Big Sis

Kate came to visit us today. Boy I miss that kid. She is so proud and excited. Hopefully the buzz doesn't wear off anytime soon...

Doing well...adrenaline is long gone and I am exhausted. Keep reminding myself that, come 9pm I cannot sleep until morning. Other than that we are doing okay. Tomorrow will break out the laptop and write more about our fun today!

We're rolling...

We got to the hospital this morning and Sarah was 6cm dilated.  They broke the water bag and now there are mucho contractions.  All is well so far.  More to come...

Heading to the hospital

No baby yet.

Went to bed around 10pm but the waves of pain made it hard to sleep. Around midnight I turned on my hypnobirthing relaxation track I have been "practicing" with and that did it until 4am. Then just couldn't sleep after realizing I must not yet be at 4cm. So, got up and watched some TV to enlist gravity's help and now we are getting ready to head out.

Poor doggy

She knows something is not right and is hiding in our room instead of sleeping in her own bed like a good doggy.

Step 1 Complete

Well, we are home.

The long and short of it.

I was 2 cm dialated.  My midwife compared my cervix to a ripe peach which apparently is a very good thing.  She said that she would guess I'd end up in the hospital tonight and not make it until morning.  Crazy! 

What I've learned about foley bulbs:
- they aren't well known because it's just a catheter and no company has figured out how to make money selling them.  My midwife says that drug companies can't sell it so no one hears about them.  :)
- you get a tube stuck in you and then the bulb at the end is filled with water.
- this process doesn't feel particularly great, and the baby doesn't like the crowding.
- using a Foley Bulb feels like those intense menstral cramps that Advil doesn't help.  Not that I can have Advil... but I will be trying Tylenol tonight and they said I could take Benedryl to help me sleep.
- It falls out when I hit 4 cm. 
- At that point I just hang out at home until a) I go into labor, or b) We go to the hospital at 7am for the next steps.

So, now I'm just chilling on the couch with my heating pad and watching Project Runway. 

Kate's going to the Grandparents' house for tonight since our appointment is at 7am.  We're sad because we'll miss her but it seemed to make more sense than having anyone's sleep interrupted early... 

Waiting, compared

There's the waiting for the c-section:  you can't eat, the doctor's late for an emergency so you still can't eat.  I took tons of silly videos and movies of Daddy P dressed up in his silly gown.  We watched TV, we hung out.  It was boring, and I was hungry, but hey, we were getting a baby out of it.

There's the waiting for the induction:  according to websites which I never should have read it is a combination of getting your membranes stripped and then having a ton of pressure put on your cervix.  Most women who took the time to blog (a biased sample, I would like to think) said it is very painful.  Indeed, my midwife rescheduled the appointment so that it would be as late in the day as they could make it.  Not a good sign.  I may not get a baby out of it, but will get to go to the hospital in the morning to have my water broken, which may not produce a baby either.  It's a really weird different type of waiting.  "Waiting for pain" is I think a good way to capture it.  Now, the c-section was plenty painful, but that was pain for the week, and it was dull and I got to take a lot of medication to make it hurt less.  This feels... well, a little masochistic.

BUT, fear-pain cycle, right?  Chill out, nothing to fear... fear leads to pain which leads to fear which leads to more pain... I was just preaching to a client last week about the fear-pain cycle and teaching her relaxation exercises, so healer heal thyself.  (That may only apply to MDs though, because really is there any chance of any head doctor healing themselves?)

So, in my last moments... what am I doing?

(other than blogging?)  Watching streaming TV on netflix.  Making last minute emails to my clients that I haven't seen in a week.  Folding laundry.  Packing a "farmer's market" bag so my folks can do my weekly Wednesday ritual with Kate, my cherished mom and Kate time.  Trying to get some food in me in case I don't feel like eating later.  Putting some movies on the laptop in case I am at the hospital a long ass time tomorrow after they break my water and before anything starts to happen.

Overall I feel... ready and eager.  I've been having killer braxton hicks contractions all day so my uterus seems eager, too.  I'm hoping that's a good sign.  Hopefully Daddy P's getting geared up for his role in my relaxation exercises to come.  :)  I had a dream last night he was missing (and presumed dead) so I hope that isn't an indication of his role in my relaxation to come. 

Huh.

Alright, well, forty minutes to go...! 

Here we go!

About to go in for my fun foley bulb.  I made the mistake last night of googling it.  The info ranged from "produces very intense contractions that are good practice for active labor later on" to "causes cramping."  Right now I have rented a bunch of movies, have bought a book to read, and am prepared to do nothing today but rest.  Then tomorrow we head in to the hospital...

As a side note, here are two different responses I have received in the past two days about my state:

"Hey Beautiful lady, when are you due?"  .... "Oh yeah?  Well, you look great!  Not swollen or puffy or anything!"

"You look like you're going to POP!  Oh my gosh, when are you due??" ....  "Wow, if I were you I would be sitting outside of the hospital.  Are you sure there aren't two in there?  If I see on the news, lady has six kids, then I can say I met you!"

I kid you not.  These both happened.

I promise you, I do not look as though I'm inviting these comments.  Today I think I was glaring at anything that moved this morning until I gave in and had some caffeinated Chai (yum).

Practice napping

Testing baby brother's stuff

Got an Ergo as a present from my parents. I haven't been able to try it on the belly but both Kate and Daddy P report that it is very very comfy. I think Daddy P plans on using it to haul her around from now on.

