2 days old :)

Krewson Lee joined the world Friday morning, March 5th, at 11:32am. :)

He was 21 inches long and weighed 8 lbs 11 oz.

Dave and I are tired but doing well.  Krew is healthy as can be and is eating like a champ.

Thanks so much to everyone for your prayers and support!

Our little swaddle-escaping Houdini...(he was tightly swaddled maybe an hour before this...)

40 weeks 5 days

Yup, still pregnant.  Getting some signs labor could start soon.  I pray that it's true.

Had to go to the doctor yesterday...I was a little worried I was leaking some amniotic fluid.  Turned out to be a false alarm, although the doc didn't provide any explanation as to what I WAS experiencing.  (I really don't think they know what's going on 75% of the time in any case.)

I've thought and wondered and prepared for this baby to come into the world to such an extent that I'm starting to lose the excitement.  I'm just tired of it all spinning in my head!!  My brain is getting tired of the topic.  It's ready to move on.  Does that make sense?

I just pray to God daily...multiple times daily...that He will give me the patience and peace I need until this baby arrives.  One day at a time...

40 weeks 2 days again

Just got back from a doc appointment. I am now 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Whoo hoo!!!

Apparently I was her third overdue baby today.  Must be something in the water. :)  She asked if I wanted to be induced, and I said not until necessary.  So then she said she would schedule me for an ultrasound and nonstress test for Friday, and I can schedule an induction date (probably for next week) at that appointment.  However, she also said that she doesn't think I'll need to go to the appointment on Friday based on the progress I've made in less than a week.  She thinks he'll arrive before then.  She also said that his head is very low and that she thinks he's an average-size baby, maybe a high 7 lbs or low 8 lbs.  (How can they tell this stuff??)

I've been having some good contractions lately, so I'm so glad to hear that they're finally serving a purpose.  I've also had various other signs of impending labor, but I'll keep the details to myself so as not to gross anyone out.  :)

Ah I feel so excited now.  Not much longer!


Now working from home, so I get to stay in my sweats all day. Sooooooo much more comfortable. :)

40 weeks 2 days

Dear Krewson,

All the tickers on my blog are now jamming. They don't know what to do because you haven't come yet and you are confusing them. (Actually, one or two of the blog tickers are really smart and are stating that you are overdue. The other tickers are just panicking and spitting out random dates and days. One completely quit working.)

So come on my dear son. We are ready.

Love,
Your Mommy

40 weeks

Dear Krewson,

Today is your due date. So you are allowed to come out now. Just wanted to let you know, in case you missed the memo.

Love,
Your Mommy

39 weeks 6 days

I'm due tomorrow.  TOMORROW!!!

Actually, according to the OB-GYN, my due date is today.  However, the OB-GYN and I are basing our dates off of different information, and I know for a fact that mine is more accurate.  So I'm really due tomorrow.  :)

Today is my last day in the work office.  If lil' Snoke hasn't arrived by Monday (which I'm starting to think will be the case), I'm just going to work from home.  I think my coworkers are starting to get a little nervous about me being in the office with my labor expected to start at any time.  And I understand their nervousness.  Especially for the ones who have not been pregnant or had a wife/SO who's been pregnant.  I mean, really, before learning what I needed to know for my own pregnancy (which included the first half of my nine months), I was definitely under the impression that labor happened like they show in the movies.  BAM your water breaks or BAM horrible full-blown contractions start and within one hour there's your baby.  (For those of you who are still under that impression, the truth is that it very rarely happens like that.  Only about 10% of women have their water break before labor, and in most cases labor starts out slow and easy enough that you can stay at home for hours before heading to the hospital.)

I'm actually quite calm about the whole thing now.  When I first reached the point where I was considered full term, I got sooooo anxious.  I was like, holy cow, my baby can come at any time.  All of a sudden there was this great urgency and I was so excited I could barely see straight.  I knew he was allowed to arrive at any time and would be healthy, so I wanted him OUT and I wanted him out NOW. 

