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

Maternity leave Day #1

My last day of work was yesterday until April 23rd. I don’t think it has fully hit me yet.  I get great satisfaction out of having a career and being the bread winner, so until Jude gets here, it will take some getting used to to not have the calls with questions on how to handle or do something and be one of the main leaders at work.  Once he is here, it will be a whole different adventure and I am sure he will occupy my time without even trying.  It is just until then that I am worried about.

I have worked weekends, especially Saturdays, for probably 10 years now.   The only reason that I would not work a Saturday is if I am on vacation or something.  I am SO excited to run around and go to the different Farmer’s Markets around town tomorrow.  Not something I ever really get to do.  I have the whole weekend off with Liz which doesn’t happen often without there being a plan or travel involved.

I went and got my oil changed and a burnt out bulb replaced, walked the dogs, finished a book I’ve been reading, napped, and did little things around the house.  Not bad yet, just a typical day off.  The nice part is when I woke up in the middle of the night, I didn’t have to be worried about the 6am alarm clock.  I got up, and putzed around and went back to bed.

We are still having trouble with the neighbors dogs breaking thru the fence.  I am stalking my neighbors car to go and have a talk with her.  I am 3 days away from my due date and don’t want pit bulls breaking into my yard, no matter how nice they are.  We have been pretty cool about it for 5 years now as they have done nothing to prevent it, but I am to the point that I guess I will have to call Animal Control if after the talk they still don’t find a way to restrain the dogs.  So annoying, but I am unsure what to do otherwise.

I think Jude is officially all the way down.  Still no other signs of labor happening.   I have had some cramping and small contractions, but that is a normal thing at this point.  I got an hour of reflexology yesterday.  Her track record is she brings babies in 48 hrs, so we shall see if he comes tomorrow:)  I also ate pineapple, mango and kiwis and we walked around Whole Food and Book People for an hour the other night.  It was a nice change from walking around the neighborhood.  Last night we had spicy wings.  I have been bouncing on the ball and doing squats and some dancing, but nothing yet.  

The public is getting anxious.  We are getting all kinds of text messages and voice mails and e-mails wanting to know if Jude is here.  Liz and I are convinced he is not coming for a while, but I think we have just been so excited, we are tired of being over excited about it.   At the VERY latest, I will be induced in 17 days.  I really hope he comes before that, but honestly he has not shown any major signs of arriving.  Our friend said Jude is  a “Divo” as in the male version of a diva and will come in his own time.  Yes, yes he will.
-S

Pineapple juice and a stubborn baby

First of all, go to breaking into blossom and give them some love.  Poor girls have been laboring their little rabbit for 38 hrs.  Please help the little guy get down the rabbit hole with some positive thoughts!

On our baby front, no progress.  He is down a little more, but the cervix is just as closed and unripe as ever.  We are going to go and walk around Whole Foods for a while today since we have a huge, really nice one.  It sounds nicer than the mall.  Liz is also convinced that pineapple will help, so I drank 46 oz of pineapple juice today.  We are going to get some fresh pineapple from there when we go.  I love fruit, but there are 2 fruits that I do not like: pineapple and watermelon.  When I was a kid, I ate both those things and then threw them up and have had an aversion ever since.  If Liz really wants me to do it, I will.  I understand her wanting to feel she has some control over when Jude will get here.  I feel the same way most of the time.

I think I am secretly the baby bringer for my Dr.   This is the 3rd appointment in a row that she was almost not there because one of her patience is in labor.  It’s pretty funny.  I am a good luck baby charm to all babies but mine it seems:)

I had some drama with my dad’s girlfriend and my mom this week.  I think that babies make people crazy!  Twice this week I have received a “is the baby here?” texts from my mom.  Since everyone and their dog is constantly asking us about it and we would like nothing more than to have him, it is getting annoying.  She will be one of the first ones to know when he is on his way, but apparently is not clear on that point (even though I have stated it multiple times).  And then there are the “Are you okay?” texts.  Not, a “how are you doing?” text, but an “are you okay?” text.  My mom is always worried the worse thing possible will happen, so she does not even have the ability to just ask how things are going.  Instead it is always dramatic.  So annoying!   Last night when I received the text, it took all of my being not to write back, “oh, yes, Jude is here, I forgot to tell you”  just to mess with her.  What answer is she really looking for??

