Nervous...

So how do you go about your life normally when you know that it is going to change forever tomorrow?! I'm nervous and excited and a bit overwhelmed all at the same time. Plus my blood pressure is running 158/104 so I really need to be laying down...which is hard to do when you feel stir crazy and full of nerves!

She's Having a Baby!

Baby will be making its debut THIS Sunday!!! Dr. decided to induce since I now have protein in my urine. I'm so glad! I can't believe that I'm actually going to hold my son or daughter in just two days...amazing!

Lord willing, my next post will have some pictures of Little one! Yippee!

Officially miserable

OK...so up until now I was just uncomfortable...maybe even really uncomfortable. Now I've officially hit miserable. Everything from basically my neck down to my knees feels tight and squished. I'm tired all the time, except at night, when I am wide awake, but feeling too yucky to do anything. I'm sick of being at home, but I don't feel good enough to really go out and do anything. Ugh...

I know what everyone tells me is true: That I should enjoy my rest now while I can and that the baby is much easier to care for inside than out. But what I know is true in my head in NOT translating to the rest of me. The rest of my body is saying, "Get this kid out of me!" I guess this is God's way of preparing you for labor and delivery. If you felt great right up until you delivered you wouldn't be so ready to do just about anything to get it over with! :)

Still waiting....

Well, here's the latest...

Had my third non-stress test today and baby is still happily squirming around and reacting well.

The 24 hour urine collection I did last week to check for protein was in vain... today at the dr. they told me that the lab cancelled the test for some reason and didn't do it!! Agh! So, I have to do that all over again starting tomorrow morning...that is SO annoying!

I've been seeing another Dr. in my practice since I've been going more often than once a week and today during my exam he said I am only 50% effaced and not 100% like my regular dr. said. Sigh... He stripped my membranes today too--which I was happy to have done if it will get me into labor--but boy, that doesn't feel nice at all! I'll let you look up the details of that nice little procedure yourself and not describe it here--that would fall into the too much information category!

So, unless I go into labor before then I go back again on Friday for another non-stress test and a biophysical profile (an ultrasound to check fluid levels and to make sure baby is still thriving). I get to see my regular doctor then too so that will be nice.

So...still I wait. Guess that's the name of the game at this point!

Little Jonathan Paul--my newest cousin. Isn't he adorable? 

Jonathan with his Daddy, my cousin Jeremy. 

Daddy did a good job putting the new stroller together...now he's ready to take a drive! 

OK...the stroller is put together--Baby want to come out now? (Mommy sure is ready....look at that HUGE BELLY!) 

Baby has a new cousin

My cousin Jeremy and his wife Heather had their little boy yesterday! :)

Jonathan Paul Loney
8 lbs 2 oz
21 1/4 inches long
Born August 18 at 9:34 pm, at home with a midwife, after only about 9 hours of labor!

That Heather is amazing! :)

My mom was really hoping that even though I am due 3 weeks after Heather that I would beat her to the big dance anyway. No such luck, Grandma! :p

Sigh...I would have liked that too...but I guess Baby will come when Baby is good and ready to come. Or when the doctor decides to induce me.

In other pregnancy news:
Couldn't sleep until 3 am this morning. Ugh. Myron has taken to sleeping in the guest bed so I can spread out with my one million pillows and snore to my heart's content. It stinks not being able to sleep with your own husband anymore! At least it's a temporary arrangment!

During my sleepless hours I have been reading "Great with Child" by a Calvin college prof about her third pregnancy--and about the mystical and spiritual side of it all as well. It's quite good and echos many of the things I've thought about and felt as I've gone through these past months. A good read.

Myron cuddled up with me and my big belly last night and prayed for me aloud. For peace and perseverance and for God to be very near to me in these last days before motherhood. It was so wonderful. HE'S so wonderful--a true gift.

Well, it's after noon and I've been up for a whole 45 mintues after finally falling asleep around 3. Sigh. I'm going to go try and get some more writing done on this project that is due Monday and see how far I can get. Send up some prayers for inspiration...I sure need it!

Waiting...

Had another dr.'s appt. this morning. Did another non-stress test on the baby and it was so active it was crazy. Dr. pronunced it a very happy baby and the nurse asked if ADHD runs in our family! :) It was good to know that all this blood pressure business isn't hurting Little One at all.

My BP isn't going down, but it wasn't quite as high today as it was on Tues. Still no protein in my urine, swelling, or headaches which is good. We should find out the results of my 24 hour pee collecting and blood work tomorrow and then I'm back to the dr. on Monday afternoon for another non-stress test. They are keeping a close eye on me and Baby so I feel pretty peaceful about it all.

Looks like a full weekend of resting on my left side and trying to write more devotionals for my project due Monday! Fun, fun, fun! ;)

If I push here will you pop? 

My friend's little boy Devin having a grand time pointing out my rather non-existent belly button. It was so funny! 

Hmmm...

I'm having some pains in my back and lower tummy. Can't discern any pattern as of yet but something different is definitely happening. Whoa!

Unplanned Doctor Visit

Well, I had a 164/97 reading yesterday morning so I called the doctor and they had me come right in. It was 160/88 when they took it, but thankfully went down to 130/80 when I layed down for awhile.

