36 weeks and four days into week 37

Bad blogger! I'm such a bad blogger. But I am determined to finish this pregnancy blog! I do have a happy health 26 day old baby on my hands, which is my excuse as to why I have completely ignored my blog.
By 36 weeks I had had it. I sat at home the entire week (from week 35-36) and practiced. I was practicing what I was going to say to convince my OB that my baby needed to be removed before my booked in c-section date (which was the 8th of July). I just felt awful. I was short of breath all the time. I was very aware of my heart, that seemed to race every now and then, even when I was not doing anything. I could not reach my tush!
I was exhausted and over it.
So when I had my appointment at 36 weeks (on the 21st of June) the first thing I said was, 'what do I have to say to get you to bring the c-section date forward.' There was nothing that I could say. However because my blood pressure was quite high and I was reporting cardiac and respirtory problems my OB decided to admit me that afternoon.
So I was admitted to the Royal Brisbane, into a four bed bay. That night I think they did an ECG and some bloods.
The next morning (the 22nd) they did more bloods and organised for me to have a VQ scan (for blood clots), an ECHO and to have a halter heart monitor put in place for 24 hours. They moved me to my own room and suggested that it might be best for me to stay in hospital until the delivery date, that will likely be earlier than the 8th.
All the heart and lung tests came back fine.
The next day (the 23rd) they started talking about bringing the c-section date to the 29th. I was very happy with that. That morning I felt great and spent the morning reading and just chilling out. That afternoon I went into early labour. Labour for me is very risky, its not an option really. When I write it down it looks so simple. But it started at 2pm and I had doctors in and out trying to figure out what to do until about 6-7 pm when they decided yes it was labour and that they needed to medicate me to stop the labour and the doctor I saw that night said that the baby would likely need to come out the next morning.
The next morning (the 24th) it was like the previous day had not happened and I was told that the c-section was now booked for the 29th. My labour had been successfully stopped, however when I got up I was hit by a massive headache and my vision was blurry. That afternoon after a day of umming and ahhing they decided that I was suffering from Pre-eclampsia and that the next day would be her delivery date!

... and it was.

35 weeks

Baby size: 45.7 cm, Baby weight: 2.4 kg
At this point, all of your baby’s major organs should be nearly complete. Your baby’s kidneys are completely developed and her liver is functional and capable of processing waste products.


(I wrote this back in the middle of June, but we didn't have home internet so I couldn't post it, and then I was admitted to hospital for the last couple of weeks! So sorry about the pause, I'm hoping to put the last couple of weeks up over the next couple of days)

With not long to go my opinion seems to vary daily! Sometimes (like right now) I feel fine and think that the next 3 weeks or so should be fine, no worries! And I wonder why I even complain at all. And then I have moments like last night where I cannot seem to stand up long enough to brush my teeth because it felt like I just could not get enough oxygen. And in moments like that I feel dizzy and exhausted and just want my body back! The C section is not until July and sometimes I seriously doubt I will be able to make it to that date.
This week we moved houses! I already feel at home in our new house, I was amazed at how quickly I felt at home! When I woke up after our first night here I didn’t have that disorientated feeling that I get when I wake up somewhere else (like a friends’ house or hotel), although maybe I lost that feeling after the six months of travel and waking up in a different hotel every 3 days or so.
Our house is looking pretty good, our furniture collection is not ideal yet, but that will just take time to collect all the pieces that I want and we don’t have a lot of that at the moment!
My biggest priority is getting that nursery into some sort of order before she gets here, even though she will be sleeping in our room until she is 6 months old.
I really want to get some wall stickers, we need to buy her cot and I also really would like to invest in a nice camera so we can get some high quality photos of her from the very beginning.
My arthritis has been feeling a lot better in the last week, to the point where I have felt able to ease off the steroids.

34 weeks

Your baby now weighs more than 2.2 kilograms and is over 45 centimetres from top to toe. She's filling out and getting rounder -- she'll need her fat layers later to regulate her body temperature.

