Blech

Another day of just general crampyness. I've had some pretty strong contractions, but nothing regular. So unless something happens tonight, it looks like induction tomorrow morning. I was really hoping not to be induced, so think easy labor vibes, and going into labor before the hospital calls tomorrow.... :D

Oops

Well, I had pretty strong contractions until about 3am, but then they tapered off. I didn't sleep super well, so I'm taking it easy today. My mom is here, so she will go with us to the Ultrasound. Then maybe we'll walk for a while before my doctor's appointment. So I'm still in early labor, but now the contractions are stronger but farther apart. Getting closer!

Update:
Well, the ultrasound went well. It was so neat to see him so much clearer than before! If I get around to it I'll upload some of the photos, but they're not nearly as good as seeing them on the screen. Even though measurements weren't ordered, the tech did them anyway for us :D But now I'm a little scared. They're not perfect, they are generally plus or minus a pound, but she said he was measuring at about 9lbs, 15 oz!!!

After the ultrasound we went to Fairhaven and walked around for a bit, and then went to the doctor's appointment. The early labor last night did some good, I'm now 3 cm and 80% effaced. Yay! She went ahead and stripped my membranes (we decided it was less invasive than being induced with Pitocin) and scheduled an induction for Friday. The thought being that since he is measuring so large the longer he goes the more likely the chance of c-section. I would much rather be induced than have a c-section. In the mean time I'm still doing all I can to make him go into labor on his own before friday so I don't have to be induced at all.

Maybe...

Well, I'm in early labor. I'm having contractions every 2.5-3.5 minutes, but they're not strong enough to be painful yet. My doctor's office said to call back when they're painful enough to take my full concentration. Mom's on her way, since it's easier to come now versus in the middle of the night. My doula stopped by as well, and said to keep doing what I'm doing, which is hang out and wait for them to get stronger. She also gave me a Cohoshes tincture to help encourage the contractions to get stronger. Hopefully it works, because it tastes terrible.

The castor oil just gave me gas ::blush:: but I guess I am in early labor now, so it's nothing to sneeze at!

So to sum up: contractions, no hospital yet, nothing more to report, will do so when I have something more to tell you :D

Still waiting

Well, I had an NST this morning. Evidently I'm having contractions every 8-9 minutes that I can't feel, and harder ones every 15-45 minutes that still aren't painful but at least I recognize them. He's responding well though. Right now, I love my doctor, and if I don't induce on Friday she won't be here for the delivery, and I would still need to be induced a few days past that. I don't feel comfortable going too far past my due date because of the possible dangers, but I really don't want to be induced either. Therefore I'm doing everything in my power to start labor before then...

Yes Christine, we'll post from the hospital :D There's free wi-fi there, and I can't guarantee how MUCH we'll post, but we will post. I also have a mass email list that once he's born I'll email with the basic statistics, and a link back here where the full story will be (once I get it written).

I decided to try taking Castor Oil tomorrow morning. My doula is out of town on Thursday (eep!) but she has a more experienced partner doula who would take care of me if she can't be there. So with that in mind I'll try the castor oil tomorrow. If it doesn't work I'll try it again on Thursday night. I know I have an ultrasound on Wednesday, but I would much rather have a BABY on wednesday than more blurry black and white photos of a little alien head. Hehe! So that's where we are now.

Fun Stuff!

Not Yet...

We walked around the farmers market today, and took a two hour walk around Whatcom Falls Park. Both were lovely, and today there were at least a few more contractions involved. But still no real progress. Guess it's off to the hospital tomorrow for the NST! Unless something happens tonight.

All the bags are packed and I'm out of things to do besides knit. This kid is going to have a lot of pants.

Not yet

Well, not much progress has been made. I'm still about 1cm dilated, and slightly more effaced. My doctor scheduled me for an NST (non-stress test) on monday morning, then an ultrasound on wednesday morning to check fluid levels, followed by an appointment with her on wednesday afternoon.

Evidently in Whatcom county they really don't like you going 41.5 weeks, so she'll let me go to August 1st (next friday) before inducing. So we're eating Chinese food for dinner, and tomorrow may be a walking day.

Today we went and saw The Dark Knight (the new batman movie) and it was really good. I got another project done, and now I'm almost out of stuff to do. I just thought I would update, but now I'm off to go sit on the exercise ball and roll around, it's supposed to possibly help labor along too.

Pray for labor vibes!

Just Because....

I know when my friends are about to have a baby I compulsively check their babysites for updates....

Nothing happening yet. I've been having contractions, but nothing regular or even remotely painful, just uncomfortable. I had a doctor's appointment today but it got rescheduled to tomorrow since my doctor was at the hospital delivering someone else's baby...

