Checking In...

It's been a while since I've blogged, but we've really had no news to share. Other than, of course, the fact that our child clearly takes after his father and has begun his life's work of annoying me before he's even joined us! Hopefully once he gets here he'll realize I have enough to deal with from his dad and he'll be nice!

In all seriousness though, Scott and I are very excited and quite anxious to meet our little guy. We bought his Halloween costume this week... Scott picked it out and I think it's pretty perfect. I'm showing you a picture of another baby in it, because of course our baby refuses to make an appearance! Scott was a little confused at first as to why an infant needed to go trick or treating, but I told him Grandma and Nana/Grandpa would want to see him all dressed up!

We go back to the doctor's office Tuesday morning, which is (coincidentally) Scott's birthday! I'm hoping we'll have a double celebration and they'll just send us on across the street to Labor and Delivery and Scott will get a wonderful birthday present. I plan on asking even if they don't offer... you never know... they might be willing to help us out!

Either way, our due date is less than a week and a half away, and I figure at some point he has to join us. (although to be honest I'm starting to think I'm not actually pregnant, but that I just got fat really fast... Kaleb needs to prove otherwise)

Til we know more...

Sarah

No Progress... Go Home

About 10 o'clock last night I started having some pain with my contractions (which, by the way, I've been having for a week now). It wasn't horrible pain, and certainly not that of rumor... but enough that I felt like it was time to start checking things out. So Scott started timing for me.

The rule, as it was explained to us, was a ratio of 1:5:1 - It was time to head to the hospital when I was having contractions lasting at least a minute, when a new contraction started every 5 minutes, and when this had been going on for an hour.

At about 10 we started timing, and by 10:45 they were a pretty steady 6 minutes apart and lasting over a minute each time... so we decided to start watching for them to stay that way until 11:45. As the hour passed, the continued to get stronger and closer together... and we began to feel like we may be headed to the hospital!

Once the hour was up, we called Labor and Delivery to ask their opinion on things. The nurse that answered the phone told us to wait one more hour... drink a half liter of water, lay down on my left side, and rest. Continue counting contractions and call back at 12:45. So we did... and after an hour the contractions were a pretty steady 3 minutes apart. When we called back with the news... we were told to come on in! Exciting~

So we grabbed our bags, threw on clothes, fed the cat (much to Scott's dismay), and headed to the hospital. We got all checked in and they came to pick us up and take us to Labor and Delivery. At this point I was strapped up to all sorts of monitors and found out that I was right... I was actually having contractions and that they were about 3 minutes apart! I was right (I was worried I was gonna screw this part up, but hey... the machine said the same thing!).

The good news is the baby's heartbeat sounded great and he seems to be doing well. The bad news is after I stayed there for about 30-45 minutes my contractions started to slow down. So they had me get up and walk... 30 minutes up and down a rather short hall which Scott and I now know well. They rechecked me and they had picked up a little, but not a ton. And after being there an hour and walking for 30 minutes I had not dilated any more.

No progress? You go home! So we grabbed our goods (including our parents and my sister who had driven in from Raleigh... oops) and headed to the car.

Now that sill 1:5:1 rule is out the window and I pretty much have to wait until I'm hurting pretty bad to go in. So now rather than having a hard fast rule (which I was already scared I'd screw up...) I have a vague subjective idea of when it might be time to go back. Great.

Anyway, life goes on. I go back to the doctor this afternoon and am hoping to know more... but let's face it... it seems this baby is going to take after his daddy. Stubborn, hard headed, eager to annoy me...

I'll check back this afternoon and I hope (cross those fingers and say some prayers) we have some news better than... no progress, go home.

Sarah

Grrrr

I've decided that it is incredibly unfair for the doctors/midwives to tell you the baby could come "any day now" when they don't actually know. I worked my behind off to get all of my stuff ready at school quickly so that I'd be ready if he came "any day now" and he didn't! It's a week later and still no news. I am quite sure, however, that if I had taken my time and not given much thought to rushing through my school plans he would have been here already! It's the way of the world I guess. So I'm off to my anxiety... doctor's appointment Monday if "any day now" is still not here by then. KALEB... IT'S TIME FOR YOUR ARRIVAL... HURRY UP!