Oh how I feel all 2 point something kilos of little baby! My mum looked at me yesterday and said out of nowhere, 'poor bugger! I was never that big' and then later that same day I was dressed ready to go out for dinner and my younger brother asked 'are you wearing a moo-moo?'

So I'm guessing I must look as big as I feel. I've added a second picture today because the one from baby centre.com is always in the correct position, but my little maverick likes to sit sideways. I think I can imagine how she is sitting, the majority of her bulk is usually on the right side with her head a bit higher than everything else. (This is a mental image I have developed from hiccup locations and general poking).

A side-ways baby is delivered by c-section. I've already been booked in for a c-section due to my arthritis/bilateral hip replacements. Since the very beginning of the pregnancy I have thought that I would need a c-section and I have to say that it does not really bother me that much, I mean in my case it's the safest thing for me and baby so what can be wrong with that? I was googling c-sections the other day and I was surprised at some of the things out there! I read one persons opinion, which was that doctors are plotting and planning to make sure everyone needs a c-section because it's how they have the most control and then this site went on to say that no matter the size of bubs or the womans health that the baby can be delivered naturally.

Now I am all for natural birth, but that message feels dangerous to me!

This week my blood pressure has shot up, so I've had to be assessed for pre-eclampsia. Luckily it looks like I don't have it just yet, but all of the women in my mum's familiy got it so mum tells me just to expect it at some stage.

Also this week we are moving house! We got the keys on Monday and have been slowly moving our bits and pieces over after work. On Saturday we will be moving the bigger items (beds, couch, tables, fridge).

The photo is our house cake, made by my sister in law.

33 weeks

Your baby now weighs about 2 kilograms and measures approximately 44 centimetres from head to toe. Your baby should already be getting ready for delivery by turning upside-down -- his head should be pointing down.

Our little one very rarely sits in the correct position. She is usually sideways or breech. I use her hiccups as a way to figure out where her head is. I was expecting her to stay put from about 30 weeks, but she is past 33 weeks and still rearranging herself. At the scan I went to last week she started off in breech and then, as if she heard what we were saying about her, she flipped without me noticing or the radiographer (who did not lift her wand off my tummy!) the radiographer was surprized, to say the least!

She is pretty cute, no?
I did enjoy our non-medical scan in April, but I do have to say that the quality of the images are just so much better at the proper medical scans! They just have the equipment that really captures everything!
If we are lucky enough to have a second baby I'd probably just try and score a late medical scan instead of going to a place that only does scans for fun.


We get the keys for our house on Monday! This has not hit me yet, I don't think I have fully grasped that we are MOVING next week. We don't really have much packing to do, as most of our stuff is already packed! (It's been that way since we moved from our flat to mums place in early 09). And we haven't opened our wedding presents yet, so they are still all packed and waiting to be moved. So I guess without packing I don't have that preparing to move thing going on!

I had my first round of Braxton Hicks yesterday and boy did THAT have me a bit concerned! I had read that there was no pattern to Braxtons Hicks so when I started feeling my bump tense up every five minutes I was thinking that it must be preterm labour! (After an hour they stopped, so then I was like, oh wait! must be Braxton Hicks! I called the midwife who agreed it was Braxton Hicks).
I waited an hour because I reeeally did not want to rush to hospital to be told that it was Braxton Hicks. I was sitting in bed thinking *I have a masters degree! I will be able to figure out if this is labour* Mum was so cranky at me! She made me promise that I will go to the hospital if I ever get concerned again.
It all had me really bothered because in my mind me move FIRST, set up the nursery and then baby comes on the date the doctor tells us next week. I had in no way planned for her to arrive before we moved! My bag isn't even packed!

For a 'smart' person I am a big idiot sometimes!

So my goal for this week is to finish packing my hospital bag!

