39 Weeks- On Maternity Leave!

This week started off pretty rough. I was quite unhappy on Sunday and my back had been killing me for most of the day.  I had lunch with my friend, Gina, and her little girl, Emma (which was so much fun!) then headed to Wal Mart to run a few "quick" errands. Nothing is really ever quick any more and I'm moving quite slowly these days. It took twice as long as I anticipated. That evening I was super uncomfortable and the middle of my back hurt constantly. I didn't think it was back labor because it wasn't low. We left my mom's house early and headed home. We have a back massager thingy so I used that a few times and it helped loosen things up. That night though, I was up nearly every hour and between peeing and not being able to get comfortable it was rough and I didn't fall asleep for real until about 4:45am.

High risk fluid check: Monday, 26cm. We also found out on Monday that the reason I was so uncomfortable was that Gianna was facing out towards my belly button, not in towards my spine. They call this "sunny side up" and it SUCKS! I really hope she turns before I go into labor because I can not even imagine what it will feel like if I am having contractions while her spine is against mine. Back labor is not in my birth plan. I will take a c-section instead please. :(

Another thing that kept me up that night, was that my dear friend, Jona, went into labor!!!! We are due only one day apart and her water broke on 10/21. I got lots of text updates about how labor was going and hubby Logan sent me updates the next day, too. Baby Olivia arrived on Monday, October 22nd- 8lbs, 3oz! I'm so proud of my friend and I know she is going to be the best mom!

Wednesday was my last day of work, thank goodness. My worst nightmare of my water breaking on campus and Niagra Falls flooding my office have been avoided. My co-workers are awesome and decorated my office with fun decorations! If I wasn't so uncomfortable, I would want to stay longer. The decorations will probably still be up when I come back from leave in March! :)

Thursday was my first day of maternity leave and we had an 8:30 appointment at High Risk. My fluid was the highest it has been at 28cm. This condition has a name even though I just call it "too much fluid". It's called Polyhydramnios. The nurse asked if my doctor had planned to induce me but we didn't have our OB appointment until the next day so I didn't know. Afterwards, I went and got my nails done, then had lunch with my friend, Marissa. it was a nice relaxing day but I was exhausted by 3pm. :) I went home and did nothing for the rest of the day. It was great!

We had our OB visit the next day and my doctor measured my belly. Even though I am *only* 39 weeks my belly measures 44 weeks. There is so much extra amniotic fluid that my belly looks like I'm 11 months pregnant. And I'll tell you what- I feel like it. There were no internal changes from last week either. So she's comfy in there with no immediate plans to vacate the premises. My next OB appointment is Nov. 2nd (my due date) and we'll talk about inducing then if she doesn't come this week.

While I have really enjoyed being pregnant, these last two weeks have been pretty rough. I can't begin to explain how uncomfortable I am with all this extra fluid. I wonder what it would be like if I didn't have it. I can't imagine being pregnant for two more weeks! Sometimes I just need to take it one hour at a time. I can't really yawn, sneeze or cough because my lungs don't have the room to expand anymore. If I have a harder time breathing they'll look to do an amnio to drain some of the fluid. I'd rather just be induced at this point. Here is a pic of my belly in relation to the steering wheel. Not much room left there!

Here's a funny story though- I told my doctor that I started sitting on a towel in the car in case my water broke. He smiled, then suggested I have three towels in there instead. Marco thought maybe a Sham Wow would do the trick. My doctor suggested we have a canoe handy just in case. Lol! It was a pretty hilarious exchange. In all seriousness, if my water does break I have to be careful that the cord doesn't come out first. She's not engaged at a zero station and because of all the fluid she is just bobbing around in there so if it gushes the cord may "go out with the bath water" which can be life threatening for Gianna. It's called Cord Prolapse.

It took being 39 weeks along and me actually measuring ahead at 44 weeks for my first stretch marks. I was doing so well! If you have seen this gigundo belly in person you'll know this is no small feat. :) I think if I didn't have all this extra fluid causing me to carry a 12 pound baby (sarcasm- hopefully...) I would have been home free! Oh well. Badge of honor. :)

How far along? 39 weeks
Maternity clothes? Mostly
Stretch marks? Some above my belly button.
Sleep: Not awful.

Best moment of the week: Going on maternity leave!!!!
Miss anything: The usual.

Movement: Less in the last week or so. She still does a good job on her kick counts but I think she's running out of room.
Food cravings: Orange juice.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Braxton Hicks.
Gender: Girl!

