30 Weeks

I've been a total slacker! I haven't updated this blog in what feels like decades! Rather than doing the normal weekly questions I think I'll just write about what has been going on in our lives.

The Center for Women's Health at Evergreen (the clinic I most recently switched to) is under going lots of changes. One of them being that the midwives at that office are leaving and going to EvergreenHealth Midwifery Care. Evergreen's very first midwife only clinic! You can bet that I'm following them there! The midwives that I've already been seeing, Shana and Michelle, will continue my prenatal care along with 1 other midwife. My first appointment at that office is on Tuesday, the 11th. I'm excited to be one of the first patients at Evergreen's first midwifery clinic!

Tommy and I have been hard at work on baby Ayla's nursery. If you're friends with me on facebook I'm sure you've seen plenty of pictures. Her room is almost completely set up and her closet fully stocked. I was hesitant at first to use pink, but honestly what little girl doesn't love a little pink in her life? :) All we need now is bedding, a few more organization bins, and a couple other odds and ends.

I was blessed to have a wonderful shower thrown for me on the 25th. My sisters in-law Mitzi and Kelsey threw a beautiful party and everyone was so generous! Thank you to everyone that came to celebrate Ayla with me. She is already one spoiled little girl.

(We're going to get a little more intimate in this next paragraph.) As far as pregnancy specific symptoms and feelings go, I've been feeling pretty good. I have experienced stretch marks, but not where I was expecting the first ones to show up. The "girls" have grown by 3 cup sizes (WOW!) and my skin didn't appreciate that very much. The stretch marks are still pretty faint and I'm sure they'll fade over time. Luckily none have strung up anywhere else yet. Baby girl is still breech (I'll be talking to my midwife at my next appointment about things I can do to help turn her), which means her little head is RIGHT under my ribs. Her head is also squishing my gall bladder which is causing even more discomfort. I spend a good couple hours a day with my hand at the top of my belly pushing her head down. Ayla has been so much more active over the past couple weeks. It might be that she is just getting stronger so I'm feeling every movement way more. I can't even explain how neat it is to feel her move. It's completely surreal to know that it's a tiny little human in there making my belly jiggle and poke out. Until next time I'll leave you with a couple video of baby girl spazzing out. Look toward the left side of my belly. I promise my next update won't be 8 weeks late!

I couldn't help but laugh. Those two big jerks at 50 seconds are me chuckling.

Switching Providers

I posted on facebook this past Thursday that I'm going to be switching my prenatal care over to an office at Evergreen Hospital. I'm just now finally getting around to writing up the blog post explaining why.

At my 20 week ultrasound we found out that I have a bicornuate uterus. Basically that means my uterus is a heart shape, rather than the usual pear shape. It dips in at the top creating a septum. The doctors can't tell to what degree because my uterus has already been stretched out from this pregnancy. Because of this I am at a higher risk for growth restriction of the baby, preterm labor, breech presentation, and cervical incompetence. There was also some concern because the placenta is attached right at the septum where my uterus comes down to form the heart shape. Which means I'm also at a slightly higher risk of placental abruption.

These risks and concern lead me to make a difficult decision. I was told by the midwives at the Puget Sound Birth Center that as long as I carry to 37 weeks and baby is head down I could still deliver at the birth center. However, having experienced a previous loss and seeing as the most important thing to me is a healthy baby I started contemplating other options. If something were to go wrong during labor and delivery I personally think I'd feel the most comfortable with a stellar NICU team available. So, I decided to go to the midwives at Center for Women's Health at Evergreen Hospital. I'm so happy that I have the option to continue all of my prenatal care under the midwifery model of practice. Also, with the changes coming to Evergreen in September, it sounds like I'll also be getting the midwife assisted delivery that I have always wanted!

Changing the game plan after being so invested and so excited about delivering at a birth center was kind of defeating. But I know my dream to have my baby naturally out of the hospital isn't more important to me than seeing my little girl healthy and safe.

This past Thursday we has our first prenatal appointment with Michele at Center for Women's Health. We are going to be checking my cervix via ultrasound every 2 weeks to make sure that it's not effacing or dilating. If my cervix starts to make changes we'll probably put in a cerclage. A cercalge is a stitch that helps keep the cervix tight and closed.

For now everything looks great and baby girl has more than enough room. She has been moving around like crazy! I swear she is using my bladder as a trampoline. Tommy hasn't been able to feel her move yet. I give it another two or three weeks and he'll be feeling her just as much as I am. She is still favoring the right side too. I can see my lopsided tummy every morning before I get up and start moving around. I love her already :)

21 Weeks

How far along? 20 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss:  160, a total gain of 13 pounds.

Hip Measurement: 40.5  inches, a total gain of 3.5 inches

Waist (belly button) Measurement: 37.5 inches, a total gain of 3.5 inches

Maternity clothes? Yes, on most days. I can still rock some of my work pants with my bella band though.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep: Pretty good, but with bathroom breaks through out the night.

Best moment this week: Seeing our little girl on an ultrasound :)

Miss anything? Having a bra that fits right. I'll be going and getting fitted pretty soon, I won't be able to stand wearing the ones I have for much longer.

Movement: Yes! All the time! She is a little kicker.

Food cravings: No intense cravings.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Have you started to show? Yes :)

Gender prediction: Just found out it's a girl!

Labor signs: Nada.

Belly button in or out? In, but getting more shallow by the day.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery ready.

It's a GIRL!!

