More False Labor Fun...

So what I thought would be the day that my daughter would arrive, ended up not to be so. My contractions started at about 10am yesterday and continued to get closer together until about 4pm. They decided to take a little break and were really random. But they started back up around 7pm and were about 5min. apart and lasting for about 50sec. I called the doctor and he told me to monitor them for another couple of hours to see if they got longer, stronger and closer together. They did get to be about 4-5min apart and lasted for about 65sec. While they weren't causing me what I would call "pain" I was getting steadily more uncomfortable. So I called in again, Dr. Cook wished me luck, and Dan and I set off for the hospital at about midnight. Of course once we got to the hospital and I was in bed the contractions stopped! I got up to walk around and rock in the rocking chair and they started back up again. However, every time I laid back down they stopped.
For some good news: I am now 3cm. dilated, 100% effaced, and what they call completely "ripe" meaning my cervix is as soft as the inside of my cheek and has moved into position for labor and delivery. So my body is COMPLETELY ready to go.
On the other hand: Aiden, who was at -1 on Monday is now back at -2. She just doesn't want to come out... I don't get it. My body is completely ready for labor and delivery, but she is determined to stay. The nurse said they won't even consider induction until she has dropped due to concern about the umbilical cord... not that I'm looking to be induced yet. But if this keeps up for another couple of weeks I will be.
I'm just so uncomfortable and ready for her to be here (and I know I'm not exaggerating as every medical professional I've met with just keeps telling me how sorry they are for me as well as using the "you poor thing" look and speech). However, I've decided I'm not calling the doctor for anything unless my water has broken or I'm in so much pain that I can't focus. Walking out of labor and delivery without a baby was just so depressing, even thought the nurses were really nice and sympathetic. I'm NOT doing that again. Next time I go in, I am getting my baby one way or another!

Week 37

What an excellent beginning to a week!
We just had our doctor appointment this morning at 11am. Aiden is measuring up very well and her heartbeat was very easy to find and sounds good. The doctor said that I'm about the same in dilation and effacement as before, but Aiden is also officially starting to drop! She is now at -1cm, as compared to -2cm the previous week. He seemed very confident that we will be having our little girl in a few days to a week! He said if by some chance I'm still pregnant next week, I'll come back in for another check up to see if I've had any more progress. So hopefully we'll be meeting Aiden before the week is out! I can't wait!
Some more great news! The girl who looked at our apartment last night said she DEFINITELY wants to sublease. Finally! And she seems totally sane, unlike the last potential...
Hopefully we will be signing paperwork today or tomorrow. The leasing office for the complex in Gosport said we can definitely move in by Monday. So... as my mom said, as soon as I set up the nursery a subleaser would show up and she's guessing that my water will break when we are in the process of moving. She's usually pretty good at these things. So that will probably be exactly what happens. Haha!
Well, I guess we will be REALLY busy this week!
Some very odd news from last night. My feet swelled to about twice their normal size! That was pretty frightening. I couldn't bend my ankles! The swelling was way down this morning though and my blood pressure was fine. So hopefully no more of that in the future. The doctor actually complemented me on still having noticeable ankles. He said that usually women at this stage just have cankles. Haha! Even with the swelling I'm managing to look somewhat normal. Yay!
Here are the stats and pictures for the week:
If you notice, in the bottom left corner of this picture is Caina. She has been following me around non-stop for nearly a week. It's been really cute :-)
*When is your due date? April 12, 2010, but who are we kidding?

*What week are you in? 37 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? +22lbs (no weight gain this week)

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? An eager little girl

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? I've found that I still have one pair of normal pants I can wear with a belly band (woohoo!)

*Stretch Marks? The initial ones are fading, but I'm still getting new ones :-(

*How are you feeling right about now? crampy, but very excited!

*Have you felt the baby move? She seems to be getting hiccups more and more. Poor girl!

*Sleep habits? * More Cynical laughter*

*Any food cravings? Not really...

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Pickles are really grossing me out

*Memorable Moment of the Week: A subleaser and hearing that delivery day is right around the corner

Aiden's Nursery!

