Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Baby #2 Overview: Weeks Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, and Thirty-Three

Week 31: Another uneventful week this week... However, next week is going to be busy, exciting, and oh yes, eventful!

The Baby: is the size of four navel oranges! The baby is gaining more weight because his baby fat is filling in underneath the skin. He is also becoming less red and more pink in color.  


Mommy's Health: I am still sick. My nose is still stuffed, I'm still sneezing, and my throat still hurts. I hate taking medicine, so I'm just going to ride this cold out. The strange part is, I was also sick during week 31 when I was pregnant with Gavin. They are already acting alike!

                         


Week 32: My family and I have some big news to share, WE MOVED INTO A NEW HOME IN A NEW STATE!! We are so happy and blessed! This beautiful house on a half of an acre is in a gorgeous neighborhood full of nature, the friendliest neighbors, a pond for fishing, and a park. The schools are top notch, blue ribbon, award winning schools. There are many farms and we are excited to live the country life! This feels like a dream! I am thinking about starting a blog about our new house. My country decor ideas, furniture, and colors are going to make this house even more perfect and I can't wait to share my ideas! 

We moved over an hour and a half away from my doctor and the hospital I'm delivering at, but we will just have to commute until the baby is born. I am not going to switch doctors and hospitals two months before my baby is born, especially since my doctor is familiar with my uterine atony  risk. I just hope I'll make it to the hospital in time!!

The Baby: is the size of a Jimaca! Levi is plumping up and will gain almost half his body weight by the time he is ready to come into the world! This baby fat will help to keep him warm in the outside world. The layer of soft lanugo hair is also starting to shed.

Mommy's Health: I'm feeling much better! Good thing because these next months are going to be especially busy because we are settling into our new home and before we know it Levi will be here!!

                       

Week 33: We, I mean Tommy, has been so busy moving boxes, painting, and putting new furniture together. Gavin's room and Levi's room are our top priorities. Gavin is keeping the nautical theme and his room was painted a light grayish-blue. Levi's room is the sage color that matches his bedding set. I want the rooms finished and decorated, but there aren't enough hours in the day!! Plus, I am next to no help being 8 months pregnant... My poor wonderful husband! He has a lot to do!

On top of settling in, we had to drive to our doctor's appointment. We will be driving to the doctor's once every week soon! Thank God Gavin is great in the car. Levi is still measuring right on track to the day! His heartbeat is great and so is my blood pressure. SEVEN MORE WEEKS!!

The Baby: is the size of a pineapple! Levi's skeleton is hardening, although the bones in his skull will not fuse together completely, but will overlap allowing for continued growth all the way until early adulthood.

Mommy's Health: EXHAUSTED! I usually get more than 8 hours of sleep a night, but now I go to bed super late because I'm cleaning and unpacking, then I wake up super early to get more things done before Gavin waked up. I need to make sure I start getting more sleep!!



                                           

Baby #2 Overview: Weeks Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, and Thirty

Week 28: I am now officially in my third trimester! I love being pregnant and I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. I am cherishing every second!

For my Mother's Day present, I, I mean my husband, ordered me a Nesting Days carrier. This skin-to-skin (or over clothes) newborn carrier is beneficial to the baby and the mommy. Nesting Days is like a second womb for newborns and can be used up until the baby is 20 pounds! Here are some more benefits:



The design is functional and holds the baby safely next to mommy's heart. There are NO buckles, straps, belts, or wrapping (THANK YOU GOD!). The material is very soft and the criss-crossed wings hold the baby in a natural curl. Nesting Days also promotes breastfeeding and you can actually nurse while using it! It is so comfortable! I used the Ergo Baby with Gavin and I did not like it. It was hard to put on by myself and I felt like he wasn't secured properly. I can't wait to use my new carrier!





Here is where I got my facts and where you can get more information: https://www.nestingdays.com/

In other news, I finally picked out the bedding for Levi's nature themed nursery. Although it wasn't easy to find (or cheap) I couldn't settle for anything I didn't love. This discontinued pattern called "Woodland Tumble" by Dwell Studios took a lot of time and patience to find. With help from my mom, we were able to track down and purchase the pillow, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, and every piece of bedding (except for the bumper because I purchased a safer breathable bumper). Everything is made with organic cotton. We also found the rug, but it's $550 because it's made from some fancy Australian whatever. I already tried reasoning with Tommy for the rug, but we've already spent enough on everything else. Here is the beautiful woodland tumble pattern:


  
DwellStudio Play Blanket, Woodland Tumble Mocha (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

The color of the walls will be the sage green that is in the pattern. I can't wait to get started!!

