My Kidneys Don't Like Being 37 Weeks Pregnant

AWWW it's not so bad! I get lots of time to catch up on sleep before Mateo arrives right?
Well here I am about to begin week 38 tomorrow. Today is the last day of 37 weeks. I'm full term & completely safe to deliver at this point. I really can't believe it! So wonderful, exciting, and fun.

 AWWW isn't it just perfect?

After the last post all my swelling went down drastically & I dropped those 3 pounds I gained... meaning it was all water retention. I thought for sure I was good to go... but sadly I went in to see my midwife for test results on monday all giddy & happy & full of energy from my bed rest.... she awarded me with a low sodium- high protein diet & permanent bedrest until baby arrives.

My levels were actually all pretty bad for preclampsia & toxemia but not bad enough to induce.

Apparently my kidneys decided they didn't like being pregnant after 37 weeks & wanted to tell me. So they are currently threatening me & I'm feeding them little salt to process & lots of protein to boost their mood. Also keeping the on low down (although I REALLY can't be expected to lay in bed ALL day).. I do my fair share of desk sitting, bed laying, and couch lounging. I'm really trying my best but for someone as active & energetic as I am it's been REALLY stinking hard to not do the thousand things I want done.

Sadly Libby had to leave me on Monday after my doctors appointment & so I am missing her company desperatly. She did so much to help me when she was here & there couldnt' have been a better time for her to be here. Now I'm lonely & although I have a LOT of  things I could be doing on bedrest such as writing thanks you's for all my fantastic showers, starting a few of my brides albums, updating my website, checking emails, a few client meetings, constant checking of the social medias, blog posts, and much more... bed rest seems to make me lazy & exhausted. lol.
How am I ever going to be ready to push a baby out when I'm not exercising or doing ANY physically exertion whatsoever? Well I guess it's better than toxemia & preclampsia, induction & c-sections... so I'm extremely grateful that I caught this problem before it was too late. Now I can do everything to avoid this.
So everyone keep their prayers out for me to have this baby soon since it's the only cure to my silly body wanting to fail on me.

Rolling In the Deep | Jug-o-pee

All these songs now seem to pertain to pregnancy... lol. This babe is so low in my pelvic that when he moves his head down there I can't help but sing Adele's- rolling in the deep & the Yeah Yeah Yeahs- heads will roll.... on the floor on the floor on the floor. These songs are def on my birthing playlist.

SO swelling reached a high & I was actually getting pretty afraid! I was SOOOO swollen that I couldn't walk. My arches had disappeared, my feet felt so stretched they might pop, my ankles were more than cankles... seriously like I had been stunk by like 18 bees. The alarm in my head went off when I had knelt by the coffeetable for about 10 minutes while eating a snack & when I got up I had HUGE indentations in my legs that then stayed that grooved for over 2 hours. So my skin was not popping back out. Just holding every single mark. The swelling was very much like a marshmellow. The day before was bad but I blew it off because it was hot & I'd been on my feet a lot so I thought it's normal.... but then when it persisted after a good 10 hour nights sleep in the air conditioning & waking to 60 degree weather & it was just getting worse....I knew something was not right at ALL! I looked on-line it appeared that major swelling that held marks (traditionally called pitting) was bad news & sometimes a sign of preeclampsia. Something not to be messed with that was a pregnancy induced issue that made the mothers organs start shutting down!!!!!! So I called my doctor (she was out of the office till monday) but the nurses said to come in & I could see the other doctor if the nurses were alarmed.

About 2:00 Libby took me in & I rolled myself into the office. The nurse checked my weight (quick & excessive weight gain is another symtom-) so totally freaked out I had gained 3 lbs in 2 days!!!!! I had already stopped gaining weight so this was REALLY scary to me. All these water retention! I peed in the cup & got my blood pressure taken. So they found the urine test borderline for preeclampsia & my blood pressure was really high.... of course I was crying though... haha I had a TOTALL breakdown on my poor nurse. Started sobbing about how I didn't want to have a still birth & my baby hadn't been moving a whole ton in the last 24 hours & he usually moves all the time! And I'm scared his heart will stop beating in there.... OH GEEZ. So she assured me it wasn't going to go down like that! She did go get the other doctor because I had all bad signs.... The other doctor(s) by this point there are 3 in the room staring at my GIANT feet, ankles, & legs... So pretty stinking bad they all agreed & immediately put me on strict bedrest. The only signs I was not showing was headaches & a sharp pain in my fight side, or blurry vision. So they wanted another more intensive urine analysis to find out if the protein in my pee was serious or not. SO they promptly sent me home with two giant orange jugs & a little thing for the toilet. Horrified they told me I had to pee in the container & pour it into the jugs for EVERY single pee for 24 hours!!!!!!! and also that the jugs had to be kept in the fridge... hahah.

