Charlie's Birth Story: Part 2 - To the Hospital We Go

If you're just tuning in to this post you need to start here (Charlie's Birth Story: Part 1) . I've been working on writing Charlie's birth story over the last few weeks, so the posts have been a bit spread out. Thanks!

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As I was leaving the doctors' office my mind entered what I can only describe as a state of shock. It was very much like I was watching myself in a movie and my body was just going through the motions. Looking back on it all it's very hazy and "other worldly," and that's not just because it's been 7 and a half weeks since it has happened.

Sweet Sosha walked me up to the front of the office and offered to go to the house when she got off of work so that she could bring me my bags. I was obviously concerned about not having them. I was so frazzled she had to explain to me to take my key off of the ring to give to her! I was also quite shocked that in my current state the girls at the check out counter were asking me to go ahead and schedule my 6 week follow up appointment! Yeah, ok, like my head was really clear to think about my schedule!

Before I even got out the doors of the office I was on the phone with JD. He was leaving work mere minutes before his big meeting. It was around 2:30 in the afternoon at this point and his meeting was scheduled for 3:00. He asked if I wanted him to go ahead and call our parents. The plan had always been for him to be in charge of making all phone calls. I told him I wanted to see him first and at least wrap our heads around what was happening. I did tell him to go ahead and call our friend Josh though. Josh is a nurse anesthetist and we knew that if I got an epidural he was the only person in the world that I would trust to do it. He had been at the top of our list of people to call on the way in because he said he would come in for me even if it was his day off.

Fortunately Valdosta isn't that big of a town and the hospital is less than 5 miles from my doctor's office, and JD's office is also less than 5 miles from the hospital. We both pulled into the parking lot at the same time. JD parked right away but I was so frazzled I tried pulling into the parking spot beside him at least 5 times before giving up and having to park somewhere else. By the time I parked and got my door open JD was standing right there waiting for me. I got out and gave him a huge hug and told him we were about to have a baby! I remember feeling like I was supposed to be crying, but that I was just very numb instead. Again, it's like my body went in to auto pilot mode and was just moving on its own as I stood back in utter shock. My plan? How I thought it would happen? Yeah. It was all out the window. We were flying blind.

When I get nervous and anxious I tend to talk a lot and really fast. I also get into a very take charge, here are the facts, down to business mode. I tried explaining everything to JD the best I could, but all the while still feeling like I had no idea what was going on. That became very evident as we checked in as well. The conversation with the girl at check in went something like this...

"I'm here to have my baby."

"Ok... But you're not in labor." (Obviously)

"Right. But my doctor told me to come here. Now. To have my baby."

"Why? Does labor and delivery know you're coming?"

"I have no idea. I'm just here to have my baby."

Several phone calls later we were sent on to registration where the conversation repeated itself. While we were sitting there and I continued to say over and over again that I was here to have my baby the weight of the whole situation hit me. I simply turned to JD and said to call my mom... NOW. He went back out to the lobby and called both sets of parents while I finished registration. I also sent a text to my best friend Allison that simply said "Call JD. 911." I'm sure that was fun!

When I was finished with registration we had to wait for someone to take us upstairs. JD told me he hadn't been able to get in touch with Josh, so I called his wife Terri and filled her in on the details and asked her to try to find Josh. It turns out he was already on call and working that day and at the hospital! How easy!

At this point JD was on the phone with his mom. Apparently all JD had said to my mom when he called her was something like, "Jessica is having the baby. You need to get on the road and come down." God bless my mother. She didn't even ask questions! She just said OK and hung up! It must have hit her what he said because she started calling back while he was on the phone with his mom. I talked to her and started explaining everything. It was SO surreal. I couldn't help but laugh when she said that Daddy was at the gym and she'd have to wait for him to get home before they could leave! No big deal!

I had also realized that waiting for Sosha to bring our bags from the hospital wasn't going to work. My oh so important epidural paperwork was in the bag, and I knew I needed it if there was any chance of me getting one. I didn't know what the plan was for the afternoon or if I could stand to wait until 6:30 to get my epidural. This is why we texted Allison. Thankfully she works at school with me, and the school is only a half mile from the house. I knew school would be ending shortly and asked Allison to go by the house to get our spare key and then bring everything to the hospital for us. God love that girl, when she heard what was going on she just told her paraprofessional and another teacher she had an emergency and walked out the back door of her classroom before school was even over! No questions asked!

By this point Transport had come downstairs to take us up to Labor and Delivery. I might have just been self conscious, but I feel like I was getting some strange looks being wheeled through the hospital. I obviously was not sick or in pain and I had this good looking man in a fancy suit following behind me!

We got upstairs and were sent into one of the triage rooms to get my vitals taken. I was glad at this point to have taken a tour of the second floor when we had our hospital classes. I knew exactly where we were going and what would happen. As I was getting on the scale (202 lbs), my nurse, started asking all about what was going on and why I was there. It became more and more clear that I had beaten the info from my doctors office to the hospital. Everyone on L&D knew I was coming, but they didn't quite seem to know why or what to do with me. Alyce told me that she needed me to explain my baby's condition because she didn't know much about it. Her exact words were "I was trying to Google it on your way up but I figured you could probably tell me more about it yourself." First of all I wasn't sure what "condition" she was talking about. I assumed she meant the IUGR since that's what seemed to have me here. It turns out she meant the Mega Cisterna Magna. Second of all, don't tell your patient that you were Googling her condition on the way up!

