37 Week Belly Shots

Hey everyone! We are going to start taking belly shots every week from here on out since we don't know when she's coming. Here are the 37 week pics:

Wow, a big difference in just one week! Do I look like I'm going to pop? (I'm ready!)

Here's a picture of me and Chuck - my little mamma's boy!

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Ok, so you guys have heard me wine about my swelling and my poor feet. So . . . I decided to show you what I am talking about. The first picture is of me with the flip flops on (when we got home from the doctor's office) and the second one is when I took them off. Notice that you can still see the imprint of the straps! Ugh! My poor feetsies!

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Where are my ankle bones???

Am I still wearing my shoes?? I thought I took them off!

Ok, so that's how I'm looking these days. I won't lie - I wouldn't mind these being the last belly shots we get to take before she arrives! We are ready for her to come anytime (especially me and my poor feet!) :)

37 Weeks!

Ok, So I'm 37 weeks along today . . . YIKES! I cannot believe I only have 3 weeks left (maybe less!!) We are starting to get a bit nervous as we are realizing how close we are. oh my gosh!

Anyway, I had my doctor's appt this morning: I asked the doctor for a second opinion about me being ok to go into labor (since we didn't actually SEE a doctor last week) and he agreed that I was fine to go into labor. So it is a "wait and see" approach from this point on. I am 80% effaced and he said that as far as dialation goes, I am a "fingertip" - now we're not sure if that is a full centimeter or a bit less - but at least we are starting to make progress! The sooner the better from this point onward!

So that's the basic update for now. I will be starting to take belly shots every week from here on out since we don't know what week she will make her appearance. So I'll post those later tonight or tomorrow.

We are just about ready for her to come now, we just need to pack our bags! We'll be doing that today. Just a couple other little things to do other than that. I talked to the glider people and the manufacturer will be shipping the glider to Hickory, NC tomorrow morning - so it should arrive next week sometime and hopefully Alan and Susan will be able to bring it to us next weekend. It would be nice to get the glider before Olivia arrives, so we'll be pushing it if she comes early! :)

Well, that's about all for now. I'll give you all weekly updates after my doctor's appointments or if anything else comes up in between.

Thanks also to everyone who voted - the poles are closing tomorrow, so if you haven't voted yet, you'd better! And to whomever the people are that voted for after June 26th . . . that's not nice!! :)

All Clear!!!

Ok, so I just had my doctor's appointment and they have cleared me to go back to work next week. They still want me to try to take it easy and not go crazy, but I am ok to go back to work.

AND . . . I am cleared to go into labor on my own!! So, all the voting still counts - so get your votes in by the end of the month! Yeah, apparently they just want me to be on the look out for any bleeding - because that's a red flag. If I do have any bleeding, they'll know that it would likely be from the placenta and may be much quicker to pull me in for a C-Section. So I am good to go into labor on my own, then we'll see what happens from there!

Also, I got a call from the glider people and it is being delayed another week. So maybe it will be here by the end of next week - or at least before Olivia is! :)

And the Sonagram says . . .

Ok, so I had my latest sonagram yesterday to check on my placenta to try and determine once and for all if this child is going to be able to come out the "natural way" or out my belly (C-Section). First of all, before I get into all of that stuff, here's the latest pics of little Olivia for your viewing pleasure:

As you can see, she doesn't really fit into the picture so well anymore and wasn't really in the mood to get her picture taken. Both pictures are profiles of her face with her hand up near her mouth. Not nearly as good as the pictures earlier on.

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Ok, so her heart was going 146 beats/minute (very good) and everything with her looked good. They estimated her to be 6 pounds, 5 ounces already! I hope that this is a really loose estimate or she really won't be able to fit into all those newborn clothes for very long since she still has a little ways to go!

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AND onto the bigger news:

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Ok, so at 28 weeks we learned that the "misbehaving" placenta had moved off of the cervix opening (good news) but was only about 1.1 cm away from the opening (still covering part of the cervix). That was not so good - so they wanted to take another look at around 36 weeks.

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That appt. was yesterday and turns out that although 90-something percent of them move when diagnosed so early and they are cleared for a natural birth - I am not in that percentile! (We always new I was different/special, right? ha ha) Anyway, so it was only 1.5 cm away this time - so over the last 7 1/2 weeks or so, it had only moved about 0.4 cm. That's not so good. Apparently they usually like to see it at least 2, maybe 3 cm away. And since it only moved that little in 7+ weeks, the chances that it will get on out of the way in the next 3-4 weeks is pretty slim.

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We didn't get to see a doctor at this appt. to get an official word about it (I am going back Thursday), but the sonagram tech seemed pretty sure that it wasn't looking like they'd like it to. So, that will probably mean a planned C-Section around 39 weeks (~ June 12th-ish). All the doctors will need to get together and agree on what they think and hopefully, I'll get the official work on Thursday. So . . yup . . . all that voting might have been for nothing (although she still could try to come earlier than the scheduled C-Section so those of you who voted for before the 12th timeframe might still be good to go).

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After my appt. on Thursday, I'll be sure to let you all know what the official word is. I will also be finding out if I can go back to work next week or not. I haven't been as good as I probably should be this week, so hopefully I'll still be ok. I have gotten some much needed stuff done around here for the nursery - nothing too labor-involved - just washed some of her clothes to get ready for her arrival and straightened up some things for her room. Hopefully the glider will be here REALLY soon and I can get some good final pics of the nursery for you all to see.
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So, until Thursday - take care!

One last shower . . .

