Hello 3rd TRIMESTER

You guys I am in the home stretch! I am officially in my Third Trimester with baby girl! 12 more weeks (give or take) and I will have my first born in my arms! Excited is an understatement! With that being said let's jump back into my Pregnancy updates/recaps:

WEEK 28

I am 2/3rds of the way through my PREGNANCY. Time is flying and I am not mad about it. I am definitely enjoying and soaking up all that Pregnancy has to offer, the GOOD and the BAD, but I am also more than ready to meet my little girl. A lot has happened this week! Sunday I officially hit my 3rd TRIMESTER by turning 28 weeks pregnant. Baby is continuing to grow and develop her parts. She has definitely been moving around a ton in there and I absolutely love the feeling. My bump is the cutest thing ever, but also difficult to work with sometimes. Sleep has not come easy most nights and acid reflux seems to love my throat these days. All I have to say is that baby girl better have hair despite Brandon and I coming out bald headed! Lighting crotch and round ligament pain has become just as common as sciatica at this point in my Pregnancy. These contribute to the difficulty in sleeping because everytime I change positions pain is very prominent. Thankfully it isn’t like this every night!

You can call this nesting if you would like, but I am already a very organized/get things done kind of person. This weekend I spent my time rearrange and organizing cabinets in my kitchen. The spices were bothering me to know end and needing to be converted to new containers, we received new Tupperware so that cabinet needed some love, and in preparation for Baby shower presents I reorganized the cabinet set aside for baby items in the kitchen. I was definitely more exhausted then well rested at the end of the weekend, but having that feeling of accomplishment was well worth it. Monday I officially was able to register at the Hospital for Labor and Delivery! I am so happy this is done and just makes everything feel so freaking real! Tuesday was a really good day! Nothing notable as far as Pregnancy goes, but I did enjoy myself in celebration of a High School best friends Wedding. The Bridal Party came over to get ready at my house and I definitely looked hot in the bridesmade dress!

Wednesday is when things began to break a little for me. I could not sleep at all the night before and when my alarm went off Wednesday morning I felt depressed. Like I could not get out of bed because I was physically mentally and emotionally drained. I tried ignoring the feeling by attempting to get back to sleep after letting my place of work know I would be coming in late. Around 10am I made myself get up, mainly because I had to pee, and start moving. I cried to Brandon because I had know idea what was wrong with me. I have cried at random before due to pregnancy hormones, but I had never felt actually sad and emotionally unstable. The weird thing is, there is absolutely nothing wrong. For some reason I just felt as if my world was falling apart and I could not place a finger on why. Pregnancy is definitely strange and not always easy or glamorous. As the day went on I felt better. My emotions kind of went back to normal. Human interaction and the distraction of work definitely helped.

Thursday morning I took my Glucose Test and met my new doctor for my 28 week appointment. My worries were definitely all in my head because the Glucose drink was actually good! Weird right? It was a clear liquid that was not syrupy at all. I was given the orange flavor that did taste like an orange icesickle. Which I think is odd that I actually enjoyed it because I don’t like the flavor orange very much. I ended up not using the straw and just drinking like I would out of a normal water bottle. The sugar/sweet part of the drink that a lot of woman complain about did not effect me at all. Probably because I love flavor when it comes to drink or food. I hate anything bland. The amount of sugar in that drink was probably less than the amount of sugar I have in my sweet tea! (Probably not, but you get it) Long story short, it was no where near as bad as some make it out to be as far as taste and how it effects you afterwards in relation to my person. (Everyone is different so this will effect everyone differently) After drinking the sugary drink I went back for my normal check up. I have gained another 5 pounds in 4 weeks, which is amazing and brings me to 123 pounds! If I continue to gain consistently like I have been I will be directly on track for my weight gain. I also received my TDAP shot. So a lot of things were checked off, you guys already know how happy getting things done makes me! Baby girls heartrate is perfect coming in at 147 and definitely moving around a lot, can’t blame her after all the sugar momma gave her. Meeting my new doctor I was definitely nervous, but she new exactly what she was doing. We went over my chart, she went through my Birth Plan with me, and answered the couple of questions I had. A few of which she answered just through conversation that she initiated, that made me feel very good. She measured my belly and felt where my placenta is. She said I am measuring around 25 and figured because of how short I am, no 9 pound baby for me that is for sure. We scheduled 2 appointments one for 3 weeks from now and another in 5. I will be coming consistently every 2 weeks from that point on and will be having another ultrasound at the appointment in 5 weeks. This is to check her position and her growth. I will be 33 weeks pregnant at that point and very close to meeting her! I then went and got my blood drawn and will receive the results within a few days. So probably the end of next week because of the weekend! Overall it was a really good appointment for the beginning of my 3rd TRIMESTER! I can’t believe how close we are to the end of my first viable pregnancy journey and the beginning of being parents! It feels so surreal.

Friday morning I met with the Pediatrician we picked out for our little girl. I am very impressed and happy with our choice. She was sweet and personable. I was given information on what to bring and what to expect at our first few appointments. I feel very prepared and good moving forward. Baby girl is going to be in great hands. My first baby shower is Saturday and I am so ready! Baby girl is going to be so spoiled and loved on! 11 more weeks!

WEEK 29

Sunday was very productive! I spent 6 hours in baby girls room organizing and decorating with the things we received at the baby shower the day before, which was amazing by the way. Check out my YouTube here for my BABY SHOWER vlog! I finally have the dresser mostly set up the way I want it to look. I still need to move a few things from the bottom drawers into bins that are in her closet organizer/cubicle. Her name plate and baby book also came in this week as well as most of my maternity photo outfits! Everything is getting so real.

