Taking Care of Business

Today was a very productive day in regards to Allouette as I finished up all paperwork due to the birth center this very week:

1) Finished writing up our birth plan which consisted of a lot of "...as this is my first time giving birth I would like to play it by ear......ideally we ask that everyone just go with the flow and be open to all options..."

2) Wrote out directions to our home from the birth center for midwife follow-up visits

3) Completed my research and signed all water birth consent forms

4) Picked our pediatrician, made my orientation appointment and collected all forms for joining the practice

Yeah, that is right, we are knocking those final details off the to-do list. Which is a good thing, as this little girl will make her debut sometime this month!

Dr. Appointment Update

I had a doctor's appointment today at the birth center and everything looks to be in excellent shape. The size of my belly finally caught up to the week, measuring at 37 inches, right where it should be, and I only gained a pound in the last two weeks. :-) Allouette is still heads down and positioned very low, her heartbeat was 140. Three(ish) more weeks and she should be making her debut.

CRAZY!

Week 36+

A little late on the posting, and I have really no excuse except for the fact that the belly is HUGE and posting pictures only to have my mother & sister analyze for possible stretchmarks is a little daunting at the moment.

So I have included a few other fun shots to keep you busy on other items besides possible stretchmarks and swollen fingers.

 Obie and Boston loving the nursery and all that wonderful sunshine. It is absolutely the most sunny room in the house.

This is what I woke up to this morning....and I didn't even know it was suppose to snow. It is still going strong and makes me nervous due to the difficulty of driving in all that snow. 

A Little Owl Hat...

We purchased this little hat in preparation for Allouette's newborn photo shoot. I couldn't help but show it as we are SO excited to see this little hat on our baby girl! Learon wanted to purchase a black ninja hat, but I am afraid this super cute owl hat won out. 

Week 35....

No cravings or aversions, just hungry!

Odd Pregnancy Things...

So a few funky things have been going on with this pregnant body of mine, isolated strictly to my head...which is odd.

Oddity #1

The week of Christmas I started to hear my own heartbeat in my right ear. It was intermediate at first, but now it is pretty much all the time and consists of a whooshing sound along with a squeak. I spoke with my midwife, went to my chiropractor, even went to a local ENT and it has been determined that it is most likely caused by the vast increase of blood flow that comes with being pregnant. It is annoying, to say the least, but everyone seems to be in agreement that it will go away once I have Allouette, so I guess I have to suck it up for 5 more weeks.

Oddity #2

Three days ago I woke up and discovered that my lips were slightly swollen. I was having a difficult time spitting after brushing my teeth and whistling for Obie has become almost impossible. The left bottom lip is the most swollen, and overall it makes eating feel kind of funny. I decided to drink lots and lots of water to see if the swelling would go down....so far no luck.

My blood pressure has always been excellent, so I don't anticipate either of the above issues causing any type of complication, but they are both rather odd if you ask me. Somehow I have by-passed all of the regular pregnancy complaints and have landed straight into the unusual. Typical.

Other than that, I feel great and I am excited to be 35 weeks!

Last Ultrasound

I had a final ultrasound today and everything looks great!

Allouette is currently (roughly) 6 pounds, 4 ounces and has hair! Yes, that is right, our little baby girl, whom I was sure would be born bald as bald could be, actually has hair. Shocking.

Her heart rate was, as always, in the 150s and she is a major mover in there.

So there you go, Allouette is one healthy baby and is right on track to be a nice 8 pound, 4 ounce'r when she is born. 

Week 34

Belly shots for Amber:

Yes, the belly is HUGE! Measuring as of today at 36 inches from top to bottom, which is slightly on the large side for 34+ weeks. No stretch marks as of yet, but I figure any day now. The belly button has officially popped out and it is creepy.

I had an appointment today at the birth center and overall she is measuring right on target, still head down with her back on the left side. 6 more weeks to go.....



Chocolate Peanutbutter Ice Cream

It has been determined that this little girl must really love her chocolate peanutbutter ice cream as, as soon as I eat it she starts to go CRAZY in there. Sure, it might just be the sugar kick, but she does seem to respond more to ice cream than anything else. 

Enjoy it now kiddo, as ice cream is a short lived item here in the Bird house.

Hello Rocker

I finally found a rocker for under $100, this is officially the last piece of needed furniture for Allouette's room. A big thank you to my grandparents as their Target gift card paid for this sucker.

It's a work in progress....

My parents came into town for Christmas and before I knew it we had painted the nursery and my dad had hung Allouette's wallpaper, he is a genius when it comes to hanging wallpaper. Yesterday Learon replaced the super ugly fan with a pretty little chandelier. 

It is a work in progress, but seems to be coming along in the right direction, a few preview shots for you:

I plan to paint a few walls pink this week and hang the curtains. After that we will just see what inspiration comes a'knockin'.

Week 32 & 33

Catching up from the holidays, here are the belly shots from week 32 & 33:



She is still going strong....7 more weeks and we have an arrangement that she will be right on time, if not a few days early. :-)