We plan on taking a long walk tomorrow to see if that starts anything. I think the cats are telling me it will be soon, they're both SUPER cuddly. Maybe I'm producing oxytocin and they can smell it? Seriously, they follow me around everywhere....

I'll update when we know more!

It's here!

My due date.... not the baby. He's still marinating. I figure the longer we wait, the better he'll be, right?

So much for a European Pi Approximation day baby!

Yesterday I spent the day dying diapers with my friend Miranda. They turned out awesome. Maybe I'll post pictures later, but I think I'm going to spend the afternoon sewing, and then watch Project Runway. Then I go see the doctor tomorrow! Wheee! Maybe Jason and I will take a long walk tomorrow. We'll see :D

Nope

He dropped some, but not completely. We had our 39 week check up yesterday. I'm 1cm dilated, 40% effaced and at +3 station. Still have a while to go. I'm still just puttering around the house. Mom and Richard are coming for the weekend, so hopefully having so much going on will wake him up some and make him want to meet them. My doctor wants me to have him next week, since she's the on-call doctor so she would be sure to deliver him. We might take a lot of walks.... Not much else to report on!

This week:
Congratulations - your baby is now fully formed and ready to be born. If your due date passes, your doctor will check to see if the baby has enough amniotic fluid. If he's fine, you and your doctor may still want to discuss induction.

(we don't want to induce, we believe that when he's ready he'll be here. Plus induction increases the chances of C-section, which we want to avoid. So he'll be here when he gets here! I have nothing against encouraging him naturally though :D )

Did it happen?

I think he may have dropped last night. I'm not 100% sure. I got up last night and as I was sitting down I felt him "click" into place. I don't know how else to explain it. But next time he moved he was much lower down. When I got back in bed he seemed to be higher up again, but today I think he's lower. I'll have to take pictures and compare. Still feels like progress!

The start...

of the due month. Anytime in the next 4 weeks, but most likely not for another two. Let the countdown begin! It's getting uncomfortable enough that I'm really hoping for the 22nd....

36 weeks!

So I have 2-6 weeks left.... goodness there's still a lot to do! I uploaded pictures from the baby shower, and I still need to take a recent one, but we've been a little busy.

OH!!! I don't plan on putting many baby pictures on this website. I'm going to be putting them on Flickr, so you can download them better. But I don't want just ANYONE downloading them, so it's going to be required that you be on my Flickr friend's list. This is free, and you just have to have a yahoo.com log in that's registered to Flickr. Once you register to Flickr, you can become my friend. If you have any problems with this, or want help setting it up, please contact me (link on the left) and I'll help you through it.

But here's what's happening this week anyway:
Your baby has likely hit the six-pound mark by now, and his length is approximately twenty-one inches. The weight on your abdomen probably feels like twice that. Your baby is practicing his breathing, but he has increasingly less space to practice stretching and kicking. Your baby' intestines are also building up meconium, a greenish-black substance made of baby by-products such as dead cells, shed lanugo, and amniotic fluid. It'll become your little darling's first bowel movement, hopefully after he is out of the womb. His body fat has increased to about eight percent. By birth, it'll be about fifteen percent. If your baby is a boy, his testes will have descended into his scrotum. While your baby could be born at any time, the longer he stays in, the more time he has to develop the connections in his brain in the pleasant peace and quiet of your womb. At this point, he can do all the things a newborn can, with the exception of breathing air and pooping in a diaper. Just as you're feeling stretched, your baby is being squeezed on all sides. Some of your antibodies are crossing the placenta, giving your baby's immune system some support for his first days in the world. If you breastfeed, you'll later be giving him immunities in your milk.

Slowly...

I'm slowly getting caught up. We finished moving into our new place, and now we just have to finish unpacking. The whole house smells like East Indian food, so Jason has to wash the walls with TSP to hopefully take care of it. Overall I really like the way it's coming together! It's not the nicest place in the world, but it could be worse.

Jason starts looking for a part time job this week to hopefully help us until the Baby is born. I hope he finds something with decent hours and pay, and that he won't mind leaving once I'm in labor!

We had our baby shower on Saturday at the Cook's house. It was amazing, I had so much fun and got such great gifts! I'll post pictures later. We're still at my Mom's house until this afternoon. It's her birthday so we're doing lunch with her then heading home. We still don't have internet at the new place yet, but hopefully in the next few days that will change.

Anyway, I'm really tired so I don't have a whole lot to say. I'll update more later! Oh, but I suppose I should tell you what's going on right now. I'm at 35 weeks and 5 days, 8 days until I'm FULL TERM!!!

With one month to go, your baby weighs about six pounds and is fattening. His full length from crown to feet is about 20 1/2 inches. Has your baby's movement slowed down? If so, you shouldn't worry. Five to ten percent of all mothers report that babies start to slow down as they grow larger and get more cramped for space. Still, you should be able to feel your baby move more than ten times a day. If you're concerned, try drinking a sweet beverage, such as orange juice, and then lying on your side for a while. Most babies will wake up and start to move. If you're still concerned, contact your healthcare provider.

