Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Ready, Set.... Just kidding!

Well, no Dorothy yet! Sunday night I started having painful, regular contractions with pressure and everything, so off the the hospital we went. Some of them were showing on the monitor at 1-2 minutes apart, but nothing was happening to my cervix. And due to the baby's position, I felt every single one in my back. Since I was in pain, they admitted me for the night on "therapeutic rest" and drugged me so I could sleep. Now that I think of it, I would do it differently next time (if there is a next time) because if I had gone in to active labor after that, I would have been so out of it for the birth. The whole next day when I wasn't in bed, I was falling asleep sitting up!

I did have my regularly scheduled appointment yesterday, and Dr. F asked me if I wanted to just be induced. I told him I wouldn't object, so he said if I don't go in to labor on my own by Tuesday morning at 7:30, to go in and they'll induce me. He said my cervix is definitely favorable for induction (being 3-4 cm dilated and soft as of Monday) and that it wouldn't take much to put me in to labor. I was having more strong contractions last night... nothing regular, but enough to keep me restless and awake almost all night. And this morning when I got up, there went my mucus plug! So maybe this means she is coming before Tuesday???

August baby???
September baby???

It's a mystery to me....

Thursday, August 24, 2006

No more cerclage, baby!

On Tuesday morning I went in at 9AM and got my cerclage taken out. I wasn't expecting to go into labor that day, but secretly I was hoping!! The removal was supposed to feel like "a bad pap smear"... uncomfortable, but not too painful. Well, it didn't go down that way. It hurt. A lot. The good thing is it was relatively short (10 minutes or so). Even so, I was asking him to stop in the middle of it. He said in terms of removals, mine was a more difficult one. Evidently he put it in not wanting that baby to come out (good thing, cuz it worked)! My tissue had healed really well around it, which necessitated pulling harder, which caused PAIN. After a few minutes I started to feel a bit better, so David and I took a little walk to get drinks at the cafe downstairs. When we went back so Dr. F could check me, I was 2-3 cm dilated and 25% effaced. So now we are in the waiting game (again). Luckily this time the wait is shorter, as my due date is only 16 days away! I have been having the normal amount of contractions I had been having, so nothing has really changed in that regard. So (besides the awful castor oil) what are some of the wives tales to get labor started? Not that I am anxious or anything.....

I had another wonderful baby shower last Saturday at church. I couldn't believe how many people showed up! We are now totally set for Dorothy to get here. Her nursery is done and everything is in place.

The larger dresser (beside it is the metrolite stroller, which I love):



Her clothes are all washed and put away:



Her crib is set up and changing table painted:



And Goatee continues to be as cute as ever:



So, baby girl, you can come when you want to now. Mommy and Daddy want to meet you!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Finally a few pictures!

With all the nesting going on around here, I only get on to update about once a week. I keep telling myself I need to write more, but I don't listen to me! I finally downloaded some pictures of my shower on to the computer for you...

This is of me, my sister (in the middle, pre-surgery), and my brother's wife:



And me opening gifts looking like a dork (I am holding The Belly Button Book):



Dorothy's cake:



Me displaying said cake:



And, because he's so cute, here's our kitten!



We decided to name him Goatee due to the black dot on his chin. He's definitely a livewire, but tons of fun. He has gotten really attached to me. Whichever room I am in, he's right there with me, eventually curling up on the floor and going to sleep. He is in my lap whenever I am at the computer, purring his little kitten purr. I think I'm in love!

The countdown continues! 5 more days until my cerclage comes out and I, like most women in my situation, want Dorothy to make her appearance shortly thereafter. We'll see if that happens. Somehow I doubt it, but anything is possible. At any rate we're ready. The bags, boppy and carseat are in the car. The nursery is almost done (just have to fix one drawer) and the furniture painted. Come on, baby! I am full term (37 weeks) on Saturday.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Busy and Bored

How can someone be busy and bored at the same time? I was not even this bored when I was on bedrest... of course this will all change in a few weeks I am sure! The past week or so has been pretty full. My 22 week pregnant sister had to have a huge cyst removed from her fallopian tube (they actually had to remove the tube as well). Her dr. said that they removed 8-9 litres of fluid. What with the removal of the cyst and recovering from surgery she is down almost 30 pounds! So I have been trying to spend some time with her as she recovers. It seems that nobody in our family can have uneventful pregnancies...

