Today is the DUE DATE!!!

Come on Baby Lester- whenever you are ready.

The countdown clock says 0 and we are ready to get this show on the road. Sadly though, there is no news to share. I have been keeping busy walking like a madwoman. I think I am averaging 3.5 miles a day. I have been meeting eric as he goes to and from work, which is about a mile round trip- but I also have been taking a hefty walk of the day for an additional 2-3 miles. I feel great for it and really enjoy being outdoors. It times out well with him going to and from work because the heat and humidity are not awful at those points. My mom came down this week as well to spend a 'last' day with me. We shopped, had lunch, and the day flew. It was nice :)

Here is the 40 week, I am due to give birth, picture of the week.



I do think I look like I dropped a little from last week... maybe :)




ugly face I am making- but I never take front view pics (eric took it as i was walking towards him, I thought the photo session was done)

Happier Day

so yesterday I was really down. If you read the post about my dr's appt you know I was in pain and just discouraged.

Today- I am determined to make it a happier day. My baby was going nuts last night- like crazy dance party. As I was laying there unable to sleep I started to think about how much I am going to miss feeling him or her. So you know what, why be depressed about lack of progress. I already know I have a max of 10 days left before being induced- I may as well enjoy the parts of pregnancy I will miss.
I am trying to be glass half full right now.

So what will I miss-
1) the baby moving by far will be the biggest thing. It really is the coolest thing I have ever felt or seen (watching it is just as fun as feeling it!).
2) Rock hard abs :) Well maybe it isn't abs, but I kind of enjoy having a rock hard stomach for once in my life. Doesn't matter that it is protruding, to the touch it is hard LOL
3) The attention- I won't lie, it's fun :)
4) The anticipation/excitement- boy or girl? who's eyes, nose, etc? We have a lot of fun conversations about this (and I know we will have plenty of the sort once little one is here, but hey- I am making my positive list!)

so- today will be a good day, and Lester will be here within 10 days- so yeah :)

Backwards Progress

so not fair.

Dr's appt today and here is where I stand

dilation: 1 cm (that is good from 0 cm last week!)
effacement: NOT AT ALL (umm, last week I was 50%)
cervix: Still far back (umm, last week it was soft & forward)
station: baby is "really high up" (umm, last week it was engaging and at -2)

Can progress really go that ass backwards? I get the station b/c the kiddo can move, but effacement and cervical position?
I hate to moan about it- I wouldn't moan if I was equal to last week- but to be less progressed than a week ago makes me want to scream and cry.

So yeah- that is where things are
it sux.

I had my membranes stripped today- that was "fun". She also said she was going to try to 'stretch' me out. I feel like I have been fisted by the hulk and am now deathly afraid of this au natural childbirth I had envisioned for myself. I am spotting pretty heavily now, and am seriously sore inside the lady bits- not sure what went on up there. It hurt, but here's to hoping it helped get things moving.

Dr's appts:
OB- besides the progress update my BP was 120/80 (so good not great). My weight was down 3 from last week. She made me feel like I am going to have a huge baby (which is no fair since I have gained a sum total of 17 lbs this pg and while I have been measuring 3-4 weeks ahead, I have been since 26 weeks so ever think it could be just how I am carrying? Growth u/s's show Lester is straddling that 50%tile sizewise) And she said that I have until the 20th to go into labor on my own, and at my next appt (4o wk 4 day) we will put me on the induction schedule.

Any labor dust/vibes you have that I go on my own would be appreciated- pitocin scares me!

NST- we passed, sort of. The baby was definitely moving around as they were hooking me up, and was not staying on the monitor well. Once they adjusted the monitor the baby was asleep and we saw no accelerations for 30 minutes. But they said the ones that were there before they actually had me strapped in counted to say things were looking good. It made me a little uneasy- but I know thy are the overcautious not undercautious type, so all must have been well.
blood pressure at this appt- 110/60.

and that is all my updates for now. maybe i will sit on the couch and rub my nipples while eating something spicy :)

39 weeks

Not much to update here. I will go to the Dr on Tuesday for another progress check- otherwise things remain the same.
Eric and I met his Dad for dinner tonight- his step mom was out of town and his Dad wanted to take us out since it may very well be our last babyless weekend. What did we do? We had mexican!!! I was hoping maybe the spicy food would help things :) We also have been getting busy (not daily, but probably more in the last week than the last 2 months LOL). And- today I got a mani/pedi/eyebrow wax (as you can see by my beautiful eyebrows in the 'I am bored so let me take a self portrait picture' above)
I also have been nesting a ton- all the drawers in the guest room have been cleaned out as well as all the drawers in our bedroom (which have also been switched and rearranged so that the bassinet will block my drawers instead of Erics). I was really sad about switching the armour for the dresser- but it turns out I actually have more drawer space now so I am happy. As I cleaned out the drawers I sat on a yoga ball (supposed to be good position to help the baby descend).
What else have I done? I put a shamwow under the sheets on my side of the bed. Is that silly? I returned the 60 dollar mattress pad because I had it for a week and had yet to even put it on, so since I am an infomercial whore and had shamwow- and Eric has joked from the beginning that that is what we will use to clean up if my water breaks- I figured that would do as well as anything :)

