41 weeks - argh

For 41 weeks, babycenter.com basically says you need to get that kid out STAT. It also says that he could weigh almost 8 lbs. Um, he COULD weigh almost 8 lbs???? Please refer to post titled "Fully Cooked" below...


At this point we have tried everything to move this turkey out. I had extensive acupuncture on Wednesday and have followed that up with ayurvedic tea, massage oil and acupressure at home. I am walking, deep breathing, rubbing my belly in a downward motion and visualizing this kid coming OUT. The most I have noticed is that he has moved lower and I have had some more mild cramping. Nothing earth shaking.

His Uncle Evan has suggested grounding him already for not listening to his mother so as soon as he comes out, it is straight to the Naughty Spot for him. I sincerely hope this isn't a preview of what the high school years are going to be like with this one.

Everyone please keep your fingers crossed that I shake this baby loose in the next couple days before they plan to go in there and force him out! Off for my walk...

Doctor's Appt: Still NOTHING

I mean that literally! I am still at 1 cm and this kid has not moved down anymore into my pelvis. Unfortunately, the hospital is booked Wednesday and my doctor has a conference Thursday and Friday and her dad is in town this weekend so she can't induce me until Sunday. When I found out that her dad is an Ob/Gyn as well, I invited him to join us if it meant I could have this kid Saturday!
I am really disappointed that induction is looking like a sure thing at this point. Induction means pitocin which means much more intense contractions which means much less likelihood that I will be able to do the birth naturally. Apparently since this is my first child and he is showing no signs of budging on his own at 40 + weeks, my chances of having a c-section are much higher. A lot of times when women try to do induced labor naturally, the pain of the contractions is so intense that the mother can't relax enough to dialate which means more chance of having to do a c-section. So, in order to avoid that at all costs, it looks like the best thing to do will be to get the pitocin, get an epidural and get the show on the road. I am still planning to cross that bridge when I get to it. Maybe we will all be proven wrong and I will miraculously go into labor before Sunday and sneeze once and there he will be...all pink and healthy and not colicky and he will sleep through the night immediately. There is a fine line between being optimistic and being delusional, I know!
In the meantime, we have been trying all the suggested natural methods to shake this kid loose. Thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions (which seems to be everyone :) My next step is acupuncture which I am going for this week. Everyone continue to keep your fingers crossed and we will keep you posted. One way or the other, this kid will be here Sunday!

Nothing

Full moon has come and gone.
No Evan.
This kid had better get here soon because I have a hair appointment in 2 weeks that I don't want to miss ;)

Update

The 39 week mark has come and gone with no sign that lil' Evan is going to come out. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and all the stats are the same, I am still 1cm dialated and 80 - 90% effaced. The doctor said there is a greater than 50% chance that he will come on his own sometime this week but worst case scenario, she will induce me next week sometime or next weekend. I am really hoping for him to come this week since the idea of being pregnant another week does not appeal to me AT ALL.
As you can see from the picture posted below, I am pretty rotund. When I go out in public parents and grandparents look at me with this knowing look like, "Any second now!"
Tonight is the full moon which apparently has a great effect on causing your water to break although it does not cause you to dialate or have contractions so it still may mean induction. However, I saw on CNN this morning that there is a lunar eclipse tonight so I am not sure what effect that has on labor. I am going to do some reasearch on that. Keep your fingers crossed!
So...we will keep you posted!

"Fully Cooked"

I overheard Elisabeth talking to Evan the other day, letting him know that he is "fully cooked" and that he can "come out any time now to meet us". I think her belly button must have overheard the conversation and misinterpreted the intended recipient of those words, as it's officially been coaxed out of hiding now as well! It's been so much fun for me to see E's belly grow (seemingly more by the day) and to know that "the countdown" once measured in months, then weeks, is now just days...maybe even hours?! So, set aside your personal bias relative to what day you have in your respective baby-birthday-pool and keep your fingers crossed that a happy, healthy Evan decides to make a guest appearance sometime in the next few days...rest assured, we will keep you all posted!

Nursery: Before & After Pics

The nursery is finally wrapped up...in the nick of time!

Here is BEFORE:

This is the north window which faces the street.

The door to the bathroom.

The door to the closet.

You can see we did nothing to this room the first year in this house! We knew it would be a nursery before too long.

And the AFTER:

The daybed & valance.

Crib, changing table & shelf that Brian and I made (crooked, oops).

Granny Annie's antique rocker and our custom painted photo box which reads, "You are the poem I dreamed of writing, the masterpiece I longed to paint. You are the shining star I reached for in my ever hopeful quest for life fulfilled. You are my child. Now with all things I am blessed."

Evan's bathroom...look at that tiny robe!

Evan's closet, already full of gear, books and clothes!

