Anxiously Awaiting

So I am just sitting here waiting for 35 weeks to come and go! I don't have my appointment until Thursday this week so I am anxiously wondering where I am at - did I dilate more? Am I going to be having this baby in the next few weeks or will I be going the dreaded FULL TERM of 40 weeks? I know every mom goes through this sitting and waiting game but GEEZ! I know the longer the baby is in the better - and it really is nice to have this much more time to spend with Isabella - but I am excited for when I can actually get up and chase Isabella around, throw her on my hip and walk around with her...no longer be the "lazy mom" I feel like I have been! I am also super ready to see this new little girl and how she is going to fit into our life! Well here starts the wait and see game!

Another Update - 34 week appointment

So back again today for my weekly appointment. This one was not too exciting (which is a good thing). I am holding steady on my weight which is good - however baby continues to get bigger! In my head I keep thinking I hope this baby is not a giant!! I am measuring 4 weeks ahead now at 38 centimeters. My doctor said that she is not too worried about the size until I hit 39 weeks - and she is doubting I will make it that far. If I DO make it to that I might cry every night just contemplating how difficult labor is going to be! :).

My cervix did not change this week - I am still 3cm 50% effaced which is exciting. We decided to go ahead and have me get the steroid shots (betamethasone) for the baby's lungs to help them mature in case I go into labor in the next 2 weeks or so. Officially I am still only 33 weeks but close enough to 34. I went to the Labor and Delivery section to get the shot done - it was strange being over in the hospital - made it a little more real again! I forgot how much those shots sting!! I get the second one tomorrow. My fetal fibronectin test came back negative so that should mean one more week without labor! Well that is it for the updates from this appointment.

33 week appointment

I went in today for my weekly OB appointment! I lost 1 pound - and trust me that makes me happy...for two weeks I was gaining WAY too much at a time! My blood pressure was good, I was measuring 36 cm on my fundal height (which is 3 weeks ahead...what happened to 2 weeks ahead?). Baby's heartbeat was 140-150's. I had the fetal fibronectin test drawn again, but won't get the results until tomorrow since my appointment was late in the afternoon. I only have to get that test drawn one more time because she said she is not going to worry if I go into labor at 35 weeks. She also checked my cervix...that was not as great of news as everything else. I have dilated more - she said I am now 3 cm dilated (I was barely a 2 last week) and my cervix has softened even more. Baby has not engaged in the pelvis and she doesn't even think the baby's head was down (she was caddy cornered...I dont' know if this is a good thing or bad thing - hopefully that means she is not ready yet and will turn when she is. I am hoping that I don't go into labor though before her head comes down!). My cervix is still high which is good. She said I could still work, but I need to come home and do nothing else for the night - she said pretty much be a slug! Yikes that is going to be hard to do with a 23 month old running around (I am not quite ready to call her 2 - she still has 3 weeks left to be considered 1).

Speaking of Isabella - she is getting SOOO big! Sam and I measured her yesterday because we were saying she looked so much taller. She is now about 35 inches on our estimate!! That means she is almost 3 feet tall!! She is such a big girl!! Her vocabulary is expanding every day - she is saying a lot of 2 word sentences (granted most of them her daddy and I can understand but other people probably can't). She is copying a lot of things we say and do which is super cute but it also makes me really watch myself! My little girl is all grown up! I just pray the little peanut choses a time to show up that doesn't interfere with Isabella's 2 year birthday!! I want to be able to really make Isabella feel special this year! Well, that is it for now!

32 week Appointment

So this last week I started off on Tuesday going in to see my perinatologists who did an ultrasound on the baby girl. She is now measuring 5 pounds - yep she is huge!! They told me that is about 54%, but the measurements are showing that she would be 36 weeks if she was an average baby. I don't get that whole thing I guess. I have just settled on the fact that unless this baby comes early I am going to have a HUGE baby!!

I went in today to my OB appointment. I gained more weight (WOOHOO just what I wanted to hear! Not really). Everything looks good - baby's heartrate was about 140's, my blood pressure was 118/74, and I am still measuring 2 weeks ahead (so my fundus is 34 cm). I asked the doctor if my dates could have been off and I am just further along than we thought, but she said since my first ultrasound at 20 weeks was only measuring 5 days ahead that it is not really likely - I am probably just having a big baby! When she checked my cervix she said that I am still high and soft and still 50% effaced, but I am definitely dilating a little each week (I am now between a 1 and 2 - she said she could call it a 2 if she wanted but she did not want to go there yet. We did the fetal fibronectin test but I won't find out about that until tomorrow.

