One month old!

Judah William, you are one month old! This month has been the fastest one of my life, watching you change and grow before my eyes. It's also been the best month of my life... the first month with YOU!

A little one-month-old photoshoot.

(Thanks for the awesome stickers, Caden!)

"Maybe I'll play along and give them a smile..."

"Here it comes..."

"Oh yeah, they're gonna love this smile!"

"Phewsh, that smile was hard work"

Deep in thought.

Oh! We are distressed!

"Heh"

Taking a little paci break...

"This photoshoot business is hard work..."

How big you are: 
At two weeks, you were 9lbs 4oz and 20.5 inches long, and you haven't been weighed or measured since then. You were supposed to have your one-month appointment this week, but the doctor isn't in her office, so we have to wait until next week to find out how much you've grown! I'm guessing you're at least 11lbs by now... you are a little chunker!

Things you love:
You LOVE your bath time. As soon as you are put in the water, your whole body relaxes and you make happy little sighs and coos. We always make sure the bathroom is nice and warm so you don't get cold. You often fall asleep while we're bathing you!
You LOVE to be held, especially with your head on our shoulders. You love having your back patted. You are quite the little monkey, because you know that if you cry (when you're laying in your play gym or bassinet or something) we will usually pick you up. Most of the time the only reason you cry is so that we will pick you up, and you are as happy as a clam as soon as you are in our arms! We love it. Maybe we are spoiling you, but I don't think babies can be spoiled by being held... they just need lots of snuggle time. It must be quite the shock to the system to suddenly be out in the big wide world after being snuggled up in mom's belly for so long! Sometimes we fight over who gets to hold you :)
You LOVE your food - you are a very good eater (as evidenced by your very healthy weight gain!) I feed you every 3-4 hours during the day, and at night you go 4-6 hours between feeds. We introduced a bottle (of pumped milk) at 2 weeks, and you sucked it down like a champ. You get one bottle every day so you stay used to it. That way someone else can feed you if mom needs to go somewhere!
You LOVE to suck on things. I figured this out when you would nurse for up to an hour - really you were just using me as a pacifier! You suck on your fists, and you try to suck on anything that comes close to your mouth. So we introduced a pacifier and you love it. Unfortunately you're not great at keeping it in your mouth (and when it comes out you tend to get upset) so we have to keep plugging it back in, but you'll get it soon enough.
You LOVE music... and being sung to. Daddy makes up silly songs for you, and I often sing you to sleep. You love it when there's music on, you go very quiet and look like you're listening intently.
You generally like tummy time... it depends on what kind of mood you're in. You do love to sleep on your tummy, but we only  let you do that when we're awake and watching you.

Things you don't like:
You DO NOT like having your diaper changed. It makes your little bottom cold and you do not like anything cold! Anytime we touch you or pick you up with cold hands, you start crying! You will usually cry while we change your diaper (as quick as we can), and as soon as we are done and pick you up you are perfectly happy again.
Sometimes at night you decide that you don't like being alone in your bassinet (which is in our room), so we move all our pillows and blankets and put you on the bed with us. Then you can sense us next to you and you sleep like a rock! Little monkey. Being close to us makes you feel secure, so we don't mind.
There's really not much you don't like... you're a pretty laid-back baby!

