35/35

35 weeks along with 35 days till D Day! With 35 days to go we have almost everything ready. I have washed all clothes, towels, blankets and bibs. All I have left is washing his bedding, installing the car seat,packing Cole’s hospital bag and packing my bag. I’m leaving Cam to fend for himself and he’s also in charge of making sure we have the camera and video camera with us. This past Sunday I went to Babies R US with my mom and bought the last of all the essentials we needed for Cole’s arrival. Knowing that we have everything is such a relief and lets me think about other great things like Episiotomy! HA!

When I think of going into Labor there is this feeling that comes over me, I know it’s going to hurt but my competitive nature has me thinking I can do this! Maybe I’m in complete denial about the magnitude of pain I will be in but that’s what epidurals are for right? While I understand some people’s belief to go all natural I’m not opposed to getting some pain relief. This brings me to birth plans...

I receive weekly emails from numerous baby websites telling me each week what to expect that week, how the baby is growing and suggestions on things to do to get ready for baby. This week it says finalize your birth plan in writing and make sure you tell your doctors how you hope/want labor and delivery to go. I started thinking about what I want and don’t want to happen when the day actually happens to come.

I’m hoping to do most of early labor at home. I want to feel comfortable and not be hooked up to any unnecessary monitoring. Depending on the time of day I go into labor this may have to be changed, we are about 40 miles away from the hospital and during rush hour traffic can make the trip take about an hour and a half. So to avoid me going into active labor in the car I will head to the hospital earlier if needed.

I have a few things made up in my mind before the big day. I want Cam to be by my side at all times and I plan on having my mom with me too. They are the perfect team and the two most important people to me to help me get through this all. I don’t want any kind of Systemic medications, which is narcotics and its often given to take the edge off the pain. I feel like the disadvantages out weigh the advantages, it can cause unpleasant side effects to you (like nausea and drowsiness), it’s not always very effective and the biggest thing for me it can affect your baby’s heart rate and make your baby less alert at birth.

Besides that my plan is to have no plan. To be open to whatever works best at that moment to help me deal with the pain. I’m not trying to be wonder women; I want my labor to be as pleasant as it can be. Taking each contraction one at a time till I feel I’m ready for the epidural. I hope to make it to about 5cm before getting an epidural so my labor has had time to progress.

If I have one fear it is of tearing, I have heard that during labor most women (with epidurals) actually don’t feel any tearing. It’s the days after that can be painful. I hope this is true because with so much going on between contractions, pushing and everything else it seems like a knockout punch right near the finish line.

I feel anxious and excited about when our little man will decide to make an appearance but that's also the fun part! :)

My baby shower!

My wonderful Mother-in-law and Mom hosted my baby shower 2 weekends ago (dropped the ball on blogging about it)! They always impress me and how much detail and how classy everything is when they host a party! I loved everything from the wonderful brunch food tothe hand made button candies. I feel so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life and couldn't believe how generous people were to Cam and me!



A little something VT...


Kos Family


Cam joined in on the fun at the end :)


Wolfpack Pregos




GG's(my mom) handmade button candies


All the love for Cole!

34 weeks

So yesterday I had my 34 week checkup. As per usual the basic blood pressure was checked (all good), protein in urine (NO) and weight (a pound to 2 pounds a week for this heifer). Then they measure your Fundal Height which measures the top of your uterus to the pubic bone which assesses how big Cole is, he's measuring right on target at 34 weeks! The doctor then started really pressing down on the belly to see which direction Cole was in, he hasn't moved and is still heads down with his feet up in my ribcage(vertex).

The doctor asked me how I was feeling and if I had felt anything different these past 2 weeks. The only thing I could think of was some mild menstrual like feelings this past week but besides that nothing. He looked at me and said "Sarah, that's contractions!" Huh?!? He assured me it was nothing to be worried about and was completely normal. It's my body getting ready for labor! I still can't believe I had no clue that this was a sign of labor...menstrual cramp= contraction? OK so now I know what to look for and since leaving his office I have had two! They are not consistent, I don't have any other symptoms of labor, and they are not painful at all. Oh I can only hope when I do go into labor that there this easy at the beginging! I can dream right!?!

I have to admit it made me freak a little...like wow could he be early?! I know the chances are I will have these menstrual cramps till my due date but it does make you start thinking what if!?!

So my list of what needs to be done is now on warp speed to get done! Wish my husband luck while the nesting begins!!!!