The Baby: Levi's brain has developed more tissue and has formed grooves on the surface. He is also starting to develop a more regular sleep schedule 20 to 30 minute intervals. 

Mommy's Health: I feel great and I am excited to meet my baby boy soon!! 

                                         

Week 29: Well it's week 29 and if you're like me and are a negative blood type then you know it's time to get the Rhogam shot. If you're not like me and have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll fill you in. My blood type is B negative. We do not know Tommy's blood type. If Tommy has a positive blood type, there's a 50% chance Levi will have a  positive blood type too. If that's the case, my body may develop antibodies towards the baby. If a small amount of the baby's blood mixes with my blood, my body might respond as if it were allergic to the baby. This means my antibodies can cross the placenta and attack my baby. The antibodies break down the baby's red blood cells and can cause serious illness, brain damage, or even death. The Rhogam shot prevents the antibodies from attacking the baby. This shot is given at the hospital I will deliver in. First, I had to get blood taken to confirm I am a negative blood type. Then I had to wait an hour for the results to come back, so Tommy, Gavin, and I went to Applebee's for dinner. Once we arrived back at the hospital we go up to the maternity wing to get the Rhogam shot. There was a mix up and something was filled out wrong by the nurse who set up the blood work and we had to wait another hour. I love this hospital, but I was not happy to hear I had to wait another hour with a 2-year-old who was ready for bed. I got the painful shot, we said our hello's and "see you soon!" to the nurses, and then we went home. 


While reading back on my blog, I found my birth plan from my first pregnancy and let's say things went a lot differently than planned because my uterus started coming out (Uterine Atony). I would definitely change some things this time around. 


MY BIRTH PLAN

LABOR:
1) Allow me to push and birth in any position of my choice for as long as it takes until the baby is born. NO C-SECTION unless the baby is in danger.  

This one will stay the same, but it's one my doctor also believes. 
2) Allow my placenta to deliver naturally without Pitocin.
This one will be taken out because I will have to get Pitocin so my uterus can contract right away. Otherwise it will start coming out again.  
3) Save my placenta for encapsulation.
I did not do this, I completely forgot about this because I blacked-out after Gavin was born. I think I'll take this one out too. 
4) Please do not perform an episiotomy. 

Even though I had an episiotomy with Gavin, I want to try to deliver Levi without an episiotomy this time.
5) Delay cord clamping until the cord has stopped pulsating.
My hospital already does this.

Baby care
1) I would like baby placed on me directly after birth. Baby will breast feed, so only offer my breast and no artificial nipples. 

YES!
2) Do not bathe baby- I plan to bathe baby after I have had time to rub in the vernix.
YES!
3) Shots and ointment will be given to Levi in my room with Tommy and I present (vitamin K injection, hepatitis b vaccine, erythromycin eye ointment)

My hospital does this too. The baby stays in my room the whole time. 

I pretty much know what's going on this time around and I feel way more confident.

We also had a doctor's appointment this week and Baby Levi is good and healthy! His heartbeat is great and my belly is measuring right on track to the day. Now my appointments are every 2 weeks!  

The Baby: is the size of a butternut squash! Levi will be in for a major growth spurt over the next three months. He will become more cramped inside the womb (that's for sure!) 

Mommy's Health: Levi is growing and moving higher up. It's especially hard to breath while sitting up because he has less room. It's only going to get more and more cramped! I remember being uncomfortable the last month with Gavin, so I'm sure it will be the same. I handed in my maternity papers to HR at work, so now I have to wait to be approved by the board. Yay!

                           



Week 30: Nothing eventful happened this week. I had to give my bank account a break, so I didn't order anything and there were no doctor's appointments. 

The Baby: is the size of a cabbage! Levi is now able to get hiccups, although he started getting them weeks before. Some things happen earlier the second time around!

Mommy's Health: I caught a cold this week. I've been sneezing, my nose is stuffed up, and my throat hurts. I'm drinking tea with honey and trying to rest as much as possible. I hope this doesn't last!!



                            
TEN MORE WEEKS!!!!