39 Week Update

So we are back from the OB's office for the 39 week appointment. Let me start by saying that the little sore throat I started getting yesterday progressed overnight and now I sound like a frog. My throat is itchy and scratchy so I've been coughing and sneezing. I got about 2 hours of sleep last night because of the coughing... I took some Tyle.nol Cold N Sinus before going to bed.

Now here are the stats:

Weight: +2 lbs from last week
BP: 150/90, after resting 128/86
Belly: 39 1/2 cm
Baby HB: 148
Dilation: still 2 cm, same as last week
Cervix: still soft but closed, same as last week

She was a little concerned about the high BP, but said that the Tyle.nol contains Suda.fed and that can raise your BP so it could be nothing. However, to be on the safe side, I am starting another 24 urine collection immediately. I will take it to the lab at the hospital tomorrow at 5 PM. I will have my BP checked there and wait for the urine test. If it comes back ok (which the other 2 I have done during this pregnancy always have been) then I go home and wait for Peanut to come on his own. If it is abnormal, then I will be admitted to the hospital and they will start an induction Friday morning.

So I could have a baby by the weekend!

38 Week Appt

Back from the 38 week appointment. Dr. S was working the hospital today so we didn't really have an appointment time. I called in around 8:30 to find out when would be a good time to come in and Dr. S would just walk over from the hospital. She said 9:30 would be good. EEK - I hadn't even showered yet! So a quick shower and off we went.

The nurse paged Dr. S that we were there and to come on over. In the meantime, did her usual.

Weight: -1 lb
BP: 120/80
Baby HB: 144

Then Dr. S called saying she had 2 patients she needed to deal with and couldn't make it over right now. She didn't say if these patients were in labor or what so we had no clue how long it would be before she came back. I really wasn't up for waiting there all day long...and Dean had meetings to get to. So the nurse suggested we grab breakfast in the deli downstairs while we wait. I had 1 bite of a breakfast taco, Dean had 3 bites of an egg sandwich when we got the call to come back.

Belly: 39 cm
Cervix: very soft
Dilation: 2 cm

She said the baby could come at any time now and "see you next week unless you have a baby before then." Oh - during the exam when she was checking the cervix she pushed extra hard and then said "want to stir things up a bit?" HUH? Like if she poked him in the head he would come sooner? UH NO was my answer. I'm not QUITE ready yet. The more baking time Peanut gets, the better I will feel.

WHOOP! (SI and MN - these are 2 less cm that I have to be drugged in the hospital to get, so even though you say, "That's all? Don't you have to go to 10?" This is quite a lot!!!) There are lots of women who don't dilate at all before being admitted in the hospital. And just for you SI....here's a pic of 2 cm dilated!! :0)

So HA! Look at me - I'm ahead of the class!

On another note, our financial dude is coming over today. Dean and I both have some money lingering in our TRS accounts (Teacher Retirement Savings) from when we used to work for the state - me for a school district and him for a college (as a janitor when he was IN college - HA!). We are trying to get that moved into our other 401K's or Roths or whatever. We are also going to talk to him about setting up a college fund for Peanut.

Other than that, I need to make my easter basket handle - for the easter basket cake - for Sunday today so it will have time to harden. I already made a little bunny and some flowers. Pics will be posted when the final product is ready!

Hope you all have a great day!

14 Days To Go??

38 weeks :: T - 14 days

April 2008 we were going through IUI #2.
April 2009 we are expecting a baby.

My oh my how the times have changed. Today I am 38 weeks pregnant. Today I have only 14 more days until this baby is coming - or at least due. Seriously? When did we suddenly get down to only double digits in days remaining?

It was August 13, 2008 that we got the call we had been waiting for.

After 683 days...
After 1 year, 10 months, 13 days...
After 16,392 hours ...
After 983,520 minutes...
After 59,011,200 seconds ...

We were pregnant and now in just 2 short weeks, we will have a real baby to hold and love in our very arms. I have so many emotions flowing through me right now. I am excited and nervous and scared and worried and anxious and in shock. The fact that we will responsible for a little tiny person in 14 days (or less) and that he will depend solely on the two of us to feed, bathe, nurture, raise, and love him is so amazing to me. How will I know if I am a good mom? How will I know if I am doing the right thing? How will I know if the baby is happy? I know...in time, these things will come...After you hold the baby, you will know everything you didn't think you knew how to do before...Moms are naturals.... All I really know is that I love this tiny little person so much already and I haven't even met him/her yet.

My heart overfloweth.

Cardio Check, A Sitter??, And Prego Pics...

Dean's stress test results came back ok. His heart is doing great (he has 2 stents), but his bilirubin was a little elevated. First thing out of doc's mouth "No More Alcohol." WHAT? That's going to be a problem was his response. Apparently the cholesterol medicine he is on causes enzyme issues in the liver and alcohol only adds fuel to the fire. After Dr. Goo.gle today, he now thinks his aspirin also contributes to the bilirubin increase. The cardiologist is going to send the resports to his primary doctor to see if she wants to pursue further enzyme testing to see if something else is going on. He said sometimes this can be genetic, but it could just be from the meds and drinking...

