It's just about time...

Well, this is our last night as free adults (sort of. Not like we haven't been caring for her for nine months already!). Tomorrow we will be arriving at the hospital at 7:30am tomorrow morning to start the Aiden's birth journey! I can't believe it is already here. It seems like only yesterday I peed on that stick and it said, "Well yeah you're pregnant. Why else are you up at 3am to pee?". It is so exciting and so scary at the same time. I never found the idea of labor frightening until now. I think the nerves come from this being somewhat unnatural. I was really hoping Aiden would come on her own, but we tried everything and she's just not coming out. I have a feeling she would have to have a nudge if we went now or if we waited two weeks. She has definitely been putting a lot more pressure on my cervix. I haven't been able to sit straight down all evening. I think she must know that it's time. Maybe she will be a really intuitive child, very stubborn, but intuitive.
The only things we have left to unpack now are pictures and knick-knacks. So we are officially moved in and just decorating now :-) This makes me feel so much better. We have completely finished Aiden's room, complete with pictures. It is so adorable and I can't wait for her to take up occupancy in it (and not in my uterus!).
As I mentioned, we will be heading to the hospital around 7am and arriving at 7:30. They will be monitoring me and doing an exam to determine whether they would rather start me on Pitocin or break my water. I'm sort of hoping they will decide to break my water, as I'm hoping to do this whole thing drug free. Keeping my options open of course, but it never hurts to attempt. We are calling the grandparents when we know when the actual induction will start and then we begin. Everyone should be getting calls via the calling tree some time after that. People are welcome to come to the hospital whenever, but I would caution you to call first. We won't be admitting anyone to the room (excluding grandparents) once we are in the full swing of contractions. This is for your safety. From what I hear, women in labor are violent and I'm sure I will regret killing my loved ones after I have come back to my senses. If you don't get through on the phone, please feel free to leave a message and we'll do our best to have someone get back to you.
We will have someone in charge of the video camera (and digital camera), as we are hoping to have personal messages to Aiden recorded by all of her loving family and friends who stop by. I'm sure she will love seeing this later and I know that it would make Dan and I so happy to have all of you as involved as we can have you be. This is one way we are hoping to do this. So please don't leave before sharing in this project! It would mean so much to us!
As for my feelings at this time: Despite all of the reassurances, I am absolutely terrified. I have never been a fan of doing something when I don't know what I'm getting into. So this is a very big deal for me in the realm of willingly stepping out into the unknown. I think I'm most afraid because I'm not sure if the contractions will start gradually (letting me build up to them) or just hit head on. Different women say different things. So there's no way to know for sure. I'm also nervous for Dan. He's been more concerned and protective since I've been pregnant and I know it's going to be hard for him to see me in so much pain. I'm also concerned about difficulties (c-sections in particular). They run in my family and, although I'm not at increased risk because I'm so far along already, I'm concerned about that suddenly being necessary. I'm sure that that is rather irrational, but I just can't help worrying about every little thing. I'm sure once we get going, I won't be thinking about any of this, but tonight it is definitely preoccupying my thoughts.
Well, to leave with some good thoughts- Either tomorrow or very early Tuesday we will have our beautiful little girl and I just can't wait to meet her! I'm so excited to begin this whole experience and I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful man to journey it with me. Thank you to all of you for your good thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it and can't wait to introduce you to Aiden!
Now for some belly pictures:

Week 39 We're Almost There!!!

I can't believe that we will be meeting our little girl on Monday... Oh did I not mention? Like it or not this child is exiting on or before my due date, doctor's suggestion (I didn't even ask!). My body is SO ready for delivery that Dr. Wood suggested we schedule an induction. She said she usually has mothers (and fathers) begging for inductions before they are anywhere near as far along as I am. She said that on the Bishop scale (what they use to determine labor readiness and includes dilation, effacement, ripeness and cervix position) I am EXCELLENT. She said that she had never seen a cervix as good as mine go for so long. SO... induction here we come. She said she would be surprised if we made it to Monday for the induction, but she's still not here. So I think she is determined to wait as long as possible. Dr. Wood said that she would have been fine inducing us on Wednesday, but seeing as we had some unfortunate events to take part in, we decided waiting until Monday would be best. ---We will definitely miss Aunt Rhea Dawn, but we know that she'll be smiling down and enjoying Aiden wrapped up in her little bunny quilt from heaven. ---
So as for those statistics I've been hinting at: I am about as ready as can be. I am 80% effaced, 3.5cm dilated, Very ripe and perfectly positioned. You can't get much better than me in the terms of labor readiness... which probably accounts for my daily contractions and cramping. Ugh! I will just be glad to have that over with. The doctors seem to agree that Aiden is about 7.5 lbs. Of course that's not an exact science by any means. She could be anywhere from 6-8lbs. I guess it will have to be a surprise.

