At my 40 week check up this Tuesday, I was 1 cm dilated. Yikes, I thought, not much progress at all and my doctor felt the same way. My due date is tomorrow and was we quickly approach this last day in April, I am feeling more and more confident that this will be a May baby!
The doctor has scheduled me to be induced Monday night, the 4th, which means we will have a baby by Tuesday. Right now I am really praying that an induction doesn't have to happen. If it does, then I want to do whatever is best to get the baby here safely, but at the same time I have worked really hard to prepare myself to labor at home as long as possible and then be up and moving while at the hospital. So, as is true in life, things don't always go according to plan.
I've prayed for patience and now I pray for peace. During the last two weeks, things have become entirely more painful. Even the simplest activities - walking, getting in and out of the car, putting on a pair of pants - are now dreaded daily activities. My doctor says this is entirely normal as the baby's head is down and he or she continues to weasel their way further into the canal. Okay, fine... but man does it hurt!
Dan continues to be my source of strength and steadiness. I never would have made it through this pregnancy without him and now we get to tackle the joys of parenthood together. Personally, I think we make a great team and I love him with all my soul.
Stay posted and hopefully the next entry will include baby details and pictures!!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
No news is not necessarily good news
I am 37 1/2 weeks and waiting (not entirely patiently). I really didn't think the last month would be that hard, oh how I was wrong. Something happened on Sunday as I randomly realized that I was ready to have the baby. Maybe because the nursery is basically ready, all necessary objects have been purchased and the bags are packed. Unfortunately, the baby is not ready to come out at this moment. So, I wait...we wait. We have very few plans scheduled these days in hopes of grabbing our numerous suitcases, bags, pillows etc and heading to Community North. My body continues to yell at me... feet are extremely tired by the end of the day, more pain in my lower back, and the glorious cramp-like contractions have started and become more routine. I was reading in my pregnancy book that right now it is recommended that you stop working and focus on your own rest... yeah right! Doesn't that sound like a great plan... sure I'll just sit around for the next few weeks, sleep, take long baths and treat myself like the princess I am. In reality, I will continue to work until this baby decides to join us in the world!
In all seriousness, we are excited and anxious for the day to truly come. We will keep you posted!
In all seriousness, we are excited and anxious for the day to truly come. We will keep you posted!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The nursery, the shower, the waiting
Guess I have been a little busy or preoccupied lately. Too long between posts but here is the latest news
1. Dan has worked extremely hard on the nursery and it looks beautiful. Still waiting on a few furniture pieces but it is suitable for baby's homecoming. Pictures to follow.
2. We are at the 35 week mark but still measuring 1 week ahead. My next appointment is Tuesday (at 36 weeks) and this is when we start going every week. My hopes are too high that I will actually be dilated during this appointment!
3. We had a gorgeous baby shower this past Sunday afternoon hosted by our family friend Abbie Rogers. She even had my friend from high school, Adam Bryan and his wife Allie there to take pictures. Professional photographers for my baby shower! I was blown away. I am sure they will post pictures and I will update that. Their website is www.abryanphotography.com Thank you to everyone for your kindness and generosity... we are so blessed!
4. Physically I feel okay just getting more tired and sore. Emotionally I feel a bit of a mess. I tend to be up and down a lot lately. I think this is due to anxiety about when the baby will actually come and being as prepared as possible. (not to play therapist on myself or anything :) )
5. I think this last month is the true battle... getting ready, trying not to be overly anxious, feeling too large to do much of anything, and trying to enjoy your last days just you and your husband. I know Dan and I will be great parents and will love having this baby in our lives, but at the same time I know we will miss our time just the two of us. Thankfully we have lots of willing babysitters so weekly date night will be a must!
That's all for now but I promise to post some pictures soon.
1. Dan has worked extremely hard on the nursery and it looks beautiful. Still waiting on a few furniture pieces but it is suitable for baby's homecoming. Pictures to follow.
2. We are at the 35 week mark but still measuring 1 week ahead. My next appointment is Tuesday (at 36 weeks) and this is when we start going every week. My hopes are too high that I will actually be dilated during this appointment!
3. We had a gorgeous baby shower this past Sunday afternoon hosted by our family friend Abbie Rogers. She even had my friend from high school, Adam Bryan and his wife Allie there to take pictures. Professional photographers for my baby shower! I was blown away. I am sure they will post pictures and I will update that. Their website is www.abryanphotography.com Thank you to everyone for your kindness and generosity... we are so blessed!
4. Physically I feel okay just getting more tired and sore. Emotionally I feel a bit of a mess. I tend to be up and down a lot lately. I think this is due to anxiety about when the baby will actually come and being as prepared as possible. (not to play therapist on myself or anything :) )
5. I think this last month is the true battle... getting ready, trying not to be overly anxious, feeling too large to do much of anything, and trying to enjoy your last days just you and your husband. I know Dan and I will be great parents and will love having this baby in our lives, but at the same time I know we will miss our time just the two of us. Thankfully we have lots of willing babysitters so weekly date night will be a must!
