39 Week Check-Up

39 weeks

Heartbeat: 140

+1 lbs

We went to our last prenatal appointment this morning. Starting Monday morning, I could tell something was different. I felt different. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew I must be making some sort of progress. I woke up Tuesday morning with an achy stomach. I'm not sure how to describe it other than my whole stomach just ached, and I almost felt nauseous at times. That was new, so I was hoping it meant labor was coming!

Drew decided to work from home this morning so he could drive me to our appointment, and I was so relieved! I was a little nervous about having to make the trip by myself. We packed our hospital bags just in case, dropped Livy off with Annie, and headed to the doctor's office.

We waited for an hour in the waiting room. The suspense was killing me! I couldn't wait to hear what the doctor had to say! I described everything I had been feeling, and she assured me it all sounded like I was headed in the direction of labor. She checked me and said I am 2cm dilated, 60-70% effaced, and baby was nice and low! Then she said, "Do you want to wait this out or are you ready to make a move?"

Uhh... let's move. No doubt!

So she told us to go eat a big lunch, then a light supper, and be at the hospital tonight at 7pm. She would start me on Cytotec to pick up my contractions, maybe take another Cytotec around 2am, and depending on how well I reacted to that, possibly start Pitocin first thing in the morning. This wasn't a new plan for me... it was exactly what I did when I had Liv.

We were so excited! We texted everyone the good news while we enjoyed our "big lunch." And of course, all we talked about was the baby. Boy or girl? Would the baby look like Livy? We couldn't wait to see Livy hold the baby!

Drew had some things he needed to get done at work, so we pretended it was Take Your Wife to Work With You day, and I hung out with him in his office.

We hadn't been there long when I got a call from Dr. Watson's office... it was her nurse, Michelle. She said due to some new hospital policy, they would have to move my induction date from tonight to tomorrow night. Apparently, the hospital can only have 3 scheduled inductions at one time in order to leave room for any women in labor that happen to walk in. They already had 3 scheduled and I made #4, so I got the boot. Michelle apologized over and over for the confusion. I was so bummed! I know it's just a 24 hour difference, one day, but she might as well have said come back next week!

Soo... we have the same plan, it has just shifted back one day. Instead of going in on Wednesday night, we go Thursday night. The wait really hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. My sweet friend, Kelly, took me to get a pedicure tonight. It was so relaxing, and I'm sure the nurses will be very appreciative that they won't have to look at my rough cinder block feet now! Ha! The wait also meant we got to spend one more night as a family of 3. Livy curled up on the couch with me about 8:30pm and fell asleep. That rarely happens! And it was just what I needed... extra muggle time with my best girl.

I'm also hoping I might progress a little more on my own tomorrow, getting me a little bit closer to that epidural! I'm a little nervous about labor, because I know what's coming. But I'm also hoping it'll go quickly! I'm just so excited and ready to see who this is that I've been carrying with me for 9 months.

Hopefully next time I post, it'll be a birth announcement!

Art Work

Here are a couple of Livy's latest masterpieces...

She said this is our whole family. Mama, Daddy, Olivia, and the baby at the beach. 

This is a tree and flowers. And to be technical, she told me the tree was actually a circle colored in with 6 lines. 

These are some of the pictures she colored for Andee, Jillian, and Savannah. She wrote their names all by herself... I was pretty impressed! 

Tater Talk

Friday night, Livy was helping me cook supper, and as we were cutting up the potatoes, this was our conversation...

"Do you think this potato is a fruit or a vegetable?"

"Fruit."

"No, it's a vegetable."

"Oh. Well, ask me that again."

"Do you think this potato is a fruit or a vegetable?"

"A vegetable!"

"That's right! Potatoes grow out of the ground, like from a garden, and then you can pick them. Uncle Glenn might have some in his garden."

"Remember when we just picked these from the garden?"

"These potatoes?"

"Yea!"

"Oh we didn't pick these, sweetie. We got these from Walmart. But somebody picked them."

"Jesus did?"

"No, baby, not Jesus. Probably a farmer."

"What's a farmer do?"

"You know... He grows lots of food in his garden and he probably has some animals like cows and chickens."

"And unicorns!!!"

Never a dull moment!

38 Week Check-Up

38 weeks

Heartbeat: 150-155

+1 lbs

I only gained a pound this week bringing the total to 23 pounds in all. I'm pretty pumped about that. Less I'll have to work off after baby is here! 

She said the heart rate was about 150, but when the baby started moving around it jumped up to 155. 

She said I'm 1cm dilated but my cervix is softened up and ready to go. She said I would probably dilate pretty quickly once contractions pick up. She also said that because I have a "pretty significantly good sized baby" (her words, not mine!) that I don't have to wait until my due date to induce labor. I really did not want to be induced again, but I also don't want to be pushing out a 10 pounder! 

We go back next Wednesday and we could have a baby as early as Thursday! She's basically leaving it up to us to pick the date, which us not as easy as it sounds! All along, my due date was February 3rd, but if we induce next Thursday we'll have a January baby. So which month should we pick? What date? What's easiest to remember? So many decisions! 

We're just going to wait and see what's happening next Wednesday at my appointment and then we'll go from there. 

How excited am I??? I can't even put it into words! I can't wait to see who this baby is!!!

Pampered

After my day of cleaning and chores, this Mama got a foot rub from my sweeties!

A Bed of Rice

I had a burst of energy yesterday compared to what I have been feeling like. Gran came over and helped me get the house clean for when Baby comes home. I helped her clean plus managed to do a load of dishes, three loads of laundry, AND I even cooked supper for the first time in... I don't know how long!

So after supper, I cleaned the kitchen back up and was about to shut the pantry doors when I noticed who was sleeping in our pantry... the princesses! I couldn't help but laugh. I guess a bed of rice was too irresistible.

Find A New Dad

 We were on our way home from church Sunday night and we were listening to our Frozen soundtrack (because what else is there??) The song, "Let It Go", was blaring because Livy likes to sing it really loud. Right when it got to the loudest part, we saw some deer on the side of the road, so Livy was trying to shout over the music about seeing the deer. Drew turned the music down just a little so he could hear what Livy was trying to say but she didn't like that one bit...

"Hey!"
"I just turned it down a little because I couldn't hear you."
"If you keep turning my music down, I might hafta find a new dad!"

Chef Livy

 

Last night when Drew got home from work, Chef Livy had his supper ready and waiting on him at the kitchen table. I didn't even realize she had done it until Drew got home. It was so thoughtful of her.

37 Week Check-Up

37 weeks

Heartbeat:???

+0 lbs

I'm getting really bad at forgetting to ask what the heart rate is. I kept giggling while she was trying to listen because my belly was jumping all over the place. The heart beat was much easier to find this time though! My blood pressure was a little high today, but I'm pretty sure that's normal towards the end of pregnancy... right?! I didn't gain any weight this week though! Which means so far I've gained 22 pounds. Not too shabby. 

I told Drew that in my mind after Dr. Watson checked me today, she would say Oh my! You're already 4cm dilated... just head on over to the hospital and get your epidural. We'll have us a baby today! And that was pretty much how it happened... except for it wasn't at all how it happened. Ha! She said I'm not quite a 1cm; however, my cervix is softened. Basically, just keep cooking, Baby Baker! 

I've reached the point in the pregnancy where I'm just over it. Not a complaining/griping over it sort of way, just over it because I'm so ready to meet this little one! It's consuming my mind, and it's all I can think about! Boy or girl... girl or boy! And I know, I know... I did this to myself by not finding out! But it'll be so exciting on delivery day! 

Livy's bag is packed and ready to stay with Pappy and Annie whenever the time comes. She's got her BIG SIS shirt ready to wear! My bag and baby's bag are a different story. I should probably get on that, just in case! We cleaned out the truck today and have it ready to install the car seat. Livy is so excited that the baby gets to ride right beside her. 

