1 day shy of 37 weeks

Today was Cheryl's baby shower and it was tons of fun! I think she looks so great to only be two weeks behind me! It was great to see Kenzie and for 3 of the 4 of us old college roomies to get together! Now, if I could somehow just photoshop a picture of Julie and Amelia in the picture - the group would be complete!! Hopefully after Cheryl and I have our babies we will all be able to get together for a baby play date/ college roomy reunion!

So, I am one day away from 37 weeks. Last week I was kept at the doctor's office for two and half hours of monitoring because I was having so many contractions. The nurse said they didn't want me to have that many, but they didn't do anything about it so I'm thinking it's ok. Conner doesn't seem to be distressed by them at all. He's doing great! As a matter of fact, he usually stays quiet these days, but as soon as they hook him up to the monitor, he starts breakdancing in my belly! The contractions still aren't officially doing anything more (other than REALLY annoy me). I have been having them every 5 minutes now for two weeks. But, today I talked to Kenzie and she had the same thing happen for a month before Patrick came. So, I'm not holding my breath or anything! I imagine these will continue up until they induce me. They are getting stronger and more painful, but still nothing to make me think it's REAL labor. So, right now we are just ready and waiting! He could come at any time but he probably won't until July 6th week. Don't want to get my hopes up!

No real news otherwise! I have another appointment on Wednesday so if anything changes I'll be sure to update!

Nat

Update

Yesterday I went back to the hospital for MORE tests and monitoring. The regular contractions I was having eventually dwindled off and became irregular so they chalked it up to dehydration. I've still been having them every day and night. My blood pressure was still high yesterday until they had me lay down and then it went back to normal. So, they sent me home with orders to be on bedrest. POO!

Today I had a doctor's appointment and my blood pressure was back to normal. So, the doctor took me off of bed rest but said she didn't want me to do anything but take it easy. :) As of today, Conner weighs 6 pounds and 2 ounces. He's measuring a little bit ahead, but even if he gains a half a pound a week, he still won't be humongous at 39 weeks when they induce! She also said that he has already dropped - meaning his head isn't too big! YEAH!! I didn't even notice a change in my profile, just lots of pressure. I am 70% efaced, but still only 1 centimeter dilated. She also said that as of now, I'm far enough along that if I do go into labor, they won't stop it (like they did on Tuesday - at least they tried to stop them, but they came back). They were also previously concerned that I might have too much amniotic fluid, and they checked that today and everything looks great! It's been a good day! :)

Things are definitely happening but I have no idea what they mean as far as a timeline is concerned. My contractions are definitely uncomfortable and I feel lots of pressure, sometimes sharp. They actually wake me up in the middle of the night. Anyway, the doctor said that is normal just as long as they aren't evenly timed like clockwork like they were on Tuesday. I'm having tons of them lately, but nothing on a regular schedule. So, 3.5 more weeks at the longest - maybe sooner if he decides he wants to come before then! I kind of have a feeling he might not make it to 39 weeks, but that could just be wishful thinking. :) At least now we know if he does come it's safe and he will be fine. :)

We're ready for him! Can't wait to see him and hold his little fingers and feel his soft little feet that have been kicking me. :) I can't wait to be a Mommy!

One Mohr in JUNE?

Strange things are happening! As of Monday afternoon, I have been having contractions on regular intervals. At first I wasn't sure that is what they were until I called all my friends and Angela to confirm it! (Thanks guys! I didn't know what a contraction felt like. I've never been pregnant before!) I was really confused because they weren't hurting, they were just uncomfortable (lots of pressure) but they were very frequent (like every other minute) and were not quitting when I would get up to move around or when I slept. Yesterday, I woke up and they were still happening so I called my doctor to ask if it's normal to have Braxton Hicks that close together for so long. Everything I have been taught about BH say that they are not consistant, not painful, and usually go away if you walk around, change positions or sleep. Not so with these. I also had thrown up a few times and had some gastrointestinal disturbances - also signs labor is starting. I was having lots of pelvic pressure and sharp pains every now and then, but other than that I felt fine and had no reason to believe it was "REAL" labor since it didn't hurt.

