My L&D Slumber Party

Its been awhile since I updated...a lot has happened. 

I finally got my new van. It took them forever to get my mods done, but I finally picked it up last Thursday. I am officially a "Soccer MILF" as Steven says. He says I look good in it...he says it fits me perfectly. Today, he drove it for the 1st time and he couldn't get over how well it drives. He actually said "This is so nice. I am happy for you." Sweet man of mine!! 

Friday night was my baby shower. We had a very nice dinner and Brooklyn got lots of great gifts and a bunch of diapers. I am so thankful for my awesome friends and family. I feel so much better now that we are prepared. All we are waiting on now is her furniture...not that she will be sleeping in her crib for a couple months.

Anyway, we went on a mini road trip on Saturday. My brother-in-law spent last week with us, so we met my mother-in-law in Buffalo to drop him off...it is about 1/2-way for both of us. We spent the afternoon at the Galleria. She bought Carter a couple new DVDs for the new van. It was nice because it kept him busy on the ride home.

Sunday, I woke up not feeling well. My contractions were very hard and very close together all morning. I paged my OB and he didn't call back right away, so my mom took Carter and Steven and I headed to the hospital. I got checked in and hooked up to the monitors. I was having hard contractions every few minutes. They started an IV and gave me a bag of fluids to see if they could stop them that way. The OB on call came in and checked my dilation...1 cm. Not good. They decided to keep me overnight to be sure that I wasn't going into active labor. I was moved to a High Risk room until morning. Steven slept on a very small, very hard couch next to my bed all night...although neither of us got much sleep. On top of that, we were not prepared to stay, so both of our phone chargers and laptops were left behind. We were bored out of our minds and didn't have much cash with us for anything! I didn't eat before we left home because I wasn't feeling well. I had cereal around 2pm on Sunday. I wasn't allowed to eat once I checked in, just in case I went into labor and needed a c-section, but I was permitted to chew gum. I went through about 2 packs by myself, pretending it was food. Monday morning around 8am, my OB came into my room and checked my cervix...2 cm. Still not good, but since my contractions had spaced out, he felt that I was OK to be discharged. He gave me the green light to eat breakfast, so one of the nurses brought me in some cereal and a muffin. I hadn't eaten anything since the previous afternoon, so I scarfed it down before we left to go home. 

Monday when we got home, I had a small breakdown. I had such a long to-do list of things that had to be done before Brooklyn arrives. I felt like she could come at any moment and we had not washed one bottle or article of clothing. I had an empty diaper bag and still needed to buy a few of the contents to fill it. Thankfully, my mom and Steven took care of everything. Steven went to the basement and brought the swing and other necessities upstairs and cleaned them. He assembled the new Pack n Play as well. My mom washed and organized all of the bottles and clothes. She also helped me fill the diaper bag with everything Brooklyn will need. I finally feel at peace with everything...if she needs to make an early appearance, that is OK. I hope that she will stay put for another 15 days, but we are ready for her if she doesn't. Huge weight off of my shoulders.

The last couple of days have been rough, but I am trying to hang in there. Today, I almost caved and went back to L&D. My contractions were about 3 minutes apart at one point. Thankfully, they spaced out. I am still having them, but not as often. Steven moved our mattress into the living room so I can lay down and still be a functional part of the family during the day. I was getting pretty depressed being by myself in the bedroom all day when I needed to lay down. Just being around my family keeps my spirits up.

I am trying my best to make it until Monday, since I have an appointment with my OB. He will check my cervix and probably do an ultrasound to see if Brooklyn is still breech...as of Sunday, she was. If I have dilated any further, I assume he will admit me and induce shortly after. Your continued thoughts and prayers are so appreciated. 2 weeks from tomorrow...that's the goal!

My Beautiful Baby Girl

Isn't she adorable?!

My doctor's appointment today went very well. I had an ultrasound and we were able to see Brooklyn's face for the very first time! As you can see from the pictures above, she is beautiful. She has her daddy's nose and mommy's lips. She has the cutest chubby cheeks! The only bad news is that she is breech right now. We are hoping she turns very soon.

After my ultrasound, we met with the doctor. He scheduled our induction for September 10th. So, I will go in on the 9th for my anmio, then we will have a baby the next day! It is so nice to have a set date. I will be 36 weeks and 4 days. I just have to make it through the next 3 weeks and 4 days. No problem!

Hanging in There.

That's all I'm doing this week...hanging in there. It hasn't been easy, but I am trying my best to do everything I can to keep this baby in as long as I can. Every day this week has been eventful. Monday and Tuesday, we drove all the way out to the hospital for my Betamethasone injections. I am relieved that they are done, but hope that Brooklyn doesn't really need the extra lung development. Hopefully, she will have a few more weeks in my belly to grow.

Wednesday, I woke up very dizzy. I had a couple of very bad spells where the entire room was jumping and spinning. Thankfully, Steven was right there to calm me down and help me figure out what was causing the dizziness. We aren't really 100% sure, but we think it has something to do with me laying on my right side. I always contract more after sleeping on my left side, but the dizziness was awful, so I am trying my best to prevent it. Last night, I was able to sleep on my right side for a little while, but ended up flipping back over...and I am paying for it today with all sorts of contractions. Its a bit weird to me that I can sit here and have them every few minutes, but I am being told that its OK and not to panic. I would like to panic! They hurt and in most cases, they would be a pretty good indicator of actual labor...but not for me. Right now, I am just trying to deal with them, morning, noon, and night...because my cervix seems to be holding up and my water hasn't broken. I have just been praying every day for things to stay the way they are. I can handle the contractions if I know that my cervix is staying closed and that Brooklyn is safe. 

Tomorrow is a pretty big day. I will be 32 weeks and 5 days...the same day that Carter was born. I knew it would eventually come and go, but I did not expect all of the emotions that I am having. I am nervous that history could repeat itself. I am relieved that we made it this far. I am scared that anything could happen at any time from here on out. I am paranoid that I am overlooking things that could mean I am in labor. I am thankful that she wasn't born earlier than Carter. I am worried about how things will happen...and when. I am hopeful that my body can do this each day for the next 4 weeks. 

My husband has been amazing throughout this entire pregnancy. I remember when I was in my 1st trimester and I was constantly exhausted and needing sleep. He took care of Carter while I slept as much as I needed to and while I was sick to my stomach every day. He has been nothing but helpful and has taken so much stress off of my shoulders in the last 7 months. I find myself feeling so much calmer just knowing that he is around. When I was dizzy the other day, I felt like I was fine as long as he was near me...and that he wouldn't let anything bad happen. I am so blessed to have him in my life...and to be able to have him around me all day. He starts nursing school in a couple weeks, which makes me very nervous and sad, but I couldn't be more thankful or proud. 

This weekend, we are just hanging out and relaxing. My brother in law is visiting from New York, so I am sure the boys will make some fun plans. I will probably try my best to take it easy. I have a doctor's appointment on Monday for an ultrasound and cervix check. Then I will be seen every Monday to be checked until I hit 37 weeks. Around September 13th, I will have an amnio to confirm that Brooklyn's lungs are fully developed, then we can induce! On one hand, 4 weeks seems like forever, but then again, I have been pregnant for over 32. Until then, I am making a to-do list of things that have to be done before she is born. I am going to wait until after my baby shower next weekend to wash clothes or anything, but the list is in existence and we know what needs to be done. I don't want to have it all done too early, because I don't want Brooklyn thinking we are ready for her! I figure 2 weeks before my scheduled induction is good enough.

 I can do this.

False Alarm.

Yesterday when I woke up, I could tell it was going to be a rough day. I was contracting from the moment I got out of bed. I tried to move around a bit and get my mind off of it, but I kept looking at the clock. My contractions were about 3 minutes apart and I finally told Steven to grab my hospital bag. We put Carter down for his nap and my mom stayed with him while we went to the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitor and let me go for awhile. The contractions were not regular at first, but after a bit, they were steadily 2 minutes apart. I was freaking out. I am not even 32 weeks along yet...I am not ready for another NICU baby. I assumed that they wouldn't let me go anywhere and that I would either be admitted to L&D to be watched or I would be delivering right away. The doctor came in to check my dilation and my cervix was soft but closed. I spent about another hour on the monitor and they came in to check again...still closed. Apparently, my body is handling the contractions well and I just have to deal with them for now. God is definitely watching over Brooklyn and me. 

Monday I go back to the doctor to have my cervix checked again. My doctor will also be giving me betamethazone injections to help mature Brooklyn's lungs, just in case she decides to come early. Next Saturday, I will be 32 weeks 5 days, which is when I had Carter. I will continue progesterone injections until I hit 36 weeks, and we will induce at 37 weeks, which is the week of September 13th. I am praying that these next 5 weeks go by quickly and that I get the birth experience I missed with Carter. I will be getting my tubes tied, so this is my last chance. I am excited and nervous about what will happen, but I know I am in good hands and that I trust my body to give me the right signals so that I know when enough is enough. 

My mom and aunts are throwing me a "Baby Sprinkle" on the 21st, so I am really looking forward to that. For the most part, we have what we need, but we had to start over with clothes since everything we have is blue. I am 100% determined to go to the party as a pregnant woman! I just have to take everything one day at a time and stay stress-free and relaxed. Lots of prayers are needed and very appreciated!!

31.

Monday was 31 weeks. My water has not broken, so I guess we are on the right track. I am still having contractions, which can get very scary at times, but so far they haven't been regular and I am not in too much pain. Thank you all for your continued prayers...only 6 more weeks until our induction!

Carter has a nasty cold right now. Last night was awful. He woke up about an hour after we put him to bed. He was screaming and coughing really bad. We went in to get him and he started throwing up sticky mucous. He ended up choking a bit because he couldn't get it all up. It was very scary. I slept with him on the futon in the playroom. He threw up one more time after that, but then slept as well as he could for the rest of the night. He seems to be feeling a little bit better today, so I am hoping that he is on the road to recovery.

I am still waiting on my new minivan. It is paid for and everything, but I am waiting on the dealer to install the remote starter and DVD player, as well as the hand controls. They should be calling me any day to fit my wheelchair to all of the parts. After that is finished, I am good to go! I am sad and excited at the same time. On one hand, who wouldn't be excited to get a brand new car? My life will be so much easier and I will have my independence back. But I will also miss my Escalade. I've only had it for 5 years, but it has been a big pain in the butt ever since. Every time I turned around, something expensive had broken. As a matter of fact, I have a blown headlight right now. A new bulb will cost $100. I am waiting right now because we really don't have the extra cash...we just try not to drive at night. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful car and I always felt gangsta while driving it. But, then again...

Who says a minivan isn't gangsta?