39 Weeks

Hi all. I'm still here, a mere 5 days away from my due date on Saturday, July 3. I still feel pretty well (although a little baby decided to park his feet in my ribs last night). The heat is pretty miserable, but I think that's true for everyone, pregnant or not! : )

My dr's appt on Friday was okay. The baby is doing great. Isaac was able to come with me and see the baby's Non-Stress Test (where we get to monitor his heart rate, movements, and contractions). I tried not to look at the monitor too obsessively. But every once in awhile I saw Isaac's eyes get as big as saucers... and that meant I was having a contraction. The contractions don't hurt and mostly I can't even feel them. It's hard to distinguish a contraction from the baby just moving around and making things pretty tight in there. But I know when it's really time, I'll KNOW. : )

The dr. wants to induce labor on July 5 (Monday) if I don't have him by then. I am so bummed about this. Induced labor is much more difficult for several reasons: your body isn't initiating it and therefore may not be ready, they use a drug to induce contractions and the contractions are pretty hard right away--instead of having them ramp up gradually. It increases your need for an epidural, which then often makes you confined to bed... and the list goes on. I am just praying that I go into labor on my own before then.

Oh, and the reason the dr. wants to induce? B/c of my chronic high BP, even though it's been well-controlled throughout my pregnancy. The placenta stops functioning as well after 40 weeks, and on July 5 I'll be 2 days past my due date.

So, please pray that the baby decides to come this week. : ) In the meantime, try to stay cool and send us good baby delivery vibes. We'll keep you posted for sure...

Getting Tired

Hi all. This heat, coupled with the fact that I'm now 38 1/2 weeks pregnant, is making me really tired. I think the hardest part of my day is walking from my parking deck to my office. It's not a long walk, but I have to walk through the sauna that is the parking deck underneath my building... and it is HOT! I'm really not complaining too much though, because I think I'd be tired at this point in my pregnancy even if it weren't 97 degrees outside. I tend to feel better as the day goes on. But mornings have been rough. It's supposed to be 99 tomorrow, so I'm thinking about working from home.

My next dr's appt is on Friday, so we'll see how that goes. The dr. mentioned scheduling an induction at this appt. since I'll be 39 weeks and they don't want me to go past my due date due to my chronic high BP. I am really going to try to delay this conversation till next week when I'm almost 40 weeks, and PRAY that the baby comes before then. Inductions are NOT fun (even though I've never been through one...) You have to get an IV and they start a medicine to induce contractions and usually they come on so strong that you have to get an epidural... and it's just a mess. Now, if there is a medically valid reason to do this... I'm all for it. But for now, I'm going to hold off till after I'm past my due date--unless the baby is in distress or my BP shoots up.

Isaac assembled the last baby item last night--the stroller frame to the baby's car seat. We really need to get the car seat installed in my car. : ) But I guess we can just throw it in the car on the way to the hospital and work it out before we bring Baby Bird home. I still haven't packed a bag for the hospital. I am such a procrastinator in that regard. Maybe I can do that tonight!

Anyway. 10 days away from my due date. Can't wait to meet our precious baby.

Scary Things

Okay, I know I'm supposed to cast all my cares on God because he cares for me. And that I should not worry because if God feeds the birds of the air, then he cares for me even more... But nevertheless, I'm scared. So I thought it might be a good practice to write it down and get it out. I'll do this in bullet form:

• Labor and delivery: Goodness I hope I realize when I go into labor? Little twinges and pains I'm having right now immediately set off the "Is this it?" thought in my head. I just need patience to wait on the real deal.

• Pain: how bad will L&D pain be? Can I handle it? It seems people's experiences are so varied and I'm just praying I handle it okay. I wonder if I'll be able to relax during contractions to help reduce the pain, or if I'll be too wound up? And I'm praying it won't last too long. Can I please be one of the lucky ones to have a shorter labor? : )

• Modesty: seriously, I'm not looking forward to L&D for this reason. I know millions of women have done this before. But goodness, I hope I can maintain some modesty during the process. I'm afraid I'll worry so much about this that I won't relax like I should. My mom keeps reassuring me that I won't care about this once I'm in labor. I hope she's right!

