40+4

We made it! Andddddddddd we're still pregnant... haha.

Ravenna is officially the size of a small pumpkin!

And she is still getting bigger every day, as am I :-O. It doesn't help that all I am craving these days are sweets, sweets, and some more sweets! I did reach my goal for 40 weeks of a 35 lb weight gain, but now feel worried as I go past this goal as I continue to be pregnant!

Don and I are getting impatient, waiting for our little bundle of joy to arrive. We have had a few false alarms over the past week and a half. I've found it's difficult to really know what is going on with my body, considering all of the new feelings I am having. I've had an increase in the frequency of my Braxton Hick's contractions, which made me question on a few occasions if I was in early labor. Unfortunately, I wasn't, and I'm still continuing to Braxton Hick's it up. In addition to these contractions, Ravenna really loves to head butt my cervix at night time, which feels ever-so-splendid. The only way I can think of how to describe it is feeling like I am momentarily being stabbed in the vagina! Not a pretty depiction, but accurate :) I've also had a lot of dull pain in my upper thighs, which I read can be caused by the baby dropping into the pelvis and pushing against the nerves. She is still as active as ever and with her size she can really jostle my belly around now.

We went to the doctor yesterday, hoping to hear that labor was near and that we had made a lot of progress since our last appointment which was almost two weeks before. We learned that I'm now 2 cm dilated and my cervix is still 75% effaced. It was a disappointment, but we're trying to remain positive. If Ravenna does not make her arrival by Tuesday, we have an ultrasound scheduled to check fluid levels, Ravenna's size, and her overall well-being. It will be crazy to get to see our baby in all of her glory in the ultrasound images! We haven't had an ultrasound for 5 months, so I'm sure she has changed quite a bit since then! After that we'll have a non-stress test before our appointment on Thursday. My understanding about this test is that I'll lay there for about 20-30 minutes while they use external monitoring to see how the baby is doing. If Ravenna is still being stubborn by Monday, the 16th, we will go in that evening to prepare for being induced the morning of the 17th. So at the very worse, we only have 10 more days! Of course we're hoping that we will get things naturally rolling before this date, but ultimately what matters to us is that our baby is healthy no matter what way she decides to enter this world.

We know that she will be more than worth the wait!

If anyone knows any hints/secrets of how to naturally induce, we are up for suggestions! I've been drinking raspberry leaf tea like crazy, loading up on fiber and spicy food, and walking all of the time. Someone at the Puyallup fair suggested that I walk around my living room on all fours, arching my back like a cat (meowing is optional). Sounds insane, but I do plan on trying it today! We'll see if she was just pullin' my chain or not!

38+4

38 weeks pregnant -- size of a leek (around 6.8 lbs and over 19.5" long!)

Notice that someone else wanted to sneak into the photo!

My third trimester is continuing to go really smoothly. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend these last days of my pregnancy resting and relaxing at home. I definitely think this has helped me cope much better with this trimester comparative to my other two. My body is feeling really great. I still struggle with having a normal sleeping pattern, but I've been managing to make it work just fine. I feel well rested and relatively pain-free. My only real complaint is that my hands and feet are still swollen and uncomfortable. I have been living in my Birkenstock's because they are my only shoes that fit, but I'm hoping that after Ravenna is born my feet will go back to their normal size which will allow me to be reunited with the loveliness that is my shoe collection! I also can't wait to wear my wedding rings again (fingers crossed that I won't be forced to have them re-sized)! I've been having some crazy cravings for Crispix, of all things! And I also can't get enough sweets! I really need to cut back but I have no self-control! Yes, I will admit I consumed a whole tub of frosting... haha.

Overall, life is good. Actually, life is great.

I cannot believe that we have less than one and a half weeks left until our expected due date. It is so exciting! We can barely contain ourselves :) My "push pack" is ready to go and we are just waiting for the first signs of labor! As of last Monday, I am 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced (I need to get to 100%). I am happy with the progress I am making and look forward to getting checked again tomorrow at my appointment to see how much things have changed in just a short week. I am hoping I have made even more progress on my dilation, so that when labor actually comes I am starting out closer to the finish line!