Symptoms this week have been sporadic. I haven’t noticed much sciatica or round ligament pain. Lighting crotch is still a factor in the evening and at night. After I lay down or position a certain way trying to sit/get up always sends a sharp pain kidown into my lady parts. I have also noticed becoming lightheaded more often then not lately. Sunday and Thursday I became over heated, nauseas, and lightheaded. After eating a little something and cooling off I was okay. Sleep! This week I have surprisingly slept very well. I mean I definitely don’t sleep through the night anymore because I have to pee, but that is just the knew normal. As far as getting comfortable, falling asleep, and staying asleep, it has been amazing for week 29. Makes me nervous that things are about to not be so easy lol. I get up a minimum of 4 times a night to use the restroom so I think that is pretty decent considering the last couple of weeks. The only thing of significance is probably really bad acid Thursday and Friday night. I took an acid pill and was easily able to fall asleep.

Baby girls name plate also came in this week! Emory Rebecca I am so ready for you! We haven't been hiding her name by any means. If someone asks what we are naming her I have shared, but I haven't openly given it up or posted her name on social media until now. Mainly because I was waiting to do something cute like this! Half of my maternity photo outfits came in as well so doing a sneak peak here was awesome. I have gotten a few questions about how we came up with her name and we have had it picked out since 2018! I was driving in Atlanta going to see a play at the Fox Theater when construction was being done to Emory hospital. I saw the name, fell in love, and sent the idea to Brandon. His response, “that is our baby girls name!” So her name has been her name for 5 years. Boys run in Brandon’s family so I was always nervous we would never have a girl even though that is all he has ever wanted. So when I had my wedding bouquet dried I also had 2 resin letters made. 1 of which is the letter E for Emory. Just incase we never got our little girl. Now that letter is décor in her nursery!

On Monday I got the results of my first Glucose test and turns out I failed it. The threshold was 139 and I was elevated to a 147. 7 points. It is not bad at all and I was told not to worry, that it was probably something that I had eaten. Of course I still freaked because I never prepared myself for ever having gestational diabetes. I do not fall into any of the common categories that would typically say you are prone to developing it, so it did not make any since to me. After calming down I started to feel guilty instead of scared. Like I was already a bad mom because I wasn’t feeding my baby healthy foods, but a bunch of junk. That guilt is still in the back of my head, but there is no point in wallowing in it, I just need to do better. Wednesday morning I went in for my 3 hour Glucose test. The office says it is a precaution and to make sure I am in the clear. I got my initial blood draw and then downed the same Orange flavor drink. It was sweeter this time, but I couldn't tell in the taste, only when it went down because it burned a tad. I really wanted some water after that, but obviously I could not. For the first 30 minutes I felt off. I was hot and a little sick, but after blaring the ac in my car I felt better. At 12:34 I had my last blood draw, 4 that day! I headed to Panera for a Salad and then to work. Around 4:50 I began to feel off again. I was really hungry and hot which made me lightheaded and nauseas. As soon as I got home I ate a little something did my chores and ate a good dinner. Thursday was okay up until the end of the day because I still hadn’t heard from my OB about my Glucose results. Five minutes after walking in my home I got the call… according to the nurse that contacted me I failed my 3 hour test and I do have Gestational Diabetes. I was kind of expecting to hear this. I think God was preparing me all day for that news, although I think the results aren’t accurate. I was told that a specialist would contact me sometime next week to set up an appointment where they will explain to me exactly what GD is and do an ultrasound to check on baby’s growth. That I need to check my sugar every morning and 2 hours after each meal. I do not need to change my diet and if I haven’t received a call from the specialist by mid week to call the OB. All of this made it seem as if it was not a big deal and I was dying to know what my labs said. I was highly embarrassed and couldn’t stop crying! To me it was like they were telling me that I don’t take care of myself and I was hurting my baby. My mom was able to make me feel better by telling me it isn’t usually your diet that causes it, but the way your body processes. I was more embarrassed by being told that I have it than I was of actually having it. Brandon said he wasn’t worried at all but, but to make me feel better he ran to the store and purchased a Glucose meter. We checked my sugar around 6:30 and my sugar was at a 106 barely 2 hours after eating a piece of chocolate cake. Two hours after dinner my sugar was at a 101. I was highly confused because my doctor literally just told me that my sugar is not going down like it should, but yes it is! Friday morning my sugar was at a 90 & almost 4 hours after dinner that I had a COKE with (to see how my body reacted to sugar) was low at an 84! This morning my sugar was reading a 79. I BELIEVE (without medical knowledge, just my gut feeling) that I DO NOT HAVE GESTATIONAL DIABETES! I believe that my body reacted badly to the Glucose drink because I am not used to having that much sugar in one sitting and I am a smaller person, so obviously someone who is 5’6 and 165 pounds is going to process this faster than I would at 4'11 and 123 pounds. With that being said when I visit the specialist I am going to be asking for a retest or alternative. I finally got my labs back Friday night after the patient portal had been down for 2 days and I apparently passed my 1st hour but failed my 2nd and 3rd. With my sugar levels being about 30 points over the threshold. Hour 2 came in at 175 threshold at 139 and hour 3 was at 145 threshold at 109. That drink screwed with my body!

I will keep you guys updated. This has been pretty stressful and overall I am just mad that this is happening because it doesn't make any since. On a better note! I am headed into my 30th week of pregnancy! I am so excited, 10 weeks left before I get to meet my baby girl! Things are getting so real and we are so close!

