Another Update Post!

Okay, so blogging has NOT been my forte lately. Admittedly, it's been laziness on my part and partially I'm just plain tired! Chasing a toddler (he's 20 months now!!! Where oh where did the time go?!) and growing another little one really takes it out of ya!

Junior and I just got back this week from a long visit to CA. We had a blast! It was nice to have some extra help entertaining Junior for a few weeks! While we were out in CA, we were able to visit my Papa (Papa Chas) and my Aunt Shannon. Junior flirted and impressed as always. We were also fortunate enough to get to have lunch with Julie Olsen. Unfortunately due to Jr still being on the tail end of a tummy bug we didn't get to see Cooper (they where headed on a road trip of their own and didn't want to chance him getting sick).

While home, we were able to celebrate not only my birthday but also celebrate Baby Scarlett as well. It was nice to have a shower that all of our family could be included in. It was also great to see so many family and friends that I haven't seen in so long. I will be posting photos from our trip to CA over the next couple days.

Now - on to some excitement: enter your guess in when Baby Scarlett will arrive!


I saw the OB this morning and the date for my c-section was set! Do you think she will make it to her expected arrival date of May 28? (Her due date is 6/4 but due to the fact her brother was stuck and it is going to be a repeat Cesarean, as well as my mom needing to know when she needed to arrive to take care of Jr while I'm in the hospital we set the date for a week early - remember Jr was an ounce shy of 9lbs 10 days early!)

Updates...Updates... Oh the Updates :D

So here is the run down for what transpired today!

Junior's Heart Rate: 160 (a little elevated)
My BP: 120/80
My weight: unchanged (literally) from last week (bonus!!!)

We went through the normal song and dance, the check the heart rate, check position ect. Junior hasn't dropped any further (we are suspecting since Dr G didnt' exactly clarify this). Dr. G DID say if Jr was bottom down that we would have just scheduled a c-section. So instead, we were sent for a biophysical profile (bpp).

Immediately the tech said he was a big boy. (this is the same tech who provided us with the awesome pictures proving Jr is infact a Jr). She measured his head, abdomen and femur to get a guess-tamite on his weight. Here are the stats from that:

Head: 41wks 5days
Femur: 41wks
Abdomen: wouldn't register a measurement because it was too big. YUP too big.

The weight estimate came out to be 10lbs 4oz. Dr. G had said during the appointment that anything around 8lbs with a small pelvic outlet makes him nervous. So there I was freaking out.

Now I could have updated all that information while I waited for Dr. G to call me back. However I felt that it would still have left you hanging, and personally I was freaking out a little too much to be able to sit here and type it all out.

I finally spoke to Dr G about 5pm. He said he would NOT attempt a vaginal delivery with a baby that size. (whew) And there was no reason to wait to deliver him because quite frankly he wouldn't be getting any smaller. He had the nurses start working on getting a time and date for me to be at the hospital for a c-section. CNA Debby called me back about a half hour later.

WE ARE HAVING A BABY TOMORROW!!!!!!!! :D

I have to be at the hospital at 1030am and we should be heading into surgery about 1230pm. Hopefully we will update information on Weds. - the hospital does have wireless internet, so odds are Chris will be emailing photos and what not to family, I have not shown him how to update the blog yet. I'm not sure that I want to lol. Either way, one way or another we will get the information out there! So wish us luck!!!! See you all on the flip-side ;)

Fingers Crossed!!!

We have an hour till our appointment with Dr. G. Lets all keep your fingers, toes - eyes whatever you want crossed that we get some indication as to when this kid is getting his final eviction notice!!!!

Hopefully our next update will be sharing some good news... and possible pictures ;)

Pregnancy & Toliet Paper

At the beginning of pregnancy, you are either puking or peeing. Crude as it sounds, it’s true. (Well if you’re unlucky enough to get morning sickness in ANY degree). Either way you’re spending a lot of time in the bathroom. In the middle of pregnancy it’s a sick wish to spend more time in the bathroom – but for other reasons. Some deal with constipation that just will not seem to right itself. And then it’s like a flick of a switch – your back to the bathroom all the time; possibly puking, but mostly due to your child’s head being thoroughly wedged against your bladder.

