Mission: Baby Miller: Final Weeks

 

Today I am  5 days over my due date. I know it's not common for first pregnancies to deliver right on their due date, but I was certain I was going to deliver early! My last day of work put me at 38 weeks and I thought "cool, maybe I'll have a week to myself before she comes"

It was kind of a sad day to leave my desk. The office was kind of empty anyway- I got to say goodbye to a handful of the staff and then that was it. I hope the new person appreciates that job every day and does well.

Since being home, I don't have to deal with these painful swollen feet as much because I am resting and elevating instead of sitting in an office chair and/or walking around a hot office. That picture was nothing..sometimes I'd come home and they'd look even worse, plus they'd hurt! Oh- Pregnancy!

I finally dropped right before I hit 39 weeks! I was stoked- thinking Any day now!

 

Also Victor came home from his mission! We all missed him so much! We greeted him at the airport here, he grew a little bit we think, what an amazing young man! Can't wait for him to meet his little niece.

The next day Victor was speaking in Sacrament, 39 weeks and 2 days for me- and I even did my hair and make up. I was certain this baby was going to come- I had a ton of pressure and feeling contractions and my back, more like my tail bone, was feeling like it was going to break. So the next day- a Monday, I had Wes stay home with me so that we could leave at a moments notice. I waited all day for something to happen. and Nada! I was so disappointed!

Then my due date popped up on my calendar..bahhh!

40 weeks - I mean, how huge does my belly look? It's like a gigantic butterball turkey in there! I just needed that little meat popper to pop out to let me know she was done cooking.

40 weeks and 3 Days...now I'm just used to this pregnant thing. I think she is too, in fact I bet she would stay in there a few more weeks if she could. Luckily though, my Dr won't let me go past 41 weeks. So you guessed it..induction! All my plans for a natural labor down the drain. I was listening to all these meditation for pregnancy tracks to prepare myself and everything. It gets better..wait til you see more at the bottom of the post...

I was able to get my garden going though..that was nice. I got seeds in for tomatoes, corn, green beans, lettuce and spinach, zucchini, and later I will do the winter squashes.

 

My belly here, as Wes would say- looks like it can eclipse anything in it's way. 

On my 40th week Dr Visit , Wes would normally go to work and drop me off at home. But since we were on our due date, we decided to try and encourage the baby a little. So we did some stuff, things I've read about, or heard about, and something that was offered.

I had a spicy breakfast at the Egg and I, but I have been inhaling down on spicy food my whole pregnancy. I feel like she has built a tolerance to spicy food, but it didn't hurt to try.

 
We took a drive up and down Big Cottonwood Canyon hoping the elevation change would help cause some contractions or something- and while we were driving- there was no music in the car and out of no where Wes starts singing " Its going down, I'm yelling timber!"  If you don't know what and who that is, you are not in the year 2014 and/or not watching the NBA Playoffs.

 

Then we went to the mall and walked around FOREVER, they had a candy store there and I got a little bucket of black licorice, something I read about that can induce labor.All it did was make me visit the toilet a lot later that night.

 

Then we went to the health food store to get some distilled water, and the lady there could tell I was supposed pop this baby out any day now, so she gave me a small bottle of Doterra Basil Oil.  She told me to rub the oil on the inside and outside of my ankles. So we did that. I smelled like pasta. And that's all it did, made me smell like pasta every time I applied it.

So none of those worked. But we gave it a valiant effort, I guess. I'm just sitting here with frustration that I am still pregnant cause all we want to do is meet our little baby! We are ready!

We did have a false alarm visit to the hospital- my contractions were very consistent so we went in to get checked. Imagine 40 weeks and being told you're 0 dilated and 0% effaced and head is high..that was me. I was pretty mopey :(

Anyway- just a few third trimester things I've been doing..

I started drinking this tea at week 38- its supposed to help prep the Uterus and provide some iron to help with any bleeding. It actually tastes good and I like tea anyway.

I also got another prenatal massage, she even massaged my belly so that maybe Charlotte could get in on some of that endorphin action. I got my final pedicure before delivery- hot pink toes of course.