WEEK 30

Omg! Acid this week has been insane! I have had to take an acid pill every night but 2 this week, I don’t like it because I really wanted to avoid meds as much as possible, but this week reflux has just been unbearable. I also feel as if I have grown a LOT over the past few days. Wednesday it started to become more and more difficult to do everyday tasks like getting on and off of things, walking, bending down, and so on. I have been getting over heated more than usual and having to take more breaks in-between tasks than before. Another factor is baby girl has DROPPED! There is no denying that. She has been low my entire pregnancy, but this is a new level of low. I wonder if this happened Tuesday because I experienced my first ever Braxton hicks contractions. It lasted for about 30-45 minutes and then subsided. I woke up that morning feeling weird and Em was moving around a lot. On the way to work I started to feel a tad crampy and my very low abdomen was very hard and felt tight. It was almost as if my cycle was about to start. I had know idea what it was or where it was coming from other than thinking Emory was moving so much that it was causing me pain, until my coworker said, “girl those are Braxton hicks!” I immediately got a smile on my face because I was super excited. My body is preparing itself to bring my daughter into the world! It definitely wasn’t enjoyable and was super annoying, but I am happy that my body is getting ready for Labor. I haven’t experienced one again since, but I am sure they are just around the corner.

My stomach is a freaking basketball, super round and baby girl had been kicking up a storm! Monday night she moved more than she ever had before. Well that I could feel anyway. She was kicking me 30-40 times in a row. Which is insane because I have never felt her that much and that intense before, even Brandon said so. She has also been moving positions and swishing from one side to the other! I felt her near my ribs at one point. It was so weird, like someone was tickling my ribs! She is mostly very low and building from either my left or right. I guess with her gaining strength and becoming bigger, feeling her movements have been more noticeable. Soon she will run out of room and I probably won’t feel her as much anymore.

I have accepted my Gestational Diabetes diagnosis. Reluctantly, but accepted. It is most likely caused by where my placenta is and you are more likely to obtain GD if having a girl! That I did not know. It could be just the way this pregnancy is and my next will be so different. I do have a very mild case and do not have to change my diet, just check my sugar. I am still waiting on a call from the specialist I am supposed to see. Obviously know one is worried about it considering I haven’t heard anything and will be ready to give birth by the time I actually get in there. My sugar has only been above the threshold a few times since being diagnosed. (30 points over or less) Only certain foods (sugars & carbs) effect my levels in a negative way, but I can also have them in moderation or split up between meals or snacks and be fine. I just can’t have it all in one sitting. Wednesday and Thursday I felt like a bottomless pit!! I felt starved and not full after eating. Baby Em is definitely going through a growth spurt!

Next week we will be heading to Dahlonega for our last vacation before baby is here! I am in need of a getaway for sure. After this our outings will never be the same again! Brandon is also turning 26! Everything is coming up fast! The nursery is not as far along as I hoped it would be in the decorating portion, but as far as organizing I am set. I plan on looking for a hospital bag this weekend because I do not have any overnight bags thanks to my chew happy dog and start the process of checking that off! 9 weeks left!

WEEK 31

You guys this acid is just not letting up! I either go to bed with it or I wake up in the middle of the night with my throat on fire! Unfortunately I am still popping the acid pills almost every night, but I know that once this little girl comes out everything will go back to normal for me, which means NO MORE ACID! Other symptoms this week include a ton of lighting crotch and soreness in my pelvic area. My body is definitely preparing for Labor. I have yet to have anymore Braxton hicks, at least none that I have noticed. I think it is about time to order an exercise ball and focus on exercises that will make my pelvic floor stronger in hopes of a faster and easier labor. My belly is getting in the way of everything these days, but I love the BUMP! Feeling Em's movements are the highlights of my day. Sometimes she is active at the most inconvenient times, but I would rather feel her than not. Speaking of which, Tuesday she gave me a bit of a scare. I haden’t really felt her at all during the day and she wasn’t too active the night before. I think she did not like whatever I ate for dinner because I did have a bit of a stomach ache Monday night. Wednesday she was back to her normal self. I can feel the length of her body and more sudden movements and see her buldging out of my stomach in certain areas rather than kicks or flicks now. Probably because she is so much bigger!

Thursday afternoon I went in for my 31 weeks Pregnancy appointment. I got there about 15 minutes early and was called right back! I was very happy about that because I had been running errands all day and had yet to eat. Giving a urine sample at this point in pregnancy is NOT EASY! My stomach is so big that I can’t see what I am doing and your stream isn’t always straight. Let’s just say I got pee all over my hand! I actually only gained 2 pounds in 3 weeks. So I am now at 125, so I still should be on track. Blood pressure was phenomenal as always and baby girls heartrate came in at around 145. So pretty steady and usual for her. She was moving as the nurse was listening so we had to chase her for a second! The longest part of the appointment was waiting for the Doctor to come to my room, but when she did it went very smoothly. I let her know I had experienced Braxton hicks, that baby was moving, and all the other pregnancy related things that happened over the passed three weeks. I had yet to receive a call from the specialist, but my OB gave me a booklet and a website to check out for more info regarding Gestational Diabetes until I could get in. She measured my tummy and I am still measuring a little behind for 31 weeks, which we both said isn’t typical for GD, but what are you going to do. We finished up and as soon as I got in my car I got a call from the OB office I was literally just in letting me know that I had an appointment set up with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor to discuss my diagnosis and have an Ultrasound done. I called that office and verified, September 7th I will be seeing my little girl for the 1st time in 13 weeks!

We are currently on the way to Dahlonega GA to spend the long weekend in the mountains with family and to celebrate my baby daddy's 26th birthday! This week has been pretty standard, nothing exciting. We are one month shy of baby month, that is of she doesn’t come late. Eight more weeks/ 2 more months and (hopefully) I will have my little girl in my arms!