Since my last post, Don and I celebrated our "babymoon". Basically our last hurrah before Ravenna is born. We spent the day in Seattle treating ourselves! We started at our favorite breakfast spot in Pike's Place Market, Crepe de France, and then spent the afternoon wandering through Seattle, enjoying one another's company. Next, we pampered ourselves to fantastic massages at Ummelina! It was really interesting because I actually was able to get a massage lying face down because they had a special pillow that catered to my belly. Basically, my chest and lower body were supported while my belly stuck out of this hole. It made for a really satisfying massage because the woman was able to apply more pressure on my back! I was very happy. Afterwards, we went to Poppy in Capitol Hill. If you live in the area and you haven't tried this restaurant, it is a must! They serve you a platter that has 6 or 7 innovative small dishes on it. Don and I both ordered different things and spent the evening sharing and tasting all of our delicious little delights! I can't wait to go back in the future. We ended our "babymoon" at a drag show, which was definitely a blast :) and perhaps a first for a woman who is 9 months pregnant! The following day we got pregnancy photos at Yuen Lui. I had found a really great Groupon for a sitting for $30! I couldn't say no to that deal! We got a ton of pictures taken, but at the end we could only get prints of one (unless we wanted to shovel out the big bucks for more!). Here is the picture we ended up choosing:

In other baby news, I finally took some snapshots of Ravenna's nursery. For those of you who aren't on Facebook, here they are:

Some other details from her nursery (the gummy bear is her nightlight!):

Now, just waiting for Ravenna to fill it!

34+6

34 weeks pregnant -- size of a cantaloupe (about 4 3/4 lbs and almost 18" long!)

Whoa, this third trimester seems to be racing by! We have just over 5 more weeks until we get to meet our sweet little girl and that's only if she reaches a "full" full term; we might be saying hello to her even sooner! Which means I need to get to work on packing our hospital bag, finding a pediatrician and pre-registering for the hospital!

Don and I talk daily about Ravenna and revel in our excitements and share our fears of childbirth, parenting and beyond. At times we feel completely ready and in other moments, we feel overwhelmed. It is such an interesting journey, but I couldn't ask for a better partner to go on this journey with. Don is going to make an incredible father and everyday I feel like I have won the lottery! 

I am continuing to feel pretty well during my third trimester, but I must admit I am still looking forward for the pregnancy to be over and to have my body back! My hands ache like crazy and my feet and legs itch. My back bothers me, but not as much as I expected it to considering all of the additional weight. I do feel discomfort in my lower ribs when I sit up for a prolonged period of time, but this can be alleviated by simply changing positions. I read that the cause of this minor pain in my ribs is that my uterus is pushing up against them. In fact, my uterus's volume has expanded to 15 times its original size, so you can say it definitely has its fair share of real estate inside my abdominal cavity right now! Our visits to the doctor have been going extremely well. With that said, the last time we went to the doctor we brought up some red blood blister like things that were forming on the lower region of my linea negra (the dark line on my stomach). She said that this was my first sign of a stretch mark! Oh no! I suppose if that's the only battle scar I get from the pregnancy though then I am in pretty good shape! Ravenna has been getting so strong that sometimes her movements are alarming. It is especially uncomfortable when she decides to stretch out and her little feet push up against my right side. Her hiccups sometimes keep me up at night, but I know that I will soon miss feeling these little rumblings and tumblings inside of me. They make me feel bonded to her and it is fun to be able to talk to other people while feeling her because I feel like I have my own little special secret!

