34 Weeks 4 Days

Our Chunky Monkey at today's visit!

Maddie wiggled the whole way to the doctor's office, so she was finally sleepy by the time our appointment began...
Ok, y'all, I am getting a bit concerned. Madelyn looks great, everything is going well...except that she is HUGE! Today, her head and belly measured 37 to 38 weeks! They estimated her to be 6lbs 12oz and Dr. R suggested (while laughing) that we wait ten more days and then start 'natural induction'. He also recommended that I do lots of pelvic floor exercises (for the men: never mind what that means). Her amniotic levels were on the high side of normal, but Dr. R said that's probably just because she's so dang large. My check up with Dr. B is next Friday...I didn't want to even think about being induced, but I definitely don't want to wait and possibly need a section! I keep thinking of shoulder dystocia and those poor mommies that labor and push - only to have an emergency Cesarean and the baby has a cone head a mile long! Even more ridiculous, I'm thanking God that I bought more 0-3 month sizes than the newborn size clothes. I am so giddy! To think that she'll be here soon, maybe before Christmas. Dr. R even pointed out that she's got a lot of hair. I think that there just might be something to that old heartburn myth. Hmmmmm.

What a wonderful day...

XOXO

33 Weeks 6 Days

Home improvement time has begun! We replaced our back door, fixed the front entryway, we've got guys coming to paint outside, and we are replacing our wood floors with blessed tile! Oh, I can smell the Clorox now!! The tile should be delivered here on December 8th and will hopefully be done in time to put up Christmas decorations. I want to put the tree up so badly! I guess it will give me something to do once my maternity leave starts. Ahhhh...time is starting to slow again. Thankfully it has cooled down quite a bit, so it actually feels like the holiday season. I even got much of my shopping done this weekend, rude people and all!

XOXO

33 Weeks 4 Days

I have gained at least ten pounds since yesterday, y'all. I'm waiting for Nonny to bring home some dinner from Chipotle, but I have got to get back to eating things that AREN'T PUMPKIN PIE as my appointment with Dr. B is on Monday. Dr. B visit = getting on the dreaded scale (evil little thing). I've been having more Braxton-Hick's contractions and moderate "monthly-type" cramping (painful enough that they woke me up a few times in the middle of the night). On Wednesday, I left a message for the nurse and she said to go lay down, drink lots of water, and if the cramps continued, to go to the hospital. Of course I almost started to cry! The cramps are much better now, which makes me wonder if I'm pushing myself a little too hard at work. I'll ask Dr. B's opinion when I see him.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Mom made too much food and had way too many desserts...just the way we like it! My brother and sister-in-law weren't there (busters) and that was kinda weird. It's funny about holiday tradition. The turkey just didn't taste the same without you, Nad. These things got me to thinking about Nonny and myself and what kind of holiday traditions we'll share with Madelyn. With so little time left until she'll be here (we're full term in three weeks! Amazing!), I've been daydreaming about next year and how wonderful it will be to have a little one to experience Thanksgiving with and Christmas with; I'm getting teary-eyed as I write about it! I'm also wondering if she'll be here before Christmas or if she'll make me wait. I hate not knowing! Some of the girls I chat with on a pregnancy web site said that their OB's/midwives are inducing them early because their babies are measuring big. Maddie has gained a steady two pounds a month and these last few weeks are when babies typically gain the most, so if we wait until her actual due date, we're looking at a ten pounder. Right. I will admit that my feelings on induction have changed at this point.

XOXO

Pimp My Swing...

Check out the coolest baby swing ever! It rocks back & forth or side to side, has eight playtime songs, eight nap time songs, nature sounds, a butterfly mobile, and a starry light show! It's a good thing my backside is extra-large, because I really wanted to climb in and try it out.

XOXO

32 Weeks 6 Days

Maddie on the move...
I was holding my breath, so everything you see is her. She kicked me right to the right of my belly button then rolled over to the left.

Hip-hip hooray for three-day work weeks! After today, I have only three more Sunday afternoons to exclaim, "Maaaaan! I don't wanna go to work tomorrow!". I can not wait for all the hustle and bustle of the holidays to begin and I am going mad waiting for our little girl to arrive. I've been daydreaming about what labor feels like and how I will tolerate contractions. Will my water break first? Will it be 3am when I start getting contractions? Will I even know that I am in labor? Ahhhh, so many unknowns and so little time until these questions (and then some!) are answered...

XOXO

32 Weeks 3 Days

This past Monday Nonny and I had our "Caring For Newborn" class and it was actually not as lame as I was expecting it to be. I learned a lot and won a bag of goodies for being the fastest swaddler! I also learned some things that made me nervous. I can totally picture myself obsessively taking Maddie's temperature, worrying whether she's over-dressed or under-dressed...even the thought of letting anyone other than myself so much as touch her worries me. I worry about her getting a cold or flu, so I'm considering keeping her home for the first, oh, TWO years or so. I feel a bout of OCD coming on. How do people raise children without going absolutely out of their minds??

