Christmas presents!

Keeping myself busy waiting for baby has been somewhat easy so far. I'm still annoyed, antsy and bored, but at least I'm not sitting here thinking about it every second of the day. More like every few minutes. So anyway,after watching the rest of Season 4 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (our fave new show), I did some online window shopping. Every store out there seems to have some kind of deal online today, it's great! I resisted buying anything impractical so we can continue saving money for the baby. But when I came across these two adorable items at Old Navy for 20% off, how could I possibly resist?!



I'm totally going to wrap them up and put them under our Christmas tree for the baby. He needs Christmas presents, too, right?!

Week 40: Baby!!!!

Despite what Baby Center's 40 week update says about the size of the baby, this is what I say: Today your baby is the size of a BABY. A newborn that is ready for the world in every single way, and needs to get out of your belly and into your arms! There is no need to compare him to fruits and vegetables anymore– he's a full grown infant and now you must wait patiently for him to realize that it's time to make his way through the birth canal. Do you hear that baby? Let's get a move on it!

Ok fine, since I know some of you love the real updates, here ya go:
Week 40: Pumpkin baby


How your baby's growing:
It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

40 week photo

Happy Due Date to us!! I am officially 40 weeks pregnant. Holy crap that is a long time to have a baby in my belly. I can't believe it's already November 27th... Here's a lovely photo of me, about to pop!

Daddy needs to pump, too.

Just as I suspected, when I brought out the breast pump to show John how crazy it is, he thought he needed to try it out, too.


What a funny guy :)

We are now those people...

...who have a car seat in their car! We installed it over the weekend and it's so fun to see it in there.

Induction has been scheduled

After another cervical check at today's appointment, we found out (once again) that little progress has been made. The baby's head has dropped a bit, but isn't fully engaged in my pelvis yet. At least Dr. Grant could feel it on the other side of my cervix, which is good news. But she said my cervix is still closed, long & thick. Ugh. So, we started to talk induction. She explained she'd let me go to 41 weeks before inducing, but if I still haven't made any progress by then the chances of a successful vaginal birth via induction are low. If my body isn't ready for labor, things won't progress nicely and they'll likely have to resort to a c-section. By waiting a bit longer, close to 42 weeks, the chances are a lot better. Being pregnant that long makes me want to cry, but I know it's what would be best for the babe. So, if the little one doesn't come on his own, then on December 7th at 5pm we'll check in to the hospital and begin "cervical ripening" where they insert some random things in my lady parts to get it ready. We'll stay overnight, then December 8th at 6am they start the pitocin, the drug to make my body have contractions. Then, we wait to have a baby! It could happen quickly, or take forever. And it could be successful, or end in a c-section. We'll just go with the flow and trust that our doctor will help us make the right choices so our little baby is delivered safely. I really don't want to be induced... But I have to trust that there is a plan for us and for this baby, and he'll come out when and how he's supposed to. Please keep us in your prayers that the baby will come on his own before the 7th!

Let me tell you about my breast pump

Last night while John was at a Blazer game with a friend, I thought it would be a good time to try out my breast pump. I've been told that pumping at this stage in pregnancy helps create oxytocin receptors which can get your body closer to labor, and potentially helps you bleed less after birth. Also I was just curious how it worked! It's such a funny looking piece of equipment and I wanted to test it out.

I've done a lot of research on different brands and styles, and knew that I wanted a really nice pump. Since my plan is to breastfeed and bottle feed breast milk for as long as I possibly can, having a good breast pump will definitely help me do this longer. This is the pump I've had my eye on for months:


The Medela Pump in Style. It's a double electric pump that comes in a super fancy shoulder bag with all sorts of accessories. It gets great reviews and looks like it would be really easy to use. However, the thing is $280. Whaaa?! I know it would be a good investment but that's just an awful lot of money to shell out. Especially because I won't need to pump a whole lot. I'm on maternity leave until March 2nd, and then will be working part-time and from home enough that the baby will only be bottle fed once, maybe twice, a day when I'm gone. But look how fancy it is! I put it on my registry anyway because I could get a 10% discount after my baby showers if no one bought it for me (which I expected, hello, it's expensive!) So a few weeks ago I went over to Babies R Us to check out their selection, and of course they didn't have it in stock. They had an even nicer one that has a hands-free feature (cool, but SO weird looking!) but of course it was even more expensive at $350. I looked at a few other brands that were cheaper, but I hadn't read many great reviews on them. I also saw several manual hand pumps, but spending 15-20 minutes hand pumping doesn't sound like fun to me. I then looked down and noticed this little guy.
A Medela single electric pump for $60! I hadn't read anything about this but it looked perfect. The box said it was good for occasional use, and could be plugged in or battery powered. I figured this would work great for only needing it once in awhile, and it was so cheap compared to the other ones. But it's still Medela which is a good, trusted brand. So I bought it and hoped for the best. Last night I finally opened the box, plugged it in, attached it to my breast and hit START... Oh. My. God. It sounds like a lawnmower! I was so surprised how loud it was, and was then thrown off seeing my nipple being sucked in and out like I didn't think was humanly possible. Then, after a few minutes I realized I was actually expelling colostrum! There were several drops of the milky substance in the bottle, and I totally freaked out. I'm supposed to have that in my breasts right now so this was totally normal and actually a GOOD thing to see that my body is ready for a baby! But to SEE it in a bottle was so bizarre. So I stopped, cleaned the thing off and put it away. It was a very funny and weird first experience with a breast pump, that's for sure. At least I know what to expect the next time I use it!

Maternity Leave: Day 1

Yesterday was my last day at KO until March 2nd. It was weird saying goodbye to everyone... Even though I know I will be back, and probably see them in a few weeks at our Christmas party, it was still odd. I realized I was leaving as one person and will be coming back a new woman... A lady with a BABY! It's exciting, but still very surreal. Is it really almost time to birth my first child?? I have been pregnant so long and gotten so used to this that it's hard to imagine my body, my life, any other way. I've been shopping and researching and organizing and dreaming of our little baby joining our family for the longest time, way before I even got pregnant. So now that we're days (well, maybe still weeks) away, it just seems hard to believe. Now that I'm on maternity leave, I literally have nothing to do but sit around and daydream and wait for contractions to begin. I have plenty of things to keep me busy during these days John is at work, but I gotta say... It's boring. Here is what I did today:

-Went to Target to buy a friend's daughter a birthday gift
-Made a big breakfast and watched 2 hours of Baby Story on TLC (Thank GOD we have cable again)
-Checked my email a million times
-Watched more cable
-Fell asleep on the couch
-Bought evening primrose oil & raspberry leaf tea (two things that are supposed to help with different things, but not necessarily cause contractions)


I even checked my work email a few times, just in case somebody wrote me and needed me... But they didn't, and the don't. Luckily I have some things planned over the next few days, John has some days off, Thanksgiving is approaching, and little Anna will be in town for the week so I will be distracted and not so damn bored. People keep telling me to enjoy this time being bored because I'm about to enter a stage in life where there is no boredom. I'm well aware of that, and let me just say that I am READY for life to change. I have been patient and waited for this little guy long enough! Bring on the sore nipples, sleep deprivation, poopy diapers and pure exhaustion. We're ready!!

Week 39: Mini Watermelon baby

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

39 weeks... and no progress

Tomorrow I will be 39 weeks pregnant. One week away from the big due date. By this week in pregnancy, most babies have turned into a head-down position, a good amount drop into the pelvis, and lots of women have a soft & dilated cervix. Some lucky ladies have even had their babies already. Now where do you think little Baby Zogas is at? The kid had to be forced to turn the right direction, he's still flying high about my pelvis, and my cervix is on lock down. I most certainly have not birthed my child, or am I truly anywhere close to doing so. I just have this feeling that this little one is going to be forced out. Uh oh, does this mean he'll grow up to be one of those dudes who lives at home with his parents until he's 40? I really, really hope not.

So yes, at today's check up I found out that we still haven't made any progress. I went into the appointment knowing this, so I'm really not TOO disappointed. It would've been nice to hear "Oh, hey, he dropped a bit!" But no. The good news is that Dr. Grant will induce me at 41 weeks if I haven't had him by then. So at least I can say in 3 weeks, I will have a baby! I REALLY don't want to be induced... Anyone I've known to be induced has ended up having a c-section after days of labor, and I think I'd be really annoyed going through all of that just to have him surgically removed from my body in the end. But all I can do is trust my doctor, have faith in my body, and know that in the end I will finally have my baby in my arms and I won't care when or how he got there.