Ok, so this past Saturday some of my closest friends from college threw me a shower. (my 4th and final shower) It was really nice to see some of my good friends from college again. (though I usually see quite a few of them regularly at our monthly AOE Alum get-togethers). Anyway, here are some pictures of the fun day:

Thanks Mel, Cat and Heather for everything! It all went very well and you all have definately spoiled little Olivia royally! :)

Mmmm . . . Cake!

Here's Cat's daughter Audrei helping out with the gifts!

Thanks again to my friends who hosted, those who came and those who couldn't come, but sent their wishes anyway! I appreciate it. We are definately just about ready for her arrival now!

35 Week Belly Shots

Hello again! By the way, I added a poll for you guys to vote when you think Olivia will arrive. Please get your votes in before the end of May.

Here are my 35 week belly shots for your enjoyment:

Now that's a belly! Only 5 weeks left until my due date. Also, I have tried to capture Olivia's rambunctious kicking in a little video (not great quality) on my camera for your viewing pleasure. Let's see if I can get it loaded right:

Did you see that? You have to pay attention, but you can definitely see her moving around in there! How cool!

Taking a Break

Hey there, everyone! OK, so I had a doctor's appt. this morning and he has taken me out of work for a week. My blood pressure has been going up and I've been getting headaches and swelling and have been pretty stressed out with everything going on with work - so he told me to take a week out of work. Not full bed rest, but he wants me to relax, NO WORK and put my feet up to reduce the swelling and they will check on me again in a week. So, I guess I'll just be hanging out here for a week! We do have to meet the lawyer today and I have a shower on Saturday that he said I could go to.

So, anyway, just wanted to keep you all updated on everything here. I will be attempting to relax this coming week (not so easy since I am SO much of an "A" type personality - but I will try).

Today I am 35 weeks and we will be taking some more belly shots for you all - so I'll post those tonight or tomorrow for you all to see how much I've grown! (if you thought the last pics were bad, wait until you check these out!)

SWELLING SUCKS!

Hey there everyone! So sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I have been very busy and VERY tired lately! Ok, so here's what's been going on:


Last weekend some of my Raleigh friends had a shower for me, the first of 2 showers in Raleigh. (We decided to do 2 smaller showers rather than one shower that would have been rather large). This shower was with all the friends that I have met and become friends with since college. (the other shower is going to be with all my friends that I am still close with from college).


This shower was thrown by my craft girls: Sara, Diane and Harmony; and by my wonderful neighbor - Cindy. It turned out really nice and I REALLY appreciate everyone coming and especially the wonderful friends who hosted it!

Thanks Sara, Harmony, Diane and Cindy! The shower turned out great!

Here are some pictures from the shower:

We started out with some fun games - here one of my Bunco neighbors, Amy, is checking to see how closely she guessed the size of my belly!

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Mmmmm, yummy food!

Look at the CUTE little lamb cupcakes that Sara made! Aren't they adorable!?!?!?

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Here's a VERY cute little sweater that Harmony knitted for Olivia! She also made matching little socks and a little hat! - so adorable!

Ok, so other than the shower here's what I've been up to - I have been working on finishing up the decor for the nursery A LOT! I have spent a bunch of time getting things to make for the nursery and making them. I want to leave it all to show you in pictures once we've hung everything up. (We should be doing that today so I should be able to show you all pictures soon!). I think everything came out really nice and am excited that the nursery is just about done! Now, I just need to wash some clothes for her, sterilize some bottles and pack our bags for the hospital!

On a not so fun note, over the last week I have been SWELLING up like crazy! My feet look HUGE and I cannot fit into any of my own shoes anymore (excpept for flip flops!) UGH! I had to drag Grant out yesterday to help me find a cheap pair of shoes in a larger (and wider) size that I can wear to work - they have to be closed toed so I can wear them back in manufacturing! Anyway, we found a pair for only $7! Wow! Aside from my feet swelling, my hands have been swelling some, too. I haven't been able to wear my wedding rings (or any of my rings) for several weeks now and wound up getting a sterling silver band from Kohls to at least look like I'm married - instead of a single pregnant girl!

So, I guess this is what the end of pregnancy (especially for warmer weather) is supposed to be like - swelling, aching, soreness . . . yuck! I am getting very ready to have this little baby and be on my way back to my normal self! Anyway, aside from being swollen and sore and having trouble moving around - I am doing fine. We are just trying to get everything ready for Olivia's arrival. (We are even working on getting our Wills done so that we are prepared for anything - and getting her guardianship figured out - just in case!)

And . . . . here's what's coming up! I have another regular check-up on Thursday morning, we are meeting with our lawyer (for the Wills) on Thursday afternoon. Then . . . I am having my final shower next Saturday with all my college friends! Yeah!

Then, the next big thing is that I have my 36 week ultrasound on Monday, the 19th to see how far my placenta has been moving. Last time I talked to the doctor about it, she said that if it doesn't move much more, I still may wind up having a scheduled C-Section at week 39 (June 12th - ish) OR if if does move enough, I'll be just like all the normal preggo's . . . waiting for labor to arrive! Of, course I will keep all of you guys posted on that one!

Oh - the glider! Yeah, still not here. Next weekend will be 8 weeks since we ordered it and it was supposed to take 6-8 weeks, so hopefully it will be here by then! I may give them a call this week to check on it.

Ok, so I will blog again once we get the nursery decor finished and keep you all updated on my doctor appointments and on my upcoming shower. Until then, take care and keep in touch! I don't think I'll be going out too much more between now and the end as my feet are aching and swelling so much! So, feel free to come visit me anytime! :)