37w6d

So the contractions were pretty much gone today but the pressure was there. It felt like his head was right between my legs. I kept thinking that at any moment he may just fall right out.

We spent the evening with our friends Matt & Danette and half of the night I spent standing next to the table instead of sitting down because there was just so much pressure. Finally towards the end of the night they decided to play Texas Hold'um and I headed for the couch. It was much more comfortable there.

At this point I just keep trying to have a talk with my cervix and tell it to dilate. Do you think it will work? I'm hoping with all of the pressure it will at least do SOMETHING!!

37w5d

So I could have SWORN we were going to have a baby last night. The contractions started about 9:30 and regulated themselves throughout the night. By 2:30 this morning they were every five minutes or so and we decided a trip to the hospital was in order.

Looking back now... maybe we should have called the doctor first. So we got there around 3:00 and they took us into triage and hooked me up to the monitors. The contractions were regular but my cervix was only 50% effaced and still closed. After a couple of hours they checked me again and since my cervix was still closed they sent me home to wait.

So... here I am waiting. Waiting and in pain. The contractions finally started to space out a little around 3:00 this afternoon and I was able to get a little rest but this evening I am just WIPED out!! Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep tonight.

37w2d

Today we celebrated Jake's birthday with his dad. We went out to a local restaurant and had a really nice dinner. The more Jake and I talk about it, the more we are glad that this little guy will at least have a couple of weeks between his birthday and Christmas.

Jake says that only having two days often makes him feel like things are all sort of lumped together instead of getting a separate birthday. So... if this little one waits until his due date he will have a full three weeks between Christmas and his birthday.

Enough time for him to be back in school and have the school birthday party that everyone loves and also enough time that he hopefully will feel like it is a special day just for him.

37w1d

Today I went to work as usual and then after work we went back to my mom & dad's for another Christmas. This time with my big sister and her kids. The baby had the hicups while we were there (what is new) so my nephew finally got to feel him move.

Every time we hang out with family I am just so grateful to have so many loving family members here with us. This little boy has got a lot of people who can't wait to meet him and spoil him!!

37w0d

Today we had a wonderful Christmas. We slept in a bit and then I let Jake open the baby's Christmas presents. I didn't get him a whole lot but we don't really have many toys for 6 months and up and since he will be a year before he has another Christmas or birthday I did pick up a few things on sale.

A couple of the toys we opened and messed with and then a couple of them have stayed in the boxes. I don't know if we will open them before the baby gets here or just wait for him. I guess we will have to see.

After we did presents we headed to my Mom & Dad's house for Christmas dinner. My mom's family was all there and they all commented on how big I was getting. They also exclaimed about how I was pretty much all baby. That made me feel good. If I have to be getting bigger at least it is in my front and not in my backside!! :-)

Then Christmas evening we opened presents with my mom, dad, sister and her fiance. My parents got us a car seat for when the baby gets a little bigger which will be a big help. Car seats are so expensive that knowing that it is in the closet for this summer gives me a little piece of mind that at least we won't have THAT expense... because I know we will have several others.

Overall it was a very nice day. Now we just need this little man to get here so he can play with all of his new toys. Especially the Winnie the Pooh that rides on the turtle because his Aunt Lindsay looks pretty goofy playing with it all by herself. (Not to say that she didn't....)

36w6d

This morning when I woke up I thought for sure we were going to have a Christmas baby. My hands and feet were VERY swollen and so was my face. The only thing I could think of was that my blood pressure had shot up over night and I was going to have to be induced.

I sat on the couch for a few minutes and ate something hoping that maybe the swelling would just go down. When it didn't I decided I should probably go to Hy-Vee and take my blood pressure. It, of course was normal. 144/66. I guess in the grand scheme of things for me that is high but it was not in the range of hypertension on their little chart so I decided I must have just over done it yesterday.

When I got home Jake and I watched, oh I can't remember the name of it right now, the movie where they have to leave the dogs in the arctic and he spends the entire rest of the movie trying to get back to them. Anyhow, that is probably not a good movie to let a hormonal pregnant woman watch. I made it through it but there were more than a few tears shed.

After that Jake and I went to our friends house to exchange Christmas presents. When we registered for our baby registry Jake put a giant stuffed Batman doll on the registry. So, Danette had purchased that doll. She put it and a sportsman's gift card in one box and told Jake he had to decide which gift was his and which was the baby's.

According to Jake the baby will be shopping at Sportsman's.

