38 + Week Dr. Appointment Update

Well I just got back from today's weekly visit and I am thrilled to announce there has been progress! I am now 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Yeah! I am thrilled to hear my cervix is half way done thinning out. The dr. basically said "Ok, be sure your bags are packed TODAY- just in case!" That was fun to hear. I know it could still be another week or more even, but I am hopeful that my body is preparing for an early delivery....... like maybe this weekend! :) The dr. also said the babies head is very low now which is a change from last week too. How exciting that we are this close!

On Sunday, we met R, S and Baby B for lunch for a get together before the baby arrives. It was so nice to spend time with them again! We know it will be awhile before we can get together again since they are about to become EXTREMELY busy with 2 babies under 1. I am really glad that we had Sunday to visit though. The names are still up in the air for the baby but I think it is narrowed down to 2 or 3 options. We'll see what they choose once they see his face and hairy head! :) Just kidding- although I am convinced this baby will have a full head of hair with all the heartburn I have been getting daily.

My mom is back in town tomorrow night sometime so hopefully delivery will hold off until Thursday at the earliest. Also, my oldest son Carson is home sick with an ear infection today so I really don't want to go into labor until he is feeling better. Sick kids need their mommy's so I want to be here with him!

My next dr. appointment is not until Thursday, 5/7 because the dr's are not in next Tuesday. (Which I am sure means that will be the day we will go into labor!) I am very hopeful we won't make it to that appointment! Fingers crossed.

Braxton Hicks??????

Well last night I was a bit worried.......... my lower back/ tailbone had been hurting all afternoon for some reason and by the time I finally sat down to relax for the night I was noticing what I am guessing was Braxton Hicks contractions in my lower back again. Does this mean I will have another posterior delivery? I am pretty sure so! I was kind of scared to go to sleep because I kept thinking this was going to turn into labor. I even had a dream that we had to leave for the hospital at 3am but I have no idea who came over to watch our 3 kids since my mom is out of town this week. Luckily, by the time I woke up this morning the pains were gone. My lower back still hurts but it is a constant pain today, not coming and going so I know its not contractions. I did go to the gym yesterday morning but I didn't do anymore more than usual so I am not sure what would have caused the back pain. Maybe the baby has just moved down further and is sitting on my tailbone.

Let's just hope we can hold off for another week until my mom gets back in town!

37.6 Week Update

My Dr. appointment today went well, although there are no real changes from last week. I am still at a "strong" 1cm but the cervix has not started thinning yet- therefore no effacement. The Dr. said it is more typical for dilation to occur first before effacement with prior pregnancies so hopefully by next Tuesday I will be more dilated. The babies heart rate was 147. The group b-strep test from last week came back negative so no worries for that during delivery. Also, they were able to draw my blood today at the office and are sending it to the blood bank today for the tests so hopefully they will approve me by the end of the week so pumping can begin at any time! :) I am so relieved I didn't have to go back again to Quest Diagnostics for the testing. This was so much easier!

Now we wait again until next week for more updates. Here is the belly shot from Saturday.

17 DAYS TO GO!

Well I never did get around to updating the blog last week so here goes my very long list of updates.....


Easter weekend was extremely busy with visits to both Grandparents houses and early celebrations for Gavin's and cousin Jacob's b-days. The best part was we finally got to meet our new nephew Eric who was so darn cute! It was so nice to hold a newborn again! He is such a sweet baby. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and doing the 3 different egg hunts over the course of the weekend.

The kids insisted on taking off their shirts while painting Easter eggs!

On Monday night, we took Morgan for her first official haircut. She did so well!!!!! We just got the back trimmed because I am hoping it will grow out and thicken up. I just had to include these pictures because she looks so darn cute!

Last Tuesday was Gavin's 5th birthday. It is so hard to believe our little boy is 5 years old. We went to dinner that night and then to glow in the dark mini golf and arcade so he had a fun time.