32 weeks

Your baby now weighs approximately 3.75 pounds/ 1.7 kilograms and is about 17 inches / 42 centimetres long from head to toe. Although his lungs won't be fully developed until just before birth, your little one is inhaling amniotic fluid to exercise his lungs and practise breathing.

(Giving credit where credit is due, all these bub images and the first bits of text are from babycenter.com.au - I also just downloaded the free pregnancy app from this site and it's pretty good!)

I am pretty much playing the waiting game for the next couple of weeks.
Settlement on our house doesn't happen until June, so I've really tried to pause all my spending/nursery plans until I can freely go in and out of the space.
The only 'big thing' left is the cot. This one (by Stokke) was the one we've been leaning towards, but it's been months since I've looked at Cots.

I remember I liked this one because I could reach every part of the mattress from anywhere, it's certainly not the prettiest cot, but from memory it looked like it would be the easiest one for me to be able to reach bubs in.
Speaking of bubs, we have another scan tomorrow! A position scan (is what I think they call it). They want to check out where the plecenta is (it was low lying last time).

Another thing I would like for the nursery (I think its more for me than bubs) is a big comfy chair. I found a really nice one last week, but it will take 10-12 weeks to order!
I really think I need it now! I have been a lot more uncomfortable in the last week. She moves around so much and sometimes finds herself up very high and I just cannot get my breath when she's up there! I find lying down on just the right angle helps, but it's hard to stay on that angle with only pillows! Oh well, better late than never!
On bubs kicks, this week I've noticed that this week she doesn't kick me much after I've eaten, instead she goes bananas when I get hungry, I like to think that she's already starting to help me out! I know last week there were a couple of days were I just forgot to eat (with all this house stuff, it's not as hard as you'd think)! And now I use her kicks as a reminder to go to the fridge.
I thought I would show you what medications I'm still on.

The one not in the photo is Enbrel (my once weekly injection - that I gave up from weeks 4-12, but I just had to start it again, or else we would have had a tin-man stuck in the woods like situation on our hands).

What you can see:

Iron - a midwife (who I refer to as that-midwife-who-couldn't -find- the-heart-beat-of-a-baby-who-was-kicking-her-with-a-doppler-or-an-ultrasound... because she couldn't, well it took her 10 minutes) suggested I take this, about 15 seconds after I said I was a vegetarian, DESPITE my iron levels being within normal limits.
Cranberry - prevents UTI

Calcium and vitamin D - I take this for my osteoporosis, the med team uped my vitamin D for the pregnancy.
Pro-biotic - I've found this helps my digestion.
Pregnancy Vitamin - speaks for itself.

Nexium - for reflux/medications given to me when I was 2-5 years old ruined my stomach lining.

Anti-biotics - I'm on a low dose daily preventitive dose, because the enbrel increased my infection rate, its just easier!

Steroids - Ah this one is my enemy, the one I thought I left behind me in highschool. I suddenly and irrationally stopped this when mum told me what the side-effects were when I was 15 (the side effect being the moon face) and I lost 7 kilos in one summer. (I had a bad habit of suddenly stopping my meds when I was a teen, I did the same thing with methotrexate, but in my defense I had just heard it was a chemotherapy drug! and it just didn't seem 'right' to me! I wanted children one day)

ANYWAY back to steroids. I'm on them because my arthritis has flared during pregnancy. Which, by the way, is completely backwards! Arthritis is suppose to IMPROVE during pregnancy. I have not heard of a single person saying it got worse. But that is me! I'm quietly hoping it will mean that I avoid the post-pregnancy nasty flare that everyone has been warning me of.

Anyway originally they had me taking three days of 25 mg for the flare. But I was flaring every 2 weeks, so they changed the plan to 3 days of 15mg, 3 of 10mg, 3 of 5mg, 3 of 4mg, 3 of 3mg...

It truly makes me feel generally unwell, but hey at least I can move!

I hate it, by the way. I really really hate needing medication. I feel guilty everyday.