As I explained things to my nurse (whom I ended up loving), I was taken to room 2007 and given a gown to change into. The nurses still weren't sure of a game plan, so they just told me to change and get comfy in the bed while we waited for more information. Everything was very much in slow motion as I processed that THIS was it. The room where in *hopefully* a few hours I would be having my baby!

Not long after I got changed and was getting settled in bed, Allison showed up with all of our stuff. She was SO excited! It was nice to have her as a distraction while Alyce got all of my monitors hooked up and started going through the routine questions. Since Valdosta State University is minutes down the road I also had a nursing student. I can't remember her name for the life of me, but she was nice. She fluttered around the room as Alyce worked too.

By now it was about 3:30 and everyone was under the impression that I was just checking in to be monitored for a while. It wasn't until I explained that my midwife said I was having the baby TODAY did everyone realize what was actually happening! Thankfully Teresa showed up minutes later and got the show on the road. She checked mine and Charlie's monitors and said that we both seemed to be doing well. Everything started to happen VERY quickly! Allison had to leave and it's probably best that she did. Teresa explained that I was indeed going to have my baby TODAY one way or another. The plan was to break my water, start a pitocin drip, and see how things went from there. I had heard horror stories about Pitocin, but all along my birth plan was "Happy healthy mom. Happy healthy baby. They're the experts." I said ok and things got going.

A few minutes after 4:00 Teresa came back in and broke my water. I can't even describe that situation. JD stood by me and held my hand as I made some of the ugliest faces in the world and stared at the ceiling so hard that I'm surprised it didn't come down! It was quite uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt either. Teresa have me a warning what was about to happen just seconds before I felt the gush. Oh it was the strangest sensation, and I'm not even sure I could describe it. Let's just say I'm glad it happened in a hospital bed and NOT in the middle of my classroom when I wasn't prepared for it!

Before I really knew what was happening I realized Teresa was doing something else down there. She was attaching the kind of monitor that screws into Charlie's head. Honestly I was NOT happy about this, not because I really had any medical reason to be unhappy, but just because I hated the thought of something being SCREWED INTO HIS HEAD. It was already over and done with before I could ask why we were doing it or voice any opposition. This is probably the only thing about the whole experience that really upset me. I just had to trust that everyone knew what they were doing and why. As Dr. Yarborough and I had said throughout... They are the experts

My IV was put in at some point by now and they started me on fluids and my Pitocin drip to start increasing contractions. They had my monitor set up right by the bed where we could see the contractions. At this point they were only minor tiny rolling hills that would get up to about a 1-2 on the little scale and they really didn't have any regular consistency time wise. It looked like we would be here for a while, or at least until they turned up the Pitocin!

I was officially all set up. It was baby time... Or I guess LABOR time!

Jump to:
Charlie's Birth Story: Part 1
Charlie's Birth Story: Part 2
Charlie's Birth Story: Part 3 
Charlie's Birth Story: Part 4

Charlie's Birth Story: Part 1 - A Change of Plans

March 3rd started out like any other day up until that point. It was my seventh day of strict bed rest, and my plans for the day included grading papers for school and going to my doctors office for my 4th and final level 2 ultrasound. Throughout the morning I noticed that Charlie wasn't being as active as he usually was and mentioned it to JD. He assured me everything was fine and that I'd be getting to see Charlie shortly. I proceeded to have my mac n cheese for lunch and loaded up to head to the appointment. I was going to this appointment alone since the previous appointments went so well and we figured JD could stay at work for a big meeting.

Once arriving at the office I noticed that I was feeling Charlie move again and felt much better. Eventually, anew girl that I'd never met came to get me for the ultrasound which made me nervous since Mrs. Cheryl had done the rest. We went to a new room and got started. A second technician was in the room because she was learning how to do level 2s. I thought nothing of it and we began.

Pretty soon into the ultrasound the tech asked how much he weighed at his last scan. I explained that he'd been an even 5lbs at his 32/33 week scan. This started a back and forth with the tech about "Are you sure? When was that again? Did we do that scan?" etc. The tech got a certain look on her face that was undeniable. I asked how much we weighed today and she said plainly, "five pounds five ounces" and continued scanning.

The whole tone in the room changed. The other tech had gotten up and was standing right at the screen with the first tech. There was lots of hushed conversation and looks. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. I knew right away something wasn't right. There should have been more growth than that in 4 weeks. This was the point in the pregnancy where he should have been gaining about half a pound a week. According to that estimate he should be about 8 pounds. Something. Was. Wrong.

After having already had 3 scans I was pretty familiar with what they looked at on these scans. At this point I could tell they were no longer looking at his heart and brain as they usually did. Instead she was doing a lot of measuring. I noticed immediately that all of his gestational age predictions were several weeks BEHIND where they should have been. I was 37 weeks that day and the scans were estimating 32-34 weeks. I knew this wasn't a good sign because those scans had been measuring a week ahead since 18 weeks. Now they were several weeks behind. Again, I didn't have to be a tech to know something wasn't right.