Dan and I have been hard at work trying to get Aiden's nursery put together enough that it will be functional if she arrives a little earlier than her previously intended date (but also easy to pack up if we find a subleaser). I think I finally have it in a state where I would feel comfortable with her coming any day (Are you listening Aiden- any day. Really. I mean it.). We don't have any pictures on the walls. So it seems a little bare, but I would hate to put more holes in the wall when we are talking to a couple of people about subleasing and it is sounding rather promising with one of them (not getting my hopes too high, just being prepared). I was talking to my mom on the phone and she said that we will probably get a subleaser now that I'm so close to delivery and I will probably go into labor when we are in the middle of moving. Ha! I wouldn't be surprised! I will take what I can though. I've decided that it is just better if I let things happen as God intends them.
Anyway: On to photos!

We'll start off with the side that I'm having issues with. There are still a couple of storage drawers that I have no other place for but the nursery. So for the mean time, Aiden is sharing her space with some of Dan's stuff.

Here we have an excellent view of half of the room and I love it!

Here is the other side. Don't worry, the play gym will not be on the table when Aiden is playing with it. I just think it's a cute storage shelf :-)

The lovely rocker and a side table with play gym.

Caina LOVES spending time in Aiden's room! I think it's so cute how attached she is already :-)

This is the old fashioned bassinet that my Auntie Pam gave us. I think it will be PERFECT for easy blanket storage!!! As well as a little bed for our room if I just can't stand to be away from Aiden initially, just need a mattress and cover first!

The book shelf, with only a few books at this point and lots of cute totes, lamp, etc. from Dan's wonderful aunts. Oh and you will notice to the right, our diaper bag (which is ALREADY packed!).

Close up of the crib

Entrance to Aiden's room

All of the stuff I am taking to the future Grammy and Grandpa King's to wash and a few duplicates to drop off for grandparent usage.

Oh! And we have our canvas closet organizers on the way. They should be here by Thursday! Yippee. Super cute dresser alternative. Our portable changer is also on schedule to be here by Thursday. I can't wait to finish up with everything! I'm so excited!!!

The Closer We Get- I Just Can't Help Thinking About...

It's absolutely amazing how close we are to meeting our little girl! I can't believe that she could arrive any day. In so many ways I feel unprepared and in so many ways I'm definitely ready. So the closer we get, there are certain things I keep running over in my mind. I know that if I don't write them down, I will never remember everything I was thinking (with the way my brain has been, I can't believe I got it to remember them this long!). So here we are:

What I'll Miss:
-Feeling strange alien kicks at random times throughout the day and night
-Watching my belly "roll"
-Dan touching my belly and smiling fondly
-Hearing Aiden's heartbeat
-Feeling her pick up movement when Dan reads
-The kids at work feeling my belly and saying/asking completely innocent and adorable things (ie. How did she get in there? Is she sleeping? Why are you having a baby? My mommy's baby is hiding too. I don't have a baby in my belly. )
-How easy it is to take her to places that I want to go
-Gaining weight without feeling too guilty
-Compliments on the glow and my beautiful belly
-Random people smiling fondly at me when I walk through the grocery store, work, etc.

What I Won't Miss:
-Leaking (from everywhere, you mother's know what I mean)
-The inability to get up and down without help
-The inability to tie my shoes or roll my pant legs
- The lack of curves
-Being randomly nauseous
-Crying for no reason (I know that won't stop for a few weeks... but I still won't miss it once it's gone!)
-Being afraid of falling
-Forgetting everything/walking in a daze
-People being afraid to ask me to do things

What I'm Looking Forward To:
-Seeing my daughter for the first time- As mucus covered, purple, and cone-headed as she may be
-Holding her
-Watching Dan with her (he's going to be such a great father)
-Seeing everyone's reactions for their first meetings with her
-Midnight feedings (I'm sure I won't be saying that later, but I'm really looking forward to her needing me... even in the middle of the night!)
-Going for walks
-High heeled boots!!!
-Reuniting with my feet!
-Introducing her to Caina
-Watching her grow (Again, I know I may change my mind about that one... they grow so fast. But I can't wait to watch as she hits all of her milestones)

TMI- You've been forewarned!

