Another Week Has Gone By

This Monday was another dr visit, and this time my mom was able to come with me. It was fun for her to be able to see what my dr was like and to hear what she had to say about my pregnancy. So far, the dr felt that the baby was probably going to come early because he is down and engaged and growing normally if not slightly ahead, but there's no guarantee. She discussed the possibility of the baby not coming until Nov. 8, which is when they'll induce me if he hasn't come naturally yet. So, at least I know the end of the timeline. The baby will definitely be born by Nov. 8th... not that I want to be induced because those contractions are more intense, but my mother will only be in town for about 1 more week after that, and I don't want her entire 3 weeks here with me to be without the baby when that's the whole reason she came.

Everything is looking good as far as my health goes. I've only gained one more pound this week, so that pretty much puts me at the 35lbs for the pregnancy. Woohoo for not going over by 5-10lbs!! The hospital bag is all packed, my mom has checked out my baby inventory and thinks that I'm all set with no reservations. Mark seems to be getting a bit excited for this event, so that's always a good thing. Granted, he's not jumping and skipping everywhere he goes, but he's definitely showing signs of excitement...or is it anxiety? He told me the other night that he was nervous about me going into labor. The poor guy is more worried about the pain that I'm going to be experiencing than I am. I've been mentally preparing myself for childbirth since I found out I was pregnant, or maybe since I was a child. It's just a part of life that I knew would be coming and came to terms with that a long time ago.

Who would really be looking forward to horrible back and stomach pains that come consistently every 5 minutes? Well, a pregnant woman who wants her baby, that's who!! Mark, on the other hand, is really nervous. I guess the thought is harder for him than the actual act will be. But we'll see! Here's to hoping for an easy-going labor...for the hubby's sake! :) Come on Canon!! There are plenty of anxious people waiting to meet you!! See you soon...hopefully!

The greatest thing...

No, it's not the size of my preggo belly at 38 WEEKS!!

The best thing ever is to see my husband show excitement for the baby!! The other night as we were going to sleep, Mark was singing some random songs to himself. I told him that Canon was dancing, so he rolled over and tried to feel the movements. OF COURSE, the baby stopped moving by the time Mark could feel it. So, Mark decided to start singing some other songs, Michael Jackson's Thriller being one of them, trying to get the baby to dance again. "I gotta come up with one that has a really good dance beat to it!" I have to say it was pretty awesome to see Mark up close and personal with the big belly singing to Canon. Believe it or not, it was Mark's rendition of Sweet Violets that got the most movement out of the baby.

Last night, there was no singing involved, but Mark did get to feel the baby moving around for quite a long time. (Why does it always seem that when you're going to bed is the time the baby is the most rambunctious?) He was surprised to see how consistently Canon was moving ("Oh, I can feel his little foot, right there!" and "Wow, that was a violent kick! You be nice to mommy!"), and was saying how he can't imagine what it must feel like to be pregnant. "It is just so weird that you have a living thing inside of you and he just keeps moving around and pushing from the inside."

I have to say, it really puts a smile on my face to see Mark wanting to interact with Canon. I think he's getting a little anxious for the little guy to come too. :)

Practicing Patience

This week was another doctor's appointment. Last Wednesday I was measuring in at 37 1/2 weeks, and this Monday I was at 39 weeks. "He's ahead of his class by 1/2 cm!" said Dr. Rabin. She was telling me that the baby is in a great position, and that everything seems to look good. She was telling me how she likes it when babies come at 39 weeks because they're fully developed, but those last couple weeks are the hardest on the mom. As we ended the appointment, she said, "I'll see you next week if not sooner!" So my doctor wouldn't be surprised if the baby came early.


This past Sunday at church, there was a girl who predicted that I would go sometime this week. This is the same girl who somehow "knew" I was pregnant before I even started telling anyone about it. She seems to have a "gift" for knowing these things about people. "Be sure to email me in a couple days when it happens... so you can tell me I'm smart!" she stated.

I told my mother about all this after my appointment on Monday, and even though she would be happy for me to have the baby sooner rather than later, she told me, "Don't listen to people like that! You'll just get your hopes up and end up being disappointed." True, there's no real reason for me to believe that the baby will be coming this week, or really even next week for that matter... but it would sure be nice for Canon to not take too much longer. I want Canon to be ready to come, so I will just have to bide my time... but I can't help but be excited for the idea that he just might come early. *sighs

