Pregnancy Update: Weeks 37-39

Week 37

This week started with my friends at work spoiling me with a yummy midnight potluck complete with cake and streamers :) I really do work with some awesome people!

Then later in the week I was blessed to have another baby shower. This one from friends in our ward. It was special too as our ward was just split to form a brand new one and we are part of the new one.

Grateful for good friends!

This week also included the dreaded leg swelling of pregnancy! Weird though, only my right ankle would swell. But swell it would! I took a picture but then after looking at it decided it's not the sharing type :)

 

Week 38

This week started our first week of "lasts." We have been blessed to work in the Detroit Temple for the last 2.5 years and this week was our last shift with our dear friends. Such a bittersweet ending to a WONDERFUL opportunity!

We also went on our "last date" as a couple. Crazy that we will be "West, party of 3" next time :)

 

 

Week 39

Here we are in week 39 and I can barely believe it! We continued our week of "lasts" including last week at church as a couple and my last shift at work (the picture is for my sister who asked for a pregnant scrub pic).

 

 I've wondered if the baby was trying her best to turn this week as I had extra movement. But bless her heart, she appears to be stuck!

 This pregnancy has gone by quickly and I've been blessed with a pretty easy one in my opinion for which I am very grateful. It's surreal to me to be sitting here typing my final update knowing we are literally hours away from holding our little girl!

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 33-36

Hard to believe this pregnancy is almost done, time to catch up!

Week 33

This week started our 50 day countdown to the due date. To celebrate I put a little book together for Ryan that is called "50 Rules for Dads of Daughters." You can find the list online, I put it into a photo book and added 1 per day.

This week we also started our birth classes which made things a lot more real!

 

Week 34

(Sorry, no picture this week)

 

 Had another appointment this week, the doctor snuck us into ultrasound to confirm that yes, she was STILL breech. Also attended our 2nd birth class.

 

Week 35

(Ignore all the clutter in the nursery, I haven't had room for everything!)

Not much new this week other than agonizing over the decision of whether to manually turn the baby to get her head down for delivery. Attended our last birth class.

 

Week 36

FULL TERM!!!

Very looked forward to appointment this week with my doctor to discuss our birth options. Like I said, we had been wrestling with this issue for weeks of whether to have a version procedure done or not and it helped to talk to my doctor and have her tell us that I was not a good candidate for several reasons and that she would recommend a C-section instead. And that coming from a very pro vaginal birth physician. I certainly don't want a C-section but want to do what is best for the baby so I'm glad she helped us feel good about a decision. We were very nervous/uncomfortable with the risks of the version procedure anyway. As Ryan so well phrased it, "it's an unnatural way to a natural birth."

 

I know lots of people have been asking about nursery pictures. I promise I will post them as soon as I can! I really want to have everything put away and looking perfect before I post them :) Thanks for checking in!

 

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 29-32

Wow! Hello 3rd trimester! That is crazy to me but things have gone by fast and are still going well!

Week 29

The only thing I remember from this week is sleeping poorly :( Just couldn't get comfortable and I thought "Oh no, if this is the beginning of the next 10 weeks they are going to be tough weeks." But thankfully things have improved.

 

Week 30

OB appointment this week with the nurse practitioner. Got the lecture about increasing protein and calories as my weight had kind of stalled out and was still within normal limits but low. I laughed when I got home from work the next morning after stopping to buy oreo's only to find that Ryan had already bought a jumbo pack at Sam's Club for me :)

 

Week 31

Ryan's dad Robert came to visit us this week to ordain Ryan as a High Priest as he is now on the High Council of our Stake. We were both shocked by that calling and made sure when they called him that they realized I really was pregnant with our first child...They knew but apparently he is man for the job so wish me luck as I take on "single parent Sundays" soon!

 

Week 32

I've been feeling so much movement up high near my ribs and barely any in my pelvis and I was dying to know which position this baby girl was in so a kind ultrasound tech at work took a look for me and confirmed that...she is breech as I suspected :( The doctor confirmed it with palpation the next day at an appointment and said she has a few more weeks to turn on her own and if not, it's up to my regular doctor and me if we want to attempt a version. Otherwise we are looking at a C-section which I DO NOT want. So keep this stubborn girl in your prayers that she will do a little dance move and find her way down :)

 

This week I was spoiled by incredible coworkers with a darling baby shower.

 

Complete with yummy food and punch

activities such as a onesie painting contest

and clothespin game where if you said "baby" or "girl" someone got to take your pin.

They really were so overly generous! I'm so grateful for wonderful friends and coworkers that make up my work family!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 25-28

It's hard to believe that this is the last of the 2nd trimester posts! Time is going fast!

 

Week 25

Our big event this week was to make our Ikea trip for the nursery. We found most everything we were looking for and came home with a full car load!

Week 26

Had an appointment with a new doctor today. He was very nice and laid back. Did the first belly measurement which I think he said was 25-26cm so right on. We also had a repeat ultrasound this week to double check the placenta and umbilical cord. So fun to see our little girl and even got a few decent pictures!

 

 Love that we caught her yawning in this one :)

 

I started feeling bigger rolling movements this week. She stays pretty active, especially while I'm at work.

The other big news for this week was the nursery undertaking! We'd been looking forward to this and I took an extra day off of work for a long weekend. It was lots of work but came together great! More pictures to come when we get it all put together.

Week 27

(Forgot to take pictures this week so instead how about some before and after pictures of the not yet complete nursery)

Took my glucose tolerance test this week. I didn't find the sugary drink bad at all! Thankfully the results came back within range at 131 so we passed :)

Week 28

Met with our regular doctor this week who gave us good news about the placenta. It came up 5cm above the cervix so it should be safe which is a relief! We laughed when the baby kicked her Doppler during a heart rate check :)

I'm pretty sure I felt my first Braxton Hicks Contractions this week which was strange but pretty normal I hear.

 

Well guess that's it for now. Thanks for checking in on our progress!

 

 

 

 

 

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 21-24

Week 21

On June 19th at 21w3d Ryan was finally able to feel our baby girl move for himself! We'd been trying for awhile but she was finally ready. He got a big smile on his face and said "That's her? That's awesome!"



Week 22

This week we started our trip in Utah to visit family. Before we left though I had an OB appointment where they said everything looked okay on the ultrasound except that the placenta is low lying. So...we need to get another look in a few weeks, pray it moves up!

On June 29th at 22w6d we were able to see the baby kick! Nothing too crazy yet but it's fun to watch my belly bounce as she "dances" :) 

We were spoiled by a beautiful baby shower this week thrown by Ryan's family.

I'm lucky to have a sweet sister-in-law who is a fabulous photographer and she offered to take some maternity pictures for us. My belly is not in it's full glory yet but we had to take advantage of the opportunity. I'll post more pictures when I get them but here are a few to preview (they weren't all naked belly shots).



 Week 23

We spent this week with my family. Enjoyed the 4th of July, camping, swimming, and yet another darling baby shower put together by my sister.

Week 24

 Sadly we finished our trip and headed home this week. The above picture is technically a 23w5d pic but seeing as we came home and I went right back to work I don't have a true 24 week shot :)

I'm still feeling good, it's getting harder to bend over and I've really felt my belly stretch lately but I certainly can't complain. Friends, family, and coworkers have been very thoughtful and kind in their comments.

Our jogger, car seat, and dresser arrived this week making everything even more real! We are looking forward to putting the nursery together in the next few weeks.