Bad News Bears

Well, so much for my plans. I just got home from my doctor's appointment. No progress. We are going to induce next week if nothing happens by then. I have to choose my child's birthday. Lame. I think we will go with April 2nd to give him a few days to come on his own. Also, I have Group B Strep. Why did it take them three weeks to tell me this? I have no idea. This means I get to have antibiotics administered every four hours while I am in labor. I have to walk around with an IV pole. Yay. Woot. So, I need all the prayers I can get that I will go into labor on my own before I have to be induced. Please help...

Birth Plan

I have one week left. Well, until my due date. I could potentially have another three weeks. I thought I would share my plans. I know they could all go out the window, but I thought some people might be interested. The first plan is to go into labor on my own. I don't want to be induced. The main purpose of this is because I know that induced labor causes more severe, more painful contractions. Second, I don't want any pain medication; especially an epidural. This part of the plan surprises me more than it should anyone else. Before I got married, I wanted to have all c-sections like my mom and be almost knocked out. When we started talking about having a baby, I started to think about hospital costs. I thought I should do a vaginal birth and try not to use meds. This turned into more than a financial issue. It is now something I really, really want. I want to experience every part of the process. I want to feel everything and I want to be completely aware of what is going on. I have been reading books and going to classes and preparing myself for this. I can't wait to see how I handle it all. I have not ruled out all meds. I know there are a lot of other options besides an epidural. They have drugs to take the edge off if it gets too intense. I want to try to go without but I know I can't control everything. I don't want the doctor to break my water as this can lead to a c-section if I don't progress fast enough. Most of the other parts of a normal birth plan I don't really need to think about because the hospital does it how I want them to. The only people besides the medical staff that will be in the room are Glen and my mom. With all of this in mind, I have been preparing myself mentally just in case I need an epidural or a c-section. I will not be completely disappointed and I know I will have more kids and a VBAC is an option if it comes to that.

Okay, as an update, the Braxton Hicks contractions are coming more and more. I hope they are actually doing something. Little boy is moving like crazy but there was one day last week when he scared me half to death by not moving for a few hours. He was really sluggish all day. But he is back to normal now. I go to the doctor for my last appointment before my due date. I'm sure we will talk about when we will do an induction if it comes to that. Which I hope it does not.... My mom is coming Thursday unless the doc says I am dialated to a 3 or 4 or something tomorrow which he probably will not. Our nursery is ready enough... It's cleaned out as much as it can be for now. It gives me a happy feeling to be in there. We have the crib ready and a bookcase with all of his books and blankets. The bassinet is in the bedroom. Glen fixed the vacuum so I don't have to worry about what we are all inhaling every day... We're ready as soon as he is... Whenever that will be. Come on little man!

My Nephew is Here!

Gus made is debut this morning. He looks just like his big brother Cameron did when he was born. Just darling! He is 20 in, 8 lbs 2 oz. She was not induced, luckily. And Kristin, I really, really don't want to be induced. Labor is hard enough already. Anyway, here is a picture of the cute little guy!

Full-Term!!

Oh no.... Well, if he comes between now and March 28th I will be one happy camper. But since we all know first babies usually come late and boys usually come late, I will probably not be having this baby until April. But I can hope. I refuse to take castor oil so don't even suggest it. Anyway, I am still quite comfortable except when I try to sleep. Or when I get up after having laid down for more than five minutes. I am having quite a few Braxton Hicks (not the baby's name) contractions but as of last Monday, I have not made any progress. I have another appointment tomorrow and I will find out if anything has changed. I love being pregnant! I love feeling my baby move around and wondering what he will be like. I'm so excited to see how I react in labor. I love that I don't know when it will happen. I don't usually let myself have very many surprises so this will be a great one for me. I can't wait! My sister-in-law is due on the fifteenth and her doctor offered to induce her tomorrow. I'm pretty sure she turned it down. This is her third so he will probably come soon. I am pretty excited to get that text from them!
Un-baby related, Glen conducted in his first band concerts this past week at the middle school. It was great! The bands there are way more advanced than the bands we had in middle school! He only has three more weeks of student teaching, so in a way it would be nice if the baby waited until he was finished, but I am too excited to meet him! Below is the latest bump picture. I didn't feel like wearing the same dress so it is not as accurate, but I don't really care...

A Few Shower Pictures

Here are some pictures from my showers. I had a great time at each one! I appreciate everyone that helped and those that attended or sent gifts! You are all wonderful!

8 Months

So, month 8. I officially have one month left. Well, a little over a month but still, we are getting close. I am starting to get really excited. I want to meet this little boy so bad. What does he look like? Does he have curly or straight hair? Is it red, blonde, brown? Will his eyes be green or blue? Will he have Glen's nose? My lips? (oh, for his sake, I hope he has Glen's lips...) But I know his little body isn't ready for the outside world yet. Lots of people have asked us about names. We have a couple picked out and for various reasons we are not sharing them with others. We want to decide for sure when we see his little face and how active he is. Just know that you will be able to spell it and pronounce it. It will not be made up, strange or a mixture of our names, such as Glensea or Chen. Just trust us. Okay, as promised another bump picture: 35 weeks

35/35

I finally reached the 35/35 mark. I am at 35 weeks and I have 35 days left until the due date. Yesterday I had my third and final shower. I was expecting to get a lot of repeats of things I had received at other showers but somehow everyone knew what I didn't have! It was awesome! We had so much fun. Aimee Carnesecca, my high school friend, threw the party here in Cedar and everyone was blown away by how many people showed up. We were expecting 5-10 since only about 6 RSVP'd but after all was said and done, over 20 people came. I really felt loved and that maybe, just maybe, I could stand living here a few years longer. It's nice to realize there are so many people that care. We played some fun games and ate good food. If you are in Cedar and weren't able to come, you really missed out! Anywho, yesterday, Glen and I decided to finally use all of our Target and Wal-Mart gift cards. We bought a carseat/stroller combo and a mattress for the crib. We also bought a bunch of little things we still needed like a nursing pillow and newborn diapers. Glen is so cute to watch when we look at baby things. He has so many more opinions than I do. Unfortunately, I have a terrible way of thinking and just want whatever is cheaper and Glen wants what looks nice and what will last. Good thing he's here to keep me from buying ugly things that fall apart. Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone who has shown so much support! We are really starting to feel ready for our son to come. The nursery isn't quite finished but he does have a place to sleep, lots of clothes, diapers and all of the things he will need to survive. He doesn't need a cute nursery right away, but don't tell Glen that.
I will be posting my 8-month post probably later today after I take another bump update picture. I think I am starting to get bigger finally....

Arizona Baby Shower

I had a blast! It was Arizona so I had to have the A/C blowing on me at the shower while everyone else bundled in their sweaters and tried to keep warm. I almost felt bad. I got all sorts of cute clothes! I love them! I also got a womb bear, a safety kit, diapers, wipes, cream, shampoo and lotion, a diaper bag, a baby photo book, a couple of books for him, (this is really hard because it is all still in Arizona so I am racking my brain) some of those Arm & Hammer bags you put dirty diapers in so they don't stink up your diaper bag, um.... binkies, one of those baskets you put in the dishwasher so you don't lose pieces and parts to little baby things, shoes, receiving blankets, handmade quilt, a swaddling blanket, and other stuff I can't think of right now, but the best present of them all was this bassinet my mom found at an antique store and dressed up all nice for "the prince" as she now refers to him:I can't wait until my mom gets here this weekend with all of my treasures so I can remember everything we got and so Glen can see, in person, how awesome the bassinet is. Hurry Mom!