36 week picture & baby update

Here we are today at 36 weeks! I am big. And I have stretch marks! They itch and are ugly but I'm pretending they're not there.

The band-aid on my arm is where I got my swine flu shot. I've been vaccinated!

Today was our 36-week check up with Dr. G. It was a regular appointment where she checked the baby's heartbeat (great, as always!) and also measured my belly. The past few visits she said I was measuring perfectly, and today told me I'm measuring about a week ahead at 37 weeks. She said it's not a big deal and it doesn't worry her, it could just mean our kiddo may be a little bigger than the average 7 pound newborn. I told her John and I were both 9 pound babies (and that my brother was 10!), so we will not be surprised if our bundle of joy tips the scales on his first day outside of the womb. After this, she checked my cervix to see if I was dilated at all. That was interesting but not at all as awful as I expected. While she was up "there", the first thing she said was that my cervix was definitely closed, and she couldn't feel the baby's head. At our last appointment, she thought she could feel his head down below where it's supposed to be, so this surprised me. She felt around a little bit more and determined there was nothing in my pelvis at all. At this stage in my pregnancy, she should've been able to feel his head just beyond my cervix, so the fact that she couldn't meant only one thing– the kid is breech. Dr. G. grabbed an ultrasound machine to double-check, and sure enough little Baby Zogas has his head nicely tucked away to the left of my belly button, and his legs over to the right, completely turned the opposite way of how he should be. So, we discussed next steps. Because he's growing bigger each day, chances are he may not want to turn around on his own because there's just not a lot of room. Each baby is different so there's no way tell if this will be true for us. John and I were joking that he probably won't turn on his own, because he's a Stenstrom-Zogas which means he is stubborn and will do what he wants, when he wants. If he's nice and cozy where he's at, the kid ain't moving. Anyway, next week at our 37 week appointment, we'll see if he's turned at all. If not, we'll go in for an external cephalic version. Sounds awesome, right? Basically the doc puts me on some kind of table tipped backwards, and tries to spin the baby down from the outside. I can't eat for 8 hours beforehand (aaaah!!!), then we get there and they give me a medication to relax the uterus, and monitor the baby's heartbeat throughout to make sure he doesn't go into distress. The reason I can't eat is if he DOES go into distress, they would rush me over to labor & delivery for an emergency c-section, which would require general anesthesia (and you can't have food in your system for that). How excited do you think I am about this? Yeah, NOT AT ALL. The only thing that makes me feel OK about it is that Dr. G said she knows the limits, and if it looks like the baby is just not turning, then she won't push it and we'll leave him be. And, she said I'm a good candidate for this because there's plenty of fluid and he's in a good spot that it could just be a simple rotation, and we're done. However, it's always possible he could turn back to where he was, and it was all a waste. So, if he goes back to being breech, or if it doesn't work, then the next step is to schedule a c-section at 39 weeks. That's it. No chance for a vaginal delivery if the kiddo doesn't cooperate. Dr. G. just doesn't deliver breech babies (and hasn't for awhile) because of the risks, so it's not an option. Plus, there could be a reason he's in there this way, so we don't want to force him out and take any risks.

So... How do I feel about all of this? It makes me want to cry. I've said all along that I trust my doctor, and John and I will do what we all think is best for the baby. Because things have gone SO well throughout my pregnancy, I figured they'd continue to be great... Sometime toward the end of the month I'd start contracting, we'd head to the hospital, John and I would breathe through hours of pain like we learned in class, I'd push for 2 hours and TA DA! We'd have a baby. If it didn't go well and he wasn't moving or got stuck or whatever, we'd go for the c-section knowing it's in our best interest, and TA DA! Baby has arrived. However, I've never imagined not even having the chance to deliver him naturally, and that makes me sad. Thinking positively, it would be pretty rad to schedule a c-section and know when he'll be here– what a dream for a control freak like me! To know when my baby will be here so I can plan around it, how awesome. But, to not even get a chance to push my baby out... I don't know about this. Anyway! Maybe we will get lucky and next week we'll be back on track. If we're not, then we'll just have to roll with it and hope and pray for the best. So think good thoughts for us and the little one! We'll keep you posted :)

Week 36: Crenshaw Melon Baby

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position. But if he isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly.

The perfect Christmas outfit

One of the most important things on my To-Do list, along with finishing the nursery, returning a few shower gifts, washing a few things, etc., has been finding the PERFECT Christmas outfit for the baby. Sounds weird, right? Perhaps you're thinking he'll only be a few weeks old so who cares what he wears? Well, let me tell you, it is VERY important that he look amazing and adorable for his first major holiday. But this is not just any holiday... Christmas is a big deal in my family– well, Christmas Eve is really the big deal. The Stenstrom's spend the day hanging out, cooking (well, watching mom cook and gossiping in the kitchen while we sneak bites of everything she's making), wrapping gifts, watching cheesy Christmas specials, watching mom and dad put the lights on the tree, etc. We then get all gussied up and attend 5:30 mass at All Saints, which is the children's mass. It's always overcrowded so we have to get there at 4:45 to get a seat. Mass is long, there are people everywhere, sometimes it's totally boring, and each year we complain about something that happened and how we are getting old for kid's mass. But we complain just to complain– we HAVE to go to that church, at that time. It's tradition, and there is just no way around it, and we all know it! We then head home and bring out all the yummy food mom and dad have prepared, spread it out on the dining room table with the good silverware and plates, decorate the Christmas tree with our funny childhood ornaments, and wait for our friends and family to arrive. We eat, drink, and after a few hours we sing our hearts out while mom plays piano. Everyone sings, too– even the people you'd never expect, they're huddled around the piano with their Stenstrom Family Song Book belting out "Oh Holy Night" with the rest of the gang. It's such a special day, and one we look forward to every year. It's a BIG deal, which is why it is so important to me that our kiddo has the perfect outfit! Well, outfitS..... Yes, there WILL be a costume change for the little one, even if he's just a few weeks old. I'm still on the hunt for his church outfit– I've looked everywhere and have narrowed down a few options, but am very pleased that today I picked up his Christmas Eve party outfit. Because what newborn wants to party in his church clothes? It's just not right. Thank you Hanna Andersson for having a sale today so I could justify buying these ridiculously adorable Christmas jammies for my son!