Happy Father's Day!

Jason is going to be such a wonderful father.

I see it in the way he treats me, and the way he interacts with the baby, and the amount of attention he pays in birth class, and the way he loves our cats. I'm so proud of him and so blessed to have him in my life. I can't wait to see him interacting with our son.

Jason has been amazing the last few weeks. He's been keeping my anxiety down and getting a ton done around the house. We're only a few days away from moving now, and we're getting close to being ready. Today he hasn't felt the greatest but he's been a trooper and stuck with it. He's out getting us dinner right now, because we decided to eat all our pantry and fridge food... and we succeeded.

I just want you all to know how great he is. I love him with all my heart and I'm so happy to be sharing my life with him. I can't wait (well, I can) to give him a son.

I love you Jason!

Almost done....

With school. Just a short presentation tomorrow morning, and I'm done for a while at least. I spent all of Wednesday afternoon and most of today being totally unproductive. I'm completely exhausted, so even though I have a ton to do, all I can do is nap!

The little man has been super active recently. He likes playing "kick Dad's hand!" but generally refuses to move when anyone else tries to feel him. Whenever my Mom is around, he won't even hiccup! I'm hoping she has that calming presence on him when he's actually here.

We still have a ton of packing and cleaning to do, but we're slowly making progress. I think I might have more energy today but I haven't eaten enough. We need groceries, but I hate buying food before a move. So I ate a can of corn for lunch. What I really wanted was corn bread (no idea why) but I wasn't about to put on real pants and shoes to go buy it. We're down to beans, chicken broth and pineapple in the pantry. I might need to make a grocery run for frozen lasagna's or something like that. I still feel like I'm not eating enough. I've gained all of 8 lbs so far! But you can see exactly where it all is, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Ok, so talking about food made me hungry. Maybe I will think about getting dressed. Or I may think about the oreos in the pantry. I forgot I had those....

Pictures!

I finally put up a few more pictures.... I grew a lot since I last posted. Someone told me they met someone who is due next week and she's half my size. I guess he's just all out front! I can't believe there's still 7 weeks or so, crazy!

I finished an exam and a presentation, so now I just have a paper, project, presentation, and exam left!

OHHH! And Jason is awesome and got us tickets to go see Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops. We've been trying for ages to go see Ryan Stiles, and the fact that we got tickets to see two great performers is even better! For those of you who don't know, Ryan Stiles was on the Drew Carey Show and Who's Line is it Anyway, and he lives in Bellingham and owns the Up Front Theater here. He does shows about twice a year, and he's a fantastic improv comic. It will make it a better weekend for me, that's for sure!

Has it been 2 weeks?

Tomorrow I'm 33 weeks pregnant. I took pictures last week and never posted them.... I'll try to get on top of that. It's just been incredibly busy. This week I have a project due today, a presentation and an exam on Thursday, the last 8 hours of my internship on Wednesday and Friday, a physical therapist and doctors appointment on Friday, then I work 11-4 on Saturday and 7-1 on Sunday, and have to finish another project by Tuesday, then an exam the following Wednesday, and another presentation on Friday. So in 10 days I'll be done with this quarter. Then we have about 5 days to finish packing before we move, then go to Seattle for the weekend for our baby shower and Mom's birthday, and then come home and unpack.

And I was summoned for Jury Duty June 30-July 11th. I'm hoping they let me out of it....

Oh, I posted links to our registries now. I'm slowly getting caught up on some things, but not on everything.

Last weekend my Mom, Richard, and April came over. It was so nice to see them! I think we get somewhat isolated with how busy we have been. Our birth classes have been nice to be able to go out and see people. But we haven't read any of the book that we're supposed to, nor done the hospital tour. But we have a carseat now (we got a free one with our insurance, and it's actually a pretty good one). Mostly I'm looking forward to being done with school and moving so I can settle in and nest.

Ok, so here's what happened last week:
Your baby's crown-to-rump length is about 11 1/2 inches. He weighs about 4 1/2 pounds and gains about eight ounces every week. Your baby has probably moved to the head-down position and may descend into your pelvis at any time in the next six weeks and begin to press into your cervix. This position not only prepares him for birth but allows blood to flow to his developing brain. The dark quiet of your womb is perfect for this activity. Right now, your baby is also in the process of receiving your antibodies. If he were born right now, his immune system would be immature, and extra care would need to be taken to keep him in a sterile environment.

