Thank You Note

Can I just say "wow" really quickly too about something real quick?

a. Wow, I really appreciate all the love and support coming from friends all over the place thanks to this here little blog

and

b. Wow, thank you so much for all the compliments on our nursery! The highest daily hit count to date - over 500 unique hits the day I posted...and even more pageviews since then! Wowza. Makes me feel almost like a "real" blogger ;)

I love that people I don't know personally are commenting and following along, as well as people that I have lost touch with throughout the years. Hearing from all of you really means so much and just warms my little heart. I hope you continue to glean a smile, a laugh, a new thought or just a way to avoid boredom at work as you follow our journey.


41 weeks along

...and I am totally blushing over this whole thing. Love you guys!

Still here.

Welp, here we are - 41 weeks.

Throughout this pregnancy, I never really anticipated giving birth before my due date, so I am still doing pretty ok, but I thought for sure that Baby G would be here by now!

Specifically you may have noticed I was a little quiet yesterday, Well, my preliminary labor signs had increased, Baby G and I had had a nice long talk as we watched the sunrise about what a beautiful day it was to be born, and I had read some Ina May excerpts that I found especially helpful. I was in the zone and so sure I would go into labor yesterday. Peaceful, calm, excited and ready.

Don't ask me why, I just had a feeling. So much of a feeling, in fact, that I left work early yesterday to go home and continue trying to ease baby out. It started raining like the second I got home, so I convinced A to go walk the mall with me. We walked and walked, like the old people in the mornings that I used to wave to when I worked at J.Crew in college. Contractions came. Regularly. So much so I had A pull out his timer app. Things were looking good and I was so excited.

Now, I knew we had a long way to go, I wasn't in enough pain to merit breathing through contractions and we are talking 6-7 minutes apart...nothing to freak out about, but I was sure it was a sign of good things to come.

But, alas. Then it all stalled out. We got home, I sat on my birth ball and rocked some hip circles, and then hooked myself up to my breast pump. Yup, I have been ding that too. And still. Nada.

Well, I thought, maybe just not right now, but surely I will wake up tonight in labor. So, I set about making a light dinner and spending some QT with the husband. We cuddled, made sure the last few items were ready for the hospital bags, just in case, and watched Despicable Me as we drifted off to dream land...

...and I woke up this morning.

41 weeks pregnant.

So, I don't get to gleefully call in and cancel my appointments today because I am already in labor (which I was looking so forward to!). Instead I will go in and behave and begin asking the dreaded questions that I never thought I would need to about induction procedures, etc.

Now don't get me wrong, I am going to ask about everything else we could possibly be doing to naturally induce first, BUT I am well aware that I am at the point where I need to begin preparing mentally at least for the possibility of an induction next week. And the first part of that is having the right information.

I will ask the questions and accept the information, all with the giant hope that none of it will be necessary. On the upside I will get to hear baby's heartbeat again, and even see him or her, since at this point in addition to the Non-Stress Test, the practice performs an ultrasound to be sure fluid levels are good, etc.

I am definitely excited about seeing baby again - it has been so long! - BUT, I am hoping to avoid any sort of weight guesstimate at the same time. This is my newest question, btw. Everyone seems so interested in how big that "they" {the healthcare professionals} think the baby is at this point. And I shrug and say "no idea" because the midwives don't perform unnecessary ultrasounds, so...we haven't had an estimate.

Here's the thing - I don't want to know. I know that those estimates are notoriously unreliable and like +/- 2lbs. and I know myself. I know that if they say "Baby seems to be about 7.5 lbs" I will immediately jump to 'having' to push out a 9.5 lb baby in the actual delivery. It's just how I am. I know that, and I know I do not need another mental hurdle during the process of (hopefully) natural childbirth. So, we will see if they can just not tell me. I don't know if it's possible, but I am going to ask!

So, that's where we stand.


41 weeks along

...and I am happy that I have created such a happy little womb environment for my baby that they don't want to leave! But I promise, it's better out here baby ;)

{Accelerated Nursery} The Reveal.

I had such good intentions of revealing bits of the nursery as I was doing it, but alas, that is not the case. In good news, however, I have everything for you to view all at once!

One thing I really love about my current bedroom is the feeling of peacefulness and serenity that I get when in there. Sometimes I just hang out up there because I need that vibe. I wanted the same sort of serenity and calm for the nursery, without being too stuffy. I think we may have achieved it.

On to the photos! (I will try to keep the commentary to a minimum.)

We opted for a subtle gray for the walls - Mountain Fog, I think.

That pillow will not live in there when the baby does, no worries folks.

I designed these prints after seeing some similar ones on Etsy.

The last one says "If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops"

Love my glider! So comfy.

The embroidered piece hanging above it is one that my mom made for us when we where children and hung in our rooms growing up, just popped it in a new frame.