Well, the doctor's office didn't seem to think so. They sent me to the hospital for monitoring. Sure enough, my contractions were lasting 40-50 seconds and coming every other minute but I was not dilating anymore. The hills were just like clockwork on the little chart. They said they did not want me having contractions this early so they gave me a shot of something to make them stop. That worked for a few hours until right before I left and they have been coming ever since again. They actually woke me up at 4:30 this morning feeling stronger.

They didn't seem as concerned with what they called "Preterm contractions" as they were with the fact that my blood pressure was really high. They also found protein in my urine. Those two things together indicate preeclamptic conditions. (If you don't know what preeclampsia or toxemia is, it can be dangerous. At this point I would rather not go into it and assume everything is ok. The only cure is to deliver the baby.) So, they put me on 24 hour bed rest and I have to do a pee study for 24 hours and go back tomorrow around 2:30, get hooked up to everything again, have my labs tested, and see if things have changed. If not, they said they would probably admit me to the hospital, though not necessarily induce me at this point. Induction will depend on how much of a risk me and the baby are in and how serious the situation is. They want him to bake in the oven a little longer to make sure his lungs are well developed.

The funny thing about all of this is I FEEL GREAT!! I haven't had this much energy and felt this good in 9 months! Funny how it works like that I guess. I did have some MAJOR nesting going on Monday. I got all of Conner's things washed and put away and organized and finally got around to packing my hospital bags. It's like my body knew or was telling me "it's getting closer!" So, we will know more tomorrow. I'm betting the contractions will still be there, they will give me more medicine to try to stop them. I may or may not be dilated a little more. I bet my urine will be fine and my blood pressure will be down too. They said I was dehydrated "Off the charts" and that could be why the contractions started. I have NO IDEA how I was dehydrated unless drinking too much gatorade can do that. I've been dehydrated before and I sure didn't feel dehydrated. I drank about 5 or 6 glasses of Gatorade on Monday and then after 3:30 I had a glass of water I was drinking at all times. I wasn't outside in the heat or physically exerting myself so I have no idea how I was dehydrated with as much liquids as I was drinking. I've been drinking TONS of water like a fish since I got home and it hasn't made the contractions go away. But, someone told me it takes 24 hours to recover from dehydration, so maybe it will just take some time.

Conner is doing fine! His heartbeat and movement was strong. He would get really still when I would have a contraction and his heart rate would go up a little, but not much. I think that is normal. I think they just don't want it to DROP. What's funny is I hadn't really felt him move much in DAYS and as soon as they hooked me up, he started break dancing all around in my belly! He wouldn't be still! They were trying to get his heart beat but he kept wiggling around. It was kind of funny. Again, I feel super great! I'm just confused as to what is going on. They aren't Braxton Hicks, but I'm not dilating (maybe tomorrow), is this preterm labor getting my body ready for the real show?? We'll have more info and answers tomorrow evening so I'll be sure to update, unless I'm admitted to the hospital, in which case it might take me a little longer to get my computer.

We'll see how effective their attempts to stop my contractions are this time. Conner told them yesterday "You can't stop me! I'm ready to come out and play!" Hee hee!

More later,
Love,
Nat
(And hopefully little Conner soon too!)

34 week update

Here's a quick update!





I'm doing much better health, energy, and migraine wise! (Thank goodness!) I still have a few bad days here and there, but not nearly as many as before. I'm already dilating! Woo hoo! As many of you know, this doesn't necessarily mean I will go sooner, but it does mean I need to be ready because it could happen. Every pregnancy and body is different so there is no exact science to determining the "when" question. (Darn it! I was kind of hoping it might mean he would come a few weeks early!) It is good though because it means everything is "ripening" and I will be able to be induced at 39 weeks no problemo. At his growth rate so far, I do not want to go beyond 39 weeks and I don't think my doctor wants me to either. Hospital regulations will not allow an induction before 39 weeks because it could increase your risk for complications. I haven't started efacing and he hasn't started dropping. They said if his head is too big, we will know because I will continue to dilate and my water will break but he will never drop. Then, we will have to have a C-section. :( At the last doctor's appointment last week she said he is measuring ahead and big, but we won't be able to get a REAL accurate measurement until 35 weeks. So, next Thursday we go back for an ultrasound to find out more details. After that I will be going to the doctor every week.