So dear child of mine, consider this your 2 weeks notice. If you have not arrived by December 4th, you will be forced out of your warm and comfortable home. I don't think you want to enter the world by the sheer force of a pitocin and insanely strong contractions that make your mama want to slit her wrists. But it's up to you, child. Just know that your daddy and I are anxiously awaiting your arrival, however and whenever you decide to come into our world. In the meantime, I'm going to eat a crap load of labor cookies to make myself feel better. :)

Maternity Photos!

We received a lovely email from Maggie at Honeysuckle Photography last night with the link to our maternity pics! We had such a fun time at the shoot and are so happy to see so many good photos. Here are some of my favorites:

38 week photo & update

We are 38 weeks today! Hooooooray! If it isn't obvious by now, I am DONE being pregnant. 40 weeks is really way too long to wait for a baby. If I wasn't having trouble sleeping, tying my shoes, or having uncontrollable itching on my stretch mark-filled belly, I would probably be a joy to be around during these final weeks of pregnancy. But let me tell you... I am not. If you ask me how I'm feeling, I will tell you. I will tell you all about the things that annoy me, and if you let me talk long enough I may even cry. After the tears are dry I will feel better and suddenly love being pregnant again. Give it a few hours, and I'm back to being miserable. It's a vicious cycle that I am not excited about going through for another 2, maybe 3, or GOD FORBID FOUR, weeks. But, as I constantly tell myself over and over again each day... This is all SO worth it and we CANNOT wait to meet our baby. He is doing well and growing nicely, so I will take on all of this garbage if it means providing him a nice, cozy home just a bit longer until he's ready to join our family. We are ready anytime! Do you hear that, kiddo?! WE ARE READY!!! Apparently, he is not. Yesterday was my 38 week check up, and because Dr. Grant was out of town I got to meet with a midwife named Karen. I know several people who see her so I was looking forward to my appointment. She is such a sweet woman, and very calm and nurturing. She knew that the baby had been turned during an external version, and felt around my belly to see if she could tell if he was still head-down. There was a large bulge near my belly button, and she giggled and said, "I believe that's his little bottom!" They did a quick ultrasound to be sure, and thankfully found out our baby's little head was still down. I was worried he may have turned back to breech so that was excellent news! But my little bubble burst quickly after the cervical exam when she said he was still high up above my pelvis, and there wasn't much progress happening down below. I'm only 38 weeks, and this is totally normal, and expected. Karen said most babies drop anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 days before they're born, and to not be discouraged. I know all of this but for some reason can't let go of that little glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, he'll come before our due date. As she reminded me, he will come out eventually, so we just have to give him the time he needs to be ready. Her last pieces of advice were to relax as much as possible, go on LOTS of walks, and because sex is also known to help get labor going she also added with a giggle and a wink, "Be sure to sperm-saturate that cervix!" I giggled back, we hugged, and that was that. So all in all, I'm uncomfortable but baby is awesome and so comfy in his little home. I will be sure to hold this over his head at some point in life!

Week 38: Leek baby

How your baby's growing:

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

37 week (& 3 days) photo

Come out, baby!

Labor cookies

A few days ago I was looking online for ideas of natural labor inducers. I know the popular ones– walking, sex, spicy foods, raspberry leaf tea– but was curious what else is out there. I came across a recipe for Jump Start Your Labor Cookies and had to give them a try after reading the ingredients! It's really a basic holiday spice cookie recipe, but they add in extra ginger and half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. If spice is your trigger to kick start labor it could totally work for you... I'm sure it won't do much for me but I'm willing to give it a shot. Plus, it gives me the excuse to eat cookies without feeling TOO guilty! It is for the baby afterall.... ;)

See? Regular cookie ingredients (although the cayenne pepper is kinda random)

I make a total mess when baking... Look at my shirt!

Waiting for them to cool so I can eat a few!

The recipe is below. When I make these again, I'll dip the top of the dough in sugar before going into the oven. Mmmmmm!

Jump Start Your Labor Cookies

2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
8 T. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. molasses
1/4 c. egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda and spices and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the molasses to the creamed butter, then add the egg whites until combined. Addd the dry ingredients slowly. Once incorporated, roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto baking tray. Bake 8-12 minutes. Once cool eat as many as you can possibly stomach, lay down for a nap and wait for labor to begin!