And the midwife says...

Baby is in good shape, lots of fluid, good heartbeat, all that.  Monday I go back for another non-stress test (to make sure baby's fine), and for "cervical ripening" (sorry, that's what they called it).  Wednesday if nothing's happening I get a balloon put in me to put pressure on my cervix and see if that helps things along.  Thursday we're scheduled at the hospital to have my bag broken and then we hang out there all day (and maybe night) to see if labor starts.  If not, then we go with a C-section.  So, a week from today we'll have a baby one way or another I suppose!

So a little bit of waiting and a little bit of planning.  :)

Still waiting

I'm not ignoring anyone.  But, I will admit, I'm getting tired of giving "we're just waiting" updates.  You people have no faith that I will make sure you are notified in some form when this actually happens, despite years of proof that I know how to email, text, phone, blog, and facebook.

I'm one week late.  This week has been busy!  Some highlights:

- I stopped working on Wednesday (unless book-keeping and supervision count as working... nah...)
- Got my license in the mail to make my office look official!
- Bought a used Mazda5 from a very nice visiting professor who is leaving the country.  Kate loves loves loves it.  For now she insists on sitting in the back, but we've told her when the baby comes she'll be moving up to the middle so we have more trunk space.
- Our good friends got engaged (yay!).  When I tried to explain this to Kate, I must have left out some important details.  The explanation I mustered was something like, "When you love someone very much and want to spend most of your time with them you marry them."  Kate said in response, "I want to be married."  I told her that maybe someday she'd find someone she loved very much to marry.  She then said that she was going to marry Nana and Papa because she liked them a lot.  So, yeah, I obviously need to work on my explanations.
- Kate has given birth to her horsey about six times a day.  "Mama, he's dropping out!  We're going to the hospital!" is a frequent refrain in our home.
- We effectively have thwarted the mockingbirds in our yard from eating our strawberries and tomatos through a combination of an American flag banner, a strange neon flag, and a fake owl that Daddy P and Kate move around frequently.
- Found a nanny!  It took me about four to five months to find one when we were looking for one for Kate, and Daddy P somehow did it in two weeks.  He totally sucks, but I'm glad he managed it because I am so relieved that we'll have someone we trust to watch the bugger.

Baby prep

Kate is preparing by reading to horsey, practicing putting him down for nap, and diapering.

We are preparing by buying a car! Found a used Mazda5 that should be ours shortly! Now we just have to sell the truck...not easy with gas prices as they are...we will see.

The update is... no update.

Nothing is happening people.  I wish I could tell you.  I'm in intense pain, but alas.  Just dizzy and uncomfortable.  This is my "relaxation" week.  After a week of pretending I have control and trying all methods to naturally induce, I am going with the "I have no control" methodology.  This consists of not working (last day Wednesday), watching a lot of TV, maybe splurging on buying a book, going to lunch with friends, and trying to find any air conditioned stores to wander through that I can.

My blood pressure has been very low so the doctor doesn't want me exercising outside (which, for a pregnant lady who weighs 185 lbs in 105 degrees means walking anywhere as far as I can tell).  My blood pressure is normally low, but it was crazy low last time I was checked and I've been woozy a lot when standing and walking inside, let a lone outside.  So, another excuse to rest (thank goodness for daycare!).

You will get notified some way or another when this status changes, so have no fear.  They'll let me go two weeks after my due date, so I still have a ways to go before having to think C-section.  Hopefully baby brother will decide to come out before they start sterilizing knives.

Fathers day

Begin with donuts and coffee for smiling faces.

New favorite katism

(requires knowledge of the book Courderoy)
Daddy P finished reading to her tonight, and they closed Courderoy and laid down to snuggle. Kate turns to him and says, "Daddy, you must be a friend." Paul said he almost cried.

Happy Early Fathers Day to a very very loved Daddy.

All aboard!

"Driving the train to the hospital..."

Kate-isms

"When is the baby going to drop out?  I will catch him and put him in his crib."  There's one home-birth advocate.

During a dinner conversation Paul and I forgot she was at, "I don't know that word. What is 'die'?"  I have never been so happy for the universal "not it" sign.

"When I grow up I am going to be the person sitting at the high chair at the pool."  She has observed the power of the whistle first hand and covets control over all little people.

Paul tripped and sprained his ankle last weekend and Kate was there for it. She tells me, "I'm not going to be a Daddy. I'm going to be a Mommy when I grow up so I don't trip and get a boo boo." Smart girl.

Show Stealer

Gotta try to trump having a baby with a sprained ankle. Geesh! Here is Kate singing to him and putting her "babas" (aka ice packs) on him.

Kate-ism

"our house is brick so the big bad wolf can't get us."

Failed at the "make believe" explanation that followed this comment.

"tell me about thunder again from the beginning"

Really? Did you just say that.

Anatomy lesson by Kate

"I am not a big boy because I don't have a penis yet. I'm just a little girl because I have a vagina."

Guess I need to work on my explanations a bit better.

Shopping

Kates grocery list to help find our groceries.

Testing the baby toys

Kate has been exploring all the baby toys that have been in the garage. Horsey is also helping to make sure everything is working properly.

Run run run

The only way I managed to get my 3 mile walk in.  Run. Stroller. Run. Stroller.