Around 6:00 we left their house and headed over to his mom's house to do Christmas with her. She fixed a really nice dinner and we had a good time but by 9:00 I was once again just wiped out. Since Jake had made friends with the Black Velvet he was also ready to hit the sack so we headed home early.

36w5d

This afternoon we traveled the hour and a half out of town to see Jake's dad's side of the family. All day I was very worried about this trip. I kept thinking, what if I go into labor and we are in Podunkville, Iowa? Finally I decided that the only thing to do was to pack the car seat and all of the bags in the car so that if I went into labor Jake could drive back quickly and we would have everything.

However, sometimes the best laid plans don't always work out. After we got back from getting his hair cut Jake went off to work on his car for a little while at a friend's shop and lost track of time. So when we were supposed to be leaving I was calling trying to get him to answer the phone.

Finally we ended up meeting by the interstate at about 2:45 (we were supposed to be there at 3:00). Since I was noticeably flustered by this point I just threw the grab bag gifts in the car and left. No car seat, no hospital bags, nothing.

Fortunately the night went over smoothly. The little man even cooperated by bouncing around at just the right moment so Jake's grandma could feel him move and then sitting still while I was trying to eat. Jake's dad tried to convince us to stay over at the hotel with him and his wife and her daughters but I politely declined.

Even though the trip home REALLY SUCKED since I was so tired and Jake slept the whole way I was really glad to be able to sleep in my bed. Since we have a water bed it has a lot more give for the belly than a regular bed would.

36w3d

This afternoon I decided I needed to finish that Christmas shopping I started on Tuesday. So I called up my friend Danette to see if she was up for the challenge. I had a list of what I needed to get, so I knew that it wouldn't take too long to get the things. She agreed that a night out was just what she needed and so I told her I would be over after work.

Between when I called her and when I got off work, my sister also called and I discovered that she could not go back to her fiance's house this evening because it was too foggy. So she agreed to go with us. We once again got started about 6:00 but this time we had a better plan.

By 8:00 all of the shopping was done and we were all sitting at Ol*ve Garden waiting for a table. Mmmm... salad and breadsticks. While the walking around did wear me out I fell MUCH better having all of my items purchased. Now I just have to wrap them. Uggg... wrapping....

36w1d

This evening I started my Christmas shopping. Well, that's not entirely true. I did do a little Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving but then the preterm contractions started and so I have been glued to the couch ever since.

However, since I have made it to the magical 36 week mark I figured I was pretty safe to venture out into the wide blue yonder. My sister and I started about 6:00 and we went to three or four stores before stopping for dinner. Our plan was to continue shopping after dinner but by that point I was EXHAUSTED!!

So, we went to one store on the way home and then I dropped her off at my parents house around 10:00. I think I have greatly underestimated the effort it takes to carry around this little boy. At least I have an idea of what I'm getting the rest of the people on my list. Now I just have to find the time to go out and do it.

36w0d

Today was my 36 week doctor's appointment. All appears calm on the home front. I was having contractions off and on all morning so I was hoping for some dilation news. Unfortunately it was not to be.

The first stop, of course, was the weigh in. 163 lbs. I figured since that was the same as last time I would take it. Then the blood pressure. 110/60. Nice and low... although I'm not sure I would know what constitutes low vs. high.

Next the doctor came in. He said I was measuring good and the baby sounded good. His head is nice and low, which I could have told you. DUH!! The final fun time of the morning was of course the checking. This was a little more painful than the last time, maybe because it was a male doctor. And all that discomfort got me nothing. I am still fully closed.

I asked him at what point am I safe to just go ahead and deliver. He told me if I make it 5 more days and then I start having contractions I can just let them happen. So... 5 more days it is than I'm serving the eviction notice!! :-)

35w4d

I don't know if it is possible but if it is, I think this little guy has dropped even further!! Sometime this evening as I was moving about I got these sharp pains, sort of like round ligament pains. I sat down and they went away, but now I feel like there is something between my legs.

I'm hoping that maybe this means I will be dilated at my doctors appointment on Monday. Cross your fingers for me will ya?

35w1d

Tonight I started reading to the little man and it was really a lot of fun. Everyone is always asking me if I read to him and I keep trying but I feel so stupid just reading outloud to what feels like myself.

However, tonight when I shifted onto my side on the couch I noticed that he was pretty active. So I thought I would give it a try. He moved the whole time I was reading with my silly voices and all. It was so funny to feel him bouncing around while I was reading. It made it seem so much more real that there is actually a baby in there.