Nonny and I were also 'showered' with a zillion gifts over the last few days. His office threw him a surprise baby shower (complete with a bunch of pink "It's A Girl!" balloons, which he unfortunately had to drive around with for the rest of the day) and both of us were pretty amazed at the generosity his company displayed. My office threw a party over our lunch hour. One of the gifts was my breast pump, which was kinda weird opening in front of my boss. I think we've received everything on our registry and had enough money in gift cards to get some of the odds and ends that we'll need. This weekend will be spent writing out 'Thank You' cards and putting the baby's room back together ~ it looks like a tornado went through it! Nonny's half-sister is also coming down from Lubbock this weekend to a town about three hours from us, so I think we'll be heading out that way for an early Thanksgiving dinner with her side of the family. I am excited for turkey and potatoes! I wish Gramma K was here to make her cheesy onions and oyster dressing (no one makes them like you do, Gramma) and I would like Gramma Opal to be here to make some chicken and dumplings and some banana pudding (it's the best in the world). Sadly, I would only be able to eat a bite of each and be not only ridiculously full, but have crazy heartburn, as well. I got heartburn from a TUMS and some water the other evening. Heartburn. From TUMS. Pregnancy is nuts. It's funny, the things that happen that NO ONE ever tells you about. The internet is full of sites quoting anonymous mommy woes. Some of my favorites include:

1. Crapping on the delivery table.

2. Crapping on the delivery room floor while walking during a particularly grueling contraction.

3. Peeing on yourself in the middle of a crowded shopping area because you sneezed.

4. Farting like a big, burly truck driver. A lot.

5. Constipation, as in NOTHING for DAYS. Apparently, this is reversed during delivery (*see #1 and #2).

Thankfully, #5 is my only specialty...and that needs no further elaboration.

XOXO

31 Weeks 6 Days

Yesterday's project: painting the flowers instead of using decals

Close-up

31 weeks and 6 days...I can hardly imagine getting any bigger! (Handsome-Kitty in the background)
A 10-second clip of Madelyn's heartbeat...

36 days until we are full term and 56 days until our actual due date. I've noticed a desire to begin the nesting process, but I haven't much energy to finish what I start. Take yesterday ~ the decals I added to the bookcase in Maddie's room kept wanting to peel off, so I set about painting them on instead. How long did it take me to paint ten little flowers?? Almost seven hours! And half way through, I was ready for a nap and feeling a migraine coming on. I also wanted to start laundering all her little sheets and clothes, but it was a no-go. I have begun packing our hospital bag neurotically early, making sure that I have all our paperwork together. I received our cord blood kit yesterday, so that's taken care of. There are so many little details to attend to and with Christmas right around the corner (43 days! Ha!!), my head'll be spinning before we're through! I am so excited (and scared and nervous) to meet this little Kung Fu master in my belly. I've been trying to catch her in action for the last two days on film, but every time I go to grab the camera she decides to play possum. She moves like crazy! I love to lay down and feel her [playing]. Our next ultrasound is a little over two weeks away and it is so awesome to see her fidgeting (although the tech gets a bit exasperated trying to get good measurements, as the little stinker refuses to stay still). My favorite thing is when she's shifting around and Nonny can feel and see it. I bet he's getting tired of me asking him to put his hand on my tummy or to 'quick, look!' (in which instance, she immediately stops and lays still). I, however, think it is the coolest thing on earth; how lucky I am to be a woman.

XOXO

31 Weeks 4 Days

My appointment with Dr. B was this morning and all went well. I'm finally able to stomach fruits and veggies, so I haven't gained any weight (can I get an "AMEN"?!). I had my Group B strep test, am still measuring more than a week ahead, and Dr. B told me that he won't let me go past my due date ~ I've never heard sweeter words spoken. Everything is well as far as all that goes. I do, however, need to vent about something. I'd apologize for making y'all read the following rant, but it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to...

My job has become everything that I hoped it would never become. We hired a co worker's friend and I have become 'odd man out'. There are whispers behind my back, the two of them make work decisions without communicating with me, they both spend the week adding up their hours to see how early they can leave on Fridays (ridiculous when on Friday we only work till noon, yet get paid for the full day...you can't even come in for four stinkin' hours??). They gossip, they go out to lunch and ask everyone else to go ~ except for my friend, Miss S, and myself; they sit on their asses until the boss comes around then suddenly make themselves busy, they don't keep up with their responsibilities sometimes and, until now, I've felt obligated to pick up the slack. I've had it up to my eyeballs with this. I am shy and awkward and this was one of very few places that I've felt comfortable and that comfort is gone. It takes all the strength I can muster not to cry almost on a daily basis and I am totally stressed out because now I don't know if I can come back to work in an environment like this after my maternity leave is over. My small piece of comfort lies in the fact that I am not the only one who has noticed this behavior. So, I come to work and try (usually without much success) to focus on my duties and count the hours until I can go home. It is a miserable way to spend the day.

