Getting Ready for Baby

Here we are 2 weeks from our due date!  I seriously can’t believe I just typed that!  This pregnancy has really flown by.  As I look back at the last 9 months I have mixed emotions.  I’m looking forward to finally finding out what sex this baby is and I’m also looking forward to holding this baby in my arms.  I can’t wait to watch McKenna in her new big sister role and I’m excited for the smell of a newborn! :)  I’m also looking forward to being able to roll over in bed without moaning and groaning, as well as be able to easily shave my legs and tie my shoes! 

(The two purchases that I’ve bought for baby!  I bought the outfits back early fall at Kohl’s with my good ol’ Kohl’s cash!  Target has only had boy or girl pacifiers the last three times I’ve been there!  Have you ever heard of neutral?!!) 

A new baby also brings a little bit of fear.  At times I get emotional about adding another little being to our family.  I worry I will have enough love for another child.  I know many people feel this way and everyone assures me that yes you do!!  Even though it’s only been three years, I worry that I will remember how to care for a newborn!  Life is really easy now with an extremely independent 3 year old and we will be going all the way back to square 1 with a baby that is 100% dependent on us! :) 

I also let the unknown get the best of me at times!  I let myself get too stressed out wondering when this baby is going to arrive.  Being a teacher is not one of the easiest jobs to just be able to get up and go for 12 weeks.  I need to have plans ready for the next day along with the rest of the week!  This is hard when you don’t know if you are going to be back the next day, or if you will still be there in four weeks!

At 35.5 weeks I went in after school because I thought my water may have broken.  I have a very strong bladder, but it seems I must have just peed my pants!  Hehe!  I was relieved to hear my water had not broke but then my anxiety sky-rocketed when they informed us that I was having contractions (5-6 minutes apart at times) and dilated to 2 cm.  What?!!  I didn’t even know I was having contractions!!  I just would attribute the pain to baby rolling over in a smaller area now that we are nearing the end.  Hearing this news made me have high blood pressure for one of the readings.  This signed me up for the 24 hour urine test.   I had to collect for 24 hours straight to check for protein.  (This can be a sign of preeclampsia if you have high protein in your urine.)  I won’t go into details but I will say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! :)

We moved my 36 week appointment from Wednesday to Monday with the little scare that we had the Wednesday before.  I wanted to see a different doctor and I wanted to know the results from my urine and blood tests sooner.  If I were to have high levels of protein or if my blood tests didn’t “pass”, then I would more than likely be sent right to the hospital to deliver the baby!!  I was determined this wasn’t going to happen, so I brought a bag packed with things I would normally take to the hospital, packed my camera and video camera, and even wrote full-day sub plans rather than just a half day.  If you are prepared those are the times you don’t need it, right?!!

At this appointment I remained a at 2, which was music to my ears!  She did mention that the head is “right there”.  Yep, I could have told you that one! :)  Once again I was told to get prepared because it could be anytime.  In the back of my head I was remembering when I was told this with McKenna.  12 days later McKenna decided to make her appearance! 

When I left the nurse told me to not expect any results until the next day.  She also mentioned that no news is good news.  At 5:15 that night I see the doctor’s office number come up on my phone.  What doctor’s office calls at 5:15??!!!  After letting a naughty word slip (oops!) I answered.  The nurse was calling to let me know that all my results were PERFECTLY NORMAL!!  She was looking up results for someone else and decided to go ahead and call me too so I wouldn’t have to continue worrying.  I thanked her but also told her that she had completely freaked me out!!

36 weeks:

Mr. Photographer likes to take pictures when I’m not ready.  He thinks he’s so funny!!  I kept the one at the top but cropped off my goofy look on my face!

37 Weeks:

Over Christmas break I scheduled maternity pictures with Michelle Stricker.  I’d seen her work on Facebook and wanted to try her out!  Majority of her appointments are daytime, so this limited when/if we were going to be able to make this work.  We decided on Martin Luther King day since I had the day off.  This made me a little nervous knowing I would be 37 weeks then, but that was our only option! 

After finding out I was starting to progress at 35 weeks, I emailed her to see if we could get in sooner.  She was completely booked so we decided to keep our appointment and keep our fingers crossed!

McKenna caught the nasty flu bug (headache, sore throat, fever, cough) and I was hoping we all would be healthy by Monday.  This bug is a really frustrating one because just as you think you are better, you turn even worse than you were before. 

I woke up Monday excited that I had made it to the 21st and that Kenna seemed much more like herself.  Was she finally on the mend?!  We had a low key morning, running up to The Hill to get her haircut at 10:00 and then back home to rest.  Matt thought we should just reschedule.  (I’m pretty sure it’s because he was secretively hoping we wouldn’t make it to this appointment!)  I knew this was our only chance to get pictures if we were going to with this pregnancy so guess who won, I did! 

Michelle was so much fun to work with.  She couldn’t stop complimenting us, which is what a 37 week momma needed to hear!  We had had three nights with very little sleep and trying to look “beautiful” is not that easy at this stage in the game!

McKenna and Daddy were both troopers.  McKenna was a pill at times but what 3 year old isn’t during pictures?!  My only hope was to get a picture of our hands on my tummy.  I was thrilled when later Monday afternoon Michelle sent us these two “sneak peek” shots! 

My 37 week appointment was on Wednesday morning.  I’m now dilated to 3 cm. and 75% effaced, again with the head right there!  On my way to my appointment I get a text from Matt saying that he’s supposed to be going to Detroit on Tuesday for work.  Are you kidding me?!!  Your wife is going to be 38+ weeks and you are leaving the state?!!  After telling this to Dr. Hines she suggested to move my appointment up to Monday.  Not that things can’t change in a matter of hours, but at least we’ll have a better idea at where I’m at.  I’m not letting this worry me though because I can already tell you he will NOT be going anywhere Tuesday!! :)

I can officially say we are ready at home and at school as best as we are going to be!  Looking forward to our appointment Monday to see if we are any closer to meeting our little one!