33 Weeks

Baby has graduated to a new fruit this month! I'm also down to 49 days until his due date. Yikes! In the 8th month, he's now the size of a honeydew melon:

"Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month."

Since I just updated a few days ago, not much has changed. I'm still taking my medicine and I'm trying to get more rest when I'm home in the evenings this week. Any kind of remote activity, even something as simple as browsing Target, still gives me contractions. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though!

My baby shower was this past Saturday and I'll upload some photos as soon as Jessica emails them to me. It was a very nice shower and everyone was so generous! We've also done a lot of work on the nursery, so I need to take some photos and get those uploaded as well.

I took a new photo of the belly this morning and I think Baby's really grown between week 30 and today:

32 weeks with an Irritable Uterus

Our home laptop finally died, so I haven't had a chance to update in a while. I'm nearly 33 weeks now. At my regular 32 week appointment last week, I talked to my doctor about all of the Braxton Hicks contractions I was experiencing. It turns out that some of them weren't just Braxton Hicks, I was having real contractions that caused my cervix to dilate and efface. Not great news at 32 weeks. Immediately following my appointment, my doctor sent me to the hospital to be monitored for a few hours. I was honestly freaked out. Ryan hadn't been coming to my appointments lately since they had been rather uneventful, so he could tell that I was scared when I called him to come and sit with me in the hospital (again!). Luckily, Baby was moving just fine and I had only had a few small contractions on the monitors, so Dr. D released me to go back to work and told me that she wanted to start seeing me weekly. I'm on instructions to make sure I drink enough water everyday and to rest and relax when I can.

I had my 33 week appointment yesterday and luckily I haven't had any further progress with the preterm labor, but I was still having loads of contractions daily. She put me on a generic of Procardia, a blood pressure medicine that is often prescribed to control preterm labor contractions. She also diagnosed me with an irritable uterus. Hopefully the meds will control the contractions, otherwise, the next option is bed rest. If all goes well, I'll be on the medication until 36 weeks and then he's welcome to join the world anytime after that! I go back to see Dr. D next Monday, so please keep us in your prayers.

Good news is that baby is doing fine and he seems to be head down. He's measuring right on track and still moving a lot every day. He just needs to stay in for at least a few more weeks!

31 Weeks

Roughly 9 more to go! That's exciting and scary at the same time!

Not much has changed since last week. I'm starting to get more and more Braxton-Hicks contractions. They don't hurt, but they're not exactly comfortable either. They're totally normal according to my childbirth class instructor. On the other hand, Baby is definitely getting stronger. His movements can be painful at times, especially when he has an arm or a leg jabbing into my ribcage.

We took a tour of the hospital on Monday and I was pretty impressed. It's a newer hospital, but it seems like it will be very nice for our stay in a few short months! The labor and delivery rooms are huge and the postpartum rooms seem to be pretty adequate as well.

We tried to unpack the crib and get it put together last weekend since we are having guests soon (not that the nursery is ready for it with my armoire project taking up the entire room, but I digress). When Ryan pulled out the first few pieces of the crib, he realized they were damaged. We had to box it all back up and take it back to JCPenney. I'm hoping to get the replacement soon and my fingers are crossed that it arrives in pristine condition!

We're headed to Chicago this weekend for a little getaway to visit friends. Oh, and my birthday was 2 days ago. Happy Birthday to me! :)

30 Weeks

30 weeks feels like a huge milestone. I have way too many things to do over the next 10 weeks!

Everything has been going well and not much to report. I started going to the doctor every 2 weeks, but right now, they're just quick short appointments. I think I'm finally experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. They're not painful, but just uncomfortable. And, I feel like I'm back in my first trimester with the exhaustion!

The belly at 30 weeks:

29 Weeks and a Nursery Sneak Peek!

From Weeks 29-32, Baby Holt is the size of a squash. At least it's a cute-looking squash!



"Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments."

I found out last week that I passed my 3 hour glucose test with flying colors! In fact, my last result was below the normal range, but all is well. Baby is moving around like crazy. We did have another little scare last week. I had some abdominal cramping all afternoon at work and it was painful. After a few hours, I finally called the doctor's office. Since they couldn't get me in to see my doctor that day, they sent me to the hospital to labor & delivery. I spent 3 hours hooked up to a fetal monitor. They recorded a few minor contractions, but nothing major, so they sent me home.

The baby furniture arrived this week and we picked it up on Saturday evening. Thanks again Mom & Dad! Since I'm still working on refinishing the armoire, there isn't enough room in the nursery to set up the crib yet. But, Ryan surprised me on Sunday by assembling the dresser/changing table. It's not the greatest picture since I took it with my Blackberry, but here you go: