Merry Christmas Eve!

Week 40- (and STILL preggo..but finally caught up on posting..;-)

~Happy 'due date' Autumn! December 20, 2011~

This is definitely a week that while I somewhat expected to reach, didn't actually believe it would happen that I would be past the 40 week mark.  I figured with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, the manual labor that I put into doing the floors and the constant moving around would have been enough to bring little Autumn here by now.  But she's stubborn, and late, just like her mama so I suppose she is already a girl after my own heart! (Traits that I am not always proud of but, hey, at least I can admit to them!)

What is little Autumn doing in there at this point?  GROWING. All the resources stop giving fruit or vegetable references for size. Every day she adds a few more ounces and I can feel it more and more especially when I'm out on my walks.  My arches are starting to get tired of beating the pavement with an extra 33 lbs of weight I suppose, I don't blame them!  Truthfully though, I am happy that I carried her to full term and hoping she's gotten all the developing done in there that she needed!

As I write this I am 40 weeks, 4 days.  The last 4 days have consisted of digging into the natural methods of induction and just trying a few things here and there to bring Autumn closer to us.  I have consumed several gallons of Raspberry Tea ~which I have been consuming for weeks, but just upped the ante since she has been 'past due'.  Since FL temperatures have peaked in the high 70's I'm loving the iced tea actually.

I made an entire pan of from scratch Eggplant Parmesan.  While the consumption of it didn't bring many contractions, the creation of it did!  There were several times when I was making the sauce that I had to go sit down because the Braxton Hicks were that strong.

We thought that might have been the kick off but soon after I finished the sauce and stopped breathing in the fumes of oregano and basil, the contractions halted and we were kind of bummed that it turned out to be a false alarm.

 ~Delish!!~

While I made dinner, Chris made dessert!  All by himself~he was so proud and the cookies which were supposed to be for the nurses have been pretty much consumed by now.  Guess we'll be baking again tonight!

~Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Heath Bar Chippers~YUM!~

I have eaten almost 2 whole pineapples (bromelain, a digestive aid in pineapple, is said to possibly bring on labor) and have been taking long strides while I walk on a daily basis.  All just trial and error of course and all safe, homeopathic methods.  Yesterday morning I sat down for a good yoga/meditation session and practiced actually visualizing her here.  A way that I have been trying to feel more connected with her because I am still at the point where I don't fully expect reality to hit until I hold her sweet little self in my arms.  Of course there have been several other induction methods we have used and if you have given birth before (or have heard from other moms in your circle of friends!) then you know what these methods are, they need not be mentioned. :-)

I also took a 4 mile walk outside with Chris and Lola which I thoroughly enjoyed followed by a bath that was completely relaxing.  Chris has been taking amazing care of me lately in making me comfortable.  I figured if I could just alternate between those things that produce endorphins to those activities that produce oxytocin (the feel good hormone that jump starts labor) I'm bound to trigger something!  What I have tried not to focus on is our induction date of December 29th because while it does put an end in sight, it is something that I truly don't want.  I've been so aware of my health and fitness during this pregnancy attempting to do all the things that are meant to ease labor that an induction I didn't ever see being on the table.  And while I know no matter how she arrives the important thing is that she arrives healthy, I just wanted it to happen when she was ready.  So I remain focused on those things that I can control in the meantime and hope that in the next 5 days she makes her appearance on her own!  At her 40 week appointment her heartbeat was very strong, the amniotic fluid is perfect the doctor said and the placenta is still very healthy.  All good news and all of which means she is still just content in growing a bit more in there.

I have also found myself retreating these past few days, kind of going into hermit mode as I try to prep myself for what I know will be one of the toughest things that I will physically ever do.  Chris is ready to contact everyone when things actually start to happen and I am anxious as ever to start a new beginning~ motherhood!

