We made it to 35 weeks!
For some reason 35 weeks seems like a comfortable number. 34 weeks was the milestone, but 35 weeks is even better. All of my weekly emails tell me that she's weighing about 5 1/2 lbs and that all of her major development is already done, she's just adding fat from this point on. I'm still hoping she'll hang in there until at least 37 weeks (maybe 39?) but feel much better knowing we've made it this far instead of the much scarier 33 weeks.
I've officially been on bed rest for a week and a half now. Here's a little brain dump about how it's going:
1. Once I reached 34 weeks, I got a few more privileges in that I can be up a bit more often, go upstairs to the baby's nursery once a day, etc. But I can tell if I try to do too much that I start to feel bad, so I have to spread things out. Take a shower, rest, fix lunch, rest, unload the dishwasher, rest. And by rest I mean at least an hour or so of lying down on my side. If I try to do two (or three) things at once my belly starts to feel tight and crampy. It may just be in my head, but I'm definitely not chancing it.
2. We found in the hospital when my contractions were pretty regular when lying on my back, that if I switched to lying on my side they were all but killed. So I've been doing LOTS of side lying. I had visions of getting so much blogging, computer work, writing thank you notes, etc done while on bed rest. But minimizing the time I'm sitting upright has made that difficult. Pretty much the only things you can do while laying on your side are read, watch TV or sleep.
3. The first week I watched entirely too much HGTV. Now I'm watching entirely too much Olympics coverage. When I go to bed at night I try to count the number of sports I've watched that day and the count is usually around 10-12 (canoeing anyone?!).
4. It's sad when you've watched so much TV that you actually get excited when a new commercial comes on (even if it's a bad one), because you're so sick of seeing the same ones over and over. (It's been a long time since I've watched this much non-DVR'ed TV).
5. All of this side-lying has meant lots of pain in my hips and sometimes knees. And my elbows are chafed from propping myself up constantly to read or watch TV. Gross, huh? And lots of heartburn too. Eating a meal and then immediately lying down afterwards will do that to you.
6. My mom and sister came up for the weekend and it was so great to have them here. I would have been mortified for anyone else to see my house in the state it's in, but my mom stepped right in in doing some tidying and deep cleaning. They also washed about 6 loads of Ava's clothes, blankets and sheets and helped organize the nursery some, so I feel a lot better about the state of things in there.
7. The nursery still has a ways to go on the decor front though. I've been doing some online browsing and shopping of course, but I just can't seem to make up my mind on some things. And there are a lot of things I just can't make progress on until I can get out of the house and look around for myself. So while I had planned to have her nursery completely done before she comes (and of course a big blog reveal), I've come to terms with the fact that that just might not happen. I may still be finishing things up weeks after she's here and that's ok. But I promise, there will eventually be a big reveal!
Overall, I'm in pretty good spirits. It hasn't been easy, and sometimes another two weeks of this seems so daunting, but I'm thankful that it's been uneventful so far. And Lee has been great, doing all of the shopping, cooking and cleaning. (Ok, let's be honest he's always done all of the cooking, so that's not much different.) And Sugar has been keeping me company too -- she's a very good napping partner!
Here's to another two weeks of boring bed rest and watching obscure Olympics coverage!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Friends Shower
I was lucky enough to have an amazing weekend with two wonderful showers before all of this pre-term labor craziness started. First up: a shower with my friends back home thrown by my sister, cousin and two best friends.
They started off with a super-cute invitation:
And pretty pink decor:
We played a celebrity baby name game and baby Price is Right:
Then it was time for gifts, and boy were Ava and I spoiled. Just some of the wonderful loot we got:
Cutest little monogrammed outfit from her Aunt Erin:
Monogrammed brush and comb set from Sara:
Crocheted baby blanket made by Caitie:
Personalized stroller blanket from Caitie and Brandon:
"Ava" hanger from Hannah (wow, that face!):
And custom baby quilt from Chrissy (with input from Mike and Mrs. Sue). By far one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me.
Me with the hostesses:
So glad Chrissy could fly in from Tampa. Love these ladies:
With Mom and Erin:
Our circle of friends is being blessed with lots of babies this year! All of the pregnant ladies:
And just because I thought they were pretty, I wanted to share the hostess gifts that I put together for the ladies:
The buckets with chalkboard paint were a Target dollar spot find.
