To Tami's Pregnancy Page                                 The delivery story 4/13 & 4/14 Tami's expanding belly Baby's Bedroom March 5th Baby Shower Pictures Ultrasound Video Ultrasound Image from week 11 The Baby's Bedroom Sept.1st Notes from Tami 40th week: Still feeling pretty decent, but I'm definitely ready to be done. Little aches and pains are more frequent and more intense, and getting in and out of bed is pretty awkward. The baby's movement is also very intense! We met our back-up doctor Thursday, since our doctor was on vacation. We found out the head is facing down (yea!), so all looks well. Before Friday, I was convinced that I was going to deliver at least one full week or more past my due date, but now I am not so convinced. On Friday, I finally felt some new things going on internally that made me think, okay - things are definitely progressing and starting to get ready here! My co-worker reminded me that April 16th is a full moon (evidently, maternity wards are always more crowded during full moons!) 39th week: I thought these last three weeks would be nothing but difficult and uncomfortable, but hard days seem to come and go so I am pleasantly surprised when I have several really easy days (knocking on wood). I have felt very calm and ready the last couple of weeks, then on Sunday I had a sudden feeling of not being prepared and I spent a good deal of the afternoon skimming through my childbirth books, trying to quell the feeling that I had forgotten everything! I've also found that I can't resist the urge for sweets anymore - I seem to need a little dessert or at least a couple of chocolates every day now. 38th week: I felt very happy and relaxed this last week. Honestly, it didn't feel like anything momentous was happening. The days seem to go by more slowly. My mind and body seem to be working on 'island time', so don't be surprised if I seem mildly lethargic when you see or talk to me. I cannot give enough kudos to Jeff for being this whirlwind of work around me, taking care of the house and errands so that I can concentrate on relaxing and getting my own little things done. 37th week: This week has gone better than last week - it is odd to me how the physical and mental feelings can swing from bad to good overnight. Although I felt overwhelmed a few weeks ago, I'm settling into a warm, fuzzy stage of readiness. We took a shopping trip to pick up most of the last items we needed for the baby, and we have the car seat in the car and ready to go! Doing that on Sunday really woke me up to the fact that the birth of our child is so close, and that in a few weeks we will have our baby in that car seat coming home with us! 36th week: Last week was quite eventful. Although I felt pretty good the first part of the week, I think I hit my wall on Thursday. I feel like a Jeckyl and Hyde personality has emerged - during the morning and afternoon I really feel pretty good, but as the day wears on, I get a little more tired and less tolerant of the little aches and pains that occur each day. Starting around 6pm, I am tired, bloated, gassy, and just generally very uncomfortable, and this is when poor Jeff encounters my other self. Although I try very hard to temper myself, I tend to be a bit snappy, whiny, or lethargic, or any combination of the three. However, even though the evenings are hard, I feel truly lucky since Jeff has been even more supportive and has doubled his efforts to make things easier for me! 35th week: This week has been fun. The baby is still moving a lot, although the movement is more squirming and reaching out as opposed to little punches and kicks. On Friday, my work threw a shower for myself and two other co-workers that are also expecting a baby soon. It was a nice break during the day, and we all received some very nice gifts. It reminds me how generous everyone in my office is during these special occasions. And good news from the doctor, she says the baby's heart rate and growth are "perfect"! 34th week: It seems like this last week I've started the uphill climb to delivery. I'm having a little more back pain, a little more trouble sleeping at night, and either my hormones are acting up again or I'm just having a harder time being a 'trooper' on the tough days. Mentally, I feel like there is too much to get done before the baby comes, even though I know I still have roughly six weeks to go. Every now and then, Little K kicks me hard enough to make me jump, which is a little embarassing in the middle of a meeting at work! 33rd week: Well, this weekend was great! Jeff and I made a point of going out for Valentine's Day this year, which was very nice. We spent some time with his mom this week since she was down for the baby shower on Saturday. I had such a nice time, and we were truly 'showered' with well wishing and great gifts from all of our friends and relatives! Thank you to everyone who was able to come, and I hope you all enjoyed the afternoon, too! We took a baby care basics class at the hospital on Sunday, and I think we were both surprised to learn a lot of 'little things' at the class that we didn't know yet. Plus, the teacher was one of the nurses at the hospital. She was great and really gives me faith in the nursing department there. 32nd week: This last week has gone very well. The baby is still moving quite a bit, and the movements feel stronger and more intense as each week passes. I have found myself more hungry than usual - sometimes only 1 hour after eating a large meal! I also wake up a little hungry in the middle of the night. I don't seem to be overly tired yet, and my back pain has decreased significantly due to one of the exercises I do (whew!). I can really sense my body entering the last stage of preparation since I am starting to get odd stretching sensations in my hip and upper thigh areas, and several times a day I can feel my joints snap and crack when I get up out of bed or from a sitting position. 