Hurry up and wait!

39 weeks! I'm getting more and more excited to meet this little girl. Results from todays doctors appointment concludes that I am high, thick and closed. I was sad about this news since I was told at 37 weeks by another doc that I was 1cm, but according to Dr. Bush she is still very high and my cervix is closed. BP was 160/90 in the office but 120/60 at the hospital during my NST. I had blood drawn at the hospital today to test me for toxemia (aka pre-eclampsia). Results were good. Still no protein in my urine (another sign of pre-e). My ankles are cankles. I was given an additional doctors appointment on Tuesday since Dr. Bush didn't want a week between appointments for me. So next week I have a total of 4 appointments (2 NSTs at the hospital and two regular appointments).

Oh yeah, and a the hospital today I had a braxton hicks contraction that last about 5 minutes. I didn't feel a thing.

That's all for now.

We're in the single digits y'all!

8 days left! My next appointment is tomorrow morning. I'm interested to see how this goes. Mike and I have been taking Daisy for walks at night hoping to help me progress.

Speaking of Daisy, here is a picture of her with her new do. We had her shaved (and I think she hates it). I don't think we'll do it again. It makes her scratch.


That's all for now!

I'm in love!

The UPS man delivered a large package today. It was from my wonderful in-laws. Inside was handmade bedding for the cradle Mike used as a baby. My mother-in-law is so crafty and I just love what she made. Thanks Betsy!

14 days to go!

I had my "38 week" appointment and Mike was able to go with me. I've made no additional progress since last week and my blood pressure in the office was 160/92. Seriously...this is getting ridiculous. Today is my third NST at the hospital and I get another ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid. My blood pressure in the hospital is completely normal and it stays at around 118/60 (give or take).

Courtney was lazy yesterday so I actually had to do kick counts. Normally she moves so often that doing kick counts aren't necessary but she was just a little too quiet yesterday. So Mike and I had dinner at Jeremiah's BBQ in town. They serve sweet tea and I knew that the caffeine and sugar would most likely get her moving. And it did. I'm supposed to feel 10 kicks within 2 hours after eating. By the time I was finshed with dinner, I had already marked her moving 6 times. What a relief. And what a brat for making me worry.

After my appointment yesterday, I headed to the receptionist's desk to schedule my next two appointments (39 and 40 weeks). They had me marked down to see Dr. Brooke for my next appointment (39 weeks) and Dr. Bush for my 40 week appointment. When they went to schedule my 40 week appointment the receptionist says "We'll have to swap doctors for those weeks because Dr. Bush wont be here that week." What? The doctor that I really like will be on vacation the week I'm due? That freakin sucks. Not that I have anything against Dr. Brooke but I've always had male doctor's and just feel more comfortable with him. He is from Southern California and used to live in Newport Beach. Not only that, the nurse at the hospital that I like is his wife. That means she'll be gone too. Ugh! Oh well!

Here is my 38 week belly picture (taken at 37w6d). Even putting on makeup does me no good. I still look tired and huge.

A fun poll!

Please notice to your left a poll. Please select what week you think Courtney will make her debut. Then in the comments section of this post tell me what day you picked.

My estimated due date is June 3.

Eventful 37 week appointment

Yesterday I had my 37 week appointment. 37 weeks is considered full term which means she can come anytime and would most likely have fully matured lungs. At my appointment my blood pressure was a little high 145/75 so my doctor wanted to have it taken again after my exam. The 2nd time it was 128/92. So the nurse says "Get dressed, take some deep breaths and will do it again." So I follow the directions and the 3rd time it was 136/95. Freakin great I think. So the doctor says that she wants to send me down to the hospital to Labor and Delivery (L&D) to be monitored. She says it could be my body trying to get pre-eclampsia and that it is very common in first pregnancies. She then goes on to mention induction 8-o and possible bedrest if it doesn't get better. Oh lord! Why can't I just have normal blood pressure. She says that it is just in the "watching stages" right now and that she wants me to start going down to the hospital twice a week to be monitored. I should add that after my exam I found out I am 1cm dialated. Only 9 to go. LOL!