I have still been working on the baby room, and loving it. Even though there are still the nagging fears in the back of my mind, I am getting excited about meeting Dorothy (and having labor and delivery behind me!). My appointment yesterday was good. No ultrasound, and I got my last progesterone shot. I was also able to talk to dr. F about whether or not he normally does deliveries and he said he does. He will be gone next week, but other than that he said he should be around, and it is written in my chart for them to call him when I go into labor. 12 more days and my stitch comes out. This is really starting to get real, and as bored as I am (more anxious for her to get here) the days are going fast. These last days before parenthood. I promised some pictures of my belly. These were taken last week at 34w 3d, but here they are....





You may think I am crazy for this one, but we got a kitten last night. He is really cute... black with white paws and a white face with a little black patch on his chin. We are having a hard time naming him, so any suggestions are welcome. We were going to wait until about a month after the baby comes to get him, but my friends that gave him to us are moving soon and couldn't keep him as long as they originally thought. He cried ALLLL the way home. Last night we kept our room shut (until we are sure he knows where the litterbox is) and every time I got up to pee (3 times) he woke up and started whining. I think within a few days he will adjust pretty well, though. He doesn't seem to be too hungry for the dry food, but he gobbled the wet stuff I gave him this morning. He has definitely found his perch snuggled in the pillows at the end of the couch. I think he's just confused as to where his mama and the rest of the litter are at. He's about 7 weeks old, so he's still pretty little, but he's box trained and pretty much weaned already and he was the biggest of the bunch with a tight little belly. I'm pretty excited to have something to do (try to train him in some areas) in the next couple weeks. He seems like he'll be a nice little kitty in all... just gotta trim those claws!

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Still no baby

Well, with all this being up and around more, I have lost track of the time and forgotten to blog. The baby room beckons me, the dishes need done, the bathroom needs scrubbing. Yes, it's true. I never thought it would happen to me, but alas, it has. I. AM. NESTING. Now with my instructions being to stop when I feel like I need to, I am getting more done than I thought I would. Over the past week a lot has been accomplished. We have all of the baby furniture now. Two of the items need paint, so last night my parents came over and started in on the dresser. It didn't quite get finished as it still needs one coat (it started as plain wood with varnish). The other item is a changing table/dresser, which shouldn't need nearly as much sanding as the dresser did since it already has paint on it. In the meantime I have sorted through my shower gifts and the clothes that I got from David's sister. They are now just waiting to get put into drawers and on to hangers (don't have any baby hangers yet).

You know how someone can tell you're nesting? When you drag your husband to the store at 8 pm and arrive at the checkout counter with a cart full of cleaning supplies, pads, baby/nursing supplies, and a container of Ben and Jerry's Half-Baked ice cream. The other night I just HAD to get the rest of the stuff on my list (turns out they didn't have 2 of the items I needed) so I could finish packing our hospital bags AND finish cleaning the house (because obviously Dorothy is going to get here and say, "Who are these slobs? Haven't they ever heard of a toilet brush??"). I successfully packed the bags (minus the 2 missing items) yesterday, so now I feel a bit more prepared. The farther along I get, the more I feel like it could happen any time, even before the stitch gets taken out. And really. Is packing the hospital bags by 34 1/2 weeks so neurotic? Someone stop me...

So I WAS planning on getting some pictures up here. We got some pictures taken as a couple about 2 1/2 weeks ago and they turned out so cute. I am positive that my husband would love the use of that word. These particular pictures are on a cd rather than a memory card, so we'll see if I am talented enough to get them up here. The laptop is STILL giving me issues and (joy of all joys) I now have the cord that hooks the camera up to the desktop computer, BUT there is one problem. My belly. It's so big I can't bend over the computer to even see where to plug in the cord. So David is just going to have to do that for me when he gets home and then maybe you'll be able to see how ginormous my belly is getting as well as pictures from my shower.

Here goes nothing (these pictures were taken the day I turned 32 weeks):









Aren't we cute?