So, now that I've started, I'm hoping to continue reading to him as often as I can. Maybe he will love books as much as his mommy does!!

35w0d

Today started the tennis shoe phase of this pregnancy. After Friday I wondered if I would be able to get my shoes on and I could this morning but they were tight. I knew if I put them on tight and then went to work they would be killing me by lunch.

So... I gave up. I am now wearing my dress clothes with my old white tennis shoes. It is quite the fashion statement, if I do say so myself. I have a feeling that these will be the only shoes I wear for the next five weeks, so I guess my co-workers better get used to it. Either that or they could buy me some new shoes!! :-)

34w4d

Today will forever be known as the day of the snausages & kankles. I started off my day just like normal. I put on my shoes and they were a little tight, just like usual. I stopped wearing my rings and watch about a week or so ago so my shoes were inevitably going to eventually have to go.

When I met a friend for lunch I mentioned to her that my socks were leaving rings today. We laughed about it and I moved on. Shortly after I got back I noticed the ring was getting much worse and my feet were REALLY starting to hurt.

So about 2:00 I took my shoes off. Which as anyone knows is the cardinal rule of a way to end up with no shoes to wear. Since they were no longer constricted by my shoes my feet were free to expand to whatever size they saw fit. About 3:00 I had to remove my socks because the elastic around the tops was cutting of circulation.

Finally by 5:00 I knew I was in trouble. It was time to go home and I could no longer bend my toes. Let alone try to get my shoes on. It is cold outside so I didn't want to just go to the car with no shoes and socks on, although I guess if that was my only option than that was what I was going to do.

Luckily it didn't come to that. One of the women that I work with walks after work some times so she keeps an extra pair of tennis shoes in the closet in the front of our office. SO... I left wearing her size 8 tennis shoes.

When I got home I took my shoes and socks off and realized that I had now officially transistioned into kankles attached to snausage feet!! My only hope is that maybe tomorrow they will go down!!

34w2d

Today was my 34 week Doctor's appointment. Besides him sitting really low I have been pretty calm in the contraction area so didn't really anticipate any problems. I was out at a client all day and so I was running a little behind.

Isn't that always how it is? You think it will take you a certain amount of time to get somewhere and it always takes longer. I got on the interstate about 5 minutes later than I wanted to, and then the on ramp at the mixmaster was closed so I had to go through town, etc.

By the time I sprinted... and we are talking sprinted in the loosest sense of the word here, to the doctors office I was about 10 minutes late. No one seemed to notice. The last two times I have seen this doctor I have had to wait an hour so I settled into my chair expecting a long wait.

So imagine my surprise when 10 minutes later they called my name. Of course the first stop is the weigh in. I THINK the scale said 163. Eeekk!! When I started this pregnancy their scale read 150, so if you go by that I've only gained 13 pounds. Good huh? Until you count back to the summer of 2005 when we started this conception journey and I weighed 130. So... since that is the weight I am striving for... heck I'd be happy with 135, I have about 30 lbs of baby stuff that I'm carrying around!!

After the weigh in she put me in the room where I was informed that just for fun they were going to check me again, seeing as how I enjoyed it SOO much the prior week. So, as I sat there in that paper gown (which doesn't quite fit around my ever expanding belly so my butt kind of hangs out) I happened to look down and notice my legs looked a little swollen.

I was examining this fact when the doctor walked in. She also commented on how they looked a little swollen but that was completely normal towards the end of the day. Then it was on to the real fun. However, since his head has dropped being checked actually didn't hurt at all. Her first comment was, "Do you have a full bladder?"

To which I replied, "No." They make you pee in a cup every time remember?

"Oh... that's his head."

Of course I could have told her that!! She said I was very thinned out but didn't give me an exact effacement percentage. She also said that I was still completely closed. So, at 34 weeks his head is already very low but I'm not dilated. Anyone want to take bets on whether this means I will go early?

After that she listened to his heartbeat and he bounced all over while she was doing it. She told me that is a sign that he is happy. I just take it as a sign that he is like his father. He NEVER sits still!! :-)

I measured at 34 and so she told me she felt comfortable with me just coming in at 36 weeks to my regular appointment. Her goal at this point is for me to make it 3 more weeks. I have read in some books that 37 weeks is full term and some have said 38. So, I guess at this point we just continue to do what we have been doing. One day at a time.