WEEK 32

This week was not what we expected. Before I elaborate I am going to get into my symptoms for the week. They have continued to be pretty steady and standard for the past few weeks, a lot of lightening crotch, soreness, and pressure in my lady region. Acid reflux has still been a huge factor of my day to day life and waddling is my new form of walking. Baby girl is still moving around a lot, that feeling will never get old. Especially after the news we received this week, I am constantly wanting to feel a kick, a rumble, or a spasm. Just to know that my littlest love is still thriving and not suffering.

Dahlonega was a much needed family vacation. I had a lot of fun watching the rain, relaxing on the rocking chair front porch with a book, and enjoying the activities in the small town. The hardest part was sleep. I just could not get comfortable and it seemed as if my lady parts were screaming at me the entire trip. It probably had to do with the amount of time I was on my feet. I also experienced swollen ankles and feet for the very first time this pregnancy while in the mountains. The humidity was not bad, but with the amount of weight and pressure I was putting on my poor lower appendages the entire trip was enough to activate the end of pregnancy symptom. Tuesday was the best day. Brandon and I slept in and took a much needed recoup day. I was able to finally get some much needed good sleep and rest my poor feet from the amount of walking we had been doing.

Wednesday morning we had an appointment with a Maternal Fetal Doctor to have a growth scan done on Emory and receive more information of my gestational Diabetes diagnosis. We left with much more than we came in expecting to learn. I filled out a bunch of paperwork and consent forms. I then was taken back to have my vitals taken. Blood pressure is great as always and I was weighing 130. Which quite possibly could be because I had to go number 2 at the time. I was then taken back to a dim sonogram room with a nice flat screen TV ready for the images of my precious baby girl. Brandon joined me and the scan began. Everything was going great. She gave us images of her precious face! There is no denying that she has my nose! She had one hand squished up against her face and she was still in a fetal position trying to grab at her feet. It was the cutest thing ever. She is head down and no longer breech, which makes me feel amazing and makes perfect since as to why I keep feeling like someone is tickling underneath my ribs, it must be her feet and toes when she is kicking. Emory was active the entire scan, moving and kicking around. I could not only feel her, but we could see her movements on the screen as well as some practice breathing which is one of the things the technician was looking to capture. Little girl has a ton of hair! I have no idea where it all came from considering both Brandon and I were bald headed, but I am so glad that this acid hasn’t been for nothing. She examined every inch of baby girl. All of her organs and parts, taking measurements and looking at blood flow along the way. It was definitely a more in-depth version of the anatomy scan. The fluid around her was measuring perfectly fine and her head is small! This instantly relieved my you know what. While looking at the measurements she was taking on the screen I noticed that she is 1-2 weeks behind in certain areas, such as her arm and leg lengths. This I figured because everyone, including my OB, assumed I was going to have a small baby. It wasn’t until the technician asked if I had received an early ultrasound to confirm the due date did the small joking voice in the back of my head saying something was going to be wrong ring true.

Emory is measuring really small for 32 weeks. She has fallen below the 10th percentile on the chart which means that with the doctors diagnosis going off of another form of numbers Emory is considered to have FETAL GROWTH RESTRICTION. She pulled the charts to show us and then continued to get a look at and measure the last few things she needed. Em was not having it for a few of these screen, but the tech was able to get images of everything needed. After the hour long scan that started off with an amazing view of my little girl and ended with what looked liked a scary diagnosis we were taken to a room where a non-stress test was preformed to listen and monitor her heartrate for the next 20 minutes. It was weird because I had never been strapped to one of these monitors before, but it was a nice sense of peace to be able to sit and listen to her heartbeat. during this time a nurse came in and gave me my Gestational Diabetes packet and skimmed through it with me. I read over it later that day and didn’t really come up with any questions other than needing help with coming up with a meal plan for my change of diet which is how the specialist wants to treat my mild case of GD. I was told that they are looking for my sugar to not be over the threshold more than 20% of the time. Which has been my case other than breakfast. I will still be monitoring my sugar 4x’s a day and I was given better instruction on when I need to eat and how much of certain types of foods I should be eating. Obviously with my pickiness, I am struggling to find the correct foods.

The maternal fetal medicine doctor came in shortly after and quickly went through more details of GD and answered any questions I had. She then focused on the more pressing matter that we all were not expecting. In a lot of cases having a small baby is very common when you yourself and other family members are on the smaller side. Unfortunately, there is more to it than this in my daughters case of pettiness. All of her body parts and organs are functioning properly, but she is way too small mainly in body mass. She is currently coming in at 3 pounds and 11 ounces and our hope is that she makes it to 5 pounds before I have to deliver. The doctor explained that the situation is being caused by pressure being placed on the placenta and making a small blockage. She explained it as the Placenta is supposed to work as a water hose having a constant flow. In this pregnancies case it is as if someone is placing their thumb over the spigot so only half of what she needs is getting through. The partial blockage isn’t all the time and only happens sporadically meaning I have a mild case. This was seen on the ultrasound scan when the tech was looking at the flow between arteries, she noticed that it wasn’t a constant flow and saw that it was kind of squirting out. At the moment Emory is not bothered by the lack of nutrients. Her heart is strong, she continues to move constantly, and even though she is super tiny she is strong and mighty.

Given this new diagnosis I will now be seeing the MFMD once every week to have an ultrasound and a non stress test, I will also be seeing my OBGYN every week for a normal prenatal check up. They want baby to be monitored every 4-5 days. As of now I will be induced no matter what sometime in my 37th week of pregnancy, so instead of bringing home a baby in 8 weeks, she will be here within the next 5. If my condition worsens, meaning the blockage becomes more severe and Em becomes distressed they will take her before then. It’s nerve racking because at my next appointment in just 3 days I could be told, okay we need to take her out now. Her nursery isn’t done, the car seat isn’t installed, no packed hospital bag, I still have one more baby shower and maternity shoot, and no post partum items in my home. The planner part of me is going crazy knowing the allotted time I had has now been almost cut in half. But I have faith and I know that I will get it all done. I will just have to suck up the fact I will be spending more money at once rather than it being spread out.

