Sarah Fortune | Sarah Fortune Gill

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!

Baby Blog, Photos

Baby Blog: Blankets for Iris

Sarah Fortune
September 25, 2011
4 Comments

As mentioned in the nursery post, we’ve received some really special handmade blankets for Iris. So special that they deserve their very own blog post.

Rainbows & Zig-zags

This hand stitched cozy was a gift from Leslie and Dustin at my baby shower. It received lots of “oohs & ahhs” from the ladies as I unwrapped it and then a collective “what?” when it was discovered that it wasn’t made by Leslie… but by her husband, Dustin. One of my most favorite shower moments (and gifts).

Pink Hearts

This sweet one is made by one of my oldest friends, Julia. We became like sisters back in kindergarten thanks to our parents. She now lives in Maryland, so she wasn’t able to make the shower, but sent this heart filled blanket for Miss Iris. I love knowing that my child will have something made by one of my childhood friends.

Snow White

Sweet, simple, and the softest blanket ever. Made by Todd’s great aunt Bobbie, we’re keeping this one on our nursery rocking chair for easy reach since I can already tell it’s good for cuddles.

Vintage Memories

This blanket here is extra, extra special and for several reasons. If you know me at all, you know that to this day I still sleep with a blanket of some sort with satin trim. It all started before I was born when my late great aunt Martha made me a blanket, identical to the one above. I was obsessed with it from the beginning, and then a little too late in life as well (here I am in fourth grade with it):

Sadly, I lost it long ago but one day I was antique shopping with Todd’s mom and found the exact same vintage fabric that my “blankey” was made of. I held on to it for the last five years and as soon as I knew we were having a baby, I enlisted my best pal Kerri to recreate it. I love that this blanket already holds memories of my own childhood, my great aunt, Todd’s mom, my best friend, and with many to come from Iris.

By Dorothy Delle

Last, but never least is a blanket given to us from my dad and made by one of my most favorite people in the entire world – my grandma. Actually, it was made years ago, way before Iris was even a thought in anyone’s mind. My grandma passed away shortly after we found out I was pregnant and played a part in choosing the name Iris Adella. Even though the blanket was made at least a decade ago, I just know she would be over the moon about it going to her great granddaughter.

Photos

GL’s Girly Sweet Baby Shower

Sarah Fortune
September 25, 2011
No Comments

As you know, one of my dear friends is due just a month behind me with a little girl. I was one of the shower hosts for her baby shower last weekend, but I can’t take credit for all the sweet, girly cuteness. Being so pregnant myself, I helped out with what I could and was amazed by how lovely everything turned out! The ladies really knew what they were doing. Here are a few photos that I snapped of GL’s (and baby Rosalyn Olivia’s) sweet shower…

It’s funny to look back to my May post of us and our “bellies.”
I can’t believe we thought we looked pregnant.

Now here we are – both getting so close!
I can’t wait till both of our little girls are here. Like I wrote in her card,
“Here’s to play dates, cocktails, & baby photo shoots. Duh.”

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.