The baby shower was this past weekend! It was so fun and friends and family went way out of their way to spoil little Conner and make everything so special! He is going to be so loved! Nancy did an AWESOME job putting it together! I'm attaching a picture of me and my belly from the shower. (Puffy fluffly goodness and all!)








We've been putting stuff up in Conner's room. We're almost ready with the exception of a few finishing touches! Once we get it finalized, I will put some pictures up.





I've started swelling! I now have cankles! Yipee! You can see from my picture my face is puffy too. Water retention! UGH! Other than muscle aches and swelling, I've been doing pretty good though! No complaints other than regular old pregnancy stuff! I think I am getting so happy and excited that he is going to be here soon that all the other stuff doesn't bother me as much anymore. :) The end is near and I can see it! YEAH!!



Love,
Nat

32 weeks! 7 to go!

I switched OB doctors for a variety of reasons. One of which was breech of confidentiality regarding my care. Someone in the office leaked information regarding my care to a pharmaceutical rep who I happen to know. I was and still am livid that someone would be that careless. On top of that, when I requested my files, they gave me mine AND someone elses in a folder. It had EVERYTHING about that girl in it. They also LOST my files from my first doctor and asked me every visit since December what my blood type was and would say "Well, we'll see if we can find your files. They are probably on so and so's desk." They never got around to requesting them again until a few weeks ago. They had them at first because I personally handed them to the nurse. So, needless to say, with all the carelessness going on in that office, it made it very uncomfortable for me to continue my care there, no matter how nice the doctor was and how cool the 3D ultrasounds were. There were some other issues as well.

I went to another doctor last Friday and so far she is great! Hopefully her office is too! I go back again next week. She was very good at educating and explaining things and said that she would like to induce at 39 weeks if everything is "ripe and ready." She said they would only do it if my body was ready because otherwise it would increase my risks for a C-section. I like the sound of that as opposed to what I got before - "We will induce you at 39 weeks - period." And, here I was freaking out about Conner's size and big head and the new doctor told me that it is still too early to get an accurate estimate and that we really won't know anything until 36 weeks. So, at that time, I will have an ultrasound (no 4D this time. :( ) and get a better idea of how big he is. I wish the old doctor had said something reassuring like that! She pretty much just said he was big and had a big head and "Don't worry, he'll fit." Thanks. That makes me feel SOOOO much better! I like to be educated and have things explained to me.

So, if everything goes as planned, Conner will be arriving sometime the week of July 6th. We will still be at the same hospital - Parkwest. I'm in week 32 right now and so that leaves a little under 7 weeks. We are NOT ready. We have many house projects going on that need to be finished before then. I've been on poor Michael's case for months to tie up the loose ends (I think I have been the epitemy of the pregnant hormonal nagging wife) because I don't want our house torn up with a newborn. I think when I put it like "He could be here in as early as 6 weeks" he realized we've got to roll! Ever since then he's been working very hard to get things moving. Actually, he's been working hard and doing a lot of stuff already, just leaving a few loose ends. I think he gets bored with one thing and moves on to something else before he finishes the first stuff. He's a guy, what can I say? Regardless, I love him bunches and wouldn't trade him for the world. He's super good to me and he's going to be a good Daddy. :)

Here's our to do list that we pretty much just have 6 weeks to complete.
1. We still have quarter round to put down and some more baseboards in the kitchen, upstairs and downstairs bathrooms (we still have to buy the quarter round, paint and cut it.)
2. paint the doors and door frames where they got banged up
3. staple the carpet where they meet the thresholds in the hallway (staple gun broke)
4. fix some nails coming out of a trim piece on the stairs
5. lay flooring in pantry
6. fix a rod in our bed
7. move some furniture in the upstairs guestroom and downstairs so people will have places to sleep when the baby gets here.
8. Finish ripping up carpet downstairs, laying tile, doing the grout. (I can live with this not being completely finished because it's downstairs).
9. Lay mulch in our front flower beds
10. Fix a faucet that doesn't work
11. Replace the toilet downstairs when we tile the bathroom (It's like some mini-me from the 70's put it in there! It's so short!)