Control

So I've discovered a few very frustrating things about maternity leave:

1) It has to be planned down to the minute, only you have no clue when it's going to start! It's like God's way of saying... get prepared... you'll never be in control again! This is hard for me, I've worked really hard to have things ready for when Kaleb gets here, it sure would help me put the final touches on things if I knew when his arrival is scheduled!

2) Even though I'm the size of the side of a barn, paperwork is necessary to prove that I am indeed pregnant. Not that big of a deal... but it turns out that they (CO) also need to know the exact moment that I go into labor so they are sure to start my maternity leave at the appropriate time. I guess I'm supposed to run by CO on the way to the hospital so that they can see that I actually am in labor? Scott says I should just swallow a paper and pen so Kaleb can go ahead and fill out whatever paperwork they'll want from him the moment he arrives in the world. Again, it's very frustrating to need everything in order and not be able to take care of it until this little guy decides to make his appearance.

3) Scheduling a month and a half of lesson plans for a class I've never met (and therefore have no idea what they like/are capable of doing/etc.) is already difficult. Add to that that I have no idea who my sub is, if he/she knows how to use a computer, or if I'll even have the same sub in my room everyday.... ahhhh. Scream worthy. Thankfully I have good co-workers who are looking after me and my classes, because otherwise there is no telling what would happen to my poor classes!

4) And last but not least, I think Rebekah is going to die if I don't have this baby soon. She may not make it until September 8th even if Kaleb does!

Basically, it sure would be easier if the due date was anything other than a guess... or if the doctors could give you some sort of a timeline... anything other than... it'll be sometime between right this exact moment and 3 weeks! I'm sure it'll be fine once he gets here, but for now waiting is slightly maddening. (Falling slightly behind the madness the itchy tummy is driving me to... that still comes first!)

SG

Progress...

Went back to the doctors... and we're making progress! Last week there was not measurable progress... then there was this week! We are now 3 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. If you're like me and you don't really know what that means... it means things could happen fast OR Kaleb could take his time and it might still be a few weeks. So we don't know a lot other than we're headed in the right direction. Just say a prayer that he gives us at least another week.... I'm supposed to be going back to work! Annette took us on a tour of the birthing center today... so we got to see where we'll be spending a few days. Time is flying and he's going to be here before we know it! I'm not sure if I'm excited or nervous or both... but I do know it's all a little overwhelming! Let's just hope the next few weeks go smoothly. Baby shower Sunday, Doctors appointment Wednesday... I'll be back soon!

SG

JHBC Shower

Today was our JHBC shower... and Scott and I were blown away by the outpouring we saw! It's unbelievable how much people at church are willing to do for us. We are certainly blessed, and Kaleb will be blessed to grow up in the church as well!

Momma, Bekah, and Elizabeth came over to help me put everything away. After a little while we got everything put in it's place, and the nursery is starting to feel much more homey! Now we just need the baby to put in it!

Momma and I also chose some clothes to pack for Kaleb's hospital stay and washed them so that they'd be ready. That was not an easy task as there are so many cute things to choose from! I'm sure we've packed way too much, but it's so cute I couldn't narrow it down any more!

Speaking of washing... way more baby clothes fit into one load than adult clothes... especially adult maternity clothes! I think I used the 'small load' button on my washer for the first time every today! That probably won't last for long, since when he gets here he'll be dirtying clothes quickly!

Tomorrow marks 26 weeks... 4 weeks left. One month from yesterday. It won't be long at all until Kaleb's arrival! Wonder if he'll be a timely baby or if he's more likely to be early or late. Hopefully he's not too late... but I figure he'll be hard headed (thanks to his daddy) and will come when he's ready! Gotta make mom and dad wait and wonder, I guess!

Thanks to everyone for all of the baby goodies. You'll never know how much you all mean to us! LOVE

Sarah

4 weeks and 2 days to go...

