The Final Countdown

You're singing the song now aren't you...

OK, this is it, we're in the last days. I am set to check in to the hospital on Monday night. I'm supposed to call L&D at 5pm, and they'll tell me when to come in. I'm classified as an "A induction", so I'm first in line. There are also "B" and "C" inductions, and those are for things like large babies, past due, convenience inductions, etc. Finally, all of my problems come with a perk..."A" inductions are viewed as medical emergencies, so they pretty much never tell you to wait another day, but they may say come in at 7pm or 8pm or something. I think I'd rather come in at 7pm because I don't want to deal with the nursing shift change, but we'll see. I can have a light lunch at 11am on Monday, then after that just clear liquids. I'm going to be freaking starving!

Anyway, so Monday night, they'll do the cervical ripening, meaning they'll place Cervadil and see if it gets my cervix going overnight. Tuesday morning, they'll start the pitocin and away we go! If for some reason the pitocin doesn't work on Tuesday, then they'll consider stopping the induction, giving me some heparin (I take my last dose Monday morning), letting me eat, and then trying again Wednesday. We should have a baby by Wednesday at the latest though....can you believe it?

My appt with Dr. Swaim went great yesterday. This little one is still head down like a good girl! My cervix is soft now, but not open at all (which is why we're doing the ripening). Dr. Swaim's practice shares call across like 7-8 doctors so you never know who you'll get for a delivery. But she said she really didn't want to miss this one so while we've scheduled the induction next week with the greatest likelihood that she'll be there, she also said to have the dr. on call page her if I go into labor on my own this weekend : ) We were all so giddy yesterday, it was just hilarious.

When the nurses were calling in my induction to the hospital, I had a moment that I think I'll always remember. She was giving them all my info, and I heard the particular statistic that I've heard so much (and that I've heard change over the years)...."She's a gravida 5, para 0"....that means, she's been pregnant 5 times (the twins count as one pregnancy) but has no living children. People look at you differently when they see/hear that stat...even nurses who have probably seen it all. The nurse on the other end of the line must have said something about it because my nurse said "Oh I know, we're all very excited." After next week, that statistic will change forever. All of the pain associated with those few words will all of a sudden have been worth it.

Patrick continues to be completely ready and totally in control. I, on the other hand, am starting to freak out. I was freaking out as soon as we set the date in the office. I just cannot believe that it's here. THREE days and we'll start this process. Mind you, I have all the normal fears: not knowing what to expect, will she be okay, will I be okay, etc. But mostly, I'm just overwhelmed with emotion that we made it. All of us made it...and we're so ready to start our new life as a family.

I don't think I'll get a chance to update again until she's here...three days until we head to the hospital...~ 80 hours...not that I'm counting.

My Dream Nursery

I have to say that these pictures really don't do it justice. I absolutely love the way it turned out. The walls are the brightest yellow with the hot pink accent. The dragonflies over the crib actually hang from the ceiling and fly over the crib (they actually do look like they're hovering when the air comes on). You look at this room, and you think we just bought everything in a set, but not at all. We got the bedding set, but the rugs were found randomly at Lowe's, the wall decorations were found totally by accident at Hobby Lobby, the light from Ikea, the nightlight from Pottery Barn, the curtain from Target. What you see is the result of months of just flat out getting lucky and finding all of the perfect pieces to create this room that I've longed for.

So here are way more pictures than you're interested in seeing ; ) Dr. appt this afternoon, so I'll update with the final countdown tomorrow! Oh, and I'm full term now ; ) Who ever thought we'd be saying that!

Quick look in the room
Bookcase
Changing table, can you believe the diaper bag is actually packed? ; )

Here's the lightplate that I painted at the pottery place.

The top light in the room(from Ikea, boy Patrick had hell installing that thing, love you honey!) One wall
Another wall
Another wall
The window (sun was coming through so it was hard to get a good pic)
Mobile over the changing table
Nightlight
Rug close-up
Shelf
Hanging flowers in the corner over the glider
Crib and toy basket
Glider, Boppy pillow is ready to go!!
Dragonflies hanging over the crib
Hanging dragonflies, pic taken sitting in glider
Close-up of what the dragonflies look like. Their bodies are actually beaded and their wings have glitter : )

Major Update and ....Crossing the Snoogle...

