Final pregnancy pics

At 37 weeks we tried castor oil to see if baby would come out before Kathleen (my midwife) left for a week for a medical conference in Can Cun. The next day (June 10th) I woke up with everyone thinking I was in labor. It lasted 4-5 hours too...and Kathleen was out here for several of those. My brother's were in town and came over after Kathleen had left with the stipulation that if something started happening, they were leaving. We planned on going to see a movie (taking my mind of contractions was supposed to help), but the timing didn't work out for all of us to go. I thought it would be funny if I was watching the new X-Men movie with Patrick, Ben, and Nate when something actually happened. :) Patrick and I went by ourselves, and by then everything had pretty much calmed down.

On June 21th (38 weeks, 5 days) I went in for an appointment, and we decided to try the castor oil again. . .this time I puked an hour and a half after drinking it, but enough of it went through to start something. Kathleen came out in the evening for yet another false labor...felt and looked real, but again, no progression. She had just gotten home two days before, so it would have been really good timing. :) We walked several miles, but nothing happened...Kathleen, Mom and I even got caught out in the rain during our last walk. Patrick had accidentally taken too much pain medication that evening for his bruised tail bone (he had a run in with a slide), and was pretty much a zombie....so it's just as well nothing happened. Kathleen went home, and it was another night of red wine to calm things down so I could sleep.

At 39 weeks and 4 days we went in for an appointment and sonogram to make sure everything was good. We were mainly doing the sonogram to see how much the placenta had aged. It is graded on a 0-3 scale (0 being the youngest, and 3 being the oldest.) Mine was a 1, so there was no reason why we needed to worry about the baby staying in there longer. He wasn't trying to breathe, so supposedly that meant something would happen in 48 hours.

I was actually in active labor when we took the 40 week picture. . .and that's a whole new blog post. :D

God. . .and Jesus. . .and shaving legs

K: How did the baby get in your tummy?
Me: How do you think the baby got in my tummy?
K: God put it there. Jesus and God put it there.
Me: Yes they did.
K: Where are Jesus and God?
Me: They're in Heaven, and they're right here.
K: I want to see them.
Me: You can see them someday.
K: I want to hug Jesus. And I want to kiss him too. Can I hug Jesus?
Me: Yes, you can hug and kiss Jesus when you see him.
K: I want to talk to him.
Me: Ok, you can talk to him.
K: Right now. On your phone.
Me: You don't need my phone to talk to Jesus. He can hear you without one.
K: Where is he?
Me: He's right here.
K: Is he the baby?
Me: No, Jesus isn't the baby. Jesus hasn't been a baby for a long time.

Kadence seems pretty impressed by Daddy's skills lately. She asked me why Daddy shaved my legs, and I explained that I couldn't reach them very well and needed help. She asked if he would shave her legs too, and I told her she didn't need to shave her legs until she was older and big like Mommy. She called Daddy later and told him that when she was bigger and older she wanted him to shave her legs too. . .all day long. Someday she'll realize that isn't really a daddy/daughter activity. :)

Not yet!!!

It's been an interesting week. On Monday Kadence was sitting next to me rubbing my belly, and randomly informed me that Daddy and Jesus would protect the baby and keep him from coming out before he was ready. Good to know, cause things got interesting Tuesday. 

Patrick is off on Tuesdays, and Kadence had requested a "Mommy-Daddy-KK date" since we had gone on a date without her the week before. We decided that was a good idea, since it will probably be awhile before that can happen again. We decided to go see Kung Fu Panda 2, and then she wanted to "go shopping and buy treats for my baby brother." 

We went and ate breakfast at Grandy's and then went to the theater. She was so excited. There were only a few people besides us when we got there, and Kadence informed Patrick that the other kids would be there soon. He told her that he didn't think there would be more kids, and she said "No, the other kids will be here soon." The movie started, and low and behold, a whole bunch of kids showed up.

She LOVED the movie. She kept throwing her arms around with the characters trying to do Kung Fu. She was very quiet during the movie, except for one part. One of the bad guys says "Wipe those stupid grins off your faces!" and she yelled "We don't say that!" (She's not allowed to say "stupid.") We let her have a few Twizlers during the movie, and when I gave her her last one and told her that was all she was getting, she proceeded to suck on it for the remainder of the movie.