So I think I said the other day when sitter option #1 fell through, that Dean posted an ad on our neighborhood website. We got a hit yesterday. The lady is a stay-at-home-mom with a 4 y/o and a 1.5 y/o looking for some extra moola. Our price was good for her so we are supposed to go meet her on Monday - WHOOP WHOOP! Let's pray this one doesn't bail over the weekend like the other.

Here are some recent pics of Peanut and Peanut Stuff...

This is a terrible pic (Thanks Dean for not waiting for all of us to look and smile) but it shows how excited Grammy and Grampy are about their upcoming grandbaby. Peanut was moving quite a bit last week when we stopped by for a visit. But of course, when they came to feel, he got a little stage fright! They did finally feel it though.


Grandma (via Dad) got us our Baby.Bjorn for Peanut. It was the last major thing we needed. Dad told me that if Grandpa was alive and Grandma was able, they would want to get us something for their great-grandbaby. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We love you! Peanut loves you! And the fact that she's sitting up in her chair and smiling just makes me so happy!

The 37 week belly...even with my face this time!

And the "Our Little Monkey" onesie I finally ordered from ebay. It's yellow (I didn't use a flash because the yellow would show as too yellow) We think it's perfect for Peanut's coming home outfit! Nice and fresh and spring time - and MONKEY!

Growing Pains

At least that is what I think I had last night. Let me back up. We had dinner at Den.ny's last night. Of course I was feeling some pregnant cravings so I had the appetizer buffalo chicken strips and the appetizer bacon and cheese covered fries. Thus spicy and greasy food. Not good for my already sensitive and filled to the brim with stones - gall bladder.

About 30 minutes after we got home, I started having constant pain all across my upper abdomen - right near or under my ribs. When I was first holding the right side of it, Dean immediately said I shouldn't have eaten that stuff because now my gall bladder is acting up. I told him I would be SO PISSED if after 37 weeks of pregnancy, NOW would be the time it wanted to act up? When I'm already so big, it hurts to bend over?? But then the pain was in my lower back as well and I could NOT get comfortable. We were trying to watch a movie and I kept getting up off the couch and bending over the couch and laying down and walking laps in the living room...nothing would make it stop. This continued for about 2.5 hours. We didn't want to call the doctor just yet because the pain wasn't fitting into the description of Braxton.Hicks, pre-term labor, early labor, or labor-labor. Yes, we did have to bust out the What.To.Expect book to be sure. Nothing matched because the pain was constant and not coming and going as contractions should do.

I asked him to call the doctor and he said they weren't going to do anything for me so why call? Well, I can't get comfortable and the last paragraph of the labor chapter did say, "If you have any doubt, CALL." So he talked to the on-call doctor (not same on-call doc that prematurely had me thinking I had pre-e, thank goodness). She said basically that the baby is growing a whole lot right now and these are basically just late pregnancy pains. Take a warm bath and a couple of Tylenol. UGH.

So off to the bathroom we go for a bath at 11:30. That helped the pain until the water started cooling off. I was so tired and finally decided to try and go to sleep - HOW I have no idea as there were zero positions that I could get cozy in.

I ended up, upstairs in the guest bed because its not as squishy as our bed, and helped my back a little. I tossed and turned for a few more hours, but finally was able to go to sleep. Of course, this only lasted a few hours because then I had to pee! Luckily after that pee break, I slept all the way until morning. Morning - at 9:30 - when Dean came in to wake me and Maddie barked and tried to bite him for touching Mama! She is totally in protective mode now.

This morning we are pain free, thank goodness.

Oh but I have another story for the day - ugh and it's only 10:45 as I type. When I got up, there was a voicemail on my cell. Guess who? Remember this lady who was going to save the day? Yeah, it was from her. We had a meeting this afternoon to meet her and see her house where our baby would be taken care of....the message was this, "Hi Kim. It's Jen. I know we were supposed to meet today, but I didn't really get a good response from the ad I posted (remember she posted it on 3/9 and I was her first call last week) so I am going to have to look for something full time outside the home. Sorry, Thanks, and Good Luck."
WHAT THE HELL? Why are you waiting until the day we are supposed to meet to drop this on me? What we think happened is she talked it over with her husband and he said if you are only going to be keeping 1 kid, that's not enough money to cover us so you need a full time job. And I understand that, but her timing B.L.O.W.S.

So Dean has posted an ad on our neighborhood website and I just found a home based child care lady in the section across the street from us. Hopefully one of those will pan out...

The What-Are-We-Going-To-Do-When-Mom-Goes-Back-To-Work-Game is back on.

Weight has been lifted....

So we've been unsure of who would be taking care of Peanut once I have to go back to work. We really didn't want to use a daycare because babies in daycare tend to get sick easier and more frequently because of all the germy little kids running around. Grammy has been a pre-k teacher for about 20 years or so, and we had hoped she would be quitting her job in order to take care of Peanut for us full time. She has other plans though. She's been going to a community college for years taking classes towards a certification in child care. She has finally finished and will be graduating in a few weeks. Next on the agenda is her associates in childcare development, and then a bachelors. I am happy for her that she is finally completing this task, but it makes me sad too that she won't be helping raise Peanut on a full time basis.