On the home front, we are doing wonderfully. Our house is in order and we are feeling great. I plan on posting pictures of our home once the finishing touches on Ravenna's room are made. We only have a few more items left to purchase for baby Venna, which is such a sigh of relief. Preparing for a baby has been an extremely expensive endeavor and we are so grateful for all of our family members and friends that have helped us along the way. It has truly made the difference and we are very appreciative of the financial support that we've been provided with. It feels great to be thought of! We loved our baby showers and we felt so special that so many people wanted to share in on the excitement of our daughter's impending birth. Here are a couple of pics from the shower:

32+1

32 weeks -- size of a jicama

I have officially started my 8th month of pregnancy! I'm on the home-stretch now! Less than 8 weeks to go!

Fortunately, my results from my 3 hour glucose test came back negative, so I do not have gestational diabetes! What a relief! I can continue to enjoy sweets and carbs and I do not have to prick myself! All of which is fantastic news!

I have been very much enjoying having time off. I initially felt overwhelmed with the amount of free time that I had, but now I am settling in to a more lazy routine. I have been feeling really well recently and have been lucky to be plagued by very few pregnancy symptoms. However, my fatigue that had gone on a hiatus during my second trimester is now back. Thankfully, I no longer have to work, so I can welcome with open arms nap time! Other than fatigue, I have been continuing to experience an uncomfortable rash on my upper thighs and on my knees. I don't think that I have mentioned this before, but I have had it for a couple of months. I plan on asking the doctor about it on Friday. I heard that this is common due to hormonal changes, but there still is some concern that it could be something more serious. In addition to fatigue and my rash, I have had extremely swollen feet and fingers (the extreme heat is definitely not helping!) My wedding rings have had to take a leave of absence and for the first time, I couldn't fit my feet into one of my pairs of shoes! My feet were simply too swollen to get in them! hahaha, I am becoming a blob!! As a result, I've made a better effort lately to take time to put my feet up and have seen that it truly makes a difference in my sausage toes. Lastly, my weirdest pregnancy symptom is my tongue... I just recently developed geographic tongue! There's no harm in it, but my tongue just looks all splotchy and funny! I won't be making any funny faces with my tongue sticking out any time soon! Geographic tongue is another consequence of hormonal changes. I read that like most of my symptoms, it will disappear after pregnancy when my hormone levels return to normal.

Our home is still slowly coming together. We continue to be extremely busy and try to fit in what we can. It is looking pretty good, but still needs some fine-tuning :) We are hoping to finish up the last details in the next couple of weeks, but I am really happy with our progress. We love living here and can't wait for Venna to arrive and make it even more complete.

My baby shower is this coming Sunday. I am really looking forward to it! It is going to be wonderful to celebrate Ravenna's impending arrival with friends and family. Venna has been movin' and groovin' in anticipation!

Recently, on the 6th of July, Don and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary! Look how far we have come in just one short year!

30

 Week 27 (Ravenna is as long as a hothouse English cucumber!)

Week 29 (Ravenna weighs the same amount as a butternut squash)

We have had a very hectic last couple of weeks! We are fully moved into our new home, with all of our new furniture assembled (still waiting on two chairs though). However, we definitely still have quite a bit of tidying up and cleaning to do to make it perfect. Although, I've had the last couple of days free, I've been dedicated to taking a moment to relax and not worry about chores! I plan on finishing up the home and making it picture perfect in the coming weeks and promise to post pics in one of my up-coming blogs!

I had my last day of class on Thursday! It feels wonderful to have finished my first year of teaching and boy, I must say it was one adventure! Finally things feel like they are calming down and it is such a relief. We had our first weekend this past weekend where we had no responsibilities or commitments! It felt so good to just be able to focus on our home and each other, without having to run all over the place. We lounged around watching a couple of movies and even played a board game! Don also cooked me multiple delicious meals! Don has recently taken to the kitchen. I've been calling him Donny Flay. He has been very dedicated to trying new recipes in preparation for Ravenna. I try to remind him that she won't be able to eat this food when she pops out, but I must admit, I don't mind all of the delicious food that I am getting to enjoy in the meantime!