I leave you with a glimpse of the nursery-so far- as we are still working on a few other touches that most likely won't be accomplished until after she arrives.  I am in awe of how it actually turned out~ I seriously adore it.  Here's where my inspiration started:

~while browsing The Knot doing wedding research, I came across this AMAZING cherry + lime styled shoot and fell in love~

Here's the olioboard that I began to develop some ideas on:

I knew that I wanted to incorporate her name somehow into the room but in a creative way.  I looked to my mom's words of wisdom that she has given me over the years, the 'Roots and Wings' philosophy that made our way into the maternity photoshoot even, and knew that I wanted to have a tree be the focal point on one wall.  Once I discovered a decal (on Etsy of course) I fell in love with one that looked like 'Autumn Breezes'.  It incorporated not only the 'roots' but also the butterflies symbolizing the 'wings'.   I loved the idea of doing a key-lime color on her walls to compliment the already dark bamboo floors. I thought the cherry red curtains would really make the place pop.  Of course since she would be a little girl, I had to add in some fushia/berry pinks which I really think makes the cherry and lime pop even more, in addition to the bright white accents.  It's been an amazing time adding all the personal touches to her room, many of which are half finished, I'll take pictures of the other walls later when they are complete. Now all we need is little Autumn to arrive and give her stamp of approval.

~her door blessing handmade by a massage therapist at my yoga studio~

As I sign off, I know in the back of my mind that the next time I will be posting there will be a little one snuggled up in our arms.  We can't wait to share her with all our friends and family and are beyond thrilled to start this next phase of our lives!

We are off to spend Christmas Eve with family and friends and can't wait to enjoy good food and good company along with plenty of relaxing. A very Merry Christmas everyone, we can't wait to share our little bundle with you!

Preparations.

Week 39-


Now that I am on maternity leave, still pregnant, and prepping for the holidays, I have found that the days are definitely blending together.  This week was filled with some last minute holiday shopping, nursery prepping and continuing to put our house back together post the flooring project- it truly is amazing sometimes how much slower I feel like I move pregnant!  Between greater bouts of fatigue combined with bursts of energy I feel like I go from accomplishing a ton to then having to slow down and just be.

It is said that right before delivery, you can actually feel the baby settle down and drop.  If this is the case, she might be around for still a bit longer.  She is consistently active on daily basis and those 'little' movements that I felt before are now at times very pronounced as she continues to pack on the ounces!  Little elbows and knees are now easier to make out when they protrude from my belly.  Her hiccups are so violent sometimes that they catch me completely off guard.  As crazy as it seems, I know I will miss those hiccups on a daily basis when she is here!  Although actually being able to hold her and snuggle with her will be irreplaceable and something that I look forward to on a daily basis.

While I have been afforded more time than I sometimes had estimated, I wanted to post some of the beautiful maternity photos that my dear friend Tiffany Vaughan captured for Chris and I.  We couldn't have been happier with how they came out and were so grateful that we were able to capture this moment in our lives just the two of us with 'baby on board'.

~'Roots and Wings'...advice my mom has passed onto me.  You give her roots that she will always come back to, and wings to explore all the possibilities that she has in this world.~

~One of our faves!~

Our Birth 'Hopes' for Autumn

Week 38- (behind again, but what's new??)

38 weeks and going strong!

Autumn has yet to make her arrival and I must say, I have definitely called it that she would be here this long.  And again, not complaining one bit.  She's continuing to add that all important layer of baby fat and her brain is still developing like wildfire.  She's about the size of a small watermelon, according to sources, and will continue to be around this size up until birth.  Still hard to conceive there is a little one that size inside my belly.  It really is unreal.

We finally got around to decorating our Christmas tree, one of those small feats that I really didn't think would happen before Autumn arrived.  I know she'll never remember it but I am satisfied in knowing now that we were at least decorated for the holidays before we brought her home!  We made it a family affair, drank hot chocolate and listened to just about every old Christmas song that you can think of.  I absolutely adore all of the rat-pack Christmas Carols and can't get enough of them.  It reminds me so much of my Grandma Libby and spending Christmas time at her house.  I so treasure those memories.

Speaking of family though, look who decided to finally join us back stateside??

I think Andy and Chris have been inseparable since he came back, for the most part at least.  It's awesome having him back and Jack now has a real dad again! Yay!

I've been feeling great for the most part, still able to get out on long walks (although I am pretty sure I might have run my last mile this week~the contractions that I have been getting after have just been too uncomfortable and it feels good to taper off once again).  I really can't complain though being able to run almost into my 39th week.  Who knows, if she decides that she's sticking around for much longer I may find myself out there beating the pavement in hopes of getting her here sooner than later.

This week marked the LAST week of work for the next 3 months at least (give or take) and it was busier than I had anticipated.  I spent more hours than I imagined tying up loose ends and finishing up several projects that came up last minute.  But officially, I am physically (though not virtually) out of the office and happy to begin knocking off the million things I have on my to do list.  Not only are we eternally grateful for Chris's grandparents continuing to finish the floors (the thresholds have become quite the project) but this week my mom decided to come assist in helping to finish up her nursery, at least for the most part!  Thanks ma!

