Today is the day

Well since the date is officially September 28th, today is the day that Gracie is going to be born. At 7am I will be at the hospital for the induction. For all I know though I could’ve progressed since Thursday. I’ve definitely felt a lot more cramping and such since then but I’m not sure what to think about it since I’ve never been pregnant before. I had really bad lower back pain yesterday and right now she’s moving like crazy. At this point though, I want her to hold out a few more hours. I’m picking up Randy at 6 and from there we’re going right to the hospital.

Her name is going to be Gracie Lynn Beverly Rumble. The Beverly has been added in due to wanting to recognize my grandmother. As much as I don’t want to admit it, she doesn’t have much time left and this is one way to pay tribute to her I think. My family likes it and Randy is definitely on board with the idea.

We had a good day today visiting with my family. We brought Colby out because mom is watching him while we’re at the hospital. I miss him terribly already. I went to take Randy to work and he went to call Colby. We both concluded we would be lost without him. Then we had mom take a pic on her cell and send it to us. My big baby boy. This house is so lonely at night without him. We decided to go to Applebee’s for dinner since we didn’t have to worry about Colby being home alone and used our gift card to have our last meal as a couple without Gracie being introduced to the world yet. It was quite yummy and I have leftovers in the fridge.

Since I’ve been home I managed to slide the dresser out of the way to sweep/swiffer/mop the bedroom and tackle the rest of it since Colby’s hair loves to collect, put all the dishes that were clean away and wash the dirty ones, wash and hang up a load of laundry, and tidy up any things out of place. I don’t want to come home to a mess. I’m doing ChaCha and almost 2 days ahead to compensate for not being able to while I’m at the hospital. Then I need to hop in the shower and catch a few zzzzz’s since I’m leaving at 5:30.

I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m scared. I can’t wait!

The verdict is

I’m currently 1.5cm dilated, -3, and 60%. I’ve made some progress but my cervix isn’t soft yet and she is still high up. Her heart beat was 154 which was a big change from the 115 or so on Monday. My blood pressure is excellent as always and weight is stable. She’s been active and I’m having some light cramping but I’ve had worse period cramps tbh so I’m not phased but they are becoming more frequent. I was instructed not to run any marathons or try to break any sex records (he has a sense of humor) to which I replied you have to have sex to break records.

On Monday morning if the baby is not here I am going to be at the hospital at 7am for the induction. If my cervix hasn’t changed in condition he intends on using Cervidil for up to 8 hours if necessary before administering Pitocin. He actually doesn’t think I’m going to make it until Monday given the conditions changing in the 3 days so another 3 will probably yield even more progress. I’d be lying if I said the induction won’t make things incredibly convenient in regards to trasnsportation and schedules working out for Randy with him working 6 days a week and lately 12 hour shifts. He can’t drive and no one else is allowed on the maternity floor with the exception of him so I’m going to be alone if he’s not around immediately. I guess time will tell right now.

For now I’m off to go take him to work. Poor guy running on 4 hours of sleep with another 12 hour ahead of him. He loves his job though which is always a positive.

Doctor appointment tomorrow

Tomorrow bright and early at 9:15 I will be visiting my OB again to see if any progress has been made in the 3 days since my last appointment in terms of dilation and to check fluid levels, BP, and her heartbeat again. I honestly don’t know for sure what I’m doing in regards to an induction if the option is given. I’ve read a ton of information on it during the pregnancy regarding the risks and such. Randy and I will both make our decision tomorrow after the appointment. Just in case though, the car seat is installed and my hospital bag is packed. Colby is going to my mother in law’s house before the doctor appointment so my mom can pick him up if she has to. Since my mom has both his parents, he’d be on his best behavior there in comparison to anywhere else. He can also run there since the yard and country setting alllows it.

Many people have asked if I’m scared. I honestly am not scared. I’m excited for the experience. I know that child birth is something that happens when you get pregnant. There is no avoiding it so why stress over it? At the moment I’m having minor cramping but it’s really nothing new.

I think things are also a bit less stressed due to the hospital policy that only the birth coach or father may be in the room due the swine flu outbreak in June. For me this means Randy is the only one allowed in the room besides hospital personnel. The only sucky thing is that no one is allowed to visit after the birth either so it’s just me, baby, and him. No one will see her until we leave. The only negative to that is Randy is not taking off work unless I’m in labor during a shift so no keeping me company afterward. This will give Gracie and I time to bond though and I can have the lactation consultant come in as well to get tips on breast feeding since it’s something I feel very strongly about.

