34 Weeks

6 weeks to go!

It's going well. Lower back pain has been completely gone for a week now. Not sure if the chiro fixed it, baby changed positions or my body just adapted, but whew, that was not fun. I've had a few bouts of swollen feet/ankles to the point of not being able to wear anything but flip flops, but it only happens if I'm on my feet a lot. I'm definitely slowing down, my energy level is falling off the cliff and I'm all of a sudden having to take lots of naps. All in all, everything is going pretty smooth.

Baby is gaining a half pound a week and boy can Kerry and I tell! My belly gets bigger by the day. He's now in my ribs and his movement continues to get more pronounced. I've gained 23.5 lbs and my waist is measuring 39".

Our last childbirth class went well. We all brought up our concerns we had from our previous class where the labor/delivery nurse substituted. As soon as we started addressing concerns about delivering at this hospital (1 couple did end up switching hospitals), our instructor said, remember I said your doctors would kill me if I told you what really happens. Apparently our instructor is required to teach from the book, but unfortunately hospital policies don't line up with the book. For example, the book highly encourages walking around to help labor progress and get the baby to engage, but then hospital policy states that everyone must be on an IV and continuous monitoring. I addressed this concern with the hospital on the class review form. I suggested that they let the instructor teach hospital policy in addition to the book so that the patient can prepare for reality and not be caught off guard while in the middle of labor. The instructor spent a lot of time with us helping us to be our own advocates. Our 2 hr class turned into 4 hrs. She suggested that I get an order from my ob to be monitored 20 mins of every hr as long as everything is fine with baby. She also recommended trying to get a hep lock instead of an IV. I got her advice on how to approach the nurses if they try to push any intervention that I'm uncomfortable with. She suggested that instead of just saying no and refusing, to talk with them and ask questions as to why I would need that intervention and if there was any alternatives, etc. She said it would be in my best interest to hire a doula and labor at home as long as possible. I've left messages with 2, but have yet to hear back from them.

Nursery progress is going slow. Can I tell you, stripes are a lot of work!!!!

We finished our test wall and are pleased with it. It will look better once we get the chair rail moulding up.

We completed the baby blue color on the remaining walls. 3 more colors to go!

I purchased 2 giraffe photos to hang in the nursery. Not sure which wall yet, but here they are:

That's all for this week. Have a great rest of the week everyone!