Baby #5, Week 41

The Force has awoken!

How far along: 41 weeks
Weeks to go: ZERO! Charles and I are pleased to announce that on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, at 5:01 p.m., we welcomed Baby Jedi into our family! 40 weeks, 2 days!

Baby Jedi is a BOY!

Hyrum Dean

9 lbs 9 oz

20 1/2 inches long

His big sisters are utterly in love with him and cannot be happier! Charles and I are still in shock! I am working on his birth story now and will have it up soon! Thank you all for your love, support, and patience!

He was worth the wait!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Mrs. Taycey Post of Taycey Post Photography for capturing these special moments! I cannot thank her enough for being willing shoot her first birth story as a photographer! I will cherish these photos always!

Baby #5, Week 40

How far along: 40 weeks! FULL TERM!
Weeks to go: ZERO! But apparently baby is super comfy and wants to hang around a bit longer... I've never been over the 40 week mark, ever. Rosalie and Vivian were born on their 40 week due dates. I am in shock that my fifth child will probably be the one that is going over the 40 week mark! I'm in denial. Unless I have the baby later today/this evening! But I doubt it...

Baby is the size of: a small pumpkin!

Gender Prediction: Boy

Weight gain: 35 lbs

Starting to show yet?: Oh yes!

Maternity clothes: Yes! Extra large EVERYTHING since I'm SOOOO huge right now. Nothing fits and I'm super uncomfortable in all of my clothes. My shirts are working the hardest right now! Thank goodness for my support bands being so long and covering the bottom of my belly! Otherwise it'd be pretty drafty!

Stretch marks: The very tip of three of my longest stretch marks have stretched a little bit more!

Belly button in or out: Flattie, but my hernia makes it look like an outtie. 

Sleep: Really good. I'm very tired all the time, so it makes waking up to turn over or go the bathroom easy to fall asleep afterwards. 

Movement: Baby is out of room. And feeling Baby's movements is becoming less and less prominent. I have been trying to stay calm when Baby doesn't move. I'm doing kick counts every hour I'm awake and saying a LOT of prayers.
Labor Signs: Not as many contractions this week. There have been a few days where I only had maybe four contractions all day long. It's been very disheartening. I really thought we'd have our baby here by now... I seriously feel like Baby is going to be inside of me forever. 

Best moment this week: Meeting up with my friends on Friday for some food and bingo! It was nice to get my mind off of things for a while! And the weather has been wonderful! We went on a walk as a family yesterday(2-21-16) and even though a few parts of the walk were super windy, we all had a blast! I was hoping it would start some contractions, but it did nothing for me. Other than make me realize we can't go too far away from the house with as often as I have to pee lately! It was almost bad!

Worst moment this week: Monday at my appointment. Usually those are my highlights, but this week, it was not. Even though I'm happy that I've made it to the 40 week mark, I really, REALLY thought this baby would've been here by now. I'm excited, anxious, nervous, impatient, cranky, and emotional. I am not much fun to be around. And I really hate it when people see me and make comments about how I look like I've dropped, or baby is still very high, or I look like I'm about to pop, or whatever. I'm struggling with this more than I thought I would. I honestly think that I am just so ready to KNOW this baby that it's clouding my excitement and joy with anxiety. 

Miss anything: Smaller EVERYTHING.

Wedding rings on or off?: On during the day. Off at night.

Cravings: Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Aversions: Raw Meat
Appetite: Lacking. Which isn't normal for me. But when I'm upset, nervous, or anxious, my appetite goes out the window. I'm making sure to stay well fed and hydrated, but I never really want anything. I have to force myself to eat 95% of the time. 

Queasy or sick: My runny nose has finally let up! Praise the Lord!
Workouts: Walking

Emotionally: As much as I hate to admit it, I'm struggling. I have been focusing on all of the positives, but after a while, I get tired of being to hopeful. It's like I WANT to be mad for a little while each day. I generally cry whenever someone messages me asking if I'm making any progress or if the Baby is here yet. I really appreciate how much people love and care for me and Baby, but it's so hard to have to remind myself that NOTHING is happening. I feel like I'm waiting for the roof to cave in on me. I'm cranky. I'm crabby. I wish I weren't though, because I am SO grateful for this pregnancy and baby. My true inner feelings are so much nicer than how I'm feeling on the outside.
Physically: Tired. Exhausted. I have random, short bursts of energy, but they are VERY few these days. All I want to do is lay around and read, color, or watch Netflix. I have zero motivation. I know that I'm conserving energy for my labor and Baby's delivery, but I feel kinda worthless some days when Charles comes home from work and the dishes are stacked high and I'm just lounging around. Ugh. But I do make sure to keep up on things like the laundry and dishes. Even though they have gotten away from me more than once this week... 

