36 weeks strong

Again no check this week, the doctor just giggles in amazement, checks my blood pressure (still steady and normal), the baby's heart rate (steady in the high 140's to low 150's) and measures for tummy growth. I did gain a few lbs this week but that's to be expected....between the heat and water retention and the fact the little man is putting on his weight, this wasn't a surprise and I'm still well below the allowed 15 lb threshold, so I'm doing great. Doc also pulled in the ultrasound machine just to make sure he's still head down (since he's been persnickety - to say the least) and he is indeed in the same position he's been in for at least 10 weeks....head down, butt in the air and knees and legs flailing to my left side. She said he must be really happy right there cause he's moving all the time but not away from that spot. I was thankful he's at least handling that with ablomb cause Tina's little girl keeps flipping back to breach every week and it made me slightly nervous!!

Didn't even check me this week

Well, doc says we've progressed far enough now that we don't even have to check progress every week. She said she could tell by looking at me that he hasn't moved down or anything so why bother since it wouldn't change the course of action anyway, right? Then of course she said for all the times this little one has been stubborn throughout, she's now envisioning induction at week 41....hahahaha, so funny. Just seems he's content to be where he is and would like to stay a while...fine by me!!

I went to a Pet Preparation course this week to make sure everything is on order to help Yukon not feel left out when the baby comes home. She had some good ideas about his jumping and she really liked the fact I'm trying to make him feel as included as possible....the teacher is an animal behaviorist and she was really great - it was a fun class...more fun than the child birth class by far!! It was reassuring to know I've done my share of dog readiness, especially since there was a couple in the class due in 4 days with 1 dog and 3 cats who had done nothing....they're ready to hire someone cause they're dog already has issues....what a tough situation, eh?

The big friend shower is this weekend and I'm getting really excited! I know Noreen and Joanne and Angie have put a lot of work into preparing for the day and Carrie is making a surprise cake, so I'm sure it'll just be spectacular. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life...the support is amazing and it really helps, especially when I'm missing my mom with her being far away!! I've always had pretty good luck with wonderful friends and even get to catch up with some peeps from way, way back from now and then. Sometimes it's mind boggling to think of all the things I've been through with these ladies and all the great times in life still to come. In case I get all wrapped up (or 500% exhausted by the day) thanks to all of you for making this something really special!!!

34 weeks, 3 days and going strong

Well, today's appointment went well. I saw Dr. Jones in the practice and there's just one more doc to meet....we'll see if I can get that far, right? Today's results were weight gain of 1lb which puts my total weight gain at 6.5lbs for the whole pregnancy, awesome eh? She did the group B strep test and figured while she was in the vacinity she would check to see if I had progressed any further from my last appointment - nope. Standing still at 90% effaced and 1cm dilated. His heartbeat was steady and normal and my blood pressure was totally in check. All in all, a positive check-up. Also turns out the doc is using 9/12 as the due date instead of 9/15. I think 9/15 probably came from the reproductive endocrinologist I had been seeing and I had kind of forgotten they didn't really agree at the very beginning. I'm still going to use 9/15 as the due date for my purposes but in consulting with Dr. Angie she said I should be sure to use 9/12 at the hospital since the records from my doc are what they'll be referring to and I don't want to cause any confusion. Due dates are so subjective anyway, right?

I peeked my head in and my doc was there so I stopped to see her and she returned with a high five and rubbed my belly to say he really is a miracle baby. She's just so happy things have turned out this way and she can put the worries of the past few months aside. Me too.

Then I talked to Dr. Angie cause I like to keep her updated and she said she's so happy I have been be this lucky cause so many people get into this situation and don't last this long and have to deal with months of observation and things if they even make it that far. I know we're blessed and every day I thank goodness he's coming along :)

Nursery pics - Thanks Carrie!!

Carrie and Alana stopped by for a visit today and I confessed to her that my camera was in the closet behind a load of stuff I couldn't move, so she took some pics for me so that I could get them posted ASAP. Of course after she left I got a little motivated and made Chris move some stuff out of the way so that I could get to my camera, so now there are lots of pics to share and enjoy.

