The Waiting Game

The following posts are what you do when you're pregnant, the house is clean, the bag is packed, and all you have to do is wait...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

One Week and Counting...

Jim and I had our 39 week appointment yesterday. Last week's appointment was a bit frustrating as we had yet to make any progress cervix wise (just some slight softening) and there were some concerns with my blood pressure being a bit elevated so they did some extra tests to make sure everything was ok. As it turns out, everything was fine, but there was just something that gave both Jim and I an annoying feeling about the whole appointment so I never did blog about it.

This weeks appointment went fine. My blood pressure is still slightly elevated which the doctor is now calling "gestational elevation of the blood pressure" which is a fancy way of say that the pregnancy is causing it. The cervix was softer, but not as progessed as they would like at this point. For whatever reason, Baby C is choosing to float around inside me instead of engage her head to start things progressing. Some days I feel her really low, and then others she is way up in my ribs again, and since she is not putting any consistent pressure on the cervix, it is not progressing very well.

Our next appoint is next Thursday, April 16th. I will be 40 weeks and right in between my original due date (April 17th) and the updated due date (April 15th). If I have not gone into labor by this appointment they will be scheduling a time to be induced. They chose that because they don't want me to go much past 40 weeks with elevated blood pressure because as the baby grows she requires more and they would rather not risk the blood pressure getting any higher.

The hope is that sometime before then she will suddenly engage and I will go into labor on my own! At least that is what we are hoping for. Actually, I was really hoping for the last few weeks that I would go into labor tonight, have a baby tomorrow, and come home on Easter...for whatever reason that seemed quite ideal.

Well here we go...the waiting game begins....

Ultrasound

Yesterday Jim and I had our ultrasound to check our little one's size and everything came out great. The amount of fluid is right where it needs to be and the baby is measuring right on target as well. She is-by measurements- 7lb 9oz, which they say is usually pretty inaccurate and probably more like 7lbs. She measured 37 weeks and 4 days, which is perfect! We have our 38 week appointment tomorrow and we will update again then!

37 Weeks

Here I am at 37 weeks, being goofy and looking huge...that's pregnancy for ya!!

Full Term

Well we are officially full term now. We had our 37 week appointment yesterday and were told that we could go into labor at any point and they wouldn't stop it. Almost everything checked out well at the appointment. Last week, at 36 weeks, we had the group B strep test which came back negative and the blood work came back good as well. When she checked me last week I was still completely closed and hard and she couldn't be 100% certain that baby was head down. At this appointment I was softer, although still not dialated at all, and the baby is for sure head down which they confirmed with a little ultrasound machine.

Last week I had measured a little big and it wasn't quite on track with how I had been growing so the Dr. said she was going to keep an eye on it. At this appointment I measured big again and so she has decided to send me in for an ultrasound on Monday to get an idea of the size of the baby and to check the fluid levels and make sure there is not too much fluid. It isn't really something to be concerned about, just so that we know what is going on. Also, my doctor cannot do c-sections, so if they think that may be a possibility they want to introduce me to an OB so I will be familiar with them, but that should only be the case if they find out the baby is for some reason gigantic.

Until next week...

The Nursery

Today Jim and I made great progress on the nursery so we thought we would post some photos so you all could see. We need to take some pictures in the day light because it is even cuter, but here is the progress thus far, not much else to do!

We love the mosquito netting!

This is the mirror Deb made

On the back of the rocker is the vintage quilt and a crocheted blanket from when I was a kid.

There is baby C's very own big dog!

Our Showers

Jim and I spent last weekend and the weekend before indulging in 2 baby showers that were thrown for us by our families. First, we headed to Dubuque the weekend of March 7th. Jim's mom and sister organized quite a nice shower. They have a conference room at hy-vee that they rented and provided all of the guest with vegetables, fruit, nuts, mints, cake, and punch. Most of Jim's family was able to come which was very nice because that included a drive for most of them. Some old family friends were also there, I had met them before at my bridal shower and it was nice to see them again.
Everyone got a chance to visit and be entertained by Jackson, he was quite the social boy! He especially likes Jim when he is around, and I can't blame him, Jim is pretty awesome! Barb organized some games including guessing what the baby animal is called (for example, a baby platypus is called a puggle). We also had to remember all of the baby stuff on a tray, which is always a fun game for the Mom-to-be! Barb picked out some awesome stuff for that game!
Gifts are always a good time! Everyone got us very nice things. We got quite a few clothes, toys, blankets and books. Jim's mom and sister had gotten us the crib and crib mattress so they passed around this picture to show everyone.

Jim's dad and his wife got us our travel system which is fantastic, because now we can actually bring the baby home from the hospital! One of our favorite gifts came from his cousin's wife, Annette. She is a nurse and got us the best of everything medical wise for the baby. We were especially excited about the thermometor she got is because they are newer, and they just roll across the forehead to get the temperature, and we had heard good things about them from a few of Jim's friends who had them but when we went to register for them, we couldn't find one so needless to say we were pumped.

The funniest part of the afternoon was when they decided they should try to guess what baby C stood for. The first guess was Chelsea, which is the 3rd time someone guessed that right off, which is funny to me of course, because of my sister. So I told them they could keep guessing because I really didn't think they would guess it. Low and behold the next name was guessed by his Aunt Sandie, and she was right! Not only did she guess the name, she guessed the nickname too, all in one fell swoop!! My jaw hit the floor, and my reaction in no way could hide that she was right. It was too funny and a great addition to our wonderful day. Thank you Joy and Barb for all of your work!

Last weekend, March 14th, we headed to Omaha for our next shower. My Mom and Cheryl worked to plan this one. They did a fantastic job! We had it at the librarry community room and the decorated it very springy and bright with pinwheels and more. Deb made the cake, and it was amazing! Not only did it look awesome (she made the topper herself) but it tasted fantastic too. They also served crackers and cheese, spinch dip and beer bread, sherbert punch, mints, and nuts. No one could go hungry!

I couldn't believe everyone who was able to make it to the shower. It was so great to see everyone! There was all of the family and lots of old family friends that I hadn't seen in quite awhile. We had such an awesome time visiting and spending time together. My Aunt Bobette was able to come which I was especially thankful to be able to see her. It was so great to be able to visit with her and also very hard. I am truly hoping we have the opportunity to introdue her to our little girl.

My Mom had planned some games as well. It started with a baby C guessing game, to see who could come up with the most names beginning with C. My Aunt Misty guessed baby C's nickname, so from there we had them guess until they had the name. We just had to let them after what happened at the other shower! We also had a remember what is on the tray kind of game, only all the items had been laid out on the table the whole time. When the questions came, it wasn't about just what was on the table, but specifics about it (color, quantity, what it said, etc...).
After games we started food, and while everyone finished eating we began presents. Holy cow was everyone so incredibly generous! We couldn't believe everything we recieved. Of course we loved everything we got, but we did have some favorites. Deb made us a mirror for the baby's room that turned out wonderfully. She also got us a quilt made with vintage chenille and other fabrics that I just love! It is so funky and fun! My Mom got baby C her very own big dog and ruby slippers, both reminiscent of my childhood. My Dad got her everything under the sun that she might need, he has apparently been accumulating it for months. Needless to say it was a wonderful time and I can't thank my Mom and Cheryl enough for all of their hard work!