So first, I just have to give you the latest update. She TURNED!!! I went to see Dr. Kirshon yesterday morning, and low and behold, she's head down!! So we cancelled my version for today...YAY!! Everyone was really surprised.

So details...first, it was really odd because I woke up to pee more than usual Sunday night and just felt a lot of pressure. I'm thinking she turned sometime during the night. Then while I was sitting in the waiting room, she was all over the place, people across the room could see her moving...something had definitely changed because you could see EVERY move she made on the outside. First thing Dr. Kirshon checked was her position, and she was definitely head down! While she's doing great, things are definitely starting to happen (things we expected) and Dr. Kirson said it's time to have a baby! She's weighing in right at 6 lbs right now, but her movement is terrific obviously. Cord flow and placental flow looks great, too. Her amniotic fluid level is dropping though, it's down to 9.5. All signs that she's ready to come out, so Dr. Kirshon recommended she be delivered in the next 7-10 days...which is right on track with when we were hoping to induce.

I had to call Dr. Swaim's office since we had planned on the version, and I didn't even have an appt scheduled for the week. Dr. Swaim was way excited that she turned, her and Dr. Kirshon talked, and Dr. Swaim called me back herself. I'll see her on Thursday, and we will officially set an induction date for next week. She wants to give my cervix as much time as possible to ripen. Oh, and last week my cervix was 3.8cm the day before she removed the cerclage. Yesteday, it was 1.9cm!!! So at least it's going the right direction!

I'm just supposed to sit tight, monitor movement (again, someone across the room from me could monitor movement...she hasn't stopped moving since yesterday morning!), see her on Thursday, and be ready for next week!

Oh, and so there was a little privilege that came with the removal of the cerclage. ; ) I call it "crossing the snoogle"...you know that large pillow that separates you from your husband while you're pregnant...it may not be graceful, there may be a lot more laughing that usual, but hey, it had been since July, so I don't think anyone is complaining. ; ) Plus, now we're in the "we're doing it to help the cervix" mode, so we feel like we have a purpose. Funnily enough, everyone kept commenting on what a great mood Patrick was in on Sunday. : )

Ok, so one last belly picture update. Here are the newest pics followed by the complete progression. The only picture left to add to this bunch are the pics from induction day!!!!
Hopefully, I'll get motivated and take some updated nursery pics tomorrow. Mom still has my hamper and trash can, so they won't be the final pics, but close enough. ; )
36 weeks




Complete progression

The Stitch is Out!

Well the cerclage is out. It was fairly uneventful. Patrick tried to scare me about it, but I wasn't scared...much.

Anyway, turns out we were there early, so Patrick went up to Dr. Mac's office while I was in the bathroom. Terri apparently got a little worried when she saw him, but they were excited to know I was around. I just wanted him to make sure there weren't tons of patients in the waiting room, and they said nope, just one in with Dr. Mac and everyone was in today. So Patrick came and got me one floor down and I went to visit for a little while. Everyone was really excited to see us, told me how good I looked pregnant, Patrick made his usual fat jokes. It was really cool to see everyone. Dr. Mac was just so excited, and he asked us if we really thought it would ever happen. Patrick told him how he constantly thinks about what if we'd given up. Dr. Mac knew how down we were many times, but he was so complimentary of us for persevering. Of course, they all start talking about the cerclage removal, and everyone says it hurts. Terri reminded them all of how tough I am though : ) Anyway, it was great to see them, and we promised to come back by with the baby once she's here.