That's all for now but I promise to post some pictures soon.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Scary Night
At about 7PM last night, I started having regular contractions (the non-painful kind). I was having some earlier in the afternoon but they were pretty irregular. These contractions don't hurt but everything just gets very tight. So, at 7 I called the on-call number and fortunately my doctor was the one on-call.
He told me to drink two big glasses of water, empty my bladder and rest. I followed his instructions but had a consistent 6 contractions every hour. They continued every 10 minutes until about 9. We decided I should call him back and at that point, he decided to have us go to Community North Labor and Delivery to get checked out.
They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and tracked the baby's heart rate and the contractions. After watching this for a while, my doctor ordered a shot of tributelene (not sure if I spelled that right). The nurse told me it would make me feel hot, jittery and cause my heart to race. It did just that and worse.
I was talking to my mom on the phone giving her an update and I started feeling terrible. I got off the phone and Dan got the nurse. By that point, I had no color in my face, felt terribly nauseous and was having trouble breathing. They lowered my bed so my head was below my feet, brought in a pulse-ox monitor and just kept checking my blood pressure. The lowest it reached was 80/30.
It took a while but I started feeling better, and even better news... the baby was a champ through it all! Even when my bp dropped the baby's heart rate held strong. We have one tough baby in there!
Around 11:45, my doctor sprung us and we headed home. The contractions have stopped and I am free to resume activity.... at least until Monday when I have an already scheduled ultrasound and see my doctor. He might put me on modified bed rest, but we'll see. I'm supposed to drink lots of water (about 2 liters a day) and not over do it. This is not an easy task for me normally. But I think after last night I will make it a point to rest.
He told me to drink two big glasses of water, empty my bladder and rest. I followed his instructions but had a consistent 6 contractions every hour. They continued every 10 minutes until about 9. We decided I should call him back and at that point, he decided to have us go to Community North Labor and Delivery to get checked out.
They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and tracked the baby's heart rate and the contractions. After watching this for a while, my doctor ordered a shot of tributelene (not sure if I spelled that right). The nurse told me it would make me feel hot, jittery and cause my heart to race. It did just that and worse.
I was talking to my mom on the phone giving her an update and I started feeling terrible. I got off the phone and Dan got the nurse. By that point, I had no color in my face, felt terribly nauseous and was having trouble breathing. They lowered my bed so my head was below my feet, brought in a pulse-ox monitor and just kept checking my blood pressure. The lowest it reached was 80/30.
It took a while but I started feeling better, and even better news... the baby was a champ through it all! Even when my bp dropped the baby's heart rate held strong. We have one tough baby in there!
Around 11:45, my doctor sprung us and we headed home. The contractions have stopped and I am free to resume activity.... at least until Monday when I have an already scheduled ultrasound and see my doctor. He might put me on modified bed rest, but we'll see. I'm supposed to drink lots of water (about 2 liters a day) and not over do it. This is not an easy task for me normally. But I think after last night I will make it a point to rest.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
For You
Being pregnant with you has been the most awe-inspiring and, at times, challenging experience of my life. It seems that each month brings exciting new events that have amazed your dad and me. The first few months I was pregnant with you were challenging in the fact that I really didn't feel well most days. Basically, I woke up feeling bad and went to bed feeling much the same. But, the sickness passed after the first four months and I tried to get on with things.
Along the way, we have faced some difficult news especially when we found out there was a cyst on your brain. We were very scared as we waited four days to have a special ultrasound. Thankfully, this ultrasound showed that you were growing right on target! Your brain, heart and limbs all appeared perfect, which is exactly what the doctors told us to hope for. The good news is that the cyst is probably already gone and it was just an isolated incident. As your mom and your current home, I too have faced some challenging health issues. Right now I am wearing a heart monitor (which I really hate) but the doctor's orders were to wear it for a month. While pregnant, my heart has begun beating very fast and hard and a few times I have nearly fainted. In a couple weeks we will know what is going on. But for now, I'm just trying to provide you with the best, safest and healthiest home I can.
One of the reasons I wanted to write you this letter was to share some wonderful memories over the past few weeks. About a week ago, I was lying in bed reading a book and your dad was falling asleep next to me. All of the sudden you started to kick me very hard and then it felt like you were doing somersaults in my belly. I lifted up my shirt a little bit to take a closer look at my belly. Sure enough, I could actually see you moving in there. I quickly decided to wake up your dad because I was sure he wouldn't want to miss this. I told him to just watch my belly and right away you started movin' and shakin' in there. We loved the little show you put on for us! I'm not sure words can adequately describe the overwhelming sense of joy I felt knowing you were growing so well inside of me. I also began feeling proud to be your mom and growing even more anxious to meet you. I know one day I will forget the exact feeling of what it was like to have you move inside of me, but I will never forget the intense emotions associated with these days. We love you already.
