Today is the day

We check in at 5pm today to start inducing to hopefully get Jude here.  We are both excited and nervous.  I think that pregnancy makes you SO VERY ready to not be pregnant at the end that it is a little less scary to think that I am about to go into labor.   I am way over being pregnant.  I want our little award for all this, our baby boy in our arms.

Liz and I thought maybe we would not be able to sleep last night.  I did get up a few times because there was some bleeding, but overall, we slept like we usually do: like the dead.  I am hoping that the bleeding was the “bloody show” and that it means the cervix is open some.  Yesterday when I had an exam, he was still high and the cervix was still completely closed.  The Dr. informed us this might not work.  We were like, “exscuse me?!!?”  We have big plans of coming home with our little boy, but she explained that if all of this after 12 hrs does not open the cervix, there is not much they can do other than a C section, so they would just send us home and I would come back early next week.  Oh my gosh, if this does not work and I come home pregnant tomorrow, I am not going to be a happy lady!!!  Here is hoping it does.  It usually does, so it probably will.

My Dr, now that we are inducing, is talking about doing all the things I don’t want her to.  She said she will usually break the bag if it is not progressing fast enough and has a vacuum if he is not dropping properly. I was very unhappy to hear both those things, but Liz reassured me that  we can refuse anything she wants to do.  That made me feel a little better.  I am just hoping that these things don’t happen because they don’t need to because with a little coaxing, Jude and I can do it on our own.

I am not as nervous as I thought I would be, but maybe I will be at the last minute.  I am just so ready to have him and not be preggie, that I am pretty excited about that prospect of having him in the next few days.  I just hope I am strong enough to let him come naturally after being induced so that the painkillers don’t make it even slower than it probably will be.  Honestly, I just want him here and to be safe and sound, so we will see what the future holds.  Hopefully next time I write, there will be pictures of our beautiful squished face man:)
-S

One more day

Last night, we were watching Downton Abbey and I think I forget I was pregnant for about an hour.  Then, I got up and saw Jude’s little sleep in our room crib and went, “why do we not have our baby?”  Liz said, “soon baby”.  Yes, very soon.  We check into the hospital at 5 pm tomorrow night to hopefully coax the little man out.  Crazy.  We will have a baby by the end of the week.  It feels like we have been waiting forever for him.  What you have to realize is that we have been planning and getting our lives together for a child for 10 years now.  Both Liz and I have always wanted children, but the timing never was quite right.  I know that everyone says that the timing is never right, but honestly, I don’t think it could be any better timing for us at this point.  Finally, we were emotionally, mentally, and financially as ready as a couple can be and so we went for it.  Now, our little dream is almost here to be held.  How amazing!

I am scarred for him thru this whole birth process.  A baby releases more stress hormones during birth than any other time during their life.  I just hope inducing doesn’t add to an already intense process for him.  I just want him here safe and sound.  Liz and I were joking that when we are stressed out about work or something in the future, we will say, “man, this is nothing, I was more stressed out when I was born!”  We’re are weird;)

I have been having contractions on and off this morning.  Nothing to get excited about yet, but they are stronger than any I have had in the past.  A few nights ago, I had contractions off and on for about half the night and then they just stopped.  This baby is not coming on its own.  All the baby e-mails I keep getting talk about how most late babies are not truly late, they are just off on the due dates.  Well, we know the exact day we conceived since we were inseminated.  Our baby is just late!

I am happy to get him here!  He is so big now that when he goes crazy, I worry he is going to injure me in some way.  I have heard about babies breaking and bruising ribs, and fortunately, he never put his feet up that high, but it is not comfortable when he really starts moving around at this point.  I can tell you, he is a full grown baby in there now.  Time to come out Jude!

I really hope that all they have to do is ripen the cervix a little and my body will take over from there.  I feel like I have failed him in some way since he has not come yet.  I know it is silly, but it is so strange to get to the end and nothing to happen.  It feels like we are in a little baby stand off with both of us wanting to make the next step, but nothing happening.  I have tried thru this whole pregnancy to do everything right and now at the end, I don’t know how to get my body to go into labor.  If I had a crystal ball, I would see when he is going to come and wait until then if it is not too late, but since I don’t we will induce tomorrow and hope that all goes well.

We spent 12 weeks learning about natural childbirth and all that, so it does feel a little strange to go and get induced when they recommend not doing anything like that.  However, it is time.  I can just feel it.  It is time for Jude to be here.  I wake up worried about him in the mornings when I was not worried about him before.  Is he still thriving in there?  Is he still okay?  I will feel a huge sense of relief when I have him in my arms.

