38 weeks!

TWO more weeks: till my due date. I'm so excited but now I'm worried she won't want to come out till way after my due date and I will have to wait more than two weeks to see her. I know it's only days differences but I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning... It's hard not to want to unwrap your presents! I really don't want to be induced so hoping she decides to come out on her own! TRYING to be patient :)

Car's breaking down in the July heat is NOT fun: It is a myth that all people are nice to pregnant women! Here is my evidence... I had challenging day on Wednesday, I went to get my car inspected during my lunch break and during the inspection they killed my car battery after plugging there equipment into my car. So to make a long story short they decide not to help jump start my car but instead just roll my car into the parking lot telling me... "Just flag someone down and have them jump start you. Sorry." Really.... Thanks a lot, it's 90 plus degree's and they are the one's that killed my battery. So I start uncontrollably crying, (trying to hold it together) but it's hard when you have so much estrogen running through your veins. So I sit there trying to wait to ask for someones help as people drive by but after 20 minutes of this (still crying) no one helps until another employee sees me crying and tells me he will get his car and jump me! THANK YOU :) It took him about another 30 minutes to jump me b/c my battery had to recharge for a while before it would jump. Thank goodness for him and my dad who was on his way to come get me!

It's the small things: that make me happy! Like when John asks every day "do you think this is the day you will go into Labor" or some days he will say "I don't think it's going to happen today, just wanted to let you know" So funny. I love how everyday he has a comment about if the baby will come or not, it makes me smile. He may be more anxious that I am!

Another gold star: At my doctor's appointment this week. My Midwife said she was very pleased with my progress, I was measuring 37 centimeters at 37 weeks (one day away from 38 weeks) so I am now perfectly on target with my measurements. So no more measuring small!!!! I have also gained 21 pounds and she said she is very happy with that amount of weight. YEA! I also had an another (and hopefully my last) ultrasound on Monday which also looked good. Juliet was practicing her breathing during the whole ultrasound, so much so that the tech was getting annoyed that she couldn't get the measurements fast enough! So now that she is full term those lungs should work fine when she comes out.

Let's Dish: Looking forward to doing Let's Dish with my friends Jodi and Tim next week. Let's Dish is a place where you can cook a bunch of "paint by numbers" meals and freeze them so you have weeks worth of dinners. I don't think I will be up to cooking after the baby arrives so I am glad we will have a bunch of stuff in the freezer to just quickly heat and eat!

Momma's Birthdays: Next week is also Mommy Collins and Mommy's Green's Birthdays! The 3rd of August is my mom's and the 4th is John's mom's. Let's see if Juliet will want to share a birthday with one of her grandma's :) I personally would love it b/c that means I would be giving birth early and I'm all for that now that she is fully cooked!

Baby Pool!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who likes to guess???



Feels so strange to me to NOT know what day I get to meet Juliet so I set up a fun online Baby Pool to pass the time. Feel free to give your best guess of her due date, time of birth, gender, and weight (I hope you all get the gender right!)



http://www.expectnet.com/games/JULIETelise



FOLLOW THE LINK ABOVE to play! Not sure yet what the winner will get...

37 Weeks - Happy Full Term Day :)

37 weeks :)

So at 37 weeks Juliet is officially "full term" which means everything should be fully developed (well she is always developing but it's safe for her to come out and thrive in the world!)





How does 37 weeks Pregnant feel? Not so bad. I would say the worst part of being this prego is trying to sleep. I wake up 4 times a night to go to the bathroom and sometimes can't get back to sleep b/c for whatever reason I am wide awake. Everyone tells me to get my sleep now but I am having a hard time doing that... Oh well. And it can be painful when my little girl kicks me in the ribs. She is getting so big that she can reach my ribcage so that is a bit uncomfortable. But other than that I feel really good. No heartburn, or other problems that typically come with this stage of pregnancy.





Doctor's Appointment this week: Everything went well at my appointment this week. The midwife I saw said my belly measurement is back on track. 35 centimeters at almost 37 weeks so that is within the range they want to see. I guess she had a big growth spurt or changed positions??? Not sure but I got a gold star at my appointment. Still have a follow up ultrasound on Monday so we will see her one last time (I hope!) before delivery. I also asked the midwife if the baby had dropped yet or not and she answered "You would know better than I would".... Ummmm Thanks, I guess. This is my first pregnancy, I don't know much! So not 100 % sure if she has dropped. They say if you can take a big breath and have to pee a ton than the baby has dropped. Ok, so I always have to pee (but I don't think this is anything new) and yes I can take a big breath. So I guess she has dropped??? So clueless. ALSO, for all my friends that are pregnant around 36 weeks my Midwife told me to start taking "Evening Primrose Oil" three times a day, it is suppose to soften your cervix so you start to dial ate and don't go past your due date... I'll let you know if it works!





