39 weeks!

I'm hoping and praying that today was my final doctor's appointment. This baby needs to make his appearance soon--I'm growing bigger (and more impatient!) by the day. I had a dream the other night that he was born and could already talk!

Me: blood pressure 92/60; weight gain since last week = 5 pounds!! (The nurse took one look at my feet and reassured me that it's water weight. She could also tell when pushing on my belly that I'm retaining water.); 50% effaced; 1 cm dilated! The doctor was actually touching the baby's head, so he's definitely still low! She also stripped my membranes--I won't go into graphic detail, so you can do your own research if you'd like. :)

Baby: heart rate = 144; still lots of movement, though he was a bit on the lazy side today. Hmm, could that be a sign that he's saving up his energy for a big event? :)

Hopefully there will be a hospital visit in our near future, but if not, I have an appointment scheduled for the 4th at which point we can schedule an induction date.  Stay tuned! (And sorry to those of you I've "let down" in the baby pool. I like to check it each day to see your bets!)

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderfully lazy day! Steve and Alison came down last night so that we could spend Christmas Eve together, so this morning we all slept in and enjoyed the fact that we had no true schedule. Alison spoiled me by insisting she be in charge of meals for the day so that I could relax and keep my feet up. We had breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls for brunch (which of course aren't on my "diabetic-approved diet" but I ate anyway and STILL tested below the limits when I checked my blood sugar--anyways, I digress). Steve and Andrew then headed down the road to pick up Mammy while Alison and I did some last minute cleaning before Ann and Allan arrived in the afternoon. By 4:00 we were all together, laughing and carrying on as we tend to do. We had a delicious dinner (thanks, Alison!) and then opened presents. Despite saying that we weren't going to do much regarding gifts this year, we sure made out like bandits! Even the baby had an entire bag of presents from various friends of Ann and Allan's in Florida. Enjoy these pictures of our evening together!

Alison and Mammy

getting ready to open presents

The baby got his highchair from Uncle Steve and Aunt Alison.

Steve and Alison

Who has the bigger belly now? :)

probably the last family photo of just the six of us!

"On my nerves"

So the baby has decided to position himself in such a way that he's pinching a nerve that runs up my back, almost to my shoulder. When I told Andrew this, he laughed and then said to my stomach, "You poor thing. You aren't even born yet and you're on your mother's nerves!" Ha! Sitting is difficult because he encroaches on my ribs (and that nerve), and lying down is only comfortable for so long. It has become more and more difficult to sleep at night, and last night I ended up in a half-sitting position on the couch with so many pillows stuffed around me I couldn't have moved if I wanted to! My new favorite position is standing, but of course the side effect of that is the instant swelling of my ENORMOUS feet. I'm not kidding--these things look like lead blocks. I know that all of these discomforts will be well worth it when I can finally hold this little guy in my arms. I wish he would hurry up and get here! :)

Hurry up and wait

I am officially finished with school...at least for a couple of months. (Insert huge sigh of relief!) The baby can come now at any time because I'm as ready as I can be. And I would also like my normal-sized feet back. :) 

I had another doctor's appointment today, and I've decided that the doctor just doesn't have the same sense of urgency that Andrew and I do to have this baby sooner rather than later. We're just playing the waiting game right now because the doctor wants to hold off on induction since it's not an emergency situation.

Me: 38 weeks today; bp was 118/64; weight gain= 1 lb. since last week; 50% effaced, 0% dilated

1-hour glucose test result= 147, when 140 and below is considered normal :(  Luckily the doctor decided not to make me do the 3-hour test again since my result was just a little out of range. Instead, he wants to treat me as if I do have gestational diabetes. What does this mean for me? Well, tomorrow morning I get to go to a 2-hour diabetes management program where I will learn about what (not) to eat, portion size, and testing my blood sugar several times a day. This is exactly how I wanted to spend the first morning of my Christmas break...ugggh. I guess it's good that I haven't had the time or energy to do any baking yet because I won't be "allowed" to eat any of these goodies over the next couple of weeks. I am really praying that this little guy decides to come on his own next week so that I don't have to worry about every piece of food I put into my mouth!

Baby: heart rate= 164; still very low and head-down; very active, especially at night, which keeps mommy from sleeping more than a few hours at a time

Next doctor's appointment --> 12/28

To do: 

1. Get a pedicure to pamper my poor, swollen feet.

2. Walk, walk, walk...hoping it might jump-start this little guy's arrival

Thank you, Santa!

Andrew and I decided that our Christmas gift to each other this year would be a laptop. We've been talking about getting one for a while now, but the baby's upcoming arrival motivated us to actually follow through with the idea! My laziness and lack of energy definitely influenced our decision. You see, our computer used to be right down the hall in our guest room. Now that the guest room has been transformed into the baby's room, the computer got "demoted" to the basement. It's funny how many excuses I can come up with to avoid going downstairs: I'm too tired to go up and down the stairs; it's "lonely" down there; it doesn't feel as cozy as our upstairs. And I know once the baby is here, I'm not going to want to haul him up and down the stairs just so I can check my email or update the blog. Well, our Christmas present arrived today, so here I sit in my pajamas...on the couch...with my "Fred Flintstone" feet up. It's glorious! I know this computer will get TONS of use once our not-so-little-man is here and I have adorable pictures to post on a daily basis. :)

Snow Days...a gift from God

Schools all over the area closed yesterday before there was even a flake of snow falling from the sky. I was definitely not complaining as I rolled (like a beached whale) back over in bed for a few more hours of sleep. By the time I woke up, the road and other hard surfaces were blanketed in snow. The grass was mostly covered, with a few strays poking through. It snowed lightly all day, giving us probably no more than 3-4 inches, but enough that the roads weren't safe for all of the school buses in our rural county. Andrew and I headed to the store around 4:30 yesterday afternoon to get some groceries, and the roads hadn't even been touched yet. We decided I probably wouldn't be going to work on Friday either, so we made plans to cook a big breakfast when he got home from work Friday morning. Sure enough, by about 6:30 I got the call that school would be closed and I had a nice long weekend ahead of me. :) At nine months pregnant, there is nothing better than getting to stay home two days in a row and knowing that there isn't anything school related that I should be doing. What a gift! Yesterday I enjoyed every minute of sitting on the couch with my feet propped up, watching daytime television. Today, however, I have a carrot cake to bake for the birthday boy. And after a nice big breakfast this morning, I think I have the energy to do it!

37 weeks!

The doctor's appointment on Wednesday didn't give me too much new information to share. The doctor basically said that, yes, "this will not be a tiny baby." You think? He explained that he doesn't like to induce unless medically necessary prior to 39 weeks and gave us some of the pros and cons. I totally understand and appreciate him being cautious; we definitely want to do whatever is best for the baby! He did tell me he'd like me to do another 1-hour glucose test since my first one was borderline abnormal. If I have a slight case of gestational diabetes, it would help explain why the baby is measuring so big, which could determine our next course of action. So I'll head to the lab first thing Saturday morning to get that out of the way before celebrating Andrew's birthday, which will involve some sugary carrot cake for dessert. :)

Here are a few stats:

Me:  37 wks/2 days today

blood pressure 102/60; weight gain= 4 lbs. in one week!; no dilation or effacement yet

Baby: heart rate = 144; measuring about a week ahead of schedule

Andrew and I were both a little disappointed on the drive home because we still don't know when we're actually going to meet this little guy. Andrew said, "I was hoping he'd be here in time for Christmas." I told him it's definitely still possible, but it just won't be a "scheduled" delivery.

Next doctor's appointment--> Wednesday, 12/22