I also noticed that she was spending a lot of time looking at his umbilical cord and watching the blood flow through the cord. This was very different than any of the scans before. She also started watching his chest and focusing on his nose and mouth a lot. I couldn't handle the tension so I asked... "I know you're not really supposed to tell me anything but can I please ask what we are looking at???" She simply said, "We are just doing a biophysical profile and watching how he breaths and moves."

Alarms went off in my head as I had read about these before. I knew that of they were doing this there must have been some concerns. Something. Was. WRONG. I was starting to lose it. Then I saw what I didn't want to see, and convinced myself I didn't see. What was that there near his neck? Why did it have blue and red blood flow patterns like when they were looking at his umbilical cord? We obviously weren't going to talk about it just yet...

The scan was over pretty quickly without even looking at his heart or brain, which, remember, were the whole reasons we were there. I was ushered off to the waiting room where I was used to waiting close to an hour before the MFM doctors were ready to Skype.  Because I didn't know what else to do, I text JD, my midwife, and my friend, Sosha, who works at the office. I quickly asked for prayer, explained that Charlie was too small, and said that they looked at the cord a lot. I was freaking out. Teresa, my midwife asked where I was and said she would be right there. I love that woman :)

At this point I was taken to get vital signs, which I had only done once before with these level 2 appointments. I was alarmed when by blood pressure was the highest it has been yet. I don't remember at this point exactly what it was, but it was definitely over the preeclampsia guide of 140/90. Bells. Alarm. Panic

I was sent back to the waiting room. I did the number one thing you aren't supposed to do. I got on Google. I started typing in things like baby too small, pregnant, ultrasound, gestational age is behind, etc. Every single search result said the same thing. IUGR -Intra Uterine Growth Restriction. Right as I was about to dive in to reading, Teresa walked up. She sat with me and discussed what had happened in the scan. She quickly told me she wanted to sit in on the Skype conference call with me since I was there by myself. I didn't know if this was a good sign or not.

Not even 5 minutes later I was called back into the room where we always Skype. The fact that it was only about 15 minutes after the ultrasound alarmed me. It usually took close to an hour for my office to send the scans and then for the MFM doctors in Atlanta to interpret them and get back to me. Not today.

The doctor appeared on the screen and I was relieved to see a familiar face. At each of my appointments before I had met with a different doctor. This was the same one from the third appointment. I knew that she was thorough and to the point. She quickly started by telling me I did have preeclampsia, the first time the word had ever actually been used by any of the doctors throughout the pregnancy. She then jumped right in to saying that the baby was too small and had IUGR. Yup. Google was right. She also said that he wasn't moving enough and seemed to be struggling with "breathing." He only got a 4 out of 8 on his biophysical profile (which measures things like movement, fluid levels, breathing, muscle tone, and heart rate), and anything below 6/8 is concerning. The shock of my life came when she said it was time to have the baby. Today. And soon. She didn't want to keep me any longer and was sending me to the hospital.

Questions flooded my mind - What? The hospital? It's 3 weeks early. JD is in a big meeting. And IUGR? My baby is too small? What? Is he ok?? What about his heart and brain? Are they ok? Am I being induced? Am I having a c section? How am I getting to the hospital? WHAT?!? I immediately texted JD and told him to get to the office right away.

Thankfully since Teresa was in the room she was able to talk to the MFM doctor and work out some details. I went numb and just heard Charlie Brown teacher "wah wah wah." The next thing I knew Teresa told me to call JD and tell him we were having a baby TODAY. She was going to go talk to Dr. Yarborough, my OB, and she would come back to see me with a plan.

Numb. That's all I can say to describe how I was feeling. Then the door opened as Teresa left and my friend Sosha was standing right outside. As soon as she saw my text from earlier and finished with her patient she came to find me. God love that girl. She came right in the room and prayed with me. She had just the right words to say and helped me process what was going on.

Teresa came back and said we were definitely having a baby today. Surely I had time to go home, change, get my bags, and wait for JD, right? WRONG.I was told to drive myself to the hospital and have JD meet me there. Teresa would meet me there in about an hour. The plan was for me to have some tests run once I checked in so that we could decide if I could labor on my own or if we needed a c section. Bottom line- The next time I went home it would be as a new mommy. It was go time.

Jump to:

Charlie's Birth Story: Part 1
Charlie's Birth Story: Part 2
Charlie's Birth Story: Part 3 
Charlie's Birth Story: Part 4

Weeks 36 & 37... and Beyond!

 

*This post is obviously quite late seeing as how little man is 3 weeks old today! However, I feel like I needed to finish things up. This picture was taken on 3/10 which was the end of my 37th week and Charlie's 1 week birthday. I don't remember much of the information specific to weeks 36 & 37, but I'll do the best I can. Stay tuned for a full post on Charlie's birth story :)*

How far along? Currently 3 weeks postpartum, but this picture is 1 week postpartum! Charlie was born on 37 weeks exactly!