Insane to think we will have our baby boy in our arms so soon.  We are so very ready for him to be here.   It feels like we have been waiting forever for him.  Send us some good labor thoughts for tomorrow and safe travels for Jude into this world!
-S

Full Nursery Reveal and Virtual Tour!

Seeing that we are spending a lot of time right now just waiting for little dude to make his arrival, I thought it was time for a full nursery reveal!  I know you all have seen lots of bits a pieces by this point but we haven’t shown any pictures of the whole alphabet wall or some of Jude’s new art.  We also got a video camera around Christmas time so I thought I’d also try my hand at it and make a virtual tour!  It’s probably a lot more exciting to me than it will be to you all, but I thought I’d share anyway.

And of course, the virtual tour, as promised.

Hope you enjoyed the tour/photos and that everyone is having a good Saturday!
-Liz

Jude’s womb days are numbered

I called today to schedule being induced.  I will be induced on Feb. 1st at 5pm if he does not come before that.  I will be 41.5 weeks along at that point and I think that is enough!  I truly hope he comes this weekend, but we will see.

I have been having some contractions last night and today.  Probably 20 between when I went to bed last night and now.  Not even one an hour at this point, so I am not really betting on it.  Everyone else seems to think today is the day.  I agree that 27 is a good number and today is a good day to be born.  Right now, Jude is just shifting around in there, so we will see if it happens.  I got a call from work from one of my managers.  She said our psychic massage therapist was feeling strange and had to sit down.  She then realized that she felt like she was having contractions.  So, my coworker calls and goes, “Where are you?!?!”  I simply stated, “in my living room, why?”  And she laughed and told me the whole story.  (This did happen after I scheduled the induction, so maybe she was picking up on that.)

I called my mom and told her about the date being the first and she said she would get here a few days early and bring her dog to leave at our house while she was in the hospital with me.  Good thing we had this chat because 1. No, you are not expecting friends of ours (who are kind enough to take care of our animals while we are in the hospital) to babysit your dog while you are here 2. The only person that will be in the hospital with me before Jude gets here is Liz.  Two very important things to clarify obviously since we had very different ideas about her trip here!  She was a little stunned, but I was not about to back down on either of those points.  Now we are on the same page.  She is going to fly in on the 1st and hang out until he gets here.

I have had about 5 people tell me he is coming today.  I am still waiting on him to get on that page:)  I guess he still could technically, but it would have to be a short labor considering it is already 12:30pm here. I would love him to come today or this weekend since my Dr. is on call, but I am not going to place any bets.

I did a strange thing yesterday and baked.  I made rolo stuffed chocolate chip and pecan cookies.  I wrecked out the kitchen and just cleaned it this morning, but it was a nice distraction.  I was pretty upset all yesterday thinking about being induced.  I feel a little robbed of the whole, “oh my gosh he is coming” moment that I have been looking forward to for a long time now.  I mourned it yesterday and feel better about it today. Honestly, when I see his little face, I think I will be long over missing that moment.  I also did a lot of reading on being induced and quite a few people were able to have natural vaginal births after being induced.  It makes me feel better.  I really did correlate being induced with having a C section, so I was glad to read so many stories where that was not the case.

I sure hope he comes before Wed, but if not, we should have a baby boy in our arms by late next week!!
-S

Maybe he’s teaching me patience…but c’mon!

I had a Drs. apt today.  The Dr. did the vaginal exam and exclaimed “he’s still in Oklahoma!”  AKA I am 40 weeks and 4 days and he is not even dropped.  For those reading this that are not baby crazy, the baby has to drop in order for the cervix to start to open and thin out and kick in labor.  Thus, there are not visible signs that Jude is anywhere near coming here as some babies drop weeks before they come.  On the plus side, some don’t.  He could move from "Oklahoma" to labor any minute.  My mom even said that neither of my brother or I dropped and that 2 hrs from entering the world, she was not even fully dilated with me.  I however, would like some sign that he is coming here.

