Micah and our Family

Sorry it took me so long to do this, but I guess I didn't realize anyone was actually reading this particular blog anymore since Micah arrived!

Micah was born on September 10th, 2009 at 11:54 pm.  I had a practically perfect (and fast!) labor that resulted in an absolutely incredible baby boy.

So, I'm closing down this blog now.  Follow our family's story at The Arena Update!

The Countdown

Nine days to go until my due date and there is NOTHING happening in there. No contractions, no back pain that might be labor, nada. Zero. Zilch. Bupkiss. For some reason, I never even considered how I might feel if I had to wait for this baby to come down to the wire or even (Heaven forbid!!) overdue. After being induced 12 days early with Isaiah and half-expecting the same to happen this time around, I am finding myself in uncharted waters here. I don't like it! I really don't like going to bed every night and wondering if I'm going to wake up with wet sheets or in terrible pain. What's worse is when I get up in the morning and nothing happened! Does that make sense or sound crazy? Evan certainly doesn't mind....every day the baby stays comfortably in utero is one more day he gets of basically uninterrupted basement work time. I'm ok with that too, but it's the uncertainty and the feeling that I don't know what to expect that is driving me up a wall. I am a planner by nature, after all.

I have another checkup at the doc today at noon, so maybe I'll find out something new today. Doubtful, but I can hope right??

The Waiting Game

Here I am on Saturday, 12 days before my due date and I managed to make it through our big work day on the basement without either A: Going into labor or B: Being induced into labor. Both were seeming like viable options as the week progressed, but with the carpet getting installed in the morning and a lot of work on tap for the rest of the day, Even just kept pleading with me to "make it though Friday!" Done and done, honey. I had to go to the doctor three times this week to keep tabs on my blood pressure, protein levels, and the baby's heartbeat. I did two NSTs and in the end, I was given the green light to stay pregnant over the weekend. With Isaiah, I was induced at 38 weeks, 2 days which is exactly where I am at today so this kid has officially stayed in the oven longer than his brother. At this point, I am not hoping he stays put until at least Tuesday because my doctor will be out of town for the holiday and I really would rather not do the whole "giving birth" thing without her. That, and I just think it would be a horribly ironic coincidence to have a baby on Labor Day.

Ouch!

My advice to women pregnant for the first time: Buy a jar of TUCKS before your third trimester. You will need them BEFORE you deliver!

Ouch.

Still Pregnant

I went to the doctor this morning to follow up on my elevated blood pressure from Monday and things did not start off well. My blood pressure had stayed about the same and I did have protein in my urine. Super. I could just hear the words "induction" floating around in my head! I had blood drawn and my doc is running all the tests to "leave no leaf unturned" as far as checking for the symptoms of preeclampsia and then I did a non-stress test (NST), just like I had with Isaiah. The baby's heartrate wasn't incredibly variable, but it wasn't bad enough that we needed to be concerned. So, here's what we're left with. I need to weigh myself every day to watch out for a sudden weight gain and I need to watch out for headaches. Both are signs of preeclampsia. I'm probably going to be calling it quits a week early at work since I'm supposed to really "watch it" until the baby comes. I have to go back in to the doctor on Monday and then again on Wednesday - twice a week until it's baby time. Overall though, the good news is that I can stay pregnant a while longer yet! Woohoo!

Deja Vu

I went in to see the doctor this morning for my routine 36 week check up. (FYI - I am officially at 36 weeks, 4 days) After chit chatting with the nurse about my Kindle (we like to talk books), I was quickly transported into a major flash of deja vu when she took my blood pressure. Just like when I went in at 38 weeks with Isaiah, my blood pressure had spiked. I have been a pretty consistant 102-106 over 70s for my entire pregnancy, but this morning I was 118 over 85. The last time this happened, I was hooked up to an NST machine and two days later I had a baby! So, they took a urine sample to test for protein and Dr. Baker asked me to come back in on Wednesday to check on things. As for the rest of the check-up, I am actually measuring small this time around, so we pretty sure we're cooking up a small baby in there. I'm ok with that! I only gained 3 pounds in the past 4 weeks so I avoided a scolding, and the baby's head is down and in the "ready for launch" position! I'll know more about what to expect after I go back in on Wednesday, but there is definitely a nagging part in the back of my brain that is screaming "Please not yet!!! We're not ready yet!!!!" Realistically though....I'm thinking we've got some time.

Well that was weird!

I had to leave work early Friday night because I was having fairly strong contractions every 6-8 minutes! It was freaking me out how regular they were, so I started writing down the times and it continued for a good 2 hours. I called the hospital and they recommended sitting down for a while and drinking a ton of water, so I got someone to come in for me and that's what I did. It took about an hour or so of resting on the couch for them to go away, but they did. I am really hoping this isn't any kind of indication that the baby plans on showing up early. I am so not ready!