My dad’s girlfriend (remember the one I have met twice) wrote me a facebook message asking if Feb. 13-17 works for her and the kids to come and see Jude.  Without my dad it turns out.  Considering if Jude goes as far as the Dr. will let him (2 weeks past his due date) he would be born on the 6/7 of Feb, that is a little soon.  Lady,  I DON’T KNOW YOU!  Quit pushing yourself upon me!  You want to be there the first week of his life with your kids (15 and 18 yrs old) WITHOUT MY DAD?!?!  No ma’am.  I wrote her back as nicely as possible and said no, that 1. it was too soon  2. wait until you can visit with my dad  3. I will keep her posted as to what dates will work out best.

I think I might stop working after this week.  I am exhausted and bored at work.  Also, I am terrified of trying to have a natural childbirth after getting up at 6am, driving and hour to work, working 9 hrs on my feet, and driving an hour home.  I think one of the main things that are important in going into a natural childbirth is that you are rested and fed before you go into that marathon.  I won’t have that luxury if I go into labor at work.  I am so torn about it though.  It seems like time wasted to spend up to 2 weeks at home without Jude here.  If only I had some indication of his arrival, then I could just take a few days off before.  If he goes to 42 weeks, then I will only have 10 weeks at home with him.  I don’t know, I am still mulling it over.

I am going to get some reflexology at work tomorrow and Liz is going to do some tonight.  She studied up on it last night and is going to hit the points.  I asked my Dr. at the appointment about natural methods to get him here and she only suggested walking and reflexology.  She did not like the idea of castor oil (which we don’t either).  I have gained a bunch of weight this week, bringing my total to 32 lbs.  Everything is so swollen and I have been starving, so I am not surprised.  Either way, at this point, I am not really concerned.  She said Jude is probably 7.5-8 lbs.  That seems like a good weight to enter the world at little Jude!

My next appointment is on Wed. of next week.  Here is hoping we don’t make it that far!
-S

Let's Go to the Mall!

Thank goodness I'm teaching a class this week at work.  I don't think I could spend this week just sitting around in my office, googling various ways to naturally induce labor.  That would be a long maddening week.  This week already feels like a long maddening week and I have plenty to do at work to keep me busy.  I'm grateful that our little Jude has made it past 39 weeks and I know that 50% of women go past their due date and it's not set in stone.  But at 5 days till our due date, I'm going a little crazy.  Today I've tried to make peace with the fact that Jude probably won't be here till sometime late next week.  That it's not a 5 day count down but more like a 10-14 day count down till he gets here.  It doesn't help that at work everyone keeps saying things like, "No baby yet?" and more annoyingly, "Tick tick tick!"  Yeah, no baby yet, obviously or I wouldn't be here talking to you jokers.  I know that all of this is SOOOOOO much harder on S.  The whole world it seems like is watching her for signs of labor and I can't help but do it too.  Everyday, "Any contractions?" and every time she makes a funny face or sucks in her breath a little bit too sharply, "Was that a contraction?" It's annoying and frustrating and I'm trying to stop.  This baby will come when he is good and ready to and not one minute before.

 In the class that I'm teaching this week there is a girl in here who has 2 kids, a 1 year old and a 3 year old.  She told me all about how with her last pregnancy her baby hadn't arrived by her due date and so she went to Walmart and walked around for an hour and bought some caster oil and then she went and walked around the mall for 2 hours and then she went home, drank a shot of the caster oil, ate dinner, and started having contractions a hour later and gave birth early the next morning.  Then, we read about one of our fellow baby bloggers, Breaking into Blossom, and how they started having contractions while walking at the mall.  So now S and I are determined to get ourselves to the mall this week!  I'm not sure yet if we are going to go do some mall walking today or tomorrow, but we are going to give it a shot.  I keep singing this song from one of our favorite shows, How I Met Your Mother.  

But I doubt the mall experiment will work.  S walks All.Day.Long. at work, goes up and down stairs and is as active as anyone 39 weeks pregnant could possibly be, so I don't think that a few laps around the mall will do much.  But at least it gives us something to do, something to focus on, so it's worth a shot.

Fingers crossed that this baby is born soon. 