31st week: Last week went okay until Thursday when I got a cold. It amazes me how much a simple cold can just knock me out. I am so used to being able to take a pill or something and then just push through the day. I have found that I am also very jumpy. When Jeff and I went walking a few nights ago, we ran into two dogs (separate occasions, about two minutes apart), and for some reason this sent me into a panic. At least the second dog came running out of the house at us barking at the top of his lungs, but the first dog just walked right by, completely calm without even looking at us twice. Jeff was in stitches at how panicked I got for no reason - I can't explain it except to say hormones, hormones, hormones! 30th week: We had our second Bradley class last week, so I am trying very hard to do all of my exercises each day. The exercises are supposed to help my body become more condusive to the childbirthing process. It's a little hard some nights since I am at work all day, and am trying to do most of them at night, when I am pretty tired out. The baby seems to have the hiccups almost every day now. It is cool to see my stomach flinch slightly at regular intervals when this happens. Since kicking and rolling are such irregular movements, the hiccups always feel a little strange to me. 29th week: Although I'm feeling very good most of the time, I'm starting to realize how tough that last month may be. I have had just one or two kind of 'bad' days - a lot of distension and the start of the lower backache that is so common. Now I see why the ninth month is usually so uncomfortable since you probably get these almost every day! Also, we attended the first of our Bradley classes Wednesday. They showed a video of a live birth that freaked me out a little bit, but I'm sure it is a good idea to get used to what will be happening and what the baby can look like when it first pops out. It is a relief to know that each week there will be someone there who can answer questions and provide much needed reassurance in this final trimester. 28th week: Jeff felt a very good kicking session with the baby last night. He has always missed the 'big' movements when I try to get him to feel my belly, but last night it was like the baby was having a party or something. I had trouble falling asleep and he woke me several times during the night. Guess he wants to get me used to those midnight feedings soon to come. 27th week: I am just about to finish my sixth month, leaving 3 months until the delivery date if I go by the estimated due date of April 11. Jeff and I can't believe how fast the pregnancy seems to be flying by! The baby seems increasingly active, kicking harder and more often, although I'm sure I haven't felt the half of it yet. His favorite time to start moving around seems to be right after I lie down to go to sleep! It's starting to get a little uncomfortable at night with him kicking in there, so it might be time to invest in some big pillows. 26th week: Although I am disappointed that the holidays are over, I am looking forward to a little rest and being able to setttle back down into a routine. I am still feeling pretty good most of the time, with only an occasional mood swing crashing in every once and a while. Jeff has been very understanding and patient with me during these times. It is exciting to think that we are only 3 1/2 months away from becoming parents! 25th week: It has been a very nice week. The baby kicks and rolls every day, which is so reassuring to me. He tends to be more active when I am sitting or being still as opposed to walking around. I've noticed this week that he appears to be reacting to sound as well. I saw both of the Lord of the Rings movies this last week, and noticed that during very loud, noisy battle scenes the baby started kicking and rolling a lot, and then would stop and be very calm almost immediately after the battle sequences ended. 24th week: The baby seems to be more active now. He is kicking a little harder and sometimes I get a "double punch", but in two different places (both feet or an arm and a leg?). One night Jeff was feeling the little punches and kicks and even he seemed surprised at the intensity increase over just two weeks. We also saw the doctor last week on Wednesday. We were able to hear the heartbeat and got the thumbs up from the doctor that everything is going along smoothly! 23rd week: Christmas time is a nice time to be pregnant (well, if you're in your second trimester!). My general happiness is elevated by the enjoyment of holiday plans like Christmas shopping, wrapping, and parties! It's nice now that I'm showing so much, and strangers can recognize that I'm pregnant. People will ask me the due date and whether it's a boy or girl. It seems that pregnancy elicits excitement in lots of women, even in people that I just meet while shopping that don't even know me! 22nd week: We had a really great Thanksgiving week! Jeff was able to finish the baby's room, and it looks beautiful! Also, I was ecstatic to find that Jeff is finally able to feel the baby kick and turn. I have been wanting to share that with him for several weeks, and am so glad he is able to make a more physical connection with our little baby! My hormone meter seems to be switched over to 'happy' most of the time now, so I'm just sailing through the days with a smile! 