31 week appointment

Went to my 31 week appointment (man this going once a week things is getting pretty crazy!!). My weight gain picked up a little this week (YIKES!!) but the doctor said it was nothing to worry about - blood pressure was great at 110/60 so she is not worried about being preeclamptic (Thank goodness I could not handle one more thing to my plate!) I asked about sibling policy too - currently the hospital is closed to children under 14, and that includes siblings of babies. So this little peanut Palmer needs to stay inside until at least that time is up, which she is hoping will be the end of February.

Again they checked my cervix - still dilated to a 1 and still high and posterior. I asked her this time how thin I was and she said 50% effaced. She said "You are definitely dilated, but not any change from last week)! Hopefully it stays that way for a while. I had purchased a prenatal cradle to wear to work (yes I returned on Monday...worked eight hours than and Tuesday) and wore the cradle all day. It looks like a giant jock strap that helps hold up the belly. Let me tell you ladies if you ever have to wear one they are not fun!! It helps with pressure down low, but after wearing it all day and taking it off, my abdomen felt like I had done 1000 crunches - my belly hurt SOOO bad! But it is worth the pain if it keeps me from dilating! My fetal fibronectin test came back negative as well...so I will still be working! I got next Tuesday to the perinatologist where they will measure the baby again, and I go back to my OB on Wednesday. Well that was my long and boring update!

30 week appointment, 3D ultrasound, and Izzy

A few pictures of Isabella before I start in on the baby. I feel like I have neglected adding pictures of her! I have taken lots of them but just have not uploaded them to the computer.

For Christmas she got a bunch of art supplies from Santa Claus, and here she is using her watercolors for the first time! I think we have a little artist on our hands!! This kept her occupied for about 20 minutes, which believe me is a long time for her!
She had also received a watch that had lip gloss in it, and here she is with lip gloss all over her face - her daddy found her like that! A big chunk ended up on her nose! She also had received these adorable Dora PJs from her Aunt Sara for Christmas.

When the weather was actually above freezing, I allowed Isabella to venture out in the snow - she loved every minute of it. This girl is such an outdoorsy girl that I feel bad she has had to be cooped up so much. She was helping me roll snow, loved walking around in it and playing on her Kangaroo Climber.

Went in to my OB appointment today. She checked my cervix, which she said before had been a fingertip and now was dilated to about 1 (so not much change). My fetal fibronectin test came back negative again which is good. Still having contractions (Tuesday night I had 4-6 contractions an hour for 4 hours) but nothing too extreme and nothing regular. Everything else checked out. I am still in limbo about going to work - trying to get everything figured out!

We had our 3D ultrasound done this weekend - it was really nice to see the baby (which still needs a name). She is going to resemble her sister but I think she is definitely going to have her own appearance! Her cheeks are a little fuller, she has a different nose. I think they will have the same lips though! She was not very active...would move her hands (she loved sucking on her hands and holding them up to her face), and whenever I would sit up she would bring her legs up to her head. Izzy kept pointing to the screen and saying "sister sister". We had a lot of family there with us (both sets of grandparents, Sara and Mason, and my sister Kristen and her boyfriend Alex came late). Here are just a few pictures.

In this last one, she had her hand close to her mouth sucking on it, and her right eye is open. It was crazy to see her eyes opening and closing. She also would yawn, frown, and stick her tongue out!

29 week OB appointment

This week I went in for my 29 week appointment with my OB. I have been having more contractions over the weekend (on average about 1 an hour, some hours having up to 6) which I told her about. I also spoke with her about returning to work, which there is no way I would be able to return to work as a floor nurse,but if I could be on light duty she might consider allowing me to go back to work. First we had to do a few things. First off, she checked my cervix, which she said was soft and dilated to about a 1, however it was high and posterior so she was encouraged by that. She also did a fetal fibronectin test to see if there was a possibility of me going into labor in the next week. I won't get the result of that test until this evening. If that test comes back negative, than she said she would be okay with me going back on LIGHT duty (which I dont' even know if it is possible at my job). If it comes back positive, however, there is no way she would release me to go back to work. And if I go back to work, I will be making weekly visits to the doctors instead of every other week (which I have to go to the office any way for my shot!) So now it is just a wait and see game until that test comes back - I am anxiously awaiting that phone call!! Either way I don't know if I am ready for the news - I love being at home with Izzy but know if I can I should be going back to work, but if it is positive than I am going to be freaked out about going into labor!

Everything checks out on baby though, heartbeat was 140's, my weight has been holding steady, and my blood pressure looked good. I completely forgot to ask about the fundal height since I was so concerned about my cervix (she had not checked it at this point). That is my pregnancy update!

Isabella update: She has been sleeping ALL NIGHT in her bed without me having to go in at all during the night (watch I say this and she ends up waking up 20 times tonight). She is starting to really repeat things we say (uhoh - mommy needs to really watch what I say). And her 2 word sentences are really starting to pick up! It is so exciting to watch her grow up and do things she couldn't do a few days back!! I love motherhood!