31 weeks

Hi Baby Joey!
We have officially crossed the 30 week threshold and we are now on 31.  WOOHOO!  We went to the doctor today & you checked out good.  No issues to report.  However, you are a big fat pig.  You 5 lbs and 12 oz.  That is almost 1 pound bigger than Elijah was when he was a week younger!  I think I kept telling myself that if you & Elijah were the same size, you would be OK since he was OK.  I was very disappointed to see that you were so much bigger because it makes me worried for you.  Heck, it makes me worried for me since we are only 31 weeks and you are almost a full size baby.  But, it makes sense that I am so uncomfortable so early because you are so big.  We got an adjustment in our meds and we will hope that slows your growth down and we will go back in 2 weeks.

You still look just like your brother.  The ultrasound tech said you have a ton of hair already!  I think this is our last 3d ultrasound because you are running out of room in there so they can't get a good picture.  It was so awesome seeing you these times in 3d.

In other news, Elijah is really trying to get to know you!  Every night, he climbs up on my lap and he lifts my shirt up.  We say "Hi Joey" together.  Then, he pulls my shirt down and we say "Bye Joey."  We do that a few times and he laughs.  Then, he pats my belly and now, he even gives you a kiss every night.  Every once and awhile, he will be in a position that his elbow or knee pushes on my tummy and you kick him back like "Get off of me buddy."  I know that he doesn't really know that you are a baby in there but it really melts my heart!  I can't wait to see you two interact with each other.

From my perspective, I am still miserable buddy.  My hip kills.  I can't sit long before I need to lay down.  If you are on my right, I have to switch you to my left.  I am going to keep it real and tell you that I realized last week that I think I might be facing a bit of my depression again.  It isn't that I am depressed about you buddy - I am so excited for you to be here and be your mommy.  But, being pregnant is pretty hard on me and the physical stuff is bringing me down.  The pain makes me not want to get out of bed then I get sad that I can't do a whole lot and your brother needs me.  The diabetes makes me sad because I worry for you.  But, once I realized what was happening, I did perk up a bit.  I think recognizing it was half the battle.  I did tell the doctor today & he wasn't overly worried about it.  I am not going to take any meds for right now because I wholeheartedly believe that this will pass when you get here.  Bonehead also preferred me not to take the meds right now.  We will just keep pushing through and make it through the next few weeks.

Well buddy, two more weeks until we see you again and you will be 33 weeks.  Then, we are going to be going to see you each week until you arrive.  I will leave you with a funny.  We have been so worried about Elijah being mean to you.  After we left the doctor and saw how big you were, your daddy was so funny because he said "Well, maybe we are going to need to tell Elijah to watch out for Joey instead of the other way around."  That made me laugh!  You will need to be ornery and feisty to hold your own in this house!

29 weeks

Hi Joey!
Well big boy, you are now 1 day past 29 weeks.  Each passing week gets us closer to you being here and us loving you up!  No doctors appointments for 2 more weeks but we did have some activity this week.

You are still moving up a storm.  Most days, it is just constant but somedays, it is still painful.  You are so much more active than Elijah that it takes some getting used to.  Every once and awhile, I will think "Oh, it has been a few hours since Joey moved."  Then, you will move just for me!  You are up, down, sideways and every position in between.  It is very difficult and painful for me when you get on my right side so I have to lay down on my left and get you switched.  You are still kicking, thumping, and rolling. You still wake me up even though I am in a sleeping-pill induced haze.  All sorts of stuff going on in there.

The ketone issue we noticed last week seems to be OK.  They have not measured as a concern this week.  But, on the flip side, my night blood sugars are high.  In order to keep the ketones low, I am eating a bit more at night so my sugars are higher.  I will just be so excited when you are here and this is all over with.

I got all the clothes sorted for you and, unfortunately, the summer pile is pretty small.  I had a JCPenny gift card so I ordered you a bunch of summer clothes.  I think we will take a trip to the consignment store and you will be all set.  You have a ton of little shirt onesies but not a lot of shorts or rompers.  We will get you settled though.

I have to admit to you that I am really, really uncomfortable.  I am in some pain and I get truly uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time.  My belly is pretty sore and it is really hard to manage when your brother wants to read books or cuddle.  I can't roll over too gracefully.  My right hip is in such bad shape that I am sometimes brought to tears.  Somedays, I get down because the physical stuff gets to be too much and 10 weeks seems so, so far away.  I have now convinced myself that if we can just get to 35 weeks, we can have you.  Then, I figure I can talk myself into an additional week from there on out - sort of manipulate my brain until we get to 39 weeks.  However, I really don't see us going past 37 weeks with the sugars/ketones and such.  One thing is that your daddy is really good to us.  He can tell how uncomfortable I am and he is trying hard to make sure that he does everything.  He was even sick this week with some back pain but he still made sure to lift Elijah and take the stress off us.  I think we will all be really excited when you are here, healthy and my body is back to being "normal."