Until recently I was not ready for Kaleb to get here. Now it's not so much that I'm ready for him (because I probably won't ever be until I have no choice)... but it's more that I'm getting tired of being pregnant. It's not bad at all during the day... but I'm tired of being tired and not being able to get comfortable enough to sleep! Oh well... at least I'm still doing well during the day, right?

We went to the doctor today... everything is still looking good. I had an exam (ouch... hate those) and the midwife says that things are starting to progress... although not enough to measure yet.

I go back again next Friday... so we'll see what they say then I guess.

It looks to be a nice weekend... Ashley's shower is planned for tomorrow and mine is Sunday. A weekend full of cleanliness, if you ask Scott! I'm sure I'll be back to let you know how everything goes there!

Until then....

SG

Time...

Scott and I took Kaleb swimming tonight... thanks to Kathryn, Annette, and Brad sharing their pool! It was nice to relax and enjoy the water, but it is amazing how fast you forget how much you weigh! Floating around in the pool for an hour and a half is nice, but when you get out if feels like you weigh a ton (probably because at the moment I do!).

This weekend is full of baby showers! Saturday is Ashley's shower (which I'm very excited about!) here, so I've been planning that! We are having a rubber ducky theme... so I think it'll be cute! Sunday afternoon some friends are having a shower for me (or I guess I should say us) at church! I'm excited about that one too... and although this sounds way worse that I mean for it too... I'm excited about presents. I'm starting to feel like I don't have anything for the baby... but people keep telling me not to buy anything until after my showers. I feel very unprepared, and I'm hoping that shower gifts will 1) help me to feel a little more prepared and 2) help me to know what I still need to buy myself.

I went by work today to turn in my maternity leave paperwork and ran into several people that I haven't seen all summer. They were amazed at how much I've grown. I guess its fairly gradual (all things considered) when you see me regularly, but these people haven't seen me since June, so to them I've gotten huge!

We go back to the doctor again Friday and they'll do an exam. I guess (and I really am guessing) that means they can tell me if we have started to progress at all... but it's still a little bit early so that might not be happening yet. Today marks 35 weeks and 1 day... leaving less than 5 weeks to go. Let's hope Kaleb makes it that long (but not longer!).

Silver Lining

I have gotten to the uncomfortable point! I guess I should be grateful, since we are only 5 weeks from our due date and it has been a very good pregnancy so far... but for the last few day's the uncomfortable pregnancy I've heard so much about has set in!

I do pretty good during the day, it's night time and sleepy time that is getting difficult! It is getting harder and harder to find a comfy position... lots of pillows and Scott rubbing my feet is about the only way I can fall asleep! Then within 2 hours I'm back awake because Kaleb is headbutting my bladder... and it starts all over! Right now it is annoying, but not the end of the world since I'm not working, but I hope I manage to figure something out before I go back to work!

Last night I woke up about 2:30 with my stomach itching me to death! It's maddening! First I tried lotion... to no avail. Then I tried Benadryl cream... that didn't work either. Then I tried a hairbrush (not so much to relieve the itching but to relieve my poor warn down fingernails from being overworked). Eventually I decided that if I numbed my stomach then I couldn't feel the itch... so I went for a zip-lock of ice wrapped in a towel... and I fell asleep! Two hours later I woke up frozen and soaking wet! You'd think I would have learned my lesson from the last time I fell asleep with a bag of ice and woke up frozen and soaking wet... but let me remind you... the itching was maddening!

Hey... change PJ's, find a dry blanket... and if you hurry you can fall back asleep before the numbness wears off and you start itching all over again! There is always a silver lining!

Now for an actual update... Scott and I went to the doctor yesterday to learn that in the last 2 weeks I've gained 3 lbs. Guess I better make an attempt to slow down since I'm only supposed to gain 1 lb per week... oh well. We are down to the short rows now! Go back to the Dr. next Friday... every week now! Monday will be 35 weeks... and at 37 weeks they consider you full term. Guess that means if all goes well we will have a baby here sometime between 2 and 5 weeks from now! AH