We are nearing the end of this pregnancy with only 4 weeks till baby Austin joins the family. The middle name is not decided yet. I spent the first half of the pregnancy planning on the name Liam and was absolutely crushed when a close neighbor and church friend named her baby Liam a few months ago. I debated for the next month continuing with the plan of Liam, but soon fell in love with the name Austin. Matt is very easy-going when it comes to naming our children; he will let me know when he strongly opposes a name, but doesn't give a ton of input on name suggestions which can be frustrating at times. :)
The pregnancy has continued to go well. I've never had a doctor that will do extra ultrasounds so I've only had the 8 week and 20 week ultrasounds. I get nervous when I can't see the baby and have the doctor assure me that all is well with baby's growth. I took the 3-hour glucose test instead of the 1-hour this time; it just made sense to jump straight to the 3-hour since I've failed the 1-hour 2 out of 3 times in previous pregnancies. I passed the 3-hour test just fine.
My weight gain was looking off-track this time around for my personal goal to only gain 25 lbs. I was doing worse than my other pregnancies and gaining more weight sooner; I just attributed it to the fact that my body is older though it was frustrating since I was running more than in previous pregnancies. However, something shifted where my weight gain slowed down even though nothing changed in my appetite. I am currently at 22 lbs. gained and am on track to gain the least out of all my pregnancies. Something else odd this time around is that I didn't gain as much weight in my face, which I was happy about!
I constantly hear how small I look for as far along as I am. As in the two previous pregnancies, I am measuring smaller, but only by a centimeter. I definitely take it as a compliment when I hear this, but I hope people realize it doesn't come naturally--it's a lot of hard work! I attribute it to my running since my eating habits could definitely improve. A few people have assumed I just have smaller babies. All my babies have been average-size: 7 lbs. 11 oz., 7 lbs. 13 oz., and 8 lbs.
I've cut back from running my 17 miles a week (4 days: 3, 3, 3, and 6) that I've been doing throughout my pregnancy to running 12-13 miles a week (4 days: 2.5, 2.5, 2.5, 5). My pace continues to get slower, currently 10:45. Some days are better than others depending on how I'm feeling; some days I can run the whole time and other days I have to walk one or two times. I'm sure I look pretty silly while running with a big belly which is why I try to go really early. :)
The BIG NEWS of this pregnancy was a change in delivery plans at 26 weeks. After gathering a lot of information, I've decided to deliver at a birthing center with a midwife. I haven't loved the OB I've used for the last 3 pregnancies, but I was too lazy to switch over to someone new. It was convenient to stay with the only thing I've known. He hasn't been super supportive over my decision to birth naturally and also my personal feelings against being induced. Each baby he has tried many times to convince me to be induced so that it can be on his time table--it has just made me feel that all he cared about was being there to deliver the baby for the money. I've always felt good about the baby coming on baby's time table, not on anyone else's.
The switch to a midwife is definitely different. Some things that I thought were just part of OB appointments I'm learning are not necessary. For example, I do not do a urine sample each visit. The midwife doesn't do cervical exams at all (unless warranted or desired) because it does nothing to tell you the timing of when the baby will come and increases the chance of infection.
The doctors that have delivered me (different doctors for each baby since 2 were on-call doctors), had very little to do with the labor. They were just there to catch the baby. I'm excited to have a midwife with me every step of the way during labor, which should be quick based off my record. I'm also looking forward to the experience of a water birth as I hear that it does a lot to ease the contractions. All in all, the decision to switch to a midwife just felt right despite the stories I've heard about a few bad experiences.
All of my previous pregnancies I wasn't necessarily excited for the pregnancy to end, despite how uncomfortable it can be those last few months! I knew that having the baby out was a lot more difficult than having the baby in! Once the baby comes, so do the sleepless nights, the worrying about every little thing, the demand on your time with nursing so often... However, this time around I'm not feeling quite the same way. I can't wait for baby Austin to be here! Maybe because I'm not so nervous about the labor this time around combined with the fact that I'm more experienced. Also Carter and Bryson are both obsessed with babies right now. I can't wait for them to have their own little baby in the home to be obsessed with. :)
Here's to hoping the rest goes well...