• Breastfeeding: will I be able to do it? Will it hurt? Will I have the energy when I'm really sleep deprived during the first days and weeks? My plan is to sleep as much as I can when the baby sleeps. We'll see how that works out. I tend to get pretty wound up which makes it hard to sleep. I'm praying I can relax though... (there's that word again, relax)

• Lack of sleep: how will I cope? I need my sleep and get really emotional and bent out of shape when I'm tired. I don't want to lash out at Isaac or other loved ones because I'm tired. And I want to enjoy being home with the baby.
  

That's a good list for now. I'm sure I'll add to it over time. But for now, I'm off to work. Thanks for letting me share. I appreciate your prayers. I need them!

Good stuff

My dr's appt and ultrasound went well on Friday. Baby Bird is getting too big for good u/s pictures, so I don't have any to share. The u/s tech was so nice and tried to get a 3D picture for me (since Isaac was stuck in class and couldn't make it). But the placenta was covering his face, so it didn't work. They estimate he is about 7 pounds now, and he's doing really well. My blood pressure is good too, so it just looks like we're just waiting on when our little guy decides to make his entrance! At this point, there is no need to even discuss induction because my BP is doing well. I guess if he's not here by his due date, they will re-evaluate. But I'm hoping we won't have to get that far.

We had a great weekend. We watched a couple movies together, served dinner at church, hung out with our church friends, and attended a nice lunch a friend had after her daughter's baptism. It was HOT, but I stayed inside mostly, so I wasn't too miserable. We did take a dip in the pool on Saturday afternoon with our niece and nephew. It was so fun watching Isaac play Marco-Polo with them. He has a little unfair advantage though because his arm span is so wide... hard to get around him!

Yesterday's church service was amazing. Our pastor was preaching from Galatians where Paul talks about being justified through faith and not by the law. Our pastor was talking about our tendency to build lists of sins in a hierarchical fashion. We fool ourselves into believing that some sins are bigger than others. He cautioned us against doing this since we will likely find ourselves revising those lists once some of the sins hit a little too close to home.

He also talked about how setting up such hierarchies, and judging other people puts our relationship with God in a precarious position. If we are capable of such judgment, then how does God feel about us? Can we believe that he loves us totally and unconditionally if we have such a tendency to do just the opposite with our fellow man? It really makes me think. And I'm so proud to have a pastor who is willing to speak the truth, even when it stings a little.

Anyway... need to get to work. Trying to make sure my loose ends are tied up before I start maternity leave. I'm not scheduled to be out of work till Baby Bird arrives... but it should be in the next few weeks. Less than 19 days as of today!!

Have a good week!

37 weeks

I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow! I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is passing! That will make me officially full term, so the baby can come at any time now. I think we're pretty much ready for him, although I think Isaac would like a little more time to wrap up some work projects. We'll see!

I had an interview offer at work this week. After initially accepting the interview, I decided not to go through with it. At this point in my pregnancy, I just want to focus on wrapping things up at work and preparing for Baby Bird. I think I've upset the management team I work with in the last couple months by applying for several jobs outside my department. But I guess I have to do what's right for me. I definitely think I'm being held to a double standard ("Don't leave us Andrea, but there isn't really anything we can do to address your concerns either...") Ugh. I will be really happy just to have a couple months off to focus on the baby and our family. Then I can go from there!

I have an ultrasound and doctor's appointment today. I'll post pictures later if any show up really well. The pics from my 32 week ultrasound were pretty hard to distinguish, although I can totally see Baby Bird's cute nose and cheeks in the photo. Only a mother can appreciate that, right?

