38w5d

9 days to go until I am officially due. I can’t even believe it. I just want to burst out crying I am so overwhelmed with emotion.

Last night was beyond awful. I was having the worst contractions, lower back pain, upper thigh pain, cervical pain, anal pain, every pain you can imagine. I didn’t time them but when I would get up out of bed they would actually ease up so I knew it was false labor. That or the baby dropping even lower, I’m just not sure. All I know is that I felt like I could have died. Sitting on the toilet gave me some relief, but if I actually tried to pee or have a bowel movement I felt like I would pass out. The baby was active the entire time, pressing down on my cervix for good measure. And I was just trying to sleep through it. I was so exhausted and worn out by the time things had settled down that I couldn’t even get out of bed for a Tylenol. I imagine I am dilating. I better be. I also imagine this is what labor pains will feel like. If it happens again tonight I may start timing the contractions just to get a feel for how far apart they are. I may even wake Norman up. I could have used some serious counter pressure on my back last night. The pain was atrocious. I just feel bad because he still has to go to work every day and besides, I need him rested for when real labor begins.

I am going to take it easy today because last night while in the shower before bed I worked myself into a frenzied state and started cleaning the tub on all fours. When Norman saw me he started cracking up and so did I – it must have been quite the sight. I wanted to take the shower doors down but he refused to help me because it was so late already. I was in there for an entire hour just scrubbing away. Talk about wacky. I just had that sudden burst of energy I’ve read so much about. I could have gone on all night. I wanted to clean the floors too but Norman wanted to go to bed and needed the bathroom so I quit.

I see my doctor Thursday. As you can imagine I am already dreading tonight. Everything always happens to me at night! I called Norman this morning and told him about last night a little while ago. I told him if it happened again I want to go to L&D. He said they’d likely just send me home and he’s probably right. Ugh!

So we continue waiting…

38w4d

Yes, I'm pregnant.

I'm due in 10 days.

It's a girl.

Her name is Sienna.

No, not Diana, SI-EN-NA.

Yes, that is a pretty name.

Yes, it's our first.

YES, WE'RE VERY HAPPY.

Why can't strangers just congratulate me and be on their merry ways? I am so over telling strangers how happy I am or how anxious and excited I am. I mean honestly, strangers. Leave me alone!

I can't sleep. I've been up for a while now with insomnia. It's a combination of discomfort and hunger and discomfort and anxiety and discomfort and hot flashes. I ate a granola bar and am trying to digest it before attempting to get into bed again. Thankfully I am working from home (have been since the L&D incident last Monday - have I mentioned that yet?) so at least I can nap briefly during the day or sleep in a bit if I need to.

My contractions last night were bad to the point where I actually started getting nervous, like O-M-G I could have this baby at any time and what if it's now? I started fearing labor and getting all irrational. This after having prided myself so much on the fact that I have been able to maintain my cool throughout the entire process. Obviously, no baby yet :) But I am calm again and will remain calm during the next scare.

I suppose that's it for now. I am still hungry. Maybe I'll eat some more.

I LOVE YOU, NUGGET!

38w3d

Still pregnant...

I am so uncomfortable now. I am not sleeping well at all. The cervical pain is intense and my contractions are bad. Just not bad enough. And not regular enough to be labor. I want her to come when she's ready, of course. But I guess now that I am almost at the end of the road, I am desperately wanting to meet her. I think I will be in a complete state of shock once labor actually begins - be it my water breaking or regular contractions. I am beginning to think that if it were up to her she'd stay inside until she was 18 years old...and who can blame her?? She's comfy! I am also convinced that nothing will naturally induce labor unless she is ready to come out. Not walking, or sex or squats or spicy food lol

My mom says she'll be here before or on my birthday. My dad says she'll come after. Norman doesn't really have an opinion.

I think she'll come when she is coaxed out.

EIther way though, Norman and I will be parents in no more than 11 days! We're almost into single digits!

38w1d

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to Norm and me!

My OB appointment today was unfortunately very uneventful. I got an internal exam and was given the news that there have been no change since Monday's L&D exam.

However, the baby did drop, my Doctor said she was definitely lower. I should have asked the baby's station but I forgot.

He said "She's getting ready for take off" lol

I also passed my Group B Strep swab, yaaayyyy. One less thing to worry about.

I could have sworn I would have been more dilated at this point, especially after the terrible night I had last night. The menstrual camp-like pain I was having along with the contractions woke me up at 3AM and kept me up for over an hour. But no luck.

Soooooo, I made my next appointment for Thursday, July 3 (since Friday is a holiday).

I am frustrated and want her to come already!