And here's what's happening next week:
Your baby weighs five pounds or more, about the size of a bag of sugar. He will continue to gain about two or more pounds in the next six weeks. Now that your baby's brain has formed billions of neurons, it must accomplish the even more complex feat of hooking the neurons and synapses together. Your baby's brain is forming trillions of connections, making it possible for him to learn in the womb. All of this brain development may be the reason that your baby sleeps frequently at this stage. He may even be dreaming—his eyes dart around rapidly just as an adult's might in REM sleep. Your child's development is in no way complete at birth. In the first year after birth, a baby's brain triples in size and becomes three-quarters of its adult size.

Oh, and I've gained 7 lbs now. Not too bad!

Single Digits?!?

So I am now 31 weeks and 1 day pregnant. That means I have 9 weeks left. Give or take. I can't believe how fast time is going! I know I need to take another picture, maybe tomorrow. I'm just sooooo busy!

Jason interviewed at Sedro-Woolley today. He thinks it went well, so that's exciting! I got one of my projects turned in, I have another one that's doing well, one I pretty much need to start, and one that I have a few more things to do. And two presentations and three exams. And I still need to start packing... Oh, and I have to go to a play tonight and then write a review. so I hope you all understand why there isn't much here!

We started birth classes, which so far have been good. I like the other couples there, and it's nice to meet other pregnant women in the area. One couple even lives in Mt. Vernon, but both work at the school district Jason applied to. If he were to get that job, Kevin (the husband) might be teaching with him some! He's one of the special ed teachers at the high school. That would be neat for them.

Ok, must do something productive with my time, like working on that management project. So here's what's happening this week:
Your baby weighs about 4 pounds and is about fifteen to seventeen inches tall. Photographs of babies in utero at this stage show their skin becoming less translucent and pinker, as layers of fat are deposited under the skin. His skeleton is rapidly ossifying (turning from cartilage into solid bone), which means that kicks will become visible through your shirt as the trimester progresses. Well-placed kicks under your ribs can take your breath away!

First Mother's Day

Hello All!

So what's happening, the short version: We found someone to rent our apartment, and found a townhouse in North Bellingham. Jason is still looking for a job, and he just applied to Seedro-Woolley. I'm doing a billion things for school, work and my internship. So we're keeping busy. We have boxes to start packing, but haven't done any yet...

Mom and Richard came up for Mother's Day. It was really nice. We went out to lunch at the Keg, and we drove around Bellingham a bit. It was really nice to be able to spend time with them.

Congratulations to Kit and Christine, and their new son Joel, and Kimmie and her son Joe! You make me jealous, this little man keeps kicking me in the lungs.

I probably have more to say, but it's lost out of my head right now. So here's what's happening this week:
You baby weighs between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 pounds. He continues to gain weight at a faster pace than he lengthens, which will give him those cute chubby cheeks. He's about fourteen to sixteen inches tall, although individual growth rates vary. Your baby begins to run out of room as he puts on weight. You should feel about ten kicks an hour. Some care providers suggest keeping a "kick chart" by writing down how many kicks you feel in an hour, so that you are aware if there's a decrease in activity. Other care providers may advise that as long as it feels like the baby's active, there's no need to keep notes. If you do sense a decrease in activity, try drinking a large glass of juice. If that doesn't make the baby energized, or makes him less energized than he usually would be, call your care provider.

I know I'm behind....

Life has just been so busy! We're frantically trying to find renters to take over our lease in June, and trying to find a new place for us to move into. We spent the weekend cleaning the house in preparation to be able to show it. Now we need to start finding moving boxes so we can start packing! I'm finishing up mid-terms on Thursday, but then comes the rounds of projects. Sorry if I'm spotty about posting, and I promise to update pictures soon. I have them (well, I need to take this week's) but I need to upload them off the camera.

My nesting is taking on weird forms. Today I really wanted to buy new bathroom towels. Nice soft fluffy ones that the dye isn't washing out of in ugly orange blotches.... We have a ton of towels, but they're all cheap/old/gross. But we don't need more! I think I just need extra time each week to do what I want to do. I can't wait until we move and I have a little more time, even I'm less mobile. Bending over is getting hard now. I guess I should expect that, I'm 28 weeks and 4 days! The little man moves like crazy, and sometimes he tries to moon the other people around me. At least that's what it feels like he's doing when he pushes his little bum straight out into my belly button.

Ok, update for the week:
Your baby is about two and a half pounds and would be between fifteen and seventeen inches tall if she could stand. Your baby's adrenal glands are producing a chemical which will be made into estriol (a form of estrogen) by the placenta. This estriol is thought to stimulate the production of prolactin by your body, and the prolactin makes you produce milk. So even if your baby comes early, you'll still be able to breastfeed. Each passing week improves the likelihood that your baby will be born strong and healthy. His brain can detect rhythmic breathing and control body temperature, so he's less likely to need breathing assistance should he be born early. He's growing eyelashes, adding fat, and developing his brain. Because of brain wave activity, researchers have speculated that babies can even dream at this time!