-Liz

Blueberry pancakes and false alarms

Yesterday I came home early from work.  I was having what I called “tiny contractions”.  They felt different than the cramping I have been having for the past few weeks.   They were not strong, but I was having 4-5 per hour.  They were not "call the Dr. worthy", but since I live an hour away from work, I did not want them to get to that point and then try to get home or to my hospital.  I had some once I got home.  Then they stopped, then I had 2 more, and now I feel fine.  I don’t know if my uterus is just practicing or if maybe Jude is going to make his appearance soon.  I am 39 full weeks today.  That means he could come anytime or at the VERY latest in 3 weeks.  I am rooting for anytime, but I do have some Holiday days I need to use up next week, so maybe right on time will work for us.  I just really hope he does not go 2 weeks past and they have to induce.  It does not seem like a good idea for natural childbirth if you can avoid it.

So, what do you do when you are waiting to see if your contractions are going to amount to anything?  For me: EAT!  I was starving all yesterday.  I could not get enough food.  We had some of our friends over last week and made blueberry pancakes, and I have demanded them a few times since then.  Liz has obliged and we went and got some more blueberries and Bisquick and she made some for me last night.  Liz is an amazing cook, but pancakes defeated her in the past.  She is now a pancake pro!  She can make big ones or little ones and they turn our round and cute!  She also made us fettucini alfredo for dinner.  (yes my pancakes were the 2nd dinner of the night)  I also took a nap when I got home from work.  So, while I waited, I slept and ate.  Not too bad of a day I say.

I am a little disappointed our little man is not making his appearance and it was all just my uterus playing around.  He has dropped down pretty low, so maybe I was just feeling him in a new place, but some of them were contractions.  He was very active thru the whole thing, which I am not sure if that is normal or not.  I could not tell if he was using his little head to cause pain or if the uterus contracting was making him move around a lot.

He is large enough now that he does not kick as much as try to escape out the front of me with his butt and feet.  He will sleep with his little butt pushed out the center of my belly and a foot shoved out the side.  It’s pretty funny.  It makes me think he has some long legs because of where he stretches them out.

My belly now sits on my lap since he squirmed his way down.  I think he likes the space because even being lower, some days he takes and sticks his tiny feet out the top of my belly near my ribs.  Fortunately, he is kind enough not to play in my ribs.  I hear that hurts really bad.

Liz has thru all this become a huge advocate for natural childbirth.  We had some of our friends come over last night and watched the Happiest Baby on the Block video and then they showed us how to swaddle a baby on a doll she brought over.  We were talking about what we wanted to do as far as the labor and you should have heard how into natural childbirth Liz is.  When I originally wanted to do it, she was of the mindset of “well, if that is what you want to do”.  Now, she is the main cheerleader for Jude and me to try to have a natural childbirth.  She was explaining all the reasons why and excited to talk about it.  She is going to be such a great coach!

I am ready to not be pregnant anymore.  Fancy that at 9 months and 3 weeks pregnant!  Not really shocking I think.  A few days ago, my hip was about to give out and I had to get Liz to get my exercise ball for me to sit on to try and work it out.  Then, I got shaking cold for no reason.  So weird.  Liz grabbed a hoody for me and a blanket and had me take deep breathes and then I was fine.  It was strange, but pregnancy does such weird things to the body.  I think I was just hungry honestly.  My right arm is almost constantly numb at this point.  I think it is pregnancy induced carpal tunnel.  It is all doable, but not the most comfortable I have ever been.  I keep telling Liz that I used to be a dolphin and I am now a whale.  This comes up when I am in bed trying to turn over mostly.  I don’t feel large and different other than when I am trying to switch sides in bed.  Between the belly, the wacky hips and the 3 pillows I have myself propped on in different places, it is quite and ordeal just to switch sides.

I am excited to only work 3 days next week and then hopefully little Jude will be here!  If not, then I will go back to my regular 5 days a week work week.  I am thinking that I will work 1 week past my due date and then leave if he is not here yet.  That will only be 1 week of my maternity leave wasted without him here if he goes to the full 42 weeks.  I just don’t want to take it now and possible waste 3 weeks of the time without him.  I want as much time at home with him as possible.  On the other hand, I want to be rested for his arrival.  If I am going to go natural, it will be much better if I have not just worked a long 9 hr shift at work when I go into labor.