What this amounts to is that the first couple of months you start wondering where the hell the toilet paper is going. It takes a while before you realize that you are going through roll after roll faster then normal because of you! Then things level off for a little bit, and you figure out that, okay you just need to restock the T.P. more often then before and you get into a buying pattern that works. But once your child finds that wedging his (or her) head into your bladder and taking their sweet time in paying attention to their eviction notice, your back to the constantly running out syndrome again.

If you can’t tell, once again, we are out of toilet paper and I’m quite irritated about it! It’s extremely irritating to realize that you are once again out of toilet paper at 4 am and you know that you will need to make at least three if not four more trips to the bathroom before you will make it to the store!

My House, Time Bombs and Drugs

I Have My House Back

The kids went home on Weds. They arrived safe and sound and are back in the care of their parents. Arthur, though afraid of flying made it through the two different flights to get back home.

Now that the kids are safely back in their own surroundings, Chris and I have enjoyed having our TV, couch and house back. Weds night we stayed up till almost 11 not really watching what was on TV but had it on what ever we wanted. Yesterday, I woke up in a still semi-drugged state so I spent most of the day on MY couch. The one that was previously home to a 12 yr old boy for a month, who watches nothing but the disney channel, nick and who knows what else (after we had gone to bed). Today... I'm back into my "normal routine". That means, I let the dogs out, get myself a bowl of cereal then settle down in front of the desktop to read my blogs, message boards and blog if I have anything to blog about. *sigh* it's so nice to be back into my routine. I can honestly say that I've missed it. And as I just found out - Lizze missed my routine too. Lol.

Ticking Time Bombs

We have reached the last two weeks. Great. Have I mentioned I'm ready for Junior to make his arrival? I am. However, it's funny/sad that there are a few people who when I talk to them on the phone, they answer the phone "Are you in Labor yet?!!" "Are you on your way to the hospital???" While I love you guys (who do this to me repeatedly) atleast let me give you some indication as to why I'm calling BEFORE you jump to this. It's funny the first couple times, but when I'm feeling 12 mos pregnant, tired and sore (from my latest injury) your really not helping.

Leaving Messages on Friend's Blogs While Drugged...

This is my public service announcement for not doing it. LOL I always think that Lizze's drug inspired comments are funny... however after going back over the past two days and reading some comments that I've left on her blog while under the influence of Lortab.... I don't sound as funny as I thought I did while drugged. If you must comment while under the influence of any sort of medication.... KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid. Stupid on it's own just doesn't cut it ;).

Here's the Official Diagnosis

So, Dr G says I seperated (or ground) my pubic symphysis. Basically - take two fists and rub them together. That is what I did to the cartlidge in my pubic bone (where the two pieces meet).

Lets just say that while on the table, I wanted to yell every curse word I knew when he simply touched my pubic bone. Instead, I simply cried. I had managed not to cry anytime I tried to roll over, get out of bed, in or out of the car (on the way there) or simply walking. He barely touches me, and I lost it. Needless to say, Dr G was not at all impressed with this. I am currently waiting for my perscription of Lortab to kick in so hopefully I will be able to take a really good nap this afternoon, as will Junior - who's movements only make things more difficult and painful for me at the moment. At this point in time, I'm all for a C-section because this really won't *heal* till after I deliver, and with the amount of pain I'm in NOW... a vaginal birth just sounds like adding torture to existing overwhelming pain. Dr G said this is something we'll discuss next Monday at my next appointment.

