past the duedate

Apparently, Baby Lopshire wasn't as excited about being born on 03/03/03 as Mommy & Daddy.  Unless we go into labor RIGHT NOW and have a really fast labor, it just ain't hap'nin' today.

     

We did have an ultrasound this afternoon.  The technician said that the baby appears to be about 8 pounds (between 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 8 lbs. 9 oz.) right now.  She also said that the placenta is pretty well calcified.  That concerns me more than the baby's weight.  8 pounds doesn't seem too big to me--Annah was 8 lbs. 12.8 oz.  Oh, and the baby's heartrate was 132 today.

     

So, we'll see what Dr. W says tomorrow morning...  My prediction is that she will be concerned about the calcification of the placenta and will want to induce me on Thursday or Friday.  And, if she truly is concerned, then I will be okay with whatever she advises.  I do not want to risk putting any unnecessary stress on the baby!

     

My mom just called a bit ago, and they are expecting a winter snow storm tomorrow evening and

Annah playing dress-up

Wednesday morning.  So, she is just going to come on over tomorrow afternoon!  Yay!  I'm excited for her to be here (So is Annah; she can't wait!!), and it will be nice not to have to worry about getting Annah dropped off anywhere when we go into labor.  (That is assuming we don't go into labor tonight, of course. ;)

    

     We realized today that we really have a lot of friends and family who are expecting babies this year.  It's so exciting!  Here's the current list:

March
Wes & Kim - #1, a girl
Niki & Russ - #1, a girl
June
Amy & Brock - #1, a girl
July
Marci & Adam - #1, a boy
Eric & Marti - #3
August
Wendy & Jim - #2
Joe & Brandy -  #1
September
Tanya & Mike - #1 together
Suzanne & Matt - #1

Getting so close

I honestly thought I was going to go into labor last night.   But, I didn't.  Can someone who remembers what it was like to lose a mucus plug e-mail me and describe it?  I though maybe I did last night, but now I'm not sure.  If it happened with Annah, I didn't realize it.  So, I'm not exactly sure what it would be like.

     

I had to get up THREE times in the night last night to go to the bathroom!  Neither Jeremy nor I slept very well;  I think because we thought I was about to labor.  

     

I am really hoping and praying that I will have this baby tomorrow.  I would so love it to be on the due date--and before I have to see the doctor again!  I do finally feel ready, actually.  I'm not completely miserable, but I do feel like it could be time at any moment.  Come on water, break!!

     

Jeremy took some pics of me and my huge, low, low belly this morning before church.  

Here's me and Annah

and here's just me looking like I have a basketball under my dress.  

In one hour and twenty minutes it will be our due date--March 3, 2003.  I feel so unprepared, yet so ready.  I want to go into labor, yet I don't want to go through labor.  I want to meet my baby, yet I can't believe I'm about to have another child. I am excited about caring for the baby, yet I'm worried about how I'll be able to keep up with two children and other responsibilities too.  

I have had these same thoughts and worries for over 8 months now... Why haven't I resolved them?  I suppose it's because they are about unpredictable things.  I can't know what this labor is going to be like.  I can't know what it will be like to care for two children.  But I do know that God will help me through the labor, and God will help me raise my children.  I need to remember to have more faith before I start to worry.

     

The baby is moving a lot tonight.  It feels very low.   Sometimes, it seems like it is digging a fingernail in and poking/scraping me!   I do finally physically feel like I could go into labor at any moment.  I didn't feel that way until a couple days ago really, so it will probably be a few more before I actually do labor.  

     

The bags are finally all packed and ready, except for some makeup items I would have to grab at the last minute.  Jeremy's bag is packed.  Annah's bag is packed.  My bag is packed.  The camera bag is packed.  The baby's carseat and going home things are ready.  Maybe if I undo everything I'll go into labor. ;)

     

I really should go to bed and try to get some sleep.  Since Baby is awake, I could at least lay down and enjoy feeling him/her move around.  Come soon Baby L!  

Freezing Credit Card

Well, we know this is going to be an exciting month for us.  So far, it's been pretty uneventful though.  

     

Jeremy did put our credit card in the freezer this afternoon..  He said it is a step toward financial peace.  Somehow, I didn't feel so at peace with it. ;-)  Seriously though, Jeremy is taking a class at church on Saturday mornings called Financial Peace University.  We're trying to get on a budget and get out of debt.   It's challenging, but exciting.

Annah was so upset, she threw a tantrum...but not about the frozen credit card.  Sometimes it is just tough being 2.

Like Last Time

At least now we know we're having a March baby, and not a February one.  So much for Jeremy's prediction of us not making it past mid-February. ;)  I would honestly really love to have the baby on the due date, Monday 03/03/03.   That would be really cool.  But, obviously if it doesn't happen that way, it's okay.  