Note a couple of the decals are just curling away from the wall at the sides and the vendor said I can use rubber cement to stop that from happening, I just haven't made the attempt yet. Maybe I should take a picture of the insides of the drawers, the shelves of the changing table and the inside of the closet so you can see exactly how full everything is....well maybe I'll save those for later. Goodness knows I'm not going to have to buy clothes or diapers for at least a couple of months :)

Of course I go through all that and for some reason I can't get any of Carrie's pics to upload....anyway, I went into the room and tried to duplicate her shots. Hopefully these give you an idea of the look anyway.

I'm told they're the cutest pirates ever....I tend to agree...well, till our little pirate arrives!!

I have my week 34 appointment tomorrow and I'm meeting another doc in the practice (in case she's the one on call when I finally deliver) so it should be an uneventful morning. I'm also going to stop by the pediatrician office next door and see what they're all about, so it should be informative to say the least.

33 week appointment

Doc says things are going well and if I were to go into labor in 2 days she wouldn't even stop me anymore. The baby is of good size, excellent movement and great heart rate. My glucose test came back awesome, my blood pressure has been steady throughout and I've lost weight. She says it couldn't be a better situation. Tomorrow will mark 10 weeks since I was in the hospital, so everyone in the practice is just pleased as pie with my advancement. She said the partners had their "high risk" meeting this week and the other 2 docs who I'd met at the hospital were astounded I was still pregnant :) They reviewed (yet again) the ultrasound photos from that day as they wanted to be absolutely sure there was ever cause for concern in the first place - and there was, I just did a good job holding on I guess!!

Today's results of the manual check are that I'm about 90% effaced (which is about the same as it's been for 8 weeks or so) and for the first time I am dilated - 1cm at this point. So really actually quite normal. I remember when Melissa was getting ready for Lexi and she was stuck at 90% and 4cm for like a month, so being a little dilated at this point is nothing out of the ordinary. Doc said after she presented all the info at the high risk meeting the big joke was I'm going to have to be induced at week 41....hahahahahha....doctors are funny eh? Though that would absolutely guarantee me being off work for the rest of the year, so I'm not going to complain if that's the case.

Otherwise things are pretty status quo around here. I got my hair cut really short over the weekend and it's super cute, so that's a nice feeling. The baby's room has a few tweaks left but nothing major except some of the decals just don't want to stay put where they are.....the vendor suggests rubber cement so that might be next.

Anyway, I think I nearly have this picture thing figured out so I'll post those soon.

TTFN

Crazy few weeks

Well, we're still chugging along here. We had a couple showers last weekend for the families and not much has changed with me or baby. He's moving and growing of course, but he's still hanging in there and I'm not progressing, which is all good news. I have pictures to post of the baby's room - the decals are up and everything so we're excited to show it off....just have to figure out the camera pics and how to get them up here.

My next dr appointment is on Wednesday so hopefully the good news will continue. Being 33 weeks along makes things much more comforting as the end is really getting closer and we're all doing a great job of letting him bake in there as long as possible :)

Thanks to all for your well wishes and I promise I'll get pics and more up soon!

30 weeks, 2 days and counting

Yesterday at my dr. appointment we got some better news than last week. After my appointment last week I left feeling like maybe things were getting more serious, mostly cause my doc got that quiet, serious tone about her....but after yesterday things are more clear. I was afraid maybe I had started to dilate but yesterday's results prove that's not happening. Not only is the cervix still closed but it's the same thinness (about .5cm) as it's been the last 4 weeks. This is good news cause maybe we can hang on another 4 weeks, right? I'm doing everything I'm supposed to as far as resting and laying down. Apparently I'm even doing great with eating cause I'm losing just over a pound a week....at my size this is fine....the baby will always get what he needs and I'll just be thinner after delivery...not a bad deal, right?

In other news, the baby's room is painted. Chris got ambitious this weekend and did it all. He's so amazing. I am lucky to have such a wonderful partner in him...he's taking care of me and we're doing great.

We also started our child birth class at St. Joe's last night. In my opinion it was kind of a snooze and a little lame...hopefully the other 3 classes this month will provide for some useful information. I was hoping it would entice Chris to be more interested in the actual delivery but it seems those thoughts may have backfired. Sometimes I'm afraid I'll need him in there more than anyone else but I know he's not comfortable with the idea....I guess we'll just wait and see when this all happens....hopefully not sooner than later ;)