If labor happens, I’ll be updating twitter via my cell phone when I get the chance and if you’re in my contacts you’ll get updates that way as well.

Tell me about your pets

I noticed that my readers seem to like when I ask questions and get to know them and their lives better so here’s another one, tell me about your pets. I don’t just want a picture or a name though. Tell me about their personality.

Colby is a spoiled dog himself. He lived with his parents until he was 9 months old. He sleeps on all the furniture when he wants. Sometimes it’s the chair or couch but usually the bed if he isn’t kicked by either Randy or myself. If only one of us is in bed he’s more likely to stay there. He doesn’t like automatic water feeders because the bubbling scares him. He’s also afraid of the raspberry noise people can make with their mouths or cans being shaken together in a bag. He loves car rides and will typically stick his head out the window or, in the case of picking Randy up, thinks he is a lap dog. Randy and I are known as mommy and daddy. He also doesn’t like pickles or pretzels and milk is the only thing he can’t tolerate. It will cause him to make the house his personal toilet. He is incredibly touchy about anyone touching his rear end hair but will walk away instead of snapping. A bath puts him to sleep for the rest of the night and “Let’s go ni nights” is his favorite phrase. He also has separation anxiety.

I’m entirely too observant of his little quirks. Now, entertain me with yours.

40 week doctor appointment, induction?

Today was my 40 week (to get technical, and 1 day) doctor appointment where my lovely doctor got to stick his hand up me to determine that there is absolutely NO progress whatsoever with little miss Gracie. She’s still high up and my cervix is closed right up. That sucked to hear. I was hoping for some progress indicating she might say hi sooner rather than later. The amniotic fluid is still good but her heart beat is something he was a bit concerned about. She’s hovering around 115-118bpm maximum after 4 different position changes.

I go back on Thursday morning bright and early at 9:15 to see if I have made any progress at all and to get another check on fluid levels. He mentioned a possible induction which is why he has me coming in so early but did not say for sure it’s happening. He’s not really pushing in any direction but monitoring my stats. My weight gain was 1lb and my BP is excellent as usual. I imagine Thursday my cell will be going haywire with texts again. Randy kept poking me though and the doc advised him to never provoke a pregnant woman. He told him I’d just get the tire iron from the trunk to which Dr. J replied that it’d be a bad idea because it’d go right through the skull. While checking my cervix he also told me he knew it was invasive but he wasn’t trying to reach my tonsils. Someone has a sense of humor. :-p

On a completely unrelated note I’m annoyed with something I read on someone’s journal online. It’s no one who I talk to directly or who will read this so no, it’s not you. She’s a mother to 2 boys and attends college part time while her husband works. They struggle like many of us do. Well a week or 2 ago she posted about not having food because her food stamp recertification didn’t go through and she had to re-file paperwork blah blah blah whatever it happens. She posted and someone mentioned she should post her paypal info. Again, no problems yet. Shit happens.

Today she posted that she almost overdrew her account but managed to cover the charge before the OD fee hit. Then later in the entry says her cable almost got shut off and she had to write them a check for $160 but there’s only $19 in there but she omg HAD TO do it because she can’t live without the TV on it’s just not normal and you can only talk to someone for so long before it’s eerie. Then posted her paypal link again.

W-T-F?! I’m usually not one to judge people especially when it comes to finances but WTF again? You have children you complain about having problems feeding and then beg people for money to pay your cable bill (and an overdraft fee you will encounter)? I can’t believe some people and where their priorities lie. I also was tempted to reply to her that since moving here (almost 2 months now) our TV was on for 2 hours. She obviously has a computer and high speed internet. Ever heard of hulu or a DVD player or *gasp* music from a radio or even mp3s? I can’t fathom how you can prioritize a $160 cable bill over penny pinching to buy milk/gas/other food which are essential for care of your children.

With that being said, I think I may go lie down. My sleep schedule today was from 8:00am-10:30am and then from 8:00-8:45pm. I’ve tried pillows between the legs, propping up, etc. Nothing works. My body is very anti me getting any type of significant sleep and I cringe in pain every time I get out of bed. Randy and I have been noticing he works close to 50 hours a week and I’m home all the time and he gets at least double the amount of sleep I do. Joy.