Well, as you can all assume, my contractions did NOT continue and bring about the birth of my daughter. After 13hrs of contractions that got continually closer together (8min apart at the last) they suddenly stopped... That's the bad news-Here's the good:
I believe I have finally lost my mucus plug, otherwise known as "bloody show". I have a doctor's appointment Monday, which should confirm that. But if I'm right, this means that I will definitely be going into labor some time soon (soon in this instance meaning between now and a couple of weeks hopefully!). Everywhere I looked up seemed to indicate that the majority of women (if you can take a majority for anything in pregnancy. LOL) seem to have gone into labor appx. three days after losing their mucus plug. This would have me going into labor on Sunday!
Well, I've placed my bets on Monday. I just feel like my body is ripe and ready for delivery, but she is my daughter after all. I hope I'm right! I'm definitely ready! I can't wait to meet my little girl :-)

Week 36 is SO exciting!

We had a wonderful day yesterday! There were so many exciting things- where to begin...
At our doctor appointment, we did my group B strep test and the doctor checked my cervix. It turns out that I am 80% effaced and 2.5cm dilated! Woohoo! Easier labor for me, hopefully!!! The doctor was very confident that I would be delivering within three weeks and wouldn't be surprised if she came this week. When we left she said "See you next week, hopefully!". So we are making excellent progress!
We also had our pregnancy photo shoot with Jessie today! We spent a few hours up in the Broadripple area, snapping some seasonal shots. They are so sweet and there are so many that I am absolutely in love with. It's going to be hard to choose a few to frame. Here are some of my favorites:And there are SO many more. I just don't want to overwhelm you with the beautiful artistry that is my cousin Jessie's psyche. Thanks Jess! These are just perfect and everything I wanted :-)
To end the evening, Dan and I picked up all the remaining necessities for the baby. We now have our carseat, mattress, etc. Yippee! If she comes soon, we'll at least be more ready... I'm not sure we'll ever be ready ready ;-)
Speaking of being ready- I've actually been having contractions since yesterday at 8pm. Majorly bad on the ride home, not steady and extremely painful. Once we were home, they settled out at about 10pm to being 15min or so apart and not painful at all. This morning. They are 10min apart, 48 sec long and can feel some mild discomfort with the obvious tensing of the belly. I guess we'll see...
As for the fun facts:
*When is your due date? April 12, 2010- but I think we can all agree that they got that wrong!

*What week are you in? 36 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? +22lbs

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? I can't wait to meet my little GIRL!

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle- Little fire on the rye hill. I hope she's spunky!

*Maternity clothes? I've got some nice dresses that work really well. I think I will keep them forever, even if I'm not pregnant.

*Stretch Marks? Some of them are starting to fade :-)

*How are you feeling right about now? Sick, crampy, and a little miffed that my contractions don't seem to want to commit to a basic time table anymore :(

*Have you felt the baby move? She doesn't stop much... but we did get it videotaped finally! It just took Dan. She won't work for me. DEFINITELY a Daddy's girl already!

*Sleep habits? *Cynical laughter*

*Any food cravings? I can't even think of food right now. I just don't feel well.

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Anything with grease

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Hearing that we'll be meeting our little girl any time! I can't wait!

An evening of false labor...

Well, we can at least say that last night was... "eventful". I was at work until about 5:40 yesterday and had a couple of contractions in between 5- 5:30. I've had contractions at work before. So no big deal. I left a little early because we only had one kid and everything else was done. Brittany and I were joking around about how funny it would be if I went into labor tonight (this stemming from a conversation about the contractions).
I got into the car to go home, talked to my mom on the phone, picked up a salad, and went home to enjoy a nice healthy dinner, a glass of water, and some "feet up" time. All through this, I'm having the occasional contraction.
After this had continued for about two hours, I figured I should probably start timing them. They were coming every 10-20minutes and last about 30-50sec.
I called my parents to see what they thought. I just hate calling the doctor and seeming paranoid about everything. They suggested that I wait a little bit and see how things go. At about 9pm, I talked to the doctor who suggested that I take some Tylenol and have a warm bath and if the contractions started coming more frequently, to call. So I took the Tylenol and the bath for about an hour and felt better. About 15min. after I got out, they started again. This lasted until 12:30 when I decided that I should try to sleep, just in case this was real and I would be having a baby in the 24hours.
Well, I didn't wake up to any contractions and I haven't had any this morning. So apparently it was a false alarm. I did, however, finish packing the hospital bag and get the crib put together... as well as shave my legs. I figured... if I'm going to have a baby, I might as well shave my legs. I'm not going to get to for a while whenever Aiden does finally get here. So I might as well take advantage! Haha!
Anyway... So I guess we'll see what today holds. The doctor said to go ahead and go to work and see what happens. If it happens again, I'll go in a little early and get checked to see if I'm dilated.
In the mean time, I've kicked things to into high gear to make sure that everything is ready whether she makes an early debut or right on time. I guess we'll see!