Since this was discussed, we have been looking around for a caregiver -preferably a stay-at-home mom who is wanting to take in a few more kids for some extra money. We live in a 3300 acre community with I don't even know how many homes in it. Surely someone fits that bill around here? I have posted in our Yahoo group and had S look in hers as well...we finally got a hit a few weeks ago from S's group, but they wanted to start immediately. REALLY? How can you start immediately as a babysitter when I don't have a baby to give you to sit yet?? So it didn't work out. We've also looked at the Texas Registered Child Care website (I don't have it bookmarked and don't feel like looking it up - call me lazy) but it seems like most of the ones who care for only a few children aren't registered or licensed or they live too far for me to be dropping Peanut off before the van every morning - call me lazy again - but mornings aren't my thing and if I can find someone in our neighborhood, which would only require an extra 10 minutes (yes, I know baby will create more time) to drop off, that would be AWESOME!

Our other reference we had was a co-worker's sister who had a baby in February. She didn't say she wanted more kids to look after, I actually approached my friend to ask her - she lives just outside my neighborhood. Well, we had plans for her to come over and meet us and she canceled - not feeling well. Then we had tentative plans to meet later in the week - she never confirmed. My friend finally told me that she wasn't really interested. If she had been, she would have been more gung-ho on meeting us and getting everything setup.

Anyway, today a lady was coming by who used to be a bunco friend's nanny. She is currently employed at a Montessori here in the neighborhood, but might want to come back to nanny'ing (is that a word?). She came and brought a friend with her who is currently unemployed but might be looking into nanny'ing too. Anyway, after lots of small talk we finally got to the gist of the meeting - the money. Apparently we low-balled her big time. I thought she was going to laugh at our offer. We thought it was generous knowing what it costs for an infant in a daycare and what it costs for a nanny through an agency - you're looking at $225 versus $500 per week. So that pretty much ended the conversation. She BS'd a little while longer about her kids in her class and how well they minded, blah, blah. And was like LATER!

Needless to say after she left, I was bummed. This was technically the last source we had and we managed to kill 2 at once (the friend she brought). I am stressing about it and wondering why in the world Grammy can't quit for me?? Not to mention, we are down to the wire before Peanut arrives and with no care lined up for after maternity leave makes me kinda nervous. So Dean went back upstairs and said he was going to post some things on some sites - yahoo group, craigslist, etc. First he stopped at our neighborhood website where there is a small classifieds section where people ask for babysitters, dog walkers, house sitters, etc. Lo and behold, there's a posting dated 3/09/09 by a stay-at-home-mom who is wanting to take on up to 3 more kids in addition to her 6 month old. I figured it was worth a call anyway - oh and!!! she was asking for the same amount we offered the previous visitors! I called and she sounds super sweet. She actually has had ZERO people respond to the posting so she is still just home with her son. We chatted a while about child care in general and the dilemmas of choosing daycare vs. nanny and her and husband went through the same things we are!

I am so proud to say that we have a meeting setup to meet her and her son next Tuesday. If all goes well, we will have a sitter lined up to start in June when I go back to work!!!

Thank the Good Lord above for small favors!

**If you've read all of this, sorry for the long-windedness and for all the parenthesis. (Apparently I really like them today!)

36 Week Update

• Blood pressure - R arm: 130/90; L arm 120/90; after resting L arm 110/76
• Weight - up 2 lbs from last week
• Little bit of swelling
• Belly measuring 37 weeks
• Baby HB - 148 (NOTE: he has been super active today up until right before the appt so I guess it was enough to increase the hb since its been in the 130's for the past several visits)
• Baby hasn't dropped
• Baby weight approximately 6 lbs.
• Cervix a little soft
• No dilation

HOLY MOLY did that internal exam hurt like a BI-ATCH! I thought her fingers were going to come out of my throat! I had to potty before we checked out and it was already spotting a little bit. She said that was normal and due to the soft cervix.

She said since the baby was still high and no dilation, she doesn't expect labor any time soon. Which is fine by me. I love being pregnant!

Hospital Registration...

I just pre-registered for the hospital! AAAAAAAHHHH!!! That makes it feel so real and like it's that much closer!!

36 week appointment with first cervical check tomorrow afternoon!

Update Round Up

Time for some all around updates...

The Sock-It-To-Me-Exchange is closing out. Last day to send out those cutie socks was on Saturday. I sent mine and can't wait for a picture to be posted on my recipient's blog! She's a reader of mine, so I hope you like them! I haven't received mine yet, but we haven't checked the mail since...er...Thursday I think.