Warning TMI to come:
As we all know that a natural induction would be preferable, Dan and I have a whole list of things to try to get this party started before Monday.
-I've got some raspberry tea (doctor recommended) to try out tonight. I'm not a fan of tea, but raspberry doesn't sound too bad.
-Everyone and their brother (including my doctor) has suggested sex as it seems to be the most effective... Mom, if you're reading this, don't think anything of it. In fact, just remember: I'm still a virgin. Your grandchild was artificially inseminated into my womb. In fact, I'm not even actually pregnant. I'm just pretending while Aiden is being grown in a test tube. There. Bases covered.
-Long walks. These have definitely made me uncomfortable, but no contractions to speak of. But I will keep trying. I'm told these help the real ones to regulate and the fake ones to disappear. So I guess if any of these other methods start contractions, I'll go for a long walk to see if they'll stick around.
-Massage and acupressure. These sound GREAT to me, as my whole body has been super sore and achy anyway. I figure... even if this one doesn't work, it's a great excuse for some more pampering. Did I mention I have the world's greatest husband!?!
If any of you moms have other suggestions, feel free to pass them along. I'm all ears!
As for other things:
We are now all moved into our new townhouse in Gosport. We love our little place and it is at least 100sq.ft. bigger than our flat was. We are getting things put away and have the bedrooms almost done. The living room and kitchen still need a little work though... but we are getting there. And aside from have a couple very interesting neighbors and some mouthy teenagers in the area, which I guess you have to expect in Gosport, our complex is pretty nice. We even have a first responder for the fire dept. living next door. So if I have an emergency, I have emergency personnel close by!
Well, as I am tired, cranky and swollen, I'm not posting pictures tonight. We'll be taking plenty soon of the new place, Aiden's room and inevitably my stomach. So don't worry. You will get to see me in all of my swollen, sweaty glory soon ;-)

*When is your due date? April 12, 2010! Officially. She will be out by then or ELSE!

*What week are you in? 39 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? +27 lbs. Yes. I have bypassed my target weight. Why you ask? Water retention. If it could die, I would torture it and all of it's progeny until long awaited death arrived. If you can't tell, I'm feeling a little resentful.

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? Monday brings our beautiful baby GIRL!

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden (little fire) Ryelle (rye hill) Wisley (gardens). If that last one surprises you, it did me too. Just found that out at Rhea Dawn's funeral.

*Maternity clothes? I will not wear pants until Tibet is free... or at least until Aiden arrives.

*Stretch Marks? Disgust me

*How are you feeling right about now? Kind of nervous about the induction (even though they do seem to run in my family... right along with c-sections...).

*Have you felt the baby move? I can now find her toes which if funny to see when she stretches and still hurts quite badly.

*Sleep habits? Not applicable

*Any food cravings? Not really... but fruit is REALLY satisfying

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Cucumbers still terrify me, as do pickles and spinach.

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Induction schedule!!! Oh! And meeting little miss Ella Lynn! Cutest child EVER by the way (I only have a few more days I am allowed to say that. So I might as well squeeze it in!) :-)

Week 38

Well, this has been an eventful week. We are finally moving into our new place tomorrow! We are definitely excited. It's a bit bigger than our place now, less money and closer to our parents. Fortunately (or unfortunately... I'm not sure yet), Aiden has decided to postpone her uterine departure. SO... we are hoping to get her room set up ASAP so that it will be ready for her when she gets here.
As for pregnancy news, we had another appointment this morning. Dr. Cook said that I looked about the same and that we'll just keep having these appointments until she decides to show up. Her heartbeat sounded good and she is measuring up EXTREMELY well. He guesstimated that she is about 7 1/2 lbs already! So please Aiden, for the love of my body, please come out on Sunday like my mother is predicting. I just don't think I can deliver a baby much bigger than that. She is my first one after all... it's not like I've had practice at this!
In regards to me, I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately. The doctor thinks it is being brought on by all of the acid reflux, which doesn't surprise me one bit. I have also stopped gaining weight. This will be something like three weeks now that I haven't gained weight. Yippee! I'm staying in my bracket! Hopefully this doesn't curse me and cause me to gain five pounds in a week.
Dan has been super sentimental lately. Every time he sees a baby he is all lovesick. He actually sat down with me and went through all (and I mean ALL) of her baby clothes the other night. He's also been leaving a shirt of his in her crib so that it will smell like him for her first nights sleeping there and she'll find it comforting. And even more is that he keeps looking at me with all of this fondness and telling me how beautiful I am and kissing my belly. If it isn't clear already, he is going to be the world's best father. Thank goodness I have him. I can't seem to get my hormones to settle and he's been SO good. At least I've been able to feel my angry spurts coming on lately. So I've been able to warn him. But it's still been rough. He's bearing my craziness like a champ.
*When is your due date? April 12, 2010, and it can't come soon enough... How does Easter sound Aiden?

*What week are you in? 38 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? +23lbs

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

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

*Maternity clothes? Oof. It's hard to get myself into ANYTHING these days...

*Stretch Marks?Fading finally

*How are you feeling right about now? Better now that I'm not driving, but really tired with all of the moving

*Have you felt the baby move? And it HURTS. She's getting too big!

*Sleep habits? Laying on my side hurts, laying on my back hurts, sitting up hurts, etc.

*Any food cravings? Turkey sandwiches

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Not really

*Memorable Moment of the Week: MOVING IN!!!

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)