Courtesy of Web Md here is the description of a seperated pubic Symphysis:

Separated pubic symphysis
The left and right bones of your pelvic girdle are joined at the front by a narrow section of cartilage and ligament. This is called the pubic symphysis, or symphysis pubis. As the pelvic bones loosen during pregnancy, the pubic symphysis can temporarily separate. Although this is not a dangerous condition, it can be painful.
You can feel the pubic symphysis by pressing on your lower front pelvic bone, just above your genital area. Your health professional can tell when it is separated or misaligned simply by pressing on it. During pregnancy and after childbirth, you can realign your pubic symphysis by lying back on your elbows and squeezing a pillow between your raised knees. This is likely to temporarily relieve pain and pressure.
A separated pubic symphysis can take 3 to 8 months to heal on its own. For most women with this condition, pain or discomfort lingers for about 2 months after childbirth.

For the Record:

Bowling when almost 10 mos pregnant is one of the most stupid things you can do.

Yeah that pain in my pelvis? It's still there... and was there all night. You think rolling from one hip to the other is hard/painful just being pregnant? It's even worse when you do whatever I did last night to my pelvis while bowling. We are currently waiting for Dr G's office to open so that I can call in and find out if he wants me to go to the office or L&D since I can barely walk. And I'm talking pain to the point of having to get Chris to help me figure out how the heck to get out of bed this am to go to the bathroom! (Yes, he's stayed home to go with me.) Add on top of everything else Jr bumping his head against my pelvic bone and it just makes me wanna cry!!!

As of Now

We are still waiting. Darn it.

My appointment today went well, I guess. LOL. Well it didn't go the way I had HOPED it would go.

My weight & BP: Both good - nothing was said to me about it being bad.
Junior's Heart Rate: 140

He's OFFICIALLY descending! :) I am officially starting to dialate. (almost 1cm) Got the same song & dance about "see you next week if not before - and my feelings wouldn't be hurt if it was before". Na, really?! My feelings wouldn't be hurt either.

So today, Megan & I went with Jess, her Aunt Robin & Robin's daughter Hayley to get our nails done. (Meg & I got mani's while they got pedi's). I was SOOOOO contemplating getting another pedi seeing as yesterday it had caused some contractions. Afterwards we went to a mexican resturant, and I loaded all my food up with the spiciest salsa they had :D. (can't hurt right?) Jess also took the bumpiest road we know in order to get back to the base. By the time we were wandering around the Navy Exchange (think military Wal-Mart for you non-military types) I started to have a contraction. Well Jess made me start laughing as it was tapering off - which I found only made it peak agian. After that one decided it was done, I took like 3 steps and then had another one. Robin decided to tell me that I needed to keep laughing (think Dori in Finding Nemo - saying Just keep laughing, just keep laughing). It caused my contraction to get worse. After that, a couple small ones as we walked around, but nothing major.

We even walked to the park here on the base after that with the kids & Jess' dog Rowdy in the middle of the afternoon. I had one big contraction and a couple little ones. We also decided to go bowling. I haven't bowled in over a year so either way this was going to be interesting. (Figured, it couldn't hurt at this point.) I bowled one game, and courtesy of some rude kids playing on the next lane (and I do literally mean playing not necessarily bowling) the only thing I felt was a little more pain in my pelvis. So we are still waiting.

Here's hoping that I get to go to Labor & Delivery sometime soon!

Still Waiting...

We had a great 4th of July. We hung out with Jess and Ronnie and their family that came in to town for a week, couldn't have asked for a funnier time... especially since I found out that if you laugh so hard you cry it CAN cause contractions! (Thank you for that one Robin!)

Yesterday, we took the kids to get donuts for Arthur's Birthday - his birthday isn't officially till August first but he leaves this week to go back home, and we wanted to make sure he got a celebration with us too. And since sugar seems to be his favorite food group, I was nice and suggested we go. Well getting in the car here at the house, and I had wonderfully looooooong contraction pulling out of the drive way. It was one that I REALLY felt. Then nothing between here and the donut shop we went to (which by the way was across the street from the hospital I'm delivering at) untill I walked back to the car. Okay... so we tried to decide what to do next.... go home and sit around (and the kids along with Chris where possibly going to go tour the USS Lexington) or go to the hospital and get checked out.