Now, three weeks later, the anxiousness has faded.  The reality that he can come at any time (but ISN'T) is simply old news.  I've adjusted.  No more nervous nights of me twiddling my thumbs, searching for something, anything, to do.  I've quit hoping every day that today will be the day.  Not because I don't care, or because I don't want today to be the day, but simply because a person can only handle so much of that type of excitement.  Eventually it must fade and you must settle back into life.  Which is what I've done.  I've become used to it.  The state of being in constant limbo is now familiar and comfortable.  So now I'm ready, but I'm a calm ready.  Which is probably much better, anyways. :)

In any case, hopefully I will be providing you all with a birth announcement sometime soon.  The day is definitely coming!!! :)

39 weeks 4 days

Went to the doc yesterday.  Had the awkward exam that every pregnant woman sort of wants but really doesn't want.  And the results?  I am a whopping ZERO centimeters dilated.  Yes, that's right folks.  His words were, "Nothing yet.  You're completely closed."

COMPLETELY CLOSED???  SERIOUSLY????  So all this horrible cramping and back pain and contractions have done NOTHING???  Oh, this is just stupendous.  Just wonderful.  Labor is going to be awesome.  I don't get to skip the first 3 to 4 centimeters like the majority of my friends.  Nope, I get to go all the way from 0 to 10 in one shot.  Sweet.

Then I mention to the doc that the baby hasn't been moving near as much as I'm used to.  The doc asks, "Have you been doing your kick counts?"  I told him that yes, I had, but that that is what actually concerns me.  In the past, the baby has always been so incredibly active that I haven't had to do kick counts.  And now all of a sudden I do need to do them.  The doc asked if I got the proper number of kicks when I did do the test.  I said yes.  But then he said he still wanted to do some fetal monitoring.

So then they hook me up to this machine with two belts around my stomach.  One measures the contraction level of my uterus, the other measures the baby's heart rate.  They also gave me this little stick with a button on the end and told me to push the button every time I felt the baby move.  The nurse said, "As long as baby cooperates, you'll be on here for about 10 to 15 minutes.  If baby doesn't cooperate, then you'll be on here a while longer.  After that, if baby STILL doesn't cooperate, then you get to go to the hospital so THEY can do the monitoring."  I responded, "Well, let's hope he cooperates, then!"  (Hospital! I don't want to go to the hospital!!  But cooperate?  What exactly comprises a baby on a fetal monitor "cooperating"??  Come on Krewson, COOPERATE!!)

So I sat there.  And sat there.  The nurse brought me some juice and I guzzled it down.  Then I sat there some more.  The baby didn't move.  No budge, no nothing.  The doc came in after about 15 minutes and looked at the chart that had been printing out from the machine.  He responded, "Well, it doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look as good as we'd like it to."  Great.  "Just sit there a while longer."

Well at this point I started getting a little anxious.  I'm like, ok baby, you didn't cooperate for the first 10-15 minutes.  You now get one more shot.  If you don't cooperate now, we have to go to the hospital.  PLEASE COOPERATE!!!

After another 10 long minutes of waiting, he finally started to wriggle and roll.  I was like, oh, thank goodness.  He did a roll here, a roll here.  A couple jabs at the belts on my waist (like I've mentioned before, he does NOT like things protruding into his space).  I got to push the button quite a few times.  And then the doc came in, took a look, and said, "Ah, that's what we want to see.  It looks good."  Thank the Lord.  He stopped the machine and unhooked me, then told me I am to do kick counts three times a day, and if at any time I feel concerned I am to come back into the office for more monitoring.

Needless to say, I left the appointment feeling a bit frazzled.  Zero centimeters and one long half-hour of waiting to find out if my baby is ok are a but much on the pregnancy hormones.  I went home and cried to Dave for a little while, then I felt better.  He acted really goofy and silly to cheer me up.  As much as I hate it and get annoyed while he's doing it, it usually works.  It's hard to keep crying when your husband is bouncing around saying insanely stupid things.

