38 Weeks + 1 Day

Well, I'm back home after a long day at the doctor's office and hospital. My blood pressure at the doctor's office was 147/92, so I was sent to the hospital for more tests. I got to the hospital right before 12 and was hooked up to monitors to check my blood pressure, the baby's heartbeat, and contractions. I had a lot of contractions while I was there (every 5-8 minutes), so they decided to do an internal. I was dilated to 1 cm. After about an hour, the nurse told the doctor on call that my blood pressure had gone down and the baby was fine. They checked my urine sample, and everything came back normal. After another hour, I was told to go home and make an appointment with a different doctor since my doctor was still in the hospital.

When I got home, I received a phone call from my original doctor's nurse. He will be back in the office on Thursday. I have an appointment with him on Thursday. I also have an appointment with other doctor on Thursday if Houseworth isn't doing surgeries. I will find out more tomorrow about who will actually be performing my c-section which will be planned for early next week. So at the latest, next Tuesday, Bryan and I will finally know if we will have a baby boy or girl!!! I'll keep everyone posted when I find out more!! Cross your fingers that my doctor will be able to perform my c-section!

38 Weeks

We had our 38 week doctor appointment today. Bryan had heard that our doctor was in the hospital, so we were kind of confused on how everything was going to go today. We got there, and there was no doctor. He had fallen on Thursday and broke his leg. He is still in the hospital. I met with the nurse, and she took my blood pressure and weight. My blood pressure was 150/92 which is high. Then she took my measurements and got the baby's heartbeat. The baby's heartbeat was 140 beats per minute. Then the nurse went to call the doctor about my blood pressure. The doctor told her that I was to be on bed rest again for the day until my appointment tomorrow. They also scheduled an ultrasound later in the afternoon.

Denise and I went to get pedicures, and I recruited her to go to the ultrasound with me. Bryan didn't think it would be good to miss 2 1/2 hours of work today. At the ultrasound, I got to see the baby again but not great pictures. We really didn't get to see much of the baby except that he/she was breeched.

I am now sitting on the chaise doing nothing because that is what Bryan is allowing me. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow where they will take my blood pressure again and check the baby. If my blood pressure is still high, I might be admitted and have a baby by the end of the day! I'm ready, but wow this went fast!!!

37 Weeks

At the doctor's appointment today, there wasn't much changed since last week. We met with a nurse practitioner student who I met with for the first time. The baby's heartbeat was 140 beats per minute. Other than that, we really didn't do too much different. We probably will have the ultrasound sometime next week. I still feel like the baby is breeched. The head in the ribs still hasn't moved. Our next appointment is next Monday.

I've been having some cramping all day, but no "real" contractions. I'm more sore now walking, sitting and just trying to go to sleep. I can't wait for this to be over!!

36 Weeks and 2 days

On Monday the 21st, we had another bi-weekly appointment. The baby seems to be doing really well. Heartbeat was strong and 152 beats per minute. Everything else was going good. They scheduled an ultrasound for the 31st to check the baby's position and weight.

On the 31st, Bryan and I went bright and early to the hospital to get the ultrasound. Right away the tech said that the baby is still breeched. His/her head is up in my right ribs and butt is in my right hip. There was no good pictures because the baby looks all smashed in there. We didn't even get to see the face. I was hoping the baby would flip, but I guess we have a stubborn baby who is comfortable where he/she is. Bryan really wanted to know what we were having, but the tech said she couldn't tell at all.

This Monday, January 4th, we had our last bi-weekly appointment at 36 weeks. I had to have the Group B Strep test and an internal. The strep test results will be in next week. The internal hurt so bad, but my cervix is still closed. Dr. Houseworth said that he will schedule another ultrasound after my next appointment to check the baby's position one more time. If the baby hasn't flipped, we will be scheduling an ultrasound. Not exactly what Bryan or I wanted, but as long as the baby comes out, I will be happy! The baby has dropped an inch also. I wish it would keep going.

I will get some pictures on here later. We are almost completely ready for the baby. I still have to pack my bag, but I'm postponing it. I don't want to jinx it and never go into labor! I'm having more problems getting around now. Now, I can feel pain in my right rib, right hip and now kicking in my left rib all at the same time! So, this is really fun trying to sleep through. Other than that, heartburn is a constant now. It doesn't matter what I eat, how much or anything, I get heartburn. The baby seems to be doing great. We just hope we keep this up. Not much time left!!

32 Weeks and 5 Days

Well, I've had two doctors appointments since my last post. Both went fine. Nothing too significant to report. Baby was doing fine. Heartbeat was in the 150's. The baby seems to be growing at the right pace when the doctor measured my stomach. It seems weird to go every two weeks. It goes very quickly between visits. I got my results back from the glucose test. I passed so I do not have gestational diabetes and do not have to take the three hour fasting glucose test! We have another doctor appointment on Monday before Christmas. We might be having another ultrasound also to see if the baby is breeched still. We will find out on the 21st.

