36 weeks!

36 weeks! Midwife appt on Thursday, meeting the doula on Friday!
Notice the new stretch marks especially on bottom left.

35 weeks!

35 weeks, here are a few pics. The bare belly profile shot had an "error" from my phone so would not show up on the computer, why so many random issues??? The other ones It took right after worked just fine. Annoying. So I just took the crappy one at the bottom to try and make up for it.

New this week - thanks Tabitha for pointing out I am developing stretchmarks on both sides of my lower belly! I was happily in ignorance, not being able to see the bottom half of my stomach, but then Tabi pointed them out and I had to verify by looking closely in the mirror. Siiggghhh still about 4 weeks left! More stretch marks to come I'm sure. I don't know how Ariel is going to fit any longer, there's really no room and my stomach is already so big! I am 154-155 pounds this week, Ariel is about 5.5 pounds (by internet estimates). She should continue to gain half pound per week until she is born!

The final supplies are being gathered so not much left to do except write birth plan, pack to go bags, and finish up childbirth classes! I'm sure more will dawn on me after she is born, but hopefully my support team of sisters will be able to help then. :) This week I went to a conference and learned a bit about perinatal mental health, touching upon postpartum depression, psychosis, OCD, and some other mental health issues. Next week we have our midwife appointment, childbirth class again, and I will also be learning about Electronic Fetal Monitoring for school... so hopefully I don't learn so much that it scares me before the delivery!

Very tired this week. Still feeling Ariel move around a lot although she can't really kick hard anymore. She seems to be head down still, but rotates from my right side to my left side occasionally, but she prefers the right. Braxton hicks contractions come and go throughout the day, but sometimes they are quite frequent and feel some stabbing pain on my bladder/cervix. I have been sleeping better this past week, but still so tired I cannot wake up at my desired time and feel like I need a nap everyday. Right lower back is uncomfortable periodically and sometimes pinches sciatic nerve, and now cracks if I move it in a particular way - the chiropractor helped loosen this area but hopefully will go back to normal after delivery. Final complaint is that I am constantly hot when everyone else is cold or normal. Lucky for me we had a crazy heat wave this past week... I never thought I would be glad for 60s weather and rain that's coming tomorrow...

34 Weeks!

We made it to 34 weeks... time will not stop it seems. As much as I want it to slow down, it keeps speeding up! Anyway, I'm about 154 now, uggh I typed 134 at first and then had to add 20 pounds... Just crazy. I never thought I would weigh this much in my life, but thankfully the end is near! Ariel must be getting cramped by now... my stomach is pretty hard and tight, the stretch mark is slowly spreading from my belly ring hole. Haven't noticed any others yet though.

We had our midwife appt this week and it went really well. The measurement of my uterus looks normal so we assume she is growing just fine. Her heart sounded good and after feeling around my belly she told us that she thinks the head is down and butt on my upper right side (as I've been saying for the past month...). So she hasn't really moved in the last month and is ready to dive head first into her new world pretty soon!

We picked a doula this week. She is fairly new, but we have heard good things about her from our childbirth educator, who is also a doula. Our doula recently had her second baby and used our same midwife, childbirth educator, and birthing center, and then decided to become a doula herself and shadowed our childbirth educator. So we are very comfortable with her (well I'm the only one that has met her so far) since she has similar experiences and training that we will be familiar with.

We are slowly finishing up preparations for Ariel's arrival, which the midwife kindly reminded us could be anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks - meaning there only remains <3-8 weeks. Scary. SO. Soon. Hopefully my body and Ariel are understanding that my finals are between 4-6 weeks from now, so she just needs to stay comfortable for another month or so. The crib should be ready soon - the final items have been ordered and should be arriving in the next week. We have the first set of cloth diapers to try out, but will likely need to buy a few more once we figure out which ones we like the best. We still need to figure out our system for rinse/wash/sanitize/dry... I have barely thought about breastfeeding, and am not even going to worry about pumping until fall quarter starts (unless most of my classes are online again!). Next thing to do is the birth plan before/when we meet with the doula in a couple weeks.

