New Experiences

So, went to the doctor's again today. Things are well and he's cooking just nicely. However, I did finally ask for an internal exam to see how, well, the internal things are going. After being warned that it would be painful, we found out that I'm 1cm dilated and 50-60% effaced. So he's working on something in there! Not sure how long he'll decide to stay in there, but I did have a few more contractions today than normal, so hopefully we'll only have to wait another week or so! My mom's coming in a week, and while she'd love to be there to help during the birth, she's totally content to just show up and be Grandma. It's kind of funny to think about my parents being Grandma and Grandpa Mohs. Well, dad wants to be Papi, but I think we'll nix that pretty fast. :o) Just kidding!

13 Days and Counting

Of course the title refers to his due date and DEAR GOD he better at least be here by then. Today (July 7th) was a bad day for pain and discomfort. I'm still not having regular contractions, but he's got to be working on something in there with all this evilness he's wreaking inside my body. Little bugger.

On a happy note, we've installed his carseat and will have it checked tomorrow to be doubly sure our little Peanut is safe. We also bought a bunch of cloth diapers and two covers today to start our adventure in cloth. I really think that we'll be able to do this. We're doing it more for the cost aspect, and even if the daycare we choose won't do cloth, we'll save a bit of money doing cloth at home, right?

I kind of remember mom and dad trying this with Megan (Mitch does the same for when Greg was little) and I'm excited that the cloth technology is a bit better and cuter than it used to be! Here's a picture of his waterproof covers. How cute are they? My favorite is the little froggies. I'm still astounded that he's going to be so small. I stare at his clothes and now these butt huggers and can't believe that this huge belly is full of something so small. Wow.

We went back to the doc today. No internal exam (yet again!) so no news on my progress, but this time I did ask about the exam and since it's slightly painful and the results won't affect his progress at all, they deem them fairly unnecessary. Well poop. After such a reasonable reason, I can't even bring myself to ask for one now! We did get a rough estimate of his weight and we're working on a 7.5 to 8 pound little boy! Mom was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and Dad was 6 lbs. 13 oz. so right in the middle. Maybe. If he cooks too long, we'll get a little bigger. DID YOU HEAR THAT PEANUT? YOU MIGHT GET BIGGER AND THEN MOMMY WILL HAVE TO WORK HARDER!

Ahem... I mean. We're anxiously awaiting his impending arrival. :o)

Also including one more pic of me at 38 weeks:

Almost Full Term

So, here we are. 36 weeks and four days. Three days and he'll be full term, which means that he could be born anytime. (This train of thought is slightly derailed, however, at the next thought of - Wait! Kari's insurance changes on July 1st, so he needs to wait until after then so we don't have to deal with TWO insurance companies. Ahh the realities of adulthood...)

Complaints at 36.5 weeks - swelling, backaches, Braxton-Hicks contractions constantly, heat flashes, no sleep, fat ankles (not cankles yet, but any more and we'll get there), crazy absentmindedness.... I'm sure I'm missing some but oh well.

Best part of 36.5 weeks - knowing that we're almost there. It's almost time to hold him and get to know his personality more than I already do. (Ornery is what it is now.) I almost feel bad for him, knowing that he's just as uncomfortable as I am since his home is ever shrinking. He's measuring 38 centimeters (last Monday) and I'm guessing around 6.5 pounds. I'm going to see if they can get a more accurate weight next appointment on Tuesday.

Grandma and Grandpa Kusek are here this weekend and they are almost as excited as we are! They got the tour of his room and brought a little bassinet for our bedroom so he has a real bed for his arrival. We were just planning on using his Pack n' Play, so this makes it a little more official. Jane even stained it to match his other furniture! We bought a sheet for that as well and he's ready for home.

I guess that's the update for now, and I'll have more to report after Tuesday!

Getting There!

So, here we are, nearly 36 weeks along and I'm beginning to wish I was closer to done. I'm tired of baking! :o)

We've seen the doctor again and everything is going well. He's always measuring a bit big, but nothing shocking. At 34 weeks, he was measuring 36cm which was okay by everyone involved. Except me after I had a chance to think about it. Hopefully his head doesn't get TOO big! I have to birth this baby....

Everytime I go, they always ask if I'm having any pain, and the answer was always no. But then of course I left the hospital and during the course of that afternoon (this was Friday, June 12th) had 4 or 5 very sharp pains. I'd had a few before, but always associated it with Peanut treating my bladder as a trampoline. Getting a bit worried, I finally called the midwives and described the pain. Apparently, it's his head descending into my pelvis. And the process begins!

We go back to the doctor on Monday, and because of a week and a half now of "descending pains" and possible random contractions, I'm hoping I'm starting to dilate or efface. We start our internal exams in the 36th week, so I don't even have to ask them to check! Yay! One week until "full term" status is here and I really can't wait.