What you've been up to this month:
It's incredible how much you've changed in just a month. You've gone from a helpless, floppy (but oh-so-cute) newborn to a happy one-month-old who can hold his head up for short periods, smile at us, and "talk" to us. You've figured out that your arms and legs are attached to your body and you kick and wriggle and wave your arms around happily. You like to put your fist in your mouth and suck on it.
You started mimicking simple facial expressions when you were about a week old. You can make "kissy lips", stick out your tongue at us, and smile :) You smiles are now becoming more purposeful and sometimes you give them spontaneously which makes us squeal with delight :) (OK, maybe the squealing mostly comes from mom, but it makes daddy very happy too!).
You get hiccups all the time, just like when you were inside me. Usually you get them after you eat. So far we haven't figured out how to get rid of them... they eventually just stop on their own. You are starting to get more annoyed with your hiccups as you get older! Poor baby... I would be annoyed too!
You've "talked" to us from the very beginning with your little body. When we talk to you or smile at you, your whole body starts moving, you mouth opens and closes, and your hands start waving as you try to communicate with us. More recently you've started using your voice to talk to us too... with little oohs and aahs and agoos. It's so cute. You've made grunting and squeaking noises since you were born... often in your sleep. Sometimes you sound like a horse and we laugh at you :)
You've developed a pattern of being very wakeful and playful from about 2am to 4am. You wake up to eat at 2am, and then you're wide awake usually for a couple of hours, and you just want to have our attention! We're working on getting you back to sleeping then, but we're enjoying the happy smiles you give us during that time. We just wish it was more like 2 in the afternoon instead of 2 in the morning :)

Oh, what joy you have brought to our lives Judah William! We love you so very much, and we are so grateful that God has chosen us to be your parents! We are excited to watch you grow (but not too fast, ok?) and explore and learn about this big wide world of adventures and possibilities.

35 - 39 weeks

This post is written in retrospect... Judah William is one month old already! At the end of the pregnancy I finally got off bedrest and we moved to a new apartment and I was just focused on baby, so this little blog kind of fell by the wayside.


How far along: 35 weeks (Jan. 12th), 36 weeks (Jan. 19th), 37 weeks (Jan. 26th), 38 weeks (Feb. 2nd), 39 weeks (Feb. 9th), and then Feb. 13th, 2012 - Judah William was born!!!

Baby size: When he was born at 39 and 1/2 weeks he was 8lbs 4oz! I had lots of extra amniotic fluid, so that was the main reason I was measuring so far ahead. He was definitely a full-term baby, which makes me think his actual due date was more like Feb. 10th or 11th like we originally thought when we found out we were pregnant.

Total weight gain/loss: +30 lbs by the end!

Sleep: Got more difficult as the weeks went by... when I got off bedrest (gradually after 36 weeks) I was feeling great during the day but sleeping was hard. When I hit 38 weeks I was just uncomfortable all the time! I was so huge!

Movement: Slowed down the further along I got...  poor kid just had no room to budge! He got hiccups right until the very end though. (And still gets them now!)

Food cravings/aversions: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate... one night when I was feeling particularly discouraged that he was STILL inside me, I ate a whole bar of chocolate... one of those big block ones... yah. We tried all sorts of food to get him out...  spicy Indian & Thai food, Italian (eggplant parmigian!), pineapples. The night before he was born I made a spicy Thai noodle soup... I think it worked :)

Pregnancy symptoms: The famous pregnancy waddle was definitely happening those last weeks, especially once I was off bedrest and trying to walk him out! I felt all right until about 38 weeks, and then I was just DONE with pregnancy and wanted him out and in my arms. I was huge... carrying around an 8 pound baby and extra amniotic fluid. After my water broke and all came out on the day he was born, my belly was so much smaller!
In general, I was achy and unable to move very far or very fast. The usual for late 3rd trimester! But I was SO HAPPY to be off bedrest that I went walking every chance I got. It felt so wonderful to go grocery shopping again.
At 35 weeks, on Jan. 12th, I ended up in hospital again with contractions that wouldn't slow down. At that point I could have had the baby reasonably safely, but they decided to try and stop it so that I could have the baby at the birth center (they only allow you to have babies at 36+ weeks there). I was given an IV and two shots of Terbutaline... they couldn't give me the third dose because my heart rate had sky-rocketed. The contractions had slowed down a bit, so they sent me home with a prescription for Nifedipine, which is actually a blood pressure medicine, but it also relaxes smooth muscle... ie. the uterus. I took that until I was 36 weeks.
Ironically, once I hit 37 weeks the contractions that I'd been having since 30 weeks seemed to slow down... right when I was finally ready to have the baby, my body decided to take a rest. Haha.