So I had an appointment at the hospital at 3pm for an NST. An NST is a fetal non-stress test that involves attaching one belt to my abdomen to measure fetal heart rate and another belt to measure contractions. Movement, heart rate and “reactivity” of heart rate to movement is measured for 20-30 minutes. They were also going to be monitoring my blood pressure.

Mike was at work so I went by myself. At first I was scared. What if something was wrong? What if my blood pressure didn't go down? Was I ready for the possible words "induction"? It's funny how you think you are ready and then something pops up and you think "Wait, not yet. I'm not ready." It made me realize that even though she is considered full term and I can't wait to see her little face and kiss her little toes, I want her to stay in for at least another week or two.

When I got up to L&D, they had me wait a few minutes in the nursery to finish up someone else's NST. They do them twice a week throughout the day so someone had an appointment before me. Then they had me come back to one of the birthing rooms. I took off my shoes and laid in the hospital bed. And surprise, they were going to do an ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid level. I was suprisingly calm while in the hospital...alone. The ultrasound showed that she had great fluid and she also had great movement. They did a quick peek for me and confirmed for the 3rd time that Courtney is still a girl. :) Then they strapped me up to the monitors. I laid on my left side for 30 minutes. Her heartbeat was great and it showed I had no contractions. They tested my blood pressure three times while I was there. The first time it was 130/70, which is great. The second time I saw the result of my blood pressure I started laughing. It was 116/59. That has to be the lowest I've ever seen it. The third time it was 119/60. Totally in the normal range. The nurses told me that everything looks great and that my doctor would still like me to keep coming in twice a week until delivery to keep an eye on me and Courtney.

I'm not going to lie, it was sort of relaxing laying there in the hospital in the hands of the people that will be taking care of me when I deliver. The nurses were all so sweet.

In the last week I have started packing my hospital bag and this weekend Mike and I are going to wash my car and get the car seat base installed. Things are moving along and we are getting very excited. I feel good about leaving work for 12 weeks since I have pretty much trained all my backups and I feel like they are all prepared.

Oh yeah...Dr. Google was right. It do have carpal tunnel in my right hand. It "should" go away after delivery.

As for Courtney:
Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

pregnancy induced carpal tunnel...

i haz it!

So for about a week now, when I'm asleep my right arm falls asleep and my fingers tingle and go numb. So I wake up and shake it out but the numbness and tingling in my fingers never totally goes away. So today I did a little google search to find out if I was dying or something. I questioned Mike yesterday about what side of your body goes numb if you are on the verge of having a stroke. Yes, seriously. I asked this. I was glad that google could ease my mind and let me know that I am not having a stroke but have what seems to be pregnancy induced carpal tunnel. Oh what fun! Although I haven't been told this by my doctor, I'm assuming when I bring it up at my appointment on Thursday she will tell me what good ol' Dr. Google has told me.

36 week progress = Nada!

I had my 36 week appointment today. I went into the appointment a little anxious. My hands and feet were sweating and it showed in my blood pressure which was higher then normal. I think I was anxious about have my first internal exam to check and see if I made any progress. While preparing to listen to Courtney's heartbeat, the nurse practitioner stops and says "You're having a contraction." WTF? I had no idea. She said I can tell if my stomach gets hard and then gets softer. I always thought that when it was hard it was because she was moving and pushing up against my stomach. Who knew? She said this is the time my body start practicing. My belly is measuring 36.5 centimeters which she said is perfect. I'd also like to add that in the past two weeks I've only gained 1 pound. I was so relieved. The last 8 weeks or so have been aweful stepping on the scale. I had my Group B Strep test today. Want to know what that is, click here. After the GBS test, she then checked my cervix which she said was soft but closed and that she could feel the babies head. Oh yeah, and she checked externally and said baby is head down. Yay!

I asked if she could guess about how big the baby is going to be by how big my belly is measuring. I was interested to know if because I am measuring 36 cms at 36 weeks if that means she is average size (compared to people measuring say 40 cms and 36 weeks). She said that she thinks she is average and may be around 7 1/2 to 8 pounds. But she did say that it will be harder to tell as the weeks go on because she will drop lower into my pelvis making accurate measurements more difficult.