To induce or not to induce.  That is where I am.  They also did the fetal stress test and a quick ultrasound on him to measure the fluid around his body.  Both tests to make sure he is okay in there at this point.  Both came back fine.  Not as reassuring as I thought it would be because my Dr. explained, “yes he is fine right now, but we cannot predict the turning point or when he won’t be okay in there”.  Well, that’s true.  I have no way of knowing when he really should be here.  I really wish I did.  My Dr. is willing to induce anytime.  I don’t want to be induced, but if he is just going to hang out there until I am, let’s do it now!  But, how do you know??  You  don’t-thus my problem.  He could come this weekend, he could stay in there until Feb. 6th when they will force me to induce.  I just don’t know what to do or think at this point.

It comes down to healthy baby, healthy mama.  I just wish I had the equation or crystal ball that would get us both there. I wish I truly knew how he was doing in there.  Is he happy and waiting for something?  Is he ready to be here, but doesn’t know how?  His movements are big.  I am officially carrying a full grown baby in there.  When he is active, it is a little intense.  So why has he not made his entrance?!?!  I want to wait on him, but my patience is waring off.  More importantly, I am not so sure he is doing great in there.  He does not seem to be gaining much weight (I am losing weight at this point and the stomach growth has stopped) and his movements are like he is trying to plow out the front of my stomach.

Patience.  I don’t have much.  I never have.  They say that babies teach you what you need to know.  Is this my first lesson as a mother?  I decided after the disappointing Drs. appointment that I needed to just get out of the house.  I put on some of my birth play list (relaxing spa music) and went for an hour long walk to relax.  Then, last night, we went to see Hook at the Alamo Drafthouse.  It was one of those events where they feed you movie specific food while you watch the movie.  We ate (an insane amount of food was served)  hamburger pizza over a bed of curly fries, a turkey leg larger than any I have ever seen with a citrus salad and mashed potatoes and then multicolored mousse with a cinnamon spoon.  Can you say YUM!  I think the second course went mostly untouched because when they made the courses, they forget to make them “mini” but it was a really appropriate menu with a movie that I love at the theatre that I love with the love of my life.  Something I don’t think we will have the ability to do again for a long time.  Liz said I watched the whole movie with my big kid eyes.  I noticed that quite a few people in the theatre had that look while watching the movie.  I bet Jude will get that same look when he is happily engrossed in childhood things.  (that is only if he ever gets here!) (Side note: we joked that if Jude came during the movie, we would rename him “Jude Rufeo K” in honor of it) Ruf-e-o, Ruf-e-o...

On a plus note, all grandmas are behaving.  My mom sent me "hang in there” flowers the other day and made a little e-card basically saying the same thing.  My dad’s girlfriend has said nothing back to my response.  Liz’s mom finally got her whopping cough vaccine and has not said much otherwise.  We are still getting texts from people asking about Jude’s arrival, but they all go to Liz now.  I think people have realized that I am not in the mood for them.  I feel bad that Liz has to filter them, but right now will take it if it means I am not getting them.  Liz’s back is doing better also.  We are a sad pair with my tailbone and hips being on and off during this last month and her back going out.  Both of us are hanging in there:)

I think the final decision for the whole thing is to wait and make one next week.  I am going to move my Drs apt from Thurs to Tuesday, see where Jude is and go from there.  If there is still no progress, I think I will induce that week.  If there is some progress, I might push it the last 4 days and let him try to come in on his own.  Personally, I would love to have this baby right now (well a month ago if I was being honest), but I just don’t want to force him out if he is in there for some reason unknown to me.  I do feel that being induced leads to C-sections, (I know not all the time, but the study is there) and that is not anywhere near what I would like as a birth plan, but Jude does not seem to be making any plans of entering on his own.  It does rob us of the whole, “oh my gosh this is happening” excitement of birth happening on it’s own, but I am starting to think that we were not going to get that chance and on Feb. 6th, we would just be forced to go to the hospital and induce anyways.

Here’s hoping he comes this weekend on his own and puts both of us out of having to make a decision.  My Dr is even on call all weekend Jude!
-S

Still....No Baby

       I’m back at work today after taking two days of sick time for my back.  And while my back is still sore and sitting here in this uncomfortable chair isn’t helping, I’m so grateful that baby Jude hasn’t come yet.  I mean, he can come any time now (Seriously, Jude, let’s get this show on the road), but I was really really scared on Sunday night when my back was at its worst that he would come.  And that I wouldn’t be physically able to be there with my wife, that I wouldn’t be able to help her and see my son born.  Because that is how bad it was that night, I couldn’t get up out of bed pretty much at all.  I hate having a bad back and this was the worst time for it to act up.  But thankfully S didn’t go into labor that night and I’m slowly getting better.  

