It's been a while!

OK - it's been more than a month. But it sure has been a busy month!!!! First - my birth story.

We went to labor and delivery at 7 am on Thursday Oct 4 to start the induction. They hooked me up to the pitocin around 9am and I started having noticable contractions early in the afternoon. They got pretty bad so they gave me a shot of phentanol (good stuff!!!) but by 5pm there had been no real progress so they unhooked me and had me stay the night so we could get started early the next morning. They hooked me back up to the pitocin at 5am on Friday morning. The contractions started coming a lot sooner and stronger and just before noon my water broke. Things really started moving along then and got extremely painful!! After 2 more doses of phentanol, I was still only dilated to about 3 cm. I was miserable and was having so much pain in my back. At 5pm they gave me the epidural so I could relax enough to finish dilating. Thank GOD for epidurals!!!!!!!!!! Dr. Feelgood is my new boyfriend:-) By 9pm I was ready to push and things got started. 4 1/2 hrs later (at 1:28am on Saturday October 6), Emily Grace arrived at 5lb 3oz and 18 1/2 inches long! They ended up giving me an episiotomy and suctioning her out and told me if she had been any bigger, I would have probably had to have a c-section. Evidently, I've got a teeny, tiny pelvis!

It's been a busy month and Emily turned 1 month old this past Tuesday. She's now wearing newborn clothes because her premie clothes are getting too short. She also fits into the newborn diapers now (she has no hiney!! She gets that from her Aunt Mindy!!!) I took her in for a weight check today and she's up to 8lb 10oz. What a little porker!

The picture at the beginning of this entry is her Halloween picture. She was piglet. Appropriate now that she's gained so much weight, don't you think??

Things are set!

The induction is set for Thursday 10/4 (TOMORROW!!!!) The dr and midwives have decided that I'm now at the point where it's most beneficial for both of us for her to be outside rather than inside. The only thing that's going to get my blood pressure down is to have the baby so I guess it's time!

I'm supposed to call L&D tomorrow morning at 6am and find out if we're good to go. If so, I go in at 7am and they'll hook me up to the pitocin. The midwife wasn't 100% sure that it will work tomorrow. She said we'll see what happens. If I'm not showing much progress once we get into the afternoon, they'll send me home and we'll do it again on Friday. I'm hoping that it all works and we get a baby tomorrow (OBVIOUSLY!!!) I really don't think I could deal with the stress of having to do this twice!

Hopefully my next post comes along with baby pictures. WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the countdown begins!

I had my 36 week apt this Tuesday (along with the oh so lovely Group B Strep test). The dr was talking inducing! He got out the calendar and started counting backward from my due date and he determined that the big day will either be Friday Oct 5 or Monday Oct 8! Two weeks and counting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His reasons are -- I'll be 38 weeks by then (totally full term) and he doesn't see any reason I should go beyond 38 weeks given my trouble with high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. I'm freaking out a little!

Then last night we (finally) began our childbirth classes. This should have been done a month ago but the stupid health system cancelled the last set because there was only one other couple registered. Well --- Now I'm only going to make 3 classes TOPS. That's with us going to the class on 10/4 (which could potentially be the day before she arrives!)

I think the whole stress of everything has caught up with me. During class last night (while watching the childbirth video) I started crying and could not stop! I have no idea why. It's not like I haven't seen or heard of this stuff before! Wayne thought I was losing my mind and the instructor thought I might have been having contractions or something! I'm going to be a total nut job in another two weeks, aren't I?

Days off

I haven't decided exactly what I think about these forced days off. I'm only working MWF right now due to the blood pressure issues. Even though the new med seems to have them back under control, they don't want me working too much and getting them up again. So -- Tuesday and Thursday are now days off for me. It's pretty wierd getting used to a schedule like that since I'm used to teaching every day. There's part of me that would rather be at school where I can keep busy but then when I get home from school (like yesterday) I'm exhausted! I guess what's really bugging me is that I'm not allowed to do much. Emily's room and the rest of the house is still a disaster area and there isn't much I can do about that. Wayne's been working like a maniac lately trying to get ahead of the game so he's prepared to be off a few days when the time comes so he can't do much around the house either. I'm trying not to let it bother me but being forced to lay around and do nothing is very frustrating. It was different this summer when I CHOSE to lay around all day and do nothing!

The bp saga continues...

