Relax....Breathe...

So I've had this fear or this great worry about contractions. I would ask the doctors and they would all tell me different things or they would say that "you'll just know" when I ask what contractions feel like and what to expect. I've asked pretty much everyone I come in contact with what to expect and everyone has told me differently. I know that all women and pregnancies are different, but I think someone should make a "contraction simulator" so that way they can help show you what to expect. I'm sure Zach is tired of me saying do you think that was a contraction or do you think that if I had pain here and tightness there then that is a contraction.

The good news is that I went to the doctor today and she asked if I was having contractions and I said I think so. I explained to her the feeling I was having and then she said that I was probably have contractions. I felt a little triumphant to know that I was correct in my thinking, but what really just sealed the deal was while she was measuring my belly and taking Chloe's heartbeat she started pressing on my belly and said "Do you think you are having a contraction now?" I told her that I thought I was but it wasn't really painful just a lot of pressure and discomfort and that was what I've been feeling from time to time each day. And then she said it. She said "Yes, that is a contraction". I guess when she was pressing on my belly to measure she noticed how hard my belly was and that I was having a contraction. So now I know what to expect and I know what to look for when they become more regular.

Now don't panic. They are not regular by any means. I had about 4 in a 30 minute period today and then didn't have any for another hour or so, but the doctor said I could go any time. I still didn't have her check to see if I was dilated because I thought that would freak me out even more if I found out I was dilated even though I know you can be dilated for weeks. I can't believe I just have 2 weeks and 2 days left! Let's hope Chloe isn't as stubborn as her mom or she may stay in there forever!

Almost Normal...

Well it's finally back to normal...my love of peanut butter that is. Last week Zach had told me that for lunch he had 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I thought man he is so lucky to be able to eat them. The next day we were trying to figure out what we wanted for lunch and I just blurted out PB&J. I asked if he would make me one and if I didn't like it I would just let him eat it or let the dogs eat it. So he made me a PB&J, light on the PB though. And it was so yummy! So in the past 7 days since I had that glorious PB&J sandwich I have had 5 more sandwiches for lunch. Oh how I have missed the yummy goodness of PB&J.

Once I realized that I could eat PB&J again I decided to try hamburgers. Now my love of McDonald's hamburgers have never gone away, but the kind that Zach makes I couldn't eat. They were always a bit too thick and a little too greasy for my taste. Zach grilled out some burgers and again I can eat them. Obviously Chloe's taste buds must be maturing to the yummy food that I love. (I don't know if Chloe really has taste buds yet, but I'm still going to use that reasoning.)

On a side note...I have 2 weeks and 5 days until D-day!

The Great Abyss

Well it is official...the great abyss aka my bellybutton is no more. Zach always has said that it is the deepest bellybutton he has ever seen and he calls it an abyss. This weekend it is officially flat. It hasn't started poking out and hopefully it won't at all. Zach said that finally all the lint that has collected for 25 years is now out. He still uses it as a portal to talk to Chloe even though it is flat.

On a side note...we had a great weekend. We went out baby shopping on Friday and finished up Chloe's room. Everything is waiting for her arrival. I also have worked on her baby book and started packing our "go bag". Zach also fired me from making pizza this weekend. He was putting together our little swing for Chloe and I decided to be helpful and make the pizza for lunch, but when the buzzer dinged Zach found a problem. He couldn't cut through the pizza and thought I had forgot to spray the pan, but really I left the cardboard on the bottom and it baked on the pizza. Oops. So he fired me. We were able to get the cardboard off and cook the pizza a bit longer. I thought it was just fine, but if it is fine for me then it's undercooked for Zach. He still ate 3 pieces though so I think it was fine for him too.

5 Weeks and 5 Days to go!

Time has just flown by so quickly. We went to the doctor a few days ago and had a good report. I'm measuring right on track, Chloe's heartbeat is right around 140 and the doc checked and she is already head down. I also asked him why it felt like sometimes she was going to just fall out and after he had a quick chuckle he said "We get that question a lot". He basically said it is just the weight of Chloe putting pressure on me and then he reassured me that she isn't just going to fall out.

She's moving a lot different now. Even last week she was doing a lot of kicking and punching where my whole belly would move and this week it has been more slow motion moving. The slow motion moving is like she is just stretching and squirming around rather than rapid fire kicks. She still like to play games with Zach though. We'll be watching TV and he will start to feel around for her and as soon as he puts his hand on one side she kicks the other so he moves to the other side and she kicks where his hand was just at. After a few times she will eventually stop playing this game with him, but its always funny when it happens.

One thing I learned this week was that she moves around a lot while I'm sleeping. Everyone has been asking if she is keeping me up at night moving around or kicking and I always say no she must be sleeping at night. I was wrong. She doesn't wake me up, but the other morning Zach said that she was moving around a lot while I was sleeping. I was a little shocked because I didn't feel anything or at least it wasn't strong enough for me to wake up. He said that after I fell asleep he would just watch as my belly would move around with kicks and punches and whatever else she is doing in there. I just hope it stays that way where I sleep while she moves around in my belly.

We are done with our child prep classes and they were a waste of time. I was so excited about the tour and then it wasn't much of a tour. It seemed to only take 5 minutes and the rooms were all full so we just were given a quick look. I did learn good things to pack in our hospital bag...like clothes for Zach because that never once crossed my mind that he would need clothes. I also learned that you can prepare a birth plan and let the doctors and nurses know what you do or don't want. I just figured every birth was the same and they would do the same thing, but there are so many other options or choices you can make if you want. The other big thing we learned was that this day is all about us. Our teacher said it is the one day that you can make as special as you want and that we shouldn't feel guilty about trying to make it special for our new family.