This past Saturday I enjoyed a nice prenatal massage at the Renaissance in Port Angeles. They had me lie on my side for the whole thing. I do wish I could have had a bit more massage done on my legs but it was still so nice and relaxing.

Just in the last few days I've come down with a small cold so I'm being lazy and relaxing in bed after I get off work to try and fight it off.

We are down to 28 days until my estimated due date and I am in the process of finishing up training my backups for while I'm out.

Here is a little about how Courtney is doing these days:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position (she is...she is!).

How far along? 36 weeks!
Weight gain/loss? At this point...I'm pleading the fifth. Actually typing out the number will make it true and I'm still in denial.
Maternity Clothes? Yes.
Sleep? Crap. My arms fall asleep and I wake up probably 5 times a night to try and wake them up. Oh yeah, and 2:30am trips to the bathroom.
Best Moment This Week: Getting my massage last Saturday.
Movement? She has her quiet days and then days where she feels like she is trying to bust out of my belly button.
Food cravings: Same as 32 weeks, Chocolate and Diet Coke.
Belly button? ::pouts:: It's semi out and I hate that you can see it through my shirt. Mike laughs.
What I miss: Not having to try so hard to put on shoes, get out of the car, get off the couch or out of bed. It's a production these days.
What I am looking forward to? Seeing my baby!
Milestones: Less then a month until my due date. 28 days!

What not to do when 8 months pregnant...

Do not...I repeat do not go to the Victoria's Secret Web site looking for a cute pair of PJs. You just may feel suicidal or feel like stabbing your eyes out with a fork. Just sayin!

Now, if you aren't 8 months pregnant click here to see what I'm talking about.

I'm having a baby...

NEXT MONTH!

I can't believe that today is May 1st and that next month is June. Is it just me or is 2010 flying by? This is one of the exciting things about being due at the beginning of a month because if Courtney decided to be just a little early to the party, then we could actually have a baby this month. A few days early would be fine with me, but I'd like her to stay in and bake as long as she needs...well, until I serve her an eviction notice.

The last few days I've been wondering about what my birth experience will be like. I keep asking Mike, "Do you think I will be able to do this and that?" The poor guy has no idea so he pretty much ignores the questions. I think for me, it is the fear of the unknown. I don't know how sore I'm going to be after delivery. I don't know how difficult and painful breastfeeding can be at the beginning. I don't know if this child is actually going to fit through the birth canal. At this point, giving birth doesn't scare me. I know it sucks and hurts bad and I'm mentally prepared for that. It's the what ifs that are starting to worry me. What if she doesn't fit or her heartrate drops and they want to do a c-section? Am I prepared for major surgery? Is Mike prepared for me to have major surgery? (The guy can barely watch medical shows on tv without looking away...let alone be in the room with me when they are cutting me open.)

My birth plan is simple. I'd like to avoid an episiotomy and would prefer to tear (I can't believe I just wrote that down. yuck) Truthfully, I'd prefer not to tear at all but you get what I'm saying. I've heard the healing time of a tear is much quicker then being cut. I know I want pain medication but would like to labor on my own until I find the pain to be too unbearable. I have a centimeter number in my head but I wont write it down so I don't feel defeated if I can't make it that far while actually in labor. Remember, I've never done this before so I may be living in a fantasy world but that is OK with me right now. Our hospital provides birthing balls and jacuzzi tubs for laboring which I'd like to try (I'm not talking about a water birth here, just to help contractions). I'm more open to the use of the vaccumm if needed then the use of forceps or salad tongs as we call them. A c-section is only an option if the baby is not doing well ro the doctor knows she wont fit. If the baby is still doing well after hours and hours of labor, I'd prefer to just keep waiting with hopes of delivering vaginally. On the other end, I trust my doctors and will listen to them when they give me advice for what is best for the health of the baby and me. And if that means having to use interventions to help get her out, so be it. My end goal is to have a healthy baby.

I'm not actually writing out a birth plan because dimming the lights and listening to soft music if the farthest thing from my mind. I don't have any expectations and I'm hoping that this will make for a good birth experience. I think if you go in with too many rules and expectations you are most likely going to be disappointed it didn't go the way you wanted.

Sorry for my ramblings today and thanks for listening.