The last half my my third trimester was interesting. I love ice. I would prepare a cup of ice to just eat, like below, at least three times a day. I also got this sudden urge to have Chocolate Hazelnut spread everyday as well, so bizarre! But tasty :)

 

Sonic shakes remained a main stay in this trimester and the heartburn really upped its ante and I am going through so many calcium tabs. Calcium- that's right, whatever makes me feel good about this. 

 

What's in My Hospital Bag??

I see these hospital bag things on Pinterest all the time, so I fed into the self indulgence and made my own list. Take it, Leave it, Ignore it- whatever floats your boat :)

 

So you know how I said I was preparing and planning for a natural labor? No epidural or anything. I heard the recovery was faster and that you labor slightly longer with the epidural. My Husband had a really strong opinion about it as well, so that may have been my bigger influence to choose laboring drug free. I had downloaded a bunch of meditation for pregnancy tracks on iTunes to play on the Mint Speaker in the LD Room, so yes I packed speakers to play my meditation tracks.

I also packed a stress ball, and back massager and a rolling pin- the rolling pin is amazing on your back, especially if you have back labor, but have your husband roll this up and down your lower back as hard as he can and you will be in heaven.

Yes, I packed all of these items. But  now that I am getting induced, the slow rhythm of labor is not happening so now I am going with an epidural. I had to remove the rolling pin from the bag. I kept everything else though. I still want good music during my laboring, and the stress ball and back massager could come in handy as well.

 

Comfy cardigan, comfy maternity leggings, my slipper boots and comfy socks. For Wes, I packed him T-Shirts, underwear, socks and he said these cargo shorts are his most comfy, and the Sanuks, which he can wear around as slippers if he needs. The Hospital has a standard two night stay so I just wanted to make sure we had clean clothes and shoes for both nights.

 

I packed two kinds of nursing bras, the wrap kind and a padded un-hooky kind. These things are so expensive..I was able to purchase 4 though at Buy Buy Baby of all places, as they had a clearance sale plus buy one get one half off. So I got all 4 for less than $50, and they are comfy..not comfy like some of my other bras, but for nursing bras I give them a thumbs up. I also packed a nursing top, I didn't want to spend money on nursing tank tops cause they are like $40 each! no thanks!  And the belly band is a weird thing to pack- I wore it during my second trimester a lot to protect my clothing from the coconut oil I was rubbing on my belly and just provide some extra support around my growing bump. It still fits around my belly now and provides just enough compression to make me feel like I'm not going to fall face forward. Anyway, I packed it as a stomach healer sock- to keep my organs from plopping forward if I had to bend over for any reason and to make me feel like my post baby bump was getting some lovin' healin'. I know some websites recommend wearing a belly bandit or something more constricting but this is what I already had.

 

Milkmaid Tea to aid in my milk supply post delivery

iPhone and iPad (plus chargers) for entertainment and istagramming/fb'ing :)

Flip flops for Wes and I for the showers or walk around in

Granola Bars for snacking, just in case.

My DSLR camera

Toiletries, including contact solution and case, eye drops and chapstick

 

In the diaper bag I put in her going home outfit, the cute little whale outfit, a cuffed long sleeve onesie and a sleep sack. Swaddle wrap, hats, mittens, socks and her nursing pillow.

Other random things include Silly Putty for Wes, headphones just in case we both want to watch our own shows on our iPads or listen to music without disturbing the other. My make up- this wasn't real important to me..people have seen me without make up and I didn't see a big need for it, but I packed some foundation and tinted moisturizer just in case someone famous came around my room. I also packed an empty tote bag. I don't know about some of you girls, but I plan on taking home a lot of supplies from the hospital, like newborn diapers, pads, healing aids etc. I also packed some plastic grocery bags to put our dirty clothes in.

Car is packed with bags, the car seat is set up and ready to carry her home, nursery is ready , the Mom and Dad to-be are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this miracle baby. Absolutely a miracle. We have been waiting a long time for this, then she decides "what's another week?" I can tell she will be a handful already!

Thank you for all of your support and encouraging words. It gives us both strength and faith that we will deliver a healthy happy baby.

Next post: THE BABY!!