the day before

***We’re going to pretend that this is Monday, November 5th, ok?!!!***

         my last belly pic :(

• How far along?  36 weeks and 6 days
• Total weight gain:  40 lbs…the last 6 lbs were put on in a week due to fluid gain! yikes!
• Maternity clothes? everything that I wear!
• Stretch marks? none
• Sleep: eh…
• Best moment this week: my doctors appointment (which I will elaborate on below)
• Miss Anything? being able to do anything without getting out of breath
• Movement: all of the time, more so at night. and sweet girl has daily hiccups
• Food cravings: still chicken strips from Whataburger
• Food aversions: none
• Gender: GIRL! :)
• Labor Signs: contractions everyday
• Belly Button in or out? in
• Wedding rings on or off? off. I’m wearing my Target cheap-o band.

random views of the bump for the last time

My last night of work was Halloween night and it was CRAZY busy. About 4 or 5 am I started feeling really bad. I had a horrible headache, was dizzy and just felt like crap. So I took my blood pressure and it was 160s/100s. and I took it multiple times. My coworkers tried to get me to go down to triage, but I had too much work to do still, so I just tried to sit as much as possible and chug water. I had my 36 week OB appointment later that morning so I knew that I would be checked out soon.

My BP was still extremely high and I had “cankles” up to my knees! Dr. D sent me to triage to be monitored for a few hours and if my BP didn’t come down, we were having a baby THAT day!!!! EEEEEEEK! I was so nervous! After working for 3 nights in a row and being sweaty and stinky, the last thing I wanted to do was labor a baby! Thankfully, my BP did come down after some rest and fluids. But Dr. D wanted me to come back on Monday night to  be induced!!!

35 weeks

 

• How far along?  technically 35 weeks and 5 days
• Total weight gain:  + probably 30 lbs
• Maternity clothes? everything that I wear!
• Stretch marks? none
• Sleep: eh. every time I turn over I have a contraction, which of course wakes me up.
• Best moment this week: my mom finishing the bedding! my baby shower! getting our maternity pictures! washing tiny clothes and putting them away to be used SOON!
• Miss Anything? being able to do anything without getting out of breath
• Movement: all of the time, more so at night. and sweet girl has daily hiccups
• Food cravings: still chicken strips from Whataburger
• Food aversions: none
• Gender: GIRL! :)
• Labor Signs: contractions everyday. I mean everyday. 7 out of 10 of them are pretty painful. and sometimes they’re every couple of minutes. I do feel like maybe she dropped a little bit this past week because it’s been a little bit easier to breathe
• Belly Button in or out? in
• Wedding rings on or off? off. I’m wearing my Target cheap-o band.
• Looking forward to: my doctor’s appointment on Thursday morning to see if my contractions have made me dilate more. here’s hoping!

32 weeks

• How far along?  technically 32 weeks and 4 days
• Total weight gain:  +20 lbs
• Maternity clothes? everything that I wear!
• Stretch marks? none
• Sleep: it’s been kinda restless lately….which stinks!
• Best moment this week: seeing baby girl on the ultrasound and finding out that she was bigger than we thought she would be
• Miss Anything? being able to do little things without getting out of breath
• Movement: she’s gotten to the point where she can kick my ribs and it’s fun…..NOT! but I do love feeling her move
• Food cravings: chicken strips, especially from McDonald’s or Whataburger. very weird!
• Food aversions: none
• Gender: GIRL! :)
• Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks contractions almost daily. they’re worse and more painful when I’m at work though
• Belly Button in or out? in
• Wedding rings on or off? on, but they’re getting more difficult to squeeze on. I just told Jeremiah the other day that I was glad that I bought a cheapo Target wedding band when I thought I had lost my real rings, because it’s become so handy when mine won’t fit! I can at least still feel married!
• Looking forward to: maternity pictures next Saturday and finishing her nursery!

You’ll have to excuse the dirty mirror and the quality of the cell phone pic! But at least you can see the belly!

look at her sweet little cheeks! I can’t wait to kiss them! (: I kind of hate ultrasounds at the regular OB’s office because they’re so grainy and have lots of shadows. which makes my medical mind go crazy with wild thoughts. the high-risk ultrasounds that we got with Presley were such better quality. but I guess it’s better not to have to be seen by high-risk!

28 weeks

• How far along?  28 weeks today
• Total weight gain:  +20 lbs, good grief!
• Maternity clothes? only a few are NOT maternity!
• Stretch marks? none
• Sleep: ok. I’m to the point where I’m soooo tired all the time. It kinda feels like 1st trimester all over. I’ll fall asleep by 9 pm, wake up at midnight or 1 am and be starving, so I’ll eat a snack, then go back to sleep!
• Best moment this week: moving to 3rd trimester!!! (which was technically last week!)
• Miss Anything? being able to do little things without getting out of breath
• Movement: oh yes! the baby is such a night owl!
• Food cravings: nothing in particular
• Food aversions: none
• Gender: GIRL! :) I need to separately post about this!
• Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks contractions at least a couple of times a week, mostly when I’m at work

• Belly Button in or out? in

• Wedding rings on or off? on, but they’re getting more difficult to squeeze on
• Looking forward to: this weekend! I’m going to clean out her room and move everything non-baby related to the shed outside. and finalize her nursery plans!