Total weight gain/loss: Hmm... On 3/3, which was 37 weeks exactly, I checked into the hospital weighing 202lbs according to the hospital scale, which was 4lbs over my starting weight. By the time I checked out of the hospital I was down to 194, and then one week later I was down to 185!! I lost 17lbs in 1 week and am officially 14+lbs below my starting "pre-pregnancy" weight. My weight has plateaued since then and in the following two weeks I haven't gained or lost anymore. I've also been wearing a Belly Bandit Bamboo to help shrink my tummy back down and give my back and abs some added support post c-section. The pictures don't lie. This thing works :)

Symptoms: 36 Weeks brought on full bed rest. My blood pressure continued to rise and I was continuing to spill protein into my urine. I completed another 24 hour sample and it showed extremely high protein levels. I was given STRICT orders to rest and keep an eye out for symptoms. Everyone seemed quite surprised that I wasn't feeling worse than I was. 

At 36 weeks I was also dilated to 3cm, 80%, and -2 station. Charlie was definitely likely to make his debut at any time. I had a fetal NST (non stress test) and ultrasound on the Friday of that week and he seemed to be perfectly fine! His heart rate, movement, breathing, and fluid levels were all great! I had to come back on Monday to repeat all of the tests and get checked again. 

That weekend was filled with lots of rest! Thank goodness for Netflix and House of Cards Season 3! I also had report cards and assessments to keep me busy since I was leaving school several weeks earlier than planned. We knew at this point that I wouldn't be going back to school for the rest of the year! 

Monday's doctor appointment showed no change. Charlie was still doing great on his NST and ultrasound. I was still at 3cm, 80%, and -2. The plan was to come back on Thursday to repeat everything again.  However things all changed very quickly when I went in on Tuesday for my final Level 2 ultrasound. You'll have to read our birth story for more :)

Wedding rings on or off? They were back on by the time I was out of the hospital :) I'm SO happy to have them back on!! 

Belly Button in or out? It stayed flat all the way up until delivery, but it's now gone back in. I can't believe the difference!

Sleep: Aside from the sleeplessness that comes with a newborn, I'm finally sleeping so much better! The first week or so was challenging just because of incision pain and all from the c-section. But, now that it's 3 weeks later, I am now able to sleep on my side without the Great Wall of Pillows!

Food cravings: I don't remember if I had any cravings during my last week of pregnancy. I take that back, the day he was born I texted JD saying I wanted crab legs! HA! Since then I've been crazy thirsty due to breast feeding, and I did have a mean hankering for some hotdogs! The church set up a meal train for us and it has been incredibly helpful having dinner every night and then leftovers for lunch!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Absolutely not!

Miss anything? As crazy as it sounds, I miss my belly! I miss feeling him squirm around in there! I'm so happy he's out and to hold him in my arms but I still have these phantom kicks from time to time! Whenever I've seen my pregnant friends or look at old pictures it just feels like something is missing!

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Oh goodness. Happy and emotional around the clock. I'm over the moon in love with Charlie, but I cry all. The. Time. Every little thing will get me started! Hormones have been raging! Ugh and don't get me started on the emotions of the day he was born!

Workouts: Obviously I still wasn't working out. But once I was finally able to start moving and get out of bed post c-section I was SO thankful to have worked out as much as I did!! I know Billy kept saying he was preparing me for labor, but even though it never quite got to that stage I can say for sure the workouts were the key to my quick recovery! I couldn't have gotten up and moving as quickly as I did without all of our hard work in the gym! At least 3 more weeks until I can get back out there. I can't wait!!!

The Bump: Wasn't really getting any bigger during the last few weeks. More on that later, like probably in another post. Now it's gone and thanks to my Belly Bandit my belly is already flatter than it was pre-pregnancy!

Have you started to show yet?: HAHA!

Stretch marks? I'm very proud that I never got any on my tummy. However my chest is a whole different ballgame... :(

Maternity Clothes? Haha right now clothes consist of gym shorts, nursing tanks, and pajamas!

Gender: I am so incredibly in love with my little man. He's absolutely perfect in every way. Being a mommy to such a sweet little boy is the greatest feeling in the whole entire world! I love him more than I thought was physically possible :-) 

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Mr. Charles David Dillard

Labor Signs: Up until the day of 37 weeks there wasn't anything new from the last post. As far as for week 37… Let's just say read the birth story.

Movement: Week 36 brought some pretty scary moments involving movement. Again, wait and read the birth story. However, now that I have my little man out and he's here he is such a good snuggler! He loves to lift his head (Yes! Even at just a few days old!) and look around. He's very alert and tries to take it all in!

Best moment this week: Let's just summarize the whole last four weeks by saying I got to meet my baby boy and finally become a family of three :)

Looking forward to: Spending the rest of my life watching this precious angel grow up and also watching my sweet sweet husband teach this little boy how to be a man :)

Weeks 34 & 35 Wrap Up

*2 weeks in one again, and I'm still totally ok with it. A lot went on and I was just too busy, and too puny feeling, to do 2 separate posts.*

How far along? Finishing up 35 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Well, it's tricky for this post. See, in the first week (week 34) I actually gained 3.8lbs, which put me at a total gain of 9.6lbs (I think?). But then this week (week 35) I lost 8.4lbs. Yes. That's correct. No typo. The two weeks before this I also gained 9lbs. Then gained 3.8 more. But this week, yes, ONE WEEK, I lost 8.4lbs. That puts me at a total gain of only 1.2lbs from my start weight. What's up with all of the CRAZY fluctuations you ask? Well... let's move on to symptoms to explain....