The pregnancy has continued to go well. I've never had a doctor that will do extra ultrasounds so I've only had the 8 week and 20 week ultrasounds. I get nervous when I can't see the baby and have the doctor assure me that all is well with baby's growth. I took the 3-hour glucose test instead of the 1-hour this time; it just made sense to jump straight to the 3-hour since I've failed the 1-hour 2 out of 3 times in previous pregnancies. I passed the 3-hour test just fine.
My weight gain was looking off-track this time around for my personal goal to only gain 25 lbs. I was doing worse than my other pregnancies and gaining more weight sooner; I just attributed it to the fact that my body is older though it was frustrating since I was running more than in previous pregnancies. However, something shifted where my weight gain slowed down even though nothing changed in my appetite. I am currently at 22 lbs. gained and am on track to gain the least out of all my pregnancies. Something else odd this time around is that I didn't gain as much weight in my face, which I was happy about!
I constantly hear how small I look for as far along as I am. As in the two previous pregnancies, I am measuring smaller, but only by a centimeter. I definitely take it as a compliment when I hear this, but I hope people realize it doesn't come naturally--it's a lot of hard work! I attribute it to my running since my eating habits could definitely improve. A few people have assumed I just have smaller babies. All my babies have been average-size: 7 lbs. 11 oz., 7 lbs. 13 oz., and 8 lbs.
I've cut back from running my 17 miles a week (4 days: 3, 3, 3, and 6) that I've been doing throughout my pregnancy to running 12-13 miles a week (4 days: 2.5, 2.5, 2.5, 5). My pace continues to get slower, currently 10:45. Some days are better than others depending on how I'm feeling; some days I can run the whole time and other days I have to walk one or two times. I'm sure I look pretty silly while running with a big belly which is why I try to go really early. :)
The BIG NEWS of this pregnancy was a change in delivery plans at 26 weeks. After gathering a lot of information, I've decided to deliver at a birthing center with a midwife. I haven't loved the OB I've used for the last 3 pregnancies, but I was too lazy to switch over to someone new. It was convenient to stay with the only thing I've known. He hasn't been super supportive over my decision to birth naturally and also my personal feelings against being induced. Each baby he has tried many times to convince me to be induced so that it can be on his time table--it has just made me feel that all he cared about was being there to deliver the baby for the money. I've always felt good about the baby coming on baby's time table, not on anyone else's.
The switch to a midwife is definitely different. Some things that I thought were just part of OB appointments I'm learning are not necessary. For example, I do not do a urine sample each visit. The midwife doesn't do cervical exams at all (unless warranted or desired) because it does nothing to tell you the timing of when the baby will come and increases the chance of infection.
The doctors that have delivered me (different doctors for each baby since 2 were on-call doctors), had very little to do with the labor. They were just there to catch the baby. I'm excited to have a midwife with me every step of the way during labor, which should be quick based off my record. I'm also looking forward to the experience of a water birth as I hear that it does a lot to ease the contractions. All in all, the decision to switch to a midwife just felt right despite the stories I've heard about a few bad experiences.
All of my previous pregnancies I wasn't necessarily excited for the pregnancy to end, despite how uncomfortable it can be those last few months! I knew that having the baby out was a lot more difficult than having the baby in! Once the baby comes, so do the sleepless nights, the worrying about every little thing, the demand on your time with nursing so often... However, this time around I'm not feeling quite the same way. I can't wait for baby Austin to be here! Maybe because I'm not so nervous about the labor this time around combined with the fact that I'm more experienced. Also Carter and Bryson are both obsessed with babies right now. I can't wait for them to have their own little baby in the home to be obsessed with. :)
Here's to hoping the rest goes well...
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