I added the  little bow. Isn't it cute? :)

We had our anatomy ultrasound a week ago on Thursday, June 21st. The ultrasound tech told us that we're having a little girl!! Unless she is born and doesn't at all look the part, her name is going to be Ayla Morgan Felts. It was amazing to see this tiny little baby moving around on the screen. She was all over the place. At times it was even hard for the tech to get the measurements she needed. I could have sworn we were going to have a boy. I didn't have the intuition that some mothers have. All I was going on was that everyone else was hoping for a girl and I just had a feeling no one would get what they wanted. I was so wrong. Of course, I knew we'd be over the moon regardless of the sex of our little one. We just want to be parents! :)

Of course being the woman that I am I've already done a tiny bit of shopping for my little Ayla. Tommy and I are both on the same page. We would love to see our little girl in pink, but we also don't want her to look like the sparkling pretty magical pink unicorn princess threw up on her everyday. I know at times it will be unavoidable and we're okay with that. On my lunch break the other day I stopped at a consignment shop to look around. I found the cutest girly, but not too girly outfit. This is the first outfit I've purchased for Ayla :)

We also got the chance to register! I'm sure things will be added here and there, but for the most part our registry is complete. It was so much fun walking around Target and Babie'R'Us looking at everything! If you're curious what we put on our registry there are links over to the right.

Starting the Nursery

We've always known a baby would go in our middle bedroom. We just didn't exactly know when. Now that there is a baby on the way we're just waiting to find out if it's a he or she so that we can really start getting ready! Most of the big things we are planning on getting are gender neutral. Mostly because we want to be able to use them again with another baby in the future. Plus, I personally just like the look of neutral colors anyway.

Getting Inspired:
I've been putting together some ideas for both boy and girl. I'm surprised to say that I'm leaning toward pink a lot more than I thought I would if this baby is a girl. Not crazy amounts of pink, but pops of it here and there. I know for sure whether it's a boy or girl I want to paint the ceiling. Here is my pinterest idea board for a girl: Girl Nursery. For a boy I'm favoring greens a lot, which I knew would be the case. Here is my pinterest idea board for a boy: Boy Nursery. The room is very small! And by small I mean enough room for a crib and changing table, and possibly a small chair. We'll definitely be utilizing the closest for clothing storage since there won't be a dresser.

Our First Big Purchase:
So, this purchase was actually made last year. It was posted on craigslist for a killer price. So, naturally we couldn't pass it up. This matching set still sells at Babies R Us for over $250 and we got it for $80! (Just so you know we've been using this bedroom as a storage unit for awhile. It's a little messy.)

Graco Sarah Convertible Crib- Cinnamon

Graco Sarah Changing Table- Cinnamon.
There are few scuff marks but other other side looks great so I'll probably turn it around.

Another Purchase:

This is the swing that I picked up at a consignment sale in Lynnwod. Everyone should check out the Just Between Friends consignment sales around Seattle. I've seen some amazing deals. This Graco swing, it's totally adorable by the way, was only $45!

We find out in exactly two weeks if we're expecting a little boy or girl. You can bet that within a few weeks time I'll be putting the whole nursery together. I can't wait!

18(ish) Weeks

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted anything. Things have been pretty busy around here. Our anatomy ultrasound is schedule for June 21st. We have about 2 weeks until we can call this little one a he or she. I can't wait! We are doing a gender reveal party on the 23rd for family and close friends. Tommy and I will already know the gender, but we think it will be a super fun way to tell everyone else. I also can't wait to get started on the nursery!

How far along? 17 weeks 4 days

Total weight gain/loss:  154, a total gain of 7 pounds.

Hip Measurement: 39  inches, a total gain of 2 inches

Waist (belly button) Measurement: 37 inches, a total gain of 3 inches

Maternity clothes? Yes. My hips have widened and my regular jeans aren't very comfy anymore. I can still wear my work pants the bella band though.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep: Sleep is still pretty good, but with bathroom breaks through out the night.

Best moment this week: Listening Tommy talk to the baby :)

Miss anything? Peeing less frequently if that even counts, ha.

Movement: Possibly, but I'm not 100% sure.

Food cravings: Still no big cravings, but from time to time certain things sounds good.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Have you started to show? I think so!

Gender prediction: Everyone is still saying girl. I still have no idea.

Labor signs: Nada.

Belly button in or out? In, but getting more shallow.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Excited!

Looking forward to: Finding out the gender on the 21st!! :)

14 Weeks (almost)

We came out on facebook! We had been discussing waiting until we found our the gender, but I just couldn't do it. Like always I got too impatient. Story of my life, haha. This is the picture we used for our announcement.

I'm pretty proud of my cheesy announcement :) And on to this weeks bump photo. (Anyone think I could have picked a pair of sweat pants with a saggier butt?)

How far along? 13 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss:  151, a total gain of 4 pounds.

Hip Measurement: 38.5  inches

Waist (belly button) Measurement: 36.5

Maternity clothes? I'm rocking the bella band pretty constantly. Not wearing a ton of maternity clothes yet.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep: A little bit of tossing and turning, and still one bathroom break every night.

Best moment this week: I picked up a baby swing at the Just Between Friends consignment sale in Lynnwood. It's super cute!

Miss anything? Nope :)

Movement: No.

Food cravings: No big cravings.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, but I did throw up the other day from smelling sour milk. Blech!

Have you started to show? Possibly. I can't decide if it's baby or just bloating. I call it my "blump" (bloating/bump).

Gender prediction: Everyone is saying girl. Wishful thinking I'm sure ;)

Labor signs: None.

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Getting bigger.