Finally at the end

I am 39 weeks, 3 days pregnant and will be having my son in just two days. Yep, two days. April 13, 2011 at 5:00 am I will be checked in to begin my induction.

I had my 39 week appointment and it went ok. I learned 4 things:

1. My weight has not changed (yay!)
2. My blood pressure is "too high" (b00!)
   
3. I am between 1 and 2 cm dialated and 70% effaced (yay!)
   
4. I will be induced on Wednesday mainly due to my severe fatigue and high blood pressure (yay!)

Overall, I am pleased. Dr. D sent me home for good due to my blood pressure and just wants me to rest for the next 2 days. I'm ok with this and am ready for the next chapter to begin.

All along I had said no induction, but I now am eating my words. I am tired and ready. I feel like my BP is high because of my fatigue and lack of rest and sleep. There is no one to blame, nothing to point to, just plain old fatigue. I just can't do it anymore.

So, what do I do for the next 2 days? I am going to rest, spend some quality time with my sweet dogs, get the bags officially packed, the house cleaned and make sure I am totally ready for this new person in our life. I am trying hard not to stress about this change, the fact that we will have lots of people in our house, the need to talk to people constantly and to change my very private world to a more open one. I can do it, I think, maybe.

I'm so excited, Jerry Michael will be here so soon!!

"No progress"

Yep, no progress. Dr. D said I am still where I was last week (1 centimeter and thick) and that just makes me mad! I was so hoping things were moving along.

Here's the thing - I'm not tired of being pregnant, I'm tired of being exhausted with no real reason. I have loved pregnancy up until about 2 weeks ago. My feet stay swollen 24/7. My body throbs with pains. I can't sleep more than 2 hour stretches because of needing to pee and all the body pains. I have the sinus crud with no real way to cure it. I don't feel like I can do it anymore. My will-power is gone. My strength is gone. My stamina is gone. I just want to have Jerry and be a mommy. That's all I want.

So, the plan (what little plan there is), I go back next Monday (39 weeks 3 days) and get checked again. If there is significant progress, we will talk induction. If there isn't, then we continue to wait it out.

Tell me folks, what will make Jerry come a little quicker. I know sex, I know walking and cleaning, I know all the acupressure points. What worked for you or someone you know?

37 weeks

Look, I'm actually updating soon after an appointment.

I had my first "internal" appointment and all went well. I am "1 and thick" which is pretty decent for 37 weeks. Basically that means that I am one centimeter dilated and my cervix is still thick. I have been having braxton hicks contractions daily for about 2 weeks and have been wondering how thing were starting to progress.

My only complaint is that I tested positive for Group B Strep and that may hinder my "going natural" plans, but oh well. Maybe it just isn't in the cards for us. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Dr. D didn't give any kind of estimate, but then again, he isn't that kind of doctor and I am ok with that.

I will try to update often so that you all will know what's going on with Jerry and me.

Nearing the end

Today I am 36 weeks and 1 day pregnant and scared to death. I honestly thought I would be the pregnant lady that would be cool as a cucumber and be sitting on ready. However, I am not. I am scared, nervous, and anxious.

I'm scared that I'm not as brave and strong as I think I am. I haven't told a ton of people this, but my plan is to go through labor naturally. I don't want any drugs, I just want to do it on my own and know that I can really do this. But, my brain is screaming "YOU ARE INSANE!!!"

I'm nervous that I don't really know what to do with an infant. I have my BS is child development and can rattle off all kinds of interesting information on child rearing and education, but not mothering. I want the best for Jerry and I want everything to be perfect. Is that even possible?

I'm so anxious that I won't know when labor has actually started. About a week or so ago I started having some pretty good braxton hicks contractions and they honestly make me uneasy. A "WTH is that?" kind of feeling. My poor friends are being inundated with texts and emails of "what is this?" "is this normal?" I know this is all part of it, but whoa, am I ready?

I know I can do this, I know I will be a good mother and I know our house is ready, but I'm just so nervous. Who knew, huh?

The nursery

I'm going to do two posts, but this one is going to be centered around our (beautiful) nursery. I think it is just about finished. The only thing left is to hang his name on the wall above his crib and to hang some hand-painted pictures in the room, but I will probably do that this weekend or very soon (since we are quickly running out of time).

So, here it is. I am so pleased with it. I just love the way it turned out.

This is the view from the door. You can see the rocker and the antique hutch. The rocker originally belonged to Jeremiah's great-grandfather and the hutch came from Jeremiah's Aunt Beverly who is an antique dealer. You can also see the toy box which was made by my dad many years ago.

This is the other side of the room. You can see the crib, which is a Bonavita. You can see the medicine cabinet that came from an old pharmacy and the church pew. The blanket hanging on the back was hand knitted by Jeremiah's step grandmother.

A better view of the hutch and church pew. Can you tell we (well, I) really like elephants?

This is the view going out the door. More elies! The sign over the door says "hello little one."

The wall over the crib. We decided to put our maternity pictures over the crib. I wanted to do something a little unusual and thought that having some pics of us during this special time would be great. The mirror is an antique that Jeremiah refurbished for me.

The crib! The bedding is JJ Cole and we got it for $30. It was our first craigslist find and I have to say that I am in love with this. Also, here's a fun story for later. Jeremiah called the lady about the bedding and discovered that the lady selling it was the original owner of our house. Small world, huh?!

So, what do you think? Like I said, I love it. I am getting so excited to have Jerry here to enjoy it also.

February recap

Wow, February was a really busy month and I absolutely neglected my blog. Sorry folks.

In a quick fashion, here is what our month looked like:

• February 1st - my shadow at work started, which isn't what I expected it to be.
• February 5th - prenatal massage, the best thing ever in the whole world.
• February 6th - maternity pictures, Erin Hollis (Lens Envy) did the best job.
• February 7th - meet with Birmingham Pediatrics to help choose a pediatrician. I'm very impressed.
  
• February 9th and 23rd - 30 and 32 week appointments, everything is progressing great.
• February 19th - Preparing for Parenthood Class, we now know everything there is to know about raising a baby - YEAH RIGHT!!
• February 25th - Baby Shower thrown by 3 great friends.
  
• February 28th - ended the month with a stomach virus from HELL!! I honestly thought I was dying. It was terrible.

So, like I was saying, February was really busy. I'm still feeling great, so this update is just going to be short.

I will come back in the next few days and update more.

1st Doctor's Appointment in the 3rd Trimester

Yesterday, January 26th, I had my first prenatal appointment in the third trimester and it went well, as usual. Granna (my mom) went with me, she was able to hear his little heartbeat and meet my wonderful doctor. We are getting so close.

Here are the stats:

• Blood Pressure - "excellent" (I always forget to ask what it actually is, though)

• Jerry's Heart rate - 170

• Measuring - 30 weeks - As of yesterday, I was 28 weeks 5 days; which means I am measuring a little over a week ahead

Mom remembered to ask about whether Dr. D felt that Jerry had flipped yet (thanks Mom). He said that he felt like he had because of where the heartbeat was, but wasn't too concerned about it yet and said he wouldn't be until we hit 36 ish weeks.

Everything is still looking great and I am feeling pretty good myself. My only major complaint is back pain and lack of sleep. But, hey, what's a girl do?