Before I start on this wild Corona virus, let's talk about the final part of Luke's journey inside the womb! I can't remember if we already had a name in my last post, but baby Luke is cooking, growing and moving constantly! Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks pregnant, which I guess equates to like 8.5 months? As I discussed in the last post, I never know what to say because 40 weeks is not equal to 9 months! Anyways, at 37 weeks Luke can come on out and could be perfectly fine on his own. Of course, each week he gets a little stronger inside of the womb and gains a bit more weight.
I was told around week 28 that my cervix was measuring short which meant I was at risk for early delivery and had to stop doing as much as I could. I was told to walk as little as possible and not do any lifting or activity. Normally our doctor is very nonchalant and casual and not worried with much.. however after he made this measurement Joel had a bit of a scare because he seemed very worried. Of course, we took his recommendations seriously. Mel was distraught when we couldn't go on our afternoon walks, I was pretty bored, tired of reading, social media-izing, watching netflix, youtube, etc. At 30 weeks, (2 weeks later) I had an ecography appointment. The doctor who does the ecography is different from my regular doctor, and I asked if he could also measure my cervix length to see if anything had changed. In those two weeks the measurement had stayed steady, so he said I could return to doing light activities. Work outs on the floor, yoga, walking, etc. During my 32 week appointment the measurement was still short but as long as he stayed in for a few weeks longer he would be fine.
When I wasn't walking and moving I had a lot more aches and pains than any other time in pregnancy. Sitting in my chair to work was a lot harder, even laying on the couch or in bed I had more small annoying pains. I am knocking on wood now, but so far I haven't had any trouble sleeping, or every once in a blue moon I wake up for an hour or so and then get back to sleep. This is something I am so grateful for, because I love my sleep! :) I also have had spouts on and off of heart burn. Times where no matter what I ate, I felt it, and other times where I could pinpoint or have some idea what was causing it. It does seem to be more and more frequent the later we get, even when I am eating healthy meals. But the guides say that this is common from all of the pressure on the digestive system so late in the game. My only other complaint... can I call it one? Is in the last week or so (beginning at 36 weeks) my feet are almost constantly swollen. They aren't swollen a lot, but even when I get out of bed, I already have my kankles. I do try to put my feet up for most of my work day but that can get uncomfortable for my back as well in the end. If I am on my feet too long of course they get tired but besides them looking ugly, they don't bug me much.
All of Luke's measurement ecographys have been on target, his head seems to be on the bigger side, and legs generally measuring on the shorter side of the average but no problems. He weighed in at 2kg at 30 weeks, and 2.7 kg at 32 weeks. He is gaining quite a lot of weight, and I would say around week 24 I started catching up on the weight that I didn't gain in the beginning. IF I continue like this until he is born, I will gain 12 kgs which is what the doctor says is average/healthy.
Joel and I took birth preparation classes in the public hospital that we had planned to deliver at. Each class was taught by the different maternity nurses so I think we got to know a bunch of them, though I assume there must be others we didn't meet. The classes were very informative and helpful. Joel was the only partner to attend, of the 7 other ladies, except the night we had the tour of the maternity ward, then all of them showed up! Most classes we did some breathing exercises and then had a practical portion. I could understand but had a hard time to understand and compile any thoughts or answer questions asked to me... Plus I had never studied a lot of the Portuguese terms to deal with giving birth, but I think I know quite a few now. We are also taking an online baby sleeping course with Taking Cara Babies. It came highly recommended by MANY friends in AZ, the course is online but Cara is from AZ.
My parents hosted a lovely baby shower in Arizona for us and Joel and I attended via video chat. We were shown on the TV and had the party showing on our TV. I was super impressed all of the technology went off without any problems and we had a great time. . We played a price is right guessing the price of baby items, which Joel and I over priced like EVERY item. We did a guessing game of the measurement of my belly size, and people were pretty close! I was impressed! Then we had baby Jeopardy and finally, finish the nursery rhyme... Joel and I were terrible at that! After the games, people opened the presents that they got for us on camera. Then we opened the presents that were sent here. We appreciate all of the gifts so much and everyone for attending. I was super jealous of their amazing looking cupcakes though! My parents house was also so cutely decorated! :)
Joel and I also took a little second baby moon weekend get away to Nazare, Portugal. Nazare was such a sweet and charming little city. It is about an hour and a bit south of us and where a phenomena of the super pipe waves happen each year between November and March. About ten days before our get away there was another wave of the super pipes. I was really excited to go swimming at our hotel, but we got the unfortunate news that I could not even enter the swimming area because the air temperature is kept too high. We were lucky to have nice weather though to walk around and explore, but a little heads up on their website might have been nice! The weather was pretty gnarly on Sunday so we just stopped by Coimbra to check out some of their baby stores and buy a few missing items for my hospital stay. I had a poke bowl for lunch and pretty much died of happiness! IT was so delicious. Not authentic at all but sometimes we have to take what we can get, right?
I don't want to talk too much about Corona Virus, because it is effecting everyone in the world in one way or another. And everyone has their reasons for it to cause extra stress, not knowing if they can pay rent, and a million other things! The first confirmed case arrived in Portugal on March 5th ish. About a week later (March 13th) Joel and I were voluntarily quarantining in the house. He was allowed to work from home from Bosch because of me being at a higher risk. We were warned by our friend who works in the hospital, that partners may not be allowed to enter the hospital even for births if the situation continued. Of course it did, Corona spreads like wildfire everywhere it touches. As of March 17th, they stopped allowing partners or anyone except the patients to enter the hospital... Hearing this news officially put a lump in my throat. I know, many military wives have gone through childbirth alone, and many other people have done it... but dang, that isn't what I had ever dreamed of, having a baby in 2020 and being put in this situation. The doctor reassured me that I would still have great care in the hospital, but there was nothing we could do to change it and there would probably be no changes to this policy before the baby arrives. He also mentioned it was the same at every public hospital in the country at this time. The peak of Corona is estimated to hit on April 14th which is just days before Luke's due date. After hearing this news, I had a few cries and Joel and I decided we would do what we could to see what other options there was for us.
We made many phone calls over the and on Monday after hearing the news, and finally found a private hospital, north of Porto was continuing to accept patients and their partners for deliveries. This hospital is part of a group, and they have divided up their hospitals to serve for different reasons. At the moment, this hospital is only accepting Ob Gyn patients. Switching to a private hospital means a few things for us. One is that we need to pay for the full cost, we have private insurance but the policy doesn't cover births in a private hospital. Giving birth in the public hospital would be completely free. Two- private hospitals have a higher rate of C sections and in this time, the nurse we spoke to said they can be quicker to opt for a c section to minimize the time in labor and risks associated with introducing more and more staff. Three- Joel CAN COME!! He would have to stay the entire time with me (muahahah) and pay for his "overnight" accommodation and meals! Four- PRIVATE ROOM! In the public hospital, you have to share your room with two other new moms! Here we would have our own space. :)
Despite there are a few downsides to the private hospital, the biggest and most important thing to us is that Joel can be there. Both of us cannot imagine, me being alone in the hospital, and Joel dropping me off, like for school but to have a baby. Not knowing what might be happening inside, and then even after the baby is born having to wait two to four days to meet him. We have an appointment there on Saturday to feel things out and check the drive time and get all our other questions answered.
Because of Corona virus we are so sad that my parents and family/friends cannot visit when they were planning, and even Joel's family will hold off until the craziness dies down to meet him. But on the other hand maybe it will be good for us to figure out life as a family of 4 (YES MEL counts in our family!) before we have visitors.
Joel worked from home last week and this week was kind of forced to take holidays, however each morning and evening he has a meeting so it is counting as 4 days of holidays. We will see what happens in the weeks to come. He has been doing a great job of doing all sorts of projects around the house like sanding and painting a little furniture piece, lots of organizing and things that had been put off for a while! What perfect timing for these things to all get done, to do lists have never been prettier! The only thing we are missing now for the baby is his little dresser and to organize his clothes. That will arrive from Ikea delivery on Friday and I think we have everything we need for the beginning. We are trying to be as minimalist as possible and then get things later on if we decide they are needed.
Due date is only 3 weeks away now and crazy to think he could make an appearance any time he wants until then. So I wish all my lovely friends and family good health and wellness during this crazy time of the Corona virus. IT will definitely be an experience to remember unlike anything else our generations have been through. And crazy to think, next time I write, I will probably be a MUMSY! :) Unless quarantine has me super bored and I figure out other things to blog about.
Enjoy some photos of the different stages of pregnancy! :)
And the rest of our maternity photo shoot by Pedro Lopes.
Love and BIG HUGS during this crazy weird time! :)
Nicole, Joel, Mel
I was told around week 28 that my cervix was measuring short which meant I was at risk for early delivery and had to stop doing as much as I could. I was told to walk as little as possible and not do any lifting or activity. Normally our doctor is very nonchalant and casual and not worried with much.. however after he made this measurement Joel had a bit of a scare because he seemed very worried. Of course, we took his recommendations seriously. Mel was distraught when we couldn't go on our afternoon walks, I was pretty bored, tired of reading, social media-izing, watching netflix, youtube, etc. At 30 weeks, (2 weeks later) I had an ecography appointment. The doctor who does the ecography is different from my regular doctor, and I asked if he could also measure my cervix length to see if anything had changed. In those two weeks the measurement had stayed steady, so he said I could return to doing light activities. Work outs on the floor, yoga, walking, etc. During my 32 week appointment the measurement was still short but as long as he stayed in for a few weeks longer he would be fine.
When I wasn't walking and moving I had a lot more aches and pains than any other time in pregnancy. Sitting in my chair to work was a lot harder, even laying on the couch or in bed I had more small annoying pains. I am knocking on wood now, but so far I haven't had any trouble sleeping, or every once in a blue moon I wake up for an hour or so and then get back to sleep. This is something I am so grateful for, because I love my sleep! :) I also have had spouts on and off of heart burn. Times where no matter what I ate, I felt it, and other times where I could pinpoint or have some idea what was causing it. It does seem to be more and more frequent the later we get, even when I am eating healthy meals. But the guides say that this is common from all of the pressure on the digestive system so late in the game. My only other complaint... can I call it one? Is in the last week or so (beginning at 36 weeks) my feet are almost constantly swollen. They aren't swollen a lot, but even when I get out of bed, I already have my kankles. I do try to put my feet up for most of my work day but that can get uncomfortable for my back as well in the end. If I am on my feet too long of course they get tired but besides them looking ugly, they don't bug me much.
All of Luke's measurement ecographys have been on target, his head seems to be on the bigger side, and legs generally measuring on the shorter side of the average but no problems. He weighed in at 2kg at 30 weeks, and 2.7 kg at 32 weeks. He is gaining quite a lot of weight, and I would say around week 24 I started catching up on the weight that I didn't gain in the beginning. IF I continue like this until he is born, I will gain 12 kgs which is what the doctor says is average/healthy.
Joel and I took birth preparation classes in the public hospital that we had planned to deliver at. Each class was taught by the different maternity nurses so I think we got to know a bunch of them, though I assume there must be others we didn't meet. The classes were very informative and helpful. Joel was the only partner to attend, of the 7 other ladies, except the night we had the tour of the maternity ward, then all of them showed up! Most classes we did some breathing exercises and then had a practical portion. I could understand but had a hard time to understand and compile any thoughts or answer questions asked to me... Plus I had never studied a lot of the Portuguese terms to deal with giving birth, but I think I know quite a few now. We are also taking an online baby sleeping course with Taking Cara Babies. It came highly recommended by MANY friends in AZ, the course is online but Cara is from AZ.
My parents hosted a lovely baby shower in Arizona for us and Joel and I attended via video chat. We were shown on the TV and had the party showing on our TV. I was super impressed all of the technology went off without any problems and we had a great time. . We played a price is right guessing the price of baby items, which Joel and I over priced like EVERY item. We did a guessing game of the measurement of my belly size, and people were pretty close! I was impressed! Then we had baby Jeopardy and finally, finish the nursery rhyme... Joel and I were terrible at that! After the games, people opened the presents that they got for us on camera. Then we opened the presents that were sent here. We appreciate all of the gifts so much and everyone for attending. I was super jealous of their amazing looking cupcakes though! My parents house was also so cutely decorated! :)
Joel and I also took a little second baby moon weekend get away to Nazare, Portugal. Nazare was such a sweet and charming little city. It is about an hour and a bit south of us and where a phenomena of the super pipe waves happen each year between November and March. About ten days before our get away there was another wave of the super pipes. I was really excited to go swimming at our hotel, but we got the unfortunate news that I could not even enter the swimming area because the air temperature is kept too high. We were lucky to have nice weather though to walk around and explore, but a little heads up on their website might have been nice! The weather was pretty gnarly on Sunday so we just stopped by Coimbra to check out some of their baby stores and buy a few missing items for my hospital stay. I had a poke bowl for lunch and pretty much died of happiness! IT was so delicious. Not authentic at all but sometimes we have to take what we can get, right?
I don't want to talk too much about Corona Virus, because it is effecting everyone in the world in one way or another. And everyone has their reasons for it to cause extra stress, not knowing if they can pay rent, and a million other things! The first confirmed case arrived in Portugal on March 5th ish. About a week later (March 13th) Joel and I were voluntarily quarantining in the house. He was allowed to work from home from Bosch because of me being at a higher risk. We were warned by our friend who works in the hospital, that partners may not be allowed to enter the hospital even for births if the situation continued. Of course it did, Corona spreads like wildfire everywhere it touches. As of March 17th, they stopped allowing partners or anyone except the patients to enter the hospital... Hearing this news officially put a lump in my throat. I know, many military wives have gone through childbirth alone, and many other people have done it... but dang, that isn't what I had ever dreamed of, having a baby in 2020 and being put in this situation. The doctor reassured me that I would still have great care in the hospital, but there was nothing we could do to change it and there would probably be no changes to this policy before the baby arrives. He also mentioned it was the same at every public hospital in the country at this time. The peak of Corona is estimated to hit on April 14th which is just days before Luke's due date. After hearing this news, I had a few cries and Joel and I decided we would do what we could to see what other options there was for us.
We made many phone calls over the and on Monday after hearing the news, and finally found a private hospital, north of Porto was continuing to accept patients and their partners for deliveries. This hospital is part of a group, and they have divided up their hospitals to serve for different reasons. At the moment, this hospital is only accepting Ob Gyn patients. Switching to a private hospital means a few things for us. One is that we need to pay for the full cost, we have private insurance but the policy doesn't cover births in a private hospital. Giving birth in the public hospital would be completely free. Two- private hospitals have a higher rate of C sections and in this time, the nurse we spoke to said they can be quicker to opt for a c section to minimize the time in labor and risks associated with introducing more and more staff. Three- Joel CAN COME!! He would have to stay the entire time with me (muahahah) and pay for his "overnight" accommodation and meals! Four- PRIVATE ROOM! In the public hospital, you have to share your room with two other new moms! Here we would have our own space. :)
Despite there are a few downsides to the private hospital, the biggest and most important thing to us is that Joel can be there. Both of us cannot imagine, me being alone in the hospital, and Joel dropping me off, like for school but to have a baby. Not knowing what might be happening inside, and then even after the baby is born having to wait two to four days to meet him. We have an appointment there on Saturday to feel things out and check the drive time and get all our other questions answered.
Because of Corona virus we are so sad that my parents and family/friends cannot visit when they were planning, and even Joel's family will hold off until the craziness dies down to meet him. But on the other hand maybe it will be good for us to figure out life as a family of 4 (YES MEL counts in our family!) before we have visitors.
Joel worked from home last week and this week was kind of forced to take holidays, however each morning and evening he has a meeting so it is counting as 4 days of holidays. We will see what happens in the weeks to come. He has been doing a great job of doing all sorts of projects around the house like sanding and painting a little furniture piece, lots of organizing and things that had been put off for a while! What perfect timing for these things to all get done, to do lists have never been prettier! The only thing we are missing now for the baby is his little dresser and to organize his clothes. That will arrive from Ikea delivery on Friday and I think we have everything we need for the beginning. We are trying to be as minimalist as possible and then get things later on if we decide they are needed.
Due date is only 3 weeks away now and crazy to think he could make an appearance any time he wants until then. So I wish all my lovely friends and family good health and wellness during this crazy time of the Corona virus. IT will definitely be an experience to remember unlike anything else our generations have been through. And crazy to think, next time I write, I will probably be a MUMSY! :) Unless quarantine has me super bored and I figure out other things to blog about.
Enjoy some photos of the different stages of pregnancy! :)
Love and BIG HUGS during this crazy weird time! :)
Nicole, Joel, Mel
Love your positive outlook. ♥️♥️ We can't wait to come!!!!!
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