I've been trying to do some extra cleaning around the house and keep it picked up in case we have to leave at a moment's notice... but normally I start cleaning and I'm all gung-ho, then 10 minutes later I'm exhausted. So I go sit down to rest and all I can think about is baby. lol Yea, I'm pretty useless these days. We really are down to a waiting game. 

I go back for another appointment next Thursday. Maybe we'll get some good news!

Ya Heard??

Last night Drew was messing with Livy, and I don't even remember what it was about... probably about not getting Cheetos on our bedspread. But he kept saying,
"Ya heard? Ya heard?"

Livy's reply? This...
"Dad, I have ears... so I heard you."

 We cracked up! She didn't say it to be a smarty pants. She was just stating the facts. And it was hilarious.

The Bad Baby Drawer

 

Yesterday, when I picked Livy up from Children's Church, I was looking through all her papers and noticed this drawing on the back of one. 

"Liv, did you draw the baby?"

"Yea, and I wrote my name."

"Well, that was really sweet!"

"Thanks, but... Julie helped me draw the baby and it's not very good."

"What? Why is it not good?"

"Well, Julie's just not a very good drawer."

 I thought I was going to fall over laughing so hard!

"Well, Liv, people are better at some things than others, so it's OK."

I caught Julie before we left church and told her what Livy had just said. Julie started laughing and said that Livy had asked her to draw the baby, and when she was done Livy told her it wasn't very good... that she needed to try again! Ha! So that's why there's 2 babies in the picture. Julie said she finally gave up on drawing and just wrote Olivia's name and Liv said,

"There, that's better."

I had to apologize for my super critical daughter. I still laugh about it though, I can't get over it.

Wishing for Saturday

 

This morning Livy crawled into bed with me when she woke up and said,

"Mom, what day is it today?"

"It's Monday."

"Aww, but... I want it to be Saturday."

"Why do you like Saturday?" I already knew what her answer would be.

"Because I like it when Daddy stays home with me." 

"Me too, baby, me too!"

What can I say? She does have an awesome Daddy. 

Everything is right in our world when he's home with us.

The Puneral

 

Sadly, my Aunt Shan (or Mimi as the kids called her) passed away last week, so we had visitation and the funeral to go to this weekend. The morning she died, I tried my best to explain it to Livy... you know, on a 3 year old's level.

"Livy, I have kind of some sad news."

"What?"

"Well, do you remember Mimi?"

"Yea."

"She died last night. So she's in Heaven now with God and Jesus."

"Oh... I didn't know that!"

"Yea, it's kind of sad, but we can also be happy because now she's in Heaven! Right?"

"Right!"

That was about as far as our conversation went. We debated whether or not to take Livy with us to the visitation, but I figured as long as she didn't see the casket, it would be fine. I just knew after our conversation about how Mimi was in Heaven, she would be extremely confused if she saw her lying in the casket. So we stayed in a separate room and Livy did great. She played a little with her cousin Jillian and was well-behaved. 

The next day, I told her we had to go back to the funeral home for the actual funeral. I was about to explain that it would be kind of like church... how we have to sit still and be quiet... when she broke out into song...

"Yay! We get to go to the puneral again!"

Drew and I just looked at each other, trying not to laugh, and hoping she wouldn't sing that lovely song at the puneral. 

Thankfully, she didn't! She sat through the service like a big girl, and once it was over they started dismissing everyone to walk by the casket to say one more last goodbye. I had avoided letting her see Mimi, but there was really no way around it this time. We had to walk by her. We tried to go fast, but sure enough, as soon as we got outside she asked,

"Why was Mimi sleeping in there?"

So then I had to try to explain it in more detail... this really is a difficult concept for little ones to grasp. 

"Well, when we die, our bodies stay here and it looks like we're sleeping, but our spirits go to Heaven to be with God and Jesus. So it looks like Mimi's sleeping, but she's really in Heaven."

