Welcome Noah James Upp!

On January 10, 2010 at 7:35am Noah James arrived in this world weighing 8 lbs 10.5 oz and was 21 inches long. He is absolutely beautiful!! He came out with a full head of very light blonde hair (almost strawberry blonde), long eyelashes, and long fingernails.

38 Weeks

I can't believe we're 38 weeks along!!! We could meet our little man any time now! I am more and more convinced I am going to go into labor early. I'm not sure how early, but I don't think I'm going to fall in that typical group of first time moms that go longer than 40 weeks.

I officially feel like a "large pregnant woman." I find getting in and out of the car takes quite a bit of effort, as does walking up and down the stairs, rolling over in bed, getting out of bed and even getting up and down off the couch. Ha! It's funny to think that a couple weeks ago none of this phased me. It's still amazing to me to think that there is a little human inside me waiting to come out into the world!

So far, I still have no stretch marks and my belly button did not pop out. Let's hope this stays this way!

I have started putting together what I will pack in my hospital bag. Right now, it's all laid out on the floor of Noah's nursery. I haven't really packed it yet because I am still using/wearing some of the things to go in the bag, but at least I have an idea what I want to bring.

We had our last prenatal visit with the doulas two weeks ago. I am really glad we decided to hire a doula as I feel that much more prepared for what is going to come during labor and delivery.

When taking my 38 week picture this week, I noticed how low my stomach was. It was so low I thought it was a weird angle so I asked Aaron to take another picture. This one looked really low too. I compared the picture with my 37 week picture and it's incredible to see how much I've dropped between last week and this week! That makes me think Noah is ready to come!!!

So now we wait... :)

Week 38 pictures:

37 Weeks

Baby Upp dropped even more! Suddenly I feel regular pressure in my pelvic region, upper thighs and hips. When I walk I feel like there is a lot more weight in that area and it takes a lot more effort to just walk. I'm trying hard to still stay active but it is getting more difficult as I'm becoming more uncomfortable. Sleeping is becoming much more difficult as laying on my side (which is what you're supposed to do since I can't lay on my back or stomach) becomes a problem after an hour or so because my hip that I'm laying on just starts aching like it's being smashed. So, I have to flip sides which is not that easy to do. With a little bit of help from Aaron (a lot of help with him pushing me to my other side, ha ha), I manage to get to my other side, only to switch back the next hour. This is all combined with getting up to go to the bathroom between 3-5 times a night. Everyone says this is just preparing me for getting no sleep once our little guy is here.

I had our 37 week appointment with Dr. Bess. She confirmed that he has dropped even more and is sitting right there. According to her he is very low and she is surprised at how much progress there has been in 1 week. Last week, he had dropped and was low but there was no dilation. At this appointment, I am 2-3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. She said everything looked great and was headed in the right direction for an on-time or early delivery. When I asked her why she said possibly early, she said because of how low he is and how much progress I made so quickly. She guess-timated maybe I would go into labor at 38 1/2 weeks. That's next week!!!! This is so exciting!

I started drinking red raspberry leaf tea last week after my appointment. Maybe I can attribute this progress to that? Who knows. I have stayed active and gone back to work where I am on my feet and walking very often. Regardless, I know that Baby Upp will come when he is ready and we will welcome him then! We can't wait to meet him!

Week 37 pictures:

35/36 Weeks

Baby Upp has dropped! At the beginning of my 35th week I felt like I had more room to breathe and suddenly started using the bathroom much much more. Where I had been waking up a couple times a night to use the bathroom, suddenly I was getting up every 2 hours, or about 4-5 times a night! I also began having a lot more pressure in my pelvis and upper thigh area. I figured he must have "dropped" which caused all this pressure. Besides these new aches, everything else is still going really well. It's becoming more difficult to get up from a sitting to standing position quickly. I feel like I need to take everything a little slower to let my muscles and ligaments ease into it, rather than stretching or causing pain. When I get out of bed in the morning it takes a few minutes for my muscles to feel right and I feel like I need to stretch real well when getting out of bed. I'm still working out, doing prenatal yoga and pilates DVD's and going to the gym and using the elliptical machine regularly. I'm hoping that keeping up with the excercise will benefit me during my labor.

We had our 36 week appointment today. Blood pressure was still good, weight gain was good and baby's heartbeat sounded great - 135 beats per minute. Dr. Bess did the GBS swab (results will be available next week) and a quick internal exam. She confirmed that yes we have progress! She confirmed that Baby Upp did in fact, "drop." She said he is head down in my pelvic region, preparing for birth. I am not dilated yet, but she said my cervix was thinning in preparations. She said having him head down and lower in my pelvis is what is causing my new discomfort and the added pressure down there. I don't mind the pressure just knowing that he is preparing for birth!! We went over a lot of my labor and delivery questions.

