Thursday, February 24, 2011

Almost there!

It's been a bit of an eventful week! Last weekend, I had two showers! They were both so nice! The first, on Saturday, was at the Louisville Boat Club with my father's side of the family. It was a pretty intimate gathering, but nice to see some aunts and cousins that I haven't seen in a while. I'm also thankful that my grandmother was able to be there as she's had multiple health issues over the past year. On Sunday, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law hosted a shower. Everything was so perfect! It was nice to see family from out of town, and family from in town that we don't see very often! It was a really great celebration! After the shower, we joined my dad's side of the family again for a birthday dinner to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. By 8 o'clock, I was completely exhausted!

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday morning. Danny wasn't able to come with me because he had his own doctor's appointment that morning. I wasn't overly concerned as the appointments have become pretty mundane at this point. Well - needless to say, lesson learned. I will not be going to the rest of my appointments (maybe just 1 more!) alone. I learned that I was between 3.5 and 4 cm dilated, so my body is continuing to prepare for the baby to make its entrance. When listening to the baby's heartbeat, the doctor became concerned because the heart beat would accelerate and then slow back down. My doctor told me that she would hook me up to a monitor and check on things, but if the heart rate didn't slow down, we'd be heading to the hospital to deliver the baby. WHAT!?!?! I was completely unprepared for that! Of course, she says "Don't worry, it will be fine," which only made me worry more. After a frustrating hour or so of trying to get a good reading on the fetal monitor, I was told that everything was fine and just to come back next week. I go back Monday morning, and this time, I'm planning on being more prepared in case my doctor wants to deliver the baby!

Danny and I went to pick up a few more "necessities" on Monday evening. Thankfully, I'd made a list and we were in and out of Babies R Us in no time. I was exhausted after the emotional doctor's appointment. Tuesday morning, I decided to send a very last minute plea to a few of my friends and sister, begging for some help with getting things ready around the house. Macy, Rebecca and my sister Ashley came and were absolutely amazing! They cleaned, organized, unpacked, washed, folded, put away, swept, mopped - they did it all! It was more than I had expected and I am so thankful for their help. I went to bed Tuesday night, finally feeling at ease and ready for baby to come.

So, now we wait. Things are ready. I am ready. I have been so blessed this entire pregnancy - no health problems, few complaints, etc. Now, I'm kind of done. I don't know what has changed over the past week, but I'm just ready for the baby to be here. I'm feeling bigger and bigger by the day. I'm struggling to find comfortable ways to sleep. Heartburn is keeping me up. I'm worn out by noon. I'm just ready! Tonight, I started to get my hospital bag together. This weekend, we'll install the car seat and put the bag next to the door. My co-workers don't think I'll make it through the week next week. I guess we'll see. I'm definitely ready to wrap things up there. There's going to be a baby here before we know it!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Hoping for a better day...

Yesterday was a rough day. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep from the night before, the hormones from the pregnancy, or just the general state of "uncomfortable-ness" that I've come to live in, but it was just a rotten day. I was all over the board emotionally - from happy to sad, angry to elated, but mostly focused on the more negative emotions. I know that the biggest factor in all of this has been the stress of knowing that this baby can come any day now...seriously, any day! I feel so unprepared. My house is such a mess. All of the baby's clothes, sheets, towels, etc are still unwashed. My hospital bag isn't packed. I still have thank you notes to write and deliver from my work shower. And the list could go on and on. This morning, I thought that we should most definitely check the batteries in the fire detectors (after pointing out to Danny a couple of nights ago that the chandelier in the kitchen needs dusting). I'm so not used to asking for help from others, but there's so much that I just can't do anymore. Bending over has become increasingly difficult (putting on my shoes has become quite the feat each morning). I really wish that I had more paid time off so I could take the week off before the baby comes to prepare, but we just can't afford that right now if I want to be home with the baby for 10-12 weeks.