So...I'm on partial bedrest for now and I have to collect all my pee for the next 24 hours in this big orange jug so they can test it tomorrow for protein (an indicator of a condition called pre-eclampsia). I also have to have blood drawn tomorrow and have another non-stress test on the baby tomorrow morning. The doctor said once we have all that info we'll talk about whether it would be good to induce early or not.

So that's the story so far. Baby's heartrate has been great and it continues to move around a lot so all of this doesn't seem to be affecting him/her--which I'm very thankful for!

Honestly, I'm quite surprised at the peace I feel about all of it. I know that lots of people are praying so I am sure this falls into that "peace that passes all understanding" category that God is so good at.

Well, I've been up for an hour so it's probably time to go lay on my left side again like a good girl. Bedrest is boring. Thank the Lord this didn't happen earlier in the pregnancy--at least I know this bedrest won't last too long (and very soon I'll wish I could do it again when I'm not sleeping at all!) :)

Stupid blood pressure

Got a 161/97 reading this morning. This is not cool. It's very weird too since I feel fine. Thankfully Baby is squirmy wormy as usual too so it must not be affecting him/her much either. If I didn't have this one last work project hanging over my head I'd just put myself on bedrest and wait it out, but we really need to have the cash from this project!

Maybe I can take my laptop to bed and work there. Sigh...I'm ready to be done with this!

August Baby?

Well...today's Dr's appt was interesting to say the least....

My blood pressure was 150/100 so I was officially diagnosed with pregnancy induced hypertension which stinks. Thankfully I don't feel bad or have any pre-eclampsia symptoms. They did a non-stress test (monitor the baby's heartrate and movement for about 20 minutes) and the Little One is doing fine so that's good.

The crazy thing is that I'm already 3 cm dialated, 100% effaced, and -1 station! And I haven't really felt much at all in the way of any major contractions! Dr. said that this doesn't necessarily mean Baby is coming early, but it might. She said that she did think that it meant that I wouldn't have a really long labor...which is very nice to hear!

Wow...I could be meeting this little one sooner than I thought...I'm excited! (Although I'm trying not to get my hopes up...I've heard of people staying at 3 or 4 cm for weeks.)

If you think about it, please keep us in your prayers--especially that my blood pressure won't become a serious complication. I'm supposed to take it pretty easy from now on so it looks like I'm settling in here at home for the most part until the big day. Whoa...I'm going to be a mommy! :)

Is it possible that I might explode?

OK...so I am now entering that lovely last month of pregnancy and I'm beginning to understand why women are so glad to finally go into labor, no matter how painful it is. I feel like someone hooked me up to an air compressor and filled me to the bursting point--but not with air--with really big live squirrels. The baby continues to be as active as ever, but because it is so big now all it can really do is push against everything really hard. Sometimes I think its going to come bursting out of my belly button like something from Alien! Poor kid is getting really cramped in there!

I have much to be thankful for though when it comes to this pregnancy. I haven't had to deal with a lot of the symptoms that are common to most people (no swelling, no bowel issues, no stretch marks (so far), and very few major mood swings). Plus, Little One has always been reassuringly squirmy which is sometimes uncomfortable, but always fascinating and fun.

It's so amazing to realize that I'm only a month or less away from holding my very own child for the first time. I can't wait to meet this little person, see who he/she looks like, and start learning about his/her personality. What a privilege we've been given. I am continually amazed by this miracle God has blessed us with!

Virtual Nursery Tour

For those of you living far away who can't get a nursery tour in person here's a little virtual one courtesy of Grandma Karen. :)

Basket o' baby goodies! 

Sweet little outfits just waiting to be filled with a sweet little person! 

Changing table and dresser--also overrun with baby goodies! 

Baby's crib--currently overrun with stuffed animals, blankets and mobiles that we'll have to take out to actually get the baby in there! 

Grandpa and Daddy putting together the Pack and Play! Now we're all ready to go visiting!  

One month left

Today is August 7--due date for Baby is September 7--whoa! In one month, give or take, I will be a full-fledged Mommy! While I am nervous about a lot of things and know that this will be one of the hardest things I'll ever undertake, I am also overwhelmed with a sense of God's blessing on me. What a gift we've been given! I just can't wait to see this little one face to face!

I had Baby Shower #3 yesterday....man have we been spoiled by so many loving friends and family! We came home with another carload of great presents and my mom and I had a great time chatting and eating and celebrating with all my Michigan gal pals. (Thanks so much to Heidi, Laura and Dawn for putting on such a grand affair!) We have just a few final things to buy, but for the most part we are well-equipped and ready to get the parenting underway! :)

Baby continues to grow and grow (which means so do I!) and squirm around like--well, like nothing I can describe! Today during church it was jutting body parts out every which way and rolling around--causing me to run to the bathroom due to the baby head pressing on my bladder, not once, not twice, but three times in about an hour and a half. Silly baby.

Here are a couple pictures from my shower and one of my bulging belly to give you, my dear readers, a good chuckle. As my mom said when she came in the door this weekend, "Who's that fat girl who ate my daughter?!" She apologized for it all weekend...it's really okay, Mom...it WAS funny! :)