ICLW has started. Actually it started on Saturday, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I just love ICLW. It brings new visitors to my neck of the woods and lets me read new blogs as well...Since I don't really have an "About Me" post to refer you new peeps to, I will steal the same idea that Nancy stole from Kym.... It's the ABC's of Me:

• April is the month my baby is due.
• Boy is what I think the gender is.
• Chocolate is my favorite!
• Dean is my husband's name. He's 23 years older than me, has a daughter 6 months younger than me, a son 4 years younger than me, and a 10 year old granddaugther!
• Eggs make me puke - any way you cook them...except for deviled.
• Foster kids are what I wanted if we hadn't gotten pregnant the last time.
• Grammy and Grampy can't wait to hold their first grandkid!
• Home is where I love. Since working from home the past 3 weeks, I have realized how much I really love our home and how little time I spent here before.
• Ice cream and orange cream slushes from Sonic are what I have been craving.
• January is the month that has the most birthdays in my family.
• KimboSue is a nickname my friend gave me when we were freshmen and it has stuck with me ever since.
• Love - overwhelming love is what I feel already for this baby.
• Mashed potatoes with BROWN gravy - MMM, MMM!
• None of my close friends (except for 1) have babies or kids.
• OctoMom pisses me the f*ck off.
• Peanut is what we have been calling our growing bun in the oven since we haven't found out the gender.
• Quinn is the name of an old friend's new baby girl.
• Rodeo is something I volunteer for. I'm on the sign shop committee. We make all the signs for the rodeo - exit here, buy beer tickets here, no minors, etc.
• Soon, in just 4 -1/2 short weeks (maybe more, maybe less) we will have ourselves a real live baby in this house!
• Trumpet is the horn that Deano plays. He used to play professionally. He has "retired" several times, but his friends keep asking him back!
• Uterus is Dean's new favorite word to say.
• Vagina is a word that I wish I could pretend didn't exist. It is so WEIRD.
• WalMart is awesome for a baby registry - no receipt to return something? No problem - here's some store credit. SWEET!
• Xrays of my teeth will be needed after I have this baby.
• Yogurty-caramel dip with apples is my new morning snack!
• Zebra is the Little People animal my friend Steph always calls "Giraffe" when playing with it and Andrew! He will forever get them confused! :0)

Friday afternoon Grandma had a small stroke. The term they used was TIA stroke. I have been scared to Go.ogle it, so maybe Martha RN can fill me in? The doctors said that she would come out of it within 24 hours. 24 hours was over Saturday morning, 11 AM. So far there has been no progress. They have her on oxygen with a continuous care nurse by her side 24x7 in the event she comes to. Other than that, its pretty much like she is just sleeping all the time. She does move a little and rubs her face or scratches her arm sometimes. She has opened her eyes a couple of times, but not really focusing on anyone in the room (she's been at an Alzheimer's/Dementia facility since 10/06) and the nurse said if she puts the flashlight in her eyes that her eyes are not dialating as they should be. So all we can do is visit and rub her arms or face and talk to her. However, it does appear that she can hear what we are saying. Yesterday morning the nurse told her she was going to suction her mouth and throat out for her and she promptly snapped her mouth shut. Apparently she doesn't like this. I wouldn't either - I saw it done on Grandpa - and no thank you. Please everyone keep Grandma in your prayers and pray that she wakes up out of this state so we can start having our funny little conversations again...

My sleep was better last night - finally. I think the bed was the culprit. We have one of those mattresses that looks like a regular mattress, but actually is a waterbed inside. I told Dean we needed more water in it - to make it firmer. Apparently my fat pregnant ass was so heavy, it was sinking during the night and since I have to sleep on my sides, that is what was causing my hips to hurt so much. So last night was MUCH better and I only had to pee 3 times. A little relief anyway!

There's a banner at the top of this page for ExpectNet - it's the Baby Artall Guessing Game. Time is quickly running out fellas. I'm closing the game on April 1st, so get your guesses in now. There will be an actual prize (I should probably get working on said prize now, you know, before Peanut shows up and takes up all my time!) for the winner. Right now, girl votes outnumber the boy votes!

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this, especially if you're here from ICLW!

35 Week Update

• + 2 lbs. since appointment 2 weeks ago
• baby heartrate = 132
• belly measuring at 36 weeks
• did a swab to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS).
• Now we are on to weekly appointments.....EEK!

We had a nice dinner with friends (and a bunch of their friends) last night. They moved to TN 2 years ago and were down for 2 weddings. It was nice to see them and catch up.

I am amazed by the power of Facebook. I recently "found" 2 long lost friends. I went to elementary, jr. high and highschool with them. We are meeting today for lunch to catch up on what's been going on in our lives for the past 13 years or so! I am looking forward to it.

Nothing really planned this weekend besides a baby shower tomorrow. Hopefully I will get some much needed R&R!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bringing Home Baby...

So now my dilemma is what outfit to bring home the baby in. Yes, I know it's a little early, but I want to have it here and ready when its time to pack the bags.

Dean has little or no opinion with anything I have suggested. His response, "I'm a guy. I don't know about these things. Ask a girl." REALLY? You are the baby daddy so I would think you would at least want a little input...

When we cleaned out the spare bedroom closet not long ago, we came across 2 baby outfits of Dean's...One was his christening outfit and the other just a sweater and hat someone handmade. They are both yellow and kinda girly if you ask me. I had planned on getting them cleaned - by hand with Woolite - and using one of those, but it appears they are going to be too big. The christening gown says 6 months. The other outfit obviously has no tags, but looks big.