Also on Tuesday I went to my first pelvic exam. I was happy to hear I was dilated to 1cm already (which I know means nothing but at least there is something going on) and the head was down. My cervix was soft, but still thick. I talked to the Dr. about my lower back pains I have been experiencing on and off and she confirmed they are probably real contractions just getting my body ready. That is exciting and luckily they are not painful yet. I am looking forward to seeing what changes- if any, will happen at tomorrow's appointment. Tonight Al and I have got to make a point to pack a hospital bag so we can be ready to go! I have been putting it off because it is so hard to put things away that I know I will need before then (like the only 2 pairs of pj pants I seem to fit into these days). But, I need to at least pull something together just in case.

On Friday I went to Quest Diagnostics to try to the get my blood drawn for the breast milk donation screening and unfortunately, they wouldn't do it without dr's papers so now I need to try to get those tomorrow too at my appointment. It is crazy how many hoops I have to jump through to give something good away! Hopefully the tests can be run tomorrow at the Dr. or back at Quest so I can stop stressing about that last thing. I am planning on pumping right away in the hospital because the milk bank wants everything- even colostrum. My milk will most likely be used at NICU's with preemie babies who weigh 2lbs or under. I am so happy I can help more babies.

I will add more updates tomorrow or Wednesday about my appointment tomorrow and will add another belly shot since it might be the last. I am feeling good- just huge! Sleep is no longer enjoyable. I am peeing 2-3 times a night, my heartburn is waking me up night and coming almost every day. My maternity jeans are tighter than tight! Welcome to the last couple weeks of pregnancy! And I can't wait to get back to my normal eating habits when things actually sound good! Lunch time is so hard for me since nothing ever sounds good! I made a trip to Jewel this morning for more honey fruit and walnut chicken salad since that is the only thing I like these days and of course they were out. I almost started crying to the deli counter lady. How could they do that to me?????? So now I guess its another long week of PBJ's for me. AAAAGGHHH!

R & S are ready to go- although the final name is still undecided. At least they have narrowed it down to a few at this point. And of course, baby "B" started crawling just in time to bring a newborn into the house. :) I am sure they are getting very anxious for the big day to arrive. I hope and pray everything goes smoothly for all of us. I am definitely getting nervous! I want everything to go perfectly and hope that I am as strong as can be- emotionally. I feel good now- and ready to go.

P.S.- For those of you who noticed..... I had to remove the black and white baby ticker on the top right of the blog because for some reason when I logged in today, it said I only had 9 days left instead of 17. Was that a sign?????? I couldn't correct it so I just deleted it.

4 weeks to go!

Yesterday's dr. appointment went ok. My blood pressure was perfect still and I only gained a pound over the past 2 weeks which I guess is good news. I was measuring right at 36 weeks which was just a few days a head of schedule. :) Unfortunately, "THE VEIN" has continued to spread up and down on my leg so the Dr. ordered me to have an ultrasound on both legs just to be safe. So yesterday afternoon I was able to get in for a 40 minute ultrasound of both of my tree trunks- I mean legs. Thank god it was a woman technician!!! Luckily, there were no clots showing and everything looked normal so it is just a superficial varicose vein that has taken over my lower extremities! Hopefully it will go away after delivery. Please, please, please!

All appointments will be weekly from this point forward. Next one is set for Tuesday, 4/14 (Gavin's 5th birthday!!!!). That will be my first internal pelvic exam and strep test. Wouldn't it be fun to hear that my cervix is already making changes? Wishful thinking! We'll see what happens next week.

I am still working on the breast milk donation project to see how to go about this. I am starting to stress since we have less than a month to go and I don't know how long the screening process takes to get approved for donation. I have sent a couple different inquiries to milk banks and have not heard back yet so I guess I need to try to find time to make more calls this week. Al dug out my breast pump last night and washed all the bottles and attachments so at least that will be ready to go when the big day arrives. Sometime soon we'll have to actually take time to pack our hospital bags too to get ready. It is kind of strange to not have to pack any baby related items this time around. But at least that will leave more room in the bag for me- with books, magazines and snacks! I just wish we could plan for the delivery day so we could prearrange babysitters for our own kids. This isn't going to be easy considering the boys will still have school to get if its a weekday. I am sure this will continue to stress me out until it happens. Let's pray for a weekend so it's easier!!!