Ah, the drama of being pregnant  And soon I will leave it to join in the drama of being a parent. :)

39 weeks 2 days

BELLY SKILLZ

So here is my 39 week 2 day belly picture:


Now, I don't know if this is atypical for pregnant women, but I've discovered recently that I have the ability to suck my pregnant belly in and up...really quite far.  I'm somewhat proud of this achievement. :)



Pretty impressive, eh???



I've also discovered that Krewson is laying so incredibly low in my belly at this point that I can completely flatten out my abdomen at my ribs, to the point where it's pushed back to where it was before I got pregnant. It then leaves my belly jutting out, providing a flat surface that works wonderfully as a little shelf.  :) Check it out:


Haha ok does anyone else think that's just WEIRD-looking?? My body is so strange!!!

Just wanted to share my belly skillz.  Hey, a 39-week-2-day pregnant girl's gotta find SOMETHING to keep herself entertained!!

38 weeks 6 days

Just wanted to let all you devoted readers know that as of 3:05pm today I am still pregnant and not in labor. :)

Today is Dave's birthday (happy birthday to my hubby!) and tomorrow night we are having a small get-together for him, so hopefully Krew will decide to wait until at least Sunday to get things moving.  (Although he technically has another week until his due date and can wait even another week or two after that before the docs will kick him out.)

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

38 weeks 4 days

Yesterday when the doc walked into the exam room for my 38 week checkup, he took one look at my belly and his immediate words were something along the lines of, "Well, you're just about done cookin', aren't ya?!"  I thought to myself, "If you are referring to the size of this gigantic thing protruding out of the front of me, commonly referred to as a 38-1/2-week pregnant belly, then YES, I am just about done cooking.  PLEASE GET THIS THING OUT OF ME."  But instead I smiled and provided my typical, cheerful Kara response of "Yup!"  Internal sigh.

The doc appointment went well.  I've gained 37 lbs and seem to be holding steady there.  Not bad.  He said it's a couple pounds over what they recommend but I look fine so he's not worried.  He said he thinks I've got a "good-sized baby in there" but that my body "looks good" so he's not worried about the fit during labor.  (What exactly does that mean, that my body "looks good"?  That my pelvis has appropriately expanded to the point where I'll never fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans again?  That I look fit enough for a 36-hour labor marathon to get this "good-sized baby" out of me?  Huh?  What does that mean??)

But really, it was probably my favorite doctor's appointment so far.  It was with a doc I'd never seen before, and he really was soooo cheerful and put me completely at ease.  When looking at my chart, he even looked at my job description and asked what I do, sounding as if he really cared.  I was like, holy cow, how many doctors actually take the time to even pretend to care what I do for a living??  Ummm....NONE.  This guy was probably the first one ever.  Which immediately shifted him into the position of Kara's new favorite doctor.  He is now my top choice for the delivery of my baby.  Not that I get to choose.  It's luck of the draw...whoever is on call that day/night, that's who I get.  And there are 8 doctors.  Which puts my chances at 1/8 = .125.  Hmmm...not great.  But one can be hopeful. :)

I didn't get any tips as to whether he thinks I'll be on time, early, or late.  In fact, he didn't check my cervix or anything.  Which, I must be honest, I didn't really care about.  First of all, those type of bodily "checks" are not overly fun or comfortable.  Especially with a male doctor.  Second of all, even if I am dilated or effaced, I've read and heard enough to know that it doesn't tell you much in terms of when your labor will occur or how long it will take.  So I don't really understand the point of the cervical exams anyways.

Things I can tell you are that I am cramping daily, some days much worse than others.  Back aches come and go.  Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions that are getting stronger and stronger.  But no pattern to anything yet.  So we'll see.  Hopefully this lil' Snoke doesn't plan to stay in there TOO much longer. :)


38 1/2 weeks

38 weeks 3 days

My mom just emailed to tell me that her friends at work threw her a surprise "grandma shower" today. Isn't that so sweet??  They're having a cake at lunchtime, too. :)

38 weeks 2 days

Baby Besido is still hanging in there!