I must say that Ariel is already spoiled. All of her aunties, uncles, grandmas/grandpas, blood-related and other, have given her so many supplies, clothes, etc. that half of my room is filled with her stuff now. She has so many cute outfits, and Hieu does not hesitate to buy her everything I think she might need. Ariel is so blessed and loved, and no one except for God even knows her yet!

32 and 33 weeks

32 weeks above

 

33 weeks above

153.5 pounds this 33rd week... I have officially met my 25 pound goal, 7 weeks too early lol. I have definitely gained more than baby weight, but at least she will be born in the summer so we can take lots of walks/jogs. Midwife appt is upcoming Tue... I have also been seeing a chiropractor past two weeks - 4 visits so far, and 2 more next week. I haven't noticed much difference, but I wasn't in that much pain before either. I think it has helped a tiny bit for my lower back/sacrum area and possibly will help keep me more mobile for the birth coming up... Ariel should be over 4 pounds now and still gaining weight rapidly. She's still moving a lot too and makes my whole belly twitch and move. She also gets hiccups at least twice per day that I notice. I will probably be starting perineal massage next week - week 34 and will try to remember to mention it to my midwife on Tuesday. If you don't know what it is, look it up! It helps to prevent tearing during birth, especially for your first birth and if you have had episiotomy in the past. You can see from the pics that I don't have any stretch marks YET except for the small 'X' over my top belly piercing hole. I'm sure it will get worse too as she continues to grow. The past couple weeks I have really felt the pressure on my skin to stretch... Finally, Hieu and I started childbirth classes 2 weeks ago with April Bolding at her West Seattle home. There are about 7 other couples that meet there Wed nights, all planning either home birth or birth at a birth center (like us). The most helpful parts so far are learning techniques for rhythm, relaxation and ritual, and also therapeutic touch. We have watched a couple birth videos and have had some sharing about our concerns/thoughts and talked about what pre-labor and labor signs there are. A lot of the info is stuff we have learned in nursing school, but it is definitely good to review it and have time to practice coping techniques. Ariel says hello and goodbye, she just swiped her little foot across my belly lol. I don't think many people have seen her truly in action, but when she is in an active period she just goes crazy in there. Ttfn!

29, 30, & 31 weeks! *Updated pic*

29 weeks! Hopefully this works...

 30 Weeks (above)

 31 Weeks (above)

 30 Weeks (above)

 31 Weeks (above)

 30 Weeks (above)

 31 Weeks (above)

I made it to 31 weeks, 7 months! The pic from 29 weeks while in Utah hiking at Zion & Arches National Parks and Bryce Canyon was causing problems for this website - so I am unable to add it! *UPDATE, ADDED PIC* I did about 14 miles total, but went slow, took lots of water/bathroom breaks (when I could find a large rock near the trail to hide behind...), and thankfully usually had one or more slow people to walk with me. Ariel enjoyed the hikes, well I assume she mostly slept and enjoyed the rocking to sleep. Same symptoms as usual, although I somehow had more energy than normal last week to do all of the hiking. Now I am feeling exhausted with the new quarter starting. The biggest issue was having to sit on my tender bottom for hours upon hours during the van rides. We stopped every couple of hours, but it was very temporary relief. I slept well maybe 2 out of the 8 nights...However I do think it was helpful to get on a good sleep/wake cycle. 

Ariel is 16.5 inches and 3.3 pounds this week (according to a website not actual measurement). She will be gaining 1/2 pound per week from now on... crazy! I somehow gained about 5 pounds in 3 weeks... eek I'm already close to my 25 pound goal. 151 - I have never weighed this much in my life and my butt is feeling it every time I sit for a long time! She is getting so huge, but my stomach is not stretching fast enough so she is smashed against my ribs and organs. I can barely bend over enough to put my shoes on now. I am most comfortable when I extend my torso to make more room for her - it would be so helpful if I were even just a few inches taller... Also very sad is my top hole for my belly ring is getting stretched too much, it's pink and looking like an odd-shaped stretch mark. Ariel moves around a lot when I am sitting/laying down. It is crazy to see my whole stomach move/twitch. I also have sporadic Braxton-Hicks contractions, sometimes the only way I can tell is that it feels like she is stabbing my bladder or cervix and then I realize my stomach is very firm.

