40w2d

Well my due date has come and gone... and now we just wait...

At least if nothing happens by Sunday, I can get induced. I will be 41 weeks. Not too shabby.

What a weekend!!

From this morning: So I'm home, still pregnant. The induction failed and my bp stabilized. J is doing GREAT - his heart rate never stressed during the induction, so I got sent home and I am on bedrest. I got Pitocin and was contracting every 2 minutes, but they were not painful at all. Since my doctor is VERY anti c-section, he said he didn't want to give me any more Pitocin and here we are. I would really prefer not to have a c-section, either. I might still get one in the end (you never know), but my body just isn't ready yet. J is at least 8 lbs, though. So he'll be fine, regardless. I have to get Mike to was the 0-3 size clothes tonight, all I washed were the newborn sizes. If he's going to be a big boy, newborn clothes might not cut it!

To be honest, I really want to have this baby, but I only got 3 hours of sleep Saturday night. It really sucked. I was happy to get a good night's sleep in my own bed last night! And the food was SO awful (I was able to get a dinner b/c I was only getting Cervidil Sat night). How do you ruin mashed potatoes? UGH! And they gave me cooked carrots, *barf* - my least favorite was to eat carrots. At least we were able to watch the Devils game in the room. And the chair Mike got pulled out into a nice little bed, so he was comfortable. I hated having to ring a nurse every 45 minutes to go pee, too (since I was hooked up to monitors and stuff). And the iv wasn't a good stick, so my arm was killing me (and I am no pansy when it comes to needles or iv lines!). Thankfully, the staff were all *incredible*, and super nice. That's what matters the most. I'm kind of petrified of actually giving birth. Getting the Cervidil hurt SO bad, and I don't know who would want to go natural after feeling what something little like that was.

From this afternoon: WOW. So J wasn't moving too much last night and this morning, and I mentioned it to the receptionist when I called my OB to make another appointment. She called back later and told me to go to Labor & Delivery for monitoring. J ended up being totally fine, but when she said that, I got scared! As soon as I was hooked back up on the monitors, he started rockin' and rollin'. Figures! Then my OB called in and wanted a growth ultrasound, so that was cool. His guess of an 8 lb baby was spot on - he is an 8 lb baby! He also got an 8/8 on his biophysical profile, and we got a surprise 3d ultrasound of his face!! I'm going to withold those from internet land, though, you can e-mail me if you want to see them. Or ask me on Facebook. He looks exactly like me, I think M was a little upset with that. :(

I am so tired, and so is my poor Mom, and my poor husband. I was REALLY happy Mike got home from the city in time to go down to get the ultrasound, and REALLY happy that my Mom got to see him. Also, I think it's hilarious that the first test J was ever given had an 8/8 result. He got an A+! :P

37w5d

I had another high BP reading today, so I called my doctor like he told me to. Since I'm coming in tomorrow anyway, he said he'd take it again in the office and we will decide from there if I will be admitted. He said I might get induced tomorrow or Sunday. I'm to take it easy until tomorrow when we leave. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

37w4d

Yesterday I had my 37 week appointment and my blood pressure was 150/90. So I have to monitor it at home and come back to the office on Saturday. If it's still high, or I get another high reading, I might get induced this weekend. I have mixed emotions about that, but I don't want to worry too much.

Dad's work shower

This was me on Sunday, at 37 weeks. :)




I was just sent this photo! I am so touched Mike's work did this for us. Just wish I could have been there. :)

36 weeks today!

I am feeling really pregnant! Sleeping has always been a challenge for me, but now even more so. Having a little swelling here and there, too, but my blood pressure is still good. At J's last appointment his heart rate was 153 bpm, which has been the same for the past 3 or 4 months! Good job, J!

I have my next appointment on Tuesday. Unfortunately M can't make it as he has an overnight trip to Albany, so I think if my Mom has off, I will see if she wants to come and listen to the heartbeat. :)

So my baby shower was Sunday

It was a lot of fun! My mom really went all out for it, too! I am so appreciative of all her work to make this event awesome. First she picked the best little restaurant I've ever been too (Nomad Pizza in Hopewell, NJ), she put together all the decorations and favors, and she even made cupcakes for everyone to take home! If you've ever been to my Mom and Dad's house, you will know she does not mess around in the kitchen.










The turn out was really great, though I was a little worried since it's a small space. Let's just say we were really cozy! Everyone loved the pizza, especially the dessert pizza that had Nutella and bananas on top! I couldn't believe how generous everyone was. I feel so lucky that my little guy is coming into the world with so much love around him.

I have a million thank you notes to write, but it was all worth it!

50 days to go! And only 48 days until Christmas!!

Had my 32 week appointment today at 32w6d. J's heart rate is 153 bpm, and my blood pressure is still good. Weight gain is not that great, meaning I gained 6 lbs in almost 3 weeks. I guess this is the time to do it! I was able to finally get the H1N1 shot. I really don't care about the opinions surrounding this vaccination, I made the decision to get it because it is what's best for the both of us. It is really hard to get around here, so I am very fortunate to get it. My arm is just a little sore, no side effects so far.