You seem to have distinct patterns of being awake and asleep. You really enjoy moving around in the early afternoon and by about nine at night all bets are off... this is when you really start kicking and rolling around. And then, when I am finally able to go to sleep you start kicking again. But that's okay, I truly love every move you make.
If all goes according to schedule, in less than three months you will be here with us. Then we will finally be able to meet you and know if you are Samuel or Maggie. But for now, we watch, wait and do our best to get prepared for your arrival. Enjoy your time in there and I will do my best to keep you safe and secure.
Along the way, we have faced some difficult news especially when we found out there was a cyst on your brain. We were very scared as we waited four days to have a special ultrasound. Thankfully, this ultrasound showed that you were growing right on target! Your brain, heart and limbs all appeared perfect, which is exactly what the doctors told us to hope for. The good news is that the cyst is probably already gone and it was just an isolated incident. As your mom and your current home, I too have faced some challenging health issues. Right now I am wearing a heart monitor (which I really hate) but the doctor's orders were to wear it for a month. While pregnant, my heart has begun beating very fast and hard and a few times I have nearly fainted. In a couple weeks we will know what is going on. But for now, I'm just trying to provide you with the best, safest and healthiest home I can.
One of the reasons I wanted to write you this letter was to share some wonderful memories over the past few weeks. About a week ago, I was lying in bed reading a book and your dad was falling asleep next to me. All of the sudden you started to kick me very hard and then it felt like you were doing somersaults in my belly. I lifted up my shirt a little bit to take a closer look at my belly. Sure enough, I could actually see you moving in there. I quickly decided to wake up your dad because I was sure he wouldn't want to miss this. I told him to just watch my belly and right away you started movin' and shakin' in there. We loved the little show you put on for us! I'm not sure words can adequately describe the overwhelming sense of joy I felt knowing you were growing so well inside of me. I also began feeling proud to be your mom and growing even more anxious to meet you. I know one day I will forget the exact feeling of what it was like to have you move inside of me, but I will never forget the intense emotions associated with these days. We love you already.
You seem to have distinct patterns of being awake and asleep. You really enjoy moving around in the early afternoon and by about nine at night all bets are off... this is when you really start kicking and rolling around. And then, when I am finally able to go to sleep you start kicking again. But that's okay, I truly love every move you make.
If all goes according to schedule, in less than three months you will be here with us. Then we will finally be able to meet you and know if you are Samuel or Maggie. But for now, we watch, wait and do our best to get prepared for your arrival. Enjoy your time in there and I will do my best to keep you safe and secure.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
one more thing...
If one more person asks me if I am having twins I might lose it!
This happened at least two times this week. I don't think I am that big at all (my mother and husband agree with me of course) but I think because my stomach is very round (like a basketball in there) and am all baby in the front I might appear larger.
So, to answer the question... NO, there is only one baby in there! I've seen him or her several times. This doesn't mean the baby isn't big because that may very well be the case. But I am fine with that.
If you think I look huge the next time you see me, please keep it to yourself! :)
This happened at least two times this week. I don't think I am that big at all (my mother and husband agree with me of course) but I think because my stomach is very round (like a basketball in there) and am all baby in the front I might appear larger.
So, to answer the question... NO, there is only one baby in there! I've seen him or her several times. This doesn't mean the baby isn't big because that may very well be the case. But I am fine with that.
If you think I look huge the next time you see me, please keep it to yourself! :)
Dan gets kicked!
This past Wednesday night, Dan felt the baby kick for the first time! It was pretty exciting for both of us really. For the past few weeks, I have been feeling the baby very often (he or she has a distinct kicking/moving schedule) and I always try to get Dan to feel it. Unfortunately, it seemed as soon as Dan would put his hand on my stomach and push the baby would move or stop kicking. So, on this night, the baby was very active and I told Dan to try again. He push on my stomach and instantly felt about three kicks in a row. I wish I had a picture of his face because it was priceless. He got this excited look but then looked to me for confirmation that he was feeling the "right" thing. He was. He pushed again and the baby pushed him back! As I type, this little baby is rockin' and rollin' in there again.
My mom told me that I had a very distinct kicking scheduled too, and that 6-8pm was my prime kicking time. She also said that when I was born 6-8pm was my crying and stress-relieving time. This meant that she didn't eat a hot meal for many months... sorry mom! Guess we will see what this little bugger has in store for us each night. I'm sure we are up for the challenge... at least we better be!
My mom told me that I had a very distinct kicking scheduled too, and that 6-8pm was my prime kicking time. She also said that when I was born 6-8pm was my crying and stress-relieving time. This meant that she didn't eat a hot meal for many months... sorry mom! Guess we will see what this little bugger has in store for us each night. I'm sure we are up for the challenge... at least we better be!
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