SO....on to Plan B.

Do we I want something fancy? No
Do we I want something funny? Maybe
Do we I want something cutie? Of Course
Do we I want something comfy? Absolutely

Since I have to get a "girl's opinion," can you internets help me out? We have a lot of newborn and 0-3 month onesies that are cutie (ducks and frogs mainly) that would suffice (no pics, but you know what they look like), but I kind of want something that more represents us and who we are or what we like...

A little background story to my 2nd option...A few years ago, a friend of mine (LH from CO) told me that a friend of hers told her that there is not a day that goes by in our lives that we do not see, hear, or read about a MONKEY. That being a picture, something on TV or radio, hear a monkey noise, or just hear the word monkey. I said, "yeah right." Then I got on a plane to fly home from visiting her and suddenly monkeys were everywhere! It was like I had moved to Planet of the Apes or something! So I told some friends and now they are believers too! So monkeys are kind of our thing. I bought a big stuffed monkey for the baby for monthly pictures to chart how much Peanut has grown in relation to the monkey.

So my 2nd option is this monkey onesie I found on eBay. It's only $10 with free shipping. I think I have a baby hat and socks that could go with it already.

So which is it internets? Ducks or Monkey?

Thanks for the Words....

Thanks everyone for the prayers and slaps back into reality to let me know that I really am doing something laying around on my butt all day long....and that is growing Peanut bigger and stronger everyday.

I also feel better since Sister came over yesterday and organized the baby stuff that was still all over the place. I also sent her with some things we need to return to various stores, as well as a list of things we still need i.e. the changing pad!

Nothing on the agenda today besides thank you notes and filling out the warranty cards for the baby items that were put together on Sunday.

Tomorrow night is the first breastfeeding class. That should be interesting. I rsvp'd for only myself, but at the childbirth class on Saturday, the instructor said the partner should come too, so they know what is going on and how to encourage us if we are having trouble. I am sure D will be all over that because undoubtedly there will be pictures and/or videos of boobies!

Thursday is our 33 week appointment with Dr. S, as well as the first time we will have had to talk to her since everything went down last week.

Happy Tuesday.

Homebound Day #5

Here I am, in the recliner, on Day #5 of resting. I have the TV, laptop, phone, water, BP cuff, and Maddie all within my reach.

Saturday was our Fast Track AKA 8 hours long child birthing class. It was ok. The teacher was nice and educated. We did learn a lot of information and see a lot of videos. Dean could have gone without the delivery of the placenta, but hey - it's all part of the process, you know? HA. The hospital I will be delivering in has recently built a new wing - which we got to tour. Apparently by April, all of their rooms will be Private (no more sharing with some other mother) and L&D and Post Partum will all be in the new wing. That is awesome! The other side of the hospital is a little bit more antiquated. They are trying to keep up with all of the other hospitals in the area. The instructor had asked if I wanted a wheelchair for the tour. I said no, that I would be fine. But near the end, my cheeks were flushed (Dean says this is always an indication of my BP going up). So when we got back to the classroom, I had to lay down on a mat with my pillows while everyone else was in chairs. I felt like the slow kid in the class. :0(

That did me in and I fell asleep while watching a movie after dinner.

Sunday I had big plans to remove the tags off of the remainder of the washables and get a laundry pile ready for somebody. All I did was come upstairs, get some stuff out of the closet, something out of the dresser, and then sit on the floor to cut the tags off. Dean came up to see how I was doing and my face was flushed again. He told me to quit so we went downstairs. It was almost 1:00 so I wanted to take a shower and he told me no. I started crying. All I wanted to do was get my baby's stuff organized and take a shower and I couldn't even do that. He had some errands to run at the grocery and hardware stores, so he left me on the couch and said not to get up. I cried the entire time he was gone. Its just so hard. I know there is so much to get done in the baby's room and I can't do a damn thing without getting flushed.

I just know in my heart that Peanut is going to want to come early and I won't have anything ready. What a terrible Mom to not even have an outfit ready for him to come home in! There are some things that need to be exchanged for some things we really need...and the nursery needs to be organized. Right now all the non-washable things like pacifiers, bottles, car stuff, etc. are just sitting in baskets on the dresser.

Luckily, the grandparents came over yesterday and Grammy washed the clothes, blankets and bath stuff. Some of it got put away, but some still needs to be put up as it came out of the dryer after she left. Then Dean and Grampy put together the stroller frame, pack-n-play, swing, and bouncy seat. I feel a little bit of relief. But I would still feel better if the room in general was prepared...

I know this ended up being a whining and complaining post and I know that all of this resting is for the betterment of Peanut. And that's all that matters in the end, right? No matter how many weeks I have to stay at home and/or in bed, that's one less stressful week that Peanut has to fight to live outside the womb. Everything is about the baby.

AND I LOVE MY BABY!

24 Hour Pee Bucket & High BP

So Dr. S had told me because the BP has been high the past 2 appointments (even though it lowers after laying on my side for 10 minutes) that if I get another headache that Tylenol can't cure, to call the office immediately.