I really think Ming knows the baby is coming and coming soon. She is extra playful/cuddly/needy around the house. She is acting a little different- I am trying to give her as much attention as possible, but am scared that if I smother her that will make things even harder when baby comes home. The latest thing she did was jump up onto the guest bed, where our hospital bag is laid out (I have not packed it- but I don't want to, it is all in piles with a list and I trade things like yoga pants in and out as I do laundry, so that is where it will be. It will take 2 minutes to throw in a suitcase when the time comes) Anyway- Ming usually sleeps with us, but the other night we could not find her. Lo and behold, she has nosed my neat piles of hospital clothes all around the guest bed, to make herself a nest of sorts, and passed out for the night in there on all my stuff. It was annoying, yet adorable :)

And lastly- 39 week pictures. ONE WEEK TO GO!!!







37 weeks vs 39 weeks- i don't think it looks like much has happened as far as dropping or anything goes- do you?

Eviction Notice Served

38 weeks 4 days along and home from the doctor.

Today was a double dose of appointments

1st- NST. BP was a little high 118/78. Baby basically failed, but then passed. It took 3 buzzers and her shaking my belly like a person trying to get their chips to fall in a vending machine to wake the little one up enough to make the heartrate accelerate. I honestly think I almost would have been more comfortable 'failing' the NST and having the Biophyisical Profile Ultrasound I am am having 'passed' the NST after resorting to those methods. But when I asked if it was valid the nurse just said, we can do a lot to make it happen- but the heartrate response is all baby, it happened after the fact, so yup it is. (she was really nice about it and all it was weird)

2nd- OB appt. BP was even hight (130/80). That doesn't concern me too much compared to the other reading since I walked about 7 blocks from one appt to the other and was seen quickly, plus it is always higher at the OB. Weight was +4 (Eek, it has only been 6 days). They didn't seem concerned and at this point I don't even care. That 4 lbs could be humidity, the need to poop, my outfit, the time of day, and baby growing all at once.

My Very First Internal. I didn't know what to expect- basically it was like a pap, but without tools and a lot of pressure. She just got all up in there with her fingers. It was a bit uncomfortable and lasted all of about 20 seconds.

Status: Dilation: NONE (boo)
Cervical Ripening: Cervix is soft and forward (this is good)
Effacement: 50% (basically thinning of the cervix. It is usually about 4 cm thick, needs to flatten like a pancake and dilate)



Station: -2 (baby's head is engaged) (basically means how far into the pelvis the baby is. +5 means crowning))



What does this mean?
Nothing. She said I could need to be induced after my due date or I could be in active labor in 3 hours- that this really tells us nothing. She also told me not to be too down about the dilation part b/c 1st time moms usually dilate late or last, so that for a 1st timer that is a decent amount of progress. So why on earth do they do it? Beats me, but I guess so that hopefully at my appt next week they can tell me new numbers that make it sound like progress is happening.

I am having a baby THIS MONTH!!!!

aghhh
Not that I expected to go 2 weeks early and have a May baby, but I knew it was possible- so now I can officially say I am having a Junebug. My baby will have a birthstone of Pearl with the gemstone Alexandrite (which is quite pretty and I am glad there is an alternate b/c some day after we are done having kids, I would like a mother's ring and Pearl just doesn't go with other stones all that well).

SOOOO EXCITING


Not much to report over here. My Dr does not check progress until 39 weeks (hopefully that means Wednesday at 38 weeks 4 days instead of waiting until next week when I am past the 39 week point). So I have no idea where we stand as far as what's going on. I have been having random contractions (Braxton Hicks) to which Eric looks a little freaked out every time I wince- but those are few and far between, nothing to read anything into (although they are happening more frequently every day)

The weekend was quiet- we stayed in Friday and hung out, Saturday we met with the doula, and Sunday my parents came down. The doula meeting was good- she gave us some reading material and homework to do. Some of the homework is funny- things like holding onto a piece of ice for a minute, eric pulling my hair continuously for a minute, or clothespinning our upper ears for a minute. We are not allowed to watch the clock while doing these things. They are supposed to help prepare us mentally for labor (as in learn how you mentally process the annoyance). Granted I think physically it is a far shot.
She also recommended I come up with a "Birth Project". Something to do at home while in early labor to help distract me and pass time by. She says it should be something I enjoy doing, and that I don't mind if I don't get done that day- it is seriously for distraction purposes. I have over 200 pictures uploaded to shutterfly right now of this pregnancy. Belly shots, shower pics, telling the family, nursery progress, etc. I think my birth project will be to sort through and pick the Pics I actually like and want to use, and start to build a pregnancy photobook to get printed. It is something I planned on doing and that will be great to do, and alright if delayed.