Symptoms: In the weeks that I gained 9 lbs there was major constipation. Yeah. That's probably TMI, but this is a pregnancy blog, and it's a normal part of that, so whatever. I also had some MASSIVE mounts of swelling in my hands and feet so a lot of that was probably water weight. 

Well, in the past week I had a MASSIVE stomach bug. We're talking MASSIVE. It was so bad that on Wednesday morning I was sitting naked in the bathroom floor hysterically crying and being quite serious when I say that I thought I was either dying or going into labor. I've never done either one of those things before and the way I was feeling was nothing that I'd ever felt. I had a solid 2-3 hours of vomiting so badly every 30 minutes that I couldn't even keep down a few sips of Powerade. Those few hours were followed up with about 3-4 more hours of... other... stomach... issues. We'll leave it at that. This all started at 4am so I had to wait until 8:30 to hear from my doctor about what I could do/take. Fortunately they called in a prescription for Zofran, and that stuff is made out of baby angel wings and has magical healing powers. I was never sick again after I took my Zofran, and we can all say halleluiah and AMEN for that. 

I was so sick that I unfortunately had to take one of my oh so precious and sacred sick days that I've been hoarding to use for my maternity leave. I was NOT thrilled with that, but ultimately it needed to happen. JD was a bit reluctant to leave me at home and go to work, especially after my declarations of either death or labor. Fortunately, my parents were already planning on coming in town that afternoon, but they weren't going to leave ATL until about 10am. Let's just that say a 5:30am hysterical phone call to my mom got them on the road a little bit sooner and they were here by noon. They came bearing another magical healing potion... Zacadoos ice! Can't keep anything down and the doctor wants you to try to at least have some ice chips but you don't have a fancy crushed ice setting? Get you some Zacadoos ice. Magical stuff. "Ballpark ice" as I always grew up calling it!

By the next morning I felt like a completely different person and was back at work. Thursday and Friday were fine... until Friday night. Friday night some of my tummy troubles came back and continued on until Monday morning. Unfortunately they were the kind of tummy troubles that Zofran doesn't necessarily help with and I just had to stick it out. I had ZERO appetite most of Saturday and Sunday and was having to even force myself to eat or drink anything. I eventually broke down and got some Pedialyte, which wasn't awful, but even having water in my mouth made me feel like death. By the time Monday morning rolled around and I did my weekly weigh in I was shocked to see that I had lost over 8lbs. I know that most of it was just fluid loss and water weight, but I still couldn't help but feel a little bit concerned about losing sooooo much so quickly, and I'm a little anxious to see what, if anything, my doctor says about it at tomorrrow's appointment.

So, on to symptoms. Was all of that just a stomach bug? Was it a stomach bug AND a normal bout of pregnancy related third trimester tummy woes? I don't know. But that's been a big thing. Some other smaller symptoms... Exhaustion. Mood swings. Heartburn. The usual. BUT. The other big symptom...

CONTRACTIONS!!!! But keep reading to Labor Signs to hear more about that...

Wedding rings on or off? Off. They're permanently on my necklace now. 

Belly Button in or out? It's about as flat as I think it can/will get.

Sleep: Meh. Not good or bad. Just meh. Some nights are better/worse than others. 

Food cravings: I know I had a few "get this NOW" moments, but I honestly don't remember them now. That stomach bug just did such a number it's all I can think about.

Anything making you queasy or sick: HA! See above :) One of those days I did have some minor "morning sickness" type symptoms with the weird smells bothering me, but I think I was just jacked up in general.

Miss anything? Sleeping on my belly. Not being exhausted. A glass of wine. Being able to fit through smaller spaces without bumping my belly into everything.

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Definitely a little bit of everything. Hormones/emotions are all over the place these days. Grey's Anatomy. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON GREY'S ANATOMY. OMG.

Workouts: I was officially told no more workouts once I was 34 weeks 2 days. My soul died a little bit inside. Because of some preterm labor symptoms and a weekend of modified bed rest (see below for more...) I was told that I'm definitely not allowed to workout until 37 weeks. If we make it to 37 weeks and there's still no baby then she said she will probably let me work out again if I feel like it, but she doubts that I'll feel like it. She must not know me very well! I officially hate when JD leaves to go workout on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I'm just here at home by myself. If it wasn't so cold I'd probably go just so I could sit out there for the social aspect. I miss my friends!

The Bump: I'm pretty sure I bruised my belly button from running into so many things! It's always in the way and I forget how far it sticks out there!

Have you started to show yet?: Um. Yes.

Stretch marks? I'm still very proud to say none on my belly!!!

Maternity Clothes? Absolutely.

Gender: BOY! Oh boy oh boy!!!

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlie! 