Supposedly (I've read), I'm not supposed to be growing much more until the baby is born. I beg to differ. I feel like every morning when I look in the mirror my abdomen is extending 5 inches farther than the day before. The elasticity of the female body is truly amazing. I have yet to develop any new stretch marks to join the stretch smudge between my belly button and my belly piercing hole. I keep smothering on the lotion twice a day, praying my belly can make it another two to three (or four...dear Lord, please not four) weeks without the skin breaking any more. The stretch smudge continues to get darker and larger, and now has some little lines shooting out of it, but if I can contain my stretch marks to that then I will be one happy woman.

I worked so hard for so long to prepare for Krew's arrival, and now I've found I have everything done and nothing much to do. Work is all caught up. The house is clean. The nursery is ready. I know how to use the carseat, stroller, and bouncy seat. The monitor is set up and has been tested. I've read pages and pages on pregnancy, labor, and caring for a newborn. I even took notes on some of them and saved them in a Word document for easy access later. (Am I extreme? Yes, at times.) We've trained and prepared our dogs (yes, I bought a book on how to do that, too, and we went through the steps). We took childbirth and breastfeeding classes. I've made lists of people to contact after the birth. I've written my birth plan. I've packed my hospital bag. The list goes on and on. And now all of a sudden I've hit the end and I'm like....ok...now what?? I feel like I'm just twiddling my thumbs. Our evenings and weekends are pretty much clear because you can't exactly make big plans when your baby is due to pop out any day. Thank goodness for my Tuesday Bible study. I'd probably go insane without at least one busy evening during the week.

I think my next plan of action is to continue reading books on caring for newborns and to cook some meals and start freezing them. That will at least fill SOME of my time. Anyone want to provide some other suggestions?? Or want to provide some freezable meal recipes?? What on earth did all you other women who have had babies do during the last couple of weeks???? Help me!

37 weeks 4 days

Yup, the belly keeps growing!! Here is its size as of today:

37 1/2 weeks

Miscellaneous information I've read recently that I found interesting is the following:

*The fingernails and toenails actually begin to form on the palm of the hand and sole of the foot and then migrate to their final positions at the end of each digit.

*In about another week, your baby’s foot will be slightly longer than the length of his thigh. Take a look at your own thigh to see how big that is relative to the size of your feet. Such odd proportions will change somewhat after birth.

*Within the next three days, the circumference of your baby’s head will roughly match the circumference of its shoulders and its hips. After this time, the abdomen may be greater than the head. (Krewson's abdomen was already bigger than his head a month ago.  Not sure what that means.  Hmmm.)


Finally, I mentioned previously that I had a very nice baby shower in Raleigh a couple weeks ago, but I haven't shared the pictures yet. So here they are. :)

Chit-chatting at the start.


Kristin and her mom, Sally, who hosted the shower.


Me and the ladies responsible for the shower.


Playing some games.


The most amazing mocha drink ever.
(Decaf, specially made for me. :))










Go Wolfpack!!






All the girls.


They made me stand up so my belly was in the picture.  It looks massive.



Dave's mom, me, and Sally.

37 weeks 2 days

A couple of you mentioned that whenever I don't write a blog post for a couple days, you wonder if I'm having the baby.  So I thought I'd write a quick blog post to let you know that no, Krewson has not been born, and yes, I am still pregnant. (And huge. And getting huger by the minute.)

I also just read that 95% of all babies are born within two weeks of their due date.  We'll pretend for a moment that statistics never lie and that that number is in fact correct.  (Being a statistician, I am acutely critical of any published statistics I read, but we'll go with it for the time-being.)  Since some babies are born beyond 2 weeks after their due date, this means that there is a less than 5% chance of Krew being born prior to 38 weeks.  That's this Saturday (five days from now).  So...you can all breathe easy at least until Saturday.  Once Sunday hits and you don't hear from me, you're allowed to start wondering.  (And praying that Krewson is in fact making his world debut, if you so desire. :))

I'm so excited for this little boy to be born!!