Thank you so much to Erin, Britt, Chrissy and Sara for putting together a wonderful shower, and to everyone who came and made it so special. I truly am blessed and know this baby is so loved already :)
They started off with a super-cute invitation:
And pretty pink decor:
We played a celebrity baby name game and baby Price is Right:
Then it was time for gifts, and boy were Ava and I spoiled. Just some of the wonderful loot we got:
Cutest little monogrammed outfit from her Aunt Erin:
Monogrammed brush and comb set from Sara:
Crocheted baby blanket made by Caitie:
Personalized stroller blanket from Caitie and Brandon:
"Ava" hanger from Hannah (wow, that face!):
And custom baby quilt from Chrissy (with input from Mike and Mrs. Sue). By far one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me.
Me with the hostesses:
So glad Chrissy could fly in from Tampa. Love these ladies:
With Mom and Erin:
Our circle of friends is being blessed with lots of babies this year! All of the pregnant ladies:
And just because I thought they were pretty, I wanted to share the hostess gifts that I put together for the ladies:
The buckets with chalkboard paint were a Target dollar spot find.
Thank you so much to Erin, Britt, Chrissy and Sara for putting together a wonderful shower, and to everyone who came and made it so special. I truly am blessed and know this baby is so loved already :)
Sunday, July 22, 2012
33 Week Scare
It started Tuesday on my way home from work. I was feeling some pressure and cramping in my belly. I thought my skirt was too tight and was making me uncomfortable.
I went to the gym and walked around the track, hoping it would make me feel better, but I was still getting cramps every few minutes.
I slept fitfully that night, so I decided to work from home the next day. I debated whether to call the doctor, but kept putting it off. Finally, the nurse called ME to remind me of my appointment next week and I told her what had been going on, fully expecting her to brush it off as growing pains or round ligament pain or Braxton Hicks contractions. Instead she told me I was welcome to come in and get checked out, it was up to me.
I decided to go in and didn't even tell Lee, assuming I'd be able to call him and say "Went to the doctor just to be sure, everything's fine." The doctor walked in and said "How far apart are these contractions?" Oh, we're calling them contractions? I thought. I hadn't been classifying them as "contractions" in my mind (probably because I've never been pregnant before and had no idea what a contraction feels like).
She did an exam -- I wasn't dilated at all and everything looked fine. In fact, she let me know that baby was now head-down, so no more breech baby! But when she asked, how many contractions would you say you've had in the past hour? and my answer was "maybe 6 or 7?", evidently that was the wrong answer and she told me she was sending me over to Labor and Delivery to be monitored.
I got registered (pre-registering with the hospital wasn't on my To Do list for another two weeks) and was shown to a room (our hospital tour was scheduled for next week's childbirth class -- so much for that) and Lee arrived.
They put me on the contraction monitor and a monitor on the baby. Baby was doing great. I, on the other hand, was having mild contractions every 2-5 minutes. At first they thought I was dehydrated and maybe that was triggering the contractions, so they had me drink lots of water and started me on IV fluid.
Lee and I were still naive enough to think at that point that we'd be going home that night. We hadn't even called our families because we didn't want to worry them and instead wanted to be able to say "we had a little scare, went to the hospital, everything is fine."
The fluids did nothing to ease the contractions, so when my doctor made rounds that night she let me know she wanted to be aggressive in treating this. She was starting me on magnesium to treat pre-term labor and giving me steroid shots to mature the baby's lungs in case she was intent on coming early. I was 33 weeks and 1 day, and the goal was to get me to 34 weeks, which is a milestone for the baby.
All in all, we were in the hospital for 3 nights, from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday morning. The magnesium made me feel like a crazy person. I had terrible double vision and my body felt like jell-o. As soon as they weaned me off the magnesium, I felt much better but started having some contractions again. They were sporadic and mild enough though that my doctor still felt comfortable sending me home on bedrest, with an oral medication that's supposed to ease contractions. My cervix is still nice and long, which makes her confident that I can still carry this baby until 37 weeks.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Ava has looked amazing. Strong heartbeat, strong fetal movement, and everything looked great (growth, fluid, position) on her ultrasound. Now if she'll just cooperate with mama and stay put...
We got home yesterday morning and Lee has been taking good care of me. The first goal is to get to Tuesday, when I'll be 34 weeks. After that, we'll set a new goal of 35 weeks and then 36 weeks and then 37 weeks, when she'll be full term.
I'll be on bedrest until 37 weeks, which of course is disappointing. This is not how I envisioned this pregnancy going. But I'll do whatever it takes to keep her in there, growing big and strong for as long as possible.
I was supposed to have a baby shower today with Lee's side of the family. They're still going to have the shower, and he and I will Skype in from Holly Springs to say hello. Then his mom and sister will make the two-hour trek up here to bring us our gifts and visit with us. Each day and week will bring adjustments like these, but we'll make it through because we have an awesome support system.