All in all, we are ready and excited for his arrival.  I have today off so we are going to go to the movies and eat some spicy Indian food and just spend the day with each other relaxing.  Hope you have an excellent Sunday also!
-S

Everything In It's Right Place

Everything is done.  Finally, I checked off the last thing on my to-do list for before Jude and it feels good.  This week has been really productive.  I’ve gotten my oil changed, my flu shot and my whooping cough vaccine, I finished the rest of the background check paper work type stuff that we needed for the adoption, I cleaned out what is basically our garage, went on a massive grocery shopping trip to try to stock up the house as much as possible, and have managed (with S’s help) to keep the house pretty clean.  Oh and the hospital bag is packed, the nursery is done, the clothes are washed, and everything is set on that front as well. Now there really isn’t much of anything left for us to do other than wait for the little dude to make his appearance.  It sort of feels like now that we are as totally prepared as any two people could be for a newborn that it will jinks us.  I almost wanted to not get some of these things done in hopes that it would encourage the universe to “punish” us by having Jude be a bit early.  Isn’t that silly reasoning?  I am glad that it is all done though and there is nothing left to worry over.

Can you believe that there are only 10 more days till Jude’s due date?  I can’t believe it.  Even 9 months later, with 6 ultrasounds, 3 baby showers, and a million kicks and nudges, I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that we are having a baby.  And it’s so intense, this love that I have for him already and this longing I have to hold him in my arms.  I never imagined that I could feel so strongly for someone I haven’t really met yet.  But then of course I do feel like I’ve met him and that I know him.  He seems to already have great timing, comically speaking.  S and I will be talking about him or about something else and he always seems to kick at the right time.  It feels like he is voicing his agreement or disagreement each time and I love it.  

Of course, now that I realize how close we are to the end of this pregnancy, I have been snapping pictures of S’s amazing belly left and right.  I want to make sure that I’ve accurately captured it because it hit me the other day how much I will miss it.  I love S being pregnant.  She is so beautiful with that big round belly and I love how tenderly she looks down at it and smiles.  I am truly in awe of the life she has created and feel so blessed to have been even a small part of the process.  And though I’m sure S is looking forward to some of the less than pleasant things that go along with pregnancy going away (like the numb arm and the hip pain), I know she is going to miss being pregnant too.  She said just the other day that it is going to be weird to not have him with her all of the time, knowing that he is safe and content.  

And because I love bump shots like I said, here is the newest one.  S looked so cute yesterday that before she could even get in the door after work I made her stop and let me take pictures of her in front of our house.  So cute.

Congrats by the way to all of the January mommas who have given birth recently!  I can’t wait to hear all of your stories!

-Liz

I’m a widdle waddly

I am usually a very fast walking, straight from point A to B person.  At 9 and 1/2 months pregnant, I waddle and take my time getting around.  It’s pretty funny I think and I read somewhere that it helps get the baby’s head into the pelvis, so it is not a bad thing.  I feel the same way about it that I do about my stretch marks.  Fine with both.  I think when you want a child for a long time and finally get to create and carry one around, all the things he does to your body are just fine.

On the Dr front, I am sure you read Liz’s post yesterday.  Jude needs to drop 4 more inches according to this Dr.  Mine was baby catching so I saw another one from the practice.  She was loud and boisterous and the funny thing was her vaginal exam was just the same.  My Dr does it and I am always like “maybe I can push out a baby, this is not so bad”.  This lady did it and I was like “hello there, nice to meet you! whoa mama”  Intense.  She thought he might be breach, but I was never concerned.  He likes to stretch out his little feet out the side of my belly and his little butt out the front, so I know what position he is facing.  Still nice to confirm on an ultrasound.

I just got back from a walk with Jude’s Aunt Lulu.  The dogs are loving our new routine of regular walks.  I like it too.  It is hard for me sometimes after being on my feet at work all day, but most days, it feels good to go on a slow waddle of a walk:)

I am still working my 40-45 hrs a week with 10 hrs on the road to get there and back.  Most of my staff is shocked that I am still doing it.  If I could, I would cut back, but that is not really an option at my company, so I push thru and it’s fine.

I am so ready to start the new phase of our life with our little boy.  It is going to be so different and so exciting!  I want to meet him and see his little face and personality.  I am excited for the challenge of having a newborn and all the surpises and joy he will bring to our lives.   I have been trying to really spend some quality time with Liz and with myself.  On my days off, I lay in bed, dozing and watching shows or reading.  Every minute I get with Liz I value.  I know that when Jude is here, he is going to be the main focus and there will not much laying around time, so I am enjoying these last few weeks.  At the same time, we (mostly Liz) are knocking out projects around the house and keeping it clean.  I want to come home to a clean house when he gets here, so I am trying to keep up with the dishes and such.  Liz has been organizing and cleaning rooms of the house.