The belly looks a little rounder from different angles! (:

21 weeks

• How far along?  20 weeks and 6 days
• Total weight gain:  +11 lbs
• Maternity clothes? a few! the dress above is small maternity dress and it’s a little bit big. but it was free and in black, my favorite color, so I love it! (:
• Stretch marks? none
• Sleep: insomnia has been setting in lately and it stinks!
• Best moment this week: well, I’m looking forward to telling everyone the gender and seeing/hearing their reactions
• Miss Anything? being able to eat a lot of seafood! I don’t crave it, but we go out to eat I constantly think “am I eating too much mercury?”
• Movement: oh yes! the baby is such a night owl!
• Food cravings: nothing in particular
• Food aversions: this isn’t really an aversion, but if I wait too long to eat when I’m hungry I get super nauseous. like, dry heave nauseous…it’s lovely!
• Gender: We know! We know! (; The big reveal for everybody else is Friday!
• Labor Signs: none thank goodness
• Symptoms: still round ligament pains, and general cramping. and also killer heartburn.
• Belly Button in or out? in
• Wedding rings on or off? on
• Looking forward to: telling everyone whether it’s a baby girl or baby boy!

19 weeks

• How far along?  19 weeks today!
• Total weight gain:  +6 lbs as of 16 weeks, not sure now
• Maternity clothes? I’m rocking the bella band with my regular pants and a few maternity tops
• Stretch marks? none, yet! My stomach is getting itchy so they might be coming.
• Sleep: ok
• Best moment this week: cookout with my family, and fun kid-free shopping with Karri!
• Miss Anything? not having heartburn
• Movement: yes! (: not really strong yet, but I notice them more frequently.
• Food cravings: nothing in particular
• Food aversions: pretty much anything raw when I’m cooking. Raw chicken and uncooked ground beef grosses me out. I’m ok to eat it though once it’s cooked. It’s weird
• Gender: ???? We find out this week! (: Presley thinks it’s a boy and so does everyone else, so we’ll see!
• Labor Signs: none thank goodness
• Symptoms: round ligament pains, and general cramping. Dr. D says the cramping is worse with the second baby! Your uterus stretches faster the second time around….fun!
• Belly Button in or out? in
• Wedding rings on or off? on
• Looking forward to: finding out the gender this week! My anatomy ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday morning. We have decided to have the u/s tech just write down the gender for us and we will open it at our anniversary dinner on Saturday night. We found out alone with Presley (we were the only two in the delivery room) and we want to find out alone with this one too!

17 weeks

So this is my first post relating to the second Petty! I’m just going to clump this week’s update with the beginning info just to save time for myself.

We found out on Easter morning, April 8th. This was a HUGE surprise as we had been trying for the better part of a year. My OB had even gone as far as to refer us to a reproductive endocrinologist, who is a specialist in fertility. Pregnancy the first go around came pretty easily and although I knew at that time how lucky we were, I especially know now. My heart goes out to couples who have infertility for years. It’s very heart-breaking month after month to see a negative sign especially when everyone is asking over and over for a new baby! So anyways, we had made the appointment for mid—May; that was the first they could see us. The weekend of Easter I thought to myself “I probably should test soon because we have that trip to Disney planned and I should just know. I know it’s going to be negative, but I’ll test anyway.” Boy was I wrong! I figured that I was going to miscarry (positive thinker over here, huh?) because we had been trying for so long and Jeremiah’s on so many medications for his RA and fibromyalgia. I just knew that something was going to be wrong. So far Dr. D, my OB, has said that everything’s been right on track. And needless to say we canceled that appt with the specialist! Praise God!

We had our first ultrasound on Thursday, April 12th and the baby measured 7 weeks and 2 days and received the due date of November 27th. Almost everything with this pregnancy has been different than with Presley. Some people think that means a different gender; boy this time, but I think that every pregnancy is just different, period. We told our families around 12 weeks and announced it to the rest of the world, via facebook of course, at 16.5 weeks. My scrubs were starting to get a little tight to keep holding in the secret! Ha!

Below is how my family found out. I was taking the picture and said “everyone say Presley’s going to be a big sister”! Jaden and Kole repeated half of it then said “wait, what”! My dad didn’t hear what I said at all and Kameron was lost as to what was even going on! Typical Miller family stuff! (: We told Jeremiah’s mom and then dad and step-mom by having Presley wear a big sister shirt around them. She still doesn’t fully understand what it all means. Most of the time she’ll say yes, if someone asks her does she want a baby brother or sister. But she will be 3.5 by the time the baby gets here and I think she’ll be the greatest big sister. She’s already very into being a good helper.