     

I didn't sleep well last night.  I think it was partially because I took a long nap yesterday afternoon, and partially because I was worried about what my labor would be like if I have to be induced.  I know my doctor is going to try to sway me to be, but so far I feel strongly that I shouldn't.  I hope I will go into labor on my own before my appointment with her on Tuesday.  Like last time would be ideal...

     

With Annah, my water broke around 12:30 am.  I was sleeping downstairs on the couch because I was too big and miserable to sleep in the bed.  I woke up and thought I had been asleep for several hours until I looked at the clock and realized it had only been two.  I went to the bathroom, and kept going and going...   I didn't feel like I was going, though.  I went back and lay down for a minute and realized I was still "going."  Then I figured out that my water had broken and was just trickling out.  

I went upstairs and tried to wake Jeremy and tell him, but I couldn't get him to wake up and hear me.  So, I went back down and lay on the couch again for about 45 minutes.  I ended up back in the bathroom, and my water just kept trickling.  I finally clogged the toilet with a bunch of toilet paper, so I had to go upstairs again.  I told Jeremy that I knew he didn't care that I was in labor, but that I had clogged the toilet and he may want to fix it.  He said, "Whatever."  He was in such a sound sleep!!  

So, I laid down next to him and started talking to him and asking him questions to get him to respond to me and wake up.  After a while I said something about "when my water broke" and he immediately was awake--about an hour and a half after my water broke!  (This time, I will not be so gentle.  If he's asleep when it happens, I WILL wake him up--somehow!)   He bounced out of bed and got our notes from our Labor & Deliver class to remind himself what we needed to do.  He called the doctor, who told me we could go to the hospital then or in the morning.  

So, we both showered; I made PBJ's for him, called Mom, finished packing, etcetera.  We made it to the hospital around 4:30 AM, and Annah wasn't born until noon.

     

I hope my water breaks again this time.  At least then I know it's time to go!

Pressures

My doctor's appointment today was pretty quick, as usual.   Dr. W said, "This kid is getting big,"  and that I am at "a good 3 centimeters."  Then she asked if I want to be induced next week.   I told her I would prefer not to be unless she thinks it is dangerous for me to wait.  She said she doesn't think it's dangerous, as in I wouldn't be risking my life or anything, but that a big baby and going past the due date both increase the risk for c-section and fetal distress.  We decided to wait and see what happens.  I go in for an ultrasound (to try to determine the baby's weight) on Monday afternoon, and will go back to see Dr. W on Tuesday...unless we happen to go into labor before then.

     

As far as how I'm feeling...  I am tired.  I'm having quite a few BH contractions--especially since the exam.  (Thankfully, the exam didn't hurt like it did the past 2 weeks, so that tells me I obviously have progressed.)   There is pressure and "action" going on down there, so I know the baby is thinking about making its entrance soon.  But, I still don't know if I feel like it's going to be in the next couple days or not.  Everyone else seems to think it's going to be this weekend.  Jeremy and both of our moms have predicted that.  We'll see who's right.

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"God sends children for another purpose than merely to keep up the race--to enlarge our hearts."   ~ Mary Howitt
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A little discomfort

My hands are now constantly swollen, and easily go numb when in the wrong position.  I've been waking up several times a night not being able to feel my fingers.

     

I started making a cream-colored afghan for the baby yesterday.   I think it will be really nice, though if I don't finish it before the baby arrives, I'm afraid it will be stuck away in a drawer half-done forever.  So, I'm trying to work quickly on it.  Not having the computer right now helps (We're getting it back tonight though--for a while.), but my fingers get numb and cramped if I do too much at a time.  

     

I think I am at peace now about having a boy--if we do.  I have worried that I wouldn't be a good mother to a boy, but I've come to realize that only the Lord knows what I can handle.  I know if God gives us a boy, then He will also give us the wisdom to raise him.  And, if He gives another girl, He will also give us the strength and sanity to raise two daughters!  I am so anxious to find out which it will be!  How wild that it is now just a matter of days before we meet this little one!

     

Jeremy is feeling stressed to get things done at work.  He feels like he has a lot to do, and is worried about being able to complete it before the baby comes.  His plan is to take 5 days, depending on when in the week the baby arrives.

     

My "little problem" that started about a month ago is giving me trouble again.  Maybe the doctor will have some suggestions tomorrow.   I hope I'll actually see Dr. W tomorrow, but I'm worried she'll want to induce me.  I really don't think I want that.

Nesting

Jeremy thinks I'm going to go into labor tonight.  He thinks I'm nesting.  

I have been trying to do some cleaning up of our completely messy and dirty house, but I still feel like I'm not getting anywhere.  I spent all day cleaning the den.  It still looks messy.  The whole house needs dusted and swept.  And every room needs picking up--at the least.  