After the movie, we went to Wal-Mart and she rode around on the wheelchair with me (since I'm not allowed to walk). We took her to the baby section to let her pick something out for her brother. She chose a soft green sea turtle ice pack. I'm guessing she's anticipating that he'll need it as much as she needs all of hers. :)

We stopped to get her "chicken hands" (chicken nuggets) at Chick-Fil-A on the way home. . .and Patrick actually ordered "chicken hands" and then had to correct himself. Hahaha

I woke up from my nap that afternoon feeling weird, and was unable to eat. . .not even watermelon, and you KNOW that means something is up. Mom decided that would be a good time to go ahead and wrap my recliner in plastic so it wouldn't get ruined if my water broke.

That night around the time Kadence was going to bed, I noticed that my contractions were entirely too regular. . .so I started tracking them. 7 minutes apart, every time. Some painful, others just extremely uncomfortable. I drank a lot of water to make sure hydration wasn't an issue, and took a hot bath to see if that would help. Not only did that not help, the contractions moved to being 6 minutes apart.

Now, by this point I was pretty sure we weren't having a baby, since the intensity of the contractions hadn't changed. However, I do believe in being prepared, so I made sure things were in order and that Kadence would be taken care if in case something did happen and we had to go to the hospital. Since this had been going on for about 2 hours, I called Kathleen (my midwife) to see what we needed to do, other than just deciding that I wasn't going to have a baby right then.

She said to take at least 700mg of extra magnesium, stay on complete bed rest, and drink plenty of water. If things didn't get better she would come over, but I really didn't think that was necessary. After all, it was too early to do this, and I was refusing to have a baby.

After about an hour she called to check and see how things were going. The contractions had started to die down a little, but not enough that I would be able to sleep. So she said that I could have a beer or a glass of red wine, or take Benadryl. I don't drink beer, I had no wine, so Benadryl it was. After about an hour after that things were calm enough that I could sleep, and by the next morning things were almost back to normal.

Now, for those of you who would have said (and those of you who did) that God was in control, and I needed to surrender control, acknowledge that He was in control, and that things would happen on His time etc. etc. etc. let me say this. I'm aware of all of that. 

I fully acknowledge that regardless of what I say, what He says is what's going to happen. I have no problem surrendering to Him. . .but ONLY to Him. My body does NOT get to decide what is happening, and I am not about to relinquish control to circumstances that ARE within my control. That, to me, would be like a cancer patient dying because they did nothing about it, when there was something they could have done.

Besides, if you know me at all, you know that I want what I want, and I want it the way that I want it. This really doesn't have to do with the baby, because he will be just fine one way or another. Kadence is right. . .Jesus (and Daddy?) will protect this baby and keep him from coming out before he is ready. I would LIKE to make it to full term, but even if I don't he'll still be fine. I realized that weeks ago.

I don't always get what I want, and I'm fine with that. For instance, this baby will come before 38 weeks, so the water birth that I wanted is now out. I'll still labor in water, but because his lungs will already be wet, birthing in water isn't a risk we're willing to take. See, I don't always get what I want. :)

But here's my point. It's ok that I want what I want, the way I want it. I'm not arrogant enough to assume that JUST because I want it, I can make it happen. But guess what? Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalms 37:4  HE cares about what I want, and HE can make it happen. That's why I won't quit fighting and let go of what I want until I'm told BY HIM that I need to. If that were to happen, I'm already completely at peace about it.

I spent all day yesterday in bed or lying down in the recliner, while Kadence spent the day with Ashley and Caiden. Contractions stayed about where they had been, so instead of moving our next appointment up, we decided to wait until today when it was already scheduled.

Kathleen came over to do the 36 week appointment today. I'm measuring 37cm, pretty much fully effaced, and dilated between 1 and 3. She didn't do a complete check to see exactly how dilated I am since that could trigger something, and we don't really need to know exactly.

Technically, I won't be 37 weeks until Thursday next week, but because of the way things are progressing, we're going off of the estimated due date from the first sonogram. That date would make me 37 weeks on Monday. So we are good to go after the weekend, and I'm on strict bed rest until then.

We're all certain that this will be a quick labor. Kathleen was concerned that by the time I figure out that I'm really in labor, she might not have time to get here before he's born. However, my mother is here, she's a nurse, she's had 6 kids herself, and been there for MANY other births. Just the same, I WANT my midwife and my photographer to make it in time, so I'm confident that my Heavenly Father can make it happen. If He decides not to, oh well. . .it'll be an interesting story. :D

Fish Oil, Vodka and Chocolate Milk

Today we are at 35 weeks and 4 days. This kid could possibly be born sometime next week, so BEFORE he's born I'm gonna explain something. This way, if he comes out with less than average intelligence, my reasons for blaming a certain someone will be understood. (J/K. . .sort of. :D)

On the evening of February 22nd something unfortunate happened. Now, I realize that the fact that I know a specific date for this might indicate that I'm holding a grudge, but I'm not. Really. . .I just remember things in case I need them later. :)

You may know that fish oil supplements are something that many pregnant women take as a part of their prenatal supplements. If you've ever taken fish oil supplements, you know that it's unpleasant (to say the least) when some of it makes it's way back up. Now, for pregnant women prone to nausea this presents something of a problem. 