33 weeks!

Feeling pretty good! Cole has his little feet lodged up under my ribs which is not very comfortable. It can make it hard to find any kind of comfortable position weather its sleeping or just laying on the couch. The Shinaberry's have completed are birthing classes! While we still have 2 classes left we feel we have got our moneys worth. The truth is these classes didn't really have much value to us. Everything gone over in the class I had already read about, the breathing techniques (deep breath through your nose deep breath out your mouth)is something you can pick up in 5 mins and lastly the video we watched of labor & an epidural being administered I have seen more on the Birthing Story on TLC! While it was helpful to know the hospital's rules and take a tour of the OB, a four class series is far to much!

So here is a quick 33 week belly shot! And since I don't seem to ever include Cameron on my pregnancy belly shots ...here's one of the proud Dad to be!

Mother's Day Lunch!

We hosted both famlies at our house for Mother's Day. Cam and me got our mom's the same present so we made sure they opened there gifts at the same time! We had a ton of food and way to many deserts! We will be eating cake all week...no problem here :)

Happy Mother's Day!

We just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there and say a special thanks to two mom's close to our hearts! Thanks Gail and Vicki for always being there for us, loving us and showing us what it truly means to be a Mom!

Sarah and Gail (2 months old)


Cam and Vicki (8 days old)


Sarah and Gail(2 yrs. old)


Cam and Vicki (2 yrs. old)


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

32 Weeks!

So we are under 60 days, I have hit 32 weeks and have entered my 8 month of pregnancy! Some days it feels like I have been pregnant forever...but when I think that Cole could be here next month it seems like we are on warp speed now!

We started birthing classes last night, it's one class a week for 4 weeks. The first class went good, lots of what they went over I already knew from reading but it was a lot of new information for Cam. They talked about third trimester symptoms, signs of labor, timing contractions, pre-term labor and warning signs of problems. We also went over some breathing techniques and relaxations techniques for the Spouse to do. Of course Cam and me are like 5 year olds and laughed the whole time we practiced these relaxation techniques. Honestly for me there was only one thing ...the rubbing of my forehead that actually seemed relaxing the others seemed annoying! ha ha...

This morning we had my 32 week checkup, all is going good! I asked the doctor if she could tell us which way Cole was positioned. After a bit of prodding it was what I had suspected...Our little boy is heads down and ready! She even commented that his head was VERY low in my pelvic area...explains the pain. And she confirmed the position with the reading of his heartbeat! I'm so excited about this because the chances of him moving from this position are very slim and my wish to have a vaginal birth seems more real!

I have officially hit the 30 pound weight gain. My doctor doesn't seemed concerned one bit and told me very nicely "It looks like you will be at the top of the recommended weight by the end, but no worries you look great!" She also informed us that they do a standard ultrasound for everyone at 36 weeks to confirm the babies position and weight....this is a great surprise to me! I wasn't sure if we were going to get to seem him before his big arrival so I'm totally psyched!


How far along? 32 weeks

Baby's weight: Cole is around 4lbs!

Stretch Marks? None on my tummy and hoping it stays that way

Sleep? Hip pain has caused me some loss of shut eye, but the doctor has told me to lay on my back and just prop up one of my hips to allow circulation. Hopefully this helps because the whole pillow between the leg thing DOES NOT WORK!

Best moment this week: Cam and Me not realizing that we were suppose to bring pillows to are first birthing class...first parent duty...FAIL! We improvised and didn't seem to really need the pillows anyway!

Movement? Yes, I can feel him turning just his head...digging into my pelvic bones. The best is seeing his little butt bump bulge out when he moving around...love it!

Food Cravings: Sweets and carbs...great for weight gain! :(

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: No, however I did experience my first Braxton hicks contraction. It felt like a muscle cramp in my side tightening my belly. It only lasted like 2min and I haven't had any since.

Belly Button in or out? In and I'm thinking this may not change. By the end it may just shut completely no hole to be seen!

What I am looking forward to: Mother's Day on Sunday...Celebrate My wonderful Mom and Mother-in-law!

Weekly Wisdom: At this stage in pregnancy you will hear the same question over and over again "Wow, you must be close to the end huh?" My response use to be " I have __ many weeks left" now my response is "Yes sometime next month" no details besides that needed! Otherwise you may receive responses from people you don't wanna hear!?!?