Finally, have you noticed some little alien talking to you in there?  The last 2 nights, Elijah has been talking to you.  He will lift my shirt up and pat you, rub you, talk to you then hit you & bite you.  When he pushes hard, I can feel you kick him.  I guess that sibling rivalry is already kicking in.  It is so cute hearing him coo at you and then it is cute feeling you move.  I think that he really will love you up and give you lots of kisses but I also think he will smack you upside the head when you least expect it.  I think you both will keep us on our toes but, for now, I just want fond memories of him laying his head on my tummy cooing to you and you moving around in response!

According to my countdown on my desktop, 69 more days until your arrival!!  WOOHOO!!

28 weeks

Hi Joseph!
That looks so funny because I am so used to everything being "Joey Joey Joey."  It is a big day today, buddy!  You are 28 weeks and Dr. Bonehead said he always relaxes at 28 weeks.  We visited him today and I guess we had good news and some not so good news.  But, the bottom line is that you are fine!

Good news for mommy - I lost 3 lbs since my last appointment!  WOOHOO.  At our last appointment, we had gained 10 so there is definitely no harm in dropping a couple of those.  They don't really get excited when you lose weight and you are pregnant.  They would like me to remain the same rather than lose.  I would be so excited to deliver you at this weight but I know we are going to gain at least 5 more lbs just from your growth.  Speaking of which, you are a whopping 3lbs 10 oz now.  Big fat pig  :)

We got to see you on the ultrasound and you are getting so big.  Some of your bones & even your head are measuring 4 weeks ahead.  That means you are a big boy and hopefully are going to be tall.  Your belly was still measuring big so that means we need to watch our sugars more carefully.  Bonehead said "He is a big boy."  I think it was a blessing and a curse - we want you to be tall and healthy but we don't want you to have extra belly fat because of my diabetes.  They checked out your heart and brain really thoroughly and it appeared like everything was all good.

Then, we got news that I am "spilling ketones".  What that means is that I am burning stored fat rather than burning food that I am eating.  There are several potential reasons for this - I could be dehydrated, I could not be eating the right food or not eating enough.  I definitely know I was extra thirsty this morning.  But, what I think happened was that I ate TOO good last night.  I had dinner around 6:15 and my only snack was 3 strawberries when your brother had his snack.  So, I ate TOO little and my body was burning fat.  You would think this would be great news - I kept my sugars in line and had the potential to lose a pound or two  :)  But, apparently, there is a really fine line between keeping my sugars in line and getting enough carbs to fuel us.  I was a bit panicked at the appointment because I didn't understand what they were saying but now that I researched it, I think it is a coincidence.  But, I do have to do a daily test to make sure that they are no longer "spilling."

I had a few questions for the doc while we were there and I am not sure if I got the answers I was hoping for  :)  I asked if you continue to be big, if he will take you early.  It sounds like he is pretty set on 39 weeks exactly.  He is not worried about you being big since we already know you are going to have c-section. We don't have to worry about you fitting down the birth canal.  So, unless my sugars cause us to have significant health problems or you decide to come on your own, then we are for sure a June 23rd delivery.  We can schedule the time on May 23.  We are hoping to get a primo time slot!

I also asked him if I could watch you be born.  Apparently, this is not a common question because people don't like to see the cut/blood.  That stuff doesn't bother me but I would really like to see you lifted out.  He didn't know the answer and said it was up to the OR people if they had mirrors or whatever.  I also asked if we had to use that little cloth on my tummy with the opening for the incision.  I have to do that as it prevents infection.  I hate it because I am allergic to the adhesive and my tummy itches for weeks.  But, better to itch than get an infection.

I think that is about it buddy!  You are healthy, you have a lot of hair already, you let us get another good photo and you are still moving around.  Luckily, since you are getting bigger, you have less room and it is less painful for me.  We will see you again in 3 weeks.  We will be 31 weeks along then!!

Here's you at 28 weeks.  We are just plain shocked by how similar you look to Elijah!

 Since I actually had my hair combed and make up on, I told daddy to take a 28 week photo.  I have to be honest, I sure feel a ton bigger in the belly than this picture portrays.