• How far along?  technically 16 weeks and 5 days
• Total weight gain:  6 lbs so far
• Maternity clothes? some that I had left over from P, but mainly just my regular clothes
• Stretch marks? none 
• Sleep: it’s ok, getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom gets pretty old!
• Best moment this week: Presley’s 3rd birthday party!
• Miss Anything? being able to suck in my fat! Ha! (; Oh and not gagging while brushing my teeth!
• Movement: yes! I first felt him/her at 10 weeks. It’s very random though, no pattern of movement yet.
• Food cravings: at the beginning it was pickles, nothing at the moment
• Food aversions: oh! These were horrible at first. I would want something to eat, make it, then sit down to eat and be so nauseated at the sight/smell of it, I would have to fix something else. SO annoying!
• Gender: ???? I hope girl again because I would like to reuse ALL of the clothes/shoes/bows that I’ve spent a small fortune on and I would really like for P to have a sister!
• Labor Signs: none thank goodness
• Symptoms: horrible round ligament pains at times, being crazy sensitive to smells, gagging randomly, general abdominal cramping (aren’t you jealous!!!)
• Belly Button in or out? in
• Wedding rings on or off? on
• Looking forward to: finding out the gender so soon and having a more rounded baby belly

37 weeks = Swiss Chard stalk

How your baby's growing:

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

36 weeks = Crenshaw melon (?)

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.


Well, Sweet Pea is already a good baby, in the fact that s/he is already head down and has been for 2 weeks now!! Yay! Hopefully no breech baby for us! It's so unreal that 28 days from now is Sweet Pea's due date! Jeremiah and I both are so excited and so ready to meet this baby! We feel like we've waited our whole lives to get to this point...which I guess we really have, because neither one of us has had kids before!

Good news on the furniture! I called today and they said it has made it to the warehouse and will be put on the truck to be shipped to Pensacola on Thursday or Friday. The store is going to call us on Monday with a definite arrival time! Yay! It's about time we got some good news on this issue! Maybe the furniture will get here before Sweet Pea does after all!

35 weeks pregnant and 35 days to go!

Well, probably not really that long to go!! Here are some belly pics! Please excuse the blurriness of the first one (my camera was being bad!) and that I don't have on makeup (I'm just lazy!)! The belly just keeps getting bigger and bigger!!

35 weeks = honeydew

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How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

34 weeks = cantaloupe

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Well, all is well in Sweet Pea land! So far I should say! Every day that goes by, we are one small step closer to having a healthy baby. I can't believe it's almost June. Then before I know it, July will be here! I have a shower that some girls from work are doing for me this Saturday. I'm excited for another shower!! I've already made a "must buy" list of things we have to get before Sweet Pea's arrival. So whatever I don't get from the shower, we'll start buying from the list. I've also made a "must do" list of things to get done beforehand. It's just like deep clean the house, clean out the car, etc. Things that I don't really want to do, but have to be done! So, we've got our work cut out for us in the next few weeks! Only 6 to go!

33 weeks = pineapple

from babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

32 weeks = large jicama (?)

from babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Okay, so I don't even know what a jicama is!!! Oh well!

31 weeks = four oranges

From babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Hmmm...Sweet Pea feels a little heavier to carry around than 4 oranges!! But maybe it's because I'm carrying around extra weight besides that too!! No kidding, last night I looked down at my feet right before getting into bed and I could not even recognize them!! If it were not for my tattoo on my foot, I would swear somebody switched legs with me! Ha ha! My right foot was worse than my left. I couldn't even differentiate my ankle from my calf. So I officially have CANKLES!! And it's painful too. My skin is so taut and when I walk it feels like I'm walking on pins and needles. Ouch! Ah, at least all of this will be worth every second of uncomfortableness when we get to hold/kiss/snuggle Sweet Pea.

30 weeks = head of cabbage

How your baby's growing:
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)


HOLY COW! I cannot believe that we are 2/3 of the way through this pregnancy! Only 10 weeks and 70 days to go!! It is so exciting! Before I know it, I'll be in the hospital in labor and we'll be welcoming Sweet Pea into this world.

Everything baby related is on schedule too. The nursery has all the chair rail molding up, it just has to be painted to match the baseboards. The furniture should be coming in in the next week and a half. The baby showers are May 16th and 30th. Then after those we can figure out what necessities still need to be bought before Sweet Pea's arrival! Ahhh...it's all coming together quite nicely! And I just have to say I'm so very grateful for my fantastic husband and wonderful parents' help on painting/assembling the nursery. We seriously could not have done it without them. I have the BEST family a gal could ask for!! =)

29 weeks = butternut squash

from babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

28 weeks = Chinese cabbage

from babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

27 weeks = head of cauliflower

Here is the info for 27 weeks. I guess I feel the need to see how Sweet Pea measures up each week compared with various fruits and veggies!

From babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

26 weeks = english cucumber

Oh my goodness! I can't believe Sweet Pea is already this big! Although sometimes it does feel like it when s/he is kicking around in there! Just this morning s/he was kicking me right below ribs on my right side and it was unreal. It doesn't seem like Sweet Pea should be able to reach all the way up there already!! But I'm almost to my 3rd trimester (just 2 more days!) so I guess it's time for s/he to be getting bigger! =)

From babycenter.com: How your baby's growing-

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.