We had our first baby class on Friday of last week. It was a very positive experience and we learned a lot. It was a great opportunity for us to start thinking about the labor process and preparing ourselves for this adventure that we're about to embark on! In addition to learning more about what to expect in labor, we got to watch a V-back (vaginal birth after a previous c-section) natural birth . Both Donald and I must be the lamest people ever because we both started crying while watching! Although we had both seen live birth videos before, it was definitely a different experience knowing that this would be us in just a few short months. Watching this video also made me feel like natural birth was something that I could realistically do. Yes, it looked incredibly painful, but it looked manageable with the support of loved ones. This doesn't mean that I am closing the door completely to medication during labor, but I think that I am going to go into the hospital with the mindset that I can do a natural birth and use medication as a last resort dependent on my specific labor. Another thing that I really liked about the class was how much they emphasized the important role of the father during the labor process. Don learned massage techniques to use during labor to help me cope with the pain and yes, I plan on making him use his newly acquired skills throughout the entire labor! We were also given a tour of the birthing center. The birthing room was spacious and the after birth room was nice as well. I have been very impressed by Overlake so far, and really look forward to giving birth at this hospital.

In other not-so-pleasant news, I did not pass my 1 hour glucose test. Basically how this initial test works is that I fast for two hours and then drink a 50g glucose beverage. An hour later they draw my blood and test it for my glucose levels. The nurse said that my levels were at 147 and that the cut-off level was 130. As a result, I had to go in for the 3 hour glucose test. I took this test yesterday. I had to fast overnight and then go in in the morning on an empty stomach. They immediately drew my blood and then I had to down a 100g glucose beverage in 5 minutes. It was disgusting and made me feel very nauseous. After I drank the beverage, I got my blood drawn every hour on the hour for the next 3 hours. I couldn't leave the facilities and could only drink a very small amount of water. You can imagine how starving I was by the time I left! Each of the four blood draws has a specific glucose level that I should be under. If I fail two or more of the four blood draws, then I have gestational diabetes which affects about 4-7% of all pregnant women. Joy! I am now nervously awaiting my results, which I suspect that I will hear by Friday. I feel upset, discouraged, and like I did something wrong, however everyone reassures me that I didn't and that it is just something that happens. We shall see. I'll keep you all posted.

27+2

Hello everyone! It has been quite some time since I have blogged and for that, I am sorry. We have had a crazy last couple of weeks. Donald and I got sick over two weeks ago and I am still not feeling back to normal. I caught what I think was a cold from Don, which developed into a sinus infection. Supposedly, it is common for pregnant women to get sinus infections because they are already struggling with congestion. Fortunately, I had a four day weekend so I was able to rest and somewhat recover. However, I was definitely sad to sacrifice my entire long weekend to this sucker! Not only had my nose transformed into a snot factory, it felt like someone had literally punched me in the face! I felt an incredibly intense pressure around my eyes and nose and my entire jaw ached. To accompany all of this joy, I also had a wonderful headache. On that Friday, I slept almost the entire day on-and-off, just because it felt better than being awake. The worst part about it is that I could barely take any medication! I did succumb two nights to Sudafed, but I limited myself to one Sudafed a night. I can also only take 6 Tylenol in one day, which blows as well. There are days when I love pregnancy and revel in all of its splendors... though these were not some of those days. To try to help me sleep (it was challenging with all the pain and not being able to breath), we got a humidifier. I think it actually did help me sleep better. I am still sleeping with it on. I also used a neti pot for the first time. To use a neti pot, you basically pour this warm saline mixture into one nostril and all of the nastiness comes out of the other nostril! It is gross but in some way gratifying! And it helps you breath clear for all of 5 minutes which sadly, is worth it! Come Tuesday, I still didn't feel up to teaching, so I actually extended my weekend to a five day weekend! Luckily, I am feeling much much better now. However, I still look forward to feeling a 100% again and hope that comes soon.