What I miss: Hmmm... well, from the other side... with a one-month old... I actually miss being pregnant! I loved having him inside me and feeling him move. I still get "phantom baby" kicks sometimes that startle me and make me wonder if there's another one in there... haha.

What I'm looking forward to: I was so ready to meet the little guy by the end... so I was just looking forward to him being born! I remember feeling like he was NEVER going to come out.

Milestones: We made it to full term! And 2 and 1/2 weeks beyond!

Best moment of this week month: Getting off bedrest! And then meeting Judah William!!!

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: Thomas was so good to me those last few weeks. When I was still on bedrest he was my "warden" and didn't let me get up, and made sure I had everything I needed. We moved apartments when I was still on bedrest (36 weeks) and he basically organized it all. We had lots of help from friends to pack, move, and unpack... and Thomas didn't let me do a thing. When I finally got off bedrest, he still made sure I was resting enough. He had to help me get up basically every time I sat down because I was so huge, haha. He took me on a "last" date night before baby... we went to Red Lobster and just had the most wonderful evening talking and laughing and dreaming. And when it was finally time to have the baby, he was amazing throughout the whole labor and delivery.

31 - 34 weeks

Bedrest, bedrest, and more bedrest...


How far along: 31 weeks (Dec. 15th), 32 weeks (Dec. 22nd), 33 weeks (Dec. 29th), 34 weeks (Jan. 5th)

Baby size: According to various baby websites, he is around 5 pounds now, and could be 18-20 inches long. According to my midwives, baby is almost 7 pounds already (at 34.5 weeks), which is another indicator that my due date is off! They all think I'm closer to 36-37 weeks, but we're still being careful just in case.

Total weight gain/loss: +20lbs

Sleep: Getting more difficult... this kid is getting too big! I often find myself wide awake for a couple hours between 2am and 5am. Maybe my body is getting ready for a newborn? Haha.

Movement: It's slowed down a bit now that he's so big, but he still moves a lot. It's fun to guess which body parts ares sticking out of my belly... elbow, knee, foot, hand...

Food cravings/aversions: Anything chocolate. We've been watching "Cake Boss" on Netflix recently and it's almost too much for me... everything they make looks SO GOOD and I just want it NOW. Haha. My cravings have been pretty unhealthy recently... burgers & fries, pizza, soft baked pretzels... so I haven't really given into them much. I'm still eating lots of fruit... can't get enough of it. Oh! And banana pudding. I found an amazing recipe on Pinterest for it, and I've had Thomas make it twice already :)

Pregnancy symptoms: Lots of contractions still. And general crampiness and achiness. My back and hips are sore from being stuck lying down all the time. I'm seeing a chiropractor once a week which helps... she is also getting my body ready for delivery by properly aligning my hips and pelvis so that baby has lots of space to get through.

What I miss: Being able to get up and move around freely. Cooking, using my sewing machine, even just picking up around the house!

What I'm looking forward to: Not being on bedrest :) Hopefully only a week or so left. I've been on bedrest for over a month now and I'm very ready to be done.

Milestones: At 34 weeks, if I go into labor they won't stop it. I'm actually 35 weeks tomorrow. We're hoping to make it to 36 or 37 weeks though. It looks like baby boy will be here sooner rather than later with all the contractions I am having. I've been into the birth center twice this week for the midwives to check on me because of all the contractions and basically we're just trying to make it 36 weeks for lung maturity, because my body keeps trying to go into labor. I have to drink lots of water, and take lots of warm baths to get the contractions to slow down, and stay lying down completely horizontally so that the baby isn't pushing down.

