is coping with this unexpected hiccup!