Fingers crossed that my Nugget arrives before my July 3rd appointment!

38w0d

THIRTY EIGHT WEEKS TODAY!!

I am officially considered FULL TERM!

Here are 2 belly pictures, one from 36w5d:



And one from yesterday, 37w6d (yesterday):



As you can see, I am exhausted. I am really feeling the weight of my belly.

I don't think I have mentioned that after last Monday's L&D incident, I decided to start working from home...I really don't want to go into labor at the office.

Not much to report on otherwise.

I am definitely having an increase of discharge as well as continued contractions, pelvic pressure and especially intense menstrual cramp pains. I have been walking and trying to see if hopefully Nugget cooperates and comes out within the week.

I have my OB appointment tomorrow morning and am desperately hoping for another internal exam in order to track my progress. I am guessing we’ll schedule an induction date, too.

My birthday is coming up on July 5. I wonder if she’ll be here before or after that day?!!

37w5d

I don’t even know where to begin this post! Life has been very interesting these days.

I suppose I’ll start with last Friday’s OB appointment – everything was well. I had my first internal exam and got the great news that my cervix is 100% effaced. So ripe in fact that my Doctor asked if I had my hospital bag packed. He said we’d set an induction date if I haven’t gone into labor by next Friday (OMGGGG).

I had been having contractions already but they have gotten bad since Friday. I spent all weekend with the worst pains. I knew they were irregular but that doesn’t mean labor isn’t rapidly approaching. Yesterday I felt bad enough that I called my Doctor and he sent me L&D for a checkup. I went and had a NST done – Nugget is active and well, and my contractions are real but irregular. I had another internal exam (good GOD it was the most painful internal exam I have ever had), but the good news is that I had dilated 1cm since Friday! So the contractions are working! The L&D nurse said my cervix is VERY ripe and thin and short. She says it’s rare for first time moms but that I am lucky because I will likely be in labor within a week assuming I continue dilating and labor should be quick once it begins due to how ripe my cervix is. Yesterday the baby still hadn’t dropped into my pelvis but she said it’ll happen very soon. Obviously none of this is scientific fact; we all know how it goes. Labor is a crap shoot! But it was good to hear nonetheless.

The nurse said to start having sex. I am honestly not in the mood for sex. I know for a fact poor Norman isn’t either. But she said that besides the sperm bringing on natural contractions and speeding up dilation, that sex stretches the perineum and can avoid unnecessary tearing/cutting. So we’ll give it a go today lol

Last night was a heinous night for me. I KNOW Nugget dropped last night. I was in excruciating pain. My pelvis and lower back were on fire, not to mention the RLP I have been having. It's worse than ever. Anyhow, I knew what was happening but couldn’t believe that just about 12 hours earlier the L&D nurse had predicted this. I could feel the difference right away. My belly is a lot lower and I can no longer use it as a shelf (I used to jokingly set my water bottle on it for shits and giggles). I don’t know just how low she is but I am guessing my Doctor will tell me on Friday.

So this is where we stand!

We are ready for Nugget to arrive. We installed the car seat and I am packed and ready to go.

So now we wait…

36w6d

I was just surprised with a Baby Shower here at work!!! I was in total shock. There was food, friends, cake and a great time was had by all! Honestly, I have the best boss and co-workers a girl could ask for.

My grandmother is out of the hospital and back in the ALF. She is doing SO MUCH BETTER. I can’t believe it. Honestly. I went to the hospital on Sunday and was sad to see she wasn’t doing very well, still disoriented and not able to sleep. Today I had a 15 minute conversation with her over the phone! She was asking me about the baby, about Ace, about work, about everything. I wanted to cry. I am so thankful. I can’t wait to go see her.

Our life-long friends from Spain arrived last Saturday and they have been staying with us. I didn’t realize how much I had missed them! Elena is 28 years old so we have everything in common (except for her not being pregnant and all). I am so glad she is here. Her parents are here too and it is wonderful to see them all! Norman and I were supposed to go to Spain this summer because Elena is getting married on August 2, but obviously with our precious Nugget arriving that didn’t exactly pan out. But we are beginning to plan a trip to Spain for Christmas 2009 with my parents and my brother and his family. Sienna and Ace will be about a year and a half by then. Amazing.

As you can imagine I have been doing non-stop shopping with them and lots of eating out and sightseeing and WALKING. I have been so active this week. It’s great. Hopefully it’s moving things along down there. I’ll know more on Friday; I have my 37 week appointment.