I am healthy and as of now Emory is healthy. This was not caused by anything I have done or my body. It is the pregnancy itself. Where the placenta is has been causing the problems and I was reassured that my next pregnancy can and will likely be completely different. Right now it is a matter of what is safer for the baby. Keeping her inside and staying pregnant or taking her out earlier than expected. My biggest fear is to have a still birth, but I know God has a plan for my family. I go into more detail about how I am feeling mentally in the 3rd Installment of my Pregnancy after Loss Diary. Right now we are in a waiting game. Looking at the bright side we will all be able to meet Emory Rebecca sooner rather than later. I also get my wish of having her here before Halloween!

We are taking it day by day and I am soaking up every moment I feel her move because she is giving mom the reassurance she needs to hold back the fear of possibly loosing her. I will continue to put out updates with my weekly posts. It’s hard to have a countdown when she could come at anytime, but as of now 5 MORE WEEKS! We love you so much Emory!

WEEK 33

Only four weeks and I will have my little girl. Excited is an understatement! These next couple of weeks will be all about prepping for her arrival. My last baby shower is tomorrow! And my maternity shoot is Sunday morning! The last two big pregnancy events will be completed and come Monday it will be deciding which Amazon shopping list I want to purchase!

This week's symptoms include the steady lighting crotch, pelvic pressure/soreness, and the burning sensation of Acid Reflux. I got more photos of her and her hair at my Tuesday Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment and my girl is going to be able to have a ponytail! Something not new, but hasn't been a big factor showed Sunday night into Monday morning. Severe cramping and constipation. I was up pretty much all night Sunday due to very painful cramps. I was in and out of the bathroom and I don't know if Em was trying to help me out or not, but she was moving around a lot and felt as of she was punching my bowl! That made the cramps worse, but unfortunately came with no relief from my constant bathroom trips. I stayed home from work and took some medication to try and help the issue. By 10am Monday morning my stomach stopped hurting and I was able to go about my day normally.

Tuesday I went in for my 2nd MFMD appointment. The ultrasound took a little longer than I expected because Emory decided to take a nap. We had to wake her up so we could see some practice breathing. I got a ton of photos of her feet and a couple of her face. The one 3D image the tech game me definitely has Brandon all over it. Her cheeks and lips look just like him. So I guess we have a good mix of both of us in her her! I then went on the monitor for a non stress test for 20 minutes. She past this test within the first 3 minutes. She was definitely awake now. Moving around like crazy and her heartrate is very strong. I spoke with the specialist and was told that everything looks the same. The restriction has not gotten worse, but she doesn't expect it to get better. As of right now Emory looks great because the condition has stayed the same. I will be seeing my OB on Thursday where I will schedule my Induction date! That is so exciting because we will know know when she will be here! This all still feels so surreal to me... in a literal month I will have my own baby!

Wednesday was good, I felt kind of off. I slept amazing the night before so I am thinking my body was not ready to get up. I was sore and crampy and feeling a lot of pressure. After lunch I was able to gain some energy and the rest of the day went smoothly. After getting home and showering I worked in the nursery a bit. Brandon and hid friend put up the rope shelf above her dresser and the glider on Monday. I added the crib skirt and her poof/Ottoman. I am now just waiting on her rug to get here and then finish organizing and hang a few more things and then her room will officially be done! I also blew up my Yoga ball and spent about 40 minutes bouncing and sitting on it! I plan to do at least 20 minutes a day as well as other exercises to help prepare my body for Labor as best as it can be within the next 4 weeks.

Thursday I went in for my routine OB checkup. It was pretty quick and straight forward. I caught my OB up on what has been happening at the specialist. I scheduled my appointment at the OB office for the next 3 weeks for every Friday morning to receive an NST. Baby girls heartrate is strong as always same as my BP. I still haven’t gained any weight coming in at 129.5 pounds. It has been steady here since last Tuesday when I saw the specialist for the first time. I am assuming this isn’t a big deal because no one said anything. I was told I would receive a call from the scheduling lady with my Induction date and I went back to work. A few minutes after getting home that afternoon I received that phone call and we now know when Em will be here! I am so stoked. Obviously not about being induced, but about meeting my little girl really soon!

WEEK 34

Oh my goodness! I definitely jinxed myself about my acid reflux. Last week it was not bad at all and actually only had to take medication twice I believe. This week it has come back full force and waking up in the middle of the night with a burning throat has been brutal! Thankfully I only have two more weeks of this before my daughter is freaking here! Lightning crotch has gotten even more intense while trying to move positions in the evening and into the middle of the night. Pelvic pressure and soreness isn’t bad, but she is for sure hanging low and can tell by how hard my lower right and left sides of my stomach are. She pushes up against the placenta which pushes up against me! Swollen feet and ankles are the next big thing! The tops of my feet are super painful for the most part and it is difficult to wear shoes because of the pain. I have been icing them and trying to keep elevated, but I am usually on and off my feet all day at work and then turn around and do a ton of preparation for Emory at home. Needless to say my poor feet hardly ever get a break. I almost made it through this pregnancy without that one common symptom.

Tuesday I went in for my third Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment. I actually got there a few minutes late because I forgot my Blood Sugar tracker paper at home and had to turn around. Thankfully they are not like my OB’s office so I was able to walk in for my appointment even though I was late. I gained weight! I am now 131.9 which makes me happy. I am three pounds away from the goal weight of 25 pounds, which I should hit or be right under by delivery as long as it stays how it has been. I was seen by a different Sonographer this day, she was pretty quite which kind of made me a little uncomfortable. It didn’t help when she was studying Emory’s heart very closely and I could tell there was something wrong just by looking at the screen.