I went in for another apt and NST yesterday. My bp had been running on the high side all day and by the time they hooked me up with the nst, it really started going up. I'm sure I do it to my self with worrying about it. I ended up in L&D until almost 9pm. They ran some bloodwork - no signs of pre-e (good thing). Just high bp's (not such a good thing) They switched my bp med to Labetalol and that really helped to bring things down last night. I haven't checked it yet today. I figure I shouldn't stress about it since I know that stress does terrible things to it.

I'm at home today collecting all my pee for a 24 hr urine test (LOVELY!) and spending all my time on the couch. I'm up on the recliner right now for a while (oh my crazy life!) I have to stay home tomorrow yet and then I'll start working MWF only next week. Hopefully the few days of relaxation plus starting to work part time next week help things out.

I'm going crazy with this forced laying around already though. When I could do it on my own when I wanted to this summer -- it was awesome! Now that they said I HAD to do it --- not so much fun:-( Hopefully I don't go completely crazy by the weekend!

The drama continues.....

I went in for another NST yesterday. Emily (thank GOD) is perfect and is doing exactly what she needs to be doing. From what they can tell, she's perfect and is in great health. Now for the bad news.... I'm the one causing all the isssues:-( My blood pressure was a little better yesterday but they're still higher than they want to see. I have now been told by 2 different midwives that bedrest is most definitely in my future. I'm hoping to make it to 35 weeks before I have to start missing school but we'll see. I'm going to talk to admin. tomorrow about trying to work MWF and stay home on Tues-Thurs. That way I can still get necessary things done and not lose a huge amount of pay. Hopefully that will keep us going for a while. I've also learned that our new goal for having this baby is to make it to 36-37 weeks (possibly 2-3 more weeks!) It all depends on how my blood pressures behave. We've now upped my meds to 3x a day and then next step is to change to a different med (I can't remember which one). Hopefully one of those switches will help things out.

high blood pressure

I thought things were going well. School started. I was tired but things were good. I went in for another non stress test this morning. Emily was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing - moving around -- maybe a bit too much but things were good there. My blood pressure was 143/93 when I first went in. I figured OK -- it usually goes down. Not this time:-( The longer I'm there - the higher it goes. It ended up at 143/109. The midwife mentioned the possibility of bedrest at some point during this pregnancy. Not what I wanted to hear! They raised my bp meds to 3x a day and unless I'm at work, I'm to be a couch potato. Even at work, they want me taking it easy. I go back tomorrow for another test and we'll go from there. Hopefully I can at least get a couple more weeks in at work. She even suggested the possibility of working a couple of days a week and staying home on bedrest the others. I'm going to have to bring that possibility up to admin. on Tuesday. At least my sub will be happy -- she'll probably end up with extra days. It also means that I'll definitely be going back after Thanksgiving.

Why is it that I'm having such a rough time with everything? I'm really starting to think Emily might be an only child if this doesn't go any better:-(

EXHAUSTED

Today was my first day back to work after a summer vacation of pregnant naps. I'm so tired I can barely see straight. What am I going to be like once the kids come back next week? God give me strength!

Problems with Charlie

Not such a good day. It started out ok. I was painting the trim in the bathroom and Charlie decided to lay right next to the door and had paint all over his face. I finished and cleaned up and went outside with him. I took out a wet paper towel to get some of the paint off. I was rubbing his ear (normally a very happy thing for him) and he snapped and bit my hand. No skin was broken but it is swollen in the two places where he got me.
There's part of me that wants to give up with him - just get rid of him and forget about him totally. We've got the baby coming in 2 months - we can't have this! Wayne found a trainer (very much like the dog whisperer) out of NY (costs some big$$$ - but it's guaranteed). We have to decide what to do. The problem is that 99% of the time, he's a great dog but the unprovoked stuff just has to stop.
I'm torn. No clue what to do. Guess I just had to vent a bit.

31 weeks

I had a good apt. yesterday. I gained 4 pounds and I'm finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Hopefully I can still keep the weight gain down. I don't need any extra, if you know what I mean! Her heart rate was still good and strong and she's wiggling around all over the place.
Non stress tests start tomorrow. I'll go to Labor & Delivery and they'll hook me up to monitors for a while and watch what happens. I have another apt on Monday 8/20 and then after school on Thursday 8/23. After that we'll move the apts. to one week day and one weekend day.
Another bit of news -- they won't let me go past 39 weeks. It looks like if I reach my 38 week apt with no baby, we'll schedule an induction for 39 weeks. YIKES!!! That's only 8 weeks away!
You think I was freaking out with my last post. Things could get wierd during the next couple of weeks -- watch out!!!