36 weeks 6 days

Three weeks. Three weeks. Three weeks. :)

Dave and I finished up our classes this week. We had our fifth and last childbirth/childcare class and then also attended a breastfeeding class. I really enjoyed both of them...I learned a lot and they made me feel so much more confident about the life changes we're soon going to be facing.

My pregnancy symptoms continue to come and go. I have some days that are horrible, and others that are not so bad. The last 12 hours haven't been great. By the time we left class around 9pm last night to head home, the skin on my legs was stinging. I told Dave I knew my legs must be really swollen. We got home and I looked and sure enough, my ankles were so swollen that I could mold them like play-doh. I took a bath to relax and do some reading and propped my feet up. As I was doing that, I began to feel a burning in my throat, which quickly progressed to feeling like my entire dinner's contents were trying to climb back up my esophagus. Ironically, we were out of Mylanta, Tums, and milk. The only possible remedy I could find in the house was Pepto Bismol, which honestly didn't do much. As I was trying to fall asleep in bed, I was fighting the constant lump in my throat that was prompting me to throw up. (And strangely enough, the lump and reflux was easier to deal with when I was laying flat than when I was propped up. Don't ask me how that works.)

I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight (I'm thinking there was an abnormally large amount of caffeine in the "decaf" latte that Panera served me yesterday) and then woke up quite frequently to abdominal cramping and pelvic pain (which I attempted to relieve twice by getting up and using the bathroom). And then at the wonderful hour of 5am, I was wide awake, just laying in bed, staring at the wall. Thinking about who knows what. Babies. Feeding babies. All the changes coming up. Wondering when he'll make his appearance. I laid there until 5:45am and then thought this is stupid I'm wasting time, so I got up and began my day. I found that my ankles were still moldable (so much for swelling decreasing while you sleep) and that I was facing another random day of terrible pelvic pain. I got my zombie sleep-deprived self ready for work, headed out the door, and on the ride to work enjoyed the sudden return of burning acid reflux in my throat. I almost had to laugh. The symptoms never end. If it's not one thing, it's another. And yes, dealing with everything sucks once in a while, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It will all be over soon. And then I'll be holding my baby boy. Which I know will be so amazing. :)

So I don't think Krew has changed much from a week ago...he's just in there getting chubby and growing his brain a bit. He's actually full term as of tomorrow...isn't that awesome!! Way to go baby boy, we made it all the way.


36 weeks, 6 days

35 weeks 5 days

Yesterday was one month from our due date! Yay!!  Lil' Snoke will be arriving soon!

Being pregnant for this last month has been quite interesting.  I experience "prelabor" (as of a week from now, will be considered "labor") signs nearly daily.  At this point I pretty much just ignore them (although I might try to alleviate them) and assume they're going to go away.  Because they always do.  And if I called the doctor every time I felt them, I'd be calling twice a day.  I think that'd be a bit much.

For an example of what these "prelabor" signs look like, on Tuesday morning as I was getting out of the shower, I suddenly felt "menstrual" cramps and then my lower back tensed up and started hurting.  I proceeded to have wave after wave of back pain.  I thought to myself, Hmmm...this is definitely not normal.  However, when is my body normal?  I'd read and heard enough to know that it could develop into back labor, so I laid down on the couch on my left side with a heating pad against my back and then emailed my work office to let them know I'd be working from home.  Sure enough, within about an hour the majority of the pain had subsided.  (I ended up staying home all day just to be safe and also due to Maggie ingesting a gallon of what appeared to be cooking oil from the neighbors' garage, but that's a whole other story.)  So once again, just chilling out and dealing with the "prelabor" sign on my own appeared to be most beneficial and efficient.

