The time is near....

39weeks 3days
....Or at least it seems like it. Technically we have four more days until he is due, HOWEVER, I am starting to demonstrate signs of labor. Now, whether they are pre labor or false labor, I don't know. I did have a series of contractions for most of the day/evening yesterday, and today I woke up with "show". I am going to wait until I have contractions that are 5-7 minutes apart before I call the doctor, or at least that's what I'm going to try to do unless my water breaks. Which, as a quick fact, only about 10-15% of women have their water break as they go into labor...so all that stuff we see in movies is just for show. But back to the contractions...they aren't painful, just a tightening in my stomach and pressure in my pelvis...but definitely nothing to go screaming about. I am excited that the "show" I had today resembles the "show" I read about in my book - I'm talking about the bloody show that lets you know your body is dilating/effacing. I feel great though. I'm contemplating attending the dinner and a movie with my friends tonight, and my mom is on her way to take me to run a few errands. She doesn't want me driving and having contractions at the same time. Right now as we speak my body feels like it does when that time of the month comes, but nothing more. I am going to stick to my plan of trying to labor at home for as long as possible and then hopefully by the time I get to the hospital it will be time to push. We'll see how that all works out. Originally I said that it would be nice to have the baby on my grandmother's birthday, which is tomorrow - May 17th. I might have even mentioned this in a previous blog. We'll see what the Lord wills on this one. Oh, btw, I just had a contraction as I'm typing this...I dont' forsee the baby coming past the 20th...

No Go

Well...it's Monday, and I'm blogging, which means no baby. The most I got yesterday was a few contractions, which by the way, I didn't even know where contractions until Friday. I guess Baby Lopez is telling his mother that he's gonna come when he wants to come, and no time sooner. Who knows...there are a few things that I need to get done around the house, but that notion of anxiety is starting to take over. One of my co-workers did say today that she would pray that I would at least "drop" this week...she says that I look like I'm 8 months high! I was like..hey, he is due next Wednesday, so who knows if I'll drop..plus, I may even go past my due date since most first time moms do. And that's the thing...I don't want to go past my due date. I know patience is a virtue, but anyone that knows me, knows I am not very patient. In this case I have no control over the situation so I will just have to wait. I've tried all of the old wives tales solutions to helping him come on out and still nothing. Oh well...

And yes...random strangers on the street are still telling me how I look like I'm ready to pop, how I'm due any second, not day, but any second now, and how I look like I'm having twins...even when I say there's only one in there, they ask me if I'm sure, as if I haven't had a million ultrasounds that confirm there is only one in there. I tell ya...

The Final Stretch

The final stretch it is....as of today, I am 38 weeks pregnant. I officially have a right foot that swells up often...I cannot wear my wedding band because my hands swell throughout the day, and I am officially tired. And even though I get winded easily, I am going through that nesting period, so I'm still moving around like crazy. I went to a breastfeeding meeting yesterday and was surrounded by women popping out their boobs to feed kids that ranged from 3 months to 3 years...now, don't get me wrong, and I hope not to offend anyone, but if the baby can walk and talk and wipe themselves in the bathroom, they don't need to be feeding off the nipple! I think a good year of breastfeeding should be good...but not three or more! That's just me, but we'll see.

I am also experiencing increased pelvic pressure, which I think is great, cause maybe that means he's trying to make his way out :) I am a little nervous that 50% of first time moms don't deliver until their 41st week. Which is why I called one of my girlfriends and asked what she did in delivering early. She said she did lunges and squatting for like four days before she went into labor, and she never dropped. Which is great news for me, because I haven't started dropping either. However, this whole week I've gone to bed with this notion that I am going to get up in the middle of the night and feel some contractions. So far, nothing, but I think there's hope. I guess I'm just a little nervous about pushing out a baby that the doctors say already weighs over eight pounds. That's alot of weight to come out of a small place! And as I've said before, I DO NOT want a C-section.

On a brighter note, his nursery is coming together. I had said that I wasn't going to worry about doing much to it, but we were so blessed at the baby shower that I got in the mood to decorate. So far, I must say, it looks just as adorable as can be. Francis even likes how its turning out. Too bad everything probably won't be done before the baby makes his appearance. I'm going to exercise the power of the tongue and say that Baby Lopez will be here within the next week...I'll even go so far as to say that he will be a mother's day baby. Now if I'm blogging on May 11th, then you know nothing's changed, lol.

It's not a whopper jr, but a WHOPPER!!!

36 weeks 1 day

What you might ask? Well it's not a what, its who- Donovan Samuel Lopez. My boy and I went to the doctor Wednesday to get a fetal growth ultrasound done, basically because he has been measuring kinda big for the past month or so. So once we are done with the ultrasound, the tech informs me that he is measuring 38 weeks and 1 day (granted, I just made 36 weeks that day) and he was currently weighing in at 7lbs 12oz. Do you hear that folks, he's almost 8lbs!!! He's not due for another month...babies are supposed to gain an ounce a day...so by the end of this week he will be 8 lbs and growing!!! Now that's what I call a whopper. And speaking of being called a whopper...I kid you not, everywhere I go someone has a comment about how big I am. Francis and I gave change to a homeless guy, he then informed me that he had lost his basketball and wanted to know if I had found it! I was in the supermarket and a woman told me, " you know you shouldn't be out this late" I said, "I am on my way home". She's like.."are you sure, you look like you should be on your way to the hospital!". She then proceeds to tell me that I carrying twins...after I told her it was just one, she's like, naw honey, I think there is another one hiding in there. Heck, I had a elderly lady tell me today that I probably have two in there since I'm so big and sitting so high. Funny thing is...I don't necessarily look that big to myself..it's only when I put on clothes and look to the side in a mirror, then I'm like wow...wide load coming through!