So when I got home I obeyed. Libby forced the couch rest & I did so ALL day religiously peeing in my jugs... hahah. The rest felt good, I think my stress levels went down & my blood pressure dropped. So all good things. The swelling seemed better by dinner but then just the time I ate dinner they were super puffy again. So I went to bed pretty soon after.

That night Nate did the sweetest thing ever for me too. I was really stressed out about having to walk down my steep stairs like 6 times A night to get the jugs to pee in.... sooooo He waited until I was asleep & stunk out of the house sometimes around midnight to buy several big bags of ice. He cleaned out a cooler from the basement & filled it up with ice. He sat that right outside the bathroom door with my jug-o-pee kept inside. So now it was my own little mini fridge!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A MAN! WHAT A HUSBAND! What amazing charectar. Caring for his wife, his child, his self- sacrificial love..... breaks my heart. I think I will tear up every time I think about it the rest of my life. This little act of love runs deep in my heart. Everyone else might think it a little thing but to me...it's the world. I love my husband & I can't believe that God blessed me with him! When I think about it... I fall apart.

FULL TERM WATERMELON

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??????? No..... not that I feel like a watermelon, or that Mateo is the size of a watermelon.... I finish week 36 up in a few days I can't believe I made it. This little watermelon is ready for labor! Any day is fine with us now. He's healthy & safe & completely ready for this world (well is anyone completely ready for this world? lol.

This week was especially fun because my midwife appointments switch to weekly now & I can have her check my progress if I wish. I did wish with this visit... It really doesn't bother me to know- I know some people might get irritated thinking about progression, and such but I was just so curious to know if my body had any idea of what to start preparing for... which amazingly it DOES! I am dilated to about a 1 & 60% effaced!!!!!!!!!!!!! So it's not an indicator of anything other than the fact that my body has been having contractions(which I haven't' felt or known), and it knows exactly what to do!!!!!!! So for me that is incredible! I feel super confident now that my body will know what to do when it's time & the Lord will lead me! I'm ready for the natural childbirth, I'm excited to go drug free, and I'm praying that the water tub helps with pain!

Speaking of watertubs... We did a visit of the hospital this week & I am actually pretty sad about it. Besides feeling pretty old (like a run down nursing home- AND VERY SAD that the new maternity ward has been delayed SOOOOO many times that now it's original January date is pushed back to July- SO LAME) it's also pretty small in the postnatal section & the waterbirth room is a closest... no seriously. I think they stuffed this giant tub into a closet room.... it's super disturbing for me because I'm kinda of claustrophobic & the idea of stuffing me, my doula, my husband, my midwife & maybe a nurse into the TINY room without any windows is actually impossible. So I had prepared myself to check out the other nicer/newer hospital in town.... sadly they only have one tub & it's down for the next 5 weeks. AGGGGG. So my midwife said instead of shutting the door for the closet we will just put up a curtain. No freaking wonder people have births in TP's hahahha. So much more beautiful! lol. Oh well I will survive. I'm going to just stop thinking about it & roll with it. All that is important is that I have a healthy baby in my arms sometime in the next month.

Swelling has reached an all time high this week. My toes are like sausages, my ankles have turned into kanckles, and I've got rolls like a 7 month old baby. hahahhah. I must say I'm looking forward to birth so that I can't drop some water retention already! I'm tired of being a swollen poofball. lol.

Showers of Blessings

Hello Last Month! Hello Libby, Hello Showers, Hello Mateo?

Yes Mateo! "(mah TEH oh) 
We finally picked a NAME! It only took us 35 weeks to do it. But we are sure! So sure that we ordered a onesie with his name & got a cake for the shower with it!!!!! HOW FUN IS THAT? We'll be calling him Teo (Tay-o) for short! Mateo is italian for Matthew & means "Gift of God". This is the same meaning as Nathan! So it's dear to us! We have not decided on a middle name but are taking votes... on mustaches..... 


Here we are springing... or rather waddling into my final month. Finished 35 weeks yesterday starting 36 today! Getting pretty stinking excited but we just realized that we have a lot to do still & only 4 weeks left!!! EEEEK. We gotta wrap up the birth plan, pack a go back, make a music playlist, & get to these rest of showers!

Our first shower yesterday was truly a blessing! Nate plotted & planned me a couples shower & it really couldn't be more wonderful!!!!!!!!!! Sock monkey & mustache themed... of course!