At any rate, lil Besido is still growing like crazy (I now measure 42 1/2 inches at my belly button but seem to be staying steady at about 30 lbs of weight gain) and has developed quite his own personality.  One thing that is very obvious is that he likes having his personal space.  He does not like things pressing against my abdomen.  This would include my desk, my arm, or my coffee cup.  Today in our staff meeting, I sat with my cup of tea on the top of my belly and giggled as I watched it go up and down, up and down, up and down.  He was pushing really hard with his foot directly into the bottom of the cup, so it continuously raised and lowered, raised and lowered.  About an hour prior to that, he had kicked the edge of the desk I was leaning against so hard that it made me burst out with an "ouch!".  He really is good with his feet.  Maybe he's following in his daddy's soccer footsteps. :)

Another cute characteristic we've noticed is that Krewson seems to love Dave's voice.  It used to be somewhat disappointing, because Krew would be moving around and I'd tell Dave, so Dave would get down near my belly to talk to him and feel him move.  But as soon as Dave started speaking, Krewson would stop moving.  Almost every time.  And of course this was sad for Dave, because he wanted to feel his son wriggling around.  Over time, however, it's become a blessing, because we discovered that we could use it to our advantage.  Now, whenever Krew is kicking too much and I'm having trouble getting comfortable or falling asleep, Dave gets close to my belly and talks to him.  And within 30 seconds the movement usually stops and Krew settles down.  It's pretty amazing, and so sweet.  If that would just continue after Krew is born, our lives would be set!  Easy parenting, here we come. ;)

Alright, here's the weekly pic:


35 1/2 weeks

And check out this great use I found for my belly!! It's a shelf to hold my water bottle directly at the level of my mouth, so I can sip as I desire while I work.  Quite ingenious, if you ask me. :)



And here is the weekly update from all the pregnancy emails and sites I subscribe to:

Your baby should weigh between 5 to 6.75 lbs and be 17.5 to 20.5 inches long.  (Based on last week's ultrasound, I'm assuming he's over 6 lbs now.)

Your baby is continuing to put on about an ounce a day in weight. 

His gums are firm with ridges that look somewhat like teeth, though his actual pearly whites won't start breaking through until he's between three months and a year old.

Your baby's skull isn't the only soft structure in his or her little body. Most of your baby's bones and cartilage are quite soft as well (they'll harden over the first few years of life) — allowing for an easier journey as your baby squeezes through the birth canal at delivery.

Most of his systems (from circulatory to musculoskeletal) are ready for prime time.

There should be a sufficient amount of surfactant in your little one's lungs for them to work well on their own now.

By the time the baby is born, the fully developed placenta covers 15–30 percent of the space inside the uterus and will weigh 5½ pounds! The placental tissue itself weighs a mere pound and a half, but it takes 4 pounds of blood to keep it functional.

Your baby needs to eat even when you’d rather not. Several small meals a day are still best at this point for most women.

You're doing the full-term pregnancy waddle, the result of hormone-triggered loosening and softening of your connective tissue. This is your body's way of getting ready to squeeze a big baby out of a small space. Unfortunately, those loose joints can lead to some pretty serious hip and pelvic pain — but hang in there!

You’ll notice more fluctuations in your energy level this month. Fatigue is experienced by most pregnant women, but this month, you may find that fatigue alternates with periods of extra energy. Use your energy bursts wisely doing things you absolutely need to do and preparing for the birth and time after birth. Don’t overdo it, though! You might need to conserve some of that energy for later.

One last thing to mention: I had another great baby shower this past weekend. I will share pics from it soon. :)

34 weeks 5 days

Ahhh, the days are passing quickly! :)

Here's your weekly picture update:

34 1/2 weeks

And for what's going on this week:

Estimates for the baby's size are from 16.8 to 20.25 inches and 4.75 to 6 lbs.
(Krewson is estimated to weigh 5 lb 10 oz, which is supposed to be about the 54th percentile.  I think this matches up pretty well with these numbers.)