Week 35 (Sorry week 34, but we've got pictures!)

Week 34 was so busy that I never got around to blogging! I'm sure I will kick myself for it later, but sleeping just seemed so much more important at the time :-)
This past week has been full of excitements and disappointments.
Disappointments:
We were supposed to be signing with a subleaser this past Monday. However, she had some unexpected family problems arise and had to cancel- permanently. We had another interested girl, but by the time we called her, she had already signed a lease with our complex. We went in to talk to our leasing office about everything and as sympathetic as they were, they claimed that there was nothing they could do- due to the equal housing act or some such. So once again we are on the look out for a subleaser. I was really hoping we could get moved in to our new place before Aiden's arrival, but at this rate, I'm not sure that's going to happen :-( Oh well. I just crunched the numbers and it doesn't look like it's going to set us back much more than moving now would. All I can say is thank God for tax refunds and vacation pay!
Excitements:
Onto a happier note- we have had such a nice week. I'm so happy for all of the warm weather! Caina and I can finally go for walks again and we can take the kids outside at work! Speaking of which, next week is my last week of work. I'm having so much trouble getting around, it's laughable. My boss told me that if I need to cut back my hours some days or call in, just to let them know. It's so great that they are going to work with me. If I had a desk job, I think I could stay until delivery, but toting babies around all day is a little too much in my state.
We also had an AWESOME baby shower! Thank you to my mom and Kathy for putting it all together. We had 30+ people and even more who couldn't make it that sent gifts and good wishes! It was so nice to get together and celebrate with everyone. I just hope I get a chance to talk more with everyone when Aiden gets here. So many people, means not enough time to talk. It took me nearly two hours to open gifts. So once I was done, most people were ready to go, I think! Haha! After the party, we had friends over until about 1:30. It was definitely a busy day!

My aunt Terry made hats! This one ended up a little big. So Aiden and I can have matching ones if we like, at least until she can fit into this one :-)
The grandmothers posing with the belly


Kaitlyn brought me an after delivery gift. How she loves me!
Oh how this dress shows off the bump!
The beautiful cake by Kathy, specially decorated with scrapbooking fun!
Sunday was very fun. We got to participate in the Wisley family maple syrup making tradition. It was my first experience and Dan's first since he was a kid. It was really interesting to go out and collect maple water from the sugar maple trees and boil it down to that yummy pancake companion. We didn't have a chance to finish, since it was getting so late, but Mark said he was going to finish it up on the stove. Hopefully, we'll have a finished product to taste this next Sunday!

Even Aiden joined in on the fun- being toted around by me is her favorite :P
Loading up the supplies
My first taste of sugar maple water. Mmmm...
Matt drinking the soon to be syrup!
Dan showing tree taps to Lilly and Jim (who graciously joined us for the fun!)
As for the belly news:
Aiden is definitely growing. I'm pretty sure she has gained a lot more since our last doctor
appointment. Everyone keeps looking at my belly in shock. I'm pretty sure I'm gaining three inches a week! I haven't been measuring, but that's what
it feels like. When we measured my waist at the baby shower it was a whopping 47 INCHES!!! I think she is definitely up from the 4 1/2 lbs that they last estimated. In fact, my belly button is about to pop! It's already bumped up at the edges. Dan actually got it to pop completely out just by pushing on my stomach. Yikes! As big as I think she is, she is still finding the room to move around. Although she seems to keep it to a minimum until late in the evening. I think we are definitely going to have a night owl on our hands! I'm also starting to have some regular sciatic pain, which is no fun. Dan has been so good. I get a massage whenever I need one. I don't know what I would do without him.

*When is your due date? April 12, 2010, but whenever she's ready, I'm ready!

*What week are you in? 35 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 21lbs at the last appointment, I guess we'll see how much more I've gained this next Monday

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? A GIRL!!!