On Sunday of Thanksgiving, Bryan and I went and got our first real Christmas tree. I have never had one ever, but he had some growing up. We got a 7 1/2 foot tree from a farm. It was really fun to actually go and get one this year instead of using a fake one. I put the lights on and decorated it!

Last weekend, I had my southern shower. My mom came down with my dad bringing the crib, dresser, and mattress with them. That definitely made this seem like it is coming to an end. My shower was at the church, and there were a lot of people in attendance. It was nice to see some people I don't see very often here. Also, I got some stuff that we desperately needed before that baby comes. Getting some of this stuff helped relieve some stress. Everything went great at the shower. No games which I was very excited about!! Other than feeling like I was on display, it was a great day!

This weekend has been "Baby" weekend. On Saturday, we had our birthing class. I knew trying to get Bryan to go five weeks in a row would never happen, so we did the "Extreme" birthing class - 7 hours! Neither one of us were very excited to go for that long, but at least, it got it all done at once. We got there at 10:00 and actually knew two couples there. There was only 8 couples there. It wasn't as bad as we thought. We, of course, got to see the great 80's birthing videos and learned some breathing techniques. Other than that, we got a lot of information about the hospital policies, what to bring, and other paperwork to fill out. We got out a little earlier than 5:00 which made it that much better! We are glad we went and hope that something we learned will help.

Today, Bryan wanted to put together the crib (which he has said since last weekend). After going out to breakfast, he actually started. The dresser was taken out of it box. Then he started the crib. I was very nervous he was going to get irritated and quit, but he never did. After a few mistakes, he has the crib up and the mattress in waiting for bedding. I put together the mobile and the pack 'n play. He also put together the stroller and infant car seat. We must have been in the baby mood. Maybe it could be that we will be 33 weeks tomorrow and only 3 weeks before the baby could come. The nursery is starting to come together. It's so crazy to see the room go from empty to almost ready for a baby!

Our bedroom with the bassinet (Pack 'N Play) ready for the baby minus bedding!


Slowly but surely, we are getting everything ready for the baby to be here. We had to fill out some papers to bring with us about labor and delivery, and I really couldn't believe I had to fill them out already. It feels like we have tons of time until you look at the calendar.

28 Weeks and 3 days

We had our 28 week ultrasound today. The baby is sideways right now. It was really hard to see anything different then the last ultrasound. He/she was smashed in the placenta the whole time. The baby was shy so we only got one picture of the profile. The rest of the time we looked at the legs, back, and the stomach. We didn't see what "it" is again. The tech even said that this time she couldn't see what it was because his/her thighs were together. At one time, the left leg was up by its head.

After the ultrasound, I had to go to the lab to do my fasting glucose test. I had to drink some liquid that was supposed to be like Sprite. They took my blood once at the beginning. Then I waited for another blood test in the other arm. It was 11:30 before I left the hospital and still hadn't eaten. I haven't found out results yet, so cross your fingers I passed so I don't have to take it again.

Here is another belly picture at 28 weeks. I can't believe we are already in the third trimester!

28 Weeks and 2 days

I had my 28 week doctor appointment today. Everything was good with the baby. The heartbeat was 154 beats per minute. The baby is still breeched. Its head is near my belly button pushing out all the time. The kicks are just as powerful and painful most of the time. It is really bad at night. It seems like I can't get a good position without him/her kicking and pushing like crazy. Other than that, the baby seems to be doing well. I've been feeling really good. My back has started to hurt every once in awhile.

We have another ultrasound tomorrow. I also have my fasting glucose test for gestational diabetes tomorrow. So I can't eat anything after midnight tonight. It should be fun to see the baby again though hopefully with some more fat on the body. He/she should be around 2 lbs now.

Bryan and I registered at Baby's R Us on Halloween. He didn't realize how long it was going to take, so he opted out on going to the rest of them. I went to Champaign and registered at Target and Babyland in Savoy. It seems crazy that we are already doing this. Time is definitely flying by!

Here are the links to our registries if anyone wants to look at them.
Baby's R Us - http://www.toysrus.com/registry/search/index.jsp?_flowExecutionKey=_c55D81477-0BFD-1368-31D0-4DF13FB4DAAD_kD9D337F6-6290-5D48-96E8-B0FCF8D3210B&overrideStore=TRUS
Target -http//www.target.com/registry/baby/37XUKV1T3NSZF
Babyland in Savoy - http://www.babylandllc.com/regbuy/reglist.php?comd=registry&ID=7061&FullName=Heather%20Metzger

Hopefully, I'll be back tomorrow with some more pictures!