I felt silly about going for only 2 contractions so we decided that since Arthur wanted to go to a movie for his birthday we would go see Wall-e. Which would be like sitting at home for me. Had a couple minor contractions during the movie, but nothing like earlier. The movie was cute, however Chris and I agree it's a huge public service announcement for global warming if your an adult. Arthur liked the movie so that was all that counted.

We came home, I showered just on the off chance we had to go in... and also to try and help the pain in my back. No dice on either count. Had minor contractions all afternoon that weren't really timeable, so about 8pm I decided to go for a walk around the block. First lap had two smaller contractions, second lap however (also a first for me - usually only go one) I had 3 good sized ones. However by the time we got back to the house I was too tired to keep walking. So I sat on the exercise ball, and they kind of faded off.

This morning, the pressure/pain in my back is still there. (Yes Lizze I know what your saying right now) And my pelvic bone still feels like it's breaking in half, but since getting up a half hour ago, I've only had 1 contraction that I actually felt. I have a Dr appt tomorrow at 925am so unless something big happens today odds are:

Stay tuned untill tomorrow.

Where we stand now...

I'm still cramping, although not as regularly as I was early this morning.

So no trips to L&D. No intesnifying on the contractions. :( We are just "here"

4am

So it's 4am...

I've been awake for about a half hour, I've had some cramping that woke me up - still not consistant but it's there. Last night before going to bed there was a little bit of "show". So we are waiting to see what is going on.

Have I mentioned, I HATE waiting?!

36 1/2 Week Appointment Run Down

Well here’s the run down from the Dr:

Jr’s Heart Rate: 140
My weight: Down a pound (whoo hoo right?)
My BP: obviously good, because they didn’t say anything.

My Group B strep came back negative, which is good. One less thing to worry about, bonus!

Junior’s head is not engaged AT ALL (not cool), but he is head down still which is good. He is still high in the birth canal, which I’m assuming is part of the fact the Dr made no mention of if I am dilated or not.

Over the past couple of days, I’ve developed some cramps that well are no where near anything I had pre-pregnancy. So Dr. G amounted that to “disorganized labor” (or Braxton-hicks). We also went over what the new rules of this game are:

Water Breaking:

If there is a puddle: don’t call the office don’t call the hospital the only person to call is Chris if he isn’t present, and get to the hospital.

If there is a trickle & it’s during the day: to make sure it’s amniotic fluid, call and come by the office to be checked. If it turns out to be amniotic fluid then we’ll head to L&D to get the ball rolling even more.

If there is a trickle & it’s during non-business hours: head to L&D just to make sure. “We would rather be safe then sorry and avoid any chance of infection”.

He also said no letting it break in the car – as if I have a choice! LOL!!

Cramping:

If it get stronger to the point where I don’t like/can’t tolerate it, call. It has to be consistent, even if it’s really strong and only 2x an hour, then call (but has to last for at least 2 hours.)

After that … it was “see ya next week if not before”. So here’s hoping he thinks it will be anytime now ;). He also told me that, “There are stories going around about listening to your grandmother’s wives tails. If your grandmother tells you to use castor oil to bring on labor I DO NOT recommend it. I have had several patients do this, and then tell me, while it did bring on labor they would NEVER EVER do that again.” – All I could do is laugh. I know what castor oil is a remedy for and let’s just say there’s nothing stopping me up ;).

ARRRGGG

Am I done yet???

Quick Trip to L&D

Earlier today, I was sitting in the recliner and suddenly had my heart start racing and broke out into a cold sweat. This lasted about 15-20 minutes. I called Chris at work to find out when he would be home and to tell him what was going on, also I told him that I was going to call Dr G to find out if this is a "normal pregnancy" thing or not. The lovely CNA answered my call.... and told me to monitor it, go ahead and go in and be monitored in the ER (you mean in L&D right? - Oh yeah L&D man this girl is bright) but monitor it for an hour or so, if you still don't feel right then go in.