Baby Z, hurry up and get here so we can try these on you and see how cute you'll be on Christmas!!

Week 35: Honeydew baby

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

The art prints have arrived!

A lovely package from Adam of Fall Down Tree arrived yesterday with our art prints for the nursery! We chose the elephant, giraffe, lion and crocodile and we love them. John and I kept laughing as we were putting them in frames last night because they're just so funny looking. I'm so happy with these and think they look great above the glider!


(I'll take better pictures with my actual camera once the nursery is complete, so thanks for bearing with me and the crappy cell phone pics!)

Go Blazers!

John loves to listen to the Blazer introductions on the radio, and tonight he felt it was very important for his son to listen as well. I had to take a picture and document such a special moment :)

Maternity Pics Sneak Peek!

Last week, John and I had our maternity photo session with Maggie from Honeysuckle Photography, and her cousin Shawn. We had such a great time! We've felt so comfortable with Maggie since we first met her in 2005 before our engagement photo shoot, so we knew it would be a good time. They rented a studio space for us to use and it had several different colored and textured walls and neat, old furniture. Maggie posted a Sneak Peek of the shoot today on her blog with these two photos below. We can't wait to see the rest!

Week 34: Cantaloupe baby

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Can you tell where the baby is?

The baby is getting so big that I can usually tell where he is positioned inside my belly just by pressing on my stomach. The other day I was laying in bed and looked down to see this bulge to the left. I'm not sure if it's a butt or head but I see it there often. Fun, huh? :)

33 week photo

Here I am today at 33 weeks, 4 days pregnant. My belly is growing by the minute!

Crib bedding complete!

My wonderful mother spent a good chunk of her Sunday afternoon sewing the baby's bedding. She is so talented! She made a crib skirt and throw pillows for the glider that match the curtains and blanket she made a couple months ago. I'm going to take pictures of the entire nursery once it's complete, but for now here's a photo taken on my phone of the crib. The crappy pic quality doesn't show how great it really looks! The teal blue is much darker than the photo shows.


Another project completed this week are the letters to go above the crib. I bought kraft letters from Paper Source and painted them with dark brown acrylic, then traced the letters on the arglye paper (that I made by copying the pattern from the bumper and printing it out), cut those out and glued them to the top. They look pretty good! Up close you can see the tiny flaws but oh well :) Here's a sneak peek and a clue to his name (it has an E in it!)

Week 33: Pineapple baby

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Childbirth Prep Class

Monday 9/28 was the first night of our childbirth prep class. It's a 4 week class, and I've been pretty excited about it. I've read plenty of books, heard lots of stories, and watched enough Baby Story on TLC to have a good idea of what to expect during labor & delivery. I always keep other people's stories in the back of my mind but know full well that my experience will be totally different. Last week in class, we began learning about the first stage of labor and the anatomy & physiology of it all which I really appreciated. Seeing animations of exactly what is happening inside was so great and way more helpful than I thought! This past Monday we talked about the second stage which is the pushing stage. We saw some videos of actual births that were pretty neat, although intense and kinda... well, gross. Some of the other women (excuse me, GIRLS) in my class giggled and the boys moaned and groaned, but it didn't really bother me like I thought it would (and of course didn't bother John). After that, we got to practice a variety of pain coping mechanisms for the intense parts of labor. The instructor had stations set up so we could practice the technique during a fake minute-long contraction. It was awesome to actually practice rocking, squatting, sitting and breathing along with John. A lot of the positions had us hugging or swaying back and forth like we were slow dancing, just like the old days at All Saints dances :) It was really comforting and I felt extremely close to John afterward and it's actually got me excited about our baby's birth! Sure I'm still a little anxious and kinda scared since I don't really know how it will go, but I do know that have gained even more confidence in John as my birth partner and I'm stoked about this. Next week we have our third childbirth class, as well as a breastfeeding prep and newborn care class so I'll report back how those go!

The crib & glider have finally arrived!

Finally after waiting for MONTHS, our crib and glider arrived!! John put it all together quickly and I couldn't be happier. I was worried it wouldn't fit in the room but it's actually working out better than I imagined. The crib sticks out a bit but I like the idea of it being on a wall by itself. Next steps will be to finish the crib bedding (thanks, Mom!) and put everything away. All the baby's stuff is currently taking over our living room so I'm excited to finally get it in place. Here's a few crappy pics taken with my phone:

The picture ledges will be taken down (those are leftover from my office) and the baby's name will be displayed above the crib on the wall. We might add a decal if we can find something that will work.

Our super comfortable glider! I love this thing and have already spent a good amount of time sitting in it. We need to find a spot for the little green chair that my sister bought the baby (isn't it cute?!)

Week 32: Jicima baby

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.