It's still scary that the contractions could start back/get stronger at any minute. You know I'm a worrier anyway, so every hour is a battle with myself to get my mind off of it and assure myself everything is fine. In 48 hours I'll be 34 weeks and I'm counting down every hour. Hopefully after that point I'll be able to relax a bit more and let things fall where they may (after 34 weeks they will no longer treat me for pre-term labor, if I go into actual labor then I'm having this baby). But that's not going to happen. I'm hoping for a nice, long, painfully boring and uneventful 3 weeks of bedrest.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. And maybe recommend a good book or two? :)
I went to the gym and walked around the track, hoping it would make me feel better, but I was still getting cramps every few minutes.
I slept fitfully that night, so I decided to work from home the next day. I debated whether to call the doctor, but kept putting it off. Finally, the nurse called ME to remind me of my appointment next week and I told her what had been going on, fully expecting her to brush it off as growing pains or round ligament pain or Braxton Hicks contractions. Instead she told me I was welcome to come in and get checked out, it was up to me.
I decided to go in and didn't even tell Lee, assuming I'd be able to call him and say "Went to the doctor just to be sure, everything's fine." The doctor walked in and said "How far apart are these contractions?" Oh, we're calling them contractions? I thought. I hadn't been classifying them as "contractions" in my mind (probably because I've never been pregnant before and had no idea what a contraction feels like).
She did an exam -- I wasn't dilated at all and everything looked fine. In fact, she let me know that baby was now head-down, so no more breech baby! But when she asked, how many contractions would you say you've had in the past hour? and my answer was "maybe 6 or 7?", evidently that was the wrong answer and she told me she was sending me over to Labor and Delivery to be monitored.
I got registered (pre-registering with the hospital wasn't on my To Do list for another two weeks) and was shown to a room (our hospital tour was scheduled for next week's childbirth class -- so much for that) and Lee arrived.
They put me on the contraction monitor and a monitor on the baby. Baby was doing great. I, on the other hand, was having mild contractions every 2-5 minutes. At first they thought I was dehydrated and maybe that was triggering the contractions, so they had me drink lots of water and started me on IV fluid.
Lee and I were still naive enough to think at that point that we'd be going home that night. We hadn't even called our families because we didn't want to worry them and instead wanted to be able to say "we had a little scare, went to the hospital, everything is fine."
The fluids did nothing to ease the contractions, so when my doctor made rounds that night she let me know she wanted to be aggressive in treating this. She was starting me on magnesium to treat pre-term labor and giving me steroid shots to mature the baby's lungs in case she was intent on coming early. I was 33 weeks and 1 day, and the goal was to get me to 34 weeks, which is a milestone for the baby.
All in all, we were in the hospital for 3 nights, from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday morning. The magnesium made me feel like a crazy person. I had terrible double vision and my body felt like jell-o. As soon as they weaned me off the magnesium, I felt much better but started having some contractions again. They were sporadic and mild enough though that my doctor still felt comfortable sending me home on bedrest, with an oral medication that's supposed to ease contractions. My cervix is still nice and long, which makes her confident that I can still carry this baby until 37 weeks.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Ava has looked amazing. Strong heartbeat, strong fetal movement, and everything looked great (growth, fluid, position) on her ultrasound. Now if she'll just cooperate with mama and stay put...
We got home yesterday morning and Lee has been taking good care of me. The first goal is to get to Tuesday, when I'll be 34 weeks. After that, we'll set a new goal of 35 weeks and then 36 weeks and then 37 weeks, when she'll be full term.
I'll be on bedrest until 37 weeks, which of course is disappointing. This is not how I envisioned this pregnancy going. But I'll do whatever it takes to keep her in there, growing big and strong for as long as possible.
I was supposed to have a baby shower today with Lee's side of the family. They're still going to have the shower, and he and I will Skype in from Holly Springs to say hello. Then his mom and sister will make the two-hour trek up here to bring us our gifts and visit with us. Each day and week will bring adjustments like these, but we'll make it through because we have an awesome support system.
It's still scary that the contractions could start back/get stronger at any minute. You know I'm a worrier anyway, so every hour is a battle with myself to get my mind off of it and assure myself everything is fine. In 48 hours I'll be 34 weeks and I'm counting down every hour. Hopefully after that point I'll be able to relax a bit more and let things fall where they may (after 34 weeks they will no longer treat me for pre-term labor, if I go into actual labor then I'm having this baby). But that's not going to happen. I'm hoping for a nice, long, painfully boring and uneventful 3 weeks of bedrest.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. And maybe recommend a good book or two? :)
Friday, July 13, 2012
Retirement Party
My mother worked in the public school system for over 30 years, first as a teacher (of a variety of grades and subjects, mostly language arts) and then as a middle school librarian. When she announced that she was retiring this June, we knew we wanted to give her a big sendoff.
