final pregnancy post...

so, big changes on the arrival of our little one...at my appointment last week, the doctor let out a big sigh after she did her routine check. I said, "that didn't sound like a positive sign!" She informed me that even though I have dialated, the baby has not dropped whatsoever, and in her experience, if the baby has not dropped by now, she probably cannot due to the size of my pelvic structure. She recommended a c-section.

First off, I would trust my doctor with my life (and the life of my little girl!). If she felt this is necessary, then I will not argue. However, it surprised me how disappointed I was to have the idea of giving birth to my girl taken from me! I give credit to my doctor though...she did offer to let me go naturally and see what happens. So, I spent a long weekend praying, thinking, chatting with girlfriends who have had c-sections and decided to go ahead with a scheduled birth.

My babe will arrive this Friday, October 9!! Lord willing, of course, as His plan is the ultimate one. :)

I'm excited, nervous, anxious, happy, stressed, thrilled, tired...just as every pregnant woman in my state of 40 weeks pregnant should be!!

Oh, also this weekend, we asked my uncle to "experiment" with us and do a maternity photo shoot...we were thrilled with the results!

still pregnant...

"you're still pregnant?" that's the question I got from a student yesterday. I really did have to laugh out loud. It really mirrored my thoughts of the past few days. I've made it to the 37 week mark where my babe is now considered full term and could come anytime now. But at the doctor appointments of the past couple of weeks, there doesn't seem to be any progress in that direction. I stay positive though because my blood pressure is good, I have minimal swelling, and her heartrate is perfect. I've also noticed her somersaults have stopped and now have become pushes and jabs into my right side...a very cozy home for her right now, I'm sure!

As to other things going on at our home on Prospect...not too much. Work and grad school have begun for me in full swing which makes for some long, full days. Needless to say, other than the frequent potty trips at night, I'm sleeping pretty well!

We just continue to count down the days... :)

35 weeks

I can't believe I'm already this far! Of course, I didn't even realize I was pregnant until just less than 6 months ago. ;) The doctor's appointment today shows that I continue to be right on track: 11 pound weight gain, my blood pressure nice and low, belly measuring right on, baby heart rate 146. And, at this moment, my little girl is living with her head down; but, of course, that can always change yet as somersaults seem to be her favorite thing to do.

Work has also begun. I'm surprising several staff in the school building who didn't know I was pregnant and now arrive back to school with a larger than average belly... :) It is good to be back in a routine even though "routine" is a loosely used phrase when it comes to this public school system as every year entails a lot of shuffling around and change. But, I'm thinking it will make these last five weeks move a little faster as I get very excited to meet my girl.

We also have finished up our birthing classes. Fascinating stuff too! I thought that since I'm a nurse, I probably know more than the average pregnant mom, however, I think there were parts about it that were beneficial to both Jason & I. We both have decided that the grossest part is the delivery of the placenta, but we also decided that the best part will be meeting and holding her--which, will keep us distracted from the gross part. ha! :)

Other than that, things continue along! My two graduate classes start this week and we're looking forward to celebrating our two year wedding anniversary with a little trip up north this weekend.

pregnancy reflections

So, this is what happens at 12:15am when one is 34 weeks pregnant: no sleep. :)

However, pregnancy is an amazing feat to me. The creation of a complete an entire separate human being who will resemble her father and me in a beautiful and unique way; both physically and mentally in all our good ways and bad ways. God already knows who she will become, what amazing feats she will accomplish, and all the other little details of living a life that is glorifying and pleasing to Him.

Wow!

This midnight reflection puts it all into perspective for me. :) The achy back, the sore hips, the swollen hands and feet, the carpal tunnel (yes, that is what I have now), the insomnia, the heartburn, the frequent bathroom trips...they all pale in comparison to the life somersaulting and moving within me. I love you little one, but believe it or not, God loves you even more!

My little one's lullaby:

All through the day
all through the night
dwell in His promises
walk in His light.
Darkness shall flee
at His command;
All through the day and night,
we're in His hand.

baby GIRL!

so fun! Yesterday we got to "meet" our little girl. For almost an hour we were able to watch her move, wiggle, and turn. The ultrasound tech watched her for awhile hoping to get a good picture of her heart as she stubbornly refused to be in the best position for it, but we were completely content with the wait as it was so wonderful to be able to take a little peek into our daughter's current life. :)

pregnancy cravings

So, can pregnancy cause cravings of the sort where you crave to be somewhere else? I’ve been debating that today…as the weather has turned to a balmy 80 degree temperature for a brief time here in Michigan. The taste of summer is too great to deny and being at work makes it much too difficult to truly enjoy the gift God has bestowed upon us Michiganders for this weekend. :)

Summer is fast approaching and I’m looking forward to a great many things. Camp nursing, garage saleing, camping in Northern Michigan, a wedding, fun with friends, cleaning house, and most likely a lot of nesting! I feel as though my home will have an extreme makeover this summer and I’m looking forward to every second of it!