Practice makes Perfect: My uterus has been practicing and so have I! I have had my first couple contractions the last few days. About one or two a day for the past three days. It kind of feels like a Charlie horse in your stomach. John and I have also had practice with babies :) Our friend Jodi let us babysit her 10 week old Finnegan (can you believe it!?) so we were able to practice changing diapers, feeding the little guy, and putting him to sleep. It all went really well and I let John do most the work b/c my belly gets in the way of most things these days :( But he did a good job and we both stayed calm when the baby started to cry (which was only for about 10 minutes - he is a really good baby) So we may not have such a angel baby but fingers crossed that we do! It was only a three hour babysitting job but glad we got a little practice in before the real thing.





We have Graduated: From birthing class that is! Noting to exciting happened our last class except for a couple that we had gotten to know went into labor 5 weeks early and have a little 5 1/2 pound girl. The dad came to class for a few minutes in the beginning to tell there story. Pretty much her water broke early and they had to induce her but the baby's heart rate dropped in the middle of labor so they had to send her off for an emergency c-section. I guess you never know what will happen. The funniest part of class was when we watched a video that was meant to prepare us for how "ugly" your newborn can be when they first come out. It interview a Dad that said (and I quote!) "I won't call my daughter ugly or anything but you know she wasn't the prettiest, I guess she has potential" HA HA!








Push Present: So John bought into the idea that you have to get your lovely wife a push present when she gives birth. Because after all I have carried his child for 9 plus months ;) So I asked for a treadmill for my push present b/c I know I will be super busy and may not always have time to go to the gym. We got the treadmill delivered this week and I'm so excited!!!! Yea John, thanks for getting me what I wanted :)


PS: Mommy Collins, I promise I will not use it until my doctor gives me the okay to exercise after birth!!!!

36 weeks

Hoping the belly looks bigger :)

So it's been a whirlwind of a week but looking forward to a nice weekend! It's my 31st birthday this Saturday and I keep forgetting I am even having a birthday. Not doing much for it, just dinner and a movie with my favorite person (that's John and of course Juliet will be with us also, my other favorite person)





Birthing class 4: We learned about C-Sections in class on Wednesday. Had to watch another video showing what they do to you during a c-section. I have concluded there is NO good way to get a baby out of you... It all look awful and painful, so until they teach fetus the art of teleportion I guess this is what us women are stuck with!!! I was also picked out of class to demonstrate a C-Section to the whole class, it was so embarrassing. I had to lay on the floor while other people stood over me pretending to be various doctors and nurses that would be in the room with you for a real c-section. We are learning a lot but thank god for John being such a good student in class b/c without him I don't think I would remember all the stuff we learned. At the end of every class we do a mock labor and he always has the right answers when the teacher asks for him and he remembers all the breathing patterns that I forget. The teacher has even promised John a cookie for two of his right answers that the rest of the class could not seem to get (ha ha) I don't think he will ever really see that cookie to his dismay.





Ultrasound: Some other things we found out at this weeks ultrasounds (yes the two I had this week!) Juliet already has hair on her head! They pointed out the hair to me during the ultrasound which I thought was pretty cool. Also, Juliet is still a Juliet b/c she still has girl parts and not boy parts. She is probably going to have big feet just like her daddy. The tech was showing us her feet and I said "those look big" so she measured them and they are already 3 inches long . Then the tech laughed and said "well I don't measure feet that much but that seems big to me!"

Photo Fun - Taken at 35 weeks :)

Here are some of our Maternity photo's --- Really happy with them, I think our photographer did a good job :) To see all the pictures follow these directions.

Hello!
I would like to invite you to view pictures Collins at Lauren Fitzgerald Photography. They are located at http://www.laurenfitzgeraldphotography.com/photocart.
When you go to the website, click the Access Gallery link and enter in the access code below:
Access code: 5b6a3bb4
After you do that, you will be able to view these pictures.

After no sleep last night....

Found out everything is back to be fine with little Juliet. The doctor at the Hospital (after they re-took all the measurements of Baby Juliet) said that she is measuring perfectly fine and now they predict her weight at 5 pounds 14 ounces (she grew so much in just a day! ha ha). They also say my fluids are now fine and back to a very normal level :) She said my belly is measuring small b/c my "abs are still working" and that is keeping the baby in closer to me. So I am very relieved!!!

I have a follow-up Ultrasound on July 26th to check on her one last time (hopefully) but all is good and healthy :)

Doctor's office called me back and...

Ugg… my doctor just called me back after they looked at my results again and I have low amniotic fluid, so have to go to the Hospital tomorrow at 9 AM for more tests :( Also decided they are a little worried about some of the measurements and want to have the hospital retake them... Now I'm REALLY worried.

Mid Week Growth Sonogram Update

I just got back from my sonogram and got to see little Juliet! We got some pictures of her face but this sonogram was done in my doctor's office so it was a little less clear then the nice 3D one's at the Hospital. (so still no idea what she really looks like!) She was sticking her tongue out at me, it was pretty cute!!!!