I have been having a ton of contractions lately. They have been getting stronger and stronger, bordering painful. Nothing too painful and nothing regular, but definite contractions. I think they are bordering on false labor. I wonder if my water will beak soon? Will I loose my plug? How will I go into labor? All I do know is that I am ready. All we have left to do is install the car seat and we are golden.

And as far as what people say about babies’ movements slowing down towards the end of pregnancy – well not my Nugget. She is non-stop kicking, punching, elbowing, the works. You name it she does it and she doesn’t care at all that she is out of room. Which make for painful situations! I love it though I have to admit. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

34w4d

I am so exhausted. I am dragging some serious ass these days. I know the majority of the exhaustion has to do with the fact that I am constantly doing something strenuous, but these last 5 weeks are going to be hard on me, I can just tell.

Norman and I were talking about the things we need to get done this month. They include meeting with the Pediatrician (the last one we went to visit was waaaayyy to far away from home and work), installing the base of the infant car seat and taking it to be inspected, packing my hospital bag, finishing up organizing the nursery closet, washing Nugget’s bedding and other things (this is a never ending job since I have and continue to receive an overabundance of things!!), sterilizing all bottles, nipples, binkies, attending our breastfeeding class on June 25 (assuming I have not given birth yet), reorganizing the bathroom and kitchen to make space for all of Nugget’s things, etc…

Plus we are still organizing the spare bedroom. We are having family over from Spain on June 14 – they’ll be with us for a week. This means we have to wait to assemble the Pack n Play and bouncer chair until after they leave.

I am having all kinds of symptoms. My BH contractions are turning vile; I actually “Owww” and “Ouch” out loud. Sometimes I even gasp or get a little breathless. I get really bad nausea, mostly in the evenings. I also get bad belly pain and menstrual cramp-like pain in my abdomen and lower back, but it goes away too quickly for me to be concerned about it. As I type I am having some mild cramping associated with BH contractions and it is not fun. I got a mild leg cramp that had me jumping out of bed early Saturday morning but thankfully I was able to ease it away quickly and relatively painlessly. If I get diarrhea for whatever reason, I worry it’s my body preparing for labor, even though I know it’s technically still too early for her to make her entrance.

Oh! And I am so excited to announce that my nephew, Ace Carter, will be born on Thursday, June 5th. My SIL is scheduled and my parents are driving up Wednesday to be there for the birth. I am so excited to be an Aunt! And I can’t wait to meet him and for Ace Carter to meet Sienna Sofia!

In other news, I finally wrote out all the Thank You cards for the wonderful baby shower gifts I received. I am going to be putting them in the mail today. Photos coming soon I PROMISE!

30w4d

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Norman and I had Mexican for lunch. Not that we ever need an occasion to do so.

I have good news; the nursery is officially complete – except for the installation of the closet system which we already purchased and the wall mounting of the flat screen TV. It looks beyond beautiful. I love being in there. I LOVE IT. Norman did an amazing job. I helped a lot and it made me exhausted but he did the majority of the work. As soon as the closet is completed I will start washing all of Nugget’s clothes and blankets. Now on to the second room we are renovating. It never ends!

Our Baby Care class was good. We had a great instructor and even though we both knew the majority of what we were taught, it was informative nonetheless. We learned about basic baby care – we even practiced swaddling and diapering a baby. Next Saturday we’re attending the Labor class. It’s an all day class, 9AM-5PM. This is the class I am most looking forward to because I am scared of labor. I think that if I have a better understanding of what’s happening to me, I will be less afraid. Norman will not be a happy camper next weekend since he isn’t fond of watching births and I am sure that we will be shown videos and such.

My contractions can get really bad. I thought I was going in to labor on Saturday night. I laid on my left side and drank lots of water and they eased up. I don’t know if it’s because Nugget is moving around so much and she’s jamming herself into wacky positions or what, but her movements come fast, hard and strong enough to take my breath away. It’s been happening that way for as long as I can remember, actually. I am also soooooo tired. I know I mentioned that already :) It’s just amazing how worn out I feel. I am pooped all the time.

9 weeks left until I deliver (unless I go early), and 8 weeks left until my maternity leave, HA. I’ll be off until November 3 and then the Nugster will start school at a private, fancy-schmancy day care. I am happy about this. I am definitely NOT the stay-at-home-mom type (though I have a lot of respect for women who are) and am really relieved that we found such a great school so close to our offices. We can go visit the babe at lunch and I can breastfeed during the day.

My next OB appointment is this Friday. I am guessing he will want to send me in for an ultrasound. I hope so!

27w5d

I felt Nugget hiccupping late last night! At first I thought she was poking me with her hands – I can definitely tell when she is kicking me versus punching me…her kicks are so much stronger than her punches. But then I realized that there was a rhythm to the movement; a little thump every 3-4 seconds or so.