"So, she's alive like Jesus?"

"Yes, baby. Just like Jesus."

Then came the graveside service. As soon as we pulled into the cemetery, Livy was concerned about why some of the flowers were knocked over, why some of the graves were missing flowers, why there were rectangles on the ground, why there were crosses out there... so many questions! The service was very short, and after it was over she begged us to let her pick up some of the flowers that the wind had blown over. We said our goodbyes to the family and got back in the truck. When we started to leave, she said,

"That puneral suurrre was fun!"

Good grief! The innocence of a 3 year old! Hopefully, we won't have another puneral to go to for a very long time!

My Sweet Olivia

Pretty soon I will have three loves in my life. It's a little hard to believe since this time last year we were still going through fertility treatments. Though Drew was always confident, there were times when I was convinced that Olivia was going to be an only child. 

And look at us now. About to welcome another sweet baby into this world. No longer will I be the only one who gets to enjoy the gentle rolls and sometimes violent jabs that this baby gives. I'll get to share this baby with my family. I'll get to watch Olivia interact with her new little brother or sister. I'll get to watch Drew become a daddy all over again. I'll get to watch Zoe learn to tolerate yet another Baker baby.

But before all of these changes take place, I want to acknowledge my sweet daughter for all she is before she becomes a big sister. 

My sweet Olivia,

You are truly one of a kind. I've never met a three year old who is as unselfish as you are. You care about everyone around you and have a heart of gold. You have a huge imagination, and I love hearing of all the fanciful stories and ideas you come up with. You're so caring, kind, and sweet, and these are just some of the reasons I'm so proud to be your mother. 

I love the way you... 

...dance and sing to every song like you're a Disney princess in your own movie. 

...call for your daddy to get a caterpillar out of the house, but demand that he set the caterpillar down outside VERY gently so it won't get hurt. 

...come into our room after you've been tucked in bed just because you need one more hug and kiss. 

...say, "Mom, pause this movie so I can go put my tutu on!"

...can't stand for your friends to get in trouble, so you come to their defense no matter what they've done. 

...squeeze mine and Daddy's faces together and say, "I couldn't do it without all my friends... I'll never forget you!"

...think no one's name is complete until it is underlined. 

...say, "Oh, I hope he's gonna be ok!" every time a football player gets hurt in a game.

...think that any spare change you find is money for Jesus. 

...wish every store/restaurant we go in will be decorated for the correct holiday. 

...think it's hilarious to hide under your dirty clothes hamper and follow me around the house. 

...get right in my belly button and say, "Hello! Wake up, baby! It's me... Olivia... The sister!!"

...want to be an instrument player when you grow up and play the "tu-BAH".

But most importantly, I love you for being you. You'll always be my sweet princess, my first born, the one who taught me to love unconditionally, the one I miss even when you're right next to me, the one who holds such a special place in my heart.

Love you always,
Mama

36 Week Check-Up

36 weeks

Heartbeat:??? <----- She didn't say, and I forgot to ask!

-1 lb <----- Woo hoo!!!

I went into this appointment ready to see if I was dilated at all, and possibly ready to go register at the hospital. I thought I started all those things at 36 weeks with Liv... but we did neither today. I was a little disappointed. I think it was just because the office was so busy this morning! 

She had a little trouble finding the heartbeat, which is why I don't know what the heart rate was this time. However, I wasn't concerned. Drew asked if that scared me when she couldn't find it... not at all. This baby is constantly moving so I knew there was no reason to worry. Dr. Watson said it was just tough to hear because of the way the baby was laying. The baby is still in the head down position though, praise the Lord!

I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions lately. Sometimes I'll have up to 4 or 5 in an hour, and sometimes they're very spread out. They're not painful but they certainly aren't unnoticeable. Sometimes I have to stop and just close my eyes for a little while. It gives me a little hope for going into labor on my own... Oh, I dream of the day! Ha!