And look what finally arrived that Chris's grandparents so wonderfully put together for us!  I'll be doing an update on her nursery progress very soon!

On to the important questions of the week, how will I know that I'm in labor?  Besides Chris and I attending Bradley Birthing Method classes every Sunday/Tuesday for 2 months, and reading countless articles/blogs on the signs, the true signs should look something like this:

• regular contractions:  the Braxton Hicks (or false contractions) I have been having are sometimes no joke, but the real ones will be much more consistent and show a specific pattern.  Right now so long as I change activities, eat or drink something, the contractions disappear.  When they're the real deal, NOTHING will make them go away-a sure sign that it is time.
• the DROP: according to everything that I have been told/read, I will feel a sense of relief when she gets her little feet out of my ribcage and I can breathe easier. Right now, I continuously have shortness of breath and the one thing that actually makes me breath easier believe it or not is to get out on a walk, get my circulation going, and with gravity, she settles out my ribcage.  Both Chris and I are of average height so it will be interesting to see how long she is!
• continuous pressure: this has definitely increased over the past 2-3 weeks at least but this week it is at an all time high as i can't not be near a bathroom for more than 30 minutes, her head is right there!  Which is good, in fact it's great because it means she can't hopefully make any more somersaults before birth but it makes for very intense nerve endings that feel like an electric shock down there, it puts me in a dead stop multiple times throughout the day!
• feeling....well...different: some women swear that you will just know.  You'll wake up one evening or one morning and just have an epiphany.  I feel pretty in tune with my body but to know whether today is the day may or may not occur, I guess I can only wait and see!  It's a crazy feeling being on constant alert for changes that's for sure!

I haven't gone into much detail on our plan for natural childbirth simply because I really don't like calling it our 'birth plan'.  If you know me, although I like to forecast my goals and dreams for the future, I live a lot of my life flying by the seat of my pants.  Chris is the planner in the relationship although I know motherhood will definitely change that for me!  Routine will be a part of my daily life with Autumn and I completely ok with that.  It will be a nice balance!   

Chris and I did develop what we refer to as our birth hopes, inspired by another mom blogger who felt the exact same way.  No matter what preparations you do in your pregnancy, no matter how fit or healthy that you are even, you never know what the actually labor/delivery is going to be like.  EVER.  So we outlined what was important to us, some in a rank./file type of order from what is most important to us to what is least.    We made ourselves aware of what is hospital policy but also made sure that we knew what choices we had that were on the table for us (i.e. I will have to have an IV upon being admitted but have the option of getting a heparin lock so that I can still move around freely during the first stage of labor- I don't want to be bedridden when  I could be walking halls/stairs trying to get her to move down!)  

Ultimately the top priority for Chris and I is to have a healthy baby.  Period.  But if possible, I would like to avoid a C-section.  I have an extremely high tolerance for pain and therefore want to go as natural as possible with no-epidural  and, if possible, avoid Pitocen pending that she decides to make her entrance on her own before December 28th (at this point in time, that is as long as they will allow me to go beyond her due date.)  Even as I re-read our 'Birth Hopes' that we turned in in our Bradley Class that are a bit more detailed than what I just went into, I become more and more comfortable with having the options and control in the beginning, but knowing in the back of my mind that birthdays and healthy babies are what matters the most in the hospital I am perfectly OK with that as well.  There are no failures in delivering a human being, no matter how he/she decides to make their and entrance into the world.

I'll leave you with a few pics of the first experience with giving the dogs a bath in the bathtub (it was just too chilly outside and much easier, albeit, way more messier, than bathing them outside but at least we got some of the stink off of them!)

 ~Jack was so chill and so well behaved.~

 ~Lola was the most relaxed of them all I think!  She almost looked like she was falling asleep a couple of times!~

~Toga exuded the most appreciation, she kept pushing her head in Chris's lap, it was too precious.~

Odds and Ends:

• Total weight gain: 26 lbs
• Next Appt: December 16th, 39 week check-up!
• Kicks per day: infinite, i really loose count.  She's so active!
• Overall feeling: anxious.

Full Term and the nesting instinct hits HARD.

Week 37-

I honestly feel as if these last few weeks have flown by rather than dragged on as I had anticipated.  I guess that happens when your to-do list reaches a mile long and it doesn’t seem like there is ever enough time in each day to sleep, eat, pee (100X), work and then accomplish all that we want to get done before Autumn’s arrival! 