So on the way home yesterday, I started getting one. I took 2 Tylenol when I got home and took a nap. When I woke up at 6, the headache was still there. Dean had 2 teeth extracted yesterday also (a piece of a lower filled molar broke off on Saturday exposing the nerves) so he wasn't feeling up to par either. We laid around on the couch waiting for our pain to go away. Ate a late dinner and by 8:00, the headache was still there.

I didn't want to be a nervous patient, so I wanted to check my BP before calling the after hours line. Nobody in my neighborhood had a BP cuff available, so we drove to to CVS to use theirs. It was 139/83 both times we took it. So I called the office and the on-call doc said to go to L&D at the hospital for some monitoring and bloodwork...

The experience was totally NOT what I was expecting. I was expecting to lay on a bed with my clothes on with a BP cuff and have them take it every 10 minutes or so for a couple of hours. I was NOT expecting to have to completely undress and put on a hospital gown. I also had to pee like nobody's business, but the doctor wanted a urine sample via catheter. EEK - WHAT? So she used a catheter to get the sample and drain the rest of my bladder.

Next up was the fetal heart rate monitors strapped to my belly to monitor Peanut's HR. Then the BP cuff for me which read my BP every 10 minutes. After a couple of hours, the print outs were taken to the doctor and all is well - both Peanut and my BP. Of course it was high when I got there, but since I was laying down the rest of time, it was low.

So here I sit, at home on the couch with the laptop and Maddie, watching Deliver Me and Bringing Home Baby (yes, at the same time) so I can do a 24 hour urine collection in the comfort of my own home. I am sure my co-workers appreciate me not lugging a pee jug between my cube and the ladies' room. The pee jug is chilling in an ice bucket. That is so weird to me that it has to be cold when it comes out hot? Anyone? Mrs. Martha RN I know you know why I have to "chill" my pee bucket...

My Heart Is So Happy

I really want to bitch about the octuplets' MORON of a mother and that entire dramatic, welfare, food stamp situation, but I think most of you guys have already had some type of post about it or read 1400 news stories about it. Plus I had a fired up lunch conversation about it already. Thanks AJsMom. But also thanks for lunch. :0) This having no debit card for a week is KILLING ME. My cash flow runneth outeth.


Anyway, what I really wanted to post about was this. My daddy called me at work today. Know why? To check on how his grandbaby was doing. That makes me smile and makes my heart so happy. I am so glad to know that he is excited about his first born grandkid. Not only can I not imagine myself having a baby in just 10 (or less) weeks, I also can't believe that my parents will be real grandparents (minus the fur grandkids) at that time either. It is just so exciting!!!

Martha - I promise to follow up on your memes and awards tomorrow.


Ready for the belly pic of the week?

30 weeks

30 Weeks!

My 30 week baby, the cabbage head!

Your baby rivals a good-size cabbage in weight, tipping the scales this week at 3 pounds and length: about 15 3/4 inches, head to heel. (according to baby.center.com)

Holy Moly! Can you believe I have been pregnant for 30 weeks? Only 10 more to go!!! It seems like yesterday Dr. H was calling with news of the BFP. I have loved every single minute of being pregnant. Yes, even the barfing. It was a beautiful symptom that meant I was eventually going to have a baby! Our little nursery is gradually filling with lots of baby stuff. And the more stuff we get, that means the closer we are getting to D-Day...as in Delivery Day!

We truly are blessed and grateful every day for this little Peanut growing inside of me. IF was such a roller coaster of emotions, heartbreaks, and financial strains. But I am so happy that we were able to conquer the bitch and hopefully in the next 2 months, bring home a real live baby!

Speaking of real live baby...he has been kicking the crap out of me all morning long. And not just in one spot and not just one jab...continuous kicking/poking/punch/stretching all over!

Thanks to all of you in blogland as well as IRL for all your thoughts, support, prayers, and hugs (even though they were sometimes virtual) while we have been on this journey.

***30 week belly pic coming later***

29 Week Update & Shower Pics

Ooops. So I am a bad updater. I had something to do like every night last week so I never got around to posting pics or even a 29 week appointment update! Don't be too mad at me!

Baby's HB was 140.
My blood pressure was good. I had gained 3 pounds in the 2 weeks since the last appointment which puts me at 13 lbs total (post IUI drug weight - since we started seeing the OB).
Belly measuring at 31 weeks. EEK! She said not to worry, that every measurement can be +/- 3 weeks so it doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to pop early!

The 29 week belly

My view from above

My first shower was this past weekend. I was SO nervous. I've never had a been the focus of a shower before, not all by myself at least. Our wedding shower was couple's so Dean as on the spot with me!! 3 neighbors co-hosted. The theme was baby jungle animals. Everything was precious! The cake, cupcakes, diaper cake, decorations, food, punch.... We got tons of goodies. Lots of yellow and green, duck and turtle outfits! Apparently that's the norm for "gender neutral" babies! LOL. We are so grateful for our hostesses for putting this on for us, as well as all the guests who came to celebrate with us. Believe it or not, a couple of people who came didn't even know I was pregnant until they got the invitation in the mail. WOW - I thought we had shouted it from the rooftops by now. It was great seeing everyone and I am so glad they were able to celebrate Baby A's upcoming arrival.

