39 weeks!

Here is me on Thanksgiving day with the animals protecting Hadley...one day before she was born...
Here I am at my in-laws' house the day that Hadley was born. Gregg was at basketball practice, so his mom and sister were timing my contractions while he was gone. Max, their dog, has always been my little buddy, but this goes to show that dogs really do have a sixth sense. During a contraction, he jumped up on the couch and put his paw on my belly!

Here is me at 39 weeks, in the hospital (at 8cm dilated) just about 4 hours before Hadley was born! We had just been checked into a room after laboring in the waiting room for 45 minutes (and at home all day!)

38 weeks!

Today, I am officially 38w4d - holy moly! I had an appointment and everything appears to be great. My blood pressure was good & my weight has seemed to reach a plateau with exactly 25lb gained. Hadley's heartbeat sounded great & the nurse even commented on how active she was (as always)! We also found out that I'm about 1-2cm dilated, 40-50% effaced, and my cervix is soft & high - all good signs that my body is preparing itself just like it should! As the nurse practitioner said, I'm getting a lot of the leg-work of labor done ahead of time, which is excellent since all of my contractions have been non-painful!

So now we just continue to wait...and wait...and wonder if today is the day that little Hadley will finally decide to make her appearance! I've been bored out of my mind at home, so going to the doctor is actually a great distraction, which I'm thankful for! I'm so glad that G will be home for 5 days in a row to keep me company!

Next appointment scheduled for next Tuesday!

Christmas!

Can I just say how much I LOVE Christmas? I love everything about it and I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve already broken out the Christmas music a time or two, much to the dismay of my husband (but hey – at least I listen to it privately since I know how much it irks him to listen to it any time before Black Friday)!

This year is especially exciting for us because it will be the first Christmas in five years that will NOT be marked by sadness, emptiness, and longing for a child. Don’t get me wrong, I always managed to find a way to enjoy the holiday season (it is, after all, my favorite time of year), but I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that there was always something missing – that Child-like wonder that comes with Christmas is hard to find when a) all you can think about is having a child to share that joy with and create family traditions with and b) a very special baby IS the reason that we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

I remember last year being particularly depressing because, for a short time, we had been pregnant & the thought of family Christmas cards joyously passed through my head, but then our loss shattered all of that & I was once again feeling bummed that we were just sending out plain, generic Christmas cards….friends encouraged me to send them out as a family of two, but it just didn’t seem right to me given that we had no big event to share with everyone.

So this year, we’re very excited to actually make Christmas cards to announce the birth of our precious little miracle, Hadley. I’ve been browsing the cards on Shutterfly and there are so many options, my head is spinning! I think these two are my favorites & once we get our pictures done and see what we have to work with, I’ll be able to make a better decision, since I need to figure out the wording & how much we’ll be able to fit in! And once she’s big enough, I’ll take pics every month & make photo calendars for Christmas gifts, too! ☺

Check it all out! There’s a new promotion where Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010 !!!

37 weeks!

Here we are! 37.5 weeks and no sign of baby H anytime soon (despite the fact that I predicted her to come tomorrow)! We had a bit of a scare on Friday night when I was getting some close contractions & having some pain throughout my middle where I was having trouble breathing deeply & I couldn't comfortably sit or lie down...that lasted about half an hour & left as quickly as it came! All has been quiet since then!

Friday was my last day of work and the parents of my 4-year-olds threw me a little shower/ice cream party for the kids. They each gave me a book & a very generous gift card to Target, which I'm sure we'll find many ways to spend! It was really bittersweet to tell you the truth - I do love my job, but I couldn't cry because I'm so excited for the work I get to do at home very soon! My boss cried as I handed over my keys and another co-worker/friend cried, too...I promised the kids I would be back to see them graduate at the end of the year, though!

My parents came over the weekend & my dad finished up some handy-man things in the nursery for us - we got the quilt hung that was a gift to Hadley from our nieces. My dad also hung the over-head light, the blind, and the shelf for her "collectibles" (My poor dad always has a running to-do list when he comes!)