Peanut - you need to come soon so mommy can hold you!

Wow. Eight Months!

Well, here we are again. It's late and I'm procrastinating either the sleep that I wish I could get and the packing that needs to be done. At 7:00 AM the long day to get to Alliance begins and I'm not used to having to be up that early! I teach afternoons, dang it! :o)

Updates for the baby? He's SO active! I feel like my energy level is back to the first trimester (well, maybe not quite that bad...) but he moves so much now and each moment is both amazing and life-sucking. He takes his energy from me to do everything. The bigger he gets = more energy needed from Mommy!

However, a lot of 0-3 and 3-6 months clothes have been washed with Dreft (as I have been advised!) and put away in his dresser. He's got bath towels, wash clothes, and swaddling blankets ready and rarin' to go as well! I feel like I can clothe him now for the first week, right? Some days I think, "Man, I have NO IDEA what I'm in for!" Other days I wish he was done cookin' and would get his butt out here! I want my baby!

As the days heat up, water aerobics becomes more and more needed. Today I virtually dove into the pool because my body temp was so high. I'm sure I'm only getting to 99 degrees, but for someone who spends most of her life freezing, this sudden heat wave is pretty extreme.

One good thing? I FINALLY passed my glucose test. I took it for the second time on Tuesday and it was even rougher than the first one. At least this time it was a different nurse who was able to draw blood out of my arms vs. my hands. That really sucked last time. However, it was all worth it and I can finally prove that I'm not diabetic! How did I celebrate? Making a cake. No, seriously. I got a hankering for cake so I made one last night, ate two pieces today and will bring the rest to school tomorrow so I can't eat anymore. It's times like these that I do feel fat and pregnant. However, my ice cream habit aside, I've only made brownies once and now one cake. And at least the girls at work love it, right? :o)

Okay, seriously need to get packing now. I'm never going to make it through the morning at this rate... Love to all!

Summer!

So here we are. Two months left and summer has officially started. Lots of happenings every day it seems!

Let's start with the update of the glucose testing. I went in last week for my 3 hour test. I agree with Tiffany - one of the worst experiences of my life. At least Mitch was there with me! The woman tried once. ONCE. to get blood out of my arm and apparently gave up. So they drew blood four times out of my hands. Which, if you've never had it done, hurts like h-e-double hockey sticks. The results? Technically, I do not have gestational diabetes. However, I failed one part of the four draws, so we have to go back in in four weeks and do the whole 3 hour test again. Yay. I mean, don't get me wrong, if it's to help make sure the baby is okay, I'll do it. But it sucks. Really sucks.

On the other hand, water aerobics rocks! I've been to two classes so far and really am having a lot of fun. It's great on my back and building muscles for the birth. I hope to continue to go after the baby comes too. Great way to get back to pre-pregnant body. Maybe even better if I work hard, right!?

As anyone watching my Facebook page knows, school's now out for the year! I'm still teaching through the month of June, but only for half days. That leaves me plenty of time to sleep in and do doctor's appointments in the mornings as well. My partner is super awesome and I know we're going to have a great time together. However, Aurora Public Schools, this business of turning off the air ramdomly is NOT going to fly at Lyn Knoll this summer. I am carrying around my own personal space heater, and even though I plan to ignore the dress code and wear shorts, it is still going to be HOT. Let's work on keeping the temp under 70 degrees at least. Lower is always apprecitated!

Last, but not least, he's moving all the time! Yesterday, while being a lazy piece of crap, I had plenty of opportunities to feel him bouncing around. I guess my movements during the day do lull him to sleep, because as soon as I was still for any period of time, he got very active. I swear he did a couple of sommersaults as well as got the hiccups! They said I might feel him rythmically move, and that it was most likely hiccups. It was pretty cute. We even called daddy at work to tell him! (Unfortunately, it was super busy at that moment, so it wasn't appreciated fully until later.) :o)

More later! But here's a pic of me and Peanut at 32 weeks. Here's to a safe and healthy last two months!

Classes, Projects and Swimsuit Shopping

Wow. Okay, so this is the last double digit week of pre-baby. 10 weeks. And that's IF he waits the whole time to come. AHHHH!!!!

We've started childbirth classes. Well, I have. Mitch works every Saturday, and it's not really an option for him to take off three Saturdays in a row... So, my wonderful friend Danielle agreed to come with me and be my partner. The first week was okay, only a couple of awkward "so you have a husband?" moments. This week was about the same, except for when our teacher couldn't remember that we didn't live together. Sigh. I guess we really are the lesbian couple in the class. It's fine. I understand. :O) Tomorrow we have a breastfeeding class, which Mitch will be able to attend. So while he's missing the sweet pictures of vaginas and birth canals, he will get to stare at boobs for three hours. Oh happy day for him!