Symptoms: Major back pain this week.
Belly button in or out: Still flat- not a popper. One of my hernia's likes to stick out a little sometimes- you can kind of see it in this pic. It depends on the position of the baby.

Wedding rings on or off: Off. 
Labor Signs: Still 50% effaced at a -2 station. No dilation.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Holding my baby! (not the labor)

Gianna's Nursery: The Finished Product!

Welcome to Gianna's nursery! This room was a labor of love. We had a lot of help and I think we got it just right. I had this idea in my mind and it really came alive. It all centered around her bedding, which was the first thing we got and I fell in love with it the second I saw it. A lot of this came together under the "I'll know it when I see it" principle. It's a room she can grow with. The crib turns to a toddler, then full size bed. I can't wait for Gianna to get here so I can sit with her in the rocker. I spend a lot of time there. :)

No pics in the frames yet but they are there in the pics below.

I wanted it to have a vintage feel, not too much pink, but still very girly!

It was kind of hard to get good pics of the wall decal of her name in this light. It is gold and the same color as the "You Are My Sunshine" decal in the next pic.

No pics in the frames by the closet yet. You can see her chandelier night-light in this pic though!

The beautiful changing table that was redone by my friend Tiffany, and her husband, Jeff!

Most of the items on these shelves came from my childhood room.

I LOVE her bedding!!! The bear is from my BFF Jillian. The yellow doll is Ken (I named him) and he was my first baby doll. And the Puffalump was from when I was little too.

This flower vase is also a lamp. The music box was from my dad- I had a thing for unicorns back in the day.

Ta da!

I love this night-light! We went with a ceiling fan instead of a chandelier so this is how I got one anyway. :)

It was super important to me to have a picture of my dad in her room. This is him and I on the day I was born.

The snow globe is from one of my students. It says "Welcome to the World, Gianna Lucia Angioni" and plays The Lord is My Shepherd.

I can't wait to bring her home!!!

Her ridiculous closet. :)

I stenciled the damask pattern in the closet, too. I was practicing for the wall but it came out super cute!

Her "special" books. :)  I made the flower arrangement in the middle.

Gianna's Nursery, Phase I: The Transition

Before

Getting the crown moulding ready and trying to pick paint colors

Crown moulding and bead board is up

First coat of paint

Dad is working hard painting the bead board

Uncle Billy came over to help, too!

Finished paint

Close up so you can see the colors better

It's coming along! Just need the wood floor installed.

IT'S HERE!!!!

Just before we painted the baseboards.

I love it!

OMG, this is going to be a nursery!

38 Week Update!

Fluid update: Monday, 19cm. Thursday, 24.5cm. We did get some cool 3D ultrasound pics from the high risk office this week which was a super nice surprise! I think there's a resemblance there. Gianna on the left, me on the right. Chunky cheeks run in the family. :) It will be fun to see what she looks like when she's actually here!

Our 38 week appointment went well but it was a little frustrating. I am at a -2 station now when I've been at -1 for the last two weeks. Doc said that because of all the extra fluid that she can float around in there a little more and until she's at a 0 station she may just bounce around and go from -1 to -2 and back again. Fab.

Happy news: My last day of work is on Wednesday, October 24th, then on Thursday: HELLO MATERNITY LEAVE!!!  I will be happy to get off these fat feet...

So sad! I don't even recognize that foot/ankle. It can't possibly be mine.

We did have a good time at the pumpkin patch this weekend...even though I am the size of a pumpkin! :)

How far along? 38 weeks
Maternity clothes? Mostly
Stretch marks? None.

Sleep: Not awful.
Best moment of the week: No more student appointments at work! Maternity leave is just around the corner. 
Miss anything: Not being uncomfortable constantly. Breathing.

Movement: She has had hiccups more frequently in the last week (3 times). She likes to shake around in there and it's fun to watch my belly move. 
Food cravings: Still orange juice. I have been stealing the mini bags of Skittles out of the Halloween candy we bought for the kids but I don't know if that is actually a craving... 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Braxton Hicks.
Gender: Girl!

Symptoms: Achy feet/heels, swollen feet, big belly, lower back pain, achy lower belly. 
Belly button in or out: Still flat- not a popper.

Wedding rings on or off: Off. 
Labor Signs: We are digressing...

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Cleaning the house (nesting much?!), MATERNITY LEAVE!!!