I had my 37w appointment today & everything looks good. The doctor said that my group B strep test came back negative (woo hoo!), her heartbeat sounds great, my blood pressure is excellent & based on the ultrasound a few weeks ago, H is measuring in the 33rd percentile (little bugger!). I also opted for the internal exam today (SO not as bad as the horror stories you hear - unless maybe my dr. was gentle??) & found out that I'm 1cm dilated...which basically means nothing, but at least now I know!

Pictures, pictures!!!

36 weeks!

Wow! 36 weeks! I can't hardly believe it! Let's see what's happened since I last wrote...

On Thursday, the parents of my 3-year-olds threw me a surprise "Books for Babies" shower - it was really cute and I got some very nice books (and a couple other little goodies) for baby Hadley! It was so sweet and certainly not expected.

Then, on Sunday, G & I got up to get ready for church as normal. I wasn't feeling completely like myself & I ended up throwing up right before we left...I assumed it was pre-labor or something like that, but as I ran out of the sanctuary (completely missing communion) for fear that I wouldn't make it in time before throwing up (which I did - but just barely), I started thinking that I was actually sick instead. As we headed home, it was confirmed as I only made it to the front porch railing before becoming sick a third time! Let's just say my Sunday was awful & involved me unsuccessfully trying to suck down liquids all day & 3 phone calls to the on-call doctor to make sure that baby would be ok (I also had a fever up in the 101s). I took yesterday off of work since I hadn't eaten, drank, or slept in over a day. I was dehydrated big time, but the doctor assured me that "baby gets what baby needs" and that it was just me left feeling miserable.

Today, I returned to work & had a nice surprise little shower with the daycare kids! It was so sweet - they all made cards and got a neat toy for Hadley! After our staff meeting, I then had a doctor's appointment & everything looked great. Gregg came along with me, so he got to hear the HB & they also did the group B strep test (I'll get the results at my appt. next week). The doctor offered to do an internal since she was already down there, but I opted against it since I didn't want to deal with any of the spotting or anything that COULD happen. This is the first of our weekly appointments from here on out, which is exciting and scary at the same time!

My parents are coming for a visit this weekend & Friday is my last day of work, so I've got lots to look forward to (although it sure will be weird not getting up and going to work next week)!

And some pictures...the first is our nephew Max looking for the watermelon....

35 weeks!!

I can't believe we're already at 35.5 weeks! WHOA BABY! My belly is getting bigger by the minute, I swear - even my co-workers can't help but comment how much I've grown each weekend when I come back to work on Monday. In general, I still feel pretty good & I don't seem to have as much of the back/belly-spot pain that I had been having - now it's more of just a hip pain while I'm trying to sleep. Once the tylenol wears off, I just can't seem to get comfortable again.

Otherwise, there isn't much new news to report. Hadley's still been moving around like a mad-woman at night, making me wonder if I've eaten something she did (or didn't) like. I go back to the dr. next week for my group B strep test & my regular check-up & then my weekly appointments start (if we make it that far). I haven't been having a ton of braxton hicks contractions or anything, so I would be surprised if we found out that I was dilated at all (if they even do an internal exam).

Here I am in my Halloween costume for preschool at 35 weeks exactly!

And here is Hadley's homecoming outfit (sorry it's a bit blurry - it was with my phone)

34 weeks!

I got chastised by my loving husband last week for posting the 33 week update the day before I became 34 weeks, so I decided to get on top of things & take advantage of my day off of work to post on time this week!

I had my ultrasound this morning to check on Hadley's growth (since I had lost weight last week & she was stuck at 31w, according to the fundal measurement). Everything looked perfect. All of the measurements came back between 33w4d & 34w5d (I think). She is still a girl (LOL), weighs about 5 pounds and is head-down! The u/s tech commented on how active our little bugger is & I think that means we're in for it when she gets here since so many ultrasound techs have told us that - I figure they see babies all the time, so for her to mention something, H must be extraordinarily active! The tech actually saw my stomach bulge as she stuck a foot out the side! LOL! What a crazy girl!

I go back to the dr. in 2 weeks (Nov. 9th) for my 36w appt and my group B strep test. I got the OK to stop my baby aspirin & folic acid - wow, we are really nearing the end of this! I'll update later with pics from the wedding we went to over the weekend (for my 34w belly shot!) and next week's post with pics of me in my Halloween costume for preschool :)