Amazing

This is so...amazing.

Week 35 Review

Well, this week started really well considering we welcomed Zoe last week and it was a long weekend for Labor Day. Jim and I were able to clean the house and just get some relaxation into the schedule. It was a good weekend that continued throughout the week. I had the pleasure of having 2 of my team mates from work travel to St. Louis. The plan is to have a couple of folks each week travel to St. Louis to sit with the testers and get to know folks. Selfishly, I love it because I get to meet folks on my team I wouldn't normally be able to. =) In any case, it was a fun week cause I got to meet them. And then came Thursday when I had my doctor's appointment. That's when I was told I couldn't go back to work anymore. While this should make me happy cause I get some time off from work and get myself healthy for the baby...it was still hard to take. Since that time, I am taking it easy and taking my blood pressure twice a day. I am truly amazed how quickly it is dropping to an almost normal amount. So, this is apparently exactly what the doctor ordered (so to speak). Now, if I can just get the pain in my side to go away...I would be a happy camper. =)

Some other good news for the week. My cousin Kelly and her husband John welcomed their baby girl into this world yesterday at 12:48 pm weighing 7 lbs, 15 oz and was 21 inches long. Congrats guys! I can't wait to meet Taylor Rae!

So far everyone has delivered their baby 1-2 weeks early. Lets see if we keep up that pattern with Elizabeth!

All good things must end...

So today was my 1st weekly doctor's appointment. I'd like to say it went well...but, sadly, it did not go as planned. I am sad to say that I am not able to go back to work until after the baby is born. I plan to use this opportunity to rest up and get ready for Elizabeth's arrival.

Costume Dilema

So Jim and I are trying to figure out what to dress Elizabeth up as for her first Halloween. I found this and laughed so hard I almost fell off the couch. By the way, this is not her costume...we still haven't decided.

Thoughts/Feelings

For the last 35 weeks...oh, what am I saying, for the last year, all I have thought about since I found out I could have a 'home grown' baby is obsess about this future baby. Well, now that it is only weeks away from becoming a reality, I am starting to...well, freak out a bit. It isn't that I don't think Jim and I will be good parents. I know we'll do fine and love this child so much. Of course we'll do some things right and some things wrong but we have a wonderful support network of people to help us along. It is more the idea of us being responsible for such a little person and making her world as safe and wonderful as possible. This concept excites and worries me. I'm very excited to see Miss Elizabeth for the first time...to hug and kiss her for the first time just makes me teary eyed (even now). I just want her life to be as wonderful as it possibly can be...any parents wants that. But these are the things that are going through my mind. How can we accomplish that and give this tiny baby everything? It is a journey I am really looking forward to even though I know we will struggle sometimes.

So, to that, I say to everyone - thank you in advance for your support.

To my wonderful husband, I say - thank you for sharing this experience with me and I cannot wait to see what we have made together. I love you!

To my daughter, I cannot wait to meet you! You have already given me one of the best experiences of my life and you are a true gift from God!

Lamaze: Finale

We had our last Lamaze class on Tues night. I got caught up on the things we missed last week: Epidural, C-section, and induction. Here are the things we talked about:

• Epidural
• One thing I learned through the video is that it is never too late to have an epidural. I found that really interesting and it contradicts everything I have ever heard.
• These scare me only they use a HUGE needle and stick it in your spine. I found out from my sister a day later it really isn't that bad and it is just a light prick of a needle where they numb you first and then you can't feel the big needle.

• C-Section
• I had the pleasure of watching a video on this. I don't really have anything to add on this...just it looks super painful since they move so much around to get the baby out.

• Induction
• A lot of people like inductions because you can basically 'choose when to have the baby' but the slides showed there are complications. Basically, it can cause the contractions to be harder/more intense and your body may not be 100% ready for the process since it isn't by choice that it is going through the delivery process.

• Crying Babies
• There are 7 different types of cries...I unfortunately cannot name all of them. However, the video basically said we need to step back and just learn what happens when our baby cries. It can be from boredom, too much stimulation, etc. There are numerous reasons and it doesn't always mean they are in pain.
  

• Postpartum
• Apparently we will miss being pregnant. =) In all seriousness, we talked about how we will miss feeling the baby move and how we won't necessarily take care of ourselves once the baby is born because we will fixate on the baby. The leader of the class just wanted to make sure we take care of ourselves and sleep.
  

• What to bring to the hospital
• One suggestion is to have 2 bags: one for labor and one for after delivery.
• Labor Bag - This bag will just have overnight essentials. It is just a smaller bag to keep with you that has a lot of stress relievers to make labor 'more relaxing'. (cause, you know - that is possible)
• After Delivery Bag - This bag has things to keep you in stock with everything you will need during your stay at the hospital. It includes things like tooth brush, tooth paste, shower stuff, night gowns, cameras, video camera, batteries, etc.

So, to summarize how I felt about the lamaze class - I don't know if I recommend it. We took the 6 week Lamaze/Infant Care Class. I highly recommend the Infant Care part of the class but as far as the Lamaze part...the book they provided was enough info for me. I didn't need someone repeating what was written down.

Week 34

So, this was a very eventful week...filled by lots of excitement.

• Tuesday:
• Lamaze (see previous post)
  
• Wed:
• Zoe Elizabeth's Birthday!
  
• My sister went into labor on Tuesday evening and after about 14 hours had Zoe Elizabeth at 9:22 am cst. I was not aware she was in the hospital until about 6am on Wed so that I could get some sleep that night. Once I heard about Erin being in the hospital, nothing could keep me away and I rushed to finish working and got to the hospital by 8:30 am. After a long evening of ups and downs, Zoe entered the world absolutely perfect. My parents had gotten to the hospital around 10am about the same time we could go back to see Erin, Adam, and the baby. Everyone is doing great and the family is at home now.
• I had my last every 2 week appointment. Everything went well and I made my first weekly appointment for next Thursday at 9:45 am. The baby's heart rate was great and my blood pressure was holding steady. It is still high but as long as it doesn't go any higher I am good for now.
• Also, I have had the 'pleasure' of getting sick in the evenings where I get indigestion starting at 7:30pm and then it goes away around 9:00. It gives me long enough to go to sleep and wake me up about 11:00pm sick as a dog and then keeps me up until 2am. This has happened continuously since Wed night.

• Friday
• I have noticed constant pains in my stomach when walking around. They aren't contractions (although I am getting those more frequently now). I finally could not stand it after being exhausted from the lack of sleep the previous 2 nights. I worked from home on Friday hoping that will help. To avoid the pain of getting up and down, I would literally wheel myself around in a chair. It worked for awhile but eventually I had to walk to the restroom and about fell down from the shock of discomfort (some would say pain). I called the doctor immediately cause I wasn't alarmed I was going into labor because I knew they weren't contractions...but I also didn't know what they were and wanted to get rid of whatever this was. The nurse told me she believes that my baby is getting too big for my body to handle and I was directed to stay off my feet as much as possible and buy a maternity belt for support. So, I can't wait for my appointment next Thursda