Labor Signs: Remember how last post I said that things felt "different" down lower and two of my friends said that they thought I looked like I had dropped? Well, they were right! When I went in for my 34 week appointment I described to my doctor all of those different feelings and how I had noticed an increase in frequency and intensity of my Braxton Hicks contractions. I was having 5-10 a day and some were strong enough to catch my breath and/or put me on the ground. She wasn't planning on checking me until 36 weeks but decided to go ahead since she could tell I was worried about it and just felt "off." She was very surprised to find that I was already 1cm, 50% effaced, and he was at a -2 station. 

Quick lesson for those of you that don't know babies... 1st times moms generally efface (thin out) before they dilate (um... dilate). Many people can walk around at 1cm dilated for weeks, but many can go from 1cm-10cm in just days or even hours (people like my own mother!). However, the number that had her more concerned I think was my effacement and his station. The station is how low he has dropped in my pelvis. He was "very low" to only be 34 weeks and the contractions weren't making things any better. As she put it "He could be here this week, or he could be here in a month, but I don't think you're going to make it another 6 weeks to your due date. You might want to go ahead and start packing your hospital bag." Awesome....

Being that I was only 34 weeks I was farther along than she would have liked at that point. A baby is considered full term at 37 weeks, and though he would likely have been fine if he was born at 34 weeks, she wanted me to try to make it to 37 weeks. She went ahead and gave me a progesterone shot to "slow things down" and put me on modified bed rest. Essentially that meant stay sitting or laying down as much as possible and only get vertical if absolutely necessary. That's the point when I was told no more workouts and to "take it easy." I was about to have a 4 day weekend ahead of me so she agreed to let me go to work on Friday as long as I promised to sit ALL DAY and then get off of my feet for the rest of the weekend. She wanted to see me again first thing Tuesday morning to recheck me and see how things had progressed, or hopefully stalled/regressed.

I did exactly as I was told and went to work the next day and only stood up 3 times from 7:30-3:30. I'm so thankful for an understanding team that stepped in to get my kids from place to place! I then went home and rested as much as possible throughout the weekend, only getting up to walk a short distance around the house or from the car into a restaurant. The timing couldn't have been more perfect since I had the weekend plus the two days off of work for winter break.

Thankfully the "bed rest" worked! When I went back in for  my 35 week appointment that Tuesday morning I hadn't had any more contractions since getting the shot. Pressure, yes, but contractions, no. I was still at 1cm, but was back down to 25% and he had backed back in to a -3 station. The doctor was pleased with this regression and cleared me from bed rest! Thank goodness! I still have to "take it easy" in order to get to 37 weeks at which point they won't do anything to stop labor if it starts up.

It was pretty crazy for a while there, and I had a whole slew of reactions from people. Some acted like it was a big deal that I was already "that far along" while others brushed it off because they were at __ cm for __ weeks. I just had to keep reminding myself that EVERY woman's body is different and that their story might not be MY story! If my doctor was concerned enough to give me the shot then I was going to take it seriously. Things got very real very quickly when we started to think about just how soon we might be parents! WOAH!!!

Movement: He's getting pretty crammed in there so from what I understand it's normal to feel him less frequently, but my kick counts are still good. He definitely has his awake/sleeping patterns down. During those few days when I was so sick he made me pretty nervous because he was overly quiet, but honestly I think he was thirsty/hungry because I was getting rid of everything I was taking in (which wasn't very much) just as soon as it was there for him! All is well though. Baby Boy is a mover for sure :) I still love feeling his hiccups! I hate that it took this long to feel them!

Best moment this week: WOW. A lot happened. I was able to get Charlie signed up with my first choice daycare! This fall he will be attending Josiah Christian School! I've been checking in with them for about a month now about open enrollment and how many spots they would have and such. Well I showed up the very first morning that enrollment was open to the public and I was able to get him in one of only 2 open spots for his age group! Of all of the places in town Josiah came the most highly recommended and had the least negative comments. We have a TON of friends there which makes me feel really good to know that he will have a lot of little friends to play with, and that there will be other families around to check in on our little man! Checking things off of that to do list left and right!

I had two baby showers during these two weeks! One was a SUPER cute couple's shower at Wooden Nickle where each couple got one gift for the mommy-to-be and one for the daddy. They then had to explain what it was / why they got it / and how it would be useful for a new parent. TOO cute! I also had another one hosted by my sweet friends Nina, Emily, and Laura! This ended up being kind of my catch all shower! Since I had the two surprise showers hosted by my small group and then the couple's shower, this shower was for all of my church friends that hadn't already been to something :) We had so much fun, and it's always nice to have my momma be able to be involved!

While mom was here I delegated the task of cleaning out my linen closet. It's been on my to do list for *cough* years *cough* and just kept getting put off! Even with me feeling puny and just sitting on the couch supervising most of the time, Mom was able to empty it and fill two large black trash bags worth of stuff to clear out! She then went through all of my baby stuff and put away all of the towels, washcloths, and baby bath stuff!  Before the picture below you couldn't even see the back wall and things would fall if you breathed on them the wrong way! That closet is the cleanest it's ever been since we moved in here over 6 years ago!