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? I can't believe I'm in large maternity clothes

*Stretch Marks? The only place I don't have stretch marks is right around my belly button where it used to be in instead of out :P

*How are you feeling right about now? Kind of sick- I need to kick this head cold

*Have you felt the baby move? All night!

*Sleep habits? Ugh! If I could sleep, I would tell you...

*Any food cravings? I just want salad, salad, salad!

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Nothing new

*Memorable Moment of the Week: An amazing baby shower!

Test Results are IN

The results of my culture FINALLY came back. Although it was abnormal, they believed there was contamination as I'm not showing consistently negative symptoms of either UTI or Preeclampsia. In fact the culture came back with traces of yeast, which doesn't normally indicate either of those. I'm not really sure how I feel about this prognosis. While I'm glad that I'm not showing severe enough signs to worry my doctors, I really don't like not having definite answers. They keep telling me to call if my symptoms get worse. But they aren't concerned enough at this time to make any definite pronouncements or make clear cut decisions, other than to wait and see. If anything, this just makes me more of a nervous ninny! I think I would be much happier doing extensive testing and know for certain that nothing is wrong, than to simply assume nothing is wrong because my symptoms don't seem consistent or extreme enough for typical concern. I'll try to look at this in a positive light. At least it's not so bad that they are rushing me in for an emergency delivery! Things could definitely be worse, rather than mildly agitating...

Week 33

I'm writing this at the VERY end of my 33rd week for a couple of reasons: One, I'm having to adjust to being so huge that I can hardly moved. It's making me super tired. So I haven't done much of anything but go to work, sleep, and eat. Two, the doctor's office STILL hasn't given me my test results! It is so frustrating! I had another appointment this morning and Dr. Cook told me I should probably hear something by tomorrow, but not to think anything of it if it's later. REALLY!?! They should have sent out the culture last Tuesday, but there was a mix up in the lab and they threw out my sample. So then they decided that if I was feeling better on the antibiotics they put me on, I didn't need to send in a culture. The issue is that I wasn't. So I went in and gave another that they sent out on Friday. I'm just so frustrated with this whole thing...
So at my appointment today, I found out that since Friday, I've gained another two pounds, which means that I've gained four pounds in one week! And my blood pressure went up 14points (still in the normal area, but still). Dr. Cook didn't think there was anything abnormal about it at all. "Oh, you're just retaining some water. Try to drink more water, eat less salt and put your feet up." I'm sorry, but if I've had a sample sent in because I have symptoms suggesting preeclampsia, and now I am showing even more symptoms of that condition--- I WOULD THINK THEY WOULD BE A BIT MORE CONCERNED, or at least not treat me like I'm overreacting. ARGH!!!
Onto other things than my rant:
I'm pretty sure this is going to be my last week of work. It takes me way too long to get up and down and I have to take way too many breaks for my own peace of mind. Nobody asks me to do anything because they feel bad for me and I feel bad that I can't do more than I'm doing. Therefore, I think it's time...
One good thing about the doctor appointment is that we heard Aiden's heartbeat and it's still sounding good. She is still head down, and is weighing in at about 4 1/2 lbs.
I'll be having my strep B testing done in a couple of weeks. Hopefully all of that will come back normal and I won't have to have any antibiotics during labor/delivery.
We have set a date to have our pregnancy pictures taken. Hopefully it will warm up a bit by March 15th! The baby shower is also coming up this Saturday. Yay! It'll be nice to have everyone together for the party.
We also potentially have a subleaser for our apartment. Hopefully we'll hear something soon. Then we can get moved into our new place and be settled before Aiden gets here. We've started on the packing. I'm definitely looking forward to being done with this whole thing!
Onto belly pictures:
*When is your due date? April 12, 2010, but please God sooner!

*What week are you in? 33 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 21lbs- 4lbs in one week!!! AHHH!!!

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? A little girl

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? I can't believe some of them are getting SMALL!

*Stretch Marks? Hahaha

*How are you feeling right about now? VERY FRUSTRATED



*Have you felt the baby move? She's using my ribs as playground equipments

*Sleep habits? Look out Benadryl! Here I come!



*Any food cravings? I really love salad and raw fruit

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Nothing new

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Not killing my doctor is a pretty memorable moment in my opinion, considering...