The results: So they told me pretty much I have a small baby. She is only 5 & a quarter pounds and she is measuring small everywhere proportionately (which they say is good) The bottom line is they think everything is fine but she is just smaller than the average baby. They predicted that if I go till 40 weeks and she keeps growing at a normal rate she will be almost 7 pounds by her due date. The midwife said that she is pretty sure they are going to schedule me for another growth sonogram in two weeks just to be on the safe side. (being on the safe side is good by me)



Good News: I have gained two pounds in a week and up to 19 pounds for my weight gain & it is confirmed by the sonogram that she is head down in the right position for delivery!!! I love my little peanut and can't wait to meet her :)

35 weeks

Does my Belly look any bigger to you?

The Doctor's appointment this week :(

The bad news: They are slightly concerned about my size at the doctor's appointment on Wednesday, since my last appointment three weeks ago they said I have only gained a pound and that my belly is still measuring 31 centimeters (which is no change from last time). Since i have had no belly growth they are sending me in for a sonogram to check and make sure the baby is growing okay or that my fluids are not low for some reason. She also said that it could just be the position that Juliet is in, she could be curled up making her appear smaller than she is. The midwife also said she is now a little concerned that I have only gained 17 pounds and would like my weight gain to be a little more a week (around a pound a week). I have never ever skipped a meal the whole time I have been pregnant (when I say skipped a meal I mean 1st breakfast, 2nd breakfast, 1st lunch, 2nd lunch, 1st dinner and 2nd dinner--- plus snacks!) I will do whatever they tell me to do in regards to eating to make sure my little baby girl is getting everything she needs. Just a stressful doctors visit b/c I feel like I have gone above and beyond to eat a lot of healthy stuff to grow Juliet :( But trying not to worry to much but it's hard not to worry when you become a mother.

The good news: They checked her position and she is head down & butt up, which is right where she should be to prepare for birth! My blood pressure is good at 110/75 and the baby's heart rate is nice and strong at 145 beats per minute. Plus she is moving all the time which is a good sign she is doing great.

Tour de hospital: John and I went on our tour of Howard County Hospital this week! I got to see where I would be giving birth and staying for two days after the baby was born. It is a very nice hospital and I'm so excited about everything. I started to imagine myself in the birthing room and all the emotions I would be going through and what it would be like to see the baby for the first time... It was pretty neat. I'm ready for you labor (well not till the baby is fully developed then I'm ready!)

Maternity photo's: John and I took our "Maternity Photo's" yesterday and we will have the link to share with everyone in a little over a week. The photographer called John a J Crew model which I thought was so funny!!! She also had us gaze into each other eye's a lot which just made both of us laugh so be ready to have a good chuckle at some of the cheesy pictures we took.

What we learned in Birthing class number 3: (2 more left till we get our "child birth certificate" and I'm allowed to actually give birth to Juliet! Ha ha) This week we learned about pain medication in class and all the things they will do to you during labor with various instruments (think forceps) So it was a little disturbing, again sometimes I think ignorance is bliss! Other then learning about pain meds we discussed what to pack in the hospital bag, which they said to pack at 36 weeks. It crazy to me that I will be packing my hospital bag in one short week!!!!

34 weeks & so happy it's July!

34 weeks and happy it's July b/c that means next month I will get to meet Juliet (if not sooner!)
JULY!!!!! YEA! It's getting so close and I am getting very excited. I have a lot planned for the next couple weekends so that should keep me busy while I wait 6 more weeks to meet my little bundle of joy. We are also almost 100 % done with the nursery, just a few more storage pieces to add and we are done.

Fun dates July...

July 3rd - It's our 5 year wedding anniversary. John and I have been dating since I was 23 years old and I couldn't be happier. He is the BEST!

July 8th - John and I go and pose for our Maternity pictures... He is not pregnant but will be in the pictures with me ;)

July 17th - I turn 31 (I can't believe it) ha ha. I feel much younger.

July 23rd - I am considered "Full Term" in my pregnancy. Which means the baby is pretty much fully cooked but probably won't come out till 40 weeks... but who knows I could go early????

Birthing class updates: We had our second birthing class and we had to watch a video of a real birth with no drugs... so there was a lot of screaming and the women saying things like "I can't do this" I think I was the only girl in the class that cringed the whole time I watched the video. I really just wanted to cover my eyes! It's pretty crazy stuff and I think I liked ignorance better ;) But I know I can do it & hopefully I have enough time to get one of those nice epidurals that my friends rave about. I love modern medicine! But most importantly I just want the baby and I to come out of this healthy so whatever happens I will just try and go with it. I also have a great birthing coach (John of course!) who has been asking a lot of questions in class. It's pretty funny how much he raises his hand in class compared to the other men.