Looking forward to: LABOR TO START and to FINALLY meet this baby! And then all of the fun stuff that happens afterwards: baby snuggles, breastfeeding, picking out a name, etc.!

Baby #5, Week 39

How far along: 39 weeks, 1 day! Full term!
Weeks to go: This is the last week! Unless baby decides to go over-due...  

Baby is the size of: a mini-watermelon!

Gender Prediction: Boy

Weight gain: 35 lbs. BOO!

Starting to show yet?: Oh yes!

Maternity clothes: Yes! Comfy maternity pants and large/XL maternity shirts. All day. Err day!

Stretch marks: The very tip of two of my stretch marks have stretched just a little bit more. 

Belly button in or out: Flattie, but my hernia makes it look like an outtie! 

Sleep: Really, really good! Which is surprising, but I've been exhausted lately. I wake up to turn over or go to the bathroom, but I'm able to fall back asleep quickly! There have been three nights this past week where I was up for a few hours with contractions, but I just stayed in bed reading my Kindle. So even though I was awake, I was resting!

Movement: Baby is uber sensitive to my eating habits. If I go too long between meals or drinks of water, Baby doesn't move and it freaks me out. But when Baby is good, we're rocking and rolling! Baby's movements are getting fewer and fewer, so I've been doing kick-counts a few times a day. I had an appointment today and went in for a NST to check on Baby's movements and heart rate. Everything was good! Baby was a little inactive, but not enough for an induction. Praying Baby stays active and that all will be well as we approach labor and delivery.
Labor Signs: Contractions pretty much all day, every day. It gets old keeping track just to have everything stop. I don't feel like these contractions are changing my cervix. But I know they are contractions and not just Braxton Hicks. During my NST today, the nurses said there was a lot if irritability in my uterus, which is a good sign of impending labor. I just feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever at this point... but the good thing is, I do know that Baby will come! It just feels like forever with all of these contractions. I try to zone out by watching Netflix(Supernatural), reading my Kindle, or playing games on Facebook. I'm not even overdue and I'm going crazy!

Best moment this week: Being on my labor ball with Adeline trying to ride my back while I bounced! It was hilarious! I was having contractions every 2 minutes for about 2 hours, but made no progress. Adeline was loving it, though!

Worst moment this week: Being sent home after my NST today. I really thought that my doctor wanted to induce me today, but after my appointment this morning(checking baby's position, my cervix, baby's heart rate, my NST, etc.), my doctor feels like I can safely continue this pregnancy without induction. I am grateful since I was really dreading having a pitocin-induced induction, but part of me had to cry it out because I really thought I would be meeting this baby today or tomorrow. And I'm not. And that's okay! I just need some time to cry about it!

Miss anything: Smaller EVERYTHING!

Wedding rings on or off?: On during the day. Off at night.

Cravings: Pears, Chili Cheese Fritos, Cajun Trail Mix
Aversions: Raw meat(even the sight of it)
Appetite: Normal. 

Queasy or sick: Fighting off some sort of sickness... I've been drinking a giant glass of orange juice each morning and making sure to keep hydrated and rested. Just in case I do actually get sick before baby comes.
Workouts: Just walking for now. 

Emotionally: Doing pretty good. I have a lot of anxiety when it comes to the unknown aspects of the last few weeks of pregnancy. I am stressing all the time about what time labor will start, who will be able to watch our girls, will the girls be at school, etc. We have a plan, yes, but this whole things makes me nervous. I pray that all will work out for us! I see now why families have home births!
Physically: I. Am. Exhausted. I am still nesting like crazy, but I've started slacking lately because I'm so tired all the time. I've been resting as much as possible and trying to enjoy our family before baby comes and changes our dynamic. I am looking forward to welcoming this baby, but I will miss our family of six! I've been having bloody noses more frequently, but my blood pressure is fine. I've been restricted to just walking for the time, which makes me sad because I love me some Zumba! And I miss going to class. I can tell that some days baby is lower(baby's dropped) and other days, baby is back up high again. I love the days when baby is lower because I can actually eat and NOT get heartburn!

Looking forward to: Labor and delivery. Meeting and holding this baby! Finally knowing Baby's gender! Having a name for this little one(since we still have no idea yet! Yikes!)! Baby snuggles! Breastfeeding!

Baby #5, Week 38

How far along: 38 weeks
Weeks to go: 1 to 2 weeks, but baby can come anytime he or she wants!

