Progress

The nursery is done, the house is clean, the freezer is stocked with meals, the clothes are washed, the car seat is installed, hospital bag is packed and your mom is tired of being pregnant!!! I think it's about time Jackson, soon you will be receiving your eviction notice.

I made a bit of progress at my appt yesterday. I am still 1cm dilated but I am now 70% effaced so my cervix is shortening which I am thrilled about. He has also dropped a bit lower which is good. Funny...we have been trying to stop my cervix from shortening for the past 3 months but now I am trying to get it to shorten to get this baby out! My water could break tomorrow or it could be another few weeks before I go into labor. There is no way of knowing and I'm getting impatient. I'd like to be able to predict the future and get him here next week. Any ideas?

Just for kicks...FAQ for pregnant women...

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational..
A: So what's your question?

Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural? A: Right after you find out you're pregnant..

Q: Is there any reason a man should be in the delivery room while his wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word 'alimony' means anything to him.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.

Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

We've been railed...

My Dad came up last week and installed a new railing in our house and it is amazing!! If you've ever been in our house you know that this was a much needed improvement before a baby was crawling around our kitchen. For the past 2 years we have just had a big ledge with a large drop off and nothing to keep anyone from falling off. My handy Dad installed an awsome new raling last week and we love it. It looks fantastic and is very functional and it wasn't an easy job. If it wasn't for him I don't know when we would have actually gotten around to this so THANK YOU DAD!! Now you don't have to worry about your Grandson falling off the ledge or down the stairs! Here are some pics of the project.

I am finally off bed rest...woohoo!! Today I went for a long walk, had my hair colored, made enchiladas to freeze and did tons of laundry. I'm really taking advantage of these last few days/weeks. I'm determined to get this little one out in 2 weeks so I'm doing everything I can. I had a great appt on Thursday and he is measuring at about 6lbs already which is fantastic! On Tues I am going to the OBGYN to see how far progressed I am. 2 weeks ago I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced so we'll see if I have made any progress in the past 2 weeks. I am also off the contraction medication now so I am contracting like crazy all day long. Now we play the waiting game! I'd like to keep him in for about 1 1/2 more weeks but who know what will happen, he could be here tomorrow or it could be about 3 weeks! The waiting is the worst part!

Pregnancy is amazing and although I have loved being pregnant and I think I will really miss feeling Jackson moving around in my belly all day I'm getting pretty uncomfortable. My pelvis bone is really sore all the time and hurts super bad when I get up from sitting, the contractions are really uncomfortable, indigestion is killing me and I'm tired all the time. I'm ready to sleep on my belly again and have my body back. Between the 2 surgeries, shots and hormones throughout IVF and now 9 months of pregnancy I feel like it has been forever since I've felt normal. J and I are both ready for an outside baby!

I'll update again next week with a progress report. Until then send me positive labor thoughts!! I watched the video of my friend Mary's birth today and it made me a little nervous :-/

Maternity Pics!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have my friend Leisha come over and shoot some (actually a lot) of maternity pics. She took over 600! It was so much fun and she did an amazing job! I love them and I'm so thrilled that I have the pics to document this time in our lives. Below are a few...

My Mom is Nesting!

Since I haven't been doing a lot my mom is nesting for me! Since her arrival on Wed. evening she has made 3 dinners, vacuumed every room, mopped the floor, ironed, washed all the baby clothes, cleaned the bathrooms (that weren't even dirty) and kept me company. What would I do without her?? Probably starve in a dirty house...lol! Below is proof!
We had an excellent Dr. appt yesterday. Everything is looking good, still 1cm dilated and cervix is 1.6cm but the fluid is not increasing! It doesn't look like we will have to reduce it again. I am still on bed rest but at 35 weeks I can add more activity and at 36 weeks I can stop the meds. I'm convinced Jackson will make his appearance by 37 weeks so that should be the 1st week of May. We are getting so close and anxious. Now that I have all this time on my hands I spend way too much of it researching baby things. It's become an obsession!

We had an amazing shower last weekend that my dear friend Janna hosted. She had to haul everything over to my house which was not easy!! It's hard enough to do a shower at your house but packing it all and taking it to someone elses is really hard...and to top it all off she has a 5 week old baby!!! It was so detailed and so fun! Before it started I had a clothing crisis and cried the whole morning about it...hormonal much? It was ridiculous but I wasn't very happy about it! This is me crying and trying to have my husband (who was laughing at me) comfort me!
Still crying!

My Beautiful Hostess!!!

Lastly, here are 33 week belly pics. Only a few more to go!

