Pregnancy Blog

Pregnancy Blog: 37 weeks

Sarah Fortune
September 27, 2011
5 Comments

Eeeep! I can’t believe that tomorrow I will be 38 weeks exactly. But let’s not skip ahead of ourselves. Here’s how week 37 went…

After a very busy last week, I decided that I just needed to take it easy from here on out. So that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. This weekend I got into my pajamas before 5 o’clock on Friday and only got out of them once to go to the grocery. I am still working full time and intend to do so up until the bitter end. Each day I don’t take off now, is a day that I can have off with Iris once she’s here.

The one bit of excitement I did have this week was today’s trip to the doctor. While the doc guessed I was maybe about 40 to 50 percent effaced, there’s still no dilation. This didn’t really surprise me considering last week’s appointment and the fact that nothing really feels any different. The good news is that the baby’s head is very low, so she does expect me to have some slight progress by next week. At the same time, she also expects that I will make it to my due date. She wants to see me next week on October 6th (my birthday!) and it looks like that’s when we’ll officially set a date to be induced, unless of course she decides to come on her own before then. But Todd, myself, and the doctor looked at the calendar and it looks like Friday, October 14th might be the day! The doctor is actually giving us the option to induce as early as the 6th, but I feel like I should at least give my baby the chance to get past her due date. And who knows, I’ve heard stories about just setting the date helps to get labor going.

Till next week… or sooner!

Photos, Pregnancy Blog, Words

Pregnancy Blog: 36 weeks

Sarah Fortune
September 20, 2011
3 Comments

So tomorrow (Wednesday) my 36th week will be over and
do you know what that makes Iris?

A full term baby! That means she’ll be safe to come out and play,
but turns out… it might be a while.

This week was a busy one. Probably a bit too busy, but at least I had some fun. It was full of friends, football, family, and GL’s baby shower. It was also full of me complaining since I am still getting more uncomfortable by the day. I didn’t even think that was possible. Any time I was able to rest, I found myself counting strong Braxton Hicks contractions, sometimes as many as seven in an hour. So I thought SURELY I was making progress towards labor, but after my doctor’s visit this week, I found out otherwise.

The good news:
The doctor said that it looks like the baby has dropped and that she’s head down.

The bummer news:
I’m not dilated or effaced. (Nothing. Zero. Zilch.) Meaning, she’s most likely going to be cooking for a little while longer.

I know it’s still early (my due date is October 12), but I couldn’t help but feel a little discouraged. These last nine months have flown by, but imagining being this uncomfortable for another three weeks seems crazy. Anything can happen though, so at this point I’m just embracing it and relaxing as much as possible till the big day.

A few photos from the week…

Our nursery was featured on the Australian baby/kids blog, Baby Space

Baby gifts keep arriving!
This sweet one is Flora & Henri

Yep. I’m pregnant.
I carry waffles & syrup in my purse these days.

GL’s amazingly sweet baby shower.

Animals in the nursery

One of Sadie Pup & me just for fun.

Well… settle on in folks, it looks like we have at least a couple more weeks of blog posts. If there are any miraculous changes, I’ll be updating on Twitter, so feel free to follow me there.

Pregnancy Blog, Words

Pregnancy Blog: 35 weeks

Sarah Fortune
September 13, 2011
3 Comments

As I sit here on the last night of my 35th week, I just can’t believe that this pregnancy whirlwind is nearly over. Every morning I wake up, check my favorite pregnancy iPhone apps, and glance over my calendar about five times. Maybe it’s a bit much, but I’m just so ready to have her here.

This week of pregnancy was another uncomfortable one, but what else is new? I did have another doctor’s visit and, like usual, everything is going according to plan. My weekly visits start next week, where we’ll find out how things are (or aren’t) progressing. The doctor said that depending on what’s going on, we might have an idea if Iris will be a 38 – 39 week baby or more like a 39 – 40 week baby. Can I vote for the first option?

Of course I know that nothing is certain, so I’ll try not to go in with any expectations. I’m aware that she could very well be late too, but I’m not opposed to being induced around my due date and it seems like my doctor isn’t either.

At the visit, I once again expressed my concern about having a big baby, so she felt around on my stomach for a bit. She’s pretty sure Iris is still head down (yay!) and that she doesn’t seem big, but pretty average in size. In fact, she guessed that she might be about 7 pounds at 40 weeks. That was good to hear, but I still have my doubts.

Even though things are getting more uncomfortable by the day, at least the weather has started to drift into fall. The cooler temperatures are helping a lot, especially mentally. I’ve been longing for autumn all year, knowing that’s when Iris will arrive. Now, it’s here. And soon she will be too.

Photos, Pregnancy Blog, Words

Pregnancy Blog: 34 weeks

Sarah Fortune
September 6, 2011
4 Comments

With a long weekend and the weather finally shifting to fall, this week has treated me alright. There’s really not much to update except that college football season is finally here! It’s kind of weird not have a beer in hand while watching the game, but I’ll live. Of course I don’t know how it will work out, but I’m pretty pumped that Iris is due during the one week that the Razorbacks have off. It’s just known around these parts that you don’t schedule anything for game days. Seriously. If you live in Fayetteville, you plan weddings, baby showers, and everything else around the football schedule. And now, it appears I’ve planned my baby by that rule too.

Not surprisingly, sleep is the roughest thing for me at 34 weeks. I’m always uncomfortable and of course I’m waking up every two hours to pee or to stretch my legs. During the day I feel Iris’ super strong movements. The cute little kicks have turned into me saying “ouch” more often than not. She also gets the hiccups every day, but thankfully those haven’t lost their charm just yet.

More than anything, I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by. Now that we’re in September, I can officially say that next month – I’ll have a baby.
And a beer.

Photos, Pregnancy Blog, Words

Pregnancy Blog: 33 weeks

Sarah Fortune
August 30, 2011
3 Comments

I got so exited about the nursery post that I almost forgot to do this week’s update!

Here at 33 weeks I’m to the point where when someone asks me how I’m feeling, my response it completely different than how it’s been the past 32 weeks. Long gone are the days when I was upbeat and chipper responding, “I feel great!” Now I just start to rattle off the list of “my back hurts, I can’t breath, my feet are swollen, stairs are the devil, I don’t sleep, and I can’t imagine how I’m supposed to get any bigger.” To top it all off, I’ve come down with my second cold of the year. Now I REALLY can’t breath.

Okay – enough complaining! This week was still a good, busy one despite the pregnancy woes settling in. I spent much of the week in Nashville for my very last work trip before Iris arrives. Surprisingly, 9 hours in the car (each way mind you) wasn’t bad at all. I was a tad nervous about being away from home in case anything happened early, but after approval from my doctor, we hit the road. Everything went smoothly and we even got to stop in my hometown of Memphis for some BBQ and a tour of Graceland. Not a shabby way to spend a work day!

Besides the travel approval, the doctor’s appointment was easy breezy. I’m pretty sure it was the quickest appointment in the history of pregnant ladies. I was in and out the door in 15 minutes (usually the wait alone is an hour). My weekly visits will start soon, so that’s another sign that we’re getting closer…

A few pictures from Memphis & Nashville