This belly is officially big!  Everyone keeps seeing me and going “whoa!”  Yes, whoa.  I still think it’s pretty insane that there is a a child in my belly and that we can do that at all.  I value these last weeks with him.  Feeling him move around in there and knowing he is safe and happy inside.  I have still only gained a little under 27 lbs, so he is all belly, which I think makes it look bigger.

I feel really happy and settled about everything at this moment.  I know labor and having a newborn will be challenging, but I am excited for both to happen.  My biggest fear right now is how crazy our moms have been lately.  My mom texted me at 12am the other morning an “Are you okay?”  I got the text the next morning and sent her, “yes, why?”  She goes on about how the only reason she could think of for us to be so excited for Jude to be here is that something is wrong or I am miserable.  That is the only reason you can think of??  I can think of 200 fantastic reasons why we are pumped to meet our son.  She is so pessimistic all the time.  I had a small freak out about her being here when he is born because I don’t need the extra stress of managing her fears and emotions at the same time I a trying to learn to breast feed and about our new baby.  It will be fine, but I don’t understand why people are not just positive and excited about the whole thing.  We have told everyone who wants to come in that they have to stay in a hotel.  I think that will help out tons not having them underfoot.

  My Dr will not let me go 2 weeks past my due date, so no matter what, we will have a baby in the next month!  I have to say that is the most exciting thing ever!
-S

Cozy Baby Isn't Going Anywhere

     Well this baby is not coming any time soon.  Sigh.  S had a doctor’s appointment this morning and they confirmed that she is not dilated at all and that the baby hasn’t dropped yet either.  S’s normal doctor was off “catching a baby” so she saw another doctor in the practice.  According to that doctor Jude needs to come down another 4 inches to be fully “dropped”.  And the doctor freaked me out by thinking that Jude was breach.  So they sent S in for a quick ultrasound and saw that no, he is not breach, he is head down like he is supposed to be.  That is a relief.  We really want to avoid a C-section if at all possible and with a breach baby you don’t tend to have many choices unless you can get the baby to turn.  So I guess he will continue to cook up a bit cuter in S’s tummy for the time being.  I keep teasing her that he isn’t going to be born any time soon because she has made him too cozy in there.  So the cozy baby will probably be staying at least another week if not longer in the tummy.  I’m just hoping at this point that he will be close to on time. I think it would make us go crazy for him to be more than a week a late, so fingers crossed that he will be born in January and not February!  
-Liz

While My Wife Gently Sleeps

     Today is a bonus day.  S and I were up this morning, me getting ready for work and her up having some breakfast on her day off.  And she asked me, “can’t you call in sick?  Take the day off?”  And I looked at her and realized that yes, yes I could take the day off.  So I called into work “sick” (I really didn’t have much going on at work today anyway) and we have spent the day together.  We went back to bed for a while, went out to breakfast with a lovely friend, wandered around Central Market (which is a fun grocery store), went to the movies (we saw Hugo, it was magical), stopped and got ice cream, and now my sweet wife is taking a much needed nap.  I love golden days like this and seeing as how they are numbered at this point, I value them so much more.

     And while the days without baby are numbered, don’t worry dear public, they are not literally numbered.  I think with our last post a few of you worried that with our impatience we would do something drastic like induce S to get the little dude here early.  But I can promise you that we will not induce until 42 weeks.  It goes against everything we want for him and for S and a natural child birth, so don’t worry.  When we say we are going to do things to get him here I mean things like go on long walks, eat spicy food, drink apple juice, bounce on the exercise ball, that sort of stuff.  We arn’t going to do anything weird/dangerous either, no caster oil or other drugs/herbs to speed things along.  So if Jude gets here any time soon I promise you that it not because we forced it, but because that is just what happened.  And I’m pretty sure wishes and hopes never induced labor, so we will keep hoping he comes soon.  I’m hoping for exactly 10 days.  In 10 days we will be at 39 weeks exactly, which seems to be the magic number in terms of development, but we shall see.  After all, unless doctors force them, babies tend to do whatever they want.

Hope your day is as blissful as mine.

-Liz

PS- I always enjoy looking at our stats, especially how people found our site and search words they used.  And I just noticed that this week 4 different people found our blog by searching for the phrase “cute stuffed zombie”.  How strange and random is that?