I also took my doctor's advice and got the hospital bag all packed up! That was quite the undertaking, but after lots of advice from friends I feel really good about what I packed. I had already heard everything that everyone suggested to take, with the exception of one thing! Everything is now packed and neatly sitting in the nursery just waiting to have those few last minute toiletries thrown in before walking out the door!

 (No, that won't all go in the hospital. The bag between the car seat and the pink bag is filled with the "leave in the car, but have it just in case" items)

AND I checked another thing off of my to do list... hospital goody bags! I love giving gifts (it's my love language) and will always take the opportunity to do something cute/crafty when it comes up! I wanted to have these little gifts as a small token of appreciation for anyone that in any way has anything to do with us while in the hospital - doctors, nurses, techs, anesthesia, lactation consultants, custodial staff, ANYONE. So if you're working in the hospital while we're there and you come see me there's a chance you'll get a little goody bag! As momma says, she knew she raised me to be a good hospitable southern woman ;) 

  OH! And the nursery is FINISHED. LIKE. FINISHED. OK not true... I still have to buy a changing pad since I never got one at any of my showers, and some mattress covers, but it LOOKS finished! YAY!!!!

AND his hospital hat came in! It's been a good two weeks :) 

Looking forward to: Gosh. A million things. I still need to get a mani/pedi and my prenatal massage. I had to put those off when I went on bed rest. I'm also looking forward to MEETING MY BABY BOY! I'm so ready to have him, but I'm not ready for the actual ya know BIRTH part. I'm also not wishing away these precious last few days/weeks. JD and I are trying to take full advantage of our time as a family of two before our third comes along. This Friday we are going out for one last "fancy" date before the baby comes. Steel Magnolias in fancy clothes and maybe a movie after :) I'm pretty excited!

*End longest post EVER. If you made it this far then you deserve a freaking medal*

 

Weeks 32 & 33 Wrap Up

*2 weeks in one, and I'm totally ok with it. My parents came in to town last Monday, which is when I normally do these posts, and I just couldn't make myself care about this the whole time they were here.*

How far along? Finishing up 33 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 9lbs for a total GAIN of 5.8lbs. Yes. That's right. In 2 weeks I have gained NINE POUNDS. I'm not ok with it. 7lbs of it was in one week alone! Honestly I didn't believe it at first because let's just say that "things" didn't move for "several" days and I figured that and a lot of swelling/fluid retention caused the spike. Alas, "things" have worked themselves out and yet I still continue to gain. I am officially the biggest I've ever been, and I'm still not quite used to seeing a TWO in the hundreds place on the scale. I can definitely feel that I'm carrying around more weight as my legs are most noticeably heavier feeling in my thighs. Clothes are fitting very differently. I can't go down as far with my squats. Bending over is a major challenge. It's all been quite an adjustment the last 2 weeks. But as always, God love that man of mine... "It's not fat! It's my son! You're just pregnant!"

Symptoms: Constipation. LOTS of swelling in not only my hands but my feet/ankles too. Heartburn. Increased weight gain. Trouble sleeping. Higher blood pressure. Sinus crud and shortness of breath (pregnant and the start of allergy season do NOT mix well). General puniness. VERY tired. Basically, Charlie, I love you, but GET OUT!!! Oh wait... It took me 33 weeks before I actually started to feel pregnant? I guess I need to hush...

This is the part where I will say that many of these symptoms appearing out of nowhere did alarm the MFM specialists a bit last week. They wanted to test and monitor me for "high blood pressure of pregnancy" (AKA preeclampsia). I had to do some blood work, a 24 hour urine collection (UGHHHHH), and check my blood pressure twice a day for a week. I was able to convince them that I could take it easy and sit down with my feet up as much as possible for the week. I'm afraid they would have threatened bed rest if I didn't!

Fortunately I haven't heard anything about the test results, and my office generally follows a "no news is good news" policy. My BP hasn't been above 120/80 all week. And the swelling in my feet, while still ever present, has gone down significantly. Hopefully it was all just a fluke and I'll get a good clean report at my 34 week appointment on Thursday. 

Wedding rings on or off? Off. They're permanently on my necklace now. 

Belly Button in or out? It's about as flat as I think it can/will get.

Sleep: Meh. Not good or bad. Just meh. Some nights are better/worse than others. 

Food cravings: Nothing in particular that I remember! Scratch that. This morning I wanted a honey bun from the vending machine at work. And then I felt like death after eating it. Sugar crash. Ugh. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really this week.

Miss anything? Sleeping on my belly. Being able to walk across a room without getting short of breath. My feet looking like anything other than sausages. 

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Definitely a little bit of everything. Hormones/emotions are all over the place these days. 

Workouts: Well we have reached the point of completely eliminating a few more exercises. I actually had to take a couple days off due to feeling so poorly. I also took my parents out one day and I just did a short little easing back in workout that day. Saturday I did a full workout, with modifications, and I was definitely feeling it in my back yesterday. We have all joked at this point that I'm going to keep working out until the doctors say stop (which they haven't... In fact they've said the opposite!) or my water breaks in the gym!