Mom, Dad & Griff (baby bro) came down today. Helped out with some house stuff (thanks Dad!) and we had a good lunch at Cuba Libre--> great restaurant. Eric and Griff finished it off by getting 32oz layered banana split sundays. I think they both made themselves a little sick in their juvenile attempt to eat it. Griff is 16- typical 16 yr old boy behavior. Eric is 33, typical 16 year old boy behavior :).

Here are a couple shots of this week- I will try to get a better belly shot tomorrow or so. I think I look like I dropped a bit- belly doesn't seem as big up top, but lower and a little more spread out.

Productivity

The past couple of days have been pretty productive. I may have to blame it on the insomnia that prevents the 'procrastination by sleep' act that I have mastered in the past.

I have lots of baby updates
1) Carseat is inspected and installed. Dumbass me now wants to go back and redo it because I don't like that it is in the middle. He said the middle is the safest, so I went with it. But now I am hating it because the handle comes up between the driver and passenger seat. Also, my car is a Prius- It is small. With the seat in the middle there is no room for anything back there. If we want to go spend a night at my parents or something, one of us could barely sit comfortably next to it, plus with the pack n play and stroller in the trunk, where would we put the bassinet or suitcase or whatever. It just makes it so there is NO ROOM at all. Plus, I can't imagine once the kid gets heavier the pain of trying to click the seat in and out in the middle.
I am going to leave it for now because of the safety- but the other dumb thing is my car has the LATCH system, which I can't use in the middle, only the sides, so I don't even know.

2) Had a prenatal massage today. Eric gave me a gift cert at my shower. I had not used it prior since we did the mother's day spa thing together- so that was GLORIOUS

3) Dr's Appt today. my GBS test came back negative so I don't have to have antibiotics during delivery- YAY (this makes me happy because I won't be tethered to an IV). Blood Pressure- once again normal 120/60. WTF is up with me being high risk/ high blood pressure- seriously... Weight gain from last time was 0- YAY because last appt I was +4 so that evens it out a bit. Total weight gain is 16 lbs. Dr said the heartrate 'sounded like a boy' which is so not cool of him to say, cause how do I know it doesn't say boy on a chart somewhere, and that is not very medical of him, and now I wonder if he knows and spilled or what.

4) Bought a waterproof mattress pad- (Dr's suggestion and I thought a good one) I would rather protect our mattress in the event of my water breaking then have to deal with the cleanup after of a soaked mattress.

5) Doula is hired- she was really nice and I am looking forward to having someone who knows what they are doing along to help. Eric was adorable, I asked him what he envisioned his role to be in birth and his response- "My job is to not be stupid" LOL. I love it. He was also adorable telling a 5 yr old cousin of his of some sort where his baby was (pointing at me) after she showed him her baby doll. I think my heart melted a bit.

6) Hands free nursing bras may be the funniest thing I have ever seen. They just have nipple holes. You could make an analogy- hands free nursing bras is to pasties, like donuts are to munchkins. I also got a few nursing tops and such from Old Navy and Destination Maternity.

7) Packages came in the mail today with the shirt below (which I will give to Eric to wear at the hospital as a surprise). I know if I show it to him now he will think I am crazy cheesy, but I also know that in the moment he will love it :). His diaperdude diaper bag also arrived ( but that is being hidden away until father's day).


Things to stop procrastinating about
Packing the Hospital Bag! (although to be fair I do have a long list, and I have things put aside, I just have yet to actually dig up a suitcase and eliminate. I have a severe overpacking issue- and right now I have too much. If I do go into labor, it would not take long to throw a bag together, however I should just get it done).

MUSIC. I think I am going to burn cd's and bring a cd player for the hospital. I hate earphones and can't imagine listening to it. I was going to buy an ipod dock, however don't want to drop huge money now, and don't want to waste money on a cheap one. I should ask Eric his opinion

Cleaning out drawers. The house is clean, it is in good shape for baby and company. But one of my goals in this prebaby time off was to clean out and reorganize drawers. I have a lot to get rid of (think makeup drawers, picture drawers, pajama drawers of which are probably torn up old stuff from college as well as recent stuff). This is not a huge deal though if I don't get done.