We had our first birthing class this past week, as well. It was really good and it helped my husband a lot, he was a little confused on the mechanics of childbirth and had a few questions. I like our instructor, she is an RN who has had ELEVEN children! All different types of births, too. Natural, c-section, VBAC, and she had an epidural, "just to try it". Haha! So we are in very good hands. :)

Oh, the picture you are seeing was my Halloween costume! I went as a present since J is due December 27th. Haha. I am cheesy, but who cares! This will be the best Christmas ever!!

My next appointment (at 35 weeks) is the last one of the two week interval appointments, after that I go to an appointment every week! The doctor said if I go into labor after 35 weeks, he will not stop it! How exciting! Watch I go to 42 weeks having said that, however. :( That will be just my luck. I just want him to come before Jan. 1st... for tax purposes! Ha! I sound like a parent, don't I?

31w4d

Nothing much going on today, but yesterday was quite crazy. I think somebody needed to stretch his legs or something, because he was pushing and kicking me all day! He has been had down since the beginning, but now I am not so sure.

The image is a screenshot from http://www.pennmedicine.org/health_info/pregnancy/000088.htm and this is apparently the size my boy is now! So if you didn't guess, all that action yesterday was quite tiring. I ended up taking a nap around dinnertime to recover!

30w6d

Just a photo for today. I made the mistake of making chocolate chip cookies, and they gave me heartburn! What a rotten deal that was. :)

29w5d

Well, here I am, a night's sleep away from being 30 weeks pregnant! I have spent the last two weeks visiting family in Mississippi. I visited my Mom's sister during the first week, as well as all her family. I haven't been to Jones Co. since my Great-Grandma died, I was LONG overdue for a visit (Great-Grandma died about 20 years ago!). My Aunt and Uncle have since gained seven grandkids! She also taught me to make my Great-Grandma's fried chicken recipe, which I am going to try to attempt this week. Also visiting was my Great-Uncle Don and his wife, my Great Aunt Gerri. I haven't seen them since the funeral, either. It was a really great visit.

The second week we went to Greenwood, to stay at my Mom's brother's house. Or should I say country estate! What a place. They have about 1400 acres or something insane like that. We did a spa day at The Alluvian and also had a cooking lesson at the Viking Cooking School. I was finally able to meet my cousin's wives, who are not only more beautiful in person, but nicer than you could ever imagine! Kendy and my cousin John have two little girls, and Mamie and my cousin Paul have 2 little boys. All four children are amazing and totally adorable. I also got to see my cousin Mark (who is in his last year of med school! Thank you for coming to see us during your crazy last year!!), and my other Uncle's middle son, my cousin Peter. Peter lives in SC, and I have seen him more recently, but every visit with him is a treat. Last Friday he cooked us all dinner, and I would never think grits and shrimp actually would taste good together, but WOW. The man can cook. Also at my Uncle's house were two of my Mom's cousins, who are brother and sister. Their Mom was my Grandpa's older sister. My (Greenwood) Aunt also took my parents and I to two pottery places and I got a couple nice things (I have a thing for getting pottery from wherever I am visiting in the US). My Aunt is so funny, I really wish I could see her more often. And what a hostess! I wish I was that good at having people over. Everyone was really comfortable and we all had a lot of fun.

It was such a great time - I really miss all those big family reunions we used to have when my grandparents were alive. Everyone also seemed SO happy for my little guy to be coming into the world, it was very special to me hearing those comments. I don't have any family in my area other than my parents, so hearing that stuff in person was just so nice. I love you all!!

Yesterday we had our 27 week appointment

Nothing out of the ordinary, and I got the go-ahead to get a mole removed. Whoopie. Goose's heart rate was 143 beats per minute, which surprised me, since he's been in the 150s-160s for the past 4 or 5 months. We found out he is head down, which is why I feel him only by my belly button.

Sunday I am leaving with my parents to go see family in the deep, deep south. Wish me luck. The food down there is too good!

What symptoms are you experiencing and how are you feeling in general?
I am losing more and more sleep each night due to my insomnia.

What's been happening recently with your prenatal care?
Passed the gestational diabetes test, my blood sugar level was 114.

Anything big happening in your personal life (moving, work related, family, etc)?
Going to Mississippi on Sunday with my parents!

Any Belly pictures?
Maybe with the next update. I don't feel like I've gotten any bigger (thank goodness).

Happy first day of 3rd trimester!

Hello, world! This is a blog to keep our family up to date with our little guy, who will be known as "Goose" to the internet world.

Goose is currently cooking in the oven, and is expected to arrive around Christmas time. Our Christmas Goose's due date is December 27th, 2009! Today marks the beginning of his third trimester, and M (my husband) and I could not be more excited to meet him. Today we signed up for all the birthing classes we could possibly take at our hospital in preparation for his arrival. We are so excited!!!