38 Weeks...Is it time yet?

Another uneventful doctor's appointment :(

I guess uneventful is better than bad, but not nearly as good as hearing some changes. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to show up yesterday and hear that I am 4 cm dialated and it's time to go to L&D and have a baby?!?! Well, that would have been nice but there was no such news.

I am still status-quo from last week....1 cm dialated, still about 75% effaced, and baby is still -2 station. So no change was reported.

No change in my belly measurement either...which is ok according to the doctor because of shifts in the uterus. We still scheduled another ultrasound for next week to do a final check on her size and amniotic fluid.

So, now we're just in the countdown. I'm running up and down the stairs in hopes of making more productive contractions and any other little thing I can come up with! I assume that no matter what I do, she will come when she's ready. Now, if only I could convince her "it's time"...???

Full Moon...????

Well, I have my fingers crossed. Although it's not exactly "time" for Raegan to make her début, it is technically "legal" for an early appearance!!

I was born 2 weeks early...soooo....since tomorrow marks 2 weeks AND.....

Tomorrow the 25th (or the 26th...there seems to be conflicting information) is the full moon for the month, I wonder if that will help my body decide that it's time for labor? On top of the fact that it is going to be a full moon, it is also the point in the year where the moon is the closest to the Earth and has the strongest gravitational pull!!

Could this be reason for hope that I can be "comfortable" again? I don't want to anticipate too much because then it just becomes a let-down, BUT it will be interesting to see if the phase of the moon and the 2 week mark are any indication of upcoming events!

Also, twice this week I thought for sure if things progressed as they were, we were having a baby! Both Sunday night and Monday night (and most of both of those days) I was having very frequent and painful contractions along with some harsh pressure. Now, I've started cramping! All good signs that things could be coming to and end...or beginning...soon!

We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow!! Any changes???? hhhmmm..... I wonder....

Pumpkins!!!

Grant carved his pumpkin today.......well, not exactly, but he tried. Check out the photos! Oh, and the "baby pumpkin" - it's Raegan's :)

Full Term!!!!!! Uneventful appointment...

Yippie!! Hooray!!! WooHoo!! Yeehaw!!!

That should be enough interjections (is that right MIL? I had to Google for 20 minutes to figure out if that was the right part of speech!! haha) to let everyone know how excited we are to say I made it to full term! Technically, Raegan is fully baked and is just "keeping warm" now until her arrival. So, that means that from today on, I can start jumping up and down to shake this girl out!! hahaha So, I won't really be doing that, but it's a nice thought, right?

I had my 37 week appointment today. First off, let me start by saying..."I graduated". Now, as nice as this might be for some people, it was kind of sad for me. Weird? Well, that means that the nurse had to slide the large weight marker on the scale to the next level! Yes, that's right folks...I've hit 150! That was right after lunch though, so it doesn't really count, right? :) It's all good though. The only weight I'm carrying is this little girl and the mess that comes with it. And, its all right up front, so I'm sure it will melt away quickly. That puts my total weight gain to 34 pounds!! Yikes! I'm not supposed to pass 35 technically so maybe I better put the Little Debbies away?!?!? ........................ Nah..... :)

My blood pressure was perfect as normal and this week, Raegan's little heart was beating at a steady 145 bpm. I lost the bet terribly this time as I guessed 137! Fundal height is still behind as usual - 34 cm instead of 37. But, that is up a cm from last week, so I'm still growing right...just behind. I asked the doc if she thought I would have trouble giving birth vaginally...she doesn't "think" so, but one can never tell until your "knee deep" anyway. Talked about the contractions and how intense they are getting these days...but still irregular. My exam results:

Still 1 cm dialated...but loose...so a slight change there
Still about 80% effaced so no change there
Baby dropped from a -3 to a -2 station....she's LOW and ready to go!

Doc says that the contractions are not changing my cervix right now but they are pushing her down further and furth. Hence the pain and the extreme pressure "down there"! Totally normal she says and the ever-encouraging "you can do it...you're almost done" phrase.

We also talked about induction and going past my due date. Basically, for my situation, if I don't go into labor naturally by 41 weeks, they'll induce. So, I could potentially have another MONTH to go! Yikes! I pray not! I'm ready NOW!!!! I guess it doesn't matter when the mom is ready though....

I'll post some 37 week belly photos in a bit although things are looking pretty much the same here. Maybe we can come up with some creative shots this weekend...?!?!? One never knows!

a LONG weekend.....

