Papa's log on the blog

What a great blessing from God.... My son Amery is beautiful and healthy. Mama did so awesome. I love you both..... The best day of my life.... - Papa

38w4d - Well, now I know what they feel like.

Contractions that is. Real ones, not the phony Braxton Hicks contractions that I've been getting for a couple of months. To those readers with ovaries, they feel like really bad cramps that all kind of run together and finally start to break in between. To those of you without, they feel like someone squeezing your gut while simultaneously twisting your organs around.

Things have calmed down now, but yesterday was a long day. I woke up feeling very very crampy. The crampiness started to have little breaks in between so Jon came home. When he got home I took my BP and it was 150/98 (higher than it was last week at the doctor's office). That was what actually worried me the most. I called and they told me to come in. Got to the OB's office and they hooked me up to the fetal monitor and the BP monitor. My BP was still pretty high so the nurse said that alone was reason for me to come in. My contractions were three minutes apart - three! They tell you to call or come in anytime they are five minutes apart for a full hour. After about an hour, the nurse checked my progress I was still only 1 cm. She wanted us to go to labor & delivery across the street at the hospital for labs, but when she couldn't get a hold of my doc (in surgery) or the other doc on call (in a birth) she changed her mind and told us to go get a light lunch and come back. When we went back I was still having contractions but my BP was lower and still no progress.

Sooo...here we are. She told I could walk a little bit around the neighborhood but not too much because of my BP thing. Jon went out and got me a yoga ball last night so I've been sitting and bouncing on that to see if it gets us anywhere. She also told me to take something to help me sleep at night. Tylenol PM, I would marry you if it were legal in Texas. We weren't surprised we got sent home and I'm actually glad the contractions are farther apart now. I either wanted them to STOP or GO, because hanging out in labor limbo is no fun.

Update from Monday

Sorry for not posting sooner. Lots of people have emailed me for an update on my Monday check up. Good news. My blood pressure was down to 108/68 which is super awesome. So, no more talk of inductions for a while I hope. I have an appointment with my doctor on Friday so we'll see where we are then. All I have to do now is get through this last week of work before I can start my leave.

38 Weeks - Modified Bedrest

Well, it looks like I haven't been lounging around eating enough bon-bons lately. I went in for my regular appointment yesterday and my blood pressure was a bit high (130/93 vs my normal 120/80). My feet and legs have been a bit swollen as well, but this was the first time the swelling was combined with high BP. This is a common concern near the end of pregnancy and there is no way to tell who will get it and who won't. I went back in this morning and, while it wasn't exactly stellar at 136/81, it was really no worse. That as well as my bloodwork coming back normal was enough to ward off any talk of inducing in the next few days. I go back on Monday for another BP check so we'll see how it goes then.

In the meantime, my doctor has put me on modified bedrest. I can still work my last week next week, but I need to work from home where I can recline. I guess sitting upright at a desk can cause fluid to pool in my legs and feet even if I try to keep them up. Oh yeah, when I was weighed at my appointment this morning I was 2 pounds lighter than I was yesterday afternoon. So basically I lost 2 pounds of water weight (swelling) overnight just by laying down more. Stay tuned for an update on Monday, but I suspect if I follow her advice all will continue to be well.

Ahem. (points to ticker)

We are in the "teens" today! Crazy.

37 Weeks and Progress

I just got back from my 37 week appointment today and got some good news from my doctor. I am 1 cm dilated, 30% effaced, and baby boy is head-down (that's the direction he should be facing in case you passed notes through sex ed class). Her exact words were "he's pretty far down there" meaning he is what they call "engaged." In other words, he's in position to bail out first chance he gets. The dilation/effacement thing doesn't mean a whole lot by itself since one can sit at 1 cm for weeks. The fact that his head is down low hopefully means that I have a better chance of being more dilated when I see her next week.

p.s. I'm messing around with some different blog backgrounds, so it might change a few times before I find one I like best.

More Maternity Pics!

They're done! Yay! My awesome photographer and now friend, Lyndsay Stradtner, put together a great slideshow of a whole bunch of pictures from our session a couple of weeks ago. I love them and I'm so glad I have these pictures to look back on and remember how exciting this time was for me. Once again, consider yourself warned: you will see more of my big bare belly in these pictures than you will ever want to see.

Click here for a slideshow with music. Sometimes it takes a little time to load up so be patient. Oh, and since we have failed miserably to keep his name a secret to pretty much everyone but extended family, I told Lyndsay to go ahead and include his name at the beginning. Also keep an eye out for Kona's pictorial debut.

And because it's my favorite:

New Poll!

Vote on when you think Baby S will arrive!

Oh, and that second option should read "on HIS due date" but Blogger won't let me change it.