Anyway, I'm feeling fine, except tired.  My belly looks REALLY low, and I think the baby dropped a bit more today.  My hands and feet have been swelling a lot this past week or so--especially at night.  By morning my hands are numb and my feet huge.

Annah Knows

I think Annah is somehow sensing that something big is about to change for her.  It could be "just a phase" she's in right now too, but she has been exceptionally clingy to me this past week.  She's been more whiny and less obedient than usual.  She's been waking up and crying instead of singing like she usually does.  And, last night she woke up bawling in the middle of the night.   Jeremy got her and brought her to bed with us.  She didn't have a fever or anything.  She just snuggled up to me and looked at me until she started dozing.   The Jeremy took her back to her bed.  She's also been acting more shy around people she knows and has been telling me, "I love you" a lot on her own lately.   I just wonder if she's trying to get extra attention because she thinks she won't be getting as much soon - ( when the baby comes)??  Surely she can't sense that...can she??

I've felt pretty good all day today.  Not much pressure, and I haven't felt like much was happening.  I wonder if I'm just not feeling like I'm progressing a lot because I think I'm more comfortable than I was at the end of my first pregnancy.

Unfounded Worries

I can tell things are progressing now!  I'm feeling it.   We went to dinner at Biaggi's with Kevin & Regina, Mary Jean & Jeff, and Dustin last night for Kevin's birthday, and I had several Braxton Hicks contractions while we were there.  Some of them got a bit uncomfortable, so I knew I need to get some rest.

Sometimes I think I can actually tell the baby is dropping or trying to move downward, but that's probably all in my head.  I am feeling increasing pressure down low though, and I can tell that I am effacing.
     

Random worries have been popping into my head the past few days, like: "What if I die during labor?" "What if something happens to the baby during labor?" "Will the baby be healthy?" etcetera.  I know it's "normal" to have worries like that, but I also know it does me no good to think about things like that.  I believe that God is in control of the situation, and the things that are for the best will happen.  I try to pray about each worry as soon as it pops into my head, and give them all to God.
     

After dinner last night we went to Wal-Mart.  Dustin went with us and bought us a bunch of stuff for the baby--diapers, wipes, ointment, bath supplies, onesies, a blanket...  It was so, so nice of him to do that.   For a single guy with no kids, he sure knew the most needed things to get for a baby.  It was so sweet.
     

We got a carseat/booster seat for Annah last night too.   Jeremy is reading the instructions for installation right now.  She already has a regular carseat, but the baby will use that in 6 or so months.  For now, we're going to put the "old" carseat in Jeremy's car, and the new car-/booster- seat in the Aztek.  That way we can take Jeremy's car places too, and save putting so many miles on the Aztek for a while.

Calculated Due Date, goodbye.

Our computer is "broken," so I'm going to try actually writing out my journal entries until we get it back.  I've been told it will be at least 4 more days.  I'm already having withdrawal, but it's actually sort of a blessing too.  This way I'm not tempted to sit and mess around for hours a day, and I actually get *some* things done.  Yesterday I did about 7 loads of laundry.  I was feeling very energetic until evening.  Then my back started hurting.  It still hurts today.

     

I met with Lisa, the nurse-midwife today.  I asked her if I could request her if I go into labor while Dr. W  is out of town.  She said she would love that, and gave me her home phone # and the number of the hospital in Pekin where she'll be working this weekend.  (Dr. W is out of town right now.)  Lisa did say that the doctor on call would have to be there too.
     

So...I gained 2 pounds in the past week.  BP was 114/70.   Baby's heartrate was in the 130's/140's.  I don't feel like I've progressed much since last week, but Lisa said I have.  I'm still at 1 centimeter dilated.   She said I am now at 0, when I was at -1 last week.  I think that's referring to how much I'm effaced?  Anyway, she said the baby has dropped more and that I am progressing.  And when she measured my belly, she said I'm measuring right on. 
I remembered last night that today was my calculated due date--if you go by the beginning of my last period.  Then today I remembered that at our last ultrasound (12/26/02) I noticed the screen said the EDD was 2/26 from that day's measurements.  All that combined with the fact that the nurse said today that I am progressing convinces me that I need to be ready at any moment!  How exciting!

Julie had her baby Wednesday.  A little girl--Kayla Elise.   I visited them in the hospital today after my appointment.  Kayla is so little!  She weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces at birth, and 6 pounds 12 ounces today.   Her arms and hands are so thin compared to how full and pudgy Annah was.  She just looks so much tinier to me.  Julie looked fabulous.  She didn't look the least bit swollen or puffy, and she had her hair and makeup done too!

I just talked to Amy a bit ago.  She and Brock found out Monday their baby is a girl.  We talked for a long time about all kinds of baby related things.  It was so great to talk with her.  I'm really so thrilled for her and Brock.  Ann, who is due March 1, is having her baby this afternoon.   She's also having a girl--Sarah.