Bad news of the week, I failed my first gestational diabetes test. (Well, more of a screen than a true test.) I was two points over the limit. SOOOO..... this Friday I get to starve for 11.5 hours while I'm doing the intense three hour, four blood draw test. Woot. It would really be so bad, except I get nauseous when I get hungry. So when the nurse says I'll be really shaky when I'm done, she has no idea. Hopefully Mitch can be there for this as well. If not I figure I'll just hang out in the hospital cafeteria until I feel well enough to go home. Maybe I'll bring a good book, too.

As for Peanut (the problem and solution here!) he's doing fine. I was worried last night because Mitch woke me up a few times because I was on my back. Usually I wake up when I do that, but apparently I was so tired that I didn't even notice. And since back sleeping is no good for the blood flow to baby, this first time mommy felt worried until he decided to samba during church. All good!

In addition to that good news, his room is finished! I've added some pictures and I'm stoked to finally see it all come together. The glider will have cushions, but they're at Grandma Mohs's house being reupholstered. Hopefully, they'll be here soon.

The dogs keep looking into the room, like "What's going on?" We usually only do this much work if people are coming over. Day after day and NO ONE EVER SHOWS!!! :o) Oh puppies, you have no idea.

Slowly but surely other areas in the house are getting finished, including the dining room, living room and backyard. We've been attempting to grow grass for about a week and a half now. It's starting to sprout so I finally have hope. Our goal is to have grass by the end of next week when we have the staff over for an end of the year BBQ. It was also a kick in the pants for us to get all these projects finished. Sounds like the boys are going to paint doors tomorrow which will be good. That's one of the last big projects and me being shut up in the garage with paint fumes is probably not a good idea.

Last but not least for the week. I'm going to start prenatal water aerobics! I went shopping and found a (semi) cute pregnancy swim suit and will hopefully start Tuesday. We may have family in town, which will put it off until Thursday, but let's do this! I'm kind of excited just to get out and do something exercise-y. It's about time. Plus it will only help the birth and losing weight afterward.

28 weeks!

So, here we are. The third trimester. I've had a lot of interesting feelings and emotions lately.

First, I was tickled last night (literally and figuratively) while Mitch was talking to the belly. I've been asking him to do this, so baby learns his voice, and last night he really seemed to get into it. After about five minutes, Peanut started moving around like crazy! It was like (a) his was pissed that Daddy was interrupting his sleep or (b) he was waving and playing with Daddy. Even after he stopped talking directly to the belly, Peanut was tickling my sides as if he was amusing himself for a few minutes. To date, it's definitely the longest, sustained movement I've had. Yay!

While reading our What to Expect When You're Expecting (my favorite book ever) I got into the Labor and Delivery section. I was drugs all the way, and then read that the epidural knocks out all feeling in the lower half of my body. My control freak self may not enjoy losing control. However, a coworker said today that she waited until 7 to 8 cm to have the epidural. That was she could be up and walking around, but was numb for the worst part of it. I only hope I don't wait too long...

Other thoughts... I've been asked to be part of a study about the mother's movement during pregnancy. I go for my orientation next Monday, so I'll get more information then, but it should prove interesting. If only to get me off my butt and moving a bit more.

Next doctor's appointment is on Friday and I get to do the glucose test for gestational diabetes. Woot. However, it's a half day at school, which means the end of the year is close at hand. I'm teaching summer school, but it's a different group of kids, which will be very nice indeedy.....

Updates!

Okay, see I said I was going to do this, and I have... I keep meaning to come on and update the blog, so voila!

Since the last note, here's a quick look at events:

1. Three kids in my class came down with Fifth Disease. It's related to the chicken pox, but doesn't have any long term effects on kids. However, to unborn babies it's a big hazard. It could cause anemia and worst case scenario, miscarriage. It was always unlikely that it would be a problem this far into my pregnancy, but I was nervous nonetheless. After a week and a half, my test results came back and I've already had the disease, which means I'm now immune. Yay!

2. In the midst of the Fifth fiasco, I decided to help out the remodeling project by replacing some outlets in the dining room. I turned off the circuit and even had a hot wire detector to check that the power was off. By the fifth outlet, apparently I got cocky and didn't double check the wires. ZAP! Minor electrical charge into Kari's body. Nice. I called the midwives and they reassured me that as long as I felt him moving, he was fine. I went in for a heart tones check the next day to double check and he's definitely fine. My mother says, however, that if his hair is standing up when he's born, I have no one but myself to blame!

3. Spring Break. Ah.... beautiful Spring Break. It was nice enough to know that I was going to see my family, but when we got an extra two days before from the blizzard that came through, I was ecstatic! I rested a ton before Tuesday when I flew out. Then, I worked my fanny off at my mom's house, but left it looking better than when I got there. Always a goal! Flying with the baby was interesting. I swear I felt him sloshing around in there when we landed a few times. But overall, I feel great and rested and ready to take on the end of the year.