My sister painted the "dream" painting for us and my dear friend Whitney painted the cross to match our fabric print - she gifted it to us at the shower. The classic Pooh Bear is a gift from Uncle Corey.

I really wanted to paint and distress the mirror and frames for this wall, but spray paint = no bueno for preggo ladies, so that project will have to wait. I like them much better than I thought I would dark though! They bring some of the darker wood tones over to the changing table area.

 

Warning: Gratuitous photos of my pride and joy, handmade crib bedding ahead.

We opted for the zip on and off crib sheets, and I may have mentioned that the edges should be ironed...to which my husband merely shot me a look that said, "lady, you is crazy." Blame it on nesting.

We will be on the hunt for a smallish toybox/chest to go under that window in the future, as well as a wooden distressed stool for me to put my feet up at the glider. They just haven't found their way to us yet, but I know they are out there in the universe!

So, that's it! Whaddya think?

40 weeks, 5 days along.

...and oh yeah, I had to keep moving these bad boys along in the room to get out of the photos. Hospital bags and diaper bag! It's probably the preppiest collection of bags ever brought to one place (L.L.Bean, Longchamp and Vera Bradley, naturally). They just need a laboring lady and baby to attend to now!

On "have you had that baby yet?"

Welp, here we are...5 days beyond our due date. So now the question comes to mind even more...when is this baby making their appearance?

I was planning on being all hush hush about my symptoms, and journey through these days because I was ohsoconfident I would have a baby in my arms right now, that then I could just be like, "Look! We did it!" With no lead up. Unfortunately, that seems to not be in the cards, and this blog is my cathartic outlet, so I am just going to go for it and be super honest.

Signs of early labor can include:

1. The baby settles into your pelvis. 
2. Your cervix begins to thin and open.
3. Braxton Hicks contractions become more frequent and stronger. 
4. Period like cramping or an ache low in your back.
5. Loss of mucous plug/changes in vaginal discharge. (Grossest phrase ever written on this blog.)
6. Your water may break. In most cases, rupture of the membranes occurs after labor has already started. In some women, this happens before labor starts. Call your doctor immediately or go to the hospital if you think your membranes have ruptured.
7. Some women experience feelings of diarrhea and/or nausea.
8. Nesting instincts are in full gear.
9. Feelings of restlessness and excitement.
10. Contractions are mild to moderate (you can talk while they are happening) and last about 30 to 45 seconds.
11. Contractions may be irregular (5 to 20 minutes apart) and may even stop for a while.
12. Contractions open (dilate) the cervix to about 3 cm (1 in.). First-time mothers can experience many hours of early labor without the cervix dilating.

I am choosing not to source any of that, but Google "early labor" and you should find them all...

ANYWHO, I am experiencing.have experienced since last week about 10 of 12 of those things. I will give you a hint - I can't check my own dilation, so it's not #12 and my water has not broken...so not #6 either. Everything else you can just check off as having been part of the last week for me.

Because they have been a part of the last week, as each one has been added to the list I have been more and more sure that labor and arrival of baby is imminent. The roller coaster of emotions is insane y'all. Seriously.

I totally have the new mom syndrome of trying not to get too excited and tell everyone, but I get myself all ramped up and then when things stall out a few hours later I feel crestfallen. 

The scene tends to go like this - I wake up int he dead of night at about 2:30 am with period like cramping, and think "maybe..." a few minutes late a smallish contraction will hit, at that point all the adrenaline FLOODS into my body and I am so.excited. I refrain from waking my sleeping husband and clamber out of bed to my birth ball...sit on it and relax for a while, ready to embrace the experience... and then it all goes away. Back to normal with some pressure in my pelvis for sure, but no contractions anymore. But the adrenaline, that's still there, so then I try to go back to sleep and can't. Repeat cycle every night for the last 4 nights or so. 

I know, I know, it's not the end of the world and there is only one way for this whole thing to end (spoiler alert: giving birth!) but it is sooooo hard to get excited and mentally prepared and then go , "oh, jk."

Natural birth is definitely a mental preparation game and I am trying really hard not to exhaust all of my mental energy and preparation in advance of the actual birthing event. We have tried about every natural labor induction technique on the books (minus the whole castor oil thing - yet. Our midwives are willing to discuss this option if we make it to 41 weeks). But you name it and we have probably done it; I am walking like a champ, despite the heat and swollen ankles, adhering to both my 5-W regimens and my evening primrose oil tablets, and bouncing on birth balls and hip circles and dancing and everything else under the sun. I take the stairs everywhere. And yet, baby just isn't quite ready I suppose.

Which, I am actually fine with. I definitely want us both to be as prepared as possible for this experience. BUT, my little procrastinator brain is getting a hold of me here now that there is an impending deadline.  Baby is doing just fine, all the non stress tests indicate that they are happy as a clam up in-utero and they are moving around like no body's business. 