I am getting a lot of cramping in my lower back and belly and can definitely feel when she’s laying lower than normal. I get a heavy sensation and feel like I have to walk hunched over to relieve the pressure. RLP is at its worst at night, especially if I try to switch positions too quickly (which is close to impossible these days). I literally feel as though I need a crane to get me out of bed sometimes I am feeling soooo heavy in my abdomen.

My leg cramps thankfully haven’t been an issue since I started wearing support hose. My feet and legs get a little swollen sometimes but nothing terrible.

Norman and I are going to meet with Nugget’s soon to be pediatrician this afternoon. She is so highly recommended and I have a feeling that I am going to love her. I am excited to speak with her and look forward to discussing my concerns, etc.

I found out that the contractor will be coming on Wednesday to finish installing the dry wall, moldings and closet doors and shelves. Norman and I will be buying the (non-toxic) paint very soon. I am excited to finally have a space for all of the baby’s things.

No news regarding the new house – we have a lawyer working for us and as soon as I have a resolution I will let you know. It’s sad because we were supposed to be closing April 30. Such is life.

26w6d

My Braxton Hicks contractions have officially begun.

It’s my first time pregnant but I immediately knew I was having a contraction. There is no denying the feeling. It starts off as mild cramping in my lower back and abdomen, then my belly gets as hard as a rock. I’ve never had rock-hard abs before so this in and of itself is a foreign sensation lol

I first noticed the contractions the other night after sex (hi mom) and thought it was just a result of the sex itself. But then last night I got it again and was able to confirm that what I felt the other night was definitely a contraction. Apparently sex can bring on Braxton Hicks. So can a really active baby, and she is so active all the time. Other triggers are if someone touches your belly, a full bladder and dehydration.

Anywhoo, they are more uncomfortable than painful and I only got one big one last night and it eased away after less than a minute. The rule of thumb is go to the hospital if you are having more than 4 Braxton Hicks in an hour.

Food wise I am now excessively paranoid over everything I put in my mouth. This morning I ate my Heritage Flakes, skim milk and a banana. Snack is a low moisture cheese stick. Lunch will be a turkey sandwich. I am on a mission to eat healthy. I haven’t been eating badly, but I have indulged in the occasional cookie and ice cream cone that before I got pregnant I wouldn’t have dreamed of eating. That’s it for that. Funny thing is that I am craving sugar. All I want is sweets and I have never in my life been a sweets person. But I am stronger than the cravings!

24w1d

Well I ended up going to the hospital last night because the pain was making me nervous. It was my first trip to the ER while pregnant – I had been so proud of myself for not having gone. I hate feeling like a nervous, first-time mommy (even though that’s what I am!).

Anyhow, the minute we walked into the ER the lady at the desk told another ER worker get a wheelchair and take her to L&D (labor & delivery). I was like woooaaahhhh, no no no, I am not in labor. She asked how far along I was and I told her. They took me in ahead of everyone in the waiting room – I didn’t even stand there for 30 seconds. They registered me and took me straight to the L&D unit. We ended up waiting for a bed for only about 30 minutes or so. They took us into the L&D suites, told me to take off all my clothes, put on the hospital gown and get in bed.

The L&D suites are amazing. I was definitely reassured that I had made the right decision to have Nugget at this particular hospital. These rooms are like hotel rooms. They call them suites because you labor, deliver and recover all in the same place. The bathrooms are huge, stocked with lots of shampoo and soaps, as well as a ton of sanitary napkins (childbirth and its aftermath is bloody and messy). They never take the baby out of the room unless they are taking her to do lab work or if God forbid there is some sort of complication.

I had such a surreal feeling as I lay in that bed. I couldn’t stop thinking about how this is where I’d be in 3 short months from now, ready to deliver our little girl. It was overwhelming, really.

The nurses are wonderful. So patient and understanding. I felt reassured that I had done the right thing by coming to the hospital. They strapped a baby heart beat monitor and movement detector around my belly and some other device – who knows what it was.

All in all we were there for 5 hours and the entire time we were there, we got to hear the baby’s heart beats and her movements in surround sound. If I hadn’t been so desperate to get home and get to bed, I could have stayed listening to those sounds all night.

They discharged me telling me I was experiencing mild contractions and that it was perfectly normal. Make sure I get lots of rest, drink lots of water, etc. etc. The real kicker was when the nurse told me to call my OB if symptoms returned. Yeah, OK. Maybe next time I’ll be lucky enough for a call back.