Freaking out and a bunch of quesitons

It has recently hit me that I've got only 8 or so weeks to go till this baby gets here. As much as I want her and want to be a mommy, I'm scared SHITLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It worries me because I know our lives will change. It will change for the better, right? What if Wayne totally freaks out? What if I totally freak out?

Am I going to be a good mother and a good wife at the same time? Am I still going to enjoy teaching as much as I have in the past? Am I going to know what to do with the baby once she gets here? AM I REALLY GOING TO BE OK?????

another dr apt

Went to the endocrinologist yesterday for the GD. Everything is looking good on that front. I did get an interesting bit of news. She said that in all likelihood, I'll be having this baby by 38 weeks (that's the beginning of October!!!). They'll be monitoring me all along with the non stress tests but I guess at some point they'll do another amnio to check for lung function and then deliver when the lungs are good to go. Evidently, most moms with GD don't go much beyond the 38 week mark. I don't know if this is because of size or screwy hormones. I'm still hoping that being on insulin doesn't do wierd things to her weight. I want a 6 pounder!!!!!!!

If this scenario holds true, it would add several weeks to the maternity leave (and subtract quite a bit of pay). We're going to see if I can take full maternity leave through Thanksgiving and then do 1/2 days from Thanksgiving through Christmas and then go back full time in January. With what I teach and the schedule I have, it might be possible. We'll have to see if administration goes for it!

29 weeks!

Can you believe that I only have 11 weeks to go? YIKES!!!!!! A very scary thought!

I went in for a check up today. My belly is finally measuring right on (hasn't happened since 20 weeks). My bp was 110/68 (awesome!) and Em's heartrate was 158. The only "bad" thing is that I lost 2 1/4 lbs again (that's just since last week). Why is it that before I was pg, I couldn't lose weight to save my life and now that I'm supposed to be putting on a little bit, I just can't? I figure as long as she's growing and I'm in good condition, all is well!

Remodeling Hell

Our house is a disaster area! Wayne decided that he should lay new laminate flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. After 2 days, the kitchen is about done. The stove, refrigerator, and bakers rack/microwave are in the dining room and there isn't a free spot on the counter. I have to admit, it's looking nice but boy am I going to be glad when he's done!

28 weeks

I went in for my 28 week apt. yesterday. All is good. Emily is measuring about a week small but they said anything within +/-2 weeks is normal. She's moving around all over the place on a pretty consistent basis so that makes me happy!!!

We have to start thinking about scheduling our childbirth classes. I'd like to do the August ones so I'll be done before school starts. I don't think I need the added stress of classes when I'm beat from being at school everyday, right?

A picture

I took another belly picture today. It's been more than a month because I wasn't growing at all. I think I'm starting to get a little more round (it's about time!!!!)

Here's my 1 day away from being 27 weeks belly picture -----

Bored

I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm getting tired of summer already! Most summers I've worked part time and I'm not doing that this year. I'm home all of the time and I'm really starting to get lonely!!! I putter around the house each day and do some cleaning but that's pretty much it! I wait around for Wayne to get home and now tonight he's going to go back to the office to get some work done. What about me??? I'M LONELY!!!!!! Even Charlie sleeps all day. I think I have to get out of the house tonight - to do what? I don't know. I just know that I'm going stir crazy!

A little better

Well, it looks like things might not be totally over. He was talking about "in the future" stuff (building a house etc..) while we were walking Charlie tonight. That's a big relief for me because when he gets like this, my first thought is that he's planning on leaving me because I'm not doing things right. It all goes back to my self confidence issues. Basically - I have none:-(
The good thing is that I feel better about all of this than I did last night.

I think I hate Wayne right now

OK - I probably don't but he's got me so mad I could spit! Evidently, I don't do anything around the house and he does it all. (WTF???) Just because I'm home during the summer, he thinks that I should spend 24/7 cleaning. I don't think so. This is my vacation. It's not my fault he works all year round.
He hasn't willingly spoken to me in days and I'm sick of it. But there's no way I'm backing down on this one. He's going to appologize to me! I'm seriously considering packing up and leaving for a while - maybe that would wake him up? I wonder though....
Just to piss him off, I ran the vacuum at 10pm after he had gone to bed (with out even telling me where he was going). He didn't say anything about that either or the fact that I hands and knees scrubbed the floor last night either. What do I have to do to get his attention/approval? I just don't know anymore.

Trying this out

I've decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon too! I did this once before during my IUI cycles last year but decided that it would be a lot more fun to write about my pregnancy, upcoming life as a mommy, and other adventures that make up my life!