Well I felt light headed and jittery afterwards, and that feeling is still hanging around even now. After about an hour and a half, and Chris coming home, we decided to go to L&D just to get checked out. We did the standard song & dance (monitor me, monitor the baby ect) My pulse was high on getting there, and my diastolic (the bottom number) blood pressure was a little high, but had gone down w/in a half hour of being there. To be on the safe side, Dr. G (who is on call this weekend) ordered an EKG just to make sure everything was kosher (it came back a-okay).

His theory is that the light headed/dizzy feeling is due to me coming down with something. As for the racing heart.... not so sure. But he told me to avoid ALL caffiene, (including CHOCOLATE..... this could be an issue lol) and to follow up with him sometime this week. My next appointment is on weds anyways.

So there you have it.

FINE!!! I admit it!

My wonderful husband pointed out to me this morning that I'm jealous. So many people from the iVillage message board that I've posted/lurked on have started having their little ones, and even two of my friends (one from there, one through blogging) and all I want is Jr to get HIS eviction notice so we can see/hold/cuddle him. According to Chris, I'm varying shades of green at this point.

UM HELLO!!!!! I officially have LESS THEN 30 days till my due date. I want my body back to just belonging to me (is this selfish? Yes. Is it a crime? NO.). I want to see my little guy and get to know him. I want to see who he takes after in the family looks wise. I want to see how the boys react to him, and the fact he's not going "home" at night, but is moving in with us. I want to see how much he changes the first day he's here with us, let alone the first couple of days.

Either way, I'm just ready for him to be here already. Everything is ready for him... all he has to do is follow Cooper's lead, and Emmett's lead ;) and then we'll all be happy :) (well except for Chris who is starting to realize his prized "sleep" is about to become non-existant.)

Nesting? Could it be? OH MY!

So when I was on Clomid, before conceiving this little monkey who lives in my stomach (for not much longer) I went through intense periods of cleaning usually about the time I ovulated or while waiting for the dreaded "Curse".

Today I seem to be in a "nesting" kind of mode. After the kids ate breakfast we, well Megan and I cleaned the kitchen from dinner last night. Then I scrubbed the counters. (Literally - scrubbed like that "He's coming home from being overseas for 6mos and I have to make sure the house - well kitchen- is PERFECT type scrubbing. This is very involved... ask any military spouse.)

I just finished the third pot of pieces to: bottles, nipples, pacifiers, breast pump parts etc. I still have one more Ziploc bag of stuff to boil. However I am TAKING A BREAK!

My other plans for the day are to: Finish washing/folding the rest of Jr's clothes so I can try and decide what I'm bringing him home in. Pack his diaper bag so that it's ready to go. Do mine & Chris' laundry. Possibly convince my nephew to help me put the bassinet together today so that I can stock the baskets that go underneath it with diapers/wipes etc.

If you can't tell, I am a little worried now that I won't have things done in time before he arrives. I've had a lot of cramps lately, not too painful, but painful enough that I know that they are there. This makes me think that they are doing something, probably not much - but something. At least that's my hope! The kids and I are probably going to go walk Wal-Mart later too. (Can't hurt right? ;) )

New Feature

My mom text messaged me yesterday with her and my aunt's guess' on how big and when Junior would arrive. So now you'll see at the top - I have set up an online game so that everyone can join in! Enter your guesses because from the sounds of it (according to everyone here anyhow) it won't be long before we find out who's wrong and who's right! I will even post a belly pic to help you try and decide ;). The first one is 24 weeks and 4 days. The second is this morning, 35weeks 3 days.

35wks 1 day - Doctor Update!!!

I just got home from Dr. G's office.... here's the OFFICIAL run down:

Jr's heart rate: 160 (very active little guy according to Dr. G - I said yes I know I'm the one he kicks all day.)
My Weight: Still good
My BP: 110/60

We had our GBS test today (Group B Strep)- which was about as fun as any vaginal exam. Should find out the results of that next week sometime (probably by our next appointment.)