On this particular evening I had taken my last set of supplements for the day while Patrick was pouring himself a glass of Pepsi. We then retired to the couch to spend some quality time ignoring each other while watching TV. He had his Pepsi, and I had my water.

Shortly thereafter, some fish oil started making it's way back up. (I'm starting to think this stuff came from salmon, since it keeps returning back from whence it came.) Water doesn't fix the issue. I didn't want to take time running to the kitchen to get something else, so I grabbed Patrick's Pepsi to wash it back down before I ended up running to the bathroom and losing all of it.

After I took a few swigs and put the cup back down, I realized something. He had put vodka in it. Now, you may think that he shouldn't be blamed for this, since it WAS his drink after all. However, I'm usually drinking water, and he's usually drinking something else; when he puts something in his drink, he always tells me in case this particular situation arises. . .except for this time. His explanation? "I thought you knew!" His reasoning was that since we were in the kitchen at the same time, that I had seen him do it.

In his defense, he works difficult hours (more than 40 a week), and was taking 9 hours this semester. . .so he's allowed to make mistakes. My initial reaction wasn't about to take this into account however. Hormonal reactions are rarely reasonable. (I believe I've mentioned that before.) I called my mother to tell on him. Actually I was calling to find out how much damage she thought it would do. (Hormones occasionally make me paranoid. . .) She figured I hadn't had enough to do much if any damage. . .not that that was going to make me feel better.

Fish oil and vodka were BOTH making me nauseous, and so in the best interests of the baby I decided to try and rid myself of the vodka. . .and everything else for that matter. Unfortunately, I was unable to get rid of all of it. So the nausea continued, and I was still concerned about the vodka. However, there was nothing to be done about it.

Chocolate milk has often helped the nausea throughout this pregnancy, so I figured I'd give it a try. BAD idea. The cocktail of fish oil, vodka and chocolate milk churning in my stomach made me even more nauseous. . .but refused to come back out. Turns out, they don't mix, and had I been thinking clearly at the time I probably would have figured that out. Anyway, as a result, I was extremely nauseous for the next 2 days. . .and none too happy.

This has since become something of a joke. Occasionally I'll check with Patrick to see if what he's drinking is spiked. . .even if it's just water, since if it looks like water, it might be vodka. :) 

I've taken nothing but some allergy medication and some Tylenol the entire pregnancy. I watch everything I eat and drink to make sure that myself and the baby are healthy. (My mother has taken to calling me a food snob.) This being the case, the fact that I inadvertently consumed one of the things you're absolutely NOT supposed to have during pregnancy (while disconcerting at the time) has now become rather amusing.

So if at any point during this kid's life you hear us blame something on the vodka, you now know what that means. For instance, I started having too many Braxton Hick's contractions way too early. Vodka. I ended up on bed rest. Vodka. Being at risk for pre-term labor? Yup, vodka. At this point, we might as well work it into his name somehow. . .J/K.

"KK Boy" (that's what Kadence named him for the last few days) is doing well in spite of his early introduction to alcohol, and we only have another week and a half before he's free to break out. Daddy's told him several times to stop trying to break down the wall until he's given permission to. He just doesn't seem to listen too well. Stupid vodka. . . :)

Now, lest you think I've been too hard on my poor husband, let me say this. He's wonderful. He's pulled me out of awkward positions that I've gotten stuck in more times that I can count throughout the end of this pregnancy (this includes the middle of the night when I need to use the bathroom). He's rubbed knots out of muscles whenever needed (pretty much every night at this point) to make sure I can sleep. He calls on his way home from work to see if I'm craving anything that he needs to pick up. He cut up a watermelon after midnight last night because I was craving it. He painted my bathroom blue (my favorite color.)

This is a very small list of things this man does for me. Unfortunately, the few things he gets wrong are much funnier than the many things he gets right. It's part of the entertainment value of marriage. :D By the same count, he occasionally goes into another room when I'm being ridiculous about something and he can't keep a straight face anymore.

The ability to laugh at our own, and each others mistakes is part of what makes our marriage work. It's soooo much better than obsessing over, and continually bringing up mistakes as points of contention. The absurdity of it has often diffused situations between us before they become situations. 

Besides, it keeps life interesting. :)

Happy Memorial Day!