Best moment of this week month: Hmmm... well it's just been nice in general to have Thomas around more during his month off from grad school. He also got two long weekends off work for Christmas and New Years. I'm not looking forward to him starting classes again next week :(

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: We've had a couple of nights where we thought we might have to go to the hospital again, but fortunately it hasn't happened yet. But we did pack our hospital bags... and when I say "we" I mean Thomas was frantically running around trying to gather the stuff from the list I made him while I laid on the couch trying to get the contractions to slow down. It was pretty comical :) But at least we're now prepared for when we actually do need to go in... Thomas knows where to find everything now. If we make it to 36 weeks, we can deliver at the birth center... but if baby decides to come before then we have to go to the hospital.

Also, it looks like we will be moving THIS weekend instead of on the 28th... which is good because Thomas won't have started his next graduate school semester yet, AND we have a bigger chance of getting moved before the baby gets here! I LOVE our new apartment and can't wait to be settled in it.

ultrasound & more bedrest

We went for an ultrasound yesterday just to check on everything. The baby looks great... he was super cute, waving his hands around and opening and closing his mouth until he found his thumb and started sucking on it :) His heart rate was fine, and he has been as active as ever.

Unfortunately, the ultrasound showed that my cervix (the thing that keeps the baby inside, basically) was too short compared to what it's supposed to be - it's 19mm and it's supposed to be closer to 30mm. This means that the contractions I've been having have shortened it, and caused me to dilate 1/2cm and efface 50%. Because of all that I have to definitely stay on strict bedrest to prevent any more shortening/dilating/effacing. I'll find out what the next step of the pregnancy is going to look like at my appointment on the 22nd.

So bedrest is kind of a bummer, but I'll do anything for baby boy... and I'm finding things to keep me busy!

30 weeks, and bedrest {sigh}

Well we had a little hiccup yesterday... I was out shopping and started having contractions. Try as we might, they would not go away so at 10:00pm my midwife sent us to Baylor hospital to be monitored. They ended up giving me a shot of Terbutaline to slow the contractions, and we got to come home at 6:00am this morning. Poor Thomas has an engineering grad class exam tonight (he's actually taking it as I write) and didn't have much time to prepare... not to mention the fact that we were awake basically all night with contractions and nurses and doctors in and out of the room.
We had a follow-up appointment at the Birth Center today and they put me on strict bedrest because I'm still having contractions (although not as bad as last night) and I'm 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced already, which they are not happy about at 30 weeks. The baby is fine, which we are so thankful for, his heart rate is strong and he's very active. But we don't want him to make his debut just yet! I'm hoping we make it to at least 37 weeks, which is considered "full term".
The plan for now is bedrest until my next appointment on the 22nd of December when they'll re-evaluate. I'm hoping the contractions stop and they'll allow me to move around a little more before then, because right now all I'm allowed to do is get up to go to the bathroom, and take a very short shower once a day!


How far along: 30 weeks (Dec. 8th)

Baby size: 3 pounds, and about 17 inches long... one of my pregnancy websites say he's about the size of a head of cabbage? Haha.

Total weight gain/loss: +15 lbs

Sleep: Not so great anymore... can't get comfortable. I guess I'll have to get used to the lying-down position, though!

Movement: All the time.

Food cravings/aversions: Soups have been my best friend this week... they are so nice in the cold weather, and especially since Thomas and I seem to have come down with some minor sniffly cold-ness.

Pregnancy symptoms: Lots of contractions, unfortunately! And general crampiness and achiness.

What I miss: Not being on bedrest :) It's only been a day and already I hardly know what to do with myself. I can now see the dust on every surface in the house and I'm itching to get up and dust everything! Haha.

What I'm looking forward to: Having Thomas home for the weekend to hang out with! And also, we're both looking forward to him being done with his classes for the semester. He has two more exams next Tuesday and Wednesday and then he's done!

Milestones: Three-fourths of the way through pregnancy! 30 weeks down, [hopefully] around 10 more to go!

Best moment of this week: Ironically, it was really cool to be able to constantly hear the baby's heartbeat while I was hooked up to the monitors at the hospital! Very reassuring.