Then on to Dr. Swaim's. The cerclage removal really wasn't all that bad. Dr. Swaim of course asked Patrick if he wanted to see...nothing like your husband staring down your vagina while you're trying not to panic about the impending pain. The speculum was actually the most uncomfortable part because I guess she had to use a longer one than normal, and well...that whole general area has been "out of order" for many months now. She had to get in far enough and wide enough to see the stitch...and then of course, it took a bit to get a hold of the knot on the stitch. Patrick actually had to hold the light for her so she could see...it was hilarious. Anyway, it finally came out, and it really wasn't that pad. It felt a little awkward and weird, but not a lot of pain. Apparently there was a nice amount of blood though and Patrick seemed concerned by this...he's so cute about those things. Anyway, it's out! I've been having a couple of little cramps/contractions since, but nothing major.

So the plan now (if nothing happens sooner...the nurses were joking about me having the baby tonight!) is to see De. Kirshon on Monday for another ultrasound. If she's still breech (Dr. Swaim said she's more transverse which will make turning her easier), then we'll be doing the version a week from today...lots going on!!!

So we'll see. We're definitely in the final countdown here, and I'm increasingly nervous. This is really happening...I swear I haven't accepted that fact yet..and I might not until they actually hand her to me. Patrick of course is completely ready, and he said he thinks one of the reasons is that he's always worried about her. He worries about every ultrasound, every test. We joked that we'd feel much better when we could just look at her and say "You ok?" I think we're just ready for the end of this journey...and the start of a new one.

Updates and pictures

The ultrasound today went great at the hospital. It was so weird being there...3 years ago today we were there in radiology seeing a heartbeat for the first time...that was twin #2 and we all know how that turned out. Well today we saw our little girl just hanging out, happy as a clam. She has great fluid, was practicing her breathing (her little mouth was even opening, it was so cute), and they said she looked terrific. They didn't measure her today (apparently the hospital follows the rules very closely and Dr. Swaim didn't specifically say to measure her), but they measured my cervix one last time, and it was hanging in there at 3.8cm. Tomorrow, we'll see the stitch that kept us hanging in there for so long! We see Dr. Swaim tomorrow morning, so we'll know about what we're looking at the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and she's still breech, kind of. They said she's actually between breech and transverse...so maybe she's thinking about turning? We'll see.

Here are the pictures from 32 weeks and 34 weeks. We're already due for the last belly shot before delivery day this week believe it or not!!! Almost there!!
32 weeks


34 weeks

35 weeks and counting

I know, I know, I still need to post the pictures from 32 and 34 weeks. I'll do my best to work on that tomorrow night, things have just been really busy lately. Not to mention, I've been sick with a miserable cold. I could blame everyone in the lab who had it, I could blame friends who had it, but the most likely Typhoid Mary is the man who sleeps next to me every night. He started to get sick last Thursday, and everyone knows that when Patrick get sick, I get it and I get it worse...ugh! I'm feeling better, but I have that stupid lingering cough, and I literally feel like I'm going to cough out this baby...good thing the cerclage is still in ; )

Anyway, I went to see Dr. Kirshon again earlier this week. She apparently hit a little growth spurt and is now measuring 5lbs 8oz. Her fluid levels are also great at about 17mL. He said she has plenty of fluid to turn if she'd like to...that's right, she's STILL breech!

Anyway, we're just in a holding pattern now. I'm scheduled for another ultrasound/biophysical profile for Monday at the hospital because Dr. Kirshon is out of town. Then we'll see Dr. Swaim on Tuesday to remove the cerclage and talk about options if she's still breech. I'm becoming more comfortable with the idea of trying the version, but I don't think Patrick's had time to do his research yet, so hopefully he'll look into it this weekend.

That's it from here. Thankfully we are just 5 days away from the end of the high school soccer season, so I'll get my husband back just in time to calm me down for the last 2 weeks of this pregnancy! She'll be here in less than 20 days....holy crap...when am I supposed to hit that point where I actually comprehend the fact that I'm bringing home someone to wear all of these cute clothes I've been washing? Because I've truly yet to grasp that concept...I think I'm still expecting to wake up...

The Home Stretch!

Well I know I owe you two batches of pictures, but hopefully the maternity portraits and 4D ultrasound will do for now ; ) I still look the same...just pooching further out by the day!