I need to not start today off complaining....I probably did enough of that yesterday. This weekend will be great, I'm sure of it. I have a slower day at work today, and got in extra early this morning (up before my alarm at 5:45 a.m.), so I'm hoping to sneak out a few minutes early this afternoon. I only have three therapy sessions, a little bit of paperwork, and a few phone calls standing between me and home this afternoon. Guess I'd better hop to it!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

37 weeks and counting!

We had another great doctor's appointment yesterday! Our little one is growing and active and we really feel blessed beyond measure. I had another ultrasound, as my doctor has wanted to check on the baby's growth. I love being able to see our little one. The ultrasound tech was wonderful again and switched the machine over to the 3D/4D setting! I love when she does that! She printed a few pics for us! Here's a sweet shot of baby's face:

As far as stats go, they think baby is weighing in at 6 lbs 7 oz....a little on the petite side, but my doctor was not concerned about that. She said the baby is in the 37th percentile - which is good because he/she is big enough to be healthy if born now but small enough for an "easier" delivery! Sounds great to me! Of course, ultrasounds are not perfect and the weight could be way off, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. I'm dilated about 2.5 cm at this point, so not too much of a change from last week. The doctor talked to us about not wanting to go too far past my due date to wait for baby to come, and at this point Danny and I are fine with that. I've said that I would like the baby to come anytime after March 1. That's what I've had in my head for so long. I know it's not really up to me, and baby will come when baby is ready to come!

I am getting so excited, but more nervous and anxious as well. Life just hasn't slowed down at all and we've had some curveballs thrown our way over the past week or so. I'm so tired by the time I get home from work that I haven't done anything more to the baby's room. In fact, all of the gifts from my showers are still just kind of sitting around. I've got to get busy on unpacking, washing and organizing this weekend, but the schedule is jam packed. All I want is a nap! I am definitely looking forward to this weekend. Danny and I are both blessed with large families and we have two more baby showers this weekend! On Saturday, I'll be celebrating with dad's side of the family and on Sunday, Danny's sister and mom are hosting a shower for us. Sunday evening, we'll join my dad's side of the family again for dinner to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. I don't know how I'll ever make it to work on Monday!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Getting closer!

I've now started weekly appointments with the doctor. We are at 36 weeks today, and my doctor performed my first cervical check today (or whatever they call it....I'd call it torture). Apparently, I'm already 2 cm dilated and about 60% effaced. The doctor kept telling me that it doesn't really mean anything, just that my body is getting ready for the inevitable. It doesn't predict how quickly or when baby will come, but still. I freaked out a little! Words like dilated and effaced are meant to be used at the hospital when you're getting ready to have the baby, not 4 weeks before your due date! I know plenty of stories about people who go for weeks and aren't more dilated than they were before, but I think it was just another reality check for me. This baby is coming - and it will come when it's good and ready...be it 4 more weeks or 4 more days. My doctor reassured me that if I go into labor now, she wouldn't try to stop me (which I knew, but only reminds me of how much I should get done). I know that all will be fine. We have the necessities - a place for the baby to sleep, clothes for him or her to wear, diapers for his/her bottom.....we will be fine. Mentally, I don't know that it's fully hit me yet. I feel prepared to be a parent. I am pretty sure I know how to take care of a baby. I know that we will learn a lot of things by trial and error. And I also know that as soon as we have that sweet baby in our arms, we will know what to do.

We had a wonderful baby shower on January 29, hosted by my mom and sisters. It was so fun. All of our closest friends came, and it was great that Danny was there as well. We are blessed to have such amazing friends and to know that this baby is already so loved by so many. Today, the girls I work with threw a shower for me. It was really nice - we had a lunch time shower with yummy food and a delicious cake (most of which is sitting in the kitchen, tempting Danny). Again, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people who gave generously and helped to celebrate the baby!

As I'm nearing closer to my due date, I've been working on trying to make sure things are caught up at work (which is easier said than done). It's funny that my schedule seems to have been pretty open for so long and now it's jam packed with meetings, trainings and more until my due date. I'm working on ways to wrap up some things with the girls I work with and try to assure them that after my leave, I will be back (some will be happy to hear this, others may be disappointed).

All of this to say - it's getting closer! Let the countdown begin!!