It's all good though...I was able to see my boy and I am very excited for him to make his appearance. Every time I look at his ultrasound picture, it creates a calming feeling for me, a very loving feeling. I can't wait until I can see him all the time with all his many faces that he'll make, and changes he'll go through. Most of all, I'm just curious to see exactly who he will look like.

Cankles

Cankles....you know, the place where your calf and your ankle meets...except its a cankle when you can't tell where one begins and one ends. That's what was going on with me last weekend. My feet began swelling on Thursday, and did not go down until Monday. I guess I have been doing too much walking and running around and my body is forcing me to slow down. At my regional conference, people were looking at my feet like wow...you need to sit down..I was even able to get in early for the dinner. A few Sorors said, let this one in to sit..she's pregnant and her feet are swollen...as I walked pass people and sat down, I could hear them say " yeah, they real swollen, let her through!" I don't think it helps much that I have flat feet, so they look wider anyways. But yeah..it was kinda nasty cause I could feel the fluid moving in my right foot...nasty....and speaking of nasty...look at my stretch marks for my 35th week pic...

Name that Body Part

Tomorrow I will be 35 weeks pregnant. Yup...count em, 35 weeks! 5 more to go....am I tired of being pregnant? No. Am I ready for him to come already? No. But I am starting to get physically tired. Over the past week or so I feel like I just popped out of nowhere. I look big/pregnant to myself, whereas before I didn't think I looked that big, even though everyone else reminded me that I was. But he and I are chillin...I keep telling him that we must make it to the month of May to be ok. But anyways, another thing that I hear from various moms is how when they were pregnant and the baby would move, they could see a foot print here, or a hand print there. I feel like I play name that body part everynight. As he's moving around, I still can't distinguish a head from a butt, or a arm for a leg, a foot for a hand. I cannot clearly say I saw a foot kick out, or a hand press out. He moves, but they are such smooth movements that it just looks like a cartoon when the person's stomach is grumbling. I always look down so that I can watch the movements, but they are indistinguishable. The only thing I can do is tell someone where he is in my womb and whether or not he's finished moving. So yeah, this is one more thing that we can add to the list of things that happened to other moms but not me. Never fear, I have no complaints....the worst thing that has happened to me, outside of the kidney episode, is that I have to take iron pills because of the anemia. I can handle that...I don't think I would've been able to handle some of the other factors. Oh, and by the way, I've only gained like 22 pounds over the course of the pregnancy so far :)

Why people? Why?

33 weeks 2 days...Baby Donovan, stretch marks and the partial tattoo (Sesa Woruban)

Disclaimer: This blog is a rant, and not specific to anyone, read at your own discretion.

Read to the baby, talk to the baby, play music for the baby...these are all statements that I have been told lately, and I question them. Now, don't think that I'm a bad mother...I think Donovan and I have a great agreement/relationship with each other so far, and that it will only get better. But I wonder, how does the baby know the difference in me reading to him, and me talking to the world? He hears my voice all day long, why, cause he's inside of me! So what is the difference??? What is the difference in me listening to the radio in the car, and me putting headphones on my belly? And as for talking to the baby, the only voice he responds to is that of his daddy. I can talk to him all day, say his name, etc, and nothing. Francis can walk in the door and say, hola mi muchachito, como estas, etc, and he's up and running. I know you may say that I sound jealous, trust me, I'm not. This is mamma's boy, bets believe it. But I'm just saying people, what is the difference?

Next question. Why does the outside world view pregnant women as substitute buddah statues? When random people rub on your stomach, do they think it will them bring good luck? I had someone walk up to me today, rub my stomach, and then ask me if it bothers me that random people just rub me. I replied, "yes, I am not a dog, I am not buddah, and I don't appreciate the fuzz marks you are making on my midsection by rubbing me". Now, I know that sounds harsh, and trust me, it didn't come out that mean...but if I don't know you, why would you rub my stomach? I have no problem with people putting their hand on my stomach...or me letting them feel the baby move...but I didn't like being rubbed or caressed when I wasn't pregnant, and nothing has changed since.

Lastly, darn acid reflux. For the last few nights I have suffered from the worst acid reflux. My little boy is acting up. First he disobeys and starts giving me stretch marks. Now he has me unable to go to bed at night because I feel like I need to vomit and can't. I heard a wives tale that it just means he has alot of hair on his head. We are almost done, why is he just now growing hair?!?!? We are also back to this going to the bathroom 2-5 times a night. We haven't done that since my first trimester. I'm up and on the toilet every 2 hours it seems. Not to mention I suffer from a little insomnia. But I'm not going to complain, well, not anymore. Things could ALWAYS be worse, and like I said, we have pretty much been in agreement over the past eight months. Maybe he is trying to tell his mommy to slow down. Maybe this is my punishment. Don't worry little man, mommy is listening...and thanks to daddy putting me on bedrest when I'm home, we have all the time in the world to relax :)