We are leaving for the hospital!

Everything is all cleared for the 11am induction! I am soooooo nervous right now! I hope all goes smoothly! I cried saying goodbye to Carson this morning and I am sure more tears are coming when I kiss Gavin and Morgan goodbye in a few minutes. :( I know I won't be gone long, but I will still miss them!

Wish us luck. Can't wait to see what this little kicker looks like! I know R & S are very anxious and excited!

More updates to come.

YIPPEE!! There is a plan in place!

My doctor visit went much better today. (No tears from me this time!) I am officially 3cm dilated now and still 70% effaced. The dr. was happy to see more progress since we met 2 days ago. He said everything is very favorable for delivery and oked for an elective induction for TOMORROW!!!!! WHOOO HOOOO! The problem is, we are not guaranteed at this point that the hospital will be able to accommodate me. It will all be up to the number of other deliveries happening tomorrow. I am supposed to call the hospital at 10am to ask if they can get me in for the 11am induction. If so, I will go to the hospital right away, get my IV in, start pitocin and then will most likely have my bag of water broken- oh and of course- get an epidural. After that, the Dr. thinks things will happen very fast based on my progress already. Now if the hospital is too busy at 11am, they could ask me to come later or they may say they can't get me in at all and in that case we would be pushed until Monday. AGGHHHH! That would be horrible!

My fingers are crossed that everything works out for us to go in tomorrow late morning or early afternoon to start the induction. I am hopeful there will be a baby by dinner time. :)

Of course there is always still a chance that I will go into labor on my own today or tonight since I have been having minor contractions all day again. But, I am hoping we can hold out for tomorrow so it is easier to arrange babysitting for our kids. I will keep my legs crossed until then!

40 Weeks and no baby yet!

I was up again quite a bit last night with more back contractions from 1am-5pm off and on. Some of them seemed to be on top of each other but never strong enough to kick me into actual labor. So instead, they just kept me uncomfortable and awake last night for no reason. I am happy to have another dr. appointment today at 11am to see if anything else has changed over the past 2 days and also to discuss the light at the end of the tunnel...................... induction. I will update later with more news.

Fetal Monitoring

What a horrible afternoon I have had! Since I woke up this morning with more pelvic pressure and sciatic pain down both legs, I decided it was time to get into the Dr. today for an exam. So, I left work and went in for my 2pm appointment. I had a few contractions while in the waiting room. At 2:40, we were all told that the dr. was called into an emergency delivery and we would either need to reschedule our appointments or wait until he got back. So then I told the nurse the reason for my visit and she took me back. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor for 45 minutes to track the baby's heart rate and movements and my contractions. Everything looked good. I was contracting throughout the 45 minutes but not super strong ones. Then at 3:45 the Dr. finally came back and was able to check me. I am still only 2cm dilated (which made me burst into tears) but I am 70% effaced. He tried to reassure me that the effacement means more than the dilation and said that I have made progress and the head is down very low- which explains the pain. He said everything is very favorable for delivery and said the actual delivery will go faster since I have already effaced to 70% and the head is so low. He said to keep my regular appointment scheduled for Thursday with him and if things don't happen on our own before then, we would discuss a possible induction sometime over the weekend. I do not want to be in the hospital on Sunday!!!!! (not because it's mothers day but because its Morgan's birthday!) It will break my heart not to be with my baby girl on her day! So, I am hoping and praying that something happens on its own tonight or tomorrow! I need it! I am emotionally and physically spent at this point. So- 2 and a half ours out of work, I will be working from home later this evening to catch up. So frustrating!

More Contractions but no baby yet!

So the contractions have continued on and off since Friday morning at 3am! Friday afternoon and evening, I had a few more back contractions before bed and then we were up most of the night from midnight until 5am timing out contractions. The crazy thing is they were 5 minutes apart most of the time but they would only last for about a 1/2 hour and then stop completely for an hour or more. Then Saturday during the day, we decided to go for a long walk which did nothing. I called the Dr. office Saturday morning and told them what has been happening with the contractions and they told me to lay on my left side and drink fluids. I did that for as long as I could handle it but it was SOOOOO boring! The dr. also said not to call until they are consistent contractions for a full hour. I am just worried with all of these contractions I am having- I don't want to be late getting to the hospital! I NEED THE EPIDURAL!

So last night I went to bed and was up again at 1am for 30 minutes with contractions every 5 minutes and then they went away until 4am and repeated the same thing with contractions every 5 minutes for about 35-40 minutes. Then of course, NOTHING!

Over the past 2 days I have also been experiencing a constant pain in my lower back shooting down both butt cheeks (sorry TMI) and into my legs. The dr. office said this is the position of the baby being so low and sitting on my sciatic nerve. Fun, fun, fun. I am so ready for real labor. BRING IT ON!

Contractions- When will they be the REAL ONES??

Well I was up last night at 11pm, 2am, 4am and then 6 this morning for pee trips. That is crazy in itself, but I was also up from 3am-4am for the hour straight with lower back contractions. I was actually planning everything out in my mind from getting up, taking a quick shower, calling my mom to come over and of course calling R & S. The contractions weren't painful, just bothersome so I didn't wake up Al yet. I kept thinking I would wait until they got worse. At 4am after an hour of basically laying there, I got up to walk around a bit (and pee again) and decided I would lay back down to try to get some rest. Then- the contractions completely stopped!

So this morning I get up come to work and attend a marketing meeting for 3 hours and sure enough- right before I am scheduled to speak, the contractions start up again. They were about every 10 minutes, in the lower back again- but much harder this time. I managed to make it through my quick presentation ok (during a contraction!) and then excused myself to go to the restroom. I wanted to walk around a bit to see what would happen and also wanted to text Al to give him a heads up. Of course, after I walked around.......everything completely stopped again.

These contractions are just teasers!!! We'll see if anything starts up again but it has been over an hour now since anything has happened. Guess it's time to get back to work now!

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.