Most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department).

If you were to have your premature baby now, you'd be happy to know that there is a 99 percent chance of the baby surviving.

Lungs are almost fully developed, but if born now the baby would probably be put in an incubator. It still doesn't have enough fat deposits beneath its skin to keep warm outside your womb.

Your baby is drinking about a pint of amniotic fluid a day now and urinating the same amount.

Thanks to antibodies crossing the placenta the baby is developing immunities to mild infections.

As the mother's abdomen stretches thinner, light is visible inside the womb, helping baby to develop sleep cycles, reactions, and responses to her surrounding environment.

For me:

Braxton Hicks contractions may be getting more numerous and stronger, and discomfort and sleeping problems are common around this time. (Yup.)

Your blood pressure will probably be slightly higher than what is normal for you when not pregnant. (Yup.)

Before all this pregnancy stuff, your uterus was a small ball the size of your fist and was tucked neatly away behind your pelvis. Today your uterus is the size of a small watermelon and reaches all the way up to your ribs.

At this point in your pregnancy all the blood has gone to your belly ... literally. Nearly 1/6 of your body's total blood volume is chugging around in the vessels in your uterus. (Wow.)

In the United States, just 12 percent of companies offer paid maternity leave, and only seven percent have paid paternity leave, according to a report from the National Partnership for Women and Families. (I get a partially-paid maternity leave - I am very blessed!)

34 weeks 2 days Ultrasound and Doc Appt

We had our ultrasound this morning!!  It really wasn't that exciting, because Krew was so big that you could only see sections of his body on the screen.  No cute profile picture like last time.  The ultrasound tech did print out a couple shots of his face for us to have, which was much appreciated.  But, as you can see below, even they don't show much.


A side shot of his head.


His face, looking straight on.

She confirmed that he is indeed a boy, which I was very very glad to hear. :)  He's definitely head down, which is good news.  And, although I'm still measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule, Krewson appears to be right about on target.  His estimated weight was 5 lbs 10 oz, which is in the 54th percentile.  The doc later told me that it may just be the way he's laying inside of me that is causing my uterus measurements to be larger than normal.

I asked for a copy of the ultrasound results as we were walking out, then I looked everything up online to see what it meant.  Here are his stats:

BPD (diameter between two sides of head): 85.0 mm, 44th percentile
OFD (diameter between front and back of head): 113.6 mm, 64th percentile
HC (head circumference): 320.7 mm, 59th percentile
FL (femur length, longest bone in body): 67.0 mm, 42nd percentile
AC (abdominal circumference): 310.9 mm, 70th percentile
EFW (estimated fetal weight): 5lbs 10 oz
Estimated gestational age based on ultrasound: 35 weeks
Fetal heart rate: 170 bpm

Put all this information together and you can deduce that Krewson is short and fat with a squished head.  Spectacular!!! :)  (Don't worry Krew, we'll love you no matter your body proportions.)

I asked the doc if I could start working out again after what happened with the contractions two weeks ago.  He told me to wait two more weeks.  He said something along the lines of, "We'd really like him to stay in there a couple more weeks.  Give it two more weeks, and then you can work out.  Your weight is right on target, you don't NEED to work out.  I know you WANT to work out, but you don't NEED to.  So just wait two more weeks, then go ahead."  In other words, they want me to get to about full term, and then if I work out and Krew pops out, all is good and well.  Which I guess makes sense.  Doesn't thrill me, but makes sense.

Alright, that's about all for now.  Don't forget to check out our nursery pics, which I posted this morning.  Dave did an excellent job. :)

34 weeks 2 days Nursery Pics

Dave finished up his design on the nursery wall last night!! I think it looks great. :)  The nursery is now about 99% complete...we just need to put the handles back on the dresser (after we decide if we're going to paint them or not).  You can check out the pics below. :)  It's a little hard to see the green on the wall in the picture, but you get the idea.