Overall, changes in the baby have been major. I feel like I'm HUGE, but mom says she was the same way. Apparently women in our family don't grow wide, we grow OUT. I seem to always be at the top of the charts when the measure me, but at least my weight gains match his growth spurts. In addition, I am starting to feel him a lot more than I used to. At night I feel like a punching bag (or kicking bag - I'm never sure which end is which). Mitch has yet to REALLY feel him, but I know it'll come. I can't wait to share that part with him. We keep trying, but it seems every time his hand gets close to the belly, Peanut knows and keeps really still. As soon as the hand is gone.... back to the action. Little brat. :o)

Negative Energy Fixer

Hi again!

Well, it's been a rough day, emotionally, not baby-wise, but I'm sure my hormone levels don't help at all. Mitch is still looking for a job and I guess I got a little morose today. However, my beautiful BFF Kaye told me to blog about it and I'll feel better. I'm sure she's right. She always is!

My job today (according to Kaye) is to think about all the things I'm thankful for today. So:

1. We went and bought paint (as well as thousands of other things) from Home Depot today! Among the SEVEN gallons of paint we bought, there were three for baby's room. Yay for Disney paint! We bought yellow and blue for the walls, and cream for the trim. In addition, we figured we'd just paint the rest of the main floor. It's going to look awesome and I'm looking forward to painting parties!!!

2. I had a massage over the weekend (God bless Angie!) and while I didn't really feel him moving around then, at our regular trip to Olive Garden afterwards, he was bouncing ALL OVER! He must love the OG as much as I do!

3. My loving husband, while not working, is definitely working here at home. He takes amazing care of me, and takes a lot of crap from the girls at work who tease him about visiting me at school for lunch and other events with the kids. The kids love when he visits, and he's kind of a role model for them, too.

4. My puppies! Everyday I can count on them being here waiting for me with a giant doggie smile on their faces. They play with me, with each other, and I know will be great for Peanut when he's older.

5. My family, as well as Mitch's. They call everyday checking in on our well being. I really hope that I get a chance to go home for Spring Break. It's time I saw my mommy. At least in the meantime, I get the pleasure of teaching Mom how to read the ultrasound photo with her grandson's "manhood" in it. Love you Mom!

6. Spring weather... Mitch and I got to go to the zoo the yesterday. I LOVE the zoo. My feet hurt so bad when we were done, but the weather was amazing and there were a lot of people out and about that day. It's definitely a crap shoot if it will stay that way, but I'll enjoy the great days we have in between the cold!

7. My job. Even though I think a full moon's coming up (it TOTALLY affect's their behavior!), my kids are awesome. They are so cute and caring towards me and each other. In addition, my coworkers are great too. I can always go to someone in the building and get what I'm looking for. This morning it was books for my low group. One stop and I had waht I needed. Woo Hoo!

8. Finally, but not the last in my mind is my BFF Kaye who totally cracked me up with her message today. I was feeling like I needed to cry all day, and I did when I read her beautiful note. And then giggled profusely when I read the end. I'll get those pics to you ASAP. Promise.

First Blog

So, I'm blogging. I have to thank Tiffany for inspiring me to do this. Not that she gave verbal inspiration, but I love how she's making a written record of her pregnancy. I hope to share this one day with Peanut. Thanks!

I'm also afraid I'm going to stink at this blogging thing. I'm a talker, so it might take a while to get used to writing all this down instead of just saying it. Oh well.

Today is March 5th. Yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound at which we found out that Peanut is a boy!!! People kept asking what we wanted, which was silly, because we were going to get whatever God gave us. However, I kept having dreams about baby boys, so maybe that was my subconscious letting me know what was up. He's still on track to be arriving July 20th-ish. He's even above average size, since he's in the 69th percentile for his age. No wonder I feel like I'm a bit bigger than average. HE'S bigger than average!

We also got to tell family the big news last night. Most were very excited. A few (my sisters) were hoping to add to the plethora of girls in our family. But not this time ladies... not this time.

Since I'm starting this a few months after we got pregnant, there's other things I can mention...

I have felt him kick a few times. Mostly, I just feel flutters of movement. However, the first time ever, I was trying to get comfortable lying in bed on my side and there was a little kick (or punch) on the opposite side of my stomach, like, "Hey, keep still Mommy!"

Also, even though the morning sickness is pretty much over, he still lets me know when we need more food/energy. If I get too hungry, I get pretty sick, again his way of saying, "Hungry!"

I think the cutest thing so far has been his last ultrasound. At one point, we could see his little lips moving, and I felt so amazed and humbled. This little guy was going to come home with me one day. Utterly amazing.