Baby is the size of: a leek!

Gender Prediction: Boy

Weight gain: 33 lbs, two pounds down at my appointment on 2-1-16!

Starting to show yet?: Oh yes!

Maternity clothes: Yes! I found some XL maternity shirts in my stash. They are huge on my in the shoulder/chest area, but they are the only shirts that fit my GIANT belly! I'm becoming more and more grateful that I'm pregnant in the winter! Everywhere I go, I wear my coat and it hides how terribly my shirts fit! Haha! Small blessings!

Stretch marks: The very tip of one of my stretch marks has stretched a little bit more! Just like with Adeline's pregnancy, it took 38 weeks, but it did happen! 

Belly button in or out: Flattie, but my hernia makes it look like an outtie!

Sleep: Very good! I've been so exhausted during the day that I'm actually sleeping better at nights! I still wake up to turn over and go to the bathroom, but I am able to fall back asleep quickly with no problems! 

Movement: Baby's sleep/awake cycles are freaking me out. When Baby is up, movement is almost constant. I can tell that Baby is running out of room because the movements are more like large shifts and nudges, but I can still feel when Baby's feet glide across the inside of me! When Baby is resting, I feel nothing, unless Baby has hiccups. It freaks me out because it'll be like that for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. By the time I'm ready to call the hospital, Baby wakes up and starts rocking and rolling again. Part of me just wants to have this baby now so that I can stop freaking out every single day, multiple times a day over this!
Labor Signs: TONS of contractions, as usual. I had not one, but TWO trips to Labor and Delivery this weekend. Yesterday and today.
Trip #1: I woke up around 4:30 Saturday morning having contractions. I would fall asleep in between them, but they were about 5 minutes apart. Things had continued all morning, so by the afternoon, when things were getting stronger and my contractions were 2:30 apart, I decided to go in and get monitored. I was checked and told that I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced on one side of my cervix, and 50% effaced on the other side. My cervix does this because of a procedure I had to remove cervical cancer cells in 2010 after I had Rosalie. I was alone in the room since I was just being monitored, but after three hours, there was no change. I had my bloody show and my contractions were consistent the ENTIRE time, but no cervical progress. I was sent home. Though my contractions kept up the rest of the night. No baby.
Trip #2: After Relief Society at church, I stood up to leave and had a terribly sharp pain in my lower uterus and I couldn't walk. It felt very painful and I wasn't sure what was going on. I couldn't really lift Adeline and walking made things worse. I went to the bathroom where I lost my entire mucous plug and had some more bloody show. My contractions were very painful and I knew something wasn't quite right. Charles sped us home from church and when we got there, I went to the bathroom again and things stopped. I went ahead and called in to ask Dr. Miller what he wanted me to do, and he wanted me to come in anyway to be checked and monitored. I was checked right away with no change. I was having contractions, but baby really wasn't moving very much. Long story short, I was dehydrated and needed to eat. Once I got food and water in my system, baby started moving and my contractions stopped. I was sent home, again. No baby.

Best moment this week: The four hours of alone time while being monitored on Saturday! I took time to pray, think about baby names, watch a movie(The Proposal), and rest! It was peaceful, quiet, and a little boring! Haha! 

Worst moment this week: Snow day on Tuesday. My girls are horrible when their normal schedule is thrown off. Tuesday was awful. Constant fighting, hitting, yelling... all the things. I was so tired of it all by 9:00 in the MORNING! It was a long day, but I got through it. Thank goodness for coloring books, Netflix, and naps! And then going to the hospital twice, only to be sent home twice... BLAH!

Miss anything: Smaller EVERYTHING. Sushi. 

Wedding rings on or off?: On during the day. Off at night.

Cravings: Cajun Trail Mix
Aversions: Raw Meat, any off or foul smells.
Appetite: Normal. I am noticing that some days when Baby is dropped, I'm starving! But when Baby is up again, my appetite is normal.

Queasy or sick: Fought off the head/chest/throat thing in the beginning of the week.
Workouts: Just walking. With trying to recover from my sickness, I didn't want to overdo things and make it worse if I went into labor while sick!

Emotionally: Doing really well this week. Even for everything that's happened in the past two days, I've held things together quite well! I haven't cried, but I keep fighting off the urge to be upset about all of this.
Physically: Tired! I've been nesting like a crazy person and I need to rest a few times a day! I've been taking two naps a day! It's wonderful! My body was very tired after everything on Saturday. That night was the best night of sleep I've had in a long time!

Looking forward to: My 38 week appointment tomorrow! Labor. Delivery. Baby snuggles. Breastfeeding.