After months of planning, we had a wonderful evening celebrating her long and wonderful career with her friends, family, coworkers and church members. I'd love to share some of the party details with you.
First, the invitations. I knew I wanted to go with a book theme, so of course I carried that into the invitations. I printed the party details on ivory cardstock and then matted them on actual pages cut from an old history book, and mailed them in brown kraft envelopes. I got a little punny with the invitation wording as well.
For centerpieces, I used stacks of old books, along with magnolia blossoms from my mom's huge magnolia tree.
For each place setting, we wrapped plasticware in a napkin and tied it with twine.
We were lucky that the party lined up perfectly with the blooming of the magnolia tree and mom and I's hydrangea bushes. For the food table, I used burlap table runners and a centerpiece of hydrangea blooms.
My sister commissioned this beautiful cake, decorated with the organizations Mom was involved in throughout her career.
Mom and her daughters:
And with her sisters and brother:
We had a wonderful meal of barbecue chicken (made by my dad) and sides (made by generous family members). Then my uncle, my dad and my mom's first principal said a few words about her (all of them being equal parts funny and touching). We showed a slideshow I had put together of pictures throughout her career, as well as well wishes from her coworkers. If you have a spare 17 minutes, you can take a look here:
Penny's Retirement Slideshow from Megan Wade on Vimeo.
Finally, Mom wrapped things up with some memories and parting words of her own.
After months of planning, we had a wonderful evening celebrating her long and wonderful career with her friends, family, coworkers and church members. I'd love to share some of the party details with you.
First, the invitations. I knew I wanted to go with a book theme, so of course I carried that into the invitations. I printed the party details on ivory cardstock and then matted them on actual pages cut from an old history book, and mailed them in brown kraft envelopes. I got a little punny with the invitation wording as well.
For centerpieces, I used stacks of old books, along with magnolia blossoms from my mom's huge magnolia tree.
For each place setting, we wrapped plasticware in a napkin and tied it with twine.
We were lucky that the party lined up perfectly with the blooming of the magnolia tree and mom and I's hydrangea bushes. For the food table, I used burlap table runners and a centerpiece of hydrangea blooms.
My sister commissioned this beautiful cake, decorated with the organizations Mom was involved in throughout her career.
Mom and her daughters:
And with her sisters and brother:
We had a wonderful meal of barbecue chicken (made by my dad) and sides (made by generous family members). Then my uncle, my dad and my mom's first principal said a few words about her (all of them being equal parts funny and touching). We showed a slideshow I had put together of pictures throughout her career, as well as well wishes from her coworkers. If you have a spare 17 minutes, you can take a look here:
Penny's Retirement Slideshow from Megan Wade on Vimeo.
Finally, Mom wrapped things up with some memories and parting words of her own.
It was a wonderful night to celebrate a wonderful woman, and I'm so happy with how everything turned out.
Best wishes Mom for a happy retirement!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
32 Weeks
1. How far along? 32 weeks today. That means I have 8 weeks left. Less than two months! It seems like such a long time and such a short amount of time all at once. And I keep being reminded that it could be much shorter than that if she decides to come early, which of course panics me because there's SO MUCH left to be done.
2. How big is baby? About 3.75 lbs and 17 inches long.
3. Nursery progress: she officially has a place to sleep! We picked up her crib this weekend, bought her mattress and set everything up (even though I still need to wash her bedding and iron the bedskirt). The glider is in, but we're waiting for the dresser to come in to pick them both up at once. It was fun to see the crib come together, but it just reminds me of all the stuff I still need to research/decided on/buy/set up, like: curtains, curtain rods, a rug?, light fixture, lamp, storage, artwork, the list goes on and on...
4. Pregnancy dreaming is the craziest. A small sampling of things I dreamed about, just last night: that we went on a cruise to Africa, that my friend Sara was a contestant on the Price is Right, Channing Tatum (not complaining about this one), that a pregnant coworker was suddenly having twins.
5. Adventures in childbirth class: we had our first childbirth class last night. It's a series of 5 classes, each 2.5 hours at the hospital where we'll be delivering. Last night we went over the anatomy & physiology of pregnancy, warning signs, contractions and learned some relaxation techniques. I have to say I felt pretty well educated since most of the stuff was already familiar to me. But I'm sure that will change as we get into the nitty gritty of labor and delivery, and I'm sure Lee learned a few things. He has been skeptical of this class all along (and dreading it) and he confirmed that it was just about as bad as he thought it was going to be. I have to say, the relaxation part made me feel pretty stupid and I couldn't stop laughing during the part where Lee was supposed to be caressing me and helping me relax through touch. I have a feeling the last thing I'm going to want during a painful contraction is for him to be stroking my arm. We shall see.