I'm still just over a week away until my due date, but I'm really at the "any-day-now" stage of the pregnancy. This is really going to be a huge life change, and yet, I hardly feel like there's going to be any adjustment for me. It makes me think back to my wedding day. I had a very similar feeling when I was about to get married. I was excited because it was a chance to finally experience what I've waited for my whole life, but it didn't really feel any different from one day to the next. It just felt like I was living my life, and it wasn't a big deal. I was calm and comfortable, not really nervous at all to make the big commitment. I honestly don't even remember it feeling like an adjustment at all. (weird, huh?) Now, with a baby coming, it's an even bigger change that I'm going to have to go through. Sleep will be a completely different experience, as with the other demands of a newborn. Somehow I can see all this, picture it, and I don't feel nervous at all. Life will never again be the way it is now with just the two of us, and somehow that doesn't really seem to make a difference. Maybe I've just been mentally preparing myself for this since I was young just like I did with marriage... or maybe I will feel completely blind-sighted and a distraught emotional wreck because it's nothing like what I expected. Who knows? All I know is that the calm I feel will only last as long as my patience does. I'm trying to prepare myself for the scenario, but if I end up going beyond my due date, I will be quite anxious. I really want him to be here sooner rather than later. I'd be fine with him coming TONIGHT if he wanted to! :)

Right on Schedule

I had another doctor's appointment today, and it seems like everything is on schedule. I'm 37 1/2 weeks along now. My belly shows the right measurements, and it looks like my body is gearing up for labor and delivery. The baby is in a good position, and his heartbeat is still nice and strong. So far I've not had any contractions, or any Braxton Hicks that I noticed, but my doctor says that many women don't even get any contractions until they're really in labor. I gained only 1 lb. this week, so it looks like I'm still doing alright with the weight gain, giving me a couple more lbs to gain in the next couple weeks. YAY!

Mark and I went out again on Monday to buy a few more things that I realized that I didn't have yet for Canon...mainly pants. I realize that I have TONS of clothes that were donated to me, but I didn't have more than one or two pairs of pants....all the way through 18-month size. I couldn't have him be dressed only in onesies for his first year...so I needed to buy him pants. We bought a couple outfits for him to wear to church and a few pairs of sweat pants. I think he should be fine for a while, but I know I'll need to get more later. As for now, I can't gauge which sizes to buy because we can't tell how big he will be or how fast he will grow. BUT, I am totally getting excited to see him dressed in the clothes that I do have for him!!

As for my symptoms of pregnancy- right now I feel pretty good most of the time. I get tired every once in a while (I almost fell asleep at my desk this afternoon...hence why I'm blogging now...to keep my brain going!), but overall not too bad. Lately it's been getting more difficult to walk. I guess I just do everything slower these days, but I suppose that's expected. I noticed that it usually feels really good to be walking for a while, but if I then sit down for over 10 minutes, it's much more difficult to get moving again. *sighs* Also, my carpal tunnel is acting up, but it's not what I really expected. My hands generally don't ever hurt, nor my wrists. The most they hurt is in the mornings. However, throughout the day my fingers tingle constantly. It's actually quite a strange sensation, like my hands fell asleep and they're just waking up except it lasts all day long. My sense of touch is numbed, and I can't grip things as easily...like my fingers are swollen like water balloons. It makes pinching and other fine motor skills quite difficult to utilize. *sighs again* Really though, I'm not in as much pain as I was a few weeks ago, so I'm happy with the trade-off.

Overall, I can say that I was truly blessed with an easy pregnancy. So many people are ready and waiting for it to be over, and I don't really feel like I've been pregnant for very long. Maybe that's because most of it was just fun and exciting, not completely unbearable! Don't get me wrong, I don't really want to be pregnant for another 6 months or anything! :) I guess I just never felt rushed or delayed. Everything seems to come right when it was supposed to, and I'm sure it will be the same with Canon's arrival. Now, my mother is coming on Sat. the 24th to stay with us for 3 weeks. So, as long as Canon stays in there for at least another 10 days, I'll be a happy camper...as will be the whole family. I'm getting excited to see my mother and to have her help the first little while. Then, the day she leaves, Mark's mom will be here for a week. Oh, how glorious!! I just know that I will truly appreciate their help.

I know that the Dahl side is rootin' for an October Baby (so Tiffany can finally add one to her birthday calendar, and not restrict Alex to only marrying someone born in Oct) ...so if anyone wants to help in saying prayers that Canon will come around Oct. 28-30, I wouldn't mind! :) Silly reason, I know...but it couldn't hurt, right? :) *crosses fingers*

Just downhill from here!!

So, the other day a guy at work asked me when I'm due and asked if I would be offended if they started a pool. I thought it would be kinda funny- what would be the point? What's the prize? I suggested that the winner gets to buy me a steak dinner. (Even though I really don't like steak, I just thought it would get the point across that I wasn't going to give them a prize...but Mark likes steak dinners, so maybe I can work that in!) This week, I feel like I've received more "when are you due?" questions than before. All of them from strangers, at least 3 this week...and each time I was able to say about 3 1/2 weeks. WOW!! That means only 2 more weeks at work and it's all about over...or just about to start...depending on how you look at it! :0)



It's been a pretty rough work week for me compared to usual because my boss has been out on berievement, so the normally slow, lazy days were packed full of the things that she normally would handle. I even worked over 10 hours straight on Wednesday, and I was super exhausted when I got home. My poor hubby...I don't think he's had a home-cooked meal this week! Yesterday was a pretty busy day at work too, but I actually felt good the whole day. I think that had to do with the fact that I wasn't ever sitting down or standing up long enough for my joints to get sore. I felt energized by the time I got to leave work...and it was to a pleasant night out with my husband.



He suggested that we go shopping for all the things that we still needed to get for Canon. He said, "I realized that there were still things we needed, and it's getting to the point where it could happen any day now! I figured that I'd rather have you with me than you being there in the hospital and I have to go get all this stuff by myself. THAT would be a bad idea! I wouldn't know what stuff to get." It was a good thing we did because now I feel a lot more prepared for our little baby. We finally got a few of the essentials- a diaper pail (and extra refill), a boppy pillow, crib sheets, more bottles, storage bags for pumped milk, nursing bra and tank and pads, and a bunch of other stuff that I really wanted to have. Granted, Mark still doesn't want me to buy another car seat, but we spent about $250+ on other baby supplies...that's after a 10% coupon and a $25 gift card (thanks Aunt Peggy!). I'm sure that there will be more things that I want/need to buy, but I'm just that much closer, and it makes me feel so much better about how close my due date is.



As for my pregnancy, I am now at the point where I have an appointment every week. This past Monday went just fine. I gained 4 lbs in 2 weeks, which puts me at having gained a total of 32 lbs thus far. Now, that quite possibly means that I could gain an entire 40 lbs this pregnancy, which is 5 lbs over the prescribed guideline...but I still feel like I didn't put on much weight that is not the baby, so I'm not concerned. I realize the more I walk around, the better I feel, except my feet and ankles do get pretty puffy by the end of the night. I told my doctor that I felt like I was starting to feel kind of sick over the weekend, and she recommended that I get the flu shot. In fact, she had her nurse call down to the other office and get them ready for me to show up...so I went and got the flu shot. Hey, it's covered by my insurance, and that was really all I cared about. I would like to be immunized for the sake of a little baby who's traveling by plane during the Christmas season and is too little to get a shot for himself. It's perfect timing! As far as I can recall, it's the first flu shot I've ever gotten. (It's quite possible that my mother had me get them when I was young, but I never went to go get one on my own!)

Less than 5 weeks to go!!

Last night at a Relief Society Social, someone asked me if I'm feeling ready for the baby or not. Honestly, I feel a little nervous because I know that there are a few more things that I will need to buy before the baby comes, but I'm really not nervous about labor and delivery. Maybe it's because I've had about 20 nieces and nephews and several friends who've had babies...maybe it's because I've been mentally preparing myself for this for the past 8 months (or longer), that I understand that there really isn't much that can prepare me for how much it really will hurt. I know that there will be pain in labor, but then again, I've known that since I was a kid...that's just the way it is...so what's the point of being nervous about it. I trust that my doctor knows what she's doing, as well as the hospital staff, so I'm not really worried about that either. Most of my worries really have to deal with post-maternity leave...not even the first weeks post-pardum.

As of right now, I'm over 35 weeks along! Finally, when people ask me when I'm due I can now say "in a month" because the due date is Nov. 1. When people at work ask me about how much longer I have, I'm almost shocked to be able to say that I have 3 more full weeks of work before I go on leave. That gets me more excited than anything else. Maybe it's because my mom is coming the week before I'm due and I'm just hoping to have a few days to just hang out and do fun things before the baby comes. Just to have a few relaxing days...ok, maybe more walking around than I normally do if we end up going to museums or something...but not having to worry about going to work...or really...worrying about anything that has to do with outside my own home. I'm hoping that the baby doesn't come too early so that I can feel like I have a few vacation days before delivery...to spend with my mom no less...oh I can hardly wait!!

This past Saturday my mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw a baby shower for me via webcam. Yeah, I know...some people think that's pretty weird...but as most of the family is out in Utah, and there's no way that I could afford to fly to Utah for a shower (let alone the fact that most doctors wouldn't give me permission at this stage in the pregnancy), they got the family together and hooked up a webcam to their big TV. I was able to participate (remotely) and it seemed to be a good success. We even tried to get my mother and sister located in Illinois to be able to join in using another computer. They were able to twist the other laptop so that I could see them and they could see me on the TV. It was pretty fun! :0) There were several aunts and cousins all gathered together to celebrate with me.

They played a quick questionare game where they had to guess what answers I gave to certain questions. They even had to try to guess what I would be wearing before I turned my video on...but of course some of them tried to cheat by saying that I was wearing "clothes"!! Did they honestly think that I'd come on the camera wearing a towel or something?? hee hee Some of the questions seemed to actually have trick answers, although not intentionally. These are the ones that I can remember, for those who wanted to know.

• What is Kat wearing? Maternity top with red, burgundy, and black spots with a black bow; beige maternity dress pants; large black pendant necklace


• How many centimeters does Kat measure? I don't really know because the doctor never actually told me my measurements, but she always said that the baby is growing perfectly. Since I'm 35 weeks along, I'm assuming that means I'm 35 cm. (I measured myself in front of them just to make sure!)


• What was the most surprising part about being pregnant? the carpal tunnel in my wrists that cause my fingers to tingle and go numb


• What was the best part about being pregnant? feeling the baby move


• What was the worst part about being pregnant? the pain in my joints from stretching ligaments, making it hard to walk (Actually, I didn't feel that the worst part was appropriate to share with everyone at the party...nor do I feel like I should paste it on the internet...so you're just going to have to wonder what it is!! Ha ha...is the suspense killing you?)


• What is Kat naming the baby? Canon Michael Dahl (Anyone who was following my baby blog should've gotten that answer!! Calli wanted to know if she could get extra points for knowing why I decided on that name! )

To Mark

• What was the most surprising part about Kat's pregnancy for you? that she was so cordial (ie. expected crying all the time or yelling more often) and I didn't expect her to be so tired during her first trimester.


• What was the best part about her pregnancy for you? feeling the baby move


• What was the worst part about her pregnancy for you? getting in trouble for not being more excited

The little kids helped to open the presents and then my cousin Mindy would hold them up to the webcam so that I could see them more clearly. It was so great to see so much family support even though they're not closeby. Several of them went in on a group gift, which was the glider/ottoman that I registered for. Since it arrived a few days before the party, Mark put it together and I was able to sit on it and show it off for those on the other end. Oh, I am so happy to have that gift...one piece of furniture that I didn't want to live without!!! So far, I think Mark has sat in it more than I have...but he's home more than I am, so I guess it's totally fine!! :0) There were also a few other gifts like handmade quilts by Mark's grandmas, an outfit, some baby medicines (something I probably never would've thought to get until I needed it- thanks Ragan!!), a baby gym, gift cards and cash. I'm sure there was probably something else, but it's not coming to my brain at the moment. It was really fun to be able to see everyone, and it just got me more excited to be able to visit Utah around Christmas to show off my little bundle of joy!! Thank you so much to my loving family in Utah.


It would have been really fun to see my sister-in-law Mary at the party too, but I know she had a good excuse for not being there: She gave birth to her baby the previous day, so she was a bit preoccupied! :0) Mary's baby was a big 8 lb. 6 1/2 oz. boy- Samuel James Brown. Sheesh!! This woman did a water birth of that huge baby...talk about a strong woman!! GO MARY!! Yeah, I don't think that I could've done all that, and I don't plan to...at least not this time. Mary already had 2 natural births, and this was her third son, so she was a little more prepared for what to expect than I will be with my first.


As for how "I'm feeling" at this stage, in general I feel healthy, but I don't feel light and zippy on my feet. I sometimes feel like a walrus trying to walk down the halls. I try to avoid the pregnancy waddle where I can because I read that keeping better posture gives me more room to breathe, but sometimes the waddle just happens because it's easier to just be lazy as I walk. My ankles and feet are generally more puffy lately, but at least they don't really hurt. By this point, many women are just ready to be done with being pregnant. Personally, I'm still enjoying the whole pregnancy experience, but I'm tired of the pains that I feel. I expected pregnancy to be uncomfortable, but I always thought that it would be in the abdomen where the baby is, or in the lower back as there is more weight putting strain on the muscles...but that's not the pain I've had. Not even close!! I've been getting pains in my pelvic region, pretty much where the ligaments are stretching, getting ready for labor. I notice that if I've been walking around for a while, say 5 minutes non-stop, then it doesn't really hurt anymore as I walk. However, if I've been sitting for more than 10 minutes, then every time I stand up, it takes a few moments before I can really start to get going. It hurts to take those first steps. I think I'm getting used to it at work, but that doesn't mean that I like it. Getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom is the worst...I have to include the dizziness factor and the positions of the pillows before I sit up. This thrid trimester is really the worst part of my pregnancy, but I think that's because I was blessed with a really easy pregnancy to begin with. There's practically nothing bad that I can compare it to.


From next week on, I will be having a doctor's appointment every week! I'll be sure to update everyone on the medical aspect of things next week. So far, I'm a lean, mean, baby-growing machine...except...hopefully without the "mean"...