Me, Susan and Kim R - 2 of the hostesses with the mostesses. Kim R is the one I took cake decorating classes with last year. By the looks of things, you can tell who became the professional of the 2 of us. She made all those animals, cake and cupcakes herself. SO TALENTED!

The diaper cake with a cutie giraffe on top!

The cupcakes!

Me cracking up with the cake!

After the shower, mom and sister came over to make our handmade decorations for Peanut's room. We each took an animal from the bedding and painted it on a canvas. We signed them Grammy, Mommy, and Aunt Melissa....They are already up in the nursery (pics soon - as soon as the final details are worked out) and they look awesome!

Grammy = Bear Mommy = Monkey Aunt Mel = Doggy

And finally....the Super Bowl/Birthday Cake we took to AJsDad's house for a bday/Super Bowl party... This was my first (and second) attempts at frozen.buttercream.transfers. I will try again, but with different directions. I don't like the way they look "taller" than the cake...
Oh and that's AJsDad's version of his Mii character from Wii...

Chinese Cabbage & Baby Showers **UPDATED**

In case you're wondering what that is a picture of.... It's apparently the approximate size of Peanut @ 28 weeks. That's right. Our baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage!

According to baby.center.com:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

So does this mean if I shine a flashlight on my belly, she'll turn her head and "see the light?" This seems quite funny to me. But I guess since you can shine a light "through" your fingers and "see" through them, so I would guess you can "see" through the belly too?

Apparently a symptom starting this trimester is RLS. I don't have this. As a matter of fact, since the Giraffe has moved into my bed, I have been sleeping like a rock and not moving at all. I have also not been drinking as much right before bed and for the past 2 nights, haven't even got up to pee once. Not even ONCE!!! YEAH! So back to RLS...is it possible that my husband has sympathy RLS? Because he sure is a movin' and a shakin' while he's sleepin'. UGH - gets on my nerves!

So my first baby shower is in 9 days! It is being hosted by 3 of my neighbors. The invitees are my "neighborhood" friends i.e. that live near me and/or in my Bunco groups. I am so very excited to start hoarding collecting receiving lots of fun baby stuff. Not that I am expecting tons of gifts, but well...you know...that is the POINT of baby showers, right? :0) Like I said yesterday, I am very nervous that we don't have A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. ready...well we have furniture but that's about it! It freaks me out to think that if this baby comes early we would be so screwed! No car seat to take him home in, no clothes to wear, no diapers...EEK!

The 2nd baby shower will be on 2/21 and hosted by my sister and 3 friends. It is actually going to be held at my house. We wanted to do a co-ed shower so Deano and his buds could participate as well so we needed lots of space. And being the gracious guest of honor that I am (and not wanting my hostesses to have to pay a rental fee for a place) offered up our house. Plus..hello...BONUS - we don't have to pack our loot up in a truck, take it home, unload it again. It can just be taken upstairs! I am so looking forward to all the baby "showering!"

**I am also having an online-virtual baby shower hosted by Martha. Please see the shower blog here. It has all the info like when the shower is and how to particpate. I hope all my bloggy friends sign up! It would be awesome to hear you on the phone and enjoy this special day with us.

OH - and I almost forgot - the bedding and nursery decor have arrived...well to my Mom's house at least. Grammy and Grampy bought all the bedding and coordinating other items we had selected (even though they know this was too much for them to get!) Love you Grammy and Grampy!

We didn't order these because I am feeling crafty and wanted to add at least one homemade item in the room. (Dean - still thinking of what I can come up with for you to use your new router for!) I am going to purchase 3 square canvases and have me, my mom, and my sister each paint one. This way they can each add a special something to Peanut's room as well.

I also want to decorate wooden letters that spell out P.E.A.N.U.T. ok, not Peanut, but the baby's real name. Kind of can't do that until said baby arrives though...bein's (HA I used your word Dean) that I wouldn't know which letters to buy! Then again...I am not sure if I will have the time to be crafty so soon after the baby is born....we shall see.

Also - man I feel like this is a long winded post - I have signed up for IComLeavWe (see pink button on top left of page). It stands for International Comment Leaving Week. Sign up here at Mel's blog. She has all the info and rules and what not. Basically it's a way to get traffic on your bloggy blogs. You comment on 5 blogs, plus return a comment from someone who posted to you. I haven't done it in a few months, but long ago, this is how some of my "regulars" found me!

And last but not least...my dear friend LaRay has finally succumbed to the Land Of Blogs. I guess she had heard enough from me, AJsDad, and AJsMom talking about bloggy stuff and bloggy friends that she has joined the ranks! Please go visit her and give her some new blogger support!

Happy 1st Blogoversary and Goodbye 2nd Tri! **UPDATED**

Today my bloggy blog turns 1! I can't believe I have been posting the goings on of my life to all you internets for 1 whole year. Wow. That means a year ago is when we started seeing Dr. H and began this wonderful journey towards mommyhood! I thank each and every one of you for being there for me through all of the ups and downs of the cruel infertility world. Without you, I don't know what I would have done!

