Cole is now almost 3 weeks old. Things have been tough and we are very tired most days, but Brian and I are loving being parents. Brian has now gone back to work and Cole and I are surviving the days without him. We are very happy when he comes home :)
We have been very lucky to have lots of visitors over the last few weeks. Here are some pictures of Cole with family and friends.
Hey folks, it’s Brian here. I’m posting from the maternity ward bedside, from my iPhone. It’s 3:45am, and after getting a little bit of sleep, Amanda’s now quite awake. The most painful contractions yet have come, and Amanda’s taking them like a champ. We should see the doctor again soon. More updates later!
My appointment today was in the morning which meant I had to take the day off from school. I decided to take a personal day since I get three of them and won’t be using them the rest of the school year. Basically if I don’t use them, I loose them. If I’m still at work next week I plan on using another one.
It was really nice to have the day off since I’ve been so tired lately. I headed into Boston this morning with one thing on my mind, Progress. The only thing I wanted to hear from my doctor, besides my baby’s heartbeat on the doppler, were the words “3 cm dilated”. I figured with all of the contractions I’ve been having I must be dilated at least that much. Well, unfortunately not so much. I’m still about 50% effaced (thinned out) and my cervix is finally open, but only 1 cm (you usually need to be at least 4 to be admitted and then when you get to 10 you start to push). In other news my blood pressure was back to normal thankfully and I gained 1 pound…total for pregnancy now at 26 pounds.
The ideal scenario would be for me to go into labor today or tomorrow and then have the baby by the weekend. It would make it easier for my family to spend more time. Most likely if I have the baby during the week, my parents will only stay for a day maybe 2 and my sisters won’t be able to come up until the following weekend due to classes/work.
The ideal scenario of course has one little wrinkle. My doctor will be out of town at a conference until Sunday. I know it’s not that big of a deal and another very capable doctor. can deliver our baby, but I obviously would prefer my doctor. With how slow things are going, I’m sure I don’t have anything to worry about.
Ok, it’s just not fun anymore. It doesn’t help that I haven’t been able to sleep well because almost every night I have contractions (or what I think are contractions) that make me think that maybe I’m going in to labor. They eventually taper off and I go to sleep and wake up still pregnant :(
I head to the doctor’s tomorrow and hope that at least there is some more progress so that all of the pain and sleepless nights are doing something. I feel bad, I even kept Brian awake last night because he was so nervous that I was really going into labor.
In other news, our video camera has arrived! I was worried it wouldn’t be here on time, but that’s when I was overly optimistic that this baby would come a little early. I guess he’s just really cozy in there and wants to stay a while longer. If he’s not here by Monday (my due date) I’m serving an eviction notice.
I’m now on weekly visits to my OB. This appointment was interesting because I found out that I had some progress and also because I thought I was having mild contractions all day. I had been feeling a crampy/lower backache sensation off and on all week. I also had some timeable contractions on Monday night while trying to sleep. I stayed home from school on Thursday as the cramping didn’t go away as I got ready for work and thought there was a chance maybe I was in early labor. I knew I had my appointment so I wasn’t too concerned. I did however make sure that everything was packed in my hospital bag and cleaned up my house in case I didn’t come back until after the baby. Crazy, I know.
While driving into Boston, the cramping became stronger and by the time I got to the office, I was feeling very uncomfortable. I explained to my dr. the feelings I had been having all week and she said that all of those things are signs that my body is getting ready for labor. It doesn’t mean that it will happen tomorrow, but that it’s coming fairly soon. She checked and my cervix is still closed, but it is soft and has thinned out 50% (you need to be at 100% in order to give birth). It was good news, but I knew that it didn’t mean much and that I could still be weeks away from having my baby. In other news, my blood pressure was a little high and she sent me for blood work. Also, I was down the 4 pounds I had gained last week. I’m guessing I must have had some extra water weight at my last appointment. My doctor also estimated that the baby weighs about 7 lbs which is a good size. I hope he doesn’t get any bigger!
So here I sit almost 39 weeks pregnant and so ready to have this baby. It’s not just that I’m horribly uncomfortable all the time and can’t sleep (though that’s a small part of it), but the fact that I’m so excited and can’t wait to meet our little guy. I know he’ll come when he’s ready, but I keep telling him that Mommy and Daddy would like him to come out now :)
As many of you know, we live in a 2 bedroom house and have had to get rid of our spare bed to make room for the baby. My in-laws were very generous and bought us a pull-out couch so that we now have a place for guests to sleep when visiting. It fits quite well in our living room and is a love seat that pulls out to a double bed. Here are a few pictures of Greta and Brian enjoying the couch.
Greta likes to survey the street and occasionally needs to be pulled out when she barks at passing dogs or squirrels :)
Brian and Greta watching TV…she sure isn’t sitting like a lady!
I had my 37 week appointment on Friday. It was pretty disappointing actually. I found out I gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks (yikes). I hope that some of that was water weight. I also found out that I tested positive for the Group B step bacteria. My doctor is not concerned and the only thing I need to worry about is getting antibiotics during labor. I know it’s not a big deal, but it bothers me that it is something I have and have to deal with. I guess it affects about 40% of women during their pregnancy. Also, I was hoping to hear about any progress regarding dilation or effacement (thinning) of my cervix but my doctor said that unless there is a concern she probably won’t check again until I’m right around my due date. I think I’ve had some mild contractions, but nothing that has made me think that labor is around the corner. More to come next week…