Everything is still going great. I'm pretty sure we've decided on a name (or at least Patrick is sure), but nope, not telling ; ) We saw Dr. Kirshon (our high risk ob) this week, and he was still pleased with all of the progress. She was weighing in at 4lbs 10oz, so she looks to be on target to be an average baby (for 2 weeks early). We'll be seeing him weekly now. I also saw Dr. Swaim yesterday, and she did my Group B Strep test and said that my cervix still looked great, too.

The biggest issue...this stubborn child is STILL BREECH! Obviously, we'll be keeping an eye on her to see if she turns (and I've started propping my hips up on pillows nightly to encourage her to turn...nada so far), but if not, we've got a decision to make. Here's our timeline for the coming weeks.

* Week 34 (this week)- well I just told you what we did this week : )
* Week 35 (next week)- we see Dr. Kirshon for another u/s to check her growth and see if she flipped.
* Week 36- I see Dr. Kirshon and Dr. Swaim. Dr. Swaim will cut my cerclage, I switch to twice daily heparin (a 12 hr dosage instead of my 24 hr Lovenox), and we'll decide about trying to turn her if she's still breech.
* Week 37- If she's still breech, we have enough fluid, and she's growing well, then we'll try to turn her using external cephalic version...yes, the name (and description from Dr. Swaim) scared me, too. I'm all for trying it, but Patrick has some serious reservations, so we'll definitely have to discuss it soon.
* Week 38- Induction or C-section! Probably on April 1st or 2nd if all goes well.

If at any time her growth slows too much or my fluid level drops, then they will induce/operate immediately. Also, if I go into labor on my own (which could happen once they remove the stitch or when they try to turn her), then they will help me out with pitocin or perform a C-section if she's still breech.

We're really in the countdown now! I can't believe it...she's really coming!!

Maternity Portraits

OK, so I always swore that I would do everything I ever wanted with this pregnancy in case it never happened again. Bi-weekly belly shots, 4D ultrasound, and of course, maternity portraits. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about it, but the photographer was awesome. They turned out pretty good. Here are a few of my favorites (there were 105 proofs total!). We already have her booked for newborn pics, so I'm excited about those!!!

I think I look the most "me" in this picture.

Then this is my favorite artsy belly shot.

Patrick really liked this one, and it may end up going in the nursery.

The two of us. I like the white shirts, and I think we may try this again with the newborn shots.

I felt a little naked in the wrap pictures, but they really did turn out nice.

More belly.

And this is the picture I would say was very "Patrick"


I need to narrow down my list to order tonight. I really can't believe that's actually my belly...even though I'm staring down at it right now. It seems like it's all flown by....but by all accounts, the adventure is just beginning : )

My Little Chunker plus Childbirth Class Part 1

So I just thought I'd share a couple of the pics that we got at our 4D ultrasound last week. It was tons of fun, not something I would have paid for, but Mom really wanted to do it for us, so I wasn't complaining. We have a complete 30 min video of her in the womb, but we have several still shots that are just awesome. She loves putting her foot in her mouth (and it's not a small foot!), and she constantly had her hands in her face...the u/s tech told us to buy lots of mittens...LOL! It was fun to see what she was doing, and it was more priceless to see my mom's reactions (she cried, big surprise...LOL!). The biggest discovery...she looks just like her daddy!!



We stayed pretty busy this weekend, and the nursery is almost done...I can't wait to show it to you, but I just need to put away a few more things before I take pictures...it's dragonfly heaven...thank you Hobby Lobby for deciding to do all of your spring garden collection in 1)dragonflies 2) in all of my selected nursery colors and 3) for really freaking cheap!!! Some of you may know the running "Everything happens for a reason" joke at our house, but Patrick couldn't help pointing that out yesterday as a sat in the glider looking around at the nursery I'd always dreamed of...he said "Hey honey, you wouldn't have been able to find these decorations 3 years ago..." and in unison we said "Everything happens for a reason" and started cracking up.