There are a zillion more things I could fuss about, but that is the gist of it. I'm just trying to look forward to all the exciting new things that are about to happen and, hey ~ who can be depressed for too long when Christmas is right around the corner? There's a Christmas tree that I saw in the paper that I want, but it's totally out of my price range at this point. I hate the fake trees with the metal or plastic cross supports on the bottom (even with a tree skirt it's ugly). The one I like sits in an urn. So, maybe after the holidays I can get it on sale :) I wonder if I'll have enough energy by the time Christmas rolls around to decorate, anyway.

XOXO

31 Weeks 1 Day

Pregnancy dreams.

Saying that dreams during pregnancy are pretty dang weird is really just scratching the surface. I have had horrible night terrors (the other night I awoke to the sound of ghostly footsteps right next to my side of the bed) ~ these tend to be the majority. Others are so incredibly stupid that I've laughed myself awake. Last night's dream was brief, but very vivid:

Nonny has taken Dora spelunking for her birthday (now, this is fine and dandy, except that DORA IS OUR DOG!). Apparently, he thought that it was every dogs dream to go exploring through caves, admiring stalagmites and stalactites. Through the caverns they go, each in safety helmets, and all I can think is, "Good God, I can't believe he paid good money for that!". Naturally. After the adventure was finished, he showed me the pictures that were taken of the trip.

"Make sure you look at the 'Angry' pictures", Nonny says with a smirk.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I reply.

"You'll see". He's grinning ear to ear.

All of the pictures are dark, with only a few lights (like from miner's helmets) visible. Then, I see what he means about the pictures. In one, my brother is emerging from a dark section of tunnel looking incredibly pissed off. He's wearing a white tank 'wife-beater' top and khaki pants (why this is important, I haven't a clue). In the next photo, he's sitting on the ground with an exaggerated pout expression. Nonny had no idea why my brother was there or what he was so mad about...

Then, I woke up. It was so vivid and strange that it was hard to fall back asleep. Seeing Dora-Lou (aka Toon, Tooney, Lou-Lou) in a hard-hat takes the cake for me, as far as weirdness goes. At least it wasn't a nightmare.

XOXO

31 Weeks 0 Days

Thirty-nine.

That is the number of days left until my maternity leave begins. I honestly don't know how people work right up until they go into labor! I have officially acquired the 'Pregnancy Waddle', so it takes me twice as long to get from one place to another. This morning I had to laugh as I told my patient that if I had to lean over any further to see what Dr. S was doing, my belly would end up on his face. I feel so slow and tired ~ everything in my body hurts (except for my head, of course; it seems that there is a whole lot of nothing going on up there). Madelyn has discovered every possible uncomfortable spot in my tummy and favors them and, honest to goodness, it felt like she bit me from the inside yesterday afternoon. My pelvis creaks and cracks and it feels like the bones are being pried apart (a feeling similar to getting your braces tightened by the dentist), it's difficult to breathe, my feet and ankles look like balloons...but it's all so amazing and worth it. We'll see if I'm not singing a different tune in the next few weeks or so :) I am just about ready for Maddie to be done cookin' and be here. We've got nearly everything we need and I received pretty much all the goodies that I had requested at the baby shower. I went and bought a diaper bag, a "Tummy Time" mat, some nipples, and a Baby Einstein play gym with the gift cards that I was given. The shower really was wonderful. I wish both of my grandmothers could have come ~ that's the only change I would have made. Well, that and we would have had all-you-can-eat chicken McNuggets instead of croissants and crab cakes...

XOXO

30 Weeks 4 Days

Ultrasound image from Dr. R's visit last week

Maddie in 3D

Veiny, belly button-less tummy

Side view

Today we met with our pediatric urologist, Dr. J, for our first consultation at Texas Children's Hospital. He was recommended by Dr. R because, a. He is really conservative in his approach to surgery, and b. He's a great doctor with exceptional 'people skills'. In his opinion, Maddie's kidney will most likely require surgical correction preceded by:

Post natal antibiotics (to avoid a risk of any urinary tract infections)

Abdominal ultrasound within 48 hours of delivery

Catheter placement and a scan with contrast dye (to help evaluate the function of both kidneys and to pinpoint the obstruction)

So, still relatively good news as far as salvaging her little kidney. I'm not too hot about such a tiny little thing going under anesthesia for a surgical procedure, but I'm trying not to think about it for now. I am just thankful that this is what we have on our plates and not a heart or brain issue. It makes me happy that this is a fixable problem. It's so weird to think that she will probably be here next month. Next MONTH!! It will be strange not to feel her kicking and punching and hiccuping and twisting (painfully) around in my belly...

XOXO