“Is that normal?” I asked

I could see a flutter. The tech told me it is most likely nothing, but when they see it they need to get a better look so she stayed on it for awhile getting video and images of it so the doctor could determine what it means. I could tell she felt awkward because she hesitantly asked if I wanted some photos of her face. She was yet again squished up against the placenta so it was hard to see her face, but the image we did get was super cute. She always has her hand up by her face. I asked about the restriction, but she did not look at it because apparently that isn’t supposed to be done until the next growth scan which is next Tuesday. I was a little confused because last week with the other tech, she did look at it. Although that could be because we were biding time until baby girl woke up and did her breathing.

My heart was in my stomach and I felt really nervous. I was told to sit tight in the room just incase the doctor wanted to come in and look at it herself, but I was taken to the NST room instead. My eyes did not come off of the heart machine the full 14 minutes before the specialist came in. Her heart bounced around a lot and there were some skips that I became even more nervous about, it was later explained to me that it was the machine. Apparently it will over correct when she is moving a lot, which she was, and that is where the weird readings came from. I could hear the nurses talking about me outside the door. About the flutter, that made me even more nervous which is exactly what I told the doctor as soon as she walked in the door. Her face changed and she told me to not be concerned because she wasn’t. Apparently a fetal heart flutter is very common and usually not caught, but because Em is being watched very closely they obviously are going to catch every little thing. Her opinion was that there was barely a flutter and would only be concerned if it was happening every 2-3 beats, but that it only happened four times while in the sonogram and she had only noticed it twice on the NST. I was told that they will be keeping an eye on it and will take a good look at it next week during the growth scan and if it is still there they will preform a fetal echo just to make sure that it isn’t anything more serious, but the blood flow and all the chambers look perfect. I was told to cut back on caffeine because that could definitely help stop the flutter as well as it could be a factor into what was causing it. So no more soda or tea for me, straight water or juice! We reviewed my sugar levels which once again looked good other than a couple inconsistent spikes the highest being 133. (That was up until later that afternoon when my sugar climbed to 140! I had the same thing for breakfast the day prior, toast with grape jelly, and it had been perfectly normal Monday, but for some reason it was not okay Tuesday! This also added to the days stress!)

I spoke to Brandon and told him what I had learned at the appointment. In that moment we were both done! It always seems to be something. A lot of women want to continue their pregnancies because they feel as if they can keep their babies safe… I feel the exact opposite. It seems the longer she is in there the more problems arise. I know that this heart flutter is nothing and Em is still doing great. The stress in my head and my heart has just been a lot hardly having good news or no news in any of my three pregnancies. I want to fast forward these next two weeks because I am scared for my daughter and feel as if I can’t REALLY help her. I want her out because I am scared of my pregnancy. Yes, I want to enjoy the last weeks of just Brandon and I and soak up what it feels like when she moves inside me, but at this point my mental health needs a break. I broke down in tears before walking into work. I just needed to let it out! Throughout the day I began to feel better. I focused on all the work stress/tasks and processed the new information. My heart was no longer in my stomach and I no longer feel “done”, but I will say I am drained. Brandon even did some research and come to find out the belly oil I have been using is a natural form of caffeine. The Palmers cocoa butter set I love and have been using since the beginning. I am unsure how much of a factor this is, but I have been applying it to my bare belly almost every night. I am going to stop using this too, just to be on the safe side.

I was so relieved to finally have Brandon home on Wednesday after his 48 hour shift. I definitely needed my support system back. Thursday I came home to setup my Bedside Nursery and Postpartum section of my room! I feel very accomplished that this is done. I am now even more ready for baby girls arrival. Friday morning I went in for my weekly OB checkup were I gave a urine sample as always, my vitals were taken, and I was then put on an NST to monitor Emory's heartrate and any contractions. I was also given consent forms for my Induction at this time. I will never get over sitting in that room and hearing her heartbeat loud and clear! One of the most beautiful sounds. I was on the NST for 40 minutes because the paper stopped printing, so I basically had to start over, but I did not mind at all. I was also given a little button that I could press to count her movement, that was pretty cool!

I was also given the STREP B test. This was done early because of my early Induction. It didn’t hurt, but definitely uncomfortable. I am not really sure if it will be positive or not because I did have an allergic reaction to Ogmiton this past year, which means I have an allergy to amoxicillin meaning probably penicillin. I should get those results when I come in for my appointment next Friday. My OB also did a cervical check on me. This hurt a tad and burned a little too. I am a fingertip dilated and 10% effaced. At 34 weeks it is good that my body hasn’t really started to become labor ready, but now that I will be going in for an induction in a little over 2 weeks, I honestly would not mind it gradually becoming more and more open so my body will maybe get there on its own or allow the medication to work well.

Tomorrow Brandon and I will be working in her nursery! We just have to get one more curtain rod up, but the shades are put in and all of her furniture. We plan to install the carseates as well and get the couple of things out of her room that are meant for other rooms. I am so excited to share my Nursery reveal next week!

WEEK 35

I cannot believe we are about a week away from welcoming Emory into the world! I am so excited! This week has been filled with more baby prep, including her Nursery Reveal! I am so relieved to finally have this done. Sterilizing her baby items and my Pump parts was one of the last things on my list. I was able to wash and sterilize what we have, we are still being gifted items and I may still purchase a few things that need cleaning to newborn standards, but the bulk of it is done. The last thing on my list is my Hospital bag which I have started, but won't be fully complete until the day of Induction because of toiletries. I refuse to purchase extra stuff lol.

