35 Weeks Down, 3-4 to go!

Well, technically, by now, it's more like 2-3 to go. I better post B's 35 week update, since 36 hits the day after tomorrow.

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

At my last dr. appt, I asked if they were expecting me to make it to 11/6. Dr. H said that if he doesnt't come on his own before hand, they'll induce me 1-2 weeks early. I'm guessing since the GD increases potential complications, earlier is better than later, once it hits full-term. I'm a bit afraid of inducing...mainly pitocin. I hear it can make the contractions come hard and fast, instead of the nice gradual increasement I had with Kaylynn. Because of that, I've started drinking my red raspberry leaf tea in order to get myself "ready". It's *supposed* to help you with labor, making it easier and shorter. We'll see. It brings on Braxton Hicks contractions right after you drink it. But I have those randomly all the time anyways.

We had an ultrasound on Tuesday, which I hope is our last ultrasound. Ben's currently estimated to weigh around 6lbs 3oz. All of the measurements on the screen say he's measuring 1 week head. 1 thing (don't know what it was) he was measuring 35 weeks, and one thing he was measuring 37 weeks.

So, in a perfect world, Ben will come on his own, or I will go into the hospital Halloween night, to have him on 11/01/10. That's just me wishing, I guess. Go back to the dr. on Monday, so we'll see if there is any new update then.

And because you need to see Kaylynn...here are some pictures stolen from Emily! A bunch of us met up at Northshore Park earlier this week to enjoy the gorgeous weather! We chased birds, fed ducks, went down the slide, played in the sand (dumping it all over ourself), and tried to get a group picture. It was a successful outing!

A New Addition (and Ben's 33 Week Update)

We want to welcome our newest nephew to this crazy world:

Dominic William graced our presence this morning, weighing in at 7lbs 11oz. He took it easy on his mama, which everyone was thankful for. Mama and baby are all doing well and we'll share a pic when we get a chance.

Congratulations, Melissa, Angelo, & big brother Anthony!


and on to boring stuff...the update:
Here's what babycenter.com has to say about Ben this week:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

I start weekly NST's next week. Not sure what the purpose of those are, especially since I'm doing fine with my diabetes, but oh well. Having something weekly makes the time go by fast. All my appointments are scheduled...even 1 past his due date. I'm still hoping for 11/01/10. Keep some fingers crossed that the stars align and God thinks that's a pretty cool birthdate, too. ;)

31 Weeks & Meals (or lack of...)

Here's Ben's 31 Week Update:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

I have another ultrasound tomorrow and have to take a gestational diabetes nutrition class. Kinda funny since I'm like a month into this whole diet/pricking thing. But insurance mandates it, so I'll sit through it. Whatever.

As for meals this week, well, we didn't eat the meatballs and shrimp last week, so we'll just carry that forwrad to this week. Sandwiches & turkey burgers can fill whatever void we might have. It'll make for a very small grocery trip this week, which Brian will appreciate!

30 Weeks and Meals

There are two posts below that are more interesting than this one, but it's on my mind, so I better hop to it before the school week starts and I don't remember/feel like it.

Here's Ben's 30 week update. 7 more weeks until he's considered full-term. We'd like him to keep on baking the additional 3 weeks...I need time to get my lesson plans together!
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20 - I think Brian and I sit around 20/40...just good enough to not have a restriction on our DL.)

Blood sugar has been a bit weird lately. Dr. H told me that as I get further along, things that I used to be able to eat and process ok, might not work out so well. I'm thinking that's the case. I had a sandwich (22g of carbs), a few chips (1 serving is 17g carbs), and 1/2 glass of chocolate milk (14g carbs) for a total of 57 carbs. Now that is on the high end of my allowance, but it's still under 60 and I blew the blood test out of the water (you know, the kind that I want to deduct 10 pts from on my chart to avoid getting yelled at...which I still haven't ruled out.) I had cheese and turkey for a snack (protein on protein) so hopefully I'll be back to normal in the morning. I'll do some heavy cleaning tonight to try to burn some calories and get the sugar gone.

Meals for this week:

Monday
Crock pot chicken (with black beans, corn, and salsa...courtesy of Julie!) and broccoli

Tuesday
Shrimp Scampi and Caesar Salad

Wednesday
Mini Greek Meatballs with a Greek Salad (I'm looking forward to this one!!)

Thursday
Hopefully some left over meatballs and salad! If not, we've got turkey burgers on stand by in the freezer. We really do like those things!

Friday
Whatever my father cooks for me!! :)

Keep your fingers crossed for good blood levels for me this week. I really don't want to have to resort back to my weekend of Atkins style eating. It really was miserable.

A Late 29 Week Update & Meals

A 2-in-1. Here's what's going on with Ben as we are now halfway into the week. Or feels like it. Monday was the first day of school and I weeded flowerbeds when I got home. I felt like I'd been run over by a mack truck...not sure which one did me in. Being on your feet ALL day really stinks. Then, somehow I slept on my arm/shoulder wrong that night and started having sharp pains when I breathed deep. I thought 1.) I'm having a heart attack (arm was killing me and chest hurt) and then 2.) my arm was going to literally fall off. Turns out, I probably have a pulled muscle or a pinched nerve. It was painful. Very painful. Still is sometimes.

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Meals for the week include:

Monday
Beef Stroganoff with wheat egg noodles and broccoli cheddar bake

Tuesday
Monday's leftovers

Wednesday
Turkey burgers (these things are good!) salad with cucumbers and cheese.

Thursday
Chicken w/ wheat penne noodles.

Friday
Sandwiches or something nice and easy. I like that we can still eat our sandwiches. We're sandwich folks around here.

The best part about meal planning is going to the grocery store once a week. I did learn that we need 2 loaves of bread around here, so I'll adjust next time so I don't have a midweek run like today. The bill would be a lot cheaper if I didn't have to have stinking snacks during the day. Cheese is expensive folks. Expensive.

And some fun(and funny) Kaylynn news:
1. All through the grocery store today she kept saying "oh, snap." (courtesy of her father.)
2. She looked at me today, while doing a puzzle and said "It's all good."
3. Kaylynn has been finding random small things and giving them to me (like fuzz, etc.) Tonight it was a booger. Awesome.
4. She did her first real poop in the bathtub tonight. I caught her in time and made it to the toilet to finish off, but she hates the toilet and freaked. I put her back in the tub and so I could clean up and she reached towards the turds and said "beans".
5. She counted to 10 tonight! She forgot 6. Technicalities. :)

Meal Planning Week 1

Here's what we've got going on this week. Tuesday-Thursdays's recipes are coming from my Ellie Krieger cookbook. One of the best things about meal planning for GD is that I am perfectly OK serving Kaylynn every bit of this. Honestly, it's probably something I should keep up with after Ben arrives. Not that cooking will be at the top of my "Things to Do" list, but maybe with a little planning? Now, if only we could end Friday with a little trip to DQ for a Blizzard. :(

Monday
Turkey Burgers & Salad

Tuesday
Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin & Sugar Snap Peas w/ Miso Sauce

Wednesday
Leftover pork & green beans with almonds/lemon juice

Thursday
Tuscan Roasted Chicken & Veggies

Friday
Steak & some sort of veggie that is TBD. Probably broccoli, since Kaylynn thinks this is the yummiest veggie ever.