In the meantime, I need to stay focused as the school nurse conference I organize is fast approaching, large reports for work need to be accomplished, and my next graduate class will be starting soon. Never a dull day on Prospect!

so it goes...

So many people have asked: "how are you feeling?" Unfortunately it's been a bad week to ask as I've been battling a cold for over a week now. On Monday I called my doctor and asked (begged, pleaded) if there was anything besides Sudafed that I could take. The nurse called back an hour later with a prescription for an antibiotic! Great--that works too! Of course our bathroom counter now looks like a small pharmacy, but it's all for the greater good right now. :)

So, exhaustion, nausea, and congestion seem to be my constant companions this week; so much so, in fact, that congestion moved over to Jason as well. Who says men can't experience pregnancy sympathy pain? ;)

So, we're looking forward to the weekend. The weather is sunny and near 70 degrees and my last grad class for the semester meets tomorrow. Yard work that was begun last week will hopefully wrap up tomorrow as well. Life is good on Prospect as we take it one day at a time on this new journey!

PREGNANT!

Easter Sunday 2009: the day Jason & I announce that we're going to be parents! What an amazing day. :)

Here is the story of our lives the past few weeks:

I had been feeling fairly run down and tired for probably a good month. Running home to see how quickly I could get to the couch to lay down had become a daily event! But at no time did I determine that any of this (or various other symptoms) were related in anyway other than maybe some seasonal depression or even hypothyroidism.

March 17, 2009, in the morning I had gotten ready for work and was in the car ready to pull out of the driveway. Suddenly I felt as though I was going to vomit. I quickly hopped out of the car, paused to puke in the front bush, and then made it into the house to finish in the toilet. I felt better after that, and even went to work. I kept thinking: how odd…but in the back of my mind, something was nagging. That afternoon I took a pregnancy test: it was POSITIVE! I had to hang out to the sink as the blood whooshed in my ears!

That afternoon when Jason came home, I said, “hon, I have something to tell you.” He said (jokingly) “Oh, are you pregnant?” and I said, “Yup!” He couldn’t believe it! We hung on to each other as the news sunk in…

March 25—nurse appt. Not impressed with the “bedside manner” of the nurse. She kind of prattled on with her script and wasn’t too convincing about anything. I look very much forward to seeing the doctor next week.

March 26—Dr. phone call. My doctor (Anita) calls makes a personal phone call to share that she really wants to know exactly how far along I am in order to get me on appropriate dosage of blood thinner. Will order a HCG blood test and then maybe ultrasound.

March 27—HCG blood test

March 30—HCG blood test results: 111,226. This shows I really am pregnant and not just dreaming it all up!! Dr. now wants to have an ultrasound.

April 1—ultrasound: A-MAZ-ING!!! We discover that we are 13 weeks along and the little one is moving and shakin’ things up in-utero. Everything looks great right now, we even got to hear the little heartbeat. You literally cannot wipe the smile off my face today! This is definitely no April Fools joke.

April 2—Dr appt: Anita is so great! Pretty basic appointment as she listed off what I can and can not eat, encouraged me to exercise, drink my water, and that I will be on blood thinner (shots!) for the duration of my pregnancy. (this is due to the fact I had a blood clot in my leg a few years ago) Jason came and I was glad he got to meet her. The big due date is official now: October 7.

This whole pregnancy thing is amazing to me…here I was going along thinking that I may be sick, depressed, maybe an ulcer or something like hypothyroidism. And, all along, God has been chuckling as He has been knitting together this beautiful new life inside me. Emotions have been hard to pinpoint: shock, unbelief, excitement, shock, terror, unpreparedness, shock, happy, unbelief. Most of the emotions, as I name them, seem to be centered around the surreal-ness that these past few week have taken on. I think most of that stems from the fact that I really never thought my body would be able to do this. Unreal!

I guess I’ll be most grateful that God allows several months for this journey—because He knows I need it! I look back on my blog entry on January 1, 2009 and how I anticipated everything God had in store for this coming year. Lesson learned that you should be careful what you wish for as He most certainly has started it out with a bang!