The Final Countdown!

So we went for our follow-up ultrasound this last Wednesday to make sure little monkey is growing. The ultrasound done first of Feb he measured in the 48th percentile. End of March was 38th percentile and this last one was 22nd percentile. UGH!

It just goes to show that if you go looking for something hard enough, you might find something. If we hadn't had the ultrasound in March, we would have never known. I am measuring normally. I am gaining weight. Heartbeat and all parts look normal! He is moving a lot! He has hiccups and kicks! HIs bottom has changed sides so it is not against my liver and his feet kick my liver instead of my stomach!

So now we have to have more looking and we may get to meet little Monkey a little bit early if he falls below 10th percentile. We won't know more until at least the 13th of May most likely. I have been instructed to cut back at work and no more "Exercise" outside of walking and doing my normal things - basically no gym! I am enjoying sitting down more at work and seeing fewer patients as monkey likes to move more when I sit still and I like to feel him moving ;-)



Meanwhile, I had a very nice shower from my office ladies. They slathered me with good monkey clothes and gifts and tried to trick me into saying the name of the baby out loud - not yet! Let there be one surprise for me to share!


The nursery is almost completely done really really close!
Artwork is now up - pic to come soon. Tom picked out some artwork done by local artists and we got some frames and put it all up this weekend!

We have ordered the ottoman to go with the handmade rocking chair that a nice guy in my dad's church made for me years ago and has been through 4 moves now!

We have found a cool new kind of more environmentally friendly diaper to try that has me excited about diapers. You can check it out at gdiapers.com and I will let you know how they work. Flushable, compostable or disposable liners that actually break down in the landfill instead of clogging it up. Unless they fall off the kid altogether, it sounds worth a little bit of work! Even better than cloth!

I spent most of the afternoon packing my bag to go to the hospital - I LOVE PACKING! And of course monkey's bag is packed as well with two options for first outfit depending on how cold it is come his going home day!

Changes

So I am sitting here at work with a nice hole in the afternoon. I have begun to limit my number of patients so that many afternoons are more like this while my mornings are busy. This allows me to catch up and sit down. I DID NOT USED TO LIKE TO SIT DOWN.

This weekend, in between concerts and Maternity Orientation and getting things done around the house I took a grand total of 6 hours of naps! I could have slept more. I could likely have slept most of the day and never showered or dressed and been perfectly happy - until I smelled myself with my super-spidey pregnant senses. I DID NOT USED TO LIKE TO NAP AND LIE AROUND AND NOT DO ANYTHING ALL DAY.

I am getting better at saying no and not doing things that I am not interested in. I make Tom go with his friends to movies or concerts I am not interested in and I take a friend if he is not interested. I have cut back on my volunteering because it was just too much to do some days. I will likely not have a medical student with me next year as it is too much to cram into my day and I feel I am not doing my best. I skipped the drive to Grants Pass to spend Easter with mom and dad as I knew it would be a less than 24 hour trip. I DID NOT USED TO HAVE SUCH LIMITATIONS TO MY MENTAL WELL BEING!

My belly is getting bigger. I have done well to not gain too much weight. I have only recently seen maybe a small hint that a single stretch mark is forming near my belly button. I used to be able to walk fast and long and hard and get my heart rate up. I now walk at a slow pace for a maximum of 30 minutes (actually usually 30 minutes). I cannot reach down to pick something up without making it a big ordeal. I feel off balance and clumsy. My cute clothes are replaced with mama elephant clothes. I DID NOT USED TO BE SO PHYSICALLY LIMITED!

And yet, I cannot wait for the next changes. I can feel little monkey moving right now and know that sleep will become "sleep" and my patience will be work thin and I will wonder why I ever thought it was bad to lie around all day long doing nothing. I have been waiting for this change. I have looked forward to putting all my energy in this project for a while. And here is the one thing that hasn't changed - I CAN'T WAIT AND I AM IMPATIENT!

Good thing I am too tired to do anything about it most of the time. Good thing I know that monkey needs more time to grow and we need more money in the bank before my unpaid maternity leave. Good thing I have a husband who sometimes forgets my limitations (because he is not used to them either) but then remembers and is nice enough not to question my sanity when I make some horribly irrational demand (and then makes me dinner). I will say a little YAY for changes and I can't wait to see what comes next!

Forecasting

So this morning I am sitting in bed in my PJs while the sun shines outside thinking about how life will change in a couple of months. I wanted to sleep in this AM, but cats awakened me at 830. This is about as long as they can go without being "starved" in the morning as on weekdays I feed them closer to 730 when I leave in the morning for work. Somehow, I think both of those times will become sleeping in. I don't mind the mornings so much, but I have a feeling that Tom (who is still asleep at 1030) will find this a big change! I know that Monkey will not like to be kept waiting to eat either and even this AM has been up kicking and punching already, preventing me from going back to sleep. It will just be a lot more fun when I can load him up in the stroller and go for a nice morning walk rather than talk to him through a bunch of skin and amniotic fluid!

My new favorite thing to do is to walk into Monkey's room and just stand or sit and look at the nursery. He will usually oblige with a kick or two. How fun it will be to have an actual baby to put in the nursery! How odd also and I am looking forward to moving out of the surreal into the reality of it. I am trying to be patient with my 7 weeks and 2 days left ;-)

We are also still trying to figure out a plan for moving. This house will be fine for a little bit but there are parts of it that do not translate well into a family of three. I have a feeling that the back yard which is a common area will need to be more accessible if we stay here so a set of stairs off the back deck will need to be constructed. I would also like to have some room for family and friends to visit. We found a great place in Multnomah Village but it didn't work out right now. We have a looked at a couple of others but still feel like we may just be looking a little too soon and that moving and having to shift our finances around when maternity leave and baby are on the horizon is maybe not the most stressless venture!


I am glad to be feeling well! I know people who are pregnant and due around me that are on bed rest or having to given themselves shots and that would certainly not be very fun. A little discomfort when I first stand up and getting more easily tired are good things that are just reminders that I need to slow down and take it more easy.

It will be interesting to see what new challenges come our way with this little one. I will be excited for everyone to know his name - we have decided on a name that we are about 99% sure we will use but are not really telling anyone yet! I will also be excited to see him. The ultrasound pics are nice but not as good as the real thing!

I think I'm going to wake up my husband now and think of something nice to do today to enjoy the warm, sunny Northwest spring day!