Friday - we had a contractor come to the house to install a storage door under our stairs. Totally excited about this concept except for paying him to do the work :( but still, we'll have lots of room to store all the Christmas stuff, plus all the other random computer equipment that has nowhere to live! YAY! The only problem...I'm feeling extremely tired and rather unpleasant. It's just that point in pregnancy where I'm ready to be done and there's nothing I can do about it but be uncomfy and wait. So, I lay down on the couch for a while and watch the work but decide I need to go upstairs and lay down for a bit. I get about an hour nap before it's time to come check the work and pay the contractor. When I get up all I keep hearing is how awful I look and flushed in the face I am. Other than just being woken up from a nap and still being tired, I feel fine. Take my temp anyway and I am running a low-grade fever (100.0) ?!?! Don't know where that's coming from or why since I feel ok (not sick, just tired) so I drink fluids and ignore it. I stay down for most of the day and and keep an eye on my temp. It hovers around 99.5 - 100.0 for most of the day...go figure?!?!

Bed-time - Sleeping has been a trick the last couple weeks. I'm uncomfortable and having the craziest dreams which wake me up constantly. I am determined to sleep well tonight. I'm still feeling warm and exhausted but otherwise not feeling sick at all.....I pass out at around 12:30 am and hope for a good nights sleep. Around 3:30 the worst thing in the world happens! I threw up in my sleep and choked!! There was no point where I woke up not feeling good or anything...I just woke up to vomit!! YUCK!! I'm sure I scared Scott to death when I reached for him gasping for air...scared me to death, that's for sure! Things settled down after a few minutes and I tried to get comfy and go back to sleep. I felt a few reassuring kicks from the covers and knew Raegan must be ok and annoyed at the sleeping disturbance! (me too sweetie)

Saturday - Time to wake up and have some breakfast. I stayed in bed for a while not wanting to wake anyone up but noticed that I wasn't getting the normal "feed me" kicks that I usually do. I decided it was time to get up and get something to eat......figured I'd pump us up with some sugar to get some reaction from Raegan. 2 poptarts and some hot chocolate later, I didn't get much wiggly action :( ????? I'm starting to get a little worried but not overly anxious yet....I hop in the shower and that normally excites this little one but not today! Time to lay on the couch with a big bottle of water and start kick counts! I am getting 10 movements in an hour, but something still isnt right?? They are faint movements instead of the regular gut-wrenching ones and they are few and far between as opposed to the non-stop action I've been getting. Lunch time...maybe I can eat something again and wake her up. I'll eat some of her favorites and see what that does. Absolutely nothing! This girl just isn't interested in waking up for me! Based on the way I was feeling yesterday and the strange reaction in the middle of the night, I decide it's time to call the doctor. And, of couse, just as I expected, it's time to go to Labor and Delivery to get checked out.

Labor and Delivery - The doctor orders a non-stress test to monitor the baby's heartbeat, movements, and any contractions that I'm having. I get set up in a room, hooked to the monitor and begin watching. Raegan is perfect! Little Stinker!!! Her heartrate is right on target and it accelerating just like it's supposed to. As a matter of fact, she passes within the first 5 minutes! But....the nurse is a pinch worried....I'm having contractions about every 2-3 minutes again!! lol I didn't even know it! Time to check with the doctor on this one. Although I'm 36 weeks, it's still the gray area where we want to wait another week before letting this girl out! Doc comes right in and checks me out. Nothing has changed from Thursday's appointment so obviously these contractions aren't doing much. Also, I can't feel them very much (some I can really feel, but mostly not at all) so she says, go home, hydrate, take it easy, and come back when you can FEEL these things...then it will be time to meet your baby! Wow! So close to time to meet her! In the mean time, if I ever feel like I'm not getting a lot of movement out of her, don't hesitate to call. They would be happy to monitor me every day if I want! That place is awesome!!!

Sunday - I wanted to get a lot of work done around the house on Saturday but that didn't happen thanks to a little stinker so today's the day to get cleaned up around the house and get ready for this baby. Time to pack a hospital bag, put the storage containers under the stairs, get the spare bedrooms ready, etc. I worked some, rested some, worked some more, and rested some more. Lots of wiggly, painful kicks and pokes today so that was very reassuring. I don't know what was up with her yesterday, but glad that she's back to normal today!

The Call - My mom called Sunday evening. I was in the garage cleaning up the Crayola Paint stuff that Grant has been playing with the day before. Scott comes out and hands me my cell phone..."It's your Mom, it's not good news...." I put the phone to my ear and hear dogs going crazy and a lot of screaming. I wait, now scared to death...what in the world is happening over there?!?!?! Things calm down and I wait to hear what in the world has happened over there. I assume one of the Danes must have turned on Chloe or something....My mom says: "Alice called today...." My Uncle Tom (her hubby) suffered a stroke in April and hasnt quite recovered yet...I thought for sure that something had happened to Uncle Tom. "Aunt Liz died today....."