I’m also glad that S didn’t go into labor last night.  We had a crazy thunderstorm last night that woke us up from bed around 2:45.  The lightning was so constant and bright that our room seemed to glow and the house was shaking from all of the thunder.  S and I went into the living room to see if the dogs were ok and to look out the windows and the rain was coming down so hard.  S said, “This is the closest I have ever been to being in a hurricane.”  And it really was.  And it would have been terrifying to try to drive to the hospital in that weather.  Austin has been really dry and we need all of the rain we can get, so I hope it continues.  

The nice part though about having my back go out is that S and I got to spend the last 4 days together.  In a normal month our schedules don’t mesh up very much and so it’s pretty common that we only have 1-2 days off together in a month’s time.  So four whole days off together is very uncommon.  So even though we mostly spent the last two days in bed watching movies or on the couch watching movies, it was really nice.  I feel like during this waiting time it’s important to take naps, smile lovingly at each other, eat good food, take long showers, and relax over all as much as possible.  And so we did.

Today S has a doctor’s appointment where we will possibly have a few tests done to make sure Jude is happy in there.  I believe they are going to do a fetal stress test and an ultrasound to measure him to make sure he isn’t getting too big and that he has enough fluid left.  I’m not sure if they are going to do both of these tests today or not, but I hope so.  We worry about our little man!  I think that we are also going to talk about inducing.  I don’t think that we will want to induce before February 6^th  unless our doctor thinks it’s necessary but we will see.   I also want to get her opinion on sweeping S’s membrane, but I suppose it will be a moot point if S still isn’t dilated at all.  I’m sure we will be back later today or tomorrow with an update.

One last thing, congrats to all of those new babies out there!  We have loved reading your stories and seeing all of your beautiful photos.  Thank you so much for sharing your little ones with us here in blogland!

-Liz

Last baby standing

No Jude yet.  No real signs of him coming yet either.  His due date (or at least the last one)  is today.  Happy due date Jude!  I read on What to Expect that 50% of pregnancies go past their due date, which makes me feel better.  It also said of those, only 10% truly need to be induced and the rest of the babies come in the weeks between.  I really don’t want to be induced.  Honestly, if I was willing to be induced, I would probably have done it by now.

Liz threw out her back yesterday, so it is a good thing that he is not coming today.  She is having trouble moving around, so I don’t think that she would be up to being a labor coach today.  Plus, I didn’t do the dishes yesterday, so I will be able to get to them today.

We are still hoping he comes this week.  We want to meet him and start that phase of our lives.  We had a great weekend sans baby.  We went to 2 different farmer’s markets, a baby fair, played some games with friends, and then had brunch with those same friends.  They helped our dog problem by screwing in the fence that the neighbors crappily built.  I am hoping we do not have any more problems with the neighbor dogs.  Moving forward, I am going to just call Animal Control, but I don’t want it to come to that.  

Everyone is wondering about if Jude is here.  We are getting tons of call, messages, and texts.  I think it’s funny.  Most of the people are on our first to contact list, so I don’t know why they are worried that they won’t know.  Plus, unless labor comes on like a tornado, I imagine we will post a short thing here and on facebook for everyone.  I understand them being anxious.  No one is more anxious than we are.

Speaking of anxious, I had a few small issues with anxiety a few night ago.  I felt like I couldn’t get a full breath.  Being pregnant, you don’t get full breaths, but it has never been a problem before.  I got up and shifted around and eventually went back to bed.  It was not very fun!  I think he was laying on the right side where he usually lays on the left, so maybe he somehow was pushing on things differently.  Hard to tell.

Being off work means that my feet are less swollen and my back hurts less.  I am getting used to the idea that being off work is okay.  I felt guilty about it, but I think I am pregnant enough that it is actually a good thing to stay close to home and get as much rest as possible.  I have been sleeping it up.  Granted, I wake up every hour to pee, but I sleep at night and usually take a nap in the afternoon.  It’s been nice!  Having Liz around this weekend helped me not be bored too.  It was crazy to be at home on a Saturday AND and Sunday.

Overall, we are just in a waiting game.  I have been having a few contractions everyday, but nothing major yet.  Yesterday Jude was really low, but today, he seems to have moved back up.  I am just waiting for the contractions to become something, but so far, they are sporadic and not too strong.  I guess until he gets here, I will just rest as much as possible, take nice walks, and eat good food!  Who knows how much I will be able to do any of that in the first bit of his life!
-S