The next step is our last 2 week doctor's appointment and then we start going every week until Chloe is here. Its just so crazy to think about having a baby in about 6 weeks!

32 weeks down!

Things have been pretty quiet around the Batsche household. We had a great Labor Day weekend. After looking back I realized that it was all about food. On that Saturday we drove out to Tonopah (which is in the middle of nowhere and about 40 mins from us) to a truck stop because they sell Noble Romans Breadsticks. The real ones with the real cheese and everything. We bought 8 orders! Now for you Indy people there are only 3 in a pack and not 5 like back home so it was only 24 breadsticks. And to be fair we ate 6 at the truck stop and gave Adam 6 as well. They were so yummy! After our drive out to Tonopah we drove out to the mall to do some walking since it is still way too hot outside to get out and walk. We walked for a good hour or so and then headed up to church.

Since we were on the road most of the day or just out and about, I was pretty hungry after church because I hadn't had my normal snacks throughout the day. We decided to go to TGI Fridays for dinner. We hadn't been there in a long time, but we both love their potato skins and so I was excited that I would have food in my belly quick. Like most chain restaurants they had a 2 for $20 deal and we could get an appetizer, 2 meals and a dessert. We haven't gotten a dessert in so long and they have some pretty good desserts there. After we cleaned the appetizer plate and did a pretty good job on our dinners Zach was stuffed. He didn't pace himself and he didn't think he could eat any of the dessert. I told him he was crazy because I was excited about the dessert. He caved and said that he would just have a few bites. So we got this dessert with strawberries, ice cream, whip cream and pound cake. We ate almost all of it! After that we were both officially stuffed. Then on Monday we went out to breakfast at Denny's and stuffed our faces yet one more time over the Labor Day weekend. Not to mention I had made chocolate chip cookie muffins so we had been eating those all weekend as well.

With all the food that we had ate over the weekend and the fact that I felt like I couldn't stop eating I just knew I would go to the doctor and gain like 10 pounds since I saw them last just 2 weeks ago. We went to the doctor yesterday and to my surprise I didn't gain anything! The girl who took my weight and blood pressure said I was the same as last time. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself! The doctor's visit was pretty uneventful. They now have me on a rotation so I can meet all the doctors and this doctor was like a speedy gonzalez. We were out in the waiting room for like 15 mins and then once he came in I'm not sure if it was even 5 minutes he was with us. He took my measurements, Chloe's heartbeat and answered a few questions and then he was gone. He did say I was measuring right on track at 32 weeks.

Yesterday evening was our first childbirth prep class and man was it kind of a waste of time. We were there for 3 hours and I'm not really sure what I learned. I wanted to go because I thought it may ease my anxiety for the big day. I wanted to take the tour and just understand what it is going to be like on the big day. This is a 3 week class and we take the tour next week, but this week I thin it scared me more than anything and made me more anxious. We did a lot of talking about what to do if you have certain pains or things you may experience, but some of these things she said are so uncommon, but of course we had to talk about them and of course they were just making my list of fears grow. I would have to say that two of my biggest fears have been my water breaking out of the hospital and the umbilical cord wrapped around Chloe's neck. I had read and heard that it wasn't common for either, but of course both things happened to the teacher while she was pregnant. I guess we'll see how next week goes...

Starting our 31st week!

Well I have officially gone into the single digit week countdown. I just saw my doctor Thursday and she said that everything was right on track. I was measuring at 30 weeks and I asked if that was behind or ahead or on track and she advised it is right on track. I just finished my 30th week and so I wasn't sure if I needed to be measuring 30 weeks or 31 weeks. We heard Chloe's heartbeat as always and it was really loud and strong. My doctor said that Chloe must be a little hyper or active because her heartbeat wasn't being consistent. She said that if she is kicking or moving around while we listen to the heartbeat then it messes up with the readings. She did eventually calm down enough to get a good reading and her heartbeat is in the 150s which is good. I also asked my doctor if Chloe could indeed reach my kidneys and she said that she couldn't reach my kidneys, but she could be pressing on tissue that is pressing on my kidneys. She said that if I have that pain again I should call them because if I do think it is my kidneys then they have to be careful of any kind of infection. I guess with kidney infections it can get in your blood and I don't want that to happen.

Chloe moves around all day long. I was reading that most babies are more active at night, but Chloe is active all the time. I think she must be taking after her daddy since he does not like sitting still or not moving around. The good news is that her movements don't wake me up at night...yet. I've been pretty lucky with my sleep. I have definitely noticed that I am starting to get tired earlier again, but I'm able to sleep through the night.

I feel like I have really just popped the last few weeks and I know my belly is just going to keep growing. I can still see my fee so I'm not too big yet. We start our childbirth classes next week, which is a bit crazy. We will go once a week for four weeks and the classes are about 3 hours long! It is a little crazy to think that we are already ready for classes. I can't believe how fast everything has gone. We also start going to the doctor every 2 weeks rather than once a month! Zach and I have still been putting together Chloe's room. She has a lot of clothes! I had hung up all of her clothes and separated them by size, but now I only have room for newborn to 3 months to be hanging up and all the rest are in boxes in her closet. I think that I've used a little over 40 hangers just on her clothes, plus I have pants and sleepers in the dresser. It is crazy! We also tested out our monitor yesterday. We have the monitor that detects movement in the crib to help us know if she is moving and breathing. It worked pretty well once we got it all set up and Zach let me read the instructions.

Chloe will be here in no time and we are very excited and a little nervous, but still very excited!

Updated Nursery Pics