Are you ever going to come??

Okay, so I am being dramatic.  I was totally convinced Jude would make his appearance this week.  I am only 37 weeks, but I woke up a few days ago just feeling off.  Then, I started having cramping, which I have not had much of before.  He seems lower and is moving around differently.  I even left my keys and passwords at work for people just in case I was not at work on Friday.  Well, I went to the Dr. and am not at all dilated.  Frown.  I was really ready to not go back to work and especially ready to meet our little man.  He is just too comfy in there I guess.  No plans on arriving.  My Dr. even said, “you need to tell him to come this month”.  I have been, but like a baby, he is not listening.

I have been having tons of baby dreams.  I am dreaming about labor, delivery, him, all kinds of baby things.  Usually, it is about labor and it is a little stressful. Nothing crazy, but it feels like it does when I dream about work.  The most recent one I had was actually neat.  He was pushing against my stomach and I could touch and see his little toes and fingers.  I was playing with them, then I just pulled him out of my stomach.  Weird, but there he was!

I plan to go for a long walk today and bounce on the exercise ball a bit.  Liz is obsessed with me doing all kinds of things to bring him here.  She has a list of 10 things she is demanding I do next week everyday if he is not here yet.  I tend to cramp up on long walks, so I am going to try to take a long walk, but stay close to the house so if it hurts too bad, I can come back.

The good news is the uterus is practicing.  I feel like that is a step in the right direction.  I have not had any regular or really strong contractions yet.  Only twice has it been take my breath away intense.  Mostly, it is like a medium period cramp.  I have awful (as in crying on the bed) period cramps, and have not had any contractions that have felt that bad yet.  I am sure they are coming, Jude and I are just not at that point yet.

I have been very “putsy-putsy”.  I have been cleaning and organizing all over the place.  My desk at work is immaculate, I have organized his clothes by size and even scrubbed down our bathroom a few days ago.  Not an easy task for being over 9 months preggie, but I just needed to do it right then.

At the Drs, by blood pressure was normal and I actually lost .6 lbs.  Not too bad considering I have been gaining 2 lbs a week for a few weeks now.  Takes my overall weight gain to 25 lbs even.  I hope to stay around there or put on a max of 5 more lbs.  We will see.

Send us all your get your baby here thoughts!  We are dying to meet our baby boy!
-S

Maternity Photos!

Just wanted to share some maternity photos a great friend and photographer took for us!

Isn’t she the cutest?!

-Liz

2012 is Here! (But Jude isn't)

     I can’t believe it is 2012 already.  This year has flown by.  But I think that these next few weeks as we wait for our little dude to make his way into the world will crawl by.  We are just so excited to meet him!

     We had a great New Years Eve.  One of my BFFs and her husband threw a great party that we went to.  The little lady worked the next morning at 8, so she didn’t stay too long (plus being 9 months pregnant keeps your partying at a minimum) so she went home around 10:30 and like the sweet wife that she is, she came back to the party to pick me up around 2.  Luckily we only live about 1 mile away, so it wasn’t too far.  We had so much fun.  Almost all of our favorite people were there, the house looked beautiful, there was a lovely fire in the fire pit, the spread of food was amazing, and everyone looked great.  At the party we had a great white elephant gift exchange, an awesome 2011 trivia game (my team won by the way) and we played a really fun game called Cards Against Humanity, which is sort of like a dirty version of Apples to Apples.  Throughout the night everyone wrote down their resolution and then at midnight the resolution cards were all tied onto balloons that we released into the night.  It was really cool and I think possibly a new tradition for us.  We had 2-3 extra balloons that we just wrote nice messages on the cards for the people that will find them, stuff like “Everything is going to be ok” and “You are beautiful”.  It was a great idea.  Now a few pictures to feast your eyes upon.  

S and I at the party

Me looking festive

S's New Years Bump

     In other news, no baby yet.  Another one of my Oklahoma friends who was due in January had her baby last night.  That makes for 3 out of the 4 pregnant people I know who were due in January.  I know it’s still a little bit early for Jude to come out, but we have somehow convinced ourselves that it will happen on Thursday.  S normally is pretty intuitive, but we will see.  Her last guess was the 15^th so maybe she was just right about the 5 part.  Either way, I think we will be eating lots of spicy food and taking some long walks these next few days!

-Liz