But, here's what Mikey's done so far! It's not like he's just been sitting around doing nothing. (I helped with some of it, what I could. My Mom and Dad helped with painting and the baseboards and quarter round)
1. put laminate floors upstairs, also quarter round
2. painted the tiles and bathtub that were green - white (looks so much better)
3. we did knock down in the bathrooms, painted them, ripped up the tile around the floor and put down baseboards (I helped a lot with that! I hated those stupid tiles! I'm good at tearing things up!)
4. replaced Michael's piece o' crap vanity with a new one (this also involved ripping out more tile, doing more knock down, more painting - not to mention plumbing and fixing the floor where the old vanity was) (That was my Mother's Day present. It looks AWESOME! Everything was on huge sale too!)
5. landscaped the front yard
6. hung new blinds in Conner's room
7. Michael's already ripped up half of the carpet downstairs and started laying tile through half of the den.
8. cleaned off the deck and bought a new clean umbrella - got it fixed up so we can sit out there.
9. cleaned the carpets in Conner's room and our bedroom
10. finished putting some kind of stuff on the refinished front doors - varnish?

I'm sure I've left off something else, but you can see we've been busy! Well, Michael has been busy. (As if I know how to do any of this stuff! I helped with the shopping and the bathrooms. Plus, I'm so freaking huge I can't even bend over!)

Conner's room is coming around. I still need to buy some little shelves to put on his walls. Last night I went ahead and boiled all of the four free bottles and pacifiers we got. (I burned myself by splashing water on my arm! Not smart!) After the shower I guess I will see what we still need for him and then go shopping. There's so much! I have a list of the "essentials" so I won't forget anything.

Conner is excited about getting here. He is very active and moves a lot. It's fun to watch my belly roll around like jello when he moves! We are getting excited too! I can't wait actually! We have our hospital packing list just in case we have to pack fast if he comes early. (Wishful thinking) I go in two weeks to the Pediatrician to talk to them.

Well, sorry my blog was so long, but as you probably noticed I hadn't posted in a few weeks. I guess I only feel like I should post when I have news. So, keep in touch everybody! We'll need lots of help after Conner gets here so don't be shy about calling. Michael will be taking off for one week and my Mom is planning to come stay for at least a week. (I'm hoping two but I know she is busy taking care of my grandpa too.) So, the second week will probably be the roughest.

More later,
Nat

BIG BOY!

(Click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Today I am 29 weeks and 5 days. We went back to the doctor today and learned that Conner is a BIG BOY! He is only supposed to be right under three pounds but he weighs 3 pounds 10 ounces already!! AGH! No wonder I feel like I am about to bust! I haven't even been eating that much!! I don't know how he is getting so big. The doctor said that is a little big for his gestational age and also that his head is a little big. I weigh 159 pounds!! But, from what I and the nurse see, it looks like it is all baby. I'm pretty much scared to death now! Conner is just so excited to get here he wants to hurry and finish growing before his time. He must have inherited his impatience from his Mommy. Anyway, they want to keep an eye on his growth so in three more weeks I will have another ultrasound to see how he is progressing. If his head is too big, we might have a C-section, which I'll be fine with if he is huge. Other than that, he looks normal and healthy.

He slept during the whole thing today. He would open his mouth and he stuck his little lip out and frowned once. Even though he looked upset, it was so cute! He is positioned head down, face up which is good. In the pictures, you can see he is very flexible! Right now his foot and big toe are right in front of his forehead! LOL! The other thing is his umbilical chord. Can't tell about hair. I am so amazed by these ultrasound pictures. If you notice in the one by itself, you can see his EYELASHES!!!! Amazing. I posted 6 but we actually got TONS of pictures. He looks so cute in every one. I can't wait for him to be here so I can hold him! All 18 bazillion pounds of him!

Love,

Nat

Pictures of babies at 29 weeks

I'm having another sleepless night. So, what do I do? I play on the internet!! I often wonder what little Conner is doing in there and what he looks like. Some of you may find this disturbing, but I find it fascinating. I found pictures of lots of babies who were born at 29 weeks. No one wants their baby to be born that early, but it is comforting to know that modern medical science has made it so that if that does happen, after 28 weeks the babies can be sustained and usually don't develop any major life long problems (though they still can). Anyway, it is so cool to see these babies and think "That's what Conner looks like inside!" They are so teeny tiny, yet big at the same time when I think about that being inside me and how perfectly complete he already looks! I can't wait for him to get here so I can hold him! Most of these babies are around two pounds.