After that appointment, I had an appointment with the Birth Registrar at the hospital to complete paperwork and prepare the birth certificate paperwork so there is less to do once I arrive in labor. We had to sign all the consent forms, supply our pediatricians name, etc. We just decided on our pediatrician as well which I'm very excited about. We have heard fabulous things about Whole Child Pediatrics and that the doctors there take a holistic approach and are not quick to jump to medications when there are natural alternatives to try. Additionally, they are open to a slower vaccination schedule which is perfect for our views. We declined the Hep B vaccination at the hospital and will have that done during our vaccination schedule upon discussing it with our pediatrician. There are so many decisions that have to be made before the baby is even born, yikes!

We are counting down the weeks until we get to meet our little blessing!! 3 1/2 to go....

35 Weeks:

36 Weeks:

33/34 Weeks

I have finally hit the point of pregnancy where complete strangers are strinking up conversations about my pregnancy. I don't mind, but just find it strange. I don't think I've ever started talking to a random pregnant woman at the mall. I guess when your belly is just out there, people are curious :)

He is still moving like crazy and I actually feel like he has dropped a little lower because all of a sudden, every time he moves it instantly makes me have to go to the bathroom or puts akward pressure on some part of my pelvic region and makes it extremely uncomfortable for a few minutes until he moves again. During the night he is pretty active so I'm not really sleeping that well. I'm getting up every few hours anyway to go to the bathroom and it seems like my few hour long sleep sessions are interuppted by kicking in my ribs or excessive moving that my stomach is contorting into strange positions. It's not so easy getting in and out of bed anymore either so it seems like every time I have to get up it is so much of an effort.

I have started having really sore upper thighs and crampy lower pelvic region. I feel like I just ran a race and my inner/upper thighs are sore. But I didn't just run a race, so I'm not sure what this soreness is. I assume this is just another joy of pregnancy :)

All in all, things are still going well. Besides the few symptoms I'm feeling, I still feel really good. I know lots of women go through a lot of difficult issues during pregnancy and have much more annoying symptoms so I'm very thankful that I have been so blessed with a wonderful pregnancy. I am very excited to have our baby in our arms, but I also think sometimes I may actually miss being pregnant. Only 6 more weeks (give or take!).

33 week picture:

34 week picture:

Maternity Photo Shoot

31-32 Weeks, Lots of Updates

Growing, growing, growing!! That's my belly and my baby!! According to Baby Center our baby is almost 4 pounds! Wow!! I can't wait to meet him!

We had our 32 week appointment the morning after Thanksgiving. I was worried about how much weight I had gained and surprisingly it was the best appointment yet. I only gained 1 pound over the past 2 1/2 weeks, YES!!!! The appointment was quick as usual. Dr. Bess checked my weight, blood pressure, measured my stomach and listened to the heartbeat - a healthy 145! Everything looked and sounded great.

Aaron and I have started our childbirth class on Tuesday nights at the hospital. So far we've had 2 classes that have been very informative. We went over the stages of labor and what to expect, and relaxation and breathing techniques.

We also met with 2 doulas that we hired for our birth. I think having a doula at the birth will really help me go much longer without an epidural. I hope to be able to labor using breathing and positioning as long as I can and I really do not want to get an epidural right away because then I will be confined to the hospital bed. So, with that said, I think having the support and knowledge of a doula will be really beneficial. Plus, if my mom can't be at the hospital (because of the awful new visitation policy because of flu season) I think it will be nice to have an extra woman for emotional support.

I'm finding that my back is beginning to ache more after a whole day at work, probably because I am on my feet all day long. I try to sit when I can but really, working with 23 6 year olds does not allow for much sitting time.

We also had a maternity photo shoot with my dad this week. My dad has a great camera that he is pretty good with so Aaron and I had pictures taken out in their front yard. The pictures came out great!! We have some really nice ones that I am hoping to put into black and white and hang in the nursery. They will be really nice keepsakes to have when I am no longer pregnant.

At the end of my 32nd week, I experienced my first Braxton Hicks contractions. They started in the evening and were pretty regular. I actually timed them and they were anywhere from 7 - 10 minutes apart. I had about 7 in an hour. They continued through the night and the next morning at work so I called my doctor. She was surprised to hear that I had so many in an hour but because they had slowed down the next day she was not concerned. As long as they aren't becoming more regular or more intense, all is good. Just another joy of pregnancy - these lovely uncomfortable contractions :) Although I know some women get them much earlier in their pregnancy, so again I feel blessed that I have had such a wonderful pregnancy!!

I can't believe we only have 7-8 weeks left!!!

31 Week Picture:

32 Week Picture: