38.5 weeks

At my doctor appointment last Thursday I was dilated to a solid 2, 75% effaced, baby's head is at a -1 station. Heart beat is still good, and my uterus is measuring appropriately. Other than my puffy and tingly hands and not sleeping well, I have been feeling great. I have occasional contractions, but nothing worth timing yet. My doctor says I have a very healthy baby inside, and I am right on track! And still no stretch marks! Thank goodness for cocoa butter.
Cam and I are totally ready to meet this little pumpkin! The car seats are in place, the baby's room is complete, baby clothes have been washed, and the dogs have been prepped. So now we wait.
Cam took this picture today, but I think I look less pregnant than I did in the last picture!

Timber!!

This pregnancy has been going so well so far, and something was bound to happen. And it happened Tuesday night. I was leaving a fantastic Improv class at the Camp Bar in St. Paul at about 8:45 pm. I said goodbye to my friends, turned around and WHAM! Landed flat on my belly. My knees and elbows hit also, although I'm not quite sure what my hands were doing. (NOT catching my fall, that's what they were doing!) Anyway, I gathered myself up and sat in my car for a while, crying hysterically. After talking to the Labor & Delivery nurse, it was decided that I should come in to have the baby be monitored for 4 hours. That seemed simple enough, but I was having contractions about every 2 minutes (some I could feel, some not), so they decided to keep me a full 24 hours to make sure that I wasn't going to have placenta abruptio, or that my water wasn't going to break from all the contractions, or that I wasn't going to go into labor. Nothing happened, so after exactly 24 hours, I was driving home. I received over 4 liters of IV fluids while I was there, in addition to getting my Group B Strep swab taken care of. It was nice to meet some of the nursing staff and get a lot of questions answered, and I am really relieved we didn't have our baby on Wednesday! I'm sure everything would have been fine if we did, but we still have some stuff to take care of at home, and I would just prefer to have a full-term baby! I feel completely guilty for falling, but it helps to have the loads of support and kind words from Cameron, my family, and my friends and coworkers. Apparently I am not the first one to go through such an event.
I had my routine 36 week checkup with by doctor Thursday morning. The baby's heart beat is about 135 (great), and my blood pressure is great (112/78). My cervix is dilated to 1cm. Her head is down, but not engaged at all. My entire body is swollen from the 4 liters of fluids I received during the hospital stay, but I'm supposed to keep drinking a lot of water to keep the contractions at bay. Go figure.
I survived my 3-11pm shift at work last night, and now I have 5 days off to really get organized! Here is a picture of me, the day before "The Fall."

Pregnant Brain

How could I forget to mention my very first baby shower? It was thrown by my delightful volleyball team, the Court Devils. Lisa hosted at her house in Rosemount on Friday evening. The massive amounts of foods and gifts were overwhelming! We had bacon wrapped dates, make-your-own sammies, bowls of fruits, hummus and chips, pretzels and Nutella (good idea Jake!), veggies and dip, salad, fun flavored waters, cake, and delicious homemade apple cider! I can't possibly list all the gifts, but some highlights were a Bumbo, a Boppy, and Sadie the giraffe! It was a wonderful time, and I miss playing VB every Thursday with these gals! For prosperity, I will list who attended: Lisa Q, Deena, Donna, Karla, Meg, Cortney, Cindy. Jeana couldn't make it but she sent a nice card (with a gift card inside!). Lance Q was on the property, but he was locked in his work shed in the backyard all night.
It was a wonderful evening and really started getting me excited to meet this Dahm baby!
Note to self regarding other showers: take pictures!!!

Sick, Sick, Sick.

That's right, folks. I'm sick. Now, being sick is one thing, but being sick in addition to being 30 weeks pregnant is an entirely different animal. I had been mildly uncomfortable lately with some back pain, hip pain, heartburn and swollen ankles. Add to that a harsh cough, an unbearable sore throat, ridiculous nasal congestion and pinkeye, and I'm a complete disaster. Bedtime is the worst. I used to look forward to lying down and hitting the sack, but no more. Maybe this is just a way for me to practice getting very little sleep? To prep I have my humidifier at my bedside, along with Mentholatum, Tums, tissues, water, chloraseptic spray, eye drops, Tylenol, Zantac, and about 7 pillows. Last night Cameron called the entire set-up "Mount Jean" and referred to me as "Goo-Berry." (My luck may be changing however, as the prenatal total body pillow I ordered will arrive this Monday instead of in February! Hooray!)
I really shouldn't complain too much though, as one gal I work with is 13 weeks along with severe nausea that just turned into projectile vomiting, and another gal at 18 weeks had an ecent ultrasound showing some "defects" that are possibly not viable with life. I am very lucky.
My OB appointment last week went well. I passed my 1-hour glucose test without problems. One hour after drinking a sugary drink, they want your blood sugar to be between 65 and 139. I was 67. My BP was 108/58, Pulse 68, Wt 165 lb. My weight is a little on the high side but my doctor was not concerned. Apparently the main problem with gaining weight during the pregnancy is the challenge of losing it afterwards. I hope I will be up for that challenge! I now have to see the doctor every 2 weeks which seems excessive to me, but what do I know?
I am feeling my little one move a LOT lately- so much so that multiple friends and family members have been able to get a feel too! Nothing delights me more than watching other people's reactions at feeling my little babe kick them!
I have more to write, but these coughing fits and lack of swallowing ability are driving me crazy. I'm out.

Hello Third Trimester!

I am 28 weeks pregnant now, marking my arrival into the 3rd trimester! Generally I am still feeling good, although I have had a few issues. For instance, last week I woke up at 4am with ridiculously painful leg cramps. It was mostly in my right calf and seemed to last forever! Cameron (who has had his fair share of painful charlie horses) ran to get me some water and offered to rub my legs. I had trouble bearing weight on my right leg for the next 4 days. It was like my right calf muscle ran a marathon in 5 minutes. Yowsa. Heart burn is still occasionally a problem, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. I have been pretty good about preparing ahead and taking Zantac when I know a bothersome meal is in my future, I also have bottles of Tums placed in handy locations. Another issue is my growing belly. Maybe it's not so much an issue as it is an inevitability. I am learning that I am smaller hip-to-hip than I am belly button to back, and fitting through doorways and maneuvering around equipment at work has been a learning experience. I feel huge.
Back to 28 weeks. Baby Dahm is weighing in at about 2 pounds and measuring about 14 inches long. I am feeling a lot of movement now, mostly in my right upper abdomen near my ribs.

We had a delightful Christmas in our new home! The original Ryan 5 along with all immediate significant others gathered the weekend before Christmas to open presents. We had our very first Resale Shop Christmas which ended up being super fun and hilarious!
After dinner, we headed out to the Roy Wilkins Auditorium to watch some MN Roller Girl action with our very own "Fannie Tanner!"

And the next weekend, on the warmest Christmas I can remember, my parents flew in and we all went for a walk.

Cameron made braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and oven roasted carrots for Christmas Eve. The Gronaus came over on Christmas Day and Cam made us all delicious pizzas. All that cooking really tuckered him out!

Anaphylaxis!

I had a quick doctor's visit this morning, just some vitals and a tummy check. BP 108/74, HR 74, weight 158#. Baby's HR is 135-140. Next month is the 1-hour glucose test. I have been feeling great, for which I am very thankful. There are 3 other gals at work who are pregnant, and each one is sicker then the next. I almost feel guilty. It's hard to believe that I'm over 6 months (25 weeks) pregnant already!
Now that the excitement of moving is over, I am able to find some time to work out again. Cam and I joined a gym nearby, and we also participated in the Reindeer Run 5K last Saturday. I almost always have to walk a bit during my workouts, but at least I'm moving!
Here are 2 photos from the Reindeer Run:




I am also beginning to get more acquainted with the inside of my bellybutton. I thought it wouldn't become an "outie" until I was bigger, but I was wrong. I am discovering parts of my bellybutton I never knew existed before. I never used to clean out that area, but you can bet I do now!
Our setter/retriever Sunny had some wild allergic reaction last night. We think it's from the mussels Cameron made for himself, but we've not sure. Poor Sunny got really puffy around his eyes, lips and tongue. We were able to get the swelling down with some Benadryl, but he puked all night long. He seems to be better today. Here are some pictures...

And now I'm off to do some laundry.
Wait! I forgot! I think I felt her move! I went to a production of Amahl and the Night Visitors on Sunday. After the show, the orchestra and choir performed Christmas carols. The audience was encouraged to join in, and during "O Come, All Ye Faithful" there was a flop! I guess I'm not 100% sure it was the baby, but it's the closest thing I've come to thus far so I'm going with it!
And NOW I'm off to do laundry.

It's a....girl?

We're not 100% sure, but we think we're having a little girl! We had our 21 week ultrasound on Tuesday, and the tech worked on Baby Dahm for about an hour trying to get it's legs to uncross. She made me drink cold water, jump up and down, and she poked my belly- hard. No dice. She said that means that we're probably having a girl. That and there were no obvious signs of a penis.


Here is a picture of the face and a profile shot. Pretty creepy, but way more human-like than the gummy bear she looked like on the first ultrasound!
Everything seemed to check out just fine at this appointment. My weight is up to 152#, BP 102/62, pulse 60. The baby is in the 55th percentile for growth, which is good and average. All the organs appear to be in their correct positions, and they estimate her weight to be about 1 pound. I'm still not feeling any movement yet- my placenta is anterior (in the front), acting like a cushion, so I might not feel anything for awhile.
I have been feeling pretty good lately, jogging a few times a week with volleyball on Thursdays. The heartburn is better, I just have to be careful about eating too fast (especially at work). My face totally broke out the past couple of weeks, but I attribute that to the junk food binge I went on. Now that I've moved on from the sweets (okay not completely), my face seems to be clearing up a bit. I have no time for pimples.
Cameron and I close on our new house on Tuesday! We are thrilled to be moving, but the process is a headache. Especially since we're still trying to sell the townhouse at the same time. Much of our stuff is packed in boxes and bags, but then we have to organize the chaos for showings. Here are some pictures of 125 Maple Street. There will definitely be more photos once we close the deal! Here is our backyard and a shot of the kitchen. I just noticed the green flowered wallpaper/paint border in the kitchen- that's going to have to go.



I have been going to Improv 101 classes on Tuesday evenings, and they have been awesome! They are unlike anything I have ever done before, and it has been an eye-opening and refreshing experience so far. There is no pressure to be funny or witty. They actually encourage us (more like demand us) to shut off our brains for the 2 hours we are there. That may sound easy, but it is truly difficult. It is such a wonderful departure from the stresses of work and life.