The Bump: Beyond massively massive. It's still tiny according to everyone else's standards, but to me it's gotten ridiculous. My clothes fit so differently, even my maternity stuff. More and more kids are talking about it at school. A lady at Cracker Barrel commented on how I looked like I don't have much longer, which in the grand scheme of things I guess 6 weeks isn't that much... And two friends also say they think that he has dropped some. I might agree with that a teeny tiny bit but I don't know. I'm not feeling him in my ribs quite as much and do feel like things have felt a little "different" down lower. Who knows. I'm just worried this little chunk is going to run out of room and start busting out before too long!

Have you started to show yet?: Um. Yes.

Stretch marks? Still the ones on my chest and hips. There *might* be a few little ones trying to come in around my belly button. I can't really tell. 

Maternity Clothes? Absolutely.

Gender: BOY! Oh boy oh boy!!!

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlie! 

Labor Signs: A few small Braxton Hicks contractions. There's a "different" sense of pressure and discomfort down lower as opposed to up in my ribs. 

Movement: Hiccups! We officially have hiccups!!! I was seriously confused as to if I was feeling my heartbeat or something else. The rhythm was definitely different from my pulse. It's too funny when he gets them! So weird! He's quieter and less active over all these days, but my kick counts are still good. I think he's just running out of room. His movements are less frequent but bigger when they happen. 

Best moment this week: Oh goodness let me see... Two weeks... Mom was able to come to my 33 week echo/level 2. That was pretty cool. I also got to have two scans in one week and he gained 5oz between them. 

My parents were in town for the full week and did a lot of house hunting. They were able to narrow down their options and such but still have no firm plans as of yet and are definitely not ready to make a full time move. It was SO weird hugging Daddy goodbye and realizing the next time I see him will be in the hospital introducing him to his grandson. WHAT?!? Mom is coming back down in two weeks to spend the weekend with me since JD will be away for church stuff.

On Wednesday night my small group managed to pull off a surprise baby shower! Let me start out by saying that I HATE surprises. HATE them. Like with a firey passion that burns deep inside. I don't like not knowing how I will react in a situation, especially publically, and my type A personality freaks out a bit. Anyone remember the big dilemma between me and JD about finding out boy or girl before everyone else or waiting until the balloon reveal? Yeah. Same thing. BUT, the girls all did a good job and managed to keep it from me and it went really well! 

Mom, Dad, and JD were all in on it too! My small group actually changed the date of the shower just so that my mom could be there. I had been MAJORLY stressing about baby shower situations since I didn't think I was having one in Valdosta and was very anxious about it. Mom and JD just kept saying "Don't worry about it... Everything will work out..." (Yeah those are the LAST words any pregnant woman needs/wants to hear...) Sorry for all the times I snapped about hearing those phrases in regards to baby showers. I guess you knew what you were talking about. Now 0 Valdosta showers has somehow turned into 4... OOPS!!! Showers are too stressful! I remember the wedding ones were the same way!!!

Looking forward to: Gosh. A million things. Checking more tasks off the to do list. Getting a mani/pedi. OH! Getting a prenatal massage! My sweet, sweet friend Sosha asked JD what I really wanted/needed for ME, not the baby. Apparently JD had been paying attention to all the clues I've been dropping and told Sosha. THAT is definitely something to look forward to in the coming days!!

Week 31 Wrap Up

*Honestly, I'm SO over this whole chalkboard/blog thing. I love that I started it, but now I'm just exhausted all the time and it's more of a hassle than anything. But, I must finish what I started.....*

How far along? Finishing up 31 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 0.6lbs for a total loss of 3.2lbs.

Symptoms: Same as last week... Heartburn/indigestion. Crazy tired. Sinus woes. Weird sleeping habits. Swelling in my hands and feet. Ya know, the usual. 

Wedding rings on or off? Off. They're permanently on my necklace now.

Belly Button in or out? It's about as flat as I think it can/will get.

Sleep: Meh. Not good or bad. Just meh. 

Food cravings: Those wafer cookie things. They come in a 3 pack of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Also Half Baked ice cream. Back to sweets I guess!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really this week.

Miss anything? Sleeping on my belly. I don't remember anything else.

Happy, Moody, or Emotional most of the time: Um... Anxiety has been creeping in pretty badly worrying about Charlie coming early. I was probably pretty difficult to get along with.

Workouts: Monday, Thursday, Sunday this week. I've been slowing down some and have had to cut my reps on certain things, but I'm still out there trucking away!

The Bump: Just over 43 inches! He has gotten HUGE!!!

Have you started to show yet?: Um. Yes.

Stretch marks? Some very, very tiny little ones, less than a centimeter long on my hips.

Maternity Clothes? Absolutely.

Gender: BOY! Oh boy oh boy!!!

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlie! 

Labor Signs: A few small Braxton Hicks contractions.

Movement: He has set up camp in my ribs and twerks all over them. Good grief he is a little dancer. I can look down and see the huge lump by my ribs where he sits!

Best moment this week: We had our hospital classes and tour and I finally got a lot of my questions answered! Also, my chair came tonight!!! I LOVE it!!!

Looking forward to: Two more ultrasounds! One on Thursday and one the following Tuesday. Also, my parents are coming in town next Monday to spend the week. It's Daddy's birthday and he wants to get out of the house after having been cooped up so long after his surgery.