Week 37: Swiss Chard Baby

How your baby's growing:

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Success!!

This morning at 6am we checked into Labor & Delivery at Providence for our external version. I didn't get much sleep last night as I kept worrying about the little things, even though in my heart I knew everything would work out fine. It's just an uneasy feeling not really knowing what is going to happen! Would he turn easily? Would he go into distress? Will I be in a lot of pain? Is there a reason he's not turning and should we just leave him alone?? Since we found out about the baby being breech, we've heard from so many people who knew someone or was someone who had a breech baby and he/she turned before the version. I thought maybe we'd get lucky with one of our home remedies and get to skip all the external turning fun, but after a quick check this morning we discovered that our baby was still heading the wrong way. And this time, he was completely breech, not sideways like last week. He just made this whole thing a lot more difficult. Thanks, baby.

Waiting for the nurse to hook me up to the monitors.

Ready to go!

After being hooked up to the fetal monitor for a little while, Dr. Grant and a nurse came in to get started. They gave me a shot of terbutaline to relax the contractions in my uterus, making it easier to turn the baby. They told me it could make me feel jittery and anxious, but thankfully it wasn't horrible. It kind of felt like I had one too many cups of coffee. Then, Dr. G began to work her magic.

Slowly and as gently as possible at first, she began moving the baby around. She started spinning him one direction, only to find the placenta was in his way. There was a very small opening for him to get through, which made sense why he wasn't interested in turning that way on his own. She then got him going the other direction (with MUCH more pressure this time), and was able to move his feet and legs, but his upper body wouldn't budge. The nurse was following her around with the ultrasound machine to keep tabs on his positioning, and they found he had tucked his head under my ribs and wouldn't move. It's like he was trying to get away from them! They found there was PLENTY of room down below in my pelvis and lots of fluid, so Dr. G just didn't want to give up yet. He was doing fine and I wasn't in pain so we kept on with it. A few times she said, "He is just not moving..." and I thought for sure we'd have to stop and schedule a c-section. Finally on Dr. G's last try about 20 minutes into the procedure, little Baby Zogas decided to give up the fight, and let her turn his entire body to the head-down position. Success! We were so happy that he moved, and he was doing just fine. I stayed hooked up to the monitors for another hour, got some breakfast (hospital room service is goooood!), and was sent home with a big ol' piece of fabric binding I now have to wear around my belly at all times except when showering. It's not comfortable and I'm annoyed I have to wear it, but it will help keep the kid in place so it'll be fine. I'm just so glad he turned and is OK in his new spot. Yay for Dr. Grant and for a cooperative baby!

Turn, baby, turn!

Trying the inversion technique thanks to SpinningBabies.com!

Moxibustion!

In an attempt to get our kiddo to turn, we tried a traditional Chinese medicine therapy called Moxibustion. I bought moxa sticks (dried mugwort) at an herb shop and set them up to burn for 20 minutes by each pinky toe. Apparently that is an acupuncture point to stimulate circulation and is 75% effective of turning a breech baby. I had never heard of this but both my doctor and midwife-friend told me about it, so I knew we had to give it a shot! The baby was very active as I was going to bed, so I fell asleep hoping for the best. This morning I can still feel the large bulge next to my belly, which is probably still his head, or maybe a butt if he turned. Who knows! We'll try it again each night before Thursday morning's external version and hope for the best. Even if he doesn't turn by then or during the version and we have to schedule a c-section, we still have a few weeks to keep trying things like this. If he's meant to turn, he will. If not, I've made my peace with the situation and know everything will be just fine!

How tired– and HUGE– do I look these days?!

The nursery is complete!

After finding out the kiddo is breech and may have to be delivered via c-section in a few weeks, I was highly motivated to finish his bedroom. John and I are still hoping for the best, that he'll come out "naturally" when he's done cookin', but if not then we are ready for him! Here are just 2 snapshots of each wall in his room. We're thinking of adding a decal of some sort to the closet doors so I'll add pics of that part if we ever do it.



His name is hidden below the black box. Soon enough you'll get to see what it says :) And don't worry, those stuffed animals will NOT be in the crib when he is. For now, they're decoration.