In other news, we had our first childbirth class yesterday. It was entertaining, but honestly, we only left having learned just a few tidbits we didn't already know from hours of Discovery Health and TLC...LOL! But as always, Patrick was very entertaining, and we were cracking up most of the time (luckily other couples were, too). The most interesting info was the instructor highly recommending an epidural for any of us that were being induced. I knew the contractions were supposed to be far more intense, but hearing it from her somehow convinced me even more. Fine, I'll get the epidural, twist my arm a little more. Have I told you Patrick's theory on epidurals? He said to me one day "If a woman wants to prove how tough she is, fine, do it without the drugs. But if she wants to prove how smart she is, get the epidural." LOL! I'm starting to see his point ; )

Not to mention, my odds for a C-section are steadily increasing. She's still breech as far as I know, and apparently it's highly common for the cervix just not to dilate if it's been stitched...we'll just have to see what happens. 3 more weeks and then we'll be going day to day pretty much!!

Oh, one other note of importance. In our errand running on Saturday, we ended up unexpectedly at PF Chang's for a late lunch. Oh my gosh, they have the cutest little desserts in shot glasses! $2 a piece, and I HIGHLY recommend the Smores dessert...I'm plotting my way back near another PF Chang's ASAP. ; )

Funny Story Friday

I can't believe I forgot to tell this story...it's sure to be one of those that we (mostly Patrick LOL!) tell for years.

So remember I said I was going to breastfeeding class a couple of weeks ago...and remember I said I was letting Patrick off the hook and not making him go... Well one of my friends took the same class in the fall, and she WARNED us that she was one of just 2 girls who didn't have her husband there...but did I listen? NO, I tried to be the good wife and let Patrick go golfing. I did not end up the good wife, but Patrick ended up one hell of a husband! Bottom line, the whole thing was my fault, but somehow I turned out smelling like a rose. : ) Take a lesson from mom baby!

Anyway, I get to the class and quickly realize I am the only one without a husband so far. I call Patrick and before I know it, the waterworks start. I tell him I have to get off the phone because class is starting, and I'll call him later. Now, I thought my little pregnant hormonal sniffle was enough to get him in his car and to the class (we live about 30 min from the hospital), but apparently, he texted me a few minutes later to find out if I was still the only one..I didn't get that text until an hour later. At that point, there were 14 couples and just 2 other girls with no husband. As you can expect from me, I made a joke about it when we had to introduce ourselves and said I let my husband go golfing. All of the men were laughing (and jealous), but I said that I had given him a guilt trip when I realized I was one of the few without a husband. The instructor said that I was supposed to get a gift for coming alone, and everyone laughed of course.

So flash forward to when I turn on my phone at the break and discover Patrick is still back in the suburbs! Oh boy I had a holy cow! I couldn't believe he wasn't on his way. Actually, he didn't even know where the class was. He said he was heading down there, but I was doing the grouchy thing saying no don't bother, and then finally, "Well you can come, but you're not sitting with me"...oh God, we're going to have a little me...can I really handle someone with my personality? LOL!

Anyway, 30 min later I see him outside the door. In true me fashion, I look at him with no expression and then turn back to the instructor without acknowledging him..LOL! He walks in and as soon as he sits down at my table, the whole room starts laughing. I then said "Now does this mean I won't get a present out of this?" And on cue, this wonderful man of mine pulls a little wrapped box from James Avery out of his pocket and plops it down right in front of me...you can imagine the collective "awww" from all the women in the room, and of course, what do I do? cry...LOL! The funniest part is that nowhere in my complaining/whining/bitching did I tell him anything about the "gift rule" for attending the class alone. It also seems that he had already bought the present before my second phone call/tantrum. Somehow that made me feel better.

Anyway, the poor man did NOT get to golf obviously, but I did let him go to a poker game that night, so maybe I paid my penance?

Either way, it's a funny story (which was completely my fault), we had a good time at the class (I missed having him there because I knew we'd be laughing and sure enough when he got there we started laughing at about 100 different inside jokes...we were like 2 kids in sex ed class or something...LOL!), AND I got a pair of gold flower and pearl earrings out of it. : )