We are serving dinner to homeless families at our church tonight. Our church is a part of an area network to house, feed, and transport homeless families. Families are eligible to be in the program for about 6 weeks, and they receive resume and job help. Churches volunteer to house the families for a week at a time. We literally transform Sunday school classrooms into "apartments." Isaac and I spent the night last quarter at the church. But I think I'm going to pass this time. Nothing like my own bed at this point in my pregnancy (although sleep is definitely becoming more and more difficult).

We don't have any plans for Saturday, and I am relieved. It will be nice to get a few more things done around the house. I may even go for a swim in the condo pool since it's supposed to be so hot this weekend. Isaac is training for a marathon this fall, so he'll run. And then he needs to do some work at the office. So, we'll have a relatively laid back weekend.

We seized the opportunity last night to go see the movie Robinhood. I thought the movie was pretty good, and the story line was definitely a good one. Cate Blanchet and Russell Crowe did a really good job in the movie. I especially liked Cate.

Anyway, that's what is new with me this week. We're getting close to meeting Baby Bird in person and we can't wait! Happy weekend all!

Lots to do...

We're trying to wrap up some of the last things to do before baby bird arrives. We are pretty much ready for him. But goodness, there seems like an endless amount that can be done. Cell phone #'s to collect so we can call people when he arrives, things to hang in the nursery, pack 'n plays to set up, breast pumps to figure out, and the list can go on and on.

I was doing a "big shop" at Target today and I almost felt a bit paralyzed in the baby aisle. I want to be ready as I possibly can for the baby. I want our first moments and days with him to be filled with love and joy... and not stress over not having x item. I guess I want it to be perfect--and while I know that isn't possible--I still strive for it.

I need God's help to remind me that I'm not doing this alone. And I know that everything will be fine and even amazing and joyful... I just need reassurance right now that we have what we need internally and spiritually to love and nurture this amazing gift to the very best of our ability.

I can barely begin to express how thankful I am for this time in our lives. Welcoming our son into the world will be one of the greatest joys of our lives. Both Isaac and I have waited for a long time for this precious one... before we even met one another.

Thank you God for this gift and for loving us so much that you've given us a son. May we know a fraction of your love for us through baby bird. And may we glorify you in raising our son to know and love you. To God be the glory...

Memorial Day

We had a great time in TN for Memorial Day weekend. The drive there and back really wasn't bad at all, and we had pretty good weather considering all the rain in the area. We actually lucked out and only got a little rain, mostly in the evenings.

We stayed at a great Bed and Breakfast on Douglas Lake. The house was gorgeous, and we were so comfy in our room. The bathroom had the cool, old fashioned black and white tiles. And we even got to watch a little French Open in our room. (Sniff, sniff... we got to see some of the French Open in person last year this time!) Breakfast was way yummy, and we got to eat both mornings with a delightful couple from Bakersville, CA.

We had a good bit of time to catch up with Isaac's dad. We grilled hamburgers out on Saturday night, and they were yummy. We brought deviled eggs and homemade banana pudding with us and enjoyed that as well. Isaac's mom and grandmother met us in Knoxville on Sunday morning for a late breakfast. We enjoyed a really nice visit with them and then went to see the movie Shrek 4. It was really cute...

The only real drama of the weekend was my cutting my thumb pretty badly while cutting watermelon. The knife was super sharp and the cut was pretty deep, so off we headed to the ER. We waited over 3 hours to be seen. And then the dr. used some dermabond (read: glue) to close the wound... and I got a lovely tetnus shot (ouch!). It's healing well, even though the glue didn't keep the cut together more than about 18 hours. Ugh. Next time I'll insist on stitches... or just not go to the ER.

So, it was a nice weekend. Isaac's in Mississippi this week and will be back Friday. This is his last trip so I'll be glad to have him home till the baby arrives. The baby is moving around like crazy and is now enjoying kicking me not only in the right rib, but the left one too! I guess it's getting a little cramped in there! : )

I have a work baby shower today, so I'll update on this later. Have a great day!