What better way for me to celebrate my blogoversary than with a cake. Virtual as it may be, I still made it! And obviously my mouse writing letters are as bad as my hand writing letters! Click the pic to make a cake for yourself or someone you love!

Goodbye 2nd Tri - Welcome to the World 3rd Trimester! Why don't you put on something more comfortable...like an XL pair of Men's pajama pants, perhaps? And how about another full box of chocolate pudding with a side of applesauce and a glass of chocolate milk? The party has definitely started! WHOOP! WHOOP!

28 weeks and 10 pounds. (At least that's where the poundage stood last week.) I am pretty sure that pudding the other day put me over that. HOLY MOLY! My appetite sure has picked up in the past week or two. I am trying to watch it, but man my tummy is hungry! So far today I have eaten a Fiber.One bar - chocolate of course. Hey - don't turn your nose up at me. It's better than a regular old granola.bar. It at least has more fiber! That was my "snack" on the way to work in the vanpool. Then I had a sausage biscuit with some Orange Pineapple juice, followed by a giant glass of ice water. (If they don't fix that blasted ice machine in the break room soon, I'm gonna hurt someone. There is nothing grosser (is that a word?) than luke warm water.)

Here's the belly pic. 27 weeks, 6 days. Only TWELVE WEEKS TO GO!! We took it a day earlier than normal because Deano had band practice and I was visiting a friend. Also, not in the "standard shirt" I have been using, but you get the drift, right? It's poking out quite a bit these days. I think it would look more pronounced if I didn't have gi-normous b00bies all in the way! The little one is kicking me constantly all day long. At first I thought it was because I hadn't eaten yet, but even after eating, the kicking continues! It is sometimes distracting when she is moving so much. Like I can't keep a conversation going because...huh? wait. what? Oh sorry - I can't focus because THERE'S A BABY MOVING AROUND IN MY BODY! (Sporting part of my new velour jogging suit I got last weekend at BRU. It is SO COMFY! They just got a maternity section full of clothes from the beast store - Motherhood.Maternity!)

And without further adieu....the cutest onesie ON EARTH! A shout out to Simply.Colors where I ordered its loveliness from. I came across the website via Baby.Center. They sell onesies, and kids' t-shirts. You can print whatever you want on them - front and back. They have tons of colors and fonts to choose from. I initially was going to put:

40% Dean
40% Kim
20% Dr. H
100% ME

But decided against it. Some people don't know of our IF journey so that would only bring up questions. Plus when Peanut is older and knows about the birds and the bees and sees a photo of himself wearing this, I don't want him asking what Dr. H was doing in the boudoir anyways!



***Updated to Add: I do not like the Beast of a store Motherhood.Maternity either. That is why I was glad to see their clothes in a BRU. So I don't have to step foot in one of their stores!***

27 Weeks

All went well at the 27 week appointment. Well....all except for the timeliness of the doctor. Our appt was at 9:50 and Dr. S didn't come in until 11:40! Almost 2 hours behind schedule. She was upset with her scheduling person for having set so many patients for the morning, including new patient appointments, which for her take an hour to complete!

Belly measuring on target
Heartbeat was a steady 146

And can I just say how much I LOVE Dr. S! I think I've said before how some people in my neighborhood don't like her because she is straight forward and to the point. But that's exactly WHY we like her. Why wouldn't you want a doctor, who is in control of your health and well being, to be open and honest with you?

Dean went to this appointment. He hasn't been to the past 2. He needed to hear the heartbeat again. So while she's looking over my chart, she asks what the gender is. I say, "Surprise!" And Dean says, "Well it'll be a boy or a girl we hope." She says, "No kidding? I never would have known!" I was cracking up. Then we talked a little about pain management and I said "We want an epidural." She says, "Well technically HE can't have one since he won't be in labor." Then went on to talk about possible side affects and/or what could go wrong with one. I said we have 2 CRNA friends (Shout out to T&D!) who have put our minds at ease in regards to what could happen. She says, "Ok then, but it's MY JOB to tell you about it!" I also asked if we needed to prepare a Birth Plan...you know since all the books and what not tell you to. She says, "There is no need for that. Also what you read about having to be 5 cm to get an epi? Nonsense. We just roll with it and play it by ear. If you need something at only 3 cm, then here comes the Demerol or whatever. If you want to wait to get something, that's fine too. It's all about your pain tolerance."

LOVE IT! I was stressing about what do when and where and how and she was just like whatever you need at the time. Also, we have decided that only Dean will be in the room with me and that he will be cutting the cord. But remember I said he was squeamish? When we were talking about it (during the 2 hour wait this morning) he was like....uh, only if you really want me to. It was obvious he didn't want to at all. I'm like I need you there with your eyes open and standing up - not passed out, eyes closed, laying on the floor (Like AJ's mom did today. I am sure she has yet to post about it though!!!) to help me and take pictures and cut the cord! I think he's in, but he's not looking forward to it. Me thinks it gives him the heebie jeebies!

27 week photo coming soon...