21st week: The baby is moving a lot more now. I'm disappointed that Jeff can't feel the baby moving yet and unfortunately he probably won't be able to feel it for a couple more weeks. My belly is now 36 inches around the biggest part. The baby's room is coming along nicely. It's painted, and Jeff is 1/2 way done putting up the moulding. It's going to look beautiful. 20th week: I've been feeling the baby move all week. I actually think I felt him moving the week before, but I ignored the feeling thinking it couldn't be the baby because the feeling was too low in my abdomen. Then when I went for the ultrasound on Wednesday I realized that the baby is actually 2-4 inches below my belly button which is much lower than I thought. I guess I assumed he was up higher since that's where my belly is biggest. 19th week: I've been feeling very good, but it's weird how my body is changing so much. When I put my hands on my hips, it feels like I'm resting my hands on somebody else's body. I can really feel the stretching in my belly. Sometimes it feels like someone has their hands on my upper abdomen and they're pulling on my skin, stretching it. I can even see my freckles stretching! 18th week: I felt truly elated and excited all week! I think I felt the baby move for the first time. It wasn't a strong kick or anything, but more like a gentle fluttering movement inside. It will be nice when the baby is kicking consistently, since it has been hard to wait until the doctor's visit to be told that everything is still O.K. Also, this week we decided on names for the baby, which you can check out by holding your mouse over the pink and blue sex symbols at the top of the page. Last, we got a complete furniture set for the baby's room. We paint in a few weeks (well, Jeff really, but I'll do what I can!), so the room is shaping up nicely! 17th week: Last week I felt good. I'm sure being on vacation helped since I was distracted by all the beautiful sights of Ireland. My tummy is nicely rounded now and it seems like the baby has moved up above my pelvis a little. I was able to eat larger meals on our trip and all the food tasted good! 15th week: Although the nausea has not gone away completely, it is less frequent and less intense. Hopefully it will completely go away before we leave for Ireland this coming Friday. I got the clothes from The Gap as well as some dresses from a store called Motherhood Maternity. I'm going to return one of the pairs of pants from The Gap, but everything else fit nicely. 14th week: I'm getting more in the mood to buy baby stuff. I was at Mervyn's last week and couldn't resist buying a little bib that had jungle animals on it. I also ordered some early term maternity clothes from The Gap online which should arrive early next week. Just as the nausea seemed to be letting up, I caught a cold from Jeff so I still haven't had a really good week yet. I'm looking forward to feeling the first kick from the baby, but I'm sure it's still several weeks away. 13th week: I was back to feeling sick almost every day last week, but today (Sunday) I feel really good. I went Maternity clothes shopping today, but they didn't have anything for someone in what they call the "transition" period. The maternity stuff is more for women who are into the 5th (or later) month. I guess I'll just deal with being a little uncomfortable in my clothes for a few more weeks and then go out and look again. 12th week: Thankfully it seems like my nausea got a little better last week. On Sunday and Monday I felt good, but then I was slightly nauseous the rest of the week with Thursday being a pretty bad day. We had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday last week. It was nice to hear that everything is fine. Even though I still don't really look pregnant, my clothes are starting to be very tight at the waistline. Looks like I will need some new clothes soon... 11th week: I'm STILL sick in the evening but the Catalina trip from Sunday to Tuesday was a good break this week. I did have a minor migrane headache on Tuesday, which is the second one I've had in the last two weeks. It's bad because I usually don't have migrane headaches more than once or twice per year, but it's good because neither of the last two migranes were very bad. Recently I've noticed that I'm edgy and little tiny things like someone popping the top of a soda can will actually make me jump. The good news is I'm sleeping well and I feel very good in the morning. 10th week: I'm still feeling pretty sick every afternoon. I really hope the queasy feeling will go away soon because really it's just getting old now. I hear that morning sickness usually goes away by the 12th or 13th week so I'm crossing my fingers. I'm not having any of those weird cravings that you hear about, but a lot of foods don't taste good anymore. For the most part, things are the same as last week. 9th week: I feel a little less sick than I did last week but not much has changed. I went through a couple of funky mood swings this week. A couple of times I just felt like I wanted to cry for a few minutes, then it went away - it was kind of weird. Food definitely tastes different to me now. For example, I used to like broccoli, but recently I haven't been able to stand it. Now that I've told friends and family that I'm pregnant I get a lot of people asking me "How are you feeling?" So far it's been fun to have the extra attention. 8th week: I start to feel sick in the afternoon and evenings now. It's like I'm a little seasick for about half of the day. When I eat a little something I usually feel better. I feel less tired than I did last week which is really good. I'm really excited. I get nervous a little when I think about going into labor, but I try not to think about it too much. Sometimes I still can't believe I'm pregnant. I still feel pretty "normal" so I don't really feel like I have a baby inside of me yet.