Ultimately I am fine with any decision that needs to be made to have my baby healthy and happy out here in the world, whether that involves induction, surgery or whatever. BUT, my preference is for a natural delivery because I do believe that my body knows what it is doing and knows best. So, we will continue to hope for that.

Until then, I am continuing to relax,relate and release (thank you Whitley Gilbert) and continuing to work (won't deny that it was a total bummer to have to come back to the office today!).

Whew, I feel better just typing all that out. 

And now for your enjoyment pleasure I will now share with you some of my favorite quotes from people I just met this weekend. If you weren't aware, it was a holiday weekend, which means that I got to attend no less than 4 social functions with new people to comment on the overdue pregnant lady!

Supervisee of Husband, passing us by in a line for food: "Oh, hey sir! Guess your wife 'ent popped that baby out yet, huh? Best get on that."

Random Person at Picnic Table: "Wow! You look like you could drop at any moment! When are you due?!"

Me: "Actually, 3 days ago"

RPAPT: "Wow. You should get signed up for that induction and c-section right now! That baby gets any bigger and it is going to tear you up on the way out!"

Me: "Oh you know what? I forgot to get myself some watermelon!" 

Man Who I Just Met: "Wow, you look totally relaxed and at ease for a 9 month pregnant lady! most women I know complain and complain, but you just look so at ease!"

Me: "Why thank you so much! I really can't complain..."
MWIJM: "You know, maybe that's the problem. You don't want it badly enough."

Me: "Uhhhh, nice to have met you."

MWIJM's Wife: "Wow, you are 4 days overdue, huh?"

Me: "Yup, but you know, first time babies and all..."

Wife: "You know, sometimes our bodies internalize fear of an experience so much it inhibits our body from actually doing what it needs to do. Do you feel that you have internalized fear about the birthing process?"

Me: "Um, what was your name again?"

40 weeks, 5 days along

...and I don't mind the comments from friends who love me, but in the words of a friend from grad school, apparently these strangers have "no home training."

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Until I have my own baby to post cute photos of...I will just steal cute little internet babies. Only their pictures though, not the real babies.

I don't know that I have ever gone three days without blogging on this here blog, but I must tell you that there is sadly,no news yet on Baby G's arrival. A and I have been trying to get out of the house and walk around and just generally distract ourselves so that we aren't all dwelling on "WHEN is the baby coming?!?"

So, no blogging. Sorry friends. I HAVE however been trying to post photos of the nursery as promised - but my home computer is so.slow. (push present anyone? MacbookPro please? Meow.)

It seriously took me three hours yesterday to edit three photos. And let's be honest I am not that savvy when it comes to photo editing, so we are talking cropping and maybe adding a bit of contrast. Oy. It has been a one photo at a time kind of deal, and then I have to get up and walk away. I promise I am still trying and the photos are taken, so as sooooon as possible they will be up for viewing. I am dying to share and show off the room now that it is all done and stuff.

In the baby progression news, I am definitely having more and more signs of imminent labor - but I am trying to not get too, too excited. When I recount the birth story after Baby G makes his or her grand entrance you can all have the dirty details,until then, I am going to keep it to myself thankyouverymuch. Mainly because I don't want to declare things to the world and then be all, "Ooops! Silly first time mom, that didn't mean labor! That meant you should have eaten that blank at that 4th of July Picnic!" (of which I have attended 3 so far this weekend folks! We won't even mention the amount of "being done" comments that I have received from my new found Imetyoufiveminutesagoandoncegavebirthsoamtotallyqualifiedtogivemyopinion friends. Ha!)

I am about to head in for my second Non-Stress Test and I may ask to see if a nurse can do a cervical check just to see if my intuition is righter or wronger and to satiate my own curiosity. I dunno if they will, but it's certainly worth a shot!

I hope everyone has an awesome 4th of July! It is my all time favorite holiday, so I plan on making the most of it, whether in labor or not ;)

40 weeks, 4 days along

...and maybe watching close range fireworks from a warship's flight deck tonight will induce labor? Because that's what I am doing!

40 Weeks!

TWO sets of photos today. Work outfit and Appointment outfit. 

Why not? It was DUE DATE DAY!

Skin
Staying relatively the same. This and stretchy, though as I posted earlier in the week I had a legit breakdown over stretch marks. Thanks hormones. I am in a better place now, it was just a special moment.


Weight/Clothes
Up a pound. WHAT?! I am blaming the Subway that I had right before my appt yesterday to get weighed. Oh, and all this retained water in my legs and ankles and feet...and face. Boo. Still under 200 though and the midwives are unconcerned.
Cravings/Aversions
Meh. I am giving into sweets this week, but that's about it. Hello lemon cupcakes.