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: He has just been wonderful since all this started yesterday. He's taken good care of me. The contractions last night were often very painful and he helped me relax through them. He scolds me if I'm not lying down flat enough :) And he brings me everything I need.

26 - 29 weeks

I'm behind, as usual.


How far along: 26 weeks (Nov. 10th), 27 weeks (Nov. 17th), 28 weeks (Nov. 24th), 29 weeks (Dec. 1st)

Baby size: Currently a butternut squash :) He's about 3 pounds, and up to 17 inches long from head to foot.

Total weight gain/loss: +15 lbs at 29 weeks (sigh)

Sleep: Not so great anymore... can't get comfortable.

Movement: All the time.

Food cravings/aversions: I'm still really liking spicy stuff... Thai food especially at the moment... I make this Thai red curry veggie/noodle soup, and it's been on the menu pretty much every week. We also like to go to (or get take-out from) Royal Thai, our favorite restaurant. Anything chocolate is really good... Twix bars, Starbucks hot chocolate, chocolate gelato & frozen yogurt, chocolate gummy bears (yes, really)... and the list goes on. And lots & lots of fresh fruit... can't get enough of it... I went through an entire 5-pound bag of Cuties (tangerines) in about 3 days. Haha.

Pregnancy symptoms: Bruised ribs! This little boy can really kick. Recently he's been lodging himself up in my ribs whenever I'm lying down. Sometimes I have to get up and walk around for him to move down a bit so I can breathe. Do I really have 10 more weeks of this? Yikes! At my 29-week appointment, I was measuring ahead again - at 33-34 weeks. At this point no one can give me a reason as to why except that some people just measure differently... like my uterus is positioned differently so it measures further "ahead" (higher up on my torso) or something. My glucose screening was fine, so I don't have gestational diabetes, which is good. Apparently if you have gestational diabetes, the baby tends to be bigger. In all of our ultrasounds the baby has been pretty normal-sized... they just moved my due date up 5 days. So I guess I'm just weird and measure ahead :)

What I miss: Being able to move around freely. It gets a little harder with a basketball in your abdomen.

What I'm looking forward to: More of all the Christmas-y stuff :) We've already put up our tree and I've been making presents. I love it! Also, I'm REALLY looking forward to moving to a bigger apartment in early January. I can't get this apartment clean & tidy enough because there's just too much stuff to fit!

Milestones: We are in the third trimester (starting week 28)!

Best moment of this week month: The long weekend that Thomas got off for Thanksgiving! It was so nice to have a break with him.

Pregnancy moments with the hubby: We like to "play" with baby boy... we'll give my belly little pokes and watch him wriggle and kick back. Thomas also likes to talk to him through my belly... baby boy likes the vibrations of his voice and usually calms right down if he's been wriggling (or kicking me in the ribs).
The past couple of weeks at our birthing class we've done "labor practice"... the instructor rings a little bell when the "contraction" starts and again when it ends. During the "contraction" we have to practice different laboring positions... like rocking on a birth ball, or kneeling and leaning on a ball/chair... and the labor coach (ie. Thomas) has to do massage or counter-pressure on my back etc. It's all really good practice, and I'm sure we'll be grateful for it when the real contractions start and we know what to do to manage the pain... but it's pretty comical at the time. Especially when, as usual, all the other couples are taking it very seriously and the women actually look like they're in pain... and Thomas and I are trying not to laugh at them. This past week we practiced positions for pushing the baby out... and that was just plain funny.

The ever-growing baby bump.

I haven't been very good at taking bump pictures. So far I have one at 12.5 weeks, one at 15 weeks, one at 16 weeks, one at 22.5 weeks, and one at 27 weeks! I'll add them to this post and update it whenever I take a new one.

12.5 weeks

15 weeks. I'm not seeing a huge difference yet...

16 weeks... holy moly, where did that bump come from?!

22.5 weeks!

 27 weeks! Baby (and bump) had a major growth spurt.