I had my baby shower a couple weekends ago, thank you sisters/friends who helped with everything! We had a lot of fun playing games, eating, designing baby book pages, and ooooh-ing and aaaah-ing over the baby gifts. Ariel went to the zoo for the first time too! Well in the womb, but still counts kind of. It was great to see my mom, older sister, and dad and have the whole family together. Hieu's parents also came and got to meet my whole family. His mom also enjoyed the baby shower and thankfully had Vy to translate the whole time! We are all very excited to meet Ariel in a couple months... Our next appointment with the midwife will be this Wednesday... I still haven't found a doula and need to ask around for a good pediatrician... so much to do. My brother did help me put together the crib that arrived (thanks mom & dad), it took us a couple hours - I say us but Brian did most of the work and Vivian helped too!

28 Weeks

28 weeks... 12 to go! Ahh.. 146 pounds (18 gained), baby is ~2.5 lbs & 15 inches long head to toe. I woke up this morning noticing a faint dark line starting to show from my belly button down --> although you may not be able to tell in the pics. I added the extra pic at the bottom to show you my skinned elbow from falling down the stairs this past week. Luckily I landed on my butt, elbows, and left foot instead of my stomach. I'm not quite as agile as I used to be on these treacherous steps up to my room...

Anyway, my lab results came back from my appt last Wed: My blood sugar was normal (yay I don't have gestational diabetes!), my iron/Hct was low - so now I have to take 2 extra iron pills/day at separate times than my prenatal & calcium, my Vit D has increased since the first trimester (have been taking about 2500-3500mg/day) but it is still at the lowest end of normal so I will be taking 4000+mg/day to boost it even further until summer begins. I am also going to be taking 1000mg Vit C with each iron pill to help absorption and to maximize my blood clotting (I bled a lot after the blood draw on Wed). Fun stuff...

Ariel has been getting hiccups periodically, this morning it lasted almost 10 min and they were so fast that it worried me. I changed positions several times, got up to walk around, use the bathroom, and back in bed, and finally they stopped after being on hands and knees for a couple minutes. I think it is pretty normal for her to get hiccups, but maybe not to last a really long time. I will mention to the midwife when I talk to her next.

I will be taking a trip to Utah this weekend for 8 days, but am kind of nervous how the car rides are going to go if I have to pee every couple hours - or more. Also I need to pack lots of snacks for the trip, all my supplements & oils/lotions & toiletries... it should be worth it though. I will get to know many of the girls from the club much better and spend a week focused on God instead of school/baby (but she doesn't leave my mind for long usually lol). When I return, I will be greeted by my older sister and mom who will be already at my house to visit/prepare for the baby shower the following day.

Next week's post will prob be late... unless I manage to do one from my phone. :)

27 weeks!

Not the most attractive pics... lol. 27 weeks now, 145 lbs (Ariel is 2 lbs!). Just under 3 months left, finally in the 3rd trimester! I still can't believe that people I told last weekend could not tell I was pregnant... uggh disturbing that I just look obese to everyone :(. Hopefully soon there won't be any question, "Is she pregnant, or just fat?" Same symptoms as usual. Small improvement with sleep, but still wake up several times at night and back pain in upper-middle of my back. It feels like my ribs are very tight, like the muscle is being pulled and squished when I lay on my sides, even throughout the day now. Ariel seems to have found a spot in my lower pelvis that she enjoys kicking that sends sharp pains through my bladder. Also have been noticing occasional tightening of my uterus, which is supposed to be normal as long as it is not cyclic. Baby shower is coming up in a couple weeks! I already received 2 gifts, from one of my aunts and my uncle, since they will not be able to make it for the shower. Hopefully they will be able to visit this summer after she is born! I had my midwife appt this week, we are both measuring appropriately, blood pressure is good, and paperwork is filled out for the birthing center. I also got my blood drawn to test my glucose tolerance, to screen for gestational diabetes. I should have the results soon...