Cramps/Pain
Pressure, contractions, all of it. Happening. Little baby ones granted, nothing I have had to breathe through or anything, but man do they catch you unaware!

Sleeping
Really good nights, and wide awake nights. I blame the whole "holy crap we are having a baby" feeling for keeping me up wondering at night  after I get up to go to the bathroom or anything. I just sit there and try to picture a baby in our house, and it is so surreal. still. weird.

Mental State

Totally whacked out. I am either all zen and calm or SUPER hormonal this week. I have cried like three or four times which is NOT usual people. I dunno what is going on. Oh yeah, that whole pregnancy thing. Hmm.

Still mostly excited for baby to get here, though I have a leeeeetle tinge of worry mixed in that baby will not come and interventions will become necessary. Everybody will this baby out in the next week!

Heartburn

Thanks goodness for target brand Zantac. Love you.

The Girls

Waiting to feed a baby.

Fetal Movement

Rocking and rolling, the non-stress test was so fun to watch yesterday. All the heartbeats going up and down, yay! it was fun and textbook beautiful according to my midwife.

Swelling

Puffy feet. And ankles. And legs. The curve of my calf is like almost gone. What the heck. Again, my blood pressure is still "beautiful" (she really likes that word) so there is nothign to worry about and apparently will all go away post partum. One can only hope. I don't like that my legs are looking chunky just as "show them off weather" is starting.

Appointment Updates

Met with Jenn yesterday, and I'm not gonna lie it freaked me out a little bit finding out about all the additional appts now that I am officially past due date. I know that this is all important for the baby's health, and our baby is totally healthy and happy... but wow. I had the non stress test yesterday, and it went SUPER well, so baby is definitely healthy and happy. 

But, I have to have another one on Monday. And if baby is still not born I have to have an ultrasound and another NST next Thursday. And then we will go from there. Again, everything appears fine and dandy, but I would rather have this baby sooner rather than later and avoid all that mess. 

Weird Stuff

Everything is getting...finished? It is weird. Like almost everything is checked off of the list and now I am just sort of wondering what to do with myself? Procrastinators do not finish early. There is no "whew, got that all checked off so now I can relax" feeling. I just feel like I should still be on the go.

Also, the cute little girl at Subway yesterday deserves honorable mention. I have had SUCH a good time this week telling people that I am due in "4, 3, 2..." days and watching their eyes bug out. 

The girl at Subway yesterday said, "When are you due?" and I replied "Today." and she flipped. And then got so excited, and said "Look at how happy you are! Smiling and everything! Your baby is sure to be happy too with a mom like that. I love it! Best of luck darlin." And I just thought she was cute.

40 weeks, 1 day along

...and if anyone has any advice for getting this baby to come, just let me know! I am willing to try (almost) anything once!

DD Day!

As in Due Date Day!

For future reference Delivery Day will be assigned the moniker "D-Day" and if it does indeed happen on the 4th, you can expect a photo like this...or five.

How appropriate for a Navy wife.

Anywho, today is DD DAY! The day we have been counting down to since the beginning, and the day that nothing is likely to happen, other than me saying, "yay! It's Due Date Day!"

For you today I have some assorted photos and thoughts. 

My puppy has been extra sleepy and snuggly in the morning thanks to Daddy still being in bed with us every morning this week. I super love quiet time in the morning when I first wake up and both my boys are in bed with me snoozing away. Sitting there with a baby kicking in my belly, waking up slowly and seeing them so peaceful...those are truly contented moments.

That I then ruin by trying to take a photo of the dog...and waking him up. Whatevs, I couldn't resist.

I made the lemon cupcakes last night. So far, no progression on the labor front, but they are DELISH. I highly recommend them to anyone. Bings even liked the one that he got because it fell on the floor.

BONUS: Student Loan bill featured in the back of this photo. Gotta love that. I am SUCH a great photographer. Pssh.

This is the new view in my rear view window. Can you see that people? THAT IS A CAR SEAT! and one of those mirror things so that I can SEE the baby. So.crazy.

Also, I know the handle is supposed to go down, but it hits the back of my seat when down at the moment because I am sitting farther away from the wheel than normal. Hmm, wonder why? Oh, right. Giant belly.

And then there was one. My last paper link. Well, technically there are a whole lot more, because my office mate's due date isn't until July 26th. Hopefully, I won't be around much longer to see the rest of the links being torn off...but we will see.

By won't be around much longer I clearly mean here in the office. That sort of sounded like I had a death wish or something. I promise I am not suicidal. Love, Me. Um, awkward. Let's move on.



TODAY, I have my 40 week appt and first (and hopefully last) non-stress test.

And, A gets to go with me. Because this week is awesome.

That's all for now I guess.

If anything big happens...I will let you know.


40 weeks along

...and I can't believe how fast it went!