In addition to fighting our illnesses, we have been packing up our entire house! I even packed up our SD card reader, so unfortunately I can't post this week's pregnancy picture. You all will have to wait in suspense until it is unpacked on the other side! We got the keys to our new place on the 1st (last Saturday) and have been slowly moving into our new home. We have been moving over boxes (nearly all of them are over to the new place now), but the big ticket items (our furniture) won't be moved until this Saturday. We also painted Ravenna's room, and by we, I mean Donald and my Mom. I was exiled from the painting room. My painters did an exceptional job though! It is a beautiful, bright and cheerful mint green (Pantone Bay). I am in love with the color and could not be more excited to finally get to start setting up the nursery! We have purchased a crib with a crib mattress and plan on getting a modular bookcase, a glider and a changing table as well. We've decided we didn't want to cramp the room space with a dresser and have opted for a closet organizer instead. I figured that her clothes are so small that we can easily fit all that we need to into her closet. It is so awesome to finally feel like we can prepare for Venna's arrival! We can't wait to be fully moved into our new home and for all of the joys it will bring us.

Other than this big news, I am struggling more frequently with heartburn. I get heartburn after lunch everyday around 5th period. It feels like lava right behind my sternum and makes it incredibly uncomfortable to teach. I am sooooo looking forward to summer starting and getting to actually deal with heartburn when it strikes and taking naps when I am exhausted, instead of always having to power through! ONLY TEN MORE DAYS!!!!!

23+6

23 weeks pregnant -- weight of a mango

This week Ravenna is tipping the scales at just over a pound. Her cute little body stretches to a length of more than eleven inches. My uterus is also now the size of a soccer ball! Holy moly! No wonder I am starting to show! As you can see from the picture, I am starting to look more pregnant, which is definitely a welcome change. I have gained nearly 20lbs since the start of my pregnancy :-0, which is crazy to think about! Just compare my pictures from Week 23 to Week 7! It is crazy how much this process can completely transform a woman's body. Fortunately, if I continue to gain weight at this rate (about a pound a week), I will end very close to where I had originally hoped for (35 pounds). We are taking bets on when my belly button is going to pop. It is getting pushed farther and farther out by the day!

According to BabyCenter, Ravenna is able to feel my movement now so Don and I have been trying to dance when we can. Also, her cochlea (the inner ear mechanism that houses all the components of hearing) is fully formed, which means she hears what we hear but simply a muffled version of it. I feel sorry that she has to listen to her mommy's terrible singing voice now!

The latter part of my second trimester has definitely proved to be a lot more enjoyable than earlier in my pregnancy! I feel happier (probably due to not feeling so sick) and more energized (although not entirely back to my old speed!). Although despite the improvements, I still have some pesky symptoms of pregnancy! In the past week or two, I have been dealing with foot pain and edema. I think the swelling is a result of the heat and I've read that foot pain is likely a result of my weight gain causing the pressure on my feet to shift. I also presume my foot problems are definitely not helped by being up and about all day for teaching. My feet are screaming in agony by 2nd period! I must say that a foot massage has never felt so good! Other than my feet sorrows, my only other recent unpleasant symptom that I've been feeling is that I think I may be getting a bladder infection. This sensation just started today. I researched that bladder infections are common for pregnant women because of the growing uterus pushing on the ureters restricting urine flow and the increase in glucose in the urine. Luckily, Don and I just made a trip to Safeway to get a jug of cranberry juice which I plan on downing over the next couple of days to hopefully ward off the infection!

Update about my blood pressure since last post: during my last visit, my blood pressure proved to be completely normal! It was at 110 over 60. What a relief! I was really stressed that it wasn't going to be normal and that it would complicate the pregnancy! Fortunately, we do not have to worry about that right now. My next appointment, which is at the end of May, will test for gestational diabetes and anemia.

Other exciting news in the world of pregnancy: I finally got some pregnancy tea! So yummy and such a treat to have something warm to drink in the morning :) (Maybe not the same kick as coffee, but I'll take what I can get!)