6. What I'm looking forward to? My first baby shower! AND my second, both in the same weekend! I can't wait to spend time with all of my favorite ladies.
2. How big is baby? About 3.75 lbs and 17 inches long.
3. Nursery progress: she officially has a place to sleep! We picked up her crib this weekend, bought her mattress and set everything up (even though I still need to wash her bedding and iron the bedskirt). The glider is in, but we're waiting for the dresser to come in to pick them both up at once. It was fun to see the crib come together, but it just reminds me of all the stuff I still need to research/decided on/buy/set up, like: curtains, curtain rods, a rug?, light fixture, lamp, storage, artwork, the list goes on and on...
4. Pregnancy dreaming is the craziest. A small sampling of things I dreamed about, just last night: that we went on a cruise to Africa, that my friend Sara was a contestant on the Price is Right, Channing Tatum (not complaining about this one), that a pregnant coworker was suddenly having twins.
5. Adventures in childbirth class: we had our first childbirth class last night. It's a series of 5 classes, each 2.5 hours at the hospital where we'll be delivering. Last night we went over the anatomy & physiology of pregnancy, warning signs, contractions and learned some relaxation techniques. I have to say I felt pretty well educated since most of the stuff was already familiar to me. But I'm sure that will change as we get into the nitty gritty of labor and delivery, and I'm sure Lee learned a few things. He has been skeptical of this class all along (and dreading it) and he confirmed that it was just about as bad as he thought it was going to be. I have to say, the relaxation part made me feel pretty stupid and I couldn't stop laughing during the part where Lee was supposed to be caressing me and helping me relax through touch. I have a feeling the last thing I'm going to want during a painful contraction is for him to be stroking my arm. We shall see.
6. What I'm looking forward to? My first baby shower! AND my second, both in the same weekend! I can't wait to spend time with all of my favorite ladies.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
30 Weeks and 31 Weeks
1. How far along? 31 weeks and 2 days
2. How big is baby? Baby center says she's measuring over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 lbs (as much as 4 navel oranges).
3. We had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound last week at 30 weeks. She was measuring right on track at 30w1d, 3lbs 4oz, and in the 49th percentile. The one downside? She's breech. At 30 weeks, she still has plenty of time to flip, but because she's been in the same position for the past 3 ultrasounds, she might be stubborn and decide to stay put. Our doctor talked to us about our options, but for now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll do her thing on her own!
4. What we've been up to: I helped decorate for and direct a wedding last weekend -- between that and mom's retirement party earlier in June, they've kept me super busy. Once the wedding was over, we took a few days to relax at the beach and the river, which was much needed! Now that we're back home with those things behind us, it feels really nice to have nothing on my to-do list that isn't baby related (even though that baby to-do list is very long!). Maybe I'll even get around to writing you a few blog posts beyond my weekly check-ins :)
5. How I've been feeling: really big all of a sudden. I keep bumping my belly into things and being surprised that it's there. But other than that I can't complain too much. I started having some back pain last week that was a bit worrisome but I think a few days of rest have cleared it up.
6. What I'm looking forward to: picking the crib up from Pottery Barn and getting it set up this weekend!
2. How big is baby? Baby center says she's measuring over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 lbs (as much as 4 navel oranges).
3. We had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound last week at 30 weeks. She was measuring right on track at 30w1d, 3lbs 4oz, and in the 49th percentile. The one downside? She's breech. At 30 weeks, she still has plenty of time to flip, but because she's been in the same position for the past 3 ultrasounds, she might be stubborn and decide to stay put. Our doctor talked to us about our options, but for now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll do her thing on her own!
4. What we've been up to: I helped decorate for and direct a wedding last weekend -- between that and mom's retirement party earlier in June, they've kept me super busy. Once the wedding was over, we took a few days to relax at the beach and the river, which was much needed! Now that we're back home with those things behind us, it feels really nice to have nothing on my to-do list that isn't baby related (even though that baby to-do list is very long!). Maybe I'll even get around to writing you a few blog posts beyond my weekly check-ins :)
5. How I've been feeling: really big all of a sudden. I keep bumping my belly into things and being surprised that it's there. But other than that I can't complain too much. I started having some back pain last week that was a bit worrisome but I think a few days of rest have cleared it up.
6. What I'm looking forward to: picking the crib up from Pottery Barn and getting it set up this weekend!
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