Libby arrived this week all the way from Nebraska to help me finish getting ready for this babe. So far we have worked every single day & she's been such an AMAZING help! We have fixed up the massive pile of shoes downstairs, swept the basement, completely reorganized the bathroom & made space for Mateo's bathroom gifts, also cleaned out my closest scattered with clothes that I can't stuff my ever large & puffy body into anymore. Also we cleared out most of the winter items now that spring/summer has already come to stay (can you believe that??) Nate put the air conditioners in because it reached a heat index of 95 this week!! Holy March!!!!!!!

So on a roll here & still tons to do. We have a few days left to squeeze in some important tasks, such as reorganizing the kitchen to make room for baby things, and cleaning up the random large pile of tools, paints, and other who-knows-whats in the basement. We also need to finish up the nursery and our bedroom. Then I feel pretty set! I'm excited for everything to be prepared & ready for baby B!

Last but least here is my 35 week photo!

GET LOW

Get Low Baby B! We finished up 34 weeks!

So I guess that is what they call "dropped" - everyones all like oh you'll know when he drops... I always thought my gosh hows he gonna get any lower..... he's already low????? But OH he's REALLY LOW now. lol.  I really can't wear any clothes anymore!!!!! Everything is tight tight tight down there! Walking is funny these days, the intense spasms when he lulls his head around down there is really odd ( like I might just pee my pants out of nowhere....I should probably buy some depends... hahah) thanks to all the kegals I've been a good little girl about doing I've only peed my pants twice! LOL> They were both from waiting to long to go potty & then sneezing... HAHAHA. embarrassing.
Seriously a comedian like Brian Regan (but maybe a lady- or him talking from a ladies view) should write a sketch about pregnancy I mean it's really hilariously horrifying...

I can already imagine the jokes cranked out!

From the first trimester loaded with non-stop nausea, constant vomiting, spinning head, super human scents, extreme exhaustion, ravenous hunger & strange cravings that lead to no satisfaction but instead another trip to the toilet (if you can get there in time), you are crying every few minutes (also you have no idea why you are crying) you are peeing every few minutes.....but all the while you prance around giddy & sick as can be because you are just so overjoyed that all this is happening..

then the second trimester filled with the fun rapid weight gain, constant hunger & need of 6 meals a day, back pains, rib pains, round ligament pains, lots of other strange pains, hips that widen as you walk, balance issues, and you still walk around giddy & hopeful of the countdown & enjoying your new maternity clothes & the first miraculous movements inside your ever growing belly......

then you land yourself in the third trimester & you don't recognize your fat bloated body in the mirror any longer, beg people to keep the cameras in the car, you can't remember why you got into the fridge, closet, cupboard for the 30th time in 10 minutes, you drive the wrong direction because you forgot where you were going, you become so indecisive you have 14 returns in one week to target & they probably think you are a crazy lady, the once pleasant & enjoyable kicks suddenly became so hard you screech in pain , you pee your pants when you laugh or sneeze too hard, you can't sleep more than 1 hour at a time, nothing is comfortable anywhere anymore- does comfort exist you wonder & yet again you waddle around laughing at your insanity, your heart beating so hard with joy & anticipation of meeting this little person that you are already so madly in love with that you cry tears of joy daily!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A JOURNEY! I can't imagine what the next five weeks will bring- but BRING it body, BRING it baby! I'm ready for this roller coaster - I'm not scared of this birth- I'm excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hipster Pineapple Baby

We love stripes & bicycle sheets. We love mustaches & all things hipster. Put a bird on it & it's good to go. I'm having so much fun making art on walls !!!!!!!!!

Finished up week 33- got a little pineapple in my belly.....Thinking nursery this week.

We are going to try to get the nursery up to speed before baby b arrives. Before we left for Florida, Nate & AJ painted the gray we picked out. We switched the furniture around & got that part ready. This week I got in the decals I ordered & wrapped those up tonight! Nate & I just put up the stripes on the other wall as well. My friend Shaina of "Diaper Duckling" {you can find her shop on etsy}is so lovely & making me two sets for the crib!!!!! I picked out fabrics that I really like & she is doing everything!!!!!!! One is the bicycle fabric from Michael Miller, the other is a white elephant pattern on a turquoise fabric. I AM SOOOO excited for those! Once they get here I'll be taking some nice nursery photos!

We still need to paint the outlet plates, paint the little ikea drawer, set up the crib sheet sets, and consider curtain ideas. Really not sure what other color I want to go with. Right now its grays,white,and sky blue. I want another color. I'm between another shade of blue, bright yellow, or purple? HMMMMM.

Anyways I'm also celebrating 33 weeks! WHOOT. Here are few shots of the nursery process but remember real photos to come! also a belly snap!