Grow, baby, Grow!

Full term and still going strong.  I’m excited that we hit this milestone as realistically Autumn could be born and be 100% on her own at this point in terms of breathing.  Her lungs have fully developed and all that she will literally be doing from here on out is packing on the baby fat and I am definitely OK with that!  With most babies loosing up to a pound after birth, I want her to be as plump as possible since she’s only measuring at about 6.5 lbs at our last appointment (just an external estimate given to us by our midwife).  After this week it is estimated that she will put on about ½ lb. every week and I am definitely already feeling the added gain in her weight, my belly seems to be getting huge these last few days! And yes, in just DAYS.  Autumn is measuring in close to 20 inches and is roughly the size of a watermelon, YES, a watermelon.  She is head down officially but moving from side to side as I can see her little butt protruding from the left on occasion and then swiftly moving to the right~it’s really quite the sight.  She’s busy practicing skills that she will need in the outside world like sucking, blinking, exhaling and inhaling.  

Exercising for two.

She is still letting me get in those 400 meters of running in spurts over the course of 3 miles and I am quite amazed I must say.  Although this week I did far more squats than I have done my entire pregnancy (due to the story to follow about replacing our floors) nothing feels better than to get out on my run/walks with her.  The chill in the air feels remarkable and has been a wonderful reminder of my long runs in Kansas come fall and winter time.  I know I have said it before but I have such fond memories of running during those two seasons in Kansas.  What I wouldn’t give for a snowy run down here in Florida.  Instead I live vicariously through several of my adventure racing buddies up north as they trek through the snow in their gators and spikes just to get in the miles.  I am still working on laying out my plan for my post-partum training, perhaps this weekend I will finally have a moment to focus on what my workout goals will be.  Realistically I know to not set my expectations to high, but I am the type of person that likes to see a plan ahead of me and make every effort to GET THERE.  Plus, there are several adventure races around the corner in the spring near Chris and I’s neck of the woods and since we missed them this past year, we’d love to put them on the calendar for this year. 

The Nesting Instinct.

I found it amusing that my resources were saying how I might be getting bit by the nesting bug this week.  Oh how I longed for it weeks ago and then it hit me upside the head like a ton of bricks.  And thank goodness it did.    And then, on top of that, what does Chris decide to spearhead?  Ripping up the last 3 rooms of carpet and laying down new flooring!  I joke with him that he has now had every form of sympathy for me: sympathy cravings, sympathy pains and now sympathy nesting instinct.  It was quite the task to begin but I was sure that Autumn wasn’t coming early (my midwife even scheduled my next appt. for week 39 rather than 38 because she was sure that she was sticking around) so I thought what better of a time than to just get it all out of here before Autumn comes and begins crawling on that awful carpet. 

Here’s a visual run-through of the progress.  I have to make a special note that these floors would NOT have been possible without the guidance and hard work of Chris’s grandparents and my mama! They truly have been amazing in teaching us homeownership 101. Grandma and Grandpa have been working diligently every day towards the official completion of the project and we couldn't be more grateful!

 ~The living room BEFORE~

 ~Carpet gone and Lola scoping it out~

 ~the Helpers/brains!~

 ~Chris laying down the tile in the living room.  We LOVE the earth tones.~

 ~Chris getting guidance from Grandpa~

 ~Autumn and I contributing where we could~

 ~Lauren and Chris 'ninja-ing' the hallway debacle~

 ~the guest bedroom BEFORE (finished pictures to come!)~

 ~One of my many energy bursts to clean windows, walls and baseboards.~

 ~The transformation of the master bedroom is AMAZING.~

The baseboards are on their way to being nailed in and then after a good mop and sweeping of each room, we will be able to put our house back together by this weekend.  It already feels like a completely different space.  It’s open, clean, and we even feel like we can breathe easier.  We have this sense of ‘completion’ that we haven’t felt in awhile about our house that is an amazing feeling.  

 Oh and how could I forget that this week, we in Northern Florida had our first frost.  It's the closest to snow that we will get so of course I ran outside to capture it before taking a brisk walk in the crisp air.  The dogs absolutely loved it and I'm pretty sure were outside for a good hour just wrestling and frolicking in it.

 

 Next up, FINALLY getting the nursery completed, hospital bags packed, and getting Christmas decorations put up so we can stop feeling like The Grinch on our block!