As far as Symptoms this week, I have been super tired and crampy. I am surprised I have had energy to do much of anything, but I know that these things need to get done and I have the motivation to do it so that is a big factor in pushing myself. I have been having Braxton hicks off and on throughout the week and kind of sharp pains in my lower abdomen, but not lighting crotch, although I still experience that while changing positions or trying to get out of bed in the evening and at night. My most significant symptom this week is having to pee every 5 minutes! It is the worst at night, which really sucks because all I want to do is sleep. Acid reflux is just another thing as always. I am hoping beyond hope it stays contained to pregnancy. I don't know how people live day to day with it being super annoying and not pleasant. I have been trying to use my Yoga ball, not every night because after work and coming home to clean and prep for Emory, I just want to get in bed.

Tuesday I Brandon and I went for my next to last MFM doctor's appointment. This exam was an updated Growth scan to get her measurements, weight, and to check on her restriction. The sonographer also did a Fetal Echo because the heart flutter is still present. I am very happy because I have officially hit my goal weight at 134! It has been fluctuationg over the past couple of weeks so we will see if it maintains. As far as measurements go she is still tiny, but as we have said before we knew she would be. She has gained a full pound coming in at 4 pounds 10 ounces, which puts our estimated birth weight around 5 and a half pounds, which is amazing! Her growth restriction is still pretty much the same. She is in the 6th percentile now and the blood flow in the cord looks good. There is still a little spike, but nothing to be concerned about at all. The fetal echo showed no further indication of issues. Her heart is is working properly and the flutter is what they assumed it is last week. A premature atrial contraction meaning she is essential skipping a heartbeat do to the AV node working too early. I hope I explained that correctly!

We were in the sonogram room forever and wish we weren't under the probe that long, but baby girl wouldn't cooperate at the end, but did everything she needed to in the beginning. The NST was normal as well and this was by far the most "boring" specialist appointment I have had. Which is a really good thing. We came out with no bad news and the entire appointment I actually felt really happy and excited. Only one more of these sessions left and then it will be Induction week!

Wednesday I felt kind of off. I feel like I haven't been getting enough sleep with the amount of times I get up to pee in the middle of the night and I seem to be in the half awake half asleep state for most of the night. That is not fun. The morning was rough, but the afternoon was much easier. Thursday was good for the most part. My feet and ankles were swollen all day and it hurt to walk. I cane home showered immediately and then took a warm bath just like the day before. After finding out that I was only 10% effaced I wanted to try and help that along by taking a couple of baths. This was suggested to me by a friend. Lately nights have been the hardest. I am exhausted and just hurt everywhere not to mention my sugar was low last night and I was hungry, but had to wait until I could check my levels before helping make myself feel better.

Friday morning was good. I actually slept fairly well after actually falling asleep. I still got up to pee a thousand times, but was able to get comfortable and fall back asleep easily. At 9:30am I was taken back for my next to last OB appointment for my weekly monitoring. As always BP is good and I weighed in at 132.5. So still fluctuating a little but in the same range. Very happy with my weight gain. I was told that I will be getting a cervical check every week until delivery. (which is literally this appointment & then my last) I mean yay I know where my body is standing on the prepared for Labor thing, but OUCH! Those things are not comfortable and definitely a tad painful and I am honestly not sure that I want to be check that much. The NST went smoothly other than thinking that the machine was going to fly off of the wall, it was so loud! Baby gals heartrate was beautiful despite how loud the machine was and I was able to click the movement button a few times during the 20 minute test. The doctor came in and checked on us and we went over some information from last week and then proceeded to let me know that apparently there is now a shortage on Pitocin. But hopefully they are saving what supply is available for the medically necessary Inductions and not allowing any elective to go through in the shortage. Of course there are a few other options if Pitocin isn’t available such as the folly bulb, but I have heard that is very painful… so lets hope the medication is available. Lastly we did my cervical check that actually wasn’t that bad this time. It burned a little and I had light cramping, but it did not hurt like it did last week. Maybe she used more lube. I am now 1 cm. dilated, but still only 10% effaced. I am going to do a little bit of research and see what I can find out on how to help thin myself out some more in preparation for my induction in just a week and a few days. This was one of the quickest appointments I have had and was able to make it back to work within an hour of leaving!

I am so excited for Emory’s arrival! We are so close to meeting her. This last week of Pregnancy I will be embracing every little thing, even if it isn’t the most enjoyable. I need to pack my Hospital bag and I will pretty much be ready to go! I love love love my Maternity photos! Friday afternoon I was sent them and I could not be more happy with them! Can’t wait to share!

WEEK 36

The last week of this Pregnancy started with cramping, lower abdomen pain, and loosing my mucus plug! None of these things are particularly pleasant, but it all means really great things. My body is preparing for Labor and I am so excited about it. It has become increasingly more difficult to get on and off / up and down, given the basketball infront of me and the almost constant cramping in the evening and at night that is to be expected.

Sunday I attended my last church service pregnant and had 2 new decals put on my car courtesy of an amazing friend and her mom. That night the intense non stop cramping started. I was really uncomfortable and just sore in my lower half. Monday was great up until I got home. I hit a wall and was exhausted. I felt sick and really tired. After dinner I felt okay for a couple of hours and then started to feel bad again. I was a little constipated, but was able to relieve myself a little. This lead to the realization that I had lost my mucus plug! It wasn't bloody or anything just looked like a glob of good or a huge booger. It was foggy and resembled discharge a little. I don't think it was the entire thing, but most of it because I have seen a little bit of mucus on tissue when I wipe occasionally. Brandon freaked a little and started talking to my belly telling Em she needed to hang on at least until Friday because he still had 3 more shifts to get through! I was dying laughing. It made me even more excited because baby girl is getting ready to come out. I sent the image to my mother and we are hoping this means I have dilated more since last Friday. Especially with my constant crampiness. I don't think she is as low as we hoped. I feel pressure, but not the kind that woman talk about, she was a -3 station on Friday meaning she is still up in there, but is head down.