Since I am stuck here at home I was able to take advantage of the nice weather and sit outside for a while yesterday and today. This the birds eye view of my huge belly seeing the sun for the first time in eight months!!!This afternoon I started to get really irritated with my situation. I was watching Jimmy do the dishes and make dinner from the couch and it was really bugging me. I'm so obsessive about things around the house and I just knew he wasn't doing the dishes and wasn't cooking the way I would have done it. Ridiculous I know but I sat on the couch and yelled orders up to him. I told him he needed more soap on the sponge, needed another dish towel, needed to turn the oven on earlier, etc. I was driving us both crazy!!! He is trying really hard and I'm just annoyed with sitting down here on the couch and taking it out on him. I want to do things by myself. It's really hard to rely on others! I also feel so unproductive. I sit here and think of all the things I could be doing. I know in the long run, keeping this baby healthy and safe inside is one of the most important jobs I will ever do but it is still hard for me to just sit here, play on the Internet, read and watch TV. It just isn't like me. I don't know how anyone does this for months at a time, or with little kids at home. I think I would absolutely lose it!

I'm feeling pretty good physically. Having a ton of contractions and I can feel Jackson's little head grinding into my cervix. I know it is really low and when he moves it it's pretty uncomfortable. My hips are starting to get really sore too from sitting and laying so much but no more back or bladder pain so I'm thrilled about that. I can't wait to get out of the house on Thursday to go to the Dr. I never thought I'd want to go to the Dr. so bad!

I had the most amazing shower on Saturday here at my house hosted by Janna. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I will go into all the details when I post the pics but I'm waiting for a few more. I'll try to get them up by the end of the week. For now....THANK YOU JANNA!!!!

Operation Bed Rest- Day 3

3 days down, about 20 to go! So far I haven't been too bored. My mother is absolutely amazing and came up yesterday with dinner. She stayed the night and completely cleaned my house today as well as went to the grocery and drug store for us. Such a huge help! Jimmy has been a big help too and has really been stepping up to make sure things are getting done as well. I'm so thankful for all the help! My big outing today was walking to the mailbox. I begged J to let me go and it felt good to just get some fresh air and walk a bit.

I have my 1st shower this weekend and it was supposed to be at my friend Janna's house about 30 minutes away but we have moved it to my house. Everyone is coming over here instead and Janna has been so flexible. I know it's going to be a lot more work for her to haul everything over but I am really looking forward to it! I'll spend the day on the couch but it will be so nice to have friends and family around.

My 2nd shower is supposed to be in Portland, about 3 hours away, next weekend and there is no way I can get down there for it. I'm so bummed and so is my Mom who is hosting it and has all kinds of fun things planned. We are rescheduling for after Jackson arrives and it will be fun to have him there but I was so looking forward to having it next weekend. In the grand scheme of things it's not that big of a deal but I'm still a little disappointed. Just goes to show that you never know what is going to happen.

On a positive note I am feeling so much better. I can finally go to the bathroom without grimacing in pain and my back is feeling a lot better too. The contractions have slowed down a bit as well. I think the bed rest is really helping. By next Thursday at my next appt I'll be dying to know what's going on inside my body with the fluid and dilation.

Just for fun...check this out! If any of you are thinking of getting Jackson a gift, this infant snuggie is perfect...lol. I'm kidding, I mean really?? Who would wear this, how bizarre. It looks like the baby is a third boob coming out of her chest. The real snuggie is weird enough but this takes it to a whole new level!

I'll post pics from the shower tomorrow!

Operation Bed Rest- Day 1

I knew this might be coming and here I am. 32 weeks and on bed rest. Here's the story, it's lengthy of course!


I got another UTI on Sunday and went into the Dr. on Monday to confirm and get some medication. I thought no problem, I'll take the antibiotic and everything will be fine. Monday evening I started getting some back pain on my right side by my kidney. The pain became more and more severe until I couldn't stand it and we went to the hospital. Unfortunately there wasn't much they could do for me. They monitored my contractions and the baby and gave me pain medication which made me sick but thankfully took the pain away. They also checked my cervix and realized that I was 1 cm dialated...not good.

I ironically already had an appt for an u/s on Tuesday and at that point we found out my cervix was down to 1.6cm in length and still 1 cm dialated. The fluid is in the 28 range so it's still increasing. It looks like we have a reduction in our near future.

So, for now I am on bedrest at home killing time until this little guy is a little more developed. The contractions are still constant and I think I've been having more since I got the UTI. The Dr told us that at 35 weeks she will take me off of all the medication as well as off of bed rest and let nature take it's course. I'm guessing he will come shortly after that but I've heard stories of women going off of bed rest and then having to be induced so you never know!

I'm working on getting everything buttoned up with work and J and I are trying to figure out a routine. He has been great so far. He is the bed rest Nazi and is taking the Dr's orders very seriously. I'm more apt to stretch the rules a little but he is keeping me down. My mom is coming up tomorrow and is going to stay through the weekend which will be nice. I'll have to put her to work!

With all my free time I'll update often!