Aunt Liz is my Dad's youngest sister. We don't know much at this point. Only that she wasn't feeling well on Sunday morning and they ended up called for an ambulance. Her daughter Beth Ann called from the hospital and let my Aunt Alice know what had happened. :(

Please send some prayers our way...this was completely unexpected and so difficult to believe. I'm now struggling with the fact that I'm full term and can't leave the area without the risk of delivering so I won't be able to make it to the funeral. I want to be there for my family but also have to know what's best for my daughter.

Here are 2 dragonflies.....one for my Dad and one for Aunt Liz.....may they both now know the beauty of their new bodies together and share in joys with each other until we are all reunited again one day....

36 Week Appointment & Ultrasound

Thursday was my weekly doctor's appointment to check everything out, along with a scheduled ultrasound to check Raegan's size relative to my fundal height measurement since it was a little small.

The ultrasound was first and I must say, I was quite pleased with how it turned out in comparison to last time. I thought for sure that we wouldn't see much of anything since she must be squished...but boy was I wrong. Silly girl pushed up into my uterus a little further than before to give a great view of her face! :) How nice. We did measurements first since that was the reason for the u/s. All was well which was excellent news. She weighed in at approximately 5 pounds 9 ounces and measured over-all at a pinch under 36 weeks...she's just a petite girl! Her individual measurements were as follows: Head - 36 weeks; Abdomen - 34 weeks; Femur bone (upper leg) - 33 weeks. So she's a bit skinny and pretty short, but has a "big head" :) My amniotic fluid levels were perfect....6-12 cm is normal for this stage and I was 12! Can't beat that! Raegan was kind enough to hold relatively still for most of the ultrasound so it gave us the ability to get really good measurements and a chance to stare at all of her features! It was so cute...she yawned while we were watching her!!!! Gosh, I just can't wait to meet this girl for real! The 4-D photos we got were amazing even though she is starting to look a little squashed. I'm sure she's as ready to stretch out and meet us as we are to meet her (well, at least I like to tell myself that, although she probably really would rather stay warm and comfy inside of me...)

Then for my vitals....weighed in at 148!! Gosh, I'm about to "make the jump" to the next bottom bar on the scale! YIKES! 30 pounds?!?! Still totally normal but WOW! I definitely beat their guess of only gaining like 15-20 pounds! I must say that I have no idea where that weight is though b/c I'm only carrying in the front without extra fat anywhere that I can find AND my belly is measuring little?!?! So who knows...but as long as we're both healthy, who cares! My blood pressure was 110/70, so it's starting to climb back to a bit more normal level instead of almost non-existant and baby's heartbeat was 138 .

Off to see the doctor now....a short and sweet visit. She was happy with the measurements of the ultrasound. Although some of her is measuring behind, she isn't worried because that is how it's always been and a normal growth pattern for her. She is in the 26th percentile for babies her age, so doing well :) I was checked and moved to 80% effaced and 1 cm dialated. So, back in a week for another recheck; and if we still haven't meet this girl by 39 weeks, we'll do another ultrasound just to check everything out one more time. Hopefully I'll have her in my arms before then though!!!

Appointment tomorrow...

Hey all! Sitting here in pain, wondering how long I'm going to carry this little turkey around before it's time for her arrival. Right now, I wish I could just go push her out at this second....It's been a long couple days for me and I'm really ready to remember life without back pain.

I certainly can't say for sure what's up and when this little one is going to decide to be born, but based on the way I'm feeling, the contractions, and the horrific back pain...I'm saying it will probably be sometime soon. We'll see what the doc says tomorrow.

It's ultrasound day for us as well! Yippie! It sure will be good to see what's going on with my little girl again :) Too bad 2:00 is her regular "wiggle" time - just to make it a little trickier for the tech! hehehehehe

Also, I got a few replies to the email but I thought I would post this here too....Please let me know if you want to try to come for delivery/hospital visit, a visit once we're home, or a phone call if you're far away. Shoot me an email at grtdanez@gmail.com and let me know so I can provide directions and/or put your phone number on the list. :)

Well, I'm off to try and get some rest before tomorrow - doctor's appointment and a new CSI episode! :) lol Thursdays are busy! I'll update again tomorrow with stats from the appointment and some new photos (if I can remember the CD - AND if she still fits on the screen! lol)