We have made it to the point that Dr. G says he will NOT start labor for me - however, if it starts on it's own he will NOT stop it! :) I was also given the ok do to the normal pre-labor things like walking ect. No heavy lifting or any of that good stuff, but I still get to get up and move around. One downside however, no more pool here on the base. :( His words "I never thought pools where a good idea. If you take care of it, I trust it. However if you can't see who's peeing in it, it's a no go." So in other words - I can fill up my kiddie pool in the back yard, but I can't go to the pool here on the base. *Heavy sigh* Guess I'll have to live with that!

Updates Abound!

Okay so there is a HUGE lull in posts. Sorry. Family was visiting... and I never realized how exhausting (although fun) that gets. Especially when your body is not your own!

Baby Shower -

My baby shower was this past Sunday the 25th. It was lovely. Unfortunately the only pictures I have at the moment are of the wonderful spread that Robin put out. The decorations where great, and where all things that Jr could use or wear over the next year. I've emailed Aunt Claire who came down from Louisiana for my shower and Robin to get some more pictures from my shower so that I can post them. During the shower Chris and his Uncle Bill (Claire's husband) spent the afternoon sanding Jr's changing table, cleaning out the garage so the changing table could be stained and repacking the bearings on a trailer Chris will be taking on a "cross country" trip (to L.A. and back) next Friday.

These where the "favors" from my Shower. My mother in law made them... they are homemade soaps, a homemade lotion and a home made lip balm... all of diffrent flavors! (Okay scents... but I call them flavors :) )

Visit From Family

Well you all know that my mother in law, Jane (Grandma J) came into town a week ago. Well the following day her sister, Claire and her husband Bill arrived to be able to attend the shower. Tuesday was Chris and I's anniversary, well Thursday was Claire & Bill's. (Intresting family trivia... the same guy that married Claire & Bill married Chris and I!) So after they arrived (after driving from Northern Louisianna) we all went out to dinner. They stayed through Monday morning. It was great to see them and we got to catch up with them - and it wasn't even Christmas! My mother in law stayed through Weds afternoon, when she flew home :(. It was great to get to spend time with her, and I really appreciated her coming out to the shower!

Projects, Projects & More Projects

While Jane and Claire where here we did alot of work on my Mother in Law's online store. My mother in law makes homemade soap and bath products and sells a couple accessories also. (Shameless plug.... check it out at Jane's Rustic Ranch Soap - and for the Mom's that read my blog - hopefully soon she will be coming out with a baby line!!) Aside from working on the website - the cause of wanting to pull my own hair out- Chris had his own projects. He finished the changing table, his mom helped him stain it - no fumes for me so I got out of it this time!!!- He also got the trailer "road ready" for next week.

Baby Updates!

On Tuesday Morning I had my 32 week appointment with Dr. G. Grandma Jane got to go seeing as she was here. Luckily no fFN test this time - so no need for Grandma to leave the room ;). Jr's heart rate was in the 140's, I've only gained 22 pounds according to Dr G so far into the pregnancy - which I'm happy with and so is he! We did the whole tape measure thing... and for being 31wks and 5 days, I am measuring 37wks! At 30 wks we were measuring 34 - this kid is going to be huge!!! Dr. G also said that he thinks Jr is head down, and because I'm so uncomfortable - as he put it - "as uncomfortable as someone who is ready to deliver in the next couple of weeks, which you won't be, you get to start coming to see me every week". He did say that the earliest he would choose to let Jr come would be 38 weeks - which puts us the week of July 6-13.

Post Weekend Run Down

It was a long weekend for Chris, which means yesterday was a not doing much kinda day. Chris worked on Jr's changing table, and I finished washing and folding all of the clothes that Jr has already recieved.

We also are working on getting the bed in Jr's room ready for Grandma J to come visit tomorrow! My shower is this Sunday, and Aunt Claire and Uncle Bill are driving down for Louisiana for it also. I'm very excited, not only to have this visit from family but also because it means we are closer to meeting the little guy! This week is going to be a busy one, but a fun one.