31 weeks

Your baby's arms, legs and body continue to fill out -- and they are finally proportional in size to her head. She weighs about 1.5 kilograms and looks more like a newborn. She measures about 41 centimetres from crown to toe.

You may notice your baby isn't moving around as much. Don't worry; she's just running out of space in your uterus. As long as you can feel her squirming, you'll know she's just fine. Believe it or not, she still has plenty of growing to do. You can expect her to gain at least 900 grams more before delivery.

I hope that this does not jinx us, but with everything signed and fiance unconditionally approved I feel semi-confident in saying that we did it. We bought a house! And with 3 weeks to spare (from moving day to possible birth date).

I am so excited. Just insanely pleased with myself and my husband for finding our perfect first home. Buying a home was something we really wanted to do this year, and its been such a journey without a baby in tow. I was beginning to think it would never happen and that mum was stuck with us.
This time last year buying a house was the last thing I cared about, it was only after finding out we were pregnant that I started thinking that we NEEDED a house NOW and in my mind it is our gift to our little girl.

It would not have been possible without the support from my mum. I get so overwhelmed by what mum has done for us that it is intimidating! How am I suppose to match that super-mum performance? The sacrifice and generosity?

I have no idea! First step is to get that mortgage paid off, I guess.

I'll be about 33-34 weeks when we move.

The second thing that happened this week was the baby shower! And it really was everything that I imagined. My beautiful friend flew up from Adelaide just for the day and that alone made it an amazing day.

It had everything I wanted, flowers, punch, cupcakes and tea.

The only thing I wish I had done differently was I wish I opened the gifts as people arrived and not at the end. By the end I was physically and mentally exhausted and I feel that I was not as enthusiastic about all the fantastic little gifts as I would have been a couple of hours earlier.

30 weeks!

Your baby's lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed. While your baby may soon slow up growing in length, (he measures about 40 centimetres from crown to toe by now), he will continue to gain weight until he's born.
This week your baby continues to open and shut his eyes. He can probably see what's going on in utero, distinguish light from dark and even track a light source. If you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move his head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow. Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But don't expect 20/20 vision when your baby is born -- newborns can see a distance of only about 20 to 30 centimetres.

30 weeks! With only two months to go I am getting a bit nervous that first of all time is going too quickly and that also I may not have the time that I assume I have. On the weekend one of Ri's family friends had her little girl at 36 weeks. For me that is next month and I definitely do not want to be seeing our little girls face until 38 weeks (well I hope not to, but that is because I don't want her to need any extra medical attention). But I guess I have absolutely no say in that! If she is early she is early.

This week has been a big week in real estate and for the first time I am feeling hopeful that we may be able to bring her home to our very own home and not my mums house. Maybe she will even have her own nursery! Here at mum's I didn't want to completely take over a second room, so I've really missed the process of setting up a nursery.

If I do end up with a room just for baby I'm hoping for a lot of pink, white and a dash of red.

(The picture is from a Brisbane shops website, the shop is called my first room).

I saw the physio yesterday, who says I am doing very well with my exercises, my arms are a little bit bigger. And I'm also carrying a lot better than she was expecting. I think that is mostly due to luck, as my bump is small.

I have three my appointments this week, one with the medical team, one is a preadmission appointment with the anesthesiologist (booked before they 'decided' I was having a c-section, but I am pretty sure this type of appointment is only for people who are having a c-section) and an appointment with the midwives.

I am completely dreading the med-teams appointment because I've completely forgotten to do one of the tests they asked me to do (24 hr urine - meh, my kidney's have been fine lately) and I've been working with my GP re:steroids and I hope I've made the right decisions. I always feel weak when I admit that I need medication. And sick with guilt when they look at me and say 'well if you need it...'

I might pop back with a little bit of a summery in a couple of days.

The other thing I need to do this week is have an x-ray for the pre-admissions appointment. This makes me feel physically sick, but I'm told it needs to be done.