Tuesday went great! I felt good in the morning and then headed to my last specialist appointment in the afternoon. I had to stop at home because Ieft my Blood sugar paper. This was definitely the fastest Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment I have had! Baby girl did everything she was supposed immediately! She was wide awake the entire time, moving around, and kicking back at the probe. I got to see her blink and drink and move her hand and lips. It was the cutest thing! We were able to get a few photos of her face without her hand there because she was active, but she still likes her pillow! She still most definitely has my nose, but Brandon's cheeks! I cannot believe I will be seeing that sweet little face in person in a couple more days! She still had her hear flutter, a few irregularities but not worse, we are just waiting on her "birthday" as my specialist doctor likes to say. As well as "you are boring and let's keep it that way" meaning everything is looking as good as it possibly can be with her diagnosis. The restriction is as always still the same and my sugar looks good even though I think it has been the worst since being told I have GD. But the doc says it is all good and everything should go back to normal after birth. I told her about my mucus plug coming out and she was very happy about that because it typically means I am dilating more so maybe my delivery will be smoother and faster than we originally anticipated. We are hoping for at least 2 cm by our Induction date. I mentioned that my Husband and I had been intimate and I believe that was definitely a huge factor in why everything was moving along this made a segway into the pitocin shortage that I was told the hospital has enough supply through the end of October, so I should be good with not having to divert to another induction option. The specialist said they may give me cervidil to help thin and dilate me more before introducing pitocin because of the shortage and to maybe speed up the process. She relayed to me that my body may respond very well to this medication because the active ingredient to help labor along works the same way sperm does in the helping of inducing labor. We are praying this is all true because I would love to meet my daughter soon than later and in the least amount of pain as possible. I am still not sure if I will be getting an epidural. I know that being induced the contractions tend to be worse than if your body naturally goes into labor, but I think it will all depend on how dilated I am and how fast the process goes that will help decide what I choose to do.

After my appointment I went and grabbed some lunch and went home to organize a few spaces in my home and start on my Hospital bag. For those videos click here & here! I definitely felt much better this day than I had the 2 days prior. I am very grateful for it because I was able to get so much done and the feeling of accomplishment is everything!

Wednesday was normal and amazing. I have the sweetest coworkers who through me a surprise baby shower. There were finger foods and games and gifts. I definitely wasnt expecting it. Thursday... Thursday was rough. Work went well but towards the end of the day a pressure headache started and then I cane home to a dirty kitchen after already being stressed about getting my TO DO LIST done before the baby gets here while feeling like crap. I was frustrated and overwhelmed and just wanted to cry. I checked off everything but one item I wanted to do that day and proceeded to go upstairs and ball into my pillow. Brandon came up about an hour later, but instead of having a conversation about how I was feeling he became upset and went down stairs. I again started balling. This only made my headache 10xs worse and the pressure built up even more. I came downstairs to him scrubbing the kitchen and making me dinner. Even when this man is frustrated and upset with me he still trys to do everything in his power to make me happy. I felt horrible later thinking that I was being really selfish and not considering his feelings in all of this. We were able to have a real conversation hours later once he had cooled off and we both explained to each other what we were trying to get across. It was a pretty rough night, but we are okay and just needed to communicate. I think my crazy to do list and the need for everything to be perfect is masking the fear I am not feeling about going to be Induced. I never wanted to force my body to do something it easnt ready to do. I am so excited to have my daughter here do soon, but at the same time I wish my body could go into labor on its own.

Unfortunately I woke up still with the headache and took some Tylenol, used nose spray for stuffiness, and a cold wash cloth on head to hopefully break up some of the pressure. I slept in and decided to go into work after my appointment in hopes of not feeling like crap all day. My very last OB appointment for this pregnancy took a little while because the office was pretty short handed that morning. My last NST went well. The machine didn't sound like it was about to explode this time lol. Baby girl wasn't moving around as much as she normally does, but I caught her a few times and her heart looked good. The paper did stop printing again, but they didn't make me stay on it any longer than a few minutes because baby girl is looking amazing! I was given another cervical check. I am still only 1cm dilated, but I am now 50% effaced and Emory is where she needs to be putting pressure right on the money. I was given a few instructions for the day of Induction. I need to call before I go in to check for any delays in a room as long as I don't go into labor myself. I was told to eat before hand just in case they don't allow me to eat while I am there. I was also told that a Folly bulb was not needed in my case, think God! I will most likely be given cervidil and if that works well I may not even need pitocin. They may just break my water if my body is progressing like it should. Praying the first medication works and my body decides to go with it. My doctor sounded very upbeat about my progression and positive so that made me feel very good about being able to do this and take a little worry of being in labor for 24-48 hours off of my shoulders. I cannot believe that I had my last OB appointment for this pregnancy. It feels so surreal that in just a few days I will be headed to the hospital to have my baby girl! The rest of Friday flu by! I cannot believe my last day of work came to an end so fast! The branch got lunch for everyone for my last day and we were pretty busy so it wasn't much of a soaking it in thing. I came home and deep cleaned the laundry room shelves and started another load of laundry. Vacuumed the nursery and out away the gifts from my work baby shower. I took a shower and then laid down to get some rest before the big House clean Saturday.

I cannot believe this pregnancy is coming to an end! It has been stressful, but I am so grateful for it! Here we go baby girl!