Also, I have my ultrasound in about an hour, which I'm pretty excited about.  I will share pics as soon as I get a chance.

33 weeks 6 days

Here are some pics from my baby shower in Charlotte last weekend! It was a good time with lots of great women. Dave's mom did a great job hosting the event. The theme was "A Baby is Bloomin'" and then there were all kinds of adorable flower decorations. So cute. There was also yummy food, fun games, and of course it was exciting to get gifts. Thanks so much to everyone who came!!














Three of Krewson's many many great grandmothers.
(Like seriously, it's hard for me to keep count, haha.)

33 weeks 4 days

Just 6 1/2 weeks to go! Yay!

Little Besido is still growing like crazy. I have gained about 11 inches at my belly button and about 30 pounds overall (eek!).  Looking at me, it seems like the inches should be more and the weight should be less, but I guess looks can be deceiving.  The baby appears to be head-down at this point, but he switches his position quite a lot from side to side, so sometimes his back is on my right and sometimes it's on my left.  And sometimes I can't feel it at all, so I would assume at those times that his back is along my spine?

And alas, I have developed a stretch mark.  Or should I call it a stretch spot.  I have what looks like a purple smudge between my belly button and the remains of my belly button piercing hole.  (I guess that's what I get for being a rebel, hehe.)  I know it's a stretch mark-spot, because when the light hits it a certain way it glistens.  It's quite interesting, and I find myself staring at it quite frequently when I get out of the shower.  I have yet to see any stretch marks elsewhere though (yay!).  We'll see how long that lasts. :)

Here are some pics of this week:


I decided that generic smiles are overrated and wanted to provide you with a more entertaining look.


Let's play a game:  Where are Kara's intestines?

A few pregnancy updates from my weekly sources:

The estimates for his length are 16 to 20 inches.
The estimates for his weight are 4 to 5 1/2 lbs.
(Since my baby appears to be on the giant-er side, I would guess he is in the upper range of these numbers.  Monday's ultrasound should help somewhat confirm. [Although ultrasounds can be way off.])

During this week, the baby will grow 1⁄2 inch longer.

Over the past week, his head circumference has increased by about another 3⁄8 inch due to his rapid brain development. The critical period for the development of the baby’s brain occurs in these last months of pregnancy.

His arms and legs are continuing to fill out from fat accumulation.  He's dimpling at his elbows and knees and forming creases around his wrists and neck.

The percentage of fat on his body is about 8%, compared with only 1% of his body weight at 20 weeks.  At birth, his body fat will be about 15%, helping him to keep warm.

Your baby’s eyes will open during the alert times of its daily cycle, and close when he sleeps.

Regardless of the eye color your baby will end up with, right now his eyes are blue. The pigmentation process in his iris won't be complete until his eyes have been exposed to light for several weeks after birth. His final eye color may not be evident for years.

Your baby is moving around less frequently, mostly because of the cramped quarters. Of course, it may not seem as if he's settled down—now that he's so big, you can feel even the slightest movement. In fact, since your baby is right up against the wall of the uterus, you're probably getting good at guessing which body part (foot? elbow? arm?) is protruding.

Since the amniotic fluid volume has reached its maximum, you can now think of your baby as resting on the walls of your uterus rather than actually floating in a fluid-filled space. He is still bathed in amniotic fluid, of course, and that fluid is replaced continuously by your efficient system.

The top of your uterus can now be felt approximately 5 ½ inches above your belly button.

Seventy-five percent of women in their third trimester have trouble sleeping.

If your cheeks are looking as round as your belly these days, you're in good company — most expectant women start sporting that gathering-nuts-for-the-winter look in their third trimester.

Dave and I have our second childbirth/childcare class tonight, and then our ultrasound is on Monday.  I will be sure to provide updates of both. :) Also, Dave's mom threw a baby shower for me in Charlotte this past Saturday...I have pics which I will be sharing soon. :)

God bless!