So that is it!

I would say it is done but we still have to deal with the light fixture. We had it hung Monday and it looks a little small for the room. Actually, it looks like a doll house fixture in there! I neglected to research how big light fixtures should be based on room dimensions and ceiling heights. FYI: for fixture size, add the dimensions of the room to get the diameter (ex: 10' x 12' room = 10 + 12 = 22" diameter fixture). So, now we are trying to figure out what to do with this midget fixture and where we are going to come up with another one STAT! Ah well, you have to choose your battles and this ain't one I am picking at the moment!

I have to throw this picture in just because it rates high on the cute meter.

Pearl is ready for her little brother!

Doctor's Appt. Update

No one felt the little man's head today but we did get the exciting news that I am getting really close. Like, we will be someone's parents by the end of this week most likely. The doctor said I might make it another week but that she does not think I will make it to my due date. She isn't the only one! My mom's friend has predicted a full moon baby (20th) and the sales lady at Nest thinks he will be here by the 18th. When you are this large pretty much everyone comments on how it's "not long now".
After the doctor left the examination room Brian had a bit of a nervous look on his face. I think it is finally hitting him that we are there so-to-speak and this kid could be coming at any second. His main concern seems to be that I am going to deliver the baby in the car on the way to the hospital. So, I'd imagine he will be buying some weather proof floor mats at Checker Auto Parts this week or else we are taking my car to the hospital! I told this news to the guy who works out with my trainer right before me and he said that before he took his wife to the hospital he spent a few minutes laying down towels and trash bags in his car since her water had broken. He said he still hadn't lived that down. I immediately got a visual of me riding to the hospital in a Hefty bag, which wouldn't be that odd considering my family. Anyone remember Uncle Roy and Aunt Lillian wearing Hefty bags at the Carolina games?
We made an office appointment for next Monday but my doctor seemed to doubt that she would see me there. She also mentioned that the doctor on call for the practice this weekend was awesome and that I would love her so....
We have a call/email/text message list so everyone stay tuned to your technology for updates!

38 weeks

The weekly updates on babycenter are pretty boring at this point. Although he is apparently the length of a leek now! Everything else is pretty much the same...he is ready for the world! Now, if I can just convince him to continue toward the exit....

Not much else to say. I am still felling good, just a little tired and rather crabby. Brian may be posting an entry of his own so he can expound a bit on my crabbiness. Then again, given the severity of it, he may not be!!

Doctor's Appt. Update

The little man is staying put for now. He is still at -1 pelvic station where the doctor said he could stay until I hit active labor. My cervix is still 80% effaced (thinned) and is shortening. Again she was messing around with the scar tissue which has loosened up since last week. Some exciting news was when she was checking my cervix she all of the sudden said, "Oh, there is his head, he has hair!" It was nuts! I could hardly believe that she was actually feeling his head. Brian was more shocked that he had hair! Based on the hairline of this kid's father and grandfathers, I assured Brian that the doctor must have been feeling the very back of his head and not the top :)
So, not much change from last week other than I have started having some mild Braxton Hicks contractions which just feel like mild menstrual cramps right now. The doctor is pleased with my progress and everything looks good...my weight, blood pressure, etc. She thinks I still have another couple weeks so it looks like we will definitely hit the due date if not go past it a few days.
We'll keep you posted on the (hairy!!) kid!

37 weeks

THREE WEEKS TO GO!

We can hardly believe it...it is going by so fast. Well, at this point I can say that I am getting rather uncomfortable so if he wanted to come in say, 2 weeks, I would be ok with that!

We had our breast feeeding class last night and Brian was surprisingly well-behaved given the subject matter. Aside from when we went around the class to introduce ourselves and explain what we wanted to get from the class and Brian said, "I'm here because I was told there would be breast related pictorials" Nice. The class was rather boring overall which wasn't helped by the fact it was 3 hours long and the chairs were extremely uncomfortable. The teacher was a nurse and lactation consultant in her 60s or 70s who was very passionate about breast feeding. It was a bit humorous when she demonstrated a feeding hold or a breast pump because she obviously positioned the prop at her breast which was around her mid section!

I am still resembling something out of National Geographic except now instead of a tribal woman, I am more like a cross between a camel (water retaining) and a whale (sheer size). I have to be careful getting in and out of bed at night (4 times minimum) because if I sit down too hard, I can bounce Brian right out onto the floor.

I am also a bit crabby lately which I think is hormone related. A gal in my pre-natal yoga class who is 3 weeks behind me admitted to the class last week that she is so crabby she sometimes wishes her husband wouldn't come home from work. Ha! I am definitely not that crabby. Brian coming home is the best part of our day (Pearl and me) since that is when we get our heads/bellies/feet rubbed!

Another doctor's appointment Monday!